I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!

Telus has brought a completely obscure old Christmas song back into some major popularity. I am not too sure who sings the song and what the song title is but that little 30 second commercial from Telus has created a major craze here in Alberta. Apparently you cannot find a hippopotamus, stuffed or otherwise, anywhere in Calgary. Apparently it is on the top of every kids wish list. I bet that Telus is kicking themselves in the ass that they didn't come up with something that they could sell because I am pretty sure that they would have made enough profits in the last month that would have eclipsed in the entire year.

So the verdict is in!

Well I got some prelimiary grades and well I did as well as thought that I would, for the most part!!! I am a bit disappointed with my Social Psychology course. I thought that I was rocking it out, but I guess not, which is a bit disappointing because I thought that I had it.

Anyways, just chillin out right now. I finished reading one book and I am about to start reading another one as well. I also have other knitting projects to finish up as well. So basically I just hope to keep my cool long enough to get some work in and then I am going to take it easy with working during the next term! I only have seven more courses left to complete!!

Ahhhhh relief at last!

So the exam went over quite well with the exception of the fact that there were a fewe surprise questions in there! Everyone that walked out of there was like where the hell did she get those questions from?? I also got my final paper back and I got an A on the paper and it was something like two weeks late. I always like psychology profs, they are more understanding and can actually relate to you alot better that some of those sociology fuck nuts that call them selves professors!

Anyways, so I was feeling pretty happy last night and wanted to share the joy. So I went and hung out with one of my neglected friends for the evening. Actually between me working and going to school and her working more than 50 hours a week we are lucky enough to see each other once a month. So it was like 1:30 when I left her place and it was funny because I made a comment that I should get going because they will probably have a drink/drive checkstop set up somewhere in the city tonight and I will probably find it. And well I did. The officer asked me if I had anything to drink and told him that I wish that I did because I just finished finals and I was looking to celebrate. He laughed and sent me on my way. Told him to keep warm because it was something like -25 out there last night. But from the looks of things they were rather successful because there were a few tow trucks waiting to take your vehicle away if you were. So here's your lesson all you boys and girls: don't drink and drive, it's as simple as that.

Now to do some serious housecleaning!

Counting down the hours to freedom!

I am just only hours away from freedom! I have been studying for a few hours and I think that this one is in the bag!!! This final is the one that I look forward to because this course I throughly enjoyed. Nothing like reading about a bunch of nutsos to make you feel like a somewhat relatively normal person, either that or realize just how crazy you really are!

BEER NOT KIDS!!!!

Ok this comment about beer and popcorn was made last week. That brilliant guy Rick Mercer decided to run with this. Steven Harper (the scariest guy to hit Canadian politics since Stockwell Day) thought that giving money to parents for Daycare would be so cool, some one made the comment that parents would just spend it on beer and popcorn. Well as a true blooded Canadian I say that of course beer is better than kids anyday! So if you got a few seconds swing over to rickmercer.blogspot.com and read up on this very important cause, make sure to sign the petition as well!

AHHHH, almost finished with finals!

I am currently in the process of studying for my final examination in my Adult Aging and Development course and well it is finally starting to feel nice that school is winding down. So other than that nothing new.

Max is finally back from Dublin, you should ask him how it went!

St. Lucia

For those of you in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, please, oh please please please, have a Lucia bun for me!!!

I was bored the other day!

Okay so I was looking for something interesting to do, to kill some time. So I was reading some of the other blogs that read on occasion and they all have this stat counter thing on there. So I thought what the hell! I am always interested in meeting new people, hell that is how I got hooked up with my husband, as well as about a good dozen of my friends! Plus I have always thought about who in the world was checking out my blog, even if you read it for just a second. So on December 1 I put some code thingy on my blog and it has tracked something like 18 visitors, most of them have been me. I will confess that. So here's the lowdown on where some of the people have been from:

DEC 1: Jonkoping Sweden ( wayyyyy too cool! I love Sweden, my husband is Swedish.)
DEC 1: Peoria Arizona
DEC 1: Brighton Massachusetts
DEC 1: Houston Texas (twice, something must have caught their eye!)
DEC 2: Gothenburg Sweden ( that was my hubby!)
DEC 10: Richmond Virgina
DEC 10: San Francisco (been there when I was 12!)
DEC 10: North Reading Massachusetts

So thanks for visiting and if you wanna say something feel free to leave a comment, Lanny does, Max does but only when I bug him about not saying anything! Please keep my life interesting. Hell leave me a link to yours too!

One down, two to go!

Well I just got home from writing one of my final exams, and well I think I did well, the multiple choice sucked the big one! But now I just have two more to do and then I am done for the term which is going to be nice because this term was a rough one!
Apparently I am crazy to drop a course that I was failing in. Yeah, will some one help me figure this one out because I have tried for about a week to no avail!

'Tis Election Time Again!

Well let me be the first one to wish all Canadians a Merry Elexmas!! Those dumb ass redneck conservatives have ruined what would have been a very quiet Christmas. Although in a way I can't complain because it does make watching my some 4 hours worth of daily news more interesting to watch.

So here is my little guide to Canadian politics for those of you who do not have the esteemed privilege of living in the best country in the world.

The Liberals: okay basically these guys will steal millions in tax payers money to give to some Quebecers just so they can convince the others that live there not to separate. A little disclaimer: I love Quebec in fact I want to go back, they seem to have a few priorities straight, but then again they need to get a few others straightend around!

The Conservatives: these guys scare the shit out of me! I live in the heart of Conservative country and I swear that I am surrounded by idoits. Let me start with Stephen Harper: THE GUY LOOKS LIKE HE WEARS EYE LINER!!!! I am not kidding, if you can access the press conference that he held just after Paul Martin went to the GG's office to dissolve parliament you'll know what I mean. These guys scare me! Not only do they want to bring gay marriage back into the debate, but they have something to hide, it will be interesting to see if they actually publish a platform this time around. Don't be surprised if they make it so that women can't get the birth control pill. Not only that but the right wing christan conservatives back these guys, and those guys scare me too.

The NDP: now I will admit that when I was younger I voted for these guys. Being the socialist/communist that I am, they were my party. Now I am scared of these guys too. I have had two classes with two of their candidates because well they like to recruit them young and well I am sorry but I just don't like them. Not only that but they have no hope in winning because well as most Canadian's know voting NDP is like voting for the Conservatives and remember THEY SCARE ME!

So this pretty much leaves a mish mash, but there is a good alternative my dear Canadians, the trend is slowly spreading from Europe. It's the Greens. Yes I have found my new party. They are the best alternative: "none of the above." They have yet to get involved in the is nasty mess, and quite frankly I like that.

I forgot to mention the Marijuana Party of Canada. I wish that there was a candidate in my riding but unfortunately there isn't. I am sure that those in B.C., Ontario, and Quebec will vote for me.

I purposely left out the Bloc Quebecois, mostly because I don't live in Quebec. They want to separate, why I don't know, they seem to have their own way of running things, and well I am sure that they don't mind all that tax money that they get too.

I will add to this in times to come because Stephen Harper is sure to stick his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion within the next 8 weeks. So far he thinks that Canada is a great country but he doesn't love it as much as Paul Martin does. And as for Gilles Duceppe ( yeah when you decide that you want to stay apart of Canada I will learn how to spell your name!) we should have a Canada vs. Quebec hockey game to determine if Quebec should separate: if Canada wins you stay, if Quebec wins you leave us the hell alone, and if there is a tie, let there be a good old brawl to determine the winner!


LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Trying something for the sake of interest!

The Paper Gods Are Smiling!

Ok the one paper that is now two weeks late is now finished. I haven't handed it in yet but I don't care anymore. If I get so much docked off it doesn't really matter the principle for me is that I got the assignment finished! So now I am in the process of getting the other paper that I thought was due last week is now due today which means that if I haul ass I get this thing finished by tomorrow and only have 10% docked off, which is so nice, the other paper that I have due should be done by friday and well I frankly could give a flying fuck about that one because the prof is an absolute shit head. Last week he didn't even show up because he went out to the bar, got pissed and then slept in. Yeah, this is why I pay an astronomical amount of tuition?? I really hate to be immature at this point but WHATEVER!!!!!!

And to top it off, it is finally snowing!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I feel soooo good!

Finally getting something done!

Ok I am right now working from the library at school thinking that I would be better able to concentrate without as many (duh I still have the internet here!)distractions. Right now I am working on a paper about binge eating disorder (it explains why us fat people love our carbs!) that is now two weeks over due! Yeah I think that I should make it my new years resolution to make sure that I get one paper in on time this year! I still have another two papers to finish before the day ends. Yeah! Oh and I also ended up playing sick today from work just so I can get this done, that means by my calculations I have called in sick at least once a week for the last three weeks, at least I call which is more than I can say for some of the crack whores I work with. Last week I was sick, I ended up getting some stomach bug from work and ended up sleeping with the toliet again, I did that some three years ago and well I can't say that was much fun, I am just glad that my bathroom floor is much cleaner than my sink, which seems to be growing some funky hair right now.

So how's Max you ask??? Well today is my darling irreplaceable hubby's birthday! I was so excited when I bought his card for his birthday because on the top in bold letters was the word HUSBAND!! I guess in a way I thought that I might end up being some little (yeah haha haha!) old spinster with a house full of dogs. Being married seems like such a better option, besides I just added 5 years to Max's life expectancy (yeah figure that one out!). Still waiting to hear back about his criminal record check which I am thinking that we aren't going to get because with Christmas coming up nothing gets done around here! I am starting to think that the poor boy is bored to tears because he can be seen these days in the barn cleaning out stalls, trust me I would be totally shocked if he starts riding just for something to do. He's headed off to Dublin for a week in December to see if he can find some temporary work there because even finding something in Sweden in proving to be rather difficult. McJobs are few and far between there, while here you could make $8/hr at Timmy Ho's serving up cups of Joe! Or sort dirty ass laundry for $14/hr like me.

Back to me once again. I think that I am starting to be a burnout. Not only and am I getting sick of working eventhough we just got our raises and stuff but school is starting to lose it's appeal, or it could be that I have one prof who is totally being a pain in the ass. I haven't come to any broad range conculsion on that one yet but then again it seems as though I couldn't be moving any slower through life right now. I am looking forward to Christmas this year which is really strange because this is the first year with just my mom and I. Not to mention this is the first year of our marriage and Max won't be with me for the first time in two years for Christmas, but then again we have only spent a grand total of three Christmases together since we started seeing each other over 8 and a half years ago. Wow it's almost been ten years.

Anyways I suppose that I should get back to what I intially drove 20 minutes for, that is to finish three papers in nine hours! Ok two of them! If I am lucky!

I got inked!

So now I have gotten something that I have always wanted to do, I got a tattoo! Actually I got two! And they are pretty cool. It didn't hurt as bas as I thought it would, although I guess that I was lucky in the sense that I had a good artist and the spot that I got them in wasn't to bad either. Except now I look like someone who tried to off themself with all these bandages on my wrists. But it is going to be worth it in the end! Oh yeah you should see the gloves that I rigged up for work!

Just killin' time in the library!

I have about three hours to kill before my class, after working all day, all I really really want to do right now is go home and have a nice long hot shower and then curl up in bed and think about the nasty ass class that I have to attend tomorrow morning. Not to mention the boring ass class that I have three hours later and then the only really interesting class that I am taking all semester at the end of the day. YUCK!

So other than that it was a wonderful wonderful drive into work this morning with all the wet snow and fog, at one point a semi looked like it was three vehicles, yeah I know what you are thinking, I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning! But in a way I have to admit that it looks pretty nice outside with everything having a light dusting of snow on it!

I am also getting two tattoo's next week, I am getting one on each of the insides of my wrists, on my life is going to be my Capricorn zodiac sign and the other is going to be human nature in chinese.

Had a reading from a psychic today.

Just so you know it is all good! And it's snowing! AH PERFECT!

Yeah, ummm

ummm, yeah!

Ok so here goes it!

Nothing a whole lot new with me, work is the usual politics, eventhough the word "PRIVITIZATION" has been uttered by my boss. One woman keeps constantly asking me if I am pregnant yet! She even told one of my other co-workers to buy me a pregnancy test just so she could see. Um yeah I have contemplated writing her up about that one! Besides I haven't seen my husband in over a month now, that must be some new-fangled communication lines that they have put in these days, getting pregnant over the phone, sounds like a News of the World cover story to me!

So the oh-so-wonderful strike at the good ol'CBC is over with. I am sure that our government just loves the idea of paying Don Cherry a salary this year!! The only thing that I am looking forward to is The Rick Mercer Report (formerly known as Rick Mercer's Monday Report), as far as I am concerned it's the only show on the CBC worth my tax dollars. He has even started a blog, bless his little soul! Address? Pretty damn easy, especially for a red-neck like me! HA HA! It's rickmercer.blogspot.com make sure that you check out some of the photoshop works of art that he's got posted, if you're from Alberta and can't stand Ralpie Boy, you'll have a hoot (this according to Gail!).

So wondering about the hubby eh!?! Turns out the immigration paperwork is taking longer than expected (at least for Max it is, I knew we would hit a concrete wall sooner or later!), turns out it takes at least 2 months for the RCMP to issue a criminal record check for immigration paper work. I ain't gonna make a comment on that one because I am pretty damn sure I am going to get stopped one of these days for speeding again, and well I need to kiss ass as much as I can because I don't think I could afford to pay a $350 speeding ticket, just because Joe Farmer can't find the fuckin gas pedal! I think the constant commuting is getting to me again. I think it is because winter is nearly here and I know that I won't be able to drive 130 down the QE2 for at least another 6 months if I am lucky. I am sorry that Chevy had to make their Impala's so fuckin sporty, I just bought the thing because it was good on gas, and well you can buy $600 worth of stuff from Costco and fit it all in your trunk. Oh and did I mention you can fit an entire dorm room worth of stuff in one of those things too! Yeah I like to drive and drive fast. It's fun especially at 6 in the morning and there is no one, and I mean no one on the highway.

Oops how did that happen? Anyways Max is moving back home this weekend, which is nice because I was getting pretty damn tired of getting my calls dropped on his cell phone. He's contemplating on coming for a visit here in the new year, which means that Reading week might actually mean a Mexican honeymoon. I guess Cancun is sort of out of the question. Somewhere far away from here for a week sounds almost too good to be true at the moment. I got a prof who is wayyy out of his league right now. Some how he has this strange idea that we are all budding post-graduate students. Ummm no I would be just please to be an undergrad right now! He somehow thinks that I am going to have a complete anaylsis of his psychoanalysis of mourning bullshit done by next week. Ummmm maybe in the next millenium is a better estimate.

Learning Swedish Part 4

Ok if you have checked out the first three parts of this facinating look at the Swedish language then you will totally enjoy part 4:

http://download.slayradio.org/mastering_swedish_-_lesson_4.mp3

Oh and if you are indeed swedish and would like to contribute go to www.slayradio.org and follow the links of Mastering Swedish.

Married: 3 weeks!

Well if this the way that marriage is supposed to be then I am in!! Since the moment we said our I Do's we have spent maybe a total of 36 hours together!! Ummmmm yeah! Hopefully the Canadian Immigration authorities realize that this sucks the big one and decides that maybe a week in Mexico with my husband during reading week would be most ideal, and permission to move to Canada and to start contributing to the best economy we have seen in years here. But then again when you're literally sitting on a shitload of fossil fuels there's nothing else to do than get it out of the ground as fast as mechanically possible!

So yeah I am finally getting back into a flow of things. School is going rather well, I ended up dropping a class (which may mean that I graduate two months later than expected), bombing one mid-term, and totally scoring on another. Work is another story, we are so behind that they have starting working on Saturdays, my excuse: it's literally my only day off, and they are also working some nights, but we are so far behind that we are going to have to start working on Saturdays to get by and we are going to have to work evenings just to keep up. At least I am getting my hours that I need to bring home the dough to pay for the $3600 that I charged on my visa card the week that I was in Sweden, and yes I did need a $200 cashmere scarf!!

In other news it just got better to live in Alberta, not only are we the only debt free province in Canada ( I know that I used only wayyyy to much in that one but oh well, it's late and I am not making any sense, I do realize this.) But we are starting to get bits and pieces of infrastructure put into the system. We are getting a nice $400 tax-free cheque just for living here, they are thinking of lowering taxes which in one sense is really really nice but having lived in one of the best welfare states in the world, taxes aren't necessarily evil you know!! I am a socialist and I love it. Call me commie if you want!! Here they do, but then again the dumbass redneck to commie ratio here is like 1 000 000 to 1! Yeah love working with that logic. But here's something to put in your water pipe to smoke, Ralph Klein is talking about making the first two years of university free, ummm yeah usually it takes four years for a bachelors degree, I love summer school, but I am pretty damn sure there are quite a few people around here who don't.

Enough ranting and raving. I think that I better get back to doing some hard core cramming for an Adult Development and Aging course ( yeah, we're gonna get old and die and it's a nasty nasty process!) Married life does rock, it would rock so much harder if my husband was here ;) :) ;) :)

Möhippa actually means public humilliation!!

Well I have just survived my möhippa, which is actually my bachelorette party. Highlights include, singing O Canada at the top of my lungs in the busiest square in Göteborg during the busy lunch hour. Walking around the city in a shirt with condoms hanging off of me, recording my own song, salsa dancing, and dinner out with the girls. Oh yeah and there were three Swedish blokes who were buying us all drinks, three rounds at a cost of $15.00 per drink!! Yeah a fool and their money are easily parted, so very very true!

And now tomorrow I get married!

Back in Goteborg!

Well after a full day of travelling I am finally back at my in-laws place. It is so nice to be back here because I always feel so at home here!!! There are plenty of new additions, the barn, the horses, the house, oh I could just go on and on.

So it`s a week until Max and I get married and it feels pretty good, most of his family don`t arrive until the end of the week so we have quite a bit of chill time in between time!! Except for Thursday, and well we will have to wait and see about that in the meantime.

But for now it is off to the city where we are going to look for a suit for Max and to see if my old Swedish bank card works and if it still has any money in it!! OOOOH that would be nice.

Ok Crunch Time!!

So I am now back at school which isn't really a big thing when you think about it because I am almost done anyways.

The big this is that in about 24 hours time I am going to be getting on a plane headed to Europe to get married!! Oh my! The excitement has been building for about two weeks now. I finally got my dress on September 1st which is a small relief because it was supposed to be here on August 12th! Anyways I think that it is finally hitting me! I went and got my hair and nails done, and well I am in the process of final preparations.

I know that there will be tons more when I get there but it's getting down to the final nitty gritty! I have really no clue as to what Max or his parents have planned. People have told me that I am nuts to leave things to him but you know what, it's kinda hard to make wedding arrangements when you are an ocean away! Besides we are having a big party here next summer.

So here goes!

Post-secondary Meltdown!

Okay I am praying that I am not the only person who has ever gone through this! I am going into my last year and it seems like that I have been doing this for so long that well, I don't think that I can stant to write another fucking term paper. So sorry for the extreme use of profanity, but it is late at night, I am half way through a paper and I don't think that I can do this any more!

Plus to complicate this any further Max is driving me up the wall worrying over this little thing and that! I have almost hung up on him numerous times because he's been such a jerk!

Well off to bed so I can get up in a few hours time to add to my crap paper!

So you want to learn Swedish?

I found this online course that was educational, easy and most of all entertaining!


http://download.slayradio.org/mastering_swedish_-_lesson_1.mp3

http://download.slayradio.org/mastering_swedish_-_lesson_2.mp3

http://download.slayradio.org/mastering_swedish_-_lesson_3.mp3


Hope you had fun because I sure did!

I am a big bitch!

That is what I was told today!

Oopsss!

http://dhmhikehhgolsa.blogspot.com/

Max Forsberg: Blogger

Yeah Max can say that he finally got his shit together and got a blog. The address is pretty complicated because he decided to take the first letter of every team in the Elite series football league in Sweden. He's not very imaginative is he!!! So here it is hopefully that will show up so you can just click on it but if not sorry, you'll just have to cut and paste.

Nothing new!

Seriously nothing of any total interest has been happening since May. I finished up "my project" before June 15 (was basically told to leave them what I had finished and leave totally which was totally fine by me because I wasn't making any money what so ever there. So I ended up back working at the hospital to even more shit than you can shake a stick at. Which I might write more about later! Just depends on how pissed off I get this week!

Wedding plans are progressing slowly. If I can get Max to calm down about things I think that we might get through this time in our lives relatively unscathed. Imagine that! We have set the date in Sweden for the 24th of September and the date in Canada is the 15th of July next year.

So as you can see Sarunas is having a much more interesting time this summer than what I am. So are Lanny and G from the looks of their f-blog!

Oh and as far as school is concerned I pulled off a most brilliant mark in my Sociology of Religion class! I earned my first ever B+!! I am Calgary now two days a week taking a Sociology of Consumer Culture course which is really interesting and all we ever seem to talk about is how screwed up the Americans have made our lives (Sorry Sarunas I don't mean you!! We discussed this once before!) So just maybe I will be able to pull off my first ever A- or even an A or A+ which would seem most remarkable! Literally!

It's official!!

I am heading to Sweden this fall! I am going for 10 days in September. Why you may ask???? Because I am finally getting married!!! I can't wait.

So for those of you in Goteborg, I am coming on September 16th!!!

So much for enjoying the office environment!

Yeah I had only been at my new job for only a week and I knew that this was going to suck the big one! Why in the hell did I do this?? I got the short end of the stick at the hospital too, someone told my boss that I wanted to quit, and what is even more interesting is since when did hearsay mean anything these days anyways??



Well I guess that I am heading overseas this fall for a wedding: mine! It is going to be very low key. It's just a quick trip to Sweden and then back to school.


Anyways so much for the Gomery Inquiry which has been much the media attention here in Canada. The woman who was once pegged as a good candidate for the Progressive Conservative leadership has crossed the floor and gotten herself a cabinet seat with the Liberals. All this before a vote on Thursday that could possibly result in a vote of no confidence. Hmmmm all sounds interesting to me! Damn I wish I could stay home and watch TV tomorrow!

All done... for now!

So I finally finished up my last two papers yesterday! It feels so nice to be finished this term. I can't wait to get the spring and summer terms started and then over with as well. Hell I can't wait to get the next year over with!

So I go to work this morning and I am not even scheduled to work, hell I am not even on the schedule. I think that my dip shit of a boss got a bit confused, so now I have to get up in early in the morning, pow wow with the union rep and then talk to my boss. Yeah, this should be interesting!

Max is starting to wind down his time in Montreal. He is finishing up exams next week and then he's off to Toronto for 4 days. I think he is just trying to get away from me bugging him about little details of the wedding!

But I think that I am going to get back to my reading because if I have a week off, I will be able to get about 4 books read and I have one whole shelf of books just waiting to be read!

One Down, Two To Go!

Well I wrote my final examination today for my stats class, I have no idea how I did and I am hoping that I passed because I don't want to have to take the course all over again. I still have two more papers to write for my Medical Sociology class, and I am getting on that as soon as I finish here. So this might be a long post because well I am not entirely keen on writing right now!

I can't wait to see what happens with my new job next month, but then again it is not as exciting as spending 11 days in Africa ( yes, I am just a bit jealous!).

Just got an e-mail from Max's older half sister Ulrika, she was giving me an update on Lilla Alina. She's almost two years old now, and she is mixing Finnish and Swedish words together in sentances. Just wait until she gets English into the mix!

An update on Max. He just happened to have a serious misfortunate incident with his razor the other day and had to shave all of his hair, so he is completely bald. I can't wait to see the pictures! I will try and get one up on the fotolog soon!

So I think instead of writing I am going to go to bed. Nothing like procrastination to get me in the mood for writing! One of these days I am going to rid myself of this horrible habit! Maybe! I think maybe I will put off this decision for a later time.

So I've done it!!

I have decided to do it! I am going to drop yet another class. I am dropping my International Relations course because I well I am just too damn lazy right now to actually write the final paper and well hell if I am only two courses short of a minor in Psychology what the hell! I just have to figure out how in the hell I am going to pick up two more, it's not like my schedule is full or anything.

Thursday was my last day of classes for the term, and you know what it couldn't have come any slower!! Usually my winter terms go by so fast that you get to the end and think it was only a few weeks ago and I was just getting back from Christmas vacation. But anyways I did have a few drinks to celebrate, a few in Red Deer and a few in Sylvan Lake (damn it is expensive there!!) I did drive home but I had alot to eat and alot of water to drink before I even considered getting into my car, I think I was more tired than anything else because I was up late late late the night before working on a stats assignment and researching another paper!!

So other than that I still have a paper and a half left to write for my Medical Sociology class, and then the take-home final for that as well, and then I have my must have it done by monday morning paper or I die paper to write but that is tomorrow nights project and then I have my stats final and two computer modules to do and then I am done for what seems like a week and a half and then it starts up again. A course in Red Deer two days a week, a course in Calgary on Saturdays and then my two jobs. Yes I am a complete sucker for punishment, but I will make something like $8000 this summer to help supplement the cost of my very very expensive education, I don't even want to calculate how much I have spent in the last 7 years!!!

Anyways I found out that I could if I wanted to, I could buy a house in Saskatchewan in some little dirt water town for less than $10000! Hummmmmmmm, do I really want to cut myself off from the rest of civilization and live under a rock for the rest of my life??? I'll have to think about that one for a while.

God natt!!

So much going on!

Well! The last week has made watching the news three hours a day a little interesting.
To start off, here in Canada we have a little something going on called the Gomery Inquiry. To make a complicated story as simple as possible (without going into details about Jean Cretien showing off his balls (GOLF BALLS!)) a few years ago the Liberal government funneled a whole wack load of money to some ad agencies in Quebec, not to mention the Liberal Party of Quebec, but then again we aren't supposed to know that with the publication ban and all. Needless to say, it just might end up that Canadians will be going back to the polls again! Elections here don't really raise much of a heated debate here, you got the red neck hillbillies from the west and a bunch of french speaking blokes who think that they are something very special.
The death of John Paul II was not really surprise, the poor soul was just too tired. I am amazed everytime there are pictures from the Vatican. They estimate something like 3 million will attend the funeral, wow. Now I am not a Catholic, heck I am one of those people that declares that the state and chruch should be separate, but you gotta commend the guy for what he has accomplished in this some 26 years in the papacy. For me religion, or as I say the belief in something (whatever it maybe) is a deeply personal thing and no one should influence the beliefs of another person, and I think that is why people like me are turned off by the idea of organized religion. Coming from an area in Canada that is sometimes referred to as the bible belt it is hard to get this idea into some people's head. I think what also is scary is some of the beliefs these contemporary christians have. One girl I know thinks that by kissing a guy on the lips or gosh even the cheek is giving herself away. I wonder how many more steps it would take for Canada and the US to become a theocracy (and yes I have been told that there are steps and I have heard that the US is on step 12 of 23!!). But getting back to the Pope, it will be interesting to see who they will select as the new Pope, afterall I am a sucker for tradition.

Well I am supposed to be in the process of writing a paper for my International Relations course, um yeah right, I think I would rather have a labotomy right now, I am starting to get a little tired of all this writing! I still have two papers to write for my Medical Sociology course and a paper for my Sociology of the Body course, and then there are the finals, stats and International Relations. Playing hookey sounds like music to my ears!!

Speaking of music to my ears!!! I got the new Kent CD last week in the mail (Tack Erland och Beata!!!). I have to admit I am disappointed, it feels as though this CD was just slapped together just for the sake of putting something out. It does have some musical merit, but it is not my most favorite CD of Kent's to date.

Work is still work, we are at least getting the surgical stuff that is a month old now, but I am only getting two days a week. I think that is because I just told my boss that I am not going to work there much for the summer! Oh well! I am getting excited about starting my new job in May. I am looking forward to spending time in an office environment.

Oh and to finish off my little ditty for tonight, a little story about Max and his trip to Boston. So he gets on a bus in Montreal heading down to the states. He gets to the border and gets off ( afterall you gotta love procedure!) and goes through the necessary paperwork, but alas his passport has been flagged by the American authorities!!!! In 1997, Max, with a Finnish passport(he now has a Swedish one), is on a trip to Niagra Falls and he decides that it would be cool to get some pictures from the other side of the falls. So after getting the right forms (he was presented with forms in Finnish but seems he doesn't know much in Finnish so they finally give him an English form!), he is allowed through, but the border guard at the time didn't tell him that his little green visitors card needs to be given to the Canadian guard on his way back to Canada. So... one would think that the next time Max goes to the States he would incurr a problem right, nope, he goes through another two times and nothing. Then flash forward to now, in the post 9/11 era, and he gets stopped so he is stuck there for 45 minutes while this all gets cleared up, what does the bus driver do, he leaves him. But according to Max, the border guard was pretty reasonable which is good because I have had the odd experience with all sorts of border guards and the Americans can be pretty nasty when they want to be. But Max had a good time, and I can't wait to get my postcard from Harvard!!

Late Night Posting

Okay this is a typical thing for me staying up late at night during the months of March and April. I think it has something to with the warmer weather on the way (which by the way we are getting once again, but who knows what next week will have in-store. It's really amazing how quickly I have gotten back into some old routines since coming home from Sweden nearly 10 months ago. But some how I remain forever changed by it.

So what is new, well major drama in the laundry! Yesterday I was stuck with two "Barely Blooming 18's" (Ace of Base reference!!). Well one made the mistake of doing a major no-no and I put a little birdie into one of the supervisior's ear so hopefully in a way she gets repremanded for it or better yet fired for it. This particular girl, we think will end up with either a bad case of VD or pregnant within the next six months. Oh well what do I care anyways. Starting in May I am going to be working somewhat full-time elsewhere, that elsewhere is the place that I was working at Christmas when I needed some extra money, it just also happens to be the place that my mom has worked at for the last 12 years. Anyways, it shocked them the first time that I came to work there, ummmm maybe because I actually worked!! Well needless to say there is only one person that knows that I am coming back for the summer, and she is going to be waiting with popcorn in hand to watch the drama unfold. Working with women can be the shits sometimes. Working with men is much better, none of that psychological bullcrap going on.

Max is in Boston this weekend, and so is Sarunas! Lucky ducks! I have always wanted to go to Boston, afterall the Red Socks are finally champs after some 80 years, and well the Boston Tea Party!! I got an e-mail from Max the other day, he got there safe and sound, but the bus left him at the border, I can only imagine what stories he will have to tell me about this one. If the border guards are anything like the ones they have here, he will have enough to finish off the travel book that we have both discussed writing over the years.

Speaking of writing, I am seriously considering putting pen to paper and writing a little ditty about the whole story of the last 3 years of my life, hell I could have written a whole book about my 5 years of working in a country grocery store. Not to mention that there's a whole story about the wedding planning that is going to be taking place in the next year.

Max and I have set a tentative date of getting married in Sweden for Midsommar 2006. That is if Max's parents are ok with the idea. Then my mother (and this is going to be a serious pain in the ass for the next year) is also insisting that we have something here in Canada because that way we will get lots of gifts! As if! I seriously don't think so! I remember when I was younger and my mom told me that I was being too greedy at Christmas time. Well to me this is the same thing. Besides my family totally sucks anyways. My father's side is so bloody redneck that I would embarassed to be seen in public with them or even the though of associating with them makes my skin crawl. And well my mother's side isn't toooooo bad, except my grandfather, he works at a store in Red Deer and will virtually tell you my life story if you tell him that you know me. I won't even get started on the Rodeo Queen and the Drag Queen. That's right I am rather normal in all this!

And in all this kaos of home life, school and work, I am still longing for one thing and that is my little life that I had carved out for myself in Sweden. I can seriously say that I loved every minute of it (ok there was those two weeks in January! But who could blame me, I could have gotten another weeks worth of skiing done!). I liked that Max was there beside me every night, on his side of the bed! I loved the quiet of the countryside, not that it's not quiet here it just that there is a sense of unease here because there is a drug house right across from us and well there are some interesting things that happen at about 3 in the morning. I guess the only things that I love here is my car because at least if I wanted to leave the house I didn't have to have an excuse. I would have to some how smuggle my dog over there, because I missed the little booger so much. And well my mom because the thing is when she came to stay for the month that she did her cooking was so good that I am sure that Erland and Beata would have kept her there to cook!

Enough reminicing, I must get off to bed and dream about how I am going to learn everything that there is learn to do on Excel.

Getting tired of school!

Okay I think that I just finished writing my worst ever paper since an anthropology class I took years ago. It literally took every once of effort I could muster to write the stupid thing and to top it all off I didn't meet the length requirement. Which for me is a shock because I can blab on about anything!!!

Work is going well because I haven't been there in about a week, ha ha ha. But I am only going to be there for about another month and then I am going to switch to one day a week because I was asked by my mom's boss if I was interested in helping out for the summer for the same amount I was making at the hopital! Ah yeah! This means I can park my car for the summer and take my bike, after all gas here is almost $1.00/litre.

Back on the topic of school real quick, if I can get my shit together I can graduate in the spring of 2006. Which means something else... planning for a wedding. Max and I have pretty much decided that we should tie the knot, hopefully sometime in June 2006. Max still has to talk to his parents (surprise surprise!) So I should know when and where we are getting married.

So that is it from me, will update soon!

OOPS!

Well well, what a difference a month makes.
I just finally went skiing for the first time this season, a word of caution, do wear new boots all day!!! I am still having trouble walking!! My knee is still swollen, but thank god for Flexerol and anti-inflammatories because at least I can go to work!!!

It is less than a week now until Max comes for yet another visit. I am pretty excited about this visit because this time we are actually going somewhere and doing something! I just found out at work that I am supposed to work on Sunday, but so sorry screw that I am not about to do that. Eventhough I am giving up $15/hr!

Work is still like work for me, I have had to write up an incident report a couple of weeks ago, because well I am just too damn smart for my own damn good! There are a few new staff members which I question on how on earth they were hired, oh yeah I forgot my bosses hiring critieria: if you can walk, and breathe then you are hired. I guess that is why I am so frustrated with work, plus not to mention getting scheduled to work on Saturdays!!! So now I suppose that I am supposed to study in my sleep!

A friend of mine has told me about a parole officer program within Corrections Canada that I should apply for, hey if it is relevant to my degree and I get paid a whole crap load of money (not to mention it is a government job) then why not give it a try!!

School is going well, I am on reading week, which is nice because I am about ready to cry from all of the reading that I have had to do. And I am also in the middle of helping to plan a conference in March. So I have three papers to write after that and then I finished, until finals start up. I also start planning for next years courses within the next few weeks ahead, so I will finally have word on when I can graduate from University. OH MY GOD!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I HAVE TO GROW UP!!!!

Out from the freezing cold!

Well it is finally a nice day here, it is actually above freezing for the first time in weeks! Seriously! It has been on average -25 degrees celcius for well over a week now, that's right we basically have recieved Moscow's weather and they have recieved ours!

Nothing too much new with me. I found out that someone that wasn't exactly qualified got a position higher than me at the hospital with is making me totally rethink this whole union job thing. I show up on time, she doesn't, I actually work, she masturbates Rover all day (yeah I thought that I was being rather kind about that one!) so hummmmmmmmmmm, YEAH!

School is going swimmingly! I am interested in all of my courses for the first time in ages, which right now is rather refreshing because I am getting to the end of this little journey and I never thought that I would have gotten as far as what I have.

We have a new neighbour now and I am not too sure whether or not I like him. The police have taken to doing more patrols here in the area, which is nice but I don't know what's going on. There was one night the police stopped there and it was about a good hour before they left with someone handcuffed. Nothing like making a good impression on the neighbourhood!

Oh and Max you ask??? He's doing well in Montreal, it is rather balmy there, which is rather rare for this time of the year. He got his results from his first term there and he's donne very well for himself, he happily told me that he could easily get a job working for some petroleum company out here, which is nice makes getting residency easier plus the bucket loads of money that he could make.

Anyways I should get back to reading, that is basically all the energy I muster right now, I have some funky version of the flu right now too. I might actually make all my classes this week which would be nice.

Update

Okay so it has been a good month since I have written on this thing. Oops sorry guys!

Well what has happened in the last month. Well I finished two more courses towards my degree and not to mention I actually got fairly good marks for the courses that I did complete, which is nice because that means I am not going to re-do them, except I wouldn't mind taking human sexual behavior again. On the final there was one question that made the course totally worth it: What is the man above position also known as? Gotta love it when they ask you wat sexual position is which, it was a great class taught by a great instructor!!

I ended up taking a second job during the holidays to make some extra money, but I still maxed out my credit card anyways. It was fun, a different place to work at and definitely made doing laundry for $11.89/hr look like a step up in the world!! I also finally got sent upstairs to sort the dirty, yucky, stinky laundry on my birthday, you make something like $13/hr doing it, but there are also hazards like getting some funky diseases too.

Chirstmas was very nice, it started out by going to down to Calgary on Christmas Eve to pick Max up from the airport, and then fighting the traffic out of the city getting home. Christmas day was rather calm, I finally got to sleep in after working something like 16 days straight ( only had one day off in between to set up the Christmas tree and that took me something like 6 hours to do!). We waited until mom got home from work to open everything up. I got tons of perfume this year, I think people are trying to tell me something here, nah it's just that I have just about everything else!! I got a little breakfast table for bed, it is mostly so that if I decided to pull an all nighter this way I can be curled up in bed, or now I can watch DVD's in bed! Both Max and mom got spoiled too, but then again we all do this time of the year. Then came Boxing Day, both mom and I had to work so that put Max in charge of the turkey, he did a really good job too, he even did up potatoes too! Did I mention that I love a man that can cook??? So we had the usual company, mom's side and then the neighbors came over for some monoloply ( I can't spell today ok!!) That lasted until around 11 and then off to bed. The next moring I hit a deer on the way into work, I wasn't even one kilometer out of town when all I seen was the damn head. So there is $6300 damage to my new car! YEAH! UMMM! So now I am driving a rental car and hopefully by the beginning of next week I will have my car back.
My birthday was fun, I didn't get nearly as sloshed as I wanted to. I got a drunken call from Lanny which was rather interesting because I could only make out about every second word!
Other than that today I am starting a new term and already I know that I should have been able to sleep in for at least another two hours this morning! Oh well. But I should get going. Even though I don't have class for yet another three hours!