Home for the holidays!!

Ahhhhh Home Sweet Home!

On a whim I decided that on Friday afternoon that Max and I would head back to Alberta. I got out of class at about 12:30, packed up my room as fast as I could and packed it in the car, oh my god, didn't realize that I had that much stuff! There was so much stuff that I couldn't fit my aunt in the back seat (I'm supposed to pick her up in Drumheller!). It's a good thing that we didn't have to pick her up until yesterday. Max and I made a special trip yesterday for her. So now we are all home and settled. I still have a bit a shopping to do today. I am hoping that I will be able to sneak out and get some of it done later on today.

But in the meantime I am going to sneak down and have a nice long hot shower!

Holidays are coming closer!

YAY!!! Well I only have a day and a half of arrest and control, a few hours in the classroom and I am headed back to my beloved Alberta. I am hoping that I can get over this dry air phenomenon going on here. It's doing strange things to me. The skin on my hands has that look that I had in the third grade when I was having an allergic reaction to sulfa drugs. Not only that but I have developed a funky rash on my left arm. No amount of lotion will touch it. And to top it all off, I've got a funky dry eye thing going on as well!

I am looking forward to a 10 days holiday, just wish that I was going somewhere interesting like Mexico or the Dominican, that would be nice, except one thing, I don't handle heat very well!

So now I contemplate on how I am going to fit all this stuff into my car. Not to mention my husband as well! I am just happy that the SGEU has decided that they should keep negotiating a new contract and keep highway maintenance services going. I don't want to have to repeat the last time I drove out here!

Max likes Big Saskie!

Well Max has been here for a whole day now and he likes what he sees! Actually we are both pretty optimistic about our future together!!

17-Life

A sentance that I can agree with. Micheal White, a guy who killed is wife and unborn baby was sentanced to life with no chance of Parole for 17 years. A friend of mine told me that when he worked in at a Remand center back in Alberta that he seemed to a very polite guy. Man I'd love to take a look at a psychological assessment of that guy. I like trying to figure people out.

I think I have heard everything now!

Man throws children in clothes dryer!

Sick sick son-of-a-bitch! God forbid that if I ever came across him, although once he gets to prision he's not going to make it very long!

I am half way there!!

I am half way though self-defense!! Yay!!! And this morning I am not nearly as sore as yesterday, or the day before and certainly not the day before that!!!

Hubby comes in a matter of a few hours and I still have to figure out how to get there! What I am going to wear!! I can't show up in sweatpants!!! I still need to catch up on my sleep!

AH THE WEEKEND!!

P.S. It's snowing here to boot!

Oh how I love a challenge!

Sorry again it's been a few days!!! I have been so stiff and sore the last couple of days that I haven't felt like doing much other than lying in bed moaning a groaning, trying to figure out just how in the world I am going to make it through the next couple of days!

I've had many challenges with this whole thing! Especially when it comes to stuff changing so much. I lost a team mate this week do to a HUGE and I mean absolutely freakin HUGE medical crisis. He went to see a doctor and though it might be anemia, only to get admitted into hospital and recieving a blood transfusion and getting diagnosed with cancer! OH MY GOSH!!!!

However, there have been many challenges that I have had to face. Firstly this week it has been focused on self-defense. Wow how the hell am I supposed to do all this with a bad knee. The first night my knee was bugging me so bad that I thought that I would go to the emergency room and see if somehow I could get either a cortisone shot or some fluid drained. I waited for 2 1/2 only to find out that yeah I was at the bottom of the pile and that I would probably end up waiting at least another two hours just for the hell of it! UMMMMM YEAH!

Another challenge as of late which seems to be a recurring thing, and that is my lack thereof of sleep! Some nights it is not for a lack of trying, others it's just that I am simply not tired!! I don't have any sleep meds here with me either. Oh well I am going to bed early tonight.

Oh and another thing I can't seem to figure out is why I have had a sore throat the last week and it hasn't progressed to a cold or something worse yet. I am sitting here in my room right now listening to the hum of a humidifier.

I can't wait to see hubby on the weekend. It should be interesting to see if he likes big Saskie as well as I do!

There that should do it!

3 out of 8, I can do this goddamn it!

Trust, a key component of any relationship!

Being away from home now for over a month and a half with a bunch of people (some very VERY dysfunctional) has taught me to appreciate my relationship with my husband even more. We have had our own interesting relationship, we have spent more time apart than what we have together, not on purpose of course but because our post-secondary education meant alot to both of us as well. In that time we have developed a trust that is truly unparallelled. There are people here that upon crossing the provincial border, the trust in their relationship has completely dissolved. Wow. Absolutely astounding when one really thinks about it. It's no wonder the divorce rate in this country and many others like it is so damn high. Trust is something that is no doubt is in one's own self interest (yeah we are greedy little buggers aren't we) but trust should be selfless, it should be in the interest of others moreso than oneself. I wish that more people recognize this, but it is unfortunate that the vast majority will not.

Ahhhh it's the weekend!

Finally Saturday has arrived!!! Of course with many incidents!! One of which was a leg cramp at 6:30 this morning... yeah that one was pretty rough, just for the simple fact it made me naseaus (i can't spell worth a shit today!). So I snuggled back in and housekeeping woke me up at 10:30, someone stole the sign off my door! I am not impressed! I had planned on staying in bed until noon! Oh well. So I am off to do laundry, I think something like 4 loads worth... this could be interesting! Oh well. I will be home for Chirstmas in two weeks. YAY!!!!

Tonight we are going to a hockey game, what else is there to do in Saskatchewan on a Saturday night??

Great fantastic news!!

I got back to my room last night and found 3 text messages from home. Someone was excited to talk to me!!

Hubby got a letter saying that his European Masters' Degree is now a Canadian one too! YAY!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOO HOOO!!!! He'll definitely get a job now!

Ralphie's gone!!

Whooo hoo it only took us 13 years to get that guy out of our system!! Hope that Stelmach is much better, don't know, damn I miss home!

I promise to blog more!

I have noticed that I am getting lots of hits lately (thank you statcounter!!). And I deeply apologize for not blogging as much as I used to. Since I finished at the coffee shop and started something different, it's been a flury of activity. I've become a social butterfly, which is not like me (for the most part! I guess 10 months in Sweden changed that! TACK!!!)


Right now I am in a microcosm of sorts. I am grouped together with about 21 other people in one group and about another 20 from another. We are in our own little world here. It makes for some really interesting dynamics. First of all our group is labelled as dysfunctional because we don't find it entirely useful to party 7 days a week and "sleep" with our fellow classmates. Now there are rumors flying around and it's getting interesting to say the least. Me? Where do I fit in??? I'm the trained observer!! I am just here for the good times!! I am almost at the halfway point of all of this and I only have a few bumps and bruises to show for it. Really I do! Physical bumps and bruises!!!

Things I have learned in Saskatchewan!!

Firstly, they are freakin' nuts!!! They love to do nothing more than blaze through snowdrifts in minivans in -30 degree weather!!!

They are a hearty group!!! They can withstand bonechilling temperatures for hours on end! The concept of frostbite does not exist!!!

I never thought that snowdrifts can get as high as they do here. There is one thing that still puzzles me. Here in Saskatoon, there is no such concept of snow removal on major thoughfares. They love their parking garages here too. Wow! Although here would be the most ideal place for the +15 system like they have in Calgary!

But I am loving it here! I am learning so much and I have bruises to prove it! I don't know if my husband would agree to moving here.

I finally got it!

I got home this weekend to discover that there was something waiting for me at the little post office kiosk at Value Drug Mart.

IT WAS MY DEGREE PARCHMENT!!!!!!

I am offically a graduate!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!

Is it going to warm up?

Dang! It's -33 with the windchill! That is freakin' cold!! Hopefully a good chinook will show up in Big Saskie on Tuesday for my outside exercises! Yeah... pretty doubtful but I can dream right??

AHHHHH Winter!!

It's been a most wonderful day!! I was able to sit in my chaise and watch the snow fall all day!! I got to curl up with some Tim Hortons and watch some movies tonight. All at home might I add! I came home this weekend from Saskatchewan to surprise Max for his birthday. Needless to say he was rather surprised to see me. I head back late tomorrow night so I have one more day at home and then it's back to Big Saskie for training.

My heart goes out to all those University of Saskatchewan fans that braved the cold only to watch them get beat by Laval. Some bets have been lost so this should be interesting Monday morning in class!!

400 Posts!!!

Wow, it's been something like two years since I have started this blog. Initally, I started this blog to let some of my dear friends in Sweden know how life in Canada was going. Instead it's developed into something more over the years. I like how it's evolved.

I haven't talked much about what I have been doing lately. I would love to trust me. However, in the recent months security issues have arised. I got a "love letter" one day at work. I still haven't found out who it is from. I really don't care but with a recent career change I have had to become more guarded. It's a shame that I know, but my family's security is the utmost importance to me.

But other than that the change has been good for me. I am not technically working as of yet. I am still in training. It's facinating and I'm ejoying it, well most of it. I have never been subjected to so much stress in my life! But it's character building right????

Ahhh, I love Sundays!!

I slept in the morning until 11 when the housekeeping crew started to vaccum the hallways, that is my cue that I gotta get my fat ass out of bed and get out of my room so they can clean it. So I went for a walk. I went shopping. And I also had a chance to pick up sushi for lunch because the dining room looked rather chaotic!! So it was nice to walk around downtown Saskatchewan for a bit this morning and check out some of the stores that I walked past yesterday but didn't go in because I had other people with me that didn't want to go in. They had their minds set on Starbucks!! I am looking forward to tomorrow, but it would be nice to have another day for myself. Oh well I guess that I am going to have to wait for next weekend!

Lorelai Gilmore: MARRIED!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

OH MY GOSH!!! I am still trying to pick my jaw up off of the floor! WOW!!! Can't wait for next week!

BLAHHHHHH!!!

Ok being stuck in a hotel room sucks!!! I have tried to ensure that I won't get bored by bring lots of things from home to make me feel more confortable. It's not working!!! It could also be the simple fact that it is also winter and well it's dark here at around 5 in the afternoon and there's not much to do!!

I did read my stuff for class tomorrow and well I fell asleep!!! So I think that I will actually read something other than school stuff.

Ahhhh I can't wait for Christmas!!!

Convocation Day!!!

I really really want to be home now, just for the simple fact that today is the day that I finally FINALLY graduate from University. I am really really bummed out right now. To make matters worse is when I went to the U of C webpage to look up a number there it was staring me in the face, the new look for convocation! Now I really really wish that I could be there! I could have easily turned around yesterday when we got just past Hanna and there was an accident. It took me over 9 hours to drive to Saskatoon yesterday!! Yeah I might have been overly cautious but I'd rather be that than stuck in some ditch out in the middle of no where and trust me around there there is alot of middle of nowhere to go around!!!

So anyways, Yay to me!! I finally accomplished something!! I am the first ever in my family to graduate high school, go to university, and graduate!!! It took me almost nine years but I did it!!!

To Russia With Love!!

Just doing the daily stat counter check and well, I had a Russian visitor.

Cool! It's one of the top 10 places I want to go to!! The closest that I have ever been is about 200 km away in Finland!

Asskissing gets you somewhere!!

I gotta remember this for when my days in training get a little rough! I found this on my old poli sci prof's blog. It's soooo true!


What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%...How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%


So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that while HARD WORK and KNOWLEDGE will get you close, and ATTITUDE will get you there, it's the BULLSHIT and ASS KISSING that will put you over the top!

Back to Big Saskie!

I am heading back to Saskatchewan tomorrow AND this time I am not going to forget my contacts!! I have clean underwear again!!! I am also bringing some alcoholic refreshment with me as well, I am not paying the big prices there! My trunk is going to clink!! At least this time I won't be glugging around Goteborg!!

Home for the weekend!!

Made the 5 hour drive home for the weekend! I figured seems I had three days off I would take advantage of it.
It's nice to be home, to sleep in my own bed.
It's nice to be in familiar company. But in another sense I can't wait to get back to Saskatoon!
Could this be? I like Saskatchewan!?!?!
My oh my!!! Hahaha!!!

I forgot to mention something!

Not only did I get stuck in a elevator today, but I had to get needles in both of my arms today!! UUGGGGHHH!!! Oh well what I won't do get ahead in life! Time to try and see if my scratch cards won anything!!

What a day!

I got stuck in the elevator!!! Luckily we were only stuck in there for about 5 minutes. I hope we get out early tomorrow. I get to go home for the weekend!!! YAY!!

WOW!

So now I have been here nearly a week now! And I have come the a conclusion on one thing. If you plan on being stuck in a hotel, BRING YOUR OWN BEDDING!!! This is crucial for people like me who are really picky about their sleeping arrangements!

So now I am going to go and read about another 100 pages, oh my eyes!!

The first day!

It isn't as nearly as bad as thought it would be! I was so nervous this morning that I was sick!!! I seriously thought that I was going to faint!
But now I have reading... lots of reading!

Made it safe and sound!

Just for those of you who know where I am, I have made it safe and sound, of course there had to be something that went wrong. I forgot my bag of toiletries, yeah yeah!! It figures! Oh well. I am settled in and I am absolutely nervous about tomorrow! From the people I've met, they know where they are going, I don't. This could be interesting!!

Gambling isn't so bad!!

I am one of these people who gets annoyed with those who become addicted to certain things (ie: drugs, alcohol, and gambling just to name a few)however, these things (with the exception of drugs) can be moderately consumed and have no ill effects on the society around them. Take for instance when I go to the casino. It's not very often and when I do I only take $20. I can usually go to a blackjack table and make $20 last three or four hours. Well Saturday was an exception not a rule. We went to the casino and spent two hours at the blackjack table and we both walked out five dollars richer. We came home changed for dinner and went back in with one of my dearest friends. While we were at dinner we told her about our day and how we spent nearly two hours at a blackjack table and we came out 5 buck each ahead of the game. She found this rather intriguing. So back to the casino we went. Well my $20 didn't last so long but Max was doing well. So my friend gave me $20, she wanted me to play it because she is still learning the ins and outs. Well in three hours we were $50 up! That is the best that I have ever done! So that was pretty cool. But I won't be going back anytime soon. I have other things to concentrate on in the meantime!

WHOOO HOOO! Snow!

I woke up this morning to the sound of Max shoveling the snow off the back deck! It was so nice to just sit here today and watch the snow fall. And I just didn't sit around. I was helping mom with a new knitting pattern.

RBC Round 2: the sequel!

Well after much debate mom and I came to the conclusion that it would be much better if I just paid out RBC and just paid the Bank of Mom instead!

One would assume that that would be the end of it, but they also have the possibility of still screwing things up. I hope not, oh my god I hope not!

I'm D-O-N-E!

I finished my last day at my job! YAY!! It's good to leave on a nice note, we had such a busy week. Hopefully momentum will move us both forward!

Checkin out stat counter!!

I just checked out my statcounter and seen that not once but twice someone was checking me out from a CBC server in Ottawa, for over 13 minutes. COOL!!!!!

RBC Round 2!

First they wanted my money, now they don't!! This is getting frustrating! I can't wait to get this over with.

Just a word of caution for those planning to use student loans as a way of paying for University, DON'T!!! It's not worth the headache!

McKay should suck it up!

Admit it that you did call your ex a dog, apologize, and start getting to work on some real legislation!

Gettin in shape!

My new adventure has an essence to bootcamp to it. I have to be able to drop and give 20 whenever. Curl ups no problem, used to do those like nothing in high school and I can still do them... been working on them for the last two weeks! Push ups on the other hand. ABSOLUTELY EMBARASSING!!!!! I can't do them, I used to be able to do the lady ones back in high school but here's the thing, that was back in the day before my knees were total crap. So I have been working on them, I can feel it in my arms. This could be interesting, I just hope that I don't get kicked out of there on the account of that!

Hey! I finished a book!

I almost forgot to mention this! I finished it the other night. So now I have started on a book that I bought at Chapters for $6.99. It's a hard cover and if I remember correctly I got the book in the Last Copies isle!! Hopefully I will be able to finish another one before I leave for my adventure!

The countdown is on!

I have three more days at this job and I am off on my great adventure!!! I still have to pack for three months of god only knows what kind of weather.

I just have one question for my boss on Friday, and I hope I like what I hear. It'd be nice to know that I have done something right despite all the criticism that I have heard.

Yeah Sure!!

Sure thing, I am leaving my job and things get going better!

Does this mean I was dping something right???


Hmmmmmmm...

Missing Grad again!

I didn't do graduation in High School. I thought that I was beyond that, I didn't want to spend 4 hours with people that I didn't like. So this time when it came to graduate from University with a degree that I worked over eight years for, I was looking forward to the big university graduation ceremony at U of C. Unfortunately, I have to forgo that for the time being. I have to be elsewhere on that date and it is something that I can't get out of. So I guess I will be doing the convocation ceremony in Red Deer next June. At least my old profs will get to see me finally walk the stage!

Five days left!!!

I am done on Friday...

My adventure begins next Wednesday...

I can't wait, I get to sleep in next weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!

Go Garth!!!

Garth Turner has it right, he works for his constituents!!!! He's been kicked out of the Conservative caucus because he is so outspoken about everything!! Even Stephen Harper!!

Too bad he couldn't take that attitude and run for the Liberal Leadership!!

Gettin there!

I've been working on this one book for over a month and a half and I am almost there. I have about 70 pages left to read! AND THEN THERE"S THE REST OF THE SHELF ON THE BOOK CASE!!!!

Fairmont!

Nice eh??

Reminicing!

Monday Tara came into the store and told me that one of my neighbours from the "old neighbourhood" had passed away. It kinda bummed me out because I had known that this gentleman had his fair share of health problems in the last few years, one of which was a stroke. Two of his grandchildren are my friends, Tyler, Vikki and I have known each other since I was about 4 or 5. Tyler was friends with my cousin Jed when he lived out in Wimborne, way back when!

I got a call this morning from Tyler, which was nice. I haven't talked to him in years... he's had two kids since then. This was the guy that I was pretty sure that I was going to marry him, and he was going to be a truck driver. This was when I was seven and we used to hang out behind his grandparents house kissing. Well part of that was right, we married different people but he did become a truck driver!!! He said that the first word that ever did come out of his mouth was truck! So we chatted for a few minutes and as it turns out he didn't know that dad had passed away three years ago. There are still a few people who don't know about that!!

Snow!

I woke up this morning with a distinct feeling, it snowed. I am a subterranian dweller, meaning my room is in the basement, which is nice because well I like it cold in my room. Ask Max, he wears socks to bed!

I get up to the top of the stairs and I notice that the leaves on the apple trees are covered with that beautiful white powdery stuff... SNOW!!!

Steven Harper is a Pig!!

According to the Chinese calendar, Steven Harper was born in the year of the Pig. I thought that was rather charming. But as I was also just informed that Paul Martin is a Rat.

If you read into this rather well you will surmize that we had Chinese food tonight for supper.

Oh and according to Max's fortune cookie: his sense of nurture will expand to include more people.... does this mean that my sushi cravings actually mean something??

Off to bigger and better things!

I got the call I have been waiting months for!

So with that said, I have given my two weeks notice at my job. It feels so weird. I didn't think that I would be able to get such an opportunity so soon after univerisity but I am going to take it!

So much for Halloween in Innisfail!

Have you heard about this??

Two young guys in Didsbury brutally tortured a dog to death on Saturday. The list of charges is long and yet the maximum punishment for these such crimes is a monetary fine and six months in jail??

I am having a hard time with that one!
But think about it. What would the punishment be if was a small infant? A toddler? A child? A woman? An animal, in most cases, is a defenseless creature. That's right people unable to defend itself!

Cruetly to animals is just one symptom of someone who is a psychopath.

What kind of society are we???

Snow is coming!

I can feel it. Next week it's in the forecast!!! I would be really really nice because snow offsets the rather gloomy overcast weather that we have been dealt this week!

I've figured it out!

Apparently my blog doesn't load properly at times!! Hence the reason why my Alberta Blogs blog roll doesn't appear at times!!

Ahhhhhh...

Today was one of those days where I got to sleep in a bit. Max went and got Subway for lunch, very very good. After lunch I went and curled up in bed and read the book that I have been reading since early September. It was really nice to have the dog all snuggled up with Max and I. I even made the remark that in about 10 years time with our luck we are going to have a few kids that are wanting to join in on the snuggle time!

So now I am almost half way through that book!! YAY!!! I still have about 15 others to get through and next year there are two biggies coming out, which means that I have to re-read about 10 books to get ready for that!!

I'm missing Alberta Blogs!

For some strange reason when I moved to beta blogger I lost my Alberta Blogs blogroller. HELP!!!!

Statcounter oddities!

I still love to check out my stat counter. I am able to track who visits when. Anyways when it I checked it the other day I found three entries rather interesting. The first one is from Sunnyvale California, there were two visits made that amounted to over nine hours!! Wow, I can usually get through my blog in less than two hours when I am reading comments. I happen to find this rather intriuging!

The second one is from Calgary, three visits totalling three minutes. Hmmmmmm

The third and last interesting hit is from Montreal (ah Montreal!!!) two hits totalling 29 minutes, cool!

Keep hittin' me people!!! ;)

I accomplished some things this weekend!

I finished Gail's mitt. Yayyyyyy. I also arrived at work this morning to find my desk a disaster area. I didn't leave my desk that way on Friday. Hummmmmmmmmmmm. Yeah. So that was it! I ripped that whole room apart. I went through boxes and cleaned out a whole ton of crap. I even reorganized some of the store too!

So now these are things that I have gotten done:
-Gail's mitt
-reorganized desk
-reorganized stock room
-reorganized storage areas at work
-started on scarves for winter

Tomorrow if nothing happens (ie: I sleep-in until noon) I hopefully will have the following done:
-my laundry (Max and I have come to the determination that I should do my own laundry!!)
-finish reading book that I have taken over two months to read!
-finish scarf

Other things that have to happen this week:
-audiology exam in Red Deer
-oil change for car (FINALLY!)
-offical confirmation
-manager's book!
-Mark and Ryan's move
-call Amy
-e-mail renee and michelle
-beating Max and bowling! I can get 100 POA too you know ;)

Planning the ultimate backpack through Europe

Mom and I got discussing tonight, it seems strange that we have gone a whole year without going to Europe!! Not that this is a regular occurance for us. I go about once every other year to every two years. Mom on the other hand has gone twice in the last two years!!

Anyways we were joking with her one friend who came with mom the last time that we went on her birthday. Pretty cool to spend your birthday in Sweden. So we are thinking that she enjoyed her trip so much that we should take her backpacking through Europe for her 70th birthday!

So we were thinking that we would fly to Sweden and spend a few days there, take the ferry from Stockholm to Finland (hopefully one of those cruises with lots of Russians wanting to party and drink lots of vodka) spend a few days in Finland visiting some of Max's family and hopefully time it just so that we could watch the wife carrying contest. Take the ferry down to Tallin for the day and buy lots of cheap alcohol (again!) Head back to Sweden for a few days of rest and relaxation and thennnn!

Take a cheap Ryanair flight from Sweden to London and then off to Salzburg. Hopefully mom will get rearended again (inside joke) and then take the train up to Innsbruck, then Geneva, Milan and Venice. I wonder where else we could end up?? But then again I'd like to go to Russia! I like Russian champange, it's really really good with orange juice.

This is nice!

Somehow I have managed work out my schedule that I have been able to sleep past 8 in the morning for three days tomorrow and I have two more coming right at me! It's nice because for some unexplained reason my sleep rhythm seems to hit it's prime at around 6 and goes right through till about 10 or 11. I am starting to feel normal again! Hahaha!


Me? Normal?

Thank you turkey!

Ahhhhh I love this blissful feeling of eating wayyy tooo much food!

The Tim Hortons Phenomenon!

I haven't been to the Tim Horton's in Innnisfail for ages, and I now remember why!

I went to Tim Hortons yesterday morning because I was headed into Red Deer yesterday morning for a CPR/First Aid course. Now when I was going to school in Red Deer a habit had formed. Before I even left town I bought an English Toffee cappuccino. Usually when I go through it was without much trouble. Yesterday morning however was a different story.

Virtually every one that I have talked to knows or knows of the Tim Horton rules of conduct. Unfortunately, however, the lady that was in front of me is not nearly enlightened. First of all she gave a rather complicated coffee order, AND THEN she had to order a bagel! Everyone knows you don't order food! Doughnuts and muffins yes, anything else food like is a major no-no!! By this time I was not the last person in line! There were five people behind me! So now to the window to pay. The woman used not one but two debit cards, now unless Tim Hortons has gotten one of those highspeed connections this easily adds about 45 seconds to any transaction. But two debit cards??? This is why I carry cash! I know how much my tansaction is going to cost because I have ordered it so many times before.

So off to Red Deer. The place where I was taking my course was just off 67th Street which was fine by me, easy to find!! However, you have to pass easily the busiest Tim Hortons in all of Canada!! The morning before it was nuts but yesterday morning I was easily able to breeze by! I got to class about 20 minutes eariler than I thought I would be for the simple fact I was driving at about 135km/hr because I was keeping up with the flow of traffic. So this gave me a chance to review the stuff from yesterday. I got my CPR and First Aid!! Now for my pre-employment medical!! UGH, this means blood work right?

I fessed up!

I had an enlightening moment the other day at work. I fessed up to what I have been up to! I am waiting to see the end result. This could get interesting.

Today involved me working on my CPR and First Aid certificate. The same tomorrow and then the piece de la resistance: the medical on Thursday.

Oh I still have so much to do! But it seems to make my days go faster! I am still not reading as much as I'd like to and well I haven't finished making Gail her other mitt!

Congrats to Rachy!

After being in the hospital for over 5 months, she being let out!!! Look out Australia!!! Cheers! I am gonna have a drink in your honour!!

Congrats to Cara and Blaine!

They took the plunge and got married last night!!

All the best!

It's been a few good days!

Well what can I say! I did well today and I am one step closer to achieving my goal. I also received word yesterday that I have officially been given permission by the University of Calgary to graduate!! YAY!!!! The only thing that would make things go even smoother would be if Max could get a job!! That would be so nice and then finally we would be able to move out on our own and actually start comtemplating on when we should have children!!! Not anytime soon though, still have soooo much more left to do before that even becomes the remotest of possibilities!

I am not used to this!

I'm still having a hard time getting used to this whole being out of university thang! I am so used to reading at least 30 pages a day that to sit down and read a book (and it's not like I don't have alot of books to read) is not a happening thing. It's disappointing. It was the one thing that I was looking forward to. It was on my number one thing on my list of stuff to do when I was done school! Pretty scary! I have only read one book so far this summer. Oh well, hopefully this winter is long and cold!!! It seems like it's the only time I get things done!

Canada and US Relations: Brought together by love!

Are you still giggling about the all the inuendos brought on by Condoleeza Rice's visit to Canada? Peter McKay playing tourguide? I am!! But then again I like Jeane Mose's reports on CNN! I'd love to see what Rick Mercer would have to say about all this. October can't come fast enough!

I'm sooo nervous!

I got the phone call that I have been waiting months for. Friday is judgement day. I don't think about it much for the simple fact that when I do, my stomach does enormous flipflops.
It's because I'm excited.
My body can't handle excitement like this, everything becomes irregular! I get like this when I am headed out to the mountains for a day of skiing(because I don't get to go as often as I'd like to) or I am headed off to Europe.
I don't handle surprises or excitement well, does this mean that I lead a lackluster life?? I guess it means that I don't get out all that much!

At least I can say this: I'm happy!

Back to work blues!

I had so much fun this weekend! I don't want to go back to work!! Oh well!

Greetings from B.C.

Well we have hit the motherload when it comes to hotels here in Radium! Couldn't ask for a better location! We took the long way to get here but it was well worth it. I love driving on these highways here!! We went all the way down to Cranbrook today and it was really nice. Might have some pictures to post as well. I only have 4 minutes left on the hotel computer. Tomorrow is our anniversary and I get to have a foot treatment!! OOOOH!!!!!! I love being on vacation!!!

I shoulda played POA!!!

Damn it I had a good night bowling! I was 60 poa tonight! WOW!! I guess that 3 double paralyzers really does the trick!!

Does anyone out there have a drinking/bowling game that they would like to share???

I should have scheduled more fridays off!!

Gotta love stat counter!!!

I am getting an average of 5 hits a day ;););)

The wait is over!!!

Interview next week!


YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

We're going west!

We're headed to Radium Hot Springs this weekend. Sounds nice eh? Neither one of us has ever been there so it will be nice to see everything together.

Sweden gets a new prime minister!

Now I'm not one for a whole lot of international politics. However being married to a Swede, having studied in Sweden and taken a course in Swedish political science I kinda have an interest in Swedish politics. If you want scandal, this is the one country that prides itself in the most bizarre political controversies.
For years now the Social Democrats have been floundering. This is a country in which it makes more economic sense to go on welfare than it would be to be working a full time job. Or to put it into something that Max and I both know very well. A country whereby the unemployment statistics are a blatant lie! AND!!! Where university graduates of very highly skilled areas such as engineering and law have to go above and beyond to get a position whereby tens of thousands of others are competing for that same position!! Yeah!

So it is rather refreshing to see that the Moderate coaltition (thank you proportional representation!) eeked out a victory. It should be interesting to see how this story plays out. The new prime minister, Reinfeldt, bears a striking resembalence to my husband. But according Max, Sweden needs this right now. I hope that the situation does change and that we could get to the point that we could go back for a few years. We have discussed that when we have children it would be nice for them to understand both their mother's culture and their father's culture! Understanding their grandfather is a different story, but that's okay we love him for it!

I'm waiting!!

Where are we gonna go?

So next Sunday we celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Trouble is we don't know where we are going to celebrate it! We went to the travel agent today to see where we could go last minute on $500 per person. I hope that we can go to Seattle or San Francisco, I think that it would be nice. I wonder if I could claim it as a work expense? Nahhhh, I'm not that lucky! ;)

Maybe we'll end up going to Calgary or Banff instead, who knows. Hopefully the travel agent will get back to us tomorrow!

Religion at the forefront once again!

Here we go again! I knew that this new Pope was going to make things interesting but I can't believe it's so soon into his papcy.

One thing that all religions do not take into account is change. They are not fluid systems, they are rigid and so when things change in a given society, religion does not follow. The Pope Benedict is a shining example of this.

Given the basic element of Islam, that anyone makes claim agaist Islam, a holy war must be declared, Pope Benedict has opened a can of worms. Given the current climate and opinion of Islam, and the Danish cartoons, this will not end any time soon.



On another note apparently according to a new study about religion in America over 92% believe in God or in a Higher Power. Wow

Things are picking up!

Wow things are starting to get busy, who knew that the cold weather could have this sort of effect on things!!

The new season premieres start tonight, first with the Amazing Race. I love this show, it may be a reality TV show but it's the best one out there. It's even got the awards to prove it too! Max's favorite team? The hilbillies from Kentucky. I have to admit it, I like them too! "It's like being a 30-year old newborn with a passport and a ticket to ride!!" It will be interesting though. Given the recent tensions brought on by the Pope it will be interesting to see if there will be any media backlash for the Muslim team that was eliminated right in the middle of a leg!

The (re?)-education of Max has also begun. He made ribs tonight and well he made one hell of a mess with the roasting pan so basically it was me and my paitence which showed him how to get it cleaned up. But all is well in the kitchen again. Mom is on days off so it should be interesting to see what those two will put together for supper.

So here starts week number one of waiting for the results of my tests. I am so nervous, I can't wait to find out. I am also waiting to hear about when I am going to have my surgery. Soon I hope, with the cold weather the last few days I have been noticing that it's more achy, which in turn makes me more bitchy! ;)

Oh the weather outside if frightful!

But everything else is delightful! Afterall Max is here now! We are in the process of getting his degree accredited. Once that happens he can start looking for a job and that ever elusive Labour Marker Opinion.

Nothing new going on AT ALL! It's been a calm week compared to last week. It's nice.
Max and I can't decide what to do for our first wedding anniversary next weekend! I guess we will have to wait and see what the weather is going to do first.

It's bowling night!

Max and I are headed out tonight, yeah the weather isn't very nice but we gotta get out and do something! Tonight is the night. Thursday is our bowling night. It's more for the fun and activity of it all than competition. How ever this concept is rather lost on Max. Oh well!

It's snowing!!!

In the mountains that is!!!

Shout out to Sarunas!!

I haven't seen you in a long time man!!! Anyways it's thanx to him I've started the blog, gotten statcounter figured out, and now I am addicted to Overheard in New York. I wish I would have made more effort to learn Swedish because I am pretty sure I would have heard some very interesting conversations while I was riding the bus in Sweden.

Although I must admit that I have heard a good deal of interesting things in my life time!

Calgary racism gets international attention

A story that Global Calgary did on night club racism is getting some international attention. I just checked youtube.com and found it. There are many things about all this that makes me mad.

Firstly, it gives the perception that Calgary is redneck, and out of the times. This is sad to see. I love Calgary. Calgary has so many cultural dimensions.

Secondly, Calgary is not the only place where this happens. In Sweden this happens quite regularily. When I went to school there, we had a habit of going out on Friday afternoons for what they call "After work", which essentially is happy hour with food. Anyways, some of my classmates had a hard time getting to some places. Take case in point, one of my black friends, who was usually better dressed than the lot of us (dress pants, dress shirt and a tie!!) and was hassled nearly every single time we went out. They usually checked and double checked his passport as identification. Meanwhile here is myself who rarely was checked and when I was I produced my Alberta's drivers licence as identification.

Lastly, I can't understand how people can do this to other people. Sure criticize me for having a horrible personality, or if I was a snob. But to make a decision on one person based on the color of their skin is down right stupid and wrong.

The latest Super 7 winners!

I got home today from work just in time to catch the last few minutes of Global National and seen that the latest winners of the Super 7 were probably some of the most deserving... they are military ladies. They work in the mess hall at CFB Petawawa (hope I spelled that right). Two of the winners have husbands on the front lines in Afganistan.

So in conclusion it is nice to see some people who put their lives on the line just so we can enjoy the little things in life.

Is this the end of summer?

It looks like it is the last of days of summer. It's supposed to get rainy for the next week. Why couldn't be nice until the end of the month, for the sake of the farmers, then again I think that most of them have gotten everything critical done. I know I am evil when I say that I can't wait for the snow. I am probably the only person in the world who doesn't mind getting up in the morning to a whole driveway full of snow and having to shovel it all off.

Yeah I know, I'm evil, I've been told that before! ;)

Sad day.

It was 5 years ago today that I was shocked. It's pretty much the first "where were you when something happened" moment of my life. Where was I? I was in bed, watching the morning news and eating breakfast. I thought at first that it was a movie stunt gone wrong. I'll never forget when the second tower was hit and I realized that something is seriously wrong.

It was 3 years ago today that Anna Lindh, the Swedish foreign minister died of wounds sustained in a stabbing incident in a Swedish department store in Stockholm. That was a shock as well. I'll never forget all the red roses on the Poisideon (i know can't spell) fountain in Goteborg. At least the guy who did it was caught and will serve time.

The unfortunate thing is that in the case of those who perished in 2001 will not see full justice. There are still questions that remain as to who should be responsible for this still unbelievable act.

Something interesting happened in Innisfail!

A bank was robbed! I can't wait to read about it in the paper on Tuesday!

Max comes home today!

Yay!!! I've got a feeling that September is going to fly by fast with all the things that both him and I have to get done.
But then again first things first, I should get the house clean. But that would mean that I would have to get out of bed, and well I am enjoying the fact that I have it all to myself, with exception of course to the small snorning furry thing laying at my feet right now!

It's gotta be the full moon!

First on Wednesday we had a guy in the shop who was paranoid that the US government was after him. He was dead convinced, he could rationalize it sooo well too, that was the scary part!

Then the next day another guy who has been in before, and he spends hours there. He's rambled at me once before, basically it was how we could turn our little small town coffee shop into starbucks! UUMMM NO! On Thursday, he came in again (oh great!). I was busy hanging new pictures and he comes up to me and tells be that those poor cereal farmers don't make as much as the beef producers in this country. OH MY FREAKIN GOD!!!! I don't care! Leave me alone! GO AWAY!!!!

Then this morning I get up and I turn on the radio and I heard that a schizophrenic has escaped the hospital in Red Deer and sent the police on a wild goose chase through Red Deer. Luckily he was convinced to go with the police and they were able to take him to Alberta Hospital Ponoka for further evaluation, and notably better security.

Wow, I am thinking all my courses in Psychology are going to help me with just life in general!! WOW!

I'm THE low bowler!!

Yeah I thought that was rather catchy myself!

Mom called me tonight and asked if Max and I would be interested in joining her bowling team for the season because two of their members dropped out this year because of other committments. So Thursday nights we're bowling!

We have also come to the determination tonight that I can be the low bowler because that will give us an advantage come roll offs! We'll take the competition!! lol

It's for fun and we don't take it as nearly as serious as what some of them do around there! This is Innisfail for christsake!

Jackass 2?

You've got to be kidding me!?!

Oohhhhh!

The knee specialist appointment

So the day has finally come. After bitching and complaining (let's face it, I'm doing alot of it lately!) for about a year now, the time has come. I went to see a knee specialist. He was very nice and very pleasant. He took a look at my knee, played around with my knee cap, which is always so much fun (sarcasm) and also took a look at my MRI. He determined that it was about time that I had a orthoscope to get some of the fluid out of there, get some of the "floaties" (wow, where's that one in my medical terminology dictionary?) out there and smooth out some of the rough cartilage. Nice!!! Just what I was hoping that the doctor would order!

So now I am on an elective surgery waiting list. Which in best case senario would mean that I would be in surgery in November!

YAY!!

Psychological buzzword of the day...

paranoid!

I hate this.

I am so bored right now.

I have to get to bed because I have an early early morning at work tomorrow

Can't sleep and the new sleep meds make a funny taste in my mouth the next day and no amount of drinking helps

Knee specialist appointment at 3 in Red Deer with impossible parking situation

Also have to put together art switch out because the big boss is getting impaitent with me, and well I have no time and no staff to cover me while I work on it

Have to clean our room because Max gets back on Saturday and well I still have remnants of last weeks ear infection scattered about on my side of the bed.

Need to study new study package sent in the mail, ironically enough with my maiden name on the front.

Need to get better fuckin job so I can get to bed at a decent time instead of rambling incessantly on my blog.

Crikey! That's the way I want to go!

I was a bit surpised yesterday morning when Max called to give me a wake up call and told me that Steve Irwin had died. Conversation went something like this:

Max: Have you seen the news this morning?
Me: Ah no, I'm still in bed, why?
Max: You're not going to believe this.
Me: What?
Max: Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray.
Me: What? You're kidding me? I always thought that he would get taken out by a croc but I guess this is the next best thing eh. But then again I betcha he was doing something that he loved.
Max: Yeah.
Me: That would be about the only way to go. Doing something that you love. Or in your sleep.




So here's one for Steve Irwin. Going while doing something that you love. I seriously thought that you were crazy but was always so enthusiastic about what you were doing, and let me tell ya that there aren't alot of people in this world who are doing something that makes them enthusiastic about the world around them. It's a sad loss for that very simple reason.

King Ralph admits he fucked up!

Well, it was old Ralphie's last hurrah at the leg this week. Thank god! 13 years was way too long for that man to be in power for! So he figures that in order to make a lasting impression (most of us have forgotten about the $400 Ralph-bucks cheque) he thought that he better come clean and admit that he was just winging it for the last couple of years. "Alberta's rapid growth "CAME AS A BIT OF A SURPRISE!!!"". Let me see when about 25% of the Atlantic population emigrates to Alberta, it's a bit of a surprise.

GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

I hope the next guy that comes in actually has a brain, and better looking cabinet members, don't even get me started on Iris Evans and her excessive use of eyeliner!

3 solid days, more horrible customers!

It's so hard to please people these days. They have so many expectations, they want more than the other guy. I swear this hyperized capitalism that we exist in is enough to make me go nuts!

He's done!

It's a sad day! Andre Agassi lost his third round match today at the U.S. Open. Pretty sad to see, he's a pretty remarkable guy. One of only 5 men in history to win every grand slam! Wow! I am kinda hoping that he will do a Jimmy Connors comeback in a few years time. That would be so cool!

Oh and if you don't remember the whole Jimmy Connors comeback, think 1992 U.S. Open, I think that he was 39 at the time if I remember right and he made it all the way to the semi-final where he lost to John MacEnroe if I remember correctly!

Bye Andre!

Have I been found out?

Who is "The Boss"?