Friday, December 31, 2004

Fifty mini-bottles of Crown Royal? Check.

Okay, so it's only 30. Seriously, I have 30 little bottles of whiskey. I don't even like whiskey, but if Jon and Rob have taught me anything, it's that I can't ever refuse sauce. I will eventually drink all thirty bottles.
My sister is away, so I thought it would be kind of funny to hide the little bottles all over the house until I'm ready to drink them all. I jammed a bottle into the toaster. I put them in between the cushions on the couch. I hid one under her pillow, so when she comes home she'll think that she was visited by the whiskey fairy. My sister doesn't drink much at all, so she won't drink them when she finds them. There is an added bonus in all of this: one day, a year down the road, I'll be cleaning the house, and I'll find some little bottles in a hiding spot. It will make me so happy.....Yes.

Getting ready for New Year's Eve. I work until 8:30, so I'll probably be home at 9. I'm trying to get some of my stuff together so that it's easier to get out the door tomorrow night. Here is my list I made:

-Brand new pack of name-tags for hilarious fun? Check.
-Huge bottle of champagne? Check.
-Sweet-ass scarf so I can copy Melony? Check.
-Massive bottle of water in the fride to drink before I stumble into bed? Check.
-Tylenol beside my bed for in the morning? Check.
-Mini bottles of liquor in my bag to drink on my way home from work? Check.
-Ultimate mix CD, Volume 3, made especially for New Year's? Check.

Okay, I have to be to work in the morning, so I'm off to bed. Promise some photos of my adventures.

By the way: Ron called me at 1AM from Wyoming and we spoke for an hour. It was pretty nice to hear a familiar american voice. I don't make enough long distance calls, considering that 97% of all of my greatest pals live far, far away from me.

Nicole, have a drink or six for me tonight. I miss getting sauced with you.

Thursday, December 30, 2004

A little bit of razz-ma-tazz. (alternate, less-flamboyant title: The Page looks Dull Without Photos).


Alf and I were having a serious conversation. He broke a window in my house, and when I told him that I was very disappointed in him, he said that I wasn't "cool" anymore.

Here's me and some hot stud I dated for a while in England when I was 17.

Here's Allison, Scott, and I a few years ago on New Year's Eve. We found a packet of ziploc bags at Sal's.

Here's one of my fun photos from a couple of years ago. I hope you like it, I had to kill a guy to get a proper chalk outline to make the photo look so awesome.

Here's an old-school photo of Nicole and I with the original "Cabin Labies Cabin" in '03. My fellow Canadian, Nicole is on the far left (from the east coast), the Lisa (from Sweden), some little puke-face (I think her name was Sarah, and I think she was from Canada or something), Briony (from New Zealand), and KB (from Michigan). For some reason, Vaughn (from NZ) is standing behind us. We were a hot bunch that night.

I promised a great story....

Okay, you should probably get a snack or something, because I'm about to tell you the story of the best party I've ever been to. This story is not to be confused with "The Drunkest I've Ever Been", or "The Best Night at the Bar Ever"....I'll tell those stories eventually. Like I said last night, this story tarnishes my reputation pretty badly, but wow, it was a great party. Anyway, if any of my little under-18 pals read this: do as I say, kids, not as I do. I've been thinking about how to do this story some justice, and I think a timeline formula is probably best. Without further ado:

The Best Party I've Ever Been To (a true story by Sarah Parsons).

A little background:
It's June 6th, 2003 in Victoria, BC. After an entire year of working on our portfolios, all 60 students of the Western Academy of Photography have been forced to hand in our final projects at 9AM. For 24 hours, 7 days a week, we have been living and breathing photography. The stress had been unreal. There were times that we had gone without sleep for days. There wasn't much time for fun, but we needed to get our portfolios in proper shape in order to graduate. We were not normal college kids, there was no time for fun pub-crawls or parties. My point is, we had no way of releasing stress for a year.

My good pal Craig'Er lived in an apartment, but his mom lived in a great little beach house. She kindly let Craig'Er use her house for a get-together for the students of WAP on the afternoon of June 6th, 2003.
This is where our tale begins:

2:30PM- Chris, my good friend and co-inventor of Secretcam Video (the world's greatest hour of shaky, unprofessional footage of our drunken friends hitting on one another), and Aleisha pick me up.
2:45 PM- We go to the liquor store. I make sure to buy enough gin to knock out an elephant.
3:00PM- We arrive at the party. There is a good fire going, and the drinks are already starting to get poured. Maybe only 10 people are there, besides Craig'Er, Chris, Aleisha, and I. There are a few key players in this part of the story (all are my classmates). They are:
*Erin, who was my youngest classmate, was roughly my size, and could drink anyone under the table.
*Steven, who was about 7 feet tall, and would decide he had a huge crush on me every time he got wasted.
*Shaun, a model-type, that Erin had been after (unsuccessfully) for quite some time.
4:00PM- I am already wasted. Not just a little wasted, but really, really wasted.
4:30PM- Erin challenges Steven to a race out to a buoy in the middle of the ocean. It is June, but the water temperature is just above freezing. Steven wins.
4:45PM- I laugh at Erin for being all wet.
4:46PM- Erin tries to drag me into the water. I resist with all my might, causing sand to fly everywhere. Shaun begins to laugh, and a bunch of people start arriving, which makes Erin try even harder to pull me in.
5:05PM- After wrestling on the beach for what seemed like an eternity, Erin finally drags me into the water.
5:06PM- Erin and I decide to take a quick swim with our clothes on. As we walk out of the water, the crowd applauds.
5:10PM- Erin and I are freezing. We jump in the shower. When we are finished, there is 3 inches of sand in the bottom of the tub. We put on some of Craig'Er's sister's old clothes, and put our normal clothes in the dryer. I am now wearing green sweatpants and an actual old-school hypercolor t-shirt (remember those?).
5:11PM- I realize that I have already lost my underpants.
6:00PM- Almost the whole school has arrived. I decide that I need to drunkenly barbecue some food.
6:05PM- I decide that I'm not a good cook when I'm trashed. We call for pizza.
7:00PM- My entire school is at the party. It's now dark outside, and people are all around the fire. Being a bunch of photo students, there are cameras everywhere.
8:00PM- All of the students with any form of musical talents have begun to form some sort of drunken band. I am dancing like a madwoman.
8:10PM- A bunch of our instructors arrive.
8:15PM- I run around telling each of the 60 students, individually, how much I love them (sometimes more than once, as I was so drunk that I kept forgetting things).
10:30PM- Erin and I decide that we need to streak through the party. We forget that 90% of the people have cameras.
10:32PM- We put our clothes back on. We look at photo after photo of us running naked on the beach. We don't realize that, although these people love us, we will be teased relentlessly afterward for our drunken exploits. Keep in mind that everyone else is quietly sitting around a fire, being responsible party-goers.
11:00PM- Craig'Er tells me that he has something to show me up near the road. Chris, the designated driver of the night, was 100% sober, but decided to follow along. We walk up the stairs to the highway, and Craig'Er screams out "We're going streaking!!!" Craig'Er and I were obsessed with "Old School", so it only seemed natural at the time. We take off all of our clothes, and jog along the highway for a bit.
11:05PM- We begin to put our clothes back on.
11:05 and 1/2 PM- The cops arrive. Craig'Er and I are just putting our clothes back on, and Chris is standing there watching everything. The cop smiles, shakes his head, and says "Just tell your friends to keep it down, okay?"
12AM- Erin and I decide to get a ride home in Steven's truck. However, there is not room in the cab of the truck, as he is also driving Shaun and Adrian home. We decide to lay in the back of the truck (keep in mind, it is probably about 2 degrees outside) and watch the stars. Erin spend the whole time screaming into the cab that she loves Shaun and she is going to marry Shaun.
12:15AM- Shaun gets dropped off. He gets out of the truck and says "Here Erin, we can't get married, but you can keep my sweater".
12:30AM- Erin and I make Steven take the long way to my place. We are starting to enjoy the ride.
12:45AM- Steven drops me off and says "Maybe you should drink some water before bed".

About a week later, we all graduated. I went up to each one of my instructors and apologized for forcing them to see me naked more than once in a night. Then, I had to explain to my family that during the end-of-the-year slideshow, they would probably see some photos of me in some, ummmm, compromising positions. Although they did show some photos of the night, and they were quite obviously photos of Erin and I naked, they were tastefully cropped for public viewing. We were also mentioned in the year-end poem that my good pal Jimmy wrote.
At the Western Academy of Photography, I will not be remembered for taking amazing photos. Oh no, I will forever be remembered as the student that let out a year's worth of pent-up stress in one night.




Wednesday, December 29, 2004

One last thing before bed.

Thank you a million times to Allison, the greatest best friend in the world, for picking me up after work tonight at 11:30. She read on here that I wasn't feeling too great, so she drove all the way across town to my work so that I wouldn't have to walk home.
You're the coolest, Allison!

Oh dear.

When I first got up this morning, I was like "Wow, Sarah, how did you manage to avoid the potential worst hangover ever?"
I felt pretty darn great.
Then I realized that I was up for half of the night, so I should probably go back to bed for a bit. When I got up, I realized that I had still been drunk the first time I got up. The hangover was beginning to hit. I went to work at 3PM, and my boss kept giving me those little mini liquor bottles to take home, and normally I'd be sooo excited...Free booze! However, my stomach was really pissed at me, so I just put them in my bag and tried not to think about liquor, even though it was all around me all day.

Here is what my family fed me last night:
-6 glasses of wine.
-2 cups of Bailey's and coffee
-2 B-52's
-1 Black Russian
-1 Bon-A-Licious (Bonnie, my not-quite-stepsister, invented this shot...I think it was vodka, Irish cream, and Godiva Liqueur)
-1 Gin and Tonic (1/2 gin, 1/2 tonic...The way I like it)

Crazy.

I heard from my old photo-school pal, Craig Wilson, today. Craig (or Craig'Er, as he liked to be called), was one of my favorite kids ever. He's a bit older than me, lives in Victoria, and is an awesome actor. Craig'Er is one of the few people I've ever met that can keep up with my Seinfeld references. Craig'Er also threw the best party I've ever been to. I will tell that story tomorrow, and you won't be disappointed. It is a magical story, trust me. It tarnishes my name pretty good.


Don't forget to check back tomorrow, seriously.

By the way, go download some MC Chris, you hosers.
While you're at it, buy me an MC Chris shirt. Please? I'm kidding, a MC Chris sticker would be good enough.....

Once again, I'm kidding. I hope one day I can make a friend named "MoneyBags St. Claire". He would buy me things all day. I'd be like "Are you sure, MoneyBags? You already bought me three I-Pods this week!" He'd be like "No problem. You should buy four copies of Old School on DVD". His hair would be green, and he would carry a sack with a dollar sign on it.

Love you guys! Have a good sleep.


Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Let's be serious for a second.

Okay, so I'm still sauced out of my mind, but I've passed out for a few hours, and now I'm spelling better than I was (I now only mis-spell every fourth word)....I'm taking that as a good sign.
Hey! So, you should probably download this short film that I found online. It's about 17 minutes long, so even if you're on a fast connection like me, it takes a minute or so to download, but it's totally worth it.
It's called "Farm Sluts", but it's not what you think it is. Trust me on this one. Even if you still live with your mommy, you can still watch this one. It's not really dirty at all. It stars Chris Parnell, of SNL fame, and is one of the best shorts I've seen in a while.
Download it here.

Wow. I am so glad I don't work until 3PM tomorrow. I am not going to feel well in the morning.

Monday, December 27, 2004

Whoa.

Sooooo sauced. Haven't been this crazy-sauced since camp. I'm mis-spelling every second word, and I pride myself on my immaculate spelling, when I'm not sauced. Why does my step-family insist on getting me wasted every night that I go over to their house? Crrrraaaaazzzyyyy. Will write more on this tomorrow when I'm in my right mind. Got to go to bed right now...Not feeling so good (although I am the only CLC member in two years that hasn't puked during a crazy night of drinking). Night!

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Boxing Day.

For all of my American pals, Boxing day is the equivalent of your day-after-Thanksgiving. It's a day where most people go shopping. However, I'm not about to brave the sales at the mall.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. My sister, mom, uncle, not-quite-stepdad, and I got together at about 4PM. A pretty fun bunch of kids, so I knew the night would be decent. We're not a normal family, christmas-wise. We don't really "do" the whole presents thing, although I did get a sweet new backpack from my grandma that lives in Ontario. Christmas is all about having a strange meal with my strange family members. Anyway, we had Ukrainian food this year (sometimes we have Greek, or Ethiopian, or Chinese). My family doesn't really drink, but last night was a bit of an exception. Lawrence, my not-quite-stepdad, pulls out about 20 bottles and starts playing bartender. He's mixing drinks like that time Duncan Fong got behind the bar at Ditto's for the first time. By the end, Lawrence, my Uncle Dale, and I are all pretty sauced. We spend the rest of the night telling old family stories to Lawrence, and my stomach hurts today from laughing so hard.

My dad called my mom's house last night, he's starting to sound like an Irishman. His "r" sound is harder now. I already can't wait to go see him... I just have to make some money to get over there first.

I'm going to Chinatown today, and then I'm going back to my mom's tonight, as my not-quite-stepsister, Bonnie, is coming in from Winnipeg.

Hope you all had a good holiday.

Saturday, December 25, 2004

It's the holidays, sucka.

So, however you celebrate, have yourself a nice time. Okay?

All my love to you guys. I miss you all a ton.

Friday, December 24, 2004

Geee-mail!!

Mmmkay. So, last night I got an invite to open a gmail account. Gmail is this email server that is *get this* invite only.....It's like the champagne room of email accounts. Anyway, Emily Eddy, who runs one of the greatest sites in the universe, porkdisco.com, gave me an invite.
Having a gmail account is kind of like that time when you were a little kid and you decided to go into your mom's purse when she wasn't looking. In the end, nobody would actually care if you looked in her purse, and it really wasn't that fantastic, but there was a certain thrill in being somewhere that you probably shouldn't be. People like me don't normally have such top-notch email accounts (we prefer to use hotmail, thank you very much).

Anyway, if you want my awesome new gmail address, then just ask on the comment forum, and I'll send it to you.

Thanks, Emily, for a world-class email account. You are a great gal.

Night, and have a good holiday.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Hacking isn't funny.

So, Ron's site, one of my favorite things in the world, was hacked. This is not cool, and it is not funny. In fact, it makes me pretty sad, as Ron is a top-notch guy.

Here is a list of things that are funnier than hacking into an awesome site and wrecking everything:

-Skeletor.
-This photo.
-Mr. T
-That time last week when Allison and I drove past a McDonalds, and the dude behind the counter was wearing a black tank top instead of his uniform.
-The time when I was eight, and Vanilla Ice was on 'Circus of the Stars', and he was going to ride his motorcycle through a ring of fire. For some reason, they put him and his motorcycle in this huge freezer for an hour (I guess they thought that if he was cold, he wouldn't burn as quickly), and when he came out, he said "The Iceman is cool as Ice" in this really strange way. Then, he jumped through the ring of fire, and this woman came up to him with a microphone, and asked him how it went. All he said was "Whoa. Dat was hot."
Circus of the Stars is funny, period.
-How about NOT hacking into Ron's site? Pretty sure that's funnier than doing something that sucks that badly.

Let's recap:
1) I'm really sad that Ron's site is down.
2)Ron is great.
3)Hackers are not great.


I love yoooooouuuuu PhotoShop. When I was in school, sometimes I would stay overnight to finish up projects. I would spend hours and hours on PhotoShop, trying to get things right. I would get so tired. So now, when I can't sleep, I just play around in PhotoShop until I'm good and tired. Works every time. I used a pretty cool charcoal filter, stripped all of the color out of the photo, and messed with the contrast. It wasn't my best work, or, for that matter, good work at all, but it put me riiiiiight to sleep.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

An apology.

Nicole got her package yesterday morning. So, for all of those times that I said that Canada Post was "less than diligent", or "a bunch of crack whores", or " a pile of dinosaur puke", I am sorry. I officially retract all of the times that I said they were "not good at their jobs", "slow as a dead snail", or " a group of stupid bastards".

I deeply apologize for everything, Canada Post (for now).


I likes the pizza.

I got home from work at about midnight tonight. I decide that I needed some pizza. I didn't want pizza, I needed pizza. So, I tried calling about 30 different places, but apparently, they don't think I'm very awesome, because they weren't answering my calls (or maybe they are all jerks that go to bed way too early on a Tuesday night). Still, I wasn't about to give up....Oh, no.
Finally, I call Pizza 73. I think Pizza 73 may be considered the K-Mart of pizza places, but that didn't stop me. When they answered the phone, I yelled "YES!!"
The guy on the other end of the line was a little shaken up by my greeting, but in the end, those guys really came through for me. At 12:50AM, I finally got my pizza, and let me tell you: it was damn fine pizza.

I have started downloading and watching "SeaLab 2021". If you have ever been anywhere near Camp Awosting or Tom Degnan, then you need to download and watch the episode entitled "Radio Free", where the phrase "drop the hammer" is used 3 times in 11 minutes. You can check out the transcript for this episode here.

3 more work days, and then I get a sweet-ass 3-day weekend. Pretty sure it doesn't get much better than that....Except for a 4-day weekend, that would definitely be better. I even think that christmas is a paid day off for me. Getting paid to do nothing? Yes, please.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Jakey, the snow-monster.


It snowed a bit tonight (notice the snowflakes all over Jacob after a quick trip outside), so it was a good night to sit by my little fireplace.

Two days off.

So, I've been off for the past two days, and they've been pretty relaxing.

First of all, Allison picked me up from work on Saturday night, and we went to Chris and Shauna's house, where I proceeded to drink an entire glass of Bailey's....Straight up irish cream (all part of my 'Weight Gain 4000' plan). Then, Chris proceeded to skateboard on this impossible ramp in their basement, and he kept falling really hard. After that, he spend half an hour showing us his messed-up shoulder. Allison was pretty freaked out by all of the shoulder talk, so we all went upstairs. We downloaded some Vanilla Ice, in various forms, such as a Jim Carrey parody from 'In Living Color', and a mash-up of 'Ice Ice Baby' and 'The Real Slim Shady'. Here's the crazy part: when we leave the house and get back into the car, we turn on the radio, and it's playing Queen's 'Under Pressure', which was the sample used in 'Ice Ice Baby'. It was a crazy coincidence, and I was a bit sauced, so it seemed even crazier than it actually was.

Last night, Allison brought over 'Best of Will Ferrell, Volume II' to continue from the previous Sunday. We went to 7-11, and I got the best nachos that ever existed (once again, trying to pack on the pounds).

Seriously, I just want to get back to my normal weight....The weight that makes me recognizable to everyone. Most times, when people lose weight, they look better than before. I just look....Different.
You'd think it wouldn't be that hard to gain weight, but apparently it is, because it's definitely not working for me. It's crazy. I think I need to invent a meal between breakfast and brunch. I also need to stop drinking water and start drinking beer and whipping cream. Here's my problem: I want to go back to my normal Sarah size, but I don't want to give myself heart failure in the process. I'm trying to keep to high-fat healthy foods, such as almonds and avocados, but maybe I need to suck it up and eat more cake. Here's the other problem: my job is a constant work-out, so I'm burning calories like crazy all day. I like the fact that I'm getting stronger (you know, so if I ever had to fight Skeletor in a dark alley, I could put up a decent fight), but I don't want to lose anymore weight!
...I don't know, maybe I do look better thinner, but it sure doesn't feel that way.

To be fair, it's only 15 pounds, so it's not like it's the biggest change in the world. It's just weird...The last time I was this thin, I was in high school. I think my body pretty much looks the same, but my waist, thighs, and bum are a bit thinner. It's my face that bothers me. It's not as round anymore. You think there's a way to gain weight in my head only? That is just what I need, some sort of weight-gain in just my face.

Night!

Monday, December 20, 2004


...Couldn't sleep, so I took one of the photos that my sister shot today, and got acquainted with my old pal photoshop. My face is looking too thin. I don't like this whole weight loss thing....I've been trying to get back to my original weight. Trying really, really hard. It turns out that pie actually is a food group, and it's more important than dairy products, breads and cereals, and meat and meat alternatives combined. It seems like no matter how hard I try, the weight keeps coming off. I've lost at least 15 pounds since camp, and I don't like it one bit. Will write more about this later.

Today my sister discovered the 'zoom' feature on my camera. I don't look too impressed, but I really was! Will write tomorrow on all of my adventures from my two-day weekend, but right now, bed seems like a good idea.

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Sometimes walking home isn't fun.

Tonight, my walk home was extra scary. I've just started to be a bit more comfortable with my late-night trek, but tonight was not a good time. I usually walk for nine blocks on a busy road, then walk 7 blocks on a quiet street. Normally, on the busy street, I don't pass by many other people. Tonight, it seemed like there was a million people out, and every second one was a crazy hobo that just broke out of prison. On my walk down the quiet street, I normally don't see many cars, and the cars I see just speed right past me. Tonight, there was a ton of cars out, and all of them were slowing down when they passed by me. As well, two different cars pulled up right in front of me and parked. I half-expected the people to jump out and kidnap me. I really should have taken a cab tonight.

Today, Jared signed a contract to be the Waterfront Director at Chinqueka. We'll all miss him so much this summer, but I bet he'll have a great experience. When I arrived in Connecticut two years ago, I thought I was going to be teaching at Chinqueka. It turned out that I would be at Awosting for the summer. I didn't realize what a wonderful experience it would be. If anything, I have more respect for Jared now than ever. After my two summers at Awosting, I don't know if I could make the switch to Chinqueka. I've taught myself how to deal with little boys, and I'm not sure I'd know how to properly deal with all of the little girls. I'm not saying that I couldn't do it, but I don't think I'd flourish in the same way as I do at Awosting. Teaching and living at a camp that is predominantly of the opposite sex is certainly a learning experience...My two summers at the boy's camp taught me more about the male gender than all of my other years on the planet combined.
I, for one, am really proud of Mr. Hubschman.

I'm just about to go to bed, but before I do, I think some appreciation is long overdue to two important things in my life....When I get home from work, I'm hungry. Not just a little bit hungry, either. Really, really hungry. I need nourishment and refreshment like you would not believe. Without further ado, I'd just like to thank Eggo waffles for never letting me down, and Minute Maid for making such consistently delicious juice. You guys mean more to me than you'll ever know.

Night!

Friday, December 17, 2004

My dad is outstanding.

So, as many of you know, my dad has moved over to Ireland. He's only been gone about a month, but I miss him like crazy. People really don't understand when I tell the that my dad is an awesome guy.

The following is an e-mail that I just recieved from him a few minutes ago (I should preface this by saying that my childhood nickname was 'P', and my parents still use it to this day):


Hey P,

Check this out, I saw it on TV recently and immediately thought of you:

http://www.emerchandise.com/product/KCMRT0001/s.84GlwL2s

Love,
Dad




See? What a great guy! I love you too, dad.

Thursday, December 16, 2004

The statistics don't lie:

# of creepy-looking guys I see on a nomal night that are carrying a garbage bag filled with, I'm 98% sure, a human head: 0.

# of creepy-looking guys I saw tonight that were carrying a garbage bag filled with, I'm 98% sure, a human head: 2.

I don't get it.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Real mail!!!!

So, I got a pretty amazing package today. Two amazing packages in a month? I must be dreaming....
First, there was Nicole's package, full of east-coast goodies. Today, it was a package from Miss Melony B, full of some pretty great stuff. A postcard from her trip to Italy, a huge red lifesaver, which was immediately consumed, a scarf, similar to the one she wore around camp last summer, and an amazing cd.

Let's talk about the cd for a minute: it was full of CLC and camp memories. For example, remember when the CLC was going to school the chinqueka girls in a dance-off, so we kept listening to Usher's "Yeah" over and over to think of some moves? That's right, the cd has "Yeah" on it. Remember when Justin Timberlake became a staple at late-night CLC dance parties? Yep, definitely some Timberlake on the cd. Remember when Melony came back from her family reunion, and we put on "Cecilia" and did some CLC bonding? Remember when Nicole, Melony, and I were singing "Stacy's Mom" in the line to get into the drama production? I sure do.
Of course, the entire CD begins with "Brick House". What awosting cd (made after summer 2004) could be without it?

Anyway, I put the cd in my discman and walked to work. I was standing at the corner of 16th Avenue and Centre Street (a very busy intersection) and actually applauding as the songs came on.

Anyway, the point of the story is that I like mail.

Thanks, Melony!!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Sarah Parsons.....Supermodel???

So, I get a call from my good friend Aleisha Thomas today. Aleisha is one of my favorite people of all time, and one of the best photographers I've ever met. Unfortunatly, she lives quite far away from me in Campbell River, BC. I miss her so much! Anyway, she says to me "Promise you won't be mad?"
"Okay", I say, expecting the worst. She explained to me that she made some new business cards, and used a photo that she had taken of me a couple of years back. No big deal, right? Still, it's funny that my photo will be circulating all over Canada on these little business cards. I don't exactly remember the photo in question, but she's sending me some copies, so I'll scan them and post them up when they arrive.

A couple of things I'm excited about:
- White Noise . I love a good scary movie, and I think this might be awesome. It's all about EVP, which is a scary subject if I've ever seen one. I've been reading up on it, and am pretty terrified with what I've found so far (and I like to think that I'm pretty tough when it comes to scary stuff).

-The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The world needs more Wes Anderson.

-Camp. Why won't summer just arrive?

-The fact that I got all of my shopping done today. My family is not big on christmas, so it was pretty easy to do, but it's still good to be done.


I will be 23 in exactly one month...Scary thought.


Monday, December 13, 2004

A lazy night.


Tonight, we watched my camp DVD and SNL-Best of Will Farrell...It was top-notch entertainment. We also went to 7-11 twice in three hours, drank free coffee, and Allison bought and ate a slim jim, which made me laugh for hours...Don't ask me why.

Allison and I tried to take this photo in my living room (where a bunch of creepy activity has been taking place), and my flash wouldn't fire. You can just barely see us in the photo....Maybe if you look closely enough, you'll find my ghost buddy lurking in the backround...Or maybe not.

If you didn't stop to look at this photo, you probably wouldn't notice Jacob in front of Allison. Allison is Jake's favorite visitor.

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Just thought of something...

If Rob is not joining us this summer, then who will be a vegetarian with me at camp? Chris the chef won't cook me good things if I'm the only one. Last year he had to cook for three of us, and although we ate a massive amount of veggie burgers, the meals were pretty okay. So, unless a certain Mr. Matthew Degnan decides to join us for the summer, then I just may have to suck it up and be a carnivore at camp this year.

A side note: although I kept vegetarian at camp last summer, I often cheated on my days off. Sorry, animals.

A pretty decent night.

When I was growing up in Calgary, I always thought about how badly I wanted to leave. I said that it was a boring city, and there was nothing there for me. Tonight, I officially retract my statement. I've been back for almost 4 months, and although I live so far away from so many people that I love and care about, my family is here, and there are greater opportunities here than anywhere else right now. Plus, let's talk chinooks for a second: a chinook is a warm wind that comes over the mountains. Chinooks usually happen in the middle of a cold snap, and are a common occurrence in Calgary. For instance, the other day it was -26C. Tonight, when I was walking home at midnight, it was 9C. I wasn't scared walking home tonight...The wind was warm, the snow is melting, and the air smelled like what I hope the air smells like in heaven.

Work was very easy tonight. It was the store's 11th anniversary, and when I arrived, they told me I'd be the hostess for the evening. However, they had not informed me of this prior to my arrival, so I was dressed in my normal clothes. They decided that it would be better if I looked a bit fancier, so this one girl that lives right beside the store runs to her house to get me an outfit. She brought back several dresses, and the store's management decided that they would like to see me in the dress that looked most like a prom dress. So, my job tonight was to hang out in a prom dress and give customers wine glasses for eight hours.

I laughed a lot tonight at work. The following is an actual exchange of words between my friend Nikki and a customer (I actually have friends at work now...It's so exciting!):

The scene: There are two girls on the cash registers, Jaymie and Nikki. Jaymie has 4 people lined up, and Nikki has no one. Nikki tries to call a younger girl and her friend to her till.

Nikki: I can help you over here!
Girl: No thanks, we don't like your till.

(Nikki looks over at me and makes a face....The girl was so rude to Nikki. The girl and her friend begin to exit the store, but spot our bulletin board with a picture of a guy that we caught shoplifting.)

Girl: (looking at photo) Who's this?
Nikki: Your dad.

(Girl leaves store, and everyone, including managers, cracks up). Man, it was classic.

So, from what I hear, Jon and Rob won't be joining us for another summer at sunny Camp Awosting. This makes me sad, but I'm also happy for them, as they are going to teach in Taiwan. I think Nicole and I know what we have to do...We need to step into the role, and be the craziest canadians we can possibly be. So far, it's just Nicole, Jared, Chris, and I going for sure this year, although Melony e-mailed me and said that she's pretty sure she'll be there. I'm already looking forward to another great summer in the photo cabin.

I mailed packages for Nicole and Matt D today, some pretty great stuff inside.

Gonna eat some pasta, download some Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and have a bath before bed. Night!



Friday, December 10, 2004

Enough is enough.

Today, I walked into the Subway behind my work. The girl behind the counter sees me and says "6-inch veggie on brown?"
I look down, and sheepishly say "yes".

I need to stop going to Subway so much.

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Random Ramblings.

Today I put on my brave face and walked to work. There's a certain amount of prestige in walking to work when it's really chilly out...Automatic toughness.

They're giving me some pretty solid hours at work over the next two weeks. Yesterday, Graham, my good friend from 6th grade wandered into the store. It was a pretty funny reunion.

I had some coffee today at about 5PM, and I'm still buzzing....No word on whether I'll actually get to bed tonight or not. With a 90lb dog stretched out on my bed (snoring loudly), I'm not sure there would be room for me anyway.

Listened to my ultimate mix-cd today, and realized that it was not ultimate enough....Began work on ultimate mix-cd volume II....

Will write more tomorrow, hopefully I'll actually have something to say by then.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

It's time to face the facts:

After a few years in balmy British Columbia, I have become a cold-weather wuss. Today, it was -17C (-26C with windchill), and I was so afraid of the cold that I took a cab to work (which is only a 25-minute walk). For all of you americans, -26C is the equivalent of -15F. The stupid part is that it will get even colder...I'm not ready for that.

Monday, December 06, 2004

Kool-Aid: It Might Be Good For You

So, I'm still not feeling well...At all.
My mom stops by today, and hands me some medicine. She also hands me something else....I look up at her and ask "What's this?" She says to me "It's Kool-Aid, it might be good for you right now."
Those who know my mom know that she has never, ever said that Kool-Aid "might be good" for someone. She is a health-nut. Anyway, it's lime-flavoured, and I'm sure it's delicious, so I'll probably have some in a bit.

I've become very shaky. I think I should get a job at the paint store as a paint-can shaker. Tomorrow I am going back to work no matter what. I'm bored out of my mind at home.

Okay, as promised, here are a few awesome links:

- X-Entertainment . No, It's not what it sounds like. It's safe for all to view, and it's a spectacular site.

-Andy Milonakis' videos . Andy is probably one of the funniest guys on the planet.

-Mr T. vs Everything . It's impossible not to love Mr. T.

-What Would Uncle Jesse Do? You need to look at this site. Just trust me on this one.

-Diesel Dreams . Okay, so it's an ad campaign, but the site is full of strange and wonderful short films.

-Kontraband . Just check this one out....It takes a minute to load, so be patient.

-Largehearted Boy's Best Albums of '04 . Wow, some really great downloads.

Guess that's all for now.

Today, I leave you with a paragraph that I found about mix-tapes:

"It's a distinct and painful memory shared by music lovers of a certain age. You spend a couple hours recording a wicked awesome mix tape for a friend, or a lover, or (most often) someone in the uncertain terrain between. You fill it with songs cunningly chosen to simultaneously bare your heart and play it cool. You nervously hand it over—"Yeah, no big deal, but I made you this." Two weeks later, you ask how much she loved it, and when she shrugs, you feel a hot flush of shame. Face it: Your mix tape sucks."

Kinda sums it up nicely, doesn't it?


Sick again.

Normally, I'd update this thing every day, no problem. However, I've been in bed with the stomach flu for two days! I don't know why I'm getting sick so much this year, there was one time that I didn't vomit for almost 3 years (this was in early high school, before I began to drink). I felt awesome on Friday night, but when I got up on Saturday, I had a fever of 102, and I was puking so much that I ended up sleeping on the washroom floor for a while. This was one of those times where I wish that my mom lived with me (she only lives about 10 block away, but still) because I am a huge wuss when I am sick. I still can't keep any fluids in me....I don't know what is going on, it can't be food poisoning, can it? I don't really eat anything that could give me food poisoning. On Friday, I ate 4 big shredded wheat biscuits (with hot water poured over them), some roasted almonds, knorr vegetable soup, some rice crackers, an orange, a banana, and some pita bread. Where did I go wrong? I don't know, but it sure sucks.

I'm tired of being in bed. I was supposed to work on Saturday night, which would have been awesome, and I was supposed to hang out with some of my work pals tonight, but I couldn't. Mind you, it's -15C outside right now, so maybe I don't want to go outside that badly.

The biggest problem is that I don't want to lose any more weight...I know I'm not thin by any stretch of the imagination, but I've been steadily losing weight, and I don't like it one bit. Being sick is making me lose more weight, and that sucks. It took me years to finally get comfortable with myself, I don't want to have to start all over again. Plus, I don't want to have to buy new pants.

My MSN messenger has been weird lately...It keeps signing me in when I'm not here. I don't get it. So, if you see that I'm online, but I'm not answering back, don't take it personally.

I've been talking to Jared via e-mail for the past couple of days. I really miss him, and am glad that things are getting resolved with his contract. Jared is one of the best people I know for advice. I'm already excited to see him again this summer!

Last week, Tyler e-mailed me a few hilarious links. I think tomorrow I will list a bunch of links of my own.

Anyway, must be off to bed...The gravol I've taken is beginning to knock me out.
Night!


Saturday, December 04, 2004

A recap of Thursday night's events:

-Allison comes over
-I finish getting ready, because I'm never ready when Allison arrives.
-We leave.
-We drive to Crescent Hill, and try to get photos of the moon.
-We fail miserably...This is a reason why film is much better than digital. A regular point-and-shoot camera can capture night shots with the proper film ISO (1600 or 3200). Most point-and-shoot digital cameras (even higher-end ones, such as a Sony Cybershot) only go up to an 800 ISO...Not good for night shots.
-We try to take a photo of us on the hill.
-We fail miserably again (see results below).
-We take the usual drive through downtown (down 17th Ave and up 1st street), listening to Atmosphere (as usual).
-We get hungry.
-Decide to go to Denny's, as we think it's the only thing that's open.
-We are wrong.
-We see that Boston Pizza is open.
-We decide to eat in the lounge.
-We order drinks (Coke for Allison, double G and T for me).
-We order what is now officially known as "the worst dessert ever".
-Our waiter sucks.
-We give up on our dessert. It sucks.
-Our waiter still sucks.
-I order another G and T.
-We get our bill. We tip accordingly.
-Allison and I play a hilarious prank on waiter. Not a mean prank, a hilarious prank. (unfortunately, I am not at liberty to discuss the prank...All I can say is that the waiter probably had a very hard time getting to bed that night...I'm sure he tossed and turned a lot.)
-We leave Boston Pizza...Really quickly.
-We laugh about prank in the car, and waiter runs out, trying to catch us before we go.
-We laugh some more.
-We turn on the radio.
-We keep switching the stations...Finally, we catch the Hieroglyphics on CJSW. Radio almost always sucks, so when you find such an amazing song, it is a pretty spectacular thing.
-Allison drops me off.

It was a pretty classic night. Allison and have a lot of fun doing nothing.

Now go download some Hieroglyphics, seriously!


I like this photo of Allison and I for so many reasons. First of all, we're both in our own little worlds. Second of all, notice the bat and surfboard hanging in front of us. I'm wearing my new grandma sweater, and my "I need supervision" shirt. Fun times.

Allison took this photo of me in front of Boston Pizza.

This is proof that even photo-majors can take horrible photos. Allison and I wanted to take some photos of us on Crescent Hill, so we set my camera on a bench...It didn't work very well.

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Can't sleep...

Too much on my mind, I guess...

Plus, someone kept heavily dragging their feet in my living room. I'm not naming any names, but I'm in my bedroom, and my sister is in bed...Ghost buddy, I'm nodding in your direction...Maybe try to keep the foot-dragging to a minimum at 4AM, mmm-kay? Thanks.

Also, my sister came home sauced out of her mind, so I'm being a good sister and checking up on her a whole bunch...I've been waking her up every hour to have a glass of water, as she has to be to work at 9AM.

Work is pretty fun, and I'm not just saying that...The pay is horrible, but the job is so easy that it doesn't matter.

Hornets are bad-ass. Nature is awesome.

Nicole, I am sending off your package soon. It will be pretty exciting.

I don't have to work tomorrow, but maybe it's a good idea to try and get some sleep.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

No longer working 9 to 5...

I am really enjoying my strange new schedule. For example, today I worked from 5PM-1AM. I quite enjoyed this shift, as it was a quiet and easy night. The only thing that I'm not crazy about is walking home at 1AM. I can't help but to be a little scared when I walk between the pools of street light. To combat my fears, I usually bring my discman, and crank up some gangsta rap. That way, I can pretend that Dr. Dre has "got my back" on the 30-minute walk home.

I ate some really horrible stuff today. For breakfast, I had some bagged salad that was past it's prime. For lunch, I had the same salad (I bought the salad about a week ago, but I forgot that one person probably can't handle such a massive amount of salad). For dinner, I had some supermarket sushi. Supermarket sushi is never good, this is one thing I know for sure (check out this entry for more things I know for sure). However, I was at work, and I was really hungry, so I ran over to Safeway. I thought to myself "There's no way they can screw up a cucumber roll...It's just rice, cucumber, and seaweed." I was so wrong.

Okay, must get into bed, I have to be at work at noon tomorrow, but I have a bunch of errands to run in the morning. Night!

Monday, November 29, 2004

Girls, girls, girls (of the awosting variety).


This is one of my favorite photos of the summer. All it's missing is some Sara D action, and a certain Miss Nicole B...Otherwise, it's such a nice photo. Ah...Memories.

Got my contract today...

Consider it signed and sent back.

Someone has been trying to get into my e-mail account, and that makes me sad. I've changed the password and security question so that maybe it will be untouchable for a while. Still, I'm sad.

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Copying the ultimate mix-cd is more stressful than you'd expect.


I've finally gotten my sister into photography! Okay, so it's digital photography (and we all know how I feel about that), but it's still cool that she's finally picking up my camera sometimes. She took this photo while I was extra-absorbed in making copies of the most ultimate mix-cd I've ever made. It was hard work, as I take my mix-cds very seriously.
Night!

Contract Anxiety.

I heard through the grapevine that Tom Degnan got his contract in the mail the other day. I had forgotten that it was that time of year. Now, I'm all worried that I won't get one....I mean, I'm pretty sure that Buzz likes me, so I shouldn't be so worried, but it sure would be horrible if I didn't get one. I would be so upset. So, for the next couple of weeks, I'll be waiting nervously by the mailbox.

Allison and I are happy girls, even though it's getting colder outside.

A lazy saturday night.


Our night pretty much consisted of doing nothing. We went over to Amy and Ray's for a bit, and went out to Wal-Mart to get some CDs for making ultimate mix-cds (I know I shouldn't go there, but the deals....I can't escape the great bargains.)

Wow. Allison's car is pretty hot.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Yesterday.....

...Was "Buy Nothing Day". Learn more about it here. I'm glad to say that I resisted all urges and kept my wallet full (of the entire contents of $14.32). Be sure to participate next year!

Although it's been taken down, someone posted some really horrible things on Ron's Awosting message board. It's safe to say that this person, whoever they are, sucks at life pretty badly. Not cool at all.



Thursday, November 25, 2004

To all of my american friends...Happy Thanksgiving!!!



This photo is funny. My sister took it today when she was fooling around with my camera... I was talking to the dog about eating turkey...Even though Canada's Thanksgiving is in October.

Had a dream last night...

...A great dream about camp. Sometimes, memories get pushed into the back of my head, and I forget about them for a while. Last night, one of these memories came to me while I was dreaming.

This summer, on the 4th of July, Awosting had a social. I think most counselors look forward to socials, as it's pretty much one huge meat-market for the kids and adults. However, if you are an Awosting girl, then socials are a bit boring. We see the guys all day, so it's not really anything exciting for us. I totally understand how the Chinqueka girls must get excited, they don't see the guys much at all. Anyway, it's interesting to watch....For a while. Then it gets pretty dull.
It was starting to get dark outside, so we snuck a few kids out of the social (including the amazing Mr. Banfield) and sat on the benches at the waterfront and watched the fireworks instead of staying for the end, where the big kids all try to "get some". The fireworks were going off, I had the awesome members of the CLC with me (plus a few other counselors), some great kids were sitting quietly with us, and it was one of the warmest nights of the summer. I remember sitting there and thinking that the moment couldn't have been any more perfect.

Wow. Nice memory.

Just a quick note, Nicole informed me that people couldn't post comments on the site, but I unlocked it, and now everyone can comment until they're blue in the face!

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

You can't make this stuff up.

Some good stuff happened today.

First of all: goodbye to my old, horrible job...Hello to my liquor store dream-job!

Today, I saw Lanny McDonald. If you were a child in the 80's in Calgary, then you definitely know about Lanny McDonald. If you don't know who he is, then learn about him here. Seriously, I didn't like hockey at all as a child, but Lanny was still my hero for one reason: he had the hugest moustache I'd ever seen. Wow. Anyway, I was happy to see that he was still rocking the massive 'stache....He was also drinking a very small coffee.

For the second day in a row, I walked past the HMV (music store), and everyone inside was rocking out to Neil Young. Not even joking, people were fully rocking out in the middle of a store....Two days in a row! It was a nice thing to see.

There is definitely a lack of photos on the page right now. My blog archives my posts after a certain number of days (if you want to see the older photos, check out the November and October archives). I'll be sure to take some more photos soon...Allison and I are bound to have some photo-worthy adventures, she's coming over tonight, so maybe we'll have a mini-adventure, and I'll take some photos...The page looks pretty dull right now.







Just a reminder...

Be sure to check out my November and October archives on the right-hand side of the page for more
Sarah-tastic photos and stories.

Mad props to my family.

Just wanted to say that I love my family very much. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and think "Wow! I have a great family."

My dad left for Ireland on sunday. I got an e-mail today saying how he already missed us. It was pretty nice.

Almost every day, someone stops me on the street and says "Are you Nowel's daughter? She's a great lady." Keep in mind, Calgary is a big city. My mom knows everyone.
Today, my mom gave me a $100 gift certificate to Safeway. Maybe normal people wouldn't get excited about grocery gift certificates, but I was pretty sure that it was the greatest thing ever. This evening, my mom, sister, and I went to get some groceries. I think I'll make my mom some cookies...She's a super gal.

This brings me to my sister...In 24 hours, she has done two awesome things:
I was feeling a bit camp-sick, so I asked her to have a grape-eating contest with me. I hadn't been food-challenged since August (butterscotch pudding challenge against Billy Litner), and my sister was an awesome opponent (we can't decide who won...things got a bit blurry).
Then, tonight she came home at about 11PM and made me a great snack...For no reason! Before he left, my dad told us to take care of each other...She's doing an awfully good job. I hope I'm doing a good job too.

I should hop into bed, tomorrow is my last day at work (then I begin my awesome new job at the liquor store).
I'm going to try to be as professional and nice as I can tomorrow. I will pretend that I actually liked the job. Even if I feel like being a jerk, and telling my boss all of the things that are wrong with the job, I will keep my cool and be as pleasant as possible....It is the right thing to do.

Night!

This photo makes me happy.


This is my resident tough-guy, Jacob....Notice the drool spot under his chin.
I'll try to get some shots of my kitties soon.

Monday, November 22, 2004

A scary story.

Okay, so before I begin, you should turn off your lights in your house. Oh, and you should pretend that I am at your house with you, and I am holding a flashlight up to my face. Plus, I am speaking in a scary voice.

The story I am about to tell you is 100% true.

It all began when I moved into my new house, a couple of months ago. This is an old house, and creepy things are bound to happen, but check this out:

The third day that I was living here, I picked up the phone to make a call. I looked down at the numbers on the phone, only they had all disappeared! There was not any special keypad cover or anything...The numbers were painted on the keys. The phone used to be my mom's, and she remembers that the numbers were painted on as well, so I'm not kidding myself at all. One day they were on the phone, and then the next day they were all gone. Even my dad, who is the most level-headed person I know, said "Wow, That's spooky".

The next scary thing happened about a month later. I had the Kill Bill soundtrack for a few months, and I had listened to it a million times. I knew each track off by heart. One day I go to listen to it, but something is strange...Track #1, Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", begins to play, but there are no vocals on the track. Days earlier, I had listened to the cd and it was fine. I searched on the internet to see if I could find an explanation, but I learned that, unlike records, cds are recorded with the vocals on the track every time. I found this strange, but is gets stranger...About a week later, I went to play another cd. This one was a mix I had made, and I listened to it quite often. Like my Kill Bill Soundtrack, I knew each track off by heart. I get to the song "I Put a Spell on You" , bu Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and the vocals have disappeared off of that track too!!! Just to make sure it was not my stereo, I played the cds on my computer and discman. Still no vocals. So strange.

This last one is the scariest...Last night, while I was sleeping, I was punched in the back...Hard. Here's the thing: I was alone in the house. Of course, after I was woken up, I got up and turned all the lights on in the house. My cats and dog were sleeping in the living room. I checked all over the house, but couldn't find anything abnormal (seriously, my house is like Fort Knox, I don't think anyone could ever get in, especially with my dog, Jake, watching over me). I went back to bed, as I figured it was all a dream. However, when I got up this morning to take a shower, I was shocked...I have a huge bruise on my back where I felt the punch. Creepy!!!



In nicer news, I only have two days left at my horrible job, and then I begin full-time at the liquor store. Pretty happy about that, although I hate to leave Wenda all alone. She has been my comrade for a couple of months now, and I'm really going to miss being around her.

It snowed today in Calgary. This is about the fourth time that it has snowed, but it just keeps melting. I'm sure, pretty soon, that it will get quite cold.....I just hope it doesn't happen too soon.

The big secret....

Maybe it's not the hugest secret in the world....

Okay, so a couple of months ago, I got an e-mail from Jon Williams...It really got me thinking. The following is part of the e-mail that he sent to me:

"Yeah! As usual, everything I want\need just falls into my lap without any effort on my part.
I had a job interview in Kingston. It didn't seem to go very well but the trip to the office took me past Toys R Us on the way home and I applied there instead. Now I'm going to live in Kingston and work at a toy store. I hope I get a discount. Also, I met some Mormons on the way home from Toys R Us and they gave me my very own Book of Mormon. Score!"


I have really been hating my job these past couple of months. It is not a fun job at all. About a month ago, they cut my hours back, so I decided to run out and get a job that I'd like.

After a bit of searching, I find myself at a liquor store. I had my first day today, and it went so well! The job is fun and easy, and my co-workers are awesome.

Some might consider this a demotion, I don't seem like the type you'd see working at a liquor store. Seriously though, at this time it's the right thing to do. Plus, after months of intensive training, I like to think I know my sauce.

A funny tidbit: my mom has starting using the word "sauced". Good for you, mom.

Tonight, my mom made dinner for my sister, my uncle dale, and I. We made a good sunday dinner like my grandma would, and talked about all of our favorite grandma memories. At the end of the meal, my mom opened up her china cabinet, which is full of china that my grandma gave us, and brought out a cup for each of us. She poured us each a tiny bit of diet pepsi, my grandma's favorite drink, and we toasted to grandma's life. I'm so glad we did it...I think it all helped us feel so much better.


Saturday, November 20, 2004

A crappy day.

So, I'm writing this at about 8PM....The previous Nov. 20th posts were written last night after midnight before I got to bed. This morning I woke up because my phone was ringing. My mom called and said that my great-grandma had passed away, 6 days after we had flown across country to see her. This was not a shock, but still it was sad news. She will be buried in Arkona, Ontario, right next to my great-grandpa. Like my great-grandpa, she has asked to be buried with a picture of my sister and I in her pocket.

A little later on in the day, my sister and I drove my dad to the airport. I know that my dad leaves town a lot, but it never gets easier to say goodbye to him...My sister and I love him a lot.

As my sister and I got in the car, both emotionally exhausted, she turned to me and said: "You know what? Today has been a pretty crappy day."

Usually, Allison and I always go out on Saturdays, but I'm staying in tonight to reflect a bit (and do some laundry).

...Just wanted to thank Allison a ton for bringing me flowers today. I know it sounds stupid, but it really did help me feel a bit better. She is one super gal.

Tomorrow, assuming it's a better day, I'll reveal my secret, but I'll give you a hint tonight.....You know how I hate my job? Things may get a bit better.

Whoa.

Found this site that lists all of the samples from one of the greatest albums ever: Paul's Boutique.
Anyway, check out the glory of the Beastie Boys' masterpiece here.

Dad's leaving.

...It's actually a good thing! Let me start by saying that my dad is the type of person I hope to become. My family consists of my sister, my mom, my dad, and I. My parents are separated but remain very good friends. Here's the kicker: my sister looks a lot like my dad, but has the argumentative and strong personality of my mom (I'm not saying this in a bad way, they're both not afraid to stick up for what they believe in). I look like my mom, but have the amiable and easy-going personality of my dad (meaning that we're both huge push-overs).
I feel very fortunate to have the personality of my father...He's a great guy.
Today, at 6pm, my dad leaves for Ireland. My dad has lived on and off in Europe for the past few years. He believes in following your heart....He doesn't feel like he should be in Canada. He loves us, but needs to be in another country. However, this time, his job-situation is a bit different. Normally, he works under contract. This time, he's found a permanent job. Although I'll miss him, I'm super proud of him (and, you know, the whole "visiting dad in a foreign country" factor is not too shabby either). I've seen lots of Great Britain, but have never traveled over to Ireland...Could be a good adventure.

Been listening to a band called "Stars" lately...Really good stuff. Check out a few samples here.

I'm excited to tell everyone my awesome secret....However, not quite yet. I just need to set a few things in stone, and then I'll reveal it to everyone....It's going to be good.

Friday, November 19, 2004

The Bow River is very chilly in November.

I was on my way home from work today on the bus, and we passed over the 10th Street bridge. I looked down at the river, and got off at the next stop. I crossed the street and walked to the bank of the river. I rolled up my pants and waded in until the water was above my knees. The water was freezing, and my feet were numb in a minute, and I had to get out. Still, I'm glad I waded in. I don't really know why I did it, I guess I just miss the fresh water of Bantam Lake. Going to the pool is not the same....I know that Bantam Lake is full of weeds and dead fish, but some of my best memories are in and around it.

My sister said to me the other day: " How does it feel to spend most of your year waiting for two measly months?"
I'm sure she meant it as a bit of a negative thing, but it got me thinking....It feels pretty fantastic.

I may have just made one of the best CDs I've ever made, let me know if you want a copy...Initially, I made it for a package that I'm constructing for Matt D, but it's so good that I want to share it with the world.

I have some really great news...Strange and awesome news. However, I can't tell anyone just yet. Let's just say that I took a page from the book of Jon Williams...

BTW, Nicole B. sent me a package that blew my mind. It was so good, it hurts me a little. Thank-you Nicole!!!!

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Camp-sick.

I was stuck at home today, as I was a pretty sick girl. Between gravol ( that's dramamine for the americans) -induced periods of sleep, I spent a lot of my time thinking about camp. Every time I think about it, I get this little empty feeling in the pit of my stomach....It's been about three months since I left, and I miss it so, so much. Can't wait until I'm back...Seriously, I would crawl to Connecticut if I had to.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

A new life-lesson.

Last night, when I got home from the movies, I went and ate some ramen noodles in my sun room, trying to re-live some of my awesome camp memories. This morning, I was violently ill. I learned an important lesson: Ramen is not as good when you're not at camp.

Two good things.

Two good things happened today.

1. I was downtown, on my way to work, and this guy was on his cell phone. Only it wasn't a normal cell phone, it was one of those gigantic 80's ones that were the size of a brick. He was this older guy, and he wasn't even trying to be ironic. I stopped and thought about it for a second: in order to keep a phone around for that long, and resist all of the urges to constantly update his technology, he must be a really great guy.

2. I went to see the movie "Ray" with my dad and sister. When I went to the washroom, there was a chinese finger-trap on the floor. It was the most random thing ever. Where do you even get a chinese finger-trap?

Overall, it was a mighty fine day.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Better times in Ontario.


A strip club next to a lube shop? If you don't find that funny, then you must have a heart of stone. Priceless.

While in London, we went out for breakfast with my dad's side of the family. My sister, my Uncle Howie, My little cousins, Jesse and Melissa, and my Grandma Harvey (a very healthy woman, so I don't have to worry about her just yet). How did I get such beautiful little cousins? It may be something I'll never figure out....

We spent our last night in Toronto. My sister took these photos of me shortly after our arrival. Our hotel had a pool, which made me so happy, as I haven't been swimming nearly enough since the summer. We got in, and my mom and sister began to make some plans. I didn't care to hear these plans, and it took me maybe 32 seconds after arrival to get in my swimsuit and head downstairs....I was like "Screw you guys.....

....I'm going swimming."

A sad weekend.

Like I said in a previous post, my great-grandmother is close to passing away. We flew to Ontario this weekend to say our final good-byes. She really isn't coherent anymore, and I'm sure she didn't understand why a bunch of strange people were hugging her and crying. Grandma is to the point where she doesn't know anyone anymore, not even her own children. She had one moment where she actually knew what was going on (which, we were informed, hasn't happened in a very long time). My mom walked up to her in the hospital and said "Hi, do you know who I am?" and grandma replied "No."
My mom said "I'm Nowel...Do you know who Nowel is?"
My grandma said "You're my grand-daughter".
Of course, the whole family was bawling by this point, as she hadn't said anything remotley coherent in months. She forgot who my mom was about 2 minutes later, but we still had that one moment.
Grandma is 86, and lived a very good life. She raised my mom as her daughter, and has been about the best grandma in the world. Although it was a sad ocassion, she would not want us to be upset. She says it is time for her to pass away, and my family is trusting her instinct.
We spent the weekend taking care of her, and we know she won't be able to remember it now, but when she finally passes away, I hope she's somewhere where she can realize how much she was loved.

To be fair, the weekend was not all sad....The whole thing was a bit stressful, so we had to have a bit of fun. I'll post photos and tell stories tomorrow.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Wednesday Night!

So, I had a pretty gosh-darned good night at Cherry Lounge on Wednesday. I had forgotten how much fun I could have there. DJ Pump played a good set, and DJ Rice was in his finest form (as always). However, they let this other guy spin as well between sets. This other guy, well...He wasn't the greatest. He gets on the decks, and automatically starts spinning these obscure 80's tunes. Not just one or two, but a whole bunch. Usually, DJs will throw on a song or two that makes you say "Wow! This guy is a huge crate-digger....Where the hell did he find this song?" Any more than a few, and you're just going "For the love of everything holy, put on a new song!" Keep in mind, these songs were played between two full-on house sets. Here's a little guideline to spinning obscure 80's songs in the middle of a house set:

One obscure 80's song = Perfect, makes the next "new" song sound 100 times better.
Two obscure 80's songs = Still okay.
Three obscure 80's songs = You're pushing it.
More than three obscure 80's songs = Shouldn't be allowed.

One good thing came out of this: the unknown DJ had a huge mohawk....Mohawks make me a little tingly, as they bring back some of the best memories of the summer.

There is one thing that obscure 80's songs are good for: making the next new song sound like heaven. After about 10 songs, Rice got back on the decks and started spinning a house mix of a Lucy Pearl song, and it sounded like the best song I had ever heard in my life (although the vodka and Red Bull may have also had something to do with that).

It was a great night, although I didn't feel to great in the morning when I got on the plane (will write about my weekend tomorrow).

Night!

The Cherry Lounge has gotten a lot quieter since 2001...Allison and I actually got a table!

Not joking, this was the scariest photo I've ever taken. If you can't tell, it's a photo of Allison that I took without the flash, using only the ambient light from the candle in the club. Technically, I understand why the photo turned out like it did, but it doesn't make it any less scary.

Wow, we sure had fun, but what was up with the dude in the stairwell that looked like Dave Chapelle? He was all like "Hey! Hey! That's right, I know you." Still trying to figure out if I actually know him, or if he was a huge liar.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Gone til Sunday.

Last night was full of adventures, and I have a bunch of good stories and photos (including the scariest photo I've ever taken). However, I must go to Ontario for the weekend, as my great-grandma is in the middle of passing away. Be back on sunday.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Super excited!

It's midnight and I can't get to sleep...I'm way too excited! Tomorrow night, Allison and I are heading back to one of our old haunts. The Cherry Lounge is celebrating it's 5th anniversary. The legal drinking age in Alberta is 18, and as soon as I was old enough, Allison and I were at the Cherry every Saturday (and at the Night Gallery every Sunday). Why did we spend so much time at the bar? Two words: DJ Rice (check out the link for a sweet-ass download).

DJ Rice is my second favorite DJ (my first, of course, being one Mr. Paul Whitehouse, just because he's great). It's been so long since I've seen him spin, especially at the Cherry Lounge...Photos will follow.

Night.

Monday, November 08, 2004

Generic trouble.

Since I've been back in Calgary, I've been losing weight...A lot of weight. My family is full of vegans, and being around them has kept me eating shockingly healthy. However, I'm at a point in my life where I don't want to lose any weight, as I don't want to have to buy new clothes, and I've finally gotten comfortable with myself. I've been desperately trying to curb this weight-loss (it's not working at all right now, but I need to give it some time). My plan includes a trip to the bakery once in a while, and tons of cheese.

Here in Canada, the best way to up your cheese intake is by eating KD. I went to the grocery store to get a decent supply, and found some generic KD that was half the cost. I figured that it couldn't be that different (I'd had some good experiences with generic products in the past) , so I bought a few boxes. I learned a hard lesson that day:

Generic Honey= Really good.
Generic Ramen= Can't tell the difference.
Generic Dish Soap= Reasonable facsimile.
Generic Diet Coke=Will drink it if I'm poor.
Generic deodorant=Probably not a good idea.
Generic KD= Hell in a box.

From now on, I'll spend the extra 30 cents.
Night!


Sunday, November 07, 2004

Name-Tag Fun!


Normal people spend their Saturday nights at the movies, or at a club. What did Allison and I do last night? We made up some name-tags, and went to the mall. As you can see, mine said "Hello, my name is AWESOME", Allison's said "Hello, my hame is Corky" (except the 'K' was backwards). We bought some pants, and surprisingly, nobody thought the nametags were funny but us! I wanted someone to ask my name, so I could say "I'm awesome!"

The reason why we had to go to the mall in the first place is because I broke the zipper on my favorite pair of pants. I bought these pants on "The best day-off ever" in Connecticut with Chris and Matt D. I still wanted to wear the pants to the mall, so I secured them in place with a christmas spiderman pin, as it was the only pin I had. After we were done at the mall, we went to Ray & Amy's house, and then went halfway across town trying to find a Taco Bell that was open late....We didn't ever find that Taco Bell, and had to settle for Wendy's fries. Pretty fun night.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Amazingly warm.

So, last night I'm walking home at about 10PM. Everyone has their windows and doors open, people are sitting on every other street corner, and you can hear people in their backyards, relishing the last night of warmth in Calgary before the temperature begins to hit -30C. We've already had snow, so this warmth was a big surprise. Who says global warming is a bad thing? It was 12 degrees Celsius at 10pm on November 5th in Calgary, and all I could think about was going for a swim outside...Too bad Calgary is a very dry city.


I've been on the Ministry of Sound site a lot lately.... Great site if you like that kind of music (which I do!), tons of downloads and stuff. Check out the "Sexiest Videos of All Time" section on the site (not exactly "clean viewing", so maybe not good for work), featuring two of my all-time favorite songs, Stupid Disco - Junior Jack & My My My - Armand Van Helden....Pretty hot stuff.

A quick note: on Wednesday, DJ Rice is spinning at Cherry Lounge for their 5th anniversary. He hasn't spun at Cherry for a while, so I'm sure it will be a pretty huge deal. Allison and I wouldn't miss it for the world, it's going to be crazy hot. If you're in the city, you should probably go.

Friday, November 05, 2004

Awkward Compliments.

I get on the bus this morning, on the way to work, and there's this young guy talking loudly on his cell-phone about how he's probably going to jail soon. He keeps staring at me, and I'm starting to feel a bit strange. Finally, he gets up to get off the bus. I can tell that he's going to say something to me, and I'm prepared for the worst. Did he make a suggestive comment? Did he insult me? No. He says "You have a nice face", and gets off the bus....Interesting.

So then I get to work, and someone calls me "minxy". They said it in the kind of tone where I couldn't tell if they were saying it in a negative or a positive way, which leaves me with a creepy "neutral" feeling. What does "minxy" mean, anyway? I'm pretty sure it's not a good thing, but it seemed to be delivered to me as a compliment. So strange.


...Still having dreams that my teeth are falling out. I've been reading up on this, and can't get a definitive answer. Maybe it means that I'm just concerned about my dental hygiene (which is true!). My dentist says that I'm one of his best patients, and that I have "immaculate dental hygiene". Maybe I need to stop brushing my teeth so much, and go out and get a life.

Some bands I've been listening to lately:

-The High Water Marks
-Iron & Wine
-Fierey Furnaces
-The Thrills (my fav at the moment)
-Arto Lindsay
-Rilo Kiley
-Jem
-Kings of Convenience
-The Postal Service
-Metric
-State Shirt

After months and months of hard work, my LaunchCast station is pretty much perfect. Originally, it was very complacent, and would only play songs that I forced it to....Now, it's gotten to the point where it keeps playing me new songs that I haven't requested, and the songs are so great that I keep shaking my head and going "Bravo, LaunchCast, Bravo". If my LaunchCast was a person, it would be the guy that has a million crates of records in his basement that you are high-fiving non-stop for giving you awesome music suggestions.
Make your own at www.launch.com .

Night.


Thursday, November 04, 2004

My idea first!

People keep stealing my ideas, and making money off of them.

For example, in ninth grade, I was in the school cafeteria. I was enjoying some Cup 'O Noodles , and I said to Allison "This is good, but you know what would be better? Cup 'O Wonton". Probably 5 years later, I was at the grocery store, and there it was: Cup 'O Wonton.

Recently, another idea of mine was stolen. A few years ago, I was at work, and I said to a friend "You know what I'd like to do on my lunch break? Take an awesome nap." However, being in the middle of downtown, there was nowhere to sleep. I thought that it would be a good idea to have a place downtown where you could lay down and take a quick nap for a small fee. While I was still struggling with the hobo-factor, Japan starting making these napping kiosks, and they are becoming quite popular.

Serioulsy, I need to get my act together and market these ideas before other people steal them, or I'm going to be stuck eating Top Ramen for the rest of my life.


Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Canadian elections are never this wacky...

Not even joking, our elections are so much easier!
To learn more on Canadian politics, check out www.canadahistory.com/sections/politics/politics.htm

I find it quite amusing that we, as Canadians, get full coverage of the American elections, while most Americans would have a hard time naming our current prime minister (no offence to all of my awesome American pals, I love you guys).
Check out http://home.comcast.net/~wwwstephen/americans/ for some Canadian-American humor.

I can't say that I'm 100% pleased with the outcome of the election, but because I'm a Canadian, I should shut my piehole right now.

Here are some reasons why I wish that Kerry would have won:
-Kerry is much more relaxed than Bush, and is more likely to get into some hilarious Clinton-esque mischief.
-Kerry seems like the kind of guy that would go onto late-night talk shows and make fun of himself.

Here are some reasons why I'm willing to accept Bush as president:
-I won $5 at work by betting that Bush would win by 51%.
-His last name is 'Bush', and that's funny no matter how you look at it.

Who would I have voted for? Well, that's a pretty personal thing, so I'll just say that his name almost rhymes with "A.C. Slater" (note: if you know who A.C. Slater is, then you are a bigger nerd than I).

BTW: my entire city smells like laundry detergent tonight....Possible fire at the Tide factory?







Tuesday, November 02, 2004

To all my american pals....

If you're old enough, please vote today. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, please just vote....It's your country, make sure you have a say in what goes on. Good luck, it will certainly be interesting.

As a canadian, I find the american voting statistics pretty poor...Most Canuks don't even think about it, they just drag themselves to the polls.

BTW, I put my money into a pool today for the election, I'll let you know if I win any cash.

If you don't like the outcome of the election, you can always move up here....Check out "An American's Guide to Canada" @ www.icomm.ca/emily .

Monday, November 01, 2004

I believe the proper term is "gypped".

So, I go into work today, and the manager wants to have a quick talk with me...It turns out that they "accidentally" hired too many people, so my hours will have to be cut back (by 20 hours a week!).
At first, I was a bit pissed...20 hours is a lot! However, I realized that maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

First of all, while still working at this job , I can look for a better job, as I can still survive quite easily on the 25 hours that they will be giving me each week....I'm always complaining about work (let's face it: I'm not a big fan of this position), so it's time to find something that is at least semi-enjoyable (even if it isn't photography-related...I can always wait for camp to get my photo-teacher inclinations out of my system).

Second of all, I have a small project on the horizon: I have begun to help Ron spread toccer around the world. For those of you that don't know, Ron Bronson, an american friend of mine, invented the world's greatest game....Toccer! Even though I am the world's least athletic person, I believe in this game, and I believe in the inventor. Ron and I have been exchanging some ideas, and have agreed that it's time to get some canadian kids in on the action. Kids love toccer!

For more toccer info, check out www.toccer.com

For more info on Ron, check out his site @ www.ishouldstudymore.net (includes an awesome awosting message board).

Well, must get to bed (last night I had a dream that my teeth were falling out, but I woke up in the middle of it....I'm hoping to continue it tonight, to see how it pans out....A possible trip to the dreamland dentist?). Night!

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Halloween Party!


Allison and I went with Shannon and Shawn to an awesome Halloween party. Earlier that evening, we had been to see 'The Grudge', and didn't actually arrive at the party until about 10. By the time we got there, everyone had taken off their costumes and playing music and skateboarding. I didn't get home until 5 (after the time change), and stayed awake to catch the sunrise by myself...Such a good night.


Shannon marching around while Shawn plays the drums. Shannon and Shawn were super-fun kids last night.

There was a ton of music last night, and I decided to jam out on the drums for a bit....Pretty fun for me, not so fun for anyone with sensitive ears.

This is one in a series of photos I did last night (I caught Allison on the drums, dragged the shutter a bit, and time-lapsed the flash), and is the first photo in a while that I've taken and actually loved (niiiice feeling)....Click on the photo to check out the full-sized pic.

This is Lee. He decided to dress up as a sumo, and go into the quarter-pipe in his backyard. This was one of those times that I was so glad to have a camera with me. Later on, he went into their half-pipe, but I was too trashed by then to take photos.

Saturday, October 30, 2004

The Awesome Store called, they want their pumpkin back.

Wonder Pumpkin may seem to have a rough exterior. Here's what you don't know: he did not have a very good life (that is, until he came to live with me 3 days ago). He was raised in some dirt by a very strict farmer, who forced him to grow at an alarming rate. He was fed steroids daily, and insulted for hours by the farmer. One day, he escaped on a truck that just happened to be passing by. He ended up in the supermarket, where I found him selling his body for 99 cents/kg. I couldn't stand to see such a young and vibrant pumpkin in such a dangerous place, so I bought him and took him home. For the first time in his life, he could feel safe.

Mind you, life has been a bit hectic with him around. He isn't used to being in such a civilized environment, and often resorts to physical violence and verbal insults (behavior learned from the evil pumpkin farmer). I have been dealing with this the best I can. For instance, when he calls me "honkey", I gently remind him that it doesn't matter if I'm white and he's orange, we're all the same color on the inside, and we should all love each other, no matter what. At this time, he lets me know that we are not the same color on the inside, as he is orange, and has a glowing candle in his head...He is a very clever pumpkin.

I am so glad to have Wonder Pumpkin in my house, and we will remain the best of friends (until Monday, when I turn over legal guardianship to the loving arms of Mr. Compost Heap).

Will write more later on various Halloween adventures.

This is Wonder Pumpkin. You may be saying to yourself: "Wonder Pumpkin is ugly, and I do not care for him at all", but you should care for him, or he will throw lawnchairs into your pool while you are sleeping, and track mud into your house so that your carpet gets really dirty. Wonder Pumpkin is mad at the world.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

A new idea.

I've been thinking about throwing a party. I've got a good-sized house with a ton of room, and a good fridge for, um, storage. Now, I've thrown parties before, but this time I want to do something awesome. Normally, I'd throw a party on a Friday or Saturday night, like normal people. This time, I think it would be a good idea to have a party on a weekday. Maybe starting it at about 11AM. I think a party would be much better if people had to skip work to go there....Just a thought.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004


This is my best friend Allison and I. You'll hear a lot of stories about Allison, and they're all going to be hilarious and pretty radical. She is one priceless girl.

A few things I know for sure...

I'm approaching my 23rd birthday (in January). I'm at the point in my life where I'm realizing that there is not much that I will ever know for sure....Nothing in the world is black and white. However, there are a couple of things that I've finally figured out, so I thought I'd post them (and continue to post as I think of them).

*While I was in high school, someone said to me "You'll only ever have a few true friends in your lifetime...All of the rest will eventually become acquaintances." I thought that they were crazy, as I had a ton of friends, and was pretty sure that they were all true friends. At the time, they were friends. However, most of us gradually drifted apart (except, of course, Allison and I, who have remained the best of pals), and many people that I thought would always be in my life are no longer around. Keep this in mind: as your life changes, so will your friends....Accept the changes as a part of life.

*No matter how awesome you are, keep your ego in check. The coolest kids are the ones that don't know that they are cool. There is, however, one exception to this rule...When you are at a club, you should try to act as confident as you possibly can. Otherwise, a bunch of really gross guys will try to pick you up, as they'll assume that you're vulnerable. This is not fun.

*Electronics are not as fragile as you'd think, so you should carry your camera everywhere (even if you think it will be bad for the camera...Trust me on this one), and always keep your I-pod on you (you'll never know when you'll desperately want to hear a certain song....You don't want to have to wait).

*Keep a journal with you at all times, and write down everything. Seriously, write down every thought you have....Let this be the one place that you never, ever censor yourself. Go back and read through it once a week, you'll learn a ton about who you really are. Believe me, you'll surprise yourself.

*What seems important now may not seem important later in life. Your priorities will change as you grow...Make sure you allow them to.

*It sounds stupid to say, but don't take your intuition lightly, or you will end up in a spot that you don't want to be in.


Okay, I guess my little advice session has come to a close....Must go carve a pumpkin that will go down in history as the hottest pumpkin ever (will post pictures tomorrow).

A run-in with karma.

Yesterday, I decided to take the afternoon off of work. I really had no reason, I just went in on Monday morning and told them that I needed to take Tuesday afternoon off. Surprisingly, nobody asked any questions. That afternoon, I took my dog for a walk, had a bath, and generally enjoyed the daylight that I rarely see on weekdays....Nothing too special. It was great to be away from work, but I really shouldn't have taken the time off.

You may be asking yourself: "Why would you feel bad about taking an afternoon off?"

Well, if someone at my work needs a problem fixed, or has a task that they'd rather not do, they come to one of two people: Wenda or I. Wenda is a sweet girl who came over from China last February. She is a very hard worker, and people take advantage of it. Most of the people in the office leave early every day (some of them at about 1PM, an hour after lunch) , and leave Wenda and I with a ton of work.

My intent was to have everyone do their own work for a day, which hasn't happened since I began to work there....However, deep in my heart, I knew that they wouldn't. I knew that they would probably leave Wenda with a ton of not-so-fun jobs. I was right, and feel horrible.

Now, I am a firm believer in karma...What goes around, comes around. I have experienced this countless times, and in the end, I've always gotten what I've deserved.
Karma paid me a little visit today.

The morning began at a pretty steady pace....I was busy, but could handle the work that was given to me. Then, it hit. I'd never had so many things to do, and no matter what I did, the jobs just kept piling up! I kept going into panic mode, and kept making a ton of stupid mistakes, so I had to re-do a whole bunch of projects. I ended up staying an extra hour and a half (meaning I worked an 11-hour day), but still didn't complete everything, and will have to go in early tomorrow. I felt so bad, as I wanted to let Wenda go home early today, but there was too much to do, and she ended up staying just as late as I did.

It wasn't a fun day, but my punishment was fair. Next time I'll consider Wenda before I take time off of work....Wenda needs to take vacation days at the same time as I do...Problem solved.