Saturday, February 26, 2005

Responsible Sarah VS. Awesome Sarah

So, my mom, as an employee of the University of Calgary, gets a certain amount of money every year to spend at a computer store on supposedly educational materials. After the cash builds up for two years, the university forces you to spend it, or they take it away. The thing is, pretty much anything could be considered educational, right? Anyway, my mom and sister have no idea about computers and technology and stuff, so the money always goes to me. In the past, I've picked up a flat-bed scanner, a non-bootlegged copy of Photoshop, and some other good stuff.
Here's the dilemma:
A lot of people don't know this, but my adult self has two sides: the responsible side, and the awesome side.
The responsible side helps me keep kids in line during the summer, and makes sure I go to work enough to pay rent and bills. The awesome side of me forces me out to Ditto's when I'm tired, makes me make fun of the owner of the store when he's not around, and makes sure that I have a little fun sometimes, regardless of the consequences.
For quite some time, I've had my eye on a negative scanner (particularly this one). However, unlike having my film developed by someone else, it doesn't really bother me to have my negs professionally scanned (and it's cheap). Honestly, I don't even do a lot of digital manipulation anyway...I like to keep things old-school. It would be a good thing to have, but only on a rare occasion. Professionally, it would be a good thing to own, but I wouldn't enjoy it that much. Responsible Sarah would automatically buy the scanner.
However....I've also had my eye on an I-Pod for-pretty much-ever. I have so many songs on my computer that I don't know what to do with them all. I would enjoy the I-Pod so much, but it is not the responsible choice. Awesome Sarah thinks that the I-Pod is the right choice.
Am I going to be upset with myself if, while listening to some infinitely great music, I can't scan my negatives myself? I have $400 to spend, so I can probably only get a mini, but still....I would probably even have enough left over to get a memory card for my digital camera.

I don't know, guys.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Two lefties and the odd girl out.

Today, I didn't go to work. I got rid of a shift, and took the day off for no reason. I did have to trek all the way from the other side of town this morning, so I guess it was a good plan.

Last night, we watched The Delicate Art of Parking. I laughed quite a bit, which isn't saying much because I laugh at almost anything...Still, you should probably watch this movie.

I got off the C-Train at North Hill Mall at about noon today....I decided to walk home. On the way, I passed by A&A, which is a tiny middle eastern deli. There's a few mid-east delis in the city, but I'm pretty sure that the one in my neighborhood is best. Anyway, so I go there and get a falafel. They have some benches outside, and it was 10C outside (which, for all of you americans, is about 50F), so I ate my falafel outside. When I finished, I went in to say thanks, and I high-fived all of the 3 young guys working there, and they gave me a free popsicle!

I took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. Allison and Amy came and got me at 11-ish...I actually put on some nice clothes for once, and even wore nice shoes (not sneaks or flip-flops...Not even flat shoes...wow!). We were supposed to go to the Whiskey, but we didn't really feel like it. Instead, we ended up at the Lucky Liquor Lounge. I had a great night. I got to wiggle around in a booth while the DJ spun some of my favorite tracks, and I was with two of my favorite girls (who, oddly enough, are both left-handed).

night!

Amy and I in our booth. Notice how I have two drinks? I think Allison was trying to take advantage of me. Thanks for the drinks, little buddy!

I was happy...Happy that we got a primo booth. Happy that they were playing songs that I liked. Happy that I was drinking strange girly drinks. Happy.

Amy and I both look really uncomfortable in this photo. We weren't, but...Man.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

I used to think....

Today, we got into a good conversation about things that we misunderstood as children. It's safe to say that my childhood mind was a very strange place......

*I thought, for the longest time, that all boys wore both boxers and briefs under their pants. The briefs would keep the boxers from getting dirty, so the guys could wear them multiple days in a row.

*When I was 5 or 6, I used to think that the Hall & Oates song "Sara Smile" was written just for me. Every time I would hear it on the radio, I would think about those nice men that wrote me my own song. In my mind, there was no other explaination for the inclusion of my name in a song.

*I used to thing that you would catch a cold from breathing in any cold air. I didn't mind having a cold in the winter, but didn't want to have one in the summer. So, during the summer months, when I would have to get something from the fridge or freezer, I would hold my breath and quickly open and close the door so that I didn't breathe in any cold air.

*When I was a child, my mom would bring our cats into my bedroom to keep me company if I was sick. I believed that our cats must have some sort of magical medicine in their fur that would help me to get better. Why else would she bring them in every time I was ill?

*I used to think a bus driver was the best job in the world. I thought that they got to keep their bus, and could take it wherever they pleased, whenever they pleased. I was set on becoming a bus driver when I grew up, until I learned the horrible truth.

*I used to have this strange belief that your heart, while beating, also swung freely on a rope in your chest cavity, like a pendulum in a grandfather clock. I thought that if you were ever stabbed in the chest, the knife would stop the swinging, and you would die...I didn't ever stop to think about the blood-loss.

Yep.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Awwww...

For someone who doesn't even like Valentine's Day, I sure had a lot of Valentines.

Huge kisses go out to two studly british bachelors, and one stunning east coast gal.

I could be wrong, but I probably have the hottest Valentine's Day posse of all time.

I love you guys so much and can't wait to see you this summer.

Hey! MC Chris has a LiveJournal. You should read it.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Party at Soucy's!

All of you camp kids will like this one.

For those of you who don't know, I met Mike Soucy two years ago in Connecticut. It just so happened that he was from Calgary. Anyway, he's a fun kid, so I was pretty jazzed to see him again. Unfortunately, Karen wasn't at the party, but I hope to see her soon, too!

So I got to Soucy's at about 8, but Soucy was still in the shower, so I hung out with Shane and Chris, two of Soucy's friends. I was more than excited to see Soucy....We really missed him at Awosting last summer. All summer, we would always say "Man, I wish Dirty Soucy was here right now". Soucy looks harmless enough, but he has a lethal sense of humor. It only took one beer to skyrocket Soucy into "Dirty Soucy" mode. I wasn't even going to drink...In fact, I was feeling so horrible that I brought orange juice to the party. Soucy was not having it, and soon we were drinking Coronas like it was going out of style. You know what? He was right, beer does make you feel better.

Shortly after, Kaylie, one of Soucy's co-workers, shows up. Soucy pours her a huge cup of Rum and Coke. At this point, we begin to play Dance Dance Revolution. We all took turns rocking out to "Pump Up the Jam". I decided that I am not very good at Dance Dance Revolution. Sometimes, drinking makes you kind of sluggish, so by the end, we were just putting the dance pad infront of us on the floor and sitting down while we played. DDR was taking up way too much energy, so we decide to play poker. I won the very first hand, and lost every other hand.
Chris went home, so we went down the street to Bottom's Up, the Killarney sports pub. Soucy and I shared a jug of Keiths (a little throwback to our east-coast pals). Anyone who knows me well knows that I am terrible at pool, so Soucy, not unlike a certain Mr. Paul Whitehouse in the summers, had to help me every step of the way. He would run to the other side of the table, and point at the ball, then run to my side of the table and move my arms so that my cue actually lined up with the ball, then run back to the other side of the table and point at the ball again, and tell me exactly where to hit the ball, and how hard. I still wasn't very good.

On the walk home, we passed by a Domino's, and decided that we needed pizza. We ordered, and while we were waiting, Shane told Soucy that he would run back to the house to "warm it up", which meant that he was going to pass out. While waiting for the pizza, we sat in a closet full of soda. It turns out that we weren't supposed to do that. Then, Kaylie said, jokingly, "I dare you to run into the Domino's kitchen, touch the back wall, and run back". We laughed about it for a minute, then Kaylie and I began to talk about something else. All of a sudden, we noticed that Soucy was gone. Then, we heard someone in the back say "What are you doing?". Then, Soucy walked out of the pizza kitchen. He touched the back wall. Surprisingly enough, they didn't kick us out, and actually gave us our pizza. We took it back to Soucy's and tried to wake Shane up. We spent a bunch of time talking to Shane while he slept, just to see what he would say. We got some awesome responses.

The night ended with Soucy and I laying on his kitchen floor, using Kaylie as a pillow. I took a cab home at about 2, and my stomach still hurts from laughing.

Soucy throws awesome parties.

Soucy busting some moves while playing Dance Dance Revolution. I'm pretty sure he must spend most of his time practicing, because he was way too good for comfort.

Soucy playing pool at Bottom's Up.

Kaylie, Shane, and Soucy playing "Name That Tune". We won second prize, which was a box of Hot Tamales each!

Shane and his "pedophile coat".

Soucy and Kaylie in the closet full of soda at Domino's, right before they told us that we weren't allowed in there.

Sunday, February 13, 2005


Man, I missed Soucy so much! I'm glad to have him back around.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Melanie's birthday!

So, we ended up at the Roadhouse, which is not my usual type of bar...Seriously, though, I had fun.

Highlights included:

-Running into Katie, my good pal that I hadn't seen in 5 years. She's an actress now!

-Having some hipster guy tell me I was "too cool for this place". I told him that I wasn't too cool for anything, then I went and danced my hardest to some Sir Mix-A-Lot.

-Wearing a straight-up drenched shirt for half the night....It seemed like a good idea at the time. Let this be a disclaimer: do not try to wash your shirt in a sink at a bar...Ever.

-Running into Bill (Bushwick), one of my old friends (and honestly, not really the type to be hanging out the Roadhouse). He used to DJ, and now he's in the middle of cutting an album. For those familiar with the Ghetto Boys, we used to call him Bushwick, 'cause his name is Bill and he's not a very big guy. It was soooo great to see him. He ran up to the DJ booth, and asked them to put on some dancehall for me. They put on some Sean Paul, and he went back up there and told them it wasn't good enough (because....seriously). Finally, they threw on a good track for me. Thanks, Bill. Soon after, they put on some Run DMC. Bill busted some breakdance moves, made some jokes about being the only non-white person in the place, told me to call him, and ran off into the night. I still can't figure out why he was there, but maybe he was thinking the same thing about me.

-Discussing channel 11 (the french channel) on the way home, and realizing that I wasn't crazy for remembering a show about a girl with a magic lunch-box...It really happened!

-Listening to a very drunk Melanie make up her own words to songs. She was singing Usher's "My Boo", and was actually able to insert "my big pink plastic baby" into the lyrics.

-"Bonjour, comment ca va....Ca va com ci com ca". This was a song that Melanie and Lisa sang almost the entire way home. Love you girls!


Tomorrow night, I'm going to a party at Soucy's house!!! Promise some great photos and Soucy/Karen news. I am so excited to see them!

We started off the night at Chili's for nachos and beer. Melanie took this "artistic" photo by accident.

Tim, Karine, Melanie, and I. I brought more than one camera to the bar...I can't wait to get my film developed! I like how you can see my bra through my shirt in this photo...You probably all want to make out with me now. You know you do.

Karine, Lisa, Melanie, and I. I'm the only non-french kid there.

My favorite frenchie.

Karine and I. I look tired....I am tired. Was it a good idea to go out when I am sick? No. Am I glad I went out? Heck yes.

Melanie lighting sambuca on fire in her mouth. After about her 10th shot, she began to spit them out on me, fire and all. Who knew that sambuca stained? Luckily, I was so trashed that I went into the bathroom and rinsed out my shirt. Then, I put the wet shirt back on and danced in it until it was dry. I have some good ideas...Seriously.

I've been obsessed with mirror photos lately...It doesn't mean that the mirror photos that I take are any good, but every time I get sauced, they seem like a good idea.

Man, we're fun.

Karine took this photo, and it makes me laugh.

Happy Birthday, Melanie!!!

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Enough is enough.

Dear Hed Kandi,

This is getting ridiculous. Please stop putting out so many dance-tacular CDs. I'm not feeling well at all today, yet I can't stop dancing. Ever since I received your Winter Mix 2004, the world is my dancefloor. People are looking at me like I'm crazy when I'm off in my own world, dancing in the corner of the store or across the busy intersection. From now on, you should only make cds that I don't love. Then I won't have to own them.

Thanks,
sarah p.

p.s. On second thought....Please keep releasing these cds. I already have about 20 different Hed Kandi mixes, so I might as well keep the collection growing. Plus, the drawings of the girls on the covers are hotttttt (and, you know, I like the music and stuff). Bonus points for putting one of my favorite tracks of the year, Afrocatalans (Danny Marquez & Ferry B- Hardsoul Remix), on the first disk. I dare anyone to dislike that song...It's impossible!



Okay, I feel better now. I just needed to get that out of my system. Now you should all go download Afrocatalans (make sure it's the Hardsoul Emocion Tropical Treatment mix). Even if you hate house, you probably won't hate this track. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of some of my best nights out....It's not often that a song brings back so many rad memories.






You know you spend way too much time at work when everyone starts referring to your boss as your "platonic life-partner". Every day when I arrive, someone hands me a note from my boss, and makes some sort of clever joke about it being a love letter. Beyond my boss, I do spend the most time at the store, and I get teased for it. Guess it's the price you pay for getting the best hours. I only have a few months left at the store before I'm off to CT. I'm so excited!

I'm really excited to get together with Karen and Soucy. I miss those guys a ton. It will be so great to see Karen, as it was so nice to get to know her better this summer, and Soucy and I may have to go pay DJ Rice a visit sometime soon.

I'm in the middle of beginning a huge art project. It has nothing to do with photography, or painting, or drawing, or sculpting... I guess it could be considered "conceptual art". Anyway, I haven't told anyone about my idea, and honestly, no one will know about it until after it's done. It's keeping my mind quite busy, as I am very excited. I have no idea how long I will continue it, but I'm sure I'll know when I need to stop. Can't wait to tell you all eventually (promise some photos)!!!

Guess that's all for tonight, I should run off to bed, as I am still running a fever, and am generally feeling not-s0-good (however, I'm still dancing...)


Hey! Dylan Reid (a fella that I've had the pleasure of meeting a few solid times), who lives in Toronto, made this photo essay on the importance of posters around the city. You should check it out, because he knows what he's doing.


Night!



(have a good trip, mr. maas)



Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Hot blooded, check it and see... I got a fever of a hundred and three...

Okay, so my fever's not that high, but I'm stuck with a cold, and it's not much fun. I should have been drinking screwdrivers this weekend to get some extra vitamin C in my system...I don't think Crown Royal is chock full of vitamins, is it? Maybe just in my dreams.



Sometimes I will know something for a really long time, and then forget it after a while. I think sometimes when I learn something new, some of the old information gets pushed out of my head, so I have to re-learn it. Here is a list of things that I have re-learned over the past few days:


-Napoleon Dynamite is still funny, even after you've already watched it a chillion times. It is, however, unwise to stay up all night and watch it with your best friend when you have to be at work in the morning.

-Blood oranges are blindingly delicious.

-The Back Alley (see previous post) will make your hair smell horrible for days, even if you wash it a lot.

-It is a good idea to let Allison talk you into buying a copy of Weekly World News at the 7-11... It may cost a couple of bucks, but the entertainment value of it is priceless.

-Buying gum coated in sprinkles is never, ever smart, no matter how pretty it looks.

-If you go out and dance to every song for four hours, you will be stiff the next day.

-Breakfast nachos make me very happy (in a way that english muffins and handfuls of dry cereal just can't accomplish)...Thanks!





P.S. Get the hell over to Burger King right now.



Saturday, February 05, 2005

Triz-ashed.


Tonight, I had to go to Selina's birthday party at the Back Alley. For those who don't know, picture Ditto's, but 100 times bigger, with a lot more filthy bar-stars and horny dudes. I didn't want to go, but it was kind of an obligation.

I thought tonight would be horrible, and it was...Until Nikki and I decided to make it into a good night. Nik was happy because she got the phone number of her secret crush, and I was happy because....Well, let's just say that I've been a happy kid lately (I'm winking in a certain direction). Anyway, we both were not interested in the whole "pick-up" vibe of the bar, but we still wanted to stay around. Our solution? Dance all night, but refuse to dance with anyone but ourselves and each other. Every time a guy would approach us, we'd tell them politely that we weren't interested....Maybe we'd have to tell them a couple of times. If they didn't listen after that, then Nikki would kick them in the shins.

I'm really tipsy still, and I wasn't a smart drinker tonight. I will be very sick in the morning. Nobody was around to keep me from drinking massive amounts of rum and rye (plus my standard gin and tonics).

Let me tell you one thing: it's really nice to come home with a clean conscience. I was such a good kid tonight (and honestly, I've been very good for quite some time now). I like this whole "good kid" deal....It's nice to have such an awesome reason to be good. Thanks! : )

How many photos of Nikki kissing me in the washroom at the Back Alley do I need? Apparently, the answer is two.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Mélanie......

Merci pour est mon seul collègue sain d'esprit....Vous et je cours le magasin! Donc content vous êtes dans ma vie.

Équipe rêveuse pour toujours (ou jusqu'à nous décidons d'obtenir les vrais travaux) ! ! !

~sarah

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Maaaaaddd Props....

I'll keep this short and sweet....

Thanks to Allison for giving me a fully radical haircut in my kitchen. Coolest best friend ever.

Huge late happy birthdays to Paul Whitehouse, my great pal and the best DJ I know, Andy, my little internet superstar, and Karen, one of my fav 'Queka gals.

Early birthday wishes for Selina, Melanie, and Jaymie. We have 3 birthdays at the store in 2 weeks!

Nicole and Jared, I miss gossiping with you....So much! Definite day off together this summer, okay?

Kate, I expect to see more of you around the CLC this summer, mmm-kay? We like you way too much to not have you around...Did that sentence make any sense?

Mr. Tucci, we are so glad to have you back as part of the team this year! You really rocked it hard last summer.

CLC girls, I shouldn't have to say anything....I think you all know how I feel. Miss you all so much my teeth hurt!

CITs, I can't wait to have you on staff with us. So glad you all got accepted!

Tyler, so glad you'll be my right-hand-man again this summer, and this time I won't have to share you with Johnny Stapes! Your help is always much appreciated (especially when a certain few campers, not naming any names, decide they really like photography, and proceed to kick their counselors and run off into the forest several times. Think you know who I'm talking about. Like I said...Not naming names).

Mr. Maas, thanks for being so flat-out rad.

Ron, thanks for being Ron. Glad you're around (even when you live a trillion miles away). Can't wait to meet your girl!

Aleisha, love you so much and hope to get to the 'Couve to see you in March.

Colin.....Hope you read this. Road trip at the end of the summer? Yes, please.

In fact, if you're reading this right now, you're probably someone I care about a lot....Thanks for being someone who is awesome enough for me to care about!

Okay, I'm going to stop writing like a 12-year-old girl right now. Sorry for getting so sappy, but sometimes this stuff is long overdue.


Lastly, Andre, one of my best pals at the store, is leaving for Holland tonight for a few weeks. Here's a good Andre story:

This one time, one of our customers, who is also Dutch, brought Andre some goat milk. Andre explained to me that all "true Europeans" should love goat milk. I said to him "Yeah, goat milk is okay....I had a goat named Jody once. He was pretty great."
I guess I didn't pause enough between my first and second sentences, because Andre gave me a very strange look, and said "Ummm...Sarah? I don't know what you were drinking, but male goats don't make milk......"
I had to explain to him that I didn't ever try to milk Jody (which wouldn't have had the most, umm, desirable results).

Night!