Pre-New Year's Dance-athon.

So, last night we went to Bamboo (not our usual spot) and had a pretty magical night. I'm pretty sure that it was a great prequel to all of the amazing adventures we'll have tonight.

Duane!
The most beautiful shoes in the world.
Blowfish!

The most beautiful girl in the world.
Allison getting cheeky with the camera.

p.s....Props to Cosmos for tearing up the dancefloor with me....and many thanks to Sheena and Shafer for feeding me their beverages.

p.p.s...I know I say this a lot, but Allison really is the greatest best friend in the world.

Man, oh, man....

...Am I ever excited that synthesizers are making an amazing comeback, via groups like Freeze Pop and DJs like Mylo (speaking of Mylo, 'In My Arms' is a track with such perfect 80's sampling that it gives 'Call On Me' a swift kick in the groin).

You can spend a million years telling me that that synthpop is stooooopid, but try and stay still when it's playing....Not gonna happen.

Turkey + Wine = Best Sleep of All Time.

Hope you guys had a great day.

Happy holidays, kids.

2006 is going to prove to be a pretty amazing year, I promise.

Ladies and Gentleman....

Please give some love to Mr. Leeroy Stagger (free downloads!). He used to cut my hair when I lived in Victoria.

p.s....If you live in Calgary, and you don't have any tentative plans for New Year's, you may want to check out Leeroy's show at Palomino. I don't really know what I'm doing to ring in the new year, but it'll probably involve a little bit of Leeroy.

One more holiday wish.

I want to run for the border...In gift-certificate form.

Taco Bell is like heaven in a crunchy, corn-based shell.


T-Minus 1 day until my weekend starts. I am counting the seconds.

Please don't steal penguins.

Thank you.

Getting run-down, ya'll.

I miss having winter break.

Why can't the adult-world have some sort of equivalent?
I want a week off. If you want to get me an awesome birthday present, get me a paid week off of work.

p.s. Dylan is the king of gifts.

Congratulations, Colin!!!

I am anti-virus.

That is to say, I am against viruses in any shape or form.

Just realized that you guys probably can't see the millions of words that are highlighted in my blog, such as the word 'gift', and whatnot...Can you? It's probably only on my computer.

I swear, if Megatron and I were tight, stuff like this wouldn't happen.

New Stupid Virus.

You may notice that some words (for example, the words 'gift' and 'virus') are highlighted. It's because I have a new kick-ass virus that seems to have worked it's way into my computer. For now, my anti-virus and anti-spyware software don't seem to be doing as much as they should. Unlike my last virus, that put my computer entirely out of commission, this one leaves my computer usable, just very annoying.

This September, it's time for a brand-new computer, and I'll probably just stick it out until then without repairs, unless this virus goes the way of my last one....However, don't worry if I seem to disappear for a while or anything...I'm not dead, just getting my computer fixed.

Wrapping paper is stupid.

It is.
Here is a list of alternate things to put around gifts:

-Put a burger on a newspaper for a minute or so, then trace around the grease-stain, and draw a face on it. Tie with some glitter yarn.
-Write a list of words that almost rhyme (orange/sword, papes/tates...See? They don't even have to be real!), and tape it around gift with masking tape.
-Cut out pictures of everything you would like as a present, and make some sort of collage. Wrap around gifts, and send to your friends and relatives long before they've bought you anything. The power of suggestion is some pretty heavy stuff.
-Paint the outside of a ziplock baggie, and seal with some Doublemint and Big Red, for a "festive" look.
-Dip entire gift in glue, and then dip into a sparkle-tank (Yes, I know there's no such thing as a sparkle-tank, but a girl can dream...)
-Draw a picture of yourself drawing a picture of yourself drawing a picture of yourself drawing a picture of yourself drawing a picture of yourself naked. Tie with shoestring licorice.
-Write out the lyrics of Kris Kross' 'Jump', and paste together with dreams of faded glory.
-Silly String. Nuff said.

You're welcome.

The boss called...

....Think you guys know the rest of that sentence.

Danced a bit, drank a lot, and had a night of much-needed non-work-related fun.


P.S. When Dylan takes me out, you know it's got to be good.

I feel like I'm being racist, but...

...now that I've had Greek yogurt, I can't go back to the plain old North American-style. Pretty amazing stuff.
6% milk fat....Hell yeah!!!

I'm kissing you guys through my screen right now....That's how much I miss you.

For all of my pals following the New Sincerity movement...The newest installment of Maximum Fun Mondays (thanks, Alex).

Those who know me well know how I feel about lists...Here are all of the best lists of the year on one page!!!

The best of Drew's Toothpaste For Dinner:

It's true.
Anything involving Kool Keith is worth it's salt.
This one's for Melony.
My motto for life.


Amy, of Teenage Unicorn fame, is hosting a free Go! Team download on her site. Here's a link. Please read the rest of the site, too, and send her e-mails and e-hugs thanking her for endless entertainment. Thanks.


By the way.... My very dear friend, Kate Wedemire, took off last week to do a photo project in Thailand, called People On Earth. I wish her the greatest travels in the world.


P.S. Nice things are happening all the time around me...But sometimes I forget to see them. I'm trying to open my eyes more.

You need more Go! Team in your life.

Yes, you do. I'm being serious.

Allison is tops on the list of the best friends of all time.

She brought me sushi, then gave me the best haircut that anyone has ever gotten (again).

It's been a good weekend so far....A very good weekend.
I am surrounded by some seriously amazing people in this city, and that's all I need to say.

;)


P.S. Mr. Kevin Sweeting, who lives in the illustrious H-Town (a place so magical that I can't even speak of it), talked me into setting up an account @ last.fm . Won't you join us?

P.P.S. How is everyone out of H-Town so awesome? It must be in the water.

Growing up.

What did I have for dinner last night?
Beer and Lucky Charms.
...I couldn't be any cooler right now if I tried. Somewhere in the world right now, The Fonz himself is riding a motorcycle and applauding me.


As I approach my 24th birthday, I am realizing that I am turning out less and less like my late-teens idea of being an adult (peppered with professionalism and dinner parties), and more and more like my 8-year-old idea of being an adult (eating crap and staying up "as late as I want").

Long Distance High Five!

Instructions:

1. Put hand on screen.
2. Pretend that I'm not a work, and I'm putting my hand on the screen, too.
3. Yell out: "Long Distance High Five!!!"
4. Bask in the good times.



Miss you guys a ton.

My x-mas list:

Yesterday, my mom asked me to write her a list of stuff I want for Christmas. I told her "Mom, it's simple. I want money and more money, and maybe some of those marshmallow Peeps that look like trees, but not chicks because chicks aren't festive, and I don't even think they make the chick-shaped ones in December."

So, that's it. Money and marshmallows.

To be perfectly honest, the whole traditional gift-giving Christmas thing is pretty new to me... Growing up, we always took the money that we would spend on us, and used it to sponsor a needy family. So, we've just started giving/receiving gifts within the past few years, mostly to pay lip-service to my stepdad. I feel really awkward about getting gifts. I understand that the holidays aren't just about gifts and blah blah blah, but I still feel really strange about the whole thing...Plus I am like the worst gift-giver in the world. If you want to receive a gift that you didn't ever really want, and would never actually use, then ask for a gift from me.

P.S.
Beer Mat art? Hell yes.

P.P.S.
Money can be sent in the form of cash, cheques, or money order.

P.P.P.S.
I'm also accepting plane tickets to Connecticut (mid-June, please) as gifts.

P.P.P.P.S.
Seriously, though...Please don't buy me any gifts, unless they're of the cupcake variety.

Cause you know you always secretly wanted to...

Be a Lego-Man!!!

Sorry, guys, I got lazy this weekend, and didn't take any photos. I promise it won't happen again.

Join the revolution!!!

Okay. It's time for me to get serious for a minute. I have been looking for some meaning in my existence for a little while, and I think, after an exhausting search, that I have found the new movement-in-the-making that will dictate my life....A little something called The New Sincerity. I'll let Alex Blagg let Jesse Thorn explain.

Irony is not dead...Just a bit tired. It's time to throw some genuine sincerity in the mix to keep things fresh.

Anyway, Alex Blagg is holding Maximum Fun Fridays (which sometimes turn into Maximum Fun Mondays, because deadlines are sooo not New Sincerity).
Here are the first couple of excerpts:

#1

#2


I'm living a maximum fun lifestyle from now on.

If you think your life is missing something, maybe it's time to join the movement and be more awesome!

Some more ('cause I'm on-the-ball tonight):

Not joking, this is like the scariest thing of all time. It is a supposed "mermaid mummy" at a tourist shop in Banff. Terrifying? Yes.

Allison is all business.
Paul looking mighty Canadian in a fresh coon-skin hat.
The standard Allison/Sarah photo that makes it into every photo-post.

Amy, Paul, and I at HiFi (the following weekend).

Allison looks terrified. I look unsure. Paul looks pretty jazzed to be in between two hot gals.

Duane! Damn straight.

Allison and I (again).

P.S. Please do not buy Nickleback's new CD...It only encourages them to make more. Their music hurts my soul.

Photos!

An awesome turtle at Devonian Gardens.

Selina and I after a night of extreme dancing.

Fish!!
You know how we do.

Jonathan getting sassy.

Cheryl and I ripping it up at HiFi.

I don't know what I'm looking at, but I'm awfully happy.

So, um, Allison took this photo. That's my stomach, and her finger. Allison should become my photo-sidekick.

Miami Vice up in the joint. For real...These guys were a breath of fresh air.

More tomorrow (with tons from Sir Whitehouse's visit).

So I was going to post some photos tonight...

....Cause I have like a million, but a certain flu bug decided to take up residence inside of me, and I feel f-ing terrible.

Dylan totally called me out on not updating last night.

Soon, my friends...Soon. I promise.

Contract arrived...

...Signed it and sent it back.

Say hello to a four-year Awosting veteran....Thank you very much.

I am looking mega-forward to another sunny summer on Bantam Lake.
I promise the photo-cabin will reach new heights of awesome.

I salute you.

To the large amount of Asian senior-citizens that I see in a day wearing old-school neon surfer pants, Hypercolor shirts (or shirts with iconic 80's cartoon characters), sassy trucker hats, and circa-1991 snowboard outerwear.... Thank you.

Sometimes you guys are the only reason to get up on weekday mornings.

Guess who's getting a visit from Paul Whitehouse?

That's right!
Everyone's favorite house DJ has to leave the US for a few days (work visa limits), and has chosen to explore the frozen tundras of Canada during his break from sunny skies, fancy cars, and beautiful beaches.
Yessssss.
Now, I expect the rest of you to follow suit and get the heck up here. Soon.

So I wasn't going to go out tonight.....

...But I have very persuasive friends.

The worst promo squad of all time.

Andre's ex-wife has finally put out her album, and it's getting some pretty heavy rotation on the radio in the city. My problem? I let myself get too personally involved in these situations, and every time someone I know ends up getting some sort of recognition, it becomes a headache for me. See....Jess really hurt Andre a few months ago, and due to the fact that Andre is one of my favorite people in the whole world, I'm not willing to let the whole situation go quite yet. I want to be happy for her success, but it's hard when there's such a background story.
The bottom line? Buy the album, listen to it, but don't like it too much, okay?

In other news, I finally got back to my old schedule at work, which means a late shift on Thursdays. I think we all know what that means.... I'm back to listening to Marco's outstanding radio show, Fat Beat Diet, every week. Did you know that you can listen to it too? You don't even have to live in the city! 10:30 my time on Thursdays, log onto CJSW's site, and listen away.... You know you want to.


Probably have some pics tomorrow, as the ladies are coming over tonight for a bit of a get-together (and Amy is bringing her massage table...hell yes).

It's snowing....

....For real this time.


Winters in Calgary are no joke.

Too tired to come up with a witty title.

Hey! You guys want some canadian podcasts? Mmmkay. Download, check back every week for a new one, and thank me later.

You guys digging Masia One like I am? You probably should be.

Umm...Halloween's been pretty quiet, as it's a Monday, I work tomorrow morning, and there's no kids in my building. Good news, though: I bought some f-ing amazing discount candy today, and I'll probably buy some more tomorrow.




You guys better know how much I miss you. I'll give you a hint...It starts with 'tons'.

P.S.

Please visit Ferry Halim's site. It is maybe the nicest non-real place to go at the end of the day.

Tonight...

...if you would have looked in my window, you would have seen me walking back and forth infront of my computer and making a bunch of impressed noises. Why? That's why.

I got my Europe photos back from the lab, and I am rather pleased, although I left them at work. Perhaps I will scan some in at the end of the week.

Aurgasm has got some out-of-control downloads right now, including my favorite of the moment, Arctic Monkeys, and they just put up a new Hanne Hukkelberg track too. Bonus points, Aurgasm. Bonus points.


P.S.Melony, Sarah B, Sara D, Jenny, Nicole, and Kate (all of my fellow awosting girls)....I am sad without you here. Please visit Calgary soon. All of you. I miss camp girls. The girls at work are scary.

P.P.S. Ron should come visit me soon too.

P.P.P.S. The same goes for Paul.

P.P.P.P.S..... and the rest of the Awosting staff. Please? My heart hurts without you guys here.

Early Halloween party!

Allison and Shannon, the world's greatest poker helper (I won $40 that night, and I don't even know how to play!)

A scary photo of Allison and I.

Ryan (Earl!), Lisa, Shannon, and Sean.

Allison and I looking mighty best-friendly.

In other news, I'm back to work...Pranked!!! Yeah, you guessed it....Work is mega-wack.

The good news is that I got a couple of calls today from a couple of temp agencies, which means that I may have a few interviews later on in the week. Perhaps, in a stroke of Kate Tucci-esque good luck, I will get a better job.

In other good news, I may have made the greatest grilled cheese of all time. I am eating it right now, and the only things missing are the tomato soup (didn't have any), and about 10 kids.

I miss camp like crazy. No joke.

Ummm....Jetlag?

Since I am a frickin' genius, I thought I could outsmart jetlag. It turns out that no one can outsmart jetlag. Ever.

I am not adjusting back very well. A lot of the problem could be due to the fact that I really don't want to be back here, but that resentment will fade after a few good parties (speaking of which, there will be an all-out early Halloween shin-dig tomorrow night. Hell yes.).

Posting photos like it was my job.

Okay, so here is a few of the photos from my crappy digital camera. I have a whole bunch of black and white stuff that'll be ready on Tuesday (damn those non-one-hour photo places), and I'll scan some of those later on. For now: European vacation photos (Part 1).





This photo is actually just a proof that I took, and later re-created on film. This was by the palace in London.
These are wacky little glass figures that I found in Amsterdam. The artist does some really amazing stuff (www.braggiotti.com).
Ireland is sooo green and beautiful. It's snowing in Calgary right now *sigh*.
The roof of a canal boat in Amsterdam. It made me happy.
The canals at night.



Rainy London.
The "ooooh I'm in London" shot.
The river and parliament buildings (Big Ben!).
My sister and I being about as touristy as we can be.
My dad, sister, and I in Cardiff, where our roots lie.

Back in Calgary.

The jet-lag combined with the complete fall from grace after having a blast for 4 months is putting me in a bit of a sad mood.

The trip was amazing, but now I miss my dad a ton. The fact that the three of us bawled at the airport for about 15 minutes before we left didn't help the situation.

I'll get used to being home in a few days. My sister and I have pretty much moved into our new apartment, but I won't be full-time living there until Thursday.

I was going to start at an office job tomorrow, but I spent my entire trip dreading it, so I called today and told them I'd found another job. Andre contacted me while I was in Europe, and offered me a promotion at the store, so I will be back selling wine next Monday. For now. *sigh*

Hey! I called today and got digital phone service (which starts on Thursday), which means unlimited free long-distance to anywhere in North America any time!!!! If you want my new #, or want me to call you, send me an e-mail (sarahdianna@gmail.com), and we'll chat until the cows come home (or until I fall asleep from mega-jet-lag).

High fashion on the streets of Europe.

I've been here a week now, and am happy to announce that I am now up-to-date on the latest trends, as they seem to hit over here a good six months before they hit North America.
Here's what I have noticed:

-Black and chocolate brown together. Melony would be furious.
-The tightest pants in the world tucked into tall boots. Very few people pull this off successfully. Very few.
-Shorts and huge belts worn in place of skirts at nightclubs. Being that my legs are about as stubby as they come, I'm pretty positive that I'll never be wearing this.


What would I like to see as the next big trend? Getting really fat. All of a sudden, people that were surviving on three grapes and a cracker a day (*cough* my sister *cough*) would be calling their friends and going "Yeah, I just ate a whole cake in an attempt to fit into my awesome new Gucci Fat pants".

Be back in a week!

European Adventures.

So, I don't have much time, but here's the deal so far:

The flight was pretty uncool. Seriously.
Went straight from Heathrow to Wales, where we spent 3 days in Cheapstowe. Made a great daytrip to Cardiff, where I uncovered some of my roots.
Back in London, where life is magical. Most of you guys know how I feel about London.... Love it!

Will write more as soon as possible. Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm alive and well.

Miss you all so much!

Well, that's it....

Oh my gosh! I'm packed and ready to go. After some enthusiastic celebrating of Allison's birthday this evening, I will be boarding a plane tomorrow on my way to Europe for 15 days.

Hope everyone has a great two weeks, I'm not sure how often I'll get on a computer, so I may or may not get a chance to update. However, I will be checking my e-mail at least once while I'm there, so don't hesitate to keep in touch.

Here's the thing: I looooove sending postcards. If you'd like a postcard, you can either leave your address in the comments section of my blog, or e-mail me your address at sarahdianna@gmail.com ....So, please send me your addresses, and you will recieve a fabulous postcard from me! Please?

I'll miss you guys a ton...Bye!

P.S....Two days after I return, I have an office job lined up for myself...How much of a buzzkill is that? Welcome back to reality, sarah p.

For a limited time only!!!

Hey. My name is sarah p. You may know me from such blog entries as 'clc at the track meet', or 'dave chapelle,wtf', but today I'm here to talk to you about something very serious....Photoshop competitions. I link to all sorts of Photoshop competitions from time-to-time, and you might be thinking to yourself "man, those photoshop competitions are pretty rad, I wish I knew how to make the entire cast of Will & Grace look like poodles". Well, I'm here today to tell you that, yes, I can do that, and put your name on it. If you pay me. Normally, I wouldn't waste hours of my time making Kevin Federline look really old, but I will do it for a pretty small price. So if you're thinking to yourself "my life is not all it should be, and the only thing that will make everything complete is if I enter a photoshop competition with a picture of Brian Peppers dancing onstage with the cast of Rent"....Remember.... I can do that. For money.
No?
Nobody?
Guys, I'm going to be mega-broke after this Europe trip. Help a brother out.

Could it be?

It might just be the caffeine from the 8 or so cups of coffee I've had today, but I think I might have just felt the first little tinge of excitement about my trip. Wow!

A throwback.

So, for the past few months, I've been mega-busy, and haven't really had time to find or post awesome links. Well, guess what? I have time now. So before I get mega-busy again, let's do this.


~It's Halloween soon, and you know what that means...Matt over at x-entertainment is posting up a storm!!! This year's Halloween countdown proves to be just as good as the past couple, so check it out daily.

~Now, I'm not pretending to be cool for even like a second, but sometimes, I like to know what the cool kids are into.

~I don't know if I've ever posted this one before, but this magazine keeps me constantly looking on the ground for something awesome to send in.

~Make your own indie fantasy league!!! Don't ask why...Just do it!

~Man, I wish I was awesome like Grandaddy, then I'd make awesome videos on my Apple 2E too.

~This one's for all the camp folk.

~How great is this? Tracks from DJ Shadow's Endtroducing, performed by a high school band.

~papermag.com keeps me entertained like all the time. It's a magical site where you learn about parties you can't go to, and people you can't talk to.

~mondo-nyc is a club in New York. Not like I can go or anything, but I totally pretend I'm there by listening to their online radio station every day.

~I have a lot of love for retrocrush. Check out their 'worst costumes of all time' feature.

~For those of you that totally have a friendship-crush on Natalie Dee, check out Drew's drawings on toothpaste for dinner.

~aaaaaand...I'll leave you guys with one of my favorite things in the world...Celebrity Jeopardy!!! That's right, all of them. Ever.



5 days until I'm off!

still sad.

...I'm not adjusting well to being back. I am leaving for Europe in a week, and have a hard time getting excited about it, because I am missing everyone so much. I don't know why the transition has been so hard this year, but I just feel like I've had a constant heartache since I've been back. :(

On the brighter side, I've seen a lot of old friends that I missed a lot, and I made maybe the most amazing mix-cd I've ever made for Allison's car. Being around Allison makes things better, for real.

I miss you guys...A lot.

The first round of photos from the last month (way more to come)...

It's fun to take photos in the benz by yourself!!!

I told you guys before, it's maybe the best tan of all time. See?

From the roof of the bar in Wilmington with Paul, my non-romantic life partner.

A band at the bar in NC. They were called Amyss.

New NC pals!!! Justin, who Paul is doing a show with in a few weeks, and Angie, who became a great friend very quickly!

and even more.

This is the beach in NC.

Here is the Sladek's pool in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Some southern seagulls.

Paul and I enjoying a day by the pool.

Wrightsville beach in Wilmington.