OH! And on Ottawa St. there is a costume shop of all things, and I poked my nose in wondering if they maybe had a Michael Jackson wig. The lady was really nice. We hunted high and low and finally resorted to looking at every page in every catalogue. A no go. Then I found one ALMOST perfect on the shelf!!! It's got straight bangs, which I will have to deal with, but it looks like wet jheri-curls and that was the era I was after.
YAY! Toosh and I cut the extra Ren Faire wig I had lying around, and it's black and wavy, so it will do in a pinch. Either way, that's two things off my list. While he was visiting yesterday, I glue gunned TONS of embellishment on the sleeves. I still have to do the epaulets and the front of the jacket, but it looks amazing. I'm very happy.
Now to find a large stuffed monkey and a diaper.
I lost my presser foot!!!!!
It's the thing you need to sew on a sewing machine. I had swapped it out to try something called a 'darning foot' a few weeks ago to quilt, and there are only so many places it could be. For god's sake, I have a freakin SEWING ROOM with little bins bolted to the window sill so I don't lose little things like that.
I hunted high and low with a flashlight, even. I think one of the cats might have whacked it and used it as a sparkly toy, and it could be anywhere.
I glue gunned as much of the MJ costume as I could, but I need to sew the glove and the socks. I'll borrow my mom's if I have to, but MAN that is annoying.
Actually the costume is coming along amazingly. I'm very pleased with it. I wish I had more of the thick gold trim -- I only had enough for the pants and the collar of the jacket. I had to use thinner trims on the cuffs.
If anyone local has any of the following, I could surely use it:
-- black fedora hat
-- aviator mirrored sunglasses
-- a stuffed monkey
-- surgical masks
-- black curly wig. I have a wavy one which will do in a pinch, but I'm aiming for 80s Michael
If I can't get a chimp, I'll use a doll with a blanket over it's head. HAHAHA!
The water is still too cold, in my opinion, to swim in, but then again I am a wimp with a capital W. And I never swim in lakes. Only heated pools. LOL
***
I went for a two and a half hour hike today, to "Lookout Point" which was beautiful. The hike was through a mosquito-infested bog, but I slathered the bug spray on before I went, and it was okay. I didn't get bitten, though I got swarmed on a few occasions. Still worth it to see the view. And to get the exercise. I love woodsy hikes. Can't get enough of them.
The people across from me were annoying the shit out of me, anyhow, so I was glad to get away from the campsite. The father never stopped hollering at top volume at his kids named (CAN YOU GUESS???), Emma, Hannah and Olivia. Why the hell does EVERYONE name their kids those names? It's like Jennifer and Debbie in the 70s. Ugh. Get creative!!
At one point, I came in the van to get away from the racket and I read several of the Malcolm Gladwell articles I'd printed off. I adore that guy. I even had a dream last night that he was my boyfriend. HA! It inspired me to write, so I cranked out an Op-Ed piece about Chaz Bono and the Gender Binary. I'll have to find a home for it. I am going to try and sell a piece of writing a month... and add it to my "Move to BC fund". At this point, I'm even considering a "Move to Northern Ontario Fund". I forgot how much I love Ontario once you get out of the congested and overpopulated south. In fact, I fell in love with Kenora when I was there, but it's over 24 hours from Hamilton (Seriously, this province is WAY bigger than Texas) and it's about three hours from Winnipeg.
We shall see. Right now, it doesn't matter where, I just have to get the fuck out of that job and out of that city. The bonus of staying in Ontario is my trucking licence would still be valid and I already have OHIP. I think in BC you have to pay for health care. I shit you not. Something like $50 or $70 a month (I looked it up, it's true!) but if I'm underemployed, that will be a lot of money.
Speaking of which, another option has maybe presented itself. Tooshie was over again the other night and I was trying to help him find an apartment or a room to rent. At one point he asked about renting a room at "Spa Pavlov" (we always call my apartment that, as it's a palace compared to his old place, and I *do* have everything, from a pop machine to gourmet coffee to a BBQ and AC. Never mind digital cable and wifi. LOL
So we were loosely talking about him moving in with me, but I kiboshed the idea then and there. I really don't want another roommate. My old roommate and I stopped speaking by the end of it. I can't deal with moody people and it's a small space. Never mind that there is SOO much history there with Toosh, not all of which is good. Let's face it, the man drives me nuts. We argue like cats and dogs and I don't trust him. Mostly.
Today I reconsidered. I am trying to save up at least $10,000 before I move. I need a cushion for things like rent, moving expenses, etc. I won't move unless I have a job to go to, but somehow I doubt that job will pay what I'm used to. You never know, but I have to consider the possibility. I also expect that I might find myself in situations that I wouldn't usually consider -- things like having roommates or renting a room in someone else's house. It might be kind of uncomfortable for me, but I will do it for a spell in the name of settling in in a new place.
And it dawned on me that if I'm willing to do that on the other end, why am I not willing to do that on this end? It won't be forever... a year or two, tops, and all that money he gives me for rent can go in the moving fund. We don't have to be best friends... right now things are going pretty good with him. In fact, he's one of the few friends I have whom I get on that level and who gets me back. We really do click. He drops in on me constantly, and I love that. He calls me. No one calls me. If the phone rings these days, I know it's mom, Am or Toosh. In that way, he's totally like family. We also have the same sense of humour, and that goes a LONG way with me. We have a good time together.
I just know that with him, it usually comes to an abrupt end. We went out in '91 for god's sakes, and in the ensuing 18 years, he's been in and out of my life so often, it's like a toilet seat. We usually have some huge fight that ends it. Then a few years later he calls me out of the blue, and then we're inseperable for a few months until it all blows up again.
I'm usually VERY VERY good at not repeating the patterns that got me in a boatload of trouble in my 20s, but I'm looking at all of this through new eyes. It's all about my single-minded goal to get the hell out of that godforsaken job in that godforsaken city, and I need to make changes to make it happen. This would be good for both of us financially.
I texted him today, and it's hard to have this conversation via text, so it will have to wait until I go home. I'm considering going home early (tomorrow instead of Wednesday), for a few reasons. One is to beat traffic, the other is to talk to Toosh and see about the roommate thing, and thirdly...
I need to make my costume for Polaris in a week and a half. It's genius really.
Michael Jackson.
I was singing Billie Jean and Man in the Mirror half the way as I drove up north (it was Jimi Jamison the other half. LOL), and those songs are EXACTLY in my key. The costume would be easy enough -- gold swirly trim on a fitted jacket plus gold tassle epaulets... short black pants with gold piping, white sequin glove plus socks, and a fedora. I need to get the jacket and pants from a thrift shop, the gold trim and white sequin fabric from Fabricland and I can glue gun the trim. I also need to find a curly wig. I have a black long haired wig from the queen costume (it was a spare... I wound up going with the braided red wig), that I could cut and it could be passable. I would prefer the wet-afro look from the 80s though. I also need aviator sunglasses. I think I can borrow the fedora from Toosh.
I'm so excited about it. Natasha, my neighbour, is coming with me this year, and we are going to get costumer's passes as they are WAY cheaper than convention passes. LOL!! I'm so excited now! I was going to retool my queen costume... I still might wear it one day, but I can't wait to do Michael for Klingon Karaoke, never mind the timing of it.
I think I'm destined to be an impersonator. LOL
Grateful for:
-- relaxation at Killbear
-- hiking for two and a half hours!
He had grossly inappropriate relationships with young boys through most of his adult life.
I still have to put the bigger AC unit in, but not sure if I should put it in the back or the front window this year. I'm sleeping in Jenn's old room these days (the bedroom), I'm in the sewing room a lot, and the living room is actually the room I spend the least amount of time in. That's where I usually put it, and that's the window I have the piece of wood cut for.
Decisions, decisions!
So I'm trying to pack for camping this weekend, but since the rest of the house is hot, I keep bringing the bins into the kitchen, and I'm packing in here. Tee hee! I have so much gear, it's great. Am should only need to bring her clothes and food. I have absolutely everything else, down to the salt and pepper. And the kitchen sink. She wants to sleep in the van, so I'm going to bring the cot back down and set the van up like I had it last summer for the big road trip. Then I'll leave it like that for the rest of the summer, as Adrienne and I are going to South Dakota in August. Seeing as it's Sturgis Bike week that week, we might not get a campsite (hotels are pretty much completely out of equation -- on average, they are $200-$300 for a WEEKNIGHT!!) and we might have to camp in the van one or two nights on the side of the road. We shall see. She's SO easygoing on that front, it's fantastic. One of us will sleep well on the cot -- there isn't exactly a lot of floor space next to it, but I'm sure she or I could cope for a night or two. The front passenger seat goes back, too. I'll have the tent if we do camp. I suspect we will.
***
I helped my old friend Anna move some of her mom's stuff last weekend, and I scored a tall dresser which I'm thrilled about. I'm just putting in my socks and underwear right now, but again, taking frequent breaks in the kitchen.
I'm just grateful I have one temperate room in the house. I'm not complaining.
In fact yesterday, after I hooked it up, I finally got around to the huge pile of dishes that had accumulated, and I'm glad that's done. I can't do dishes in a hot kitchen.
Oh, and I'm obsessed with that pop maker I got, and I've been using it regularly. No more bottled or canned pop for me! Whee!
***
Tooshie has been coming around a lot lately, and that's been nice. We acutally hung out at his place one night, and I was helping him try and find a new apartment. He lives next to one of the WORST dilapidated dumps in Hamilton (Lister Block for the local people) and we were on his rooftop looking at all the demolation going on around his building.
We got up to a few shenanigans but generally had a good time. It's nice to have a friend like him... a guy that I don't even have to put a bra on for (seriously). I think there are probably four people in this world I'm comfortable walking around in a tank top in (due to hairy pits) and he's one of them.
Grateful for:
-- AC
-- pretty good day at work
-- getting some camping gear packed up
-- getting my dresser put away
-- being awake
-- FB
__
Speaking of trip clothes... my favourite pair of shoes for the last few years has been those black Keens that I go on (and on and on and on) about. I wore my old pair until they literally fell apart. The model is called "Yogui" and they weren't making them for the longest time. Now they do, but they don't ship to Canada. So I bit the bullet and ordered them to be delivered to my new American mailing address. TEE HEE! They are slightly girlier than I would have liked -- black but with little silver outlines of flowers all over them. I just wore them on my hike and now I have nasty blisters on the insides of my feet. DRAT! I will have to wear them with socks for awhile, or just cope with the blisters until they go away! AGH!
I also picked up several other things from my American mailing address -- online purchases such as my new POP MACHINE (found the most demented YouTube video from the 90s here. It's awesome. You can carbonate tap water and add the syrup of your favourite pop. I'm a pop fiend. I drink A LOT of pop. I hate lugging cases or 2l bottles up the stairs, so this was a good purchase for me.
The other two things I picked up were an order of coffee for my Keurig coffee maker (hard to find in Canada and cheaper/more options stateside...), plus my ginormous order of bargoon fabrics from fabric.com. I'm in sewing heaven.
And speaking of that, my old friend Anna from dance class so many moons ago called me and wants to get together tomorrow. I'm going to help her move some furniture with my van. She also wants to give me bags of fabric from her mom's house. Her mom was recently put in a home, and she is cleaning out that house. Huge job, especially when it's not even your stuff. As for the fabric I'm going to be inheriting... LOL I am kinda swimming fabric all ready, but I'm always happy to take more. It's kind of a curse.
***
I am going to be making myself scarce next weekend -- I asked my neighbour to paint the steps, stairwell and hallway, and he suggested he do it while I'm on vacation. I would like to go camping, and maybe Am and Rick want to come with me for just a few days. We love Killbear Provincial Park, and it looks like there is availability for the Sun-Mon-Tues. I'd like to do that instead of a busy holiday weekend. Wednesday is Canada Day, and although I won't be going to Ottawa this year for it, I will be there in spirit, as Adrienne and I are going to vacation together in August instead. Sturgis Bike week in South Dakota. I love it! I love how she'll do anything. My favourite kinda traveling companion!!!
Grateful for:
-- catching up with Anna
-- my pop machine
-- my new shoes!!!
-- walk in the woods
-- boys being adorable, even though Eli keeps wanting to playfight.
I hate my job. I hate it so much. There is so much wrong with that place, I don't even know where to begin, but I can't blog about it specifically (I don't lock entries), so suffice it to say it just SUX. Instead of telling you what is wrong with it, I'll tell you what is 'right' with it, and then you can see how much I *REALLY* must hate the bad in order to sacrifice the litany of good...
I am on a project and I do one elementary school per week. It takes about a day to set up the new computers and roughly a half day to configure the old ones. That's it. I work (and not all that hard, either) for 1.5 days per week and I make $50K/yr with 3% raises every year. I have an iPhone paid for by work (for me to use at leisure), a laptop, a SERIOUS gaming computer (my mouse is worth $80 if that gives you any idea) at my desk with a 24" dual monitor set up. I get somewhere in the neighbourhood of $400 a month in mileage reimbursements. My boss is never around and couldn't possibly care less what I do with my time, so long as I'm on schedule with the rollout. I am autonomous. Some days I drag my ass to work and their are no consequences -- today I was wearing pyjamas and no bra, I shit you not,and I watched Frontline documentaries all day at my desk.
Didn't help that I watched the one on Bernie Madoff, and it was particularly depressing in light of the fact that he and his buddies made kajillions of dollars and lived high on the hog, and I'm trying to save up to move to BC and it's sooooooooooo slow going.
It's BRUTAL. The brutal part is the money and perqs are SOOOOOOOOO good it's next to impossible to quit. I just spent the last hour scouring the BC job boards and EVERYTHING was $12/hr, part time or crappy work. When I crunch the numbers, it's going to be pretty much impossible for me to leave in under a year, probably closer to two. I have got to get out of debt. I cannot take a job that pays half what I currently make and carry this debtload. It's not possible. I should be out of debt fast, but for some reason, it's not going fast. My debtload is half of what it was two years ago, but it just feels like I'm swimming in molasses.
I am also terrified that any job I get will not give me the autonomy I'm used to, and that I am sacrificing a CFL (cash for life) gravy train in the name of the unknown.
Ugh.
I had a really strange thing happen just as I was leaving work, though. For a FLASH I felt suddenly elated, and I thought for a split second how EXCITING it is to be planning for a new life and a big change. I should be happy every day, like a bride counting down the days to the wedding. I really should be looking at it as an opportunity, not a molasses year.
It's a Saturn year for me, though, and they are always hard on me.
OH! And speaking of which, Al Anon really kind of annoyed me on Monday night. I picked the topic, and it was 'Belonging'. I was talking about how hard it is for me to fit in, and how, for example, at work no one ever sits with me at staff functions. I just said it as an example, and as everyone went around the table and were telling me they felt sorry for me and that I made them sad. It was HIGHLY annoying. I am not in the market for pity. The thing I usually love about Al Anon is you can talk about shit like that and rest assured that someone there has felt what you felt. But half of them, as we went around the circle, said they never felt like they didn't belong. Thankfully about four or five us did, and their insights were wonderful and it was good to commisserate. The pity I could have done without though. Al Anon should NOT be about pity.
Ahem.
***
So I'm reading Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers' and enjoying it immensely, but every time I lay down to read, I fall asleep. I've been sleeping very badly lately. Up until all hours and zonked after work, so napping for several hours.
Something has really got to give on this job front. Seriously. I can't go through the motions for very much longer. It's killing me.
Grateful for:
-- Leah Day emailing me back!
-- practicing stippling on my first quilt... yeah, it's awful, but I'll improve!
-- most of my packages arriving stateside and waiting for me to pick them up
You know, my love of that man never gets old.
***
My dear friend, Jeff, asked me several weeks ago to make him a queen sized quilt, and offered to pay me $200. I know I know. Should have charged him double that, but he is my friend and I do love him, and it was my first stab at a paid job. I told him for that price, I'd only be buying bargain basement fabrics, though, and in total, the materials were about $120. I had the batting given to me. When I asked Jeff what kind of colour scheme, he only said, "A BC Cedar Forest" and I googled some pictures and printed them and brought them with me to Fabricland.
I liked each fabric as I bought it, and I particularly was proud of how I pulled out all the colours from the picture. Greens, browns, greys, a splash of orange and red... Cutting was a huge job and when I pieced it all together...
I hated it. The colours looked atrocious together. And everyone I asked was polite enough, but each person had a different opinion on what was the fabric that was the odd one out. Several people said the grey, I personally thought the large rectangle of green that was different than all the rest, and my sister said the orange flowers were way out in left field.
Anyhow, I designed the blocks myself and my friend, Susann, helped me come up with an idea to add some green accents to pull it all together. Even though I am decidedly NOT crazy about the individual blocks, I have to say, it looks pretty good all pieced together and I love the green stripes. I think they totally make the whole thing.
( Pictures below the cut )
Now I have to do the sandwich and the pinning (OMG what a big job) never mind the quilting and the binding!! Lots to do, lots more of staring at those colours. LOL I hope he likes it. He's a pretty easy sell on handmade stuff, and he's the kind of guy who will LOVE the effort gone into it, but I still hope he genuinely likes it.
I got a little loop-dee-loop there midweek when I started doing a bit of online shopping that resulted in me getting a new pair of Keen Yoguis... the shoes that I wore OUT last summer on vacation. I wore those shoes every day all day. And for years prior to that. I love them so much I can't even articulate it. They are hideously ugly by some people's estimation, but I love them. I actually bought them in the summer of '06 kind of as a joke, because I was the first person around to have Crocs (was introduced to them by a friend of mine from Colorado where they originated) and I wanted something even uglier than that, as Crocs were becoming trendy. They fell apart on my trip, and
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
flaming_atheist glued them back together for me, but they'd cracked and worn and definitely seen better days.They don't sell them in Canada, and when I found out about that US Address place, I bought fabric from Fabric.com, Yoguis from Keen and even more K-cups for my gourmet coffee maker. TEE HEE!
On Thursday night, I had a houseguest. His name was Jamie, and he was a chiropractic student taking his Canadian certification here in town. I'm listed on Couchsurfing.com as a host, but he was the first couchsurfer I'd officially hosted (let a rideshare spend the night, once), and he was DELIGHTFUL. It was so so so nice to meet someone on the same page as me. I really really cannot articulate how even a couple of hours with hippies CHARGES me up.
Today at work I got my new iPhone. I was very very very sad to say goodbye to my Crackberry, but this is something I've always wanted... I just have to get used to the lack of keyboard.
AH! Pens just won the cup. I'm sure my friend Josh is FREAKING out... he signs every single status update on Facebook with "go Pens". LOL
Grateful for:
-- Jamie
-- iPhone
-- iPhone Apps
-- catnip
-- the new deepfryer
I just fired up the BBQ and made a veggie dog and a cob of corn. I LOVE SPRING!! My back patio is on the west side of the house, so in the summer, it's too stupid hot to 'Q out there, but this time of year is perfect. It's been in the high teens or low 20s all week, except for the day of the yard sale which was hot, but so far so good.
***
Last night I got the Lush order in the mail that Julie, Am and I had gone in on, and I brought it over to Am's so we could divvy up our booty. It was DELIGHTFUL! I never ever ever get sick of Lush. Sometimes I think it's a sad and scary addiction, other times I realize I have no kids, no mortgage, I make good money, so what if I want to have a $7 bath every other day? LOL
Julie and Am LOVED theirs too. We were rolling around in it.
***
I have a couch surfer for tomorrow night. His name is Jamie and he's a chiropractor. I've only had one couchsurfer before, and it was Alex, the kid I brought up with me from Jersey. I love couchsurfing people. They tend to be 100% my type of people. The kinds of people who don't live in fear and like to meet to people and are open to new experiences.
I just talked to my downstairs neighbour about painting the stairwell and the hall, as well as finally getting the steps done (they tore up the rug when I got back from my trip and had that horrid allergy attack). I'm kind of excited. He said he'd probably need to sand the steps, and it would be better if I was out of town for a couple of days. I have no real summer vacation plans, but I do have the weekend + Mon/Tues/Wed of Canada Day off, as well as my birthday week. I am free and kinda looking for something to do. I was considering doing the Northeast states that I missed on my journey (Maine, NH, Vermont, Connecticut, RI). I really ought to knock those states off my must-see list before I move out west and it's impossible to do so. I'm thinking five states in five days is totally doable. LOL Living in the van, of course. What is travel if you can't live in a van while you do it? LOL
The other thing is that I've been dreaming of South Dakota. Go figure. I really liked that state. I feel like I didn't see enough of it... just the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore, but the route there from here includes the other states I haven't seen yet -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin... I also only had lunch in Minnesota, so I have a hard time saying I've been there. Fridge magnet or no. LOL
I would LOVE to do that trip -- the I80 or I90. The trip would take me through Detroit and Flint (Homage to Michael Moore), Chicago, Madison Wisconsin... it would be kind of cool.
Google maps says a 20 hour drive in either direction... that's three seven-hour driving days (four in the morning, three at night, with leisurely breaks in between), plus a couple days for sightseeing. I have 9 days off on my b-day week.
I think Adrienne and I were loosely discussing doing something fun this summer. I'm more than happy to vandwell it, but camping with Adrienne would be funky too.
THINK ABOUT IT ADRIENNE! LOL
Anyhow, my apartment would be painted while I was gone! Yipee! I have been here 10 years after all.
Grateful for:
-- GORGEOUS day
-- full belly of BBQed goodness
-- couch surfer tomorrow
-- LUSH BATH!!
-- mommy getting better
Just a quick heads up... my neighbourhood is having a mammoth yard sale today. Stinson, which is Wellington to Wentworth, Main to the Escarpment. There will be over 30 yard sales scattered throughout the community. My neighbour, Natasha and I will have coffee and homemade baked treats as well as yard sale stuff! COME ON OUT!
Saturday June 6th, 10:30-2, but some of us will be out a lot earlier!
I forgot that today and tomorrow are the BIG 50% off days for members at Fabricland. I am all tied up with getting ready for the yard sale tonight and DOING the yard sale all day tomorrow, so I will be unable to go. If anyone in the vicinity would like to go... you can borrow my membership card by either contacting me tonight or dropping by the yard sale anytime tomorrow after 8 am.
Let me know if this can be used. I hate to see a 50% off sale go to waste!!
I got my fix by online shopping at Fabric.com today. That's my ultimate guilty pleasure. Today at work, a woman told me about this amazing service RIGHT over the American border, at US Addresses Inc. that allows you to declare 3909 Witmer in Niagara Falls New York as your address and then it costs $5 to pick up the package. UNREAL! How come I didn't know about this before??? Fabric.com has WICKEDLY inexpensive clearance quilting fabrics (high quality) and ships free to US addies. PLUS I googled "Fabric.com coupon code" and scored 25% off my entire already-clearance-priced order. UNREAL!!! It does involve a cross border jaunt, but I do those often enough anyhow.
Needless to say, I'm bouncing off the walls.
***
I'm picking Am up shortly. She's going to help me get my krap together for tomorrow's yard sale. Big job. Plus
elizard100 is going to join/help me and that should be a hoot.Apparently I have FATTY LIVER!!
WTF?????
The doctor said it's more of a symptom of something else than a diagnosis, and it's probably unrelated to my lifelong stomachaches. I have had three of those horrid stomachaches in the last four weeks, so I'm glad he's getting to the bottom of it, one way or the other.
He's sending me for more bloodwork to determine the cause of the fatty liver, but in the meantime, he's putting me on ULCER meds in case what is causing the pain is an ulcer. I had a quack doctor some years ago diagnose me with an ulcer, but I ignored him as he didn't do a single test or give me a single reason to believe him. Today, my doctor explained it a bit better, and it is a possibility. This med is supposed to actually heal the ulcer over a four week period, and I should notice a difference with pain and digestive issues. Apparently, an ulcer (which is a sore on the lining of your stomach) is aggravated by stomach acid, and stomach acid is secreted when you eat. So different foods might provoke different amounts of acid, and it can also lay dormant for long amounts of time, and then flare up. This sounds about right. Wouldn't it be FABOO if that's all that's been wrong with me for the past 20 years?
Never mind the fatty liver. That's a separate problem. LOL
***
I'm trying to prepare for the yard sale this weekend, but it's a big job, and I'm so zonked in the evenings.
I put another $300 in my BC savings fund, so it's up to $1700. YAY! Whatever I make at the yard sale this weekend is going in, too. I'm quite excited about it. Plus whatever sales I make on my quilted bags, but I still have yet to check that out.
Speaking of quilting, Jeff's quilt top is ALMOST done, and I'm sooooooooo pleased with it. I was worried as I wasn't crazy about the colour combos, but it all looks good together. Plus I put two offset stripes in either direction, and it looks like a big gift wrapped pressie. YAY! LOL It's going to be a big job to quilt the damn thing. Then again, it was a big job to piece together the quilt top!
Okay.
Grateful for:
-- an ulcer!
-- my doctor!
-- getting a deal on the LUSH order!
-- working out in the country today
-- getting the price stickers for the yard sale.
__
Anyhow, we were hot on the trail for at least another three hours and she got tons of shelving and a bundle buggy and knick knacks. It's great with the van, as normally she can't get the big stuff like that.
I got SO MUCH stuff for $45, I'm actually marvelling. A brand new in the box JIGSAW. Last week I'd bought a shelf for the bathroom (over the toilet tank) but there is a wooden lip that sticks out about three inches around the perimeter of the bathroom. I was thinking if I just cut out a slice there, I could put the shelf farther back, and lo and behold, there was a brand new jigsaw for $10. SCORE! For $7 more I got a brand new air compressor (for tires, etc.)! For $5 more, an Ikea chair for the living room! I got a deep fryer pot (plus sifter) NIB, and some tupperware, a wallet, a brand new tool belt, some baby blankets (for the kitties) and ... I think that's it. Unreal. I still haven't brought it all in from the car yet.
Because yesterday at some point, I massively pulled a muscle in my shoulder. I was in agony. Then back at mom's, she gave me some Tylenol and a hot bean bag to put on it, and Dad made me some soup.
Well the soup TOTALLY set off one of my horrid stomachaches. I was in pain for about 10 hours yesterday, and I took a FULL percocet. I never take a whole one. Usually half dulls the pain and 3/4 kills it. But it didn't kill it. So I took the final quarter, and the day from about 4 pm on was a complete and total write off.
I HATE these stomachaches sooooo much. I have had THREE of them in the last month. UGH UGH UGH. I went for that ultrasound last week, but it came back clean. I have no idea what causes them and how to stop them. I don't even know what was in the soup that would have set it off.
***
Anyhow, I also got done on Friday night the BULK of Jeff's quilt top. I'm sooooooooo pleased with it. I used some solid green for two horizontal stripes and two vertical stripes, and it calmed the whole thing down. It looks so good. I was worried because I was not fond of the colours or the fabrics, and I thought they clashed, but it looks 10 times better now that it's all put together. I'll have to get a picture of it. It was Susann who recommended the offset assymetrical stripes, and I owe her one. Totally added to the look. Love it.
So today, hopefully I can finish the quilt top, and maybe just maybe get the sandwich pinned. I don't think I even have enough floor space!
Also, my neighbourhood is having a yard sale next weekend, so I'm going to get stuff together for that. That should be a big job. Hopefully I can get rid of tons of crap. :)
Grateful for:
-- getting the quilt top nearly done
-- quality time with mommy!
-- wickedly good yard sale finds!
-- percs
-- yummy coffee
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This chocoholic just scored FIVE EASTER BUNNIES!
Just what I need!!!
Needless to say, I did not get the job. I never expected to get it. I work in an old boy's club environment and the grand fromage has never much liked me, so I knew that walking in. I also have worked here long enough to know that I don't really even want to be here at all, but going through the motions of applying for a new job would be good experience for me if I want to move to BC. So I went in with that attitude. A shockingly good attitude. And at one point I even thought I might *gasp* get the job, but then I gave my head a shake and remembered where I worked.
The guy who got the job is a nice enough guy, and I bear him no ill will at all. In fact, he was the last one to go into the interview, so I gave him a few pointers and even told him some of the questions. I like him. He didn't want the job anymore than I did, and he's got mixed feelings about it too. As I said, it's WAY WAY WAY less money, and a different skill set, so you have to want to at least take a stab at something different.
It's funny because ALL of the women said the same thing to me... "Oh, well, did you expect anything different?" and all the guys implied that me thinking sexism had anything to do with it was madness.
I wish racism and sexism didn't exist but they do. HARDCORE and in spades. When you try and explain that to white men, they just don't get it.
I feel oddly empowered. Like I was able to accept the things I could not change (blatent sexism, lies, old boys world) and change the things I could (my attitude, my resolve to get out of there sooner rather than later). I also gave it 100% so I know I did everything I could do and I am VERY proud of myself. I know I have it in me to get what I want out of life. I feel like I can apply for any job, sell myself to anyone at any time.
Good times.
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I just put eardrops in my ear due to a clogged ear, and it's squicking me out. Off to flush it out. EEK!
Grateful for:
-- getting the girls on the Help Desk to write me a letter of reference
-- doing my best
-- James being a dear
-- ear drops!
-- warm kitties, tweed pants and good hair!
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So he sees the person I've become and he marvels at it. I get to fulfill my life's mission of 'inspiring people to live bold and authentic lives' and he gets to witness up close and personal someone who's come from the same spot he has, but not stagnated. I get a real jolt out of it.
We were redoing his facebook page last night, as I'd told him he looks like a real asshole on FB. Apparently, his friend set it up for him, as he's not very tech savvy, and the guy picked a ton of boxes that are shit like "Babe of the Day" and groups like "Britney, Your Pussy is Hanging Out". He has over 400 friends, the vast majority of whom are skanks and are bent over in a thong in their profile pic. I told him it smacks of MySpace.
So yeah. We were fixing it up.
At some point, out of nowhere, he tried to compliment me in his English-as-a-second-language/Scorpio-twi
So let's see..
LOL!
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After he left, I yakked with Natasha, my neighbour, on chat for a bit, and she was being such a darling. She told me that I'm special and her husband thinks so too. I don't know why it choked me up but it did. I just love her.
I went out for brunch today with Marilyn and Cathy (my homegirls) and all in all, it was a great weekend. Got all 49 of the squares for Jeff's quilt DONE DONE LIKE DINNER, including squared off, so that was satisfying.
Tomorrow I go for my ultrasound so I can't eat after midnight and that's making me anxious. I think I'm hypoglyemic because I get shakey if I can't eat. I guess I'd better go eat a huge meal. :)
Grateful for:
-- getting the quilt squares done
-- bruch with the goils
-- Toosh
-- Natasha
-- laundry done
-- my awesome H2O mop!
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I'm still laughing.
Norm and I both couldn't stop laughing at the line 'bothering your livestock' from "Sex Farm Woman" and I've been giggling all evening.
What caught me is that they are SO DAMNED TALENTED! All of those guys are actors, grammy winners, emmy winners, Academy award nominees... Harry Shearer does a ton of voices on The Simpsons, and Michael McKean was LENNY for gawd's sakes, of Lenny and Squiggy fame. And there they were on stage goofing around and their harmonies were spot on, and their vocals and guitar playing were AMAZING.
So glad I went!!
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I've had a pretty good, but busy week. Weekend I spent slaving away on Jeff's quilt. The quilt top is ALMOST done, I'm so pleased with myself. 49 squares with eight fabrics and multiple patterns. I think I refilled the iron at least five times during the making of it. I have so much left to do. And I really don't like the colours at all. I really think I blew it with them. Oh well. Hopefully, Jeff likes it, and hopefully it looks better when it's all put together.
Tooshie was over on the weekend while I quilted, and he basically sat there while I sewed and we chatted for hours. It was great. We were talking about how far I've come with mess in my house, and how it's so liveable now. He's struggled with squalor himself, and I know it paralyzes him. He told me that he was working on a movie a couple of years ago (he's an actor) and the set guy was looking for a warehouse style apartment to use as the home of a 9/11 terrorist. Tooshie offered up his place and was paid for the location shoot. In the scene, he leads HARVEY FRICKIN' KEITEL up the stairs and into his apartment. I couldn't believe it! I said, "Did you tell Harvey Frickin' Keitel that it was your apartment??" and he said GOD NO! As far as he knew, the set design crew had designed it! LOLOL
Here is the clip. Tooshie is the one in the hoodie who lets them in the door.
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I also got to see the new Star Trek movie on the weekend with Elizabeth, and it was SO FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I told Norm last night I'd gladly see it again with him! I can't believe how good it was.
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I have to go to work. Shoot. Today was supposed to be my ultrasound but they rescheduled for Monday. And I had one of my killer stomachaches yesterday so it was touch and go there for awhile. Then on Tuesday is the interview for the new job. Still not sure how I feel about that.
Grateful for:
-- great friends all week
-- getting the quilt almost done
-- that AMAZING concert last night
-- painkillers for horrid stomachaches
-- nice nighttime temps
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