Tuesday, September 30, 2008

M.

It's weird that my most vivid memory of you is that once, I was in the same restaurant as you, except you sat behind me and you couldn't see me.... I was with some friends you didn't know, so probably you didn't even guess I was there. I heard you talking with your boyfriend, not because I was eavesdropping, but because I heard my name. You were actually discussing my relationship with the now-hubby and how our relationship was probably going to fail. I was too chicken and non-confrontational at the time to turn around and say "Hello, is that me you're talking about, please stop", so I let it go.

You didn't ask for forgiveness (nor would you really have to, it was so minor) but guess what, I'm giving it to you anyway. Despite whatever some troll thinks of it.

If you're going to insult me

At least have the guts not to do it anonymously. I'm sorry I rejected your comments on my last post, "Anonymous", but this is my blog and I can write whatever I want AND reject whatever commentary I want. You're welcome to repost your comment (but not twice in a row, just hit the button once, genius) with your real name attached. Otherwise, feel free to move on. If you have something to say to me in person, I invite you to do so. I get that you think I'm not a very good Christian. Since there's no name attached to the comments, I can only assume that you are an internet troll.... using Shaw and living in Richmond.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

C.

The year I got engaged, you kept asking me about the wedding and when you would get your invite. I wasn't sure if we should invite you because the four of us, we aren't great friends... but that year, you and I served together in ministry, so I thought it'd be rude not to invite you.

After I gave the invite to you, you didn't reply... so when the reply date passed, I had to ask if you and your husband were coming or not. You said that you would be out of town. No big deal, right? I found out today that after you received your invitation, you announced loudly to a group of our mutual friends that you would rather spend money on yourselves than attend our wedding or give us a gift, so you booked a trip to Portland as soon as you knew that you were invited. Maybe you were mad that we didn't give you a very big gift for your wedding (I was a student - it was all I could afford.) Who knows. I'm not offended that you didn't come, but what was the point of telling everyone that you'd rather go to Portland?

Well, you haven't asked me to, but I've decided to forgive you. You probably don't care, but if I don't let this go it'll just bother me forever.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Doris

You were shocked when you found out that I could barely speak Chinese, and you resolved to speak only Chinese to me for the rest of the year. As it turned out, I actually learned some Chinese because you wouldn't speak any English. Too bad it only lasted through high school!

Welcome, guests!

The hubby and I are finally ready to welcome out-of-town guests to our home, as we recently purchased a guest bed for a steal of a deal. Not an actual steal, but pretty darn close. Even cheaper than our own bed (Westin Heavenly Bed! - but without all the plushy goodness of duvets and pillows and shams and such), which I already thought was a fantastic deal. I love our bed, it's super comfy and it's tall enough that the dog can't jump on us in the morning (she's never tried - but she has tried to jump on my in-laws' bed at their house!) I also love our bedroom set because it was my first real grownup furniture.

But the problem is the height. I like it, but other people look at it and think "Wow! That's way too high!"

Well, future guests will be thrilled to know that our guest bed is EVEN HIGHER. Of course part of that is because we bought a bedframe that sits the bed about 10 inches off the ground. Even so, the mattress itself is at least 16 inches tall and the boxspring is pretty regular sized although we ordered a low profile boxspring. Can't complain though when we got a great deal. But it makes me laugh to imagine guests having to literally climb into their bed. Perhaps they could take a running leap.

I tried to convince the hubby that maybe we just don't need the boxspring, but he seems to believe that guests will really like having to jump into bed. Oh well. I'm sure it'll be a comfortable sleep, that is, when they aren't worried about toppling off.

I can't wait to have guests! Ahaha!



Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Kathy

I can't actually remember whether your name was Kathy or not, so I'll just call you that. You and I worked together and it was my first real job, so naturally I was intimidated. You were rude to me when I first started and I never enjoyed working with you after that. Once, I suspected you of stealing $20.00 from my till since I was *never* short by more than a few pennies. I later heard you were fired for stealing money on several occasions. Nice work.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Jennifer Y.

I remember admiring your thick, waist-length hair and wishing my hair was nice and straight like yours. You were always a sweet and friendly girl and you laughed at my jokes. In grade 7, you liked this boy and I told you to go for it ... but I neglected to tell you that I liked him too. At some ridiculous elementary school dance, I danced with him even though I knew you wouldn't be happy. Wow, I was a jerk.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Mrs. Challoner

You were my grade 2 teacher in a 2/3 split class. When we all wrote books for a class project, mine was based on The Ugly Duckling and was about a girl who felt ugly, but was actually beautiful. You asked me to read it to the class and I did. Maybe you thought the book was about me. Maybe it was. In any event, I was the only one who got to read my book out loud.

New feature on my blog!

Hello everyone!

In an effort to blog more, I'm going to attempt to participate in something that I think is called x365 or Blog 365 or something like that. The idea is to write one short post a day about one specific person in your life, past or present, and... really that's it. Just a few thoughts about that person, and then move on. I haven't signed up for anything official since the chances of me blogging every day are slim, but hey, it's worth a shot.

Hope you'll find it entertaining and maybe you'll even find yourself named at some point!

Friday, September 19, 2008

It's the little things in life

I wish I could blog about something intelligent, like the election situation in Canada or the US, or perhaps a book I've read lately, or maybe some environmental issue. Sadly, I have been completely unaware lately so I have no idea what is happening in the world. So instead, I will tell you about stress relief. I need a lot of stress relief these days. Here are the things that make me happy... or less unhappy at least.

- Coffee Crisp. Yum.
- chocolate - yum.
- dark chocolate mocha at Blenz in the morning. Yum. Expensive habit.
- playing with my dog
- shopping... for my dog :) (yes - she is spoiled. no - she doesn't wear clothing.)
- Pho subs. - yum.
- watching Heroes, The Office (we just got into this! hilarious!), HGTV shows, anything in HD...
- getting to and from work in under 45 minutes (rare)
- visiting the mall on lunch break
- not wearing heels all day long

Well, I could go on, but there's something good on TV right now....


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Back to the grind, part the end

So, since my last post I have been living a stressful life with restless sleep and general unwellness. I do not know what is wrong with me but I am very, very tired. It is probably something to do with having to think all day long. My mind is just not made for that sort of work.

Okay, last time I told you some of the things I liked about university, so of course for completeness, I must now tell you what I did NOT like about university. I'll try to keep this brief and intelligible rather than just a rant blowing things way out of proportion.

1. Always feeling behind. Even my most studious friends would agree that it's extremely difficult to feel ahead or even on course with university classes. From day 1, I felt as though there was way more to do than there was time to do it all... and for me, that was just a totally unmotivating way to learn.

2. The campus from October to March. Mostly these months stick out in my mind as representing a soggy mess, irritating bus rides filled with soggy people and their dripping umbrellas, and the inability to get through a day without the bottoms of my jeans being completely drenched. Pleasant!

3. Labs. Oh my goodness, did I ever hate labs. First, often a lab meant working with a partner and not always one of your choice. Second, the total randomness of achieving an acceptable lab result. Third, the HOURS this sucked out of my day. Blah blah lac operon E. coli blah blah bacteria blah blah no thank you!

4. My PoliSci class. I took this in an effort to boost my marks, but ended up with a 60. Yes, that is right, a 60. This is an impressive mark, although it is still less impressive than my Immunology mark. I have managed to forget almost everything about this class except for the terrible haircut my prof had.

5. Keeners. You know the type, the ones who always have a question, or who always have an answer, or who always raise their hand even if they have no clue. A friend once suggested playing Keener Bingo and I believe this meant that if you observed someone raise their hand three times in one class, you were to stand up and shout "BINGO!" I never did this.... too bad.

6. People with weird habits that disturbed me. Once, I sat next to a guy who sniffed for the entire hour of class. Not runny nose sniffling... just a continual sniff. I decided he was probably having a reaction to some sort of illicit, snorted drug. Another time, I had to ask the guy behind me to quit writing so hard on his desk. (This makes me sound crazy, but bear with me.) It was during an exam and he was writing on one thin sheet of paper with a mechanical pencil and nothing underneath the paper. And, it appeared that he was extremely passionate about whatever he was writing. The scratching and tapping was really grating inside my head. At the break, I asked him to please slip a few sheets under his paper. He complied, but I'm sure he thought I was insane. Perhaps this item is really just a reflection of my own intolerances, but hey, this is my blog, not yours.

7. Telereg. This probably doesn't exist any more, but anyway. We had to register for classes using a telephone. (If any of you oldies are out there, yes I agree that this was one step up from having to physically run to each building to register, but still.) I remember having to employ two phone lines and a cellphone starting two minutes before registration time. Oh, the agony of punching in the code for the class you wanted, only to have the system stall for five silent minutes before telling you that you were unsuccessful, and then freaking out because you didn't have a backup plan.

Boy, it's a good thing I haven't decided to pursue another degree, I don't think I could handle more university. Jo, you have my infinite respect. And you too, godbrother. And the rest of y'all who are more studious than me. Which would be - everyone.



Thursday, September 04, 2008

Back to the grind

It's been a rough week back at work... I'm so tired. But as tired as I am, I'm grateful that at least I am not back at university. Sometimes people assume that I loved school, probably because I was there for so long. Those people even assume that I worked hard at school. I think I can hear my family laughing right now. Shush, family! Haha.

In an effort to be a little more cheery, I'm going to tell you some of the things I enjoyed about university:

1. The buildup to first year. At the time, lots of church folk were attending university and I was excited to eat lunch with them, to experience "free stuff week", to be one of the cool older folk, to study in the bowels of Koerner... um yeah. None of that really happened for me. Free stuff week? Not all it was chalked up to be. Lunch plans were sparse, and I was never cool. Oh and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I studied downstairs at Koerner. In short, blown expectations - but at least I enjoyed the anticipation.

2. Learning that science was not for me. Of course, I had to complete an entire degree to find this out, but hey, what's four or five years out of my life!

3. Figuring out how to bus everywhere, including at least four routes that would take me home. If only there had been a u-pass from the very beginning.

4. Having some classes with friends, including Anatomy and Molecular Biology with a couple of good friends (Drosophila!) and Immunology with my godbrother (what were we thinking!) and, um, maybe that's it. I had a lot of fun in those classes, possibly because I wasn't paying a lot of attention. (See? Science just isn't my cup of tea.)

5. Planning my wedding during my last year of school while also working 16-24 hours per week, yes, at school. I'm good at the multi-tasking.

6. Working at a campus job - seriously, if students out there need money, find a campus job. You're there anyway, you might as well work and earn far more than minimum wage. I paid my way through school by working on campus every summer and, of course, living at home. Thanks Mom :)

7. The campus in September. So lovely. Green grass, sunny days, not having to wear a jacket... too bad it all becomes crummy and wet come October.

8. Graduating - twice - and getting the heck out of there!


Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Conflict amplification

What do you do when you don't like someone's personality?

There is someone I'm thinking of who I can't stand right now. I will call this person X. I can't stand X. X talks too much. X thinks certain jokes are funny when they should barely be called jokes in the first place. X interferes with normal goings on and doesn't understand that change for the sake of change is unnecessary and time-consuming.

There is another person I can't stand. I will call this person Z. Z is annoying. Z thinks Z knows more than anyone else in the world, but in truth, Z knows very little. Z is just difficult to get along with.

Z and X get along okay, but each thinks the other isn't as clever as they make themselves out to be.

As for me - I wish I could resolve things, but I feel like I'm stuck in the middle between Z, X, and the other more reasonable people in my life. The conflicts are getting worse, not better. The problem is, you can't change a person's personality. They are stuck with whatever personality they have chosen to adopt and you either have to like it or lump it. Very depressing.

I'll try to post something more exciting next time I post... :)