in the last 4 days

in the last 4 days i have:

learned how not to transfer emails from mac enoutrage to microsoft outlook
attempted to pack light (HA HA HA)
gotten 2 new blisters (note to shoe-lovers out there, wear them in first)
driven to vancouver
had a LOT of beer
enjoyed lunch with my cool aunt and uncle
watched about 6 espisodes of "Gene Simmons: Family Jewels"
tried to not get crushed by my cousins' two massive dogs
searched endlessly for black flats to replace my old ones that are dying to no avail :(
realized how much i like the west coast
finally relaxed and gotten into vacation mode

slow motion

why does the week before vacation feel like it is in slow motion? t and i leave for the west coast on friday...i can't wait!!!

dinner, deafness and crest strips

Last night was a bit nutty. I had spanish which was ok except that I had not done any homework (bad I know) and I was a bit tired after staring at a computer screen all day. Then I made friends with the rescued cat my neighbours have (he has been living in their closet for about 4 months so the fact that he let me pet him is a good thing). Later on t took me for dinner at cilantro, one of my favourite restaurants, where we ate and drank in celebration of our 2nd anniversary. Let me tell you about my most favourite appetizer in the world. It is a portabello mushroom stuffed (and maybe baked?) with goat cheese. Honestly it makes me giddy. I always want to just order 2 for dinner but I suspect that may be viewed as little bit odd and perhaps over indulgent. We had the same waiter that we had the last time we were there and he speaks in tone that I swear is unrecognizable to my ears. him: “would you like something to hgsmnbakf this evening” me (looking at t anxiously hoping that he can understand what the guy is saying): “ummmm (think think think) yes I would like a white wine (YES!)” every time he came over I got nervous about having to ask him to repeat himself and t thought I was nuts at first and then after listening to the waiter for awhile agreed that he had one weird tone to his voice. The evening ended with us saying hi to our downstairs neighbours when we got home and laughing our heads off as ed proceeded to swear in turkish to our amusement while wearing crest strips.
I love those guys.

year 2

So today is our 2nd year wedding anniversary and I can barely believe that it has gone that fast. It has been an interesting ride so far and we are starting to get it but we both think that “the second year is much better than the first” so here is to many more years may they get better and better!

10 random facts about me

1. I love to dance I started when I was 3 in ballet and tap and even though I don’t take classes anymore, if the music is going I find it hard to not start moving to it
2. My freckles appeared when I was in grade 4
3. One time I ate 2 (yes TWO) footlong subs...it was a family record, my little bro, who is 6’2, has quashed that record many times over now.
4. Once i got a chair stuck on my head (yes i know...i was 2, beats me what I was doing)
5. I often get the giggles late at night and cannot stop to t’s dismay, and I keep him awake as long as I can
6. In grade two i punched someone for budging in line (I was standing up for another kid....my dad is still proud of that I think)
7. My sister is my best friend
8. I am a very fast reader, and can devour books in one sitting if I have the time
9. Traveling is my religion
10. I do high kicks when too intoxicated (t will confirm this) I also drop my bag, if I am carrying one, a lot in this state

public state of undress

Last night I was having dinner on 17th ave and witnessed numerous girls in pretty um.....tiny outfits. here is my question...who said that booty shorts are appropriate ANYWHERE but your own home. I mean I am all for showing off “watcha got” to an extent. If I can see the crease where your butt and thigh meet I think that it is time for longer shorts. incidentally I was with my friend who is training to be a nurse, she informed me that this is called the gluteal fold should you want correct terminology...i think maybe threase – thigh/crease may be a good name for it too or maybe thrack – thigh/crack (this one sounds like an STD...ew). what is up with this sort of fashion statement, when did it become acceptable even expected for women to dress like this. I am not sure, perhaps the male population likes to look at this, but I can’t imagine that they take these women seriously, these are not the type of women they would want to form a serious relationship with. What happened to leaving something to the imagination? Less really is more, I mean I don’t want to be eating my ‘el taco’ (which is totally delicious and can be found at the coup) and then have someone’s butt in my face.
As a young woman I really find this a major step back for ‘equalism’ (my version of feminism, equality and respect for both genders). my mother’s generation fought hard to beat stereotypes and discrimination and now we have 10 year old girls who want to be pussycat dolls. Is this new generation going to take woman back 50 years? I am very scared they might. With people like harper and bush in government we are already seeing rights that have been hard fought for and won, like abortion, being questioned. That makes me crazy, that anyone thinks they have the right to control anyone else’s body is beyond me. I don’t think I have the right at all to dictate how women dress but I think I have the right to say to women in general that we are so much more than our bodies and being well-read, intelligent and funny is a lot sexier than gluteal folds.

just throw it out the window

t and i are coming up on our 2 year anniversary and i have been thinking a lot about marriage and partnerships. i am so lucky. he really is a constant source of support for me and i know that i am very lucky that someone can deal with all my moods. not only is he sweet and kind, he makes me laugh harder than anyone i know and we share an unusual affliction that causes us to do rather odd things. for example one day, after i had moved in with him in japan after knowing him for a total of 1 week, (which is really crazy in itself when i think about it) we were lounging about his one-room apartment and i had this urge to throw my toast out the window and, boy, did i whip that bread out the window. then without any hesitation t sent a banana soaring out the window right after my toast! then he muttered in his kiwi accent "yep, they needed to be thrown" and i totally agreed. it makes me laugh even now. who else can you throw stuff out the window with and then whole heartedly agree that it HAD to go. among other amazing traits he might be the only person in the world i can travel with, we have managed to make it through India and all the umm...interesting illnesses that can come with it...like t's possible case of malaria and a 5 day period of us tag teaming the bathroom due to Delhi belly (it is funny now, although at the time i thought we would die of dysentery in the Himalayas).
and i am looking forward to our future travels and adventures. and i guess that is what is pretty cool after 5 years, i really look forward to spending time with him even though i see him everyday. so to my hubby...you really are the best.

my cardy

you know when you have something that you really love, that will never let you down and always look good....well mine is my gap cardigan from 2001 that i bought for $12.99. it is off-white, 3/4 length sleeve cardigan with a small eyelet pattern covering it. and honestly it is the best sweater ever. it looks great with jeans or works with dresses. i can throw it is the washer and dryer (oooh bad i know) and it still comes out the same. linus has his blanket and i have my cardy. sometimes it really is the little things that make you feel better.

PS the sun is out today HALLELUJAH!!!

weather

My question to the weather gods and goddesses:
why oh why does it rain all weekend and then on Monday the clouds part to reveal the lovely sunshine?

sweet dreams

i had a weird dream last night. I was pregnant and was going into labour (which might I say hurt in my dream) and then all of a sudden my belly popped off. It was like this really weird balloon where my belly button was the place where you tie the knot to keep the air in. even in my dream I was thinking I don’t think this is how it usually goes but my dream doc was telling me it was normal and that once I was ready it would re-attach. right. anyhow I kept waking up through the night but I kept coming back to this dream. Decided to find out what pregnancy in dreams means...

Pregnant
To dream that you are pregnant, symbolizes an aspect of yourself or some aspect of your personal life that is growing and developing. You may not be ready to talk about it or act on it. This may also represent the birth of a new idea, direction, project or goal.

Belly
To see your belly in your dream, indicates that your are processing and integrating your ideas and feelings from the unconscious to the conscious level. The belly symbolically holds repressed emotions and unexpressed feelings. Your dream may also be telling you to trust your gut feeling and intuition.
To see a pregnant belly, represents emotions that are due to come to the surface. They can no longer remain suppressed.

Ok ok so I googled it, here is the site if you are interested.

So guess things may be coming to fruition. All in all I think these things seem pretty good to me. I think I am getting closer to being able to move forward.

On another note I ate about 8 pieces of baklava the other day. I just cannot help myself with sweets. But nuts are good for you right?

bangs and small talk

so in regards to my last post things are better well...sorted out at least. i do think that i made a poor decision to open my mouth but live and learn i guess. although i feel as though i have learned this lesson time and time again.
anyway on to lighter things, like my hair. i cut straight bangs, they are longer so they are sort of in my eyes a bit but i think it was a good change. plus i think if i hate them in a month they will grow out fast. sweet.
had a work party last night, the company's one year anniversary. i am not very good at shmoozing people....you know small talk and charming everyone over. in fact it makes me really uncomfy but i did try and managed to have one really awkward conversation with a new client. it was going ok until i was out of things to say and was looking for a way to end the chat...we did the "nice talking to you" and then i started frantically looking for someone to catch my eye so that i could look like i HAD to go. no such luck so i just kind of looked like a dork. UuuuUUUUUUhhhhhhhh i really wish i was not so goofy. but then in a way i am kind of ok with not being some super charmer as i have never been big on kissing up to people and i think that is why i am bad at these type of events. it just feels so false to me.

instinct is always correct

i dont even know what to say today as things have gotten a bit out of hand. i made a crucial error at work and now i have to sort it out....not really work stuff more coworker stuff. sigh. one day i will learn to remain silent and hold my tongue but i suppose i needed this lesson. to go with your gut. i ignored mine (yet again) and now my gut is biting me in the ass. ew that is disgusting. meh at least i still have my sense of humour.

dont drool and drive

had to see the dentist early this morning for 2 fillings. i have never had one and i was pretty scared about having a needle shoved into my face. but to be honest that needle part was not too bad. as long as i dont see the needle i am ok. reminds me of when i had a tear duct infection and my eye doc (not my uncle but one who works with him) told me was going to flush out the eye. i was like yeah no problem bring on the wash...then he pulls out a 4 inch long needle that he wanted to poke into my tear duct to flush it out....yeah that did not happen. i kept trying to let him do it and then the glinting needle would freak me out and i would move away. so he gave up and then told me to come back and we would try again, well that was about 6 years ago and i never went back. and my tear duct is just fine, thank you very much.
anyhow the dentist today was ok...except at one point he told me i was a "grinder" which he emphasized by adding a scottish accent to it (some more like GGgrrrrrrrrrrindeRRR). i am not sure what that was about as he is not scottish...but i did appreciate that it made me smile on the inside since he was drilling into my tooth, my mouth was being held open and my whole face was pretty much frozen so smiling on the outside was not an option.
oh yeah and i paid the equivalent of my half of rent for an hour of his time. dentist fees are crazy..if i did not think that looking in someone's mouth was disgusting it might have been a good career option well maybe not but i would have amazing shoes.
the drive back was insane. everywhere i turned roads were closed down. this city is a nightmare to drive in right now. i was about to have serious road rage. honestly between the rain, 14th street north being closed, 10th ave north having slowed down due to flashing lights, and people driving like jerks it was enough to make me think about pulling over and reading my book for an hour....except that i have to work. so i managed to pull it together and drive back. but i am pondering writing to the paper about the roads in this city, i know everyone feels the same but there must be a better way to deal with it.
ps prime minister harper calgary is not dealing well with the infrastructure issues...i thought you knew that aren't you from here?

Nippon

June 5

I am listening to jeff buckley right now and it is taking me back to my time in japan. I used to listen to this cd while I walked to the train station from one of my rural schools. Everything was closed even though it was 9 at night. I passed an odd assortment of things; silhouettes of Japanese families through rice paper windows, crazy neon lights, a very weird Japanese meathead gym and at the end I’d cross a large bridge to arrive at the station that would take me home to nagano. Even though it could get quite lonely there I think it was good for me and now I long for those days of anonymity. I kind of enjoyed that if I turned my phone off no one would know where I was in the world….sort of zen..well for me anyway. It is funny how the word “home” is totally relative….if you have not read global soul by pico iyer I totally recommend it. He discusses the global community and how we often can fit where we don’t expect to…..he is East Indian and oddly enough, calls japan home.

oooohhhh johnnny

So it is finally warm in calgary which is so great. Hard to believe it snowed here 2 weeks ago and now it is plus 27 degrees out. Spent Friday afternoon working with t, which was fun, it was our first job together and then met up with our amazing neighbours for a picnic. I spent some time trying to figure out my new camera but, as I have never taken a photography class in my life, it is proving to be interesting.
Saturday was awesome, t and I wandered around the city and probably walked about 8 km just walking about the city. Calgarians do know how to make the most of the summer and there are festivals every weekend. There was a lot of dancing which I love! (most people who know me already know that I have a mad love of dance and according to my mom this started off when I danced to macho duck at the age of 2) the thing with dance performances is this....if you are not really sure of the steps you probably should not be dancing. I know I know harsh...but it is true, I have done my fair share of dance recitals and it is imperative that you know you part inside and out (thank you mr and mrs rothwell). And nothing is more noticeable that a dancer trying to sneak looks at another dancer’s feet. Anyhow I do give them a heartfelt good effort as it is never easy to perform in front of an audience.
Saturday evening we ate the most delicious indian food and then went to see “pirates of the carribbean 3”. It was ok....not the best one for sure but what girl could say no to seeing johnny depp. I still love that guy...loved him since 21 jump street. ha! you know you did too...