Happy New Year!

My new look for my new job in my new house in my new town in the new year!!

ROCK ON IN 2007!!

Best wishes to you all in the new year,
love
laura

happy holidays....

Happy Holidays to everyone, i hope santa was good to all of you!

we've had a great holiday, Brad and i were able to have our First Christmas morning together in our new house. After almost 4 years of spending Christmas morning at either his parents or mine, it was nice to wake up in our own bed and do our own thing.

The holidays, of course, were busy between his family, and mine, and trips to Grandma's house for pie... and add into the mix, one 5 year old with the chicken pox, another 5 year old with a fever of 102 on Christmas Eve at Brad's family's house, and a flu that ripped through my parents house attacking all 3 of my nephews, 2 of my brothers, my sister in law, and now mom and dad... it was and is fairly crazy times.

But it was still really nice to be home with family.

Here's a quick list of my christmas haul:

Pooh Bear Pez dispensers - Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Pigglet
$20.00 gift card from McNally Robinson
ROCK TUMBLER!!
$40.00 gift card from McNally Robinson
$20.00 gift card from London Drugs
a beautiful jewellery box from the Bombay Company
2 books from Christine
Joan of Arcadia Season 2
A Scanner Darkly
Fun with Dick and Jane
Logan's Run
Hudson Hawk
and some knick knacks and paddy whacks

but what really made christmas for me was watching Brad open his gift from me. What i gave him was Tool's album "Aenima" on Vinyl! I've been looking for it for 2 years, and this year i lucked out on Ebay. I was so excited i couldn't sleep... i put it in the bottom of a box and put some tissue paper on top of it, then i threw in a T-Shirt to throw him off....and that ONE second where he does a double take made it allll worth while. Check it out! it's a little dark, but awesome.

finally, some good Christmas Music....

Oh Justin Timberlake.... you've reach new heights

little ol' housewife, me.

the past week has gone by and i've found myself quite the happy little homemaker. what's that all about? that totally goes against my character! my days are filled with dishes and laundry, bubble baths and going through recipes for dinner.

i thought i'd take a break to check-a-my-email.

becomming a hermit is pretty interesting. i have no desire to actually leave my house. it could be the four feet of snow, but maybe not. i'm sure once i'm back to work and doing other stuff, i'll feel a little more normal. i feel very at home in my house, but still like a visitor to saskatoon.

anyway, here's a meme i got from Saviabella.

Here are the meme's rules:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open it to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence.
3. Post the next three sentences on your website.
4. Name the book and its author.
5. Tag three people to do the same.

Here is mine:
"That night Mari had a long conversation with her husband and described all the symptoms she had experienced. Together they reached the conclustion that the palpitations, the cold sweats, the feelings of displacement, impotence, lack of control, could all be summed up in one word: fear. Together husband and wife pondered what was happening."

The book is "Veronika Decides To Die" and the author is Paulo Coelho.

i'm not as far as page 123, so hopefully these 3 sentences will make sense eventually. The book is very interesting. It's a non-fictionesque novel about a young girl who unsuccessfully tries to committ suicide, however the pills that she takes to unrepairable damage to her heart and she now has only 5 days to live...in a mental institution in Slovenia. The book explores the idea of what reality is and what crazy is and how the two are related.

Let's see....tag three people to do the same.... hmmmmmmm....

okay, here goes:
Mika, Brandy and uhm.... James. Okay....GO!

ohhh sweet irony...

On my recent Christmas Shopping trip, i stopped in at Ten Thousand Villages, a Mennonite Run gift shop and purchased a silver cross Christmas Ornament for my mother-in-law.

the store clerk and i both found the total sale price quite interesting...

isn't it ironic? donchya think?

what the hell just happened?

Well folks, i'm back in toon town, somewhat sooner than expected. This whole stupid thing happened because they were too cheap to give me a christmas bonus.

I gave them at least 6 weeks notice to make sure there would be time to hire and train new staff, and they gave me nothing. I worked my ass off for them for 2 and a half years, and they said bonuses were incentive for next year - and that didn't apply in my case as i was leaving. Well, fuck them in their stupid asses. Sorry for the profanity, but i feel it's warranted.

For the last 4 weeks, i kept bringing up the subject of bonuses, wondering when they would be taking place, if i was going to divvy out the bonuses for my staff as i did last year... i got some song and dance about how they didn't know when it was happening...

At the end of it all, i was just getting sick of being there, so i asked point blank on friday if i would be getting a bonus. I was told that they didn't know yet, that they were talking about it over the weekend.... which, in my opinion, is bullshit. i think they knew but didn't want to tell me. I don't know why! why not just tell me and put me out of my misery? so i stayed in Calgary over the weekend, missing my niece's hockey game, and a big family gathering.... spending my 4 hours in Chapters killing time cuz i didn't want to impose on my brother's roommates anymore...

when i came in on monday, i was avoided, until i stopped someone in the hallway and asked them what had happened over the weekend. i was told that no, i would not be recieving a bonus. it still makes me mad. Last year i got a $2,500.00 bonus, i just bought a house and i was counting on this money and they knew it too. But they made me wait over the weekend! they could have just sent me home on friday. Well, i turned off my computer and packed up my stuff, said goodbye to a few people and bailed. when i said goodbye to my boss i told her i was leaving. Like, leaving to saskatoon. she asked why... as if she's not fully aware of why i'm leaving... i can't believe she thought for an instant that i would still stay? i don't owe them any loyalty... not any more... not if they don't give me the same loyalty.

it was simultaneously the best and the worst place i have ever worked.

the people i worked with on a daily basis were great and i'll miss them more than they know (you know who you are). But every day you wonder if this is the day shit is going to hit the fan... am i going to get screamed at for something i have no conrol over? you spend every day walking around on egg shells - just in case, and you avoid people in the office because you don't want to deal with their drama. And if there's anyone walking around with a bigger ego and god complex, i'd like to meet them and introduce them to someone. they might be knocked down a few pegs.

but in this position, i was able to do things i'd never have guessed i was capable of. If they told me when they hired me that i would be managing a staff i wouldn't have taken the job... it's one of those things that when it grows on you - you don't really notice until one day they say "hey, you're the boss!".

after i left, i went into Kensington to buy some shoes and when i walked in the lady at the counter said "you look like you just had a weight lifted off your shoulders!" was it that obvioius? i said: "i just quit my job, and now i'm buying shoes!!"

i told her a little about my job, and this complete stranger was telling me i'm better off. i said: "you know, it was like i was in a poisoned environment, only i couldn't tell because i had been there so long and i was used to it... but once you step outside and take a breath of fresh air you realize how bad it actually was."

so no bonus, but i'm least i'm free of that place. it will seriously suck you dry. you will lose whatever part of yourself that makes you who you are, and you will end up being a duckling in the little duck parades that happen when someone screams: "follow me" and you'll stop thinking that this behaviour is demeaning, and that it's normal.... helllooooo?!?!?!

i had a really good friend tell me that working for that office was like being in an abusive relationship. You keep telling yourself that with you it'll be different, that they actually care about you, that it's okay that their screaming at you, that it's okay when people drop f-bombs in the office, that throwing things is okay, that feeling small and scared it perfectly normal.

and it's soooo true.

i'm glad i'm gone.
i wish it could've ended in another way, but i'm glad.

on automobiles and shopping trips

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit'sssssssssssssss aaaaaaaaaaaaalllllliiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve!!!


Mwha ha ha ha ha ha hahaaaaaa.

---

We bought a new battery and put it in....and NOTHING!! Well, it would run if we jumped it first.

Patrick's idea was - "well you can always jump it, drive it to Oyen, fill up with gas then get somebody else to jump it so you can get to Saskatoon" Needless to say, i was unimpressed.

Of Friday i had a date with my friend Nouhad. We went for dinner at East Side Mario's, then went to see "The Holiday" which i have to admit i found super duper cute and delightful. It was nice to see a girly movie for once. Annnnnd now i have a huge crush on Jude Law. Not that one really needs a reason to have a crush on Jude Law, but if you don't have one yet - you might after watching this movie.

anyway:
Yeah so the car runs now. It turns out our new battery wasn't so "charged up and ready to go" as we were led to believe. Patrick took the battery back and bitch slapped them until they recharged it. Now it runs great - except it was sooooo filthy. I took it to the car wash, and i think i washed off some of the dirt from the time Christ Walked the Earth!!

Saturday was filled with Shopping trips - off to Ikea with my friend Crystal (holllaaaa) and we had a great talk, and i'm going to miss that lady. She always knows exactly what to say to make a person feel better/normal. yay.

i won't go into the sordid details of my near-death-experience shopping at the mall. My advice, stay in your house and don't leave until january 6th. Christmas is a weird time.

Libera Me!

i stole this from Mika.

I'm a dirrrty rockstar... and people love me.

Blast, influenza, you've foiled me again!

So, here i am still biding my time in Calgary... i've been staying with my little brutha and his very charming roommates. Seriously, these 2 roommates of his are so super nice. And to repay these guys for their hospitality i brought them the flu virus - home grown in saskatoon.

The day i left, the husband was keeled over with the flu. couldn't even properly kiss me goodbye and run after the car like an old black and white hollywood love story. how rude. Anyway, i was sure that the flu would bitch slap me the very next day, but hey! i was healthy as a horse with a head cold! and on to day 2! still healthy...

Wednesday, though.... that was the real kicker. After a healthy bout of vomitting and other disgusting flu-like symptoms, i slept for 10 hours in the morning....got up, watched "40 year old Virgin" which made me think of brad :) ... some family guy, then Patrick (my brother) got home from work and we had to make a trip to Canadian Tire to buy a battery post cleaner**.

**the reason for the battery post cleaner is: a few months ago Patrick borrowed my mom's Honda from saskatoon because he got himself a new job the required having his own vehicle. so, he bussed home, drove the honda back to calgary, and then bought himself a new shiny car...leaving the honda to sit in the cold. The plan is for me to drive the honda home with me next weekend - but now it won't start. we tried to jump it, but the battery posts were all filthy

So, Patrick and I walk into Canadian Tire and i begin to look around for automotives. i notice that a young pretty thing has walked up to my brother and they are chatting it up! Hm, i think, he must know this girl. As i approach the two, i realize that he doesn't, in fact, know this person. She is just an extremely aggressive Canadian Tire Credit Card Pusher. and she was gooooood. so smooth, she was already filling out the form before patrick knew what hit him.... but once he realized that this cute chicky did not want to flirt with him, he gathered his wits about him and said..."....uhhh, i dunno.....it's all happening kinda fast.... maybe i'd like to think about this..."

that didn't stop her, she just kept giving him more reasons why an Optimum card is, like, soooo awesome!

But he stood his ground, and wouldn't give her his name... then she turns on me and says:

"what about you?"

(keep in mind, i'm still dazed from the flu)
"uhhh, no thanks. i don't even live in this city." Nice one! good recovery, good excuse, you're doing ooookayyyyy.

"All you have to do is live in the country!"

(to which i replied, throwing my hands in the air..."
"I live in IRAQ!"

WHAT??? I LIVE IN IRAQ! THAT'S THE BEST I COULD DO?

oh my lord. this may be, the most stupid thing that i have ever said...in my entire life!
the girl, well... she just had no idea what just happened... i apologized, told her i didn't live in iraq, i just really don't want a card.

as Patrick and i walked away, he started to snicker, i looked over at him and he said: "I live in IRAQ? what the hell was that?!?"

"I don't know! honestly, i don't know. i have the flu, it's the only country i could think of! i think it's from watching all that Arrested Development yesterday! what a moron!"

Patrick and i spent the rest of the night shouting: I live in IRAQ! anytime anyone asked us a question, and then bursting into childish laughter.

at least we can laugh about it. i'll miss patrick. :(

incidently, we found the battery post cleaner, cleaned the posts...but it did nothing! so it looks like today we're going to have to buy a new battery for the car. i'm going to keep my mouth shut this time, i promise.

The News is OUT!!

I'm sorry folks, i have been busy. I know i've said it before, but now that it's all done i can finally tell you what the fudge is going on! my Husband and i have moved back home to Saskatoon...we bought our very first house. No more Calgary, and that's refreshing.

Although, i should say that's not entirely true, because i type this from my desk at my calgary office on my calgary job lunch break. Our house is ours, we're all moved in, Brad started his job today... and yet here i am in the concrete jungle of cowtown. Why? you may ask... i'm asking the same thing. i'm not entirely sure what i'm still doing here, and to be honest i contemplated calling it quits over the phone. But i perservere. yes. that is what i do.

So i've given my bosses ample time to train up a replacement, and i have 2 weeks left of work here.

Granted, it will be nice to get one and half more paychecks. Just to help cushion the blow of the first mortgage payment.

anyway, that's the news. hopefully the entries will be a little smoother now. I admit, i had to hide it from my friendternets because i was planning to surprise my bestest friend. and it worked swimmingly.

i called her up, in saskatoon, and said: "Hey, i'm in town for a few days for my dad's 50th birthday party (true) and i want to go for coffee with you (false)"

So i picked her up and we drove around Saskatoon until she realized we were heading into residential areas! Finally she asked if i knew where i was going, i told her i had heard about this new coffee shop i wanted to check out (false)... and she believed me up until i pulled into the driveway of my new house.

"welcome to my house"
"What?"
"This is my home."
"WHAT!!!"
"Yup"
"You live here now?!?!"
"yeah!"
"Did you rent it?"
"Nope, we bought it..."
"..WHAT!?!?!?!??????"
and there was screaming and jumping up and down.

it was totally worth it.