Oh, how I should be trying to sleep! However, the kids outside the crack-house next door are being loud, and I just realised it's been over two years since I have left Scotland. Yet I still spell 'realise' with an 's'. It makes me feel cultured.

So two years. Wow. I've adjusted to the fact that I finished uni over three years ago, but to move to the next level and accept it's been over two years since my first "big" adventure ended is quite astonishing. How young I was, just a wee lass of 21 crossing the ocean. Actually, 21 isn't really that young, many people do it when they are younger.

I don't really believe in faith, but I like to think the decisions we make at present affect the outcome of the future. I don't like the idea of faith and the "purpose" of someones life because it makes life seem pre-determined. The idea of my life path already being in place, even if I don't know the plans set before me, does not appeal to me at all. It makes the present seem so irrelevant if you are to reach the same conclusion regardless. We all have the same conclusions eventually (death, boo,) but I don't want the events between birth and death to be in a proper, sequential line. I like to think if I do something stupid, it's because I was temporairly being an idiot and not because it is part of a bigger plan.

Summer is nearing its end. It quite saddens me but I'm trying to remain hopeful that this winter will be better than last. Barring an extremely unfortunate, tragic event, I really don't think this winter could ever be any worse than last winter. Those were dark days. Literally and figuratively. This may sound odd, but winter is inconvenient. I hate having to put on so much clothing before facing the outdoors. I hate wearing socks. I hate wearing pants... I can't even tell you the last time I wore pants that did not involve a uniform or... Well, actually, I just don't recall. Hmm. I remember wearing pants to tennis in May.

So yes, this summer was great! Starting in July I finally had a "Canada" Canada Day. It was great! I took many photos and got to wear a costume!! We had Lynda's hen party, followed by Kiki's wedding the next day. Next Brad came to visit, and I was sooo excited someone "from" Florida found his way here. I also re-learned a valuable lesson regarding drinking that I hadn't experienced since that dreadful pubcrawl back in January 2004. But it was all in honour of B-Rad! Brad also brought the consistent start of summer, as prior to that the warm days were scattered among cold, grey days. The following weekend Raeanne and Jay came to PEI, and I, gasp, actually experienced nightlife in Summerside. Nice for a change, but not my preferred location. *cough* House of Blues *cough*. Dawn also arrived in early July. She was a masters student from Arkansas doing an internship at UPEI for six weeks. It was fun having a long-term tourist around who was up for anything and wanted to experience everything. I also enjoyed listening to her "y'alls". The following weekend (July was amazing - there was literally an event or visitor every weekend) was Lynda's wedding. It was so much that I kind of want Lynda to get married again. To Jamie though, not for her to get divorced or anything. Maybe a giant one-year-anniversary party/"reunion"? Hmm? Brother and Heidi came home around this period too. (Not together though.) The more the merrier on this Gentle Island! Heidi was still home the first weekend in August... Then came the strange weekend: no visitors the following weekend. It was Shan Courtney's b'day, however, which ensured happenings, and probably one of my favourite "bar nights" of the summer! (Save the insane adventure with Brad and Hannah, and my interesting foray into Summerside culture. But those were more so for the people.) For Shan's b'day we went to Piazza Joe's!! It was almost like a real club, music wise. Not so much in decor. (It's an Italian restaurant by day, for those not in the know.) It was just a DJ doing his thing, you know, that thing DJs do. Umm, like mixing music without lyrics and stuff. I dunno, but sober Jen danced so hard in her own little world that she was pretty much dripping in sweat when the bar closed. She was wise and said, "Dancing is really like listening with your feet," but now thinks it's like listening with your whole body. But she wasn't wise enough to say that at the time.

The following weekend was spent in Ottawa. I had so much fun, and the post-holiday blues were quite apparent when I came home. The solution was simple: cut off two-thirds of my hair. Seriously. It was, Monday, mope, Tuesday, mope, Wednesday day, mope, Wednesday evening, cut hair, GREAT!! It's not that I really disliked having long hair, but I felt it had reached its expiry date. It's what I do... Grow my hair out, then chop. Grow hair out again. Chop. Repeat. However, the leaving-O-Town blues weren't really caused by miskept hair - it was saying good-bye to people again. It's neat that the World is so big, different cultures have developed and hundreds of language span the globe, but sometimes I wish the world could be a bit smaller. Make it easier to reach out and literally touch those I care about. It was a bit of a flashback. Like when in Florida, I got to see Charlene every day. Now I shall not see her again for, oh, six months at the earliest.

I kind of wonder what it would be like to live in Ottawa there. The winters are harsh, and Lord knows I despise harsh winters. They grate on my soul and destroy me. I do still know people there, but some of them are leaving so the experience wouldn't be the same I had during my short vacation stint there. I'm not sure if I would like to live there. Lots of greenspace and bike paths, which is great, but I don't know. It's funny, because people comment that it's such a clean city. Guess I'm rather spoiled on PEI, because I find it much cleaner here. However, the market there is amazing! Oh, but yes, it shuts down in the winter. I dunno. That's all I can say.

The weekend just passed was Keri's b'day so more going out fun. When I was younger I thought it would be bad to have your b'day in the summer because you wouldn't see your friends at school to invite them. However, I thought it would be nice not to have your birthday party cancelled due to weather. Now I'm envious of those with birthdays in the summer. During university I spent multiple birthdays either writing exams, (bonjour 19th b'day, Sat night, 7 - 10pm exam,) finishing papers, studying, etc. Bonne fete, eh?

This weekend is Labour Day weekend and... the end. It's an empty feeling, similar to that I had when I graduated high school.

In great events to look forward to: trip to LOS ANGELES!! Justificiation? A seat sale. I'm meeting up with two lovely former Disney co-castmembers and am sooo excited. I was a moron though and thought I could satisfy my travel urges with multiple short trips. While it is nice to have one already in the works when returning from the current vacation, the short trips sometimes feel like they are over before they really "start". I arrive in LA Thu at about 11:00am, and depart Monday at 10:30pm. I'm betting on a one-day lag of jet lag when getting home. It'll be the same time difference as Ch'town to Edinburgh (four hours). I always found flying east much harder than flying west. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do for driving to Halifax. Literally I have (put keys in ignition, turn, place car in "drive", etc.) but my flight leaves Hali at 6:30, I think. I was thinking about sleeping after work, then waking up at 1:30 to drive to Hali. However, I can never sleep before trips at, like, 2:30 in the morning so that won't really work as I'll be bloody knackered by the time I get to the airport. But then there is the prospect of sleeping on the plane....

Regarding sleep, it would be ideal to get some tonight. Funny, I have been quite tired as of late but still can't seem to fall asleep before, at the absolute earliest, 11:30. Now it's pretty much 1:00am and my alarm is going off in six hours. Hmm, kind of a flashback to my Delta days. How on Earth did I ever, ever, EVER manage to work at 6:30 in the morning?!!??!

Visitor!

A fluffy, orange kitty just walked in through our broken door. He was soft. We are friends now.

Ahh, I love the sunshine. I don't even care that I'm inside because eventually I will make the treck outdoors and it will be AMAZING. Hopefully the sun stays out in full force for tennis lessons this evening.

Tennis lessons. Let's discuss. I am still awful at tennis. Pathetically awful. It's very frustrating because I am not good at a single sport. It's almost getting to the point that I want to leave half-way during lessons because I'm so sick of hitting the ball into the net or out that I would rather leave Victoria Park and go take pictures or something somewhere. After Monday's lesson I had to go sit outside by myself for a good thirty minutes to calm down. Thirty minutes actually wasn't enough though, but Janielle called me in because she needed something. Next time I will bring my earplugs when I'm moping outside by myself.

I'm also the only one in class that throws her raquet. Nice.

I saw Harry Potter last night. To re-iterate what I told Candace afterwards, I lapped it up like a thirsty puppy. It had been quite awhie since I read the book so it was a good refresher. I also feel as though I must refresh on the sixth book since I will likely spend all day Sunday inhaling the seventh book. Which brings me to a dilema: do I take my time and savour every chapter or do I plough through the thing to avoid being spoiled by the media and random, overheard conversations in public? These are the problems I face daily.

In a magnificant turn of events, I think I found shoes to wear to Lynda's wedding! And even better, I actually quite like the shoes. They are Jen's signature Jesus shoes. Issue is, they *may* be a bit tight (heading back today for a second try-on) but I may be able to fix that. The heel is also rather high, so perhaps not overly practical of a long day on ones feet. However, no one will notice if I take my shoes off at the reception, right? And although I think it's kind of tacky, it's not uncommon for ladies in heels to remove their shoes at the dance.

The shoe thing was quite a dilema as I don't really like white shoes that much. They are so... starkly blinding. Also, weather pending, the wedding is outside and it may be a challenge to walk down the aisle with heels sinking into the ground every step.

And back to work.

And two more things!

1) Tomorrow is my last tennis lesson for the term. I think I improved quite a bit the first few weeks... and then suddenly regressed substantially. Seriously, it's pathetic that so many of my shots still go in the net. I was told to slow down and take my time, but it's so much more fun to hit them hard! I usually jump the gun. Patience is that I lack.

2) I got a sunburn about a week and a half ago. And my chest is peeling like bloody mad now! This sunburn thing is so new and foreign to me. When will the peeling stop? =(

Oooh, mes pieds!

I forgot what a horrible runner I am today and decided to hop on the treadmill for a 5-km walk/run. (After discussing my bridesmaid dress is "a bit snug". It fits decently, but I look like an enlarge green grape.) I have issues with my right foot; I'm convinced it's attached to my leg on an awful angle. I walk/run on the outside part of my foot which makes running more than two seconds "a special challenge". I also get bad shin splints, but I think those would go away if I ran on a consistant basis. Long story short, it took me about 32 mins to go 5 kilometres, and the tops of my feet ache.

Halifax over the weekend was excellent! Beauty and the Beast was a fantastic show and the cast was brilliant. Would have prefered to see it in NYC, but I guess that childhood dream will die a terrible death =( Tear! I got to see some ex-Disney Castmembers and it was soooo great! It's such a feeling of relief being around people who understand. People who know what's it's like to sit in your own home, in your hometown, and feel so incredibly homesick that you want to rip out your own kidney. Sigh. But it brought back the experience a bit too much, it made me ache to go back for another contract. But then I think about speiling the bread until my jaw was ready to crack and land on the floor. Then not so much.

But THEN I think about PI, HOB, Chillers, Blue Martini, Jellyrolls, sleeping at the Poly, BW, AKL, etc., and I would rip off my left leg (or maybe the right one since my right foot is more sore than the left one) and eat it in exchange for another contract.

In Halifax I got to go to a "real" club which was fantastic. Halifax has a new bar/club/something that opened up, the Coconut Grove and I wanted to go soooo badly. I mean, there was a sign out front promoting two martinis AND a cheeseplate for $10.00. Such a fantastic deal! It had open, outdoor seating on the second floor (technically the roof of the neighbouring building) and was playing great music that reminded me of the boat cruise we went on in San Juan. Alas, it was not meant to be. Maybe next time.

And there is nothing like travelling with non-night people to confirm that one is indeed a creature of the night and "a trooper" in the nightlife scene. ;) (Donde esta mi amigos de Floride cuando los necesito?) Anyway, to sum it up, coming home on Sunday was quite saddening. I'm old by PEI standards and am supposed to be popping out babies or something. Instead I spend most of my time thinking about events that happened at some point in the past three years and wondering how long I'll last on PEI before I start to get a twitch to explore something new. Me thinks it won't be that long...

This is my first complete weekend off since... Well, ever since I started working at the Delta. End of March, I guess. Since then, until I finished at the Delta one week ago today, I think I had two days off... and both of those were in early April, ha ha! So now I feel so free. Yesterday Janielle and I layed on the deck on my parents' house for the afternoon. I was outside pretty much from 12:00 until 7:00. The drastic sunburn on my chest and the 4-square-inch patch on my left thigh show that sunburn is not to be over rated. I put sunscreen on my face, shoulders, and forearms (seemed to make sense since I was cutting the grass in a tank top and kind of forgot about the rest of me. This is actually the worst sunburn I have ever had. Weird, since I recall spending alllll day outside at the beach in the Bahamas and leaving with my nose having a faint red tint, and that was it. However, one could argue that I have been indoors for most of winter, so my skin's, umm, "natural shield" has regressed and no longer stands up to the strength of the sun as it did in Florida.

But to make me feel better, Jannie is about 3x worst than me =P

Today I cut grass, cleaned my car, and vacuumed our stairs. The stair thing doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was because blue lint from someones blanket was pretty much pasted to the carpet. So the next lovely lady of 223 who drags her blue blanket up the stairs will be forced to pick each individual piece of lint off the carpet and eat it. WITHOUT ketchup. Whoa.

It's Father's Day today. Happy Father's Day, Papa~! I guess you're in Calgary, although you and mum never called to say you safetly made it. If *I* hadn't have called I would be disowned from the family.

My hand hurts no more typing.

PS ~ our pirate party was fabulous. Any party that involves costumes is always grand.

Today was a good day. It was *almost* a day off as I worked for only four hours!!! I meant to set my alarm for 9:00 this morning but forgot to actually turn it in - oops. I woke up at 8:45 and rolled back over expecting my alarm to blare shortly. It didn't. And suddenly it was 10:15 and I woke up, gasp, actually refreshed! I had planned to do great things today, but didn't get them all done. My quests to clean both my bedroom and the bathroom were left un-fulfilled, but I did buy groceries. Working at the Delta has quite changed my shopping habits all round, food and otherwise. Keeping ridiculously busy prevents one from spending, well, almost any money. Keeping busy at the Delta means free food, especially when one works in the diningroom and/or kitchen.

Early this afternoon I walked through the new food court at the Confederation Court Mall. It's nicer than it was before... but it still looks kind of ugly. But obviously they couldn't tear down the ugly brick walls - the ceilings probably would have fell in or something. I didn't get anything, but I'm sure it's a nice alternative to those that purchase their lunches and work downtown. It's kind of interesting to think why Chef Gordon Bailey accepted the challenge or re-doing the food court after receiving rave reviews for his work out at high-class Dayboat. Quite a change going from $30 pieces of salmon to $6.00 sandwiches. Nothing wrong with his choice, just a bit curious to why he made it.

I did something I am actually quite proud of tonight: I made salad dressing! A "citrus vinaigrette" to be more precise. I took the receipe from Bahama Breeze's website. I was inspired by my bundle of romaine lettuce purchased last week that, somehow, was still good tonight. I ripped off a couple of odd looking, half-eatened leaves but the rest was fine. I recalled one of the best salads I ever had: Grilled salmon tostada salad from Bahama Breeze. It was, shock, grilled salmon on a salad (that had warm corn on it, mmm,) that was served on top of two small tortilla shells that had been baked with a sprinkle of cheese. I always got the dressing on the side (some chefs put a disgusting amount of dressing on salads) and it was also served with salsa and chimichurri sauce on the side. It was sooo good. Long story short, tonight I made the citrus vinaigrette they use. It's not the exact same as the recipe on the website as I forgot to buy one item (creole seasoning, which I don't even know if they would sell at Sobey's as it's a blend of other seasonings so I just made my own) and couldn't find one. I also put the ingrediants to make Apple Mango Salsa which sounds good. Unfortunately the OJ I bought tastes like McDonald's "orange drink". The stuff that was served at every single elementary school function at West Kent. It is orange juice, but it's reduced sugar and is partially sweetened with splenda instead. I used to drink reduced-calorie OJ in Florida and something similar in Edinburgh, but those both tasted the same as regular OJ. This stuff does not and will be used for recipes only. And possibly the odd splash or two in an unique martini.

(Completely unrelated: but it's really hard to say "an unique". "A unique" sounds better, but clearly breaks the rule for putting "an" before words that starts with vowels or 'h'. Can anyone help me out here or am I just a moron?)

Although not super hungry due to eating at work this evening (such a cost saver) I had to chop up some lettuce and try my first attempt at salad dressing. Munch munch... Success!! It was quite good and has a strong tangy and slightly spicey after taste.

I left my car downtown overnight on Tuesday and was smart enough to park in a two-hour parking spot. No ticket! I let my bike downtown last night and it was still there today so I was excited. No stolen bike! Life is good.

Our schedules at the Delta run from Thursday to Wednesday. I told them almost two weeks ago that I would not longer be able to work days during the weekdays and could work only two shifts a week. The schedule it would first apply to was the schedule starting today. I was originally scheduled for three shifts (almost two... close enough for the time being) but when I arrived today I looked at the schedule again and I had magically gained two shifts. I told my supervisor I would be unable to work them, which was fine with her. So that was good. I felt a bit guilty about being unable to pick them up, (and if I really wanted to I probably could have,) but I did have prior commitments and think I deserve a free evening every now and then.

Hannah just complimented me on my salad dressing. She has good taste.

I had only two tables this evening and still managed to make about $55.00 (I was especially charming and humourous this evening). If that had been breakfast, I would have made about $3.00 having only two tables. Plus I didn't have to wake up at 5:40 this morning. Probably the best reason in the entire world to work evenings rather than brekkie.

I'm still so proud of my salad dressing. Perhaps I just had a lack of things to be proud of lately? ;) Definitely true in the culinary world. I think the last thing I made that I adored was a scallop stir-fry in a mango sauce I bought from the grocery store. Considering how infrequently I have cooked in the past couple of weeks, that scallop thing was ages ago.

Today I learned that there is a big beer festival in Montreal next weekend. Guess I'm a bit late to make plans to attend. However, Toronto has a beer festival the second weekend in August. Basically I'm looking for a reason to go somewhere. Last year on the Thursday night before Memorial Day weekend I was packing to leave for Puerto Rico the following morning. The year prior I was in... either France or Belgium. The year before that we were settling into Edinburgh and exploring the city.

This year I am spending Memorial Day weekend (somewhat irrelevant since we are not in the States) working at the Delta. Hmm. Oh! And starting my new job on Monday :) :) :) :) :)

Today I went through a bun... Ooh! I just looked up a flight on Air Canada and am quite impressed with its new "Preview Seat Availability" feature! But yes, today I went through a bunch of old files on my laptop, deleting the unnecessary ones. I found some old blogs I had written in Florida when I wasn't connected to the Internet. I was so excited about being in Florida, so happy to be there. I am not going to say that I wish I was still there... But I still miss it lots. However, I like, say, not eating out 400+ times per week, not sharing my room, not waking up and walking into the livingroom to discover half-clothed Italians passed out on the floor, not having security follow you around as you go to parties, etc. I do miss the weather, the people, the nice tables at Le Cellier, meeting people from all over the world, having world-class attractions at my finger tips, the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon, going for one-dollar pints at Planet Hollywood after a busy night at work, staying at amazing hotels for a fraction of the cost, getting cheap flights, living in flipflops, having the outlet mall across the street, watching fireworks, etc. I don't really miss the job so much... I liked Le Cellier better than I like the Selkirk, but that's pretty much a given. But there are things at the Selkirk that I like faaaar better than Le Cellier! Examples: space, space, space, space, space, being able to eat at work without the risk of being deported, being able to drink the juice, being home mere minutes after my shift ends rather than waiting for the C bus, the people tend to be a bit more mature (duh, the are mostly older), the kitchen staff isn't nearly as stressed and don't make you feel like an idiot if you make a mistake, no DDP (hee hee.... although than no 18% auto grat, hmm,), no free ice tea or soda refills, no 6-minute, bus-reset rule, no one-minute greeting rule, no five-minute drink rule, etc.

Well, off to bed I go. Hard to believe just fourteen mere hours ago I was pulling myself out of bed this morning and now I get to go sleep again! Wow, exciting! I'm like me-and-Shan-in-Spanish-cady-store excited ;) (Excuse the grammar.)

La fin.

I love the sun. It's been nice here all week and I love it to bits and pieces. I feel like I've been waiting forever for the return of my beloved sunshine. It wasn't a terrible winter, weather wise, but it just wasn't my winter. Other than my great living situation, it was a bit rough factoring in the adios-Florida thing and the vanishing job act. Now the sun is out and I want to hug it I'm so happy. Unfortunately it's kind of dispearing for the weekend and we're dropping back down to single digits, but it'll be back, and I won't have to wait six months this time.

Today I put in my two-weeks notice at JA, which makes me kind of sad =( It was a fun place to work and the people are fantastic and work so hard to deliver programs to Island students. However, the job was only part-time, and, drumroll, I had accepted a full-time position!!! I'm quite surprised by me. I'm still a little nervous about commiting to time on PEI as I was thinking about hopping off after the summer, but it looks like I'll be around for awhile. I think. Hmm. I won't write anything about my future at the Delta as I haven't discussed it with them yet. Things are so much better now than when I first started. I think my first weeks I literally shed tears at night before my 6:30am shifts because I wanted so badly not to go to work there. I wanted my Le Cellier and would have chopped off my left arm to have it back. Although then I thought about doing the bread speil at least 10 times a night and I was oddly relieved at not being there =P Anyway, I'm quite excited about my new job. It'll be on campus, which is the second of my preferred PEI work locations, with the first being downtown.

Complete change of topic, but today I drove to work and felt guilty. I drove to JA this morning because I wanted to go to the gym after work. I went to the gym, followed by the bank and then went home. At about 4:00 I drove to the Delta to work my first evening shift (which went, in my own opinion, quite well although it was slow). In my own defense, by the time I finish at the Delta the sun is gone and I would rather not risk walking/biking home as sometimes the dinner server doesn't finish until midnight. But yes, I do think more people in Ch'town should be walking or driving to work. Or at least use the bus! The winter is a bit different, but with this nice weather now I should not be the only person biking to work. Seriously, I see very few bikes downtown. It takes me seven minutes or so to bike to the Delta. Mind you it's mostly downhill so it takes me longer to get home, but still. I know there are arguments and exceptions that makes it somewhat justifiable to drive (me today) but I think overall cars are overused.

Well, time for bed.

My alarm is going to go off soon. However, I have been up for quite awhile because the crack-head neighbours have taken to early mornings, rather than the previous late-night habits of the winter. So the past few mornings I have been awoken far earlier than I had planned. It's really not a good thing. The main problem is this old truck they have. The keep slamming the bloody doors and starting the engine, which sounds something like a dinosour purring, if dinosours had such talents back in the day. Point is, a very loud, deep growling noise. Oh, my nerves. Then the truck gets turned off, the doors are slammed some more, and heavy-sounding boxes are tossed into the back, then we start the engine encore!! What a fantastic morning!!! YAY!!! I like sleeping with my window open, so cleary that may have to end. At my parents' home I never slept with my window open because I was convinced a robber would crawl through my window. My window in Ottawa didn't open, I don't think, as I had a basement bedroom. My window in Scotland did open, but Scottish windows don't have screens so I tried not to leave it open *too* much. Ha ha, in Florida we weren't allowed to leaves our windows open. Seriously. Probably because of the random, almost-daily rainstorms that occure during certain parts of the year. Those Price Management security guards were a funny breed. "Sir, I have had stuff stolen from my apartment!" "We won't help you because we walked by your building yesterday and your window was open, although you were home. Bad. bad BAAAAD!"

Anyway.

Yay, Monday~!

I know people tend to dislike Mondays, but today was FABULOUS. Possibly one of the best non-holiday Mondays I have had since Girls in Florida.

It started off normal enough: my alarm went off, I looked around my room in a confused daze and tried to figure out what city I was in. (Still Charlottetown? Check.) I eventually stumble out of bed to remember something VERY important about today: the weather forecast!!! I had brekkie, ate some cookies and got to BIKE to work without getting numb hands. Then I had a good day at work, and came home and sat on the patio and studied for my French test. Ahh, brilliance. THEN, we watched the last four eps of the second season of The Office. I went to the gym later on to discover I'm still a miserable, out-of-shape slob, but actually had a pretty decent run on the threadmill. I remember about a year ago when I started running how I basically ran at 6.0 mph and built up to, like, 6.3. Now I generally run at 6.7 and try to do spurts at 7.2 or so. I know those are dismal numbers for some people, but they're pretty good for me! However, my endurance is rather shite and I think it's because I get impatient and a bit bored sometimes so I don't push myself as hard as I should.

Summer is so close I can practically TASTE it. I am so excited. SO so sooooo excited. It's ridiculous how much better the summer is than the winter. It doesn't even COMPARE. Today I didn't wear pantyhose under my skirt. I wore SANDALS on Friday and Saturday. Despite that I love my winter coats, I am thrilled not to wear them again for six months. If I'm ever in a sour mood this summer, just remind me about how much I wanted the summer. I shall be a whole new person! I know we still have some chilly days ahead of us, but we are soooo close that I can almost envision the tan on my pale legs. I do have one small summer fear though: what if we don't have a good summer?? When I was home for a few days last summer it was pretty damn cold. If we have a cold summer I *will* cry. If we have an excessively rainy summer, I will go on strike and start a position to have our wee Island towed to the equator. Hopefully we can avoid hurricaine season, but that is a risk we may have to take.

Oh, and ps, I have been in Canada for over six months now. (Save the week I left for holiday.) That boggles my mind... It's been six-and-a-half months since I finished at Disney at I still think about it ALL the time. Cling to it, if you will. I still can't believe that I'll never get to experience that again =( That job was pretty much my dream job, after I got past my dream of working at McDonalds when I was five. Seriously, I thought that would had been the most glamourous job in the world. That and being Dolly Parton and singing "Me and Little Andie" on stage and prancing in HIGH HEALS. Wow.

And to bed we go.

• I is getting a bit distracted at work 1 today.
• Last night I wanted to go to House of Blues but I couldn’t because I wasn’t in Florida. Unlike my parents. They are in Florida, but not at hob. I don’t think it’s really their thing.
• I had to be at work 2 at 6:30am on Fri, Sat and Sun. WoW. Definitely not a morning person. I would sort of stand there confused with glazed-over eyes until someone would say something like, “Jennifer, could you get the juice bins ready?” and then I would proceed to slowly get the juice bins ready. I’m fine though once guests start arriving, especially if it’s busy. The running server bit wakes one up rather quickly.
• I’m so happy it’s April. March is associated with blowing snow, cold weather, and, well, winter. April is associated with spring and life returning to the Planet. (No, I do *not* over exaggerate.) Spring may *appear* to begin on March 21st, but it’s just a false start as evidenced by our random stormy weather last Thursday.
• If anyone is looking for a location to host/participate in a mud-wrestling match, our front yard should do the trick.
• I’m so excited that it’s 11:40 already. I think I prefer arriving at work closer to 9:00am rather than 8:00am. I’m just a little more… alert.
• I’m kind of an idiot and have terrible English. There are words for which I know the meaning, sort of, but cannot pronounce. I sound them out, but I usually sound them out with a foreign accent or something. I say them how a Spaniard would say them or something. Or more a Briton, since I am one deep on the inside. Somehow. I just *have* to be. Whoever decided the ‘a’ in hastening is pronounced as a long ‘a’ is a jerk. Hast (rhymes with cast) – en – ing. English is so far =( Conjure. The stress *should* be on the second syllable to give the word more strength as a verb thus making it more forceful.

We got practically a foot of snow last night. Uggggggggggh. I'm done with putting up with winter. Between starting shifts at a job for which I am not properly at bloody 6:30 in the morning, and the impending doom of the never-ending winter, I somewhat feel like crawling in a hole. Not a deep one though, as I would like to be out in about a week or so and for the summer. I think this has ben my worst winter ever. Not that it's been incredibly awful, but, meeeeh.

The Selkirk at the Delta holds about the same number of people as Le Cellier, but the dining is probably about three times the size. I need work shoes - I feel like I walk foreeeeever to get to the kitchen.

Blaaaah.

Today at work #1 I was listening to music, as usual. A song came on and I was thinking about how different songs spur up different memories. Now we shall take a wee stroll down memory lane... (Beware - most of these conjure visions of Scotland or Florida. And dear Shan - the first one makes me laugh every. single. time. I hear the song.)

1. Big Yellow Taxi - Filthy McNasty's, more specifically, the bartender (Ruairi?) that sang it all the time at karaoke. Even if I am in the saddest mood, play this song and I will laugh my face off.


2. Sweet Child of Mine - Shan Courtney, Old Guy, and the Walkabout. Old Guy was there every Saturday night (as were we - after we got over the Filty's thing) and was big into the air guitaring. Everytime Sweet Child of Mine came on he would air guitar his lil' heart out. He would actually be on the floor/stairs leading up to the stage on his back. He had signature sunglasses that he wore all the time, except once in a while he would lend them out to his randomly changing posse.


3. Wishes! - this was the music that played during the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. It opens with music, Jiminy Cricket, and children singing so sweetly it breaks your heart. And, umm, may make your eyes water a bit. Once the song/show is over, there is a condensed version playing as people leave the park, flood Main Street, or go back to going on rides. That part gives me such nice memories of walking down Main Street and makes me want to hug someone. Anyone. Play the song and come visit me if you need a hug.


4. Me and Little Andy - by Dolly Parton. I used to sing this song when I was little. Looking at the lyrics, it was a rather sad song, but the deaf child in me didn't know the lyrics word for word, more so sounds and syllables randomly being strung together. Not too long after singing this song I was twirling/"dancing" and stepped on Brother's foot with my plastic high heels. Thanks to the watchful eyes of my parents, he didn't kill me.


5. Kokomo - I "sang" this song after I stepped on Jeff's foot. I saw the Beach Boys in concert (TWICE) at Epcot during Food and Wine 2005 and realised I had the majority of the lyrics terribly wrong.


6. O Canada - so this should fill me with patriotic warmth, but it actually reminds me of the F Bus and the Monday-night trips to Pleasure Island. For the unfamiliar, fill a coach bus with multiple, drunk nationalities "singing"/screaching at the top of their lungs. I always felt bad for the bus driver - Wayne.


7. La Gasolina - Vanessa and I dancing with Food & Wine folk at Motion (PI).


8. Living on a Prayer/almost anything Bon Jovi - The Three Sisters! That front, cave-like room. I recall once during the Fringe Fesitval being there late with Shan and a bunch of drunk guys standing on the benches along the wall singing along.


9. Anything by Sean Paul - Ma soeur! Smiley/Titi, my French roommate from my first seven months in Florida =)


10. Hella Good (No Doubt) - Heidi, singing at the Roost.


11. I'm not a Girl, not yet a Woman - again, Heidi at the Roost. Specifically, her standing with the mic glaring at, I believe, Shan and I, and saying in a sad voice, "I thought I had friends..." because we refused to sing that with her. Eventually we felt guilty and uh, swayed in the background or something.


12. Paradise by the Dashboard Lights - Filthy McNasty's. Someone ALWAYS sand it, and it was sooo long, but I liked it regardless.


13. Old MacDonald Had a Farm - my cousin Keltie. This was one of her favourite songs when she was little - REALLY little! I remember her crying in the car on the way to Sussex in her car seat, and me singing it over and over and over and over and over and ooooooooover again.


14. Bad Case of Loving You - (is that the name? Hmm) Grad week at Peake's!!! The pubcrawl on Thursday, and going there grad night on Saturday.


15. Love Shack - Shan Curtis and I singing at the Roost. An awful, awful experience and I now hate the song. Two quotes: Shan, "I can't see the words!" (a consequence of our beverage choices for the few prior hours) and me, "Is it over yet?"


16. Everytime We Touch - (by Cascada - I listen to her far too much at work) Mannequins!!!!! I love it. LOOOOOOVE it.

That is all for the moment. Because I started typing this over two hours ago and then got gabbing on the phone and watching American Idol. Mwwwa. More song memories shall flood through my head as the night concludes. And tomorrow. And the day after.

Ta!

Sometimes the sun is so misleading. Yesterday it was streaming in through my bedroom window, much like it is now, so I went bounding outside in a skirt thinking about what pair of sandals to wear. I came back in, and topped off my ensemble with a winter coat and boots. Sun does not necessarily equal warmth.

In good news,

I made it!!!!

It's now officially spring, so I survived a Canadian PEI winter. It was challenging by times, especially as I looked at pics of my friends still in Florida playing about in their shorts and t-shirts. Those days when I'd rather eat my banana pealing than run it outside to the compost. I won't say those days are over because it's still rare to get a temperature above freezing but *knock on wood* I think I won't be dealing with a -30C windchill again for AT LEAST EIGHT MONTHS!!! Probably longer due to the recent trend of late-starting winters.

On Friday night we had a impromptu "gathering of people" (Jannie: "We can't call it a party or someone might show actually expecting people to be here!") which was immensley entertaining. Jannie even captured some of our entertaining moments on video on my child/digital camera. Saturday afternoon I was hit with a very harsh reality upon watching said video: I am bloody annoying. AND I sound like a seven-year-old boy when I speak. Question: how do I have friends? Do they keep me around for entertainment? Quite possibly, quite possibly indeed.

In job developments, I have jobs. My time at Junior Achievement is over this week. It went reallly fast. Also this week I'm starting to work at the Delta. In the dining room. I have also been doing random administrative stuff at my mum's work.

Remember on Back to the Future II when Doc explains alternative 1985 to Marty? How life is the straight, horizontal line of destiny but a little choice throws you off the horizontal line and you skew diagonal? I am NO WHERE near my horizontal line. In fact, I feel like I'm a statistic that would be used to discuss the de-valuing of university degrees as they are so readibly available now on an over-saturated market. I pushed myself through a four-and-a-half-year program in four years, received scholarships/awards, and basically breezed through university pretty easily. That's not to say I didn't work hard, but I didn't mind doing it because it was mostly (in third and fourth year) stuff I enjoyed. (Except the DME marekting plan in Marking II. Not something I look back on fondly.) The point is, university graduation was almost three years ago and I feel that I am the statistic of why undergraduate degrees are over rated and losing their marketability. The other point is that I am impatient and being a moron, because really, I have been looking for a job only since mid January. So, like, just somewhat over two months. Not even as I haven't applied on a job in awhile.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote the Federal government GCT-1 test. It was quite easy. It was for an "administrative assistant" (which I later found out to be somewhat front desk work, greeting guests, and answering phones,) with Parks Canada at Dalvay. It's funny, because this type of position would be close to a minimum wage position at a non-government organization, perhaps paying, at most, $9.00/hr. But since this is a government position, it pays minimum approx $20/hr. Which is insane. No wonder so many people try to get into Government. Also making this position different than it's almost-minimum-wage equivalent is the hiring process. Applicants that successivly were screened through to the test-writing component were told that Parks was going to try and "really push this through" (as in make the hiring decision quickly) but the position's closing date was January 23 and I doubt they are anywhere near making a hiring decision. We wrote the GCT-1 test about two-and-a-half weeks ago and they were hoping to have our results within a week - week and a half. Hmm... Anyway, the next step for the position is a French oral and written test. Oye. The position is classified as CBC/bilingual imperative which, umm, probably puts me out of the running easily. My French is fine and gets me by; however, I think I would be extremely lucky to even get a BBA score. (In this case, A is the worst and C is the best.) I am learning that smiling excessivly during interviews gets me a job at Disney World or any service driven job, but doesn't necessarily work so well in "office" jobs. My office mate at JA was worried when she saw my resume that said I worked at Disney World. She was concerned I would be uber perky and, like, randomly break into song. But we actually get along very well because we both have a ridiculously dry sense of humour and laugh at the birds outside our windows.

This Saturday I am writing the govt's GCT-2 test for a position with Service Canada. It's a good thing I like writing tests =P I looked at the practice one online and it looks alright - all multiple choice, as most govt tests are. I did well on all the math/logic questions but the one that stated "What does 'SUCCINCT' mean?" Heh - NO idea. But of the seven practice questions, word definitions was only one of the questions. I figure if this ratio is reflective of the real test, I should do all right. I'm bound to know SOME of the definitions (although I may wish to amp to current reading from the Princess Diaries VII to something a little more substantial... like the dictionary) and I have a 25% chance of guessing the right answer.

I'm quite curious as to how much servers make outside of the Disney bubble. Before I worked at a ridiculously busy restaurant where most guests were on the Disney Dining Plan thus resulting in servers getting 18% of the guests' total bills. Pretty good as the DDP including an app, entree, dessert and drink. So I have very clear memories of making $195 one night (pre tax) and labelling that as a slow night. Oh Disney, how I miss thee on so, so many levels. Heh - we were $o $poiled.

I slept in today and it was AMAZING. I still (yes, STILL) haven't quite adjusted to going to bed at a "real" time. I'm generally snoozing by 12:30, and then have the urge to DIE when my alarm goes off at 6:45ish.

Now, I am off to do something productive. Well, sort of. Making long distance phone calls is classified as productive, right?

La fin.

Random work-day thoughts:

• Definitely not a morning person. Still. And probably forever.
• I need to go to New York City to realize my child-hood dream of seeing Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. I didn’t do this when I was in NYC for my 23rd birthday (!!) because I was on podium and feeling poor. Now, the show closes at the end of July. After thirteen years of procrastinating, now is the time. I can fly from Ch’town for about $500. I need to go. Plus this time I won’t be trudging about in NYC the day after a storm, so site-seeing may be a wee bit easier!
• I bought a wee radio with headphones (about the size of an MP3 player) at the Dollar Store a few days ago. The radio was crap and wouldn’t pick up any stations in the gym. I figured that was acceptable, I mean, we are talking Dollar Store here. The earphones worked well though, so I figured it was really a one-dollar investment on earphones. Until I yanked them out of the radio too quickly this morning and they broke. So my $1.16 investment was terrible. Should have put it in an RRSP…
• You know, it’s cheaper to go to London Gatwick from Halifax than it is to go to NYC (La Guardia, I think,) from Ch’town. Oh, and flying is starting to make me feel morally irresponsible thanks to the talk I went to delivered by David Suzuki. So I’m feeling a bit torn because I loooove traveling and driving is just not an option for so many destinations. Nor is bus, or the non-existent PEI rail.
• I admit to stick checking the weather in Orlando, and usually sighing sadly followed by longing glances out the window.
• I’m excited to walk home today as it’s, apparently, like, eight degrees outside!!!!! Which is better be, because I’m wearing a skirt and don’t have any pants with me.

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere
I want it more than I can tell
And for once it might be grand
To have someone understand
I want so much more than they've got planned


Those are a portion of the lyrics from "Belle (Reprise)" from Beauty and the Beast. It just kind of popped in my head. Mostly I think the first two lines pertain to me as I have been feeling a little trapped on PEI lately. I know I can just get up and leave, but I almost feel guilty about wanting to leave. So many people like it here, why not me? I almost feel as though leaving is either me A) giving up, or B) being a snob and thinking I'm above PEI. I haven't given up on it yet, but I'm getting close. I am also definitely not a snob. I was thinking about it today in my mind's chain of random thoughts. In a job interview about a month ago I was asked to describe myself in one word. I should have been prepared for such a question, but I wasn't and definitely said something stupid. (Regardless, I still made it through to the next round of interviews?!) Before my interviews last Tuesday (the third of the previously mentioned and one for a server at the Delta) I came up with a good word to use. I then promptly forgot it minutes later. Today I thought of a word, again, but this time remembered it. It actually may have been the same word I previously thought of, but I cannot be positive on that.

Curious.

Yup, that's the word I came up with. It kind of developed from "discovery", which isn't an adjective thus cannot describe me. ("An adjictive describes a noun." Thank you, Mad Libs.) But I like discovering things. Discovering new places, new people, new adventures, new languages, etc. I think this is a solution to the "problem" - my curiosity. I like knowing how people got to "where they are". I like talking to people about their jobs, finding out what they do and what that job title really means. I like talking to people about their hometowns.

To sum up a bit of my current problem and relate it to the previous paragraph, I have discovered nothing since being in Charlottetown. (Relating to the town, not people.) I know Charlottetown. I went for a walk last weekend and discovered nothing new. I remember on nice weekends in Edinburgh I would just walk... or hop on a random Lothian Bus, hop off, and then walk. Usually I had an idea where I was as I knew the bus system ridiculously well. If I was ever stuck I could just scan the sky line for Arthur's Seat, the Castle, Calton Hill, the Walter Scott Monument, etc., and determine my approximate where-abouts. When all else failed, I would just find a bus stop and work from there. I really don't ever remember getting lost, and if I did, I had a mobile and, sometimes, a map.

This week was a good week. I worked part-time at Junior Achievement and part-time piloting the 2007 Tourist Exit Survey (TES). I don't really care for surveying people, and I quite hate bothering people but most people are good about it and it has quite a high response rate. I think I just don't feel very productive doing it because there are so many Islanders at the airport. Of the many people I talk to, very few are even eligable to fill in the survey. At JA I'm doing .... let's make it sound fancy! "Database administration." I have to do 100 hours over the span of five weeks. I am temporarly filing in for someone who is one a leave of absense for, shocker, five weeks. She was a part-time employee working twenty hours a week hence my time obligations. I plan on working more than twenty hours a week, and once the TES is over I'll be able to put in more hours than I put in this week (twenty seven).

On Friday afternoon I wrote the ... I can't remember the of it, but a government test required for a position I applied for back in January. The test itself was quite easy. Hee hee, I just looked at the job description again (which was very vague) and the language requirements are "bilungual imperative" with a pretty high standard for French (C-B-C). I wonder if, provided I get through to the next round, will I have to write a French test? Oye. I may have to consider myself out of the running if that's the case, although I *do* listen to the radio in French so that's a start. Also relating to the test which I found interesting, all the people writing it were female. Curious!

Ooh, time to hop off, I think Jannie is home from Victoria =) And I have to run to the toilet. AND I'm thirsty. AND I need to brush my teeth. Wow, busy times.

Wow - it is windy outside! This winter weather is getting old. I realise winter is supposed to last for multiple months, but I'm done. Winter can leave. Where is my sun? I'm probably going to get rickets from lack of vitamin D. Wouldn't that be sad? I wonder if more Canadians develop rickets than, say, Brazilians.

I am still going through my quarter-life crisis. I randomly freak out, stuff myself with sugar, whimper, and then smile again. It is becoming quite repetative and annoying. My quarter-life crisis will probably leave me with a perma pot belly and diabetes.

I am trying to improve my French and it is kind of hard. I listen to Radio Canada 88.1 (French CBC) almost 100% of the time when driving. I sometimes watch TV in French and understand just about nothing. I am reading Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers and am quite enjoying it! But that doesn't quite satisfy me. I never really lost my ability to read in French; I really would like to improve my speaking and listening skills. My pronounciation is also shite, as I find myself mentally giving certain words spanish accents when reading.

Today I determined that getting a job is scary because I feel like it will be the end of my adventures. It's like someone will hand me a job on a plate, and I have to make it last forty years. Will I never get to live in Europe again? Will I be doomed destined to spend the rest of my life on PEI? What if I become... boring? Oooh, scary. However, I don't find people who chose to live on PEI boring, so hopefully I won't be boring either.

Being unemployed should be enjoyable, but it's really not. It is stressful. It is ALWAYS on the back of your mind. Personally, it feels like such a failure and I have, umm, kind of stopped applying on jobs in the past week. I just got frustrated and angry. I pretty much flipped out and bawled (productive, I know,) when I found another interesting position open only to someone on E-freaking-I. I realise the purpose of the HRSDC Job Creation Program is to take someone out of the unemployed work rather than have someone quit a job in order to take the new one, but I am unemployed too! Just because I do not fit the proper EI statistic doesn't make it right to leave me stuck in the red mud.

I have a job interview tomorrow morning and meeting re another job in the afternoon. I know that makes it seem like I'm making great strides, but that's after about a month of looking. Brilliant. I'm actually quite disappointed in myself regarding how I have been handling my life lately. I should be enjoying my free time. That volunteer work I intended to do? I have done minimal. My scrapbook? Sitting in a drawer in my closet. Becoming super-fit, gym rat? Well, I've become a gym rat, but I also turn to delicious ju-jubes for a quick pick-me-up. Skiing? Nope, not yet. RRSP investments? No again! Filed my US or Canadian taxes? No, of course not, but I pretty much just have to print off my already-filled-in forms. This is when I wonder, what do I really do with myself all day? Nothingk, especially when you consider I usually sleep for only six-and-a-half hours a night. I get up, eat breakfast, maybe read some (I have read a lot recently), do some sudokus, watch some telie, eat some more, waste time on the Internet, maybe do something productive online, nothing, etc., blah blah blah. It's quite pathetic. I remember when I used to hardly spend any time at home. Hardly ever watched TV. Spent minimal time on the Internet. Well, that's in the past. I am trying to look forward, but I can see only fog for the most part. Randomly I catch a glimsp of a light in the distance, but the luminance is not quite great enough and I fall back to a displacement of zero. Okay, that is a bit of a lie. I am not at zero, I like to think I at least bumped myself up to two.

I have to do some interviewing prep now which will probably get me a little more excited :) Seriously.

Cheers!

This is coming from a girl who is home from the bar far too early before her bedtime:

I know I'm going to be happy with my life; and I know I'm going to do great things. It's just a matter of putting up with the 'icks' that are currently, and will continue, to meet me. I can handle the bad things with a few tears, but the tears exist only because of the amazing experiences I have already have. Life will go on...

As it is. Despite moping for many months (!!) life keeps ticking as it should. Tomorrow I am whoring out my resume. I may wind up working at a pet shop, but that's okay. My new goal is to bring entertainment to PEI. Let's make PEI cool, eh? As Lord knows something is lacking right now. I'm going to fix that. Screw the Gentle Island stuff, we are know the Island of FUN!

According to todays Guardian, PEI has a deficit of $1.3 billion. WOW. Rather sad, for the country's highest taxed province. (At least our PST is highest... not sure about actual taxes on wages, but I'm sure we're up there.)

Based on our 1999 population of 138,000, each Islander owes approx $9422. Also curious is why the most recent population statistic on Government's website is from 1999. Is there not a more recent figure? Or is it shameful that our population is decreasing? I don't know for sure if it is, but it seems like it should be. Us Islanders aren't popping out the babies like we used to! But, of course, people are living longer and blah blah blah. But daily we contend with the Island human resource drain as "our most precious resource" leaves the Island due to shite wages. Go figure. Recently the premiers of the Atlantic provinces went out west to Alberta to try and entice our precious resources to return to the homeland. Honestly, let them stay out there. There are people here (me) that are smart and have a decent education (me) but can't seem to stumble upon work (me again!). We already have a relatively high rate of unemployment, officially. Unofficially it's even higher as I believe the rate is based on those eligible for EI. (Not me.)

So, it's essentially costing the government $10,000 per person to keep us here. Really, that's quite a bargain for them, I think. Or at least I think I'm a bargain. I cost the department of health very little and have been to the doctor's, like, three times in almost four years (and once the province wouldn't even cover me =( ) and have been in the hospital, excluding audiology and speech crap when I was little, four times - including once to be born.

I really don't have much of a point here. I wonder how much the average Islander is in debt by? Although it's debatable as to whom is considered an Islander. A student studying here for four years from, say NB, who has full intentions of leaving after grad, is he/she considered an Islander for debt stat purposes? At first I thought you could judge debt by banking figures, but that doesn't take credit cards into consideration, or financing provided by car dealerships.

While sweeping today (don't I sound like Cinderella pre-Fairy Godmother?) I thought about the lack of a theatre in Cavendish. Just a thought. As far as I know there isn't one. Would it be viable? Profitable? I think there would be potential, but could it compete with the Confederation Centre of the Arts (Confed Centre in Island terms)? The Mac? Victoria Playhouse? And others? PEI is so small that driving from Cavendish/Anne's Land takes under an hour depending on, heh, camper traffic, weather, tractors, etc. Could you find people willing to put on a show? What would the incentive be? Why would a director and/or producer chose Cavendish over another location?

I also have been thinking about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Could a similar festival on a (much) smaller scale be replicated on PEI? It's so much fun, pretty affordable, and really does have something for everyone. Venues don't necessarily have to be a proper theatre. Anywhere a band can play a production can be performed.

I haven't been too busy with the job hunt this week. I have an interview coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm just a little indecisive as to what I want. (Other than my new two-hour dream of opening a theatre in Cavendish.) I liked working with the public at Disney and poking at kids. However, sometimes being fabulously happy and ALWAYS working with guests was a little much, and intellectually it wasn't a very rewarding job. In the other hand, I had office jobs that offered minimal contact with others and I didn't care for that too much either. I'm think I'm designed to be a temp. Bump around in a lot of different roles. Or maybe I'm best suited to run a pub or some sort of business. I could get out and work with people, but also do my intellectual running-a-business stuff too.

I don't want to sell things. Well, that's a bit too broad. I don't want to be constantly on the phone trying to sell things! Outbound sales rep isn't really for me. I mean, those are the people I feel bad for everytime they call a house and get shot down. Does anyone really take those calls?? I'll have to ask Brother because I think he did something like that for a little while.

Jobs are stupid. Remember that time I filed for six hours a day? Oooh, wow. Not fabulous.

I really want to work at a theatre. Hmm.

I miss Disney World. (Again.)

Well, it's 12:30 and I have accomplished nothing other than bookmarking a few job postings, semi-cleaning the kitchen, and watching two episodes of Save by the Bell.

The highlight of my day was getting my transcript from UPEI. Not only did it have my marks on it, but it also had the class average from each class I took. I was smack on the average for two of my English classes, and the rest of my classes were above the average! The highlight was Math 111 - I got 99% (*cough* nerd) and the avearge was 65%.

Interestingly, the median for Intro. Accounting I was 78%. (This keener got 90% ;) ) The median fell rather dramatically for Intro Accounting II: 57%!! What happened, former classmates? I"m sure the switch I made from Dave Adams to Ab Ferris really didn't make THAT big of a deal as the exams, midterm and assignments were the same for both professors. I was also smack on the average in Project Management in fourth year. I believe that to be irrelevant as it was a sorry excuse for a class, and I'm pretty sure I gave that class the worst course evaluation EVER. I won't get into it now, except I have noted that the course has been offered again at UPEI. Hopefully they fixed it up and made it into something worth paying for than $3.00 for.

Time to make supper!

Jen gets frustrated because the alignment on one of her resumes gets throw off. It was initally drafted on Shan's laptop in Edinburgh, and I made many alterations but forgot to change the page type. A4 paper is useless here! Ahhh!!!

Yesterday and today I was looking at some job openings with the Feds. There were a few that I know I'm qualified for that are openining up in the National Capital Region. However, you have to live within 125-km of Ottawa to be eligible!!! Quoi? I mean, we're all Canadians, aren't we? =(

I also found a couple of jobs that one must qualify for EI in order to apply. I do not quality for EI as I was living the US and working for an American company. However, I may be eligible for the American version of EI?! Hmm, something to look into. I worked in the US for longer than 52 continuous weeks... Hee hee! Thank goodness I had that last-minute extension ;)

Well, my goal to be in bed by 12.30 failed. Here's going for a 1.30 fallback!

I haven't written here in awhile, eh? Well, over Christmas I tried to keep myslf as busy as possible since friends were home for the holidays adnd there was no use keeping still! Let's do a brief recap.

Fri, Dec 22 - most fabulous house party EVER! The beer pong table investment was well worth it. And our oparty had a random German, which was nice as I haven't seen random Germans since my Disney days.

Sat 23rd - go to Aunt Jean's for late lunch for Dixon Christmas thing and spend the evening at Sarah Keith's house at a party that reminded me very much of grade twelve!

Sun 24th - go to Grammy's last afternoon into the evening. Play texas hold 'em poker with the fam. Brother gets home mid afternoon after a gongshow of a drive home.

Mon 25th - "So this is Christmas" open presents, eat ridiculous amounts of food, have Grammy in for lunch, then go to the Cameron's for dinner. Come home and play more cards.

Tue 26th - Boxing day! Have Kolawski's over, go to Kelly and Laura's for party, then to 223 NR Rd for another party. Then to Piazza Joe's for some classy dancing before waiting forever and a half for a cab downtown with Mr. Brother.

Wed 27th - Brunch at Cora's with Lynda, Candace and Heidi. Try on bridesmaid dresses. Sit in parking lot at Civic Centre for a long time. Watch Little Miss Sunshine in the evening with Shan, Kiki, Heidi and Jannie.

Thu 28th - Hmm... I don't remember. Oh, oh, oh! Went to play pool with Keri and Kat, then went to NR Rd, then to Hunter's... Tried to find Shan in the mess of Ch'town but could not so went home. And Brother goes home :(

Fri 29th - Uh oh... Heidi's last night! Start out at 223 NR Rd (of course) and eventually find our way to ODP.

Sat 30th - Farmer's Market in the morning, say bye to Heidi and buy stuff for dinner the following night. Then have a , gasp, low-key night.

Sun 31st - help parents prepare massive quantities of delicous food and then head to NR Rd for a lovely, multi-course supper with Shan, Malcolm, Jill, Jannie, and Hannah. Then party with lots of folk, because it's New Years Eve! I also have a slight mope fest as 7/8 of my friends are in other parts of the world and I can't see them, and don't know when I will see them again. Sad.

Mon Jan 1st - go to gym to find ppl are doing a 5-km RUN the morning after New Years Eve. Wow. Then have MacPhail family over and have a grand ole time playing balloon volleyball. Woohoo!

The end. Then I moved to 223 North River Road on the 3rd, because I spend so much time here anyway. ha!

I am now also jobless. Brilliant, eh? I am becoming very good at being lazy which makes me sad. Being lazy has snowball effect. First you are a little lazy, and suddenly moving more then three feet a day seems like such a challenge. So I spend my days slowly applying for jobs. Yesterday I watched a ridiculous amount of tv. Generally I do not watch a lot of tv, but something happened yesterday. I just sunk into a chair in the livingroom and become one with it. We bonded. We watched just over four hours of tv (not all at once) and then felt disgusted with ourselves afterwards. However, the chair didn't really convey these emotions although I'm sure it was feeling them. We watched Jersey Girl last night which I secretly kind of enjoyed. Well, the first 2/3 of it. Then I found my mind trailing a bit.

Well, that's all. I'm going to try slugging through the slush to walk downtown now. Mope.

Happy Christmas!

I sent out my pretty Christmas e-card today. I had too many people to send it to, and the third email I sent out failed to attach the picture properly. So I'm posting it here, along with my "fabulous" poem.

The Christmas Tree

Every year it is up to me
to fetch the MacPhail Christmas tree.

Having been a lumberjack for several months
I will admit to being kind of pumped.

I went deep into the woods
As far as I could!

First I headed East
Thinking about the impending Christmas feast.

I eventually turned South
Catching snowflakes in my mouth.

Soon a beaver was tagging along,
And a bluebird followed me singing a song.

I got a bit worried when the wolf appeared,
But I just winked at him and tossed him a beer.

Suddenly a fabulous tree stood right in my path
I estimated its height using some math.

A physics calculation determined the angle of my swing,
And the axe hit the tree with a rather subtle ping.

I dragged the tree to the homestead with a proud trot
Only to discover it was filled with termite rot.

So please, come to Charlottetown and see
My fabulous fake Christmas tree.

So Christmas is fast approaching. It doesn't feel very Christmas-y though, I'm not sure why. Maybe now that we have snow again I'll feel a bit more of the holiday spirit.

Yesterday I went on a shopping trip to the Charlottetown Mall yesterday for the first time in probably two years. I have been there twice since I've been home but both times just kind of to run in quickly or waiting for my mum, who had run in quickly. Oh, and to The Spa once. Quite the mall. "My" mall in Florida, i.e., the one closest to my home, was fantastic and I miss it. I didn't go there that much, (except to walk through on the way to the grocery store,) but it was lovely. Good deals on, well, everything, and they HAD everything, minus a department store. The mall was almost like a strip mall in the way the stores were connected by their walls, but you had to walk outside to get store to store. There was a fountain, an outdoor coffee/beer place, seating, etc. So nice!

It's been two-and-a-half months since I have worked. By the time I start my job it will have easily been three months. I was thinking to myself, "What have I done with my time?! Nothing," but that's not true. I spent almost five weeks on vacation!

When shopping on PEI, in the back of my mind I wonder if the cost of living on PEI really is that cheap. Our wages are lower than those of many provinces/cities and that argument is that our cost of living is lower. Perhaps my problem is that I generally shop only at the liquor store and grocery store, but I really don't notice things being excessively cheaper here. Rent/housing and gas are the big things, and it is quite cheaper here than many places. But with so many stores being chain stores where the price tag is put on a garmet before it's decided where it will be sold, lots of things are the same price as they would be in, for example, Toronto. I think a bit of it has to do with options. In big cities, you have the choice of going to a restaurant where you spend $35 on an entree. On the top of my head, we don't have restaurants in that price range in Charlottetown.

I know my mind is a little skewed from having spent almost fourteen months in the States, as it was skewed when I returned to Canada after being in Edinburgh. I thought Edinburgh was so expensive. However, a lot of that was due to the miserable exchange rate when we first arrived there. It improved a lot over the course of sixteen months, but by that time I didn't want it to improve as I wanted to get more dollars when I exchanged my pounds. Rent was definitely more expensive there, but the pay was higher to compensate. In retrospect, it was not as expensive as I initially thought. You could get a good meal in a restaurant for about $12CAD including tax, and no tip as tipping was not the norm there. I don't remember the price of milk, but it was normal. You could get a loaf of bread for 20p, (about 48 cents,). I remember cereal could go both ways... The sugary, American-inspired stuff was a bit pricey. The healthier or store-brand stuff was a pretty good deal though, perhaps $2.50 a box. The price of alcohol was pretty decent, you could get a pint for about 2.00GBP depending on the bar. I don't remember ever getting beer from a bottle in a bar... Except at Belushi's where Foster's Ice was buy one, get one free.

Random: any fellow deported Canucks remember Reef coolers? Ooooh, they were GOOD. They had great flavours! I like the red one and the tourquoise one. The purple, (black currant and grape, I believe,) was, umm, different. Definitely British ;) i don't remember what the red one was, but I believe the tourquoise was Green Apple and Pear. Different, but delicious. The red one makes me think of The Standing Order on George Street.

Oooh, or WKD Blue! That was like drinking a blue, melted popsicle.

You know what? I should really get into the import business. Introduce Islanders to the great things they are missing in other parts of the world. Sure we already import lots, and lots, and lots of stuff... but what's wrong with adding a little WKD Blue to our lives? Or Chomp bars. Or Tesco Fruit and Fiber cereal!

Keri is in Scotland right now. Hmm, kind of jealous.

Well, this was intended to be an educationed post about economics, but as usual, it ended with me rambling about Disney or Scotland.

Word.

Pictures pictures pictures.

I have pictures everywhere as I'm attempting to make a scrapbook.

And I'm relapsing. I miss the Commons sooooo much that I cried and now I have a headache.

----------------

I'm looking at old pictures on our computer. I used to have really long hair. That's because getting your hair cut in Edinburgh was expensive. Not related, but when I left there I threw out a lot of clothing. Specifically, there is a blue shirt that I really miss. WHY DID I NOT TAKE IT WITH ME??!! Probably because I wore it all the time and it was getting soooo fuzzy, not to mention the 20-kg weight limit. But why? Sad. And I'm wearing these random mitts in France and I have no idea whose they are. Were they mine? Did I borrow them from Keri?

----

Okay, I just remembered that I'm quite sure they ARE mine. I bought them at Internationale because I didn't have any mitts. I also almost lost them quite a bit. If it weren't for strangers tapping me on shoulders and me running back to the toilet minutes before a flight I would have had some rather cold hands by the time I left Finland! (Speaking of Finald, I have a fantastic photo of Patrick and I eating the most stupid backpackers supper EVER. I have a box of cereal, and he has a PICKLE, among other things. Hee hee...!) I did eventually lose a mitt, but I'll have to continue looking through pictures to determine when.

You know, I was soooo sad earlier but after looking at the THOUSANDS of pictures I have taken the past few years I really have no reason to be sad. Honestly, I think I had more fun these past few years than some people have in their whole lives. So how on Earth can I be sad?! Yes, I don't get to see people as much as I would like to, I have no idea when I'll see the majority of my friends again (come visit "The Gentle Island" please!) but I'm lucky to have met them. I've been to numerous fabulous places, had the job that I dreamed of since I was eleven-years old, have a brilliant family, etc. Despite throwing out my fabulous blue shirt, at least I got my 7GBP out of it.

So this wasn't supposed to be a birthday post, but the clock is inching towards 1:00am on December 8th and I'm cheering up. I survived another year, and somehow, despite living at the Commons for thirteen months, my liver still functions. THAT is something to be proud of! I've also managed to have a great tan through most of it, despite being stuck in Scotland's rainiest summer on record ;)

On my happy note, I think I'll go to bed. Tomorrow night, I think I need an adventure. Looking at my pictures, I had lots of random adventures that don't happen unless you are willing to "put yourself out there". Hard sometimes, but I haven't had a REAL adventure in Charlottetown yet and I know there is one out there waiting for me, waiting to wish me a Happy Birthday and welcome me "home".

Happy 24th Birthday!

Today I did very things that tested my patience.

I downloaded stuff from youtube with DIAL-UP.

WOW.

I was kind of a nerd and watching British commercials/"adverts". Okay, so they were Irn Bru commercials. For anyone who has seen them, I guess around World Cup time (Juneish? I remember because we, in pure class, had a World Cup of Drinking marathon at the Commons) Irn Bru released commercials celebrating Scotland going to the World Cup! HUUUUUGE deal, eh? Well, turns out the Trinidad and Tobago team has a player with the last name Scotland. Hilarious! I was then inspired to watch Orange Wednesday adverts. Dear Lord - those are the funniest things EVER. Really, I don't understand why the cinemas here don't show them. (Actually, I do completely understand - Orange mobile service doesn't exist here so their customers can't take advantage of the Orange Wednesday promotion. DUH.) But I love them.

This is one with Carrie Fisher that I had never seen.

Spike Lee. Also new to me!

Roy Scheider.

Steven Seagal.

I haven't actually watched these all yet, (note the dial-up,) so apologies if they aren't great. And I NEED to find the original one and the Patrick Swayze one. And Ewan McGregor just so I can listen to his fabulous accent.

Note to prospective British or American (I need citizenship) husband: Linking to these proves I have a lovely sense of humour. This is very desirable in a mate.

I watched some of Elf tonight. Good Lord that movie in HILARIOUS.

Woohoo! So I got home from Florida this evening. Yes, I did just leave it the sunshine state on Oct 20th, but I really didn't have a good reason NOT to go back as I scored myself a job for the new year!

The job is on PEI.

This has shocked a few people. However, I really just didn't feel like moving again. Do you realise how many times I have packed up my junk in the past years? In Jan 2003 I moved to Ottawa for two work terms, came back to Charlottetown in August. In May 2004 mere DAYS after graduation I hopped over to Edinburgh with Shan and Keri. (RIP our adventures in one of the world's most fabulous cities.) In mid July we packed up our stuff and moved flats. It wasn't a hard move as the flat was in walking distance, however it still sucked. And I have faint memories of a hungover Keri and I taking a dresser that we stole from a neighbour's pile of rubbish through the George V Park. A shopping trolley from Tesco was used at one point. I'm tired just thinking about it! In August 2005 I came back to Charlottetown for ten days. Unpacked the Scottish stuff (that which I had not thrown out) and packed up summer clothes to head to Florida. In October 2006 I left Florida and lugged my crap with me on a cruise ship, in Ottawa and in Toronto. So yes, the idea of packing up again made me want to hide deep under my bed. Like, halfway-to-China deep. Even more bizarre than the "I'm staying on PEI!" thing, is the fact I actually FOUND a job on PEI. Scientists are studying this as we speak.

Starting in January, I will be working at the PEI Tourism Research Council. I will be polishing the Bridge with a toothbrush and examining the tourists' reactions to see if they have a sense of humour. If PEI tourists have at least a 6.45/10 on the sense-of-humour scale we will be tearing down Gateway Village to make room for the world's third-largest comedy club.

No, not really, obviously. I'm actually the Team Leader of the Data Collection Team. See my left arm? The iron fist there? That is what I shall rule with. That and a little bit of pixy dust because WDW habits are impossible to break. Anyone want to wear piercings while working under me? Reprimand! Ha ha. (Yes, I realise my nose is pierced. However, I took it out EVERY DAY AT WORK for over a year. Except two days that I forgot. Whoops. Point is that it made people less scared of me. Not that I'm scary, but you know...)

So PEI for a year, eh? I'm kind of worried, to be honest. Considering on my four-week anniversary of being home I hightailed it to Orlando, went out pretty much every night, was surrounded by people my own age, etc. Charlottetown needs a club. It needs either, (I can't believe I'm saying this...) Motions (gasp!), House of Blues, Destiny, or a Chillers. Actually, we need all of them, but let's be realistic. But the market really can't support it. Myrons has closed again, the Page (all the rage during second/third year uni) closed it's club, Peake's is seasonal, and the VUG is just... well, has that stigma attached to it. Eww. A bit of the problem is that people are meant to feel kind of old once they hit, like, 21. I used to live at Myrons twice-weekly when I was 19. However, by the time you hit 21 you have to laugh when you go there because the place was filled with under-agers that you used to BABY-SIT. I don't know what the solution is. As much as I enjoy the Old Dublin, I can't go there all the time. I like going out frquently and I can barely bother going there once a week. And ODP won't be playing techno anytime soon. Only if a dj plays the wrong song.

My left ear is still throbbing from my flight so I think it's best I head off to bed. Before 1:00am. I am SHOCKED. But I did get in last night at about 3:00am, and then got up for the airport about 45 mins later. I think that explains it ;)

So to everyone I saw in Florida, thank you so much! It was absolutely fantastic seeing everyone again and it shatters my heart knowing I'm not there anymore. =(

Oh yes, and Friday is my birthdays. Cheers to Hannah for the reminder! So if anyone I know is on PEI ( :P ) I want to hang out. Go out. Maybe have a little techno. Maybe drink a martini. Perhaps a glass of wine. (Dear PEI - Start selling ice wine. I need it. Canadian or German, I really don't care. I will even settle for a late-harvest riesling. Love Jen.

Bonne soiree

Blog blog blog.

So yup, not too much going on. Today I got up and took a reallllllllly long bath.

I've been having random Disney dreams. They used to be about work, (still, even AFTER I got home,) but now they are slowly turning into seeing Disney people outside of Disney World. One night I had a dream that all the UK lads were on PEI (WHY?!) so they stopped by my house to see what bars they should go to. So I took them all downtown, went to a bar with them, and when it came time to leave I couldn't find my vehicle ANYWHERE. I searched and I searched and then with some help I eventually found it. I do believe Lynda was the one who eventually put me right direction along with my neighbour Jane. Once we found our car/van/giant SUV or whatever it was, I cheered and woke up.

Last night my dream took place at Colonel Gray High School. Despite being 23, (almost 24!!!) I was heading back to school. However, everyone was my age. Maybe it was actually a university that was IN the Gray? Anyway, I saw my French roommate and nearly ran her over with hugs and happiness! Then, I was walking into the cafeteria and saw my Mexican roommate sitting and having lunch with the other Mexican exchange students!! Almost ploughed her down as well. I was so happy! So yup, those are the two of most recent memory.

In other news, still no job but I actually haven't tried too hard. I'm dropping off some resumes todays, and who knows if anything will come about of it. If not, well, hopefully the investment in gas and paper will eventually pay off. I have/had a couple of "leads" so we'll see what happens.

That is all.

Good news!

I found my old Pog collection!!

o_o

Hee hee, the joys of messing through drawers that haven't been searched through in years.

I wrote this a couple of nights ago... But couldn't get it to post. Pfft.

So here it is, another day.

I can't wait to get unlimited long distance. I think I'll do that tomorrow.

And to get a car to drive. Also potentially tomorrow. (No more house arrest, ha ha!)

I am very slowly applying for jobs. It's funny, having nothing to do makes me even more ambitious to do nothing. Suddenly getting out of bed before 11:00am seems like such a challenge. Going to bed before 3:00am is also a challenge. However, I think the extra half-hour of sleep every day is supposed to balance out the ridiculous amounts of sleep I missed out on in Florida.

Oh, Florida, how I miss thee. Sniffle. =(

I'm also going on some kind of random UK withdrawal. I partially blame the book I'm reading: A Year in the Merde. It's about an English guy who spends nine months working in Paris. So he is learning about culture, doing stupid things because you don't know any better, and all that fun stuff that comes along with moving somewhere new and different. So now I have a huge desire to improve my French and to marry an English guy so I can move to the UK. Any help with either goal is much appreciated. I really wish I could have put my UK visa on hold while I was in Florida, but nope.

I was quite back and forth about coming back to PEI. If I had left Disney and come straight home I probably would have locked myself in a closet. However, I had a nice, three-and-a-half-week-long holiday and felt a little ready to come home. Mostly to stop living out of luggage. Then I got home and felt like hiding. Then I felt like seeing people and so I did. I was pretty sure I was ready to get a "real" job, as I kept referring to it as, but now I'm not sure. First of all, I don't think I even know HOW to get a job! Secondly, I kind of mentally freaked out on Saturday at the Old Dublin when I realised if I stayed on PEI that would be my typical Saturday night. Don't get me wrong, I quite like the Old Dublin, but not for every Saturday. And I know my brain completely blew it up into a huge deal, which it isn't, but Sunday was pretty much a write-off for me not wanting to do anything except lay in bed and stare at the wall. And sulk. A lot. It wasn't all a "I don't think I can live on PEI" thing though; I really miss the Commons. I miss having friends so close. When the people who live far away live only a ten-minute walk away. When you're bored you have the option of watching some of the world's best fireworks or lazing about in a fabulous pool.

Then I missed Edinburgh too. Sometimes I got bored there because I kept doing the same thing over and over. (*cough* The Walkabout - although after I took a brief hiatus it became enjoyable again!) But the thing was, if I was bored, there was always something new I could do. A new part of town to explore, a new bus to hop on, a new town just a mere train-ride away.

Charlottetown doesn't even have a train.

Of course, who knows if I would be anymore cheery elsewhere. I had moody days in Orlando. I had blue days in Edinburgh. I definitely had foul moods in Ottawa.

And this is why I stay up so late at night. Thinking. (And reading about my new lovely English friend.) Wondering what will happen in the coming weeks. Trying to figure out how to solve my travel itch. Thinking about ways to out-smart Air Canada and West Jet and get a fabulous deal on a flight somewhere. Which is a laugh-and-a-half in Charlottetown! HA HA HA! One of the reasons Edinburgh was fabulous - great day trips or weekend breaks for pretty cheap. Orlando was AMAZING for flight deals. On a good day is costs only half a leg to fly somewhere from Charlottetown instead of the usual whole leg.

I think I'm thirsty.

Buh-bye

Oooh, and I'm also going to start emailing lots of ppl since I pretty much fell off the radar screen for many months. I'm Jen Mac, and it turns out I *didn't* die when away!

So here it is, another day.

I can't wait to get unlimited long distance. I think I'll do that tomorrow.

And to get a car to drive. Also potentially tomorrow. (No more house arrest, ha ha!)

I am very slowly applying for jobs. It's funny, having nothing to do makes me even more ambitous to do nothing. Suddenly getting out of bed before 11:00am seems like such a challenge. Going to bed before 3:00am is also a challenge. However, I think the extra half-hour of sleep every day is supposed to balance out the ridiculous amounts of sleep I missed out on in Florida.

Oh, Florida, how I miss thee. Sniffle. =(

I'm also going on some kind of random UK withdrawal. I partially blame the book I'm reading : A Year in the Merde. It's about an english guy who spends nine months working in Paris. So he is learning about culture, doing stupid things because you don't know any better, and all that fun stuff that comes along with moving somewhere new and different. So now I have a huge desire to improve my French and to marry an english guy so I can move to the UK. Any help with either goal is much appreciated. I really wish I could have put my UK visa on hold while I was in Florida, but nope.

I was quite back and forth about coming back to PEI. If I had left Disney and come straight home I probably would have locked myself in a closet. However, I had a nice, three-and-a-half-week-long holiday and felt a little ready to come home. Mostly to stop living out of luggage. Then I got home and felt like hiding. Then I felt like seeing people and so I did. I was pretty sure I was ready to get a "real" job, as I kept referring to it as, but now I'm not sure. First of all, I don't think I even know HOW to get a job! Secondly, I kind of mentally freaked out on Saturday at the Old Dublin when I realised if I stayed on PEI, that would be my typical Saturday night. Don't get me wrong, I quite like the Old Dublin, but not for every Saturday. And I know my brain completely blew it up into a huge deal, which it isn't, but Sunday was pretty much a write-off for me not wanting to do anything except lay in bed and stare at the wall. And sulk. A lot. It wasn't all a "I don't think I can live on PEI" thing though; I really miss the Commons. I miss having friends so close. When the people who live far away live only a ten-minute walk away. When you're bored you have the option of watching some of the world's best fireworks or lazing about in a fabulous pool.

Then I missed Edinburgh too. Sometimes I got bored there because I kept doing the same thing over and over. (*cough* The Walkabout - although after I took a brief hiatus it became enjoyable again!) But the thing was, if I was bored, there was always something new I could do. A new part of town to explore, a new bus to hop on, a new town just a mere train-ride away.

Charlottetown doesn't even have a train.

Of course, who knows if I would be anymore cheery elsewhere. I had moody days in Orlando. I had blue days in Edinburgh. I definitely had foul moods in Ottawa.

And this is why I stay up so late at night. Thinking. (And reading about my new lovely English friend.) Wondering what will happen in the coming weeks. Trying to figure out how to solve my travel itch. Thinking about ways to out-smart Air Canada and West Jet and get a fabulous deal on a flight somewhere. Which is a laugh-and-a-half in Charlottetown! HA HA HA! One of the reasons Edinburgh was fabulous - great day trips or weekend breaks for pretty cheap. Orlando was AMAZING for flight deals. On a good day is costs only half a leg to fly somewhere from Charlottetown instead of the usual whole leg.

I think I'm thirsty.

Buh-bye

Oooh, and I'm also going to start emailing lots of ppl since I pretty much fell off the radar screen for many months. I'm Jen Mac, and it turns out I *didn't* die when away!

So here it is, another day.

I can't wait to get unlimited long distance. I think I'll do that tomorrow.

And to get a car to drive. Also potentially tomorrow. (No more house arrest, ha ha!)

I am very slowly applying for jobs. It's funny, having nothing to do makes me even more ambitous to do nothing. Suddenly getting out of bed before 11:00am seems like such a challenge. Going to bed before 3:00am is also a challenge. However, I think the extra half-hour of sleep every day is supposed to balance out the ridiculous amounts of sleep I missed out on in Florida.

Oh, Florida, how I miss thee. Sniffle. =(

I'm also going on some kind of random UK withdrawal. I partially blame the book I'm reading : A Year in the Merde. It's about an english guy who spends nine months working in Paris. So he is learning about culture, doing stupid things because you don't know any better, and all that fun stuff that comes along with moving somewhere new and different. So now I have a huge desire to improve my French and to marry an english guy so I can move to the UK. Any help with either goal is much appreciated. I really wish I could have put my UK visa on hold while I was in Florida, but nope.

I was quite back and forth about coming back to PEI. If I had left Disney and come straight home I probably would have locked myself in a closet. However, I had a nice, three-and-a-half-week-long holiday and felt a little ready to come home. Mostly to stop living out of luggage. Then I got home and felt like hiding. Then I felt like seeing people and so I did. I was pretty sure I was ready to get a "real" job, as I kept referring to it as, but now I'm not sure. First of all, I don't think I even know HOW to get a job! Secondly, I kind of mentally freaked out on Saturday at the Old Dublin when I realised if I stayed on PEI, that would be my typical Saturday night. Don't get me wrong, I quite like the Old Dublin, but not for every Saturday. And I know my brain completely blew it up into a huge deal, which it isn't, but Sunday was pretty much a write-off for me not wanting to do anything except lay in bed and stare at the wall. And sulk. A lot. It wasn't all a "I don't think I can live on PEI" thing though; I really miss the Commons. I miss having friends so close. When the people who live far away live only a ten-minute walk away. When you're bored you have the option of watching some of the world's best fireworks or lazing about in a fabulous pool.

Then I missed Edinburgh too. Sometimes I got bored there because I kept doing the same thing over and over. (*cough* The Walkabout - although after I took a brief hiatus it became enjoyable again!) But the thing was, if I was bored, there was always something new I could do. A new part of town to explore, a new bus to hop on, a new town just a mere train-ride away.

Charlottetown doesn't even have a train.

Of course, who knows if I would be anymore cheery elsewhere. I had moody days in Orlando. I had blue days in Edinburgh. I definitely had foul moods in Ottawa.

And this is why I stay up so late at night. Thinking. (And reading about my new lovely English friend.) Wondering what will happen in the coming weeks. Trying to figure out how to solve my travel itch. Thinking about ways to out-smart Air Canada and West Jet and get a fabulous deal on a flight somewhere. Which is a laugh-and-a-half in Charlottetown! HA HA HA! One of the reasons Edinburgh was fabulous - great day trips or weekend breaks for pretty cheap. Orlando was AMAZING for flight deals. On a good day is costs only half a leg to fly somewhere from Charlottetown instead of the usual whole leg.

I think I'm thirsty.

Buh-bye

Oooh, and I'm also going to start emailing lots of ppl since I pretty much fell off the radar screen for many months. I'm Jen Mac, and it turns out I *didn't* die when away!

And I'm done. Deported from the United States of America. Sigh! So now I sit in my snuggly housecoat in front of a slow, dial-up (??!!) computer. Tear.

A couple surprising things about being home: 1) That I quite like it, so far; and 2) I'm not as keen to get a job as I thought I would be. I mean, I have applied for jobs, but I haven't been doing it too aggresively. I do feel the job thing is going to be luck.

The worst thing about being home is being uprooted from with whom you spent the last thirteen months of you life. The weather also plays a downer... I keep waiting for the "cold-front" (actually called start of winter) to end and the sun to return. Next week it'll be sunny again. Next week I'll be wearing sunscreen again. Next week I will see a castle illuminated by fireworks.

I don't think I know how to get a job, or what kind of job I could get. I'm not stupid, despite never really working in an "environment with strict deadlines and results-based goals", I'm sure I could do it. I had deadlines in school. I had goals pertaining to my results.

I also wish my French and Spanish were up to snuff. Just looking at a research job with Immigration Canada, being able to conduct interviews in Spanish and being able to read Spanish documents would be an asset. I can read Spanish documents somewhat decently, (especially quando tengo mi dictionario espanol- ingles,) but I have a bad ear for languages. I can read French and write it somewhat decently after brushing up on a few rules, but I have trouble listening to it. This is why I should start watching cartoons and listening to the radio in multiple languages. Except music. As lovely as it is, I can't even make out English lyrics let alone lyrics in another language!

Winter hit me pretty much once I got to Ottawa. My skin is dry and disgusting. My knuckles feel so tight and like the skin over them is going to crack. I hate winter. I haven't been in intense winter in over two years. It'll be nice to go skiing a couple of times. Maybe do a little skating, throw a few snowballs, have a sledding adventure. That'll take about two weekends to do. I may just hibernate through the winter.

WHY DO ALMOST ALL GOVERMENT JOBS (except those in Edmunton) REQUIRE FRENCH?! I know we have two official languages, and I fully support and embrace that, but not everyone need speak French. When I worked in Gatineau some people had terrible English. That was okay, as long as *someone* could communicate with the team. Meeeeeh. I think government jobs make me angry. Mostly because I don't have one and probably won't get one. Woohoo private sector!

Actually, more woohoo for going at it by oneself. I need some ideas to start brewing, although a couple of temporary ones have crossed my mind.

It's cold out, I'm a hermit, and I miss Florida. Although seeing my PEI friends and famil is lovely. That pretty much sums up my life post Nov 1st. Sigh. Donde esta mi sol?