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?

Oh my God... our a/c isn't working and I'm pretty sure this climatized Canadian is melting. Soon we will just have a puddle of Jen.

Time to sleep on the bath tub and fill it with ice cubes.

Tonight was my last serving shift. I tried during my Oh Canada. On your last dinner shift you stand in on the fireplace in the restaurant. Someone makes a little speach explaining how we are down here for only year and are basically each others family. Then we sing O' Canada together. Brad did my speach, and did a lovely job. And I couldn't sing because I was busy tearing up. When I tried to sing I just had a lump in my throat... =( So very sad... but at the same time, it doesn't seem like it's really happening. Apparently the lady at the table closest to us was crying right along with me!

And I'm done. Wow. I really can't believe this. It's so sad.... if I didn't have such a nice vacation to look forward to I would be a bloody mess. Instead I'm a mess because I'm melting. Icky Jen.

Blogger is being spotty! So I actually wrote this last night and couldn't post it. Although my France pics did randomly show up after I thought they didn't....? So yes, time machining to ten hours ago...

*********

Well, the next step of my life is starting to come together. Post-Disney life is looking pretty good… My plans include being on holiday. Ha!

Seriously, it’ll be nice though. I was starting to feel a little burnt-out at work but I had a nice lazy day today and am feeling better. Too bad I have only two days of run-your-ass-off service left. Sigh.

So the parents shall make arrival no. 3839489903 in Orlando next Wednesday. I will work my last shift as a Walt Disney World castmember. I will probably freak out and shit on the promenade and watch Illuminations while bawling my eyes out. Should be grand. My lovely parents will stay until the following Wednesday. That very same day, within hours, Charlene will arrive to the mighty MCO and we shall spend three glorious days together before we, along with Derek, embark on a CRUUUUIIIIISSSSEEEEE!!! FYI, cruises are addicting. Support groups don’t exist. We make it back to Orlando on the 19th and then I head up to Toronto, then to Ottawa, then to, gulp…. Charlottetown. Oh, my, God. Talk about blank slate. If you’re looking for me in November I will be sitting in my livingroom watching family videos of trips to Florida. Then I will be rewinding them, and watching them again. This is going to be soooo hard. I may be in hiding for a few weeks.

Life is dandy here! On my two days off last week Katelyn and I did a spur-of-the-moment trip to Savannah, Georgia. Late Monday night, i.e., 3.00am, we decided we needed to go somewhere on our days off, starting mere hours after. After determining Texas wasn’t going to work for anything less than a small fortune, we settled on five hours of sleep before a nice drive up to the south. (Florida isn’t really considered a southern state…) And that is all because my hand hurts from typing today. Today was a heavy internet day between booking cruises, looking for flights, and getting excited about cruising. Yes!

And despite my “OH MY GOD HOME SCARY NOOOOO!!!!” I am QUITE excited to see everyone! And to previously-mentioned parents, I’m quite looking forward to your visit J

Whoopsie! Blogger was quite buggy last night so some of my photos are duplicates. I didn't think any of them would actually show up! Hence, I wrote this last night and did not post it...

Flashback sequence to ten hours ago!

Well, the next step of my life is starting to come together. Post-Disney life is looking pretty good… My plans include being on holiday. Ha!

Seriously, it’ll be nice though. I was starting to feel a little burnt-out at work but I had a nice lazy day today and am feeling better. Too bad I have only two days of run-your-ass-off service left. Sigh.

So the parents shall make arrival no. 3839489903 in Orlando next Wednesday. I will work my last shift as a Walt Disney World castmember. I will probably freak out and shit on the promenade and watch Illuminations while bawling my eyes out. Should be grand. My lovely parents will stay until the following Wednesday. That very same day, within hours, Charlene will arrive to the mighty MCO and we shall spend three glorious days together before we, along with Derek, embark on a CRUUUUIIIIISSSSEEEEE!!! FYI, cruises are addicting. Support groups don’t exist. We make it back to Orlando on the 19th and then I head up to Toronto, then to Ottawa, then to, gulp…. Charlottetown. Oh, my, God. Talk about blank slate. If you’re looking for me in November I will be sitting in my livingroom watching family videos of trips to Florida. Then I will be rewinding them, and watching them again. This is going to be soooo hard. I may be in hiding for a few weeks.

Life is dandy here! On my two days off last week Katelyn and I did a spur-of-the-moment trip to Savannah, Georgia. Late Monday night, i.e., 3.00am, we decided we needed to go somewhere on our days off, starting mere hours after. After determining Texas wasn’t going to work for anything less than a small fortune, we settled on five hours of sleep before a nice drive up to the south. (Florida isn’t really considered a southern state…) And that is all because my hand hurts from typing today. Today was a heavy internet day between booking cruises, looking for flights, and getting excited about cruising. Yes!

And despite my “OH MY GOD HOME SCARY NOOOOO!!!!” I am QUITE excited to see everyone! And to previously-mentioned parents, I’m quite looking forward to your visit =)

Oh, la France :)

Woohoo - I am still in Florida! It's crazy to think that I was originally supposed to be in Canada right now. Although if original plans pulled through I would actually be on a ten-night cruise of the Caribbean right now. Whoops. Instead I have been working six days a week including random double shifts. Fabulous... I thought I was going to crack during the lunch part of my shift yesterday. I probably sounded like a robot and things weren't registering with me very well. When I used to work mostly lunch shifts I would have trouble getting into the groove for the dinner shift. Now it's vice-versa... I work primarly dinner so feel a little off for the first wee bit of lunch.

BUT NOW...!

I am off for two days!! In a row!!! This has been awhile in the making. My last day off was last Sunday and it kind of sucked. Started out alright as I hopped about Sea World, but as I made my way down I-drive it poured. A lot. And I was outside. Sad. Miserable. Kind of wet. And it was Sunday so the Lynx buses don't run very frequently. However, today is... Tuesday (Yup, I did have to think about that,) so the buses should be better and my plans should pull through with greater ease. The sky still has some dark clouds though. My poor, fading tan. Non-existent.

So when one doesn't have many days off, mini-vacations during the week are necessary. The Dec 6th lot was going to Chef Mickey's on their nine-month anniversary and I decided to go as it was my twelve-month anniversary! For a big group, and to make sure it wouldn't interupt work, our reservation was for 7:20 in the morning. After checking out the bus schedule, we decided leaving before the sun has even started to skim the horrizon was disgusting.

So we stayed at the Contemporary Resort instead ^_^ (The resort housing Chef Mickey's.) Erin and I went there after work. For those familiar with the place, we stayed in the tower. We decided the garden wings were ghetto and who wants to stay in an enclosed sidewing when the main draw of the resort is staying in the tower through which the monorail glides through. For the unfamilarized, this is where we stayed. I was rather floored when Erin and I walked into our room - it was really nice. I personally think CR is the most "aged" resort but the rooms were in fabulous condition and likely had been recently refurbished. WOW. Our view was over Bay Lake. The other side of the tower had the Magic Kingdom view. Eventually Mallory and Mel joined us and we grabbed some food, giggled in our room, watched Wishes (MK's fireworks) from an outdoor viewing area and then did the Monorail Drinking Game. Basically you stop and buy a drink at each stop on the monorail line. Except MK, because they don't serve alcohol in that prohibition Kingdom. First stop was the Polynesian aka my happy place. :) :) :) :) :) :) If they would let me live there, I would. I pretty much know its background music now since I have spent so much time poking about.

I just looked at the link I posted... The room pictures are of an old room. Ours was MUCH nicer.

So yes, at the Poly I had a Kona beer from Hawaii. Then we proceeded to the Grand Floridian (my akward place as I feel slightly out of my element there) where I had some Fuzzy Peach drink. Yum, I guess. It was rather zingy with the peach. The lounge there should be much nicer than it is... I find it to be rather dark.

Then we caught the last (or more likely second last) monorail to the Contemporary and visited the Outer Rim lounge. Melanie had a ... SPACE MONKEY!! Wowowowowoowowowoooo (Say it in a loud, deep, echo voice and imagine flashing lights.) I had a banana split drink (mmm.) Mel had the best drink... but it didn't taste much like we thought it would. Like they forgot to put something in it or something.

Then we poked about the arcade which was MASSIVE. And then we went and retired to our room.

And suddenly it was 7:00 and time for breakfast.... Uggh.... too early. We ate and then went back to bed until about ten minutes before check-out time.

I'm still boggled by why Disney would put such an ugly room picture on its own website!!

The end.

Oh yes, and one year ago today I flew from Glasgow - Belfast - Halifax. Wow. I feel like my life is a chapter book. I can't believe it's been a year since I left the UK. I still miss it and find it hard to accept that the opportunity to go back and have that experience again will probably never present itself. That was such a good time... and it's kind of funny, because I had some bad times there (generally work related [exhibit 1 - unemployed almost all of August 2004, exhibit 2 - SWIP FILING EVIL ANGRY ARRRRRRRRGGGHHH!!! July/August 2005]) I rarely think of it and remember only the good things. To the non-Islanders I befriended, Emily, Anne, Grand, etc., hopefully I'll get to see you again soon =)

Edinburgh was more real life. No Bubble. The Bubble is summer camp for a year... or as I like to put it, "like speed-dating for friends" because you develop relationships at such an accelerated pace compared to the real world.

Also UK related, I finally bought the Scissor Sisters cd about a month ago. How many times did I *almost* purchase it at Virgin or HMV on Princes Street?

AND OH MY GOD I MISS H&M.

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH.

Cheers! ;)

Today was a bit of an emotional day. I got up this morning and it really hit me that today could be my last day of service in the restaurant. I had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be, but it did rather worry me. So I spent time sorting junk in my room, thinking, putting together leaving cards, and other such "leaving" thing. When I went to work this afternoon I harrassed the managers and was told that I got my extension. (Although apparently word wasn't "official" until 9.22 this evening!) That was good. Bad was pre-meal... Hoo boy! All the servers have a meeting lead by the shift manager before seating starts. Wow, what a mess. Two people were getting into their last hour of their last shift EVER and Charlene was sitting for her last pre-meal as a server. Bonour, tears. Pre-meal was the section of the restaurant closest to the doors (New Brunswick, for the knowing,) and one of the guests waiting on podium was watching us as most of us whimpered and teared up as the manager tried to make us feel better. Wow. The September group was so big... Most of us work the evening shifts and anytime the manager mentions stuff happening in the future (Food and Wine Festival, the bulk of free DDP, CHRISTMAS,) we point out that only one - three of the present servers will still be here.

I have a weird pit in my stomach about going to New Orleans. I'm not sure why... I think it's leaving the bubble and seeing somewhere very, very real. We call Disney/the Commons the Bubble. Life is plastic here. Good, but plastic/fake. New Orleans, as everyone knows, was pretty much ripped to shreds just shy of a year ago. I'm excited about going, and this is the "last" big trip for my wee clique (Tear Fest 2006), but I'm slightly ansy on going somewhere that is so far from perfect. I know no place is perfect, but I haven't really seen anything so "real" in quite awhile. It's going to be hard seeing leftover hurricane damage and being in a city where there is/was so much poverty and such an income gap. The way publications make it out to be I'm expecting the Brasil of Louisiana. (Brasil is a country in which many of its residents are either quite wealthy or quite poor, hence income gap.) And crime. I know it's going to be no worse than, say, Paris. We're sticking to the main areas and what not but books/articles/travel guides are making me apprehensive. The most crime I have dealt with as of late is when people take my tray when I'm pouring drinks at the pop station. Which, for the record, drives me right batty.

Sigh, I feel kind of guilty about getting an extension. Happy, but a little guilty. So many people wanted it, and I got it only by chance. I was the first person from the first September arrival group to apply. Most of my closest friends will be gone as I continue to work and get thrown into six-day mandatory overtime but I guess that presents the opportunity to meet more people. And, unfortunately, my September plans are scrapped. No ten-night cruise and no travels along the Eastern seaboard back up east in Canada.

Remember Canada? I remember when I used to live there. What was up with that sales tax?!?! ;) And what about that funny colo(u)red money?!

Anyway, I think I'll get an hour of sleep before I leave the Bubble at 6:00am. I have to stop doing this... I never sleep before flights. Which is fine, when you are flying across the Atlantic or taking multiple flights to travel the relatively short distance to Charlottetown, but my flight tomorrow is less than two-hours long!!!! I need more sleep than that!!! Maybe we'll take the long way and go to Phoenix first.

I kind of wish I had been better with this blog thing... so much of my life down here is undocumented with the exception of pictures, and many of those contain myself and random people squished together into a picture I took myself. I always wish I had taken more pictures, but the way my camera eats up battery power, (eats? more like INHALES.) it's such a hassle juggling 900+ batteries. Plus my camera is a wee bit bulky and I like small purses. I need to rewind this year.

Where has the time gone? =(

Woohoo New Orleans! Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Wow, it's beena long while, eh?

Lots of stuff going on... changes.

I found out my extension got denied. Then they resubmitted it or something and now I'm waiting approval on it. I should find out tomorrow, and I was told it was "99% likely". So now, if I find out tomorrow that I DIDN'T get extended it will be mood swings all over again. And it doesn't really help that the manager that deals with these issues apparently on holiday. Ooooh, me me.

So since Canada Day I worked a lot, went to Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Naples/Sarasota on a weekend trip with Erin, went back to PEI for Shan and Malcolm's wedding, booked a trip to New Orleans, etc, etc.! New Orleans takes place this Thursday until the following Sunday. Erin, Charlene, Derek and I booked a package on lastminute.com (I heart that website...) and got a flight/hotel combo for $190.00. Ha! I love it. Travel in the US is lovely.

My mexican roommate left on Saturday. She arrived just in April but left early as 1) she hated her job, and 2) she is going to study in Sweden for a year. I remember studying, it was... enriching. Sometimes I feel like I haven't used my brain in ages. Learn? What is that?

AND WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE FALL????!!!!!????!!!!!!

Oh, my feeble head. So lost and confused.

Oh, I finally stayed at the Polynesian Resort!!!! My happy place. I loved it. I want to live there. Stay there forever. Drinking Kona Beer on the beach singing along to Wishes, the firework show at the Magic Kingdom.

So the bad part about my pending extention? It really screws up the plans I DID make. Charlene and I were going to vacation in Florida for a week and then go on a ten-night, Southern Carribean cruise with Erin. After some relaxation, we were going to take the train back to eastern Canada stopping at various points along the US eastern seaboard.

Not sure when I'll be getting a new roommate, but I must say, as much as I miss Bere it is awfully nice to have my own room for the first time in AGES! My italian housemate left in the middle of July and was replaced with a very nice Chinese girl, Xu. I didn't really know when Miss Italy was leaving as she had been living with her boyfriend at his apartment for a couple of months. To be Frank, (although I'll still answer to Jennifer ;) ) I like it much better that way. Much, much, much better.

Anyway, I'm off. I'm actually home this evening. I was supposed to go the Magic Kingdom for one of our last hurrahs with Charlene but after both theme parking and working the past couple of days we both kind of crashed after work today. So this evening (or what's left of it before I get ready to go out) I am tidying up some and doing things I have been putting off. Jen = responsible. Almost.

Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day! They are having a celebration for us at work and special activites for guests. It should be a good time! After work we are having an across-Canada pubcrawl. Each province and territory are being represented by a different apartment and we are doing a shot (or something) at each stop. My apartment is the PEI stop. Needless to say, there wasn't any competition! We did get two new Islanders last week though... so now I'm a third as special as I used to be. We actually have a whole army of new people and I am very slowly learning their names.

Time to decorate/get ready for work! And sweat. Because during the summer in Florida, you can't do anything without sweating. Let's just say the heat is a wee bit intense. I'll probably freeze during the evenings on PEI in August!

A la prochaine...

Wow - it's been awhile eh? Not too much has been happening... Puerto Rico was FABULOUS (gracias Frankie y Sonia!) and I couldn' believe how hot it was there. I don't think it was actually that much hotter there than it is here, but I really wasn't used to being outside in the heat as I had been working beyond excessivly up to that point. I seriously felt like I had heat stroke after spending a good chunk of the Saturday in a car! And there were the Puerto Ricans, in their jeans and t-shirts! I felt like putting on my bathing suit and laying in a kiddie pool of ice cubes. But to start from the beginning... We arrived in San Juan and Frankie was waiting to pick us up from the airport. We took the long way to Old San Juan as he gave us a tour of San Juan along the way. We ate at a restaurant and I ate some kind of orange chicken. (Chicken with orange sauce... not an orange chicken!) We then walked lots and lots around Old San Juan and it was very, very nice! It was nice being in an older city... Frankly I-Drive doesn't cut it with the "tourist" character. We stayed in the Sheraton for the first night. After parting ways with Frankie and his friend Les-Anne, Sonia and I went for a swim on the rooftop of our hotel! It was fabulous! We then went for a wander about and stopped at Senor Frogs - a staple of any cruise-ship-frequened port. We walked about and didn't really find any places that appealed to us too much as it seemed to early to "go out", unless you wanted to sit down and eat. So we bought tickets for La Rumba - a floating club, pretty much. The boat left an hour past its departure time (three cheers for the punctual Puerto Ricans, as we would learn ;) ) but the music was brilliant and I had a ball, despite falling asleep ON the boat waiting for it to leave the dock! On Saturday morning Frankie and Les-Anne, (whose name I really don't know how to spell,) picked us up and gave us a Starbucks breakfast. We did lots of driving on Saturday and I will admit that I slept a LOT. A combination of being exhausted, the heat, and not fully following the pretty Spanish conversation (hee hee!! :) ) made my eyelids quite heavy at times. But I did wake up for some stops! We drove up to the high point on Puerto Rico and ate lunch at a roadside, umm, "eatery". We got boatloads of food for pretty cheap. We continued driving and stopped at some nice falls and pranced about the slippy rocks. We continued driving with some more stops including a Castillo that had some very nice gardens around it. We drove to Ponce, the largest city on the southern part of the Island. We walked about and Sonia and I made arrangements to go on a late-night boat/snorkeling tour. The boat, as before, left over an hour late... But it was pretty cool. Where we went the water was filled with... Well, I'm not exactly sure what, but whenever you moved in the water a trace of what looked like green glitter would trail you. It was really neat! .. until everyone started getting stung by the jellyfish that no one could see in the moon-lit night. We hopped back on the boat and I wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of sharing my water so closely with jellyfish. Which I hate. Uggggghh.. Squirm. Which presented a problem... due to heat exhausion, I had drank a LOT of water before getting on the boat. Unshockingly, I reallly had to pee towards the end of the boat tour. I figured I could just go in the water... but the jellyfish presented a problem. So I held it. And remained very quiet and concentrated deeply. It wasn't *quite* as bad as the time I had to pee on the way home from Aberdeen after a lacrosse match. Anyway, afterwards we drove back to Frankie's where we spent the night. We stopped at a Walgreens which was suspiciously like an American Walgreens.

The following morning we got up and Frankie made us breakfast! We then hopped back in his car. We stopped at the beach, only to be stopped by the rain! We then drove to El Yunque which is a rainforest on the eastern part of Puerto Rico. It was quite pretty and I looooooved the vegetation there and throughout Puerto Rico. What can I say, I adore palm trees. We eventually went back to Frankie's to gather our stuff and then head to his parents' place where Sonia and I would be staying the night. We walked to the beach with Frankie's niece (who it turned out I had met before!!), but it kind of started to rain so we headed back home. Frankie's mum fed us, the clouds cleared, so we went back to the beach until the bugs started to be a pain ( I swear bugs love me.. you should see the work they had done to my legs over the past couple of months) and then went to the beach. We were with Frankie's nieces, one from Orlando and one from Atlanta. They were fantastic and I had a blast with them! I stayed up late with his neice from Orlando playing a computer game and giggling with her :) :)

On Monday morning Frankie's mum cooked Sonia and I breakfast and then drove us back to San Juan. Sonia and I wandered about for awhile. We then met up with Frankie and he drove us to the airport :( :( :( It was a FANTASTIC vacation! And in culture differences, Subway in Puerto Rico sells pizza. Just thought I would throw that out there. :)

Since then I have been working six days a week. Ever since school has been let out in the southern States things have been different at work. The servers are making less money as our restaurant fills with kids AND, honestly, who wants to eat a big steak meal in 30C+? Umm, not me. Point me to Beaches 'n Cream for ice cream!

Last week Erin, Charlene, Derek and I rented at room at the Boardwalk for a night. (Officially "Disney's Boardwalk Inn".) I got there around 3:30 and hit the gym. Man, SUCH a nice gym after using ghetto-1970s gym at the Commons. I"m tempted to buy a membership there but I'm not sure how much I would use it, seeing as I would need to spend at least an hour getting there every day. But having a nice gym does make such a difference... the Gym at the Commons is, frankly, shit and I hate it. I hate using it. And I should use it, but I don’t. It’s crap. It really is. Erin found me once she finished work and we “freshened up” and then went to Flying Fish Café. I had a nice martini and salmon with lovely potatoes and cucumber, I think. It was fantastic! The inside was very nice as well… It’s nice to go high class once in awhile and have someone server me instead of me running about to make others happy. Our server was very good – efficient. Here’s what I notice as the difference between “real” servers and some of us at Le Cellier : “real” servers seem more professional, but not as “magical”, as has been my experience. We seem to take the time to joke around with kids, I never really see “real” servers doing that. They may be faster, but we, umm, connect… or something. Sometimes I wonder if the guests pick up on the chaos of our restaurant. I think I’m getting better at hiding my stress…. Although it helps that it’s slow at work. Well, relatively speaking. I’m sure we are still one of the busiest restaurants on property, just not as busy as before, perhaps. Anyway, after Flying Fish Erin and I returned to our lovely room and, get this, watch Illuminations (Epcot’s firework/laser/etc. show) from our balcony!!! It was soooo nice! We then went to Jellyrolls and eventually met up with Derek and Charlene. It was good fun and nice to be able to just drift up to our hotel room rather than find a cab back to the Commons. The next morning we woke up and went for lunch at Le Cellier. You know what? I’m really not much of a steak girl. I had a beef-tip stir-fry… but I really don’t think I would leave happy ordering a filet or a steak. The food is really good, just not my style. That’s right, Canadian food isn’t my thing ;) Not really, Canadian beef just isn’t my thing. Nor is the infamous Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. I think I fall into the minority in this case. I tell everyone it’s good though. Serving and being a saleswoman can be… interesting.

Anyway, I should go to bed. It’s almost 3:00. This “dinner shifts only” schedule is making me stay up laaaaater and finds me getting up and freaking out “Oh my God I wasted the day!” at 11:30. And I have something rather important to do tomorrow… So, yeah. I’m handing in my letter requesting an extension. The thought of leaving here and returning to Canada boggles my mind… But I know it’ll be different here once all my arrival group leaves and (bearing I get an extension) I remain. I don’t know. But really, what’s an extra five weeks of my life? About $4,500 ;) well, gross… less net.

Adios!

Voy a Puerto Rico en tres horas!!!

I am excited! As expected, I didn't go to bed yet. My roommate is asleep, and my sunglasses are deep in my room somewhere... or perhaps in my locker at work. (Although I can't imagine why... I recall seeing both pairs of my sunglasses in our apartment only yesterday. Curious.)

I also need to find a lock. A very tiny lock for locking my luggage. Speaking of luggage, I have no idea what random clothes I threw in my suitcase. Some of the clothes that should be in it are in the dryer.

My major dilema of packing is what to wear on the plane. Planes are bloody freezing sometimes... but I really can't be bothered wasting space with PANTS. Tonight I thought about the last time I wore pants that were not part of my uniform of PJs. I have no idea when. (And capris don't count as pants.)

Actually, scratch that. I wore pants to a course I took at Disney University last week. But that's because we had to wear nice clothes and I couldn't wear a skirt as I managed to destroy my pantyhose the day of my first voyage to Disney University.

I went to Bush Gardens with Erin last week and had lots of fun! I heart zoos. Although Bush Gardnes is perhaps half-zoo. I didn't really go on any rides (they don't agree with Erin's stomach) but we had a lovely time looking at the animals and drinking beer! Well, I enjoyed the beer, Erin did not. You see, Bush Gardens (Sea World as well) is owned by Anheiser Busch of infamous beer fame. So they have free beer at the parks. And yes, you are right to conjure images of Duffland or whatever it was from the Simpsons.

Puerto Rico!!!

I have new pics on my msn space.

The end.

So yes, those bloody knees would be the result of my 5-km race this morning. I is a graceful girl. The knees were wounded at about kilometre 0.000002. It hurt. But it was awfully funny and, well, not entirely unsurprising. In the past few weeks I've been pulling an Edinburgh and stumbling over cracks in the sidewalks. Perhaps sleeping for more than three hours before hand would have been a good idea? Anyway, other then the Big Tumble, it all went over rather well and I finished in just under thirty-one minutes. Pretty good considering I started near the end and had to weave through some slow people at the start and, umm, fell. In a related note, I have NO idea how people run actural marathons without collapsing and twitching on the ground. Maybe it's because I'm too competitive and get a kick out of passing people, but I would wear myself out waaaay too early. Like, by kilometre six.



Last Saturday Vanessa and I hired a car.. Low and behold we wound up with a convertable! We went to St. Augustine for the afternoon. It's the oldest city (town?) in the United States. It was nice to be somewhere that the old-looking buildings were actually, well, old. Disney is beautiful and all, but obviously fake. We stopped at a big fruit stand on the way and I bought some oranges. At St. Augustine we took a tour of the town and then walked around a bunch.


(Vanessa and I at an old Fort that was never actually used in battle.)

(Big, old, neat trees.)