Vehicle

When I was out biking last Saturday I saw a van for sale that caught my eye.


While it was not this exact van, it was quite similar. And I had a thought:

"That would be the ideal automobile for me."

C'est vrai! If I ever want to drive somewhere it is a far location at least two hours away. I could live in this van, just roaming through North America, exploring the wonders of the New World. I would have room for my bikes (or could attach them to the back or roof). Perhaps I could rope some sort of kayak to the roof. Maybe I could attach me to the roof. Or a surfboard. This van just encourages one to use his/her imagination. Obviously this adventure would require a companion. Ideally it would be a male (for me, and for the auto, as I foresee a 1975 van having a few mechanical issues), but if he does not materialise an animal of sorts would do. A small cuddly black bear? Alex. It could help me fish. Or a koala.

How fantastic would that be? Me traversing the continent with my baby bear in the passenger seat. I realise this could perhaps be "illegal" or "frowned upon", but I feel by putting a yellow fishing hat and a pair of John Lennon style sunglasses on the bear when pulled over by cops would solve the problem.

"Ma'am, is that a bear?"
"Good Sir! Surely you do not think that a bear called Alex would wear a fishing hat and sunglasses?"
"Alarminly correct my fair lady. I am stunned by your superior way of speaking. Perhaps we should enjoy a dram of whisky together?"
"My golly that is a delightful proposal. I shall take my whisky with ice, as acceptance of your effort to make nice."

Apparently my roadtrip is taking place in 1800s posh New England.

The roadtrip will come to a tearful end when I arrive at Yosemite National Park and release Alex, my bear friend. He's growing up now, you see. He is approaching puberty, and starting to take interest in lady bears. It's going to be heart breaking, much like the scene in the Fox and the Hound when Big Mama releases Todd into the wild, which, when I was 12, made me cry and cry and then cry some more and try to hug Mr. Kitty. However, for those of you who knew Friskey back in the day, one would recognise that hugging the "attack cat" (as dubbed by the staff at the vet college) was obviously a ridiculous action.

Anyway.

So I would release Alex the Bear into the park, to roam, and to find his place in life... in the background...

"Almost Paradise"...


I will then slowly walk back to my 1975 Dodge Van... alone. A stranger will tap me on the shoulder...

"Ma'am, I think you dropped something."

A small baby elephant... looking... for a home. Looking... for me.

On the road again...

Biscuits de l'Ile

Today, while I was out on a delightful 70-km bike ride (!), I was thinking about cookies. I was heading down Rte 25 towards Jewel's Country Market, thinking that it would be delightful to stop and purchase some cookies.

I was correct, purchasing, and the subsequent eating, of cookies was a wise idea. However, apparently the secret is out on PEI and people are catching on to the deliciousness that is English Toffee cookies. They were sold out by the time I got there, late in the day, at about 5:00. I had to settled for white chocolate macadamien nut cookies. Still a pleasure for the taste buds... but not the gooey explosion of the cookies I was expecting.

The other delightful cookies place in PEI is in Hunter River. There, however, it is critical to purchase the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. If those are sold out, you could always settle for a cinammon roll. "Settle" is, perhaps, an overly strong verb, given that the cinammon rolls are also delightful, but just not quite as much as the PB/Choc cookies.

Conclusion: I ate an absurd amount of cookies today. However, I believe it's justified, based on my first bike route of the day.

Edited to remove map, because it showed where I live which is probably not a good thing to post on the Internet?

Yeah, you're impressed, I can tell. Then I went for another ride after. However, the Biking for Breakfast Challenge was on this very same Saturday. In that event people bike the tip to tip in one day. Perhaps about 280 km. Suddenly my ride looks... mole hill, rather than mountain. Next year I would like to do the day tip to tip. I will train hard and obtain quadriceps the size of small villages.

My environment will be changing soon. I'm excited. Also, random, but if anyone has recommendations for a school in France for improving ones French, please let me know. It's something I am considering for later in the Fall.

Et.. bisous... bonne soiree.

Summer nights

Ahh, summer nights, je vous adore.

Tomorrow is July 31 - it makes me a bit nervous. Can it really almost be August? My tan has yet to reach perfection, I have not biked to Hunter River to buy cookies, there has been no 100-km bike ride (my own fault for putting social life before bike life), no camping, no fire lighting, etc.

So, things to accomplish before the end of the summer (soon, as I have few days left in PEI):

• 100-km bike ride
• Bike to Hunter River
• Light a fire. I have never, ever accomplished this. Being terrified of fire does not help.
• Camp. This could aid the above bullet.
• Have fun fun fun

And tired. Time to sleep. I'm reading a book on Greek mythology right now. Someone asked me which Goddess I associated with the most. I was early in the book at that point and female Goddesses were not featured so much. Zeus was the focal point with many mentions in brief of his wife, Hera. So almost by default I associated with Hera - though I would rather say Athena. As I learn more about her, hopefully that can be my honest response. I was in a bit of a foul, jealous mood that day, so Hera seemed somewhat appropriate. That being said, I have no good reasons to feel jealousy, just the recognition of things others have that I want.. such as plans for the future, or some sort of life path. Hera actually had good reasons for jealousy (other than a 14th quarter life crisis) - her husband was an ass and cheated on her constantly.

I also started reading Hamlet because someone I met while on holiday in February told me I would not understand life until I read Hamlet. I think he was overexagerating, but I figure it's worth the read anyway. It's survived more than 400 (I think) years of critics.

One of the highlights of my week: Patrick confronting a man who threw his cigarette butt out his car window. "Excuse me, sir, you dropped something..."

And sleep.

Lights out!

I was going to title this "Lights out... on FUN!" but that sounds so terribly un-optimistic and sad. So simply "lights out" shall suffice.

The street lights don't work in Victoria Park. Mais pourquoi? Je ne sais pas. The last couple of nights I have biked through have been pitch black, bless my wee bike light. I don't know if they turn on when cars go through, but I don't think so. There are no houses around to provide light. Woods/unlit tennis courts on one side, the sea on the other. Given the number of other people who bike through (WHO SHOULD GET LIGHTS OR REFLECTORS ON THEIR BIKES SO I DON'T ALMOST COLLIDE WITH THEM!!!) or are running/walking on the boardwalk after the sun sets, one would except the period street lamps to function. Are my demands too high?

YES.

Brother comes home today. Exciting! And he is bringing his Lovely Lady Friend. Also very exciting!

I sent out a survey online today for work and someone filled in the survey, then emailed me seven times with additional ramblings. Sometimes only four words per email.

Sometimes I get tired of bars charging cover, particularly for trivia. Take Hunter's for example. Last night I went there post work, had a couple of bevvies and some food. Left at about 8:30 to go home and get some stuff, go for wee bike ride. Go back at 10:00. Nope, have to pay to get in. Paying for the privilege of paying for a drink. Band likely wouldn't start for a couple of hours. Kind of a PEI thing.

I should just go home now before it starts pouring.

Top Island in the World

The Guardian recently reported that Cape Breton (NS) has been named one of the top five islands in the world by Travel and Leisure Magazine.

The same day, the Guardian changed its online poll to ask, "Cape Breton has been voted the third-best island in the world by readers of Travel and Leisure magazine. P.E.I. didn't make that list. Which island do you think should be #1?"

There are two options: Cape Breton, and PEI.

What a ridiculous question. There are only two options - neither of which were designated the top island in the world (which was Bali, followed by Galapagos, then Cape Breton). There is no option to input a different island. Oh, Guardian. Its webpolls are often faulty and bizarre and leaving no room for a middle ground.

My stomach feels weird and there is a fruit fly in my office.

I need to go goldfish shopping tomorrow.

Yawn. Wish I was outside.

PS ~ Happy birthday Erin :)

PPS ~ I changed my phone settings to French instead of English. It's supposed to help me learn. We'll see.

Taste the Rainbow!

I just found an almost empty bag of Skittles in my desk drawer!

Key: the bag still has, like, ten Skittles in it. Oooh, happy DANCE!

Unrelated to Skittles, but related to candy in general, I am convinced peanut butter M&Ms contain very magical properties of energetic bliss. (Chemical: Ru3Pb2YUMo - which is
Ruthenium lead yttrium uranium molybdenum - OR - Are you Peanut Butter?! YUMMO!!!)

Thank goodness I studied chemistry so intensely in high school.

Back to the point of this... So I biked with Hannah for a wee bit until, umm, she got a flat, because apparently *everything* I touched now proceeds to flatten. Reminder to self to not to touch my chest, inadvertently reversing the effects of puberty.

We arrive back to Ch'town and I do a mad biking dash to the Bulk Barn (true love) to buy some peanut butter M&Ms. I ate some, and proceeded to bomb through the city like a mad women with rockets for wheels. Many kilometres later, I went home, because I thought I should despite thoroughly enjoying my biking and singing adventure. Sweaty delicious mess, I was. Then I passed out solid in front of my fan for two hours, stripped of my sweaty clothes, then awoke by faint noises and the fact I had started shivering from the milliletres of sweat sticking to my skin, hair, lips, eyelashes, etc.

I'm supposed to stop taking two hour naps that late in the evening. Waking up from a nap at 12:30 is awkward, particularly as the brain hits into gear and thinks, "You have to shower you crazy sweaty girl! Lick yourself, you taste funny!" or "You forgot to eat supper and ate a small supply of candy instead! You suck!"

I bought a book last weekend on Greek mythology. I need to get into it very soon, perhaps post work in the sun.

And... work some more. Le sigh. J'ai besion d'une nap.

Tyre (aka: tire)

Oh, bike tyres, how you baffle me.

I had one flat last year on Bicyclette.

This WEEK, I have had THREE! Last Sunday night (which I actually did find a sharp rock shard/piece of glass wedged in my back tyre), Friday evening (found my back tyre to be completely flat on Saturday morning), and yet again Saturday evening.

What?

I know how to change a tyre, and have done so before successfully. I think it was just a stroke of bad luck.

No. 1 - rock/glass wedged into tyre
No. 2 - ??? i don't know, I can't find the hole in the tube, but do know it's there because I pumped up the tube and let it sit overnight to see if it would deflate. If it did not, that means there is something wrong with my rim or actual tyre. Tyre deflated overnight.
No. 3 - this was the first tube, which I patched. But I think I did a shoddy job of patching the tube. Re-patched this morning and so far... success! I also didn't inflate my tube as much, which feels crappy, but anyway.

I think things are okay... I checked the tyre and it seems fine. I looked to see if any spokes had pushed their way through the rim and no.

So yeah... I don't know. A series of unfortunate events, I suppose.

I finally finished reading 'Long Way Down' and would like to go to Africa, please.

Unrelated, but I'm a little in love with my tan. The tan lines are awkward, and I have this horrible urge to show them to people (note to self: don't do that !) but, alas, do not. Couple things to work on: white feet (from wearing sneakers when biking), and weird back tan line, also from biking.

Things that rock: my white bum. Makes me giggle.

I think my brain is disconnected from the rest of me today. When biking it felt like my legs were malfunctioning, and now I'm in my room giggling loudly at an msn conversation with my Darlin' Charlin'.

Disconnected brain may explain disconnected blog, with no real purpose.

The Tales of the Sky

Tonight my papa drove me home after his mini birthday fete. When we were putting my bike on the bike rack in the driveway, he pointed at the bizarre sky, which I have captured in an artists rendition below.



Please, refrain from collectively gasping and dropping your wine in awe at my artistic skills. I will give you a moment to collect yourself and dry the tears of emotion from your eyes.

Anyway, bird's eye view. Greyish square on bottom is my parents' house. When I looked up to the sky, almost directly above us were five thin strips of cloud which appeared to be starting from the same point and darting out from each other. Almost like five planes took off from the same place and flew, heading out, 30 degrees from each other. Then, off to the far right, was a bright, detailed full moon with a very thin strip of whispy cloud below it.

Apparently I liked the sky tonight. I rambled to Housemate Shawn about it upon my home arrival and apparently feel the need to share it with the entire blogosphere - all five of my loyal readers. I love you all! *bows*

PS ~ I got my Papa a wheelburrow for his b'day. Best. Daughter. EVER. Also learned how to spell "wheelborrow"... almost.. I can't remember anymore. I spent awhile googling "wheel barrel". Bless my deaf ears... bless.

Rollercoaster.. of Looooove

Remember the song "Roller coaster of Love" from the soundtrack of "Beavis and Butthead do America"?

Ha ha haaaa... Ugh. In a conversation with me lovely mum about the latest ex-stress (holy f**k), I said, "Feeling like you have to break up with the same person 308,432 times is very emotionally draining." "It's very much a roller coaster..." "Yes, but not one of those awesome ones, one of those shoddy wooden ones that I hate."

You know, the wooden roller coasters that just go up and down, and you can feel slightly sway in the wind? And you look down the side of the track and see screws dribbling down the sides and termites munching away. To quote me mum, "Sometimes you feel like you won't survive the fall."

I've been on the same roller coaster for practically 1.5 years. Going around and around and around. And I did get off more then once. But then I would trip, fall back into the car, WITHOUT A SAFETY RESTRAINT - GASP!!! So dangerous. No real blame to the other party involved, as I am responsible for my own poor decisions.

On a happier note, there is a boy playing at the daycare outside my window (entertainment A++++++, like an excessive eBay sellers rating). The boy is pushing a plastic toy vacuum cleaner on the grass and it's pretty much making my day. Hey, if that boy wants to vacuum, I have a floor right ready for it!

Also, c'est mon papa's anniversaire aujourd'hui. Bonne fete Papa! (Et non, mon papa n'est pas francophone... J'aime parler en francais des fois.)

I let housemate Shawn borrow my bike last night. Immediately I started panicking - it was like I gave my child up for adoption. But then I realised it was actually more like letting your kid stay with his/her aunt or uncle for the afternoon.

Bicyclette was returned unharmed :)

Fish inventory: 1

Fish to replace: 1

Work to do: loads, so I shall return to that.

Goal(s) for the day: (1) be excessively animated and wave my arms around a lot which will elevate my cuteness factor to level 11 - EXTREME, (2) send off my passport application (got my pics done last night and.. I actually kind of like them, given their mugshot qualities), (3) send Erin's cd (I promise I will do this today :) <3), (4) work hard so I can take three hours off on Friday to go to the beach and rub sand all over myself and act dog-like by rolling in the sand and barking at other dogs. What?

*waves arms around animatedly*

Woohoo hump day!

(Just got asked if I wanted to work this weekend.. gay laughter ensued. Hardy har har!)

What I Like about YOU, PEI

Oh, PEI.

I was in a wee bit of a sour mood today after getting rained on during my 1.8 km commute to work. My day did eventually turn around, particularly after finding a toothbrush in my parents' dishwasher.

In honour of the glass being half full, here is a list of great things about PEI, in no particular order.

1. The new light show on Province House every night. Basically my inspiration to write this post as it's the closest thing I've seen to Illuminations in a long while. Obviously it doesn't compare, but given it's purpose and non-Disney World budget, it was quite well done. I'll have to go back sometime when rain isn't leaking from the sky and the temperature has more than one didget.
2. The non-National Park north shore between Malpeque Bay and New London Bay.
3. Driving down the road and finding strawberries for sale at an un-manned stand for $3.00. After a fall/winter/spring of eating California and Florida berries that have been shipped much too far, these strawberries pretty much made my taste buds explore in euphoric bliss. I wanted to rub them all over myself and lick them off.
4. The obviousness of rural road signs. Exhibit 34, Jen and Hannah driving down Hamilton Road (where Hamilton is on Route 104) and not knowing what road to turn onto to get to Beech Point. Suddenly, to our right, looms BEECH POINT ROAD. Well named my friend, well named.
5. The Hunter River Bakery, specifically cinammon rolls and PB chocolate chip cookies. Best eatened after the 27-km bike ride to Hunter River, needed to refuel for the pedal home. Obviously.
6. The Historic section of downtown. It actually is quite pretty and leaves me baffled when in newer cities. "Where is the old part of the city?" "It's that building right there." "Oh, 1914. Umm, wow?" I'm quite glad they are ripping the ugly plastic crap off the side of the Confed Mall on Grafton Street to reveal the original (?) brickwork underneith. Much more pleasing to the eye. Also enjoy biking downtown in the evenings due to minimal traffic (when timed properly while plays on are, not right before or after!) and because I like going around turns.
7. Restaurants - given its size, Charlottetown is quite blessed with restaurants. We have a good variety of restaurants; something I suspect is somewhat of a result of our culinary school.
8. The accent. It makes me giggle. "Tomorrah!" "Diabetas" and slurring the crap out of any word with 'ar'. Bar, car, tar, etc. And the excessive stress on short As, pretty much turning them into long As.
9. The Confederation Trail - I shall be honest, the Trail definitely does not offer the most exciting scenery, but it's excellent for windy days as the trees do buffer a great deal of the wind, and it's nice to avoid traffic. I like taking the Trail to somewhere, then taking the road home.
10. The Charlottetown Airport. Who doesn't like arriving at the airport only 45 minutes before a flight?!
11. Bars/restaurants with patios. I am strategic with patio selection, for the not-tall buildings often block the sun at various points of the day.

That is the end of my written list for I promised myself I would spend fifteen minutes cleaning my room everyday until it is clean. This means my room will be clean shortly after the Earth collides with the sun.

Bisous.

Allo Mr. Murphy!

Murphy's Law:
The day I don't take my spare tube with me is the day I get a flat tyre.

Ah well, at least I wasn't far from home and now I get to put those tube patching/changing skills to work.

Let the Sun Shine In...

I'm kind of done with this grey sky thing.

I'm not sure why I even own sunscreen, other than for holidays to sunny destinations.

Someone said to me once, "If the sun stopped shining we would eventually forget how many days it had been since we've seen the sun."

Not me.

It was last Saturday, save a few scattered quarter hours here and there.

Today Hannah and I tried to be explorateurs, but failed because it kept raining everytime we got out of the car. On the plus side, Counsins Shore is very nice and definitely a beach I shall return to on a *sunny* day. Or even an overcast day when there is no rain!

I just tried to go for a bike ride. I went to go outside and noticed it was raining. I swore loudly and thought, "Screw it!" and changed into fake rain gear that can handle regular size rain droplets.

Change shoes.

Change shirt.

Put on raincoat.

Wrap phone/wallet in plastic bag.

Put fender on bike.

Exit house.

Bike across road.

Proceeds to downpour.

I'm not even sure if I went far enough for my bike computer to register any sort of distance. Chalk up 0.1km for Sunday!

Yesterday ended week three of my 200 km per week biking goal. So far I only hit my target the first week (245 km). Week two was about 188 km, and this week just finished was 194 km. Had the weather cooperated yesterday I would have easily hit 200 km, but after biking in the rain for an hour I was starting to get super slimey and gross. Then when I thought about going out again later it started raining again. *clunks head against wall*

It's starting to feel like it snows all winter, then rains all summer. Last year summer started in late June, as it was supposed to, and ended in, oh, the first week of August when we had minimal sunny days and mostly rainy days.

The year prior we were still hovering around 15C until the second or third week of July when we finally got consistently nice weather.

And people wonder why we are obsessed with the weather here. Because it hates us.

Groan.

It may have stopped raining now. I have to bike downtown to drop something off. If the rain holds off for the 20-min round-trip adventure I will write Mother Nature a thank-you note. The fact that I don't know her address (Cloud 34, Atmosphere??) doesn't matter as by the look of the sky it should start raining again any wee second.

*gives up*

The Jenga Blocks of Life

This morning while laying in bed with a hazey head still full of sleepiness, I was thinking about life in general. Nothing too deep. But it occurred to me that life is similar to Jenga, pictured to the right. I feel like you start off with half a tower, and build higher as you learn new things. As you make errors, blocks are removed and put up higher, creating instability. In my version of Life Jenga, you would get the option of taking those additional top blocks, and putting them back in the middle for support. Maybe you can even borrow blocks from a friend, but those can last only so long until the friend needs them back to support his/her own tower.

What happens when the tower/life you built comes crashing down? I guess things could get a little messy, but there is always hope to rebuild, start all over again.

I feel my game of Jenga is going well. Although obviously I would have sparkly orange, red, and yellow blocks, not those silly wood varnished ones. Gosh I am deep and serious today.

RIP, Fishie

About two weeks ago one of my co-workers left to go on holiday. Right before he was leaving on his last day of work he tells me, "I am bringing you a fish tank. We will put it right there." *point to chair*

A short conversation follows, for I was confused. Turned out that there would be *fish* in the fish tank.

Fish tank arrives.

"Do I have to clean it?"
"No."
"Well... what do I do?"
"Just feed them one flake per day!"
"Weekends?"
"Just over feed them on Friday."
"Okay..."

Things go well. A wave of humidity takes over PEI and the fish tank, placed against the window, proceeds to grow an absurd amount of algae very, very quickly. Jen slightly panics. However, algae subsides when she closes the blind of her office window overnight and over the weekends.

I arrive to work this morning to see one fish swimming.

And - obviously you know where this is going based on this post's title - one fish belly up. I guess it found Canada Day a little too intense.

So... dilemma. Do I replace the fish? DK told me before he left that the fish were rather old by goldfish standards - 6 mos. They are expected to live for only three. I feel I did nothing wrong. We played fetch everyday, went for long walks in the park, played wrestled in the yard, and chased cats down the road. Fish love that, yes?

Farewell, Mr. Fish. I wish you well with your new life.. including the beginning of your journey: the School of Business toilet.

Sush-ified

First one to roll! I was nominated, as I had watched a video on YouTube earlier demonstrating the rolling procedure.

What the sushi looked like pre-roll (roll no. 2).

Devin rolls... success!
Jen Mac goes for the gold, again.
And yeah, we have about 13 kilos of rice left.

Unrelated, that day was a bit windy and my dress blew up in the grocery store parking lot. I kind of panicked, as my arms were full of groceries (no plastic bags for us!) and I had no means of coverage. I just kind of dove into Janielle's car. Jen Mac, staying classy since 1982.

Excitement is in the air...

Link to video entry on YouTube.

Janielle and I have entered the 67 Days of Smiles contest. Basically the winners spend 67 days in Orlando playing, exploring, smiling, and then promoting/discussing their experiences on a blog, sharing photos, etc.

Obviously this is making me drool all over myself in anticipation. I'm already daydreaming of this adventure. I love writing, I love snapping photos and playing tourist, I love planning holidays.

I am biologically and physically designed to win this contest. With the possible exception of my hair, which panicks in Florida and proceeds to frizz out in 800,032 directions, but I'm getting better with it. The fact that my Florida Ringlet (while most of my hair is a bit curly, one spot turns into Super Ringlet when in Florida) has appeared frequently in the past week is a sign that I need to go back to my other home - a home I have not seen in months - over a YEAR.

Another awesome part? Jannie has never been to Florida.

I COULD PLAY TOUR GUIDE.

I used to have dreams about this when I was young - I wanted to be a professional Disney World tour guide, something I semi got to be when people visited me there during my far-too-short stint as a castmember.

Please, Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau, pick me!! I promise, I will not disappoint. My smile generates enough wattage to power small villages and light up lighthouses. That's pretty intense.

Can I beg? I am more than willing to do so.

With a Smile and a Song

I used to be hilarious!

My level of happiness is directly related to the amount I sing. Judging by the stylish vocals coming from my delightful windpipes, I am gosh darned thrilled with life. It also helps distract me when biking up big hills. I came up with some delightful versus in both English AND French of the song "John Jacob Dingle Schneider Smith". Or similar. I don't know the name past the first two words because I was deaf and confused as a child and played the "sounds like" game a lot.

John Jacob joieabo bw jkeek Smith,
His name is my name too!
Whenever we go out,
The people always yell,
JOHN JACOB JINGLEL SNCKJKLGLKOW SMITH!
Fa lala lalallallaallallaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Delightful tune.

I'm supposed to go group biking tonight. The wind is completely freaking out outside. Easily over 30 km/hr, particularly at the University.

I miss physics and the very special differences between velocity and speed, and displacement versus distance. Whoever decided to give me the physics award in high school would be very disappointed with me right now and the overall lack of intense physics discussions that take place.

And back to work. It's actually a very busy day even though half my team is off on vacation.

~ Dr. Sushi ~

Tonight a mini group of us (three!) made sushi... and we rocked it! We bought a sushi making kit that including a bit of a cheat rice/veggie/stuff packer and the essential bambo roller thing. It was a huge feeling of accomplishment that we did it. Sushi always seemed like something that couldn't be accomplished by regular Island folk like us. Ooh, but did we prove me wrong. Excellent.

Also have enough sushi left for the next eight months - apparently we made a lot, ha.

I had so much to say earlier and it all vanished from my brain.

Handy dandy

I just looked at my left hand and was convinced a mole had fallen off the top of it. There is a raised bump, but no colour. I had a two-second bought of confusion and then decided to look at my right hand.

Whoops, forgot the mole has always been on my right hand.

The mystery bump on my left hand is just a bug bite. It's nice, because it matches the bug bites on my legs, stomach, bottom, neck, ears, etc. And my face. Nothing screams sexy like bug bites on the face.

I wish I could inject caffeine into my eyes.

Guilt trip?

Now I feel slightly guilty about the negativity below, particularly as it's directed at someone who may never know it's here, on public view. Oh, my morals hurt. Feeling guilty about things and wanting to be respectful and polite to others is how I get into such crap in the first place.

And hormones.

There is good and bad in all people. We choose what we display to others, the words that escape our mouths. Actions bring forth reactions. Select the right action to get the reaction you desire. However, is the action chosen a "right" action? Is the desired reaction a hurtful one?

Maybe I need to become religious. Buddah and I need to hang out and go for a bike ride or something. Perhaps share an ice cream cone at the park.

Or I'll just watch Pollyanna. That movie makes me smile excessively and hug soft wonderful things.

Conspiracies!

I spent an unfortunate chunk of today being angry at someone who had no idea. Can I mention how much I dislike my most recent ex-boyfriend as of late? I just want to scream at him so badly, but I can't, and I won't. I broke up with him about 800-million years ago which I have labelled as the most unsuccessful break-up ever. What a waste of time the last x months have been. I have no issues with the original relationship whatsoever. I have issues with me being indecisive and putting up with so much crap in the past few months in some sort of faux relationship. Except I didn't know I was putting up with *that* much crap... the pieces of the blurry, foggy puzzle just keep falling into place.

It's a puzzle I don't even want to see. Can I not just burn it?

Anyway, I'm not mentioning him by name, thus this cannot be considered slander :) Two male friends told me he was trouble long ago... and I ignored their foresight.

Anyway, c'est la vie. Most days are 800% fantastic with rainbows, but something had come to my attention recently. But hey, tomorrow is another day, and tomorrow will be a good day. I have already decided. I decided to let this "development" bother me this morning. I decide not to let it bother me tomorrow. I was thinking of the dollar value of my time - what my thoughts are worth per hour. Dwelling on things not worth dwelling on are not a good use of my time.

I love summer on so many levels.

Last night Hannah and I watched the first part of Pearl Harbor. I should have just rented a documentary, that's kind of what I was looking for. The writing in that movie is poor, the courtship of the initial relationship causes one to roll his/her eyes. However, the actual attack on Pearl Harbor is incredibly engrossing and I can't look away from it. I also find it very stressful to watch.

It baffles me. The shear, well, skill behind the entire thing. Attention to detail. The patience required to work on an attack months prior, waiting for the day. Hoping not to get caught. I couldn't believe how smart the Japanese Empire was to have every fine detail ironed out. The US gov't had no idea, other than hunches of a few men.

Or so I thought.

I googled Pearl Harbor today and search results taught me that people speculate that the US gov't knew of the planned attack and FDR let it happen so he could finally convince congress to vote on entry into WWII. It was a rather intersting read, apparently the gov't with held information from forces in Hawai'i, and the 'best' ships, carriers, etc., were, coincidently, not in Pearl Harbor. To quote the article, the Japanese basically bombed leftover WWI scrap. The 'good' assets had been re-directed to other ports, stations, etc. FDR needed an attack on homesoil, an knew the Germans would not do it. The US had built itself up to be indestructible - Hitler did not need to deal with the US at that time.

This new-found knowledge kind of bothers me. Would the President sacrifice so many men and women, simply so the US would finally have a catalyst to enter the War? People were not only sacrificed, but I suspect the economy of Hawai'i (not even a US state at the time - still only a territory) would had been hit hard. Tourism would have dropped and patrolling the Pacific would have made importing and exporting goods incredibly difficult.

Of couse, it is a conspiracy theory. The internet is full of 'facts' supporting both sides of the argument. I find it all curious.

This just learned: apparently Hawai'i's economy did not suffer during the war. Things were difficult on sugar and pineapple plantations, and many were temporarily shut down due to decreasing cargo ships (? I think? may have misinterpreted article). However, the population basically doubled with all the service men and women showing up. Doubled simply in O'ahu or in all of Hawai'i, I'm not sure, but I think there is one teeny Hawai'ian island that the gov't used to use as military testing grounds, if my memory of Erin's lonely planet guide serves correct.

12:17. Am supposed to be asleep now. Whoops!

Faahahhhhahhther's Day

It's a day late, but official online cheers to my Papa on Father's Day (+1 day).

My Papa is quite lovely, yes, and is pretty much one of my most favourite people in the entire planet. His most requested present when asked what he would like for b'day/Xmas/random holiday is, "I just want for you to be happy."

I also owe my dad a boat. I told him I would get him one when I was rich. What defines rich? I got him a toy boat for his b'day a couple of years back. Kind of like an 'I owe you'.

My Papa also has very good intuition and can generally tell when something is bothering me, which is particularly impressive when done over the phone.

Papa is called Papa after I saw "The Making of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway" on the telie and Belle kept calling her dad "Papa".
"Papa, do you think I'm odd?"
"My daughter, odd? Where'd you get an idea like that?"

When I was young I used to join me Papa on wee roadtrips around PEI when he was delivering things for work, or over to Halifax for eye appointments. Lovely!

Papa and I planned our first holiday to Florida together and he quite put up with an encouraged my geekiness. It was pre-internet, so we had two guide books and I'm pretty sure I had them memorised by the time we actually went on vacation.

It's odd to write about my dad, because it just seems so obvious that he is a wonderful person. It doesn't really need an explanation. He is delightful, intelligent, insightful, intuitive, and very loving to his family. It always makes me happy when people point out similarities between myself, my Papa, and the Clan MacPhail in general.

Conclusion: my Papa is ridiculously amazing and has made my life much easier, much more full of love, and above and beyond fantastic than anyone could expect.

I'm also a ridiculously hairy person because of him and his genes, but I'll that slide. Particularly with his new-found skill of shirt folding. (It honestly is very impressive.)

Internet is buggy... post!

Supper

Ahh, the life of a bachelorette.

Tonight, a mere, two minutes ago, I had a pleasant variety of cereal for breakfast.

Is that sad? (As in pathetic, not tear enducing.)

It was delicious... but seems terribly irresponsible for a 26 y.o. On the plus side, as mentioned, cereal is delicious. A thrilling mix of raison bran, granola, and some sort of fake-healthy kiddie Winnie the Pooh cereal. It's not that good, so I mix it with the others to make it delightful. It's been in the ol' cupboard since last November.

What would a single bloke eat on his lazy bachelor nights? I kind of assume sausages and cheese. I have no basis for this hypothesis, other than men like meat. However, what about vegetarian men? Perhaps they dine on cereal as well? Cereal shaped like carrots, apples, tofu, and seasame seeds?

How terribly boring.

Tomorrow I will eat a real supper. It will involve the preparation of multiple food items. The kitchen shall be filled with delightful aromas of delightfully aromatic foods.

So far my 200-km bike goal for the week looks extremely reachable, with approximately 167 km so far. I have three days to go just over 30 km, which is simple simple simple, save threats of earthquakes, tornados, hurricaines, and other various natural disastors. This is also impressive as I did not bike yesterday other than my mighty 2-entire-kilometre commute, and to drop off a movie at That's Entertainment. La vie d'une lass sans auto.

It was actually due back on Monday, but post bike-ride on Monday I turned dilirious and couldn't move. Seriously. I plunked down on the couch, started giggling and rambling to roommates in a completely incomprehensible conversation, then crawled up my stairs and fell asleep for 1.5 hrs. Woke up at 10:30, took a shower, cooked supper, proceeded to eat a whole field of rice grain, and then eventually fell asleep again close to 2:00am in some weird giddy state of mind. Napping that late at night is not recommended. I know... for that was the second night in a row I did such foolishness. Oh, Miss Mc Mac Maki Maki Mo.

For the past THREE DAYS I have had the same song in my head. It's getting to be a bit much, and I am considering drastic measures. I don't want to go into detail, but it *could* involve excessive Magic 93 listening, perhaps a wee download or two of catchy bubble gum pop music, a single hair from an oxen's tail, and, obviously, four bandaids, one jug of peach juice, and a paper plate. It's an old remedy passed down from multiple generations, completed with the dull light of a distant moon. Preferably Earth's moon, and not, say, one of Mars' two moons. Though having two moons would be a curious experience. I must look more into Mars' moon - are they on opposite sides of the planet, or are they close together much like the dual suns of Tatooine in Star Wars?

I think... I will go to bed now. I have been destroyed in the mornings as of late to the point of needing a nap after breakfast and before getting dressed. I'm not sure if you have participated in the breakfast consumption lately, but I assure you that it's not so strenuous that one generally requires a nap post-event.

Unrelated, but I'm currently embracing the extreme obnoxious power of positive thinking and starring at my phone. Ring, wee grey phone, ring riiiiing...

Weekend level of greatness = intense

I have end-of-weekend happy glow. The weather turned out fantastic, I did lots of stuff, enjoyed life, and found cures for a number of diseases. No, not so much, but that would just be icing on the cake.

This evening, after a lazy afternoon of intensive tanning/napping in the sun, I went for a nice bike ride. Wind was pretty much non-existent and it felt like I flew around the Isle for 60 fab kms. I passed Donagh school, so now i know where it is. Lovely! I also learned that google maps does not know the different between dirt roads and paved roads, which rather changed my plan. Which was fine. Apparently eating three cookies pre biking gives me the energy to fly to the moon and back (twice).

I also have started drinking Gatorade ocassionally when biking or post bike ride. I have done this twice... and when drinking it tonight on some random road noticed that it has 42 grams of sugar. Umm, isn't that a little bloody insane?! So now I'm concerned about Gatorade being bad for me. Isn't it basically kool-aid? Alas. It just so quenches my thirst when I'm 25-km away from home in an unknown location.

My goal is to bike about 200 km per week. Between tonight and tomorrow night (road ride!) I should be able to get in about 110. Excellent! so then I have five nights/days to get in 90 km. That seems a bit overly ambitious since last week I squeezed in 135.

In a related note, I put my bike computer on my bike and am a little geeky about it now, obviously :P At one point today, going down Georgetown Rd in Tea Hill, I was going about 50 km/hr. Insane!

I should go to bed now. But I crashed for an hr post bike ride and am not so tired. So tricky.

Chart this day

10:22 - I am feeling awake! This is very exciting as I haven't been able to fall asleep earlier than 2:00am lately. Dragging myself out of bed has been very, very difficult, but I have still managed to get to work at 8:45 the past two days. Impressive!

10:47 - I just got an emailing saying "You're the best, thanks Jennifer!"
Question: who is the best?
Answer: Apparently, Jen Mac is the best! (?!)

11:42 - I am bored and want to eat. I'm writing a report on first-time versus repeat travel parties to PEI. The excitement is surely mounting.

11:48 - I want to go out for lunch. I didn't really bring a lunch. Perhaps a journey to the SuperStore is required to purchase sushi.

12:20 - I'm getting tired and my eyeballs are starting to hurt.

Hee hee:
from Is a degree in homeopathy a sick joke?

Mumbo-jumbo and barmpots: A glossary of Magic Medicine

Homeopathy: giving patients medicines that contain no medicine whatsoever.
Herbal medicine: giving patients an unknown dose of an ill-defined drug, of unknown effectiveness and unknown safety.
Acupuncture: a rather theatrical placebo, with no real therapeutic benefit in most, if not all, cases.
Chiropractic: an invention of a 19th-century salesman, based on nonsensical principles: shown to be no more effective than other manipulative therapies, but less safe.
Reflexology: plain old foot massage, overlaid with utter nonsense about non-existent connections between your feet and your thyroid gland.
Nutritional therapy: self-styled “nutritionists” making untrue claims about diet in order to sell you unnecessary supplements.
Spiritual healing: tea and sympathy, accompanied by arm-waving.
Reiki: ditto.
Angelic reiki: the same but with added “angels, ascended masters and galactic healers”. Excellent for advanced fantasists.
Colonic irrigation: a rectal obsession that fails to rid you of toxins which you didn’t have in the first place.
Anthroposophical medicine: invention of the mystic barmpot, Rudolf Steiner, for whom nothing whatsoever seems to strain credulity.
Alternative diagnosis: kinesiology, iridology, vega test, etc: various forms of fraud, designed to sell you cures that don’t work, for problems you haven’t got.
Any alternative “therapist” who claims to cure Aids or malaria: agent of culpable homicide.

1:32 - I just learned a new word! Pedantic. I like it :)

2:03 - there is a conference being held in our building and I swear the people pretty much eat constantly. I don't think breakfast is served, but there is a break at about 10:30 with 'morning pastries', coffee, juice, etc. Then they have lunch (today: crepes, salad, cookies and other such desserts), and the catering folk are currently downstairs setting up for the next break. You know, it's not like sitting and listening burns a lot of calories. Trust me. I know. I work in a office and spend far too much time sitting. Working in offices is one very good catalyst for getting fat.

Likewise, working in an office where there is always leftover conference food is a sure catalyst for putting on some poundage ;)

3:42 - dooohdooooooooododododododododododo. In the bathroom I was thinking about a new electronic disposal tax that is going to be introduced on PEI (can't remember if this is in the works, has been approved, or is merely being discussed). I realise that people are more likely to use the service if they are paying for it upfront, but I wonder how many people will use it. Drive to a special depot to dispose of their telie. And what about people who purchase something here but move from the Island (or perhaps they were tourists)? Will they be allowed to forfeit the fee somehow or will they be able to dispose of the electronic off-Island for free?

I'm glad it's possibly being introduced though, it seems shameful to have piles of electronic crap on the sides of the roads. I have an old digital camera I don't know what to do with. It died a tragic, drawn-out death after it had been used for, well, THOUSANDS of pictures, the three most intensively photographed years of my life. It's just gathering dust in the 223 livingroom, wonderful if it will ever be useful again (no - it's done for).

Le sleepy.

Are taxes charged on diapers? I was thinking about taxation of necessary goods. I was trying to compare diapers to "feminine products", which are taxed. Females don't really have any other alternative other than to buy such products, or sit on the toilet for a series of days and get a perma red-bum-ring around their bottom from excessive toilet seat contact. Diapers have cloth alternatives. No one can honestly tell me that there are cloth alternatives available for females. I refuse to believe it, and would likely refuse to use it for so, so, *so* many reasons.

One more hour of work!

I want to sit outside on a park bench, watch fountains, and enjoy lovely instrumental music in the background.

This morning I wanted a snuggle partner in bed because I was tired, groggy, and only slightly awake. Instead a small collection of crap has formed on my bed: PEI map, bike computer, cell phone (for alarm purposes), a pen (or two), but nothing with skin. Sometimes I don't miss sharing my bed with someone at all, this morning was not one of those times. However, I woke up in a bad, tired mood, so chances are if there *had* been someone in my bed (!) I would had wanted to be alone. Grass is greener on the other side. But hey, I'm just happy I can see grass post-winter snow. Hurrah!

Follow my brain!

The subject is generally in regards to nothing, except upon signing into Blogger I noticed that the blog three friends and I kept during uni has a "follower". Why anyone would want to "follow" it is beyond me... particularly as it has not been updated since, umm, oh, I'm guessing 2002. It semi belongs in an Internet graveyard somewhere.

I have returned from afar! I was in the US and Ottawa. I spent money. I rode a bicycle, in-line skated (since apparently rollerblading is not correct as Rollerblades are a brand, not a product as per third-year marketing textbook), played in the Gatineau Hills, camped in an extremely tiny tent, and overall had a fantastic wonderful time with fantastic wonderful people. Mission Eastern Timezone = success!

Trip in a nutshell (mmm, nuts)

New Brunswick
Highlights: TreeGo in Moncton, seeing Melissa.
Lowlights: my baked potato at Wendy's in Saint John. Thoroughly disappointing and a firm reminder in why I generally stay far, far away from fastfood.

Yee Ol' USA
Highlights: Shopping/outlet stores, US prices, camping in a tent meant for a small child, laying on a rock on the beach at 9am feeling the sun beat down on my face and sipping a beer.
Lowlights: I didn't buy enough alcohol... I couldn't remember how much beer you could bring back into Canada. I took 14. Limit was 24. Lesson learned.

Ottawa
Highlights: Friends!!! How is it that my social life there is substantially better than my social life in PEI? Being able to use my old bus tickets, biking, rollerblading, playing in Gatineau Park.
Lowlights: MEC did not have the shirt I wanted in my size. Tragic.

So hurrah! It was a good trip.

Unrelated, but I have a mystery bump on my ankle. Curious. I also have some scratches and bruises on my leg, but that's from being clumsy when trying to manouver a friend's bike over one of the canal's locks.

I also have weird cuts similar to paper cuts on my finger which simply will not heal.

I felt out of shape on my bike this evening. I am also considering purchasing new tires... skinnier ones. But then I realised I don't understand/am not familiar with the vast complexities of tires. How small can I go before having to purchase entirely new wheels? I was going to type, "This is where most recent ex-boyfriend would be useful," but I highly expect others would have this knowledge as well.

Such as the staff at the bike shops. Bless their wee hearts and knowledge-filled brains.

The coming days are supposed to be lovely, I am excited for some responsible sun bathing time (e.g., I will wear sun screen), mounting le Bicyclette, general twirling, and perhaps harvesting sugar cane.

I am also going to be the Dune's Next Top Model this weekend. Seriously. Okay, maybe not so serious on the *top* model, but at least *a* model. I am expecting hilarity to present itself, and beyond that, I have no idea what to expect other than I get to wear pretty clothes and have a free glass o' wine. And, obviously, that I will rock the body that rocks the party.

According to the National Post, yesterday I invested $303 in GM. Delightful. Groan. Apparently much of the financing given to GM in Canada will be to help finance pensions that GM promised but can no longer afford. Great, so now I am saving for my retirement, helping others in their current retirement (CPP), and paying for someone else's pension? Although really, via taxes, I was paying for the pensions of GOC employees anyway.

The GM thing rather irritates me. I completely feel for those who may had lost their job, and the subsequent spiral that would have ripelled through the economy, but really, GM should have seen this coming. It's not like a specific event suddently occured and GM was an unfair bystander. The National Post also had an interesting point in regards to the challenges facing the marketing department of GM: brand image and perception. The public's view on GM right now is likely rather negative. How is this going to play into consumers' minds when deciding what kind of car to purchase?

I have to go to bed. Post 1:00am and I have to go to work tomorrow. I also want to get there early so I can go outside and frolick in the sun post work. Rock on, vitamin D!!! It's been far too long, my love.

We Go On

We Go On

I was singing this as walking to work today. Not loudly, just slightly louder than a hum.

"With the stillness of the night
there comes a time to understand
to reach out and touch tomorrow
take the future in our hand

We can see a new horizon
built on all that we have done
and our dreams begin another
thousand circles 'round the sun

We go on
to the joy and through the tears
We go on
to discover new frontiers
Moving on
with the current of the years

We go on
moving forward, now as one
Moving on
with a spirit born to run
Ever on
with each rising sun

To a new day
We go on

We go on "

It gives me happy happy memories of pop corn, cheese soup, maple almond fudge, beer, and ice wine.
It's sunny today and supposed to be 24C. Summer?! oooh, giddy.

Extra time

Today while watching the telie, post attempted room cleaning, I got to thinking about spare time. I had much of it this weekend. I kind of feel like I wasted the long weekend, I didn't accomplish very much other than Jen's Longest Bike Adventure of the year, and obtaining some ridiculously delightful tan lines.

Society has so much free time now. I'm sure some would argue otherwise, but the things that keep us busy are often by choice. When putting my dishes into the dish washer I thought about how processes have changed with innovation and invention. My dishes are sitting in the dishwasher waiting for one of the 223-mates to press 'start' on the machine after it is full, my laundry was washing itself in the washing machine, and I was watching the telie. Had this been 100 years ago, my evening would have been quite different. The dishes would have been washed by me (or my well trained children), I would have been handwashing my clothes, and obviously not watching television. Granted, I could stil do these things now, but tonight I chose not to. Some clothing I do wash by hand (I won't even bother telling you how un-often these items get washed), and I do wash dishes by hand sometimes. I never put pots or pans in the dishwasher - take up too much room.

I don't like feeling unproductive. I feel like when there is a long weekend I should accomplish great things, or leave the Isle. PEI has been dragging me down a wee bit lately. I love the novelty of living on a small island, but sometimes I crave a little more in variety and feel very landlocked. That being said, I love the water and love knowing it's so close.

On the other other other hand (have I told you how many hands I have?), sometimes the water seem restricting. While PEI as a whole is somewhat shaped like a banana on it's side with the left end tipped a bit higher, Ch'town itself is a wee bit of a peninsula... or something. Water to the south (Ch'town Harbour), water to the east (Hillsborough River), water to the west (North [York] River). Go, look it up on Google Maps. I will wait for your return.

Granted the waterways to the east and west aren't that large but bleh.

On Saturday I joined a very small group and we biked from Charlottetown up to the north shore (all through Stanhope, through the National Park, then back to Ch'town) - about a 60-km adventure. Makes you realise how small PEI is though. That being said, that's a north-south ride... you can go much further going east or west.

Blah blah blah. Point of the entire thing is: I'm bored. It's been gloomy the past two days. A wise man told Ewan McGregor, who then told me, (via his book, sadly, not directly,) that rain is okay, as long as you don't let it rain in your head. I wish I had remembered that earlier, very good advise.

I have a rather stiff/sore neck from... something.

I must return to work tomorrow. I'm craving something bigger than that. My contract finishes in two weeks.

O_o

Oh, Monday night blahs. Last May long weekend I biked across the entire province.

I'm heading to America-land and Upper Canada soon. That'll be good :)

Sometimes I wonder if my expectations for life are too high. I want a job I love, I want to be on vacation for eleven months of the year, I want a bloke that thinks I'm wonderful (and vice versa), I want to explore, I want to learn, I want to help people, I want what I do to make others smile... perhaps the secret to getting what you want is to give.

Sometimes I get frustrated that there is so much that I do not know. There is also so much I once knew but do not know any longer. I don't remember how to use a graphing calculator, I don't remember the two ways one can amortize fixed assets (straight-line versus... something that has to do with a percent rather than fixed number), I don't remember how to speak Spanish very well. I understand you lose knowledge when you don't use it, but what am I putting into the newly emptied compartments? Something else? Which is better - the old or the new?

Somewhat related, I'm convinced spellcheck is making me stupid, particularly in programs such a Microsoft Word that autocorrect common spelling mistakes.

I was thinking about typewriters a few days ago. Now obscelete, but image at one point in your life being presented with a typewriter. The mass production of hand writing. You somewhat become a bit more like everyone else, for everyone has the same face for their writing.

I need inspiration. Or more so, I need to inspire myself.

¡ Que dia! π

It just popped into my head:

What defines cheating in a relationship that was not formally established to be a relationship, was not declared as real/official, but was *exactly* like a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with utterances of love and almost constant companionship? What is safely to be assumed an unwritten rule?

Anyway. That's pretty much all that needs to be said. Dwelling on the past is the negative version of 'reflecting on the past'. I feel sorry for the third party involved on the far other side of this great nation. I'm going to assume she has no idea (I really don't know?), at least I had a 99.9% hunch which turned out to be correct, and the benefit of it being more difficult to lie directly to one's face rather than via script or a faceless phone call.

It helps that my intuition is that of a super hero :) it's interesting knowing something is happening that you are not supposed to know about, and whether it is something good or bad. If good, exciting! If bad... how is one to address it? Wait til it blows up in your face? Proactive vs. reactive. I guess it's a matter of preference, put it off and deal with the consequences later, or put on a fake front for awhile and embrace the present.

When it comes to addressing conflict, I am an EXPERT at avoiding it. Eww, conflict! Emotions! Shudder!

ANYWAY.

It's lunch time. I have no lunch. I meant to wander to the grocery store this am but just plan ol' forgot.

Things I did today that were smart/good:

• Corrected someone in his use of weighted averages vs. non-weighted averages.
  
• Eyeliner: Lined my top lid, THEN the bottom lid. I always forget and end up smudging the bottom when doing the top.
  
• Got to work at 8:30!
  
• Used a straw to make drinking water "more fun". (I never drink enough water.)
  
• Found an error in a graph.
  
• Didn't forget to bring anything to work! (I think... so far.)
  
• No visits to the vending machine or the $.25-candy machines (so far).
  
• Refrained from cursing out loud. I have a pottymouth co-worker. It's contagious.

Things I am Thinking About:

• My rumbly tummy and why eating seems to have slowed incredibly in the past few days?
  
• Working faster to finish my report so I can leeeeeaaaaaave.
  
• My poor bike locked up outside, yearning to be ridden in the glorious sunshine.
  
• How I could be working on my report instead of writing this... Hmm.
  
• How my work ethic is comparable to that of magnifying-glass-fried ant.
  
• The difficulties that come with explaining the gloriousness of KFC chicken skin to a vegetarian.(No offense, Jannie :) )
  
• My Dr. said my dark hair and skin makes me look me European. (We were talking about in-grown hairs due to an obvious tweezer wound that came from attempting to dig a hair out close to my belly button. Lesson learned: don't do that.)
  
• BK: it often smells so disgustingly good when I bike by in the am.
  
• Beer: I need a detox. via wine? Wine on warm patio is just not the same though.
  
• Long weekend!!!
  
• I'm going on an adventure soon in America-land and Upper Canada.
  
• My wit is been sorely lacking lately. Perhaps it is napping?
  
• Ummm, back to work.
  
• I should write children's novels!

"A morning shower is like baptizing your day." - Paul Lewis

Oh, Y Chromozone

Arrrrgh!

Usually I try to sound relatively intelligent and mature on this, especially as I tend to forget other people may, you know, read this.

But I don't care right now.

Male population: I don't understand you. Not all of you, but a few of you that keep pushing back into my life. People say women are complicated, and we are, but at least you know that going into it. I'm convinced women collect thoughts in a logical manner, and then blow them out of propotion. They link them together to make conclusions. Men collect many single bits of information, but do not connect them together.

And I don't care if I sound like a jerk.

This blog has been interupted by an email from a problematic bloke.

Anyway, I'm looking for an arranged marriage. Apply in comments section. I'm easy to please. I enjoy cake, being outside, excessive spooning in pretzel-like positions, and holidays. Pissing me off can be solved by lookingly shamefully and sadly into my eyes and saying, "I'm sorry that/for ________." Bonus points for the ability to conjure up a single, dramatic tear. Also win me over with clipless bike pedals and appropriate sexy bike cleats. Investment I am unsure if I will take this summer. Bonus points if shoes are RED. (For reference, ths is the colour of the maple leaf in the Canada Flag.) Ideally you will be a male, but if you are an especially lovely woman I may consider you.

Seriously, wtf, mate.

I now present to you.... a new ability to deal with stress!

So I was thinking about currency. Again. And how world currency exchange rates used to be pegged to the US dollar. If a global currency were to take over (which will clearly not happen within the next 8,395,683.8 years), which currency would we take and what problems would be presented?

A model to base this off would be the development of the Euro. (I am special, my North American keyboard has a euro sign € !) I'm easily convinced that even 25 years ago people would not have predicted a successful amalgamation of x number of currencies (don't know actual number). The debates must had been extensive: whose currency to take? create a new one? conversion rates? where to be printed? what rate of exchange with foreign currencies? (Though I'm sure this wasn't just decided by those creating the currencies, clearly that would be a massive mess in itself.)

I lost my train of thought. In conclusion, a global currency would be very messy. The economies of the world are unequal. The governments uncooperative with different styles. Banks with different shareholders, customers, needs.

Anyway, were we to get a global currency, I would wish the different notes to reflect the culture of different continents. Rather impossible though, given the vast differences present in each continent.

Mostly I want a bill with a penguin on it. The Canadian currency is bedazzled with birds, but no penguins, due to the obvious reasons ("What do you mean this isn't Antarctica?")

My stomach is rumbly. Eating was not an activity I partook in today. The day instead was spent with zee familia, fuming, being baffled, eventually remember that drinking at least *one* glass of water would be good, booking a plane ticket, and flipping the ol' bird at the "problems" in my life.

My problems aren't big. I should specify that. But sometimes, at 1:00am, you suddenly feel like sticking your tongue out at silly things.

Really, I don't even have problems. I have food and shelter from the bitter cold, and strangers do not offer me cursed fruits of plants. Try being in a "fairytale", those kids generally have it much rougher than I. Particularly those with stepmums, who come across as pretty darn fierce.

I have to go to work soon. Where, oh where, did the evening go? Soon the sun will once again BURST through the ground and temporarily blind my eyes, while leaving my vitamin D deprived skin in heaving fits of happiness.

Rock on, Jen M[a]c, rock on.

(I'm not even going to bother proofreading this because it makes no sense, likely. But boys, I still love you and your gender. Can't we all just get along?)

oooh, lazy Mother's Day Sunday

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mum :)

I suddenly feel guilty but I'm not much of a card person, so I do not have a card for my mum. But here is what you must know about her: she is wonderful! She does many wonderful things for me, and always has, so much that I could never repay her. She [et papa] let me go to their house when I am down, when I am too lazy too cook, feel the need to brown my skin in the sun, or just whenever I feel like dropping in. She tried to teach me to be clean and organized, but we all know that was a lost cause to begin with. She spent countless hours with me, playing, reading, teaching, letting me "do" her hair (800 ponytails is a clear classic), and playing with her make-up. Apologies to my friends who ended up looking like clowns. Apparently less is more with blue eyeshadow, but I didn't know.

My mum also gives me permission to be an idiot by times. I very much recall in fourth-year uni, dwelling about an ex-boyfriend who apparently reallllly wanted to get back together with me. I was stressed. Turning to my mum with baffled eyes, she said, "It's a bad idea, but I can't say I wouldn't do it if I were you and your age." She was right - it was a bad idea (but doesn't really affect me in the long run), but instead of just telling me I was stupid (which she probably wanted to) she let me learn a lesson from it.

She worries about me, but never enough to tell me not to do something. When I was lonely and thinking backpacking Europe by oneself was a stupid stupid STUUUUUPID thing to do, she came and joined me, completely last minute, and I loved our mini-trip segment together. I was refueled and happily finished my trip after her departure.

I admire my mum because she is quirky, requests the oddest things for gifts ("I need lumber to rebuild the patio." "Umm..."), creative, talented, a hard worker (though me thinks she needs to slow down), is brave, and is a person with a very positive outlook. She complains much less than the average person because her glass is half full.

I like making my mum proud, because I want her to realise she did an excellent job raising me (papa too, but father's day is not for another month :) ). She always shared my accomplishments with me and was equally excited for me when good things happened.

Someday I will give my mum a granddaughter who will love her equally as much. Well, maybe I will give her one. Who knows. But she would like that because she likes the smell of babies' heads. And taking pictures of babies, which thrills me.

In conclusion, why buy a card that tells only a mere fraction of the story? The card I need has never been made.

Happy Mother's Day mum, I love yee!

I was supposed to be at your house three minutes ago... but am still in my housecoat. But I think that's okay because you were sleeping when I called... heh.

Unrelated note: I bought a fender for my bike! Advantage: helps keep me clean/dry. Disadvantage: it clips on and off. I took it off yesterday. Bike is here with me at 223. Fender is at parents'. My pavement is wet. Oh la la, skunk stripe number 48 of the year.

PS ~ I sold my car. It's been good, Wee Red, it's been good.

Sagittarius

If you do not have a friend who is a sagittarius, I invite you to hang out with me.

Me, as a Sagittarius

Quotes to how this article is correct or where it made me giggle.

"The people born under this zodiac sign just don't know how to give compliments."

"Sagittarius people are very sharp and are an interesting fusion of humor, intellect and sizzling drive."

"A Sagittarian will usually come across as a very cheerful and pleasant person. However, he has a violent temper also, which is aroused when people try to push him around or try to get too close."

"Sagittarians are rebels at heart and adhering to social norms is not their cup of tea. They love to perform before an audience and usually seek a career in the show business. Travel excites them and religion interests them. Just like a child, a Sagittarius is naive, fearless and optimistic and dislikes responsibilities."

"Some of the most unpleasant personality traits of a Sagittarius include sarcasm, weirdness and the inability to keep a secret."

"Sagittarians have excellent memories and can remember even the smallest incidents of their lives, with the minutest of details. At the same time, they can easily forget things like where they left their car keys or wallet or handkerchief."

And this is why I am awesome and you should cleeeeeearly want to hang out with me, befriend me, adopt me, give me your citizenship, etc.

Rock on Jen M[a]c.

If today were a weekend

This morning when I was supposed to be sitting in my office chair but was actually sitting on the 223 couch reading a magazine, I was thinking about the things I would rather do today than work.

• Go to the library and read MANY magazines
• Read a book
• Ride my bike
• Get my rear derailleur re-aligned (was going to do this before work but was discouraged by the rain)
• Buy a rear fender
• Put rear fender on bike
• Learn to make sushi
• Eat poorly made sushi (reference above bullet)
• Start planning a new vacation
• Devise a plan on how to start dating Wolverine
• Watch online episodes of "Deadliest Warrior"
• Purchase groceries that aren't candy or cereal
  
• Rent and watch the three X-Men movies (research for Wolverine goal)
• Destroy the funny blisters on my finger (I did this at work anyway)
• Fill a deep bathtub with water
• Sit in deep bathtub that had been filled with water
• Feel guilty about wasting water
• Devise a strategy to change the rainy forecast for the next few days
• Get a tan, through sheer will powering and mental determination
• Develop some sort of skill that will allow me to be cast in Cirque du Soleil

There is a huge possibility that I would not be able to complete this list all in one day.

On Monday night I went for my first "big" bike ride of the year (big being more than 20ish km). I went with people much fast than me. I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. Including my short commute to work and home, I biked about 50 km that day. Nothing excessive, but whoa, I didn't quite expect it to hit me that hard. The 'official' ride of my day started from Stratford and went to Cherry Valley. I borrowed a lovely road bike from Cycling PEI and went to their "beginners" road ride. I guess beginner is a very broad term as I'm pretty sure I was the only beginner/newbie. That being said, everyone was super friendly, nice, and encouraging and I look forward to the next ride!

The ride to Cherry Valley actually went over quite well. The ride back... mostly well! There was one point going up what seemed to be the Biggeset Hill on Planet PEI that I may had gotten off the bike and walked up the hill had no one been around. Big hill + head wind = Weakened Jennifer. I felt so jittery when I got off the bike after the ride. I'm not used to the odd vibrations of road bikes - the senseation of someone rattling all your bones. Riding my regular bike home afterwards (I'm such a hard-core comuter) seemed so cushiony. I got home at about 8:00 and was passed out on the couch at 9:15 and woke up at one point wondering if someone had beat me with a hockey stick while I was sleeping. Then I was thirsty and hungry, but was supposed to fast for bloodwork the following morning. No refueling for me! (Again, because I'm hardcore.)

So in weird business practice, I took my bike in to a bike shop last week for some pedals and I needed new front break pads. I didn't notice when I picked up my bike, but they took my break pads off the back, and replaced them with new ones?! This was not mentioned to me, and I do believe I was charged for them reflecting on the un-itemized receipt. Issue: I didn't ask them to do that, they didn't tell me they were doing that, and the break pads on the back were brand new, and the kind with removeable pads, so you can just replace that rather than the entire component. Boggles the mind and it will be brought up when I go into the shop again very very very soon (as mentioned, rear derailleur has been malfunctioning since I picked my bike back up).

I suppose I should work now.

Holy headlines!

Yesterday was a restless day. It ended up being a bit of a stupid day which went by v-e-e-e-e-r-r-r-r-y-y-y-y-y sloooowly. And a hungry day, as I made an effort to stop wandering to the vending machine during work and to cut back on the incredible amount of candy and chocolate I consume. This went well until I *forgot* about this goal and bought delicious delicious DELICIOUS caramel cakes for an impending hopefully camping adventure that did not take place. But that's beside the point.

Brown won't apologize for blowing up beaver dam - I laaaaughed when I read the original article yesterday. Apparently PEI's current Environment Minister used to have a job in his 20s blowing up beaver dams. This makes the opposition angry.

Why? From what I read in today's article, it seems that this was common practice. I realise this is an opportunity for the opposition to make more people dislike MLA Richard Brown, but they are making an issue out of a non-issue, really. Some people who commented on the article and the previous day's point out that the beaver is a symbol of Canada. Yes, yes it is. But he didn't actually blow up the beavers.. and besides, what if he blew up a ferret? Would that be okay as the ferret is not a symbol of Canada?

Naked guy running around in Charlottetown - (not actual headline, but close enough) This made me smile. Streaking just isn't as prevalent as it used to be. Nice to see someone celebrating the warmer weather :) One comment said, "It was very emBARE-ASSING for the gentleman as he ran along the street trying to get the winter stink off himself.." Who doesn't enjoy a good pun, eh?

Cruise ship passengers spend $3 million in PEI in 2008 - our report made headlines! Weee! And we got a radio spot and TV spot. I didn't write the bulk of this report, but I did editting and some additional work on it, and wrote the press release. Jen Mac makes stuff happen.

(not true, but she sometimes certainly tries!)

That being said, cruise ships make me have moral dilemas regarding gluttony and waste... but so fun...

There were also many articles on Chrysler, and its bankruptcy. Quote from linked article: "The Canadian and Ontario governments will end up with a two per cent stake in a restructured Chrysler, while the U.S. government will hold eight per cent. Canada will get to appoint one independent director to a new nine-person Chrysler board. The U.S. will appoint four independent directors."

I don't want to own Chrysler :(

Also, who will be the independent director? Can *I* apply for the position?! Will the Gov't of Canada receive dividends? Will I get a portion of these dividends in the form of a tax rebate?

If I got bankrupt will the entirety of Canada band together to own a two percent stake in *ME*?! I suppose I'm just not convinced we are doing the right thing; I see this a putting a band-aid on a bear attack wound.

Taxes!
Tax season is OVER. I ended up owing just over $8K in taxes, CPP, and Gst. Not too bad. But sometimes I think about how much we give the government on a daily basis, directly and indirectly.

Indirectly I give them many hugs and love.

hee... ^_^

For simplicity sake, let's say I made $20/hr, doing something lovely like hugging small cuddly animals. Suddenly the fed gov't took $3.00, and PEI took $1.96 in taxes (minimum tax bracket). I pay some CPP and EI (not sure how much? let's pretend $1.50). I now have $13.54 left. I can now buy, using algebra (which I miss, ooh, high school math) (1.05x)(1.10)=13.54, items with a listed, pre-tax total price $11.73.

Umm, that seems a little ridiculous, so I'm thinking I must have did something wrong? Granted, I didn't take any deductions off total income to decrease my net income, thus decreasing my taxes. So really, maybe I actually had about $15 left to play with.

It's such a cycle too. Whatever I bought with my leftover $15, part went to taxes (as pointed out above), and THEN, the organization from which I bought the product/service has to pay tax on its profit. Pretend I gave them $12 pre-tax. Cost of goods sold is $6, and with cost of electricy, rent, blah blah blah, they make a profit of $2.50 per item once boiled down to net income levels. Some of that profit goes to shareholders in the form of dividends, which are taxed (though I can't remember at what level, perhaps only half of income earned this way is taxable?), and some goes to the gov't in the form of corporate taxes.

Tax tax tax. What a taxing thing to write about!

So nice to know my taxes are buying a car company. Hope I get a discount if I ever decide to buy a Chrysler.

Unrelated, but the rear derailleur on my bike has taken on a mind of its own and magically shifts gears when I don't want it to, and often doesn know when I initiate the process of switching gears. I try to switch gears, nothing happens, aim for a crack or blip in the road (so easily done as the roads are full of them) in effort to 'bounce' the derailleur into place. This practice is generally effective, albeit annoying.

Time machine

Today something was said to me at work that made me flashback to last summer and realise how much life repeats itself.

Last night I saw reading some stuff I wrote during a sad phase of last year (not too long after I blew my top/lost yee olde temper and broke up w/ le Boyfriend) and realised how much 2009 is shaping up to look like another 2008. And how much of an absolute wreck I was at this time last year. Whoops.

HELP.

I don't want to do 2008 again, it was kind of icky.

Although it's not 2008 again, otherwise I would not have went to Hawai'i/San Diego/BC... I would had went to AB and FL.

My leg hurts. I cut it with my new bike pedals. I don't understand how I do such things, but I do. I also bumped my arm against my handlebars today and bumped my handlebars against my thigh shortly after.

Why do I keep hurting myself? I half expected the arm to bruise.

A close friend has been gone on a kayaking adventure for five days and I feel like a mom for starting to become concerned about his lack of communication and potential drowning at sea. I just looked at the Guardian's online website and no one has reported a kayak mysteriously floating about without an owner. Plus one point Thomas survival. Who moves away on Monday. Oh, Dear.

It's now 12:34. That's one of my favourite times.

I don't want to work this summer. Today was 23C. I'm ready to retire, folks! Hurrah! It's been a good two years in the industry. I'm ready to collect my CPP.

Good night.

PS~I've been getting to work early as of late. Woohoo!

Patios

Yesterday was such a nice day, weather wise. I feel like the reward of suffering through the winter is starting to show. PEI has recorded below seasonal temperatures for what feels like forever. Yesterday was well above seasonal and I feel like PEI finally got a break.

In exciting news I get new bike pedals tomorrow. Hurrah! They are curiously cracked in a variety of places. Do I have heavy feet?

I had a pimple under my eyebrow a couple of days ago. An ideal place as no one can see it; and I can't see it thus don't constantly scratch at it.

When biking around yesterday I noticed Hunter's patios were packed. It's a sign of summer. Also, a tanning session was held on the parents' patio. My co-tanner received the Season's First Burn; I seem to have faired okay.

Bye. Zzzz.

love for 'being a girl'

I haven't written on me blog in ages, and now my brain is simply overflowing with thoughts SO relevant to your life! In the past month I have reached Goddess level and am filled with information to get you thinking about life, your potential for greatness, and cute bunny rabbits.

Not really.

And rabbit is a weird word. Actually, many words are bizarre, and I now have great desire to learn the origins of the word 'rabbit'. A quick search of the Vast Vorld of the Veb has given me no clues.

Last night when I was unsuccessfully falling asleep I was thinking about girls being girls, and boys being boys. Mostly after hearing two close [girl] friends say to me in the same night in separate conversations, "I'm being such a girl," in a negative way. I also found myself saying that this weekend, "Sorry for being such a girl."

Why do we have to apologize for being girls?

Being "such a girl" usually is a result of poor communication or lack of respect from another, or just reacting to something that merits a reaction. My being-a-girl apology was given after a few tears randomly started flowing down my cheeks one evening after I had been thinking about some thing over a few days that was making me sad. When asked what was wrong, I didn't really utter a single word. So I was thinking deeply about something for awhile, reacted to it, then didn't bother explaining why I sniffling and whimpering. I was being a girl, I guess. But why say, "Sorry I was being such a girl," (and I meant that in regards to the runny nose and single dramatic tears,) and not, "Sorry, I should have told you why."

Such a girl ;) I think "being such a girl" usually means showing an extreme emotion as a reaction to something.

I have never had a male say to me, "Sorry for being such a boy."

So, devoted readers (Hi, Mom!), what would "being such a boy" involve?

I was also talking to a guy about how my emotions run a wee bit wild, say, two days a month and being frustrated by it. He rightfully pointed out that sometimes guys let their emotions get a little wild. However, my point was that females get it on a cyclical basis and it's not really based on anything except estrogen production. I assume guys letting their emotions ride a rollercoaster is a result of an actual event and not a result of, well, the monthly hurrah of not being pregnant. Heh.

God, or whoever created people, perhaps has a warped sense of humour. "The men and women must breed to ensure the Earth remains populated, but I will make them different so that they are constantly confused and baffled by one another. I will make the females deep, emotional thinkers for whom communication is important. I will make the males strong so they can lift heavy things to impress the females. The females will be impressed and will, in turn, purchase new shoes to attract the male. The male will be attracted to her, but not because of her shoes. In fact, he will not notice her shoes; he will notice her 'feeding instruments', not designed for him, but for eventual off-spring."

Whatever, at least male humans aren't like male bears - I have never seen a mother human take her child away from the father because he was going to eat the cub/baby. Us humans are very dignified like that: we don't eat our children!! HURRAH!

Completely unrelated, but I don't know what to dooooooo. My contract at work is almost up... I haven't said I would renew (mostly I just smile awkwardly when the subject arrises), but have not said I wouldn't renew (see previous line about smiling awkwardly). I'm enjoying PEI a bit more lately (55% credit goes to the verrrrrry slowly improving weather) but I don't expect that to last forever. I have another good friend leaving soon and, well, bleh.

My big issue is that I don't know what to do next. If I leave my job, I will be moving to a different province, no questions asked. I not entirely sure if I'm up for Vancouver or Victoria. My stops there on vacay were purposely to test their living potential. The temperature was much higher than in PEI... but the sky was grey very frequently, as I was told it would be. I would actually rather temperatures a bit lower but a bright blue sky. Even if it isn't warm, it still at looks nice when looking out the window.

Why must the two ends be so extreme? Minus 400 degrees in the rest of Canada with sunny days, or, damp dark days above freezing in [parts of] BC?

Where is the happy medium? ( Hawai'i :) )

I like the outdoor fun of BC, but was left rather unimpressed by the beaches. They were pointed out to me in the grey Vancouver sky and... well... weird. I suppose I'm not used to having lots of trees by beaches? Or minimal sand? But I could spend much time exploring and riding zee bike.

On the other other other OTHER hand, I realise living in Van would likely require me to give up something I love: a yard. Yards are oh so wonderful! A small balcony would never, EVER compare to being able to walk outside in your bathing suit and throwing a blanket on the grass and reading a book. And having the neighbourhood cat come by to visit.

I do not know what to do. The option to go to Ottawa is there... but I don't know if I want to live there again.

I also don't want to go through the job hunt process again, I just want someone to *give* me a wonderful, meant-for-me job. Please? Whimper. Apparently it's also not the best time in the economic cycle to be looking for a job, because the recession is scary, supposedly.

I just really want to play all day and have fun. Be on vacation.

I took my first crack at my taxes last night and am almost done. A huge disadvantage of not paying taxes all year is realising you owe the government thousands of dollars by the end of April. I am not exagerating at all when I say THOUSANDS. I'm hoping it'll be less than $10K by the time my GST is included. Yikes.

I suppose working now would be a good idea. Crap I want a nap. I always stay up really late when sleeping at my parents' home (they are on holiday) because I have to fall asleep the instant my head hits the pillow or I will lay in bed trying to convince myself that every crick is *not* someone breaking into my house.

I want a house. I feel like I had so much room to play at my parents' house. They had more than one shelf they could put food on. The stuff in ALL of their cupboards was THEIR stuff. They have a patio to sit on, more than one room to put all their stuff, it was clean (and I managed to keep it relatively neat while they were gone), I didn't trip over messes left by other people, etc. Sigh. The only thing that really excites me about going back to 223 is a warm bedroom in the morning and my skylight. Other than that.... :P

Pre-spring fever

I am getting excited for spriiiiing!!! There hasn't been a cloud in the sky all week and I love it. Temperatures are about seasonal (just hovering below freezing during the warmest part of the day), I can bike for more than a half hour without freezing, the roads are clear of snow, and I'm convinced Soft Stranger will show up any day now.

I re-newed my gym membership last Friday for a month. I have went once. Saturday I went outside with Hannah instead, and Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I went for a bike ride. I have started wearing what I refer to as my "stomping" boots for biking. My toes no longer freeze, but the soles are a bit thick and my feet keep slipping so the pedal is under the arch of my foot making for difficult biking. I also have one rather cracked and one slightly cracked pedal. Not sure if this is related to the awkward boot biking or not. I'm looking very forward to biking in sneakers again soon. I'm half contemplating going the clipless pedal route and buying delightfully geeky bike shoes, but it seems kind of silly this time of year because my feet would likely still be cold and I think the mud and water would get all over the pedals, freeze, and create havic with my "skillz". Yes, I have because so efficient at pushing down on pedals I have classified myself as having "skillz". (No, not really.)

My ride on Sunday left Bicyclette in a muddy, icey mess. A friend and I initially went downtown, and all was mostly good on the roads. Then we hopped on the Confed Trail and proceeded to cover our bikes in mud. Mud is half fine, but the issue was the water in the mud was freezing to the bike. Kind of screws up your brakes (good argument for disk brakes, I don't think they would be quite so bad), and I couldn't use most of my gears by the end of it. Bicyclette and I had a dumping-hot-water-on-bike party once I got home. Of course, then I go and do the same thing the following day. Heh. Brakes are fine, but I still can't shift onto the smallest ring for my, umm, front gears (I'm sure there is a better term for this - "smallest ring on my front cassette"???). I'm pumped for Bicyclette's spring tune-up, but I don't really want to get it yet because I'm sure it will snow again (Sunday - sigh) and everything will get gucked up again multiple times. Maybe early April. Also, my chain got a bit rusty over winter (oops) but excessive amounts of lube seem to do the trick. La la la.

In EXCELLENT news, today I wore SNEAKERS on my walk to work! It truly was very exciting. I also wore only one pair of pants and two shirts under my coat. And I was still a sweaty mess by the time I arrived at UPEI! I also haven't wore 'full' pants to work yet this week. Well, I wear them on the way (am doing the biking/walking thing, Wee Red is unhappy and going through a mid-life crisis), but once here I have been sporting capris and skirts. People ask why I am dressed for summer. I tell them I dress for winter for only three or four months of the year and the time is up. Exercising to work definitely helps warm you up anyway, so I like to ride the warm train for the day.

Except right now, I'm starting to get goosebumps. Shh, don't tell. Luckily have other layer to add on top

I love the time change.

I've been contemplating a move to Vancouver-land, but am slightly apprehensive now due to the lack of sunlight. As mentioned above, I haven't seen a cloud in a few days and I love love love it! In Vancouver I think I saw the blue sky for a few minutes my second day there. Hmm, very concerning. Will have to research weather stats to find the location most suited to me (HAWAI'I).

I'm excited for when I can just wear one bottom layer for biking. Putting on so much clothing is getting annoying.

I am going to work now. After I take a few minutes to channel the Spirit of Aloha and let it run through my veins.

I really want to watch Lilo and Stitch. And multiple 'animated features'. Does the bright blue of the sky trigger an association in my brain with the bright colours of cartoons? Curious.