three strikes and it's a turkey...

Yes, I'm talking about bowling.
Had a great day today, friend's Alida and Jodi from the valley are here visiting and we had a delicious breakfast of veggie scromlete and toast. Then we bundled up (because yes it snowed a little today - not as bad as the mini blizzard of 2 days ago, but it was still cold) and walked downtown to do a little shopping. lunch at the Lotus pond, so full! bus trip home, some yerba mate tea, a competative game of scrabble (crystal won of course), some good conversation and relaxing on the couch. Then, we met up with tara, emanuel, and moneet, and went bowling! we had to wait a bit (well and hour) for a lane so we hung out in the "bar" had a drink or two and played some darts (I lost both games...). Finally, after paying and getting our rather ratty shoes (except for emanuel's) from an interesting employee (and by interesting i mean slightly wacky and a tinge irritating) we got to bowl. First game not so hot, second was definately better for me. 2 strikes in a row! (that's big for someone who usually doesn't make it to 100)
photos in the am...

After 4 1/2 years, i've finally gotten a library card. Yup. I decided while walking downtown this sunny afternoon that I would do the deed. I was hoping that I'd get to see my friend Ben there, but alas he must have been working at another branch. After handing over my driver's liscence and listening to a very well rehersed (and i'm sure often exercised) speech about how to use, how many books, what to do in case of losing, and late fee charges I ambled around in the video and cd section for a few minutes, and then left empty handed. I hadn't come prepared to actually borrow anything today. But now I can. yay me. :)

Did any fellow figure skating fans out there catch the pairs free skate today. How crazy that last skate by the chinese pair! She was incredible, getting up after that fall and then actually skating a great performance to win the silver. Talk about impressive. I'm sure they have the story here.

It's sunny! It's sunny! La la la la la!

ok. anyone who lives in Nelson, Vancouver, Toronto, or Winnepeg (and maybe a couple other big cities), you have to go and see "A Simple Curve" on friday (or at least sometime after that while it's still in the theater). It is a fabulous film that happens to be set in the Slocan Valley (New Denver area more specifically). The story is great, the acting bang on, and the scenery, well it doesn't get much better. A bunch of us saw it here as part of the Victoria Film Festival, and we'd gone to see it primarily because it was set in the valley, but it was way better than I imagined (or than the trailer on the website might suggest). I'm hoping that it's going to come to Victoria again soon, because I'll definately be taking as many people as I can to go see it.

check out the website: www.asimplecurve.com

Word Scramble: yiwdn

woah windy weather! watch out, wear warm winterwear.

party party party it's the weekend! after another slow day at work (made barable by the ever lovely and amusing Sue), came home and attempted to get ahold of the pappa for a big birthday wish (53, i think?) but the man was too popular, out and about, so it will have to wait til tomorrow. Finally talked to the younger brother (after about 2 months or more). made some suppa with the roomies, played some crib (and won! boo-ya) then me and crystal decided that we didn't want to spend another friday at home, so we went down to the Central Bar and Grill to see Kelly Joel Phelps (acoustic/slide guitar and a wicked smooth husky voice). It was nice once we got a seat (2nd half), pretty mellow. A guy from highschool was there, and it was cool to chat with him. Did i mention that it was mellow? Did I mention that some guy got punched in the face, and the guy that hit him got dragged out by the bouncer? oh yeah, that happened. It was pretty fast, and Kelly kept on playing, but i mean, it was an acoustic show... (although the guy that got punched was really annoying...)
then we raced to the car, wind wooshing, hair flying (well mine was under a hat), and came home.
Now the wind is beating up the tarp that covers our neighbours camper, and i get to listen to it all night long.
Sweet dreams...

if you didn't vote, you can't complain...

sooo.... how 'bout them conservatives hey? GAAA!!!
thank god it's a minority government and not a majority conservative one!
at least the NDP upped their number of seats. (yay BC voters!)
this is going to be interesting...

oh sundays...

Today I:

-slept in
-had delicious scrambled eggs and veggies with pesto on an engish muuffin courtesy of Crystal
-talked to my aunt, mom, grandma and cousin on the phone (and almost my elusive brother, but he wasn't home when he said he'd be!)
-lost at crib
- cleaned my room
- cleaned the mold off of my windows...ewww
- walked to fantastico's with Crystal for an americano... yummmmm
- got asked to be a bridesmaid for my cousin's wedding! (in summer of 2007)
- made lasagna (a little soupy but tres tastey!)
- played Lord of the Rings monopoly with crystal, tara, and dave (and won!)
- finished knitting a scarf
- went to sleep in a bed with fresh flannel sheets... aaaahhhhh....zzzzzz....

oh yeah, and yesterday I got a great pair of jeans that were on sale, and fit really well!!! (it's a rare thing let me tell you) and me and oona went for a nice walk around swan lake.
oh and the night before, me and Ben and Michael went for dinner at Le Petit Saigon a lovely Vietnamese restuarant (spelling of the last two???). it was fabulous, and the waiter made me a drink that we named the pocket rocket (cause it tasted a little like those "rocket" candies you get around halloween)
i think that's all...

let's talk about toilets. yes, toliets. Specifically, the things that can go wrong with toilets, and the joy that is fixing the. Let's take, for example, the simple issue of replacing the flusher (the little handle you press down on to make the water work its miracles). a simple job no? get a new handle. But wait! what happens when they (yes "they") have decided to stop making that style of flusher? well, you can try to use a different one, tie if on with a peice of string. but that only works for a little while, and get's a little frustrating. if you're renting a place, lucky you, call your landlord (or landlady in our case) and they can fix it. which is what she decides to do, herself. oh wait, not by herself, but with my help, because apparently we had to put in a whole new flushing system thingy to go with the new flusher handle... Starting at 8:30 this morning, (i'm supposed to work at 11am - thinking no problem, she'll be out of here in an hour tops), and FOUR hours later (thank goodness it was okay for me to come to work late), oh god, I don't really want to go into the grime, and cursing, and stupid plastic parts, and a trip to the "do-it center", and more grime, and leaking, and more cursing... so we're going to stop there. but if you ever need a new flush system put in your tank... (please call a plumber)
anyone hungry?

oh yeah, on a better note, me and Tara had our first belly dancing class tonight. weee. it was fun for the most part, feeling a little uncoordinated, but here's hoping that will pass. :)

some pics, from Emanuel's birthday and the like...

hmmmm.... a year teaching English in Germany with Tara... hmmm....

work is so slow now, we're rolling coins for fun...
we've cleaned EVERYTHING
breaks seem pointless...
there's only 4 staff on over the course of the day, compared to 20ish
cleaning under the sink is exciting...
every time someone speaks, I think of a song lyric...

now don't get me wrong, slow is okay right now, we've earned it. but. slow is still slow.

a montage, a photo montage of christmas and new year's

Welcome 2006, please be gentle...

Another year has come and gone...
Highlights:
- Graduating university
- getting a free car from my uncle
- our garden
- trips to the beach
- becoming a supervisor
- my trip to edmonton, kelowna, and nelson
- dancing in the kitchen with Crystal, Tara, and Dave at various times
- Christmas with my parents and my brother Jesse, and skating on christmas eve
- yummy brunches
- potlucks
- folkfest
- seeing Feist, Matthew Good, and other fabulous bands play

lowlights:
- having to fix my free car... ;)
- not having Levi here for christmas
- not being home for christmas
- working 7-8 days in a row
- student loan payments
- being single, still
- dealing with the neighbours downstairs
- mold on the windows
- Jesse breaking his leg on New Year's Eve.

to be continued...

maybe I'll do a photo montage... oooohhh what fun!

Merry Christmas!!!

yay for family that come to visit, yay for fabulous gifts, yay for long walks by the ocean, yay for scrumptious food that fills you up.

well, this weekend was definately a change. whipped out a cleaning frenzy on saturday - including the inside of the fridge - made some truffles (and smashed my head on the fridge door when I was trying to shove the glass pan into the shoebox freezer, which involved finally having to tape the freezer door shut...) , tidied the room, and the christmas get-together began-- okay I have to pause for a moment, because the heat just turned on, but it smells like cigarette smoke! how nasty is that? )%%@$$!*# downstairs neighbours!!! ohhhh I could....-- so there was a nice amout of people, we ate yummy snacks, and lots of chocolates, played cranium, cheered when Crystal won a sirius satellite radio from cbc radio 2 (or 3 or something), listened to christmas music, had a fire, and generally a jolly time. Sunday, matinee with Tara (The Family Stone - funny, sad, cheesy, what more can you expect?) Coffee with an old friend Sinisa, and then to the Belfry to volunteer for the last showing of "The Syringa Tree" which was fabulous. One actor who did an amazing job. She was brilliant. Even when the play had to stop woth 30min left becuase a poor man had a seizure or something. It was quite unnerving. But the paramedics got there and he was okay. They took him in a chair stretcher, and then the play resumed. We gave her a big standing ovation when in ended , and she deserved it. Today, brunch with Sarah Mc and Steph - lucky Sarah is going to mexico for 6 weeks and then australia until june!. Then shopping - Ga! and finally home to relax for the rest of the day. another 7 days in a row starting tomorrow. weee. Happy Holidays!

when your days feel like constant deja-vous, it's time for a change...

so i finally had a day off after 8 days in a row of working, and it wasn't even as relaxing as i'd hoped. well it's my fault really. I should have just stayed home. But I thought I'd try to be productive and get some christmas shopping done. Basically I wandered the streets of downtown for 3-4 hours, bought some tea her hershey mint kisses... it made me tired, hungry and irritated. I was supposed to go to dinner with Ben, but I sweet-talked him into brunch this morning so I could chill out for the evening. :) Lovely boy. Now I've just tossed some laundry in (stupid work uniform), and am planning on writting some christmas cards before I head out to get Ben. and then it's off to work again.
But, it's our christmas get together on saturday which is going to be fabulous!

Well, today was no winner, but I made it though, and it perked up at the end. It was day 4 of an 8 day work week, I opened- which was actually fairly fun because if was with Sarah Mc. we made snowflakes. Phoned the mechanic at 7:45am. Yes my clutch is gone. yes it's going to cost my arm. okay, just do it. slow morning. cleaning. wandering. delegating petty jobs. weeee. get off work, get groceries at Red Barn - fabulous place for cheap produce! phone mechanic again, oh some part on my transmission is worn down, should be okay, but no big warranty or something. okay. Trying to figure out how I'm going to pay the guy, student loan, and life for the next month, a little overwhelmed. Phone the pappa, attempt to explain what's going on with the car... he decides to phone the mechanics himself. phones me back to say that he put the bill on his visa! and that I can pay him back in parts. Ah Pappa, I love you! Big sigh of relief.
went to the mall with Crystal to find her some pants etc. got a pair of christmas socks.
came home. chatted with sweet Nadya on the phone for a while. in bed nice and early. and there you have it.

- The movie "Proof" is fabulous! I highly recommend it - Great acting, good story, not too hollywood.
- Never go to the mall on Senior's Day.
- Put up christmas decorations today. yup, and I don't care what anyone thinks.
- knitting is where it's at. I finished a pair of mittens today. they're red and I love them.
- Pommegranets (sp?) are delicous and fun to eat (esp with a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt)
- working 8 days in a row will not be fun...
- pay day is thursday so hopefully i can finally get my car fixed!
- Finished reading "The Secret Life of Bees", and excellent book, sucked me right in. as delicious as honey!
- will someone please make me clean my room???