Flustration

So.  Sooooo.  It’s been a BUSY day.  My apologies to anyone who crossed my path near the end of work, I was, er, focused on getting out the door!

I’m house sitting right now for my friend Kim, so I’m staying in a beautiful place out in Brentwood Bay.  Seriously, Kim is a lady with wicked taste.  She and her boyfriend John just redid their kitchen, and it is Swanky with a capital S. Along with the house comes a (VERY fat) cat and… a 14 year old guy.  Yup.  I’m looking after a teenager.  Nightmare right?

Totally not, he’s really sweet and really really shy.  I think we’ve spent about 20 minutes in each other’s company in the last two days?  But he did bake cookies yesterday, so I have to give him points for that.

On top of house sitting and commuting and taking care of cat/kid, I’m also trying to get packed for my trip.  On my lunch hours.  Which is tough, because I actually hate packing until the night before I leave, I like the rush of last minute packing.  I don’t think the excitement really hits until then.  So packing on my lunch hours puts my brain in a tizzy, trying to remember everything, making all sorts of mental notes, then having to back and work. Pfft.

But the thing is, I REALLY have to go back and work since I have to get everything taken care of for the next couple of weeks.  Blurg!  SO busy!  sososososo busy.

YEah, you know what?  THis blog is going no where.  my brain is fried, I’m excited and flustered and groaningly busy  all at once, so I think I’m going to have a glass of wine, read my book and attempt to turn off.

Yehaw.

Everyone Needs a Nap

Remember when you were little and you had an enforced nap time?

When I was in preschool, we would all go and grab little pieces of carpet, lay them out on the floor and have nap time for an hour or so, wake up and have a snack of fruit or cheese and crackers, and get back to play time.

We need to get that started again at my work, like PRONTO.  For the last month or so it’s been building up, the office cranky levels getting higher and higher, little spanking rampages… yup.  Add to that the fact that everyone is sick, getting sick, has been sick or has sick kids, and you’ve got a lot of frowny-faced, tired and short-tempered people packed into one work place.

So I think it’s nap time.

Hell, they do it all over the place in europe, and I say siesta’s are the way of the future.  Just think about how awesome it would be at say, 2 or 3 in the afternoon to just settle down for a 30 minute power nap, and wake up to a nice snack at the end?  Everyone would be so much happier, and more focussed, and less cranky.  You could even take the option of combining your lunch break with your nap for a full hour nap.

I love naps.  I want one now.

Pears and Salt

I think pears are the best fruit.

I know that’s mean of me to say, because all the other fruits will be jealous, especially bananas.  I have a longstanding friendship with bananas, they’re rockingly delicious and I eat one almost every day.

But they don’t have that special MMMMMM place in my heart that pears do.  I like pears so much that I even like fake pear flavour, and that’s something that no other fruit can boast.  Fake Watermelon?  Could anything possible taste less like an actual watermelon? Fake cherry?  Makes my teeth hurt thinking about it. Fake banana flavour? GROSS.

But give me a handful of pear jelly belly jelly beans and I’m a happy little camper.

Well friends, I just had a most delightful work lunch, and I capped it off with a perfectly ripe and juicy pear.  I started with a bowl of my Squash Black Bean Chili, and then I had some tomato slices.  My fingers are still slightly sticky with the pear juice though, and even though they’ve now touched my disgustingly dirty keyboard, I’m seriously considering licking them to taste the nectar.

But let’s go back to the tomato slices for a moment.  Over the weekend I was back on the mainland and I went to a big craft fair.  Of course my favourite part was all the little local food distributors that were set up, giving out samples and blowing my mind.  Caramel gingerbread sauce? Oh yes.  A stand devoted entirely to seasoning rubs?  Ef, yes.  And then the only one that got my money, the Hot Chick Spice Company.  They roped me in with their Chocolate wine sauce,

then their Orange Chipotle Mustard,

then the salt. Salty salt salt. I love salt, big chunks of it on raw veggies, or seasoning roasted nuts…

Actually this stuff was called Gomashio Salt, “a Japanese blend of toasted and ground sesame seeds mixed with fleur de sel.”  I just tried a little of it sprinkled on a slice of cucumber, and it was so delicate and lovely that I bought a bag of it.   And today I ate it on my sliced tomatoes, and I am happy happy happy.

And there you have it, pears and salt.

Being Here

For a totally random introduction… I made fried green tomatoes last night.  Got the tomatoes from a friends garden, they’re very tangy and sweet.  But since I had so many of them, and since I went for a run last night, I decided battered and friend was the way forward.  I just sliced them, dipped them in egg, then a mix of cornmeal/salt/pepper/chili flakes, fried them for about 4 minutes per side in oil, and served them with hot sauce.  They worked well, but to be honest I was only medium on them.  I think next time I’m just going to give in a deep fry me some pickles.

***

I’ve been spending waaaaaay too much time at work lately.  To catch up, because I let myself get ludicrously behind, and to get ahead because I’m going to Scotland in 12 days.

Ahem.

I’m going to Scotland in 12 days.  Eeeeeeee!

Yup.  So I think I’ve thrown in about an extra 7-8 hours of over time in the last two weeks, plus I’ve been working my ass off during my “clocked in” hours to get everything covered, and I think I’m getting there!  Which is great because today… the motivation has completely left the building.

But who needs motivation when there’s so much awesomeness to look forward to? This weekend I will be overindulging in booze, food and friendship at Natalie’s house.  I will be partying down with Helen.  I will be attending Monique’s Housewarming.  I will be dancing my pants off Sunday night to the Cat Empire with Tindy and Ian.

My cup runneth over.

Monday evening has even more in store: It looks like the delightful Tyson Elder and Jeremy Baker are up to their usual tricks, doing a live Capital Rock City podcast from the Black Stilt on Hillside.  I can only imagine it’ll be full of cool kids and good music, and since drinking coffee at inappropriate times has become a new thing for me, I’ll be there!

Yup. Stole these from Tyson's Blog

Next week is also the opening night of the next Twilight movie, and while I’m not the die hard fan some people are, I enjoyed reading the sparkly vampire books and I’m excited for the movie, though I may not see it until after I get back from Scotland.  That being said, if I lived in Vancouver, I’d be going to this to get all my vampire gushing done:

Yup.  I’m plugging all my friends events today.  But why not?  My friends are cool, and they do cool stuff.

Shout Out To The Universe

Hey there universe, I just wanted to say thanks.

First off, thanks for rewarding my decision to ‘up’ my annual donation to the United Way.  I have a little bit taken off every pay check along with a load of other people at work.  Despite economic blah blah blah blah, I decided to give a little more, handed my form in early and won the early bird draw of round trip tickets from Victoria to Vancouver on Harbour Air!

Swa?!  Awesome!  I rarely win draws, even when it’s only a 1 in 18 chance!

Secondly, thanks for helping me keep all my promises to myself this weekend.  I didn’t over eat, I barely drank, I cleaned and did laundry, bought groceries, I took 2 baths and finished a book. To do list?  Checka-check check!

Third, thank you for my hair dye.  It has been one of my most lamented losses of all time, the loss of my redredred hair.  For almost two years I had this killer red hair until they discontinued the dye.  I’ve tried pretty much everything else out there but to no avail, I can’t match that ferocious red!

Rock star shot... but look at that RED!

On Saturday I went to London Drugs to buy a scale, some toothpaste and some dye, but the scale that was in the flyer was not available at that store, and the 2 for 1 on my favorite toothpaste?  Not on.  So I said “frigg off, LD” and went to Wal-Mart.  Yup.  I caved.  But… THEY HAVE MY HAIR DYE!!!! (Ok, it is one shade darker than the one I used to use, but I don’t care, as long as it’s vicious, bright red) I have no idea how Wal-Mart has it, they were probably supposed to take it off the shelves but decided to sell off their stock anyways, but I’m gonna buy all of them.  YEss!

To Kitty, Or Not To Kitty?

I have been wrestling with this idea for over a year… do I get a cat, or don’t I? I looooove kitties.  Not in a Bubbles-food-mountain-cat sleeping-on-my-head kind of way, but I love kitties.

Technically, they’re not allowed in my apartment.  But here’s the thing, I’ve lived in this place for 10 months, already renewed my lease once, and no one has come to do an inspection, or even asked if everything is ok with the place.  Plus on my floor alone there are 3 small dogs.  So I figure I’d be ok with a secret kitty, even if it’s a bit chancy.

Other concern: friends with allergies.  A few of my closest friends have allergies so they wouldn’t be able to come play at my house any more, especially Shanny, who often comes stay with me for days at a time.

Plus, I don’t have a yard for the kitty to go outside in, just a balcony.  And the cats I grew up with loved their outdoor times.

But… every time I go to my parent’s place, I see the lovely, cranky old Oscar.

She makes me screw up my face and say “cute!” far too often.  And it would be nice to share my apartment with another living creature, instead of just books and my BFF/Worst Enemy, the TV.  A kitty to cuddle with, to play with, to wrestle with… and to do things like this with:

Now, if you’re not a pet person, or you think dogs are better, don’t bother joining the discussion.  “Cats are boring” or “A dog will love you more”  are not effective arguments in this case, it’s either cat or no cat.

So… Cat?  or No Cat?

(***Keep in mind, this would be a post-Christmas Kitty***)

Delicately, now…

Over pasta, red wine and a chipotle chili chocolate bar last night, a few friends and I had a discussion about gut reactions.  Everyone has emotional reactions when something happens, and there isn’t really much you can do about them, it’s part of being human.  If someone speaks to me with a nasty tone of voice, my first reaction is to be nasty right back.  If someone questions what I do or say, my first reaction is to be really defensive.

But it’s never about the reactions, it’s about whether you act on them or not.

My mom always told me to react delicately, to take a step back, to wait 5 minutes, 5 hours, over night or whatever.  And my mom’s advice has never been wrong, on this or anything.  But I like the idea, reacting delicately.  Rather than allowing your first emotional  gut reaction out, which could inevitably take something small and blow it up, you take a moment to think. You lay out the whole situation from start to finish either by saying it out loud or reviewing in your thoughts to help clarify it.  You examine what the consequences of your reaction will be rather than just barfing it out.

React delicately.

I’m not saying that your first reaction is wrong, maybe it’s completely justified.  But before you punch that guy in the face for what he said, think about it for a second and see if you really want to have assault charges laid on you, or if calling him a motherf#@%er is enough of a reaction.

Before you snap back at a friend for a silly ignorant-sounding comment or a snitty tone of voice, think about it for a second and see if you really want to turn something very small into a fight. Or maybe you should just let it go and remember that everyone has bad days, and says things out of jealousy or hurt feelings.

To quote one my faves, High Fidelity:

“I’ve been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I’ve come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains.”

1 Month, 6 Days, 7 Hours & Change…

That’s where the countdown to Scotland clock is at… and I’m getting pretty stoked.

First off, I have found out that Ojos De Brujo are playing while I’m over there, so that’s a distinct dancing possibility.

Also, the German Market is going to be on in Edinburgh, which I looooove!

But really, I’ve been trying to figure out why I loved living in Scotland so much.  There are just as many idiots and wonderful people as any other country.  There are just as many beautiful sights and bad traits as any other place.  Yes, ok, I love the accent, but that’s not enough to make you love a whole country, is it?

I’ve never felt more free from pressure as I did when I was there.  All debts, pressures about relationships, careers, ‘doing something with my life’ etc were all back at home.  Who doesn’t feel like they’re thriving when the pressures are off?

Plus, when I was there, I stood out a little more.  People noticed me before they knew me, if only because of my accent.  And while I hate to admit to vanity, when you’ve never really been singled out for anything superficial, it’s actually quite brilliant to be noticed from afar.

I’m probably only thinking all this because I’m trying to avoid any kind of disappointment when I return, since going back to visit isn’t going to suddenly transport me back into my fancy-free years.  Or maybe it will, and you’ll never see me again ;)

Whirlwind Weekend

For a girl who’s been trying really hard to take it easy on drinking and partying, I had an epic weekend… and I really feel it this morning, let me tell you!

Friday night was the station’s first puck party, and of course the Canucks blew it.  Really guys?  Against Calgary?  (And further, why are there so dang many Calgary fans in Victoria?  I’m starting to think Calgary fans may be more annoying than Oilers fans.  Diss intended.)

After hockey, there were some extra tickets to the Def Tones / Slip Knot show. As a minor Def Tones fan, and having always wanted to watch grown men from Des Moines head bang with masks on, I went.  It was all the hilarity I could have imagined… percussionists on rotating lifting drum kits,  beer keg bashing (empty, one can but hope) and bouncing sweaty angry men all over the place.  I think I’ve had my fill of black t-shirts for a while, but I did laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

Now, previously while at the pub, we had entered a silent auction for a pair of Canucks tickets to Saturday’s game.  And at the Slip Knot show, Tindy got the call that she had won!  So for $40 we got two tickets to the Minnesota Wild game!  It was a bit of a whirlwind, between Saturday morning’s hang over, the ferry/bus/new skytrain into Vancouver, a quick dinner and two VERY strong mojitos, suddenly we found ourselves at a Canucks Game!!!  And we won!

Ok, yes, our seats were in the no booze zone, an epic failure, especially since we didn’t notice until we had drinks in hand and the hostess was like… “um, no.”  But we slammed them back, found our seats between some very impressionable and entertaining children, and watched the Canucks win! Plus we found some empty seats in the drinking zone before the end of the game, so alls well that ends well.

We spent some time at Dix after the game with a few friends that were also at the game, and then we went for a suburbs adventure into New West to a cocktail party at my friend Joanna’s house!  Ah, the adventures that ensue when you have no plans to start with…

After a very sleepy trip back to the island Sunday morning, and a lot of time spent prone on the couch resting, last night was MSTRKRFT.  The music was amazing, especially one of the openers Long Walk Short Dock.  And the crowd would have been worth the trip just for the people watching fun.  I would say that 80 percent of the people there were Uvic students either trying e for the first time or just getting blasted on whatever else was available.  Then there was a small percentage that looked like they’d shown up for a Death From Above 1979 show.  My two personal faves in the crowd was the guy who looked like he could have been an extra in hackers, or possible a back up dancer in a Utah Saints video, and the girl who would have been a shoe-in for a place on Electric Circus back in the day.

I think it may have actually been too much for one weekend… I’m still waiting for everything to stop spinning.

She Work Hard For De Friendship

This past week has reminded me about friendship.

I’ve always had this theory that the best kinds of friends are the ones you don’t have to work hard for.  The ones that no matter how long it is between visits, and no matter what’s going on in their lives or yours, are still easy friends.  No stress.  No mess.

More and more I’m realizing that there’s more to it than that.  Yes, friendship should be fun and easy and forgiving, full of laughter and memories. You shouldn’t have to work hard for it.

But you should want to work hard for it.

It should be like no time has passed even when it’s been months between visits and phone calls.  But you should make a point of not letting it be months between visits and phone calls.

Yes, your friends should feel comfortable around you no matter what.  But you should work hard to make them feel amazing when you’re around.

Yes, you should be able to say anything to your friends, and vice versa.  But you should make a point of saying everything to them.  Don’t hold back, don’t assume they know.  If you love them, tell them all the time.  If they hurt you, tell them right away.  If you’re angry, don’t swallow it.  If your happy, get it out there for them to share. If they look good, let them know.

If you hate their shirt, maybe keep that to yourself.

I don’t see all of my friends as often as I’d like, there being a bunch of water,  or borders, between us… but from now on, I’ll be working hard to make sure everyone I love knows it.