76th post

Yogurt is a strange thing.
For one thing, the word is strange. Yogurt. YOgurt. If you think about it, it's just an odd combination of letters. Oh what great and profound thoughts I seem to have these days!

penguin pyjamas

First of all, I would like to bemoan a terrible tragedy that has just recently occurred here in my very own house: For Christmas, I received a fabulous pair of pyjamas from La Senza, courtesy of my honey. These pyjamas had penguins all over them and were a lovely blue colour. Very comfy. However, the first time I washed them, the top shrunk. This was especially disturbing because the bottoms were already slightly too big and the top was slightly too small. I do not have a pear body. I have an apple body. Knowing this, I had put the pants in the hot dryer but let the top air-dry. I don't know how it managed to shrink anyway. However, unwilling to give up on my lovely pyjamas, I valiantly wore them to bed anyway. By morning the top had loosened up and they were back to their previous state of soft, wrinkled comfiness. Tragedy averted, right? Not quite. I just washed my pyjamas for the second time, and when I went to put the pants in the dryer, I discovered that several other items of clothing were attached to them. The drawstring had frayed at least 5 inches, and the threads had snarled themselves around my towels and underwear.
I was quite upset. I cut the threads off and then tossed the pyjamas over a chair until I can figure out how to deal with them. The way I see it, I have two options. 1: get a lighter and attempt to not burn my house down in the process of searing the end of the drawstring so that it won't fray further. Or, 2: I could attempt to sew them up. I don't see this option as very viable for a domestically challenged person such as myself.
Oh what to do, what to do.
In other news, I have been cleaning my house out today. I took down my Christmas tree (finally) and vacuumed the living room. I'm about halfway done cleaning out my room. I have two huge garbage bags full of clothing that I don't want anymore, plus some shoes and accessories that have been sitting in my drawers for years and years. I don't understand how I possibly lugged all this junk through 2 moves to Edmonton and back. What a waste of my space and time!
I'm going to try to get my room organized and keep it that way. There must be a way for me to be neater. There must.
Off to VACUUM!!!!

Day Off

What I Want to Remember from 2006

Here I sit in my disastrously untidy room in my little basement flat in Lethbridge, trying to relive the moments that made 2006 memorable -

Well, there was that big boxing day sale at the Gap (two pairs of pants and a shirt for $50).... ok, just kidding. Let's try again. If I keep going on like this, no one will ever believe that I'm not terribly materialistic. (I work in a mall, okay? I can't help getting excited about clothes for cheap.)

One of my best memories from Taylor was sitting beside Randa on the edge of the Schindler bathtub - shaving our legs and doing pedicures - and just talking about life and school and how time goes by so fast. That was a few days before I moved to Lethbridge.

Oh April! You were so rainy... so dark and depressing and cold. I was looking for a new job - meeting new people - trying to decide what the next year of my life would look like. I'm glad that that decision was wrenched out of my hands - even though my life right now isn't what I planned at all, I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

And then I met Galac. I remember the day he asked me out - I remember the terribly awkward movie that we went to (has anyone even heard of The Brick? No, I didn't think so) - I remember the delicate process of getting to know each other - I'd like to say that I remember our first kiss, but that would be a lie - heck, it happened, and anyways the first kiss is not usually the rock-your-socks-off moment that chick flicks like to make-believe. I remember the day that I knew I was in love with him - I was sitting on the bus on my way to work (at Subway. I was going to try to get through this memorable-moments-of-2006 post without mentioning that job, but I guess I just did, so I'll just say that I didn't exactly enjoy that chapter of my life, and move on - I have a better job now) and I was thinking about him, and suddenly I just knew. I've never fallen in love before... so it was kind of terrifying and joyful and giddy all at once.

Little Miss Sunshine. I couldn't talk about 2006 without mentioning the hands-down, best-ever movie of the year. I could watch Little Miss Sunshine every day.

And then there was the guy who tried to break into my house. Probably lost at least two years of my life from that scare. I know it's overplayed, but Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" is definitely on my top songs of 2006 list. (Okay, I don't have a list exactly but if I did that song would be #1.)

And kudos to Jose, my raunchy Mexican car. Jose I love you even if you are slightly touchy and tend to crash into things (or is it just my bad driving) and by the way your wipers suck and it would be great if the gas gauge would work but whatever you're mine and I'll try to look after you. I promise.

Oh, and in 2006 I made the Best Chocolate Cake Ever. I wish I had a picture to show you guys but you'll just have to take my word for it. It was amazing.

If there's one thing I learned this year, it's to not take your loved ones for granted. They could be gone at any moment. Life is short - breath is fragile - so cherish the people that you love. And tell them. Every day. That's important.

I guess this is it for 2006. I'll see you all in the New Year. Happy partying, may you all get as hungover or un-hungover as you want to be.

p.s. The picture at the top was taken at my parents' house this Christmas. We had a wonderful holiday - it was pretty loud and there was lots of excitement but I must say that it was a great finish to 2006.

Random Thoughts about Christmas

Christmas is almost here.
Is it just me, or did this year fly by? It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in my room at Taylor, staring at the mess, and thinking about how great it would be in my new place in Lethbridge. That was in April, and the eight months that followed have been a blur. Meeting Galac... working at Subway... falling in love... working at Bluenotes... my new roommate... my new car... my sister's wedding... my brother's engagement... it's been insane, but in a good way.
Galac and I celebrated six months together on December 6th. Six months! To me, an insecure commitment-phobe, that's crazy. How did I end up in such a fantastic relationship?
As usual, I'm working through the whole holiday season. I get Christmas Day and New Year's Day off, but only because the mall is closed on those days. The Christmas crowds have already arrived in full force. I'm actually typing this on my break, and my head feels as if someone has been repeatedly kicking it. Possibly that could also have something to do with my lack of sleep, but that was my own fault. From here on in, I need to make sure that I go to bed early every single night - the deluge of grumpy customers is only going to increase in intensity.
I was thinking the other day about how happy I am to not have a school Christmas banquet to dress up for. Oh Taylor, how I don't even miss you one tiny little bit.

Quote of the day

Grace (to customer, who has come to pay for a pair of jeans): "Would you like to grab a second pair for half price?"

Customer (with a very confused look on her face, while staring at the price tag on the pair of jeans she already has picked out): "How much is half price?"

Some people apparently didn't pass third-grade math.

I love my job.

A new job and a new car

In the last month, two very exciting things have happened to me:
1. I got a new job.
2. I got a new car.
The job is a full-time keyholder position at Bluenotes. No, that is not a bar - it is a clothing store. I get to help people pick out jeans - I am the one who knows everyone's waist size in inches. I especially love the women who come in who ask for a size that we all know is much smaller than they will fit... but I give them what they ask for because in order for people to part with cash, their egos must be stroked. I really do enjoy my job, although some days the customers are insufferable. I find that the more tired I am, the ruder people seem to be. Coincidence? Probably ;).
And the car... oh people, I love my car. His name is Jose, and he is the gorgeous color of poo-brown, with a burnt orange interior. Jose is an 85 Honda Accord. I adopted him just last weekend, and I already love the little luxury of having a car. I named him Jose because I bought him from a man who lived in Mexico, and Jose just sounds so much more raunchy than Pedro or Pablo. Jose is a raunchy car. I don't even want to think about what the previous owners used the backseat for. It is just that kind of a car.