aaaaahhhhhh...
And those report cards coming up (alarmingly fast)? Bring 'em on!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Life is good
I feel a little like I haven't been myself lately. Well, since December, really. And for various reasons that I won't get into now. BUT, I feel like I'm getting back to "me" again! I think this weekend helped a lot. I didn't worry about the "hafta do's" or "oughtta do's," I just did what I wanted. That involved working out (oh yeah, I finally sucked it up and joined a gym - it's really close to my work and I have a friend who goes, too. So far I've been every day after school. Three days and counting! :P ), spending time with friends, going for a hike, shopping for and planting my flowers, spending some time with God, a spur of the moment visit to my parents, etc etc etc. The extra day of the weekend (helped by the fact I got off at noon on Friday and today was a pro-D day - so work, but no kids!) was just what I needed, and I feel refreshed for the first time in a very long time!
aaaaahhhhhh...
And those report cards coming up (alarmingly fast)? Bring 'em on!
aaaaahhhhhh...
And those report cards coming up (alarmingly fast)? Bring 'em on!
Monday, May 23, 2005
Finished!
As of today, for the first time in my life, I have a garden! Well, I have flowers in pots, but same idea. yAhOo! Here are some pictures of the final product (though keep in mind the plants are still babies right now!).
Grow little plants, grow! Bloom little flowers bloom!
My patio! The two pots by the door will be
covered in red blooms soon (I hope!)
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Six years ago today
It was a Saturday, and I was working at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I had to work Sundays, and so hadn't been gonig to church too often, and I was really missing it. The church I was going to at that time had a Saturday service, so I decided to go. By the time I got off work, changed, and took the bus there, I was a little bit late. I had changed, but I felt all icky form a long day of gardening and cleaning. I snuck in and sat off to the side near the back. Maybe 15 or 30 minutes into the service, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I think I was in the middle of singing or something, cause it startled me. I turned around and it was my dad! I thought maybe he had come to go to church with me, but then he motionned for me to come with him into the hall. Maybe he had something to tell me. As soon as we got into the hallway, my dad started crying. He blurted out, "Papa just died." I would find out later that he had had a huge stroke earlier that day. I don't really know what my thoughts were at that point. I was more concerened about my dad. He and Papa were so close. My dad was a mess. He told me later that he hadn't wanted to tell me that way, but when he opened his mouth, that was all that came out. I'm glad he told me that way. It was such a human moment.
As we prepared for his memorial service, every member of our family wrote something, and then the idea was to combine them into one tribute. But when my mom went to compile them all together, she realized that they were all too personal to just be edited into one. So we read them all. Nana and I had both written letters. I remember my mom saying how she read only the first word of Nana's letter and she was in tears.
Nana's letter began, "Dear." That's what she always called Papa. I imagine throughout their marriage it took on many different tones ranging from exhasperated to loving, but to her, he was "Dear." Her letter was full of memories, many from before they were even married. I cried as I saw Nana in a different light - as a teenager falling in love, then getting married. After over 50 years together, two children, three grandchildren, now her husband and best friend was gone.
It was, thankfully, not an entirely sad ceremony. Papa loved Jesus with all his heart. We knew that he was finally home and that we'll get to see him again. In the meanitme, though, there are days like today when I think about him, and miss him so much. He was such a loving, tender man. He was goofy, and always had a story or a joke to tell. It didn't matter that he told the same jokes over and over and over again. We loved the them not for their punchlines, but for the joy Papa got in telling them. He loved photography and nature, things which I, too, love. Two things in paricular remind me of Papa. I have always loved looking at how the mountains fade off into the horizon. Range upon range gets hazier and hazier as they get farther away. I mentionned that to my parents one time shortly after Papa died, and my dad told me that Papa always said the same thing. The other thing that reminds me of him are old barns. He loved to take pictures of old, dilapitated barns - where the roof sags, or they look like they're about to fall over. It sounds strange, I suppose, but he saw the beauty in them. Once sturdy, now left as a memory of days gone by. He has photo upon photo of these old barns that Nana put together in an album for my dad. I love those photos. Whenever I see an old barn or farmhouse, I'm reminded of Papa. (For examples, click here and here - these aren't his photos, but it gives you the idea).
More important than jokes and mountains and farmhouses, though, is the person Papa was and the legacy that he left. My dad grew up watching him an learning from him. The way Papa played, worked, worshipped, spoke, treated my Nana, treated my dad and my aunt, treated others: all this shaped who my dad is today. While I wish that Papa was still around and that now, as an adult, I could continue to get to know him, I can see so much of who he was in my dad, and for that I am so grateful.
As we prepared for his memorial service, every member of our family wrote something, and then the idea was to combine them into one tribute. But when my mom went to compile them all together, she realized that they were all too personal to just be edited into one. So we read them all. Nana and I had both written letters. I remember my mom saying how she read only the first word of Nana's letter and she was in tears.
Nana's letter began, "Dear." That's what she always called Papa. I imagine throughout their marriage it took on many different tones ranging from exhasperated to loving, but to her, he was "Dear." Her letter was full of memories, many from before they were even married. I cried as I saw Nana in a different light - as a teenager falling in love, then getting married. After over 50 years together, two children, three grandchildren, now her husband and best friend was gone.
It was, thankfully, not an entirely sad ceremony. Papa loved Jesus with all his heart. We knew that he was finally home and that we'll get to see him again. In the meanitme, though, there are days like today when I think about him, and miss him so much. He was such a loving, tender man. He was goofy, and always had a story or a joke to tell. It didn't matter that he told the same jokes over and over and over again. We loved the them not for their punchlines, but for the joy Papa got in telling them. He loved photography and nature, things which I, too, love. Two things in paricular remind me of Papa. I have always loved looking at how the mountains fade off into the horizon. Range upon range gets hazier and hazier as they get farther away. I mentionned that to my parents one time shortly after Papa died, and my dad told me that Papa always said the same thing. The other thing that reminds me of him are old barns. He loved to take pictures of old, dilapitated barns - where the roof sags, or they look like they're about to fall over. It sounds strange, I suppose, but he saw the beauty in them. Once sturdy, now left as a memory of days gone by. He has photo upon photo of these old barns that Nana put together in an album for my dad. I love those photos. Whenever I see an old barn or farmhouse, I'm reminded of Papa. (For examples, click here and here - these aren't his photos, but it gives you the idea).
More important than jokes and mountains and farmhouses, though, is the person Papa was and the legacy that he left. My dad grew up watching him an learning from him. The way Papa played, worked, worshipped, spoke, treated my Nana, treated my dad and my aunt, treated others: all this shaped who my dad is today. While I wish that Papa was still around and that now, as an adult, I could continue to get to know him, I can see so much of who he was in my dad, and for that I am so grateful.
On May 22, 1999, Papa finally
got to see his saviour face to face.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
My thumbs better turn green right quick!
... cause I just bought a whooole lotta plants! Inspired to spruce up my summer patio, I went out and spent a fortune on plants, soil, and some new plant pots. It's gonna be a beeeeautiful garden paradise by the time I"m finished with it. That is, if I don't manage to kill everything! (eep!) I think it will be good though. I've got drainage in my pots, a plan for keeping them fertilized, etc etc etc. Here's a rundown of what I've got:
* dahlias
* coleus
* blue lubelia
* white alyssum
* new guinea impatiens
* pansies
It's gonna be so purdy! Now all I need is some more dirt!
* dahlias
* coleus
* blue lubelia
* white alyssum
* new guinea impatiens
* pansies
It's gonna be so purdy! Now all I need is some more dirt!
My flowers: Waiting for a home!
Friday, May 20, 2005
The Complimenting Commenter
What a fabulous idea for a blog! The Complimenting Commenter wanders around the blogosphere leaving compliments wherever he? she? goes! You should SEE the list of blogs that have been comlimented! This is so awesome!
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Even more ridiculousness
This follows on the heels of my food rant from a few weeks back...
So remember me talking about the teachers who eat all bran and cottage cheese every day for lunch? Well, it DID look pretty healthy, so I decided to give it a try. You get the fibre, the protein and dairy, and with a pear or some strawberries on top, it's actually not too bad. So, I'm doing pretty good, right? I should be so lucky.
I actually had this conversation today....
Teacher 1: Ha ha, you've really converted people around here to this all-bran lunch!
Teacher 2: (laughing) Yeah!
Teacher 1: (pointing to the box of bran) And you've got the healthy kind, too.
Me: The healthy kind? There's an unhealthy kind of BRAN?!?!
Teacher 1: Oh yeah! All those other brands have sugar in them, and some are made with aspartame. That stuff is awful!
Teacher 2: Yeah, your body can't get rid of it and it bubbles up under your skin.
Me: Bubbles up under your skin?!?!
Teacher 2: Yeah, or something like that. I don't remember exactly, but it's bad.
Teacher 1: And it's been shown to cause cancer in lab rats!
Teacher 3: (my best friend at this particular moment in time for saying this) Yes, but they have also shown that ORANGE PEEL causes cancer in lab rats. You have to take those studies with a grain of salt.
Me: (in my head) Touche! Except of course, salt will kill you, too!
So there you have it. I bought a box of WHEAT BRAN. How much healthier can you get??? But noooo, apparently it's gonna make some chemical bubble up under my skin! Or something.
Oh yeah, and cantoloupes? You're supposed to scrub them with a vegetable brush under running water before you cut them, because it's the fruit most likely to give you salmonella. You're supposedly (according to the lunchroom ladies) at a higher risk of salmonella from a cantoloupe than from raw chicken.
My lunchroom 'education' continues. I think my eyes are going to fall out of their sockets they're rolling around so much! :P
For those of you who are going to caution me that aspartame really *IS* is bad, yes I know, I know, I know! It's always a general rule to avoid it. My incredulousness is the extreme that food choices are taken to!
So remember me talking about the teachers who eat all bran and cottage cheese every day for lunch? Well, it DID look pretty healthy, so I decided to give it a try. You get the fibre, the protein and dairy, and with a pear or some strawberries on top, it's actually not too bad. So, I'm doing pretty good, right? I should be so lucky.
I actually had this conversation today....
Teacher 1: Ha ha, you've really converted people around here to this all-bran lunch!
Teacher 2: (laughing) Yeah!
Teacher 1: (pointing to the box of bran) And you've got the healthy kind, too.
Me: The healthy kind? There's an unhealthy kind of BRAN?!?!
Teacher 1: Oh yeah! All those other brands have sugar in them, and some are made with aspartame. That stuff is awful!
Teacher 2: Yeah, your body can't get rid of it and it bubbles up under your skin.
Me: Bubbles up under your skin?!?!
Teacher 2: Yeah, or something like that. I don't remember exactly, but it's bad.
Teacher 1: And it's been shown to cause cancer in lab rats!
Teacher 3: (my best friend at this particular moment in time for saying this) Yes, but they have also shown that ORANGE PEEL causes cancer in lab rats. You have to take those studies with a grain of salt.
Me: (in my head) Touche! Except of course, salt will kill you, too!
So there you have it. I bought a box of WHEAT BRAN. How much healthier can you get??? But noooo, apparently it's gonna make some chemical bubble up under my skin! Or something.
Oh yeah, and cantoloupes? You're supposed to scrub them with a vegetable brush under running water before you cut them, because it's the fruit most likely to give you salmonella. You're supposedly (according to the lunchroom ladies) at a higher risk of salmonella from a cantoloupe than from raw chicken.
My lunchroom 'education' continues. I think my eyes are going to fall out of their sockets they're rolling around so much! :P
For those of you who are going to caution me that aspartame really *IS* is bad, yes I know, I know, I know! It's always a general rule to avoid it. My incredulousness is the extreme that food choices are taken to!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Magic Gems
So I was just checking my stat counter, and it's always interesting to see how people find my blog. Sometimes it comes from search engines like Yahoo or Google. Usually the search words are something to do with my title (seeing as it's a song and all...). But today someone from Las Vegas found my blog by the most curious search string... I don't know if they found what they were looking for, but they found my blog! So what was it, you ask?
My blog came up third! Hmm....
My blog came up third! Hmm....
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Hmmm....
Not much going on right now. School/work (I still don't know what to call it!) is motoring by - six weeks left! ('Course then I"m teaching summer school for the month of July, but I'm trying now to think about that at this point!) I'm super tired right now, but I think it's not because I"m so crazy busy so much as because I've just gotton lazy. Or something. I'm so tired/frustrated/stressed after work that I get home and expend no energy, which means that in turn I actually HAVE no energy. Don't know quite how that math works out, but it's true all the same. I've got to get more active! I'm thinking about joining a gym (I had a freebie workout with a friend last week and it was so much fun!) but I'm having a hard time swallowing the $40/month price tag. It's just another bill and I'm not sure my budget could handle it. Hmm... Excuses excuses.
Anyway, on another topic, I just got back from voting. I went grudgingly, but I went. Really, who's the best option? The Liberals? I can't stand their bottom-line cut cut cut and ignore the effects on the people outlook (and cutting dollars and returning pennies doesn't count as increasing funding!). Not to mention the fact that that what they're donig in my particular profession is totally hurting kids and undermining the professional judgement of teachers. The NDP? Sure they'll pay more attention to people, but at what cost? Where does the money come from? At least the Liberals recognize that we can't just keep spending what's not there. And honestly, so much of the NDP campaign has been about pointing out how bad they think the Liberals are, and not nearly as much about saying what they're actually gonna do. The Greens? Sure, sustainability is the best way to go, but how realistic are the changes that they're proposing? I don't think they're ready to form governement. BAH! Who to choose? Well, I marked my X, but honestly don't feel like it'll make any difference. Though I can say I'm the most informed on issues than I've ever been before. I've actually amazed myself that I've even written so mcuh on this topic here already! Polictics. Bah. A necessary evil, I suppose?
And finally...
...
...
Nope, that's it. Thought I had something else to say. I don't. I'm gonna go do my dishes now. :)
Anyway, on another topic, I just got back from voting. I went grudgingly, but I went. Really, who's the best option? The Liberals? I can't stand their bottom-line cut cut cut and ignore the effects on the people outlook (and cutting dollars and returning pennies doesn't count as increasing funding!). Not to mention the fact that that what they're donig in my particular profession is totally hurting kids and undermining the professional judgement of teachers. The NDP? Sure they'll pay more attention to people, but at what cost? Where does the money come from? At least the Liberals recognize that we can't just keep spending what's not there. And honestly, so much of the NDP campaign has been about pointing out how bad they think the Liberals are, and not nearly as much about saying what they're actually gonna do. The Greens? Sure, sustainability is the best way to go, but how realistic are the changes that they're proposing? I don't think they're ready to form governement. BAH! Who to choose? Well, I marked my X, but honestly don't feel like it'll make any difference. Though I can say I'm the most informed on issues than I've ever been before. I've actually amazed myself that I've even written so mcuh on this topic here already! Polictics. Bah. A necessary evil, I suppose?
And finally...
...
...
Nope, that's it. Thought I had something else to say. I don't. I'm gonna go do my dishes now. :)
Monday, May 16, 2005
Clear Messages
I really don't like this about me: I can't seem to escape the tendency to do a quick evaluation of any guy I meet to see if they might be someone I could be interested in. Why can't I put that selfish bent out of my head and just be content to have met another neat person? I feel like there's a disconnect between what I'd like to think I'm like with people - genuinely caring about who they are and what they care about simply because they're made in the image of God and are valuable human beings - and what goes on in my head: Either "Ok, this guy's not for me" or "Hmm, this guy's interesting!" And if I think the latter, I'm constantly evaluating in my head, running off a little checklist: cool, he likes ___, wow he's really ___, neat, we have ___ in common ... check check check. It's terrible! I feel like it's such a selfish way to think about people, and if left unchecked I could see how thought could easily turn into action: befriending someone only because there's "potential" there and then dropping him after discovering that nothing was going to happen. God forbid I ever do that. So how do I stop that thought process?
There have been a few times in the last few months where I've met someone and had lots of those little check boxes marked off. "Hmm! This guy could be interesting!" A mini crush has started to develop until, usually that same day, something comes up that makes me realize it's not right. I really think it's God quietly telling me "no" and whether I choose to listen to it or not, the answer is there. I have to think that I'll know if one day the answer is "yes."
There have been a few times in the last few months where I've met someone and had lots of those little check boxes marked off. "Hmm! This guy could be interesting!" A mini crush has started to develop until, usually that same day, something comes up that makes me realize it's not right. I really think it's God quietly telling me "no" and whether I choose to listen to it or not, the answer is there. I have to think that I'll know if one day the answer is "yes."
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Ready?
I've been thinking off and on over the past few years about what it means to be "ready" for marriage.
Back when I was dating B, I felt like I was ready. Then when we broke up (it was the friendliest breakup ever, and we are still very good friends - and I like his wife even more than him! :P) I realized some things about myself that made me conclude that maybe I wasn't ready. Mostly it was my selfishness. Not huge, gross, hoarding, all-for-me selfishness, but the kind we all suffer from: we're all so addicted to ourselves, and to really put another person first in a relationship is SO hard. I realized that I needed to be able to just let it go when he did things differently than me. I had slipped into not respecting him in some areas because he did things differently than I thought he should, or because of a few things he did I thought were, well, wussy. They weren't, his actions were just a reflection of a different outlook, but you see how that kind of thinking could get me in trouble in the "respecting B" department. And it's funny, now that I am in a similar situation as he was in when we were together, I do many of the things that I gave him such a hard time for, because, well, they just make sense (well, not the "wussy" things ;) !
Over the last four years, I've had lots of time to reflect and to grow as a person. I've done that to some extent - the past few years have been an amazing time of growth and change for me as I've come to learn so much about who I am, what I value, and of course, things I still need to work on. My close Christian friends have been an invaluable source of insight and challenge in that (oh yeah, and I'm a Christian, by the way! :D ). But it's funny, I feel so much less ready for marriage than I did four years ago. It's not a feeling that, "oh, I love my single life, I don't want to give that up!" but rather an awareness that I need to work on developing my character more before I would be ready to share my life in such an intimate way with another person. Maybe it's just because I know myself better now than I did before and am more aware of things that I need to work on. It is a good thing, I think, to have an awareness of both the of your personality that are strong and the aspects that need to be refined. But am I ready for the level of selflessness that marriage requires?
The other big pressing question (similar to the quandary I was left with in my "Needed: A Change in the Way I Think" post) is what does it even mean to be ready for marriage? Is a person ever ready? Maybe that's why it's so often referred to as "taking the plunge!" :D
If being ready means having an awareness that marriage is NOT a fairy tale, but rather that it is hard, takes lots and lots of work, requires the highest level of selflessness of any relationship short of being a parent, yet can still be so deeply satisfying and overall is a wonderful thing, then I suppose I'm ready. I have a romantic notion of marriage in many ways, yes, and think that's a good thing, but I'm also aware that getting married is not the easy route, will not solve all my problems, and is never ever EVER what I should rely on for my soul's satisfaction. If awareness is all that's needed, well then I'm there (though I'm sure my notions of marriage will continue to develop and change over my lifetime).
If, however, practical application of this awareness is required, then I guess I'm staying single for the rest of my life, cause I'll NEVER be able to fully apply all of that. I think I'm safe, though, cause I don't think anyone else is able to do that either, and there are lots of healthy, happy marriages in this world. Selflessness, working out issues, and even learning to love another person more completely are all things that can be learned on the go, thank goodness!
I want to learn those things and develop my character in that way. I just need to find the person I want to do that with!
Back when I was dating B, I felt like I was ready. Then when we broke up (it was the friendliest breakup ever, and we are still very good friends - and I like his wife even more than him! :P) I realized some things about myself that made me conclude that maybe I wasn't ready. Mostly it was my selfishness. Not huge, gross, hoarding, all-for-me selfishness, but the kind we all suffer from: we're all so addicted to ourselves, and to really put another person first in a relationship is SO hard. I realized that I needed to be able to just let it go when he did things differently than me. I had slipped into not respecting him in some areas because he did things differently than I thought he should, or because of a few things he did I thought were, well, wussy. They weren't, his actions were just a reflection of a different outlook, but you see how that kind of thinking could get me in trouble in the "respecting B" department. And it's funny, now that I am in a similar situation as he was in when we were together, I do many of the things that I gave him such a hard time for, because, well, they just make sense (well, not the "wussy" things ;) !
Over the last four years, I've had lots of time to reflect and to grow as a person. I've done that to some extent - the past few years have been an amazing time of growth and change for me as I've come to learn so much about who I am, what I value, and of course, things I still need to work on. My close Christian friends have been an invaluable source of insight and challenge in that (oh yeah, and I'm a Christian, by the way! :D ). But it's funny, I feel so much less ready for marriage than I did four years ago. It's not a feeling that, "oh, I love my single life, I don't want to give that up!" but rather an awareness that I need to work on developing my character more before I would be ready to share my life in such an intimate way with another person. Maybe it's just because I know myself better now than I did before and am more aware of things that I need to work on. It is a good thing, I think, to have an awareness of both the of your personality that are strong and the aspects that need to be refined. But am I ready for the level of selflessness that marriage requires?
The other big pressing question (similar to the quandary I was left with in my "Needed: A Change in the Way I Think" post) is what does it even mean to be ready for marriage? Is a person ever ready? Maybe that's why it's so often referred to as "taking the plunge!" :D
If being ready means having an awareness that marriage is NOT a fairy tale, but rather that it is hard, takes lots and lots of work, requires the highest level of selflessness of any relationship short of being a parent, yet can still be so deeply satisfying and overall is a wonderful thing, then I suppose I'm ready. I have a romantic notion of marriage in many ways, yes, and think that's a good thing, but I'm also aware that getting married is not the easy route, will not solve all my problems, and is never ever EVER what I should rely on for my soul's satisfaction. If awareness is all that's needed, well then I'm there (though I'm sure my notions of marriage will continue to develop and change over my lifetime).
If, however, practical application of this awareness is required, then I guess I'm staying single for the rest of my life, cause I'll NEVER be able to fully apply all of that. I think I'm safe, though, cause I don't think anyone else is able to do that either, and there are lots of healthy, happy marriages in this world. Selflessness, working out issues, and even learning to love another person more completely are all things that can be learned on the go, thank goodness!
I want to learn those things and develop my character in that way. I just need to find the person I want to do that with!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Brou Ha Ha!
My small group has recently changed dramatically. Basically, we finished the group as we knew it and began a new group - new format, new location, and lots of new people. We wanted to have a big final celebration that included everyone from our old group - a get together, a party... a BROU HA HA, if you will. So we picked a date far enough in advance that as many people could come as possible, and we made the plan: pot luck at my place, and then from there, who knows. Well, we had a night worthy of the name for sure! Here's the story, complete with pictures.
First of all, everyone brought tons of yummy food: pad thai, spanish rice, Malasian veggie curry and fried rice, chicken wings, Cantonese spring rolls, chicken pesto pizza... oh yeah, and salad (hardly any of that was eaten! ;) . Oh and we can't forget desert: strawberry rhubarb pie, ice cream, angel food cake, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. YUMMY!
First of all, everyone brought tons of yummy food: pad thai, spanish rice, Malasian veggie curry and fried rice, chicken wings, Cantonese spring rolls, chicken pesto pizza... oh yeah, and salad (hardly any of that was eaten! ;) . Oh and we can't forget desert: strawberry rhubarb pie, ice cream, angel food cake, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. YUMMY!
Laura says: It's OK - I've got my Lactiad!
Jason and Laura
Suz and Steve
Jade and I
Terry (pretending to be grumpy)
I even bought champagne, too, for our celebration, but I forgot about it! D'OH! I'll have to save it for next time!
Full to the eyeballs, we began contemplating what to do with our evening: do we go for a walk on the beach? OOH! Maybe we could build a fire on the beach (is that allowed? aw, who cares, let's do it!)! Or do we want to watch a movie? It took us nearly an hour to decide, but eventually we settled on heading down to the water. We'd park at the planetarium and go walk along the beach over towards Kits, or something like that. We were all in quite a silly mood, so whatever happened, we knew it would be fun!
When we got there, we realized that the observatory was open.
We (ok, *I*) asked some poor passerby to take this picture. They mocked us for being cheesy!
We decided to go look at the stars. Turned out we were gonna get some awesome views of both Jupiter and Saturn! I've never seen them through a telescope like that - AMAZING!
Jupiter - look off to the right and you can see two of it's moons! We could see 4 in the telescope, but it didn't come out in the picture. It was so cool, they were all in a row diagonally, two on one side, two on the other.
Saturn is farther away and so is more blurry,
but there's no mistaking the rings!
As we were leaving the observatory, the laser show from the Planetarium was just letting out. Hmm... Laser Show... we went in and sure enough there was another show - Pink Floyd "The Wall" - starting at 10:45, which was in 10 mins. Sweet. Tickets in hand up we went for the show. The door opened and we rushed in like little kids to get the good seats."Seats" is a relative term. We decided that we wanted to watch the show lying on the stage. There were some (sketchy) pllows laid out so we claimed our spots and giddily (is that word?)waited for the show to start.
Lying on the stage to watch the show
Jade and Terry - met at small group, and are now engaged!
We decided it would be fun to take pictures of our feet.
Like I said, we were pretty hyper! :)
Terry - the rock and roll junkie in our goup - was in HEAVEN!
It was so funny to watch him soak it all in!
It was SUCH a fun night! Good food, good friends, good times! Let's do it again soon, gang!Saturday, May 07, 2005
Needed: A change in the way I think
Time for a party. What to wear? I've never been a big party girl, and somehow missed the "style" lessons growing up (where oh where is what not to wear when you need them?). So of course, I have a major hissy fit when it comes time to find clothes to wear. All I have (ok, most of what I have) is cotton stuff, mostly from boring big box clothing stores. Sheesh! Every time I have to (want to) get dressed up for something, I head to the mall and wander aimlessly, only to be frustrated by nothing fitting right, especially tops. They're all SO low, or way too tight. Not good, especially on me. But also, I get sick of my style, and so go looking for something totally different. I always end up frustrated, though, cause after top after top after top after top that I'm way too big for, I come to the realization that I'm trying to be something that I'm not. I'm not the sparkly halter top (for example) kinda girl, I don't know why I keep trying to be.
I got thinking about that on the way home from the mall today, and came to a deeper realization that there's a flaw in my logic: I keep trying to be someone I'm not. Why? I would say that in general I'm happy with the who I am. So what's the deal? Obviously on some levels I think that who I am is not enough. The logical resolution to that problem is to learn to be happy with who I am. But who am I, anyway? And how do I just turn around and "be satisfied" with that?
Hmmm.... the "who am I" question. I suppose if I knew, it would be easier to be satisfied with that! Sigh.
On a side note, I *did* manage to find a cute article today. Though I don't have anything to go with it. I guess I do have something, but it's kinda marmy. I want to look a wee bit sexy tonight (not 'raunchy' sexy, but 'pretty' sexy). Guess that'll have to wait till next time. Or the next.
I got thinking about that on the way home from the mall today, and came to a deeper realization that there's a flaw in my logic: I keep trying to be someone I'm not. Why? I would say that in general I'm happy with the who I am. So what's the deal? Obviously on some levels I think that who I am is not enough. The logical resolution to that problem is to learn to be happy with who I am. But who am I, anyway? And how do I just turn around and "be satisfied" with that?
Hmmm.... the "who am I" question. I suppose if I knew, it would be easier to be satisfied with that! Sigh.
On a side note, I *did* manage to find a cute article today. Though I don't have anything to go with it. I guess I do have something, but it's kinda marmy. I want to look a wee bit sexy tonight (not 'raunchy' sexy, but 'pretty' sexy). Guess that'll have to wait till next time. Or the next.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
AAAARG!
Reader, beware. This is a rant.
HONESTLY! We can't eat ANYTHING anymore without it being bad for you. All of a sudden EVERYTHING is off limits. Eat more of this, eat less of that. This causes cancer, that will make your hair fall out. No fat, no carbs, good fat, good carbs, no meat, all meat, low sugar. You think you've got a good thing going on then you find out it's bad for another reason. And there's no place like a teacher's lounge/staffroom to drown in the vast array of nutritional philosophies. Tell me, does the plate of spinach with a can of tuna dumped on top really do it for you? Or the cottage cheese, chopped up pear and all bran every day for lunch? Or how about the raw foodist's tub of green sludge? Nevermind that, how about the protein powder sprinkled on top of some lentil mush? And the plates and plates and plates of salads.
Now how's this for a nice, healthy breakfast:
* Multigrain Cheerios (see? No unbleached flour there!)
* Skim milk on the cereal (low fat!)
* A nice big class of orange juice (getting some vitamin C, a serving of fruit)
Low fat, well balanced, right? Nooooooo. Every part of that breakfast has been shot down.
Multigrain Cheerios: (after a comment about it not being a bad choice for a breakfast cereal cause it's got whole/multi grains) "Yeah, it's ok till you look at all the SUGAR that's in it!"
Skim milk: "Oh, I don't drink milk anymore. They pump those cows so full of hormones. I'm not interested in getting cancer, thanks."
Orange juice: "That's a caloric BOMB!" [ie. lots of calories]
ha-RUMPH! Now leave me alone, I have a burger and fries to go eat. And maybe wash it down with a nice big milkshake.
Super-Size Me be damned! :P
HONESTLY! We can't eat ANYTHING anymore without it being bad for you. All of a sudden EVERYTHING is off limits. Eat more of this, eat less of that. This causes cancer, that will make your hair fall out. No fat, no carbs, good fat, good carbs, no meat, all meat, low sugar. You think you've got a good thing going on then you find out it's bad for another reason. And there's no place like a teacher's lounge/staffroom to drown in the vast array of nutritional philosophies. Tell me, does the plate of spinach with a can of tuna dumped on top really do it for you? Or the cottage cheese, chopped up pear and all bran every day for lunch? Or how about the raw foodist's tub of green sludge? Nevermind that, how about the protein powder sprinkled on top of some lentil mush? And the plates and plates and plates of salads.
Now how's this for a nice, healthy breakfast:
* Multigrain Cheerios (see? No unbleached flour there!)
* Skim milk on the cereal (low fat!)
* A nice big class of orange juice (getting some vitamin C, a serving of fruit)
Low fat, well balanced, right? Nooooooo. Every part of that breakfast has been shot down.
Multigrain Cheerios: (after a comment about it not being a bad choice for a breakfast cereal cause it's got whole/multi grains) "Yeah, it's ok till you look at all the SUGAR that's in it!"
Skim milk: "Oh, I don't drink milk anymore. They pump those cows so full of hormones. I'm not interested in getting cancer, thanks."
Orange juice: "That's a caloric BOMB!" [ie. lots of calories]
ha-RUMPH! Now leave me alone, I have a burger and fries to go eat. And maybe wash it down with a nice big milkshake.
Super-Size Me be damned! :P
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
I am single
This is not an invitation. This is a statement. I am single. It has been four years since I have gone out with anyone. Most days this doesn't bother me. I enjoy my life - I like my job, I'm involved in things in my community (too involved at times , it seems), and I have a great circle of friends. But sometimes, I look around me and it seems like it's a married person's world. I'm 26 years old. Most of my friends are married, and many of them are now having kids. I have lots of single friends, too. But sometimes I feel like I'm being left behind. The world seems to be moving on without me.
In my head I know that I can't just sit around and wait to be married to get my life underway. SO often I hear - either from other single people or from within myself the sentiment that "oh, I'll do this or that when I get married." I KNOW that life happens now, so I'm going to live it.
I also know that it's better to be single than to settle. I have mighty high standards, and I believe there is someone out there for me for whom I will not have to compromise those standards.
I love my life, I live it now, I hold on to hope. But also, I crave to share my life with someone. I want to know someone deeply and be known by them. Some days that longing is stronger than others.
Either way, I've been thinking a lot about singleness lately, and wanted a place to hash out my thoughts. So here we are.
Welcome to my blog! I would love to hear you comments! Don't be shy! There are lots of people like me out there - living the single life. What are your thoughts? Thanks for reading mine!
In my head I know that I can't just sit around and wait to be married to get my life underway. SO often I hear - either from other single people or from within myself the sentiment that "oh, I'll do this or that when I get married." I KNOW that life happens now, so I'm going to live it.
I also know that it's better to be single than to settle. I have mighty high standards, and I believe there is someone out there for me for whom I will not have to compromise those standards.
I love my life, I live it now, I hold on to hope. But also, I crave to share my life with someone. I want to know someone deeply and be known by them. Some days that longing is stronger than others.
Either way, I've been thinking a lot about singleness lately, and wanted a place to hash out my thoughts. So here we are.
Welcome to my blog! I would love to hear you comments! Don't be shy! There are lots of people like me out there - living the single life. What are your thoughts? Thanks for reading mine!
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Summer's a-comin'!
Maybe I was inspired by the FABULOUS weather we've been having the past two weeks. Maybe I was tired of looking at an empty patio. Maybe I was giving in to the closet shopaholic within me. Whatever the reason, I just got home from IKEA (man, I love that place!) with two chairs, a table, and a matching flower box for my little patio area oustide my front door. It's gonig to be my little garden retreat! Breakfast outside or an evening cup of tea with friends, the smell of the garden and freshly cut grass drifing through the air - ahhh - I'm relaxed already.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Oh the insanity!
We don't really know how insane BC politics really is.
Sure, we've got the Liberals and the NDP. And we all know about the Green Party. But did you know that in BC there are FOURTY-FIVE political parties? Of course, they don't all have candidates in every riding, but FOURTY-FIVE!!! So, if you're not too happy about the Liberals or NDP, here are a few more options for you to take a look at, taken from the political parties page on the Elections BC website.
The Annexation Party of British Columbia
They wanna annex BC to the US, making it the 51st state.
The Communist Party of BC
Cause we all know how well THAT one worked out...
The Free Canadian Party (formerly known as the Bald Eagle Party)
errmm..... the Bald Eagle party?!?!
The Idealists Party
solidly rooted in reality?
The People of British Columbia Millionare's Party
Do we get a million bucks to join??? Oh yeah, and it's home base? GOLD RIVER!
The Work Less Party
Their slogans? "Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams" and "Workers of the world.... RELAX!"
Hmm... maybe they're on to something with that one...
Party Of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Themselves And Be Their Own Politicians
Now that's far too long a name. They prefer to go by the acronym POCWHDTTFTABTOP. No joke.
And what BC election campaign would be complete without these two:
The Sex Party
Their goal? TO create a more sex-positive culture. They want to, and I quote, "make society better and have fun doing it." Oh dear.
And of course, The BC Marijuana Party
"Overgrowing the Government"
Hmmm... I wonder what some of their platform might include? Well, we all know the basics, but what about some specific things they'd do if voted in? How about this one:
The BCMP will also make marijuana the official flora of B.C. We like the dogwood as much as anyone, but there is no denying that cannabis is the Province’s most recognized flower.
(well what do you expect from a party who's stoned most of the time?)
Sidenote: If you're a member of, candidate for, or believer in any of these parties that I'm rolling my eyes at, mocking, or being appalled at, just carry on. All this is is tongue-in-cheek amazement at the multitide of political parties I had no idea existed! Go democracy! Any old crack pot (even me!) could make a party! Perhaps I'll call mine "The Party That Was Created For the Sole Purpose of Being Number Fourty Six." All our dollar amounts will have $0.46 added to them. We'll run the province by the number 46! 46's everywhere! Mwuahahahahahaaaaa!
Sure, we've got the Liberals and the NDP. And we all know about the Green Party. But did you know that in BC there are FOURTY-FIVE political parties? Of course, they don't all have candidates in every riding, but FOURTY-FIVE!!! So, if you're not too happy about the Liberals or NDP, here are a few more options for you to take a look at, taken from the political parties page on the Elections BC website.
The Annexation Party of British Columbia
They wanna annex BC to the US, making it the 51st state.
The Communist Party of BC
Cause we all know how well THAT one worked out...
The Free Canadian Party (formerly known as the Bald Eagle Party)
errmm..... the Bald Eagle party?!?!
The Idealists Party
solidly rooted in reality?
The People of British Columbia Millionare's Party
Do we get a million bucks to join??? Oh yeah, and it's home base? GOLD RIVER!
The Work Less Party
Their slogans? "Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams" and "Workers of the world.... RELAX!"
Hmm... maybe they're on to something with that one...
Party Of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Themselves And Be Their Own Politicians
Now that's far too long a name. They prefer to go by the acronym POCWHDTTFTABTOP. No joke.
And what BC election campaign would be complete without these two:
The Sex Party
Their goal? TO create a more sex-positive culture. They want to, and I quote, "make society better and have fun doing it." Oh dear.
And of course, The BC Marijuana Party
"Overgrowing the Government"
Hmmm... I wonder what some of their platform might include? Well, we all know the basics, but what about some specific things they'd do if voted in? How about this one:
The BCMP will also make marijuana the official flora of B.C. We like the dogwood as much as anyone, but there is no denying that cannabis is the Province’s most recognized flower.
(well what do you expect from a party who's stoned most of the time?)
Sidenote: If you're a member of, candidate for, or believer in any of these parties that I'm rolling my eyes at, mocking, or being appalled at, just carry on. All this is is tongue-in-cheek amazement at the multitide of political parties I had no idea existed! Go democracy! Any old crack pot (even me!) could make a party! Perhaps I'll call mine "The Party That Was Created For the Sole Purpose of Being Number Fourty Six." All our dollar amounts will have $0.46 added to them. We'll run the province by the number 46! 46's everywhere! Mwuahahahahahaaaaa!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
In a bloggin' mood
Perhaps it's cause I have a mondo load of stuff to get done here at home tonight, but I think I'm in a typing mood.
Lots has been rolling around in my head lately. The biggest one is that I'm wondering if I will need to move in the next while. I really don't want to. I love my place, and my landlords are AWESOME. I really feel like it's a friendly neighbourhood around here. Chris and Michelle upstairs, of course. Liz accross the way, and Meta and Reinhardt, Julie and Sean, Christine and her son Desmond, etc... I've been here for over two and a half years. I can't believe it! It's really strange, cause this place feels more like home now than my parent's house. I'm settled here, I'm happy here.
Except.
Well, money is one thing. I live on my own, and so it's expensive. I keep thinking there's so many other things I could do with an extra 3 or 400 dollars a month. (Like buy a new car! My parents actually PHONED me yesterday cause they saw a car like mine dead on the side of the highway and so they called me to see if it was mine! You know it's bad when..... But I digress...)
The money is kind of a secondary issue, though. The main issue that would lead to me moving is something that I've been stewing on for a while.
I think I need to live with another person.
I'm getting far too used to doing things my own way. Honestly, I worry about what I'll be like when I get married (one day, hopefully sooner than later!). I'm so used to doing my own thing, not having to compomise with anyone, not having to work things out. I don't think it's healthy. I worry that I'm becoming too selfish.
But every time I think about moving, I wonder who I'd live with. I think of what a pain it will be to move this time. This is no college-style put-all-my-stuff-in-mom-and-dad's-van. It would be a pain. And so I'm torn. Stay here or look for another place? What to do, what to do?
Lots has been rolling around in my head lately. The biggest one is that I'm wondering if I will need to move in the next while. I really don't want to. I love my place, and my landlords are AWESOME. I really feel like it's a friendly neighbourhood around here. Chris and Michelle upstairs, of course. Liz accross the way, and Meta and Reinhardt, Julie and Sean, Christine and her son Desmond, etc... I've been here for over two and a half years. I can't believe it! It's really strange, cause this place feels more like home now than my parent's house. I'm settled here, I'm happy here.
Except.
Well, money is one thing. I live on my own, and so it's expensive. I keep thinking there's so many other things I could do with an extra 3 or 400 dollars a month. (Like buy a new car! My parents actually PHONED me yesterday cause they saw a car like mine dead on the side of the highway and so they called me to see if it was mine! You know it's bad when..... But I digress...)
The money is kind of a secondary issue, though. The main issue that would lead to me moving is something that I've been stewing on for a while.
I think I need to live with another person.
I'm getting far too used to doing things my own way. Honestly, I worry about what I'll be like when I get married (one day, hopefully sooner than later!). I'm so used to doing my own thing, not having to compomise with anyone, not having to work things out. I don't think it's healthy. I worry that I'm becoming too selfish.
But every time I think about moving, I wonder who I'd live with. I think of what a pain it will be to move this time. This is no college-style put-all-my-stuff-in-mom-and-dad's-van. It would be a pain. And so I'm torn. Stay here or look for another place? What to do, what to do?
Free Beer!
I was driving down to Kits this morning when this caught my eye:
Sodas Diner at 29th and Dunbar has got a great special on right now - they're offering FREE BEER! This special is only valid on certain days of the week, though....
Sodas Diner at 29th and Dunbar has got a great special on right now - they're offering FREE BEER! This special is only valid on certain days of the week, though....
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Liz is the bestest!
Just so all you out there know, Liz is the bestest. Last Wednesday she drove me around from gas station to gas station trying to find the goop to fix my tire enough to limp to the tire shop, and THEN she let me hang at her place after school so I didn't have to sit around at school by myself my the cold classroom before going to Bible Study. She even gave me yummy chips, an even yummier vanilla cream soda, and washed my lasagna bowl for me. WOW!
(there Liz, is that good?)
(there Liz, is that good?)
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Just another day in the life...
So. Monday I had a flat tire, and didn't have time to fix it for a few days, so I was taking the bus to work. On Wednesday, I decided I would just stay at school till it was time to go to Bible Study, instead of spending the entire evening bussing all over the city. I had a backpack full of stuff (marking, marks books, etc) that I was packing around with me, cause I didn't have my car. Now Wednesday I had started to feel gross again - my sore throat/cold/cough combo coming back to haunt me again. By the beginning of Bible Study I had decided that I was feeling icky enough that I needed to stay home the next day. There was only one snag. I had the quizzes that I was going to be giving the kids with me, and not at school, and some of the quiz was hand-written, so I couldn't email it. I was going to have to get up early, bus to school for 7am or so, do my photocopying and lay everything out for my sub, and then come home. That was not a particularily attractive option, especially since I had been sleeping really poorly the last week - Tues night I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep. But, it had to be done.
"Why don't you just fax in your day plan and the quizzes?" said my friend Laura, whose house we have Bible Study at. I told her I didn't have a fax machine, so she offered to lend me hers. Woohoo! I would actually get to sleep on Thursday!
So, Bible Study ended, and off I went with two other friends for the bus - purse, giant backpack, and basket with fax machine in hand. Me and my load got off one bus and transferred to another. About two minutes into the trip on the second bus, a horrific realization dawned on me...
I HAD LEFT MY PURSE ON THE OTHER BUS!!!
Here it was, nearly 11:30 at night, not the best part of town (not the worst, but not the best), and my purse was quickly headed far far away from me. I ran up to the driver and asked what a person would do if they had left a purse on the bus. He told me he'd call dispatch and have them radio out to all the #99 drivers and have them check. I gave him my number and told him to have them call me at any time of the day or night if they found anything.
I was horrified. I had EVERYTHING in there. My house keys, car keys, work keys. My credit cards, my checkbook, all my ID. My cell phone. My PALM PILOT. I was beginning to feel sick. I could replace the cards, but the phone? Maybe. But never the Palm. It was a grad gift, and I just couldn't afford to replace it. Yes, life was going to carry on, but how could I have been so irresponsible???
I raced home, thankful that I keep a spare key hidden. Sick, waaay overtired, and now this. I quickly began calling to cancel all my cards and my phone. "What am I gonna DO?" I messaged a few friends who were up late and asked them to pray that someone honest finds my purse. I began to bawl. (keep in mind my super-duper overtiredness here :P). And I still had to write out the detailed plan for my sub the next day, too.
As I was dealing with business, it dawned on me more and more how much was actually in there. Birth Certificate. SIN card. Keys, with my address in my palm. I would have to have my locks changed. My parent's keys, and their address still on my driver's licence. Would they have to change their locks, too? Thoughts of identity theft went through my head, and of all the money I'd have to pay to replace all my cards. How would I get new ID if I didn't have any ID to prove who I was? And on and on it went. I kept PLEADING with God that someone honest found my bag.
Having cancelled everything I needed to cancel for the time being, I started to write out my sub plan. I didn't have it finished and faxed off untill 3:30 am. I asked God to give me peace about it, and felt something, but I didn't know what. Wishful thinking? I didn't want to get my hopes up. I fell into bed, only to have worry and a massive coughing fit wake me up at 6:30 again.
What am I gonna do? What am I gonna DO? At about 7:30, I called my parents to tell them what happened, mostly just to warn them that their address and house keys were floating around out there somewhere. My dad was wonderful. He even offered to drive over and give me some cash to get me by till I got my new cards (as I now no longer had any access to my money. It's amazing what a bizzarre feeling that was).
I thought I would try one last resort. I called transit info and told them what had happened, and asked for the number of the lost propery office. The lady suggested that I try calling the depot first, as any lost property goes there first. So I called, and asked weakly if there had been a purse turned in last night. I gave a quick description, and the lady went to check. It seemed like forever before she came back to the phone.
"Does it have an umbrella in it?"
"Uhhh..... maybe." Of all the things in there, the umbrella was not what I was thinking about!
"What about a book... by Gary Paulsen?"
"HATCHET!!! Yes!"
She looked for the title. "Yep, Hatchet."
"That's it!! That's my purse! Is there a fat brown wallet in there?"
(rummaging) "Yes, it appears so."
"And a cell phone?" I asked, a little more cautiously.
"Yes."
OK. Go for the gusto, I thought. "What about a Palm Pilot... It's in a black leather case?"
"Yeah, it's silver coloured?"
I couldn't believe it. "YEAH!!! Oh my goodness, everything's there!!! How do I come and pick it up?"
The lady gave me directions, and as soon as I had hear from my TOC, I was ready to go. But how to pay for the bus? All I was able to dig up was $0.80. I tried knocking on my landlord's door to sheepishly ask to borrow a toonie, but no answer. So off I went, hoping I had a sympathetic bus driver. Thankfully, I did, and he let me on (maybe it was cause I looked so pathetic with my spare key and 80 cents made up of nickels and dimes! :P)
Anyway, I got to the depot, and signed for my bag! Yahooooo!!! A quick check told me everything was, in fact, there.
THANK YOU GOD!!! (I really should have trusted that feeling I had when I asked God for peace!)
I spent the rest of my day getting a new bank card, getting my tire fixed (which they did for FREE!), having lunch with my dad, and then having a looooong nap.
What can I say, I'm so glad that there are honest people out there, and that I have a God who's looking out for me, even when I do dumb things!
"Why don't you just fax in your day plan and the quizzes?" said my friend Laura, whose house we have Bible Study at. I told her I didn't have a fax machine, so she offered to lend me hers. Woohoo! I would actually get to sleep on Thursday!
So, Bible Study ended, and off I went with two other friends for the bus - purse, giant backpack, and basket with fax machine in hand. Me and my load got off one bus and transferred to another. About two minutes into the trip on the second bus, a horrific realization dawned on me...
I HAD LEFT MY PURSE ON THE OTHER BUS!!!
Here it was, nearly 11:30 at night, not the best part of town (not the worst, but not the best), and my purse was quickly headed far far away from me. I ran up to the driver and asked what a person would do if they had left a purse on the bus. He told me he'd call dispatch and have them radio out to all the #99 drivers and have them check. I gave him my number and told him to have them call me at any time of the day or night if they found anything.
I was horrified. I had EVERYTHING in there. My house keys, car keys, work keys. My credit cards, my checkbook, all my ID. My cell phone. My PALM PILOT. I was beginning to feel sick. I could replace the cards, but the phone? Maybe. But never the Palm. It was a grad gift, and I just couldn't afford to replace it. Yes, life was going to carry on, but how could I have been so irresponsible???
I raced home, thankful that I keep a spare key hidden. Sick, waaay overtired, and now this. I quickly began calling to cancel all my cards and my phone. "What am I gonna DO?" I messaged a few friends who were up late and asked them to pray that someone honest finds my purse. I began to bawl. (keep in mind my super-duper overtiredness here :P). And I still had to write out the detailed plan for my sub the next day, too.
As I was dealing with business, it dawned on me more and more how much was actually in there. Birth Certificate. SIN card. Keys, with my address in my palm. I would have to have my locks changed. My parent's keys, and their address still on my driver's licence. Would they have to change their locks, too? Thoughts of identity theft went through my head, and of all the money I'd have to pay to replace all my cards. How would I get new ID if I didn't have any ID to prove who I was? And on and on it went. I kept PLEADING with God that someone honest found my bag.
Having cancelled everything I needed to cancel for the time being, I started to write out my sub plan. I didn't have it finished and faxed off untill 3:30 am. I asked God to give me peace about it, and felt something, but I didn't know what. Wishful thinking? I didn't want to get my hopes up. I fell into bed, only to have worry and a massive coughing fit wake me up at 6:30 again.
What am I gonna do? What am I gonna DO? At about 7:30, I called my parents to tell them what happened, mostly just to warn them that their address and house keys were floating around out there somewhere. My dad was wonderful. He even offered to drive over and give me some cash to get me by till I got my new cards (as I now no longer had any access to my money. It's amazing what a bizzarre feeling that was).
I thought I would try one last resort. I called transit info and told them what had happened, and asked for the number of the lost propery office. The lady suggested that I try calling the depot first, as any lost property goes there first. So I called, and asked weakly if there had been a purse turned in last night. I gave a quick description, and the lady went to check. It seemed like forever before she came back to the phone.
"Does it have an umbrella in it?"
"Uhhh..... maybe." Of all the things in there, the umbrella was not what I was thinking about!
"What about a book... by Gary Paulsen?"
"HATCHET!!! Yes!"
She looked for the title. "Yep, Hatchet."
"That's it!! That's my purse! Is there a fat brown wallet in there?"
(rummaging) "Yes, it appears so."
"And a cell phone?" I asked, a little more cautiously.
"Yes."
OK. Go for the gusto, I thought. "What about a Palm Pilot... It's in a black leather case?"
"Yeah, it's silver coloured?"
I couldn't believe it. "YEAH!!! Oh my goodness, everything's there!!! How do I come and pick it up?"
The lady gave me directions, and as soon as I had hear from my TOC, I was ready to go. But how to pay for the bus? All I was able to dig up was $0.80. I tried knocking on my landlord's door to sheepishly ask to borrow a toonie, but no answer. So off I went, hoping I had a sympathetic bus driver. Thankfully, I did, and he let me on (maybe it was cause I looked so pathetic with my spare key and 80 cents made up of nickels and dimes! :P)
Anyway, I got to the depot, and signed for my bag! Yahooooo!!! A quick check told me everything was, in fact, there.
THANK YOU GOD!!! (I really should have trusted that feeling I had when I asked God for peace!)
I spent the rest of my day getting a new bank card, getting my tire fixed (which they did for FREE!), having lunch with my dad, and then having a looooong nap.
What can I say, I'm so glad that there are honest people out there, and that I have a God who's looking out for me, even when I do dumb things!
Reunited!
Monday, April 11, 2005
BIttersweet thoughts
Bitter:
I think I"m gonna start leaving my car unlocked from now on. And I'll post instructions on how to hotwire it. AND how to actually get it into drive. Then maybe someone will steal it, total it, and I'll get some money for that hunk'o'junk and start over. The beastmobile has yet another issue, which means I'll have to take the bus to work tomorrow. And then worry about finding hte time to get it fixed. It's a flat tire, no biggie, really, but come ON. I wouldn't be so frustrated if the flat tire wasn't preceded by a bazillion other things. Oh well, it could be a lot worse.
Sweet:
My nextdoor neighbour Julie knocked on my door tonight at 11:30, cause her husband got home from grocery shopping and noticed I had a flat. She wanted to let me know soI wouldn't be surprised in the morning when I went out to my car. How sweet is that? And I'm especially grateful for that, seeing as I've been getting out the door really late these days and only arriving at school maybe 5 mins before the bell. I'd be late for sure if that happened tomorrow. I am really fortunate to live where I do. My landlords are awesome (I don't even really like to refer to them as landlords - they're friends). Who has landlords who bring you down homemade soup and homemade mint tea when you're home sick? And Shawn and Julie next door are super nice, too. There are 3 or 4 other households on my block who are really friendly, too. It's funny, I'm right here in the middle of the city, and it still has a neighbourhood feel to it. Sweet.
Thoughts:
Even as I write this, I'm reminded about the fact that it's not about our stuff, but about people. It's so easy to get caught up in stuff - what I have, or what I have to DO - and let people get pushed aside. I want to keep making relationship-building a priority. After all, Jesus didn't get all worked up about the annoyances of daily life (like a clunkermobile), he came for PEOPLE. I want to be better at being like that.
I think I"m gonna start leaving my car unlocked from now on. And I'll post instructions on how to hotwire it. AND how to actually get it into drive. Then maybe someone will steal it, total it, and I'll get some money for that hunk'o'junk and start over. The beastmobile has yet another issue, which means I'll have to take the bus to work tomorrow. And then worry about finding hte time to get it fixed. It's a flat tire, no biggie, really, but come ON. I wouldn't be so frustrated if the flat tire wasn't preceded by a bazillion other things. Oh well, it could be a lot worse.
Sweet:
My nextdoor neighbour Julie knocked on my door tonight at 11:30, cause her husband got home from grocery shopping and noticed I had a flat. She wanted to let me know soI wouldn't be surprised in the morning when I went out to my car. How sweet is that? And I'm especially grateful for that, seeing as I've been getting out the door really late these days and only arriving at school maybe 5 mins before the bell. I'd be late for sure if that happened tomorrow. I am really fortunate to live where I do. My landlords are awesome (I don't even really like to refer to them as landlords - they're friends). Who has landlords who bring you down homemade soup and homemade mint tea when you're home sick? And Shawn and Julie next door are super nice, too. There are 3 or 4 other households on my block who are really friendly, too. It's funny, I'm right here in the middle of the city, and it still has a neighbourhood feel to it. Sweet.
Thoughts:
Even as I write this, I'm reminded about the fact that it's not about our stuff, but about people. It's so easy to get caught up in stuff - what I have, or what I have to DO - and let people get pushed aside. I want to keep making relationship-building a priority. After all, Jesus didn't get all worked up about the annoyances of daily life (like a clunkermobile), he came for PEOPLE. I want to be better at being like that.
This is why I love the West Coast...
Some friends and I went on a hike on Saturday to Norvan Falls. It was awesome!
^ There used to be a mill along the trail. All along there are old artifacts - buckets, shovel heads, old machinery, but the forest is slowly taking over again. In one place there was the frame of an old cart or trolley. Two trees had grown up through it, and had begun growing around the old metal frame. I wish I had taken a picture of it!
^ Signs of Spring
^ The falls were pretty spectacular. Some of us crossed the swollen creek (jumping from slippery rock to slippery rock - I'm amazed nobody fell in!) to get a better view - you couldn't see the bottom of the falls from the trail side.
^ It's scenes like this that jsut put me in awe of where I live. Wow. Wow wow wow.
^ There used to be a mill along the trail. All along there are old artifacts - buckets, shovel heads, old machinery, but the forest is slowly taking over again. In one place there was the frame of an old cart or trolley. Two trees had grown up through it, and had begun growing around the old metal frame. I wish I had taken a picture of it!
^ Signs of Spring
^ The falls were pretty spectacular. Some of us crossed the swollen creek (jumping from slippery rock to slippery rock - I'm amazed nobody fell in!) to get a better view - you couldn't see the bottom of the falls from the trail side.
^ It's scenes like this that jsut put me in awe of where I live. Wow. Wow wow wow.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Update
Yesterday I talked to the friend I was talking about in my "So Close" post, because I wanted to invite her to the Alpha Course my church is starting up next week. There have been SO many times I've been in church and have jsut thought, "ARG! If only she was here!" I want so badly for her to have the opportunity to keep seeking answers to the questions she's asking. I hope that someday soon she is going to be a part of God's family, and I can't wait!!!
Aaanyway... I called to invite her to Alpha. I told her what it was, and she was like, "YES! I want to go to that!" Unfortunately, she can't go to this course, but she told me to tell her as soon as there's another one starting up! (It's funny, even knowing what I know about where she's at, it STILL took me a while to get up the nerve to ask her. Sheesh!) As soon as what she's busy with now is done, we're SO there! :D WOOHOO!
Aaanyway... I called to invite her to Alpha. I told her what it was, and she was like, "YES! I want to go to that!" Unfortunately, she can't go to this course, but she told me to tell her as soon as there's another one starting up! (It's funny, even knowing what I know about where she's at, it STILL took me a while to get up the nerve to ask her. Sheesh!) As soon as what she's busy with now is done, we're SO there! :D WOOHOO!
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
YAY for God!!!
So I got more good news today. Man, I am once again SOOO blown away by God's provision for me. I simply cannot be worried about money/my job after the way he's shown Himself faithful time and time again. So what's this have to do with today, you ask?
Well, for the past 3 or 4 years, the school board has been laying off teachers below a certain level of seniority at the end of the school year. Mostly it's just to reshuffle people, and to make sure that people with highest seniority get the jobs, I suppose, but still it sucks for newer teachers (like me!) cause we get laid off, and often can't stay at the same school. It's hard when teachers have to move around all the time to build up consistency, get to know the kids/staff, etc. Now right from the start God has had his hand in my job. I got hired my first September of teaching, and even though I got laid off last year, I ended up back at the same school this year, AND with a full time assignment! :D
So of course, this is the time of year when the budget comes out, and everybody starts wondering about layoffs again. I still don't have enough seniority to 'escape' layoffs if they should happen. Well, the board came out with it's preliminary budget today, and guess what.... NO LAYOFFS!!! That means that I get to keep my job next year! I'm SOOOO happy about that! I'm finally starting to get to know all the kids (all 600 of them!) and I'm starting to feel like I actually have somewhat of a handle on what I'm doing. Plus, I LOVE my school. I get to stay!!! My assignment will look a little different, but most likely I'll even be able to stay at full time.
I just marvel at this, cause it's SO hard to get a contract these days it seems. Here I am, it's my second year of teaching, and I've been at the same school for both years, now I get to stay! PLUS, even if there are layoffs next year, I might have enough seniority to not be laid off. (I can't help but feel a little guilty about it, though, cause there are lots of teachers out there who have been trying for so long to get contracts.) I'm really grateful for what I've got!
Thanks God! Your timing and your mercy continue to amaze me! :D
Well, for the past 3 or 4 years, the school board has been laying off teachers below a certain level of seniority at the end of the school year. Mostly it's just to reshuffle people, and to make sure that people with highest seniority get the jobs, I suppose, but still it sucks for newer teachers (like me!) cause we get laid off, and often can't stay at the same school. It's hard when teachers have to move around all the time to build up consistency, get to know the kids/staff, etc. Now right from the start God has had his hand in my job. I got hired my first September of teaching, and even though I got laid off last year, I ended up back at the same school this year, AND with a full time assignment! :D
So of course, this is the time of year when the budget comes out, and everybody starts wondering about layoffs again. I still don't have enough seniority to 'escape' layoffs if they should happen. Well, the board came out with it's preliminary budget today, and guess what.... NO LAYOFFS!!! That means that I get to keep my job next year! I'm SOOOO happy about that! I'm finally starting to get to know all the kids (all 600 of them!) and I'm starting to feel like I actually have somewhat of a handle on what I'm doing. Plus, I LOVE my school. I get to stay!!! My assignment will look a little different, but most likely I'll even be able to stay at full time.
I just marvel at this, cause it's SO hard to get a contract these days it seems. Here I am, it's my second year of teaching, and I've been at the same school for both years, now I get to stay! PLUS, even if there are layoffs next year, I might have enough seniority to not be laid off. (I can't help but feel a little guilty about it, though, cause there are lots of teachers out there who have been trying for so long to get contracts.) I'm really grateful for what I've got!
Thanks God! Your timing and your mercy continue to amaze me! :D
Monday, April 04, 2005
So what's the point...
... of this blog? I've been thinking lately that I don't really have a 'theme' or a general purpose for what I post here.
Some write political commentaries. YAWN (sorry if you're a political commentator, it's not my thing! :p)
Some write deep, introspective, journals of their deepest doubts and fears and dreams. I don't think I want to share those kind of things about myself with the world in general.
Some write to keep friends up to date on all their exotic adventures. Maybe one day.... ;)
Me? I just write random stuff. Post a picture. Share a joke. Tell a story. Maybe people read it, maybe not. But here ya go. It's me! Random snipits into my life - what I'm thinking and who I am. Not trying to impress anyone here! I guess that's a purpose in and of itself. (maye it's just a place for me to yabber on... hee hee hee!) What can I say, sometimes I feel like being deep, sometimes I don't! :P
Some write political commentaries. YAWN (sorry if you're a political commentator, it's not my thing! :p)
Some write deep, introspective, journals of their deepest doubts and fears and dreams. I don't think I want to share those kind of things about myself with the world in general.
Some write to keep friends up to date on all their exotic adventures. Maybe one day.... ;)
Me? I just write random stuff. Post a picture. Share a joke. Tell a story. Maybe people read it, maybe not. But here ya go. It's me! Random snipits into my life - what I'm thinking and who I am. Not trying to impress anyone here! I guess that's a purpose in and of itself. (maye it's just a place for me to yabber on... hee hee hee!) What can I say, sometimes I feel like being deep, sometimes I don't! :P
Friday, April 01, 2005
Fill in the blank
I like big ____ and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny......
Well, you may be thinking "butts" and you'd be right... unless of course, you're listening to this, er... "holier" remix (click the title below to hear)...
Beware - it's sooo cheesy, yet so funny at the same time...
Well, you may be thinking "butts" and you'd be right... unless of course, you're listening to this, er... "holier" remix (click the title below to hear)...
Beware - it's sooo cheesy, yet so funny at the same time...
Thanks to the folks over at 'Church Friends' for the link :p
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Clunker-mobiles
I have to say, as annoying as my car is, I'm pretty convinced that it saved me from a fairly large pain in the butt yesterday morning.
Some background: my sweet ride is an 89 olds cutlas that has more issues than I can count - the biggest one being the quirky and tempermental transmission. You see, if the car has been parked for 2-3 hours or more, it doesn't like to go into drive right away. And I'm not talking a little 2-3 second delay. After it's been parked overnight is especially bad. The longest I've waited for it was 17 minutes. SEVENTEEN MINUTES!!! And could I just leave it in neutral to warm up for those 17 mins while I go do something else? Nooooo! The car has to be in drive, preferably with my foot on the brake, so it doesn't all of a sudden start moving.
But you see, I've found a way the get around this delay to some extent. With my foot on the brake, I give the engine 4 or 5 good revs, and then it usually goes into gear. By "goes" I mean slams in with a big, lurching ka-CHUNK It's like my very own playland ride every morning. I should feel so priveldged. (and remember, this is only ONE of it's issues!) When I took it to the mechanic to get soemthing minor looked at (he tells me it's not worth fixing the tranny, it'd be too expensive for what the car's worth. "It always goes into gear eventually?" - yes - "And it never falls out of gear?" - no - "Aw, then don't worry about it.") I of course had to tell him the newest way to get it in gear. He jsut laughed at me! And laughed. And laughed. And laughed. And... well, you get the idea.
SOOO.... as annoying as this is, I have decided that my car has "character" and have decided to embrace the quirkiness of it all. (It's either that or go stark raving mad! :p ) Those of you know know me - hush! ;)
So what does all this have to do with yesterday morning, you ask? Well, when I went out to my car to go to work, my door was ajar. Upon further inspection, I saw that it had been broken into - papers oin the floor, glove box open, ashtray pulled out. Thankfully the only thing I keep in my car is a quarter for a grocery cart! But then, I discovered that teh panel for the fuse box was on the floor of the passener side. Hmm.... I'm pretty convinced that they hotwired my car and tried to steal it.
*TRIED*
Picture it: The car's going, the thug pops it into drive... and waits... and waits... and waits... and waits...
I have to say, I've got myself a pretty good anti-theft device! hahahahahaha!
Hip hip hooray for clunker-mobiles!
Monday, March 28, 2005
Iowa Pictures
Well, I got home from my visit with Rachelle and Nathan yesterday. It was a great week! I've really missed hanging out with Rachelle. She's the bestest! And of course, I was thrilled to meet their son, Mattias. He turned 3 months old while I was there. He's SUCH a cutie pie! I took a ridiculous number of pictures - I've posted a very select few (don't want to bore you!) here.
Here's Mattias...
Here's Mattias...
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Happy Easter!
He has risen
He has risen indeed!
There is therefore now no conemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
Praise be to God!
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death is your sting?
...Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Happy Easter!
*** I didn't take these pictures - I found them on the web ***
Monday, March 21, 2005
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Fun in Chapters
Well, we were the LAST people out of Chapters last night. I don't think they were impressed with us. BUT, before we left, I managed to take a photo of some good bookstore irony. First of all, I have to ask, why do bookstore staff feel the need to cover people's faces with sale stickers? I mean, come on! This one, however, had an added comic element...
(Don't get it? Roll your mouse over the picture.)
(Don't get it? Roll your mouse over the picture.)
Turning over a new leaf
So it's ben a while since I've blogged... I've just kind of been in survival mode. The past few weeks have been kinda rough. I've come to the proverbial brick wall with all the stuff I'm involved in, and have finally made some changes. Coming to the brick wall during the two weeks of report card insanity probably didn't help my stress level much! When it rains it pours, I guess.
I suppose you could say this is the season of paring down. I've taken a large step back from leadership in my small group, and at the beginning of May will be done completely. I'm not taking on any more responsibilities at church, and I'm going to look for ways to make the things I *am* involved on less reliant on me alone.
I'm also paring down and cleaning up at home. I have gotten rid of so much stuff it's unbeleiveable! I have SO much more stuff now than when I first moved in here (as a university student - with my collapsable couch from Superstore and purple inflatable couch from my aunt!) and so as I accumulated stuff over the few years I've been here, I didn't have a system in place for keeping it all together and ORGANIZED. It was driving me crazy, and actually having an effect on my mood and the way I lived my life (don't get me wrong, it was nothing like on those organizing shows, but still!). So... purge purge purge! Clothes, dishes, knick nacks, paper galore... it's all being ruthlessly sorted through. I have to say, it feels sooo much better, and I'm AMAZED at how much space I actually have! Yay!
Now, the sun is out, spring is here, my life feels more ordered and so does my house, I'm going on holidays to see my best friends and their new baby in Iowa next week, and I'm finally starting to feel like me again. It's been a long time. It feels good!
I suppose you could say this is the season of paring down. I've taken a large step back from leadership in my small group, and at the beginning of May will be done completely. I'm not taking on any more responsibilities at church, and I'm going to look for ways to make the things I *am* involved on less reliant on me alone.
I'm also paring down and cleaning up at home. I have gotten rid of so much stuff it's unbeleiveable! I have SO much more stuff now than when I first moved in here (as a university student - with my collapsable couch from Superstore and purple inflatable couch from my aunt!) and so as I accumulated stuff over the few years I've been here, I didn't have a system in place for keeping it all together and ORGANIZED. It was driving me crazy, and actually having an effect on my mood and the way I lived my life (don't get me wrong, it was nothing like on those organizing shows, but still!). So... purge purge purge! Clothes, dishes, knick nacks, paper galore... it's all being ruthlessly sorted through. I have to say, it feels sooo much better, and I'm AMAZED at how much space I actually have! Yay!
Now, the sun is out, spring is here, my life feels more ordered and so does my house, I'm going on holidays to see my best friends and their new baby in Iowa next week, and I'm finally starting to feel like me again. It's been a long time. It feels good!
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
So close!
It is SOOO exciting to see God working in people's hearts! I have a friend who I don't see very often (maybe even once a year, which is ridiculous, because she onle lives a few blocks away), but every time we hang out we end up talking about Christianity. We used to talk more, cause we were in school together, and it was never me who brought up the conversation! I could really tell that she was searching back then, too, but she was more stand-offish. Last year we got together for coffee, and had a really cool conversation, and she was a little more open, but then we hung out last night.
WOW.
Almost immediately she was telling me about where she was feeling she was at spiritually. She went on to tell me a lot about the stuff she's been wrestling with lately, and it was SO amazing to hear how God has been speaking to her, even though she may not realize it yet. As we talked, I just told her some of the stuff in my life lately, cause I've been asking some very similar questions. We talked a bit about asking God to speak to us, which is great, becasue God wanted to make himself known - I really beleive that when someone askes for God to make himslef known, he always answers! I was telling her kind of the way I see God talking to me a lot of times is through hearing the same message from all kinds of different sources, and finally I just go, "Ok, ok, God, I got it!" God got her attention in that somehow, because she stopped me and told me that that had given her goosebumps. She told me that she knew I had called her last week for more than jsut to say happy birthday (that's all *I* had planned, obviously God had other plans!). Just the way she was descibing how she felt right then, about there being a bigger purpose for us being friends, and for hanging out that night, etc etc, I was able to tell her, "What you're feeling rght now, that's GOD!" She's the one who can see some higher purpose at work, and all I had to do was name it for her! It made me think of when Paul said to the men of Athens, "Now what you worship as something unknown I'm going to proclaim to you." (Acts 17:23) I told her, too, how we think we're the ones who go out seeking God, but how really he's been seeking us for far longer.
It was SUCH an amazing conversation! In my enthusiasm, I hope I'm not giving too many personal details. I've tried to keep it very general. But it's just SO COOL, cause I can see so clearly how God is getting her attention, how he's wooing her and drawing her to himself. And she is beginning to see it, too. I've heard it said that so many stories of people coming to Christ are not at all like Paul's "road to Damascus" conversion: the bright light, the sudden 180 degree turn around - but more like the road to Emmaus conversion (Luke 24:13-35) : people are walking along in their life, and sense the presence of something else, someone else there with them, but they don't know what it is until one day the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see clearly. "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him..."
God is opening my friends eyes. What she has been looking for for so long, what she has been sensing is there for so long is finally becoming clear to her. And I am SOO honoured and amazed that God is using ME - despite all my crap! - to help do that. I'm praying so hard that she continues to respond, and that her search is guarded from the all the resistance and opposition that could be thrown in her way.
But mostly I'm praying that the Holy Spirit continues to give her understanding and opens her eyes to see Jesus, and see that because of his GREAT love for her, he's been seeking her all along.
WOW.
Almost immediately she was telling me about where she was feeling she was at spiritually. She went on to tell me a lot about the stuff she's been wrestling with lately, and it was SO amazing to hear how God has been speaking to her, even though she may not realize it yet. As we talked, I just told her some of the stuff in my life lately, cause I've been asking some very similar questions. We talked a bit about asking God to speak to us, which is great, becasue God wanted to make himself known - I really beleive that when someone askes for God to make himslef known, he always answers! I was telling her kind of the way I see God talking to me a lot of times is through hearing the same message from all kinds of different sources, and finally I just go, "Ok, ok, God, I got it!" God got her attention in that somehow, because she stopped me and told me that that had given her goosebumps. She told me that she knew I had called her last week for more than jsut to say happy birthday (that's all *I* had planned, obviously God had other plans!). Just the way she was descibing how she felt right then, about there being a bigger purpose for us being friends, and for hanging out that night, etc etc, I was able to tell her, "What you're feeling rght now, that's GOD!" She's the one who can see some higher purpose at work, and all I had to do was name it for her! It made me think of when Paul said to the men of Athens, "Now what you worship as something unknown I'm going to proclaim to you." (Acts 17:23) I told her, too, how we think we're the ones who go out seeking God, but how really he's been seeking us for far longer.
It was SUCH an amazing conversation! In my enthusiasm, I hope I'm not giving too many personal details. I've tried to keep it very general. But it's just SO COOL, cause I can see so clearly how God is getting her attention, how he's wooing her and drawing her to himself. And she is beginning to see it, too. I've heard it said that so many stories of people coming to Christ are not at all like Paul's "road to Damascus" conversion: the bright light, the sudden 180 degree turn around - but more like the road to Emmaus conversion (Luke 24:13-35) : people are walking along in their life, and sense the presence of something else, someone else there with them, but they don't know what it is until one day the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see clearly. "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him..."
God is opening my friends eyes. What she has been looking for for so long, what she has been sensing is there for so long is finally becoming clear to her. And I am SOO honoured and amazed that God is using ME - despite all my crap! - to help do that. I'm praying so hard that she continues to respond, and that her search is guarded from the all the resistance and opposition that could be thrown in her way.
But mostly I'm praying that the Holy Spirit continues to give her understanding and opens her eyes to see Jesus, and see that because of his GREAT love for her, he's been seeking her all along.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
100 Things About Me
1. I don’t know if I can come up with 100 things!
2. I like orange juice
3. It IS possible to overdose on chocolate
4. That happens to me around Halloween every year!
5. But boy it takes a lot for that to happen
6. I’m a very optimistic person (most of the time!)
7. Sometimes I drive my friends crazy trying to see the good in things
8. Sometimes I do dumb things
9. Often I do dumb things
10. I guess that depends on who you ask!
11. I like to be silly
12. I do a mean monkey noise
13. I have pulled out all the nails on the Capilano Suspension Bridge
14. I love kayaking
15. I majored in French at UBC
16. I have lived up north in town of less than 5000 that is 2 hours from any other town
17. I have skied in minus 35 degree weather
18. I have had to keep my face moving so my balaclava/ice shield didn’t freeze to my cheeks
19. I have had a student unhappy with his quiz mark so he ATE his quiz
20. Oh yeah, I am a teacher!
21. I did Elementary Education at UBC
22. I specialized in teaching French as a second language/French Immersion
23. I now teachmusic grade 5 grade 1/2
24. I lose my voice constantly!
25. Iteach taught music K-7 in French and in English for three years
26. I am SOO grateful for my job (hmm… most days!)
27. God dropped my job in my lap two weeks into my first year of teaching!
28. This is mysecond third fourth fifth year of teaching
29. I played the clarinet from grade 5 to first year uni
30. I played the alto sax in jazz band at high school
31. I was in a marching band for about 6 years
32. Ihave had a dog named Lucy :(
33. She lived at my parent’s place, but she was still “my” dog!
34. I have a brother and a sister
35. I have six toes on my left foot
36. Just kidding (is that cheating?)
37. I like country music
38. I like most other music, too!
39. I once slept through a car accident when I was a baby
40. I once ate a slug
41. That was a loooooong time ago, ok?!!?
42. I have been a Christian since before I remember
43. My faith became my own at summer camp when I was 14
44. I love summer camp!!!
45. I’ve gone every summer until 2002 (as both camper and staff) since I was 8, except for 2000.
46. I’m26 27 28
47. I share my birthday with a day dedicated to rodents! *sigh*
48. I love the movie Amelie
49. “Sometimes I’m clueless and I’m clumsy”
50. “But I’ve got friends who love me”
51. I’m running out of ideas
52. I like to wear silly socks
53. I have socks with monkey, duck, and frog pom poms on them
54. I am inspired by nature
55. I think that sounds cheesy
56. Creation puts me in awe of God
57. I love the ocean
58. Being land locked is not a good situation for me!
59. I have to drive to the beach from where I live now, it drives me crazy
60. It’s not a long trip
61. (ha ha… the trip to the beach OR the trip to crazy!)
62. I LOVE my church
63. I went there as a kid
64. We changed churches when I was in grade 4, now I’ve been back for about4 5 6 years
65. My PARENTS went there as kids
66. I’m excited to see what God has planned for me!
67. I hope I’m awake/obedient enough to know and do it
68. I need to learn to slow down
69. When I was in grade 6 I protested the Gulf War
70. I forgot to tell my parents I wasn’t going to be home after school
71. My dad found me leading a chant: “What the hell do we want? (peace!) When the hell do we want it (now!)”
72. He didn’t get mad, just talked to me about inappropriate language
73. That was the last of my “activism” attempts!
74. I tend to do things that get me teased/harassed/bugged by my parents and/or friends
75. It’s OK, though, I can definitely laugh at myself! (Most of the time it IS pretty funny!)
76. I like to tell stories
77. I love taking pictures
78. I want to take a photography course
79. On a two week road trip around the Maritimes, my dad and I took 14 rolls of film!
80. Thankfully I now have a digital camera!
81. I am very grateful for my family
82. My parents are awesome
83. It’s pretty clear pretty quick that I’m a pretty wacky person
84. I like to have fun
85. When friends who have known me a while meet my dad, they always go, “AHHH! Now I understand!”
86. Seriously! That happens all the time!
87. I once put a cat in the fridge (again, a loooong time ago!)
88. I thought it wanted to be alone
89. I don’t know if I’m going to be a teacher forever
90. I could eat a big container of yogurt in one sitting
91. Me and some co-workers once measured our mouths (yes, we were very bored at work one day!)
92. My mouth was 40% bigger than anyone else’s (3.5 inces compared to 2.5!)
93. My friends all laughed their heads off saying that now they had scientific proof for what they had been telling me all along!
94. So I like to talk! So what?!?!
95. I think I’d like to try skydiving one day and learn to scuba dive. Not at the same time.
96. I once repelled down a cliff in order to pull weeds
97. “I love this crazy tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life!”
98. My favourite colours are blue and green (they reflect the outdoors!)
99. My goal: To know God, to glorify Him, and to share Him with others
100. With regards to my goal… boy, am I ever grateful for GRACE
2. I like orange juice
3. It IS possible to overdose on chocolate
4. That happens to me around Halloween every year!
5. But boy it takes a lot for that to happen
6. I’m a very optimistic person (most of the time!)
7. Sometimes I drive my friends crazy trying to see the good in things
8. Sometimes I do dumb things
9. Often I do dumb things
10. I guess that depends on who you ask!
11. I like to be silly
12. I do a mean monkey noise
13. I have pulled out all the nails on the Capilano Suspension Bridge
14. I love kayaking
15. I majored in French at UBC
16. I have lived up north in town of less than 5000 that is 2 hours from any other town
17. I have skied in minus 35 degree weather
18. I have had to keep my face moving so my balaclava/ice shield didn’t freeze to my cheeks
19. I have had a student unhappy with his quiz mark so he ATE his quiz
20. Oh yeah, I am a teacher!
21. I did Elementary Education at UBC
22. I specialized in teaching French as a second language/French Immersion
23. I now teach
24. I lose my voice constantly!
25. I
26. I am SOO grateful for my job (hmm… most days!)
27. God dropped my job in my lap two weeks into my first year of teaching!
28. This is my
29. I played the clarinet from grade 5 to first year uni
30. I played the alto sax in jazz band at high school
31. I was in a marching band for about 6 years
32. I
33. She lived at my parent’s place, but she was still “my” dog!
34. I have a brother and a sister
35. I have six toes on my left foot
36. Just kidding (is that cheating?)
37. I like country music
38. I like most other music, too!
39. I once slept through a car accident when I was a baby
40. I once ate a slug
41. That was a loooooong time ago, ok?!!?
42. I have been a Christian since before I remember
43. My faith became my own at summer camp when I was 14
44. I love summer camp!!!
45. I’ve gone every summer until 2002 (as both camper and staff) since I was 8, except for 2000.
46. I’m
47. I share my birthday with a day dedicated to rodents! *sigh*
48. I love the movie Amelie
49. “Sometimes I’m clueless and I’m clumsy”
50. “But I’ve got friends who love me”
51. I’m running out of ideas
52. I like to wear silly socks
53. I have socks with monkey, duck, and frog pom poms on them
54. I am inspired by nature
55. I think that sounds cheesy
56. Creation puts me in awe of God
57. I love the ocean
58. Being land locked is not a good situation for me!
59. I have to drive to the beach from where I live now, it drives me crazy
60. It’s not a long trip
61. (ha ha… the trip to the beach OR the trip to crazy!)
62. I LOVE my church
63. I went there as a kid
64. We changed churches when I was in grade 4, now I’ve been back for about
65. My PARENTS went there as kids
66. I’m excited to see what God has planned for me!
67. I hope I’m awake/obedient enough to know and do it
68. I need to learn to slow down
69. When I was in grade 6 I protested the Gulf War
70. I forgot to tell my parents I wasn’t going to be home after school
71. My dad found me leading a chant: “What the hell do we want? (peace!) When the hell do we want it (now!)”
72. He didn’t get mad, just talked to me about inappropriate language
73. That was the last of my “activism” attempts!
74. I tend to do things that get me teased/harassed/bugged by my parents and/or friends
75. It’s OK, though, I can definitely laugh at myself! (Most of the time it IS pretty funny!)
76. I like to tell stories
77. I love taking pictures
78. I want to take a photography course
79. On a two week road trip around the Maritimes, my dad and I took 14 rolls of film!
80. Thankfully I now have a digital camera!
81. I am very grateful for my family
82. My parents are awesome
83. It’s pretty clear pretty quick that I’m a pretty wacky person
84. I like to have fun
85. When friends who have known me a while meet my dad, they always go, “AHHH! Now I understand!”
86. Seriously! That happens all the time!
87. I once put a cat in the fridge (again, a loooong time ago!)
88. I thought it wanted to be alone
89. I don’t know if I’m going to be a teacher forever
90. I could eat a big container of yogurt in one sitting
91. Me and some co-workers once measured our mouths (yes, we were very bored at work one day!)
92. My mouth was 40% bigger than anyone else’s (3.5 inces compared to 2.5!)
93. My friends all laughed their heads off saying that now they had scientific proof for what they had been telling me all along!
94. So I like to talk! So what?!?!
95. I think I’d like to try skydiving one day and learn to scuba dive. Not at the same time.
96. I once repelled down a cliff in order to pull weeds
97. “I love this crazy tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life!”
98. My favourite colours are blue and green (they reflect the outdoors!)
99. My goal: To know God, to glorify Him, and to share Him with others
100. With regards to my goal… boy, am I ever grateful for GRACE
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Which Homestar Character are you?
Not sure I'm too thrilled with this... uh, I mean "Bubble bubble bubble bubble bubble"
(At least I'm not the poopsmith!)
(At least I'm not the poopsmith!)
PS. Check out the sidebar, I've added some new pointless (but fun!) games :P
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Yikes...
OK, is my life so boring right now that I really have an entire post about FUNRITURE? What can I say, it's the simple things that make me happy, apparently! :D
Friday, February 18, 2005
It's Hammer Time
Well, I set out tonight to set up my new entertinment unit. The TV I got for my birthday needed an appropriate home, and so did all the stuff in random corners and piles in my living room! So like a grown-up, off I went ot buy my first piece of new furniture... and like a grown up in the new millenium, I bought it online. It's a very nice addtion to my living room, I must say.
Even better is the fact that I put it all together with no problems at all - even with all those pre-drilled holes and strange hardware peices that look like they're leftovers from when ET's spaceship crashed and weird picture directions and everything. There are a whole lot of parts left over, though... I'm just gonna assume they gave me extra! ;)
Here's the progression of my TV situation, from "Redneck setup" to "What the heck am I going to put this giant thing on" to "Yay! A real live grown-up living room!"
Even better is the fact that I put it all together with no problems at all - even with all those pre-drilled holes and strange hardware peices that look like they're leftovers from when ET's spaceship crashed and weird picture directions and everything. There are a whole lot of parts left over, though... I'm just gonna assume they gave me extra! ;)
Here's the progression of my TV situation, from "Redneck setup" to "What the heck am I going to put this giant thing on" to "Yay! A real live grown-up living room!"
Saturday, February 12, 2005
"Leapfrog," eat your heart out!
I ask you, where are the quality toys like that these days?
What was your favourite toy of the Eighties?
Escaping with my pride (mostly) intact
Ah, it's a good thing I've had lots of practice embarrassing myself, or yesterday would have been a whole lot worse. :p
"Busted" would be a good word for it.
I was out at Regent College yesterday for a meeting, and then decided to stay and do some marking (too many distractions at home!). I was pretty much falling asleep over my books, so I decided to take a walk around UBC to clear my mind and help me wake up a bit. As I was walking, my friend Dave caught up with me. He was heading over to one of the libraries across campus so I went with him. While at the library, he found his book and I checked my email. I decided to check one of the accounts I don't check very often (nobody emails me there anymore) and was surprised to see one new message waiting for me in my inbox. Well, guess who it was from?
Internet boy.
Subject: Hello Hillary Lynn/Walking Cartoon
*GULP*
I was busted. bus-TED. He had found me out!!! Not that I was trying to keep myself hidden, play games, etc. It was just one of those things that was maybe kinda sorta odd at first, but when mixed with a lot of time, got to seem a whole lot worse. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Read the story here and then the follow-up here) Anyway, he didn't seem mad or anything, and had apparently suspected me for a while. I think he was kinda weirded out a bit, but at least my "confession" on the blog was honest. Anyway, what eventually made him put the pieces together was that he decided to check out my website again, to see if I had updated it at all. Well, he saw the link to my blog, started reading, and it was only a matter of time...
I was pretty much mortified. I knew I had to either email him back or call him, and I thought calling would be better, cause there's tone of voice and some interaction that can happen, too. So it took a few goes, but I finally bit the bullet and dialed the whole number. We chatted, I explained myself and apologized, and while awkward, it was good. He was very gracious about it, laughing about it. He said he understands, believes me when I say it had nothing to do with him, and doesn't think I'm a freakaziod! :D We ended up chatting for quite a while, catching up, etc, and I think it's all good. He invited me to stick around the site, too. I don't know if I will or not. I guess we'll see.
Whew, I'm glad that's all over with! Even though it makes fro a pretty hilarious story (boy I'm glad I don't take myself too seriously!), there'll be no more secret identities for me!
"Busted" would be a good word for it.
I was out at Regent College yesterday for a meeting, and then decided to stay and do some marking (too many distractions at home!). I was pretty much falling asleep over my books, so I decided to take a walk around UBC to clear my mind and help me wake up a bit. As I was walking, my friend Dave caught up with me. He was heading over to one of the libraries across campus so I went with him. While at the library, he found his book and I checked my email. I decided to check one of the accounts I don't check very often (nobody emails me there anymore) and was surprised to see one new message waiting for me in my inbox. Well, guess who it was from?
Internet boy.
Subject: Hello Hillary Lynn/Walking Cartoon
*GULP*
I was busted. bus-TED. He had found me out!!! Not that I was trying to keep myself hidden, play games, etc. It was just one of those things that was maybe kinda sorta odd at first, but when mixed with a lot of time, got to seem a whole lot worse. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Read the story here and then the follow-up here) Anyway, he didn't seem mad or anything, and had apparently suspected me for a while. I think he was kinda weirded out a bit, but at least my "confession" on the blog was honest. Anyway, what eventually made him put the pieces together was that he decided to check out my website again, to see if I had updated it at all. Well, he saw the link to my blog, started reading, and it was only a matter of time...
I was pretty much mortified. I knew I had to either email him back or call him, and I thought calling would be better, cause there's tone of voice and some interaction that can happen, too. So it took a few goes, but I finally bit the bullet and dialed the whole number. We chatted, I explained myself and apologized, and while awkward, it was good. He was very gracious about it, laughing about it. He said he understands, believes me when I say it had nothing to do with him, and doesn't think I'm a freakaziod! :D We ended up chatting for quite a while, catching up, etc, and I think it's all good. He invited me to stick around the site, too. I don't know if I will or not. I guess we'll see.
Whew, I'm glad that's all over with! Even though it makes fro a pretty hilarious story (boy I'm glad I don't take myself too seriously!), there'll be no more secret identities for me!
Friday, February 11, 2005
Grade 4 Vocabulary Activity
There ARE times when marking kid's work is fun...
Students had a list of words. They had to find the context the words were used in in the novel, look up the definition, and then use the word in a sentence. Here are some gems:
gully:
- My gully is over filling.
derringer:
- All of the cops has a derringer to shoot and kill people. [Parent has crossed off "to shoot and kill people" and has written "protect." Funny they didn't catch the verb, though!]
legal:
- It's all legal to Sue a girl.
- I heard weed is not legal. (grade 4!!!)
ricochet: the dictionary said "the skipping or jumping motion of an objects as it goes accross a hard surface." No wonder some kids got confused...
- Ricocheting is the thing I do best.
- The cat ricochets accross the room.
- My pee ricocheted off of the toilet and on to the floor.
(Well, at lease he gets the meaning of the word!)
Students had a list of words. They had to find the context the words were used in in the novel, look up the definition, and then use the word in a sentence. Here are some gems:
gully:
- My gully is over filling.
derringer:
- All of the cops has a derringer to shoot and kill people. [Parent has crossed off "to shoot and kill people" and has written "protect." Funny they didn't catch the verb, though!]
legal:
- It's all legal to Sue a girl.
- I heard weed is not legal. (grade 4!!!)
ricochet: the dictionary said "the skipping or jumping motion of an objects as it goes accross a hard surface." No wonder some kids got confused...
- Ricocheting is the thing I do best.
- The cat ricochets accross the room.
- My pee ricocheted off of the toilet and on to the floor.
(Well, at lease he gets the meaning of the word!)
Thursday, February 10, 2005
I love this city!
It's been beautiful all week! I was driving to work this morning and noticing the blue sky, the new snow on the mountains, the rising sun reflecting off the buildings downtown... Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Things like that just put me in the best mood! And, to top it all off, I had a great day at work. Kids were receptive, lessons worked, fun was had by all.
I've been doing some wandering around lately around Kitsilano and near Canada Place the last few weekends and have been taknig some pictures of this beautiful city. Sometimes I can't beleive I live here! There's really no place like home.
Enjoying a lazy Saturday at Kits Beach
View of English Bay and the West End
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Andrew is also my hero
He got me all hooked up with some more fun HTML tricks. But this is probably of no interest to you. I just figured I'd give Andrew credit, too!(By the way... Andrew, I don't have any pictures of you... if you want a better one than this, you gotta send me one! :))
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Brad is my hero!
Hip hip hooray for Brad! (Roll your mouse over the picture)
Well now, THAT'S a first!
Man, you just never know!
I was at Resonate last night, our church's young adults meeting. I do the announcements and send out the mass emails, so often people know me better than I know them (or at least they know my face and my name!). There are lots of people I have those "in the lobby after church/after Resonate" conversations with - you know the kind: "Hey, how are you, how was your week," stuff like that. Small talk. It's kind of fun, cuase I get to know lots of people that way. Like J. J came up last night after Resonate to say hey, how are ya, that kind of thing. I'd talked to him a few times - maybe 3 or 4? - in the lobby. I don't know him very well at all. Two or three of those times I had to ask him is name cause I kept forgetting! :( Anyway, he then proceeds to tell me that I've been popping into his thoughts a lot lately, and would I mind giving him my number and going out sometime?
Woah!!!
It was all I could do not to fall over from surprise! It's funny, cause he had never even "entered the radar" (arg, what an awful expression!). I thought, ah, why not? So we were talking for a bit with another guy, and then I went to help with the clean-up. J came to help, too, and then asked if I wanted to do somthing that night, like coffee or dessert or something. It wasn't too terribly late, so again I thought, hey, why not? We went out and talked for maybe an hour and a half or so. He even won me a purple stuffie dog from one of those "insert-a-quarter-to-guide-the-claw-to-the-stuffie-you-want-and-hope-it-picks-it-up" thingies. (ha ha, it felt like I was at the PNE or something!) He definitely made no secret of the fact that he's interested and wants to get to know me!
I'm not saying all this to be like, "Ooh, ooh, look at me," it's more like I'm in total shock! :P I don't know what to think or to do about it. It's not like I was interested in him before and he's finally asked me out! He just litterally tapped me on the shoulder and asked for my number! I have no idea how I feel about him. I don't know him! Very surreal. I guess we'll hang out a bit and get to know eachother.
Wacky!
I was at Resonate last night, our church's young adults meeting. I do the announcements and send out the mass emails, so often people know me better than I know them (or at least they know my face and my name!). There are lots of people I have those "in the lobby after church/after Resonate" conversations with - you know the kind: "Hey, how are you, how was your week," stuff like that. Small talk. It's kind of fun, cuase I get to know lots of people that way. Like J. J came up last night after Resonate to say hey, how are ya, that kind of thing. I'd talked to him a few times - maybe 3 or 4? - in the lobby. I don't know him very well at all. Two or three of those times I had to ask him is name cause I kept forgetting! :( Anyway, he then proceeds to tell me that I've been popping into his thoughts a lot lately, and would I mind giving him my number and going out sometime?
Woah!!!
It was all I could do not to fall over from surprise! It's funny, cause he had never even "entered the radar" (arg, what an awful expression!). I thought, ah, why not? So we were talking for a bit with another guy, and then I went to help with the clean-up. J came to help, too, and then asked if I wanted to do somthing that night, like coffee or dessert or something. It wasn't too terribly late, so again I thought, hey, why not? We went out and talked for maybe an hour and a half or so. He even won me a purple stuffie dog from one of those "insert-a-quarter-to-guide-the-claw-to-the-stuffie-you-want-and-hope-it-picks-it-up" thingies. (ha ha, it felt like I was at the PNE or something!) He definitely made no secret of the fact that he's interested and wants to get to know me!
I'm not saying all this to be like, "Ooh, ooh, look at me," it's more like I'm in total shock! :P I don't know what to think or to do about it. It's not like I was interested in him before and he's finally asked me out! He just litterally tapped me on the shoulder and asked for my number! I have no idea how I feel about him. I don't know him! Very surreal. I guess we'll hang out a bit and get to know eachother.
Wacky!
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Friday, February 04, 2005
Yay for God!
The "After Christmas Crunch." We all know it. This month was looking reeeeally tight, thanks to the Christmas mastercard bill. I was doing my budget last week, and was somewhat alarmed that I was going to be short a very large chunk of money. Like a few hundred dollars short. I was thinking that I was going to have to use some of my summer savings money to make ends meet (you have to understand here that that money is sacred. I don't get paid in the summer, so I have that money to through the summer). BUT, today at work, another teacher gave me a receipt I had passed on to her before Christmas. Basically, I had bought something for her class and I hadn't yet been reimbursed for it. So that sparked my memory that I had a few other receipts that needed to be submitted (two from last year, when they didn't have money to cover it, and one from September). Also, I ordered a music resource in December, and when it came, it wasn't what I thought it was, but didn't know if I could return it. So I called today, and yes, I could. And I'm submitting receipts from two professional development workshops I went to that I'll be paid back for. PLUS, I got a cheque in the mail yesterday or the day before from my medical plan reimbursing me for my glasses...
I added all this stuff up today, and GUESS WHAT??? It's about $30 more than the amount that I was going to be short!!!
YAHOO for God providing just what I need at just the right time! He keeps doing that (one day I'll have to post my crazy story about what happened the first September I was out of school)! I really have no need to worry about money. He always provides a way.
I added all this stuff up today, and GUESS WHAT??? It's about $30 more than the amount that I was going to be short!!!
YAHOO for God providing just what I need at just the right time! He keeps doing that (one day I'll have to post my crazy story about what happened the first September I was out of school)! I really have no need to worry about money. He always provides a way.
YAY GOD!!!
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Procrastination and birthday tidbits
Why on earth can I not get anything done? I have stuff to mark, worksheets to prepare, all for tomorrow, and yet here I am! Bah! May as well make the most of my procrastination! Click the bold text to see pictures.
So I had one of those "warm fuzzy" moments on Wednesday (on WEDNESDAY?!?! you ask... "But I thought you hated Wednesdays!" Funny, I know! Normally I do, but this Wednesday was amazing!). After my grade 4's had come in and settled down, a bunch of them were wishing me happy birthday (I don't know how they knew!). They all started singing to me. They were all off key and singing at various different tempos, and it was wonderful! Then two girls have me a card. Cards from kids are the best!
AND, to top it all off, I got a copy of my "wish list" (about $300 worth of various instruments for the music program) in my box from the PAC, with a note telling me they'll cut me a cheque next week! YAAAAAY! It's like Christmas! Ummm.... or my birthday. Heh heh.
The fun continued at small group with yummy birthday cheesecake...
So I had one of those "warm fuzzy" moments on Wednesday (on WEDNESDAY?!?! you ask... "But I thought you hated Wednesdays!" Funny, I know! Normally I do, but this Wednesday was amazing!). After my grade 4's had come in and settled down, a bunch of them were wishing me happy birthday (I don't know how they knew!). They all started singing to me. They were all off key and singing at various different tempos, and it was wonderful! Then two girls have me a card. Cards from kids are the best!
AND, to top it all off, I got a copy of my "wish list" (about $300 worth of various instruments for the music program) in my box from the PAC, with a note telling me they'll cut me a cheque next week! YAAAAAY! It's like Christmas! Ummm.... or my birthday. Heh heh.
The fun continued at small group with yummy birthday cheesecake...
(Check out the stylin' sockies!)
... and a surprise gift. The chairs from my dining room table set are getting old. That's not an issue, really, except for the fact that twice now at small group someone has been sitting on them, and they've broken! I must be giving my friends complexes! Poor Steve was the lastest victim last week, so he got the idea to go out and get me new chairs. The one he found are incredibly like the ones that are slowly breaking. It's uncanny! Could they have been separated at birth?
Old Chair ^
New Chair ^
A few of us went out to Baru, a great Latino restaurant out near UBC, for drinks afterwards. Very funky.
My Birthday Margarita
Ole!
Spelling police beware!
(taken from somewhere in cyberspace...)
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Happy Birthday to me!
It's my blog, I'm allowed to be shameless! Happy birthday to me, and Happy Groundhog Day to all of you! :D
Check out my birthday present from my family! (click the bolded text)
Check out my birthday present from my family! (click the bolded text)
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