I Heart Singapore, Part 3

This morning we got up late (10am! We've been getting up around 8am) and had McDondo's for breaky... the McGriddle was HUGE! Really had visions of not being able to finish it... nothing like at home!
We walked to Fort Canning Park, which is the site of the first Christian Cemetary in Singapore and were really looking forward to seeing it, but they were setting up for some type of concert so most of it was off limits :(. Instead we went to the National Museum and ended up spending almost 3 hours there! I don't know how we do that! We decided to walk to a place called Bugis Junction for lunch and then realized that it's the weekend. We've had it really good during the week with very few people around, but they've all come out for the weekend, so it was really busy! We had lunch, looked around for a while and then had a snack. I had Chocolate Shaved Ice with a touch of chocolate sauce, sprinkles and crushed peanuts. Cost me $1.80 and it was SO GOOD! We walked back through the street shopping district, where I bought a couple of handbags for really cheap and a pair of new havianas flipflops... (oh, the flippers were bought in the mall) and P bought some cool stickers. By the time we got back to our hotel, it was near 6pm! I'm just completely beat tonight, so we're going to go to dinner and then take the camera and tripod out to the Merlion and the Fountain of Wealth and take pics and wander... kinda take it easy... we've been in overdrive since we got here and it's starting to wear me out... since it was only last week that I was bedridden with strepthroat and tonsilitis...seems like ages ago!
More later

I Heart Singapore, Part 2

Yesterday started off at the ToastBox. I had 'Thick Peanut Butter Toast' combo and P had the 'Kaya Toast' combo. Turns out the 'combo' part is that it came with 2 half boiled eggs... which is basically 2 half cooked hard boiled eggs.... so I couldn't eat that part... damn allergy.. it looked SO GOOD! It also came with Kopi, which is Sing coffee... screw starbucks... this stuff is to die for!

Then we went to go visit the Singapore Icon the Merlion... He's so cool! It was SO hot outside tho and yours truly didn't wear a hat or sunscreen.. between the heat and breakfast sitting like lead, I didn't feel so good, but seeing the Merlion in person was amazing... P has it tattooed on his leg and it looked exactly the same! After we took our photos and admired the statue P went to the souvenier shop and I sat in what is my new favorite spot on the planet.... Under one of Singapore's many bridges, they've developed the land into the souvenier shop, a tapas restaurant called Tapas Tree (like at home), seating and a Starbucks.... it's so peaceful and lovely... shady and warm and right by the water... it was awesome... until the guy with the snake came along and we decided to meander on....

Next we went to the Asian Civilization museum. Three floors of everything you could ever want to know and see about the heritage of every part of Asia... They had a very cool exhibit called Neither East nor West, Asians in Monochrome, and it was a portrait photography exhibit... really cool! After we spend 2 ish hours there, we went to Boat and Clarke Quay, which are little areas that have super cool looking bars and restaurants. We grabbed a cab to come back to the hotel and had a nap before we went to East Coast Park for dinner. It's a Hawker Center on the beach. We had satay and then I went foraging and found something I'd been wanting to try called Carrot Cake. No, sadly, it's not carrot cake like you think... which when I first researched Singapore, was very excited that Carrot cake seemed to be such a big deal.... until I learned that it's not what I thought. It was pretty much like this super tasty omlett (no cheese) with some type of soft radishy cake in it... it was the softest, warmest, comfort food I've ever had and now I have to find some way to duplicate it at home. After dinner we walked along the beach, watched the cable ski (it's this big 'pond' where people can water ski and instead of boats, they have this cable that goes around in a circle and they can go for as long as they can stay up. Very cool). We caught another cab and decided to go to Vivo City , South East Asia's largest mall to see a movie, but got there too late and both the early and late show were sold out. So we wandered a bit and then found ourselves sitting outside on this promenade overlooking the river and the island of Sentosa. It was so beautiful outside with a nice breeze blowing that we sat there for some time. After that, we went in to get a snack and I found the best Roti Prata that I've ever had the fortune of eating! We tried a couple other things too, which weren't so great and then had a shaved ice dessert. Mine was Pomello flesh (those giant grapefruits you see in the store) and mango with condensed milk and tapioca all over a bowl of shaved ice. OMG, so good!

I Heart Singapore, Part 1

Getting off the plane, I find myself standing in an immigration line... clammy and wishing I brought a hairtie in my carry on. Immigration only took about 10 min and my new Sing friend that I met in Vancouver waited for me on the other side, which was nice. By the time we got through 10 min of immigration, walked less than two minutes to our baggage carrosel, my bag was already going round and round... HOLY FAST! And then it was off to the Budget Terminal, where the budget airlines land and I was supposed to meet Pat. I got my first real taste of how HUGE everything is here when I had to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 to catch the TRAM to the budget terminal. In order to get to T2, I had to walk all the way across T1 to catch a SKYTRAIN to T2 and then into and elevator, down a hallway, around a corner, down another hallway and into the pick up area... It took me nearly 25 minutes to get from baggage to the bus stop. And when I got there, I wished even harder that I had a hair elastic and that it wasn't inappropriate to take all my clothes off! In fact while I was waiting for my tram to take me to the next building, I had to bust into my luggage and get one out... It was probably close to 35 degrees in this 'tunnel', with buses and huge trucks whizzing by... something like wearing a wet wool blanket... All the effort I made to try and look nice for P was put on hold in favor of taking off everything I possibly could and tying up my hair... it was so hot I thought it was going to melt and slide off my head! When the bus finally came, the bus driver had to lift my suitcase onto the bus, since it weighs over 40LBS!!! I have no idea how that happened! So off we went, and I got my first sights of Singapore... and it's green EVERYWHERE! There are palm trees and lush vegitation and flowers and trees everywhere! Less than 5 minutes later and I was at the new Budget Terminal just in time for Pat to gather his bags and we were together again! In Singapore, instead of hailing a cab, or arguing with a driver about how much the ride would be, you go and stand in this civilized lineup, where an attendant hails you a cab from the 20-30 that are waiting and the driver nicely walks over to you, puts your luggage in the trunk and you're off. Our cab was about a $20 ride and we were at our lovely hotel. We were greeted right away by the bellhop who wrote up our luggage, gave us a ticket and ushered us into the hotel... where we were greeted by a woman in a gorgeous asian dress who took us to the elevator for the 4^th floor check in. Coming off the elevator, we saw crystal chandeliers and the most beautiful atrium I've ever seen. And then a lovely surprise... when we checked in, they upgraded our suite to an Executive room, which is gorgeous! I don't remember what we booked, but it wasn't this. There is beautiful wood panelling, a marble covered bathroom, silk draperies and a flat screen TV... I think I just kept saying 'SO PRETTY' over and over again. After we got settled, we went out. Our hotel is attached to a huge mall, so we went through the mall, the 2^nd largest in SE Asia, looked around, had lunch and wandered. When our feet were sore, we came back to change shoes, and took the MRT to my very first Hawker Center, Newton Circus. The MRT is HUGE! It's likely over 100M long and continuous, so if you wanted to walk inside, from one end to the other, you could. But you don't really need to, because there are doors everywhere... and in the station, there are doors that stop people from jumping or being pushed into the tracks when the train isn't there. When the train stops, the inside doors (train doors) open a few seconds before the station doors... I think to give the people on the train a head start to getting off before the people in the station rush the train. And a very polite recording with a lovely accent reminds you to please 'mind the gap' between the two sets of doors... Good idea an all, since the 'gap' is between 6 and 8” wide.

The train moves SO fast! The commute in Vancouver would be a breeze if the skytrain went that fast! It comes flying into the station so fast, you think that maybe it's not going to stop, but it's because the train is so long, that from the time it gets into the station, till it has to stop, it's still miles to go! And when you go through tunnels, they have hundreds of tv screens all mounted side by side by side and they stream advertisements or commmercials on them.... it looks like a digital flip book as your train goes racing by... So cool! I think my reaction to seeing that may have been 'shut UP!'. We got off 5 stops away at Newton to go to the food center... where I had my first ever cup of SUGARCANE JUICE! Oh yes! So tasty! At first I thought it would be too sicknengly sweet, but P insisted that it wasn't. They take the sugarcane and put it into this roller machine and grind the CRAP out of it... over and over and over until they've gotten all the liquid out and the sugarcane is a heap of ground up bark. The juice is strained and then poured over ice. It's a strange greenish color and it's heavenly! Tastes sweet with a hint of 'rind'... like when you cut mango a bit too close to the pit... I've never tasted anything like it... it's amazing! With our Sugarcane juice we had skewers of the famed 'meat on a stick'... chicken and beef with a peanut dipping sauce... best meat I've ever eaten! And the P got us an Ice Kachang which is like a sno cone on steriods. It's a huge tower of shaved ice, which apparently they shave right in front of you (I didn't go with to buy it), and then they put these bright colored flavors on it... we had flourescent pink (I didn't like that one, but it was Pat's fave), bright green (my fave), brownish (coffee/hazelnut flavor), and chopped mango in syrup. It was the perfect amount of sweetness and so cold and refreshing. Until we got to the bottom, and the bottom of the cup was filled with corn, red beans and squares of red bean jelly... I was pretty much full by the time we got to that... Asians love their corn and beans in dessert. After we took the train back, walked back through the mall to our hotel, we called it a day.

Yesterday we got up fairly early and I had housekeeping come and bring an outlet transformer for my hair appliances, which I THOUGHT would be one of those gadgets that you put on the end of your plug... lol! It looks like it could land the space shuttle or blow up a building.... it's this huge transformer box with switches and lights.... and it doesn't work... so I can't use my straightner... :(

We headed out at 930 and headed for the famed Orchard Road... stopping first and the world famous Raffles Hotel, where I announced that one day I'm going to live there... in the hotel! I was so hot, even in the overcast day that we had to stop and get a bottle of water... which I kid you not tasted like either pork or a postage stamp, depending on which one of us you asked. Which means that now we're very careful about which brands we buy. We walked and walked... down Orchard road... which was lined with Christmas ornaments and the road was strung back and forth with lights and banners and decorations.... We went all the way to the 'end' which is probably 4km from our starting point, changed some money and commenced 'looking'. We went into what must have been a million malls.... all 5 or 6 stories... all with amazing shops, name brand designers, cinemas, food courts, and the hugest Christmas trees you've ever seen! We took pictures of ones that must have been 50 feet high... and that's not even the tallest... one day we'll go to Vivo City where they have a 102ft tall one! We stopped and got refreshments at McCafe! Yes, you heard right! A coffee shop by McDonalds... where they serve lattes and cappucinos and iced teas! One warning... go easy on the 'syrup'. I had a iced passion black tea, and the guy asked if I wanted the 'syrup'. I said no and then tasted it and realized that the tea is unsweetened... so I poured a TOUCH in my cup and it made the whole thing so sweet! Then we headed in to a little mall and had my new favorite hamburger ever. MOSBurger! If someone could come up with some money and bring MOSBurger to Canada, they'd be a millionaire! I had a Cheeseburger, which had chopped onions, ketchup, swiss cheese and a soft bun... I've never had such an amazing hamburger. And we had 'apple soda' with it, which is exactly like the perfect mix of apple juice and 7-up.

We stopped at an amazing CD shop called That CD shop... two stories of wall to wall CD's... an audiophile's dream! And the employees see you looking interested in something, come up, tear off the plastic packaging and send you to the row of CD players so you can sample anything you like... and while you're listening... they bring you other discs they think you might be interested in, based on your initial selection... so awesome!

We went to the biggest bookstore in Asia, KinoKunyia, where we had teatime... a wonderful freshley brewed 'reguvinating blend' coffee and a chicken pie that was to die for... Gotta love those colonial influences... howcome we don't have teatime at home??

Then we looked around at maybe 1/15^th of the store where I found around a dozen books I wanted.... which I then took photo's of so I can buy them online at home... One of the books on Rwanda that I wanted was over S60 (60 sing dollars)! After we wandered more... in and out of malls... back and forth across the street... and then, close to home, we stopped at a Starbucks, where they don't have our Christmas flavors (eggnog, gingerbread), but they DO have the best Christmas Frappacino ever! I had a Dark Cherry Mocha Frappacino and it was to die for! But the tall size was over S6!!!! I have decided I can have one more, close to when we leave... otherwise I may become an addict!

After we got back to the hotel... with Pat nearly having to drag me the last few hundred meters (we must have walked between 10 and 14KM in total), we found it to be 720pm and we lazed around the hotel relaxing until we could stuff our feet into shoes again and go for dinner. We went to a Japanese restaurant near the hotel and I had my new favorite, Udon Noodle soup with tempura bits floated on top. I had Pork Tonkatsu as well, but it was a little rare and unfortunately got a bit of a tummy ache after... but the soup was amazing. Then we wandered over to the World's Largest Fountain (Guinness World Record Book) called the Fountain of Wealth, which we watched them dress up with millions of Christmas lights yesterday. It wasn't running, as we were there a bit late, but the lights were amazing to see.

Subtle Nuances

Know anything about them? Do you know how to be quiet in a public place? How to blow your nose without grossing people out? Howabout how to apply fragrance without spending the rest of the day knocking people down? Are you the person that walks by a crowd and turns around, wondering why they're all gagging and sneezing? Here are some tips on how to PROPERLY apply perfume and a little education on the negative side of perfume.

1. Get it where it counts: The throat, behind the ears and chest have more body heat closer to the surface, thus likely intensifying the fragrance.
2. A little goes a long way: The 'experts' say not to exceed three sprays. I say if you abide by the principle that you should 'spray enough so that people know you're there, not so much that people know you're coming', or that people should notice YOU, not your perfume, you're probably safe. I believe that perfume should be a special surprise for someone who gets intimately close to you (hugging, kissing), not an advertisement for everyone in the vicinity...
3. Only reapply if someone 'intimately close' to you can no longer smell the fragrance. YOU get used to the scent and may mistakenly suspect it's worn off.
4. Don't spray your clothes! Scarves, coats, and items that you wear frequently, with infrequent washing WILL take on the unique and very pleasant scent of you and your perfume. Spraying it on your clothes will not create the same effect, instead smelling like the alcohol base in fragrance and possibly being overwhelming.
5. Finally, instead of 'rubbing' perfume onto your body (in the case of a bottle without an atomizer), pat your body with the scent. Rubbing releases natural oils in your skin, which cover up the scent and limit the length of time the fragrance will linger.

Be careful where you wear any amount of perfume. There are many people who are physically unable to be around scents. Here are some facts:

Studies have shown that personal care products such as perfume, cologne, hair products and lotions can cause serious problems for people with asthma, allergies, and migraines!

No agency regulates the fragrance industry, yet more than 4000 chemicals are used in fragrances!

Acetone, formaldehyde, toluene, benzaldehyde and Methylene-chloride are just a few of the common scent ingredients in personal care products and all are listed as hazardous waste!

Scented personal care products may casue respiratory distress and allergic-type reactions in people you encounter.

The boss! Otherwise known as Kitty

It's amazing how life will change in a year... let's discuss ~

One year ago, Boy and I decided to move in together. Boy was living about 20 min away from me, but spending most of his time at my place. When he came back from Thailand, he declared his love for me and I asked him if he wanted to move in with me. We combined our things, tossed the unnecessary and have set up a fabulous little life in our little apartment.

Mere weeks after he moved in, Kitty arrived. My pleas to the universe were answered with an abandoned kitty showing up on our doorstep. He moved himself in little by little... first he was allowed in, but not on the sofa... okay, on the sofa but not in the bedroom... while we're home but not while we're gone... okay in the bedroom, not on the bed... aw heck, he's cute, okay get on the bed.... while we're home, but then it was rainy and snowy so he stayed while we were at work... Now he has a deluxe watering system, a trendy food bowl and I've removed the screen on the bedroom window so he can come and go at will...which was in a supposed attempt to not have him wake me up 4+ times a night to let him in and out... which worked... but then he developed an issue with eating alone, so he'd wake me up to take him to his food bowl... after a year, there's cat hair on EVERYTHING, including us, he goes to the salon more often than me and there's a dish of food on the floor beside my bed so that he can eat in comfort and I don't have to get up. He lets me pick him up now and kiss and 'snuggle' him... he sleeps with me in the bedroom when the fan isn't on and follows me around the house. He gets very upset when I go to the bathroom with the door closed, so I now have to use the bathroom on the sly or leave the door ajar so he can come in....otherwise he scratches the carpet... and speaking of scratching... he's lucky he never (99%) scratches the furniture, but the corner of my boxspring is positively ruined... apparently they put a orangy yellow foam in... I'd never know that if he hadn't ripped it to shreds...altho the food by the bed thing has helped immensly! Too bad I didn't think of that sooner.
When we go to Disneyland in September and Singapore in November, Kitty is staying at the kittyhotel. Due to his unsure past and his separation anxiety to me, I didn't want to leave him alone and have him run away... So he's staying in a kitty hotel downtown at $20/day. He has health insurance and fancy collars... and when Boy goes to Thailand in October, I'm going to dress Kitty up and send him pictures...
I don't know what I would do without my Kitty... He's totally hilarious and cute and will be a snuggler one day... He's mostly friendly, altho he doesn't much care for other people... and he has me wrapped around his little paw.... and I don't mind in the least... if I did, I wouldn't have sacrificed 5 months of no sleep when he started his food/clawing routine...

I love kitty!

Girl is go-een on a trippy!

That's right! I'm a goin' to Singapore! Ticket was bought yesterday! I leave on November 25 at 2:55am and come home on December 4 at 1230 in the afternoon. Boy is going on October 3 to train in Muay Thai Kickboxing in Thailand and then he's meeting me in Singapore on November 26. The cool thing is that we'll be in Singapore on our 2 year anniversary, so that will be very neat! Plus it's my 30th birthday this year and that's two weeks after we get back, so it's in close enough proximity to the trip that I can say without hesitation that it's also a trip that I'll remember as being taken for my 30th birthday.
But before we even get to Singapore we're going to Disneyland in September! I am SO excited to go! We're going on September 12 at 630 in the morning and we come home on September 18 at 830 in the evening. Kitty has to be boarded for both our trips, which is a bit worrisome to me... I don't think he's going to much enjoy being cooped up inside for days on end, but there's nothing I can do about it. I can't leave him here alone because I'm afraid that due to his past, he'll think I've abandoned him and he'll run away. I can deal with him being mad at me when I get back but I would just die if he disappeared or anything happened to him while I was gone. Boy is not so crazy about the idea of boarding him and the added expense, but I won't have any fun at all on either holiday if I'm worried about Kitty the whole time... he's my furbaby and I have to protect him!
that's pretty much all the news for me... I had to quit boot for unfortunate reasons, so now I'm going to have to start running in the morning and I'm probably going to go to a swordfit swordfighting class 5 days a week downtown... I'll have to see how that works out with my work schedule now that it's getting pretty crazy as well. Plus, the days I spend at the Richmond hospital will be days I can't get downtown for swordfit... :(
I'm off to the bathtub and then to watch a movie in bed....
D

Pledge

I pledge to not eat refined carbs for 4 weeks M-F. I pledge to try and limit the refined carbs I eat on the weekends.
I pledge to stick to my usual habit of only drinking one travel mug (16oz) of coffee per day and to drink water the rest of the time.
I pledge to not miss a single day of bootcamp and if, because of work I must miss one, I pledge to make up that day by either going to the evening class or running at home after work.

Girl so sleepy... Kitty so hyper at night... Girl wish Kitty would snuggle in and stop it! Stop it Kitty!

So I've sort of neglected this here blog... no harm done, since no one reads it anyway...
Not too much to update... work is fascinating... more so from the human interaction that plays out in our office, but it certainly is cool to learn about healthcare as an industry and a business, rather than a service. I mean, of course it's a service, however it's a completely business-like, political entity. There are crabby, narcissitic doctors, polictical enemies, and people who use the organization as a stepping stone to their next gig... I personally like and admire those people who really are interested in patient care and employee wellness...

Started running again... too bad the instructor is a moron! But I start CP in July, so that should be good fun. I'm thinking of wearing a cape.

Boy and I are also in the process of planning our holiday, which will be a drive from here down to Las Vegas, over to DISNEYLAND and then back up the Oregon coast with stops in Napa Valley. I'm really excited and I think it'll be a great time! Too bad it's not till September, but that gives me some time to get my body under control :)

Nothing else new going on... have been contemplating my 30th birthday quite a bit and am not really too upset about it. I started referring to myself as 30 last year, so the shock won't be so bad.

That's all I have for now... hopefully I'll get it together to start pulling some thoughts together.

Guess where I'm going?

RASCAL FLATTS!!

That's right! I have the best boyfriend ever! I woke up this morning to post it notes and a text message and tickets hidden in my purse! They were in town last year, just before we went to Thailand and we didn't end up going... I was pretty bummed! But THIS YEAR! TONIGHT! I'm so excited! They are my all time favorite group... I can't wait to hear them sing 'God Blessed the Broken Road'... I might cry...!

Girl sick... EW

Last night did NOT turn out the way I was planning.... The plan was to have lots of yummy dinner and I bought LOTS of yummy wine and we were going to have a nice girls night plus one boy in.
How it actually turned out was such:
We went and got our hair done... THAT turned out perfectly. I'm thrilled to death that I now have a hairdresser again. He's an excellent colorist and cuts hair amazingly with an ease I've not experienced in too many people. So we drank a bottle of wine, ate some very tasty chippees and got our hair done.... we both looked amazing!! so amazing in fact that when we were carrying our groceries and stuff home, some guy stopped on the street to ask us if we 'needed a hand'. haha! I'm 5'10 and K'pilla is over 6' and we're both pretty muscular and tough... not exactly wilting daisies... so we figured it must have been our magic hair that caused the question.
Anyway, we got home, got dinner started, drank another glass of wine and then because I'm lactose intolerant (among other things), I took my lactaid pills and we settled in to dinner... When I had that GI flu, I thought that the lactaid pills were giving my tummy a hard time, but I was sure the throwing up was due to the flu.... maybe... but apparently the pills make me throw up too! Dinner was cut short... I think we left at around 9.... and we had only gotten back to Pilla's at 815.... so not a long evening... but I was so sick I could hardly think straight... so I came home, shot some baby gravol and went to bed by 10... :(
We need a definate do-over! :(
Love you K'pilla!

Some learnin'

Some things I learned today:

i learned that lame 'non label' brand jeans can fool people into thinking they're a 'label'. Case in point. I today for instance am wearing jeans purchased from Reitmans. One of my co-workers, who only wears name brand denim complimented me on my jeans... and then moment's later, asked who made them.. where did I get them... I, never being one really for name brands (except lululemon really) find it hilarious to tell people that I paid $29.99 for them at Reitmans... the look on her face was funny...

I learned that you should definately not trust the creepy guy in the IGA deli when you ask him if there's any of your particular allergen in the salad... because quite likely he's too busy creepy-staring at you to listen to the question...

I learned that when you encounter people who you believe to be crazy, and unfair towards you, if you wait long enough, and are patient and true to your own person, you find out that there are people out there who sometimes have similar experiences and you realize that you were never really alone.

I learned that while there are many things that a girl may not want to go without, the one thing she should NEVER go without is a best girlfriend! A best girlfriend is like an electric blanket... like your flannel pj's on a shitty day... A best girlfriend is a place you can go when the rest of the world (or part of it) sucks and you know that there is rest and comfort and goodness there waiting for you.

I learned that when you try to maneuver things to have them go your way, when there's no other reason than really just being selfish, that it doesn't work and it usually turns around and bites you in the ass.

I learned that in fact it CAN snow when it's 4 degrees outside... and it can snow for HOURS!

I learned that when you go to the liquor store and get one old standby red wine and one of your favorite red wines, that makes two. And then when you see a third redwine with a cool label, you should be required to put one of the first two back. However, if you are not at the liquor store with anyone who WILL police you, then you end up having to pack 3 bottles of redwine on a hike through the city... and you realize how very VERY hungover you are going to be tomorrow.

That's what I learned today... later on K'pilla and Girl are going to go get their hairs done downtown and then we is going to go back to K'pilla's for Mexican Theme Night dinner and apparently a lot of red wine.

A Weekend of Weird-os

Not much to report on the home front from this weekend... Boy had a very nasty cold and Girl has allergies really bad, so we mostly kept to ourselves and entertained ourselves with trips to the mall and dvd's. Let me share some experiences with our trips to the mall.
Story 1: I bought glasses last week and they were ready to pick up, so on Holiday Friday, we went down to the store to pick them up. And I got saddled with the DUMBEST chick ever to try and fit my glasses. I swear, it was like she'd never seen a piece of eyewear before and she was just having a good time with the heating device and then shaping my glasses into origami. She wanted me to leave the store with one arm sitting about an inch above my ear and the glasses so loose, if I sneezed they would have gone flying. By the time I'd had enough, I thought Boy and I were going to have to draw straws to see which one of us got to clock her! So the next day we went back to the store to get someone else to fit them properly. had there been no one there, I was ready to take my new designer glasses to Lenscrafters and have them fitted THERE! But the girl that sold them to me was at the original store, thank goodness. While I was waiting for her, Dumb came over and tried to convince me to let her keep 'helping' me. I politely declined, saying that she had spent over 30 min trying to 'help' the day before and I would prefer someone more qualified. So when the girl was done with her customer, she came over and I explained the fit problem. She knew right away how to fix the problem and got busy doing it. That's when Dumb leaned in to her and started to whisper about me... in front of me... where I could HEAR! So, politeness aside, I leaned over the counter and said 'I don't think it's necessary for you to talk about me. I can hear you. I'm sure that [name removed] can figure out how to help me without your input.' My glasses now fit quite nicely, altho I would like them a bit tighter, so will probably get them adjusted when I'm back at the mall sometime in the next few days.
Story 2: So I'm standing outside of HMV, with a new HMV purchase in my hands, waiting for Boy to meet me. This woman (I shall call her Sketch) comes up to me and the following conversation ensues:
Sketch: Can I ask you a question
Girl: Sure
Sketch: Okay, well, see, my boyfriend {looks over her shoulder} oh, okay, well my boyfriend who's walking away, he needs to find some bills. I mean, his family is having an Easter Scavenger hunt and um, well one of the bills that he needs is um well an HMV bill. Can I have yours?
Girl: No
Sketch: Well, you don't need it do you?
Girl: Yes, I do. If my purchase fails to work, then I'll need the reciept to return it.
Sketch: Oh. Okay {walks away and shakes head 'no' at boyfriend who is hiding behind a pillar with a goofy look on his face}
So Boy comes back and I share the details of the story with him. I personally thought that they watched us pay for our purchases and knew we used debit and wanted the receipts to do identity theft. Boy tho, said that they probably wanted the receipts so they could go into the store, take whatever we bought and then when the sensor goes off, produce the reciept and say that they bought it... thereby stealing the item. That makes sense. GAH... you can't go anywhere without someone trying to pull of some type of scam!
Story 3: So after our HMV experience, we decided to frequent Chapters. As per norm, we split up and I was standing near the front of the store reading titles of paperbacks on the Best Seller racks. And this Chapter's employee comes over to me, stands right in my personal bubble and this conversation ensues:
Employee: You look REALLY confused
Girl: Thanks
Employee: Are you finding everything you need
Girl: Yes
Employee: Are you sure I can't help you find anything? Cause you look REALLY confused
Girl: I'm FINE!
So I went over to Boy and asked him if I looked confused... I guess by then I may have... What kind of moron says that? No hello, or anything... just the insult of apparent confusion.
By then I was ready to go home and hide from the world... I think I may have had my 'crazy' cape on... cause they were all OVER me!

Happy Easter!

P.s. If you have a kitty... you should buy KittyWipes... I used one on Cat this weekend, cause I was petting him and he was gritty and filthy... It's like a baby wipe for cats... He normally doesn't like it when I 'do' anything to him, but he seemingly enjoyed the Kittywipe...Just FYI

Awkward and Uncomfortable

Have you ever had a friend who you put off calling and put off calling, until it seemed weird and awkward to actually make the call and you never really ended up speaking to that person again?
Well, it seems as though I'm in that very situation. Not with my friends, who I do call. (or text... it IS 2008!)
It seems that I'm in that position with writing and exercise.
I used to write every day... not anything of much substance... just in an old blog, which is still out there... taking up space in internetland. I would chronicle my day to day existence... the funny things that happened, things I was feeling etc... Then along came facebook and the new overshadowed the old and I stopped updating my blog... That was about a year ago... A LOT has changed in the past year, besides Facebook. I've been traveling internationally. I've fallen in love. Boy and I moved in together and ended up with Cat to take care of. I quit my hateful job and got one that most days I love. So I can't blame it entirely on Facebook...
But now I realize that even though things have changed, and there's plenty that I don't want to share for all the world to see, I miss writing on my little piece of cyberspace. So, I think that I'll try writing every day. And I'll try not to expect the next great Canadian novel out of myself, but instead to know that I enjoy writing and it's sometimes helpful to put your thoughts and intentions down in writing.

I also pretty much stopped exercising... This does not make me feel warm and fuzzy. In fact it makes me feel fat and ugly... now before you start commenting to the contrary, this isn't a plea for a compliment. People's priorities change over the weeks and months that they are out there in the world living. It's fair that sometimes exercise isn't a priority... it will now have to become one, unless I want my new priority to become having to buy new clothes. I'm not sure why my desire to run changed into a desire to not run... I know that it was much more difficult when they cancelled our exercise program... I did try to find something new, but the 'magic' of what we had didn't follow us to the new program and trying to form a bond with new people at 5 in the morning when the weather sucks is very difficult. And now, that I haven't really done much short of a few runs in the last while, it feels awkward and unnatural to go back to doing it... much like that friend that you don't want to call after too long...
Will exercise take me back? Will it welcome me into the inner circle with open arms and once again challenge and push me to new levels of success and growth? Or will it thwart my every try, only to make me seek comfort in the arms of my sofa... I once had what I thought was an unbreakable bond with exercise... will exercise be able to forgive my absence and not make every step from now till a year from now the most painful experience I've ever had... is exercise spiteful like that? We shall soon find out.

Use a little discretion would you?

Standing in line at the grocery store... just behind the cashier at the next lane over
Manager comes to the cashier the next lane over and the following interaction between her, the cashier and I takes place
Manager (in front of customers) ~ I'm going to have to TALK to you!
This is WRONG! You do NOT do a gift card like this...
(waves reciept at cashier) See this! Here! Look! THIS is supposed to be authorized....
Continues to berate cashier in front of customer
Holds customer 'hostage' while explaining to the cashier her mistake on the reciept like she's a moron.
Flicks cashier's 'open' light off and waits for her to finish with the last customer
~~ By this point the cashier (a super shy, head covering wearing middle eastern teenager) hasn't said a word and the manager keeps going and going about her mistake and how she's going to have to TALK to her...
By this point I'm surprised the the girl hasn't cried and I feel like if I don't say something to this manager she'll just keep going...
Princess ~ Excuse me
Manager ~ Yes
Princess ~ I don't mean to be rude, but maybe you could use a little more discretion before chastising the cashier in front of a customer
Manager ~ Oh, it's okay
Princess ~ Um, NO it isn't!
Manager ~ Maybe I need to work on my delivery
Princess ~ Maybe you could just wait until there are no customers around before you talk to her, I'm sure it didn't make her feel very good
Manager ~ It's fine
Princess ~ No, it ISN'T! How would YOU like it if someone was chastising you in front of your employees! (which I was doing)

GAH! What a stupid bitch! I should have gotten her name and written an email... If there's one thing I can't stand, it's when people don't ensure that before they point out an employees mistake or something, that they are ALONE with that person... without their co-workers, customers etc... around... have a little respect for someone's feelings! No one likes to be chastised... of course if you make a mistake, as the cashier may have, it needs to be brought up and the proper course of training should take place... but running up to a till with at least three customers around (two in her line, me and then who knows how many people I didn't notice) and practically shouting that she needs to be SPOKEN to is unnecessary....
Plus, I could tell from the girls demeanor and probable cultural differences that she wouldn't stick up for herself...even tho she was visibly upset....

Yesterday Sister and I went out to Stanley Park and ran an 8km run to benefit Prostate Research... it was a nice day and we both finished in an hour, give or take about 90 seconds either way... Next run will be a few months from now and it'll be 10km along the beach... Hopefully I won't have been sick for 4 weeks prior...

Not much else going on... Cleaned the apartment top to bottom today after work... and made what should be a DELICIOUS crockpot dinner for tomorrow night... with MASHED YAMS! ILOVEYAMS!
That's all~
D

An Addendum

I just found this quote on Comrade GoGo's site... And it spoke to me, so now I, through her, will speak it to you

You’ve got to let it all be a lesson to yourself that no one else gets to write your definition. Ever.

Thanks GoGo... it's always a good time to hear that!

Twisted Analogy

Last night I engaged in the excersise of cleaning out my makeup kit. This was necessary since two of my eyeshadows smashed and everything in my case was covered in a fine powder of sparkly green and pink... Sometimes it's nice to pull everything out and take stock of what you have...I realized that there was make up detritus in there from who knows how long ago... colors I don't wear anymore, broken shadow pots, empty or mostly empty lipgloss etc... Quite interesting how sometimes we take stock of what's in our makeup kit more than we take stock of what's in our lives... When was the last time you looked around at your friends, your bills, your house and took stock? Do you take stock of what's important to you never, seldom or often? My opinion is that we are healthier people if we take stock of our surroundings and what's important on a regular basis... Granted, this doesn't create the 'wow' effect that you get when you don't do it very often, but wouldn't it be better if your makeup kit was always clean, tidy and up to date? Rather than having to spend time and money replacing damaged, out of date stuff, wouldn't it be better to maintain it?
Maybe my analogy is a little screwy, but I think that if you think about it, it makes sense...

This weekend doesn't hold much in the way of plans... tonight we're making dinner and then going shopping. Tomorrow hopefully we'll find something to do... I have to take my bracelet to the jeweller to get fixed... Not happy about not having it for six weeks, but I don't want them to just replace it, which they've offered to do, because then it wouldn't be the one that Boy brought me back from Bangkok. Sunday I'm doing some stuff with the sis and then maybe a nap.. and that's it for plans.
It's gloomy out... I wouldn't be adverse to sitting at home with some tea and a book and the kitty, but that seems a little dull.
D

Be Kind

Okay... I thought this was going to be a private blog, but apparently people are getting 'annoyed' that they had to keep on logging on and off.... so I'll try this whole 'public' thing... be gentle kind strangers!

Okay, so before I can get to TILT (Things I Love Thursday's), I have to have a little vent. For three months I've been having a personality conflict with someone at work... Today she told my boss that I'm an obnoxious, abrasive, condescending disrespectful bitch and she refuses to work with me or speak to me! Now, this wouldn't be that big of a problem, only she's SUPPOSED to be my MENTOR! That's right! I was hired partially so I could learn from her... Due to a number of reasons, she won't be around the organization forever. So her JOB is to teach me... and now she wont speak to me... she'll only speak OF me... to say mean things about me to my boss! I realize that none of it is true, but it's still a real shot to the self esteem to hear that kind of shit about yourself....

So now, to make myself feel better... or at least to distract myself from my woes and stomach ache for a short time... I give you TILT (Thanks Tarable and LadyShanny)

Almost all of my items have a link in the Things the Princess Loves list to the right.

CO Bigelow Brown Sugar Face Scrub ~ This is the most amazing facial scrub I've ever had the fortune of using. It's a fantastic superfine brown sugar scrub that literally melts into your skin as you exfoliate. It moisturizes and exfoliates and it smells fantastic! Use this on your face and the CO Bigelow Lemon Sugar Body Scrub on your bod and you'll never have to see the spa lady again!

Sugar Free Vanilla Coffeemate ~ for those of us watching our weight and allergic to dairy, or even if you're interested in cutting out some dairy, this is the 'cream' for you. I personally use the powder as it's more convenient at work, where I drink the majority of coffee, but it comes in the liquid as well. Mix with Nescafe Rich Instant coffee in your travel mug for a sweet caffinated treat in the morning.

West Wing ~ I realize that this show is now off the air, but dvd! This show will change your life! I wish there were more shows like this still on tv.... for the very reason that there arent is why I don't WATCH tv very often.

Cocktail Buns~ BEST THING EVER! Chinese cocktail buns are the best! NOT good for you, since they're mostly sweet bread filled with coconut and sugar and butter.... but I love them! Washed down with a Strawberry Bubble Tea! I love being Waysion... (White Asian) ;)

Maybe my list is a little all over the place... I love a lot of things, but I could barely think up these four... come back next week and I'll tell you more about the things I love...

D

Springtastic

I've noticed a disturbing trend with the coming of spring and the sunshine.... This trend rests entirely with women... and that is HOOKER HEELS! I've seen more than my fair share of women who have busted out the chunky, too high, platform patent heels on women who shouldn't be wearing them... in the middle of the day! That's right... apparently it's okay to wear Eff Me Heels to work! I gather from what these women are wearing that they're not actually hookers or any similarity of such... more office workers and retail employees. I don't remember this phenomenon ever happening before and I can't quite figure out what's causing it. This winter hasn't been that bad... really... a few more snowy days than one might prefer, but it's been better than winters memories of the recent past... now, I guess you could say that winter has been more horrible than any other, due to the summer (or lack thereof) that we Vancouverites experienced, but I still don't think we've been so deprived as to feel it necessary to dress like a hooker in March...
If women feel it necessary to express their thrill at spring's arrival, what exactly will they be wearing come Summer? Nothing? Leather studded bustiers and fishnet stalkings??

I have an appointment for all my immunizations on Friday... I think I'll probably go to the appointment and describe my massive tummy problems to them instead and then reschedule the stix for another day... That's the nice part about working for a medical establishment... you have people at your service. Hopefully they can give me a referral to some specialists and allergists so that I can get my problems figured out. I think having been sick every day for a year is enough time, and it's gotten exponentially worse in the last month... Time to get some things sorted out.
I'll be taking Kitty to the vet pretty soon too... now that he has health insurance I can take him to the vet to find out what his twitch is about... he had a really bad one when I was petting him today.... :(
That's all for me... Usually by the evening I've forgotten how snuggly my bed was in the morning... I either feel really miserable or it was especially comfy, cause I've been thinking about getting back in all day! A day FILLED with back to back to back meetings... 10-430 meetings... good times!
D

$3 Roses

That's right... $3 roses... You'd think they looked like $3... but they don't! I bought myself a dozen rozes, peeled off the sort of sad petals and I now have a bouquet of gorgeous rust colored orangee-red roses! This, the best part of an afternoon that spiralled out of control... After having been compared to a dog in front of three people I have to work with, missing lunch, having a stomach ache and then standing in uncomfortable shoes on concrete for an hour waiting for someone to open a door I needed open, I figured splurging $3 on a bouquet of roses for myself wasn't too ridiculous. I also spent a few bucks on some lactose free cheese and sour cream and made some of the best burritos that I've had in a while!
Boy is out this evening, so it's just me and the kitty... only the kitty went outside and hasn't come back... Last night he snuggled with me and then this morning he held my head down on my pillow with his paw and groomed my left eyebrow... that was weird...

Not too much else going on... I'm trying to get some customization stuff done to the appearance of the blog, so I'll leave you for now...
D

Back at it

Dear BlogWorld....

I know I've been away for a long time...well a year almost... and I may not have too much to say all the time, but I feel like we need to renew our relationship...

I hope some of your friends will come by and make me feel at home...

Glad to be back~