Kanadisches Mädchen

Crazy dog

2011-09-12T23:01:00.001-07:00

Seriously now, how crazy does Schultze look?? He's a madman!!

He's still sooooo cute though.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Worst day EVER!

2011-08-30T11:11:00.001-07:00

This morning I had a major accident and I don't know if I will ever recover. I believe that I am scarred, SCARRED FOR LIFE!!!

I was getting ready for work, as usual, but as I was later than usual I was rushing. Rushing and eyes don't go together. Bloody eyelash curler from an unnamed but popular beauty shop (you know who I mean) slipped in my hand AS I WAS SQUEEZING!!!!

You can only imagine the terror that followed. I was howling and sobbing with tears streaming down my face and that is not an exaggeration. I ripped the lashes out if half of my eyelid!! I not only look weird but my eye stings and feels strange when I blink or close it.

I know, what an idiot! To add insult to injury my rosacea is acting up and my face is all red.

Grrrrr, maybe a huge coffee will sort me out. Or how about a huge vodka? Even better!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Hornby St,Vancouver,Canada

Hot weekend

2011-08-22T00:17:00.001-07:00

It was what we Vancouverites would call a scorcher here this weekend. Highs of 28 degrees Celsius.

It's too hot for me, that's all I have to say about it. My favourite cousin Mike came to visit and my dog turned into a traitor as you can see.

Oh well, it's better than barking at him all weekend. I hope you had as lovely a weekend as I did.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Vancouver,Canada

Ahhhh language...

2011-08-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Don't we just love languages? They are vital to the survival and furtherance of our species. You can profess love, stir up hatred an violence.

If you're like me you can express ambivalince towards the world and its inhabitants. Well, that's a little extreme. I'm not ambivalant. I'm just tired. I've finally reached that age where I am noticing the differences between my generation and the ones that have come after me. Those differences that I'm noticing are very annoying and I am certain to back hand a know-it-all teenager or twenty something in the near future.

Anyway, back to languages. I love learning them. As we all know, I've been studying German for quite some time (with a distinct lack of success I might add). I'm really looking forward to starting Spanish soon and also French. I've tried Swedish and Norwegian but really, I don't think so. I'd have to move there and really go to town on the stuff to get a handle on it and that won't be happening. Not unless I'm fortunate enough to meet and marry one of those gorgeous creatures but I also don't see that happening. A girl can dream of a 6 foot something blonde with grey eyes and soft flowing hair.......sigh.

Okay seriously now, back to the languages. Considering my mom has been sick it has been difficult to stick to my studying but I vow to get back into it. I have the Rosetta Stone software and I think it's quite good for conversational German so if all goes well I'll get the Spanish and maybe even French versions down the line one day. My main purpose in learning these languages is a true love of communication. I want to be able to meet and understand new people everywhere I go and as I age I would like to travel more and more each year. Spending xmas in Germany or Switzerland, summer in Sweden or Denmark and having a fabulous steak in Argentina. I think if I play my cards right I can get one really good vacation in a year and having the ability to communicate properly is what will cap each one off.

Wow.....hi again.

2011-08-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything on here. I have had a very tumultuous year and am still very much living a strange half-life for who knows how long.

Last summer my mom was having trouble swallowing. It slowly escalated from certain foods to all foods and then to everything, including water. She went for tests and then more tests and then some more tests and was told by the doctor (asshole) that the lump wasn't cancerous and that she just had a blockage. He then sent her home and told her to contact her family doctor. After many doctors appointments, scopes down her throat and emergency room stays (including passing a 2cm gall stone, ALONE) a new doctor finally discovered that this lump is a cancerous tumor in her esophagus and as it grew it was making it impossible for her to swallow anything.

As you will then correctly assume, she started radiation and chemotherapy with the doctors saying they were very confident that it would kill the outside cells and shrink the tumor making it so it could be removed and we could go on with our lives. Firstly, the chemotherapy almost killed her and I spent three days in the emergency room with her while they tried to figure out what was wrong and she didn't know who she was. Secondly, after all of those treatments that almost killed her they then tell us that it didn't work and she had very little time to live.

There are no words to express my complete desolation and despair. I've never felt so alone and scared in my life. My mother has always been my best friend and closest confidante, the thought of living after she is gone kills me and I feel that I am slowly evolving into a new person as I care for her at home.

She was in the hospital for a month and the doctors said that she has less than three months to live and that even that was a generous estimate. I got her out of the hospital to enjoy her last days in her own home (she wanted to watch the British Open on her own tv) and cheer her up as she got quite depressed while there. Surprisingly she has rallied and is so strong and doing very well. The nurses say that she has surprised them all and the original estimate of length of life has gone up dramatically. Unfortunately there is no way to tell how short or long her life will be and so we are now living in limbo, taking each day as it comes and just enjoying the fact that we are still together and happy.

A surprising discovery that occurs during a time of crisis like this is the behaviour of your closest friends and family members. I have really seen and felt the true desire of certain people to step in and support me through this and the lack of support from others. I was surprised by the lack of communication and help from some of my closest and longest held friends. I've received texts with offers of help from some but mostly just "thinking of you" types of things which, I hate to say, don't really mean much considering how close I was to these people and how long I've known them. I feel let down and left alone by the people I had expected to support me the most. The one upside is that there are others that I hadn't expected anything from who are by my side often and are so supporting and loving which has helped me very much.

Well, now that I have caught you all up with my life, had a major bitch session and explained why I've been gone so long I thank you for reading and hopefully I'll have happier news to share in my next post.

I can't wait to get out of here!

2011-02-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes people just drive me crazy. There are days when even the people I like the most annoy me to no end. Today is turning out to be one of those days. I feel like tearing my hair out when certain people walk by or when I can hear them talking from across the room. It’s like “speak up or send an email for chrisssakes!!! Your mumbling is driving me INSANE!”

Arg, I feel sorry for my coworkers today. I am in a nasty mood. It’s not their fault and they’re only doing things that they do every day but today I’m just tuned into the most minute things and it’s super irritating!

Thank goodness I’m off to Calgary on Friday morning to visit family and I will finally see my beloved Montreal Canadiens play live! I have tickets to the Heritage Classic on Sunday, yay! They cost me $$$ but are seriously worth every penny. Plus my cousin’s little son is having his first birthday on Sunday so that’s definitely some icing on an already delicious cake.

It's official, I am finally losing the last of what's left of my mind.

2011-02-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

How can you ever be sure of someone’s feelings? Looking at their face isn’t always a good indication. Reading body language is not a strong suit of mine, to put it mildly. I’m afraid I’m just terrible at understanding other human beings. To be honest I’m terrible at understanding ALL human beings, myself included.

Have you ever been convinced that someone doesn’t like you or is angry at you? I think that is called paranoia or possibly intuitiveness, all I know is that I am feeling it right now and it’s not a good feeling. I am worried that a certain person I know (not a friend but an acquaintance) is angry at me for some reason, but then again maybe this person is just looking at me in contemplation because they are unsure of their feelings where I am concerned. This would be due to some information they might or might not have received.

My stomach feels like an empty pit and I feel like I’m guilty of something even though I haven’t done anything yet. Oh well, I’m sure things will soon pass. I know I’m feeling down at the moment so maybe I’m just misinterpreting looks and gestures that are simply everyday things. But I doubt it.

Jeez, listen to me yammer on like some 16 year old in high school. I'm 33 for crying out loud!

Meatless Monday and possibly meatless everyday......

2011-01-31T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have decided to make a concerted effort to go vegetarian. Considering today is Meatless Monday I think this is the best way to start. For those of you that know me I’m sure you’ll think to yourselves “Really Kate? I seriously don’t see this happening” and I can understand why. I am, and have always been, a huge fan of meaty things like sausages and roast chickens and yummy rare steaks but I just can’t abide the thought of those sweet, trusting animals being abused and then killed in a painful way just so that I can fill my tummy. My tummy is happily filled with chickpeas and rice right now and I’m a happy woman.

I’ve been thinking of this for quite a while but what is tipping me over the edge is an article I read in the paper this morning about an adventure tour company that killed 100 of its sled dogs because business was slumping. Read it yourself here if you want. I know that in Canada we don’t eat dogs and a mass cull is viewed to be different than slaughter for food but to be honest, an animal is an animal. They all feel pain and terror at the moment someone comes at them with a rifle as they are chained to a barrel. Or a nail gun to the head on the slaughterhouse floor. Poor babies. I’ll be hugging my dog extra tight tonight and eating a nice bowl of cauliflower and potato Aloo Gobi. Don’t misunderstand me, I’ll be relishing my memories of chicken curry and blue rare steaks but that’s what it has to be from now on, a memory.

The only animal torture I'll be involved in in the future is forcing my dog to wear this outfit (he was really pissed off and wouldn't move until I took it off).

Old Friends

2010-09-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

When I was 18 I left school and moved to London for a year. I loved it so much and even though it’s 15 years later I still miss it and the people I knew there. There was a large group of us who met at the hostel we were at when we first arrived. Some of them decided to get a place together and I (fortunately for me) followed along after a while and crashed on couches and floors. One of those people was Susanne and I saw her once when I was living in Dublin and Tanya came to Vancouver and we visited but other than that I haven’t seen anyone since I left.

Recently both Drew and Susanne came to Vancouver for a visit so I had a wonderful summer with two of my favourite people in the world. No matter how much older we feel the same when we get together and both of their visits brought out the old me and I’m so thankful they came.

Thanks guys!! Love you!

Granville Island

2010-09-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Isn’t Vancouver beautiful?

I especially love shopping on Granville Island for fresh fruits and veggies and good quality meats. There are also many specialty shops where you can get goods such as French cheese or German sausage or rose water from turkey. There is so much good stuff. My favourite is the French bakery that sells these delicious macarons.

Yummy, yellow and delicious with a nice fresh lemon flavour and the one I ate right after was pistachio flavour and was so green and beautiful. I am a very lucky woman to live in this city!

Still learning Swedish

2010-09-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

My Swedish word of the day today is fotgängare which is a person who goes by foot or a pedestrian. I have to admit that this is my main mode of transportation with public trains coming in a close second and then driving a distant third. Maybe when I get my ass over to Sweden I can be like these fotgängare!

(If this is your image please let me know so I can give you credit)

When I mention that I’m learning Swedish to people some are happy and think that's great and some bring up the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. I love the Swedish Chef and below is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

I’m planning on buying a car, hopefully by next spring for the camping season so that I won’t be a fotgängare quite so much (not that I mind). I think I’ll go with a small VW of some sort; they are always reliable and fun to drive.

Svenska

2010-08-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I’ve taken up Swedish!

I haven’t given up on my German, that would never happen because I love it too much. I’ve always wanted to learn a Scandinavian language though so it's now or never. Seeing as how my heritage is Norwegian I should probably be learning that but no, I don’t think I will. Swedish sounds nicer to me plus it will be more useful as more people outside of Sweden speak it than Norwegian (as far as I know). Besides, those Swedes are a sexy bunch so let’s see if I can put my new language skills to work and maybe bag a sexy blonde man with a thick accent!

I have started by getting the word of the day RSS feed from Sweden.se and if you check out the Swede of the week for August 24, 2010 (see photo below) you’ll see why I’m enjoying this website so much. Can you say GORGEOUS?? I can and I just did!

I definitely have to get my butt over to Sweden! Rawr!

Golf…..not so boring anymore.

2010-06-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

I know what you’re thinking. Kate likes golf? No, not really. I have always found it to be incredibly boring and to be honest I probably always will.

I am, however, forced to watch it on many occasions so it has become one of those things that I’m just used to seeing. It doesn’t mean I like it. I understand it but I don’t enjoy it.

It takes a very interesting person to change the fact that watching golf seems quite similar to watching paint dry and ladies and gentlemen, here he is.

Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, my lovelies.

Is he not the cutest thing in a cardi?

I am compelled to watch tournaments that he is competing in. He’s so cute with those cheeks and that hair and that sexy accent! Grrr, I could just eat him up!

I’m a little pissed at myself that during the almost two years I lived in Dublin I didn’t once make it up to Belfast for a visit. I did make it to Armagh and that was quite nice and I enjoyed it immensely, just like I enjoyed almost every corner of the Republic and The North. I didn’t make it south of Dublin but I went everywhere else.

Anyway, congratulations on being the first European to win the US Open in 40 years Mr. McDowell! You’re a total babe and I look forward to seeing your name on the list for the Ryder Cup.

Soccer....Football....Fuβball....Futbol.......

2010-06-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Was that Germany Australia match not totally amazing? I’m more of a hockey person so I have to almost force myself to stay in my chair during a soccer (football) match but I was glued to the screen yesterday.

I had my Germany t-shirt on and my Deutschland football scarf around my neck and all was well with the world. Especially watching those sexy footballers running around all sweaty and dexterous of foot put a huge smile on my face.

Unfortunately I think I’m sinking down into another of my depressions. I can tell because I stop making plans with friends or if I make plans I cancel them at the last minute. The worst was this time I just didn’t show up, twice. How flaky and awful is that? It feels like my head is really heavy and I can’t focus. Everything is rough around the edges, almost blurry.

Vancouver has finally joined the rest of the country and we have some summer sunshine. I am not normally someone who appreciates the sun, in fact I’m usually complaining about the heat and trying to avoid sunshine as much as possible but this year is different. I can’t tell you what has changed as I don’t know myself but I’m looking forward to this summer and enjoying sangrias on patios and maybe take a road trip up to Whistler to do some camping.

I think if I spend some time soaking in the rays and quit drinking so much I’ll pull myself out of this nasty grumpy frame of mind and appreciate what’s around me.

I have acid reflux right now.

2010-06-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

I am no longer at my much loved position with the government. Now that the Olympics are over my work there is done *wipes hands*. I miss it very much and I miss my team very much. I guess I have a “job hangover” as I’m feeling down and wanting to just crawl under the covers and sleep this feeling away. I have also changed industries for the time being and this has clearly pointed out to me what kind of people I prefer to work with (and it’s not the ones I’m with now). My team was fantastic, Joyce and Dave, John and Amy and Winnie made my time there so wonderful but I must make special mention of Nasir. He is the best, so great to work with and for! Awe, now I’m getting misty-eyed.

Okay, moving on. I love working with engineers. They just seem to suit me so well. I’d love to be one but I’m terrible at math and as a result would be a crappy engineer.

That’s life though, right? You take the ups with the downs and the good with the bad and any other cliché you can think to throw in about life and dealing with the shit that comes with it. I never in my entire life thought that I’d miss a job. I’ve always felt that a job was just something you had to do to get money but this was different and now I know why there are people who work all the time and genuinely love it.

I think I’d like to be a housewife (only part-time though). I would be great at it. I’m well known for being bossy and dictatorial and having my own mini Queendom to preside over would suit me just fine. The only snag in that stocking is that I love having money and plenty of independence so my husband/dude-I-live-with would have to be pretty bloody awesome for me to live partially on his dime while I ~~tell~~ ask him what to do.

I don’t see this happening. At least not before I get in super-awesome shape and can do him like a porn star. Then I might have a chance.

Good luck to England tomorrow and my beloved Deutschland on Sunday in the World Cup!!

p.s. I just ate lunch and now I have acid reflux from all of the tomatoes I scoffed.

Shoes........ggggllllllggggaaarlllll......droool.

2010-06-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

My feet hurt because I’m trying to break in new shoes. I went to the Army Navy Annual Shoe Sale a couple of months ago and bought three pairs of new shoes.

The first pair are by Christian Audigier (I believe of Ed Hardy fame, I’m not sure exactly who that is). They are so cute with studs on the ankle strap and a skull motif etched into the hack of the heel. I paid $30 for these beauties. These are the ones I’m wearing today and trying not to kill myself in.

The second pair is a beautiful red patent leather by Steve Madden. From what I understand these are fairly popular and now I see why. The sole is a nice cushy rubber which stops slipping and makes each step feel sturdy unlike most heels of 3 inches or more. I paid $40 for these lovely ladies.

The final pair is a cute summer sandal in canary yellow and have what I think is called a kitten heel. Very comfortable and considering my wardrobe consists of mainly black; these stand out nicely and go well with my pedicure of black nails.

I have never been the kind of woman who can wear heels for any period of time and feel comfortable. I can get away with them if I’m mostly sitting or at the most standing in one spot but if I have to move around, ouch! My feet just aren’t trained to deal with the torture. We'll see how long I can last but I bet $50 it'll be maybe 30 minutes with at least two hours break in between.

Lame Ass Blogger

2010-06-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven’t been in much of a blogging mood lately and I think it’s due to the fact that I over-think what should go into a blog post. I’m always trying to be witty and interesting and that’s where my problem lies. I’m likely to have more success if I just start rambling about shit that doesn’t matter and then some diamonds will shine out of the drivel that is spewing forth from my little grey cells as Hercule Poirot would put it.

If I really think about blogging and why I started in the first place it’s down to a select few expat blogs I started reading in my initial obsession with living in Germany. These blogs were/are interesting and funny and I was always excited to see new entries. They weren’t writing major works of literature, just bits and bobs of their daily lives and that is what made reading them so appealing. I have lost sight of the simplicity of just writing about what is real and enjoying getting the words onto paper.

There are many bloggers out there who supply information whilst blogging like links to good websites for information and plenty of funny pictures, which makes me feel like half a blogger, I have to accept that I am not one of those. I will forever be a blogger who just types because she loves to see what crazy shit will come out of that noggin.

Les Habs and the HST

2010-04-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday to you all! Tonight is game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs for my beloved Montreal Canadiens vs the Washington Capitals (Booo!). Considering that the Caps are up 3 - 1 in the series, tonight might very well be the last game I watch my boys play until the regular season starts in the Autumn so I will enjoy watching them regardless of the outcome. Good luck boys and whoever is in net, Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak, I will support you all the way. But I just have to say that Halak is delicious (I have a thing for blondes)!

Also I wish to encourage any of my fellow residents to do their democratic duty and go out to sign the petition against the implementation of the BC HST! This is an outrage and even though our political party calles themselves the BC Liberal Party the way they do business is not Liberal at all if you ask me. They are more Conservative than many European Conservative parties. Anyway, if you don't want to pay an extra 7% on your new bangs and side trim or your next flight to Calgary please help out and click the link below for more information.

Tervetuloa Vancouver

2010-04-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well, yet again I have been negligent in blogging and will probably continue to do so. I’m quite sure that at this point in time the only reader I have is me. Katerina and I are off to see HIM tonight at the Commodore so in honour of our guests........

TERVETULOA VANCOUVER!!

2010-03-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven’t written or read any blogs in over two months. I’m sure I don’t have any readers left and why would I without any new content being posted on a regular basis.

The Olympics have kept me busy and tired and everything is finally over after last night. Now it’s catch up time for paperwork and clean-up. Vancouver was amazing during the Olympics and I will admit that we are all surprised at the emotional response by locals, myself especially. I expected to be annoyed and put out by all of the people milling around and that I’d be happy when it was all over but it was the opposite. Everyone was joyful and kind to each other which, to be honest, isn’t common in this city. Vancouverites are normally quite grumpy and sour-faced and on the whole we’ve gone back to being that way again but there is still a slight feeling in the air and some folks are happy and will chat for a bit.

I personally attended two events which were the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony (working on an Olympic team has its perks) and the Germany v Sweden hockey game and even though my beloved Deutschland lost 2-0 they gave those Swedes a run for their money so it was an interesting game indeed. A bonus to the game was that I learned that one of our very own Vancouver Canucks, Christian Ehrhoff, is from Germany and was on the Deutschland Olympic hockey team! He received a nice big cheer when he came onto the ice as well as our awesome Sedin twins who played for Sweden, obviously. (I'm so happy in my Deutschland hockey jersey!)

I know this blog post isn’t that interesting and my grammar is probably quite lacking but I find the only way to get back on the old writing train is to just start blathering on about stuff and then the rest starts flowing.

Life, it has a tendancy to go on.

2010-01-29T15:24:00.000-08:00

I will admit that I am not nearly as attentive to this little blog of mine as I would like. I have never expected to be an every day poster or even more than twice a week but it has been over a month now and I’m still not feeling the urge to post something.

Maybe it has a bit to do with my job. I am finally in a position where I get plenty of work and it’s work that I enjoy. I’m very busy at the moment due to the Olympics and that is making me happy which means I have nothing to bitch about and therefore nothing to post!

Oh well, I’m sure that once the Olympics are over and us Vancouverites are allowed to see the true cost of this massive party it’ll sink in and then I’ll have plenty of tidbits to bore you all with.

In the meantime I recommend everyone go out and watch every episode of The Mighty Boosh (twice) and then watch the live DVD and then watch The IT Crowd and then maybe have a shower because you’ll have been sitting around for quite awhile.

(Photo happily borrowed from a Google search so if it's yours let me know)

2009 In A Nutshell

2009-12-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

As my blogging of late has been sketchy here is an end of the year meme kindly taken from Ms. Mac.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Finally went to Germany. Unfortunately I got sick as soon as I arrived (typical) and didn’t experience as much as I had hoped to it was still excellent and I plan on returning next year.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I certainly did not keep my resolutions to lose weight and be a nicer person and I think I’m all the better for it! Resolutions are for suckers!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, Jenn and her lovely new Ava! Such a beautiful little thing and the baby is gorgeous too!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No and I’m always terrified it will happen so I’m usually fretting and stressing. Eventually it will happen and I’ll be a basket case but for now, so far so good.

5. What countries did you visit?
Germany and England and of course Canada

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I would love a wee bit more discipline but I think you’re born with that and to increase it is almost impossible! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
My birthday Nov 10th spent in a Berlin hotel room wishing I was in my own bed because I was so sick. I think that’s it really, it has been a nice peaceful year for me.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Gaining some perspective and learning to appreciate myself for who I am because it’s next to impossible to be someone you’re not.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not finishing the course I started. I’m trying to improve my math skills so I can go to tech school but I fucking hate math!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
We don’t need to go over this again do we? Hello! Berlin!!!!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My mom’s Christmas present. Oh, and the Mighty Boosh DVD’s. LOVE THEM!!

12. Where did most of your money go?
I spent it in Berlin and London. Well worth it.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My trip to Berlin.

14. What song will always remind you of 2009?
There are too many good ones. Ask me that in 2010 and I’ll be able to tell you.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
Way happier.
b) thinner or fatter?
I think fatter but close to the same.
c) richer or poorer?
The same but with better prospects on the horizon.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise and drink more wine, oh and get laid a wee bit.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eat and moan about how fat I am.

18. How will you spend Christmas?
With my Mummy eating a nice Christmas ham and roast potatoes and then a fruit cake from Marks & Spencer’s. Oh and opening the gazillions of pressies we got each other. I love it when there’s only two of you, you don’t have to spread the love (ahem, money) around as much.

19. Did you fall in love in 2009?
No and I don’t see that happening in 2010, 2011, 2012, etc.

20. What was your favourite TV program?
Top Gear and The Mighty Boosh are neck and neck in the race for my fave.

21. What was the best book you read?
I’ve been reading The Night Watch and am now on The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. Very good and the moves based on the books are great too.

22. What was your favourite film of this year?
The Invention of Lying, Ricky Gervais is a comedic genius if you’re asking my opinion and that movie is totally hilarious but it could also be that I subscribe to the same religious beliefs (or lack of) that he does which is why I found that to be so funny.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 32 lying in a Berlin hotel bed coughing my guts out.

24. What kept you sane?
The giant bio chocolate bar on the table next to my bed kept me sane. Those Germans know chocolate!!

25. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Noel Fielding, no 2nds or runner ups. He’s soooo mega sexy!

26. Who did you miss?
I don’t miss anyone. Okay, I always miss my friends in England but it’s not like I sit around pining for them so I wouldn’t call it missing them I’d say I wish I were with them more.

27. Who was the best new person you met?
Me!! I meet myself everyday and think “cool, lucky to have met you today!” ‘cuz it would suck if someone else were in my body, where would I go?

It's all gone to the dogs!

2009-12-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

I brought my darling fur-baby to work with me today as there are only four other people in the office and they said they didn't care. As you can see, I don't see how anyone could care either. He's too cute!!

Unfortunately he hasn't been too fond of my co-workers and has been barking like a mad thing at everone who comes by my desk, including my boss! She jumped like he was trying to eat her and I feel really horrible now as my boss is fantastic and my dog tried to eat her. Sorry Joyce!

It's just not winter without snow!

2009-12-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the photo from my balcony we here in Vancouver did not get the huge dump of snow we were promised. I'm very unhappy about this as I loooove winter and snow.

To make up for this weather related disaster I went ice skating to feel closer to winter (I'm the blonde one in case you're wondering). I didn't fall down but was off the ice and back in my boots in 20 minutes. I guess it isn't like riding a bike.....neither is skiing by the way. Not anywhere near that, but that's another story.

At least I'm better prepared for next week when it's back on the ice baby!! Where any self respecting Canuck (not the team) belongs (oh, I'm a Habs fan just to make that clear)!

X-Mas

2009-12-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Usually I just loooove christmas and this year is the same but it just doesn't feel like christmas yet. There are two weeks left until christmas day and I feel like it's still mid-November. Oh well, I hope everyone else is feeling good and getting ready for the festivities.

I have waaaay too much baking to do this weekend and considering that the Germans do christmas like no one else I have over the years been honing my Deutsch Weihnachten Plätzchenrezepte and am now obliged to make 5 different types in massive quantities and must finish them in two days which means I'll be on my feet all Saturday and Sunday!

I guess it's a good thing that I bought myself some delicacies in Berlin in case I don't get to eat my own cookies.

Anyway, two weeks left so..............

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

My new shoes

2009-11-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

Is it possible to be in love with shoes? There must be a name for people with a shoe fetish. I’ve never loved a pair of shoes before and, to be honest, for most of my life I’ve only had three or four pairs of shoes at one time. That includes flip-flops and other crap shoes. I have friends who are shocked that I now only have 10 or 11 pairs of shoes at the most. I’m just not one of those women who is into shoes and I never really understood what it was when they oooh’d and ahhhh’d over some spiky heeled torture chambers.

This has all changed. I am now fully and totally in love and drooling over my shoes. I like to just sit and look at them and I walk around looking down just to see me beautiful shoes with my feet in them.

Seriously, are these not AMAZING? For more information about the brand go to http://www.unitednude.com/

Liebe is für alle da

2009-11-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

One of my biggest passions in this world is the band Rammstein. I love them (well, not them personally but I love them as artists and musicians) and get immense enjoyment from their music and live shows. Unfortunately for me I have never been to a live show but the DVD’s are a decent substitute when you have a TV like mine (the ass kickingly awesome kind).

I have been reading quite a few articles about the new album Liebe ist für alle da and am quite surprised that the album has been indexed in Germany and can no longer be publicly displayed for sale. To purchase the album you have to be over 18 and show ID. Ridiculous! This is Rammstein for crying out loud. If you are at all surprised or outraged by the contents of the album then you need a wee bit of an education in the matters of all things Rammstein and then you need to pull your head out of your ass and stop being such a puritanical ninny. The album is brilliant and yes it pushes boundaries but that is the beauty of music and art, you are able to express yourself to any level.

Of course as human animals each one of us has the tendency to be either a leader or a follower and the majority of humans are followers which then puts plenty of power in the hands of a few and freedom of speech can cause many problems as the followers will start to believe some radical and harmful ideas so there need to be boundaries but I don’t believe that sadomasochism or unsafe sex will bring about the next world war or ruin of humanity as a whole. Also, believe it or not, these sex practices go on every day and night all over the world and it’s usually people you would never suspect.

My favourite Rammstein album is Mutter and there is some fairly over the top statements made on that album and I see it on every music store shelf so I don’t see what the big deal is.

Of course all views expressed on this blog are purely mine, I am not an expert in any area and you are free to disagree with me whenever you like. That is called having a mind of your own and I wish the government of Germany (esp. Ursula von der Leyen) would credit the people of Germany with being smart and stop treating art like subversive material that will corrupt and ruin us all.

Okay, my rant is over and I’m off to play my new favourite song “Mehr” on my way home while I sit amongst bitchy Vancouverites and wish I was back in Berlin. I will just rest easy in the knowledge that you can easily get the album online (don’t steal music kids!).

Berlin

2009-11-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I am quite sure that there are many of you out there that I promised a daily post to but I managed to go and get sick (really sick) my first day here. I have also discovered that the keyboards here are fucking annoying as keys are in different places and I am typing slowing and without using contractons. Grrr.

Anyway, I officially love Berlin and yes it is as wonderful and perfect as I expected I would think it was. I am sure that if I lived here I would feel differently after a while as we all get sick of our home towns after a while but for now I am very happy.

Since I am alone I only have scenery pics but I´m (yay, figured out the apostrophe) seeing an old friend tonight so hopefully will end up with some faces before the week is out.

I hope you are all keeping well and thank you for the well wishes. See you soon from Paris!!

Here it is!

2009-11-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving tonight. Off to Berlin.....phew I'm nervous, but once I'm on the plane it'll be business as usual. I've been spending much of my time cuddling poor little Schultze as he squirms and tries to get out of my arms, hah. Silly dog, he will eventually learn that I'm bigger so I automatically win.

Well, wish me luck!

Not long now!

2009-11-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

Just 5 more days and I will be off to Berlin, then Paris and then my old friend London.

I have spent the past few weeks varying in emotion from excited to scared to almost forgetting it was happening. I haven't been on a long distance trip since I moved to Ireland in 2004 and after almost two years there I was quite happy to be back in Canada for a while.

I have been preparing for my trip by doing very important things like shopping and drinking! Very vital that I get plenty of practice so that I am on top of my game during the actual trip.

We also had Halloween here this past weekend and of course Schultze was fully into it! Awe, my little pumpkin, such a good boy.

Can't sleep.....................

2009-10-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

Berlin.....seriously...........Berlin.........I'm really going...........I think I'm having heart palpitations............I......can't...........breathe!!!

I'm not sleeping at night because I have butterflies in my stomach and my heart races when I lie down and try to think of something that isn't my upcoming trip even though that's what I end up thinking of anyway.

I've had to take up drinking to calm myself. Can't you see the fear/excitement in those crazy eyes??

Maybe all of this heart pounding freaking out will cause me to lose some weight! Yeah right!!

Two more weeks.

2009-10-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

As you can tell I have given up on my "German word of the week" segment. I will be totally honest with you, I found it totally boring. I love German words and I still find new ones on a weekly basis that I find interesting but they are simple words that German speakers will hear constantly and be sick of and so I will keep my little gems to myself.

Another reason is that I am a lazy shit and have decided to only blog when I have something that I think is interesting, not just because I'm neglecting it. It doesn't have feelings and isn't hurt if I don't visit for days on end. I'm just too busy stressing and getting butterflies in my tummy over my trip and I'm sure if dear little blog did have feelings he would say "It's okay blog mummy, I totally understand".

Okay, I believe I have officially gone round the bend!

Well, I'm sure I will come across cool new German words and I will post them randomly as they show themselves to me. I'm too excited to see if they sell Kopparberg cider in Berlin. I LOVE that stuff!! Considering I will be travelling alone I think getting drunk a few nights will ensure that lose my fear of talking to strangers and maybe I'll get some partying in. Let's hope.

Moving sucks________. You fill in the blank.

2009-10-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

Once again I am neglecting my blog but this time I have a good reason. We moved last week and so the week previous to that and this week have been crazy with preparations, moving and now the clean up of the old place.

We went from this building on the 9th floor to.............................

this building on the 35th floor.
I love our new apartment and once the old place is clean and the new place is fully unpacked I'm sure I will love it even more. Also a bonus is there are two young and very sexy Russian men living on the 10th floor so I feel this move has been a gain rather than a loss, wouldn't you? Growl, Russians!!

German word of the week

2009-10-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Streichholzschächtelchen - little box of matches

Danke!

Thank you to Canadian Tire for the image and for my readers for forgiving my lack of posting. We are moving a 3 bedroom house in a few days and haven't started a lick of packing. Can anyone say STRESS???!!!

Blooooggggs.......gurgle...drool

2009-09-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

I just love reading blogs. It's great to get that little slice into someones life. As you can see from my reading list to the right, I love expat blogs. Especially expats in Germany as I hope to be an expat in Germany one day as well.

I have lived in other countries but I didn't consider myself an expat at the time. Maybe because the first time I was 18 and living in London so it was more of an adventure than anything else and I came home after a year so it wasn't permanent. The second time was in Dublin and I had only planned on staying one year but I ended up married to a Dubliner so was able to stay for another year. I'm sure we would have stayed longer but life throws curve balls sometimes and considering the fact that I am now single we all know how that went so let us move on.

Anyway, I would like to say thank you to you wonderful expat bloggers out there for being adventurous and living in a foreign country and then sharing that wonderful experience with the rest of the world.

Tschüß!

Moving

2009-09-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am moving soon. As a result I have zero motivation to do anything but fret and stress over this impending pack and move. After 6 years in one house you start to acumulate tonnes of shite and that is what I now have to sort through and bin/recycle.

Goddamn it! It's times like these I wish I had a man around. They're good for menial tasks, aren't they?

Okay, let's all cheer up with a cute and scruffy moment provided by Schultze.

German word of the week

2009-09-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Augenblick

1. instant n.

2. jiffy colloquial

3. moment

This is a favourite of mine because it is the title of a Barbara Morgenstern song that I love.

I have also decided to make my own translation of this word as Auge is eye and blick is look or vista or view. If you want to take it further you can translate Augenblick into the common English term "In the blink of an eye" meaning to us native speakers a short or quick moment. I think it's very funny how these two are so similar.

http://www.barbaramorgenstern.de/ (She's awesome!)

Whistler

2009-09-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Words are not always necesary to get a point across.

I feel that these pictures convey the message. I love whistler. If there were more jobs there I'd be moving tomorrow!

Okay so these are all of the Sea to Sky Highway except for the covered gondola and the overpass which are in the middle of the municipality. I always thought they put those in storage of some kind during the winter, hmmm.

German word of the week

2009-09-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungen - speed limit
Ge·schwin·dig·keits·be·gren·zung

Here is yet another example of Germans creating a new long word by mushing a bunch of smaller ones together. I love this! I'm probably the only person who enjoys attempting to pronounce these over and over while going faster and faster!

(Image from http://www.tz-online.de/aktuelles/muenchen/tz-smiley-schimpt-raser-189871.html)

Mo..mo..mo..movies!

2009-09-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

I collect DVDs. I have so many that I have a backlog of ones I haven’t seen yet. I feel like those movies are conversations that are waiting to happen so I purposefully leave them unwatched even when I have nothing else to do just to keep that feeling that there is something waiting for me. I need to have some anticipation in my life. Anyway, as it was a long weekend here I finally sat down and watched three of the movies I’ve been holding on to for months.

Then first was Valkyrie. I’ll be perfectly honest, I don’t like Tom Cruise. I think he’s a good actor and can deliver plenty of emotion and reality but I don’t feel like I’m watching a character I just feel like I’m watching Tom Cruise acting which ruins the movie. Valkyrie was nicely done considering it was basically and American movie. You know how sensational and dramatic they like to get. I was really impressed and if it had been a different actor in the lead I think the movie would have been great. But where everyone else felt like the real deal Tom was Tom playing Stauffenberg. It’s a shame really but them’s the breaks, right?

Ok, moving on. My next escape from reality was The Reader. Considering that Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet never fail to pull off a perfect performance in my opinion I was blown away and practically sobbing near the end. I expected an interesting story but this was an intense emotional experience that really wowed me. Of course I will have to read the book now as the book is always better than the movie and I’m sure the original language is better than a translation but that will have to wait for a while as I improve my German language skills.

My final film in my movie watching adventure was One Week. This is a Canadian film starring Joshua Jackson as a man who is diagnosed with cancer and takes a road trip from Toronto to Tofino (furthest point west in Canada) on a vintage motorbike before going in for treatment. This is one great movie! It is especially sentimental for me because it is full of Canadian landmarks and stars. The message delivered was strong and moving but not “in your face” so it really hit home and I recommend it to anyone as it will appeal to all not just us Canucks. The only stupid thing in the whole movie was the foreigners at the end who had crappy Scandinavian accents but was speaking German. Lame, if you’re going to have people be foreign do it right as there will always be someone who will notice. It reminds me of the Outback Steakhouse commercial in the states. They have some guy doing a crappy Australian accent when I bet there are thousands of Aussie actors in the states who could have done the job better! Drives me crazy but whatever. Anyway, if you’re Canadian or if you want to see this amazing country from one end to the other this is the movie to see!

Friday! Yessssss!

2009-09-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, this incredibly long week is over and I can do the things I really want to do. I’m especially exhausted this week because my boss is away on vacation and to be perfectly honest, when she isn’t here, I have nothing to do. I sit at my desk at catch up on Facebook and read tabloid articles, it’s soooo soul destroying and boring and I can’t wait to start a new project when she gets back.

Another reason I’m so freaking tired is that I took Schultze to the vet last night to get his nails clipped and they clipped one of his back ones too short and he was leaking copious amounts of blood all over the house. Considering the fact that he is a small (9lbs and so cute) dog he can run fast and so our house is now covered in huge blood spots. I don’t think I have ever freaked out like that. His little paw was covered in dark, shiny blood that wouldn’t stop flowing. Anyway, after practically crying on the phone with the emergency vet we dipped his paw in flour and let it sit. It’s ok now as the flour seals it and dries it but aren’t they supposed to notice this kind of thing while they’re clipping? For fuck’s sake, they’re vets! The reason I take him there is because I assumed that they knew how to avoid or at least fix this problem. Well, we all know what happens when you assume!

Anyway, after my emotional upheaval I’m worn out and can’t wait for tonight to climb into my soft, squishy, comfy bed and relax as the only demand on my time for the next three days will be Schultze and my friends. Those are demands I will gladly acquiesce to.

Phew! It’s definitely a night for a drink or two.

German word of the week

2009-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

As I struggle my way through this language I am discovering some fairly funny words. As many people already know the Germans have this thing with creating new and really long words by combining a bunch of smaller ones. Also, being a native English speaker this whole gender thing really grinds my gears but I still love the language. It practically gives me chills to hear a native speaking rapidly to another, especially if that speaker is tall and blonde and male. Ok, moving on.
Considering the fact that I think that my blog is lacking educational content, every Thursday I will be posting a German word. Hopefully during my cruising of expat blogs I'll come across a few interesting long words but I'm mostly getting my words from the music I listen to and as I listen to German music almost exclusively I should have content for a few months at least. So, without further ado.....

Bundesanstaltfinanzdienstleistungsaufsicht

Also known as the German financial services supervisory authority

Blogging

2009-09-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

I am now going to admit that I find blogging to be difficult. I enjoy doing it but I’m definitely not as good at it as I thought I once was. I’m not trying to be a professional or even a highly popular personal blogger so it’s really not that big of a deal but I do wish that I was a little more adventurous and wrote posts that had absolutely nothing to do with “me”. I seem to stay in my safety zone where I’m least likely to get attacked from posting personal opinion about things that are important to me.

For instance religion, which I am not a fan of but have come to understand the importance of in everyday society for most people. I am an Atheist and most people have a very skewed and uninformed idea of what it really means to be an Atheist. I am not a god hater or a religion hater (though I used to be). I don’t care what someone else believes as long as they don’t try to convert me as that is just rude and disrespectful. I have now come to the conclusion that people need something outside of themselves to cling to that will give them solace and hope in the face of crisis and something for them to rejoice to when good times are upon them. I personally feel that to give an unknown being whom has no proven existence all the credit for everything is stupid but like I said, that is my personal opinion and we are all entitled to one.

Another topic of importance for me is mental illness. Being a person who suffers from a mental illness I am afraid on many occasions to admit that I am indeed mentally ill because of the common misconceptions that people have about the mentally ill. I don’t go around in a bath robe mumbling to myself and I don’t have paranoid delusions that aliens are trying to read my mind while I wear a tinfoil hat. The brain is so complex and we are so uninformed about its actual potential that there is really no way of understanding why mental illness affects us, only how and how to treat it. Some types are untreatable or very resistant to treatment and others, like mine, are very treatable and once medicated (which doesn’t mean drooling in a corner somewhere) the illness is almost nonexistent to the average outsider. What happens to me is when I’m cycling downwards I get foggy and my eyes have a hard time focusing. I get slow feeling and very snippy, I lose joy in most of my favourite things and I’m mean to people I’m close to which then brings an intense wave of guilt that makes me angry. When I’m cycling up (which is not very often) I get super social and go out lots and spend tonnes of money and try to rekindle friendships that have been defunct for years. See, it’s fairly mild compared to the crap you see on TV but while it’s all going on in my head it’s very distracting and frustrating that I have no control over my emotions and that every emotion I feel is magnified 50X compared to normal people. Truthfully, it sucks major ass to be like this but in all honesty before I was diagnosed I thought it was normal and didn't think twice until society put a label on it.

Well, as you can see from the two topics above I managed to discuss some interesting important items and, yet again, have managed to turn it into a discussion about me! Grrr, I guess I’m just too self centered. Oh well, that's me for ya!

Blankenheiner Kirschkuchen

2009-09-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Can I just say freaking delicious! Christina over at Amiexpat has been hosting the Real German Cuisine Challenge for quite a while now and I have attempted two of the many recipes she has translated from Die echte deutsche Küche . I have attempted Semmelknödel mit Pilzen and last night I made Blankenheiner Kirschkuchen (apparently Schiller’s favourite and we share a birthday).

I think it went quite well. I have read posts from other expats in Germany who attempted the cake and they seemed to have the same issues with the egg yolk mixture and I did as well but I think it made it all the more worthwhile for me and I am so proud of my work. I broke the recipe down into sections and methodically attacked each one in turn and as a result I was awarded with a dense and yummy cake with tasty cherries.

It was soft and not too sweet and the cherries held their shape without spreading any colour. Yum.

As you can see from my photos the batter held the cherries nicely without them all sinking to the bottom.

Thank you Christina for the fabulous idea of the Real German Cuisine Challenge. I appreciate all the work you put into it and as a result I am also rewarded with yummy things to eat and a nice sense of accomplishment. I’ll be attempting more recipes but definitely at a slower pace!

Moleskin

2009-08-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

Who doesn’t love a Moleskin notebook?

I LOVE blank notebooks. I always buy them with silly ideas that the book itself will inspire me to write interesting and funny things but then they just travel around in my purse gathering lint and starting to smell like whatever perfume I’m favouring at the time. I don’t think that purchasing them is completely impractical as just carrying one around gives me such a nice sense of completeness that I always have to have one.

I usually buy cute ones with a pattern on the cover with an elastic or magnetic closure but I have never purchased a Moleskin before. I’ve read countless reviews and comments from people who swear by them as the “best notebook ever” but I think they only say that because people in Vancouver are very superficial and materialistic and will do anything to be seen with the latest trend. I am not like that. I like to look decent and I like my things to be in good working order but they certainly aren’t the latest thing and I’ve sort of become the anti-trend type of person in response to all of this label flashing.

Well, I was given a gift recently of a Moleskin notebook (thanks Sarah, darling!) and I guess if I’m going to own something trendy this is the least conspicuous item around. This is not any old Moleskin though. This happens to be a Berlin City Moleskin. It is described by Moleskin® as “The guidebook you write yourself” and the list of cities is quite long so if you haven’t taken your summer holidays yet check out these guides if you’re in the market for one.

My hands are getting tired from typing so check out the website for further details but to make a long story short(ish) I am now a fan of the Moleskin and once I have filled up all of those blank notebooks I have laying around I will be a Moleskin only girl!

Leaving and when can I come back to Berlin?

2009-08-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have made no secret of my intense desire to go to Berlin and have gone on and on about my upcoming departure to said metropolis. As my excitement mounts so does my apprehension about leaving Berlin.

I can’t wait to get there but leaving goes hand in hand with arriving so I’m sure the time will fly as I am there and I will be faced with my departure before I know it. I hope that I’m terribly sad to leave and not glad because, as you know, that would mean Berlin wasn’t what I thought it was. I have been trying to be as realistic as possible where Germany and especially Berlin is concerned. I don’t want to romanticise the place only to be disappointed when I get there. It all comes down to point of view and how open minded you are so I am willing to accept any and all experiences as a learning experience and take them away with me to process and use as reference for future trips.

Saying that, how long is long enough to wait before planning another trip? I haven’t even left yet and I am already budgeting and planning my second trip to Germany. This time I think I will do a three week long road trip around the south and through Switzerland and Austria. Maybe. I will definitely allot some time to Berlin, of course, and depending on how much I love it while I’m there I might just rent an apartment for 6 months and live there and take language classes. Ahhh, Christmas in Germany would be wonderful.

Anyway, at least I have plans or dreams or however you want to classify them. At least I’m attempting to live life to the fullest according to my wishes instead of hiding out afraid of life (like I was for a short time).

Hopefully Berlin will be a catalyst in the turning point in life that I’ve been looking for. Wow, that’s a lot of pressure to put on seven days worth of experiences! Yay, I love pressure!

(p.s. I don't remember where this photo came from so if it's yours I apologise and will give credit)

Essen und Trinken in Berlin

2009-08-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Of all the things I like to do in this world I have to admit eating is definitely at the top of the list, especially ethnic foods and most especially European foods. Due to this being the way I am I am really looking forward the food in Berlin. Paris too but I really love German food so bring on the Würste. Mmm, I get breakfast provided for me at the hotel. Bread, meat and cheese with coffee and then I’m on my own. Yay!

I think the only reason that I’m working so hard to lose these 10 pounds for the trip is because I’m quite sure that I’ll put on 10 pounds while I’m there. I mean, think about it. Sausages, beer and yummy cake in Germany. Cheese, wine, bread, chocolate, café au lait and items laden in butter in France. I can hardly wait! Of course last but not least London. I know that the English are not known for their culinary contributions to history but I am nostalgic for certain food and drink items from my time living there so I am sure I will be indulging frequently in Walkers crisps and pints of cider and pub fare that has too many calories to count!

Anyway, my main focus is on eating in Berlin as I am hoping that the whole experience will be memorable and not just the food that goes into my mouth. I’ve been researching to ensure I choose nice but not pretentious restaurants and cool relaxed cafés and hopefully along with yummy relaxed meals I will meet some cool people and make new long distance friendships but if you know the Germans you’ll know that that is a pipe dream!

It’s not illegal to dream though. Besides, along with eating and drinking actual food I will be eating up and drinking in all of those tall, blonde and gorgeous German men!! Grrrr!

My beautiful Pension-Hotel

2009-08-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

When I had made my original bookings for the trip I was thinking cheaper is better. That way I will have more money to do things and buy stuff but as I am getting closer and closer to the date (not close enough yet if you ask me!) I am realising that I don’t want to have to share a bathroom and listen to people slam the door at 3am. I also don’t want to have to pack my shit up every day and carry my bag down to the lock up room every time I want to go out so I decided to stay in a hotel.

As I was doing my research on nice yet cheap accommodations on Trip Advisor (best travel site ever!) I discovered that there are Pension-Hotels that are just as nice and sometimes nicer than chain hotels and they are soooo cheap. I am staying in the lovely Hotel-Pension Charlottenburg for the bargain price of €63 a night. For the convenience and luxury of a standard hotel and the added bonus of character and charm I think this is the much better option than a hostel where I have to get up close and personal with someone’s leftover body hair.

This way I get my own room with a WC and shower as well as a TV. They supply breakfast and from the reviews the owner is so helpful and kind that it’s like staying with a good friend. I’m very excited!

As you can see from these photos, the hotel is quaint and charming. From the reviews I have read and the pictures I’ve seen the beds are apparently incredibly comfortable, much more than a crappy chain hotel. Considering that there aren’t any reviews below 4 out of 5 on any travel site I’ve been on I’m quite confident I will enjoy my stay here.

Shopping in Berlin

2009-08-25T11:11:00.001-07:00

I am really looking forward to shopping in Berlin. As a result of watching Deutsche Welle and learning more about contemporary German culture I have become aware of movies and musicians that are only available over there like “Auletta” (rock band), Meine schöne Bescherung and Der Baader Meinhof Komplex starring Martina Gedeck and more. I can’t wait to go on a spending spree through the local Virgin Megastore or whatever is there.

I know that I will be buying tonnes of souvenirs but I’m hoping that I can find ones that are practical. I collect mugs so those are practical but you can only buy so many mugs and I’m not a knick-knack type person, it’s just more shit that gets covered in dust. Hmm, there must be a more creative way to collect memorabilia outside of photos and cheap figurines. Any suggestions?? If beer mats weren’t on the decline I’d choose that option but then what would I do with them?

I’m thinking of buying some cool clothes but only if I drop 10lbs before leaving. There’s no point buying stuff if I’m only going to be unhappy wearing it. I’ve always had a hard time finding an nice winter coat that’s practical yet cool looking so that is another goal while I’m there. Maybe something like this only without a beard. Yes, this coat is super cool!

Hmm, will I look like a mega-dork if I start carrying this around? Or how about this bag? Yes, it's cute but maybe too touristy??

I’m definitely buying this blue Fernsehturm mug though. Look out Tourism Vancouver, there’ll be more Berlin merch in Van than you’ll know what to do with when I get home!!

Sights in Berlin

2009-08-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

I’m quite sure that the few people who read my blog are aware that I’m headed over to Berlin (finally) and are under the impression that I have divulged the proper amount of information and should leave it at that. Well, there is always room for more as far as I’m concerned.

I can’t seem to get Berlin out of my head. I think about it all of the time and I see-saw between happy and worried about my impending vacation. I am sooo excited to finally see Berlin and I’m sure I will bask in the total Germanness of my surroundings and that makes me happy. On the other hand I’m worried that I am unprepared for the total Germanness of my surroundings and will have my sensitive little feelings hurt at every turn.

I guess considering that I am planning on doing plenty of sightseeing I will probably encounter tourists more than locals anyway and after living in Dublin for two years encountering snarky shop staff will feel almost normal. Besides people here are too nice if you ask me. Kind of gets annoying.

DDR Museum
Currywurst Museum
Fernsehturm
Berlin Mauermuseum
Berliner Dom
Alexanderplatz
Brandenburger Tor
Checkpoint Charlie (maybe)
Holocaust memorial (maybe)
East Side Gallery
Friedrichstraße
Gendarmenmarkt
KaDeWe
Kurfuerstendamm
Potsdamer Platz
Reichstag
Schloss Charlottenburg
Tiergarten
Unter den Linden
Wintergarten Variete
Pergamon Museum
Hackesche Höfe
Joseph Roth Diele
In Grenzen frei show at the Museum of Applied Arts

Anyway, I think my list is fairly extensive and I will leave feeling cultured and full of useful information. I think part of me would rather just sit in a pub having a nice beer most of the time but we’ll see what happens.

Time passes too quickly and also too slowly

2009-08-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Okay so the Quark making didn’t go quite as expected. I won’t go into great detail about what happened but I ended up with a large amount of hot milk and some soft creamy spread that tasted a tiny bit like a cross between cream and butter. Anyway, I’ll be trying again and I’m determined to succeed no matter how long it takes.

Anyway, my life is so boring right now. I’m basically in a dormant state as I wait for my trip to Berlin. I am staying in a lovely pension in Charlottenburg and I’m dying to get there!! It’s all I can think about and I’m doing everything I can to prepare which means I’m totally ready to go even though I don’t leave for two and a half months.

My preparation spreadsheet now has 7 tabs for varying degrees of organisation. I find it helps to go completely nerdy and ensure that a long awaited trip comes off without too many hitches. I have wanted to go to Berlin since I was young, actually I used to have a recurring dream that I was there for a vacation but the plane landed on the wrong side of the wall by accident. They wouldn’t let me leave because they thought I was from there and just lying to them so I had to sneak through which was very difficult. I think that speaks more to my frame of mind at the time than to any real German connection but regardless it left me with a fascination that has only gotten stronger.

Another reason I’m so boring is that I want to go to Germany with loads of cash so I can buy cool stuff so 70% of my paycheque is going into savings and the rest is for bills so I’m living a very skint life. Although, I will always scrape together the funds for a cappuccino with friends. Especially Jill who always makes me smile and giggle. Wonder why? (I'll tell you, she's awesome!)

FRIDAY.....

2009-08-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

Normally I will write a blog post when an idea strikes me which has made for an on and off again posting schedule but lately has been quite the dry spell. I think the heat (30 to 35 degree temps) has addled my brain. I was barely functioning.

Now that it has cooled down and the clouds have rolled in (like it should be in Vancity) I am feeling better and up to my old tricks. I am attempting to make Quark this weekend. I’ve never eaten Quark but since I have the house to myself for a few weeks I think I’ll attempt all of those lovely recipes and projects that are denied to me because “I might make a mess” that I always clean up and actually the house is cleaner when I’m alone anyway! Whatever.

Two litres of organic full fat milk, ½ a lemon and a sieve. I’ll have to take some photos along the way. I sense disaster but it’ll be a fun kind of disaster so I’m not worried. I hope to get the chance to start participating in Christina G’s German Cuisine Challenge but I’m not the world’s most patient person and those German recipes aren’t always easy.

Anyway, more filming this weekend and I have been informed of a supermarket that sells English chocolates and crisps so I’m off to get some Walkers Cheese and Onion and go to town on those bad boys!!

YUM!!

Filmmaking shenanigans

2009-07-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a few days to organise my thoughts to write this post. Unfortunately as I sit here writing they are not nearly as organised as I had originally felt they were and now I’m at a loss as to how I should start this. I guess from the beginning is the best idea.

My friend Sarah makes movies. Independent films to be exact. This time around I volunteered to help, thinking I’d clean or hold something or just stand there for moral support or whatever. It turns out that at the last minute they were unable to find a sound person and considering I went to school for music production I have the skills (or used to) to be the sound man on the set and so she asked me to do the audio. Of course I heartily agreed and then went on my merry way freaking out and having fits over whether I could remember anything from my schooling so long ago.

Well, things went quite well. Trevor, the Director of Photography, was very patient with me and helped me get set up and running properly. He didn’t treat me like a total idiot when I was asking stupid questions a real audio person wouldn’t ask and things went great.

The set was actually Sarah’s house and considering it was almost 30° and we had all of the doors, windows and curtains closed up with mega hot and bright set lights it felt more like 40°! Oh well, my pores are cleansed! Sweating like a maniac will do that for you. Especially for the hallway scene with myself (holding a boom mic with the audio gear around my neck) and the DP squished in next to me behind the camera and we were on a dolly that had to roll down the hallway during the scene. It took for freaking ever and we were so crammed together and sweating, it was gross! But fun, I wasn’t having a bad time, I’ll just make that clear. Poor Marty had to push the two of us up and down that bloody hallway over and over!!

(picture two people crammed behind that camera)

Doing the audio was easier than I expected but I’m sure once they listen in the studio they will find little things that I was just unable to catch. It was a challenge to not listen to the sounds going on around me outside of the headphones and focus exclusively on what was coming from the mic so I’m sure I missed something here and there but that’s what post guys are for, right? Oh well, I’m sure they’ll work their magic in the studio and we’ll all be alright.

Being the hermit I am it was great to get out and meet so many new people and feel totally at ease with all of them. I am officially a huge fan of filmmaking now and plan on assisting Sarah with all of the movies she makes in the future. I might even consider making one of my own, but probably not, I’m more of an auditory person not visual. Anyway, for more pics and a short video of us setting up see my flicker.

(corrine did the make-up and she was lots of fun to get to know)

(I was so bagged afterwards)

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

2009-07-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, you can see from the bags under my eyes that I'm happy to be able to sleep in tomorrow! Oh, I had also just finished looking at pictures of Berlin so of course that puts me in a good mood.

I hope you all enjoy the final week in July.

Filthy Facebook Whore

2009-07-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

That about sums it up! Remember when I was freaking out here and deleted my Facebook account? Well, I've been feeling the pull of that dirty, evil social network and have been drawn right back in. I just felt so out of touch as Facebook is how almost everyone communicates these days and I don't think any of my friends here in Vancouver (except for JenG and Sarah) read my blog so to be in touch with people this beautiful blog of mine just isn't cutting the moutarde!

Of course, being the thorough girl I am I made sure when I deleted my account (hah, yeah right because they keep your info indefinitely) that I manually removed all of my friends, applications, photos and everything. Just to be sure. So when I logged back on it's almost as though I have a new account. This makes me feel a little better, it's not as though I'm back in the communicative hell I was in previously, but now I have to re-add all of the people I want and hope the people I don't add or forget to add don't notice this and get angry with me. They probably will though because the world revolves around me, don't you know. That's a little something called a joke.

So there you are. Virtual peer pressure created mostly in my own mind has forced me back onto Facebook so that I won't feel like a loser because no one phones me. Oh, boo hoo. Poor me.

Rant away

2009-07-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ack, I’m so bored. Someone give me something to do before I fall asleep and smash my head on my desk. I actually do have something but I’m almost finished and once I’m done I’ll truly be without anything to do so I’m stretching it out by surreptitiously reading my Essential German Grammar book under my desk and checking my email every 10 minutes but that just gives me a few minutes of distraction. I love my job and the people I work with. The team I work for are engineers and they are dedicated and passionate about what they do which makes me wonder why it is that some people really seem to know what they want to do or study and others (like me) have not a frigging clue! Even now in my 30’s there is nothing I am passionate about or even really fond of other than music.

When I was younger I knew what I wanted and that was to sing and work in a musical field but in North America the arts aren’t considered to be important or a viable career choice so there aren’t too many options for study and employment. As a result only the top of the top get into the schools and are offered the jobs. I’m not sure if I could have been the top of the top since I was young when I started and then decided that it wasn’t cool anymore so quit. At that time, being naive and unaware that the future looms far quicker than you think, I thought I could have my party years and then pick up where I left off when I was 25 and old and boring!

Ah, hindsight. Oh well, maybe I’m dwelling too much on past mistakes instead of taking advantage of the future I still have. It’s not like I’m looking for some crazy career where I work 20 hours a day and then think about work when I’m not working. I would like something that I’m relatively good at that I enjoy doing and make enough money to take a holiday every year. Oh and be able to afford an apartment that’s bigger than my workplace bathroom. Considering I don’t plan on having children (unless I meet Mr. Wonderful and even then it’s iffy) then I think the basics are all I’ll need.

Seriously, Vancouver has to be the worst for young people to live! Closets are being rented for $800 a month and that doesn’t even include parking or laundry facilities!! It’s criminal what’s going on and with the Olympics coming it’s only going to get worse but I wouldn’t live anywhere else in Canada and I figure most others in town feel the same. This is one awesome city to be perfectly honest.

Okay, I’m not sure how I got from my job to rental issues in Vancouver but that’s life inside my head. You’re welcome!

Fitflops

2009-07-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Let me just get it out into the open right now. I love Nigella Lawson. Not in an under the sheets kinda way but in an adoring yet highly realistic way. She's just so real and normal seeming and isn't afraid to be herself. She also has that black haired, pale skinned sexiness about her that I have always wanted for myself. She's statuesque and stunningly beautiful yet pleasantly fresh and not saccharine sweet or patronising which is annoying. I also love how she really knows how to use words. Instead of just using basic descriptions and cooking stuff she creates her dishes and describes them in almost a sensual manner. Especially descriptions of peas like emerald jewels and of meringues like fluffy, soft clouds and of custards with their velvety ribbons and soft-fleshed, bronze-skinned glory.

Anyway, I'm off topic. I was on her website the other day and she was mentioning the new shoes called fitflops. Well I'd never heard of them in my life and I decided that if Nigella had a pair I had to have a pair as well, and now I do. However, while doing my research to ensure that these really were the shoes for me (since they're not cheap) I discovered that they're fairly well known and were even on the Oprah show. I can't stand Oprah so maybe that's why I'd never heard of them. I freaking love these shoes, if you go to http://www.fitflop.com/ you will see that they were designed to give your lower body a workout just wile walking around and that you will see a marked improvement in the muscle tone of your legs and butt. There have also been reports of unexpected side affects like relieving plantar fasciatis and lower back pain. Well besides all of that shit they are so cute and super comfy. My legs and ass are sore already from all of the walking we've done but I'm very happy with my purchase.

I always feel that I haven't expressed myself fully and properly in a post about personal feelings but you honestly don't want to listen to me gushing on about Nigella. It's gross really. Oh well, I'll jsut have to eat some roast chicken out of the fridge tonight to make myself feel better.

(thanks to http://www.fitflop.com/ for photo)

28° is too much for me

2009-07-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

This heat is killing me. I can't stand it!! The only way to beat the heat in this town is to head to the mountains (and honestly, even that doesn't cut it sometimes). Saturday was a hot one and for me, a person who hates hot weather unless I have a beer in my hand, this was unbearable. Good thing I jumped into the car and headed north. Considering I was driving I was unable to partake in a nice Corona while dipping the toesies into the glacier stream but I enjoyed the day regardless.

Schultze might be a small dog but he knows the value of a forest walk and had the time of his life.

Friends always make unbearably hot days bearable. Thanks Jen!

Beautiful Berlin is calling my name.........

2009-07-07T11:45:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about my trip to Europe that I exist on another plane at the moment. It’s almost like when you start dating someone new and wonderful that you’re heart races every time you think of them and you can’t concentrate on anything important or noteworthy. As a result of this euphoria I am so scatterbrained it’s getting in the way of everyday life. Of course the downside to this is that with the highs and excitement come the lows and fear of “what might go wrong” and I have run almost every possible scenario through my head many times to ensure that if one of the many pitfalls of travelling should befall me I will be prepared!

My main worry is Berlin, I have wanted to go there for so long that I am now terrified that something will happen to ruin the experience. Of course, being a grown woman I am well aware that as long as I keep a positive outlook anything that happens can be turned around and I will inevitably have a fab time but those monsters in the back of my head have more power than I like to admit. Oh well, now that it’s out of my head and on e-paper I feel marginally better and if stuff does go wrong it’s just fodder for my blog, right?

So, I am in planning mode now for my lovely cities and things are going well. I have lists and have broken those lists down to create ever refined lists so I am assured not to miss a single tourist attraction. Now comes the major task of finding locations that are off the beaten path and cooler than cool so any of you out there who have been to Berlin and/or Paris (London I don’t need help with) and have some suggestions of cool offbeat places to eat and drink or shop for cool clothes I’d love to hear from you to add to my list of things to do and places to see.

Oh, and just as an aside and to add flavour to the post I present Schultze (again)! Isn't he the cutest dog in the world??

Creative and hungry....dangerous combo!

2009-07-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

Ah, I have been struck with the desire to cook (and bake). I have gone on a crazy (well, crazy for me) cooking spree and created many delicious dishes. I made homemade chicken curry, then cupcakes with a buttercream icing, then roast chicken and potato loaf for Canada Day, then I attempted one of the dishes on Christina G’s Amiexpat Real German Cuisine Challenge. I made Semmelknödel mit Pilzen and they were delicious.

I was a little taken aback at how soft and runny the dough was but once in the water they just boiled away and came out very nice. I made them with whole wheat bread since that’s all we ever have but they turned out very nice indeed. The Mushroom sauce was AMAZING but I think I’ll put less cream in next time, I felt half sick afterwards considering that I consumed almost half of the sauce which meant a quarter cup of cream in one go! Bleaaaaachhhh! Oh well, it tasted good and I haven’t put on any weight so it’s all good.

After that I thought I’d attempt someting i’ve always wanted to make but wasn’t sure I had the baking chops, scones! Well, I was in for a surprise because they were better than either I or my Mother (a baking expert) had imagined. They were maple scones with crunchy sugar on top and they were so good they barely lasted a day. I had to put them in the freezer to hide them from Mother Dearest but she found them anyway!

Oh well, just a good excuse to make them again. I have two of Nigella Lawson’s cookbooks and that is how this all started, I was looking for something to make for dinner and I just wanted to make it all!! I love Nigella, she inspires me.

Family is where it's at!

2009-07-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

I’m a fairly solitary person. I prefer to be alone or at least not bothered all the time. I think it partly comes from having such a large family. There are scads of us and when we get together it’s wonderful and busy we laugh lots and stuff but I can only handle so much of them and it seems that I get tired of it rather quickly. My cousin Mike came out to Vancouver from Calgary for work and we went for dinner. It was the perfect amount of family and fun as it was one evening and we had an amazing meal (thanks Mike!) and then we went our separate ways. There was none of this “we’re family and must be together at all times” malarkey so I am now left with a warm memory of a family visit and here are the pictures to prove it.

We Love Wine!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

2009-07-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day to all of you Canucks out there!!

The waiting is the hardest part.

2009-06-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am overdue for a blog post. I have spent the majority of my time during the last two weeks planning this trip to Europe. It’s official now though, I have bought and paid for my flights and hotel/hostels in all three cities so there’s no turning back now. Now that everything is researched booked and paid for the air has left my balloon so to speak. I’m slightly deflated as there is very little planning left to do and those that know me well know that that is my favourite part of a trip.

Oh well, I now turn my attention to planning out each day in each city. Unfortunately for me I get a slight twinge of fear every time I have to go outside and be around strangers and the last time I took a trip to London I spent most of my time in my hotel room because I was alone. This time I have decided to plan it all out including times so that I won’t sit in a cafe somewhere reading a book too afraid to join the masses. Attending the 20th anniversary celebrations on the 9th is a once in a lifetime opportunity as well as finally being in Berlin (something I have desired and dreamed of for years and years) and I’ll be damned if I let my insecurities and fears take over and ruin it for me.

Okay, let’s plan this thing!!

I’ll start with the basics:
1. Three cities
2. Attractions in each location
3. Restaurants, pubs and supermarkets in each location
4. Public transit in each location

These are the main topics that I will have to focus on while planning what I want to see and when. If I break it down and set a schedule with times and routes then I am sure to maximise the sights within the time period I have given myself per day for all that hustle and bustle. I have also allocated relax time to just sit with a book or my laptop and soak up the culture. I know, I’m a total nerd but I don’t want to come home after 14 days and regret missing something knowing that it will be a long time before I get back over there. I’m bad for holding on to shit like that.

Okay, I just went back and read that last paragraph and shit! I sound like a super dork! Oh well, I had to come out of the nerd closet eventually.

Berlin, here I come!!!

2009-06-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well my fellow internet users, it looks as though I am definitely going to Berlin. I will be booking my flight by Sunday of this week at the latest!

My Mother Darling has kindly offered to purchase my flight on her Avion points so yay, talk about a savings. I think she’s doing it in self defence so that she won’t have to listen to me whine and whinge anymore about Berlin and how I’m dying to go there. Hah, she’s not just generous she’s wise.

Anyway, I have been doing quite a lot of research and I have found a few hostels that I like the looks and locations of so far. They are really cheap and not in the cockroach way and you can meet loads of people that way. I met a few of my Irish friends while I was in the hostel in Dublin.

ACK!!! I’M SO EXCITED!! I have sent out an appeal to my local friends who I know enjoy traveling so I’ll wait to hear from them to see if one of them would like to join me otherwise it’s just little ol’ me in big bad Bearleeeen!!!! I have a friend who lives there and I know people who know people there so maybe I won’t be alone that much but still, it would be nice to have a buddy to get drunk with.

I think the Excel spreadsheet below will indicate to you my level of commitment to this trip. You can see the detail I have gone to in preparation financially. I have never been good with money so I think that if I actually want to make this work I have to 1) put my money where I can’t get it and 2) make a detailed list that I can use as a guide.

Please feel free to send me any comments and suggestions on how I can improve upon my original work below. Also if you are familiar with Berlin I’d love to hear about good restaurants and pubs to go to that aren’t too touristy.

Ich Liebe Berlin!

2009-06-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I would if I could ever get my ass there! I have decided to make a very strong attempt at saving money so that I can attend the 20 Jahre Mauerfall this November. My birthday is November 10th and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall is November 9th so I am of the mind that this would be a very nice present to myself indeed.

I would much prefer to just get my visa and go live there but due to my abysmal German language skills I wouldn’t even be able to get a job at McDonalds so I have until I am 35 to learn German and get my visa so I can go live there for a year.

Anyway, back to the trip. For some reason unknown to me I have always been saddened by the Berlin wall and the events that were associated with it. Being a Canadian, and a news hating one at that, I grew up not really understanding the whole Cold War thing and I could never understand why people were locked in like that. When the wall came down I still didn’t really grasp the enormity of what was going on and just felt really happy for these people in East Germany because all the grown-ups around me were happy for them too.

Now that I’m older I have decided that I should have a better understanding of the world and the events that have made all of us who we are. I am deeply affected by what happened in the months that led up to the night of November 9, 1989 even though I haven’t always understood the reasoning behind it. Maybe I lived there in a past life or something. All I know is that I really want to be there to celebrate this anniversary and to see the city that is loved by so many.

If any of you would like to join me or if you know someone who would like to join me then let’s all go to Berlin (I'm serious, I'm looking for a travel buddy)!! I would like to go on November 7th and returning on the 15th. I will go by myself if I absolutely must but it’s always nicer to have someone to share the experience with.

For more information about the anniversary and credit for the lovely image at the top see http://www.mauerfall09.de/en/home.html.

Fight that fat

2009-06-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

In my Fight Against My Flab (FAMF) I have decided to take some serious action. I have done the obvious thing and gone and bought myself a Wii.

Now let me just tell you how a Wii will aid me in my FAMF. I will spend less time eating as I will be too busy with the controller while playing my games. Hah, no that’s just an added benefit. I bought the EA Active and did my first workout of the 30 day challenge last night.

Phew! Can I just say I was sweating buckets and today my legs are killing me. That thing is awesome! I used to have a personal trainer and I feel just as used and abused by this game as I did when I went to see her so I’m looking forward to my daily regime of running, boxing, inline skating, lunges, bicep curls, etc, etc.

I burned 167.29 calories in 19 minutes and I was only on the intermediate setting. I’m curious to see the results after an intense workout.

The game is like a personal trainer who gives you encouragement and praise and can also tell you if you’re not up to scratch and need to try harder. I got a 97% average in all of my workouts except for the inline skating. Jumping from a crouch is not an easy feat with an ass like mine!
I’m also taking on my FAMF by doing a cleanse and changing my eating habits. Goodbye bread (sob), adios sugar (meh), auf wiedersehen dairy (double sob). The problem is that the two things I love the most seem to give me the most problems. Maybe I’m addicted to them and like a junkie on heroin bread and yoghurt are nothing but trouble for me.

Hah, screw that! Once this cleanse is over I’m back on the bread train like it’s nobody’s business and as far as dairy goes I have been spoiled by Irish milk and yoghurt so I’m not that concerned about eating dairy here in Canada as it’s nothing compared to lovely Irish milk in your tea or yummy yoghurts like Müller Rice and Müller Corner! The Banana choco crunch was my favourite.

Now you can see why my FAMF is so difficult? Even my blog posts about fitness end up with food all over them!

meme from the Irish Nomad in Norway

2009-06-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

Another of the blogs I frequent is the Irish Nomad in Norway. Seeing as how my family ancestry is Norwegian I'm really enjoying Johannas view of contemporary Norwegian life. I took the meme below from her blog so feel free to take it and fill it out as well.

What is your salad dressing of choice? Knorr Salat Krönung (yes I do make a point of purchasing German items but I'm learning the language faster considering the packaging is all in German)
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Jules French Bistro
What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of? Toast
What are your pizza toppings of choice? tomatoes, feta cheese, mushrooms, ham
What do you like to put on your toast? peanut butter and boysenberry jam, marmite, butter, pretty much anything really.

TECHNOLOGY
How many televisions are in your house? 3
What color cell phone do you have? black
What does the first text message in your inbox say and who sent it? Anyone up for some intense dogwalking today?! from Heinrich
Who was the last person to call you? Lisa

BIOLOGY
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right handed
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? yes, 8 teeth all at once
When was the last time you were really ill? Hmm, the last time I can remember was in 2001 and it was tonsilitis that lasted three weeks.
What is the last heavy item you lifted? a big pile of files

BULLCRAPOLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? no
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I wouldn't change it but if I were forced to it would be Olga/Helga considering that's what my brothers used to call me when I was little and they wanted to piss me off.

DUMBOLOGY
How many pairs of flip-flops do you own? 1
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? in Dublin in 2004 on O'Connell street for having a glass of wine in my hand.
Last person you talked to in person? my boss
Favourite Month? December

CURRENTOLOGY
Missing someone? not really
Mood? pleasant but could tip over the line into grumpy at any moment
Watching? myself type
Worrying about? how I'm going to find the time and money to finish my schooling so I can move to Europe

RANDOMOLOGY
What’s the last movie you watched? Grey Gardens
What music are you busy listening to? Depeche Mode's new album
Do you smile often? 60% of the time
Do you always answer your phone? no
It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? Jared
If you could change your eye colour what would it be? ice blue
Do you own a digital camera? yes, a Casio Exilim
Have you ever had a pet fish? no
Favourite Christmas song? Feliz Navidad - Boney M
What’s on your wish list for your birthday? Apple laptop
Can you do push ups? yes, with the aid of a swiss ball
Can you do a chin up? not even to save my life
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? excited, I hope I'm ready for it
Do you have any saved texts? yes, considering I have an iPhone they are grouped by person so I have way too many.
Ever been in a car wreck? no
Do you have an accent? I guess, everyone does don't they? I still have a bit of an Irish tinge from my time in Dublin.
What is the last song to make you cry? It's Not Your Birthday Anymore - Morrissey
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? yes, at least twice a year
Name 3 things you bought today? only coffee so far but planning on buying some fruit at lunch.
Have you ever been given roses? yes
Met someone who changed your life? absolutely, quite a few actually
What song represents you? it depends on what mood I'm in at the time
What were you doing @ +/-12 AM last night? playing Amateur Surgeon on my iPhone
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I don't want to get up, waaaahhhhh!

Grrrr....

2009-05-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, I came online to write a nice post about my friday night and decided to take the little monster out for a pee before I got really into it. Well, halfway through what I had thought would be a nice little walk I got into a bit of a scuffle with a guy on the street.

Schultze has agression issues towards other dogs and I use the Dog Whisperer techniques to correct his behaviour. Some idiotic, trailer park product happens to walk by and accuse me of abusing my dog! I'm not going to tell you how angry I got but the fact that my face got as red at a firetruck should give you an indication.

The altercation went like this:

Idiotic Guy - "That's kinda like abuse, you know!"

Me, normal person - I barely touched him and besides it's none of your business"

Idiotic Guy - "Whatever! I'll show you what real abuse is......"

Me, now not normal because I'm raging - "Excuse me?!! Why don't you mind your own fucking business!!"

Idiotic Guy - "Fucking bitch....mumbling something incoherent (probably about his drug dealer)"

Me, now so enraged can't think straight - "FUCK OFF LOSER!"

Idiotic Guy, leaving now probably going to meet his dealer - "Whatever....mumbling"

Okay, there are no embellishments here. This is honestly word for word what happened. I guess because I was wearing a big, loud KMFDM t-shirt (see pic below, not sexy but I'm fat right now so there's not much other than exercise to be done) and showing my big bad tattoos Mr. Save The Dogs of the World thought I must use poor little psycho dog as a punching bag because all alternative type people are awful, right? Grrrrr......I'm so mad right now I just want to run out again and smash that guys face but from his words earlier he would have no problem smashing me in the face right back so I'll stay in and prepare for work tomorrow.

Friday is here!

2009-05-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, the pity party is over! Yay! I'm just about out the door for the weekend and I actually have plans for once. I'm heading out for a meander along Main Street and then a Thai dinner with my lovely Jennifer G.

I bought a new camera case that allows me to clip it onto my purse so I'm hoping that this will remind me to break out the old snapper and take more pics. I also had my passport photos done today. I'm onto my third passport and my second best passport picture. I've kept both of my old passports so maybe I'll post the photos one day to show the ravages time has taken on me.

Actually I was accused of being 24 a few weeks ago so I guess I can't be doing too badly, eh?

Hah, life is good if you look at if from the correct angle.

Pity Party for One!

2009-05-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have been reading through some of my favourite blogs (of people based in Europe usually) and I have discovered something. These people do things. Lots of things. They do these things alone and with other people and they usually enjoy themselves while doing these things. I think that the reason that I haven’t had any meat for my blog pie is that I am not doing anything.

I will give you a fully fleshed out description of what I have done in the past seven days.
Friday – work 8:30am to 4:30pm, home at 5ish and never left
Saturday – home all day except to walk Schultze, 7pm volunteer at friends’ art gallery opening night, 7:45pm went home sick from friends’ art gallery opening night
Sunday – home all day except to walk Schultze, spent most of my time reading Harry Potter and/or playing games on computer
Monday – in bed sleeping because I was sick but I would probably just be at work then home anyway
Tuesday – same as Monday
Wednesday – work 8:30am to 4:30pm, 4:30 to 5:30 walked around and shopped and listened to my new favourite band Fotos, 5:45pm home and didn’t leave again
Thursday – work 8:30am to 4:30pm, 5:00pm home and I know I won’t leave except to take Schultze for his evening constitutional

I’m not complaining that I have nothing to do. I actually prefer to be at home but I guess I get jealous sometimes of those people who are a part of a large group of friends who can all meet up on a regular basis and be comfortable and happy together. I’m not that kind of person. When I’m in a group of people I feel under pressure to be nice and say the right thing and then I just kind of freak and I’m out of there but I wish that I had the many memories of doing various things like camping trips and dinners out and bowling nights and hikes. I have many wonderful friends but I have made it so that I only see one at a time and most girls would rather do things like a nice dinner out with another couple so they can enjoy it with their spouse and I would probably feel the same if I weren’t single.

I think that because I am over thirty I’m feeling the need to change and grow up (even though I still feel 20 in my head) and the friends I knew in my 20’s remind me of things I used to do in my 20’s (you really don’t want to go there) and I’m having a hard time adjusting to that fact that I could hang out with these people in a different capacity.

Maybe I should stop being such a hermit and go out and do things alone. I just don’t like talking to strangers. Plus all of this blasted sunshine is enough to turn me into a raving lunatic. I'm more a fan of this kind of weather (my lovely Vancouver Main Street on a rainy afternoon).

Music meme

2009-05-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

I was going back in time and rereading old entries from my favourite blog Ms. Mac and I discovered this meme and thought it would be fun. It was actually kind of spooky because I followed the rules completely and noticed that the songs really matched the questions. I seriously didn't do that on purpose so yay, go universe!! This perusing of Ms. Mac's blog also reminded me of how I found her in the first place. I was in a major Chris Isaak mode at the time and googled him to see what I could find and her blog came up. How very interesting.

The Soundtrack of my Life!

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool …

Opening Credits – Crawl – Kings of Leon
Waking Up – E – T.Raumschmiere
First Day at School – McFearless – Kings of Leon
Falling in Love – Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love - Coldplay
Fight Song – Hole to Feed – Depeche Mode
Breaking Up – Kleiner Auschnitt – Barbara Morgenstern
School Ball – These Arms of Mine – Otis Redding
Life is Good – A Letter to Elise – The Cure
Mental Breakdown – Do Right Woman, Do Right Man – Jim Cuddy
Driving – 5/4 - Rammstein
Getting Back Together – Flowers in the Window - Travis
Wedding – Nebel - Rammstein (hmm, I don't think this one fits)
Paying the Dues – Genesis - Justice
The Night Before the War –Hot Hot Hot!!! – The Cure
Final Battle – Mamma Mia – ABBA (yes, I’m a secret ABBA lover)
Moment of Triumph – Etude in E Major
Death Scene – Sonne - Rammstein
Funeral Song – Endlich Ein Grund Zur Panik – Wir Sind Helden
End Credits – Isolation – Joy Division

Yet again....

2009-05-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

...I have failed to update my blog. I love my blog, I really do. Even if no one in the world reads it I will read it and I will enjoy it. I like to go back and read all of my posts as if I were a stranger and I'm starting to wonder who this crazy woman is but she's humorous so I'll keep coming back.
I have been quite sick for the past five days but that's no excuse for not updating. I have also decided to re-read the entire Harry Potter series which takes up quite a lot of time considering how good the books are. I always forget how much better the books are than the movies and how the movies change lots of little bits that really make the story so I'm having a jolly good time being surprised by all of the little things I had forgotten about.

Anyway, considering that I am sick and not in a very good mood I will stick in a little post I wrote ages ago and saved for just such an occasion because I know myself too well and I figured I'd get lazy and not blog so....

It seems that I’m feeling creative again. I’ve decided to write as many blog posts as I can during this creative period so that during the times when I wish the world would fuck right off I don’t have to say it out loud and can pretend things are going on as usual. Unfortunately things are going along as usual right now and as a result I have reverted back to my horrible old eating habits. I bought one of those super yummy Ritter Sport Raisin and Hazelnut squares today. I’m talking the 100g size not the little ones next to the cash register. I thought “oh I can share this with loads of folks”! Well, true to form I shared with no one and I have consumed more sugar today than in the last month total.

You see, I have been working out and following Weight Watchers and it has been working really well but I think my mind just couldn’t take this über organised, super proactive, well on the road to success type of behaviour and just crumbled. I’m back to eating copious amounts of toast with peanut butter and/or jam and cups of tea with 2% milk and really dropping the amounts of fruits and veggies I’m consuming. I feel totally awful.

I’ll just take little Schultze for a nice long walk in the sunshine and I’m sure all of my worries will just float away (along with my sanity).

Ah love, or lust or whatever....

2009-05-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

As I was out having a couple of wonderful and tasty lattés with my friend Jill last night we got into a conversation about how I have decided to start dating again. Now, this is not the kind of thing that you can just say and that will be the end of it. When you are dealing with a person like me there will always be questions and comments to be added to a statement like that. The most obvious one being where do I plan on finding this mysterious “date”?

That is a very good question. I have absolutely no idea. I have a very unspecific specific idea of who I want in my head and as a result no man I meet is making the grade. Maybe my subconscious is telling me that I shouldn’t be dating anyone at the moment. Hmm, well if that’s the case I’m just going to ignore my subconscious.

Jill reckons that due to my personality type I should date Egon.
You know, as in The Ghostbusters? Okay, not Egon exactly but someone like him who has their emotions in check and won’t over react when I fly off the handle which I’m known to do on a very regular basis. Hmm, now that we’ve narrowed down who I should be dating we’re going to have to figure out where he is. I don’t like trendsters who wear stupid hats that won’t be in style for very long or people who like crappy Top 40 music or guys who don’t shower......hmmm, this list is getting really long.

Oh what is an overly picky, extreme emotion feeling, music snob supposed to do in this town?

Vancouver is well known for being difficult to meet people in.

Who am I gonna call??

Public Servant on Public Transit

2009-05-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m really enjoying my new job. I’m glad to be downtown yet with the kind of people I was with when I was in New West which I really enjoyed (except for the part where it took 45 minutes to get to work). Now it takes 10. Except for this morning. I don’t know where all the freaking people came from this morning but the train platform was packed when I got there and bus loads of people kept showing up! It was insane! I waited for 7 trains to see if the crowd would thin out but it didn’t. This might be a preview of what it will be like during the Olympics. If that’s the case I’m soooo outta here for those two weeks. I mean, it’s usually busy but it was like they flew in extra people to test us regulars to see if we could take it.

I ended up grabbing the bus which winds through downtown and wouldn’t you know it stops two blocks from my office so I will be taking the bus to and from work from now on. I’m quite excited about my discovery because I’m so sick of being crammed into train cars with people who have stinky breath, staring problems and no problems farting. It’s a fucking epidemic in Vancouver. People seem to have no issues with cutting the cheese in confined places. Arg, it’s so gross. Don’t get me wrong, I love to let a good one rip now and then but I save it for the privacy of my own home. I would never subject others to my ass-gassss (really, it’s for their own benefit).

Also, I get on the train at Main Street Skytrain station. It is the last station before people start to exit the train so the trains show up already extremely packed with passengers. There are then busses that come down Main Street and puke out piles of people who will then push and shove their way onto the already packed train cars. It makes me want to scream, especially since I have a thing with being physically close to strangers. It gives me the heebie-geebies. It’s only fine if I’ve been drinking, in fact it’s a prerequisite when I’ve been drinking, but that’s the only time.

Anyway, that’s the only major development in my life as of late. I’ve gone back to my saner choice of wanting to move to Berlin and I have taken steps to get some private language tutoring so that when autumn comes around I’ll be ready for the next level of Deutsch at the Goethe Zentrum at SFU. I’m getting really excited about Germany. I’ve been saving Euros so that if I’m still not up to par in my language skills I can just go and live there for 6 months to soak up some culture.

Okay, enough blabbing. Here are more pics of the baby Schultze and beautiful Vancouver to make you smile. Also, I’ve noticed that no one ever make any comments so if it’s just because I’m not delivering any comment worthy material then not to worry but if you have something to say please get it out. It’s good for you and it’ll make me happy too!

(p.s. don't forget to go to my Flickr account to see all of my photos and videos)

2009-05-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

Once again I have let my lovely little blog fall to the wayside. I just feel that I don’t want to put up filler. I’d like to post interesting information that means someting and unfortunately my life is fairly quiet so most entries I attempt are just filler. If I had children or a boyfriend I’m sure I could find more interesting information but I focus most of my time around my dog and my (futile) attempts to move to Europe.

My fascination is now with Norway. I’ve always been fascinated with it as my heritage is Norwegian but now I’m tackling it head on. I’ve been learning a lot about my Norwegian family from my mother. They, like any family, were both funny and mean and sad and happy and loving and not loving. Considering that this is a family that my mother married into and had a rough time in she has a very healthy point of view of them and tries to tell me funny anecdotes and stories about the family members that I never got a chance to know. I didn’t really grow up with the family but I really look like them so it’s hard to deny my bloodlines which makes me feel quite attached to total strangers. It is a very strange sensation.

Anyhoo, back to the present day. I have purchased a book called “Beginners Norwegian” with CD’s and all and I’m not going to lie to you all out there, this is one mother-fucker of a language to learn. The only good aspect is that many of the words are similar to German so I’m able to string some sentences together but it’s the three extra letters that F me right up. I have no doubt that I will get the hang of it eventually but I’m sure it will take much longer to master than my current level of German took me.

Ah, Norway. I’m fascinated by how insanely beautiful this country is and I’m desperate to get there. I think I’ll get my Teach English as a Second Language certification and then I can go somewhere in Europe and make below minimum wage teaching people English swear words and how to get around our lax grammar rules. Besides, if you read any US newspaper these days the changes they have made to the English language have practically rendered it a language unto its own so I don’t see why I can’t take some liberties. Their ridiculous spelling changes and ignoring of simple grammar rules that are even present on CNN make me furious but what can you do, right?

Ok, my rant is over. Back to my Norwegian fantasy. They don’t really need English teachers in Norway since they are all mostly fluent in the language but I guess I could go to France or Germany and then take extended vacations in Oslo and Trondhiem and Bergen! Ah, I hear the fjords calling me now(such drama)! Oh and it doesn't hurt that Norwegian men are insanely gorgeous (well, the gorgeous ones are more gorgeous than gorgeous men in other countries).

Please enjoy some photos taken from my new second favourite blog (Ms. Mac will hold first place for a long time I think) Oslo Daily Photo and if you like these check out the blog for yourself as the photos will take your breath away.

Vancouver

2009-04-22T09:02:00.001-07:00

Today I thought I'd do a post about Vancouver. I really love living here. Being a resident of downtown Vancouver I am lucky that I am surrounded by beautiful views everywhere I go (okay, sometimes I have to look around the people milling about on the street but that's just city life). These first two are of the seawall near my house, how amazing to have access to this kind of beauty whenever I want.

As it's Earth Day (and I swore I wouldn't blog about it because everyone and their dog will be blogging about it but too late) I figured I'd show you some photos of my beautiful city and why we should all take serious strides to care for our environment. It's easy if you think of it in parcels. Like be kind to your neighbourhood then your city then your province and country and so on.

To care for my city and neighbourhood I always used a personal mug when I buy coffee, ALWAYS! I carry a stainless steel water bottle and I never accept plastic bags from stores, I caarry a small cloth one that seems to cover all of my needs. Also, using tupperware from home instead of baggies for lunches has saved money as well as helping the environment and I get a discount for using my personal mug at coffee shops. In light of this I will continue to be motivated to be kinder to the earth. It isn't always easy, it's like being on a diet. Don't give up just because you had a cupcake or ten. My secret bad thing is I take long, hot showers which is not only a bad use of our declining water resources but it dries my skin out as well.

Anyway, here are more photos of my beautiful city. The first two are of Main Street which is my neighbourhood and the last is Canada Place where I used to work.

My baby

2009-04-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my dog....a lot.

Well, now those of you that have never met him can see him in all of his infinite-smooshhisface-cute glory. And if this isn't enough for you head over to the videos section of my flickr account and you can watch him roll on the ground and look cute as often as you want. Please excuse the baby voice I use to speak to him. I know it gets annoying but I can't help myself.

Whoa, that took a long time.

2009-04-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Jeez, I can't believe how quickly times files these days. I was sitting here wondering how long it had been since I had written a blog post and I was fairly sure it was only a week at most. Well, no. Sorry. It has been exactly 12 days, almost two weeks!

Anyway, I think it is due to the fact that the job I had got cut short as I mentioned earlier and I was temporarily filling in for someone who was out sick and I was interviewing for a new job. Well, today I started my new job. I work for the BC Provincial Government and I have moved back to my previous ministry. The funny part of it is that I have moved to a totally different office but I'm working with people I worked with two years ago and the work is almost exactly the same as before so I feel like I've returned to a familiar, comfortable place and I haven't had any of that crazy first day awkwardness.

That's very nice considering I made a monumental boo-boo and decided to get blue streaks in my hair two days before I started my new job! Who does that? What an idiot. I was freaking out all weekend. I couldn't think of anything else and had a major meltdown last night before bed. It's a good thing that my doctor gave me a prescription for amazing sleeping pills or I wouldn't have lasted the night.

It's a pity

2009-04-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

I can feel it happening again.....I'm slowly sinking down into the muck and mire that is the back of my mind. I should have known when I had a completely unhindered stretch of over three weeks of happiness which included giggling, jumping for joy, humming happy tunes, thinking I was looking fabulous (and I was), greeting strangers with a bright hello (sickening really) and the list goes on. Well, it's all stopping. Slowly I'm starting to read into every little movement people make and wonder how it is relating back to me. Man, I really hate this stage. Where you're not sure if you actually did something to piss someone off or if you're just being sensitive.

Here's me happy:

Here is me not happy:

Okay so there are a few years between those photos but you get the idea. Anyway, fighting will just make me crash into the abyss faster and harder so I will sail as smoothly as I can through the choppy waters of my thoughts and try to keep a positive outlook.

As far as the sleeping goes it's getting better. I now keep a candle, lighter, notebook and pencil by my bed for those 2am eyes flying open with a great idea moments. Hopefully my notes aren't too full of drug induced grand plans that are actually silly in the sober moments. Let me check........hmmm, well it's not silly but it is very strange. Something about panes of glass that aren't actually made of glass and how I'm crying to hard to go for a walk with my friend Jill. I think I actually wrote down the dream I was having at the time thinking what a great bit of abstract thinking it was but it's actually a load of rubbish. Oh well, I'll try again tonight.

Very graphic to say the least.....

2009-04-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

I am not a comic book person normally but I have read a few and enjoyed them enough to look for more. Items like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac which bring me endless pleasure no matter how many times I read them and of course as a child I read Archie but I don't think Archie's count.

Anyway, I saw the movie 30 Days of Night recently and liked it a lot. Especially the teeth and how covered in blood they all were!

At the end of the movie I noticed that it said it was based on the graphic novel. I went and bought the first novel in the series of 8 and have discovered a new hobby. I have always been fond of blood and guts and felt a strong affinity with Vampires so this movie had it all for me. Along with complete lack of emotion on the antagonists side (except for contempt for the human race) which made for a nice change instead of it being all "I hate you and you hate me" silliness. The graphic novel is the same; plenty of sharp teeth and blood along with an interesting story line. I mean even watching this in the daytime I was freaked out. The story is about Barrow, Alaska which goes dark for 30 days and a clan of Vamps swoop in and annihilate them during the black out. All except for Stella, one of the sheriffs. I now plan on purchasing and reading the rest of the series and continuing with other graphic novels along the same vein (heh, get it vein? Vampires? OK, never mind).

If any of you out there are fans of graphic novels and/or comics send some suggestions my way. If not don't worry, I can always go to my neighbourhood comics store and gaze at the mega cute owner while I ask him inane questions.

*quick note: mega cute guy in comic store isn't the owner (I think) but he's still cute)*

On a side note, for those of us who live in Vancouver you all know how difficult it is to meet people and make new friends. I have discovered a group who are giving us who are tired of this behaviour a chance to work on it. They have created OK buttons that signal to others that it is OK to come up and start a conversation. Go to www.oksocial.org for more information. I'm thinking of buying some of these for people I know because more than once have I complained to my friends and they have agreed that this city is notorious for people sticking to themselves and making it difficult to meet new people.

Sleep when you’re dead....or so they say

2009-04-07T01:41:00.000-07:00

Why the fuck can’t I sleep....I have made many attempts as per my doctors instructions and things were going well for a few days. I am finally convinced that it is getting up at the unholy hour of 6:30 am is what is making me ill. I can’t, no matter how hard I try, manage to get a full nights sleep and feel rested in the morning. It matters not whether I have slept all the way through or if I wake up a million times I feel exactly the same every morning. Like a big pile of Schiesse!!

All of that sleep when you are dead malarky doesn’t really ring true to me. I can barely function on a day to day basis due to my insomnia and this is not a choice. I have always wondered how those crazy workaholics can pull it off without completely going into a nervous breakdown at some point.

It is 1:45am and instead of doing what i thought I would be doing I am laying in bed ranting about how I’m not sleeping. This really blows! I’m soooo tired!!! Okay, whinge session is over and I feel better so thank you. I think what I need is to lay on a deck chair in the sun, drink cider and wine and read some books and work on my German lessons. That would be as close to heaven as I’ll ever get, especially since I don’t believe heaven exists.

Here’s an old photo of me for those of you who are interested. Just so that this posting is about more than how I can never sleep. See, I used to have dark hair!

P.S. I’m writing this post on an old iBook and the keyboard is foreign so my punctuation and spelling might be a bit off. Entschuldigung!

Bleeeaaacccchhh

2009-04-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

I hate being sick. I hate it even more when it sneakes and takes me by surprise.

I was at work and was starting to feel a little woozy yesterday but I really didn’t take much notice of it because the medication I take sometimes makes me dizzy. Well, after lunch I started to feel really hot and myh vision wasn’t staying still. I walked to the kitchen to make a cup of tea for myself and was lurching into the wall and stuff. I’m not the kind of person to call the paramedics unless a limb is hanging by a thread so when I was told that a coworker has called them I was surprised to put it mildly. They came and checked me out and I was told that my blood pressure was really high. Well, I’m still not quite convinced but I suppose I’ll have to go to my doctor eventually.

I went home yesterday afternoon and went straight to bed then woke up at 11pm and was awake all night. I woke up feeling dizzy again this morning and slept until 3 this afternoon. Other than my arm feeling like someone pulled it out of its socket I feel much better. My theory is that I was just out of sync from not sleeping enough and now that I have caught up I will return to a normal balance.

Anyway, I have to thank Deborah for taking such good care of me and hopefully when I go back to work this doesn’t come back. Next post will be more entertaining but I’m not in a very creative mood at the mo.

A friend is worth a thousand words.....oh, wait...that's a picture. Sorry!

2009-03-26T11:01:00.001-07:00

Well, so far I have only received three emails from the roughly 75 people I sent a notice to regarding the deletion of my Facebook page. I’m not sure if I should be insulted or what. I’m trying to think about what actions I would have taken if I had received an email from a Facebook contact that said the same thing. I think I would have at least sent a quick note to let that person know that I had gotten their email and that considering I had bothered to add them as a “friend” on Facebook I would take one second out of my day to let them know that I was aware of what was going on with them. Isn’t that what friends do?

I guess this just proves my theory that people add hundreds of people to their friends list on Facebook because it looks good and they are only friends in real life with a small number of those. I am happy that I am not up to the minute on everyone’s lives but I would have liked to stay in touch with everyone. I guess it isn’t meant to be. I remember how difficult it was to stay in touch before Facebook so I’m aware of the realities. Moving on.

I have noticed something very annoying about how I write. I use the word “just” quite often. If I’m not careful to go back and reread everything very carefully before I posting I’ll notice that I use “just” and “well” and “anyways” over and over which makes my writing sound juvenile and/or amateurish. Don’t get me wrong, I am aware that I am an amateur writer and that this blog is done purely for fun so please no comments about any delusions of grandeur I may have. I just love writing, regardless of whether I am good at it or not. (Also note that I am not a photographer and these photos were taken in a dark bar with an iPhone, hence the bad quality)

I also love singing but I know that I’m good at it so that is a totally different story.

Blogging is great

2009-03-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Here is a short update on me for those of you who are interested.

I think it's time to get back into the dating world. Maybe.
I didn't give much thought to who might read this blog when I started it so to those of you who might be insulted by some of the things I have said here please understand that a) this is my personal space to rant and rave and it doesn't mean I hate anyone (unless I say I hate someone) and b) keep in mind I have a mental illness that makes me crazy sometimes and if you're someone who doesn't understand mental illness and thinks it's just a crazy person mumbling to themselves then you need some education.
I'm starting to wonder about all of the personal opinions I have and if somehow potential employers have found this blog and that that is the reason that I am not having as much luck as usual. If so, it's a shame that personal opinion (which stays home during the working hours) affects whether someone will get a secretarial position (where opinions aren't that relevant).
I think I'm going to get myself in trouble for items number 2 and 3 but I'll be brave and post them anyway. Yeah, I'm a rebel and yeah people need to be educated regarding the truth about mental illness.
I need to lose 30lbs. Like right now!
I need, repeat NEED, to go to Ikea. For more than just meatballs and potatoes. Hey I have a Scandinavian background, I need my meatballs and potatoes.
I am looking for a partner to travel to London and Berlin with me sometime in the next year.

I think that about covers my ramblings for today. I'm going to finish my London Fog Latte now and go home to watch Dr. Who! Grrrr, David Tennant. Sexy, skinny little bastard.

Comfortably Numb......lazy as shit is more like it.

2009-03-25T08:49:00.001-07:00

I am in a creative funk. I don't mean funk and in "yeah, funky, get down and boogie", I mean funk as in I'm creatively blue. I think it has something to do with going out and consuming so much alcohol that my liver could be served with bread and cheese it's so pickled. Alcohol has a way of turning me into a zombie for weeks after I drink it and my extreme indulgence on the night of the 14th is still affecting me.

I'm not completely without a creative streak but it seems to hit me between the hours of midnight and 7am. The hours of which I am in bed trying to sleep. I have written roughly 6 blog posts in my head over the past week, all while laying in bed and being quite sure that when I woke up in the morning I would just pop over to work and the words would flow like the fountains of Rome. Well no, that is not exactly what has been happening. I have been waking up and running my fat ass to work because I'm usually late (very bad habit to get into and very hard habit to get out of) and by the time I get to my desk and am settled in to start writing I can only remember the silly things I told myself before going to sleep to ensure I would remember the many paragraphs I had written in my head.

I think the only solution to this problem is to let go of the desire to write witty and entertaining blog posts, get some decent sleep and hope that it will become natural for me to be creative during the hours I am awake.

I'm not too sure about this plan due to the fact that I have always been at my best after midnight and before the sun rises. I was like this when I was 5 and I was like this when I was 25. It just seems that after midnight my brain just goes into active mode and I become normal. I'm productive like everyone else is in the middle of the freaking day. As you can imagine this is a little bit of a challenge for me as I work in an office during the day.

I guess the only solutions is to get the old laptop out when creativity strikes and give up the silly idea that I will ever get a good night’s sleep.

Hmmm,

2009-03-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

It seems that I have had nothing to say over the past few days. Yes, I know you're shocked. You're thinking to yourself "Kate?? With nothing to say? Scandalous!" Well my friends, it's true. I am in catch up mode. I have been doing more than my share of opening my gob and letting things fly out willy-nilly and I think my mind has had enough. I have attempted to write a blog post many times over the past two days and it has been awful. I have a feeling that it will be that way for a few more days. I think it is because I am in a different position at work now where I have freedom to do things where in my old position it was like breaking the rules so it was more fun. Now I'm relaxed and happier so I don't have any gripes and the things that piss me off aren't really bothering me.

Have no fear, I will have things to bitch about in the near future and you will be the lucky beneficiaries of my rants and opinions.

On a different note, I have a job interview this afternoon and I'm having a shit-attack while waiting for the time to pass! I'm soooo nervous so maybe I'll go eat some smokehouse almonds.

Here's one of those 3 Things meme's to keep you all busy.

3 Things.....

Three names I go by:
1. Kate
2. Miss Kate
3. Kiddo (Mom only)

Three Jobs I have had in my life
1. Secretary
2. Barmaid
3. BC Government drone

Three Places I have lived
1. Vancouver, BC
2. Dublin, Ireland
3. London, England

Three Favorite drinks
1. Coffee
2. Water
3. Tea

Three TV Shows that I watch
1. Law & Order
2. Family Guy
3. Dr. Who

Three (favourite) places I have been
1. London, England
2. Vancouver, BC
3. Tofino, BC

People that e- mail me regularly
1. Sarah Arnold
2. Laura Lee Petsnick
3. PuzzleMaster

Three of my favorite foods
1. Cactus Club Pistachio Crusted Halibut
2. Gyoza and California Roll from Shogun Sushi on Hornby
3. My homemade Roast Chicken with roasted potatoes

Three Things I am looking forward to
1. Going back to school
2. Going to Germany
3. Taking a trip to London

Three Things I pretend not to know
1. If I don’t know them how can I tell you what they are?
2. See above
3. See above

Three things no one knows about me
1. These things are unknown for a reason.
2. See above.
3. See number

1.Three things I love about my Kids
1. The fact that they don't exist yet.
2. See above.
3. See number 1

Three things I love about my life.
1. I have a wonderful Mom who makes me laugh and takes good care of me.
2. I have a fabulous dog who is so cute I want to squish him.
3. I have great friends who put up with my shit and I really don’t know why.

Three longest friendships.
1. Lisa Cattell
2. Katerina Chartier
3. Andria Charette

Facebook is the devil or at least a little dangerous.

2009-03-16T10:42:00.001-07:00

After a weekend of pure indulgence where I hurt my knee so badly that I can't bend it because it's too swollen I have decided that in order to have some semblance of dignity come Monday morning I must delete my Facebook account. Due to the fact that I have an iPhone I am completely connected to everything all of the time. Which means that at 2am on a drunk saturday night at a crazy punk show I can whip out the old iPhone and start drunk messaging people I haven't talked to in ages. I don't remember any of the messages I sent or to whom I sent them but I know I sent at least two and they were sappy and full of bullshit (I think I know who I sent them to and neither of these people will be happy to read my notes).

I must admit it has been really nice to be able to be in touch with my family members that I never get to see and to be able to see pictures of friends I haven't seen in years and know in an instant how they are all doing but I think that is exactly the problem. We are all way too in touch now and when I see my friends and family face to face it is not as wonderful or joyfull because I can see the same face and hear the same news instantly on a stinking website. I guess it's just bugging me that there are so few boundaries nowadays. I mean I'm blogging about my private things and everyone and their dog can read them but for some reason this feels different. Besides, I'm sure we've all heard that once you load a picture onto Facebook they own the rights to those pictures forever. Even if you've deleted them. I think I'd rather post all of my pictures on Flickr and have copyright control over images of my smiling mug!

Everyone I was friends with on Facebook have been given the address for this blog and can stay in touch if they want. I think this will be an interesting experiment to see if I can survive without being totally connected. I will miss the games though, they've gotten me through some very boring work days!

9 Layers

2009-03-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

A meme to peel aways the layers of you.

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Kate
-- Birth date: November 10, 1977
-- Birthplace: Regina, Saskatchewan
-- Current Location: Vancouver, BC
-- Eye Color: Blue/Grey
-- Hair Color: Blonde
-- Height: 5'4 1/2"
-- Righty or Lefty: Righty
-- Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: Only silly North Americans would ask that but Norwegian.
-- The shoes you wore today: Grey and purple Pumas.
-- Your weakness: lack of self-esteem
-- Your fears: being broke, being laughed at
-- Your perfect pizza: Ham, tomato, extra mushroom, feta cheese
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: a degree in something, not quite sure what yet

LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase on AIM: I don't chat
-- Your first waking thoughts: Fuck!
-- Your best physical feature: My face is damn cute
-- Your most missed memory: That doesn't make any sense, if I missed it it's because it's gone so how would I know what it was?

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Neither
-- McDonald's or Burger King: A&W
-- Single or group dates: I don't date
-- Adidas or Nike: Whichever is on sale
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Water
-- Chocolate or vanilla: depends on what form it's taking
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee.

LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: not anymore
-- Cuss: as much as I can
-- Sing: in the car
-- Take a shower everyday: only if I have to
-- Do you think you've been in love: yes, once.
-- Want to go to college: yes, hopefully next year.
-- Liked high school: no, it sucked major hairy asshole.
-- Want to get married: been there, done that, probably won't do it again.
-- Believe in yourself: am starting to
-- Get motion sickness: only if I read in a moving vehicle
-- Think you're attractive: I'm getting my good looks back.
-- Think you're a health freak: yeah right!
-- Get along with your parent(s): I don't speak to my dad but I couldn't live without my mom!
-- Like thunderstorms: definitely, the louder and brighter the better
-- Play an instrument: I used to play bass but I sold my bass to buy my dog. Definitely worth it.

LAYER SIX: In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: yes.
-- Smoked: nope
-- Done a drug: no
-- Made Out: I wish.
-- Gone on a date: I don't date.
-- Gone to the mall?: yes.
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: yuck
-- Eaten sushi: yes
-- Been on stage: no
-- Been dumped: no
-- Gone skating: wanted to but never made it.
-- Made homemade cookies: nope
-- Gone skinny dipping: too chilly
-- Dyed your hair: yes
-- Stolen Anything: no but not for lack of trying, hah.

LAYER SEVEN: Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: no, too chicken
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: too many times to count
-- Been caught "doing something": I was probably trashed so can't remember but I'm sure it's happened.
-- Been called a tease: hmm, probably not. interpret that how you will.
-- Gotten beaten up: no but I got slapped by a friend while her mom cheered her on, very surreal
-- Shoplifted: no
-- Changed who you were to fit in: sure, who hasn't?

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: um, already answered this one.
-- Numbers and Names of Children: none yet
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: a lack of one
-- How do you want to die: in my sleep
-- Where you want to go to college: BCIT
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: an adult
-- What country would you most like to visit: England, I miss London, oh and of course Germany

LAYER NINE:
-- Number of drugs taken illegally: wow, let's not go there.
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: four or five
-- Number of CDs that I own: lots
-- Number of piercings: 10
-- Number of tattoos: 13
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: 0
-- Number of scars on my body: three or four
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: nothing, I've learned from my mistakes.

Taken from http://thedailymeme.com/lost/found/000481.php

Their/They're/There doing it all wrong!

2009-03-10T15:10:00.001-07:00

I can not believe how bad the spelling and grammar is in our society today. The comments sections that follow news articles are absolutely brimming with misuses of their/they’re/there and were/we’re and not using “an” in front of a word that starts with a vowel or using “an” in front of a word that starts with a consonant or just misspelling simple words due to being in a hurry or, in my opinion, plain stupidity. I personally would feel like a super-duper idiot if I posted a hugely opinionated comment on a news site and then discovered that it was misspelled or that the grammar and punctuation were incorrect.

I’m sure that in my desire to get this posting out of my head and onto paper I will discover mistakes but unlike those silly people I will go back and do a quick edit to ensure that all mistakes are corrected.

The lack of caring from these people stems from the fact that they are anonymous; at least that is my opinion. If you can write whatever you want and no one will ever know who you are and where you are from then who cares if your writing is full of errors? Well, I will tell you who cares. I do! I’m sick of enjoying a mostly well written article to then attempt to enjoy the various comments ranging from the idiotic and ignorant to the funny and well thought out and have my attempts thwarted. It’s like going for a nice walk and as you’re pleasantly strolling along you suddenly stumble on that deceptively flat piece of sidewalk. Grr, that irritating.

I really do enjoy reading those comments though. It gives me better insight into the mind of the average Canadian. The debates between political or religious sides are the most fun considering that many of the comments made are pure opinion and not based on any facts whatsoever. Oh well, when we die we will find out the truth to this world, or we’ll just die and we won’t wonder anymore so either way I’m going to have fun on CBC.ca.

P.S. if you are a fan of words check out my new blog Words I Find Interesting.

In a rut

2009-03-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see from the title of the blog I am in a creative rut. I have managed to squeak out a few lines of poetry but that stuff stays on physical paper on my bookshelf. In lieu of the written word I think I will just post a few pictures to keep my blog looking fresh and full of life.

It seems that my obsession with Germany and German things has abated for the moment. I am again working towards moving back to London. I really wish I hadn't left, besides I figure it would be easier to live in a city where I know people and speak the language and just visit Germany. Especially when I'll be so much closer than I am now. Hmmm, now how do I get a work permit? I'm thinking of going into Broadcast Communications for Television. Considering I have already taken a Music Production program that is similar to a few of the classes required I think I might have a fighting chance of graduating with high marks, as long as I work my ass off.

Anyway, there's the update on me. And now for a closing photo!

He's soooo cute!

My insides don't match my outsides.....

2009-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, it’s 2pm…..get me the fuck out of here! This blows donkey’s balls. I am sitting at my desk in the middle of the bloody room where everyone can see what I’m doing and yet again not a goddamn word is being said. I am working on a document that is full of off colour language and unnecessary punctuation....and it goes unnoticed. That suits me just fine because I can work on my blog now and when I get home I’ll be free to rearrange my furniture.

This is soul destroying and now I’m consoling myself with a chocolate infused Matcha green tea latte. Could that get any more pretentious? No, but that’s Vancouver for you. What the fuck is going on here? Am I fucking invisible? Jayzus christos this is very frustrating!! I am always amazed at my ability to remain outwardly calm and quiet when in my head I'm screaming murderous threats and having visions of machete's and swords flying at everyone around. Everyone gets the same level of threat, i'm an equal opportunity imaginary murderer.

I am looking for a new job but it is not going as well as I’d hoped. I guess someone with 10 years of experience and excellent references isn’t as desirable as a 20 year old straight out of university. I’m not being sarcastic there either. I am discovering that people want fresh faces they can mould to suit their working style. But wait….I’m mouldable….I’m very mouldable….mould away, I won’t stop you! Please!!! Someone mould me!!!

Hah, okay my freak session is over. I’m trying to figure out what road to take in my career. I am going for a full-on career change. I hope to start school in September 2010 so I have just over a year and a half to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. No problem. Should be a breeze.

I have a vision in my head of what I would be doing at my ideal job. I would be working very hard at all hours of the day (especially if I can have Schultze with me). There would be much camaraderie and laughter between myself and my colleagues. I would be doing something creative and have a wonderful mentor who gives me direction and isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m doing things incorrectly. Then we have drinks on a Friday night together and the next week never mention to each other the drunken debauchery that went on.

Okay, breathe Kate…only a few hours and you’ll be sipping Corona and reading The Bourne Ultimatum! Oh, and rearranging furniture. Yes, life goes on doesn’t it?

Toronto Day 3

2009-03-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Toronto was slower than the other two but just as nice. Sarah took me for breakfast to a little 50’s diner where she had eaten the morning before. It was great with home style potatoes, scrambled eggs, perfect crispy bacon and rye toast. The coffee was great too which is a huge bonus considering I’m very picky about my coffee.

After breakfast we headed over to S.Bucks where I was going to attempt to write these blog posts but the Wi-Fi was too confusing for me to figure out and the barista had more knowledge of making strong coffee than setting up a connection so I enjoyed my latte and we left.

The flight was longer this time (6 hours) and I felt every last second of it. There were smelly people behind me and it was giving me a head ache but I did watch Guy Ritchie’s film RocknRolla and WOW, loved it!

I was sad on the bus to the airport. Flying all the way to Toronto for a weekend is a very exciting thing to do and add to that the time spent in the same room with a famous director along with another famous director and movie industry people I was on a little bit of a creative high. So getting on the bus felt like I was being dragged back to my normal old life where I don’t do anything of consequence. I guess this trip has given me a different perspective on my life. I have always been a musical, creative type person but I never felt I could use those talents and desires in my professional life so I have shut it all down and put it under lock and key in the back of my brain. Well, no longer will I be an office drone.

We met people this weekend that don’t make fortunes and are so totally happy and I think that it is because they have taken a chance and are doing something they love and are proud of to earn their living. I am not doing something I love to earn my living and I was and am too afraid to make that leap but if I just change my perspective a small bit maybe I can make a step towards being that person.

So here’s a huge thank you to Toronto for a great time and for helping me open my eyes a little bit. Also a mega thank you to Sarah for inviting me and for being an excellent travel companion.

Toronto Day 2

2009-03-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

I was woken up on Saturday by Sarah with a Grande Pike Place and a breakfast sandwich from S.Bucks. What a gem that woman is. She, like everyone else, gets up at a normal hour but I will sleep until the afternoon if you don’t stop me so she did what cautious and smart people do when they attempt to wake me (see grumpy picture below) is she arrived bearing java. After getting ready we headed out to Casa Loma which is a famous castle built by sir Henry Pellatt on a hill overlooking Toronto. The tour was much nicer than we expected and I highly recommend going there if you are ever in Toronto.

Considering we were at Casa Loma much longer than we expected we headed straight down to Eaton Centre and to the Sephora store. This is the only Sephora location in Canada and considering I shop on the website so often it was one of my top things to do in Toronto. I bought Benefit Girl’s Night In and Realness of Concealness. I have always enjoyed Benefit products but I certainly did not expect the excellent results these sets produced. I highly recommend the brand.

Anyway, after makeup we headed down to the food court for a quick bite seeing as how we had a little under an hour to be at the screening. I got to have Harvey’s which is hard to find out here so I was in heaven and Sarah had a nice Thai noodle dish, yum!

Rush, rush, rush…..hotel room…..change…..spritz….apply lipstick….jump in cab.

Okay we made it to the theatre and the line up (for ticket holders) was around the block and there had to be 300 people in front of us. There were the three crazy guys behind us that kept going on about this and that and were actually quite funny so we chatted a bit and were then declared LINE BUDDIES (see picture below)! We had fun, a nice little chat and went in to enjoy the screenings of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz with writer/director Edgar Wright. I didn’t get close to him but Sarah went up to ask a question and she also spoke to him after the Q&A and everything. Oooh, exciting!

Outside the theatre we made the excellent decision to go to the pub across the street for a quick drink before heading home. Yay for Magners cider! Wouldn’t you know our line buddies came strolling in and we all had a marvellous time! I’m not going to attempt to describe the evening in detail as I think it will diminish the true fun feelings as I try to recreate it so trust me on this one.

Toronto Day 1

2009-03-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I flew to Toronto to attend a screening of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz that was being presented by the writer and director of the films Edgar Wright.

Well, after waiting in line for waaayyy to long to go through security we had exactly 4 minutes to run to our departure gate and get on the plane. There was only one other person after us and I’m quite sure that if we hadn’t run our asses off to get to the gate we would definitely have missed the place, stupid YVR security.

Okay, we arrived and grabbed the Toronto Downtown Shuttle Bus and made it to the hotel easily. Now anyone who knows me knows that I have always been an avid Toronto hater but after only a few hours in the city I am a convert. Compared to Vancouver I found the service to be much nicer and even the everyday people walking around weren't so oblivious to the real world like they are here. I may have a small tinge of awayfromhomeitis that is inevitable when you travel. Everything is wonderful and home is boring and not nearly as nice but of course if I lived in Toronto I'm sure I'd feel the same way about it after time.

On the way into town we took the first photo of the weekend, the CN Tower of course.

After check-in we headed out into the great big city. I have lived in quite a few cities in my day including London and I was firmly convinced of Vancouver’s status of Big City but Toronto definitely makes Vancouver pale in comparison. The downtown core has a larger variety of independent cafes and shops where I’m sure you can get almost anything. Vancouver is more about high-end chain stores and Starbucks so it was a nice change to see record shops that were so obviously independent you knew you’d be able to find that long lost copy of whatever cool music you love in there on vinyl. I wish I had taken pictures of these stores and cafes but the freezing cold prevented me from doing much more than whinging on like a baby and telling Sarah that if she didn’t figure out where the hell we were I was jumping in a cab. Poor Sarah, I’m sure I exclaimed my state of frozenness to her roughly a million times and probably not in a very nice manner either. She was very good about it which she always is!

Our first Toronto meal was at the Elephant and Castle pub and it was nice. I discovered another nice thing about the East Coast. They have the yummy Irish and English ciders I love so much like Bulmers (Ireland) and Magners (England). They are roughly the same thing but we can’t get them here. We have Strongbow, of course but I prefer Bulmers.

After braving our way to the CN Tower, where I was assured it was just around the corner many times over, we really enjoyed the experience. It was about as interesting as I expected it to be but the view was amazing. The glass floor is also something of interest but I wasn’t mesmerized. I think we were having so much fun with the video camera that everything was more fun than it would have been so that was a major bonus. I will post all of our videos once I have them edited.

Drama is my something...something......something....

2009-02-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

Oh my god, I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. Researching American transportation statistics is sooooo boring but it is necessary that I do it. Oh well, I’ll just have to assault Starbucks one more time!

I’m guess I’m just too focused on my trip to Toronto tomorrow. I’ve been so sidetracked lately due to preparing for the trip, desperately trying to get my new camera shipped in time for the trip (don’t have it yet, grr), reading The Bourne Supremacy (very deep and involving so takes up a lot of time), preparing for interviews (stressful and now that the adrenaline is gone I’m wiped out) and spending quality time with my mom as she pretends to listen to what I’m saying while watching curling or golf (pisses me off).

Hopefully I will have some interesting adventures in T.O. to chat about to spice the blog up. I’ve been very boring lately.

Here's what I'm leaving:

Here's what I'm going to:

Wheeee, I’m sooo excited for tomorrow! I love flying places! Another upside to this trip is that I’m going with my friend Sarah who is awesome to spend time with and we are similar in that we don’t like dragging our asses around looking at stupid touristy stuff so I am now prepared for a nice weekend spend in café’s and pubs enjoying the scenery with my computer in my lap and many laughs to make everything perfect.

As for work I will give you a short update on how thing are. In a previous post I was ranting and raving and it was therapeutic and I’m glad I got my feelings out. Things are still the same but I think my point of view has slightly changed. Taking into consideration the fact that I actually have things to do I am much happier. As a result of this I am getting along with my colleagues better and I am actually very happy here. I have always really liked my coworkers but I think there is a new harmony between myself and them and I am very happy that things are moving along so smoothly. For those of you that require a daily dose of drama fear not! I will definitely have a major mood swing in the near future and there will be treacherous foes lurking in every corner as far as I will be concerned. You will get your drama, my friends….oh yes, you will….

Crrraaazzzyy! (to be read in sing-song voice)

2009-02-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

I think that I’m taking my blog too seriously. I’ve gone through and read my last two posts and they are of such a serious nature (snore). This isn’t the Globe and Mail for christ’s sake. I definitely need to lighten up!

Well, let’s see what blather is going on in my crazy head. Hmm, things I’m preoccupied with right now:

o German lessons
o Weight loss
o My trip to Toronto
o Hair cut (If you're in Vancouver and need a great stylist go see Ali at Valacey Salon
o Saving money for trip to Germany
o Studying math
o Applying to BCIT
o Buying Spanx (maybe I should keep some things secret?)

Now that I have it all laid out I realise that I have a shit-load of stuff on my mind! No wonder I get so scatterbrained!

Moody Blues

2009-02-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Moods, they control our lives. Our mood dictates how our day will go and how we will relate to others around us. With all of these moods flying around affecting each other I find it amazing that we get anything done at all (without complete chaos and bodily harm).

For some of us in this world we don’t have control over our moods. Our mind has total control over our bodies and if my mind says it’s a grumpy day well I just better go along with it or there will be a price to pay. Fighting your moods when you are someone like me can cause serious reactions. If I force myself to change my mood it can cause stomach aches, headaches, heartburn, dizziness and can compromise my immune system making it easier for me to catch a cold or flu.

I really wish I wasn’t like this. Having an illness that isn’t outwardly obvious and is misunderstood buy the majority of the general public is frustrating but how can life be anything but wonderful when you are out on a day like this.

Vancouver’s Granville Island has a wonderful market to get fresh, local produce, meats and fish as well as crafts, collectables, jewellery and of course chocolates. The beauty of living where I live is that I am very close to Granville Island so I can take Schultze for a walk and be there in 30 minutes or so and if we’re tired we can take the Aquabus home (Schultze wasn't too sure about the Aquabus).

I think having such a beautiful sight to view on a daily basis makes it easier to remind myself why it’s good to be happy.

Work...what more is there to say...it's a tough job.

2009-02-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

Work life is not the simple thing I once thought it was. It not a case of show up- work-go home. There are many dynamics in play that are underneath the layer that makes up our outward appearances.

I understand that every person, and I feel confident saying every person, has a work side and a non-work side. I won’t say a play side because that is a part of the non-working side as each side has many components of its own. The need that our Canadian society feels to be nice to each other all the time and to not “rock the boat” can definitely have down sides. I have found in my ten years working in offices that the majority of people are afraid of confrontation and therefore things don’t get resolved properly if they are resolved at all.

I must admit that I have problem with my temper and I have a propensity to pre-judge people but the fact that I am aware of this stops me in my tracks and forces me to take a second look at the person and try to understand what is really going on underneath the fear and niceties. These issues make people afraid to speak up when they are upset or have an issue with something which causes them to behave differently towards the person who caused the issue, which then causes animosity between these two people.

I will give you an example. I work in an office where there are two admin people. For some reason, since I started, our team doesn’t come to me for assistance. They all seem to be under the impression that they should to go to the other admin person which leaves me wondering what the hell is wrong with me? I have a long and excellent work history (minus one or two blunders but who hasn’t had at least one?) and I feel like a leper in my group. I sit at my desk and do almost nothing all day because the tasks on the job description that I applied for and was looking forward to doing I don’t do, for some reason.

There is one person in particular who isn’t too fond of me but she won’t come out and tell me what the problem is. Instead she’ll ask me to do something and if it isn’t to her liking she’ll go to our other admin and mention how what I did wasn’t right and get her to do it instead. I wish she would just indicate to me exactly what the problem is and how I can fix it instead of going behind my back and making me feel like I’m a crappy employee.

Working where I work, admin staff are traditionally supposed to do admin work and not the personal work of our staff but coming from a different sector I have a feeling this person thinks I’m being lazy when I’m not offering to do everything for her including personal stuff and dealing with computer issues (these are supposed to be dealt with by the employee).

Maybe I’m clinging to tightly to the rules and should just relax but it doesn’t change how I feel and how my job went from being a contributing member of this team to a hanger-on who sits and cruises Facebook all day. This is also not my fault consider I have no work to do and I really want some but that’s how things go. Oh well, I’m on the road to a new position so I will take this as yet another learning opportunity and make the most of the knowledge that has been presented to me.

Hmmm, starting to sound a little bitter….I should stop now. I can tell this is a bad mood day; I’ll probably read this tomorrow and wish I hadn’t been so mean but you shouldn’t deny who you are and I feel like I’ve had a therapy session so I have to admit that I feel better now.

p.s. Let me clarify that I like the people I work with, we have fun and laugh, but what goes on while I am at work (which is Sweet Fuck All) pisses me off. I mean I'm writing a long blog post at 10:30 in the morning on a Tuesday and no one here seems to give a crap.

Saturday Afternoon Delight

2009-02-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

This has been a weekend of firsts. I went shopping for second hand clothes (Value Village) for the first time ever and I made and ate Currywurst! For those of you familiar with Berlin you will know that Currywurst is a street vendor delicacy.

I saw this package (see below) in my favourite European goods store, The International Sausage House, while I was buying Haribo treats and Weißwurst (mein Leiblingsessen) and figured I should give it a try considering my intense desire to go to Berlin. I’m sure it wasn’t exactly the same as the real thing but I bet it was close. It was very delicious and exactly what I expected but it is definitely not something I could eat every day. Here's the final product, I'm sure the original looks a lot better.

I would have to vote Knorr as one of my top 5 favourite food manufacturers. The fact that I can buy a little pouch of some unknown powder and pour it into something and turn that something into something else is amazing! Actually, their heat and serve colour soups are delicious and the ingredient list isn’t full of artificial preservatives and crap so I’m happy.

As for the shopping I must recommend this activity to anyone looking for a good time. I wish I had taken more pictures because the atrocious items hanging off the racks were plentiful. I think I’m slightly traumatised by the 80’s and 90’s flashbacks I had whilst perusing those racks of smelly garments. On the positive side I went with my friend Laura Lee and she is heaps of fun so we had many a laugh over these crazy items especially this hat. (I don’t think I’d make it in Russia.)

I did find two dresses, a pair of pants and a pair of cool pink shoes with comic strip graphics all over them as well as a cute beret and a computer game all for $50. That is incredibly cheap so I will definitely be going back. (Photo is the view on my drive home, not too shabby eh?)

German and Fashion

2009-02-13T14:48:00.001-08:00

Ok, mein erste blog post auf Deutsch ist da! Ich liebe lerne Deutsch und es ist sehr Spaß. Dieser post ist Sehr einfach aber Ich habe spaß. Hmm, habe ich nicht denke, es wäre dieser schwierigen. Ich denke, ich werde jetzt aufhören.

Okay, I won’t lie I relied heavily on Google Translate for that small paragraph. I managed the first two sentences on my own but the second half was all Google. I’m still proud of my small victory and will continue to fight with my brain to learn this bloody language even if it kills me. Actually I’m really getting the hang of things thanks to my teacher and I think I’ll be moving along much more quickly if I continue to have her as my teacher.

Okay, no more chatter about German. I’m sure it gets boring. How about fashion? I am completely fashion backwards. I am well aware of the fact that I have no sense of fashion and dress much like a soccer mom. The problem is that I got really fat living in Ireland and ever since then have been afraid to make an effort to dress well. The reason for this, I’m sure, is because cool clothes never look as good on fat people.

I guess I should at least try. I mean I can’t get any worse than yoga pants and oversized tops. My one saving grace is that I have always had good legs so no matter how fat I got on top my lovely gams always stayed nice and shapely. This enables me to wear tiny little short skirts and tight pants with big sweaters and no one was the wiser. That worked well in the 90’s (when I wasn’t even fat I just thought I was) but I’m 31 (and actually fat) and it’s 2009. Fashion has a habit of changing on you.

I think it’s time to shed the brick wall I’ve put up around myself to keep people out. It’s not as easy as you’d like to think but I am convinced that a large percentage of the problem is psychological. No all I have to do is become perfectly balanced and normal and the rest will follow….

……Ok, Ill get right on that.