O Christmas Tree...

On Thursday I went out and got my very own Christmas tree for the first time - a nice tiny little tree for my apartment. It's about 4' tall and was just big enough to fit all the decorations I have accrued over the years. I never bothered to decorate before as I've been traveling for Christmas over the past few years.

I also convinced my mom that she should give me the old ceramic table-top tree that my grandma made years ago, so now I have two trees!!

Though I'm not exactly sure when I'll have time to enjoy them. I think there is some sort of Holiday function every day for the next week. Not that I'm complaining ;) Tomorrow is work-related party 4/4 (yeah, I know I have an awesome job) and then lots of stuff with friends and family. Luckily, I'm almost done with the Christmas shopping - I only have to get my sister-in-law's gift(s). I'm not sure exactly what to get, but at least I know where to shop. I did finish making my nephews' gifts for Christmas though, which turned out pretty well:

Weird Weird Weird

I got an email today saying that my cell phone bill was ready. (I don't get paper bills, how environmentally friendly of me.) The strange thing is that it was from my old cellphone service provider - a December 2009 bill for a phone I canceled in AUGUST 2005.

Yeah. Not sure what it's all about. I haven't heard from them in over 3 years at least! So I called. I almost didn't. I thought about leaving it for another day; telling myself I was too "busy" to do it tonight. But I called and I'm glad I did...

It turns out that they still owe me a bit of a refund. $27.45 to be exact. A nice little windfall, and the cheque's in the mail.

Some Exciting News...

I hope that certain people are going to live up to their promise to hold up a boom-box playing Chariots of Fire...

because I get to carry the Olympic Torch on January 19th!!!

I am so thrilled!! Plus, check out the outfit I'll get:

I didn't quite realize...

exactly how long it has been since I last posted... I would have sworn up and down that there would have at least been an obligatory "Yippee! I started my job & it's my birthday" post but apparently not...

So what HAVE I been up to the past 3 months that's keeping me so busy? The aforementioned job - the past few months have been super busy but it'll start to slow down after Remembrance Day (or so I keep telling myself); I moved into a new apartment which has come together quite nicely; spending time re-acquainting myself with Calgary; and general day-to-day goings on...

In future I will try not to be such a slacker...

Road Trip!!

I'm glad it's a long weekend - granted every weekend for the past few months could qualify as such in my world - but I've only got two more so I must make the most of them...

On Sunday, Chantal and I are heading out on a mini-road-trip, down to Montana for some cross-border shopping. (fingers crossed that the dollar will climb a bit more before the end of the day). Mainly I'm looking for a few things for my new apartment, and the perfect back-to-work outfit. We of course will have the necessary road-trip supplies (cookies and beef jerky), passports in hand, a camera, and an iPod ready with tunes (and hats - roadtrippin' hats). I'm excited.

As an unrelated aside, I pretty much don't care who wins SYTYCD this season. Since Janette and Ade were voted off, I'm kinda meh on the rest of them. Plus I'm not sure that bringing back the Emmy-nominated routines from last season was a good idea. It just made it ever so aparent how lackluster Season 5 has been.

Have an enjoyable weekend!!

The Un-Exodus is Complete.

It's official. All addresses, licenses, registrations, identifications, etc. etc. etc. have been notified and changed over. My Health Card arrived today - the last thing I needed to be a full-fledged Albertan again.

After nearly 5 years, I'm back baby!!

SYTYCD - How you disappoint me...

Let's be clear. It's not the dancing; not really - though I do think last year had way more personality. There have been fewer really memorable or specatcular routines this time around. (Last night's Wade Robson routine excepted)

It's the judges. I know they have favourites. That is bound to happen. But I don't think they have ever been SO blatantly obvious about who those favourites are. And it's getting obnoxious and annoying. Like last week, when Mia Michaels basically told Kayla and Kupono that they were not going home, before they ever danced for their lives. Kupono went on to dance the worst solo in the history of the show, which Nigel basically said, but they kept him anyways.

I can only guess that backlash over that decision led Nigel to "explain" this week that the judges know the bottom 3 in the morning of results day, and have pretty much made up their minds before the solos - and that the solos rarely change their minds, but they can. Frankly if a great solo can save a dancer, then a terrible one should clearly send them home, no matter how favoured they are (especially when they also state they are prepared to go home). Speaking of all the judge-love, I do not get their obsession with Kayla either.

As for tonight - I think Nigel really wanted to keep Phillip for the tour but couldn't justifiy keeping him in the competition as he doesn't do well in a variety of styles, so insteady they just made it a Top 12 tour instead.

All these shenanigans are making the show a bit less enjoyable for me. I am fully aware this is how it has been in the past, it's just way more heavy-handed and blatant now - I'd rather be subtly manipultaed and won over by spectacular, sensational routines than beaten over the head with it...

Happy Dominion Day!

That sounds so much better to me. I'm not sure why they had to change the name.

After many years of being out of the country on July 1st, I'm happy to be on home turf this year. Thinking about maybe going to see the fireworks downtown but we'll see... And I could totally go for some Harvey's today...

Happy Canada Day!!

Happy Birthday Bek!

Despite the fact you are spending the day driving to fieldwork I hope it is delightful!! (Hey you could play the birthday card and make Dave listen to Dr. Horrible the whole way... ooooh.) Though I know it won't be as fun as last year (because how can you top that?) have a very happy birthday!! Mwah!

(These pictures are from last year - see how fun it was)

Slap your troubles away

I was watching a documentary on CBCNewsworld last night - well the commercials were nearly all little infomercials - seemed a bit odd for the CBC but it was getting a bit late...

I saw a commercial for a product I'd never seen before - the Slap Chop - featuring the ShamWow guy. It was pretty funny. The demos reminded me of the Magic Bullet commercial (but without hungover Bernie) and lines like "stop having a boring tuna, stop having a boring life" and "you're gonna love my nuts" just add to the sheer hilarity of it all. But the kicker - this infomercial was filmed before poor Vince's legal troubles, but this Canadian version made a little edit and reminds us to "slap your troubles away, like Vince."

Happy Mother's Day!!

To a fantabulous mom.

I love you Mummie!!

Well mes petit-guimauves, apologies for disappearing over the past couple of weeks. Things got a bit busy there. And yes, this is just a tiny post to tell you what you've probably noticed... But I'm back (with a spiffy new look) and the fun will again ensue (soon - I promise!!). I decided to change the layout because the other one had a glitch that made getting a proper alignment/layout with photos a huge pain. Hopefully this one will work a bit better in that regard.

If anything's not working right for ya with the new layout let me know!

You can call me Master-Master

I'm done the classes and in June it will be official:

I. Am. A. Librarian.

In actuality it was a titch anti-climactic because I did hand in my last paper about 3 weeks ago, but still a great feeling...

The next week is still busy with finishing up at Queen's, packing, movers, EpicRoadTrip, wedding, and finally back to Calgary.

Now I'm just waiting for the Conan the Librarian jokes from my brothers to start...

Project Runway Finale

I'm kinda sad that this season of Project Runway Canada has come to an end. It was one of the best seasons of PR ever (including all the US ones). It wouldn't be such a great feat if I was only counting PRC since this was only season 2... The designers were mediocre at best (except Sunny & Biffi) but the drama was priceless.

The final 3 were Sunny Fong, Jessica Biffi, and Jason Meyers. The second the judges started talking about the collections it was clear who the winner would be. And I'm proud to say I totally called it.

I'll miss my PRC but at least I have Top Chef Masters to look forward to (NPH as a guest judge!!). Some of the contestants have been judges on the show before and I'm sure they'll be killer in the competition, especially Wylie Dufresne & Hubert Keller. If only they'd gotten Bourdain to do the show too - that would have been awesome.

TGIT

It is so nice to have a short week. I'm looking forward to having tomorrow off and 3 days of sleeping in... My big plan for the weekend is to hit up stores for 1/2 price Easter candy - yay MiniEggs!! And since Lent is over (Saturday, 7:46 PM EDT) I can get back to my regularly scheduled snacking... Oh how I've missed you my deliciousness.

Spring?

I was watching Project Runway Canada the other night (if you haven't been watching you're missing out) and I thought I saw the most definite sign that spring has sprung... I was fast-forwarding through commercials (thank you TiVo) and I was sure it was him - The brown jacket, the trucker hat... THE OPG GUY*!! Sadly I was wrong (stupid other commercial makin' a fool outta me)

But just for you Sarah, I went and found him:



*OPG Guy is the Ontario Produce Guy. Yes I know it's redundant with the G and the Guy but OPG doesn't really work on its own and OP Guy doesn't either

RIP TLFKAR (2007-2009)

Yeah - so the last couple days have been something of a doozy...

I was working on my *very last paper EVER* when my laptop fell; well my foot got caught in the cord as I was getting up - results were not pretty...

*Photo Reenactment

It seemed like it was ok when I first picked it up... but it quickly froze up and wouldn't reboot. When I did the factory reset it was the same error as last August when the hard-drive crashed. FATAL ERROR. Yeah. And I still had to get that paper done... from scratch. Not a good Sunday. And now The Laptop Formerly Known As Roger is no more. Since I've still got to get through finishing the semester and finding a job I had to go get a new toy to play with. Meet Cyril:

Why Cyril? Since he's a Hewlett-Packard, I felt like he needed an upper-crust sort of name. And for some reason The Raccoons were in my head. Since it's black (like my heart) Cyril seemed very apropos...

The Madness that is March

I never really enjoyed basketball at all until I filled out my first bracket. I used to think March Madness was boring and annoying because it preempted my TV. But once I'd actually picked a teams to win, it gave me someone to root for; someone to be invested in. Plus I like being right and winning (I still feel like Duke betrayed by me going out in the 1st round that year). And yes, I make some of my picks the girly way - team colours, if I know someone who goes/went there, if I think one team's mascot could beat the other team's mascot in a fight. This year I threw my job search into the equation and if I was applying to that school, or maybe even one near by/in the same state, chances are good I have you getting out of the first round at least... (Hey Pete, if I'm making picks the girly way and our brackets are pretty similar, what's your excuse?)

Question: If you're in multiple pools, do you make the same picks or do you change it up on games you feel are a toss up, choosing one team in pool A and the other for pool B?

I do try and base it on the rankings somewhat, so unfortunately (being ranked #10) I couldn't send my favourite team very far. My Fear Turtles*...

I will be a bit sad when I have to cheer against you, but for now Go Fear Turtles Go!!!

*I DO know that Maryland is actually the Terps

Biped Awareness Day!!

Yes! People! It is that glorious day! When we all can *stand* proud and say "I'm a biped!!"

I've got two legs from my hips to the ground and,
When I move 'em they walk around and,
When I raise 'em they climb the stairs and,
When I shave 'em they ain't got hairs,
I've got two legs...

~Monty Python

Happy Biped Awareness Day!!

Do we need another reason...

...to love Jon Hamm? Not really, but I'll show you one anyways.

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm - watch more funny videos

I'm such a slacker

I've been meaning to post since Sunday but daylight savings has left me feeling constantly behind.

It almost feels like a chinook today - just a bit too humid and not *quite* warm enough

I went out of town for the 3rd weekend in a row - this time to Waterloo. I had a fabulous time doing girly things with Tara (we went shopping). I found a super-cute dress (that I even tried on twice to make sure it fit), but somehow managed to give the good one back and bought the wrong size...

We went to go see the Watchmen, but it was sold out so we went for Vietnamese instead. I've had my fun - the next two weekends will find me home, writing papers - sucky, lame papers...

I watched American Idol last night for the first time in years (not counting finales). There was nothing else on my non-cable channels while I waited for Project Runway Canada... And I couldn't help but think:

What is Paula's deal? She is incomprehensible; moreso than usual. I know this isn't new news... Do the other judges even like her? I feel like they barely tolerate her. Because they're contractually obligated to.

Ryan Seacrest's head looks really tiny compared to the contestants, especially Megan.

I'm already sick of the crowd booing justifiable criticism.

Why is Gordon Ramsay there? Are we about to see an AI/HK crossover?

Why do they keep Paula on the show?!?! She ads nothing. I feel like the judges could actually give useful/better constructive criticism if she wasn't around... She's so bad, she makes me miss Mary Murphy's shriek (SYTYCD for those of you who don't know)

I'm not sure who I like best. Adam was probably the best singer but reaching down to touch screaming girls in the audience was a bit much - Really? You're doing that already? - its the first round. Get over yourself.

Well mes petit guimauves (the colourful ones of course) that's all I've got... Enjoy your Wednesday. I'm sure the owner of the red van who is getting a ticket as I look out my window is not...

A Fabulous Idea...

So there's a restaurant downtown that has come up with the perfect promotion for Wednesday nights. Manicures & Martinis. For the low price of $15 you can get a quick little manicure and any martini off their fairly extensive list.

The manicure was pretty good since they don't have a salon set-up. They shape the nail, give you the hand massage with some of the best lotion I have ever smelled, and paint them. And really, I just love the idea of getting a manicure and having a martini. There's just something about it. and let's just say I have become a big fan of the pomitini...

Target or Bust!!

It's no secret that one of the things I miss about living in the States is the shopping... So when Sarah suggested a little trip to Watertown, who was I to say no?So we met up near the border, she hopped into Chloe, and we headed South. Its only about another 30 min. once we cross the border, which was surprisingly busy. (There was some event going - so many trucks parked on a dirt side road - what were they up to?!?!)

Crossing the border was fairly amusing. It starts with the typical questions - Where do you live, where are you going? He also asked us what we do for a living - and seriously - once you tell them you are a librarian they have nothing else to say. Because everyone knows that librarians can't be bad. I don't think one librarian would have phased him, but he didn't know what to do about two...

The shopping was good. I think we were both v. happy with our purchases. I had been eyeing a dress* on Target's website, but they did not have it in stock (and Target won't ship to Canada *shakes fist*) SO instead I got the best handbag ever. Its that awesome green colour (you know the one) and its big and slouchy, yet still professional looking...


loveslovesloveslovesloves.

*I have thought about buying the dress, shipping it to Bek and having her mail it to me, but I don't trust that I would see it anytime in the next 6 months. Sorry Bek, I love you but you know its true.

I also stocked up on my favourite salsa. Frankly I feel you just can't really buy good salsa in Canada. Another way the US ruined me. This stuff is just sososo good. *hearts* There is nothing comprable here.

Super-fun day. A good time was had by all. We are already talking about the next one - Syracuse maybe. Heather? Hint, hint.

It's been 6 months...

Last August I picked myself up and moved to from London to Kingston. At the same time I changed my cellphone number. I like my new number. Its relatively easy to remember (not as good as the one I had in Boston - that was the best number ever). As the title of this post notes, that was 6 months ago. At that time I sent an e-mail to those who I felt might want to know this information had changed. I contacted banks, insurance, school, etc. It's common courtesy; what any normal person would do.

Why then am I constantly still getting phone calls for Olivia? And often from the same (514) number - Montreal area code, in case you were wondering - but from a lot of other numbers too... I have started telling the people who call that when they do talk to her, to please ask her to tell people her number has changed, kthanks. Srsly. Olivia, it's been 6 months. Tell people. Please.

Barb - 1, Canal - 0

Yeah that's right. I totally owned the Canal - basically that means I didn't fall down. Not even once. There were a few close calls but I managed to stay upright...

Headed up to Ottawa this weekend for those quintessentially Canadian activities of skating on the Rideau Canal and eating a BeaverTail. And let me say, neither disappointed.

Started out the afternoon wandering around a few shops in Ottawa where I finally found a small wall calendar for my office.

I really don't think we could have had a better day for skating. It was clear and not too cold. Some parts of the ice had divots and holes, but it wasn't terrible... (some people kept saying it wasn't very good, but they had been spoiled by excellent ice in previous outings - I really couldn't tell)

Really, what I wanted most (and had been promised) was one of those fabled BeaverTails that I have heard so much about. I was determined that even if it was poor skating conditions, I was still getting that delightfully sugary snack (yes Heather, I was going to ignore your rule and have one anyways but we skated so I got it legitimately).









All in all - a fabulous weekend. This sign pretty much says it all...

Winter blahs...

The dull, gray winter days have left me in the mood to shake things up. Last weekend was so beautifully sunny it made it seem like spring was just around the corner. Put these two together and I decided their was only one possible course of action...

For a point of reference here's a before* picture:

.

And here's the after:

And from the side:

And the back:

I'm super happy with how it turned out. The shape of the cut is fantastic. Its a bit shorter than I had really wanted but it'll quickly grow out to the length I had in mind. She put in tonnes of layers. There is so much volume and my head feels lighter, like its floating. Loves it!! It's actually kind of bittersweet that I've found such a fantastic hair stylist and soon I'll be moving away... Since it's an Aveda salon, the smell of my hair is heavenly right now. I'm heading up to Ottawa for a weekend of Winterlude fun - skating and beavertails!! Enjoy your weekends and I'll leave you with one last little peek at my new look... Enjoy!!

*I took the before picture on Tuesday, since I was having a good hair day that day. I don't think its a fair comparison when the before picture is totally heinous and the after picture is pretty.

Olympic Fever

I heard on the radio the other day that it was 1 year until the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I can't wait!! I love watching the Olympics on TV. It was especially fortunate that I finished my summer semester the day the Beijing Olympics started this year. It left me with days where I could do nothing but watch Olympics. I was in heaven.

Hearing it was only a year made me think back to the day of the Opening Ceremonies of the Calgary games in 1988. I often wish I had been older than 9 at the time so I could really enjoy and experience the games, but I digress...

Hard to believe it was 21 years ago, today. Geoff had somehow gotten an invitation to go to the unveiling of the Olympic stamps at Convention Centre, so Mom took us downtown for that. But so many people had shown up we had to watch it on monitors in the lobby, since the conference hall was full. I'm pretty sure we got some free food (something that as a graduate student I have learned makes almost any event worth attending) and then left. We walked down Stephen Ave. Mall and went up to the top of the Calgary Tower to watch the Olympic Torch come up Centre Street and accross the bridge.

We went to Safeway and bought a cake with Heidi & Howdy, the Olympic Mascots, on it and took it over Grandma & Grandpa's, since it was also their birthday. We also had sparklers for the cake, that we wanted to light when they lit the torch at the stadium, but I'm pretty sure we got too impatient for cake and lit them early so we could eat it. Oh well. We tried. Happy Birthday Grandma & Grandpa - I miss you.


That day is one of my favourite childhood memories. I'm so excited for the Olympics to return to Canada!! Hopefully Safeway will be selling cakes...

I'm going to have a horrible weekend...

A Dr. Horrible weekend that is...

Did I really just type that? Yeah I did.

Really, what is important is that after nearly a week of sitting on a shelf, mocking me, because I had to write my paper, I can finally watch it. And the musical commentary. Guilt free.

DONE DONE DONE

I finished my paper. So happy to have that off my plate. You have no idea. Now that its done, I have completed 50% of the coursework for this class - that means I only have 3.3% to go before I am finished this entire degree and it seems like its been a long time coming. 9 weeks and counting.

And now I can sleep in a bit tomorrow and reward myself with a triple venti, hazelnut, non-fat, no foam latte on my way to work in the morning. Did I mention it will be free? Makes it even better... mmm... I'm off to bed to dream about that coffee.

Project Runway Canada

Not only do I love reality TV, but there is just something about the slightly-bastardized Canadian versions of shows that originated in the States. One of the funniest differences is the catchphrase. In the original PR, Heidi Klum tells designers that "In fashion, one day you are in and the next day you are out." (in her delightful German accent) Where as Iman, who hosts PRCanada, says "Sometimes, you just don't measure up" In a lot of ways, she could be talking about the entire Canadian production.

For its second season, PRCanada moved up in the world from cable (Slice) to network tv (Global). The show also moved from T.O. to Ottawa which surprised me. I had no idea that Ottawa was a bastion of fashion.

If you haven't been watching - start now (3rd ep. aired tonight). Not only does this fulfil a void left by the absence of PR Season 6 (held up by lawsuits in the US) but this season has actually surpassed any season of the American version. To clarify - the designs, except for a few, have been fairly mediocre, but the drama - that has been fantastic. In the first episode TWO (!!) designers quit!! One had a nervous breakdown (no loss) but the other had to leave for heath reasons. It was acutally too bad because from what we did see in the first episode, he seemed quite talented.

I'm going to predict that the designer to beat will be Sunny. Even though he finally just won his first challenge this week, he's been in the top 2 every time. (and probably deserved to win more than he has). So far his designs have been way above the rest.

And who seriously needs to get kicked off? This guy. --> He somehow managed to survive making a party dress for Elisha Cuthbert that looked like a figure-skating outfit last week. He did show some restraint in his outfit this week, but I think it is only because he was partnered with someone who reigned him in. Plus he's just plain annoying.

Maybe my resume could use some work...

Perhaps something like this could help me land a job:


http://barneysvideoresume.com/

SuperWeekend

The weekend started out at a SuperConference and is ending with the SuperBowl.

I went to T.O. for the OLA SuperConference - for the Expo, since I have to write two papers for my class on various interactions with the vendors there. I was also able to catch up with quite a few people. I do wish I'd had some time to attend sessions - maybe next year if I have an employer who will pay for me to go ;)

I stayed with Monika (at her super-cute new house) - really a perfect plan since she was going to OLA too and it saved me from leaving K-town at about 5:00 AM on Friday. We ordered Thai on Friday night, as per usual, and I've found a new favourite - red curry beef. so so good.

Now I'm settling in with my Sunday morning coffee to get caught up on stuff before the SuperBowl. I think I'm going to cheer for the Steelers - mostly because I saw them live this summer when they played in Toronto, even though it was only preseason (don't worry, I didn't pay for those severly overpriced tickets - I won them by doing a survey).

I'm kinda excited to watch the SuperBowl - two stations I get are broadcasting the game - unlike with the Grey Cup when NONE were, so I couldn't watch it at all - in Canada - there is something wrong with that.

A Blast from the Past

So in the last couple of weeks the National Film Board made its archives available for online viewing. There is a tonne of interesting stuff - totally worth browsing through to see what they've got. I was pretty excited to see find one of my favourites there. I remember when this would come on between television shows, probably to fulfill some sort of Can-Con obligations. I'm sure you can all guess to which little ditty I am referring...

Without further ado:

mmm... grilled cheese

Maybe the fact that its a short week this week helps, but all-in-all, today was one of those days when most things went right.

I woke up feeling well rested (its amazing what a full 7hrs of sleep will do for you) and it was a beautiful, sunny, crisp-but-not-too-cold winter day; no wind and not a cloud in the sky. I got to take a field trip this afternoon - ok, it was just to the campus bookstore and the book I needed to look at was shrink wrapped with another book - but it was nice to get out for a bit...

I also spent a lot of today thinking about bacon (Pete - you would be proud). It started this morning when I was waiting in line to pay for coffee on break and the guy in front of me was buying eggs, hashbrowns (tater tots) and bacon. Oh that bacon smelled so good. I thought about making brinner - but I didn't have any bacon or eggs at home, so I went with the next best thing: grilled cheese sandwich (and soup).

And I made probably the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had. Top 3 for sure. Seriously, I wish I had taken pictures so I could share just how good it was. It was so, so delicious.

But its a bit of a sad day at the same time since I have now reached the pinnicle of my grilled cheese skillz - it is all downhill from here.

For Beckie...

So you can have something dedicated to you show up in your reader. Don't you feel special?

Inaugural Post

Yes! My first official post on this blog (the previous one doesn't count; and never mind I deleted some test posts - let's pretend I didn't)...

Anyways, since it's January, let's start with a kind of year in review meme.

1. What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
   I went to DisneyLand!!! I also went to a live NFL game (even if it was only pre-season).
   
   
2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   Who didn't give birth is a better question... and a number of you ladies are still preggers.
   
   
3. Did anyone close to you die?
   My uncle Dan - RIP.
   
   
4. What countries did you visit?
   The good ol' U. S. of A. - a number of different states thanks to a road-trip.
   
   
5. What would you like to have in the next year that you lacked this year?
   A real, big-girl job.
   
   
6. What date from this year will remain etched upon your memory?
   8-8-08; also three friends all had babies in the span of a week in early November; Dec. 29th as Spa Day '08.
   
   
7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   I made it from London to Calgary in 2 days - that's some hardcore drivin'
   
   
8. What was your biggest failure?
   8-8-08; but at least I had a good reason.
   
   
9. What was your biggest surprise?
   Actually making it from London to Calgary in 2 days (with stops to buy shoes I might add)
   
   
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    There was a particularly bad cold at the start of May - that cough stuck around for about a month. I also got my first root canal :(
    
    
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    My necklace made from an antique pocket watch plate & typewriter key.
    
    
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
    My mum has been there a lot for me; I don't think she knows how much I appreciate it.
    
    
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
    A previous roommate - nothing more to say about that. Moving on.
    
    
14. Where did most of your money go?
    Into the coffers of UWO - Tuition payments/photocopying.
    
    
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    The US election results
    
    
16. What song/album will always remind you of this year?
    Nothing is really jumping out, but I can honestly say that "In the Ayer" by Flo Rida was stuck in my head more than any other song (thanks Heather) so I'll go with that
    
    
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    a) Happier or sadder? Happier - definitely
    b) Thinner or fatter? Maintained the status quo.
    c) Richer or poorer? Poorer - when you're a full-time student for 8 months that is bound to happen.
    
    
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Relaxing on my balcony, when I had one.
    
    
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Stress (I'm using that as a verb)
    
    
20. How did you spend Christmas?
    At home - with all my bros.
    
    
21. Who did you spend the most time talking to on the phone?
    Mummie
    
    
22. What was your favourite TV program?
    I'll list the best ones I got into in 2008 - The Wire; Mad Men; Friday Night Lights; The Office.
    
    
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    I don't think so - I didn't gain anymore arch-enemies this year (I tried to use nemesis, but I'm not sure what the plural of that is).
    
    
24. What was the best book(s) you read?
    The Fourth Bear, by Jasper Fforde; The Spellman Files by Lisz Lutz, and its sequel.
    
    
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    I'm not someone who really looks for new music, I let it come to me.
    
    
26. What did you want and get?
    A new digital camera
    
    
27. What did you want and not get?
    There were a few jobs out there
    
    
28. What were your favourite films of this year?
    I didn't see a lot of movies this year - WALL*E was great
    
    
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    The big 3-0: Packing, watching Olympics, dinner at Tara's; the night before I went out for dinner, a movie, and fantabulous dessert with Jenny & Sarah.
    
    
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    Finishing this degree - soon enough - 12 weeks & counting...
    
    
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?
    Pretty casual - usually jeans & t-shirts.
    
    
32. What kept you sane?
    Section 2ers; sushi/Marble Slab nights.
    
    
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
    That whole coalition/prorogueing debacle really got to me. So many grown men acting like spoilt children. Get over yourselves. (Personally I think Ryan had a fantastic solution)
    
    
34. Who did you miss?
    Pretty much everyone, since I only knew one person in K-town when I moved here.
    
    
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year.
    That things have a way of working out - that I shouldn't stress about them quite so much (I definitely don't always practice what I preach)
    
    
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
    "Oh hot damn" - I have a certain song stuck in my head, even now; 2009 needs a new anthem.
    
    
37. What do you hope the next year brings?
    A new job and all that goes with that; health and happiness for my family & friends.

So there's my blog kick-off. Enjoy. Comment often. And I'll catch ya on the flipside.

About

Since I currently reside so far away from pretty much everyone I know, I thought a blog would be an easy way to keep interested parties up-to-date on my goings on.

At the moment I am finishing my last course for my MLIS and interning at an academic library. I will be done both in April and have no idea what I will do after that. That's when the fun will really start!!

Enjoy!!