Quincy's Snow Angel

Here are some pictures of the snow angel Quincy made all by himself! Seriously, he had no help from me whatsoever! He decided to play in snow today and this is the pattern he made. I'm so proud of him!

Merry Almost Christmas Quincy

Thank you Lauren for Quincy's bone!

And for my secret Santa gifts! I love them all! :)

Another One Bites The Dust

Creepy Cathy, Diane, Brenda, Meghan, Kristie, Susan, Aquilina, Ali...this makes 8 and I'm not even counting the other 7 from the old building or the staff who are still here but in other positions. Yes folks, we lost another one today.

I don't know what it is about our office that we run through receptionists like underpants. Wendi the temp is coming in tomorrow. She was in last week and did a great job, luckily she's available again.

Sigh.

Vacation Day

Today is my second last vacation day of 2008. I'm still sniffling, but feeling marginally better.

Today I'm cleaning out my "heck hole", otherwise known as the storage closet from hell that some good things and mostly bad things go to die. Did you know that in the process of cleaning this out, I have enough Christmas wrapping paper to last until the next millenium? Also I found (and I'm embarrased to admit) lots of old bills dating back to 2005. Time to purge.

Today, I'm working on both getting better and de-cluttering my life.

Happy Birthday Shelley!

Ok, so I'm a few hours late, but it's not midnight yet and I want to wish my friend Shelley a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!


Sorry I couldn't make it to your dinner, but the plague has ravaged me so much that I've missed the last two days of work. Snork.. It's official, I'm a snorkling snot bomb with a fever. I wonder what that would look like in monster form? Maybe green, oozing goo instead of fire and coughing instead of a roar?

Anyways, she heard my siren call of mittens! (THANK YOU!!) I have big hands, but when we meet for tea, maybe she can bring her measuring tape. And I can buy her some fancy greenish wool to match my hat.

I did manage to shrink my favorite hat that my dad bought me in Cowichan Bay BC. Turns out that the 50% each of wool and hemp does that when you put it in the dryer on high. Fits perfectly now!

I'm cold and there are wolves after me!

Ok, so there are no wolves. I'm cold, both due to weather and succumbing to the plague that is ravaging the office. I had to drop off an Avon book for a new customer and took Q along with me. I'm a dummy because I didn't realize how bloody cold it was outside and how ineffective my leather gloves were..Shelley are you reading? I hear you're a mad mitten making machine! I have wool! It's ALPACA!

Anyway, Quincy sported his new red and black fleece coat and I sported my a bit too big green hat. Still, not warm enough and it's not even as cold as it could be here at this time of year. I think my love of Winter is wearing as thin as my gloves.

So to abate my pain for the cold, here is a reminder of BC in late October.

Thursday Night TV on a Sunday

I set my VCR to tape my regular Thursday TV shows (ER, CSI, and Grey's Anatomy) only to come home and the VCR didn't actually tape. Grrr Arrgh..

Still, not that mad considering I had just come from seeing James Blunt live again. He puts on a pretty good show for an unlikely Folk-Pop Star. I quite enjoyed it actually, and the company (Super Candace) was awesome too.

The internet is a funny thing. Some of it completely useless, like that UK site selling Poo and Pee stuffies, and some quite helpful. Found Graboid and spent the afternoon catching up on my said Thursday TV shows! I won't be using my VCR again other than to change channels.

I even watched "Smile Time", that silly Angel episode where he gets turned into a Muppet.

My friend Shell, (Vogel Stitcher) stated that in 6 years of not having TV she didn't miss much, I beg to differ. But I was always a rabid TV fan.

Double D Pomegranates, time to go home

Today I ate what I considered a DD sized pomegranate. I love them, and unfortunately the ones in Calgary are usually only about a B size. You should have seen me with the two that I bought today..and yes, think dirty. This one took me half an hour to take apart and my dad had to leave the kitchen because he told me he couldn't watch the bloodbath any longer.

Ah, the love of BC produce and fresh seafood. I've conquered my way through some pretty spectacular food here on the island. Roger made me salmon and tuna with all the fresh greens I could stand, Marilyn and Pop fed me seafood and took me to the cutest English Pub in Cedar BC where I had pan fried oysters. But all this rich food has made me gain about 5 lbs, which is ok considering how much I've eaten here. Now, as I prepare to come home I have to resign myself to the fact of eating like a single person again. The good news is that I can still do up my pants!

One week without my Q

I left for BC a week ago today. In fact at the time of this writing, I'm still there, or here. I miss my dog.

I have had some pet squishes to occupy me during this trip so far. I met a very docile three year old golden named Carmella at an artisan jewellery store in Victoria. I swear it was the dog who told me to buy that silver and gold ring!

I also got some purrs from Roger and Guy's cat Sonja. I've known this cat for years and only now in her advanced age, did she come up to me, sit in my lap and allow me to rub and brush her..momentarily until she bit me. Apparently she doesn't like her haunches brushed. She's pretty, and I'm not an anti-cat person, I just prefer dogs. They seem to be for the most part less snooty.

There are two dogs here at my dad's house too. Sadie, the chubby miniature schnauzer/yorkie cross and my dad's famous black Jag (lab). They mauled me with kisses when I walked through the door today. And I'm teaching the chubmonkey Sadie to shake paws.

But, with all the animal loving, it's still not the same as kissing Quincy's cheeks for the fun of it, rubbing his underpits because I know that's his very favorite place to be rubbed, giving him his three cookie bedtime snack, or rubbing his belly until the pervert pushes my hand to get rubbed lower. I miss his little dance for a dentabone, his running into the kitchen for a piece of cheese even though I'm opening a package of pasta and he just thinks it's cheese, or watching him roll in the last traces of green grass until the snow hides it for another season.

One more week to go without my Q, I'll be home on Monday night next week.

I QUIT!

Yes boys and girls, I quit..my second job. Quit, finished, done, over. I'm no longer employed by Ticketmaster. The siren howl of Quincy finally made me do it. That and the fact that Calgary isn't really the safest place to be at night anymore. I was working last Friday and I thought to myself, "Why am I still doing this?". I started in January 1995 and ended October 15, 2008. A few months shy of 14 years. That's enough.

New Technology

Yesterday I purchased a rather expensive MP3 Player after doing a weeks worth of research. No, it's not an IPOD. Sure, IPOD's are pretty, but I have a fundamental problem with ITUNES. I don't like the idea that you cannot use any files purchased from them with any other MP3 player other than theirs.

It's a Zune. So here I am with this shiny new black box slightly larger than a credit card that has the same amount of Gigs that my home PC has. I didn't really need one with a brain as big as my home PC, but the prices didn't make sense to buy the smaller brained version, so it was a matter of go big or go home.

Now the tricky part is trying to figure out how it works.

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

9 months. I could have birthed a child in the time it took to get me a "Minion". I'm actually retiring that phrase since as of August 25, 2008 I have a wunderkind assistant! Her name is Lauren and she's in a word AWESOME!

My stress levels are now low enough that I'm even starting to think about a holdiay! A holdiay! It's now September and I have yet to take a Vacation Day. Ok, I've taken a few days off here and there, but they were all Banked Hours, prime indication that I work far far too much.

BC is calling me. And I called Roger tonight to see if he was indeed still alive. I'm going to take the train up to where he lives for a visit in mid October. Ahh..BC in the fall.

Quincy is happy I'm not stressed out anymore either!

I Want To Believe

Admittedly, I'm a huge X-Files fan. Countdown to the new movie for me has begun. We're going to try to go tomorrow, if we can't get in, my alternate plan is to go to a matinee on Saturday. Wish me luck, and by the way my favorite all time quote is from Mulder, after Scully accuses him of lying.
"I did not lie. I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation"
The Truth Is Out There..still.

New Journey, Miniony Goodness, and back to second job

Currently listening to Journey Revelation, my new B-Day present from Sav. Released on June 3rd, this recording features the new lead vocalist Arnel Pineda. Yes, I'm admitting it...I'm a huge Journey fan, have been since I was 13 and discovered them through Sav. I was in love with their keyboardist, blonde and tall. Keep in mind I was 13.

So I'm listening to this now, and holy man, if I didn't know any better I would swear I hear liltings of Steve Perry, no SERIOUSLY. It's weird, it's eerie, but really good at the same time.

I had my first of two interviews this week still in search of miniony goodness. I liked the one who came in today. I may even like the one tomorrow, but I'm not getting excited. I've been down this road before...twice. Nothing to get excited over until said girl has her butt in the chair in front of the ghost desk in accounting. We'll see, otherwise we're posting the job again, again, in August.

Q's vet bill was so much that I'm forced to go back to work some shifts next month. Yup, I'm a bonehead for doing this, but I hate owing money and it's for a good cause! You should see Quincy's teeth! They are so white. Eventually he'll pose for me so I can show them off.

How is this helping???

Seen yesterday while waiting for the bus to go home:

One tiny Oriental young woman around 20 or so WEARING A SURGICAL MASK AND SMOKING A CIGARETTE!!

Yes folks, she was wearing a surgical mask and smoking. The mask was moved to her chin so she could puff away. I'm sure it would have looked even more ridiculous with her trying to suck the end of the ciggy through the mask.

I'm thinking, if you are trying to protect your lungs from germs/pollution etc. Why the frick would be smoking??? I'm so confused.

The one thousand dollar vet bill and a reminder of how much I love my superdog.

Today was a rough one for Q. I took him in to get his teeth cleaned and although he's not very happy right now, his teeth are white as white can be. He could be a spokesdog for Crest!

It was also a rough one for me and my Visa. All told, over a grand. Yup kids, a grand. I sure picked a stupid time to "quit" my second job. However, I do have some savings, a gift from mom for my birthday and a hopeful raise coming.

Some people wonder why I would gladly fork over this amount of money for a dog. See, most of you dog/cat/bird/fish/reptiles/barnyard animal lovers understand this obsession we have with our pets. Non pet people just don't get it. These amazing creatures are our friends, our confidants. They soak up tears, and share in your happiness. They do not judge you if you decide to schlump around the house doing nothing but watch DVD's of old TV shows all day, or sleep in until noon. They always love you with no conditions attached, so of course we ensure to make their lives as long and happy as possible. This is why a grand is just a number. If it makes Q live longer as bad teeth lead to heart problems so be it.

Quincy is my baby. Furry yes, but I don't have to buy him school supplies, new clothes, or give him an allowance. I admire people who do have kids though. But as my biological clock has probably rung it's last little bell, all my love and attentions go to Quincy (and Kermie and Mikey too). They are worth every penny.

Still looking for miniony goodness

I conducted my first of six new interviews for said minion on Friday. I like her, but we'll see once I'm finished interviewing the new batch.

I never realized how painful this process really is. After all, I had already picked out one in May and she never showed up for work. Didn't even call. HOW BLOODY RUDE is that? Oh well, it just goes to show that if she did stay, she wouldn't have stayed long.

I know it's a bit of a grunt job, doing the mail, relief reception, constant babysitting of the sales dept., but I'm still trying to be hopeful. It's funny that most of the people applying have way more experience than this job really needs. And to top it off, I got a 9 page resume last week. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I said 9 pages. Who submits a 9 page resume? A doctor? A lawyer? Not someone looking for an assistant job. It was entertaining and a little sad that this woman felt the need to give me every little bitty bit of her life experience in the job field from 1984 to 2008. Yup, 1984. I was 16 years old in 1984.

So the search begins this week. Hope the workload doesn't scare too many people off. And the potential pay. Which is not a lot by the way.

Wearing the friendship pants

Roger left Calgary late October 2007. It was a sad day for me, him moving away. It was pretty much awful and kindof broke my heart in a way. Sitting there in the audience for his farewell concert was one of the hardest things I have done as I was barely keeping it together. He's been my great friend for so many years, the only one who really pushes my creativity and reminds me constantly what I have forgotten artistically with my writing.

We had drifted apart a bit in 2007, I had eye surgery and didn't tell him until a couple of months later when he called me close to my birthday. Our schedules didn't jive enough to see each other except twice socially and three of his concerts. Clear reason to show that I work too much.

I left him alone, gave him time to settle in, wrote him a couple of letters and realized that now it's near the end of April and I hadn't heard from him. Six months, half a year. Rather than waiting for the phone call or return letter that never came, I called him today. He was pleasently suprised to hear from me. It was so good to talk to him again, even though he touched on the fact that his BC experience has not really lived up to what he was expecting. He couldn't really talk about it since there were other people in the room, but he found that where he is seems very similar to Calgary with all the hustle and bustle. I think he was looking for something calmer, more artsy. His guilt got the best of him and he told me he was a bad friend, not calling me, but I forgave him and told him that one of us has to wear the friendship pants sometimes. I still really miss him.

Little Birdie Kisses

Sunday Shell and I went to the Pet Expo at the Big 4 Building. I brought a Safeway tote with me because I knew I was going home with major samples and goodies. Quincy couldn't get to the bag fast enough when I got home. One of the samples of food gave him wicked gassy grossness though...threw the remainder out and gave him back his normal stuff. He did like the brown bagged liver cookies though.

We went around, gathered samples etc. and I entered a contest from one of the pet insurance companies for a Flames jersey. Guess what?? I WON IT!!! The nice lady from there dropped it off at my house today. I'm sporting it now, cheering on our beloved Flames to victory..although at current writing they are tied in the second period.

The highlight of the day was holding a green little birdie (not sure what kind it was, some type of parrot..) like a baby and scratching it's little head. She then hopped on my shoulder and was giving me birdie kisses! So cute! Now, I'm not exactly afraid of birds, but as Shell has noted in her blog, I remember a time I went to her house and one of her lovebirds Blue took a fairly large chunk out of her skin. The site of blood kindof turned me off all birds. They are pretty and I've seen some interesting bonds between people and birds, but to have them fly around me or land on me, take chunks out of my face or poo on me has never been a thrill. But I get it now. The "person" that belonged to this bird had such a trust with her that I realized that no matter what kind of pet you have, the love is unconditional.

Herb Garden

I'm thinking about growing some lavender. At work. Yes, at work. Since I own not a hint of a plant at home, I figure I can accomplish three things:

1. Grow some lovely lavender that looks pretty and brings a bit of colour to my sea of greenery at my desk.
2. Grow something that's supposed to calm nerves.
3. Grow some herbs that apparently I can try to use in cooking. I hear you can make sugar cookies with lavender that are pretty tasty. What an interesting cookie that would be!

Hey, a girl's gotta try anything to relieve stress right? Now where can I get me some lavender seeds?

PS Here's the latest picture of Mr. Quincy with his new Lambikins, a present from my step mother. He sleeps with it every night. And it squeeks!

Effectively Quit..sort of kind of.

Today I made a big decision, I reduced my hours at my second job so much that I effectively quit..sort of. I will still work a few Epcor events, and the occasional Saturday, but my working four nights per week is done. Finished. Finito. Done. Gonzo. Katputskies. Sort of. I still have the nightmare called February to deal with, but it's a short month, and I intend to mark big red X's on each day until it's over. They say March is the cruelest month, but my plan for March is a CELEBRATION! Party at my house! Bring pasta!

Reducing my stress levels and regaining my mental clarity are far more important than the little extra money this job is giving me. I cannot remember the last time I:

1. Read a book
2. Bought a CD
3. Spent a Saturday with a friend
4. Had any significant time with Quincy that I wasn't sleeping?
5. Wrote
6. Did any crafts
7. Cleaned my house

I'm so tired these days that when I do get a rare day off, all I want to do is sleep. What kind of living is that?

Proud of me? I'm sure Mr. Squishypants is. And I'm sure I'll still have enough money to keep him in cookies.