Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Storytime :)

Have you ever heard the story about the new guy who arrives in town? He wanders over to an old timer sitting in front of the general store and asks "So, what are the people like in this town" The old timer looks the new guy over and asks "Well, what were they like where you came from?" The new guy sniffs and shakes his head. "Horrible. They were gossipy, back biting, un-neighbourly and grouchy." The old timer frowns and says "Well, I'm sorry to say, you'll find them much the same here".

The next day the old timer is again warming the bench when a different new guy arrives. He asks the same question "what are the people like around here?" and get's the same question in reply, "What were they like where you came from?". His answer is different though. "In my old town they were wonderful, caring, thoughtful, friendly and loyal. I'll miss them." The old timer grins and says "Welcome to town, you'll find that our citizens are much like the friends you left behind."

The moral of the story is that if you go somewhere expecting people to be ornery and surly, they probably will be. If you arrive expecting them to be open and fun, and you portray that attitude yourself, you'll probably fit right in and make some wonderful friends.

I am very happy to say that, especially in professional environments, I have been very lucky to find a lot of the second group of people. I haven't worked very many places but I am still in contact with many of my co-workers and my life is richer for having known them.

Last night I worked at the store and afterwards my boss, one of the other key holders, and I went out to a restaurant. We had a really nice time just chatting about different things. They're both sad that I'm moving on but they understand and they've promised to call me the next time they get together. Sounds good to me!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Okay, so I didn't last a month

Is anyone surprised? I stopped by the store today and gave my two weeks notice. It was way harder emotionally then I had expected but I'm happy with my decision. I'll miss a lot of aspects of it. I enjoyed working in a store, using my knowledge of the product to help people with their purchases. I enjoyed the paper work side of it, processing transactions and tracking sales. I liked working in the mall and never knowing who I'd run in to. And the money was certainly nice but, I finally decided that I can't "balance" a second job with my personal commitments and stay sane. Work was winning out way too often and it wasn't healthy.

I am looking forward to having my weekends back though. I considered just giving up the key but then I'd still have to work weekends, and most definitely Sunday's and that's what I wasn't willing to do. I'm also looking forward to being able to plan ahead. I'm naturally a planner and I'm tired of saying "Yes, I'll be there" or "We can do that, **IF** I don't have to work". No more if's.

I have to write a letter to officially state that I'm quitting and I'll submit that this evening. My final day will be May 10th. That's over six months already. I'm ready for a break though.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Deric Ruttan & Kristal Barret

I finally got some pictures uploaded so I`m re-posting this with more detail.

Wonderfully intimate. That's how I'd describe the concert on Friday night. It was a small crowd in a smallish venue but those of us who made the effort to come out on a cold windy, wet night were rewarded with a first rate show.

The lovely and talented Kristal Barett opened the show. It’s been so fun watching Kristal grow and mature as an artist. She did a fantastic job even though her set was too short.
I attended this concert alone because I couldn't be bothered to try and find someone to go with. I was really tired Friday night but I went anyways and I'm glad I did. I ran into Edie again and we hung out together in the line.
In the auditorium I sat beside a really great English couple and the guy told me all about the awesome rock concerts he's attended (everyone from the Beatles before anyone knew who they were to Queen).

Kristal was so cute on stage. The lights were bright but she kept recognizing voices from the audience and wanted to see who had come to hear her perform!
After Kristal was a group called the “Little Brother Band”. I’m not familiar with their music and while it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t my style so I was really glad when Deric took the stage. I had positioned myself in the front row so I had an unobstructed view of the performance. It was a great show. Deric is really funny and very laid back. He has a small band. The lead guitarist, a bass player, fiddle/mandolin player and a drummer.

The drummer, Chris Sutherland was a drummer for Doc Walker! (among other people) I recognized him just a few songs into the set.

It was a 90 minute set so Deric was able to sing most of his songs. He opened with `When You Come Around` and, in no particular order, sang:
Take The Wheel
  • I Saved Everything
  • Unbeatable
  • Invisible
  • Shine
  • First Time in a Long Time (the current single)
  • Good Time (the duet with Dierks Bentley)
  • Atlanta
  • California Plates (my personal favourite)
  • Almost Beautiful
  • and the new single, Lovin`You is Killing Me.


    About midway through the show the band left the stage and he did an acoustic set which included Maggie and On the Inside.

    Deric also did covers of Dierks' "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" and "What Was I Thinking", the CCMA Song of the Year, Aaron Pritchett's "Hold My Beer", and Eric Church's "Guys Like Me" all of which he is a co-writer on. For more details on Deric's Songwriting credits, click here. It was really neat to hear his versions of these familiar songs.

    He also did...a smokin' version of Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road" and, for an encore, came back and did Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". In between songs he shared little stories of being on the road with Dierks, Doc Walker and Eric Church last winter, living in Nashville (as compared to Ontario) writing with Chris & Dave from Doc Walker and the time Jimmy Rankin called him up and invited him to "Pen a tune" (said with a thick Cape Breton accent).

    After the concert he signed autographs and posed for pictures with everyone. I only had a minute or so to talk to him but I got to tell him "thanks for not being an idiot", "good job on the songs and on writing with such awesome people" and about how I blogged about him the day he was journalling for the cd.

    This was a special concert for me because a lot of the names and stuff associated with it has a lot of meaning to me. It may not for anyone else but I thought it was pretty cool.
  • Thursday, April 24, 2008

    "What's for your ego and what's for your soul"

    I've been trying to get to this entry for a week now.

    From an email to Deb last week:
    I talked to my boss at the store yesterday [Thursday]. We'll see if she listened. I told her I don't want to work any more Sunday's or Wednesday's and if it means giving up my keys, I'm okay with that. Of course she already had me booked for Sunday but hopefully it will be the last one. I told Mom that if I find myself getting scheduled for more shifts, I'll just quit. It's not fair to the store to limit myself so badly and it's stressing me out to work so much.

    So I worked Sunday and I wasn't scheduled to work again until next Thursday (May 1) I did accept a shift this Saturday from 11-3 to cover for someone but at least I don't have to miss church to do it.

    I was surprised after my shift on Sunday how free I felt. Almost like being on vacation...which is weird because I'm still working full time at my day job. I'm finding that working two jobs, especially when they interfer with church, is burning me out. I've kind of been ignoring it for awhile but The lyrics from this song really hit me and inspired me to change.

    Slow Down
    by Kristal Barrett

    Running through red lights,
    Pushing through a long line,
    Trying to stay ahead of it all,
    Deadlines hanging over you,
    Worrying won’t get you through,
    Time isn’t always on your side

    What does it mean?
    When will it end?

    Slow down, it doesn’t have to get done now,
    Get out there and enjoy yourself,
    Life is only once around,
    Slow down, slow down.

    If you could just get past this week,
    Maybe then you’d get some sleep,
    Living life ahead of it’s time,
    What does it mean, when will it end?

    Slow down, it doesn’t have to get done now,
    Get out there and enjoy yourself,
    Life is only once around,
    Slow down, slow down.

    Why are you spinning, so out of control?
    What’s for your ego and what’s for your soul?

    Slow down, it doesn’t have to get done now,
    Get out there and enjoy yourself,
    Life is only once around,

    Slow down, it doesn’t have to get done now,
    Get out there and enjoy yourself,
    Life is only once around,
    Slow down, slow down.

    I'm going to try this new schdule for a month and see how it goes. Like I told Deb and my mom, if it gets to be too much again, I'll quit. Money is nice but it's not worth as much as my mental health. I'll keep you posted.

    Wednesday, April 23, 2008

    You don't have to want to, you just have to do it

    Jenna shared this bit of wisdom from Dr. Phil yesterday. I googled it and came up with a direct quote:

    You don't have to like it. You just have to do it. You don't have to want to go to school or work every day. You just do it. And pretty soon, you start getting some rewards from it.

    I really like that.

    I have two other quotes on my bulletin board here at work. One says

    When in doubt, ACT

    and the other

    Begin Anywhere

    All the same concept. You don't have to like it. You don't have to want to do it. You don't even have to understand it (this is a big one for me). You just have to do it. Be it a project, exercise, diet, anything that doesn't seem appealing.

    Like Nike says, "Just do it!"

    There. That's my thought of the day :)

    Thursday, April 17, 2008

    Intelligent Blogging

    I feel like I haven't blogged anything intelligent in forever. Well, maybe intelligent isn't the right word. Important maybe? Lately I've been reading a lot of older entries because I'm scrapbooking early 2006. It's nice to have blog posts that relate to the pictures I am working on but I admit, I get frustrated if I DON'T have anything recorded. So, with that in mind, what's been up with me?

    Last weekend I was at Stillwood Camp & Conference Centre for a retreat with Deb. I attended my first one with her in 2006 and missed last year because I was in Texas. This year we had 13 people total. It was fun. I didn't stay up super late at night and I was up in time for breakfast. I got a fair bit accomplished but of course, this week I haven't been able to get back to it which is annoying.

    I got my tax return over the weekend too. A portion of it will buy my ticket to Diane's wedding. The rest is in savings. My car gave me a scare last week. On Wednesday the "check engine" light came on. I couldn't get it in to the shop until Friday but they looked at it, ran the computer to clear the codes and came up with "the gas cap is loose". It was actually more technical than that. Something about "Evaporation" but that's what it came down to. There was another code about the actual gas line. The stupid thing is AFTER my light came on on Wednesday, I put gas in. I guess once the sensor is tripped, only a mechanic an clear the code.

    Anyways, the point is, I now have a healthy, accesible savings in case my car DOES do something stupid. It's something I've been trying to build up for awhile but now it's there.

    The other thing I did with a portion of my return was invest in Sizzix. I'm kind of late to the party because everyone is getting rid of their's, including Deb. I debated long and hard about taking it and even posted on one of my message boards. In the end, I decided I just needed to do it. The thing is, even though the Sizzix belonged to Deb, I've always been the one that's used it. I've gotten a ton of use out of it over the years and truthfully, I've gotten used to having access to it. When it came time for her to part with it, it was just logical, and right, that I would take it. So, I am now the proud owner of a Sizzix Sidekick and six fonts (Fruit Smoothie, Funky Brush, Girls are Weird, Nouveau, Script and Rat-a-Tat) Girls are Weird, Nouveau and Funky Brush have been living at my house since, gosh, September? Maybe even before that. Anyways, I'm happy to welcome the other three to my house as well LOL

    Okay, back to the retreat. I left early on Sunday to fill in for my co-worker at the store. I worked there from noon to three and then ran home and changed for church. I stopped by Mom and Dad's on the way for a quick dinner and then we went to church. Afterwards I went out with my friend Christa who is out visiting from Ontario. I haven't seen her since Texas last year so it was nice to catch up.

    Monday was my last night of dance for the season. Can you believe that it's over already?! Crazy.

    Tuesday I ran errands. First I stopped at Meredith's parents and picked up her Grandma's old microwave. See? I knew it would work out! I haven't even had a chance to use it yet but it looks good on my counter. I also had a nice chat with her mom and got to go "shopping". Mrs. K has always been good about sending her kids home with food when they visit. Since both of them are living abroad she hasn't hand anyone to give stuff to so she unloaded a bit on me. It was great :) Next stop was the library, my parents house briefly and then to Walmart.

    Wednesday night I worked, tonight (Thursday) I work, tomorrow is the Kristal Barrett/Deric Ruttan concert and then the weekend is here again.

    There, it's a bit of a brain dump but at least it's here and I don't have to keep reminding myself to blog stuff!

    I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the changing seasons :)

    Monday, April 14, 2008

    Blog Challenge: Act Your Age

    If you could go back to any age again, how old would you want to be and why?
    What age would you least like to be and why?


    Easy peasy. What age would I want to be? 7. What age could you not pay me to be again? 15.

    Seven was a great age. If I had to go be a kid again, or if I got to be one for just one day, I'd be seven. I was in grade two that year with Miss Sharpe. I had lots of friends. Meredith and Rachel & Lisa lived a few houses away and I had lots of school and church friends. Seth was five and Robert was three so we could do some stuff together. Seven was a wonderful carefree year. Play, play, play and play some more. Outside in our big yard, at the park, inside in our huge playroom it didn't matter. There were no worries and any concerns we did have were brushed off.

    I even remember very clearly the day I TURNED seven. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and I was wearing my best dress and feeling on top of the world. One of the ladies told me "Seven is a very special number" and she's right. It was a great year.

    In contrast, fifteen was a horrible year. I only had a handful of friends and I was in the middle of the very akward teen years. To this day I feel sorry for fifteen year old girls because I know how hard it can be. School seemed like it would *never* end, horomones are out of wack and every single small detail seems like an unsurmountable obstacle. I hated being fifteen.

    The truth is though, I would never want to go "back". Maybe for one day but I have "been there done that" with many good memories and I have no desire to repeat my childhood.

    Sunday, April 13, 2008

    Sweet Tea vs. Iced Coffee

    Diane blogged about how in Michigan, McDonald's just debuted sweet tea. In Canada...Vancouver to be specific, they have iced coffee. Gotta love regional differences.

    And for the record, I won't be ordering this either. If I want cold coffee it must be blended. That's the Starbucks influence in me.

    Friday, April 11, 2008

    Second Visitation

    According to my trusty blog it's been a full year since my last visitation with Dance. Last night a number of us visited the club in my hometown. It was an interesting experience. The hall is only about five blocks from my house. I still drove because it was dark by the time we got out and if my dad heard that I was walking through downtown alone he'd have my head.

    Most of the members there seem to be older. I mean, I know that square dancing generally attracts seniors but these were...senior, seniors LOL All very sweet people. I didn't have a partner with me but the president of the club stepped in and we danced well together. It was billed as a Plus Level dance (Basic/Mainstream/Plus). I've been dancing for 3.5 years now and I kind of naturally progressed into Plus. I was really happy with how I did last night though. A different caller is always an adventure but this one was quite good. Very easy going.

    I had to laugh at one point. There was this one sweet older guy who can't have been all of five feet tall. Dancing with him was like dancing with a child. At one point he spun me around and he kept my hand (over my head) through the whole move. After I completed it he said "Hey, I did it!" Like it was a big accomplishment LOL

    Monday night is our last night of dance for the season and then we're done again until September. It's hard to believe we're finished so soon!

    Thursday, April 10, 2008

    Billy Bob's Texas Two

    Going back to Billy Bob's was really neat. I already had the "insider's" view of it, now I got to see more of the "public" view. We learned all of the history of Billy Bob's. How it was orignially used as a barn, how during the Second World War it was used as an airplane factory and how in the fifties it was used as a department store that was so big, the stock boys wore roller skates to get around.
    Inside we were shown memrobilia that I had missed the night before. Like Reba's dress from one of the awards shows and the saddle from...I forget. A movie? Possibly Urban Cowboy but I don't remember.

    I'm sure the girls got tired of me saying "And Marty said this, and Marty said that" but I had fun sharing all my new triva knowledge :D



    Blake Shelton's hands are bigger than mine. Surprise! LOL
    In front of the bull riding ring. The point of this picture was to capture the chewing tobacco sign behind me. It currently doesn't have a warning from the Surgeon General because it was put up before that. It's also WAY bigger than regulation. The cool thing is that it's grandfathered and as long as the sign isn't altered, it can still be displayed. It can be touched up but only with original colours. Gotta love loopholes :)

    After we finished at Billy Bob's we went back around to the front of the Live Stock Exchange building where I got to hold a real live armadillo! The little bugger had sharp, strong claws so the big industrial orange gloves came in handy.

    Fort Worth Stock Yards

    Wow. It's been a whole YEAR since my trip to Texas. That is hard to believe. You know what is sad? I haven't even finished BLOGGING the trip, never mind scrapbooking it. Oi.

    Okay, I started this entry (and a few others) many, many months ago. What say we finish it up?

    It was kind of funny to be BACK at the Stockyards so soon after leaving the night before but this was a very different experience. We started off outside watching the cattle drive. Stacy prepared me by telling about the time she brought Debbie (PPD) there. Apparently Debbie had her camera set on "fast action" and when the cattle came down the street she was very disappointed. Instead of the "cattle stampede" she expected, it turned out more like "cattle mosey". We got a good laugh out of that. It was still neat to see them coming down the streets though and it helped me picture what it might have been like back in the heydays of the Stock Yards.

    We did the touristy thing and took a guided walking tour of the Stock Yards. Our tour started with a video in the visitors center called "The Spirt of the West" which gave us the background of how and why Fort Worth was settled.

    Fort Worth was a stop on the Chisholm Trail and the last major point for food and supplies. With the arrival of the railroad it also became a major shipping point and necessitated the construction of the stock yards.

    It was a bit of a production to get me up on "Pecos Bill" but I made it. In front of me are Stacy and Tonya.

    This statue is of Quanah Parker, the last cheif of the Comanche nation. It turns out Sherilyn is distanly related to him!

    The cowboy church is located in the Stockyards Station, along with a bunch of shops and restaurants. This area was the former hog and sheep pens.

    I won't bore my readers with the history of the Stock Yards but I will say that I found it fascinating. It will be hard to scrapbook because I'm going to want to include so many details!

    This was our guide. Here he is showing us the Fort Worth brand.
    This is the parking lot where Sherilyn, Corey and I parked the night before :D

    Looking across the street to the Cowtown Coliseum. Inside the Coliseum was dark and quiet. I can imagine that it must be a pretty exciting place when there is an event going on. One thing I did notice was that the seats were TINY. You can tell they're old! The Coliseum holds the distinction of being the home of the world's first indoor rodeo.

    Okay, now we're getting to why I'm inspired to pos this today (other than the fact that I'm reminiscing and it's woefully over due). Karin blogged about attending a bull sale for her anniversary. After our stop in the Coliseum we went next door to the Historic Livestock Exchange Building. We got to step inside and hear a live broadcast of an auction. There were cattle being shown on the tv and the people were bidding. It was very fast paced.
    We walked through the Exchange building to the back where we got to walk along "Cattlemen’s Catwalk" which provides a "panoramic view of the cattle pens" We actually hooked up with ShariT from Oregon at this point as well. Somehow she avoided my camera though.
    I should note as well that it was COLD that day. Very overcast and the wind was blowing. Our tour took us inside and out and in again which was good because we were able to warm up between stops. Going across the catwalk was windy and cold because we were totally exposed.
    I believe this picture shows the abandon packing plants that are featured prominently in the history of the Stockyards. A few weeks before I was there they were used for filming an episode of Prison Break!

    We walked along the catwalk to Billy Bob's. On the way our guide gave us the history of it. I'll put those pictures in a separate post.

    Tuesday, April 08, 2008

    Deric Ruttan: First Time in a Long Time

    I love having a blog. There are little things that would never make it into a scrapbook, or even a day planner, that, when you go back and read them, are so cool! My organized nature loves being able to link back to previous entries (as you well know). I think my most linked entry is this one: Dierks in Vancouver Someday I'm going to take the time to make a top ten list for my sidebar and that one will be at the top. Anyways, enough rambling. I'm linking it today for this paragraph:
    Dierks said that Deric Ruttan was kicking around back stage too and he invited him to come out but he never did. That would have been cool. For those of you who don't remember, just after I started blogging last year I went to the Basics for Babies breakfast and met Derric. He's a co-writer on a few of Dierks songs including "Lot of Leaving Left to Do" and the new "That Don't Make it Easy Loving Me". I read on the message board that Derric was at the Grand Prarie show which means he might be travelling with him. That's awesome because it means they're writing together and I love their collaborations.

    (The Basics for Babies Breakfast would be the second most linked entry LOL This picture is Deric and I that day)

    So, why am I linking to so many previous posts? Well, because I can and because I have info to add. I bought Deric's new cd "First Time in a Long Time" on Friday and I've been listening to it almost non-stop since (I do that with new cd's but this one is especially good). I actually had to go to two different stores before I found it and then when I did get it, I had to go to work at the store immediately.

    I wanted to read the liner notes to see who Deric's co-writer's had been. Luckily we had another associate on so I actually got a break (I don't normally when I work evenings). On my break I finally sat down and read the liner and when I did, I laughed. No wonder I like Deric and his music!!! First of all, this record was produced by Brett Beavers who is Dierks' producer as well. Brett is also a co-writer on a few of the tracks. Other co-writers include Jimmy Rankin (I'll put the significance of a Rankin in another post, for now, for those of you who don't recognize the name, he's a fairly well known Canadian musician) and Chris Thorsteinson and Dave Wasyliw of Doc Walker!!!

    Also in the liner notes (this is why I'm not in favour of cd's going away but that's another post as well) was a note from Deric. I don't know if it's kosher to type it up but I'm going to anyways since I doubt many of my readers will actually buy the cd (you should though. You're missing out ;))

    On January 11, 2007, backstage at Rexall Place in Edmonton, I sat watching my friend Eric Church eat supper out of a styrofoam box. It was the fourth night of Dierks Bentley's "Locked & Loaded Canadian Tour, Eric and Doc Walker were opening, I was writing with Eric, and most nights getting up with Dierks to sing. Eric had invited me out on the road to write songs for his new record. Seemed like I'd been writing a lot lately, writing for a lot of people's records -- except mine. Most days on tour Eric would visit radio, and most days he'd come back on the bus and tell me someone there had said to tell me 'hello'. Every night Dierks was calling me up on the stage to sing, "That Don't Make It Easy Loving Me", and then he'd join me on one of mine -- "When You Come Around". The crowds were loving it. Eric and I sat there in relative silence, listening as 3,000 people roared on the other side of the cinder block wall. Eric paused between chews, "Are you going to make another record?" "Yep" I said. "Good," he said starting to chew again, "Because you'd be an idiot not to".

    So, going back to my previous quote, I was wrong on who Deric was out writing with. It was Eric not Dierks. It doesn't mean that Deric and Dierks DIDN'T write together but we won' know for sure until Dierks' new cd is released late this year.

    Anyways, I just love how Deric wrote that paragraph. I want to tell him "thanks for not being an idiot!" I have tickets to see him in a few weeks...that's where this is going. I'll be talking about him a lot more in the next little while LOL

    And, AND (yes, there's more) Most of the cd's have a little insert in them now. Advertising other cd's, ring tones/music downloads and coming shows. The little slip in Deric's cd has a list of his probable tour dates. Guess what the last one is? July 12th at the Calgary Stampede!!! That's the same day Dierks is scheduled to perform! So, like I said, you'll be hearing a lot more about these guys :D

    Friday, April 04, 2008

    Karin Called Me a Rat

    Well, not ME but, if the shoe fits...

    Dirt Road Scrapper
    Seems to me that everyone is running around at warped speed and most of them are running in circles. Reminds me of one of those rodent wheels. DD's hamster just scurries for hours at a time on her wheel and when she steps off, she's right where she started, albeit, she got a good workout.

    This is SO me right now. Remember those Family Circus cartoons where you can track the kids path all over the house and yard? Well that's how I feel. Except I go:
    To work in the morning
    Run errands at lunch
    Straight to other job in the evening
    Out for drinks with co-workers
    Home
    To work in the morning
    Run errands at lunch
    Home for dinner
    Over to Mom & Dad's
    To Costco
    Back to Mom & Dad's
    Home (to watch Idol)
    Back to work
    Errands at lunch
    Home for dinner
    To Mom & Dad's
    To church
    Drop Mom off at her house
    Home
    Back to work
    Errands at lunch
    Home for dinner
    WALK to the scrapbook store/gas station
    Home
    Down to my car
    Home to watch more tv and scrapbook
    Back to work
    Lunch
    Home for dinner
    Work at the store
    Home
    (That's been my week, Monday-Friday)

    and it repeats, over and over and over! Like a hamster on a wheel.

    The problems arise when you are expected to be two places at once. I'm scheduled for a scrapbook retreat with Deb next weekend. That Saturday I also have a baby shower and a concert that I would like to go to. I realized today that I haven't bought tickets because deep down I KNEW I wasn't available.

    At some point I suppose it's the whole "learning to say 'no' thing" but I don't want to say no. I "don't want to miss a thing" LOL

    And it's not like I'm ALWAYS busy. Thursday was a night off. I had dinner, went for a walk and then watched tv and scrapbooked until bedtime. Very relaxing. Same with Sunday evening. I was home from about 5pm on. I'm not complaining because as someone said, if you didn't like it, you wouldn't do it. Which is true.

    It's just interesting when someone nails exactly how your life is progressing and you realize there ARE other ways. Maybe I need to live at the end of a dirt road...how long do you think I'd last? ;)

    Wednesday, April 02, 2008

    Wordless Wednesday: What it means to be a "key holder"

    Diana only blogs on Tuesday's. I don't know how she does it. I can't even remember to post a simple picture on just one day of the week. Anyways, here's my weekly offering titled "What it means to be a 'key holder'"

    Mystery Solved

    Although it's not exactly the outcome I would have liked at least I (mostly) understand it now. One of the reasons I answered a call from a strange number in the middle of the night in the first place was a few weeks before that my brother Aaron had called. He was at a friends house so the number showed up on call display. It turned out that he just dialed my number accidently but I recognized his voice, he appologized and that was that.

    Yesterday Mom, Aaron, his girlfriend Carly and I went to Costco. While we were walking through the store I was telling Mom about these strange phone calls I keep getting. Aaron got a funny look on his face and asked what the number was. I whipped out my phone and scrolled through the "received calls" and read it to him. He rolled his eyes and said "That's Beau" (a friend of his). "Oh" I said, "well, please tell him that your sister can NOT help him get 'a twenty bag of bud'"

    So, mystery solved. Hopefully that will be the end of my midnight calls.

    Tuesday, April 01, 2008

    It probably shouldn't, but it makes me laugh!

    Remember this guy from a few weeks ago? Well he called back this weekend.

    11:35pm Friday "Hey, can I get a twenty bag"
    Me: "Dude, you've got the wrong number. You've called before (I recognized the number) I can't help you. Delete this number please." AND LET ME SLEEP! Uggh.

    Last night (Monday) I worked at the store. We were doing a major layout which means changing the whole store around and moving most of the product. Almost all of the staff were on. Afterwards we left together. We were walking through the parking lot and this kid in a hoodie cut right in front of us. The smell of pot hit us all at the same time and we just disolved into laughter.

    I shouldn't laugh but it's funny!

    Okay, okay, okay

    I really should wait until I've been tagged by 7 people but this is so much more interesting than writing minutes. :D

    I've been tagged in the past by Ashley and Veronica and now by Tonya
    Link to the person that tagged you. √
    Post the rules on your blog √
    Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. √
    Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. √
    Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

    Seven Random Facts about me…
    1. I was scared of my maternal Great-Grandma. I'm really sad about this now. I was looking at pictures over Christmas and while we have a few of me with her I am NEVER smiling. I think it's because she had a thick German accent and I had a hard time understanding her. Plus, she had a stroke when I was quite young and her left arm was pretty useless. As a kid I guess that scared me. She died when I was 17 so I'll never really know.

    2. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. One of the questions on our annual review form is "What are your career goals or interests" and "What sort of training/experience do you consider would benefit you in the next year?" I don't know! I would like to take a basic accounting course because I feel I'm lacking in that area but whenever I go online to research courses I invariably end up some where other than the Business Admin section. Usually history...

    3. I have a toonie (Canadian two dollar coin) stuck in my steering wheel. I dropped it in there over a month ago and I haven't been able to get it out yet. It's not a big deal except that once in awhile it connects with my horn and makes it blare randomly...usually when I'm going through intersections.

    4. I have zero idea how to change headers or colours on Blogger or MySpace. I'm sure it can't be that difficult but I haven't figured it out. (If anyone would like to teach me, I'd be forever grateful)

    5. I always use a blue highlighter to track responses. When I started this job, blue was all I had and I like to be consistent.

    6. My computer passwords can always be typed with only one hand, usually my left. It comes from working reception for many years and inevitably having the phone ring while I was trying to boot up my computer. This way it's easier to multitask!

    7. I love changing the bottle on the water cooler. I love emptying bottles, any bottle, because it gives me a sense of fulfillment. This is just an ultimate bottle. Weird, I know.

    TAG YOU ARE IT: anyone who hasn't been tagged before