silent night

so, i went to my first ever movie by myself. the devil wears prada. and, it was entertaining enough. but i might have to catch it again, since i missed half the movie.

i guess i was naive to think that three old middle-aged women sitting behind me woud be a good way to see the movie. i guess i was naive to think that they wouldn't talk through the whole movie, and that they wouldn't kick my chair. i guess i was wrong. and i guess i'm a little bitter. people need to grow the hell up. i mean, i was even throwing them the 'shut the eff up stupid fat pants' look over my shoulder. i guess there is no tact left in society.

on the lighter side of things, i passed my board exams, and now am officially eligible to be a liscenced pharmacist. so, i can breathe a collective sigh of relief. four years of studying, and one month of sitting on pins and needles, and it all came down to my number appearing in a list on some website today. i was so exhausted from my day, i ran in my door, looked up my number - saw it on the screen, then burst into tears. i've been watching too much oprah, and not getting enough sleep.

i'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. and finding myself a present that says, 'you are fabulous, your purse is fabulous, and you deserve to marry a fabulous man with a hot ass and a convertible'. i might be shopping all day tomorrow.

i've got mail!

so, this is the first time in my life i'm really living on my own. you know, really out there. no roommates. no fish. no parents. no nobody.

and part of living on your very own - so i'm learing - is paying "the bills".

now, i like having a telephone. so i can talk to people. so, when i moved to this new place, i signed up for phone service. then, like magic, one day i got a phone bill in the mail. "yes!" i thought to myself. now i can feel like a real adult and pay a bill. whoo!

so, a cheque was written, a stamp was bought, and the bill was mailed away...never to be seen again.

then today i arrive home from a day at work to see i've actually got mail again! "wow, i'm getting something else from the phone people already?" i thought. it was like christmas had come early.

so, i eagerly sat at my desk with my diet pepsi, ready to relax and open my mail. but wait! something catches my eye.

that return address....that handwriting...sure looks familiar. sure looks like i wrote it three days ago.

shit.

that address in the little plastic window?...sure looks like my address.

shit shit shit.

guess who put her bill in backwards and mailed her MOTHERF*CK*NG bill right back to herself?

yours truly.

thank you. i'll be here all week. try the steak.

let's hug it out, bitch!

is it sad that i motivate myself to get things done by renting dvds? "okay self. if you get all your work done by 7pm, you can go out and rent season two of entourage."

guess who got her work done by 7pm? yeah. i'm a huge mofo. but entourage is awesome...and i actually got some work done: supper made, dishes done, lunch for tomorrow packed, thank you cards written up, addressed and mailed, conference write-ups finished and emailed off, friends called, family called, and my desk cleaned. booyeah grama.

and now, the first day of the new job is under my belt, and things look like they're going to be pretty good. i'll get into the nitty gritty a week from now. this week is pretty much basic work, shadowing technitians and getting the 'lay of the land' as they say. i've already got a tentative idea for my larger-than-life year-long project, which my co-ordinator seems pretty stoked about, so i think i'm a leg up on things. but then again, it's only my first day.

anyways, it's time for me to retire to the couch to settle in and watch some vincent chase. mmm mmm mmm.

soy un perdedor

so, i rented a movie by myself tonight. as ususal. but at least now i have the excuse that i don't know anyone in town to rent a movie with...as opposed to just being a huge loser.

but, after renting movies pretty much all accross canada, i can safely say that rogers video seems to hire the cutest boys ever to work for them! it's like i have a rogers boyfriend in every city. sigh. this one is especially cute. with a cool tattoo, and the most adorable smile. plus, he makes sweet small talk. looks like i'm going to be renting alot of videos. sigh.

oh, what a fun night of unpacking, laundry and watching entourage.

**free high fives to the person who translates the title**

multi-task

who says men can't multi-task? usually, i do. but today, i saw a guy riding his bike and talking on his cellphone. which impressed me. mostly because of the time i tried to ride my bike home from the local corner store with popsicle's in my hands. evidently, me running into a parked car showed me to only do one thing at a time whilst on a bike.

in other news, i'm even more angry now that i'm not in freaking ottawa for the summer. stupid matt mays and sam roberts are having a love-fest and touring all over the province, and i'm going to be stuck out in stinky bc. stupid job. i'm going to quit and tour the world, working as a goat milker. or something like that which is a trade that be useful in most countries. everyone needs a goat milker.

now that i'm thinking about not seeing concerts for a year, i'm all sad and grumpy. but looking outside at the beautiful, perfect, first day of summer makes me feel better. oh, and the fact that there are three strapping (and hot) men landscaping my yard doesn't hurt to much either. bad mood gone...taken over by urge to spray landscapers with garden hose...

thankful

i'm so glad international piss off amanda day (aka thursday the 16th) is over. it was all shaped up to be a simple day of travelling back home, but turned out to be a rage-inducing day filled with me grumbling at countless strangers under my breath.

first, i got picked up by the slowest cab driver in the world. he must have been 900 years old. he drove so slowly, at times i felt i was actually going backwards. and when approaching a red light, he wouldn't slow down until it was time to slaaaaaaaaaam on the brakes. plus, he was listening to cbc. which isn't bad in itself, but listening to cbc turned up as far as the freaking speakers will allow sucks for anyone with more than 10% of their hearing left. he did turn it down at one point however, to note that "they don't call cartoons cartoons anymore...they call them 'animated motion pictures". okay. what am i supposed to say to that crazy? just step on it already.

then, there was the six hour layover in vancouver. the only thing that saved me was plugging in my laptop and earphones and watching like four episodes of sex and the city in a corner all by myself. oh, and the starbucks drink and cookie didn't hurt.

but i think sitting on a four hour and fifteen minute flight next to a guy who badly needed a kleenex, and infront of a lady who's only volume of speech was 'high pitched scream' took the cake. oh, and the fact that said grown woman behind me also seemed to find it very entertaining to emulate the 'bing' of all the freaking buttons on the airplane. 'bing' for a stewardess? check. 'bing' for seatbelts? check. 'bing' for i'm going to punch you in the freaking face? check.

as you can see, i'm still a little angered.

but now i'm in ottawa, enjoying the weather, sleeping in my comfortable bed, and hopefully doing some shopping...and eating some gelato. mmm. gelato.

i even got a free cup today at the liquor store when i bought some coolers. bonus! well, technically i took the free cup off of another smirnoff box and put it onto mine. damn the man, i always say.

until next time. stay fit, and have fun.

the price is right?

okay, let's play a little game i like to call "no wonder amanda has no money"

i'm thinking it may be due to a little problem i have called "i buy too many shoes"

i've never taken the time to sit down and guess at the approximate retail value* of all my footwear. but, since i've recently moved, i've decided to give it a gander.

let's add a few pictures just so i can get my point accross...















here are my babies all set to be unpacked. that's one of those large sized rubbermade totes, which also seem to hold the equivalent of three midgets packed tightly.
















now, i'm going to run through two of the hightlights of my collection. these, my pretty lacoste runners which i acquired in montreal back in march. bought (on sale...dont' be a hater) from a french gentleman. a french gentleman who introduced himself to me and then very subtley noted how he's single. i played nice until i had the shoes in hand, then ran.
















these are the most expensive pair in the collection. bought one short month ago for grad, they served their purpose well, and will enjoy their new home...and will make many memories in the future.
















here they are unpacked, all nestled in for a year of adventures.
















and there they are again...thank goodness for a large surface area at the bottom of my closet - no crowding!

so, have you all had a chance to imagine what i've spent over the past few years on footwear? well, let's just say it's in the ballpark of $2200...or the GDP of a small country.

but i tend to look at it like an investment. after all, some people collect bottle caps (bert from sesame street) some collect movies (i'm looking at you lynnie c) and some collect garden knomes (i'm looking at you landlady).

that is all.

*value does not include shoes (which i love, but) still reside at my parents house.

folk?

matthew good is playing the local folk fest here in the middle of the summer. it's an acoustic dealy i believe, which makes me think that i'm not really going to want to go. because lord knows it's just going to be him, his guitar, and his giant ego on stage. however, i feel that as a former queen city resident, that i really should go. you know, to represent.

or, more to like throw a shoe, and yell, "i'm from regina, bitch!"

arrived!

well, i'm actually in bc now, in the city where i'll be spending the next year of my life...living, working, and hopefully meeting some incredibly handsome man to sweep me off my feet.

the drive out was pretty good - although i'm sure with all the driving across our great country that i've done in the past four years, i'm now more than qualified to put out my vary own coffee table book called 'bathrooms of canada'. (which will be said to the same effect of 'pigs in space' from the muppets)

i even got a chance to stop for lunch and meet up with one of my university friends who is back home for the summer. we had planned to meet up at this greek restaurant, in her town which turned out to be closed. before we knew this however, dad and i walked in to the open door, and were greeted by a man who explained they were only open for dinner - and then went on to reccomend other restaurants in the area. my friend (who was meeting us there) showed up after the man had left, and we decided to head to BP's for some lunch time goodness. after being seated at BP's, who should walk in but the guy who was telling us about all the other restaurants from like ten minutes before! we saw him, he saw us, then gave us this super cute smile and waved. it was awesome.

anyways, in town here i'm staying temporarily with some family friends, which is nice. they had their neighbours over tonight for some coffee and cake, and they are the cutest old retired couple. the husband used to keep bees (as a hobby) and went on four a good hour about beekeeping, which was both entertaining AND educational. it even got emotional when he was talking about how when the bees get older, and their wings get destroyed from landing on flowers...which all culminated when he paused dramatically and said, "and one day...that bee just won't make it home". i actually felt sad for those poor bees.

tomorrow will be a day of finding me a place to live - let's all visualize something beautiful, clean, furnished, complete with cabana boy and personal hairstylist/makeup artist for $15 and four high-fives a month.