2005/09/30
2005/09/28
2005/09/22
End of day three. I couldn't remember what day of the week it was this morning. :P
Today was the first day of booth bunnying. The first proper day, rather. I was there before 7:30, after picking up a bad hot chocolate and semi-grody muffin from Starbucks. For $5.30, I was definitely not impressed.
I met a lady from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, and we chatted for quite some time. Once they opened up the tents, I helped a woman from some part of Alberta put together her display, and then sat behind my booth for awhile. It was freezing in the tent, 'cause they hadn't turned the heat on. Actually, I don't think they turned the heat on at any point. :P We got some hot chocolate from the hotel (good stuff!), and eventually a bunch of us moved out of the tent to get some sun. I actually had moved out to hit the washroom, but that didn't happen.
I spent a fair bit of time chatting with the deputy mayor of Riverview, N.B., about the Jennifer Teague case and so on, until they went off to the Berry Barn, and I came back to the hotel to have some lunch and have a nap.
On my way back to the hotel, I ran into my coworker, so we chatted for a bit, catching up. We'd both forgotten that we weren't staying in the same hotel, which explains why we hadn't seen one another -- plus, he's been busy with various obligations. He came by the booth later and helped me stuff some CDs, which had just arrived, and he's going to do something similar tomorrow.
I plan on going out to see the Berry Barn (Berry Farm?) tomorrow. Apparently there's something known as the Saskatoon berry, and I'd like to check it out.
I came back to the hotel to relax and watch some tv, then headed over to the mall to check out the sweaters and do some shopping. Only for an hour before the mall closed, and I sliced my finger on a hanger, 'cause I'm that awesome, then wandered over to the Pita Pit to get some dinner. Yummy, tasty dinner.
Like I said, no deep thoughts. I have too many things I want to do, and not enough time in which to do them. :P I will say, though, that watching back-to-back episodes of C.S.I., then the intro to Criminal Minds, which features a girl being abducted by a serial killer, does not do well for my peace of mind. Especially when I'm staying alone in a hotel room in a foreign city, and I already had to replace my key card once because it stopped working for reasons unknown.
I'm okay, though. I have my knitting.
Shut up.
I've also noticed that the bathroom mirror makes my eyes look really pink. I thought I just kept looking tired, but then I looked in another mirror almost immediately after, and that wasn't the case.
Oh yeah, I'm totally swamped. :P
Today was the first day of booth bunnying. The first proper day, rather. I was there before 7:30, after picking up a bad hot chocolate and semi-grody muffin from Starbucks. For $5.30, I was definitely not impressed.
I met a lady from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, and we chatted for quite some time. Once they opened up the tents, I helped a woman from some part of Alberta put together her display, and then sat behind my booth for awhile. It was freezing in the tent, 'cause they hadn't turned the heat on. Actually, I don't think they turned the heat on at any point. :P We got some hot chocolate from the hotel (good stuff!), and eventually a bunch of us moved out of the tent to get some sun. I actually had moved out to hit the washroom, but that didn't happen.
I spent a fair bit of time chatting with the deputy mayor of Riverview, N.B., about the Jennifer Teague case and so on, until they went off to the Berry Barn, and I came back to the hotel to have some lunch and have a nap.
On my way back to the hotel, I ran into my coworker, so we chatted for a bit, catching up. We'd both forgotten that we weren't staying in the same hotel, which explains why we hadn't seen one another -- plus, he's been busy with various obligations. He came by the booth later and helped me stuff some CDs, which had just arrived, and he's going to do something similar tomorrow.
I plan on going out to see the Berry Barn (Berry Farm?) tomorrow. Apparently there's something known as the Saskatoon berry, and I'd like to check it out.
I came back to the hotel to relax and watch some tv, then headed over to the mall to check out the sweaters and do some shopping. Only for an hour before the mall closed, and I sliced my finger on a hanger, 'cause I'm that awesome, then wandered over to the Pita Pit to get some dinner. Yummy, tasty dinner.
Like I said, no deep thoughts. I have too many things I want to do, and not enough time in which to do them. :P I will say, though, that watching back-to-back episodes of C.S.I., then the intro to Criminal Minds, which features a girl being abducted by a serial killer, does not do well for my peace of mind. Especially when I'm staying alone in a hotel room in a foreign city, and I already had to replace my key card once because it stopped working for reasons unknown.
I'm okay, though. I have my knitting.
Shut up.
I've also noticed that the bathroom mirror makes my eyes look really pink. I thought I just kept looking tired, but then I looked in another mirror almost immediately after, and that wasn't the case.
Oh yeah, I'm totally swamped. :P
2005/09/21
Day two has finished, and I've had a few realizations.
First, a king-sized bed is just ridiculous. It's huge and I can sleep diagonally, lengthwise or widthwise in it, and not hang off the bed. Granted, that's kinda fun, but seriously -- it's huge! Mind you, the hotel only seems to have rooms with king-sized beds, or with two double beds, so I guess it's not like they weren't listening to me when I said I only needed a double. :)
Hell, I remember when OFK and I went to Toronto, and we had queen-sized beds. I thought that was huge, as I travelled across it in the course of the night. It's true, I would -- I'd wake up, move over a little, and fall back asleep. Most nights, I fell asleep at one side of the bed and woke up at the other. Who says I hog the bed?! :) (I don't, actually -- the smooshy does. I have to fight to have space in my own damn bed. :P)
Anyhow, second, I think somewhere when I wasn't paying attention, I became a grown-up. I was walking back to my hotel room, and I realized that as far as everyone else is concerned, I'm an adult. I'm here on merits, I'm here as a representative of my organization, and no one else realizes that in my head, I'm still some child or student who doesn't know what the hell is going on. It's... weird.
I think it's also the first time I've stayed in a hotel room alone. At least, I can't really remember another time when I've stayed in one on my own.
Ah well... I slept in a bit today (well, I woke up around 8:30 local time) and awoke to window cleaners or construction people outside my window. Fortunately, I didn't sleep naked, as is often my habit. After spending some time on the computer and the phone with the smooshy, I headed over to check in to the conference. They basically told me to come back at 2:00 p.m., so I found some breakfast, wandered around a bit and did some gift shopping and grabbed some lunch. I came back to the hotel to get rid of my purchases and relax a bit, then went back to the conference to set up.
I made some friends out of the people there, people who are much older than me and therefore probably see me either as very young or as an adult of sorts (I didn't say I had to make sense), and never saw my coworker. I still haven't heard from him yet -- for all I know, he never even came! -- and so I had to set up my whole display on my own. Well, on my own but with the help of the volunteers and a few of the other booth folks. Apparently we have much more swag than some of the other tables, which is impressive, since we figured we were arriving with nothing.
It didn't take too long to set up, so once I was done, I came back to the hotel to change into jeans and comfy shoes. My feet were killing me, 'cause I haven't worn my shoes in forever. :( At least tomorrow I'll be sitting a fair bit. I chatted with my sister for awhile, then decided to go out to see a movie. It was either that or wander to the nearby Rogers/Blockbuster to rent a movie (the laptop is equipped with a DVD-ROM, lucky me!).
I ended up seeing Just Like Heaven, which I've been wanting to see. It reminded me of a book I read years ago, but it doesn't seem to be the same one.
I wish I could be interesting enough for tonnes of people to come and read. I spent awhile updating my chequebook today -- that was thrilling. :) I've been having lots of thoughts lately about wanting to write, and ideas on things to write. Nothing is really connecting, which is frustrating. I know that the first version doesn't have to be perfect, and the story can change a dozen different ways before it's final, but... I keep feeling like I should have *some* idea of what to have happen, or how to have the story move.
Maybe I should just do like Moose does, and have one story that I continuously rewrite until ultimately, it's something completely different from what I originally conceived, but I like the evolution it's undertaken.
Maybe I just don't have deep thoughts. :P
First, a king-sized bed is just ridiculous. It's huge and I can sleep diagonally, lengthwise or widthwise in it, and not hang off the bed. Granted, that's kinda fun, but seriously -- it's huge! Mind you, the hotel only seems to have rooms with king-sized beds, or with two double beds, so I guess it's not like they weren't listening to me when I said I only needed a double. :)
Hell, I remember when OFK and I went to Toronto, and we had queen-sized beds. I thought that was huge, as I travelled across it in the course of the night. It's true, I would -- I'd wake up, move over a little, and fall back asleep. Most nights, I fell asleep at one side of the bed and woke up at the other. Who says I hog the bed?! :) (I don't, actually -- the smooshy does. I have to fight to have space in my own damn bed. :P)
Anyhow, second, I think somewhere when I wasn't paying attention, I became a grown-up. I was walking back to my hotel room, and I realized that as far as everyone else is concerned, I'm an adult. I'm here on merits, I'm here as a representative of my organization, and no one else realizes that in my head, I'm still some child or student who doesn't know what the hell is going on. It's... weird.
I think it's also the first time I've stayed in a hotel room alone. At least, I can't really remember another time when I've stayed in one on my own.
Ah well... I slept in a bit today (well, I woke up around 8:30 local time) and awoke to window cleaners or construction people outside my window. Fortunately, I didn't sleep naked, as is often my habit. After spending some time on the computer and the phone with the smooshy, I headed over to check in to the conference. They basically told me to come back at 2:00 p.m., so I found some breakfast, wandered around a bit and did some gift shopping and grabbed some lunch. I came back to the hotel to get rid of my purchases and relax a bit, then went back to the conference to set up.
I made some friends out of the people there, people who are much older than me and therefore probably see me either as very young or as an adult of sorts (I didn't say I had to make sense), and never saw my coworker. I still haven't heard from him yet -- for all I know, he never even came! -- and so I had to set up my whole display on my own. Well, on my own but with the help of the volunteers and a few of the other booth folks. Apparently we have much more swag than some of the other tables, which is impressive, since we figured we were arriving with nothing.
It didn't take too long to set up, so once I was done, I came back to the hotel to change into jeans and comfy shoes. My feet were killing me, 'cause I haven't worn my shoes in forever. :( At least tomorrow I'll be sitting a fair bit. I chatted with my sister for awhile, then decided to go out to see a movie. It was either that or wander to the nearby Rogers/Blockbuster to rent a movie (the laptop is equipped with a DVD-ROM, lucky me!).
I ended up seeing Just Like Heaven, which I've been wanting to see. It reminded me of a book I read years ago, but it doesn't seem to be the same one.
I wish I could be interesting enough for tonnes of people to come and read. I spent awhile updating my chequebook today -- that was thrilling. :) I've been having lots of thoughts lately about wanting to write, and ideas on things to write. Nothing is really connecting, which is frustrating. I know that the first version doesn't have to be perfect, and the story can change a dozen different ways before it's final, but... I keep feeling like I should have *some* idea of what to have happen, or how to have the story move.
Maybe I should just do like Moose does, and have one story that I continuously rewrite until ultimately, it's something completely different from what I originally conceived, but I like the evolution it's undertaken.
Maybe I just don't have deep thoughts. :P
2005/09/20
Well, greetings from cool and semi-sunny Saskatoon. Actually, it's dark out now -- it's about 20 after 9 local time. This is still going to post in my time, though, so be confused or something. :)
Of course, since I'm updating in between commercials, this is going to take awhile anyhow.
So, I'm here in Saskatoon for a conference for work. I've never been to the prairie provinces, so when the opportunity arose, I took it. Of course, then my usual self emerged, and I wasn't as keen on going -- I miss my kitties, I miss my boyfriend, etc. Mind you, it's nice to be away from work for awhile...
Though in the end, this is more work than if I'd stayed home, if that makes sense. According to the conference materials, the booth that I'm manning is open from 7:30 a.m. until 5 or 5:30 p.m. That is offensive, in my opinion. I'm also vaguely annoyed that my colleague is leaving on Saturday, which I didn't know was an option -- I'm returning on Sunday, and that's crappy. Especially since my flight departs at 7:15 a.m. Yurgh.
But backing up... the flight in was fairly uneventful. I was originally booked on a 3-hop flight, but they were concerned that my transfer in Toronto didn't have enough time between flights, so they put me on a more direct flight. I was in Winnipeg very briefly, and I was going to call Jay and say hi, but I only had enough time to hit the washroom, get in the wrong lineup to board (they changed the gate), and then board. Very exciting.
Got to the hotel fine, got the laptop hooked up with the internet, and I felt human again. I'm a dork, I know. Called the folks to tell them I hadn't died in a fiery plane crash, and then had some food and decided to wander for a bit.
According to some literature I read somewhere, I found out that I'm staying in downtown Saskatoon. Here is my hotel, if you're curious. I've done a bit of wandering, and I've discovered that there are a *lot* of restaurants nearby, which is good. I'm also near two movie theatres, so I might take myself to a movie sometime later.
In addition, I discovered that there's an Arby's up the street, so I treated myself to some roast beef sandwiches. Yummy. I only had to fly halfway across the country to do it. :P :)
My wandering also showed me that Saskatoon is a bit different than Toronto, or other cities I've been to. At home, the streets get rolled up around 9 p.m., sometimes a bit earlier, depending on the location and day of the week. In Toronto, at least on the weekends, some stores start to close around midnight. Here, stores close at 5:30 p.m., or 6 p.m.... later in the week they're open later, but it's a weird feeling to wander downtown on a Tuesday night at 6:30 and have nothing open. I couldn't even find a drugstore to buy postcards. :P
Ah well... I tried to find out if my colleague had checked in yet, but they didn't even have him listed in this hotel. I'm 99% certain he's supposed to be here as well, though, so I figure I'll just run into him somehow tomorrow. We're not supposed to start putting the booths up until 2 p.m., so I'm going to go downtown tomorrow before lunch and check in, get the various details and so on. Theoretically. Basically, I'm just playing this whole damn thing by ear, and hoping to get enough sleep and/or time to myself in between.
In non-Saskatoon life... I don' tknow. There's stuff, and I've wnated to write about things, but I can't think of anything right now. My brain sucks. :) For now, though, I'm going to sign off on this and do some reading and/or knitting or something, and try and get some sleep. My body doesn't know what to think, especially since I was up late and then I slept some on the first plane. I have to give props to WestJet; their flight attendants were very friendly and funny, and the first flight I took had leather seats and the satellite tv. The tv is a good idea, but it's very difficult to hear properly, especially when your ears are half messed up due to altitude changes and so on. The first flight ended up giving me a headache that I think has finally now passed. :/
Of course, since I'm updating in between commercials, this is going to take awhile anyhow.
So, I'm here in Saskatoon for a conference for work. I've never been to the prairie provinces, so when the opportunity arose, I took it. Of course, then my usual self emerged, and I wasn't as keen on going -- I miss my kitties, I miss my boyfriend, etc. Mind you, it's nice to be away from work for awhile...
Though in the end, this is more work than if I'd stayed home, if that makes sense. According to the conference materials, the booth that I'm manning is open from 7:30 a.m. until 5 or 5:30 p.m. That is offensive, in my opinion. I'm also vaguely annoyed that my colleague is leaving on Saturday, which I didn't know was an option -- I'm returning on Sunday, and that's crappy. Especially since my flight departs at 7:15 a.m. Yurgh.
But backing up... the flight in was fairly uneventful. I was originally booked on a 3-hop flight, but they were concerned that my transfer in Toronto didn't have enough time between flights, so they put me on a more direct flight. I was in Winnipeg very briefly, and I was going to call Jay and say hi, but I only had enough time to hit the washroom, get in the wrong lineup to board (they changed the gate), and then board. Very exciting.
Got to the hotel fine, got the laptop hooked up with the internet, and I felt human again. I'm a dork, I know. Called the folks to tell them I hadn't died in a fiery plane crash, and then had some food and decided to wander for a bit.
According to some literature I read somewhere, I found out that I'm staying in downtown Saskatoon. Here is my hotel, if you're curious. I've done a bit of wandering, and I've discovered that there are a *lot* of restaurants nearby, which is good. I'm also near two movie theatres, so I might take myself to a movie sometime later.
In addition, I discovered that there's an Arby's up the street, so I treated myself to some roast beef sandwiches. Yummy. I only had to fly halfway across the country to do it. :P :)
My wandering also showed me that Saskatoon is a bit different than Toronto, or other cities I've been to. At home, the streets get rolled up around 9 p.m., sometimes a bit earlier, depending on the location and day of the week. In Toronto, at least on the weekends, some stores start to close around midnight. Here, stores close at 5:30 p.m., or 6 p.m.... later in the week they're open later, but it's a weird feeling to wander downtown on a Tuesday night at 6:30 and have nothing open. I couldn't even find a drugstore to buy postcards. :P
Ah well... I tried to find out if my colleague had checked in yet, but they didn't even have him listed in this hotel. I'm 99% certain he's supposed to be here as well, though, so I figure I'll just run into him somehow tomorrow. We're not supposed to start putting the booths up until 2 p.m., so I'm going to go downtown tomorrow before lunch and check in, get the various details and so on. Theoretically. Basically, I'm just playing this whole damn thing by ear, and hoping to get enough sleep and/or time to myself in between.
In non-Saskatoon life... I don' tknow. There's stuff, and I've wnated to write about things, but I can't think of anything right now. My brain sucks. :) For now, though, I'm going to sign off on this and do some reading and/or knitting or something, and try and get some sleep. My body doesn't know what to think, especially since I was up late and then I slept some on the first plane. I have to give props to WestJet; their flight attendants were very friendly and funny, and the first flight I took had leather seats and the satellite tv. The tv is a good idea, but it's very difficult to hear properly, especially when your ears are half messed up due to altitude changes and so on. The first flight ended up giving me a headache that I think has finally now passed. :/
2005/09/13
Is there an easy and polite way of reinforcing to people who seem to have forgotten/not listened that I really hate being called Jennifer? I’m thinking mainly (okay, entirely) of my work environment, where I introduce myself as Jen, and I’ve told many people that I prefer to be called Jen, and they keep defaulting to Jennifer. My manager even said at one point that he was likely going to call me that many times “by accident”, because he thinks it’s a beautiful name and so on.
That may be so, but I actively dislike being called Jennifer. It grates on my nerves, and it’s frustrating to me to have to remind people of this fact, especially when I don’t understand this government compulsion to expand everyone’s names to their full length.
I mean, it’s one thing to be listed in the various search engines as Jennifer, and get called that by people who don’t know better; but once I’ve emailed you and you see how I sign my emails, or how I introduce myself, why do you keep reverting to Jennifer?
I had one show host who, after years of working with me and knowing me as Jen, started spontaneously calling me Jennifer. I had to eventually tell him somewhat forcefully, "I *hate* being called Jennifer." It's the same with some colleagues and friends deciding out of the blue to call me Jenny. I can't understand it.
*sigh*
I’m not getting enough sleep, and I’m apparently heading into a whiny PMS phase. I was whining last night to The Boy about how I feel frustrated that I’m doing work that I subsequently have to totally redo because someone isn’t giving me any direction. The Boy (haha, the smushy) mentioned that it sounds like he’s asking me to change things because he doesn’t really know what he wants in the first place. That’s also true, it seems. It doesn’t make my life any happier/easier.
As it’s been pointed out, I only have to deal with this until April. Then, in theory, life will improve.
But in the meantime... how can I get people, especially a bunch of senior management-types, to stop calling me Jennifer!? Shy of punching them in the nose/having a total fit, of course.
That may be so, but I actively dislike being called Jennifer. It grates on my nerves, and it’s frustrating to me to have to remind people of this fact, especially when I don’t understand this government compulsion to expand everyone’s names to their full length.
I mean, it’s one thing to be listed in the various search engines as Jennifer, and get called that by people who don’t know better; but once I’ve emailed you and you see how I sign my emails, or how I introduce myself, why do you keep reverting to Jennifer?
I had one show host who, after years of working with me and knowing me as Jen, started spontaneously calling me Jennifer. I had to eventually tell him somewhat forcefully, "I *hate* being called Jennifer." It's the same with some colleagues and friends deciding out of the blue to call me Jenny. I can't understand it.
*sigh*
I’m not getting enough sleep, and I’m apparently heading into a whiny PMS phase. I was whining last night to The Boy about how I feel frustrated that I’m doing work that I subsequently have to totally redo because someone isn’t giving me any direction. The Boy (haha, the smushy) mentioned that it sounds like he’s asking me to change things because he doesn’t really know what he wants in the first place. That’s also true, it seems. It doesn’t make my life any happier/easier.
As it’s been pointed out, I only have to deal with this until April. Then, in theory, life will improve.
But in the meantime... how can I get people, especially a bunch of senior management-types, to stop calling me Jennifer!? Shy of punching them in the nose/having a total fit, of course.
2005/09/12
In lieu of a real update (I know, I know):
"Have it all," by Jeerem Kay
Some days I feel like crying
Don’t matter if its rain or shine
I feel like my heart was broken
At least a million times
Some days I wake up dreaming
Feels like I never even woke
Answer life’s big question
As if it’s one big joke
Maybe it’s too soon to be sure but I
Really do believe that some day we’re gonna have it all
So I try so hard to keep the rhythm of a train
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on
Some days I feel like singing
I sit back and just groove the day away
Maybe I pick up a guitar and play what I want to play
Maybe it’s too soon to be sure but I
Really do believe that some day we’re gonna have it all
So I try so hard to keep the rhythm of a train
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on
Carry on,
You got to carry on
You got to carry on
You got to carry on
Today I feel like laughing
Seems to be no reason at all
And if the world stops spinning
I’m not afraid to fall
Maybe it’s too soon to be sure but I
Really do believe that some day we’re gonna have it all
So I try so hard to keep the rhythm of a train
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on
"Have it all," by Jeerem Kay
Some days I feel like crying
Don’t matter if its rain or shine
I feel like my heart was broken
At least a million times
Some days I wake up dreaming
Feels like I never even woke
Answer life’s big question
As if it’s one big joke
Maybe it’s too soon to be sure but I
Really do believe that some day we’re gonna have it all
So I try so hard to keep the rhythm of a train
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on
Some days I feel like singing
I sit back and just groove the day away
Maybe I pick up a guitar and play what I want to play
Maybe it’s too soon to be sure but I
Really do believe that some day we’re gonna have it all
So I try so hard to keep the rhythm of a train
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on
Carry on,
You got to carry on
You got to carry on
You got to carry on
Today I feel like laughing
Seems to be no reason at all
And if the world stops spinning
I’m not afraid to fall
Maybe it’s too soon to be sure but I
Really do believe that some day we’re gonna have it all
So I try so hard to keep the rhythm of a train
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on
2005/09/07
2005/09/06
My poor, poor, neglected blog. Holy crap.
Let's see, a brief summary of what's been going on in my life... just won't work. So bear with me as I try to fill in the gaps of the last few weeks, 'cause that's when most of the cooler shit has happened.
First, I had a birthday and turned old. I'm now 25, and this is when things are supposed to start happening. I think. 'Cause, see, I think sometime soon I'm going to have to start being a grown-up or some other shit. I don't know, how old is a grown-up? I have friends that are grown-ups, but at what age did they get there?
Anyhow, second, in order to combat the pending doom of grown-upedness, I bought a motorcycle. That finally came into my possession for real a few days after my birthday. I still have to get my little ass over to the DMV to upgrade my M1 to an M2, which will give me legal ability to ride any road at any time of day or night, but I got the registration and other details taken care of. Second-hand vehicle ownership is full of details that must be looked after, but at least in this case, is worth it. I saved the equivalent of a year's insurance, and I got a really nice bike that I'm not likely to outgrow.
I finally have also taken some rides on it. Well, aside from the one trip up and down the street that I did the day my dad and I took the bike back to their place (I'm still waiting to get my stupid parking spot lined up). My first trip on the bike was Thursday, and it went fairly well, with a few exceptions. I did stall the bike once or twice, but whatever. I got passed by a car that I hadn't realized was there, so that was a bit scary, but has had the pleasant side effect of causing me to check my mirrors more regularly. I also at one point fell over on the bike. I was tired, hungry, and slightly lost, and coming up to a stop sign. As I stopped, I bobbled things a little, and down we went. Fortunately, I was able to lift the bike on my own, so that was encouraging. Finally, I panicked a little heading into a turn; at this point, the bike can seriously outperform me, and I don't have the confidence to go zooming around just yet. But I did get a motorcycle wave from someone, so that was cool. :)
My folks are getting my sister established for school, and taking their vacation right now, so they have a friend looking after the kitties. That friend wanted to go get her daughter set up, so she asked me to mind the kitties over the long weekend, which I did. It gave me a perfect opportunity to let them out for a run, spend some time cuddling them (Digger was *very* pleasured to get some snuggling in on Saturday – he eventually completely collapsed in my lap, all curled up), and get some riding time in. On Saturday I did a quick trip out to the Home Depot and drugstore, where two people snagged the parking spots I was going for. *grr* I had to drop off my purchases, and as I was in the driveway, it started to rain. I wasn’t feeling very confident, so I figured it was as good a reason as any to pack the bike up. Finally, I did another circuit on Sunday, where I wanted to practice some of my turns and so on. Unfortunately, there were a fair number of cars on the road, so I felt a bit rattled by that – I felt a bit as if I couldn’t slow down the way I might’ve liked, and it made me too nervous heading into turns (panicked in one again). I realized that I feel comfortable doing slower speed turns, so I’ll just work up to the higher-speed ones, and I’m treating recommended speeds as being gospel, the same as I did when I was first learning how to drive. I’m already treating speed limits as fairly gospel, ‘cause regardless of how safe I feel speeding in a car, doing 80 km/h on a bike can be scary!
The last time out, some lady tried to snag my spot at an intersection (we both went at the same time), and then I stalled the stupid bike three times trying to get across the damn intersection. I’d already stalled it earlier that afternoon at the opposite side of the intersection, and the bike wobbled on me – I had to fight to keep it upright. I think I’m pushing myself a bit too much, and it’s undermining my confidence a bit, so for now I’m going to work on scaling back a little, and trying to settle the nerves. Driving after 6:30 p.m. or so seems to be a good time of night; it’s still light, and fewer people are out on the roads.
So that’s the rundown on the bike. What else has been going on?
Well, the week of my birthday, I booked the week off of work. I figured I was due a vacation, and my week off was capped with my trip to Toronto to go and see James Marsters, as you knew.
In conjunction with my week off, I was booking plans all over the place. See, I signed up on a website, plentyoffish.com, awhile ago after I heard of it from a friend. It’s similar to lavalife or capital.cupid, in that it’s a dating site of sorts, but they also have resources for those who only want to meet friends or chat online. In addition, it’s completely free; chatting, emailing, etc., which is a nice change of pace.
I’d met a few nice guys through there, some of whom I’d even met in person and gone out on dates with, and a few others I’d made tentative plans to meet. One of them was someone who’d originally contacted me to ask questions about the motorcycle licensing process and the course, and who I’d suckered into conversations on other subjects (what can I say? He was cute, and you all know the alternate title for this site). We exchanged a series of rambling emails on all sorts of stupid topics, switched to real email accounts, and then discussed the possibility of meeting.
He gave me his number and times when it would be safe/kind to call, so one day before my lunch break, I did. We talked for an hour and a half, only briefly touching on the subject of finalizing the tentative plans we’d made (picked a day and that was about it), and then he had to be off. We spoke again the next day, though not as long, and there were several other phone and MSN conversations that took place, some until the wee hours of the evening.
We made plans for Monday of my vacation, and planned for the entire day. Normally, when I meet someone for the first time, it’s a coffee or maybe a meal; I’ve had plenty of experiences where online chemistry didn’t translate. In this case, however, neither of us seemed particularly worried about that not panning out. I had to push the plans back a bit in order to accomodate a coffee with D that never actually took place, but in the end it all worked out. We met that afternoon, and long story short, our first date ended two and a half days later.
And no, not for the reasons you’re all thinking. Perverts, the lot of you; I’m a lady.
Stop laughing. I hate you.
Anyhow, he went home Wednesday morning when I went for my gym appointment, after braving my birthday potluck dinner with friends, and thereby beginning his new addiction to Katamari Damancy. He came back Wednesday night after his shift was over, and aside from my weekend in Toronto, we’ve spent every night together since.
I know,we’re one of those couples who everyone is going to say is moving way too fast, but it feels okay and seems to be working so far. We’ve recently hit a few minor bumps, but we talk it out and it seems to be working out okay. We’re both jumping in with both feet but at the same time being somewhat cautious, because we’ve both been hurt many times in the past. I’ve vetted him past a few of my friends, and so far the approval ratings seem to be pretty good. :)
Needless to say, I ended things with Mr. Three Dates (yeah, you guys hadn’t heard of him), and allowed things with the other two people to more or less lapse. Apparently he was also dating three people when he met me; for a *huge* geek, he seems to do okay for himself. :)
We’ve also taken to making good meals together. The first real mutual meal was the night he made chicken kiev and I made an experimental pasta salad and (bad) brownies; a few nights ago was beef stroganoff and then last night was a pizza from scratch. Very thick dough, due to the dish and the recipe, but very tasty, too. :) Of course, soon it’s going to be my turn to helm the preparations, but not for awhile, as his next night off isn’t for some time yet. I’ll have to resort to feeding myself, it would seem.
Finally, even the kitties seem to like him. Venus is a bit slower at coming around, but she seems to be getting into a shy frame of mind, whereas Thena’s been pretty comfortable around him from the start. Some nights they’ve even taken to picking on him and leaving me alone, which is a nice change of pace. :)
Oh yeah, and carrying on my theory that this city is Too Damn Small, I work at the same building as one of his roommates; we even took a course together about six weeks ago. In fact, we're working on the same issue, from different ends.
Anyhow, I’ll save my Toronto story for another time. I’m starving and I still have some reading to do for school on Thursday. Stupid horrible professor. *sigh*
Let's see, a brief summary of what's been going on in my life... just won't work. So bear with me as I try to fill in the gaps of the last few weeks, 'cause that's when most of the cooler shit has happened.
First, I had a birthday and turned old. I'm now 25, and this is when things are supposed to start happening. I think. 'Cause, see, I think sometime soon I'm going to have to start being a grown-up or some other shit. I don't know, how old is a grown-up? I have friends that are grown-ups, but at what age did they get there?
Anyhow, second, in order to combat the pending doom of grown-upedness, I bought a motorcycle. That finally came into my possession for real a few days after my birthday. I still have to get my little ass over to the DMV to upgrade my M1 to an M2, which will give me legal ability to ride any road at any time of day or night, but I got the registration and other details taken care of. Second-hand vehicle ownership is full of details that must be looked after, but at least in this case, is worth it. I saved the equivalent of a year's insurance, and I got a really nice bike that I'm not likely to outgrow.
I finally have also taken some rides on it. Well, aside from the one trip up and down the street that I did the day my dad and I took the bike back to their place (I'm still waiting to get my stupid parking spot lined up). My first trip on the bike was Thursday, and it went fairly well, with a few exceptions. I did stall the bike once or twice, but whatever. I got passed by a car that I hadn't realized was there, so that was a bit scary, but has had the pleasant side effect of causing me to check my mirrors more regularly. I also at one point fell over on the bike. I was tired, hungry, and slightly lost, and coming up to a stop sign. As I stopped, I bobbled things a little, and down we went. Fortunately, I was able to lift the bike on my own, so that was encouraging. Finally, I panicked a little heading into a turn; at this point, the bike can seriously outperform me, and I don't have the confidence to go zooming around just yet. But I did get a motorcycle wave from someone, so that was cool. :)
My folks are getting my sister established for school, and taking their vacation right now, so they have a friend looking after the kitties. That friend wanted to go get her daughter set up, so she asked me to mind the kitties over the long weekend, which I did. It gave me a perfect opportunity to let them out for a run, spend some time cuddling them (Digger was *very* pleasured to get some snuggling in on Saturday – he eventually completely collapsed in my lap, all curled up), and get some riding time in. On Saturday I did a quick trip out to the Home Depot and drugstore, where two people snagged the parking spots I was going for. *grr* I had to drop off my purchases, and as I was in the driveway, it started to rain. I wasn’t feeling very confident, so I figured it was as good a reason as any to pack the bike up. Finally, I did another circuit on Sunday, where I wanted to practice some of my turns and so on. Unfortunately, there were a fair number of cars on the road, so I felt a bit rattled by that – I felt a bit as if I couldn’t slow down the way I might’ve liked, and it made me too nervous heading into turns (panicked in one again). I realized that I feel comfortable doing slower speed turns, so I’ll just work up to the higher-speed ones, and I’m treating recommended speeds as being gospel, the same as I did when I was first learning how to drive. I’m already treating speed limits as fairly gospel, ‘cause regardless of how safe I feel speeding in a car, doing 80 km/h on a bike can be scary!
The last time out, some lady tried to snag my spot at an intersection (we both went at the same time), and then I stalled the stupid bike three times trying to get across the damn intersection. I’d already stalled it earlier that afternoon at the opposite side of the intersection, and the bike wobbled on me – I had to fight to keep it upright. I think I’m pushing myself a bit too much, and it’s undermining my confidence a bit, so for now I’m going to work on scaling back a little, and trying to settle the nerves. Driving after 6:30 p.m. or so seems to be a good time of night; it’s still light, and fewer people are out on the roads.
So that’s the rundown on the bike. What else has been going on?
Well, the week of my birthday, I booked the week off of work. I figured I was due a vacation, and my week off was capped with my trip to Toronto to go and see James Marsters, as you knew.
In conjunction with my week off, I was booking plans all over the place. See, I signed up on a website, plentyoffish.com, awhile ago after I heard of it from a friend. It’s similar to lavalife or capital.cupid, in that it’s a dating site of sorts, but they also have resources for those who only want to meet friends or chat online. In addition, it’s completely free; chatting, emailing, etc., which is a nice change of pace.
I’d met a few nice guys through there, some of whom I’d even met in person and gone out on dates with, and a few others I’d made tentative plans to meet. One of them was someone who’d originally contacted me to ask questions about the motorcycle licensing process and the course, and who I’d suckered into conversations on other subjects (what can I say? He was cute, and you all know the alternate title for this site). We exchanged a series of rambling emails on all sorts of stupid topics, switched to real email accounts, and then discussed the possibility of meeting.
He gave me his number and times when it would be safe/kind to call, so one day before my lunch break, I did. We talked for an hour and a half, only briefly touching on the subject of finalizing the tentative plans we’d made (picked a day and that was about it), and then he had to be off. We spoke again the next day, though not as long, and there were several other phone and MSN conversations that took place, some until the wee hours of the evening.
We made plans for Monday of my vacation, and planned for the entire day. Normally, when I meet someone for the first time, it’s a coffee or maybe a meal; I’ve had plenty of experiences where online chemistry didn’t translate. In this case, however, neither of us seemed particularly worried about that not panning out. I had to push the plans back a bit in order to accomodate a coffee with D that never actually took place, but in the end it all worked out. We met that afternoon, and long story short, our first date ended two and a half days later.
And no, not for the reasons you’re all thinking. Perverts, the lot of you; I’m a lady.
Stop laughing. I hate you.
Anyhow, he went home Wednesday morning when I went for my gym appointment, after braving my birthday potluck dinner with friends, and thereby beginning his new addiction to Katamari Damancy. He came back Wednesday night after his shift was over, and aside from my weekend in Toronto, we’ve spent every night together since.
I know,we’re one of those couples who everyone is going to say is moving way too fast, but it feels okay and seems to be working so far. We’ve recently hit a few minor bumps, but we talk it out and it seems to be working out okay. We’re both jumping in with both feet but at the same time being somewhat cautious, because we’ve both been hurt many times in the past. I’ve vetted him past a few of my friends, and so far the approval ratings seem to be pretty good. :)
Needless to say, I ended things with Mr. Three Dates (yeah, you guys hadn’t heard of him), and allowed things with the other two people to more or less lapse. Apparently he was also dating three people when he met me; for a *huge* geek, he seems to do okay for himself. :)
We’ve also taken to making good meals together. The first real mutual meal was the night he made chicken kiev and I made an experimental pasta salad and (bad) brownies; a few nights ago was beef stroganoff and then last night was a pizza from scratch. Very thick dough, due to the dish and the recipe, but very tasty, too. :) Of course, soon it’s going to be my turn to helm the preparations, but not for awhile, as his next night off isn’t for some time yet. I’ll have to resort to feeding myself, it would seem.
Finally, even the kitties seem to like him. Venus is a bit slower at coming around, but she seems to be getting into a shy frame of mind, whereas Thena’s been pretty comfortable around him from the start. Some nights they’ve even taken to picking on him and leaving me alone, which is a nice change of pace. :)
Oh yeah, and carrying on my theory that this city is Too Damn Small, I work at the same building as one of his roommates; we even took a course together about six weeks ago. In fact, we're working on the same issue, from different ends.
Anyhow, I’ll save my Toronto story for another time. I’m starving and I still have some reading to do for school on Thursday. Stupid horrible professor. *sigh*
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