So Redwood just left on the bus. We ran a little late -- but managed to get him to the bus JUST on time. =) Thank goodness we live five minutes from the Train/Bus station.

We only had a short visit, but we packed in the things to do. Yesterday we tried the winter sport of curling. I've never done it before, and neither had Redwood - but we both improved a lot over the course of the two hours. I'm sore today -- muscles I've never used before! Our team (George, Redwood, Mike (a guy from work) and myself) lost by one point. Not bad considering we were all newbies except George, who had been one time before this!

After curling, George left to go snowboarding with his Dad and brother -- and Redwood and I headed out to watch the Royal Tenenbaums - it was sold out when we got there so we watched Khandahar instead. Weird film, but I found it very interesting... it just didn't have enough of the loose ends tied up at the end to satisfy my "Western" mindset, but it gave me a glimpse into Afghan culture and the bhurga that had never imagined Redwood said I owed him huggles for making him see that film. ;-) After that, we found that Royal Tenenbaums was starting in about 20 minutes, so we bought tickets and went to see that, too. Hilarious film. Very quirky. It will make you think your own family isn't nearly as fucked up as you thought they were.

After the movie we walked back home and shortly afterwards George arrived home, sore from snowboarding, and we went for dinner at La Terazza. We rushed it a bit, and didn't have desert -- damn, because their cheesecake baked in phyllo pastry is to die for -- but we made it to the Vancouver Theatresports League late night "Scared Scriptless" show. It was worth it. The laughing we did worked off some of dinner and then we headed home and went to sleep.

Whew!

Today was brief - we slept until around 10AM and then had blueberry pancakes and walked up to Booster Juice for smoothies and to see the Vancouver Public Library (a building featured in the Arnold movie "The Sixth Day"). We walked home in the sunshine with Redwood snapping tourist shots and Rainy bounding around enjoying the outdoors and then had to rush to get Redwood to the bus on time.

We made it and now I'm home and ready to get cracking on finishing the cleanup and organization of this room.

Away I go... I'll share pictures when I figure out how to post some.

I went to MEC tonight. I tried on packs. I picked this one.

It fits wonderfully -- I carried it fully loaded all around the store for about 20 minutes and it hardly felt like I was carrying anything. Mind you, I did feel a whole lot lighter when I took it off.

I'll save me up some money and buy that one in sage green. Everywhere else online it's USD $345.00. I love that it's made in Canada. I ran into my neighbour down the hall at MEC and told him about my plan to go to Peru. He told me that he gets really good deals on plane tickets and he offered to get George and I good deals if we ever need to fly anywhere. He's a really great neighbour, even without the plane ticket offer. Nice people rock.

My mom's coming to stay overnight in two weeks. George will be in Washington working at the University Hospital upgrading their radiology PACS system... that's what we do... he installs, I do remote service. It's a challenge. It's a living. (It'll get me to Peru this year!) Mom and I will do girly things and rent girly movies and probably have long talks. Hopefully she can see that I'm happy and will continue to be happy as long as I'm true to myself. She sees me so differently than I see myself... she said to me on the phone tonight (in an exasperated voice) "Well, I *did* want you to grow up to be independent, and you're *definitely that*" Hmm... Here I am, realizing that I really haven't been independent my whole life. I've been depending on others to make me happy when really, all of that comes from within.

Lots to do... Sleep to get...

Redwood is coming over this weekend! We're going curling and out to dinner at our favourite fancy restaurant "La Terazza". It will be nice to see him again.

It's never easy to really change, is it?

Saw LotR tonight at the IMAX theatre on the HUGE screen. Wow. I was impressed, but I shouldn't have read the books again *first*. I won't make the same mistake next year!

Have lots to do tonight - reorganizing my 'office' at home... reorganizing my life... reorganizing my brain. Not too tall an order, now, is it? Nah!

One step at a time, just keep moving forward.

I decided today that I want a life that people would want to read about. I'm going to be not just the "official" Black Sheep of the family... but the BEST GODDAM BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY that our family has ever had.

Just you watch.

Maybe I'm just not meant to be like other people. Today at work I was listening to Kyle tell Eric about the scare he and his wife had and how he had to take her to hospital for some pregancy-related complications... I feel for them, but I don't feel like I could ever be there, doing that. :-/ One day perhaps, but I'm not ready to settle down and have kids and a family, yet.

I still have to figure out who I am and where I am in life, however. That's the fun part. =D So many people here are living ordinary lives... how can I make mine extraordinary? Riding my bike to work every day is a start - that's not "normal". Guess I'd better get cracking and get my rear rim replaced. It's worn out and causing my flat tires. Evil.

I started looking at packs online... have to find a good backpacking/hostelling/travelling newsgroup or mailing list.

George gave me a 'travel' calendar on Friday. Talk about timing... that's when I decided that travel on my own was what I needed to do... and he came through with a gorgeous calendar from the travel agency.

I love him, but I'm still confused about what our future holds -- mainly because I'm still confused about me. Crazy world. Crazy life.

Weekend with Doug and Ali (and an all-too-brief interlude with Kim and Ed) is over. We made more gingerbread cookies and decorated them all up. What fun! Dinner was huge and wonderful at the Boathouse in Richmond and then everyone was off. Us home, the rest of them to Seattle.

Guess what George is doing? Yep. Playing games. Sucks to be me.

Back to work tomorrow - then to the parents' house for Christmas. I'm kind of dreading it. I'd rather be with George -- but things are up and down with us... mainly because I'm in a different place in my life than he is in his. I feel old. I feel lonely. I feel lost. I feel all sorts of things... but this year I'm taking steps to remedy that. I will start travelling. I must. Alone.

I do too much with other people, or what other people might think, in mind. It's time for me to find myself in ways I haven't yet done. I'll save up my holidays (and money) and go to Peru. Magic. Mystery. Ancient cultures. Large spiders. I'll find a way around the spiders somehow. It'll be worth it.

Time to find a backpack and screw up my courage and determination.

Welcome to a journal about ME. Go away if you don't like it. It's my journal. :-P~~~

Ho... hum.... have to go pack things to take to the 'rents. Feh.

Sleep helps. Friends help. I still don't want to go back to boring old conventional me -- and I won't. This is going to confuse the hell out of my mother, but you know what? It's NOT HER LIFE.

Hungry.

Must.

Eat.

Breakfast.

What sucks? Life. The Universe and Everything.

Fuck it all. Sometimes I feel like leaping from a tall building... namely the one I live in. I can picutre my body sailing through the air and landing in a splatter of blood and bone on the pavement. Why can I imagine this? WHY DO I?!?!? Somebody tell me because I don't know. I hate me. I hate how little I've become. I hate.

I hate this meaningless life we all lead. I hate the pressures of family. The pressures of society. The pressures of my own FUCKED UP brain.

I hate my journal with all it's meaningless drivel. Everyone else seems to have something REAL to say... or maybe I just skip over the journals like mine because they're so fucking boring.

Whatever.

Even this writing, coming from all this pain and ugliness is nothing more than drivel. Words don't have enough feeling for what is going on inside me. That's probably why I've been screaming and crying for the past 20 minutes.

There's just WAY too much going on in me.

George says "go to sleep" and goes off to play FUCKING Q3. He says he loves me. I wish he'd show it or leave me the fuck alone. Cuz maybe that's what I need to be but don't have the stinking guts for.

I thought all this melodramatic shit was supposed to end in your teens.

I'm still a teen. In my late 20s. Fuck.

No more trying to be witty for me. I'm just not. I'm just a screwed up, needy, whiney teenager looking for someone else to make me happy -- or to blame for me not being happy already. Loser. Shut the fuck up and do something GOOD with your life.

What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I feel like this? Short answer: lack of sleep and challenges to my "world view". I don't even have a world view of my own. It's been painted on to me by my parents, my past lovers, my own stupid NEED to feel like I belong somewhere. Is THAT why I want to be "married". Because nothing else I've done has made me feel like I actually BELONG anywhere.

Adoption leaves me with holes. Questions.

Where are you Birth Mom? Do you love me? Am I part of you? Are you part of me?

Married wouldn't fix this.

Only I can. And that scares the FUCK out of me.

Trying to gain my own world view. This is one of the most painful processes I can imagine, emotionally. What the hell?!? It's like George tells me about working out. Your body basically wants to be lazy and go along as it is. You start pushing it and it starts hurting.. tyring to make you stop... but if you don't stop, if you keep going, it'll eventually get used to the new level of intensity or it will break down. I figure it's the same with my psyche. My brain. My whatever-the-hell-is making me feel this way right now. I've pushed it past it's limits and it wants to go back. Back to boring. Back to "let's get married and have a family" back to the status quo.

I don't want the status quo. That's what this is about. I could wimp out and go back to being boring old me - funny on the surface, 'carefree' 'happy'. Whatever.
I'm not going back. I want to be FREE to be ME. Whatever this ME is or becomes.

Deal with this psyche. I'm going to MAKE you.

Get some sleep... or stay up forever until you die.

Funny how typing this works it all out in a way. I might not even post this. But why shouldn't I?

George does love me. I know this. He doesn't have to prove it.

Crazy mo-fo..

Now I can sleep.

There's not much to say. I take a day off sick and it turns out sunny. Damn are they ever gonna talk at work. I finally dragged my butt out of bed. I'm all bundled up warm to avoid the dreaded DRAFT *shudder*. Drafts give me cramps. Cramps make me double over in agony and moan as though I were the undead. I avoid drafts at all costs. I wonder if the undead all have massive cramps?

I may even take my bundled up self into the kitchen and attempt fudge today, since it's sunny... but the only recipes I have confidence in and can find online at Skaarup's are in IMPERIAL. Completely. Ounces? How the hell many cups do I need? Tell me millilitres! Tell me milligrams! Anything but ounces. I tried this recipe last year -- thinking that a "can" would be the same size up here. Nope. WAY too much liquid in last year's fudge. It never set. It never even came close to setting. It was liqui-fudge. Maybe I'll write to that Skaarup's place and beg them for metric. If they truly think the world should make more fudge, maybe they'll oblige. Ya think? Maybe Nanaimo bars are more my speed this year - they were my emergency backup last year...

Having only the 25th and the 1st off over the holidays really sucks. I have the weekends off, too... but it's just not fun going to work on Monday having Tuesday off and being right back in there for Wednesday... at 7AM. Could be worse. I could be on the 6AM shift. Again. For the fourth week. I actually like the 6am shift, but it makes being lazy out of the question. I can't easily take the bus that early in the morning and riding my bike for 45 minutes in the cold December air when drafts are the absolute enemy isn't a great option, either.

I'm worried that people are going to think my homemade gifts are cheezy and lame. Not "big" enough or something... I hope not, because I put a lot of time, effort and heart into Christmas this year -- way more than other years when I went out and spent way too much money. I guess this goes to show you how programmed I am with the commercialism of Christmas. "If you're not spending Billions ® on your friends for Christmas © , you don't really Love Them ® !" *cringe*

Self doubt, cramps... hmmm I wonder what time of the month it is?

Journal of the day... more like journal of the week... Last few times I tried to update.. blog died. Ah well... c'est la vie. La vie, today, involves a great deal of cramping. Silly me forgetting my pills near the end of the pack. Ugh. Oof. No work for this girl tomorrow if the pain and puking don't get any better by morning. I hate the bad months.

On a lighter note, I finally mailed my Christmas cards and packages -- so all you who are receiving snail mail love from Heather will be getting it shortly (Canda Post willing...)

I'm going to go get some White Spot. I need comfort.

Tra la laaaa I the code I cut and paste didn't work... tra la laaaaa - the wonder of the web, I delete it!

Work is going better. Except for one nameless individual who has been downright snarky lately. Who pissed in your Starbucks? Snarky sucks.

I'm going to bed, now.. I haven't had enough sleep the last few days and my muscles are feeling it after riding to work again today. Ow. Leg cramp. Ow. Stop. Ow. Sleep.

Oh Kimli, dear wonderful, talented, gorgeous Kimli... I would be honoured and overjoyed to be a bridesmaid at your wedding. I will wear sea-foam green with a huge smile on my face (and an even bigger one in my heart) because it is for you!

In case anyone doesn't understand that.. Kimli asked me to be part of her wedding party... she asked me in my Christmas card -- and I started crying tears of absolute joy when I read it... in fact I tried to call her, but I think she's out at the bar with her honey and their friends in Edmonton -- so I left a message on Lobot's machine. =)

So here I sit on an internet temporarily devoid of the presence of DeeAy. Bouncing. Happy. Joyful. Me.

And...... WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So, as always... I copy Kim and find out that

"I am more interesting than my weblog!"

I got a prezzy in the mail today! Kim rocks... as everyone knows -- and she sent me a gift via the mail. I walked to the wrong post office to get it at first, simply becauseI didn't know they had a new one closer to where I live (and didn't read the address on the card.) Silly me. I opened the box and found a gift bag for me! There's a sweet BIG Ty Beanie Buddy horse sticking out of the top -- but for the rest I'm going to wait until Kim is in town! If she wasn't offline right now I'd tell her THANK YOU!!!! right now. I have her prezzy here, ready and waiting. Part bought (one of the few things actually bought rather than made this year) and part homemade. Hope she likes both parts. =)

Today has been a study in not completing much of anything. I started ot organize my bills... haven't finished. I started to clean up the place.. haven't finished. The only things I've managed to complete today are 1. taking the dog out (which I combined with) 2. going to the post office to pick up a package. and 3. having a shower. I don't count puttin clothes on... that would just be a bit TOO pathetic, even for today.

Grey weather. Blah day. Time to get motivated! George will be home from his parents' house soon to pick up his snowboard and gear to head to Cypress with his little brother. I like snowboarding, but not enough to buy a season's pass this year. I got a ski card instead. I'd rather be riding... horses. *sigh* Hard to do in the city. Please let me win the lottery. Please. I'd put it to good use. Honest. A farm for me and a car for my parents. Really.

Back to not finishing the things I start... here goes...

Heheh. I'm a pretty low-stress person -- according to the questions they ask at the stress test, anyway....

"You exhibit a stress percentage of
13%
which barely registers. Get a job.

Your Stress Test answers indicate that to reduce your stress level even further you should eliminate at least one of the following from your life immediately:
consciousness"

Cool

Things are going much better at work, btw... after deleting the links to all my favourite websites and vowing to only read Dee dot com when I'm at home --- I've been a productive little worker bee the past two days. I feel much better about my job as a result and I'm learning more every day again. Cool. I needed a kick in the ass. Thanks Ross.

Oh My God.

I just realized that the Moxy Fruvous song, "I love my Boss" now APPLIES TO ME!! (at least in the name of my boss... the rest really doesn't apply at all!)

Here are the lyrics just to prove it to you.

I visited Babyblade's site and found this out:

If I was a work of art, I would be Claude Monet's Waterlilies. I am soft and gentle, but very colourful. Although based in reality, I look at the world through a filter of impressions which shape how I see things. Splashes of light help to define my presence and bring an endearing quality. Which work of art would you be? The Art Test

That's comforting.

Well.. today at work my Group Lead pulled me aside into a wee 'meeting' and basically told me that I'm not living up to their expectations. Damn. That sucked. He said I've improved since our last talk, but that he notices me surfing the web too much on non-business-related stuff and that I don't follow up with customers and big issues as much as they'd like. Oh, and George isn't allowed to come and eat his lunch at my desk. There's just not enough room. Whatever on that last one... but okay.

My knowledge base isn't what they think it should be... I should be asking more questions in person and having people show me what to do instead of letting them take over issues and fix them. heheh little do they know that I've learned TONS and I basically pulled the wool over their eyes about how little I knew when they were interviewing me! I know I'll catch up... and boy will I be the most improved employee they've ever seen!! Hee.

But I don't take criticism well -- I mean, who does?! I did pretty well - but the tears started to well up in my eyes near the end... funny thing is, my Group Lead is pretty new to this, and he's a very sensitive guy, so he started to well up when he saw me doing it and we both nearly burst into tears. I think we'll be able to work things out.

On a lighter note - I started studying today for my Win2k MCSE... if I can get this before the 'review time' hits this year it will help with my salary.. it will also help with my overall knowledge base - and hopefully let me fix some problems that are completely beyond me, at present. It's just stupid piece of paper - and I may not even go for the actual certification, if just proving my knowledge on the job will do it... the paper will likely help the salary, though. Evil, evil glass ceiling.

So no more surfing deeay.com or ookla.com at work. No more reading about bicycle touring. No more looking at properties for sale, or horse art. I'll have to come home and do that... no big deal. I don't have sound at work, anyway - so a lot of things suck from there... like this cool link for example.

Ahhhh.. yet another trip for George. Away he goes to North Carolina to install another ALI system into the Univeristy Hospital there. Hope he's warmer than we are here. Brrr. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Wind.

This means I have the place to myself and nothing but time on my hands... Yeah.. RIGHT! What this actually means is that I can do all the things that make messes all over the place for a few days and not disturb George with my messes... and I can make him something without him seeing it, too! Now to decide just what to make him. The stained glass is coming along... I realize how shitty I am at it -- hopefully the receivers won't laugh at my gifts. ;-)

Going to IKEA today.. and I'm going to be GOOD. All I need are tealights... nothing else. Really. Nothing. Then on to Costco. I have a list... I will follow it. Really. I will.

Praying for willpower....

First of all, a clean, well-lubed (heheh... thought you'd like that Dee ;-) bicycle chain... (sorry honey) makes all the difference in the world. My chain was grimy. It was grungy. It was caked on grease and road dirt. After running it through a handy-dandy chain cleaning device with some MEC Biodegradable chain degreaser it is now clean and bright. Apply sparingly some synthetic lubricant and I now have a chain that purrs like a kitten.. actually, it's quieter than a kitten. ;-)

Secondly came the brakes. I realize now why cantilever brakes are not even MADE any more. Firstly - there is better stopping technology out there (v-brakes and disk brakes). Secondly - they are bigger than the biggest bitch in the world to adjust. You have like five hundred billion adjustments on them.. they are INFINITELY adjustable.. the problem is, you have to adjust all five billion things at the same time, so it takes forever to get it just right. Thank goodness for George who came to help me with the final touches after I had fought with them for going on an hour and a half. They worked great this morning and didn't squeal a bit!! Whee!

I want to get a better bike next year... but I also don't want to have it stolen - so perhaps the better bike will have to wait until we move to a house and I can lock it down in the garage or something. I don't want a road-dirty bike in my apartment, and I don't want my new baby to be stolen from the bike room downstairs - which is a common occurrance for nice bikes. Thankfully mine is good quality old technology that looks like crap!

The apartment is decorated for Christmas, my laundry is done and the dishes are clean and put away... what's gotten into us?! I'm trying to get more organized in my life so I can get down to improving my knowledge for work and pleasure. I want to know more about how NT and Win2k work so I can be more effective at problem solving. To that end I'm going to study my buns off on the Win2k MCSE materials and even take the tests. I don't just want to pass the tests, though, I really want to understand it - so that's my goal.

On another note, I've developed a really strong desire to go on a very long bicycle ride this summer. I'd like to start bike touring/camping as a regular gig - it's just my speed and it's affordable, too. I've discovered that I'm just not a competitive person at heart. I like beauty, spirit and seeing the joy in life... I don't like pain, pressure and stress. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I want to be able to stop when I like and breathe in the clean air, smell the flowers and oogle at the beauty that surrounds us on this planet. I would dearly love to ride accross Canada one day and that is going to be my goal. Perhaps I can use that ride to raise money for something worthwhile. I'll have to think about what cause I really want to support, but two come to mind right away - heart disease in women and research on spinal cord injuries. Cycling helps fix one of the problems -- and the other is just so worthwhile... hopefully no one I love will ever need that research.

Anyway... back to work for me! 6AM shifts rock.. except for the getting up at 4:30 part. ;-)

*struggle to keep eyes open*

What a long and kind of productive day. I say kind of because I don't really know what I actually got done. Rainy got a haircut -- I have pictures - I'll show you someday. I like the new lady. She was reccommended to me by my Aunt who has two toy poodles. They're cute and they guard her house by standing on the back of the couch and having a barking fit at anything that moves outside. Keeps them entertained for hours - thank goodness my poodle is large and mostly silent. She looks lovely, and we're going to grow out her tail a bit -- just think, both Rainy and I are at having those horrid "in-between hair" days. Heh.

Drove out to Cloverdale and Langley for the haircut and then for dinner at mom and dad's with my brother and his girlfriend Lisa and her daughter Amanda. Amanda is great. Strong willed but a good kid and super confident and outgoing. She loves my brother, which is great - he's good with her, too. Makes me think about the whole 'having kids' thing... hmmm... we'll see.

George is a wonder. He puts up with so much crap from me sometimes that I just don't know how he does it. I get grumpy when I'm hungry. I get grumpy when I'm sleepy and I get grumpy when I'm in pain. I was all three today. Poor George. He's incredible. I thank the Powers That Be for him... and then I think... he oughta thank the Powers That Be for me, too. We each have our quirks and foibles -- it's just a matter of how much we're willing and able to put up with each others' quirks and foibles.

Love. It's a beautiful thing.

Did some laundry... have more to do... got the Christmas stuff out of the cellar at my parents' house and dragged it home and up the elevator. Tonight is "Christmas Decorating Eve". Tomorrow is Christmas Decorating Day. At least in my apartment. I also have to replace the brake pads on my bike... and I do mean HAVE to... or I'll be putting grooves in my rims by mid week, latest. Ah the joy of it all.

I have a yearning to do a bicycle touring trip. I'm thinking to Calgary to visit me a DeeAy and RakE. I'll do some reading and see how long it'll take me and how much time off I've accumulated by the time the snow melts. I'll have to get me a good tent, a stove and some bear spray. Cool.

I also want to go to someplace warm... so maybe a ride down to California stopping off to visit an Ali and a Doug along the way. Call me crazy, but I think it'd be fun. We'll see..

Bedtime, now... to dream of things bicycle.

The Canucks were awesome on Saturday - they tied Edmonton and I had fun at Harry Potter, though it wasn't as wonderful as I thought it would be. Very nice adaptation of the book (I'm told - haven't read them, yet) but still... I was hoping for more "ompf". I hope Lord of the Rings doesn't dissapoint in this regard... that comes out next month and it's another must see.

After the game, Tusker and Roomie Guy were heading out to Abbotsford to watch the Leonid Meteor shower. George and I imposed ourselves upon them and drove out there, too. It was cold, it was windy and it was starting to get cloudy but we saw meteors!! After some so-so viewing to the south (hazy skies) Tusker and Roomie Guy decided to head home, and since we had by sheer luck and accident met up with Iambe, Engel and FlameDrgn wrapped in a blanket cocoon, we stayed and tried to see more fireballs. We turned to the north to a small patch of clear sky and decided to watch there for our show. What a show! The clear spot gave us a glimpse of some spectacular meteors streaking through the sky and burning up on re-entry. For some reason, our singing turned from "YoMuthaFuckaWHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" with every meteor, to a rousing chorus of "Every sperm is sacred" ala Monty Python. Don't ask me why. It's obvious... BBC1 and BBC2 together. End of story!

At any rate... we stayed up far too late - but for such a glorious sight how could we NOT stay up? Personally, I can't believe that the event wasn't listed more prominently in the news. On the way home, we stopped at Tim Horton's. The poor wee hours of the morning crew was not prepared for a crowd of stargazers such as we were. They were sold out of donuts, hot chocolate and pretty much everything else in short order. Luckily I managed to get a toasted onion bagel with cream cheese and a coke. Yum. George wasn't so lucky with his hot chocolate - he got the last cup and it tasted as though it had no sugar in it.

I wish I could have slept and still seen the meteor shower.. Felt TERRIBLE the next day - but slept a lot, drugged myself up (not in the "fun" way) and went to the Linkin Park concert! I'm gald I did - it was so much fun. Thank goodness for ibuprofen and dristan nasal mist. ;-) Swollen Members was the "guest" band - I'd never seen them before, they're from Vancouver and I have heard one of their songs on the radio that is fun to listen to. The lead "white guy" was a putz, however. He's swearing at the audience, horking and spitting on stage and smoking a cigarette while he's rapping... like he couldn't WAIT? They're only the opening act for chrissakes... it's not like he's going to be on for more than three songs! Plus.. it was an all ages show -- young kids in the audience and he's up there smoking. I hope they could see what a putz he looked like.

Linkin Park was great. They're tight musically, both the lead singers can actually SING and they really appreciated the crowd and were working their asses off on stage playing up to us. They threw things into the audience for people to catch, they looked right at people, they turned lights on the crowd so they could see us all freaking out... they were really professional for a bunch of 24 year olds from California (and Arizona - Hi Chester) and the smiles on their faces told me they were still stunned and amazed to have a huge crowd singing their songs and knowing all the words. As they are known to do - according to their website, they snuck back on stage after the crowd was starting to leave and stayed to sign autographs. We were tired and hungry, so we left to find nourishment - but we left happy.

Then the drugs wore off and I slept all night and most of the next day.

Busy weekend started last night.

I joined my co-workers in "Group B" for some super cool WHL action. It's the Vancouver Giants inaugural year. This means they suck. Though the game last night was fun to watch, they still made a lot of stupid mistakes. Offside being their favourite. The final straw was, in a 3 - 3 tie in overtime one of OUR guys caught a pentalty for interference. A stupid penalty. One he never should have gotten. But oh well.. we didn't expect them to do as well as they did against the Calgary Hitmen.

Two cool things happened at the game: Alan caught a Vancouver Giants t-shirt (and spilled his nachos all over the floor) and then Kyle won the 50/50 draw in support of Richmond Minor Hockey. OMG. He went to guest services to claim his prize and they handed him a WAD of cash. $2500 in mostly $20 bills. We took pictures. He can roll naked in it with his wife when he gets home... we don't want pictures of that - sorry Kyle. Then we headed back to Earl's place to enjoy work gossip, beer and kitty love. I didn't partake in any beer, and I hogged most of the kitty love.

Today is 1.) Harry Potter day and 2.) CANUCKS vs EDMONTON LIVE with Tusker and Roomie Guy day! WHEEEEEE! Going to see Trevor Linden be a Canuck again. Hooray. =)

Tomorrow is Linkin Park at the Orpheum. I got the tickets. George is really looking forward to that -- he's off ot Carter Honda today to try out Motorcylcles while I fix my bicycle... he upgraded his pooter and now I get his hand-me-downs -- which I don't mind AT ALL. PIII 933 owns me. I pray it fixes my inability to run anything 3D without blue-screening problem.

Time to go to the bike store and buy stuff to make me not have a flat tire any more. But first a shower.

You know you live with a gamer when...

He gets home from a week away and eats sushi in a rush with you so he can go play 3 hours of scrims before his match.

Sometimes I think gaming sucks.

I will NOT turn the TV on tonight. It is a time waster. Mind drainer. Motivation sapper. I have much to do. Including picking up tickets to the Linkin Park show on Sunday at the Orpheum. WHEE! Don't sell them before I get there! George is a big fan. They're fourth row Lower Orchestra. Then to buy milk, cut stained glass, eat dinner, wash dishes, tidy up the place, finish laundry, walk the dog, and try once more to fix the bike. Phew!

It's going to be a fun-filled weekend... Two hockey games, a movie and a live concert. I accepted a dinner invitation at my mom and dad's for Saturday before I remembered the hockey game we already had tickets to. Mom's upset, but I'll make it up to her, somehow. Have to call her when I get home... SO much to do tonight, since George returns from his installation trip tomorrow night. Thank goodness I'm not hooked on anything that's on TV on Tuesday nights. ;-)

Watched Just for Laughs last night on CBC (instead of Ali McBeal that show bores me). Canadian humour rocks. There were some really funny Americans, too. I love good comedy. It just makes you feel so good! Time to get back to work... much to do before I head home and work even harder!

Lest we Forget... 11:00AM. Moment of silence.

Had a super-fun time with Tusker yesterday. We decided to go and see Monsters Inc this weekend and I offered to make dinner at my place, first. I decided to go all out and make a tasty scallop dish, and have some yummy chewy-crust bread with a vinegar/olive oil dip inspired by Doug and Ali's favourite Seattle Restaurant Zoe.

We ate until we were STUFFED and then thought twice about the plan to attend the 7:10 showing... thinking that there would be fewer young children at the 9:30 show - we opted for that one and sat back and watched Ladyhawke on DVD. Tusker had never seen the whole thing - and she giggled at the 80s music as much as I do (even though I love it because it is Ladyhawke music). She loved the movie, too and we enjoyed some yummy Cozy Shack Rice Pudding for desert.

We trundled off to the movie theatre for the 9:30 show and saw what we thought was a big lineup... turns out it didn't even half fill the huge theatre that the show was in -- so we got seats that we liked. Monsters Inc. rocked... and even before we saw the feature we thought we'd gotten our $10.75 worth. Why? Because we saw the Star Wars Epidsode II "Breathing" trailer. I literally leaped out of my seat. I wasn't expecting it! A lot of people whooped and cheered when it was over - myself included, of course.

Then, true to Pixar fun and form we saw an animated short film about some little birds on a wire. Tons of fun, the whole audience was laughing. I was ready to go home! Pixar always provides such amazing entertainment value. After being completely entertained by Monsters Inc, Tusker and I wandered home wondering why most movies suck so much. Why can't they all be as engrossing and entertaining as Monsters Inc.? or Memento? or Mulholland Drive? Why do we have to sit through things that *should* be great but totally fall short of the mark - like K-PAX? It was "okay" but not the greatness it could have been.

Anyway... it was a great night, and I got to sleep in until 10AM today. AHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh... sure wish I had tomorrow off, but thankfully McCow starts his new job in my department AND in my group tomorrow! Cool! Something to look forward to.

Now to fix my bike, meet RoundTop to return his networking book, and make stained glass for my family and friends!

Shit. Hell. Fuck. I go to get on my bike tonight and yet again, my tire is flat. However, this time I can't find the leak in it... which leads me to believe that there are assholes among us who would mess with my mind by giving me a flat tire. Actually, I don't believe that... but it is a tad suspicious. I tried for 1/2 hour to find the hole in that tube, but it just doesn't exist... so instead I will wait a while and get a ride home with George.... loading the bicycle into the back of the Talon and then relaxing all the way home... or trying to. I want to RIDE, dammit!

I'll fix that this weekend. But good. I hear there are tire liners that protect your tubes from external punctures and pinches. i will find one.

I'm so tired... and I'm still on pager. Pager sucks. Have I already told you that? I tell you again. Pager sucks. Page at 11:30pm, page at 4:00am. Sleep?! What sleep!?

I'm a person who values her sleep. I work hard to make sure that I get 8 hours of uninterrupted snoozing every night... even when I have to leave the house at 5:00am to get to work for 6:00am I go to bed at 8 so I can be asleep by 8:30. Wake up at 4:30 and you have yourself 8 hours of sleep! Being on pager fucks that right up. Onlly tonight and tomorrow night and I'm free

Lucky me, I got yet another flat tire this morning. I'm a freakin' expert at flats. I was at 70th and Marine and riding suddenly felt "funny" - I checked and sure enough another flat. Luckily I was right near the Husky gas station - so I made it there and changed the tire in the well-lit parking lot with an air pump right there - AND I got to wash my hands before I headed out on my way. Luxury!

I lost my really handy helmet-mount rear-view mirror there - but I called the station when I got to work and they found it outside where I was working on my bike - I'll pick it up on the way home.

The best part was being just late enough to get a great view of the sky during a beautiful sunrise. =)

Funny thing: I went to ride my bike home last night and found my tire flat. I fixed the flat here, since we have a nice big sink and some dish soap here at work - replaced the patched tube and rode home without incident. I had made it nearly all the way to work (10 minutes left in a 40 minute ride) and I got yet another flat. I don't know where the tube is punctured this time... I'll find out and hopefully be able to prevent future flats.

Two flat tires in less than 16 hours. Sux to be me! (But I'm getting really good at changing flat tires on my bike).

Being on pager sucks. At least I get paid a bit extra to do it... but it still sucks. Sitting around at home, when I could be out watching George test-ride motorcycles. He really wants one and went and got his learner's license on Friday... he called me from the dealership - he was able to ride at least one bike around. Wish I could have been there to see the monster grin that was probably on his face. =) Next time... he has many more test rides to do.

Meanwhile... I sit at home and wish I could go downstairs and cut glass... if only I had a pattern chosen. If only my pager worked down there. ;-) I'll make something... and then colour it to suit the glass that I already bought. ;-) I stopped by Kona Stained Glass supply last night on the way home from work and raided their "by the pound scrap bins". The glass is cheaper that way and it's in small pieces - which is fine for my tea light holders... if only I had a pattern in mind! I also chose some glass from their regularly priced bins.. but still cheaper stuff. Once I get the hang of this more I'll get other more expensive glass.. if that's what the pattern will look good in.

Ah well. The apartment is relatively tidy and I was able to go and get food at the grocery store today. Always a bonus. New recipe tonight. I'll post it if it's any good. ;-) It's for cheap inside/outside round steak... and likely very delicious. We shall see.

Off I go to try it!

Long time no post. Things at work have been hectic and short-staffed. Thank goodness the company is hiring more people. Damn it all to hell that they won't be up to speed enough to be on the phones for another few months.

I woke up feeling vertigo and pain and sweating like an athlete. Welcome, welcome period of mine. I'm no good to anyone in a state like this, so I will stay home. Wallow in my misery in bed and feel better tomorrow. I will also likely wake up, bundle myself up in 3 layers of sweat pants and tidy up the apartment. That's just the way periods go. I feel guilty as HELL for not going in, but I know I would make everyone's lives miserable... so might as well stay home and just have me be miserable.

The Birthday weekend in Seattle was glorioius. Rainy for the most part, except for Sunday which was a bright, crisp , sunny fall day. We took advantage of the cloudless state to visit the Space Needle... Eleve USD each later we were whizzing up the 41 second elevator ride (that goes half the speed of a nomral elevator) to experience great views and really cool interactive features that make up the observation deck. We never did figure out how much rain Seattle gets per year on average. I guess I just couldn't shake my head at the right speed. Don't ask. Just go.

The day before was filled with trying to find a restaurant to eat lunch at (since the first choice Mexican place was closed -- as were most of Belltowne's restaurants). Found a place called CJs (yes, Doug, it's a "J" not a "K") that had a killer huge menu and some good plain home-style cookin' type breakfasts and lunches. Too much to choose from, but we all managed to get something yummy. I had a Mushroom-Swiss scramble with sourdough toast and red skinned potatoes. Yum. Too much food for me to finish!
Then we parted company with Llarian, zen and DieharD and us girls went to find me some shoes at .... if I could remember the name I'd be fine. I want to call it Norton's rack, but I know that's not right. Well... check Alison's Journal to see where we really went - I know she knows the name! Ooh! Nordstroms! I think. Anyway. Ali found me some awesome Merrell shoes. They're black slip on runners with a quick lace-up system that totally rocks. I love Merrell. I might even write to them on paper and let them know how much one day. I got some fun cammo-sparkly underwear. Just because I could. Also picked up a tiny gift for Sara in Madison Wisconsin!! She rocks.

We then met the boys.. they showed up at the store after touring Llarian's swanky view-office digs -- and they caught me in the act of trying on and desiring a full-length black wool coat with fur trimmed collar and sleeves. I was in love. It was so romantic and gorgeous and warm. Thank goodness the price tag shocked me out of wandering off to the cash register. Three hundred of those USD is about Ten BILLION of our Canadian ones. I couldn't afford it. Damn it all. I need that coat.

After they wrestled me out of the coat we all wandered to the movie theatre to see what was playing - said goodbye to Llarian and headed in to watch "From Hell". It was okay. They didn't piss me off by doing horrible accents. Heather Graham (that always makes me laugh because it's my name and my brother's name) and Johnny Depp were good with the accents! Thank goodness! Almost nothing gets my goat more than actors/actresses that can't do accents. What's the point?I enjoyed Mulholland Drive much more -- mainly because it was so convoluted. After seeing that movie, From Hell was positively predictable. Even the gratuitous gore seemed boring, and that usually freaks me out!! Thankfully there were lots of Friesian horses to keep my eyes glued to the screen. I love Friesians... though I'm sure not every carriage in England was pulled by them. ;-)

The night was capped off with dinner, drinks and desert at Zoe (not to mention tons of bread and a luscious vinegar/oil dip). Zoe was a delight, even though I didn't enjoy my steak as much as I'd hoped -- I guess I'm not a fan of 'smoked' meats. The rest was delish! I had mussels for an appetizer and Lemon Cake for desert. Gorgeous. I had way too much to drink, too... but much fun and merriment were had by all and George even got a happy birthday candle in his desert.

Back I go to bed, now... to sleep off the grumps and the cramps and the pain. Blech.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE! I love you. ;-)

Saw "Mulholland Drive" last night. After a night to sleep on it and actually figure it out, I loved it. Right after we saw it, I knew I had been thoroughly entertained the entire time (and it's long)... but I wasn't sure exactly *why* I had felt so entertained. After figuring the movie out somewhat while falling asleep, I can say that I really enjoyed it. What a mind fuck. Cool.

Today will bring shopping and wandering in Bell Town (I need shoes. I brought sandals. It's raining. You figure it out.) The boys have lunch planned for 2pm with Llarian and some others... we may join them, we may not... we'll see! Then who knows what we'll do! Dinner at Zoe's tonight to celebrate my sweetie's birthday... I'm looking forward to that. =)

Off we go, into the wild, wet yonder...

So here I sit, all a-glow and in love with the world. Why, you ask? Because two of the dearest, sweetest people I know are going to get married. They are so good together. Ed proposed in an appropriately geeky way. Check out DeeAy dot Com for more details =)

I'm still going, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" about this. I think I will for weeks. *giggle* *bounce* *wiggle* *dance*

We'll be heading to Seattle some time this afternoon to see Ali and Doug... so I'd best get some clothes together and tidy this place up so it'll be nice to come home to...

I made Thai yellow curry chicken last night. It was HOT but it was GOOOOOD! I'm so pleased! I can now enjoy my favourite tasty Thai dish at a mere fraction of the cost of eating out and I don't have to walk in the rain to go get it! Plus, it's really, really, really, amazingly EASY to make.

1 can Coconut milk (13.5 Oz)
Thai yellow curry paste (about a Tbsp for mild).
1 whole boneless chicken boob
2-3 small red potatoes

Cut up chicken and potatoes into bite sized pieces.
Mix 1Tbsp water with 1 Tbsp curry paste to soften and then add to coconut milk in med sized saucepan.
Add chicken and potatoes.
Cool at a rolling boil until potatoes and chicken are cooked (about 20 minutes)
Meanwhile, make rice.

YUM! Tastes like you've been cooking for absolutely hours in the kitchen. I'm not going to look at how many calories are in the coconut milk... cuz it can't be good with how yummy that is.

I bought the Thai yellow curry paste at my local supermarket... but you can probably find it in a specialty oriental food store near you, or you can order it online.
So forget going to simply Thai.. I'll make curry here if you come over. =D

The other day I discovered a few things about wind. When you ride your bike to work a good, stiff tailwind is your very best and most wonderful friend. A good, stiff SIDEwind, however, is demon-spawn. I even prefer a moderately evil headwind to a sidewind. Sidewinds are scary. They try to push you into traffic or off of bridges as you ride over them. Not fun. They sneak up on you when you ride accross an intersection and nearly knock you over. They make you unable to steer enough to avoid the broken glass bits that you're sure are going to give you a flat tire, but thankfully don't.

My advice? Avoid sidwinds if you can. Seriously.

Hurt my back yesterday... but it appears to have been nothing more than a nastily pinched nerve. My sweetie took good care of me and bound me up in a back brace that makes it hard to breathe, but supports my back like nothing else can. I'll probably remove it sometime tomorrow, just to be on the safe side, but there has been no recurrence of the twinges of pain that plagued me after I got home from work yesterday. At least I had Thai yellow curry with chicken and potatoes to make me feel better. =) Yum.

Now to find out when we can descend upon Doug and Ali tomorrow! Gimme some Alian love! RAOWR! George is more into Doug, however. Look out, Doug! He's a comin' to gitcha!

My co-worker just got back from a work-trip to Arkansas. He gave me a pin. It says " WOO PIG... SOO-EEE" on it. Apparently it's the State Cheer for the Arkansas Razorbacks. I like it. It makes people look at me funny. Whee!

Almost time for Friends/Survivor... and keeping one eye glued to the hockey game, as well. Go Canucks! Stop the Avalanche!

Long time no update. I've been busy working, cooking, watching TV. ;-) Life is good.

I managed to get Friday off *woohoo!!* So we'll be able to leave in a timely manner for the drive to Seattle to see our dear friends Ali and Doug. I miss the Ali. I need Ali lub. So I'm gonna go get me some. I know that Doug and George are going to go and see a scary movie on Friday night... they can have it as far as I'm concerned... this will mean I get Ali all to myself for the evening! Muahahahahaaaa! We'll get naked. We'll take pictures. But you probably don't get to see them, unless you're DeeAy.

I want to make Thai yellow curried chicken tonight. I have to find some Thai yellow curry paste. I wonder where I'll be able to get any at 6pm.

I just called a store that's nearly on my way home. They have it! Guess where I'm stopping in the rain on my dark bike ride home?

Fun.

Almost time to go. More updates to come... honest...

Yesterday was a busy one for me. I went to "Nightschool In a Day" at John Oliver Secondary school to learn the basics of the copper foil method of stained glass. I have to tell you... it ROCKS. I think I've finally found the perfect art for me. I love choosing the colours, cutting the glass to the pattern, burnishing the copper foil on to the glass and then soldering it all together! It's just so beautiful when it's done... even though my first piece has lumps and bumps where it shouldn't and the cutting wasn't very precise.. I still love it! I'm going to have to make my way to a stained glass store sometime this week.. at least I hope... There are so many patterns available on line, or you can adapt something to suit yourself. Gorgeous.

After a full day of stained-glass making, McCow and BabyBlade came over to play. We all walked up to Samurai Sushi on Davie and then over to the Capitol Six movie theatre on Granville Street to see Bandits. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Billy Bob Thornton made me laugh so much I was still chuckling over lines and scenes in the movie hours afterwards. "Beavers and ducks!". That kills me. It was nice to see Cow again, and I'm so glad that he's with somebody as cool as BabyBlade. She's a real, live home-grown Lower Mainland girl, just like me. We're a rarity in these parts.

I wish I had some glass so I could craft some more wonderful things. Maybe the weekend after next... next weekend we go to Seattle to see Doug and Ali! Whee! It's DieharD's birthday next Saturday, so we'll be living it up in Seattle to celebrate. Zoe! Mmmmmmmmm MMmmmmmmmm good. Time to experience that first hand.

After having a nice hot shower and snuggling up on the couch after work last night I realized that I needed something. Thai food. I tried a place near us called "Simply Thai" and it was simply wonderful. I ordered take out so I wouldn't miss Friends and Survivor... yes... I've become a Thursday night TV slave. Ah well.. it's fun.

I had chicken in yellow curry with potatoes... I braved the spice and got "medium".. trust me, for little ol' white girl me, this is brave. And it was PERFECT. Delicious yellow curry with coconut mik, just-cooked potatoes and tender bite-sized pieces of chicken. Add just the right amount of lip tinglies afterwards and you have one Happy Heather. If any of you are ever in town and you like Thai.. that's where we should go. =) I insist. YUM!

Got a flat tire on the way in to work this morning. It was a moderately fast leak... I can always tell when it's going flat that way because as I'm riding along I can begin to feel my normally solid bike begin to get bouncy and springy with each stroke of the pedal. I don't have shocks. This is a dead giveaway that my rear tire has gone flat. Before I started riding my bike to work every day I had only had probably one flat tire in my whole life... and that was from the rubber of my tube degenerating due to lack of use!! So far, in about 4 or 5 months of riding I've had 3 flat tires. One I wasn't prepared for and had to be rescued from... (thanks DieharD and Cherry Poppins big brother the Talon) Next day I went to MEC and got a spare tube and some tire levers. Life savers.

Now to find an easier way to get the tire back on the rim... those last few centimetres are painful.

The weekend is here. Mmmmmmmmm..... Tomorrow I'm going to go and learn how to do the copper foil method of stained glass. I've always been interested in stained glass, but the price of some of the ugly ones you can buy out there is horrific. Don't even get me started on the price of good quality stained glass. This way I'll be able to make whatever I want to make, too. If it goes well... I may even make some personalized gifts. Wish I had a workshop. :-/ After the glass class DieharD and I are going to head out to a movie with McCow and BabyBlade and then go get some sushi.. at least I think that's the plan. I'll let him work out the nitty gritty while I break glass and make it into something cool and colourful.


Sunday will be a sleep in day. Sleep. In. Next week I don't have to leave the house until 8:00 in the morning! OMG!

Rain. Wet. Road-grit. Mud. Blind drivers. Cold. Tired muscles. Water dripping from my nose and chin.

Warm cozy home with a fuzzy warm loving wiggly dog bundle and a sweet sexy loving affectionate man.

The second truly outweighs the first. Hands down.

Hope it stops raining tomorrow.... but I think today was the first of a continuous string of rainy days until April. Only one week until Doug n' Ali love. =D

Work-a-day world. Work's not so bad, really. I actually love my job.. so it's easy to go in the morning and so hard to leave at night... okay maybe not that hard. ;-) I'm back to riding my bike in to work each day... I think I started about five months ago... missed a few weeks here and there, but overall I've reshaped the lower part of my body and lost some of my 'baby fat' look in the face. Weight hasn't come off like I thought it would, but perhaps that has something to do with me eating too much and not doing anything but the cardio that the riding to work gives me. That or it's the thighs of steel I've managed to build.

The ride is about 12.5 km each way and takes me about 40 minutes to do. That's One hour and 20 minutes of exercise and fresh air each day. Some days fresher than others. Stinky traffic. Roads are for bikes! ;-) I have all kinds of gear. A bike computer that tells me a lot of things about my ride.. how long it took me, my max speed and average speed and that I've ridden over 1400 km since I bought it about 2 months into my riding. A really good lighting set from Nite Hawk (made in Canada!) - I wish the battery would last a bit longer with the super bright bulb... but I just use that one for emergencies... on dark roads or when approaching a busy intersection to make sure the cars actually see me. I have a 3 layer Gore Tex jacket from Mountain Equipment Co-op as well as some of their rain pants and neoprene booties to keep my feet dry and toasty on those wet West Coast days. Two Serratus panniers to carry my lunch and a change of clothes with me and a spare tube, set of tire levers and a multi tool in case of emergencies.

Tire Levers. Don't leave home without them.

More later... I have to get ready for dinner at La Terazza!

Back to work tomorrow. Heather 1 - Illness 0.

I bought a new computer chair today. I wasn't planning on it. I didn't set out to do it. We went in to Staples to buy a World Map so my sweetie can track his travels.. We were over at Tusker and Roomie Guy's place last week and he saw Tusker's World Map with places she's been marked off with pins. He didin't get the map, but I got a chair just like my sweetie's only in blue. $200 with the taxes.. not bad. And if he hasn't been able to break his in 2 years... mine will last forever!

Microsoft has released a new optical mouse with 2x faster sampling than its' previous generation. a|citizen has one. DieharD had mouse envy, but not any more! We had to go to four different stores and finally found it at London Drugs. Amazing. Not Future Shop not A&B Sound, not Compusmart. LD kicks ass. A&B Sound did have Sennheiser headphones, though.. so George bought a pair - and he even got a discount. Last pair in the store. His old pair is getting really, really, really ratty.

Got a birthday present for him at the mall.. he was there. He wanted a One Nighter Ski Pass for Cypress Mountain -- so I got him one. =) They're under new ownership and just put in 2 new quad chairs this year (one is a high speed detatchable). Not too shabby for a local mountain. I got a ski card, cuz I don't go as often as he does, but I like to save money when I do.

Now I'm tired, even though I slept all day... I have tons of leftover turkey, but the thought of turkey today isn't all that appealing, so I think I'll just have pasta. I have to get up early again tomorrow to work at 6:30 -- so it's time for something simple, quick and easy. I'll eat turkey tomrrow for lunch. =).

Whew! I survived... and all went well. My parents loved my sweetie's parents. I think they liked mine, too. Cool. Everyone's gone, now and there's tons of Turkey and pie left! Meals for the next week. ;-) I am so tired and my feet are aching, but I feel good. It really makes this place feel homey to have your family around you. My sweetie's grandma came, too - she speaks very little english, but she loved the place and the food and was very happy to listen to us all laughing and talking... my sweetie and his parents translated for her from time to time, too... and I love the sound of Russian. =)

We left Rainy upstairs while we went to take the parking pass down to my parents' car... and she ate a whole whack of the crackers that I had put out on the coffee table! I didn't notice until my dad had eaten some and I went to put more out. I thought he had eaten them all!! Rotten dog. Can't really blame her when we leave it right at nose level...\

I made Chai yesterday. From scratch. It's GOOD. I gave my Dad my last cup of it tonight.. I'll have to make some more tomorrow... Now to fight the illness that's been taking everyone out at work. I think I'm going down... but Chai will speed my recovery. =)

My recipe for Chai (Oregon style)

3 darjeeling tea bags
2 cups boiling water
1 3" cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup honey
6 green cardamom pods
3 slices of fresh ginger (use a veggie peeler)
1/4 tsp vanilla

simmer for 5 minutes. All the recipes I found online said you should add the milk and cook it, too... but I like to froth mine up before I put it in, so I just refridgerate the unused portion of chai and heat up 1/2 cup of it in the microwave and add my frothed milk after that.

YUM. I'm addicted. The guy at Booster Juice gave me a free sample of thier Oregon Chai trying to get me to buy some. It tasted GOOD... but I was in a smoothie mood. I almost bought some but then thought I could make my own so I checked my glorious Google and found a whole whack of recipes. Chai to me is like hot pumpkin pie in a cup. The only hot drink I have ever tried that I can actually drink a whole cup of and want more. Neat! I'm an adult, now. Heheh.

It's so time for bed. G'nite y0.

One more thing... I'm so happy for DeeAy - she's working her sexy butt off and getting fit and healthy! She and Trillian are my inspiration. They are simply amazing.

Okay. I'm up. I'm ready to bake. Better start NOW.

Woohoo! Canucks *WHOOPED* the Avs... now that's what the playoffs should have been like last year! I'm sure Roi was a little upset that he had the flu. ;-) I never did get to pie makin'... but I did talk on the phone with Tusker - she'd be calling the penalties before the refs did... and I was SO impressed! Then she realized why I was so amazed by her Goddess-like reffing ability... her TV was 2 seconds ahead of mine! Unfortunately my portable phone battery died so I couldn't talk to her for the whole game... but WHEE! Cloutier is my hero.

At any rate. I'm beat... heading to bed... up early to bake pies tomorrow. =)

Note to self: Don't eat the entire bag of Kettle Chips Honey Dijon. No matter how good they taste. Just don't.

Thanksgiving Dinner (one week late) here tomorrow. My parents and my brother, my sweetie's parents and his brother... going to be a full house. I began preparations today... the potatoes, something called a "turnip puff" and the cranberry sauce are all done, so far... Now I'm starting to make a couple of pies... one Pumpkin Chiffon and one Apple (for those who don't like pumpkin pie <-- !??!!). My sweetie's family doesn't like it. I don't know why.

Got up at the ungodly hour of 8am this morning.... but hell.. that's sleeping in over THREE HOURS for me. ;-)

Went to my parents' house last night after work to try to find the missing place setting of china. No luck. I don't know what's happened to it. :-/ Mom's upset... but she'll get over it. We then went over to my aunt and uncle's house - who I haven't seen since my Dad was in the hospital last year - and my Grandmother on my Dad's side. Haven't seen her in a long time, either. She's 89. Lives on her own. Gets taken advantage of by nasty men who ask her if they can mow her lawn and then steal her lawn mower. I wish humans weren't like that. She doesn't look 89, more like 70. She wants me to write to her, and I'm going to...

I recently lost my Great Uncle... and it made me realize how old that generation of our family is getting... they won't be around much longer... and I'm going to miss my Great Uncle so much. He was such a sweet and wonderful man. Always a gentleman, an avid photographer, a loving husband, a veteran of the Armed Forces in WWII, born in Vancouver in 1916.. how things must have changed around here in his lifetime! My mother was exceptionally close to her Uncle, and to her Aunt -- and now they are support for each other in their time of loss. Losing my Great Uncle made me closer to my mom, too. Closer than I've ever felt. I love you mom, even though you'll never read this...

So much to do before tomorrow. After I bake the pies, I'm going to take a nap!!

Tell someone you love them. Show them how much.

Amazing. I can actually update this thing from work... or I'll find out if I can in the next few minutes...

Drove my car in to work today for the first time this week... been a good girl riding my bike. My excuse today is that I have to drive out to my parents' house (50 minutes away) and be there by 4:00PM. Wouldn't make it on time by bike. ;-) Don't think I'd make it at all by bike!

Hmmmm... what to tell y'all about lil' ol' me.... well. I work at a job I love -- doing remote administration of Radiology PACS systems that our company sells and services in hospitals all over Canada and the U.S. On my desk is a wee fish tank with way too many fish in it. I have to tell you, Marineland Eclipse System Six works *great*. I haven't lost a fish or frog, yet and I have been rather remiss in changing the water... must get to that next week. I have a bit of an algae problem, but I really can't afford to add yet another fish to the mix to clean it up any more.

Currently living in the tank: 2 male dwarf gouramis (who like to posture and mildly beat on each other), four lemon tetras, one Oto Catfish, one Bronze Corydoras Catfish and two hilarioius acquatic frogs. I'll get some pictures one day and show you the whole community.

I also have a really cool Spawn figurine on top of my compter to scare away anyone who is thinking about bugging me... problem is, the fish kind of counterbalance the evilness of the Spawn and I end up neutral and bugged. Ah well. Such is the price of having diverse interests. There is a horse calendar (of course) and the cover of a program from the Spruce Meadows Masters (Oooh! They redisgned their site! Very nice!) that DeeAy took me to! (Her site even has pictures!) That was a highlight of my summer, definitely.

There are a few miscellaneous comics and work-related phone lists and schedules... all in all it's a very rewarding place to work. I love the guys that I work with - they're all hard-working, fun and very supportive - and the manager is the same way. It's a high intensity, yet relaxed atmosphere that I enjoy coming to every day. I'll post more later... but for now I have to get back to work!

Introducing, the Long Awaited Debut of the Much Requested Epona BLOG! (For all 3 of you who may read this and the One person who actually requested it) ;-)

My first attempt didn't save correctly.... and so all that witty banter and lively literature is now lost and gone forever... relegated to the recesses of my sleep-deprived mind.

Someday, I'll resurrect it. And someday I'll confirm the spelling of that word.

At any rate... tis late... I love Trillian and DeeAy and maybe that Ed-biatch. Sup Biatch?

Epona for the Celtic Goddess of Horses -- and Rain for the rain of Vancouver where I love, live and work. My dog's name is also "Rain Dancer", so it fits in that way, too. That, and the name "Epona" was already taken. Biatch. Give me my name back.

It's late. I'm off to bed and crossing my fingers that this works, because if it doesn't, I'm not doing it until tomorrow! HAH!