Boo hoo (anyone who hates complainers should not read this).

Because I'm cranky, and it's easier to make yourself sadder than it is to make yourself happier, here's a list of why I'm bummed today:
1. The weather: seriously, there has got to be nothing more depressing than an overcast and windy day. I would prefer rain to this, because at least rain is something. Today is nothing.
2. Today is Easter, and where is my chocolate? The answer is: there is no chocolate. How sad.
3. My room is messy and I did so much cleaning of the rest of the house yesterday that I have no motivation to clean it today.
4. I am wearing my scrubbiest comfy clothes, and the pants that were once too big are now tight around the middle. I am getting fat. Yes I am.
5. No one is home. Everyone else (except Dave) is gone to spend time with their families today, and I don't get to see mine until late this evening, and only for a couple of hours. And there is no chocolate there.
6. I am bored and lonely.
7. My only clean pair of socks are scratchy wool ones that don't have proper elastic in them so they won't even stay up. Damn you wool socks!
8. Ok that's enough whining. Bah, I feel useless today.

Slacker Friday

This is Winston chasing Mario. I wanted this at the end of the entry, but I can't figure out how to do that. Damn Blogger templates.

Today I woke up at 7:30 with a headache and feeling like I hadn't slept at all, so I did something (rather uncharacteristic) and turned off my alarm, and went back to sleep. Missed two classes today, but I haven't skipped a single class all semester, so I figured I deserve a rest-day. Not that it's that much of a rest, since I still have to go to work, albeit only for 5 1/2 hours. Hooray.
Speaking of work, my night shift job is over a week from today. While I didn't mind the night shift nearly as much as everyone else seemed to, I'm glad it's going to be over soon. I was mostly just sick of never having an evening off during the week. I missed many a wing-nite because of it. I start a much less stressful but more mindless job the following Monday. I get paid the same though, except I don't get the $2 an hour shift premium for working nights anymore. Oh well, I can live without that.

One more work-related story and then I promise I'm done.
Yesterday, I was chatting with two ladies who are friends of my mom (who also works there, but during the day) about weight issues, and one of them makes a comment about how I am tiny, but I have "very large breasts". The other lady agrees. What shocked me more than the comment was how nonchalent they both were about discussing it, while I was standing there, wide-eyed and stammering. Keep in mind that I barely know these women. Is this a middle-aged lady thing? To make very personal comments and not seem to notice how uncomfortable you make people?
Oh, and the best part was that the second lady (not the one who made the original comment) suggested that I get a breast reduction.
What?!
Up until now I have been perfectly happy with my body, at least in that department, but now as much as I try to ignore it, I can't help but feel like she might be right.

Tomorrow is my sister's 18th birthday, and in her usual style, she wants to spend it with her friends and not her family, but she makes an exception for me (probably because I don't live there anymore, and I'm not an authority figure). So after I go to the Price Club (was it ever even called that, or did I just imagine it? I know it's Costco now, but it will always be the Price Club to me) with mom to find some new frames and contacts, I am meeting her and her friend and boyfriend for lunch at Sun Sushi. I'm glad we are getting to be old enough so that isn't too weird. Mostly I just want an excuse to go to Sun Sushi. Don't tell her that, though. Hi Stef!

Well, I am off to work in half an hour. I never thought I'd get used to using 42-year-old software, but there you go. I did.

Blah, an attempt to keep myself sane and organized (failed).

1. How some people manage to be so together is beyond me. I feel like I'm the clumsiest, most awkward, graceless person in the world. Maybe I'm just not observant, but from what I've seen, most other people don't fumble through life like I do.

2. Yesterday I made a resolution to see more of my friends more often. I'm still busy, but not nearly as busy as I was the last few years, so there's no need, at least on my part, for us to go months without hangouts.

3. Got semi-yelled at (as a class, not myself personally) today by a prof that I actually forgot that I was scared of. She's always been nice enough to me, but there's always this feeling of dread, like she could snap at any minute.

4. Photoshoot with Heather and Philippe coming up this weekend, which I am fairly excited about. It was postponed from this past weekend due to Philippe (photographer) quite possibly having the Norwalk virus, though he says he feels better now, and from what I've heard, Norwalk = a week or more of nonstop vomitting. Vomiting. One t or two?

5. Why the list format? I don't know, it seems like it'll keep me organized. I'm feeling very disjointed and spaced-out today.

6. My new favourite restaurant, Sun Sushi, re-opens on Thursday after having been closed for a month for Chinese New Year (yes, I know, Sushi = Japanese, but this restaurant is owned by a Chinese family, so nyah). I won't get a chance to eat there until Saturday, but ohhh man, I can't wait.

7. My job, which I am trying my hardest not to complain about (because a: it is at the very least not mind-numbingly boring, b: the money is great, and c: I am lucky to have it) is over at the end of March, and although I am dreading the prospect of again being unemployed and having to hunt for another job for the summer, I am also looking forward to having a weeknight off. I have been working nights since January, and it hasn't wreaked havoc on my sleeping habits like everyone said it would. I maybe sleep in an hour later than I normally would, on days when I don't have class, but none of the staying up until 7:00am, unable to go to sleep. I guess it's just a middle-aged person thing, because I have no trouble going to sleep as soon as I get home, usually around 12:45.

8. Does any of this make any sense at all?

9. It was nice to catch up with a friend yesterday. It was also nice to get out of the house, which I hadn't left since I got home from work on Friday. This girl is always good for a nice chat.

That's all, I think.

And now for something completely different:

We got sent home from work after only half an hour today, and I still even get paid for the whole shift! You don't see Auntie Crae's doing that for their employees.
So it's snowing out, and apparently the roads are really bad. I'm pretty bored. In the last three days, I've read the last three years of Achewood. I've also got 6 or 7 episodes of Monty Python to watch. Productivity? Pff. I got groceries and vacuumed the landing today. That's enough.

I can see right into what appears to be the kitchen of the house across from me. There is a guy reading at the table. I wonder if people from across the street ever look in at me. I worry that even with my blinds down, they can still see me changing. At least I am on the third floor.

Pretty odd that none of my roommates are home. I wonder if they are still at work, or just stuck somewhere. Colin is probably still at work, but I doubt Katie's work stayed open. Dave just disappears for days at a time. He is probably at his girlfriend's.

I am happier lately than I've been in a while. That's all I'll say about that...

This entry is really disjointed. Probably a sign that I didn't have anything interesting to write about to begin with. I just didn't want to let this blog die like I have let so many others.

Everything's comin' up Milhouse!

A couple of really awesome things happened to me today and yesterday:

1. Yesterday, I found out that I have an interview with the med school here at MUN!

2. Today, I found out that I have a job, starting Monday, with Revenue Canada*!

So when I got to work this morning, I handed in my notice. Happiest friggin' day of my life. Well, that's a stretch, but it was pretty damn happy.

You know how it is, when you're in such a great mood, everything seems better? Colours seem brighter, food tastes better, even the slush on the road didn't bother me.

I feel like celebrating.

*Note: While working for Revenue Canada is not intrinsically rewarding, it is extremely, uh... extrinsically rewarding. Meaning I make about 2.5 times more than I did at Auntie Crae's. YES.

It's done!

After a lot of money and even more pain, my tattoo is finally complete!
Ta-daaaa!

I just have to go in one more time for touch-ups to the outline and maybe the colours, though I think they healed up nicely and don't need any work. The picture is a little blurry, but the colours are much brighter in real life. I am so excited about finally having this finished! I am already planning my next one, though I won't be getting it for at least a year.

Christmas this year was good. Not great, but not bad either. I didn't get as much time off work as I would have liked, but I did get to spend a couple of days with my family. The whole past month has been weird, though. Christmas seemed even more commercial this year than it normally does, and I resolved (like I did last year) to try and make it different next time. This year I attempted to knit all my friends' presents, but despite having started over two months ago, I am still working on them. Next year I will start in August. Also, my nan had a stroke about a week and a half before Christmas. She's doing very well (it was pretty mild, and they caught it early), and was even able to come home in time for Christmas, but it was still a bit of a shock, and it sucks that she has to learn to speak again (also coming along well).

I just took Winston in to the vet to be neutered. Poor little guy, I got all choked up when they took him away. Those vet people should really be more sympathetic, although I do think I'm worrying for nothing. I get to pick him up at 4:00 today.

I am very tired, having gotten up at 6:00 on my day off, so my plans for today are to clean my room, watch a movie, and maybe do laundry if I have time. I am also hanging out with the girls tonight, which we haven't done since Annette left in July, I think.

Growing up kind of sucks.

In which I am a little mopey.

So, I'm just about finished school for the semester. On Thursday, I have an exam and possibly a playing test, and on Sunday I'm playing at a Hannukah party with klezmer band.
Saturday, I'm getting the rest of my tattoo coloured in. I will probably need one more session after that, for touch-ups, but at least it'll look finished.

I've got a lot of stuff on my mind lately, the most recent of which is the worry that I am about to be dumped by one of my guy friends who has started dating this girl. It always happens that way, I'm just hoping it won't happen this time. When a guy gets a girlfriend, there are a couple of reasons why he doesn't see as much of his old girl buddies anymore: a) Obviously he has less time to spend with other people in general, b) Maybe the girlfriend is jealous of the time he might spend with other girls, c) He will probably just forget about me.

I'm just a little bummed today.

TattOW!

A couple of weeks ago, I got the outline and a few tiny bits of colour of my tattoo. I was unprepared for how much it would hurt. I mean, I knew it would be painful, but I never expected it to be as bad as it was. The result, however, was totally worth it.

Yesterday, I got most of the colour done, and I would just like to say that it exceeded the pain of the outline tenfold. I am serious, it was probably the most pain I've ever been in. BUT, the result this time was ten times cooler. It looks awesome, and the worst part is over. All I have to have done now is a little shading in the negative space, and the colour in the flowers. Krys (the tattoo artist) says I should be able to finish it in one more session, and then we'll have one more after that to thicken up the outline (which I am not looking forward to), and touch up any faded colours.

I will post a picture a) when it heals a little, and b) when I can get my hands on a camera. Take my word for it, though. It looks amazing. Right now I can barely move, and it hurts to breath because it stretches out my ribs, but it's TOTALLY WORTH IT.

I've made my plans for New Year's this year. I'm going to see Hey Rosetta! and Mark Bragg at Junctions. I'm pretty excited, since this is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do this year. I wanted a place to wear this nice dress I have, and I wanted something different from a house party. Also, I've never seen Mark Bragg before, so I'm looking forward to that. If anyone wants to go to the show, tickets are $25 and you can get them at Junctions, or Sirens after 5pm. FUN!

Breaking News

Some moderately interesting stuff happened to me in the last couple of weeks.

1. I am getting my tattoo outline done a week from today. I'm really excited about it, but kind of nervous, too. Obviously, it's a permanent thing, so it's something I've been thinking about for a long time. I'm also kind of nervous about the pain factor. Everyone has been telling me that the ribs are the most painful spot to get tattooed.

2. Almost poked my right eye out at work yesterday. I was leaning over to get something off a shelf near the floor, and didn't see the half empty t-shirt rack in front of me, due to its emptiness and the sun shining in my eyes. WHACK, right on my browbone, about half an inch above my eye. Then I was on the floor, and they sent me upstairs with an ice pack for a few minutes. I'm fine, no permanent damage, but I've had an intermittent headache since it happened.

3. Out of 15 people in the lounge with me right now, I can only tolerate about four of them. This place has become just like high school, only with fewer skeets and more arrogant idiots and waaaaay more gossip.

4. My awesome t-shirts finally came in the mail! One of them is too big, so I might take it in or something. It's still cool though.

5. Almost time to get Winston fixed. Poor little guy. He's going to be pissed at me for a while.

Ra--Ra-Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen!

Just posting today because I haven't in a week. Really. You gotta keep it alive.

Had a bit of a rough week. Too many midterms and assignments due. I got everything done, though, albeit not brilliantly. I'm pretty sure I did spectacularly poorly on my chemistry midterm, but at least it is only worth 7.5% of my final grade. If I keep doing well on everything else, and on the 60%(!) final, I should be ok. My history of popular music in drama midterm yesterday went really well, which is a good thing, because that one is worth 30%!

I sent out my med school application on Sunday night, and so far they've received all my supporting documents except my transcript. MUN, I ordered that thing two weeks ago! Why isn't it there yet? The admissions office lady told me not to worry, though, because they know how the registrar's office is. Slack, that's how they are. A bunch of slackers.

Relaxing most of this weekend. No partying for me. I'm trying to save money and recover some of the sleep I lost this week. To force myself not to go out on Saturday night, I'm going to my parents' house right after work. It's so nice to hang out there sometimes, since I moved out. My parents are so happy to see me, they almost treat me like a "guest". I'm pretty sure my mom even cleans the bathroom before I get there. Either that, or it's always clean now that I don't live there anymore. I'm also looking forward to watching Coronation Street. I don't have a tv at my house, so I haven't seen it in weeks.

I try to make my life sound interesting, but it pretty much just ends with me rambling about my week. Oh well.

P.S. Someone just passed by my house in a car with the music (bass especially) up on BLAST. That would be relatively normal if it wasn't 10:45 in the morning. You don't usually hear that kind of stuff at least until after supper. Maybe they need it to wake up or something. I don't know.

P.P.S. I just remembered, the Klezmer group I play in at MUN is playing a short set at folk night at the Ship this Wednesday. Everyone should go check it out, and then let me know how a bunch of white kids from St. John's are doing with interpreting traditional Eastern European Jewish music. Yeah.

After months of antici... pation...

MCAT scores came out today!
I am pretty happy about mine. Considering that I have a music degree, I think I did pretty well.

27P

So? What does everybody think? The way the test is marked is kind of weird, so I don't expect many people to be as excited as I am. I'll just say that I was expecting, and would have been happy with, a slightly lower score. It's not amazing, but it's pretty decent.

I'm happy!

Wolfgang: A Photo Memoriam

My rat, Wolfie, died last night. He'd been sick (read: riddled with tumours) for months, but acted completely normal until a few days ago. Poor little guy.

Here's to you, Wolfie. You were an awesome pet, and you will be missed.

In all his glory!

I got my eyebrow pierced today, and my tattoo consultation is on Friday. I can't wait to get it all drawn up.
The new roommate moved in today. I'm excited about having another person in the house I can have a conversation with.

A few fun things going on this weekend. Party at Kathy and Josh's for Josh's 25th birthday on Friday, and Hey Rosetta on Saturday. Then I get to go visit the folks on Sunday to eat a nice big turkey dinner.

Since I don't have a picture of my newly-adorned eyebrow, I'll leave you with something that is quite possibly EVEN COOLER:


JESUS RIDING FALKOR.

She grew up, she filled out.

About a month ago, I got together with my friends Philippe and Heather to do a little photoshoot entitled "Zombie Survival". Here are a few of the resulting pictures:

The Roommate Chronicles: Finale

So, my sketchy roommate moved out today!

And by "moved out", I mean he left, and left all his stuff behind. So Katie and her dad boxed everything up, and if he doesn't pick it up by tomorrow, it's going on the street.
We are so happy that he is gone, we are having a celebratory supper tomorrow. I think we're making Chicken Rendang.

I was just about to write about a piece of cheesecake I got for free today, until I realized how tediously boring that sounds. And then I wrote about it anyway.


Went to see Rob Power's concert tonight, which was nothing short of excellent (as always). That guy actually made Shona Dream Dance interesting again, a piece I've heard at just about every percussion recital or concert I've ever been to.


I just started playing Brain Age, and I'm feeling a little dumb (shut up, Mike). Apparently, the ideal brain age is 20, which means I'm past my prime already. Dang.

Now if only I could figure out how to make entries have a title.

One more thing:



O RLY?!?

Meet Winston

Just thought I'd formally introduce the coolest cat ever, Winston:





These pictures are a little old. He's about twice that size now. Oh Winston, will you ever let me sleep?

First Entry: The Roommate Chronicles

Last night, I got home to find that ALL of my English muffins had been eaten. There were four left that morning, and my extremely sketchy roommate had eaten them all, or threw them out just to piss me off, I don't know.

This guy is definitely just out to bother Katie and myself, since we kicked him out a few days ago. He's leaving on Saturday, and if he doesn't go, we're calling the police on him. Seriously, he creeps us out, and we think he might turn violent or something. He's got a criminal record and everything. We should probably have checked that out before we let him live with us. He's already stolen my facecloth (and possibly a pair of my underwear), eaten my lunch (when it was packed up in the fridge, ready to go in the morning), and spit in Katie's cat's water dish. He also owes the electrical company $400, and leaves porn everywhere. Not that I care that he looks at porn, but he leaves it ALL OVER the floor of his room, with his door wide open. I mean it. Completely covering the floor of his room with porn mags and pictures. Does he really need that many pictures at once? He must have a really poor imagination.

So I'm not exactly mad about the English muffins. It was mostly just an inconvenience because that was my only easy preparable breakfast food. I'm just glad he'll be gone soon. We're having the locks changed.