Sigh

It’s only Wednesday, and I wonder how I will see it through to the weekend. I was in a great mood once I got work. Even after getting there and finding out we would be having someone help out our staff from another store, someone who was there yesterday and apparently didn’t think much of the staff at our store, I was still in a good mood. I was determined to be the one to keep the morale up. Even angry customers calling on the phone and hanging up vehemently on me could not break my spirit. You see where this going? One lucky old lady got to be the one to break me. To put me in such a negative place, I couldn’t climb out of it. First off, it’s fine she wanted to take 30 minutes to figure out what she wanted to buy. I can sorta deal with that. I could deal with her getting mad at me for not being able to read her mind and figure out what she wanted. What I could not deal with was her hitting me. That’s right, she smacked me. It was quite a shock. Like a small child reaching for the oven knobs, she smacked my hand hard. What did I do to deserve this? I touched her coupon. Even our regional manager (who stopped in today) was in shock. He came out to size her up, as I passed him and mentioned what had happened. I was just so relieved once she was done deciding what she wanted, paid and left. I just couldn’t bring myself to smile the rest of the day. I just felt numb to it all. I did not feel like myself. As I left for the day, my boss was very upset because she had heard her mom just got admitted to a hospital and has to have heart surgery tomorrow. So the air at work was just awful.

Waiting to take the bus home, my mind started to wander, and I started thinking about my dad. I wanted to start crying, but not in public. So I just kept it in. The other day at work, I had the same thing happen, sort of. I saw a lady who was coughing, and it reminded me of the days before my dad died. At that moment I was praying for any customer to come and take my mind off of it, because if I started to cry at work, my face would be all red and blotchy for hours. Christmas is just hard. I miss him so much.

On the walk home from the bus stop, my iPod played a song that made me smile, and made me fell like this bad mood could be lifted. The Real Sin Savior by The ApologetiX. Now that I’m home, I’m in my jammies, listening to the ApologetiX, and I can curl up with my kitty cat and put today behind. Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring, but I’m determined to go into work tomorrow with a good attitude. Grumpy customers beware! 🙂

We saw a preview for House Of Flying Daggers when we went to see Ocean’s 12. Geoff is so stoked, and I’m lukewarm to the idea. True I liked Crouching Tiger, but not to the same degree Geoff did. He always wants to watch it. I think I’m going to have to see House Of Flying Daggers, since he was nice enough to take me to Ocean’s 12.

Brag Moment: Kelly had an article published in the Washington Times. Check it out!

I’m going to close with a quote from Office Space.

Joanna: So, where do you work, Peter?

Peter Gibbons: Initech.

Joanna: In… yeah, what do you do there?

Peter Gibbons: I sit in a cubicle and I update bank software for the 2000 switch.

Joanna: What’s that?

Peter Gibbons: Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save space, they used two digits instead of four. So, like, 98 instead of 1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh… it doesn’t really matter. I uh, I don’t like my job, and, uh, I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore.

Joanna: You’re just not gonna go?

Peter Gibbons: Yeah.

Joanna: Won’t you get fired?

Peter Gibbons: I don’t know, but I really don’t like it, and, uh, I’m not gonna go.

Joanna: So you’re gonna quit?

Peter Gibbons: Nuh-uh. Not really. Uh… I’m just gonna stop going.

Joanna: When did you decide all that?

Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.

Joanna: An hour ago… so you’re gonna get another job?

Peter Gibbons: I don’t think I’d like another job.

Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and…

Peter Gibbons: You know, I’ve never really liked paying bills. I don’t think I’m gonna do that, either.

‘Tis The Season

Last night we watched Merry Christmas Mr. Bean, which is still one of the funniest things you can watch at Christmas time.

I’m working all week, thankfully just during the day, so I do have my evenings free. I am looking forward to the museum Christmas party on Friday night. I spoke with Mary last night, and she said I am very sorely missed on Mondays. That things are not the same without me, and that Rich is sore that I haven’t been emailing him. Ha ha. I laughed I thought that was so funny. Well, I’ll make sure to say hello to him on Friday. Geoff is going to come with me, as Mary said spouses were welcome. She’s bringing her husband, whom I haven’t met yet.

So due to my schedule, and because Geoff has to go to Boulder on Monday, looks like Saturday may be the day we celebrate Christmas. I will try to take a picture of the tree to post. That means we have to find time this week to make cinnamon buns, as it’s an Armstrong tradition to eat cinnamon buns Christmas morning.

The Golden Globe nominations came out this morning, and while I wasn’t totally surprised to see them overlook Passion Of The Christ, I was shocked to see them nominate Zach Braff for best actor in a comedy!



I think this is their first ever nomination for a Golden Globe. Maybe this will get the Emmys to acknowledge that the whole cast is outstanding. No new episodes until January (late January). But the DVD is supposed to come out next year. Can’t wait!

Oh yeah, Nicole Kidman quit the movie remake of The Producers. Haven’t heard yet who will replace her, but I’d love to see the actress who played Ulla in the L.A. production we saw take over. She had a fabulous voice.

Gotta go to work. Legend of Earthsea is on SciFi tonight. I’m going to try to tune in, though it doesn’t look like they are sticking that close to the books.

I’ll close with a quote from the Simpsons.

Homer’s ghost: Marge you gotta help me, I have to do one good deed to get into heaven.

Marge: Well I got a whole list of chores: clean the garage, paint the house…

Homer’s ghost: Whoa whoa whoa. I’m just trying to get in, I’m not running for Jesus.

Ocean’s Twelve

Such a good movie! I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so I’ll hold off on saying anything I liked. But it was a great movie, definitely worth the matinee price we paid to see it. It merits being watched again. I will have to get this on DVD.

I’ll close with a quote from the movie, but I’ll leave out who says it.

“it’s almost like this kabbalah stuff doesn’t work!”

Bad Shopper

I went against my own rules and bought myself a gift before Christmas. I know, I never do that, I hate when people do that. But it’s something I honestly believe no one would buy me, so there is little danger of getting it as a gift. What did I get me?



Christmas With The Rat Pack. It’s a great cd, we listened to it last night.

I also went over my budget for Geoff’s stocking stuffers. But only by a little bit. But it’s hard. Working at Harry & David there are so many great gift ideas.

I am done shopping, save one tiny thing I need to get before I mail off Kelly’s gift. Everyone else is done! Sigh. All that’s left to do now is open gifts. 🙂

The noisy neighbors moved out. Not the ones below us, but the ones that were kitty-corner from us. The girls from NY. And they were just starting to be quiet regularly. Oh well, we can only pray the next neighbors are quiet.

We watched School Of Rock the other night, since Geoff hadn’t seen it. I think it’s hilarious, but it has caused me to have Immigrant Song playing in my head over and over.

I’m going to close with a quote from this week’s episode of Scrubs.

Dr. Cox: Carla, Carla, have you seen newbie?

Carla: Oh you mean he got off your leash?

Dr. Cox: Ha, give me a break. The kid’s like like a, have you ever seen a drunk baby? Eh, it’s a long story involving my son, rum cake, and a low counter. Suffice to say, as it turns out, at first, it’s endearing to watch them bounce off of the walls, but then you take your eyes off of them for one second and BAM! They’ve got a bucket on their head and they’re plowing right through your brand new flat screen TV. God save me, it was barely out of the box. The point is…newbie is MY drunk baby.

An iPod In A Pear Tree

Geoff said he nearly bought another iPod when he was shopping on Sunday. But fear of me kicking his butt stopped him. He’s very enamored with the photo iPod. Myself, having seen the U2 iPod in person, am in love with the black.

Often while I am walking and listening to my iPod, I laugh out loud at the music it chooses. It is permanently on shuffle, so I never know what I am going to get. I almost wonder if I shouldn’t be ashamed of some of the stuff on it, but I have no shame. I like to listen Bryan Adams on my iPod. If that is wrong I don’t want to be right. 🙂 Alright, I’ll post the last 15 songs my iPod played.

Out of Touch – Hall & Oates

I Believe – REM

Let It Whip – Dazz Band

Every Day – Phillips, Craig & Dean

Can’t Stop This Thing We Started – Bryan Adams

Friday I’m In Love – The Cure

This Time Tomorrow – Captain Tractor

Are We Afraid – Toad The Wet Sprocket

The Boy Is Mine – Brandy & Monica

A Girl Like You – Edwyn Collins

Push It – Salt-N-Pepa

Call Me – Blondie

Paradise By The Dashboard Light – Meatloaf

Better That Way – Easily Amused

She Will Be Loved – Maroon 5

Okay new topic.

Work is busy. I haven’t been to the museum in a month, but I made sure I got the evening off that Jeff & Rich scheduled the Christmas potluck/party. I really hope my friends will be there. I don’t know what I will bring to share, perhaps some of the infamous Harry & David Pepper & Onion Relish. It’s a dip you mix with cream cheese, and it’s infamous. It’s much more likely I’ll bring something I would eat, since who knows if anyone else will. 🙂 Picky eaters rule!

I’ve been a strange mix of emotions. Weird things set me off, I can’t really predict how I will respond to stuff. I guess specifically, I find myself being more sensitive than I ought to be. I feel hurt by things more easily than usual. We all know the culprit of this. But I truly hate that. I don’t like being so sensitive. I am usually the first one to point out when others are being too sensitive. Well, nothing to be done about that. I thankfully have Geoff to talk sense into me.

Speaking of feelings,last week, I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was feeling I used to get when I worked downtown in Edmonton. The feeling was always because I thought I was going to see someone I didn’t necessarily want to see. Why I had this feeling in Denver is what is odd. Who could I possibly see in Denver that I didn’t want to? Maybe it’s just a mall vibe. 🙂 My dreams are still being weird.

Saturday we spent 2 hours writing out our Christmas cards & letters, and I dropped them in the mail on Monday. It’s nice to have that off my to-do list. It was a lot of work. Our apartment building is having a contest for the best decorated balcony. It’s inspiring ( or tempting) us to do more to our balcony. We currently have some lights on it.

Speaking of lights, Brock Skywalker wrote on his blog about his dislike for Christmas lights. He essentially said the only place he feels that does lights right is the Legislative Grounds. Those words made me feel lachrymose (I have a thesaurus!). There are few things I miss about our first apartment in Edmonton. But the big thing was having the Leg grounds for my backyard, and walking through it in the early morning or in the evening at Christmastime, when there were no other souls about. And the lights were perfect, the air was quiet, save for the music they would play over the speakers. My favorite song they would play, that would make the grounds seem magical, and bring a smile to my face, was Waltz Of The Flowers (Tchaikovsky). I do cherish that Christmas tradition we had. Walking the Leg with Doug. 🙂

I’ll close with a quote from a Christmas movie, Scrooged.

Earl Cross: All day long I listen to people give me excuses why they can’t work. My legs hurt. My back aches. I’M ONLY FOUR.

Oh Canada!

So I read on a few blogs that the CBC put out a contest for people to pick who they thought was (trumpet sound) The Greatest Canadian! There were names on the list I didn’t know, and names who are way unworthy. But it was funny to look at.

Last night, I was flipping through the channels, and I saw a familiar face. It was Rick Mercer (#50 on the list). He was on a PBS program NewsHour, along with Mark Kingwell, a professor from Toronto, and Margaret Wente, from The Globe & Mail. I had my doubts that there would be intelligent thoughts coming from The Globe & Mail, as the only other person from that paper I saw on American television was a tool. But Wente, Kingwell and Mercer all presented themselves terrificly. Even though I did not agree with some things they said, they could at least say it intelligently. The best comment I heard was something I’ve been saying for a long time, but it doesn’t always get through to people. Margaret Wente said Canadians don’t understand the U.S. as well as they think they do, and Mark Kingwell agreed. But Kingwell added that Canada is far more different from America than Americans think. My other favorite comment, again by Wente was, “I think sometimes Canadians tend to be too obsessed with the past”. That’s so Canada! That’s me, that’s people I know! 🙂 You can read a transcript of it here.

Speaking of Canada, it’s still chilly here. We haven’t gotten any new snow, but the temperature has been cold enough that the ice isn’t quite melting. I slipped on a patch of it today while I was doing my errands. I’m fine, my hand and butt broke my fall. I wasn’t paying attention to walking, which I should be doing with my growing body.

I am nearly done my shopping! I really have only Geoff’s stocking stuffers to buy, and a gift for my favorite cousin. We got gifts from Colin, Dawn & Dylan yesterday and they are sitting under the tree. I’m hoping to post a picture of the tree maybe this weekend. The Christmas letter we send out is practically done, but I haven’t begun to think about what we’re doing about cards. In past years I stamped my own, but wasn’t up to it this year. I can’t believe how large our Christmas card list is, we need to stop making friends or something. 🙂

I have Saturday off work, which is nice. Geoff and I will be able to observe our Peet’s ritual. That’s all that we really have planned for the weekend.

Kevin Smith is super excited to be doing a guest spot on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He says it’s fulfilling a life long dream. Dude, that is hilarious. I now have to close with a quote from The Drew Carey Show that sums up Kevin’s life long dream.

Kate O’Brien: Yeah, is pathetisad a word?

Let It Snow?

So, I’m posting early today because it was far too snowy outside for me to justify taking the bus to the museum and having no one there. It’s been coming down out there since Saturday night, and I couldn’t bring myself to go. I will have to venture out to go to the bank today though and deposit my paycheck.

So, big big shopping weekend in the U.S., Thanksgiving weekend. It was busy Friday, even more busy on Saturday, and the snow kept people away yesterday. Saturday we bought a few more Christmas gifts, and a tree. We decided to fake it this year, since we will be going to Victoria. We usually get a real tree, but we figured it would just be easier this way. We can a real tree next year with Elijah’s first Christmas. We’ve already settled on staying in Denver for next Christmas. So, back to shopping, I ordered some gifts online. So really, there are only like 3 more people left to buy for. I need to wrap and package up some of the stuff we bought. I still have to buy some of Geoff’s gift, and his stocking stuffers, but these are things that can wait. Due to our departure date for Victoria, we’ll be celebrating Christmas on the 20th just the two of us. Kinda fun, and weird to think about doing it early.

I’m still kinda going off a high from our Vegas trip. I can’t remember the last time I got to spend so much time with Lisa. And well, I’ve never spent that much time with Chad, he’s a lot of fun to hang out with. I like that I can look back on those moments we had to share a laugh. It really was a great trip.

What do I have going on this week? Working 3 days, I hope to make an appointment at the salon, and Saturday I think we may be going out to Mark & Shannon’s for dinner. We’ll have to see what the weather holds. If the snow holds out, I doubt we’d venture out to Elizabeth.

We rented Elf last week, and that was a pretty funny movie. So I’ll close with a quote from that.

Buddy: I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.

Busy Beaver

Sorry I’ve been so quiet. A whirlwind few days at H&D. I will post tomorrow when I get home from the museum. Just know we’re all doing okay, we’re just slowly being buried in snow. 🙂

Viva Las Vegas

Sunday

Geoff is up way early (5am) because he’s so excited about Vegas. I get up around 7:30. We plan to leave some time after 12:30 for the airport. Our flight leaves Denver at 3:10. We get to the airport with no problems, and it appears our flight may be delayed. But we get to the gate and it looks okay. We find out the Las Vegas flight before ours hasn’t left yet. It’s been delayed, and is now just boarding. Geoff asks them if it will impact our flight, and they say yes, we won’t be leaving until 6! So he asks if there is room on this flight, and lucky for us there is. We get two seats together in the very last row of the plane. That flight leaves and we arrive in Vegas at nearly the same time we would have if our flight had been on time. Thank goodness. I really wanted to see Lisa!

It’s pouring in Vegas, and we’re kinda bummed. We meet up earlier than anticipated, but not by much. There is much rejoicing, and we come to find that Chad & Lisa also encountered flight problems. They were supposed to arrive around 12 or 1, but had delays in both Edmonton and LAX. But we’re all together now, and all hungry so we hit the buffet. It’s buffet food, so I don’t need to go into detail, but Geoff discovered they use pretty hot horse radish, and we talk about hockey, Canadian politics, and general catching up. Even though it was still raining and we couldn’t go to the strip, the hotel offered plenty of options. After dinner, we go check out Lisa & Chad’s room to see what the new tower looks like. They are on the 20th floor (there are 21 floors) and Lisa doles out goodies for me from her and my mom. The view from their window shows the Palms and the Rio. Hanging out in the room makes us tired, so we go downstairs to gamble. Geoff, Lisa and I hit the Blackjack table. Chad cheers us on, and after a few hours of play, I’m up $45, Lisa is up, and Geoff is up $15. We’re all pretty tired, so we decide to go to our rooms.

Monday

Geoff and I go downstairs to the Courtyard Cafe for breakfast. We are able to find affordable food, and it’s pretty tasty. We go back up to our room, and Lisa had called to say they were going to the strip, and we’d all meet up at M&M World to see if we could get tickets to a show for that night. We had a 10am appointment at the spa, so we arranged to meet at noon. At 9:30, Geoff and I head down to the spa. We don’t need to bring anything with us, the spa provides everything. We go into our changing rooms, and I open my locker to reveal a robe, some sandals, and a towel. I take a shower in the large shower there. There are bottles of water chilling on ice when I get back to the sink area, and I grab one and go wait on the couch for Geoff. He took advantage of the Jacuzzi in the changing room, I only could have soaked my feet if I wanted to. Once he joins me, we have a few minutes before our masseuses come get us. We are led to our private room, and they leave us to get under the sheets. My table is all padded and I have a pillow to rest my head rather than the face hole Geoff has. The two ladies return and the massage begins. It’s so peaceful and relaxing. I didn’t know how tense my back and shoulders were, but it all feels so wonderful. The music playing reminds Geoff of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The 50 minutes didn’t feel so short, which I feared it might. Once it’s over, we don’t want to get up. We just want lie there for a while. But we get up and go. We go back up to our room and get everything we need to head to the strip. We catch the shuttle and then book it to M&M World to meet Chad & Lisa. When we get to the half price ticket place, they have no tickets for the show we wanted to see. We shrug and then continue with our day. First stop is to find food. We’re all starving. After seeking out a few different places we settle on a food court in Excalibur. Lisa and I have McDonalds, and the boys have Quiznos. We then check out the Krispy Kreme, but the hot light isn’t on, and no one is up for donuts, so we make our way to the Luxor. After seeing the pyramid from the inside, we head back towards the strip so we can visit the Coca-Cola Store. My favorite. I offer to treat everyone to a Coke, and we sit for a spell and enjoy a nice cold Coke. I buy myself a little something, and then we head towards the shops at the Aladdin, where I promised Geoff I would buy him something if I had won $40. We seek out Hilo Hattie where I try to buy Geoff a shirt. We look and look, but there was nothing he really liked. I’m disappointed, since I planned this for a while. But I guess I’d rather buy him something he really likes, than something he just sort of likes. We are all feeling tired from walking, so we go back to the shuttle to get to the Orleans. Chad is debating going into the pool and hot tub outside. Geoff wants to get in some Blackjack before dinner. Chad decides against the pool, and we all head to the casino. We manage to convince Chad to play some Blackjack, but the cards are not being nice tonight. I get out while I am ahead (up $47), but everyone else is less lucky. For dinner, Lisa is keen on taking in the Player’s Choice at the Courtyard cafe, prime rib or 16 oz T-bone steak for $10.25. Geoff was able to earn the two if us free dinner there with all his gambling. We’re getting the hang of how comps work. Geoff and Lisa have the prime rib, I have the steak, and Chad has jambalaya. We decide that we are going to go 10 pin bowling following dinner. Lisa gets her shoes, and we all change into something better for bowling. The first throw of the bowling ball, I fall down. I didn’t think that trying to bowl like normal would be a problem. So now I have to adjust my bowling method. I am able to get the ball to go down the lane a few times, but my form is all awkward. This makes me sad. I love to bowl. Lisa is awesome (as always), Geoff kicks butt, and in the second game, Chad beat Lisa! We had fun, it’s nice to do something different. We go back down to the casino and play the slots before we all crash at 10:30.

Tuesday

We all manage to sleep a little better, and Lisa, Geoff and I meet up at the Courtyard Cafe for breakfast. Chad doesn’t feel like eating, he spends the time walking around the casino. A quick bite to eat and we head back out to the strip. Before we leave the hotel, Geoff calls Top Of The World (the restaurant at the Stratosphere) to make reservations for lunch. We head in the opposite direction of where we went last time, but this time Geoff and I get to look around the Forum Shops at Caesars. We make our way to the Venetian, and I cannot convince anyone to go on the gondola. But I don strike a deal with Geoff, he owes me a gondola ride. Either on a future trip to Vegas, or he takes me to Italy. The shops here are so upper class, we feel underdressed. We hop in a cab to go to the Stratosphere, knowing we’d never make the walk there. It’s only $10. Once there, Geoff takes advantage of some coupon and plays 2 hands of Blackjack. He wins $15. We check in for our reservation, and have to pass through a security check before we can ride the elevator to the restaurant. Top Of The World is a revolving restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere. The views are amazing, and the food was pretty good. Lisa, Chad and I have cheeseburgers, Geoff has the Ahi Tuna. I am almost willing to forgo lunch and head straight for dessert. They have a chocolate Stratosphere for $15. It looks divine. I had to take a picture. As soon as we finish lunch, we take two flights of stairs up to the observation deck. It’s a hazy day, but you can make out the strip. We congratulate ourselves on planning a lunch here, because it’s something like $10 just to take the elevator to the top. It was free for us because we had lunch there. We take some pictures, and watch people scare themselves on the rides at the top of the Stratosphere. We hop in a cab back down the strip, getting off at Treasure Island. On the cab ride, we pass by the Crazy Horse Too. I nudge Geoff and we share a chuckle, and wonder if Charmaine is working. At Treasure Island, we look around the pirate ships, and then go next door to the Mirage. We try to peek around and see what there is to see for free, but it’s only a sleepy white lion. We go back through the Forum Shops at Caesars so Lisa can buy her girls some souvenirs, and then we visit the conservatory at the Bellagio. We hope to catch the 5pm fountain show. We stake out a great spot, and wait for the show to begin. It has gotten dark, so Geoff and I are happy to see the show at night. This is Lisa & Chad first chance to see the show. The pop music stops, and the fountains start to rise. The music begins. It plays

The Vice Of Killing from For A Few Dollars More. It’s fantastic. It plays so well with the dancing water. It’s far too short, you want the magic to continue. We leave the strip, and catch the shuttle back. Lisa & Chad plan to leave the hotel by 9 to catch their midnight flight home. Geoff and I play some Blackjack together, and end up getting the fun dealer from 5 months ago. Lisa plays at the $3 Blackjack table, and seems to be doing well. Chad goes between the two and roots for us. Geoff and I quit while he’s up $65, and I’m down $10. We grab dinner at the buffet since all of Geoff’s playing the first night won us our meals free. We meet up afterwards with Chad & Lisa to take them to the door to say our goodbyes. Geoff and I decide just to turn in, since he’s starting to feel under the weather. I stop in at the gift shop to buy us each a litre of water to drink. His throat is starting to bother him.

Wednesday

Geoff is full on sick. I go downstairs to get him some orange juice, and I grab myself a croissant. We leave the hotel at 9:30 to make our 11:30 flight. When we get there, we find there is an earlier flight for Denver leaving right then. We get on it, and head home. I drive home from the airport since Geoff is sick, and even at 2pm, the traffic is crazy on the 225. We get home, Geoff goes to bed, I take care of laundry and calming the cat down. She is trying to tell me she needs food, but the neighbors already told me they fed her that morning. That’s it, that our Vegas story. We had so much fun, but it’s great to be home, and it was nice to get in one last trip before Elijah comes.

I’m closing with a great quote from Futurama.

Nibblonian : You are the last hope of the universe.

Fry : So I really am important? How I feel when I’m drunk is correct?

Nibblonian : Yes – except the Dave Matthews Band doesn’t rock.