Priorities

Lately people have told me that I don't have my priorities straight, that I need to look at my priorities or figure out what they are. I know what they are! I actually have them all laid out. To have friends, family, even co-workers say this to me is basically telling me that they think I'm living my life wrong. I don't see it. So to avoid further question and accusation, here are my priorities:

Financial Priorities
(Where My Money Goes)
-Rent/Bills
-School
-Travel
-Living Healthy (Food/Exercise)
-Paying Off Debt/Saving Money
-Going Out/Entertainment
-Treating My Friends
-Beauty (Teeth/Hair/Skin etc.)
-Clothes
-Decorating

Time Priorities
(Where My Time Goes)
-Work
-Friends
-School
-Going Out/Entertainment
-Cleaning/Laundry
-Beauty (Teeth/Hair/Skin etc.)
-Living Healthy (Food/Exercise)

I think my priorities are in a nice line up. If I was to change anything I think I should probably focus on spending more time on being healthy since I have put a fair amount of money into Yoga Classes and Weight Watchers Meetings. I tick away at paying off my debt, which was never that big to begin with, at a steady rate. In the past few years I have been to Paris, Portugal, and hope to soon go to London, but I can't even think of the last time I bought clothes or house decorating things. I don't have a car or a house, nor do I hope to at any point in the near future. I'm happy with the decisions I make and I stick by them.

Slowing Down

I guess I have slowed down my blogging. It seems I'm posting about every other day instead of everyday. This is for a bunch of reasons. I think the big one is not having a digital camera anymore, I really miss it but definitely can't afford to get another one. Also there are less people commenting, and I work alot so my life is a tad more boring. Wait, my life was always boring, scratch that last reason.

Not Just A Comedy

I watched Knocked Up at Steph's house last night and I have to say it wasn't amazingly hilarious like everyone said. It was funny, very funny, but it was also dramatic, real, and at times quite emotional. Judd Apatow makes really interesting movies. In terms of the biggest ones, he has produced, Anchorman, 40-Year Old Virgin, Talagada Nights, and Knocked Up, as well as Superbad which I have yet to see. As a producer, Anchorman and Talagada Nights are outright comedies, farces even, with extremely exaggerated characters. But when he also writes and directs, as in 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, they are more of a romantic comedy for guys. They have real situations. The guys sometimes act like tools and the girls sometimes get irrational and it all hits really close to home. Even some lines from the script, I have had guys say to me or I have said to a guy. I didn't laugh all the way through Knocked Up, but I definitely enjoyed it.

Tooth Care Snag

I have found a snag in my new and improved tooth care routine. I'm flossing every morning and brushing my teeth in a new way suggested by my dentist (softly and in only one directions, up or down from the gums.) I wanted to finish off the whole ordeal with a swish of Listerine to further improve my mouth care. Listerine is supposed to prevent tater, plaque, and gingivitis. (Evil Gingivitis.) Well I bought it last weekend when I went to Shoppers with Steph but I didn't start using it until today, and it is TERRIBLE. I can't stand the taste it nearly made me sick. I didn't have time to drink anything or wash it away until I got to work this morning so I nearly gagged on my bike ride. I'm never using that stuff again, the flossing and brushing will have to be enough!

Another Great Combo

Every now and then TV delivers an amazing combination. Tonight it was Family Guy and Star Wars. I can't even figure out which I love more. I just finished watching an hour long Family Guy show that 'retells' the 4th episode of Star Wars (A New Hope). When I was younger I used to watch the 'original three' Star Wars movies all the time. They are so exciting and fun. They remind me of good times with my family. When they got re-released into theatre I saw each one, including A New Hope in the US with my family when we were on our way back from somewhere. Family Guy reminds me of hours spent in the common room of Steph, Em, and my rez room with tons of people. It is so funny and shocking. We watched the first three seasons, over and over again. So to me, Family Guy means University, friends, and independence. To put the two together is just amazing. TV has such gems sometimes.

Salesman Philosophy

"A washer. You want to sell those, cause people need it right away. You don't come in looking at a washer cause you want to change the colour, you come in because you need them."
-G. Sweeton, Sept 23, 2007

With No Voice

Because of the cold and flu I have been battling this past week I have lost my voice. I have spent the day at work trying to avoid making phone calls since I sound so ridiculous. Like a little boy going through puberty. I'm a weird combination of horse and squeaky. Amusingly as I look to write on my blog I don't even have anything to say. My mind has become as speechless and incoherent as my voice.

I Can See!!

I went out Friday night with Ami, her boyfriend, her boyfriend's friend, and Wendy. Ami's childhood friend who now lives in Montreal. Of course, we girls wanted to look pretty so we got all dressed up. Contacts in, heels on, hair down and curly, make-up, the whole nine yards. I love to sip martini's and feel fabulous. We had a great time. The next morning I had to wake up fairly early to bike to a leg waxing appointment. In a clumpy mascara, chapped lipped, messy hair moment that can only happen early Saturday mornings when you are hung over, I biked a couple of blocks. Half way there I reached up to brush at my eye and realised something was wrong. I touched my face again and realised I wasn't wearing my glasses. I started to panic, as I need them and didn't have time to go back for them. Then I started to get scared, as I was biking on the road, my bike started to swerve widely and I wondered how I had gotten as far as I did without them. Then I looked up at a distant front yard and realised I could see fine. Nothing was blurry. Shocked at how great my sight was, I thought for a good two blocks that I was cured, or that eye doctors had been so very wrong about my needing of glasses. Happy, thrilled actually, I couldn't believe my luck. Then it hit me, I had never done it before, but in my drunken haze the night before, I had fallen asleep with my contacts still in.

As A Reporter

I have signed up to be a last minute writer for the Carleton University student newspaper, The Charlatan. I think I will probably un-sign up soon as I can never seem to make the deadlines and I don't really like the journalistic writing style. The most recent assignment allowed for more creativity though and this issue I made top story in the section, Perspectives.

The Greatest City

-Paris, By Teri Osmond

On Facebook, Teri has just put up three albums worth of photo's from her trip to Europe. The second two are from Nice, Florence, Venice, and Rome. They make me so jealous, and amazed. I can't believe the things she saw and how beautiful everything is, mesmerising. I love Europe, I need to live there. Her first Facebook photo album is from Paris. Every picture brought me back. It was like I never left, those two weeks were not long enough. I love Paris, I need to live there too. Anna's place is just a few blocks to the right of the above picture. I saw this view (and crossed the bridge Ter must be standing on to take the picture) dozens of times each day. So much I may have started to take it for granted.

Question Of The Day

What is the difference between a workshop and a seminar?

First Class

I had my first class of this school year last night. It went well, and ended an hour early. I have to say, I raised my hand, a lot. There are two types of university students, those who raise their hand in class to answer and pose questions, and those who do not. There are facebook groups for both points of view. People usually stand very strongly on this issue, those that don't raise their hand, hate it when others do, as it tends to add length to the class and they often have seemingly stupid comments. I'm on the other side of the fence. I think class participation is important, interesting, and beneficial. If I have an opportunity to participate I will pay more attention in class. I enjoy when people speak in class, as long as they don't ramble on. In my defence I attempt to only ever say a few words or possibly a single sentence. I think there is nothing worse then a prof looking around for someone to answer a question when no one is volunteering. I will raise my hand with pride!

For Better Or For Worse - Flashbacks

Lynn Johnston’s ‘For Better or For Worse’ will continue in flashback form

By BRIAN McTAVISH The Kansas City Star
Lynn Johnston’s nearly 30-year-old comic strip, “For Better or for Worse,” was supposed to end this month upon her long-planned retirement. But the 60-year-old Canadian cartoonist’s plans have changed. “At one point I used to say: ‘September, September, September,’ said. “But you can’t end a 30-year-long story like that. It’s too complicated. There are too many (characters) involved, and there are too many unfinished episodes.” So the popular strip chronicling the ups and downs of the Patterson family in more than 2,000 newspapers, including The Star, will now wind up its current storyline sometime in 2008, partly using reprint material framed as flashbacks. After that, “For Better or for Worse” will restart three decades in the past and continue indefinitely as a hybrid of mostly classic strips with only occasional new work from Johnston.

Oh Country Music

I rarely, and I mean rarely, listen to music, and it is even more rare for that music to be country, but some of those country tunes hit home so hard. "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack has been around for a while. I'm sure it has been played at quite a few weddings and such, but hearing it today at work (the ladies I'm sitting with have a radio with Easy Rock playing all the time) brought back what a sweet song it is.

I Hope You Dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,

May you never take one single breath for granted,

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',

Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,

When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

-Lee Ann Womack

Your Big Decision

Ontario is having a referendum along with the provincial election on October 10th. I strongly believe in voting and am always disappointed in voter turn out for the various elections. In terms of the election itself, I have yet to really follow the politics. (Though I believe one party is wanting to implement teaching Creationism beside Evolution in high schools, which scares me, so I'm really going to have to look into it.) I have started to think about the referendum though. When I first heard a little bit about the ideas to changed the election process, I was not impressed. I like it the way it is and am hesitant to add the further complexities the proposed system has. The Mixed Member Proportional system and the voting for it seems more confusing. I feel politics should be simple. The question for the referendum was released in February and after reading it I was actually really impressed with it's simplicity!
Which electoral system should Ontario use to elect members to the provincial legislature?
-The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post)
-The alternative electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly (Mixed Member Proportional)
I still haven't decided with electoral system I would prefer for Ontario, as there are pros and cons for both. It is costing the Ontario Government over $6 Million to run this referendum, so it is important that we all take learning about it and voting seriously. The official website is a good place to research. There is also always Wikipedia and Google searches for further research.

I'm Flossing

I have added flossing to my morning routine. Well I have done it twice now, which I feel is a good start. It came about for a number of reasons. Steph has just come back from a bunch of dentist appointments that were a tad traumatic for her, so unfair because she is amazing to her teeth. I have been thinking about my Grandma a lot lately, and one thing I remember is how much she looked after her teeth, she was always so proud that she still had her own and that they were in great shape. I had my annual cleaning scheduled for the week I was at the cottage, so when they called to remind me Anna had to cancel it for me since I couldn't make it, which means I'm over due for a trip to the dentist. All these things have led me to the desire to be more diligent with my tooth care. This evening I'm hoping to start doing the 14-day Crest White Strips that Steph gave me for Christmas (or my Birthday, I don't even remember it was so long ago.) Cleaner, healthy, and whiter teeth are just around the corner!

The Sub

A reflection back on my time at Subway. Both at the Paris store and here in Ottawa. Here is a list of customer pet peeves that various Subway employees I have worked with have. None of them are really a big deal to me, as I don't tend to get annoyed with customers, but they do bug a lot of people...

-mispronouncing item names (Chipotle, Parmesan, Monterey, Oregano)

-letting us put the vegetables on when you want it toasted

-getting to the cash and then ordering another sub

-letting us glove up when you only want a drink

-leaving a mess at the table (Everyone hates this one)

It is usually pretty frustrating when taking your order if you are also...

-talking on your cell phone

-talking to your friend

-making out (Ok, I hate this one)

Despite the pain that customers can be I still hope to open a store with Teri at some point.

The Customers

I just finished my last shift at Subway and I realised one of the hardest things about leaving that job is leaving the customers and customer service part of it. I loved meeting and interacting with all the people who came through the store. I had created little relationships with many of them. It was the perfect outlet for my chattiness. There were always a number of good looking guys too, gotta love the eye candy!