Let's look through my purse

So, I came to the conclusion at the grocery store today that at times I put FAR too much stuff in my purse. Today was one of those days because it was fairly full. Like, it didn't close full. Want to know what was in it (because I do. I can't remember!)? Well, I think I'll clean it out and see just how much was in there.

• 2 t-shirts and a sweater
• lunch/dinner dishes
• eyeglasses in a case
• water bottle
• cell phone
• wallet
• deodorant (I went from job A to job B today, okay?)
• 3 sets of keys and a sign in fob
• Titus Andronicus from the Folger Shakespeare Library
• The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
• 2 year planner
• notebook (miniature)2 headbands
• 2 ipods (old and new..)
• contact lens solution
• camera
• 2 packs of chewing gum (5 Rain and 5 React fruit for anyone interested. yum!)
• pocket knife
• locker key
• hand lotion
• Tylenol and allergy medicine
• receipts
• lighter (from a camping trip, haha)
• lip balm (love my Burt's Bees!)

How do I get that much stuff in there?! Well, I guess that's all I've got today as all I'm doing lately is work, read (just finished The Hobbit), sleep, eat, etc. Oh, and buy books. Lots of wonderful books. So many books! :)

I need to buy a smaller purse.

How is it August?!

Hey internets! So it's been a few weeks, and I'm sitting here listening to the stereo pump out sped up 80's hits at work with no one around, so I thought I'd write. I missed you/this. And thus, here's a little update from myself; enjoy!

Well, the last few weeks have been a bit of a blurr. Between my two jobs I'm working about 50 hours a week and have some fairly strange hours (i.e. 8-1 and 3-8 in a day, or 7:30-12:30 and 2-8 in a day). My family are also MIA. No, they haven't been taken away by CSIS, they've just left me on my onesies for a while. Bug's gone to Honduras on a Missions trip, and my parents are out in the mountains camping and seeing bears. I'm here, working. But hey, it's not all bad!

I've just bought 22 of my 26 school books for September (and I'm reading some of them. It's hard to resist when the required reading is things like Dracula, The Hobbit, Sabriel, and Treasure Island), seen some friends, remembered to give my puppy his pills on time, kept the garden alive (and eaten fresh fruit every day!), and done a few other things. What are those other things? Well, first off, I validated and early registration account for Pottermore Friday and I'm waiting for my email to come saying that I can start using it [they won't let us all on at once :(]. So if there's anyone else out there on Pottermore, keep an eye out for DawnQuest114 if you'd like (I think that's my username). I also went to the dinner theatre with my Grandparents Friday night, and it was superb. We saw Fiddler on the Roof, which was brilliant. Because of this, I got home slightly before midnight, didn't sleep until around 2, got up lateish (7), and still managed to get to work early enough to open on time. I was pretty pleased with myself.

Other than that, there's not been tooooo much. Tonight was Doctor Who night with a friend, so we tried to get her as caught up in the show as possible. We have 3 episodes left to watch before she is completely caught up, but that's good time.. I think we watched about 6 episodes tonight, and we even made it through part of A Very Potter Musical while we were waiting. 

That seems to be my life in a nut shell at the moment. I'm waiting for a friend to see if she has a particular weekend off so that we can go be touristy in Seattle, so we'll see how that goes, and I'm heading off to bed now because I have to work 'tomorrow' (which is actually today because of the time of 'morning').

Ciao, love, and keep it groovy! :)

Lots of Rambling, or, Why People Should Come to the Gym More

Wow, am I actually posting a second blog in July? /there must be something wrong with me! No, really, there may be. But there probably isn't, I'm just tired and cold - but that's because I just finished a workout with the A/C on. So there!

Hmm, what's been going on lately? Well, I could tell you that I've finished another book, but that'd be a lie. Basically since I wrote last I've done a lot of the same sort of stuff I've been doing for months: reading (a little; if there were more sun I may read more and be out enjoying it-today was nice though!), working (both at the grocer and the gym), sleeping (my bed may be my current best friend.. Sorry Ray-Ray, but sleep is heaven), working out (which I should start doing less maybe.. I think my body's hitting exhaustion), attending Zumba (which is not only super fun, but one heck of a workout), and basically subsisting.

Thursday (like, a week from today!) Bug leaves for Honduras for her missions trip, and a few days later my parents head off on their duo vacation in the Mountains and plains of AB for 3 weeks. Am I jealous of everyone going away? Heck yes. However, they're leaving the dog home with me this time, which is like, a super upgrade. The only down side of this is that he's on prednosoln (sp?), and has to be given his pills everyday, which will become my responsibility. That and brushing his teeth, but that's not such a bad deal; I get big scary looking pet to stay with me (well, SOMEONE must think he's scary looking, right?), I give him what he needs. Seems fair. So there's that.

I'm considering maybe going to Seattle for like, a few days at the end of the summer, maybe just like, "2 nights" on the Clipper, so yeah.. Maybe give myself a vacation with that? But I'll have to see. I don't want to go on my own, but I know Ray-Ray is hoping to go to Europe in the fall and Bug can't go with me, she'll be just getting back into life in Canada. I dunno, it just seems like summer's going by super fast and I'm, well, working. Which isn't a bad thing, I'm rather enjoying my jobs (and one's giving me ample opportunity to do stuff like this AND get fit), but wow. This time next year I'll (hopefully) be a University grad. And at this rate I'll be back doing the same things I've always done for the summer - back to the grocer.

That sounds bitter, doesn't it? Well, I'm not trying to be bitter, just realistic. With the job market the way it currently is and the rate at which my luck seems to go, I'll be working in grocery stores well into my career teaching. So if anyone knows of a super great summer job I can get with a BA, English Major next summer, let me know? I'd love to expand my horizons! Hmm, what else have I got to say today?

I don't think that there's really anything more that I can add. I'm hoping maybe to have a day off coming up, and I might head into town this weekend after work to hang out, but until then there's not mu-

OH! I'm going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with a friend Sunday! I know, I know, super nerd. However, it has been such a huge part of my childhood! I can still remember picking up PS in the Fourth Grade, reading it avidly, and asking Mrs Allen if she had any more (which she didn't yet). I can remember receiving copies of the books for my birthdays because they were released around that time, or going out to camp and having to pick up the latest book in Costco halfway through a camping trip. Being jealous of my little sister's going to a release party without me because I had to be up early. Daddy spoiling the book for Grandma because we were passing it through the family on a camping trip and he forgot she hadn't read it yet (yeah.. 6 people, 1 copy of HBP... Bad mix). I can remember seeing the movies with my family, and sometimes going again with my friends. Although the films aren't my personal, perfect rendition of the Potter series, they really are great films in their own right, and so this last film, the eighth installment, is the close of something huge. It's not just the end of a chapter of my life, but a whole part.

That being said, it's not something that I'm leaving behind. It simply means that there are no new films and books to come out (that we know of.. Jo better not be holding out on us!), so I have a "complete" frame of reference. However, there is still Pottemore (though I've not signed up for early entry or whatever - no free time for that lol), there's still a huge following, and I've still got my copies of the books. That being said, it may be time to get a new copy of PS. It has not only been read by multiple people, but chewed by my dog, cried over, and read amongst colds/flues, etc. It's falling apart, but it's the book that started it all. My little soft-cover, battered version. It's the only book I have in paperback, actually. The rest I got either the day they came out (my grandparents actually pre-ordered me  a few for my birthday!) or shortly thereafter, and though they're destroyed the hardcovers have saved them. So yeah, NOW I think that's about it...

I'm off to finish a bit more workout now that my stomach's settled and then wash floors and remember to turn off the A/C at the end of the night.. Have a wonderful evening, and remember "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." - JKR <3

Once a month?

Hey, internet! Guess what? I've decided I should probably update my blog. It's been a little while, hasn't it? Oops. I thought maybe with school over I'd be more able to blog or something, but I honestly haven't really felt like it. Sue me, eh?

So, what's happened since we last had a moment? hmmm... *scrolls back and looks at blog post from last month* Well, when I posted my last blog, it was actually the day before my birthday, so that happened. It was a good day, went and had some family time on the actual night of my birthday (because I worked during the day), and the next night after work I went up to the pub with some friends for drinks and appies... What else has happened since that? Hmm..

I finished the Hunger Games Trilogy last night, and Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen before that - all were so extremely good! And they're making a Hunger Games movie, I've heard. Tres excited, but it'll be hard to portray perfectly, I think. There's so much that is left for interpretation with regards to the horrors that the citizens of Panem face. I'm now reading John Green's Looking For Alaska, which is good thus far, though I'm not truly that far in.

July First was not only Canada Day (so a happy belated birthday, country of my birth!), but Ray-Ray's birthday too. We went up and did a high-trees adventure/obstacle course, rode ziplines across a canyon, and she bungee jumped, so that was an excellent day as well. Since then, basically what I've been doing is reading and working. I'm hopelessly addicted to the Zumba classes that the daytime manager at my Curves location teaches, so I've been going to those, and I'm considering (in my free time, and if it ever gets near me!) taking my certification if the opportunity ever presents itself. Ooooh, and I've updated some of my technology in the past month!

I bought a car. Not a brand spanking new car, but a newer car than the one I had, and a car that is new to me. I'm now the proud owner of a 2005 Honda Civic in standard. This is a little bit freaky for me as now I not only have car payments to make once a month for the next 3 or 4 years, but I am also driving a standard. I've driven standard before, but I was never very good at it. Well, now I have to be, don't I? So that's going pretty well - the only reason I've stalled in the last few days was due to distraction, so I'm pretty thrilled. Not so thrilled that Bug was along for it, but since she's got no insurance and needs a taxi service (or loaner car) and I had to go to work this evening, she had to be there. My other upgrade isn't quite so extreme, but I'm pretty thrilled about it.

I got a new laptop! Nothing super fancy, it's a Sony VAIO (in bright green!), but I'm thrilled. It's faster than my old HP was, and it's sleek and gorgeous. It also has a working webcam built into it (though I also have an HD webcam that I go for my birthday), so I can chat with friends that are away from me. I'm excited! Lol, I think that almost sums up my month to now...

Oh hey, so I was sick for like, 7 weeks. Then I took Cold FX and I'm no longer feeling like a leaky faucet, but I'm still not 100%. I don't have whatever it is I had before; now I've just got allergies. However, I've got a weird breathy cough and I'm losing my voice and all that stuff. Is it possible to just like, develop asthma? I'm having a hard time breathing during my workouts >.< If this keeps up too much longer I'm going to have to see my Doctor, and though he's a very nice man and everything, I'd prefer not to have to go to his place of employment - it's never a good thing for me. Aw well, I'mma eat my cherries and try to get through the rest of the evening here at work.

Sidenote: Yes, I AM writing this on a computer at work. I've finished my workout (mostly, but I've still got like 3 hours), I've tidied, and I've finished my paperwork and desk stuff. I could be reading, but I decided that I've been absent a little too long. Also, ABBA is stupidly catchy, and speeding it up to 140 bpm does not make their music any less catchy... "gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight..."

So I actually wrote this on the 16th..

-- And there she was. Emerging from the lake in her plain white nightgown, her dark hair standing around her shoulders made more obvious by th pallour of her skin. She was beautiful, but there was something wrong. Yes, her skin was pale, far too pale to be considered remotely healthy, but I shrugged this off and blamed it on the glacier fed lake and cold December night. No, it wasn't just her skin - it was her eyes. Instead of the burning intensity I was accustomed to seeing when I looked my baby sister in the eyes, they were dead. Devoid of any emotion, her eyes were staring blankly ahead of her. I ran to her in a panic, but she didn't see me. That blank stare, those dead eyes. The true colour of her skin began to register and I drew back in terror, opening my mouth to speak. My sister was one of Them, a re-emergence, and the village had to be alerted.
Hey! So, I'm back. It's been what, a week since I last wrote anything here, right? Well, in that time not too much has happened to me personally - work, coffee with Ray-Ray, shopping with Momma, the usual summer things (without the summer weather). But lots has happened in my province, though thankfully not near my home. The Canucks made it into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and the game was hosted in Vancouver. They lost, and riots ensued. I just don't understand this. I mean, obviously the people that started the riot went downtown explicitly ready to cause trouble, but why? (I realize they probably would have done this win or lose, but it's just so childish!) It's a sports event, it should be something to enjoy, cheer for, and gather. It shouldn't be a catalyst for violence. The people rioting were, in my opinion, not "fans" of either the team or the sport - they were just out to cause trouble - and in doing so, they have probably ruined a beautiful thing for multitudes of peaceful people. After the riot in 1994 and now this, do you think Vancouver will allow a public event like this to take place again? We (alright, they.. I just paid for it..) hosted a brilliant Olympics little over a year ago, and now this.. A beautiful, multi-cultural, international event that goes off well, and now this. Over a hockey game in which a handful of the players on the winning team are ALSO FROM CANADA. I guess I'm never going to understand sports.

I have to admire how well the situation was handled by the authorities, and I give them kudos and much appreciation for their hard work. I also admire the volunteers who went out and helped clean up the city; hundreds of people went out and helped to clean up a mess that they did not create, and that they (and we) will have to pay for with their tax dollars. To everyone involved in the security and clean-up, Thank you. To those causing the problems, I have nothing to say other than that I am embarrassed. So very, very embarrassed to share a home with you.

On a lighter note, I just finished reading Sabriel and I loved it. I can remember trying to pick it up in like, Grade 6 and deciding to read more Harry Potter instead, but since I've read those over multiple times and I was urged to read Sabriel by a friend at school this year, I did. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I finished it while I was at work (it was super dead and I'm allowed to read to pass the time, okay?), and I instantly wished that I had a copy of Luriel (sp?) hidden away in my purse somewhere. The book had just enough of the fantastic in it, with a sound grounding in emotional reality (minus the development of true love or whatever, but that's just my opinion) to keep me reading, and the epilogue left me craving more. It also inspired me to write the blurb that's at the top of today's post. What do you think of it? Is it a little to strange or amateur, or is it something you may consider reading if I developed it further? Because as it stands, "That's all she wrote". That little bit just kind of happened along in my ming, and found its way onto some scrap paper to be put out here.

Also, I started watching Torchwood. It's not at all the same as Doctor Who, but I'm enjoying it as a way to help me pass my time and get my alien being in England fix. It doesn't hurt that Captain Jack was always a character I enjoyed in Who, either.

But I think that's it for me, I'm going to have some (more) tea. Let me know what you think.thought of my writing and Sabriel, and if you have any good book recommendations feel free to let me know! :) 

So, I posted this roughly a week after writing it. Why? Because I thought I'd lost it in cyberspace. Turns out my email manager thought it was junk mail instead (as I composed most of it while I was at work with the cleaning as done as it could get without closing..) and I've only just found it while getting my laptop back up and running after it died and daddy revived it. Shall I say it "regenerated"? I think so! :P

... She Lives!

Wow, so I guess it has been a while since I wrote anything in here, huh? It's not that I haven't wanted to, it's just that every time I think of it something either comes up and I get side-tracked for hours, or something else happens and I think, "Oh, I'll do it in an hour" and then realize that I have to leave. Even this blog post is being cobbled together at various times! So, I guess last time I wrote I was on the beach in the sunshine, contemplating a change of scenery... Well, guess what?

I'm still here.

Yupp, I'm still at home, but I'm much busier than before. I'm now working two jobs, which puts me at 7 days a week (on average) where I am at a workplace of some sort. However, I really love my new job. I'm working at a Curves location (where I had already been working out since 2007) and I really enjoy. Not only am I working out and getting back into shape, but I am meeting some truly amazing women with some great stories to tell and wonderful bits of wisdom.

Aside from that, not too much is going on. This past Sunday was my first day off in 2 weeks and 2 girlfriends and myself went up to Longbeach Saturday night, camped out, and had a blast on the beach Sunday. We also got some very toasty sunburns.. I'm nearly all recovered, but there are a few blotches on my back that may peel.. So much for wearing sunscreen! I had it on and I got nice and toasty.. D didn't wear any and is lobster red, so overall it was a fairly successful trip to the beach, right?

Aside from the beach and work, I'm all caught up on Doctor Who (and can't wait for Autumn to roll around!), I've started watching Doctor Who Confidential on occassion (which is sort of neat), and I'm considering watching Torchwood.. Has anyone out there seen it? Have any opinions as to whether or not I should see it?

I think that's all I can think of to write out for this post, but if any inspiration bites, I'll letcha know. I'm off to have a cuppa tea and then probably head to bed because I'm working (again) tomorrow... Ta! :)

Beach Writings

So I have this job interview for a job that is in a land-locked area, and lately it has set me thinking. I'm really excited about the job and totally hope I get it, but at the same time I can't imagine not living within driving distance of the ocean...

***

I'm not entirely certain as to why this is so, but I think it has something to do with the rhythms of the ocean and its ever-varying nature; it is the place I find myself constantly returning to, regardless of the weather. When I'm down or depressed, I take a trip out to the waterfront to calm down and find strength and support (when I don't feel like talking it out with my mama); when I'm calm and serene the ocean is a natural place that I turn to in order to discover new things or just be at peace. I think it's the natural, tumultuous nature of the place that appeals to me.

In winds and storms the waves swell and crash, beating against the shore relentlessly. This beating when you're upset can be sobering and soothing; it's as if nature is sympathizing with you and is beating back your problems, making them seem less dire. The wild nature of the waves ans stir emotions and calm them back down. If that doesn't work, you can picture yourself as the rocks along the coast.

The ocean is like the world surrounding you, and you are the shore. Ever so slowly the world beats you down, but it never succeeds in totally obliterating you. You hold strong and persevere, pushing through adversity and differences, each time emerging as something new. The world may beat away at you, but more than that it reshapes you just as the ocean reshapes the rocks along the shore.

On the flip side, the ocean is a place of peace and discovery when you are calm or light-hearted. There's always something changing or something new occurring. Whether is be the waves lapping against the shore or the critters hiding on the beach, there is always something new; something changes, something moves, and the entire picture is changed.

These two outlooks are only from the shores of the beach though; imagine what it's like out on the water itself. Not on some magnificent cruise liner where you can barely tell you're on the water, but on a calm day in the average vessel. Imagine getting far enough out to sea that all you can see is water. Water and sky are the only things surrounding you and you stop, turning off the motor and the stereo.

As the boat drifts in the tide you notice more than you ever thought possible in what some people have described as a "bland view". The rhythm of the water as it sloshes around your boat lulls you into serenity, and as you gaze at the water you notice not only the life forms below the surface, going about their daily routines, but the liveliness of the water itself. The fluidity captures your interest and soon you are lost in the colours, watching to see the water shift from one hue of blue to the next and noticing the amount of green in the water. You notice how the light reflects off the water, giving it more of a shining appearance, and curious you set your hand or feet into the water.

The cold temperature at first shocks you and you are tempted to pull out, but you don't. You persevere, noticing the ripples around your appendage and how they slowly meld with the waves until it looks like both the ripples and your appendage were always there. Slowly you realize that the water doesn't feel as cold anymore, and that it is instead rather soothing. You begin to drift off into thought now, slowly trailing your appendage in the water, and when you return to the marina at the end of the day you feel peaceful and calm. You feel as if you have left all of your problems out on the ocean and have carried the serenity and strength of the ocean home with you in their place.

***

This, I think, is why I'm having a hard time imagining living without the ocean; it's a place to think and be free, but it's also a hub of activity free from too much human influence. Some people will argue that a lake is just as good, but I disagree (I'm lucky.. I live within driving distance, or walking if I have hours, of both a lake and the ocean). Lakes are too contained; they are surrounded by homes and parks quite often, and can become over-populated with boats and swimmers. The magnitude of the ocean prevents it from feeling as cluttered as a lake, and its beaches seem to be more wild. Lakes aren't as tumultuous as the ocean in storms, and they will never hold that distinct ocean smell. No, I can't imagine living years without the ocean, but I'm definitely willing to give it a try for the summer!

[Also, sorry this is so long but I was sitting by the water writing in the sunshine earlier today and really liked this so I thought I'd share :)]