Susan's Thoughts

Thank you for the music....

2008-06-11T01:09:00.007-06:00

I was really going to go to bed, but I can't get that song out of my head.

Well, another item has been scratched off my musical to-do list... and been re-added.

I finally saw Rajaton in concert tonight (click on "English" in the upper left or else the site will make no sense - unless you speak Finnish). If you haven't heard of them, check the site out. I've always been familiar with their acapella music, and admittedly, when I heard their Edmonton concert would be music from their ABBA album instead of the previous acapella stuff, I was a small bit disappointed. But wow, what a night! The Edmonton Symphony was their accompaniment, and the group was so energetic that it was impossible not to be swept up in it. They even did a couple of acapella pieces: "Fernando" and "Head over Heels" (which I didn't know before, but was awesome). At the CD table, I picked up their ABBA disc and one I wasn't aware of: a sacred music CD. It's a combination of Finnish, English, Latin and one Irish piece. It's got all kinds of influences in it. Also a very recommended listen for anyone who likes relaxing music, world music, sacred music in general... anyone who truly loves music, really. Toward the end of the show, one of the guys in the group thanked everyone for coming, and announced they would return in October to do a concert from their new Queen album and that tickets would be going on sale tomorrow. I arrived home an hour later to find out that the pre-sale had started during the concert that night and tickets were already going! So I am indeed going to see Rajaton again in October. I have a feeling that every time I see them, I'll be scratching it from the to-do list and putting it right back on there again. I'm glad Jason enjoyed himself as well (even though it seems he took the ABBA CD with him when he left the apartment to go home), because this group is really becoming something we can enjoy together!

I have received a new book which I have not yet started to read (The Shack), but am looking forward to as soon as I get a few spare minutes! Speaking of looking forward to things, I have my wedding shower coming up tomorrow evening, so I don't know what that will bring, but it should be fun!

Oh, and yes: Heather was right. The song was Mr. Bass Man. Many road trips were driven listening to that song.

I'll finish off with an amusing picture I saw in the city. I think it celebrates Canadian-ness in some odd way. Hopefully you can read what is written on the sign. I haven't been as much on the lookout for funny signs, but I'm going to change that, I hope.

So I say
Thank you for the music; the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

2008-05-01T23:09:00.004-06:00

While I was at work today, I had a very special delivery which I hope the sender won't mind if I share with you. While I was on the phone, someone walked in saying "I'm looking for Susan", at which point I received this beautiful gift:

I then had practically every person who saw the gift on my desk marvel at how lucky I was to find someone who thinks of me so often, to which I replied "I already know!" haha. Jason will be getting home from Calgary tomorrow, after being gone for over a week, and it will be wonderful to have him back.

After work today, I headed to Kingsway. Most of my trips to Kingsway Mall end in absolute frustration, mostly because I can never find my way out of the mall. The Bay is sort of a peninsula, so every exit goes "out", but discovering which one leads to the bus station can be a longer adventure than it needs to be. On more than one occasion , I have gotten trapped in The Bay's hat section, and so yet again, another trip to Kingsway ends in a new hat for me. Check it out!
Either my head has shrunk or they've started making hats in bigger sizes, because I never used to be able to wear hats. They'd always kind of sit awkwardly on the top of my head, ready to fall off with the slightest breeze.

I was actually looking for a sun hat of some sort, but this was too much fun to pass up. The sun hat will have to wait until later.

I imagine I should get some sleep in before the morning smacks me in the face, so I'll say good night here.

2008-04-30T21:51:00.002-06:00

Yesterday morning I had two thoughts I'll never have again:

1) Not having a cell phone is kind of liberating!

2) I'm going to be environmentally friendly and take the bus to band practice!

I used the internet to map out my route to the church last night, printed it out and left. While waiting for my transfer route downtown, I began to wonder why my bus was taking so long. Assuming I had missed the run that my printout had told me to take, I waited for the next bus of that route. After another few minutes, and lacking any cell phone to call BusLink and find out, I asked the next bus driver how often my route came. He seemed angry that I was daring to walk onto his bus without any intention of sitting down, and gruffly told me that it was an hourly route.

I wasn't happy with this, but decided to wait the now-remaining 35 minutes until the bus would have shown up again. 40 minutes passed and I asked the driver of the next bus I saw if she knew of any problems with my route. Apparently it stopped running downtown hours ago. I showed her my printout, and it was not to worry. With the little time remaining on my transfer, I was assured that I could catch a route 4 in front of the library. Seems odd to me, as I could have sworn I'd been on route 4 before and it doesn't touch downtown, but I'm not the transit driver who just checked her official-looking schedule book. Off I go! I got to the library to discover that perhaps my bus driver didn't know a 4 from a hole in the ground. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and decided that maybe it was the next stop up that she was thinking about. Nope. It's the hole in the ground theory. Remembering from my "transfer to Sherwood Park" days that the 112 stops at the Telus plaza, I ran there to discover that the 112 stops running at 6:30. At this point I decided my next major bus hub may be the Shaw Conference Centre. After this turned out to yield no routes that helped me in any way, shape or form I decided to walk to the Temple. After all, I've walked from downtown to that area before. How hard could it be? Plus, it was still light out! It must be plenty early.

Yep, I forgot about how late it stays light AND how quickly it gets dark once it sets in. Also, it started to rain. So I panicked and started to take shortcuts, which turned into long cuts. Man, there are some sketchy neighbourhoods close to some nice neighbourhoods here. Eventually my only thought was "let me get to the Temple before band practice finishes so someone can take me home", which did happen.

So that was last night. I wanted to go to bed and not wake up for weeks.

Topic #2: Good Day at Work

Today we had our monthly staff celebration, and the theme this month was "Sixties Music Celebration". Anyone who knows me knows that for this type of event, if you put me in charge of the music, I will ask for nothing else. So I got to go through my computer and dig up all of my favourite 60s music. Good deal. The best part was looking around the room today and seeing people who grew up in that decade swaying their heads and singing along. But who can resist singing along when "Daydream Believer" is on the playlist? When the whole thing accidentally turned into a hula-hoop contest, everybody had a blast.

Heather & Paul, guess which semi-obscure 60s song I included just because I could? Hint: car rides when we were very young.....

So Heather, when I'm putting together music for your reception, have no worries. Susan can musically stir up a crowd :) Or not stir up. Whatever works for the occasion.

2008-04-12T09:43:00.002-06:00

With a rare non-holiday weekday off yesterday, Jason and I headed to West Edmonton Mall yesterday. Every time I see that bungee jump, I want to try it a bit more.

I thought of Heather as I saw something amusing at HMV. There was a copy of Grease for $20. Right next to it was the exact same copy of Grease, packaged together with Grease 2, except the price was $15 for the pack. How bad is a movie when you have to give people discounts on other movies just to take it off your hands?

As the apartment continues to come together, I am getting rid of more and more boxes. Eventually there will be enough boxes gone to take some decent pictures.

I was looking at pianos yesterday! Exciting. I'll obviously start with a digital model, as apartment buildings kind of demand some sort of control over the noise coming out of each unit, but it's still exciting nonetheless.

At work, things had been extremely high-paced and stressful for a while because of an accreditation that we had coming up, but now that it's over, things have gotten mostly back to normal and I'll hopefully be able to start enjoying weekends again. I miss taking pictures of silly signs and things like that.

Well, I must get on with my morning.

2008-03-27T00:21:00.006-06:00

Well, hello, everybody! It's nice to blog. I admit I haven't been that great at doing it regularly, but as I find myself unable to sleep, here I am. The apartment is coming together, and as soon as I can get rid of the remaining boxes, I will take pictures and post them so you can all marvel at my wonderful decorating scheme! It's not as funky as I'd like, but it will get there (hopefully!). I had to go to IKEA today - for work purposes - (what a job, eh?) and I saw my favourite couch in the world. It's been there for a while, and I'm willing to bet that as soon as I can convince Jason that it's wonderful enough to buy, it will be discontinued. I don't know why I like it so much. Maybe I'm just mesmerized by stripes.

What do you think? I think it's great.

I also think posting pictures on Blogger hasn't gotten any easier than the last time I tried to post one.

For those of you who are wondering about wedding plans, things are going okay-ish. I feel incredibly stressed out about it almost every time I think about it, because I am trying to do things from so far away, so roadblocks get a little bit harder to get past.

The weather here is very nice. I do enjoy it when I can walk places instead of driving, or just walk for pleasure for that matter.

I live close enough to Rexall to walk to hockey games in nice weather, but nice weather hockey games and the Oilers..... it doesn't seem like it's going to be a good fit at the moment.

Maybe next year.

2008-03-07T19:01:00.002-07:00

Well, I'm living in yet another new place. This one should be a keeper, though. I'm living in the apartment that Jason and I will share after we're married. Pictures will come when the place is a little more set up than it is right now.

What else is new? I'm heading to Moose Jaw early tomorrow morning with an ensemble from the band. It's that corps' 120th anniversary, so they've requested some musical support.

Wedding plans are coming along nicely. We have musicians, an officiant, a photographer, and a caterer booked (caterer is almost booked, actually. not quite sure on that one). The decorations might kill me. I'm not a crafty person by nature, but I'm not sure if I want the elaborate-ness (not a word, I'm sure) of a professional decorator. I guess that decision has to be made very soon.

I would like to say more, but as my ride to the airport will be arriving at 4:45 AM, I should do some more tidying before I sleep.

I will try to update again soon.

2008-01-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's been far too long since I updated this, but if you tried to use my laptop, you'd understand.

For anyone who hasn't heard, Jason and I are now engaged and are getting married on August 23rd in Grand Falls. Original plans said Ontario, but logistics really didn't allow that to happen.

I don't know how often I'll be able to update this before I get a new computer, because on any given day, it's anyone's guess as to whether or not my computer will allow me to post anything without a huge fuss.

So, please keep checking my blog a little bit, and you may get a little glimpse into some wedding plans (when the computer wants to post, that is)!

2007-09-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

I do fully intend to continue blogging, but I just haven't had time. I will find time, though, because I do rather like blogging.

Here are two things you'll hopefully find amusing. The first is a picture taken in a local grocery store. I'm guessing that the person who handles this display either doesn't have or doesn't like children.

I'll keep looking for odd things to post on here, and keep you updated on what's happening with me. I went to the waterpark at the mall yesterday, where we learned that 6 people should not attempt staying linked together and staying glued to one spot while the wave pool is going. It just doesn't work.

For all who have been wondering whether I will be back in Newfoundland for Christmas, I still don't know. It's looking really expensive at this point, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to stumble upon some sort of charter flight (given the number of Newfoundlanders who are working here without their families, I'm guessing there are flights out there).

I leave you with a little chuckle from youtube:

What's a blog again??

2007-08-22T23:13:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the insanely long time between posts. I was out of town for a week, and while I know that doesn't account for the other three weeks of not posting anything, you're going to have to accept that I just didn't have much to say.

To sum up:

Camera: Was stolen while I was at City Centre over a month ago , eventually caved and bought a new one. Have taken plenty of new pictures, but posting them on blogger takes much more patience than I am able to muster at the moment.
Music Camp: Was awesome. Absolutely exhausting beyond anything I've done in years, but absolutely worth it.
Work: Still going well. Pretty much all I can say there.

The last item deserves much more than a bullet point. It's something most people reading this likely already know, but I'll mention it anyway. I have found a wonderful boyfriend named Jason. We've been going out for over a month now, and if you'd like to find out more about him, his blog is somewhere on the left side of my screen (I sound kind of like a commercial). I've been getting pointed questions on my blog about why I'm never home any more, so I thought I'd answer them.

When I get a few minutes where I have enough patience to post pictures on here (if you've never tried, you can't believe how frustrating it is), I'll stick up some camp/random pictures from since I bought the new camera. In the meantime, they're on Facebook if you're on there and want to see them.

That'll be all for now. I'm still catching up on camp sleep (there's an oxymoron for you), so I should get to bed ASAP.

2007-07-23T23:03:00.000-06:00

I was going to steal some pictures from other people and do an actual post, but the TV keeps going funny and the lights keep flickering, so I'm concerned that I may lose power sometime in the next few minutes.

I am still alive and intending to update my blog, but when I don't have a camera I find I run out of interesting things to say. And to answer Tammy, yes, I do know where it was taken from, but there was no way to find out who took it. I'm sure it wound up in a pawn shop somewhere.

In a nutshell, here's what's new:
-got my camp assignments, have to try to remember how to teach absolute beginner instrumentalists
-been to the 2nd half of a FIFA U20 soccer game
-helped serve food to people at that major fire here last weekend
-I'm never home
-saw Mamma Mia! last night(Mom, please send the ABBA record to me, as I now have a turntable)

The thunderstorm is making me a bit nervous electronics-wise, so I'll end here and try to post something sometime in the very near future (I promise!).

2007-07-15T07:51:00.001-06:00

I realize it's been over a week since anything new went on here, and I'm still trying to post as often as I can, but seeing as most of what I post is pictures, I'm kind of lost since my camera got stolen. Don't worry, I'll eventually get a new one and then you'll all ~~be subjected to~~ get to enjoy the way I see things once again.

Things have been extremely busy for me here, and it seems my apartment has become a place where I only sleep, wash, and check my email. Music camp is coming up next month, so I'm looking forward to getting my assignment for that. I've been told that I'm down to accompany, so I have to find a place to practice pretty soon.

Hope you all have a good day!

Canada Day Weekend!

2007-07-03T22:35:00.000-06:00

Again with the proud Newfoundlanders coming out of the West Edmonton Mall!!

Is this car cool or just funny-looking? You be the judge.

Steph and me hanging out at Ian's. Normally I don't see Steph as having an incredibly dark complexion, but it helps when you're sitting next to Pasty Sue.

And it's the obligatory "unusual animal" picture. A kangaroo? In Sherwood Park? Yep.

Fountain in Sherwood Park.

When people say they want to have their ducks in a row, I don't think this is what they mean. I guess the ducklings were impatient!

A blurry picture of some weird elephant statue downtown, but that's not the cool part. This is 10:30 at night. Take that, early darkness in Newfoundland!

The legislature at night (blurry again, but that's my own fault for taking pictures while walking).

A quick post before work

2007-06-28T07:04:00.001-06:00

I know what you're all thinking each time you read my blog: "Susan, don't you have something better to do?" The answer is "no".

For those of you who have wondered: "Susan, your blog title seems to be lacking a crucial verb. What's up with that?", I offer this:

If you saw this gem in a dollar store, wouldn't you buy it, just for a few laughs?

It's been a bit of an overwhelming week (for no real reason, really), so I'd like it if you could just say an itty-bitty prayer that I'll make it to the weekend still intact :)

2007-06-19T21:54:00.000-06:00

There's not much to say right now, I just have one amusing story and one amusing video. (my camera ran out of batteries and then the batteries I bought for it were all dead)

I'll tell the story in the form of a play.

The cafeteria at Susan's work, lunchtime a few days ago.....

Susan has just taken a salad and is looking at the main course

Susan: What's that?

Colette (food service worker): Cheese perogies

Susan: Oh, that's a perogy!

Entire room lets out a horrified gasp!!! (not kidding)

Steph (food service worker): You've never had perogies??

Susan/Steph (same time): I'm from Newfoundland!/Right, you're from Newfoundland!!
_____________________________________________

So for about the next three days I had people coming up to me asking me what I thought of my first perogies. It was amusing. It kind of reminded me of the commercials for Pace piquante salsa "This stuff's made in New York City!" "New York City!!?!?"

Funny story over. Here's the amusing video. You won't find this amusing unless you're Salvation Army, although I'm guessing that the SA makes up a large portion of people reading this.

I dare you not to laugh while watching this.

I bet that right now you're thinking "Oh, does that ever remind me of (insert various names here)". There's one in every corps :)

A few pictures

2007-06-11T22:49:00.001-06:00

But none of the apartment. Sorry, you're not getting that luxury until I get a bit more furniture. I have a good lead on a couch which is currently sitting just a couple of streets away from me. I just have to find someone with a pickup truck, which I understand can be a problem, as pickup trucks aren't that popular in Alberta.

This one's for Heather. I'm not sure why this machine exists, seeing as anyone who is small enough to fit in this rooster-plane is way too young to remember the Muppet Babies. But nonetheless Southgate Mall has placed this confusing ride in their building. And now I have the theme song stuck in my head, so I'll move on.

when your room looks kind of weird.......

So, while at the West Edmonton Mall I discovered an awesome store called Le Gnome. It's brightly coloured and highly priced. So I think I'll save up for one awesome item from that store. I don't know what it's going to be, but I definitely don't think it's going to be this poor guy. Seriously, who designed this thing? I'm thinking either a ninja or a really bitter and angry feminist.

....and you wish that you weren't there.....

Also at the West Edmonton Mall, I walked past a whole bunch of film sets for Christmas in Wonderland. It's becoming more confusing to go there, as the closer we're getting to officially hitting summer, the more fake snow and Christmas decorations are going up inside. But this caught my eye and I thought to myself: if I watch this movie and there are actors playing the role of a Salvation Army Band, I'm suing the producers for misrepresentation. After all, the movie actually is set in Edmonton, and we are the only band in town ( I think....Castledowns doesn't have a band, right?).

Just close your eyes and make believe......

And then a goat just wandered out of the petting zoo and started walking around. Unfortunately my camera only has red-eye reduction. Not blue-ish eye reduction. I guess the good people at Canon didn't anticipate moments like this. I can't really imagine someone at one of their brainstorming meetings saying "but suppose a goat gets loose in a mall some time".

....and you could be anywhere......

And this is for Heather again. Sorry about the blue-eye, but I don't work for Canon. I just push the button (that opens the shutter that makes the flash that creates the pictures that go on the blog that Susan built).

I like adventure, I like romance (someone please help get that song out of my head)

And finally as we were pulling out of the mall, we wound up behind these guys, and as we hit the freeway, we went east and they went west, prompting me to say "No! Your home is that way!!"

Yeah....so, pictures of the apartment will be up as soon as I get more furniture. Until then, remember me as the girl who, despite the fact that she's in her mid-20s, can still sing the theme song to Muppet Babies without a hitch. Impressive or depressing? You be the judge.

2007-06-06T22:52:00.000-06:00

Look at me, it's been almost a week since I posted anything! I'm terrible, I know.

I have some more pictures that I intend to post, but they'll have to wait until I have some time on my hands.

Work is going incredibly well. I'm giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "other duties as assigned". For instance, this morning I had to play the piano at a memorial service, and I've already been told that I may be called in as an extra for Cranium sometime, and that I will definitely be needed to teach the residents how to play Outburst in the very near future(as Mjr Elaine has never played it before). Who knew the title "board game queen" would actually come in handy sometime?

Speaking of board games, when I was at West Ed on Saturday, I wandered into the games store and found an opened box of the game "Things". I picked up a few of the cards and started reading them, and they said stuff like "Things you wish you could buy in a vending machine" and "Things you shouldn't do during a job interview". I pictured the types of answers that could have come up if we'd gotten these cards during our "Things" night a while back, and started to laugh so much that I had to leave the store before people thought I was crazy. I'm looking forward to being able to host a board game night once I get enough furniture :)

I'll leave you with a funny quote from work the other day. A guy who works down the hall from me was coming out of a room, and I heard him sneeze. I called out to him "whatever you've got, don't give it to me!" Without missing a beat, he replied "Fine then. I won't give you Jesus, I won't give you sobriety, and I won't give you joy and pleasure!" It was so much the opposite of what I was thinking that I just had to start laughing and commend him for his sharpness before getting back to my work.

In the meantime, I have been sneezing pretty much since that day, so I'm assuming the request I was actually making got ignored.

Random pictures

2007-05-31T18:00:00.000-06:00

These are just some random shots I took while murdering my feet. I mean getting my Alberta Health card/drivers license. I was at the office and I knew I was going to be gone for a couple of hours, so what did I do? I consciously left my sneakers under my desk while leaving for my trek wearing three-inch heels. Yeah, I'm brilliant. You don't need to remind me. The pain wouldn't have been that bad if I'd been able to relax the next day, but that next morning was the march in St. Albert, after which my shoes refused to go back onto my feet. I couldn't physically wear them until Sunday evening, where it took every bit of concentration to walk across the platform and not either fall or look like I had a terrible limp. They're still not totally healed, but I can deal.

Wow, that story was longer and more pointless than I thought! New record!

Anyway......
I can't remember what these statues are doing, but I believe this is the Citadel Theatre (correct me if I'm wrong)

This is overlooking some sort of nice garden-y place downtown. I can't remember if there are cafe tables in there or not.

Is this a dog? Whatever it is, it looks pretty interesting.
This is a nice outdoor cafe. I'd have checked it out if I hadn't been pressed to get back to work.

Why does this federal government get a fountain when the one in Grand Falls doesn't even have visitor parking?

This is the passport line!! Why would you even bother???

Oh yeah. Expect to see me in that line next week :)

Another day, another post....

2007-05-27T16:38:00.001-06:00

I'm still putting together the apartment. Here's my phone:

How cool is that? I saw another one that looked cool online, but when I got to the store to see it, it turned out to be really tiny. It might work as a novelty phone for a 5 or 6-year-old, but not for an adult-sized head. I'm happy with what I found.

And how awesome are these pots? I was about to dismiss these as way too expensive, but then I saw a giant 50% off tag and picked them up.

This is a sign that is at the corps in St. Albert, where I went to march in a parade with the band on Saturday (check Chrissy & Brian's blog for photos - Chrissy was busy on the sidelines with the camera and she will post them soon). I just got a kick out of this sign, so I took a picture.

All of us in Al's vehicle had the same reaction to this sign outside the Sobeys in St. Albert: "Vintage Watermelon?!?"

I was thinking I'd post some pictures from my "Becoming an official Albertan" excursion on Friday (which my feet are still crying from), but I'm running out of time. I have to leave for the musicale in about 20 minutes. I'll get on that later.

The beginnings of furnishing the apartment

2007-05-23T06:03:00.000-06:00

Here's what I have put into my apartment so far. I'm picking up a wall unit/chair sometime this week, and I have a lead on a couch that will fit the theme PERFECTLY!

And I saw this box in Ikea and it made me laugh. Apparently I'm still a teenager, and one who's easily amused at that. It made me think of the Corner Gas episode with the coffee mugs where Brent decides he wants to be called "Corner G".

Well, I'm off to get ready for work. Have a good day, everybody!

Is anybody even reading this anymore, or has everybody totally switched over to Facebook?

2007-05-19T15:46:00.000-06:00

In any event, I'll continue to post.

First of all, I want everyone to know my art skills are still as sharp as they ever were. I went to Montana's for supper last night, and they have the crayons and stuff on the table. I saw this picture on the wall and decided to re-create it.

Mine wound up looking like this. I call it "Hideous Scarewrow rides deformed horse".

Second, the new job is awesome. Did I say that already? If I did, then I'll say it again. It's awesome. Nothing new to add to that.

Thirdly, I got the keys to my apartment today. As it happens, the landlord is looking to get rid of a bed, so she's actually giving it to me to move down into my room. Also, she has a computer desk she was going to sell at a garage sale, but she offered it to me, so that's one less thing I have to get. Now, I don't plan on keeping either item for very long, because the computer desk really doesn't fit with my planned theme, and the bed is only a single, which I absolutely can't deal with (I like to be able to stretch), but the fact that I have those things mean I'll be able to actually start living there sooner than expected. I went to IKEA today to look at a few things, trying to figure out how to make the whole thing 70s-ish. I nearly started to hyperventilate when I saw all the different fabrics. I got lost on the way out of the store, so I took a bunch of pictures of things that jumped out at me. Let me know what you think (the 3 of you who are actually still reading this and haven't totally abandoned the blog yet). There were some awesome things upstairs, but there was no way I was going back up there to get pictures. I'd never find my way out of the place. I'd probably still be there now.

Oh yeah, scroll down to the bottom for an urgent request.

Does anybody know how to post these pictures in a way that DOESN'T make you want to pull your hair out by its ends? I'm sick of trying to put a picture where I want, only to discover that blogger has once again put it at the very BEGINNING of my entry, and on top of that, they've inserted dozens of unnecessary spaces everywhere. If you know how to do this, please tell me, because I'm sick of having such a hard time with this.

Anyway, have a good long weekend, everybody!

2007-05-18T06:39:00.000-06:00

I don't actually have anything to post other than a happy realization: I really live here now. For the first little while that I was here, I'm sure I must have been "that girl who sits with Dana in church". Now I'm gaining my own identity (whatever that is). I'm feeling that people are seeing me as me, and not as a unit of somebody else. I said that to Dana last night, and she said it's amazing how quickly I'm assimilating here, because it takes most people about a year to feel as comfortable as I do now. Somebody said something to me yesterday about how the Lord really wanted me to find that apartment, because with the housing crisis here, that really shouldn't have logically happened. And that made me think. The way everything has been just falling into my lap lately is making me wonder exactly why I'm here. I've felt a pushing toward Edmonton for as long as I can remember, and now that I'm here I'm loving it and feeling like I've been here for a lifetime, but I'm still unsure of the purpose. I assume it will all become clear with some time.

Anyway, I'm off to work. I'm looking forward to moving in so I can get some extra sleep in the morning. I'll post some pictures when I can find something amusing/nice enough.

New Apartment!

2007-05-15T06:02:00.000-06:00

As of last night, I have managed to find an apartment that is unbelievably affordable, spacious, and in a good neighbourhood. And on the same day as starting an awesome new job! Can you believe it?

Now, the type of walls down there are panels, which is screaming one thing at me: funky 70s theme. Which I have always wanted to do :)

Expect pictures when I'm done with my decorating!

2007-05-09T13:39:00.000-06:00

Since there's nothing really new since I last posted, I'll just post a couple of random pictures/random facts. I figure that my blog is allowed to be educational/entertaining if it wants to be. It would please me to know that people were learning things from my blog. Or having a laugh from it (even if the laugh is occasionally at my own expense).

I was reading an article about the top 5 family dogs, and coming in at number 2 was (drumroll) the collie!

Do any other dog owners feel the same way about your dog breed as I do? Whenever I see a collie, I feel like I know the dog already. It's funny. I showed Megan some pictures of Prince (pictured left) and now she keeps drawing me pictures of him because she doesn't want me to forget him. 5-year-olds are cute :) She said that when I have my own house, I have to get a collie so she can come and play with him. I think she picked out a name for my future dog, but I can't remember what it is.

*Photo credit: Aunt Glenda....or Dayna...or maybe Tammy....I'm really not sure*

Random fact: did you know that the word "Mayday" is directly taken from the French language? True. French sailors, when in distress, would call for help "m'aidez!!" This really clears things up for me. I always thought "mayday" was a bit of a weird thing to yell when you were in trouble. I learned this from a book I'm currently reading on the history and evolution of the English language. It's actually really fascinating.

Next I'd like to find out why people yell "Geronimo!" when they jump out of planes. Yes, I am that boring. Or maybe my boringness is what makes me interesting. Either way, I am what I am.

Check it out....I got really close to a goose and didn't freak out!

Or.....maybe I just used my zoom lens.

I love this sign. I don't know if the missing letter just fell off, or if some really bored comic book fan stole it, but it cracks me up when I pass it on the bus every day.

The clear blue sky as seen from downtown Edmonton (obviously not taken today).

That's it. If you're reading this and are bored with it, tell me how I can entertain you better (bad grammar). Or, if you're up for it, ask me some ridiculous question you think nobody knows the answer to, and I'll either find the answer or make one up! That'd be fun. Yeah, someone should take me up on that.

2007-05-06T13:31:00.000-06:00

So, what's new with everyone reading this?

Me, I have accepted a new job. It's kind of up to me when I start, but I'm going to be working with the Addictions branch of the Salvation Army. I'm still on the apartment hunt, but now that I'm working in a different area, I have to refocus the search.

That's pretty much all I have to say, but I'll post some pictures of the clothing I acquired from the dinner & auction at the corps last night.

Salvation Army fleece

Old army T-Shirt

Me wearing the shirt

I don't know why I find this so funny, but I do

2007-05-02T12:11:00.000-06:00

I've stumbled upon an interesting little town on the other side of the world.

Broken Hill, Australia must not have had very much time to think about their street names. For one thing, there's a large section of town where the streets are in parallel "lane/street" pairs (e.g. Smith Lane, then Smith Street one block south). One of these pairs is Lane Lane and Lane Street. Honestly. There are a bunch of streets that are named for various gems, which is nice (apparently there's some sort of quarry near there). But this is my favourite part: wouldn't you want to live on one of these lovely avenues?

-Cobalt Street
-Talc Street
-Mercury Street
-Graphite Street
-Bromide Street
-Sulphide Street
-Chloride Street
-Iodide Street
-Carbon Street
-Oxide Street
-Boron Street

This is for real. I wouldn't be able to come up with something that lame if I tried.

Okay, I would be able to come up with something that lame, but I swear, I didn't.

2007-04-29T15:57:00.000-06:00

Not much is new here, but I'm trying to update more frequently, so I'm making this post more out of principle than anything else.

I'm attempting to round up a team for the cancer Relay for Life in May. If anyone reading this is in Edmonton and wants to join my team (assuming you know me, that is), drop me a comment or an email or a phone call or....you get the picture. And if anybody would like to sponsor me for said event, you can do the same (though you don't have to be in Edmonton to sponsor me).

My trombone playing is coming back gradually. Playing with the band here is an absolute hoot. It's like they don't care how big the band gets as long as everybody is putting in an honest effort and enjoying it. Our musicale next month is going to be in big-band style, so I'm really looking forward to it. I miss high school jazz band. It's the one thing I'd go back to high school for.

So....like I said, this is more out of principle than anything else, so I don't really have anything to say. So I'll end it here, but yes, I am trying to update more often, so expect to see something else soon.

2007-04-25T11:53:00.000-06:00

A little while back, I told Paul that he had to move to Edmonton. He told me to write him an essay on why he had to move here. I said that sounded ridiculous, but not ridiculous enough for me. So what I decided to do instead was make him a movie. The movie has been posted, but here's how it's working:

I had a request to put some kind of privacy controls on the video, so I've set up a separate blog (also on my profile) for this and any other things like this that might pop up in the future that I wouldn't necessarily want floating around all over the internet. It'll be invitation-only, so I'll start putting together the invites and stuff today.

I could have just made the whole blog invite-only, but I like the idea of getting anonymous comments. It makes me feel special.

And yes, this is the super-cool fun thing I promised would be coming to my blog. If it's not cool enough for you, that's not my problem. :P

Other blog: donttoocrazyproductions.blogspot.com

I'm at work and things are a little bit slow......

2007-04-23T11:35:00.000-06:00

.......but seeing as I always have my camera with me, I'll upload a few recent pictures from around the area.

You can try to leave Newfoundland completely, but some things will just follow you to the ends of the earth.

Yes, there is a sea lion show in the mall. Why? I don't know.

Probably for the same reason that they have flamingos.

Okay, this one is just for Heather. I only remembered where it was as we were driving past it on Saturday, so I couldn't pose in front of it. And no, there is no music-related place across the street from it. That would be too perfect.

This sign has looked like this for weeks ( I pass it on the way to work every day, and it's not far from the church). It just cracks me up because it looks like a bowl of alphabet soup.

Look for something fun and exciting to be coming to my blog very soon! I'm not kidding or making stuff up to trick people into reading this! In a few days, there will be something really amusing posted on here. If you already know about it, mum's the word. :)

2007-04-14T10:46:00.000-06:00

Thank you for all the comments on the last post, they were most appreciated.

I had an interesting conversation with my boss yesterday. He was asking me which church I attended (I had mentioned playing in a church band) and I said the Salvation Army. His response: "The Salvation Army? They have a church?" I was kind of dumbfounded, but replied that we are both a social charity and a church. The next question: "So what denomination are they associated with?" Again, I'm sort of confused, but manage to tell him that we are our own denomination.

I guess it is true what I've heard, that it's only in Newfoundland that we're considered to be as big a church as the United and Anglican.

I just found it kind of strange.

2007-04-05T21:49:00.000-06:00

This post pretty much serves no purpose other than to show Mom the picture I promised I'd take. As a side note to the picture, on Sunday I had no choice but to wear my old uniform for my first Sunday playing with the band, and I looked like a giant moving tent.

Anyway, this is what I look like. Strike up the band.

There's something I'm trying to post that's on my laptop, but I need to find some CDRWs or a memory stick or something, as I don't trust that computer on the internet (no virus protection any more and all that).

Guess where I went tonight?

2007-03-21T22:46:00.000-06:00

Here comes the oil rig thing - whatever it's called!

The warmup begins!

Hooray! They had the playoff anthem guy from last year!

Kind of blurry Dwayne Roloson

Really blurry Joe Sakic. He wouldn't stay still long enough for a decent picture.

Random play.

Random bench shot.

Shot of the stadium from my seat.

Seriously good seats, hey? Courtesy of the bandmaster here :)
He's on a mission trip to Mexico and offered us his seats for the night. And we're closer to the ice than that shot makes it look.

After getting scored on a few times, Dwayne Roloson became Jussi Markkanen.

The crowd cheers when the Oilers score!

The fight isn't the cool part of this picture.. the cool part is that I was able to get this shot from the other end of the ice.

Shawn Horcoff and whoever number 2 is.

Not bad for my first NHL game, hey?

I'm digital!

2007-03-17T22:01:00.000-06:00

After a few years of putting strange marks in the same place on all my pictures, I decided it was time to retire the old-school film Canon. Tonight at the West Edmonton Mall, I became the proud owner of a new Canon Powershot A460.

It takes nice pictures, see?

Okay, so that's just me looking a little bit tired after a long day, but I swear, the pictures are normally good.

Mom was the one to point out my lack of blogginess lately (yeah, it's not a word, sue me), so that must really mean something, since I didn't really know Mom read blogs (other than when one of us told her to).

Anyway, here's a small update: working, that's going okay. It's a pleasant job. It's a start, and a decent first job for just having moved across the country. I don't plan on building a career there, though.

I've been going to band practice here, which is great, because it lets me meet a few more people. Playing the trombone is hard when you've been off it for a few years. I find it hard to play above a D now! eek!

Paul reminded me today that the music festival starts tomorrow. Of course this would be the year when I have two friends who are adjudicators. I wish I could be there to see some of it, but hey, them's the breaks when you're on the other side of the country.

So, yes, I am still alive and well, and now have the ability to photograph things. There is so much signage to be posted and laughed at.

I have the weirdest interests.

2007-02-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

I've been getting lightly scolded for my lack of updates, so here's one.
I do have a job, which started last Wednesday. It's an admin/reception position with a home development company here in Edmonton. However, I still have no social life, which is preventing me from having anything overly interesting happen, which keeps me from making updates (see, there is a reason for it).
That said, I have begun to meet some people, many of which have connections to people I know (most of which I'm related to). Edmonton Temple is friendly, so that's helpful. I went to Fuel last night (youth event), and despite the fact that I'm an old person trapped in a young body, I enjoyed myself.
As soon as I can get around to buying a digital camera (or buying film for my still-kicking old-school camera), I'll begin to post some pictures of life up here, but until then, you'll have to use your imaginations.

Can anybody interpret dreams?

2007-02-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

Because I just woke up out of a weird one. I was at the most messed up dinner party ever and wound up sitting between Britney Spears and Michael Bolton. Sheryl Crow was there too, but it got awkward when the trivia game that we were playing (that K-Fed wasn't good at) referenced Lance Armstrong.

I think the party was hosted by my high school music teacher, and every so often, somebody that I actually know in real life would sit at the table, but they didn't stay very long.

Maybe it was something I ate before bed.

2007-02-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

After a painful illness, my Nanny Thompson went to Heaven yesterday. Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers, as not all of us are able to return to Newfoundland for the funeral and burial.

2007-02-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, everybody.

I'm still finding things to be good here in Alberta. I've been for one job interview and hopefully more will come up soon. I have heard that one place here in Sherwood Park is going to start interviewing for some positions next week, so that's good.

What I am finding hard right now is being away from what's happening in Mount Pearl/St. John's (see Josh or Tammy's blogs). We're a close family, and I don't like the reality that this is the time when I can't be home. But at the same time, I'm glad that so many other family members are able to get together to support each other through this.

I suppose I should get back to sorting through online job ads, so I'll sign off here.

Again, everybody should visit me! It's awesome here, I promise :)

Adventures in Alberta

2007-01-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

In the past few days I've managed to see quite a lot of things. I've applied for a few jobs, but only within the past two days, so I'm not discouraged that I don't have anything yet. I've tried all kinds of new and wonderful foods (Middle Eastern, Mongolian, Vietnamese) that are delicious, and I've begun to find my way around a city that I really enjoy.

I'm finding the locals to be very friendly. Even with people in service-type jobs (cashiers, wait staff), you get the feeling that they'd probably be nice to you even if they weren't getting paid. Hopefully once I get a job I can actually get out and start to make some friends here.

Edmonton is a very pretty city at night, and I'm hoping to enjoy that prettiness while going to an Oilers game soon. I must buy myself a jersey or something to fit in with the crowd. I'd also like to go to Calgary to check out the ski resorts down that way.

Well, I can't think of much else to say, but I'll update with anything I think is interesting.

I have arrived!!!

2007-01-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Edmonton today, and at long last, this entry comes to you live from Sherwood Park.

Here's what I learned today:

1) Saskatchewan is definitely as flat as those "dog running away" jokes suggest.
2) Edmonton is exactly as flat as Saskatchewan.
3) The Montreal airport is pretty boring, especially when your flight is delayed two and a half hours for very vague.
4) The West Edmonton Mall is ri-hi-hi-diculously huge. I'm sure the amusement park there is large enough to hold the entire Exploits Valley Mall. Yeah, I said amusement park.

Bizarre story: As we began our descent into Edmonton, the flight attendant decided to tell us where the emergency exits were and that for our own safety we should read the safety guide. I commented to the man next to me that I now truly understood the word "unnerving".

While in the mall today, there were a lot of Flames fans (they're being hosted by the Oilers tonight), and I began to feel the spirit of that rivalry. It'll be fun to go to a game sometime(regular season, because if they make the playoffs, prices will soar).

I'm sure there's more that I'm trying to say, but since Wednesday I've only managed a total of 9 hours sleep (I'm not kidding), so I should probably sleep before this becomes incoherent.

Everybody should visit me!

2007-01-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

I really should be doing laundry/packing...or possibly sleeping (as it is 1:15 in the morning), but I'm not. Instead I'm doing online crossword puzzles and listening to the Oilers game (courtesy of NHL.com).

I'm looking for the help of any readers here. Wanda (one of our officers) has asked me if I can give her a list of " contemporary songs/choruses that are known and enjoyed by young people". I thought about it and realized that this time (and this time only), Shannon may be right: if the person who wrote it is still alive, I probably haven't heard of it.

So I ask you, the people who (unlike me) don't spend copious amounts of time making mixed CDs that could be called "70s Grooves", to help me out: give me the name of a song/chorus, and if possible, a link to a website where I can see the words/tabs. Or if you have even more time on your hands, you can email it to me. Thanks to everyone who can give me something :)

Oh, and don't anybody tell Shannon that I said he was right about something. It would somehow turn into the salmon thing, then the cardboard box thing, and all of a sudden it's summer 2001 all over again.

If my life was more interesting, I'm sure I'd have more to say

2007-01-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

But until that happens, I will continue to make occasional random updates just to keep people coming back until something interesting happens.

For those who are wondering, my flight to Edmonton has been booked, and in less than two weeks I will be there! I'll be heading to St. John's on the 19th and my flight goes out early the next morning. I understand that every single person I've ever met knows at least somebody in Edmonton, so there'll be plenty of new people to meet!

I would post a picture from New Years Eve, but I really couldn't find one that captured the essence of the evening without leaving scars on the retina, so instead I leave you with this warning:

Always mix this stuff with water! (or anything, really). Even if there are people in crazy costumes telling you it's a wonderful tradition! It really doesnt' taste that good. Seriously.

2006-12-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

I finally got my pictures developed from the weekend in St. John's, and as usual, my bad photography skills have come back to haunt me. I thought this one didn't turn out bad,but then I noticed that none of Dayna (except for her arm) actually made it into the shot.

I'm beginning to think I should take a course. Or read a "Photography for Dummies" book.

I did, however, come across this little gem which amused me a little bit (and which I had totally forgotten I'd taken). Enjoy!

Which one is Heather? I can't tell!

Maybe I shouldn't do these quizzes when I'm in such a stressful mood.....

2006-12-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

You Are Oscar the Grouch

Grumpy and grouchy, you aren't just pessimistic. You revel in your pessimism.

You are usually feeling: Unhappy. Unless it's rainy outside, and even then you know the foul weather won't last.

You are famous for: Being mean yet loveable. And you hate the loveable part.

How you life your life: As a slob. But it's not repelling as many people as you'd like!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

2006-11-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

This probably won't make any sense to 90% of you, so I apologize.

In preparation for our trip to St. John's next weekend:

I have a few ideas for our AME photo shoot:

1)Uniform. White T-Shirt and blue jeans sound okay?
2)Classic Album Covers: The only one I can think of is Abbey Road, but I'm sure there must be more we can do.
3)"Candid" shots that are obviously staged.

If you have ideas (pointing in Josh's direction), tell me and I'll write them all down, so we can keep them organized.

Looking forward to a fun-filled weekend.

Is anybody feeling nostalgic??

2006-10-10T20:20:00.000-06:00

When I started this blog, I surely intended to use it more than once a month, but I just can't think of anything worth saying. But today I have done that. They're not my words, but they'll words that should bring a smile to anyone who's ever attended camp (doesn't matter which one). If you read to the end of this collection of campfire songs and dare to say you don't miss those days, I'll never believe you. Enjoy :)

Camp fire's burning, camp fire's burning
Draw nearer, draw nearer,
In the gloaming, in the gloaming
Come sing and be merry

Father Abraham, had seven sons
Seven sons had Father Abraham
And they wouldn't laugh
And they wouldn't cry
All they did was go like this...

(Right Arm)
(Left Arm) etc....

I said boom!
I said boom chicka-boom!
I said booma-chicka-wocka-chicka-wocka-chicka-boom!
Uh huh!
Oh yeah!
One more time...
Underwater: sing with fingers dribbling against your lips
Loud: as loud as you can!
Slowly: as slow and drawn out as possible
Opera: sing in an opera voice

The window, the window
We'll throw you out the window
If you don't know a nursery rhyme
We'll throw you out the window!

There was a boy (na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and a girl(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
they drove a car(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
to the beach(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and it was hot(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
very hot(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
they went to swim(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
they jumped in(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and they swam out(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
further out(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
further still!!(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and there were SHARKS!!!!!(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
Papa shark(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
Mama shark(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
Baby shark(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
Grandma shark(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
They turned around(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
to swim back(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and they swam(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
faster still(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
it was no use(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
'cause there were SHARKS!(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
Papa ...

They took a leg(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
another leg(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and an arm(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
another arm(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
they took a head(na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
and all was red

and all was dead

there was no boy

and no girl

but there were SHARKS!!!Papa...

There ain't no flies on us!
There ain't no flies on us!
There may be flies on some of you guys,
But there ain't no flies on us!

Poor little bug on the wall
No one to love him at all
No one to wash his clothes, no one to tickle his toes
Poor little bug on the wall!

Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say...
Have you ever seen a moose kissing a goose?
Down by the bay!

A ding dong, dong, dong,
Dong-a-ding dong, dong, dong,
Dong-a-ding dong!

Leader: My momma don't wear no socks!
Everyone: A ding-dong!
Leader: I saw her when she took 'em off!
Everyone: A ding-dong!
Leader: She threw them on the bed
Everyone: A ding-dong!
Leader: Next morning my Dad was dead!

She threw them in the tree... the dog refused to pee
She threw them up towards heaven... brought down a 7-4-7
She threw them in the sky... Superman refused to fly
She threw them in the sink... poo-ee! What a stink!
She threw them at the door... thank God there ain't no more!

Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord kumbaya

Twillingate is awesome

2006-09-15T19:44:00.000-06:00

Stacy and I took a trip to Twillingate to visit Natalie last weekend. Now I fully understand how it's a top tourist place for central.

If my computer wasn't so dead set against me posting any more pictures (my cranky laptop, not Mom and Dad's nice friendly desktop), I'd show you the bat-cave(that was our opinion on what it was). But it is dead set against it, so I pose a question:

do you, the readers, know what a drong is? (I found out after I got back. My grandmother knows everything.)

Finally, a post!

2006-08-22T15:26:00.000-06:00

Well, since my computer is (still) being a little bit cranky about posting Natalie's national pictures, I offer some breaking news: after Christmas, it looks like I'll be packing up and moving to Alberta. Why? You go where the jobs are. And also, I think I need a change. I'm in a bit of a rut. After hearing both sides of this whole Calgary-Edmonton thing, I've decided Edmonton is the better fit for me (at this point in time). So if anyone who's been there has any advice they want to throw at me, go ahead. And I obviously don't mean for people to write things down on pieces of paper, then ball them up and chuck them at me..... so please don't do that.

Um...yeah...so...this has been a Sesame Street news flash.

Picture Pages! (But no Mortimer Ichabod Marker)

2006-07-29T17:24:00.000-06:00

Well, the other day Natalie posted a picture of National (at right), and we both said we should go through all our pictures and find the best ones.

I still don't know where most of my pictures are, and I'm convinced my scanner has some sort of disease, but for what it's worth, here are some semi-fun pictures.

The serious look on Scott Fasuyi's face has always made me label this the "Mod Squad" picture. It's a great enough picture, but getting to this great picture must have been a problem, judging by the photographic evidence.

There was when Jamie just messed everything up by sticking random cameras in front of my face.
And then there was when Natalie (evidently) lunged at the photo- grapher and tripped while doing it.

I'm sure I have other National pictures, but I'll be darned if I know where they are. So..... I give you two or three DYB-ish things.

Paul wears a hat! I assume this was taken just before the KISS concert.

Anticipating the craze of Canadian Idol, Natalie gets in some early practice, water bottle-style.

Finally, a group shot (though not a complete one) of the DYB girls (which apparently included Paul and Cal). Remember those days?

This was fun. I should photo-post more often.

Later!

2006-07-14T19:38:00.000-06:00

I'm just reminding everyone that I'm still alive, though my lack of posts may suggest otherwise.

This is a warning that tomorrow I may show up anywhere between here and Timbuktu. It's all a part of my "get out of here while Salmon Festival is going on" plan. Seriously,it's my least favourite time out of the whole year. Even more so than the week where you randomly run into road crews repainting the lines on the road. The town is like a circus, and the concert is rarely promising enough to spend $50 on.

So, in summary, I'm alive, apparently neurotic, and stingy. The end :)

And the winner of the shortest, most pointless quiz in the world is....

2006-06-20T15:07:00.000-06:00

....Natalie!

Yes, The Edison Twins, which went off the air when I was about three years old, was the show for which I had the theme song inexplicably stuck in my head. It's just as well that Natalie won, because the prize was a free afternoon with Hoverman (airfare to Toronto and bus fare to Jackson's Point not included). Oh, and Natalie, did you know that Jamie (third person who was there when Hoverman was discovered, for those who aren't already confused enough) is now in San Francisco? I was reading the Luminus magazine (or whatever it's called) and his picture was in there.

So, to sum up, I clearly have no life and I'm confusing. The end :)

2006-06-14T13:31:00.000-06:00

I get the strangest random songs stuck in my head. All day at work I had the theme song for (see image at left) rolling around up there. Why? I have no idea. There's no explanation.

Special prize for the first person to tell me what show that is without cheating.

I really have nothing to say other than work is going well and the Stanley Cup finals are not. I guess I just wanted to confirm that I am, indeed, still alive.

Lost in Translation

2006-05-31T19:29:00.000-06:00

After all these years of taking second language courses, I finally got to apply that knowledge the other day. Something that had to go to a food inspector came from a French guy, and apparently the government doesn't supply free translation services, so I gave it a shot. I didn't think so much of my French would come back to me, but it did. It wasn't easy, though, because the guy who wrote it seems like the Jessica Simpson of France when it comes to grammar and spelling. I didn't it was that much of a big deal that I was able to supply a workable translation, but people started telling me that if I were an official government employee I could be sponsored to go through some course which would qualify me as an official government translator. Something like that could be fun.

Now you must know that no two days are alike for an intern, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that just a couple of days after I spent a morning translating French gibberish I wound up spending an hour amusing a two-year-old with plush flowers. There is a completely legitimate reason why she was in the office, but it's just funny how my job description changes with the wind.

For my birthday, Heather gave me a copy of Angels and Demons, Dan Brown's other book, starring the same lead character from The Da Vinci Code. I haven' t started reading it yet, but I'll be sure to do it within the next few days and see how it stacks up to the other one.

The kids at junior band tonight were told that there's a trip to Edmonton in the works for next spring. I'm expecting that I'll be going as a chaperone, which I'm looking forward to (the trip part, not so much the chaperone part). I've never been there, and I've always wanted to go.

Well, those are my thoughts for now.

Later.

The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-24T19:10:00.000-06:00

I read this book over the past week or so, and only now do I fully understand the controversy surrounding it. Before reading it, I was of the mindset that said "this book is fiction. why can't people just accept it and move on?" But the book is so expertly crafted that it's not something any weak-willed person should read, because they will believe it.

If I were to do a literary review of the book (completely ignoring the subject matter), it would have to be glowing, because it's sprinkled with enough documented history (and historical figures) to convince you it could happen. However, Dan Brown himself claims that every detail in his book is true to life. When we discussed it at work today, one man reminded us that in the end times there will be false prophets. And there are many people who do believe that book to be truth. That's scary.

When I started this job, I didn't have any idea how interesting lunchtime was going to be. Most of the people who eat lunch the same time as me are either Salvation Army or Pentecostal, so when church is discussed, we're all sort of on the same wavelength. Today when we were discussing The Da Vinci Code, I discovered that there's a man (who happens to be Salvation Army) who has obviously studied the history of the Christian church, which is something I'm always interested to hear about. What's good is that the people who aren't religious aren't put out when these discussions take place. That's because of the high-class nature of the people who work there (so I've discovered). They're not condescending or pushy with their faith (just steadfast and proud), which is something I admire so much, as it tends to come up more often in evangelical churches. Like I said, I was a little nervous at the start of this, because knowing there was nobody near my age who stayed for lunch, I was afraid they might all just talk about their children and grandchildren and I'd just be sitting there. But so far it's been a more than pleasant experience.

Anyway, sorry for the long time between blogs, but at least I managed to post something!

At Josh's request

2006-05-13T07:39:00.000-06:00

Since Josh just informed me I don't blog enough, I'm doing this special blog entry (in a style which he selected. trust me, you'll understand in a minute).

After deciding that yesterday was no good to drive into St. John's, we left at 4:00 this morning. It was a good drive, but my legs got a little cramped up in the back seat. Luckily, I had my CD player to keep me company when everyone else (except the driver) went to sleep. At one point, Mom and Dad apparently saw a coyote, but I missed it. I'm looking forward to the family expedition we have planned for later today, because it's not often that us Thompsons get out on the town (together, that is). I believe everyone's looking forward to our jaunt to Chapters which will happen later today. I'll leave you with some links to some funny examples of Engrish.

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=written-oath.jpg&category=Instructions&date=2002-10-23

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=soup-full-of-a-ingredient.jpg&category=Menus&date=2006-01-06

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=fried-crap.jpg&category=Menus&date=2005-03-21

And now: What I just finished saying, but it's been translated to German, then French, then Italian, then back to English (courtesy of Babelfish):

Since Josh just I, blog enough, do not make this blog special recording (on a type that preselezionato, trusted it, I comprise between a minute I have informed it). After that it had decided that, no bond was yesterday to go in streptococo John, we with 4:00 on the left this morning. He was a good commando, but my legs have received a small number in top in the posterior center in little natural way. I have had fortunately my Cd to hold it enterprise, when everyone is of the gone rest (exceptional leading) to sleep. With a point, Mother and the papà have apparently seen Kojoten to it, but to lack it. I observe in front of the family the shipment that we have projected for a recent day puts into effect them, because it is not often that we exit of Thompsons on the city (entirety that is). Creed to that to our later excursion to the understood one it observes them that they arrive today. I leave some relations some examples you allegros of the Engrish.

2006-05-05T19:55:00.000-06:00

You never know what's going to happen in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Knowing the score in the Ottawa-Buffalo game was 5 - 4, I went to the living room to watch the last two minutes of the game. A minute and a half later, it was tied at 6-6. I'm way too tired to stay up for overtime.

I'm really pleased with the job I have right now. If the first two weeks are any indication on how the overall mood of this job will be, then I'll love the rest of it. The people who work in the office are fantastic, and very approachable when it comes to questions. I had no idea about the amount of red tape that government agencies have to go through for, well, everything. Things that, in private industry, would be simple are insanely complicated there. Like me getting an email address, for instance. Apparently it's very unusual for this to happen, but some guy from Ottawa called down trying to find out who I was, and verifying (for about the 3rd time) that I was not a security threat. I didn't know whether to feel honoured or paranoid.

I hope that I have some flash of inspiration sometime so that I can have something really interesting to write here. Since that hasn't happened tonight, I'll bookend this post with more hockey. First of all, since I wrote my first paragraph, the overtime period has ended with the sloppiest of giveaways, followed by a nice goal (unfortunately not by Ottawa). Second of all, I'm sad that Calgary is out of things, because (and I've said this before) those fans are without a doubt the most spirited fans in the whole league. When you watch those games, it's just like looking at a sea of red. They must just give those jerseys away at the games (or else the fans are just incredibly dedicated). Either way, it's hard to match the energy of that stadium and I'll miss watching the games from there (until next year).

Like I said, I'm really hoping that my brain will spark some interesting posts someday. Until then, good night everybody.

2006-04-29T21:15:00.000-06:00

Wow, so I finally decided to jump on the blog-wagon. I can't believe I'm lame enough to open with a pun, but there it is. What are you going to do about it?

I guess I'm just posting to let people know that I'm alive in this online world and clear up who this mysterious "Susan" is that you'll see commenting on things. I guess that I also just got tired of being anonymous on people's blogs.

That's my glorious first post. There's nothing here that will intrigue a first-time reader, but I promise it'll get better with time. Seriously. If it doesn't, I should just give up now while I'm ahead :)