On a further note to the stuff that really amuses me, Google's at it again with their Search Stories videos on Youtube. This one is the best:
If you liked that, you'll enjoy, but probably won't like as much:
Potholes
Highschool
Parisian Love
Mad to Live
Newbie
Monday, November 30, 2009
There are few things
I'm not sure if I was never really one to get swept off my feet at grand gestures of presents or whatnot or if that's a new position since becoming an adult. Perhaps it's tied to the fact that we didn't have a lot of money growing up as kids and while I never really felt any hardship, I don't feel I missed out on anything because of some of the memories I have growing up. While money was tight, time spent as a family or with my brother wasn't and well, perhaps that's why I could care less what name my heel is walking over each day or the brand of car I drive (although don't get me started on Fords).
So when I do actually see something I like and want, I have very little impulse control not to buy it but I figure that as it happens less often than most, I can be forgiven.
When I moved into my house, my first Christmas was rounding the bend at this time of year. Amazing that I've been here now for almost two and a half years and amazing more than I've been here longer on my own (sans the med student) than I was with le ex. But I digress...it was at this time that the neighbour at the other 'corner' of our street put up star lights that hung as a curtain in their dining room window. Because they were on the corner where the two streets intersected, every time I went north on my street, I'd see the lights. I was enchanted.
I'm not sure what it is about stars and twinkle lights. I've wanted nothing more than to have twinkle lights in my back yard and then to see stars I could have in my house, well, I was sold. I remember begging le ex to try and find them, convinced they were an Ikea product, and to get them when we did one day stumble upon them. But he saw them as unsightly and expensive. I resigned myself to trying to think that they were tacky so I wouldn't want them as much.
Fast forward almost two years and not wanting to let the Ikea gods get the better of me, I was in the Toronto Ikea on a mission when I came across them once more. This time, without hesitation, I bought them. And as my street seems to be getting more and more like the Griswalds every year (WTF? Even *I*, lover of all things Christmas, have a limit and some neighbours reached it several strings of lights ago), I will turn on my simple lights and bask in the oddly greeny-cream glow.
So when I do actually see something I like and want, I have very little impulse control not to buy it but I figure that as it happens less often than most, I can be forgiven.
When I moved into my house, my first Christmas was rounding the bend at this time of year. Amazing that I've been here now for almost two and a half years and amazing more than I've been here longer on my own (sans the med student) than I was with le ex. But I digress...it was at this time that the neighbour at the other 'corner' of our street put up star lights that hung as a curtain in their dining room window. Because they were on the corner where the two streets intersected, every time I went north on my street, I'd see the lights. I was enchanted.
I'm not sure what it is about stars and twinkle lights. I've wanted nothing more than to have twinkle lights in my back yard and then to see stars I could have in my house, well, I was sold. I remember begging le ex to try and find them, convinced they were an Ikea product, and to get them when we did one day stumble upon them. But he saw them as unsightly and expensive. I resigned myself to trying to think that they were tacky so I wouldn't want them as much.
Fast forward almost two years and not wanting to let the Ikea gods get the better of me, I was in the Toronto Ikea on a mission when I came across them once more. This time, without hesitation, I bought them. And as my street seems to be getting more and more like the Griswalds every year (WTF? Even *I*, lover of all things Christmas, have a limit and some neighbours reached it several strings of lights ago), I will turn on my simple lights and bask in the oddly greeny-cream glow.
Monday, November 16, 2009
This *is* really neat
Ah, Facebook feed. How I love you so. You expose me to so many neat things and let me give shouts out to the peeps I love - like LFR for this beaute:
Friday, November 13, 2009
Rattlings from inside the golden cage
I have had a few moments over the past few days to reflect on the golden cage that is my current employment situation.
The first came when I had to get a confirmation of salary for some banking purposes. I almost fell out of my chair when I opened the letter to see that since I started 3.5 years ago, I'm now up 25% in pay from what I made when I started. 25%. That also means I'm making more than double what I made at my previous employer whom I left to work here. That's...um...sick. And not sic as in cool, yo yo homey g. But sick - as in disgusting. And I have all of that to thank to my union who keeps negotiating ridiculous salary increases. On the down side, I actually end up paying them a fairly good little piece o' dough to keep me in those increases.
But do you know what this means? It means that pretty much the only place I can go to get comparable pay is to the government. And we all know how easy it is to get in there. And it'd have to be a 04 or 05 position. So really, I can't really afford to quit my job and go work somewhere else because of the pay cut I'd be taking. Now, if I had a sugar daddy to help me pay my bills so I could have the freedom to move, okay. But right now, on my own, I'm a little bit screwed.
The other came today when I went to buy fully licensed software for my new laptop. I knew that there were institutional rates for these things but I didn't know what the rebate was. So, I got Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and Adobe Acrobat Professional 9. Together, they retail for just over $1000 before taxes ($1040 at Best Buy, $1050 at Staples).
What did I pay? $50. $10 for Office and $40 for Acrobat. The woman who sold it to me did the whole breathing in between teeth thing and said 'yes, but....that's $40'. I didn't want to tell her...I'd even be willing to pay $50! Sheesh!
And yet there are still complainers at work...egads.
The first came when I had to get a confirmation of salary for some banking purposes. I almost fell out of my chair when I opened the letter to see that since I started 3.5 years ago, I'm now up 25% in pay from what I made when I started. 25%. That also means I'm making more than double what I made at my previous employer whom I left to work here. That's...um...sick. And not sic as in cool, yo yo homey g. But sick - as in disgusting. And I have all of that to thank to my union who keeps negotiating ridiculous salary increases. On the down side, I actually end up paying them a fairly good little piece o' dough to keep me in those increases.
But do you know what this means? It means that pretty much the only place I can go to get comparable pay is to the government. And we all know how easy it is to get in there. And it'd have to be a 04 or 05 position. So really, I can't really afford to quit my job and go work somewhere else because of the pay cut I'd be taking. Now, if I had a sugar daddy to help me pay my bills so I could have the freedom to move, okay. But right now, on my own, I'm a little bit screwed.
The other came today when I went to buy fully licensed software for my new laptop. I knew that there were institutional rates for these things but I didn't know what the rebate was. So, I got Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and Adobe Acrobat Professional 9. Together, they retail for just over $1000 before taxes ($1040 at Best Buy, $1050 at Staples).
What did I pay? $50. $10 for Office and $40 for Acrobat. The woman who sold it to me did the whole breathing in between teeth thing and said 'yes, but....that's $40'. I didn't want to tell her...I'd even be willing to pay $50! Sheesh!
And yet there are still complainers at work...egads.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Look, I know everyone has needs...
but seriously, this is something I can't condone.
But first, a little background...
When I was married, I think I did the ostrich bit. I didn't really think that anyone I knew who was married or in committed relationships would have affairs. It seemed like something some shady 40-something business man did when he was dissatisfied with his home life.
Like a Jon Gosselin type. Not that he cheated or anything - or maybe he did. I can't keep up with that J&K+8 crap anymore. Okay, I didn't ever anyways because as if this non-breeder would watch a show about a family with 8 kids. Puh-shaw. I don't think so. BOOOOR-RING!
Anyways, back to my point - yes, I have one.
What I didn't realize is that this isn't a phenomenon that is only for older generations. And I can't get over the number of people who are 'open' about it. Check any online dating site or personals section of any craigslist, and you'll see the 'attached and looking for just something physical because my marriage isn't giving me what I need but not looking to change my situation' postings. It floors me and it also crushes the hopeless romantic in me that there can be a happily ever after. Sure, speed bumps and curves along the way but still that two people can make it work long term. When did we as a society start condoning this behaviour of cheating? And so much so that there are now sites like Ashley Madison? Which, btw, was started by a man but he wasn't getting the female traffic to the site that he needed to make it profitable for the men to come so he decided to name it after a female to make it more friendly to women who were looking for an affair. Nice, eh?
Anyways, if you've never heard of Ashley Madison, you might want to Google it and take a look. I'd be lying if I said it didn't leave me a little bit sad and kinda jaded.
But first, a little background...
When I was married, I think I did the ostrich bit. I didn't really think that anyone I knew who was married or in committed relationships would have affairs. It seemed like something some shady 40-something business man did when he was dissatisfied with his home life.
Like a Jon Gosselin type. Not that he cheated or anything - or maybe he did. I can't keep up with that J&K+8 crap anymore. Okay, I didn't ever anyways because as if this non-breeder would watch a show about a family with 8 kids. Puh-shaw. I don't think so. BOOOOR-RING!Anyways, back to my point - yes, I have one.
What I didn't realize is that this isn't a phenomenon that is only for older generations. And I can't get over the number of people who are 'open' about it. Check any online dating site or personals section of any craigslist, and you'll see the 'attached and looking for just something physical because my marriage isn't giving me what I need but not looking to change my situation' postings. It floors me and it also crushes the hopeless romantic in me that there can be a happily ever after. Sure, speed bumps and curves along the way but still that two people can make it work long term. When did we as a society start condoning this behaviour of cheating? And so much so that there are now sites like Ashley Madison? Which, btw, was started by a man but he wasn't getting the female traffic to the site that he needed to make it profitable for the men to come so he decided to name it after a female to make it more friendly to women who were looking for an affair. Nice, eh?
Anyways, if you've never heard of Ashley Madison, you might want to Google it and take a look. I'd be lying if I said it didn't leave me a little bit sad and kinda jaded.
What has my digital life come to?
Yesterday I went to Canadian Tire and Walmart looking for replacement filters for my humidifier in my bedroom so I don't wake up feeling like I just slept in the Sahara. I didn't really pay much attention to the model but I know what it looks like and the filter. Couldn't be too hard, right?
Walmart, as usual, was a disaster. Okay, on to Canadian Tire where you know it's going to be bad customer service. It wasn't for a change but I still didn't see what I was looking for.
When I got home I more closely inspected my humidifier. No brand model or anything but there was...
a website.
So on I go, look through the products, find the PDF file of the manual with the model of the filter I need and then sent myself the link so I can print it off at work and look on my way home tomorrow (my new laptop with Windows 7 is still waiting for the new driver to come out from lexmark for my home printer so they can be friends).
And all so I didn't have to rummage through my paper file in the room across the hall (my home office). Seriously, what has my digital life come to when this seems easier...
*le sigh*
Walmart, as usual, was a disaster. Okay, on to Canadian Tire where you know it's going to be bad customer service. It wasn't for a change but I still didn't see what I was looking for.
When I got home I more closely inspected my humidifier. No brand model or anything but there was...
a website.
So on I go, look through the products, find the PDF file of the manual with the model of the filter I need and then sent myself the link so I can print it off at work and look on my way home tomorrow (my new laptop with Windows 7 is still waiting for the new driver to come out from lexmark for my home printer so they can be friends).
And all so I didn't have to rummage through my paper file in the room across the hall (my home office). Seriously, what has my digital life come to when this seems easier...
*le sigh*
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Rusty domestic goddess - SO's are good for some things
Last night I decided to make Jambalaya that L taught me a few years ago. Each time it's an experiment as I try out different salsa's etc. The recipe calls for chicken broth and I thought 'got it, no problem' because I had like 4 containers in my lower cupboard.
So everything's cookin' away and I look in the cupboard and start hauling out the containers and each one is expired. And not just a little expired - one was even a year and a half past the expiry date. Errr....apparently I'm not into cooking lately.
Anyways, off to the grocery store I go (after turning off the stove and checking itthree times twice three times - might as well admit to my neuroses). On the way out, with 3 containers in tow (because I need to put new ones in to age appropriately in the lower cupboard), I thought to myself 'you know, this would be so much easier if I could have just sent a significant other (SO in the title of this blog post) to the store while I kept cooking or doing up the dishes.' And then I remembered how good le ex was at going to the grocery store and I started to chuckle. By far one of my favourite stories of him:
I was trying to make potatoe salad or something for a pot luck we'd been invited to and god forbid HE actually do the cooking for it. I gave him a list of things to get while I did other stuff around the house and on it was Miracle Whip. You know, mayonnaise with vinegar. My brother and I were raised on it so to me mayonnaise is bor-ring! As I got to the kitchen, I noticed it wasn't on the counter where a still-sealed jar could go. So I looked in the fridge. No Miracle Whip. I looked in the cupboard. No Miracle Whip.
L: "Um (le ex), did you get Miracle Whip?'
Le Ex: 'L, there were only like 3 items on the list. Of course I got it'
L: 'So where is it?'
Le Ex: 'In the freezer'
(inside voice: WTF?)
I open the fridge and I don't see it.
L: 'I'm not seeing it'
Le Ex: (insert huge exasperated sigh as he stomps to the kitchen) It's right there.
He points to Dream Whip. As in whip cream.
Now I'm not sure how he thought that I needed whip cream to go in a potatoe salad but he did. And back to the grocery store he went.
So now, as I had a brief moment of disappointment that I didn't have an SO to bail me out last night, I also remembered that they create just as much headaches as they solve, non?
So everything's cookin' away and I look in the cupboard and start hauling out the containers and each one is expired. And not just a little expired - one was even a year and a half past the expiry date. Errr....apparently I'm not into cooking lately.
Anyways, off to the grocery store I go (after turning off the stove and checking it
I was trying to make potatoe salad or something for a pot luck we'd been invited to and god forbid HE actually do the cooking for it. I gave him a list of things to get while I did other stuff around the house and on it was Miracle Whip. You know, mayonnaise with vinegar. My brother and I were raised on it so to me mayonnaise is bor-ring! As I got to the kitchen, I noticed it wasn't on the counter where a still-sealed jar could go. So I looked in the fridge. No Miracle Whip. I looked in the cupboard. No Miracle Whip.
L: "Um (le ex), did you get Miracle Whip?'
Le Ex: 'L, there were only like 3 items on the list. Of course I got it'
L: 'So where is it?'
Le Ex: 'In the freezer'
(inside voice: WTF?)
I open the fridge and I don't see it.
L: 'I'm not seeing it'
Le Ex: (insert huge exasperated sigh as he stomps to the kitchen) It's right there.
He points to Dream Whip. As in whip cream.
Now I'm not sure how he thought that I needed whip cream to go in a potatoe salad but he did. And back to the grocery store he went.
So now, as I had a brief moment of disappointment that I didn't have an SO to bail me out last night, I also remembered that they create just as much headaches as they solve, non?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
WHMPC - I to We to Me
So I'm done with the online dating thing because it's too time consuming. Right. Back to 'organic dating' as I'm calling it.
This is where I get introduced by friends to their single friends (*ahem* - I'm WAIT-ING! ;o) ) and I go back to actually introducing myself to men that I find attractive and follow up with the phone number giving blah-de, blah-de, blah-blah.
Tonight, when I had to stay at work for an event I COMPLETELY forgot about (love the unexpected 12 hr + days), I had the unexpected surprise of seeing a cute man who smelt nice. Now, we all know that smell is a big thing to me which is why the scent police was such a ego-damaging moment for me. It took said gentleman about an hour to work his way over to introducing himself to me (he had borrowed a pen earlier in the evening from me which is how I caught a whiff) and we ended up chatting for a good 10 minutes. We talked about work, education, goals in life in our careers...interesting stuff. And there were definitely moments of flirtation going on.
And then he did it.
He 'WE''d me.
As in he said 'I'm staying at a hotel because the house that WE're having built isn't ready yet.'
Don't get me wrong, I checked for a ring. I would never have flirted the way that I did if there had been one. But seriously? Why? What was the point of flirting with me like that? Hunh? To prove he still has it? For fun? Seriously? Why not just walk away after he borrowed my pen? Did he need to 'we' on me so that he didn't feel guilty about flirting - ie. 'I was upfront that I was in a relationship'.
Regardless, it got me thinking to how I've changed over the past few years. Before I met le ex, I was an 'I'. Then I too became a 'we' when we were together (which is just funny to type because there's no other way to put it). And now I'm a 'ME' (or 'I' if it's more grammatically correct).
But more than that...it's making me think about what happened to the 'I' and the 'me' when I was in the 'we'. While a relationship's about give and take, perhaps there was more giving in my 'we' than 'I' or 'me' realized was going on. 'I' am going to be congnizant of this fact the next time there's a 'we' so that 'I' doesn't loose sight of the fact that 'we' is really made up of two 'me''s.
This is where I get introduced by friends to their single friends (*ahem* - I'm WAIT-ING! ;o) ) and I go back to actually introducing myself to men that I find attractive and follow up with the phone number giving blah-de, blah-de, blah-blah.
Tonight, when I had to stay at work for an event I COMPLETELY forgot about (love the unexpected 12 hr + days), I had the unexpected surprise of seeing a cute man who smelt nice. Now, we all know that smell is a big thing to me which is why the scent police was such a ego-damaging moment for me. It took said gentleman about an hour to work his way over to introducing himself to me (he had borrowed a pen earlier in the evening from me which is how I caught a whiff) and we ended up chatting for a good 10 minutes. We talked about work, education, goals in life in our careers...interesting stuff. And there were definitely moments of flirtation going on.
And then he did it.
He 'WE''d me.
As in he said 'I'm staying at a hotel because the house that WE're having built isn't ready yet.'
Don't get me wrong, I checked for a ring. I would never have flirted the way that I did if there had been one. But seriously? Why? What was the point of flirting with me like that? Hunh? To prove he still has it? For fun? Seriously? Why not just walk away after he borrowed my pen? Did he need to 'we' on me so that he didn't feel guilty about flirting - ie. 'I was upfront that I was in a relationship'.
Regardless, it got me thinking to how I've changed over the past few years. Before I met le ex, I was an 'I'. Then I too became a 'we' when we were together (which is just funny to type because there's no other way to put it). And now I'm a 'ME' (or 'I' if it's more grammatically correct).
But more than that...it's making me think about what happened to the 'I' and the 'me' when I was in the 'we'. While a relationship's about give and take, perhaps there was more giving in my 'we' than 'I' or 'me' realized was going on. 'I' am going to be congnizant of this fact the next time there's a 'we' so that 'I' doesn't loose sight of the fact that 'we' is really made up of two 'me''s.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Food for thought
Found this quote today while cleaning out my home office. Thought I'd preserve it in the online abyss because it's a goodie.
Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.
-Lillian Dickson
Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.
-Lillian Dickson
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