Trapped Inside the Cage

Tonight I attended the 80th birthday party of the man I affectionately refer to as "Grandpa G".  We are in no way related, but as his daughter  was my Special Services Support worker from the time I was 13 until 18, she became like a second Mother to me and as a result he became my Grandpa.  Such a sweet guy, and one who looks in no way like he's 80 let me tell you!  We aren't of course as close as my actual family, but I think of her sons as my big brothers, her grandkids as my cousins and so on.  They're such an awesome bunch.  Until tonight though, I had NO idea their family was quite as large as what it apparently is.  There had to be at least 30 people there and I guess around 12 were missing and this doesn't even count the family he still has living in his native Barbados!  Speaking of which, I was informed tonight that apparently they plan on getting the entire clan together to fly to Barbados in 2011 and I'M INVITED!  SWEET!  I don't care if I'm still in school or not by this point, I am NOT passing up a trip to Barbados.  Just have to come up with the $. Riiiiiiight.  Well, I've got two  years to save so I guess I better start now.

Oh, another thing I found out is that apparently "Mum's" one niece also goes to Brescia!  She's apparently entering her second year in the Sociology program and will be staying in the family housing complex.  Talk about a small world.  It'll be nice to know someone in London, as right now I don't know anyone who lives there apart from my Dad's side of the family whom I'm not particularly close with.  I asked her if I could add her to Facebook and told her that once I got settled I'd contact her to see if we could go out for coffee or lunch or something of that nature.  Yay!  Fun times.

Oh, in keeping with the "extended family" theme since I did mention my Dad's side of the family, I would like to also make it known that I have made an effort to contact my grandma whom I haven't spoken with in a long, long while.  I informed her that since I am going to be going to school in London next fall, I think it's about time that we put the harsh words and the events of the past in the past and at least attempt to rebuild our relationship.  In the email I wrote to her I explained that since I'm going to be in London and they live in London (they being ALL of them) I don't want them to feel as though they can't contact me or see me if they feel like it.  I realize that we likely won't have the relationship we once had, but at least it's worth a shot, and they can see that I AM trying and willing to make an effort.  That said, I did also mention that part of my reasoning was somewhat selfish, as I believe my father and brother deem it rather hypocritical of me to want my brother to talk to my Mum while I haven't spoken to my Dad's side of the family.  I'm hoping that if they see that I am trying to make an effort to fix things with them that my brother will at least try, even in a small way, to repair his relationship with my Mum.  I can hope at least.  Whether they choose to agree to this, however, is entirely up to them.  I can at least say I tried.  In keeping with my vow to make an effort,  I've agreed to attend a "Bratina family dinner" with them in London at the Mandarin in "celebration" of my Grandparents return from hibernation in Florida.  You will note that I'm even trying to go back to refer to them as my grandparents instead of distancing myself from them by referring to them as "Bill and Dawn" as I've been doing in the past.  Even this is a huge step for me.  I have to say I'm rather pleased with myself.  I've grown up a lot in terns of my view of things in the past year and this is my attempt at proving that.  Whether I like it or not, they ARE my family; I just have to accept that we are different, that they will do things I'm not at all pleased with, and learn to accept that.  I've learned to do this with my Dad's never-ending Harley-Davidson obsession, so I have to extend this same courtesy to them.  They are who they are, and as I've rather quickly learned, you cannot change people.

Well, enough of my family philosophies, I'm off to bed.  I shall let you know how my Mandarin evening transpires.

This past week was a big highlight in my book as my cousin from out west flew into town with his fiancee and their little baby girl Jaylyn.  They were here from the 9th til the 18th.  Technically she's a Radersma given her last name, but everyone on my Mum's side of the family considers themselves more Grantham than anything else. Especially since losing Grandpa.  Such a GREAT visit.  It's one thing to see Jaylyn on Skype, but it's a whole other experience to be able to actually see her in person, play with her and hold her.  She's just so cute I wanted to hug her and never let her go.  Given  what the little one has been through during her first year it was amazing to see how well she's doing in person.  It was such a great time having the whole family together again; I can't even describe it.  They've only been gone since 7 am this morning and already I miss them like crazy.  Last night we all went over to my aunt's house to say goodbye and I don't think anyone left with dry eyes.  I know they had a fun week though and everyone LOVED seeing the baby.  And I do mean EVERYONE.  The day after they arrived, my Aunt had an "Come meet the baby" open house/baby shower and the amount of people that showed up was insane.  Hopefully, now that people have seen her, the next time they visit it will be a little less chaotic and more family-oriented.  I can understand why everyone was so eager to see her though, she's just too darn cute for words.  In the next few days I'll be posting photos of their visit on Facebook, so you'll be able to appreciate her degree of cuteness for yourselves.

I hope they had a safe flight back and I can't wait until their next visit!

No, sadly, not the England version; the Ontario one, but still, I'm happy!  Let me fill you in on the details:

As you know I have been finished school since December of '07 and to date have had zero luck when it comes to the lovely thing called employment.  Back in November I decided that I'd had enough, and figured it was pretty clear my generalized Biological Science degree was getting me nowhere fast, so I decided it was time to specialize my degree and not have it be so broad in terms of the education.  Well, since I have my minor in Nutritional Science already, I decided to look into the Food and Nutrition programs at Guelph and Brescia University College in London.  Having the minor allows me to complete what would be another 4 year program in 2 years.  Brescia is affiliated with the University of Western Ontario and that would be the diploma I'd receive upon completion of the degree.  Both programs are accredited by the Dietitians of Canada, meaning that once you complete the undergrad program as well as the internship, you are qualified as a Registered Dietitian anywhere in Canada.  The internships are highly competitive, and you have to apply to get in, but still, it's worth a shot.

I had to have all the forms filled out for OUAC and sent in by December for both schools in order to qualify for Fall 2009, so I did.  I later found out that as a readmitted student to Guelph I needed a 75% average to get into the program.  Problem?  Mine was only 73.2.  Yep, a big 1.8 percent difference.  Brescia however only requires 72% for transfer students (which I guess is the term for students who already have degrees as well as those who are switching schools).  Since I'm more familiar with Guelph, however, that was where I really wanted to go.  I discussed things with Mum and we thought that based on my current financial status, and given that I apparently would have to boost my average to get into the program, we thought it would be best to hold off until 2010.  I got a notice from Brescia in January saying they received my transcripts and were going to look things over and get back to me, which I figured wasn't a big deal yet, as there was no guarantee I was even going to get accepted anyway.  Then a few months go by; it's now March, and I had gotten so wrapped up in what I needed to go to get into Guelph with what summer courses I was going to take; developing a 2 year program plan of exactly what courses I was going to take when; and finding out what other requirements there were for the internship; that I had completely forgotten I had even applied to Brescia to begin with.  Well, sort of; I did eventually remember and send them an email saying that I wanted to withdraw my application until 2010, except that apparently Gmail e-mail accounts are blacklisted at UWO so it got bounced right back to me.  I guess in the end that ended up being a good thing, however, because not 2 days after that email was bounced back did I come home from the gym to find an offer of acceptance on from Brescia on my coffee table!  Talk about out of the blue.  Totally unexpected!

I talked things over with Mum again, and we both concluded that, while it would be nice for me to go back to Guelph, I'd be stupid to not at least consider this option.  After all, even if I did take summer courses to boost my average for Guelph, there's still no written-in-stone guarantee that they'd accept me after all that work.  I then thought about defering the acceptance until 2010 to try and make some extra money, but Mum pointed out again that for the year and a half I thought I'd have a job, and look where that's gotten me.  I could defer it only to find out that I still was unable to get a job and then I'd be right back to where I am now; only this time not only would I be without any extra money, but also missing out on potentially getting a year of the two year program behind me and completing it sooner.  We agreed it would be a good idea to go and have a look at the campus. 

We went twice actually; the first time 3 weeks ago to get a general feel of the place, taking my wheelchair, and the second two weeks ago with my scooter as that would be my actual mode of transportation around campus and we had to make sure it would fit in all necessary doorways, hallways, and elevators.  The latter was the biggest concern as the residence building where I would be staying was originally built in the 1920's, and as a result has a rather small, narrow elevator which we weren't entirely sure the scooter would fit into.  For our second trip I also had the woman from UWO's Centre for Student's with Disabilities come with us to see the campus, as she had never been over there; we figured she may be able to point out other areas that needed to be fixed/accommodated that we may have missed.  We were all very pleased to discover that the scooter did indeed fit, and as well that Brescia's maintenance staff were more than willing to help retrofit certain areas to make things easier and overall more accessible for me.  I was very pleased to say the least.  Everyone seems very friendly.   As nice as the residence building is however, I have to say I'm not super keen about doing residence life again.  I had enough of that by the time I was finished at Guelph.  It's not even so much the fact that it's an all girls, Roman Catholic residence, that doesn't really bug me as long as they don't try to convert me, it's fine.  it's more-so that I'm going to be going in there as a 25 year old third year transfer student and I'll be surrounded by girls ranging in age from 16-19.  By October I'll officially 10 years older than a lot of these students and that doesn't exactly thrill me.  I'm over-looking this fact in favour of the convenience however, since it's a 5 second walk to the one and only building where I'll be having most of my classes.  On ODSP I can't afford a place in London on my own, not to mention the fact that I don't know anyone there I could share a place with anyway, nor am I at all familiar with the area.  No, I'll stick with residence for at least the first year until I meet some other people.

So, the tour went well, but there was one more thing I wanted to check on before officially accepting the offer: my employment supports.  Even though the agency I work with hasn't actually FOUND me a job, I wanted to make sure that by going back to school I wasn't violating any sort of "contract" with them, as I did remember them saying once that you could work or go to school, but not both.  As it turns out, assuming the grant goes through for this one volunteer position I have and I eventually get PAID, I can do both.  As long as I am willing to work part time and do so at least once a month.  I asked them what the hourly requirement was and they said a minimum of 3 hours. HAPPY DAY!  This would work out perfectly since the clinic is only open for 3 hours on Saturdays. YAY!  If I can't manage to come home at least once a month and work for 3 hours there's something wrong.  Not only would this mean that my file wouldn't be closed with the agency, but also this allows me to have a little extra pocket change every month. It's a win-win situation.  I spoke with my "boss" and he's okay with it as well.  I thought he'd be mad that I'd be leaving in 4 months, but he's actually being very supportive telling me to go for it.  He said this way they could move me from doing front desk office support to one of the back offices as a Dietitian.  OKAY!

Needless to say, after my talk with my employment support worker and my "boss" I came home that night and officially accepted the offer!  I am still a little sad that I won't be returning to Guelph, but after all: "change is good" right.  I actually think this will work out better for me in the long run because class sizes are MUCH smaller - maximum size of 90 - meaning that I should get more one-on-one time with the profs if I'm having any difficulties. Hopefully, as a result, this should also help with my problems with exam anxiety.  I  hope anyway.  One of the drawbacks to being a transfer student is you've got a shorter time-frame to get the same amount of marks as everyone else.  While it's great that I essentially have a "clean slate" I need to get a 75% average to get into the regular internship stream, or a 78% average for the Master's Internship stream.  I think I'm actually going to shoot for the Masters internship stream believe it or not.  An extra level of education on my resume plus my internship completed in the same amount of time.  Sounds good to me!

Now it's just a matter of how to come up with the money by September. Oi vey!  Hello OSAP (+ me+Mum +Dad + Bank of Grandma)!?!

FINALLY! Something GOOD is happening in my life :)
 

As I haven't really written anything on here since the start of the new year, I figured it was time to do some soft of update, however, there unfortunately isn't much to say.  I guess the most recent topic of conversation I could bring up is my decision to leave Facebook; for how long exactly, I don't know, but for now, it's gone bye-bye.  How I came to this decision was basically due to the fact that over the past few months I've found myself growing more and more depressed about the direction (or should I say lack-thereof) my life seems to be taking, and going on Facebook and seeing all my friends updates on how well theirs is going either through school, a new job, getting back from a fabulous trip, who they're dating or married to, the new house they just bought or the new baby they just had was getting to be a bit much and I was advised to stay away from it for a while.  Given how addictive it can be, I figured the only way to do it and stick to it, was to deactivate my account and remove any bookmarks to the site permanently. 

I realize this may not be the case for all my friends, and for those that this is, don't get me wrong, I really am happy for them, and all they've accomplished, but when you feel as though your life has stalled to a complete and total halt - even in some cases regressed - it's a bit of a hard pill to swallow, especially when your Facebook page has lots of friends and it seems as though you're bombarded with happy updates no matter whose page you click on.  Nope, I think a healthy distance from all things Facebook is just what I need for right now.  If for no other reason than the sake of my sanity.  The frequency with which I seem to be able to find myself in a seriously depressive mood swing is a little concerning right now, so I'm trying, in even just a small way to fix it.  We'll see how that goes.  You'd think the fact that I'm volunteering on a daily basis through the week would help given that it does allow me time out of the house, but even doing these things I now find them to be boring and I'm no longer looking forward to doing any of them.  For me, now, they've just turned into something to kill the hours while I'm awake because I don't have anything else to do.  Even though I know I'm helping people and I know they appreciate my help, none of these "jobs" are anything I'm ever excited about doing when I wake up in the morning, or really feel as though I'm doing anything significant.  More often than not, I just view them as a reason to get up and dressed in actual clothes rather than lying in my bed in my pjs and reading all day.

I think my decision to leave Facebook may also help some of my friendships, as people will now be forced to actually call and talk or email me to find out what's going on (or not) in my life.  I've been feeling lately that a lot of my friendships are one-sided, with the exception to a few people, and if it weren't for my being the one to make the phone calls, write the emails or make plans, that they wouldn't even remember I existed, and frankly I'm sick of it.  I realize that people get busy in their lives, really, I do, and I get that chances of my being able to actually talk to them for any extended length of time are slim, but it would be nice to get the occasional phone call or email just with something simple like, "Hey, how are things going; are you still at least somewhat sane?"  As much as I love technology, it's times like these when I hate it because as a society we're just getting increasingly lazy in maintaining actual face-to-face (or at least voice-to-voice) human contact.  I may be naive, but I'd like to think that those who have told me that they'll stay in touch will actually mean it.

There's my rant for the night.  Now it's off to bed.
 

Yesterday on the People Magazine website I read this:

Well, Bex, here's that explanation I said I'd give you and all else regarding my "hoping to get some good news tomorrow" Facebook status that I had on Sunday.  Unfortunately, it's not that good, but it's not that bad either.  In true Goldilocks fashion, it's just right.

As many of you already know, I am unemployed and have been for almost a year now, and that is making me go out of my mind.  I keep sending in resumes and hear nothing back, or go in for what has been a handful of interviews in the past 11 months, again, to hear nothing back.  Last month I thought, that might change, but really, I refuse to get my hopes up anymore.  My employment counsellor, who I've been working with through the ODSP Employment Supports, for the last few months has been in contact with this guy named Ed who owns and operates a new rehab clinic here in Brantford on Henry St. called Trebax clinic on Henry St.  They apparently met at some conference-type function where he came up to her and said he was interesting in an administration assitant, and was wondering if she had any clients who would fit the bill.  Yes, she said, ME!  She had told him about what my career goals were, what my education background was, as well as what experience I have.  She said he sounded very impressed, apparently so much in fact that he stopped looking for other people and wanted meet me.  Great, awesome, stupendous even!  He wanted to meet with me, so we arrange an interview.  I hadn't even talked with the guy yet, or seen the clinic, so this is kind of crucial right?  I did my usual pre-interview ritual of reading up on the company, researching any information I wasn't sure of, going over answers to the usual interview questions in my head and emailing my top 3 references to let them know I had an interview and what for in case they got a phone call later on.  Prepared right?  I'd like to think so.  I get there, dressed all nice and pretty, only to find myself waay over dressed.  Ed's in his Trebax scrubs (understable though) but his other employee is wearing a pair of black pants, a muscle shirt covered over by what looked like an Abercrombie zip up sweatshirt.  Obviously a very casual work environment so I'm pretty happy.  Ed even said "Don't get me wrong, you look really nice, but you wouldn't have to dress like that here, we'll just give you a Trebax scrubs shirt that you can wear a blouse over top of or something."  The "interview" itself didn't really happen.  Not one question about me, my education, possible scenarios, whether I knew about the company, no grilling me, nothing.  Ed told me about the position and what I'd be responsible for and basically only asked me two questions: "Do you have any questions?" and "Would you like a tour of the clinic?" 

The position itself sounds amazing.  At least for your generic administrative assistant.  Not only would I be answering phones and taking bookings, but since Ed's planning on bringing in a Naturopathic Doctor in January, as well as a Reflexologist and Reiki master on contract, I would be responsible for handling the sales of the products, and making sure in general that all the customers are happy with how things are going.  Ed even said that to keep me updated on what all of the Naturopathic Doctor's products are and how they work in the body, he would pay for me to take classes to get certified as a Nutritionist!  Sweet deal, yes?  I think I'd still go forward with the schooling to be a Dietitian after that, but still, it's a step in the right direction, or at least something I'm much more interested in.  He also said that because it would be a part-time position with no health coverage, they'd let me use whatever services they offered that I need if necessary - those being Rehab/Massage Therapy, Cold :Laser Therapy, Light Therapy for Seasonal Effected Distorder or access to their mini gym in the back.  All sounds so far so good, right?  Well, as usual with my luck there's a snag, and a rather large one at that.  Since the Trebax clinic is still fairly new (opened since June), they don't have the clientele, or as a result, the funding needed in order to cover my wages.  Pretty major issue don't you think?  He wants to apply for a government subsidy to cover my wages.  He and Vicki met yesterday morning to go through the paperwork and whatnot, but the issue is that should he even get approved for the government subsidy through what's known as Opportunities Fund the form itself won't even get approved til January at the earliest, and even then there's no guarantee that there will be any money available to give him -- the O.F. is currently going through and approving the ones they have now before the end of the year in preparation to see how much money is left over by the end of their fiscal year which is in March.  In short, even if he passes all the qualifications to get the subsidy, they can still come back and say, "Oops, sorry, we've got no money to give you; better luck next time!" That would be just my luck too.  In the meantime, Vicki's going to talk to him on Friday to see if he'd be interested in having me in to volunteer a few times a week, and if that's the case, see if he would agree to pay for a few of my cab rides to and from the clinic.  So, while this isn't the isn't the best news, it's not the worst either.  He still REALLY wants me to involved in the clinic, which is flattering, and for once, my schooling would actually be paying off.  Apparently when Vicki spoke to him yesterday, Ed even said that  the client that I met for 5 seconds when I went in for my "interview" asked him, "Are you going to hire that girl? I think she'd be a really good fit here."  AWW!  I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes up, but at the same time I'm also trying not to let my pessism kick in and automatically assume I won't get it.  I hope the volunteering bit at least works out because I'd much rather be volunteering in a field of my interest and actually learning something but not getting paid than be stuck in a job like NCO just for the benefit of money.  Money would be nice, but since I do have the Income Support cheques from ODSP coming in monthly it's not an absolute necessity; it would just be an added bonus to be making a little extra and put it toward my intended second degree.

So, that's it, now the waiting game begins.

And a Happy 40th to my hot Australian husband, Hugh Jackman!  I love the timing of my birthday, because I get a turkey dinner too!  My family always does the Ashley's birthday/Thanksgiving dinner combo which is always fun.  To quote my cousin directly it's "your day for turkey, pies and presents!"  Seriously, in what world would that combination not rock?  I see no downside here.  Plus, I finally get to see my cousin who has been hiding himself in his new apartment in TO until now.  This is the last year for extended family gifts though, since it gets to be too much, which is fine.  I've been buying my own gifts with birthday money for a while now anyway.  All I really want is some acknowledgement that it is my birthday, gifts are not a necessity, just a nice bonus!

So, while I am off having a fantastic birthday, I also would like to wish all my Canadian friends a fun, happy and FULL Turkey day!

Ciao!

My grandma has a trailer in Port Dover where they sometimes hand out these little joke flyers.  I found some of the entries amusing so I thought I'd share them for fun.

( Who was Jack? )

( New Emblem for Canada's flag! )

( Reclaimed Parts )

HAHA!

I didn't realize this until Mum told me last night, but today marks the 7 year anniversary of the day my Mum had her brain aneurysm.  Morbid to celebrate the day your head explodes, I know, but I look at it as the day she could have died but SURVIVED.  I realize how close she came to the alternative and that's why today I'm especially grateful that she's still a part of my life.  We may have our spats sure, every mother-daughter combo does, but I love my Mum dearly and know without a shadow of a doubt that I wouldn't be who I am or where I am if not for her.  Dad never was really all that involved, it was mainly my Mum who pushed me to become who I am today and I will never forget that. Today I honour the woman who means the most to me and in the process remind myself of just how special she is.  For that reason I write this post.

I finally have my new computer up and running with all necessary software and games, and let me tell you, this thing is SWEET!  First and foremost, it's QUIET which is a nice change compared to the old jet engine I used to have in my room with my old one.  The fans are so much better in this one, I almost can't believe it.  Since mine was custom built I was also able to keep Windows XP instead of having to go to Vista, which is great because I don't want to have anything to do with Vista EVER!  I find it funny that Microsoft is releasing a new operating system in 2009 because of all the problems Vista is causing.  Oh, also, my case is PRETTY!  I know, this sounds stupid, but compared to the old yellowish-beige one I had last time, which even still had a spot for floppy disks, as well as a HUGE power button, this one is much nicer to look at.  Black and silver :)  Whee!  The only thing I'd still like to upgrade now is my speakers.  They don't NEED to be replaced, but the quality isn't that great, so it would be nice.  I do however need to get myself a webcam.  Preferably one with a microphone in it so that I can download Skype and finally get a chance to talk to my friend/old roomie Pete who's starting his 4th of 5 years in Med School over in England.  It would be nice to catch up, I miss him.

That's it from me, I just finished installing all my Siims games, so now I need food!

Over and out!

I had my third interview in 9 months today.  It's for a P/T receptionist/minutes recorder at Participation House here in Brantford.  I think the interview went well, I had a 20 minute question period and then 30 minutes to type up an edited version of minutes from a meeting.  The first part was okay, however the typing bit threw me for a bit at first since their computer, just today, had Windows Office 2007 installed on it, which I have never even seen let alone used at this point.  It doesn't sound like a big deal, I know, but the way the formatting is set-up is like a total 360 to the 2003 version I currently have.  Oh well, I'll just have to by myself an updated version at some point (she says so nonchalantly, yet knows even the update costs an obscene amount of money *sigh*).  It looks really neat though, and the layout is really nice, it justs takes some getting used to, at least more than the 30 minutes I was alloted.  I'll find out sometime next week if I have the job, so that's good news, at least they aren't going to make me wait too long.  Apparently the competition is fierce though and they've still got a lot of interviews to go through.

In other news, since today is September 12th this means that exactly one month today I will be 25 years old.  Oooh scary thought.  Everyone keeps saying it just goes down hill from here, which I guess is true if I end up going through some sort of quarter-life crisis.  If unemployment continues, I can almost guarantee that will happen. Unemployment has given me a LOT of time to think about certain things, which on one hand can be good, but on the other not so good.  I still have some things to figure out/sort out so I guess I'll just keep doing that in the meantime.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that my old computer has finally kicked the bucket.  Which on the one hand is a good thing since it was due to at any moment, and yet not-so-good since it died 3 weeks after my computer guy "fixed" it.  Yeah, so not thrilled about that part.  I was going to see if my friend Dan could take me computer shopping, but computer guy claims he can build me one cheaper and plans on giving me a break on my last bill since he hasn't even sent me the quote to pay for the last time, though he eluded to the fact that it would be around $220 for a basic reformat *enter look of shock*.  Not impressed was I at all when I heard that.  Dan thinks, and I agree, that said computer guy is shady and isn't really impressed with the dude is handling things, and even offered to build me the computer istead.  Dan even gave me a quote with a complete break-down which is more than what shady dude did, but my issue is the money aspect.  I would love it if Dan were the one to build my computer since I trust him a hell of a lot more than I do my computer guy, but I just can't afford to pay Dan $600 and then turn around and give computer dude the $220 I still owe him from the last repair.  Hands down, no questions asked, if that extra $220 wasn't  involved I'd definitely be going with Dan.  He knows this though and even understands which is great, because I feel really bad.  I just want to get this computer guy off my back so that I never have to deal with him again.  Once I get this computer, that's it I'm done.  I told Dan that once I have the computer in my possession he can come and have a look at it and all of its parts because if anything happens to it from now on, it'll be him that I'm going to take it to.  From the specs that my computer guy and I were talking about, regardless of whether I like him or not, my new computer sounds pretty sweet.  It's going to have:  a pretty new black case, an Intel Core 2 Duo E 8500 3.16 GHz processor with an NVIDIA chipset, 500 GB hard drive, 2 GB DDR2 RAM a DVD burner with Lightscribe and he's going to install the NVIDIA Geforce 8800 GTS video card that I just bought brand new but couldn't install in my old one because it's components were incompatible.  I knew that though, I just figured I would have had to buy this new computer a while ago, so I bought the video card in preparation for that.  The BEST part though?  Because my computer is being custom built I can completely bypass the hell that is Vista because he's going to keep me using XP! *mega happy dance* I want nothing to do with Vista and plan on staying away from it as long as humanly possible.  The fact that Microsoft is releasing a new operating system in 2009 because of all the problems with Vista makes me laugh. 

I should be getting the new computer early next week, so I will fill you in on it's awesomeness when I have it.  For now, ciao!

Continuing with my general nerdiness, I also feel it necessary to remind everyone in LJ land that today Sept 10, 2008 is Colin Firth's birthday soo....

It's official, the month of September I have entered baseball heaven, and you will have to excuse my level of general nerdiness right here, but I don't care, I have to share.....

Either way, Cito Gaston, you rock my socks and I tip my non-existent hat to your overall awesomeness!

You may be wondering why the hell I am up at 2:45 am.  Well, I'll tell you.  For the last hour and 45 minutes I've been tracking down and killing stupid chirping cicadas that have somehow managed to find their way into my room.  In the basement.  Sooo not amused.  I've killed 3 in my room so far, and from what I can tell, there is one in my treadmill room that I've been unable to find but have locked in the room for the night.  Normally, I like listening to them, but that's only WHEN THEY'RE OUTSIDE!  Gah!  I'm exhausted but can't sleep because that stupid chirping is keeping me up.  I'm going to try, once again, out of sheer exhaustion to get some sleep, but nothing is guaranteed.  Back to your regularly scheduled REM sleep patterns, goodnight!

Only 3 days til my friend Shannon and I are going to the Stratford Festival to see the Caesar and Cleopatra play!  YAY!  This has become our end of summer tradition now as this will be the third time we've gone.  Our first play two years ago was Twelfth Night, and last year it was King Lear.  Both times we've managed to get AMAZING seats, thanks to handicapped reserved seating, and I've kept the programs and ticket stubs from both.  This year will likely prove to be another great year as we have one again managed to snag awesome seats, we only have to pay $20 thanks to the loveliness that is the "Play On" option, AND Christopher Plummer is play Caesar!  Shannon also tells me she plans on taking me to an awesome ice cream place either before or after the show which is great in my books.  The combination of awesome friend + awesome play + great ice cream = FANTASTIC day!  My dad's driving me down to her place on Tuesday night, in Guelph then we're going to leave from her place on Wednesday and drive to Stratford.  I wish I could stay longer than just those two days, but unfortunately I have my volunteering duties and a physio appointment on Thursday that I HAVE to go to since I already cancelled on them last week while Mum was away camping so that I to could have the whole week to myself.

This will likely be my last shot for a while to hang out with Shannon since going to U of T in the fall for another Masters program in Library Information Science.  Even though she's commuting from her home in Guelph I have no doubt she's going to be uber busy once the school year starts.  I won't get to hang out with my Grey's Anatomy buddy anymore :(  Ahh well, here's hoping I can find a job in Guelph soon enough so I'll get to see her more often!  She can't get rid of me that easy anyway!  Hehe!

I just had my 2nd job interview in 7 months yesterday.  It's for a part-time position as a menu clerk in the Nutrition Department at my local hospital.  I found out about the job at random as I volunteer in the Human Resources Department of the hospital on Thursdays and one day decided to drop them off a copy of my resume in case anything popped up.  Well, last week I got a phone call, "Hey Ashley, it's Brittany from H.R. give me a call back I have a job here you might be interested in."  Sweet!  I call her back and she tells me the aforementioned details, including the fact that it's 12 hr shifts on alternating weekends, but aside from that I didn't know much about the position.   I tried looking up the job on the hospital's website, but it wasn't posted, so essentially I was going into the interview blind.  That being said, I think it went rather well given my own knowledge and a bit of creative B.S.  I found out that the 12 hour shifts have me starting at 5 am, so that's going to be a bit of a struggle at first, but nothing I can't adjust to.  My only concern will be how to get there at 5 am since I don't have my license.  The disability buses we have Paris don't run til 8 and the ones in Brantford til 7:30. If I get the job, I figure what I'll have to do is pay the stupidly high fee to take the cab into the city to get to the hospital, but then I can book the disability cab to take me home at the end of my shift.  Since the job is only on weekends, I figure it shouldn't be too expensive  to take the regular cab into work twice a week then to just pay the cheaper fees for the ride home.

I'm REALLY hoping I get this job though.  It's working in the field I like and at a HOSPITAL no less!  That will give me some great experience and look awesome on a resume.   I've worked at the hospital once before as an administrative assistance in the Engineering and Maintenance Department, so I'm hoping that works in my favour since I saw my former boss yesterday after I finished volunteering and he said he gave me "a glowing recommendation."  Yay! Thanks Chris!

During the interview I told the supervisor that I'd be going out to Calgary next week on vacation from the 20th-28th, (Calgry first, then out to BC to meet my new baby counsin!  Whee!) which she said is no problem, that she'd either just leave me a message on my answering machine while I was away, or call me once I get back.  Here's hoping when I get back I have myself a job!!

It is with great pride that I announce that my friend and former roomie Amanda Cushing has made it into Vet school!!!!!  After 3 years of trying she finally got to see the one word that she's been waiting to see, "ACCEPTED."   I couldn't be more happy for her or proud.  I know all the hard work she's put into trying to get in, and finally after all that her dreams are coming true.  Goddess knows that girl has been through enough in her life already, so I'm glad to see something is working out in her favour.  She will make a terrific Vet, I know it, and it's about time they realized it too.  I was close to having to go back to Guelph and running over some toes soon if they didn't let her in.  I'm very glad to say it never came to that.  Hehe!  On another positive note, at least now there's someone coming back to Guelph who I could potentially room with for Fall '09 if I manage to get accepted for the Applied Human Nutrition Program.  That part isn't set in stone yet, but we shall see!  I am soooooooooooooooooooo very happy for you Amanda, way to go!!!

I just read in People Magazine online this morning that Nicole Kidman had a baby girl.  Her name is Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.  At first when I saw this I thought it meant that she was born on Sunday, but then I re-read it and found out, no, she was actually born today, her name is just Sunday.  Rose is nice, but Sunday Urban?  Come on.  Your other kids have nice normal names Nicole, why start getting all weird now.  Granted, it's not as bad as some of the other celeb baby names out there, but I still find it strange.

Mum has been up with our now ex-neighbours at their cottage since Monday giving herself a nice mini vacation.  Works out nicely for us both actually since it's puts off the feelings of us wanting to kill the other person for a while.  I swear sometimes as big as this house is, it's never quite big enough for two stubborn women such as ourselves.  Anyway, with her being gone that's left me all by my onesy and with the responsibility of the house and all necessary tasks.  I swear when she leaves the kitchen never looks cleaner, but that's not my point right now. 

Every Wednesday in our village is garbage day, which she normally does since those bins can get rather heavy when filled.  Well, since she wasn't hear today that was my task.  She told me if I couldn't do it, to just leave it and we'd just leave it out next week instead.  Trouble is, our recycling only gets picked up every other week now, and of course this happened to be one of those weeks, and I wasn't about to have us wait another two weeks when we already had two overflowing recycling bins as it was.  That and the fact that I'm too stubborn to actually ADMIT I can't do something, so I figured I'd just have to improvise.  Well, I did.  The only really sucky part about the whole deal was getting up at 6:30 to do so.  I like my sleep.  Our pick-up times are so sporatic though, I didn't want to take a chance I'd miss it.  First, I found out the hard way that the garbage bin, despite my pretty good upper body strength, was far too heavy to lift and also did not feel like moving in a straight line when I tried pushing it with the walker wheels.  Instead I dragged it from behind to the end of the drive way then went back for the recycling bins.  This was where it actually got kinda fun.  I know, I'm odd, bear with me.  Since the recyling bins are relatively short, I knew trying to carry them with all that junk inside was out of the question, as was trying to drag them to the end of the driveway - the one corner of one of the bins was so demolished that was nearly impossible.  I realized however, the bins height was perfect for being pushed by the walker wheels.  Only problem here is that our driveway likes to slope in some spots, and the wheels tend to go off in directions I don't tell them to go in.  Wally and I don't always see eye to eye.  I found out however, if I ran up from behind them and hoofed them with both feet they went sailing off in a semi-straight line!  There we go!  It was actually kinda fun, a partial workout and also could be therapeutic if need be.  When in doubt, kick the bin.  I went back and forth between kicking it with one foot each or both.  I did it again tonight too when I went back to collefct them, even though they were both obviously empty and a hell of a lot lighter.   The garbage bin I managed to carry in on my own.  Woot!  Go upper body!

So yes, today I invited my own game of "Recycle Bin Soccer" today; you should try it sometime!

Got this in an email from my aunt and thought it was cute, so I figured I'd share.  Enjoy!