January 27
I
love seeing little kids in the winter all bundled up. They just become little
munchkins you want to squish! However, I got the privilege today to kind of
feel like that myself--sans ski pants, unfortunately, which is why my legs
froze while shovelling the snow in the blizzard today. There's even a wind
chill warning for the city right now! Anyways, I was completely covered from
head to butt with warm, winter clothes: fleece hoodie, double-layer parka
with faux-fur-lined hood, scarf to cover the cheeks and nose, ear band for
extra protection of the ears and coverage of the forehead, and mitts. I'm
sure it was quite the site. In fact, I think I have a picture of how it
looks, which hopefully I can embed. I took this photo last year, I think, and
the scarf I used today was different, but the effect was essentially the
same. Well, my outfit was able to defend me against the blast in the frozen
wasteland that is outside my door at the moment, but it was coming inside
that more reminded me of being a little kid. Remember when you used to get
the zipper stuck on your winter coat, and you needed your mom's help to fix
it? That's what happened!!! I don't know how, but my coat was totally undone
except for a part right at the top that got stuck. In fact, I'm not even sure
how it happened considering the whole bottom of the coat was undone and yet
the zipper pull was at the top at the part that was stuck. I tried to look in
the mirror to see what was going on but still couldn't fix it. Furthermore,
wearing my fleece hoodie prevented me from being able to get the coat off
over my head to be able to work on it better! So my mom had to come and help.
She was able to get the zipper down far enough so I could pull my fleece hood
out, and then we had to pull the coat over my head. But this was no small
feat. I had to make sure I could first get it over my nose and then protect
my eyelids from the pull of the zipper itself since that's what was chafing
my face as we pulled. Then over my ears, squeezing the life out of my head,
and finally we were able to get it off. It was fixable within minutes of
getting it off, but it was impossible with it on! I wish I'd had a camera for
that one. Almost as funny as when I got my head stuck in the vacuum...twice!
Yep, there I am. OK, I was wearing a
different hat then too, but you get the picture!
4:47 PM | Permalink
January 26
I've
had some real problems with the credit bureau lately. Whose error this was, I
know not, but it's not pretty. I guess it could be worse. I haven't been the
victim of identity theft, which is what we thought happened originally. But
what did happen is that someone else with the same name as me in the country
has a credit card that appeared on my credit report, and that person had
accrued over $8000 worth of debt on it. It took about 3 weeks to get that
resolved, and now that it is, I find that there's an extra Sears card on my
account as well--whose account is unpaid and perhaps in arrears! Whom to
contact: Equifax yet again, Sears? It's so frustrating. Thankfully that
person is only in arrears for about $250, but it's just the idea that more
than one false credit card has been applied to my account. Do these people
not check account numbers and match them up with addresses and what not? I
mean what is going on? And who is responsible for this? How is it that one
organisation can ruin my credit rating through no fault of my own? If it were
identity theft, I could perhaps take some part of the blame because maybe my
online purchasing habits or whatever could perhaps leave room for doubt that
this is someone else's fault, but this is mistaken identity. This is a
clerical error made by someone that actually can affect the life circumstances
of someone else. Thankfully, the credit card person that got cleared had been
regularly paying off the card, or else I could have had a poor credit rating
based on someone else's spending habits. But with the Sears card, that has
dropped my credit rating because Sears had to inquire to Equifax about it.
It's a terrible thing!
In
the meantime, my quest for purchasing my own place is fading as the costs are
just too much for me at the moment. It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped,
and it's not that I can't afford to rent. It's just nicer when you can own.
Hopefully I'll be able to get some more permanent work, even something
steady, full time, that can last for about 6 months at least would be more
stable than my current situation. I leave it to God to take care of me and
take me where I need to go!
10:32 PM | Permalink
January 16
I've
already mentioned this a couple of times elsewhere, but I must be crazy to
sign up for the MS Bike Tour. I go from Leduc to
Camrose on day 1 and then back again on day 2. I'm talking the most serious
physical challenge I'll ever have put myself up to! OK, for some of you, it's
probably a walk in the park on a summer holiday afternoon, but for me, it's a
big challenge. I'm a little scared, buy my friend at work who asked me if I
would sign up with her said she'd help me train, so let's hope for the best!
But I've been reading lately about older people who have taken on serious
physical challenges and participate in competitive sports later in life, so
if they can do it, why can't I? I guess we'll find out if I can or not. But
the good news is that they have trucks to bring you back if you don't make
it, so I won't be all alone
12:44 PM | Permalink
January 13
I
couldn't help but laugh last night--well I wanted to laugh anyways, but I
didn't have enough energy! It didn't help that I had an all day planning
session for one of my jobs, yes a Saturday meeting. One of my friends and I
had made plans to go out for supper after my meeting was over. He had
recently got engaged and wanted to tell me about how he proposed and what
happened. I called him when I was done, and as my meeting was located across
the street from where he lives, we decided it was best I just go over to his
place to hang out until we decided where to go. I was so exhausted already,
and so was my friend. At first we thought we would pick up supper somewhere
and then come back and watch a movie, but then we decided that since he
already had some leftover pizza at home, and he was in the mood for soup
himself, we would just eat at home. The movie we got wasn't great, called I Witness. It was a decent story
line, but the movie moved very slowly. Sergio fell asleep, and I also was
tempted to sleep many times. I got to thinking after how my friend and I,
along with other friends, used to go out Saturday nights and stay out until
all hours of the morning, and I'd wake up the next day for church and be
fine. It was so funny that he and I were both falling asleep, and the movie
only ended at about 10:15pm. Is it tragic? No, it's life. But it's hilarious!
It's just been a few years since we were all able to go out late like that;
now I feel old! tee hee :o)
3:03 PM | Permalink
January 11
A lovely pre-cursor to next month, which hosts
Valentine's Day. I know some of my friends think I'm alone in my beliefs on
dating and relationships, but this woman seems to share my same beliefs!
Quote
8:03 AM | Permalink
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January 03
Historically,
New Year and birthdays are reflective times for me. Of course, my last birthday
was more reflective being that it was a milestone one, but this year, New Year
didn't afford me the opportunity to reflect. I was far too busy during the
short holiday I had--visiting with friends instead of working, at least, but in
any case, I didn't have a lot of time with myself just to sit and think. It's
probably just as well. I'm always thinking and analysing, and it's not always
productive for me. In fact, sometimes it induces depression, so I'm just as
happy...to be happy!
Having
a public forum like this with a small but devoted readership is something I
have found to be a little challenging. I feel like I need to update often
enough so that people still know I'm alive and well, but I don't always have a
lot of information to share, either because life itself isn't exciting, or some
of things going on are just not good topics to write in a public forum. A
person has to still be tactful and protect confidentiality or privacy as the
case may be. So if my entries are getting a little sparse these days, don't
worry about me. Maybe we'll just better keep in touch by email! :o)
The
one thing I can write about at the moment is losing one of my best friends, who
is moving out to Victoria. Not that it's so very far away, but just to know
that she's not here anymore. I guess some people must have felt the same when I
moved to Mexico, but it seemed to me at that time that everyone here was
settled and didn't need me anymore, that I could safely leave. I'm one of those
people that like to feel needed, like I'm making a difference. My friends here
appeared to be living fulfilling lives, having satisfying careers, groups of
friends, and/or significant others in their lives. It just seemed like time for
me to move on. I know that my friend is feeling kind of similarly, maybe not
about the rest of us she is leaving behind, but it's her time to move on this
time. Still, we have been friends for about 9 years, and when we hugged
goodbye, my life with her in it flashed before my eyes, and I thought about all
the good, the bad, and the ugly we've been through together, helping each
other, being there for each other. I used to have so many guy friends, but
she's one of the first girls I had met that helped me know the value of having
girl friends. She leaves tomorrow, but I already miss her.
7:32 PM | Permalink