Peace River

So Chizzle my co-worker and soon-to-be grade 4 teacher needed to go up to Peace River to get her materials for next September. She needed company for her road-trip and because I had the same days off we packed up and left earlyish Monday morning.

The drive up was about 4.5 hours and fairly uneventful. We stopped in Whitecourt, but other than that we saw nothing but farmland like around home and lots of highway. Oh, and we saw 2 dead deer, a dead moose calf and a dead coyote. ; ; Sucks to have forest virtually right beside the highway.

Finally at about the 4 hr mark the terrain started to change and we were treated to a beautiful view of the Peace River in its valley. :) The scene reminded me of my trip last summer to the Okanagan in BC AND it was even hotter in Peace River that day. (Up around 35 Celcius.)

While Chizzle had her meeting at the school I thought I'd go for a walk around the city and see what was to be seen. Nearly three hours later I had seen the local arena (being painted,) pool, Redi Mart, Arboretum and walking paths along the river. I'd also seen three hours of merciless sun beating down on my (unprotected >.<) skin and the last of the water in my bottle.

Finally Chizzle and I rendezvoused and decided to get some supplies and head out to a campground recommended to her by the teacher she is replacing. We stopped at the Co-0p for food and at the Travelodge liquor store for refreshment and hit the road (24 more km) for the campground. AWESOME! To get to Tangent Park we had to take a tug/ferry combination across the river. After a long, hot (and by now getting a little painful) day the river crossing was a welcome delight. The campground was our next pleasant surprise. It was clean and well-kept and the sites were great! Wood was free, I started a kick-ass fire that only took 1 match and YES! you CAN cook pizza over a campfire. We took a bunch of photos for posterity (hopefully I'll get at least ONE good one to post) and ended up crashing about 11pm.

Um... except for the bear, that is.

Yea. While we had been out and about taking photos, walking down by the river and playing at the playground we'd noticed a funny sound somewhere OUT there. As we were settling down to sleep that sound got closer... and sounded quite alarming. In fact it sounded quite a bit like a bear grunting. O.O We took a drive around the campground but didn't see anything. We left the car doors open..... just in case. We left the hatchet right outside the tent and kept our lights with us in case of emergency. Then we decided that we had been terrified by some bird... and fell asleep. Eventually.

Looking back, I'm sure it WAS a bird of some sort, but like nothing I'd ever heard.

The next morning arrived and Chizzle drove back into town while I made myself some breakfast pizza and Swiss Mocha. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I tidied up the site, did the dishes and packed my stuff to go. When Chizzle came back she had some lunch and we headed out for home. :) Felt great to get back in the city, but I am already looking forward to my next trip to Peace River and Tangent Park. I had a great time, although I was kinda crabby for like 65% of the time (sorry Chizzle :-/) and can't wait to go back. It's closer to me than Banff and honestly, at 10$ a night for a really nice, uncrowded site, I'd rather be up north than in the mountains. Also, I really want to see "12 Foot Davis"' grave, which was on the list but was forgotten. lol

12 Foot Davis makes me think funny things. :-D

Anyhow... I really hope the photos come out well. Maybe Chizzle will have had success with her digital. I just hope my film didn't melt entirely. :X

Thoughts from a Kiosk

Shizzle and I should not be allowed to spend more than 15 idle minutes in the same facility as it causes uncontrollable hillarity (which scares the locals.) O wait, we ARE the locals. Muahahahahaha!

.... squadrons of napalm bats and exploding dogs. need I say more???????????

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

So I never did make it to the Solstice party, despite my good intentions. After work I went home and because I had a splitting headache I crashed on my hammock (which is living in my living room at the moment.) I woke up at about 6:45 when the Dude called and told me he wanted to make me supper. Weeeellll- I could always go to the party AFTER eating, I suppose. I talked to X on the phone and found out that everything's okay in his world and talked to C and told her that I had to eat and then I would come out to the party. Well we made our supper and meanwhile L phoned to find out why I wasn't at the party yet. I assured her that I was coming later... but as things turned out I never made it. I didn't have the heart to tell the Dude "gee thanks for making me such an awesome dinner, you have to go home now so I can go party." L phoned a couple more times but I didn't pick up because, well, when you're chillin' with a dude who's just made you a great meal you don't just jump up and get the phone. As my dad always says, "phones are available for YOUR convenience, don't let it own you. You don't HAVE to answer it." Soooooo I'm sure that not everyone at work is entirely pleased with me but I hope they'll understand that the Dude > work.

In other news, in geekland (a.k.a. FFXI) today is KIRIN DAY!! Kirin is the father of the gods or something like that and drops some great stuff. Our linkshell has had some great success with Kirin and has him down pretty well. Tonight will be the first (and second) Kirin for me. I am really really excited because I've never fought him and it will be an interesting and thrilling occurrence. Also, I hope I'll get the WAY-cool title: Kirin Captivator.

POETRY IN THE PARK:

by Shizzle
those damn seed pods do tickle my nose,
so I showed them the rough end of the vacuum hose,
I swept, and I wiped, and I hosed like a beast,
until at last the twitch-twitching in my nose was ceased.

by jaygee
"Get out or die, I said to the fly,
As he bounced from my head, to the screen, to my thigh.
He buzzed once more from the fan to the floor,
And I swung, and a splat! And the fly was no more."

**my apologies to shizzle for the typo**

Thoughts in a Hurricane

1- So the Oilers lost the Stanley Cup Final. Yes, I am disappointed. I feel bad for them and for everyone that was a true fan and supported them. However: fact- they didn't play the first two periods of the game. One can not expect to win by only playing the third period. And so... the season is over. And so... I am back to working only ONE job with the occasional concert thrown in for flavour.

2- Banana body butter from the Body Shop is really really great. It's not a super-strong and sickly-sweet scent, it's just fruity and yummy and makes me think about getting some banana cream pie.

3- My youngest niece just turned 3. Three! Contrary to this, my eldest niece is graduating from grade 12 this year. I remember when SHE was 3. Omg where does the time go?????

4- FINALLY got my planters full of pretty flowers on my deck. :) This year I chose Marigolds, multi-coloured Celosia, Dahliettas and some Snapdragons and Alyssum for fillers. All of these look very nice- especially from my deck-hammock! Yes!! I finally bought one! Can't wait for a non-rainy night so that I can sleep out there!

5- I'm convinced that men were put on this planet to make me crazy. The X called me and apologised for being a jerk. Now he's having girl trauma and I feel powerless to help him. He's feeling alone- and mostly he IS alone- but that's a stew of his own making. I would do anything to have a magic wand that would solve his issues. I can't do anything though. Although he is no longer my partner in life, I do still care and I am still concerned. As much as I would love to say, "just deal with it bud," I can't do that. My conscience and my heart disallow any such action.

6- In other news, things with the Dude are moving along swimmingly. I had a wee freak out this past week when I realized that I did in fact like him... and briefly considered telling him to take a hike, but in the end I decided that if I really do like him, telling him to get lost is not a wise course of action. To tell the truth, I am terrified of him. Or, to be more precise, I am terrified of myself. I'm afraid of what will happen if I relax and let my guard down. It would be so much easier to just walk away now. But, if I did walk away I would never be able to forgive myself for giving up. Especially because he likes a) cats b) "Rudy" c) ice cream! d) me. Also "'Tis better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." ...an' all that jazz.

7- The summer solstice party is on tonight! Everyone at work insists that it's "attendance mandatory" but to tell the truth because of all that's been in my head I forgot all about it. They all want me to bring the Dude. I don't know if he'll come, but I'll ask. Last year's party was MUCH fun! Looking forward to it, although I have to work at 7 tomorrow so I'm not sure how much fun I'll be having.

Anyway, add these ingredients to a blender and hit frappe. Voila! Thoughts in a Hurricane for you to enjoy.

Um... the stalking continues....

June 16, 2006
Today you are positively bursting at the seams with energy and enthusiasm. Both your personal and professional lives are going well, so it's no wonder you are feeling so joyful. The only down side for you is that your work responsibilities may threaten to overwhelm you. Certainly there is a lot to be done, but you are up to the task. Buckle down and put on a last burst of effort so you can enjoy a guilt-free evening.

Playoffs? Dora?? Park???? 'Nuff said!

Rainy Day Hilarity: [Do you need it?}

So... it's raining. Again. But here's a funny story to make you smile I hope.

Last night as I unlocked the door to my apartment I heard my phone ringing. I dropped my stuff and ran for the call. It was the Dude. :D And he wanted to come over. Because I hadn't eaten yet, I started to prepare some butter chicken and jasmine rice. Well the rice had just started to boil (read: boil OVER) when the Dude rang up. So I turned down the element and went on with browning the chicken. As my apartment door opened the element began to emit bilious clouds of blackish smoke. Impressive. After assuring the Dude that my supper was not actually on fire I got him settled in the living room and switched elements because by this point the rice was done and its element still hot. Not even 30 seconds later flames errupted from under the pan! The Dude chose THAT particular moment to come back into the kitchen. Again, I had to swear up and down that it wasn't acutally my supper that was in flames. (I guess the starch in ricewater actually does burn.)

Now here I'll stop because nothing after that was as funny... but it's kind of embarassing (well REALLY embarassing) to seemingly set your supper on fire not once, but TWICE in 10 minutes... in front of your new boyfriend. At least it turned out well. And he finished it off, so apparently he thought it was edible as well.

Lesson learned- I am an incompetant, messy cook, but the end results are worth it. ...really!

8:01 am... I really am trying to have a good day....

Worked 8-4 Fri, 7-3 Sat, George Strait Sat night, 7-3 Sun, George Strait Sun night, 7-3 Mon... and working at the arena tonight. So yea, I'm tired but I am trying to be a Mary Sunshine because no one likes a GrumpyPants.
HOWEVER:
Act I
First I stopped to get gas on my way to work. I paid for my gas and said, "have a good day!" to the lady behind the counter. She said, "well it sure isn't shaping up that way." ... and proceeded to tell me about how she was up so late with her other job and had to be at the gas station and bla bla bla and how she had to work her other job later and .... "Well," I said, "it sure looks like it's going to be a nice day." "yea gotta get to work later. of course i've been doing this for thirty years, i can't see anything changing anytime soon..." Exit stage left for me.
Entracte
The Bear played some great tunes on the way to work. :)
Act II
My cell phone rings. Yay! A call! "Hello??" "When can I come pick up the rest of my shit??" /sigh... "Whoa. It's 7:20 am. Why are you so bitchy with me?" I had to ask. I mean, I haven't seen the guy in over 2 weeks and that's the tone he chose?? WTF. Long story short, this was not a fantastic conversation and lead me to believe that really, honestly, realistically friendship is not in the cards for me and my X. :-[
Brief Interlude
Went outside and listened to the songbirds chatting. Looked for Sphynx Moths and any other interesting little guys like the cool brown spotty moth I saw yesterday.
Act III
A minivan approaches.
"Hello, bonjour" I say smilingly. "WHAT?" ...I nearly jumped back away from the window. Looking at me suspiciously are the people from Grant Wood's American Gothic. And, yea, the guy was even wearing overalls. (I didn't see the pitchfork tho' and the lady was older, more permed and had glasses.) "What did you say??" I took a deep breath because I felt a little uncomfortable- these people were looking at me like I was from Mars. "Hello? How are you today?" (figured this was a safe track for conversation) "How much to drive through?..." And so on.
Now I am not trying to pass judgement on any particular area of any particular country just south of us... but when this couple drove away, sure enough they were from a middleish region and had a "you can't be pro-abortion and catholic" bumpersticker. /sigh.... I hate when people live up to the stereotype.
Exeunt with a flourish of ...pitchforks?

8:28 am... I really am trying to have a good day....

So I may be a LITTLE Hard to Reach in the Next 2 Weeks

Between my 2 jobs I'll be working 134 hours in the next 14 days. And playing in a golf tournament. (And was supposed to be volunteering at another. ; ;) And spending time with the Dude. And eating and/or sleeping and/or showering... but those are negligible.

Sooooo... try me on my cellular (you should all have the #) or just leave me a message at home and I will get back to you unless it is dark outside b/c that means it's way too late or way too early to be talking to anyone!

4 hours and 10 minutes until I can start my cashout, 4 hours and 40 minutes until I can go home and rest for an hour before leaving for work. Does this sound odd to you? My cats are going to hate me. They are getting very needy and I am finding myself getting a scalp massage (avec claws) when I try to sleep (from child A) and also finding myself chasing child B down the building hallway whenever I open the door. I don't blame B- apparently the hall carpet gives a great roll. I do blame A a little- she could give me the loving without the punishment.....

anyway, rock on! until we meet again.

MSN is Stalking Me!

June 1, 2006
Money matters might be a bit tangled up today, jenn. You may find that there's an unexpected delay in receiving funds that are due to you.....

So when I called telephone banking this morning to find out how much I'd been paid today my balance was scarily low. (like 54$) HUH?? I should have had a full 80 hrs of pay in there! Long story short, I had to drive the hour to work to pick up my physical cheque (which obviously wasn't direct-deposited) then drive back to Sherwood Park to deposit it so my rent cheque didn't bounce, then get caught in construction while driving BACK to work, making me 30 mins late for my shift. A BIT TANGLED?? grrrr!

Anyway, in other news, I bought a cellular phone today! Yay!