silvertag

It has occurred to me that I haven’t written in….well forever. Since like August or something. Funny how things slip away from you. I haven’t even logged on in a long time. I’ve been busy. An update:

- Chris is still not working. *sigh* It’s been almost 7 months now. He’s still getting umemployment benefits, but they suck and I miss a regular paycheck. We’re hoping, he’s looking and I’m budgeting and saving like mad to cover the bills. Yuck.

- I got a $2/hr raise! Yay! I was up for one because my 3 months were up with my new job. It was written in my contract that I would be up for a raise and evaluation, guess I’m doing well! This is the most I’ve ever made, I’m happy and thankful. Especially since we need it.

- It’s cold and snowy already. I hate the snow. It took me a full hour to get to work today. Sick.

- I’m working afternoon’s this week to fill in. A service writer that I couldn’t stand finally quit so I have to help fill in. I told them I would do one week now and then another in 2 weeks and by then they’d have better hired someone. My shift is 8 - 4:30 thank you very much, not 11:00 - 7:00.

- I’m half way done my Christmas shopping. I’m making stuff like you wouldn’t believe…Are people doing a KCL secret santa this year??? If so, I still want in.

- I have to head to BC next weekend to see my sister. Her kids are being baptised and I’m the god-mother of both. WTH do you get a 6 month old and a 4 year old for baptism gifts? I didn’t even know I had to get them something until my mom brought it up…shit.

- 2 years no birthcontrol, still no baby. God’s plan? His way of looking out for us, when obviously we can’t afford it? Maybe….

- The lot next door to our home, the one that when we bought we were told was a greenspace and would never have anyone living on it…? Sold last month. We paused our movie one Sunday afternoon to hear something, oh ya, it was a bobcat and the huge patch of trees next door is gone. And by the way, in 10 days you’ll have new neighbours. Great. Our view is now of a side of a trailer.

- Chris has been working for a farmer part time, for cheap. The farmer has adopted him almost, haha and offered us 100 acres of land for $1. YAY! Let’s sell and move I say. Wait, Chris tells me, it’s going to cost $50,000 to put in the services to get power to whatever we build on that location. Shit.

Ummm…well gotta run again. At least an update for now. I hope to read some blogs this coming weekend. And to write before December…

I seriously laughed my ass off reading this… (email forward recieved today)

1. More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?

4. Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

5. OK. That’s enough, Nickelback.

6. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

7. The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase “Regards” again.

8. Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the “people you may know” feature on facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

9. Do you remember when you were a kid; playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or faq’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.

10. There is a great need for sarcasm font.

11. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

12. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.

13. The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that is when I realized, yup, that’s a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

14. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

15. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

16. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

17. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

18. A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

19. Was learning cursive really necessary?

20. Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say

21. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

22. Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

23. Whenever someone says, “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

24. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

25. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

26. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said, “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”

27. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

28. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

29. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

30. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

31. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

32. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

33. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

34. Bad decisions make good stories.

35. Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!

36. Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

37. If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

38. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

39. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

40. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

41. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

42. The best thing about sex is that part where I have it.

43. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

44. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

45. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’

46. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

47. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

48. I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my itunes.

49. Why is a school zone 15 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…

50. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

51. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

52. It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

53. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

54. I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

55. Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to with it.

56. The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

57. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…

58. My 4 year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?

59. It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

60. I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

61. I think the freezer deserves a light as well

I think I’ve decided to go see my sister for the weekend. The long weekend. I had no idea until yesterday that Monday is a holiday and this is a long weekend! I’m super pumped now. I also found out that Chris is staying up where he is to work and might be up there for awhile. He might not also, but since he is, I’m thinking I’m going to head to BC to see my sis. I miss my 3 year old nephew and my 3 month old niece doesn’t know me yet.

I’ve also re-connected with an old friend from high school and we are likely to meet up too. Woo Hoo! I love it when plans work out. Yesterday I had no plans, today I’m heading west! It’s a 5 hour drive - boo! But 3 days to relax with the girls and the kids? I’m game.

- When I left the grocery store last night, about 10 seconds after I paid (with debit) the power went out in the whole store. Apparently this has been happening and the last time the power was out for half an hour. (See I told you…timing)
- I think it’s ridiculous that no one in my office can get pictures off the digital camera. They all use it, then bring it to me and get me to email it to them. Sheesh, connect the damn cord yourselves…
- Chris is on his way home again today. The rig manager got fired. Same manager that wanted Chris to leave this job and start a company with him…ya ok buddy. At least he’s still there, although it is unfortunate that he only got 2 working days in.
- We are cat sitting. I can’t stand it. I like the cat (she used to be mine but is my mom’s now), but at my mom’s she’s good, here she hisses at my dog constantly and this morning crapped on my kitchen floor because she was mad at me, or the dog. Sick.
- We got our vehicle insurance renewal in the mail yesterday. Our monthly payments went down by $65/month. Yay!
- Our mortgage went up by $60/month due to the whole property taxes incident. Lol.
- I got an RRSP statement in the mail yesterday and its value had dropped in January (eek!), but went back up (some)…. I’m not sure how that happened… J
- Lately we’ve been leaving the lawnmower and weed whacker outside in the yard since we fenced it. It’s in an alcove thingy between the house and the garage but has no cover. We cover it with plastic or the wheelbarrow to protect it from the rain. It’s been uncovered for a few days, but last night after I watered the garden I covered it back up. It rained last night. Timing….hehehe
- I’m actually caught up in my job. Go figure. But I don’t want to tell anyone because then they’ll make me start closing my own work orders. When we get busy again, I’ll never have time to close them on my own and if I start now, I’ll never get the service writer to do it for me again. Plus all he does now is play on facebook all day, even when he has work to do. Always saying he has nothing to do…
- I catch the guys in my building staring at my cleavage all the time when I’m talking to them. It makes me laugh.

I still can’t figure out how to change my layout or how to put up a profile picture. I’m working on it, but it’s hard!

Today I’ve been thinking about past choices and how they’ve led me to where I am. I think its part from the book I started yesterday. (It’s freakin’ good and I can’t put it down!!!)

I was thinking it’s ironic how timing affects so much in my life. I truly believe that timing is everything. From work to love to where I live. Example:

Right after graduating college I took a job as a clerk in an Esso station. I had a diploma but no money and no prospects in a small town. Within 2 months I had been promoted twice and took over the position of assistant manager. I had no idea what was involved and what it took (at 23 years old), but it was salary. I stayed there for a year and moved over to manage a pawnbroker, which again I had no idea.

I had a deadbeat boyfriend, I was making $12/hr and happy – or so I thought. I finally realized that deadbeat was a loser and never going to leave his mother. After 3 years I finally gave up on him and us and gave notice on my suite and later my job. I had never, and not again to this day, left a job without one lined up already. I was freaked out, but I had some savings and a place to live in Alberta. So, I packed up my stuff into storage and moved. I was unemployed for a month and looked for a job everyday, while living with my sister, cooking and cleaning in exchange for rent.

I took a job in retail management and lasted there for 7 months. Management was never something that I aspired to do, career wise. But it was a path. Those 3 management positions led to me the job I had prior to this one, as a service writer. I stayed there for 3 years, hating every minute of the last year. I wanted to leave so many times, and it took me until Janaury to get up the courage to start looking for something else. I kept thinking that it would get better. It took me months to find this position. Funny enough that even though I had been looking steady, I missed this posting for the first week or 2 that it was up. When I interviewed, I interviewed for only 2 jobs the entire 4 months that I was looking. And I was lucky enough to get this one. I think it was the right timing, to see the ad, to apply. It’s strange to me how I went from a business diploma majoring in accounting to a warranty manager. But I’m grateful.

When I met Chris, I had just left the cheater (from yesterdays’ post) and after the 3rd date I knew we’d end up together. He moved in with me a month after we met, we were engaged at 6 months and married at a year and a half. November will be 3 years we’ve been together. Had I met him before the cheater I might not have realized that he was the one for me.

When we bought our house…we were renting and so sick of the people living upstairs. We had heard that they might be moving out and we were offered the top floor. It turns out that the girl decided to stay. By that time, we had gotten used to the fact that we wouldn’t be in the basement anymore. It was 3 weeks before our wedding and we called our realtor. We looked at 5 or 6 places and fell in love with this one. It had been on the market for 35 days and the price had been reduced once already. They were hot to sell and we got the price reduced further. In a sellers market that was rare. We closed in a week and a week later got married. A month later we moved in.

I believe all our blessings in life are a matter of timing. We want to have a baby. But after a year and a half with no protection, still nothing. I believe our timing is just not right yet. I’m hopeful.

Wow - thanks to all who stopped by and commented!  I feel pretty welcome and missed reading you all!  And after just a few days, you’re all right (whoever said it) this place is much more like JS than blogger.  I don’t mind blogger and I’ll likely keep it for a while, but I think I’m going to move over.

Anyhow, I have a lot on my mind today.  To answer Benb’s question…

I did finally get a new job.  I started almost 3 months ago and I love it.  I was offered a better position, more pay, same hours, better title (service writer to warranty manager) and less stress.  I was hired into a huge mess and it’s taken me the entire time I’ve been there to clean it all up, but I’m starting to make progress.  I’m nearing my 3 month probation period ending and with that comes benefits and a raise of $1 - $2 per hour.  I’m happy for that.  I really do like the job and my new manager thinks I’m great, so that’s really good.  I’ve even made friend with a girl that works in another department. 

It’s funny how you can run into someone and meet them and find that they are like a sister or like you in so many ways it’s odd.  We are both married to riggers, we’re the same age, she’s been married 2 years (us 1), we’re both in the same place when it comes to babies and families (yep, still trying, been off birth control for 1.5 years already), and just the same annoyances about life, husbands not cleaning up and on and on and on. 

Chris (my husband) has been off work for break up for 4 months.  It’s been a VERY long time.  He’s getting unemployment benefits thank God.  It’s not enough to live off of, but combined with my income we’re surviving.  He’s worked a few days here and there and he left today for a few days, but I’m so ready for him to go back to work.  Don’t get me wrong, I love him, but when your life and your marriage is based on me working all day in the city and him being gone for 2 - 3 weeks at a time and then it all changes to him being here 24/7 for months at a time, well let’s just say it’s time for him to go back to work. 

I love the time we spend together, but when he’s on break up we can’t do anything.  He’s bored because he has nothing to do.  There is so much we want to do around the house, but of course living on unemployment doesn’t really offer any options in that area.  Anyhow, he went back today and I’m thankful, mainly because $400 a week doesn’t pay the bills lol. 

We have done a lot of work in the house lately - we built a fence in our backyard, we put in a vegetable garden, we painted the spare bedroom and the guest bathroom and a few minor things here and there.  We still want to paint the laundry room and a few other things before Chris’s parents come to visit in a few weeks time.  Central air is high on the priority list.  I’m sure it doesn’t sound bad to some of you living in the hot places, but we like our house around 70 (or less) and lately it stays around 86 and won’t go down…even at night.  Its too hot for us.  I miss spring and fall lol.

So after I dropped Chris off at the office this morning ( got up at 6 on my day off, thank you very much!) it was 8 and I was in the city, so I figured I would stop by wal-mart and pick up a few things I needed.  I came across a novel that sounded great so I bought it.  I should be doing laundry and other things today, but I’m going to read and try to figure out how to work my way around KCL…

Anyhow the book is called “love the one you’re with” by Emily Giffin.  It’s basically about a couple that have been married a short time (less than a year) and she runs into an old boyfriend.  And how he’s the typical “one that got away” and how after running into him he’s all she can think about and her struggle to move beyond that and into her life now and not screw things up based on what could have happened and what has happened.  It sounds odd, but I swear I feel that way sometimes.  I love my husband and I love our life.  I don’t regret anything for one minute, but sometimes I think back of that one that got away too.  It was the relationship right before I met Chris and it ended poorly with him cheating on me and his 8 year old daughter involved, but for some reason he pops into my head once in a while and it’s hard not to think about where he is now and what could have been. 

Mainly I think because the whole situation was insane.  He has broken up with his fiancee (told me girlfriend), we dated for awhile and then I found out he was cheating on me with her and on her with me.  It was a crazy situation and when I found out I contacted her and told her.  She and I remained in contact for awhile (don’t ask me why), then she blamed me again, we stopped talking and they got back together.  A good friend of mine was on a date one night and he was at the next table with her, he asked about me, the girlfriend freaked out, she told him I was engaged. 

I saw him at a few wedding shows when we were planning the wedding - which when I did, I ducked and ran the other way.  Then about a month after we got married I found out that they got married too.  On the same day that we did.  Neither of us knew, but it creeped me out.  Still does.  And I often wonder if he’s cheating on her again.  Stupid thoughts.