Christmas Tree Lighting

Last night was the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Swift. The event was at the courtyard of the Bank of Montreal. The radio station was serving hot chocolate and I had signed up to help out. I'm glad I went. It was a lot of fun, there were lots of people and everyone, while totally frozen, was in a fantastic mood! I showed off my line dancing skills (much to the delight of everyone as they now had new material to mock me with...but whatevs, I totally rocked the line dancing!). It was terribly cold out, -32 with windchill, which I know isn't the worst it gets, BUT we aren't quite used to that cold just yet. I did get to try out my new snow pants, winter jacket, and long johns. All worked very well, but my toes were terribly cold. They took a long time to thaw.

We stuck it out for just over an hour and then left and warmed ourselves with London Fogs and coffees at Urban Ground (thanks Ryan!!). It was a really nice relaxing way to end the evening. I love that feeling of wearing too many layers as you warm up after being way too cold. It's so cozy feeling. Normally I would have been roasting in my long johns, long sleeves shirt, wool sweater and snowpants, while drinking a hot beverage, but last night it was a welcome heat.

Thanks.

I would just like to thank the asshole who thought it would be fun to turn on our outdoor faucet on Saturday afternoon. The water was running for probably 2 hours while we were out of the house filling up the backyard. By the time we got home one corner of the basement was under about 2 inches of water, and it kept seeping in as we soaked it up and swept it to the floor drain.

I firmly belive in karma and can only hope one day your day will be ruined by having to clean up the mess someone else caused by doing some sort of useless act of vandalism. Thanks. Jackass.

Charades, anyone?

I've discovered over the past couple of days that I am trying to communicate using only gestures. I am definately one of those people who talks with her hands while I'm talking, but lately I'm using gestures to replace words.

Example 1: Yesterday during the Birthdays on Magic, a lady called in to wish her husband a happy birthday. She said his name and while Chris was talking to her, I began to gesture at him to ask whether her husband worked at the newspaper. My gesture of choice? I pretended to hold a notebook and write. Because that, to me, says "journalism" which would obviously imply Southwest Booster. Clearly. Chris was supposed to understand that my gesture, combined with raised eyebrows was supposed to mean "Is he the one who works at the booster?"

Example 2: I was reminiscing with a friend about older toys and asked if she remembered Devil Sticks (a game were you hold two sticks that look like drumsticks and toss a baton between the two). She was pretty sure she knew what I meant, but not entirely, so I started miming it. I was describing the baton and held my hands out and waggled my fingers to show "tassels". Because that, apparently, is the universal gesture for tassels according to me.

Example 3: This morning on Magic, Chris and I were planning on talking about a giveaway the station is doing today. Ryan was going to the old Canadian Tire parking lot to give toques to the first 97 people to show up. I wasn't sure if Chris remembered that we were going to talk about it so, by way of reminding, I mimed pulling a toque over my head. What did Chris do? Give me a confused look.

Maybe I'm in the wrong field and should learn sign language and work as one of those tv translators on the government channels?

Harumph.

I'm not sure why, but I feel grumpy today. It's just one of those days I think. The grey cloud is hovering over my head and I feel like everything in the world that is malfunctioning is a personal attack. Totally unreasonable, I know.

It's days like this when I wish I could hunch down in my chair, cross my arms and scowl. Just sit there and glare at everyone and everything that's not helping my mood. But, alas, it's time to pick up my socks, put on a smile and motor through. Hoping for the best anyway.

Tag 2

I've been tagged! Soooooo...five things you might not know about me. I've done this once before, so I'm going to have to try to think of something else that you might not know about me....

Here goes!

Things you might not know about me:

I am wildly superstitious.
I won't cross on stairs: if I'm going up and someone is coming down I WON'T move until the other person is off the stairs. I believe bad things come in threes: everything from unfortunate events to big spiders...you will always see three!

I didn't get my license until I was 21.
I got my learners at 16 and then spent the next five years renewing it repeatedly. I didn't like driving. It scared me to know that I was in control of a giant piece of metal that could easily kill someone. Eventually (five years later) I got over it. Now I love driving!

Pretentious people piss me off.
This is more than a pet peeve. It's damn near a neurosis. If someone starts waxing poetic I have to restrain myself from saying something along the lines of "oh cut the crap, it's time to be real". I have yet to meet someone with romantic ideals about existentialism who can actually explain the theory. As a result, romantic ideals of any kind sound hollow and juvenile to me. I am, however, always hoping to be proved wrong. :)

I have terrible luck with hamsters.
1. Flower. Lived roughly a week. Got a tumor and died.
2. Bubbles. Lived around two months. Died unexpectedly.
3. Tickety Boo. Lived two and a half years. Died of old age.
4. Gir. Lived about 5 days. Crawled out of her nest and died of internal (and external bleeding)...ewww.

I was a fan of Pirates long before Disney came along.
My love for the swashbucklers goes back to my childhood playing the Secret of Monkey Island. If the name Guybrush Threepwood means anything to you, then I have a newfound respect for you!

There we go...I don't think I'll tag anyone. I did that once. If you feel like being tagged though, by all means, go right ahead!

It's here

This morning I looked outside to see how much frost I would have to scrape off the windshield and saw the first true skiff of snow. Probably only about an 8th of an inch, it just covered everything with a little layer. I do like that little bit brighter it makes everything look so early in the morning.

To be honest, I'm kind of glad it's here. It is, afterall, over halfway through November and it was starting to feel pretty strange not to have any snow. Now I can finally start feeling like it's maybe getting close to Christmas. And maybe I can start thinking about all of the fun winter stuff we're going to do this year!

Adventures!

I had an adventure today. After lunch, I left my house to go to Wal-mart. As I pulled away from the curb I remembered that the gas guage was looking a little low, so I decided I'd swing by a gas station and put in a 20 just to top it off. About a block away from home the car started puttering everytime I put my foot on the gas. Sure enough, it stopped a couple of blocks later. I then remembered a couple of years ago Brad telling me when he first got the car that the tank is actually empty before it hits the big E. I started chanting "please go, please go, please go" as I sat at the intersection trying to get the car started again. I did get it going again but realized it was about to stop for good and that I'd be really really hooped if that happened, so I pulled over.
I called Chris because I knew he was off work and hoped he'd be able to come and take me to a gas station to get a jerrycan and enough gas to get me to a gas station. He had just dropped his car off for an oil change and would be without wheels until close to 5. He was actually hoping someone could come and get him from the Mall. I called Alexis at work then and she said she'd come and get me. the plan was to take one of the station cruisers, but she showed up with Jeff in his car. I remembered both cruisers were gone today, she hadn't driven to work, and apparently Donovan's car was almost out of gas too! They took me to the Co-op (not before Alexis pointed and laughed at me upon Dono's request) where I borrowed a jerrycan, filled it up and then Jeff and Alexis took me back to my car where I used a jerrycan for the first time.
The best part of this whole situation? The truly ironic part? I was forced to pull over right in front of the CAA; would have been really convenient if I were a member!

Thoughts on Health Care

Last night Chris and I went to see Sicko. Southwest Festafilm was putting it on at the theatre for one night.

I've always known that Americans are required to pay for their health care and I've always been grateful as a Canadian to know it's covered, but there were several things pointed out in the film that really just reinforced my feelings.

The focus wasn't on those who don't have health insurance, but on American's who are supposedly covered by an HMO. I can't say that I was shocked to find out the insurance companies try their damnest to avoid paying out, but I was disturbed to find out the extent that it goes. I believe that Michael Moore documentaries can't be taken as straight fact, but I do believe his films are well researched and present a valid argument.

I think the part that stood out most to me was when he went to France and learned that not only is healthcare universal and free, but childcare as well. In fact, the government will apparently supply a caregiver who will come to the home of new parents and help with the baby, housework, laundry - whatever the parent needs help with - all free. Remarkable concept. Free post-secondary education was another point that stood out to me. It's an interesting concept and something I think could definitely work in Canada...it's the implementation process that seems insurmountable. But, I digress.

According to the World Health Organization, France has the best Health Care on the planet, followed by Italy and San Marino. Canada, however, sits at 30th. And the US at 37.

I definitely appreciate the availability of health care...but I think we can do better. For example, why do we have to pay for ambulance rides? Generally, an ambulance is not the sort of thing that's called for a non emergency. For the most part they're reserved for the most urgent of medical situations when medical equipment and personnel need to be on hand and a patient needs to be taken somewhere immediately with nothing getting in the way.

The thought of paying for an ambulance seems absurd, really. Let's look at this objectively with the assumption that only people in dire circumstances take a ride in an ambulance. Chances are, if you're in a situation where you need emergency transportation, it's because something really bad has happened and if that's the case, you're probably going to need recovery time. That likely means some time off work, which means a lower income (because from what I've heard getting compensation while on extended medical leave isn't as easy as it one might think). Personally, a $200+ ride is not in my budget, and would be even less affordable after taking time off work.

Last January, when Brad had his heart attack, the doctors in Swift decided he had to go to hospital in Regina. They put him into an ambulance and sent him away. A few months later the bill arrived, charging him for the ride there and the trip back. Sure, his health care covered the cost...but he had to pay the monstrous bill and be reimbursed. How is that reasonable? It scares me to think about people who don't have extended health care.

But, like I said, I am very glad to have medicare...even if there is room for improvement. We're still leaps and bounds ahead of many other countries.

That being said, France sounds pretty nice these days!

Getting Up to Speed

It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about lately, I think I've just been feeling a little drained.
Brad and I went to Medicine Hat for the Remembrance Day long weekend. It was partly to get away for a few days, and party to celebrate our 3 year anniversary. We put in two days of shopping that were actually quite relaxed and still very productive and generally enjoyed being away from the house and work and all that. Our first night was at the Imperial Motel which looks really shady from the outside, but is actually very reasonable inside. We ate at East Side Mario's (Yum!!) and just relaxed that night. The next day was breakfast at Perkins (I could kiss the person who came up with Gingerbread pancakes!) and checked into the Medicine Hat Lodge with our king sized bed (finally, I can starfish in bed without jabbing Brad in the ribs!) For supper that night we went to the M Grill, the restaurant in the Lodge. It was, I have to say, the best meal I've had in years. Fantastic food! I had stuffed fillet, which is remarkable in itself since I'm not a huge steak person. I do enjoy steak every now and again, but it's not number one on my favorite foods list (did I just out myself as an outsider to the province? I have the feeling I'm about to be ostracized). It was incredible though. The wine, the food, the dessert, and, of course, the company were divine. We went and played some slots, which I lost horribly at for the most part...the casino in the Hat doesn't seem to want to give me money, and then we called it a night.
After our drive home on Monday, I proceeded to do nothing. And that's what I did on Tuesday too. I booked Tuesday off to make it an extra long weekend and was really glad. The cold I had felt was coming on throughout the weekend (since the election finished actually) finally blew up and I felt totally beat. Tuesday night I was very sick (I'll spare you the details), and Wednesday morning I went into work for a grand total of 1.5 hours to record my news and go home to avoid the spread of disease. Thursday I left early as well and Friday I finally put in a full day. I do give the skeleton news staff credit though for keeping the boat afloat.
Now another weekend is almost done and I'm at a loss for what to say or do. It's been fairly relaxing and I'm feeling much better now.
I guess the other news is that I've got a trip booked to Smithers in the new year. Just me this time; it's a little too pricey for both of us to go back, so I'll be spending a night in PG catching up with Bill and Jessica and the other Prince Georgians, then a week in Smithers with my parents and Frank and Christi, and then one more night in PG for more catching up* and then back to Swift. I'm really looking forward to it actually. It'll be nice to see my family again and I'm really excited to see the PG group (a HUGE thank you to Bill and Jess and LP for putting me up both nights).
That's about where I stand...sorry it's not terribly pithy or witty this time...though I'm giving myself a lot of credit in thinking I'm normally either of those things! Maybe it's more appropriate to say "goofy and nonsensical"?

*catching up translates to sitting around drinking lots.

Awwwww!

Sunday is our official 3 year anniversary. Brad sent me flowers at work today in honour of the milestone. I'm pretty sure he specifically sends them at times when he knows I'll be at work just to make me the centre of attention when I get them. (Which I defiantely don't mind at all, hee hee!). The arrangement smells fantastic and is currently sitting on the entertainment stand in the living room making the whole house smell like carnations (my favorite flower).
We're taking off for the weekend to Medicine Hat for a weekend of relaxing. I can't wait!
Hooray for long weekends, and Hooray for my Sweetheart! And Hooray for 3 wonderful years!

Have a Laugh

THAT time of year...

You know the one I'm talking about. The one that is often blanketed in snow...decorated with lights and ornaments, and overseen by a large man in a red suit. That's right, the retail world is being overtaken by Christmas paraphrenalia. It's time, apparently.

Every year I hear the same thing: "It seems to come earlier every year!" I don't think that's necessarily the case though. I think last year it started to tip-toe in just before Remembrance Day and then storms in full-force as soon as the minute of silence has finished.

I would like to point out that as of November 9th, TWO blogs now have posts about something Christmas related (now make that three including this one here). Mare wrote about the Starbucks Mint Chocolate Latte (not that I can blame her...I'd be delighted too!), and Caroline wrote about her Christmas plans.

If Santa Claus is anything like me, he probably doesn't appreciate everyone reminding him that the days are flying by, and we're getting closer and closer to his most stressful night of the year.

But, I digress...it seems a little early to be thinking about Christmas. That being said, I am almost halfway done my shopping. Yay!

Stop and Breathe now...

I can now stop and take a breath and relax. The provincial election is over. While the 27 days leading up to it were stressful, Election day itself went off smoothly (if not a little hectic).
I'm so grateful for the hard work of the newsroom last night. Everyone was here on time (granted having pizza always helps to draw a radio crowd), everyone was confident in their roles, and everyone pulled off their jobs smoothly and (seemingly) effortlessly.
The polls closed at 8 and we began filing our reports to Moose Jaw. Golden West Radio broadcast a single election program covering all of the province which the other stations filed reports to. Alexis was at the Returning office in Swift filing voicers to the newsroom here for our reports, Penny filed reports from the Cypress Hills returning office, and Jon was on-location at the stockade in Swift where Brad Wall had his headquarters set up. Dono and I were at the station. He was answering the phones and editing voicers from A-Van, Penny and Jon (sometimes at once) and I was filing the reports and answering phones too.
Admittedly there were a few moments in the newsroom where it was a struggle to string two thoughts together, but that comes from multi-tasking and listening to four things at once (Radio feed, TV coverage, live feed from the Stockade, phone calls), but we pulled it off.
Wall was declared winner very early on (he finished with 5919 votes out of 8300). Lorne Calvert conceded just after 9, and Brad made his victory speech about 30 minutes later.
The whole thing went by so quickly!
Now, in the aftermath, I'm tired. Haha! Yesterday in preparation I had a three hour nap, then a large coffee at 5, followed by supper and a bunch of Pepsi. That, combined with the energy rush of being busy and working under the pressure of a deadline, was not a good recipe for sleep! I went home at 10:40 but was up until roughly midnight. And, sure enough, back to work bright and early this morning! I think it's understandable that I took the extra 15 minutes for sleep and drive to work rather than walk.
Now it's a matter of getting through the day! Maybe I'll be delirious later this morning? Especially if I keep drinking the coffee!!
(PS, if this doesn't make any sense, it has something to do with sleep deprivation)

This is Soooo Not Cool

I have a bone to pick.
Daylight savings time.
When I lived in BC, it was irritating every fall when the time change made me lose an hour of sleep, made even harsher when combined with the fact I was usually just getting back into the swing of going to school after a summer vacation (that wouldn't apply this year with the late arrival of the time change). Ever spring it would make me feel like I was getting an extra hour of sleep when, in fact, I would not because I'd just stay up later because I figured I could.
Now that I'm living in Saskatchewan, I think I hate it even more. Saskatchewan doesn't play along with DST. There are only two cities who do. I like that we don't change our clocks at all. It's nice to have the consistancy that comes with always knowing what time it is and knowing that if I get less sleep than normal it's my fault and not the clock's. My family and dearest friends still live in BC, and now they happen to be two hours behind me. So when I want to call Mare for our weekly phone date I'll have to call her at 8 my time (as per normal), but it will only be 6 for her. That's not a terribly convenient time to have a long phone call. Why not push it back an hour? Because I have to be in bed by 9:30 (7:30 Pacific) if I want to be able to function on Wednesday. Furthermore, Brad and I always watch House on Tuesdays (it's a thing we started while living long distance), and NOW it won't be on until 8....which is the time I call Mare. So, basically, I'm irate with DST for the simple fact that it inconveniences me. Hahaha. And obviously I am at the centre of the universe here and should be obliged.
That is all.