A New Name.

I've decided I need a new title. Chance helped me out on the Eagle Morning Show.

Have a Listen

A Lost Art

Remember the thrill of opening your mailbox (the one physically attached to your house) and seeing a slightly yellowed, partly bent envelope looking up at you with your name on it? An envelope that didn't have a clear window on it telling you it's a bill. An envelope with actual postage, not that pre-paid postage that billing companies use. Remember what that felt like? Yeah, I don't either really. It's remarkable really. We've drifted from that time when letters were the only way to write to each other. After dropping an envelope into the mailbox you could wait two weeks at best for a response from your penpal. Does anyone do that anymore? Sure I mail packages and presents to my family and loved ones, but does anyone actually have a penpal with whom they physically write letters using pen and paper? I would, really and truly, I would...but I'm too damned impatient now.

Dial-up internet came to Smithers a while after the rest of the world had already gotten used to the phenomenon, but we jumped on the bandwagon and clung on with whiteknuckles. I think I was 12-14 when I got my first email address (because my address was jessw13 and I know that I wasn't 13 at the time). That means I've had email for roughly half of my life, and certainly for the majority of my letter-writing life. I have had penpals. I wrote to a boy named Kirk Cameron in Australia (through a school penpal program in grade 2 or 3), and I wrote to friends in Surrey after we moved. Penpals were neat...and I'm sure they still are neat, I just can't wait for replies anymore.

These days if I send an email, the time it takes for a response directly impacts my mood while reading said email.
The scale looks like this:
1-15 minutes after sending: Excited, happy, and impressed

15-60 minutes after sending: happy and curious

1 hour - 3 hours: reasonably pleased

3 hours - 12 hours: getting impatient

12 hours - 24 hours: wondering what the hold up is

24 hours - 36 hours: questioning the level of commitment from the respondent

36 hours - 48 hours: considering that something awful has happened to the other person.

48 hours + : debating cutting off all ties with this "so called friend".

Unreasonable? Maybe. Obsessive? Absolutely. Harsh? Entirely possible. But that's the way it is. Obviously there are other factors that count in the equation as well. For example, I will consider the person's access to a computer, I will consider the person's work/school schedule, family life, and response track record as well. But the point of the scale is that I like immediate replies. Instant gratification.

So what is better than an instant email? Why, and instant message! In the form of a text! Funny though, I'm not nearly as calculated in waiting for a response to a text message. I'm understanding, gracious even. Because when I send a text I understand that the person I am texting likely has their phone with them and it is interrupting their life in a very insistent manner. I understand that people can't drop what they're doing to respond to my "How r u?" The beauty of texting though is that it usually does garner instant replies, and has greatly helped me to maintain friendships with people who live far away (most of my friends for that matter).

The next step, obviously, is to get a blackberry which will be kept on my person at all times and have access to the internet and emailing capabilities immediately. Then I will be able to check email any minute of any hour as I choose...Though, this may actually have a sharpening impact on my email-response-scale...I may end up alienating friends much faster..but at least it will be with greater efficiency!

A Winter Tradition

It may have started out as a strange coincidence, but it's now become a conscious decision; I might even call it a tradition. Every year on the first truly cold morning of late fall/winter I will wear something completely impractical. Usually it's a skirt, or dress or something with short sleeves or no sleeves at all. Whatever outfit I put on, it inevitably attracts comments of "aren't you cold?!" or "Are you crazy? It's winter!" Regardless, I will sit there at work (occasionally with goosebumps on my arms) in an unseasonable outfit as the temperatures drop below freezing, just so I can lay one last "screw you!" to winter before it takes over completely.

Thanks Everyone! (Engagement Follow-Up)

I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful happy wishes and congratulations from everyone since Brad and I started telling people about our engagment last week.

There was a little bit of confusion between us on Sunday night though. Brad was under the impression that we weren't going to tell everyone right away, whereas I was under the impression I was going to go on the radio and announce it on Monday morning. The Breakfast Boys had me on the show to talk about it.
Listen Here to the story.

When Brad got to work several of his co-workers came to his office to congratulate him, and he even received a call from someone about a plumbing inspection and at the end of the conversation the person (who he did not know personally) congratulated him. Guess the cat was officially out of the bag. Whoops!

So thank you again, for the wonderful happy wishes. I think my favorite reactions have been Mare screaming into the phone and running around her bedroom while Jer watched bewildered, (or so I'm told), and Rri mouthing "Shut the F--- up!" when I pointed to my ring through the window to the Production room at the station.

To answer the FAQ: We haven't set a date yet. Brad's only just figured out that he actually has to marry me now. ;)

A Perfect Moment

My wonderful boyfriend of nearly four years made me the happiest girl in the world when he proposed to me on Thursday October 16th.

We were just about to head out the door for supper at the Logpile Lodge with my Mum and Dad, and Frank and Christi when I found myself standing in the spare room of my parents house with Brad. He looked very nervous and hugged me, telling me how much he loves me. He told me he was very nervous and I asked what was making him nervous. He explained that he had been trying all day to find a time to do something. I asked him what he was trying to do and he told me he had something for me, asking if I wanted to see it. It was at that point that I took the hint and started to figure out what was going on. I hugged him tight and said "yes, I think I do." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small white box and handed it to me. When I opened it and saw the beautiful princess cut diamond in a white gold setting, I started to cry. I looked up at him and asked if he was sure and he said yes, so I told him he had better put it on my finger. I hugged him and we cried and laughed. Then I looked at him and said he had better ask me the question so I could say yes. So he asked me if I would marry him and I hugged him tight again and said "absolutely!"

Vacation!

It's back to work this morning after a week away from the desk. Brad and I left Swift on Friday the 10th around 3 oclock on our way to Smithers BC. We split the trip up into two days of driving (1800kms is a bit much for one day) and after some vehicle trouble in PG we made it to Smithers at 8:30 on Saturday night.

The dogs weren't exactly the best of friends, but they learned to live with each other.

The week was filled with excellent food, lots of visiting, gallons of tea, big family suppers, nights of Wii with Frank and Christi, and lots of rest.

Leaving is always hard, but it actually felt like we had a good solid visit.

Somewhere around Jasper. Ollie has had enough of being in the back seat and tries (yet again) to coerce me into allowing him into the front.
~

Ollie and his buddy, Dad

Dad, Mum, Gus, Christi, Frank, Brad, Me and Ollie wearing our ball caps care of Frank and Christi embroidered with Frank's company logo. Yes, we often spontaneously pose in matching hats.
~

Frank and Christi getting ready to race cows on the Wii
~
Ollie and Me, chillin in front of the window
~

At the Logpile Lodge for a celebratory supper
~

Brad and Me
~

Frank and Christi (awwww!)
~Ollie got a hoodie! (Frank and Christi embroidered it with his name, a mustang, and "car ride?") Yes, we're now those people who dress their pets.
~

By Fraser Lake, BC
~

Swift Current Creek, by Mt Robson
~

Driving through Jasper
~

Ollie has had enough of driving, thank you very much.
~

I just don't know...

I guess this product has been available for a while now, but it's only now available in Swift Current. A friend of mine told me she saw Peanut free Peanut Butter. Hmmm...
For as long as I can remember I've been allergic to peanuts (plus other nuts, shellfish, salmon, grass, tobacco, cats, rabbits, pollen, ...the list goes on). I've dealt with horrid classmates waving peanut butter sandwiches in my face just to make me feel uncomfortable. I've dealt with the people who don't believe I'm actually allergic (who don't believe in allergies, period), the people who know I'm allergic yet still serve un-safe foods when I'm at supper, and I've learned to check labels diligently and always know the risk associated with the foods that I'm eating. (I should also mention all of the amazing people who are so aware of my allergies and so considerate to go out of their way for me. I'm so grateful!)
Through it all I've become a stronger person I think (particularly from the taunting classmates...bunch of jerks), but I've also developed a mild paranoia. The smell of peanut butter makes me nervous. I start subtly glancing around the room to find who is eating the offending food, judge how far they are from me, whether my eyes will swell up or whether I'm safe, and predict whether they will touch something that I'm about to touch. I'm nervous, and frankly, when you've had to get doped up on Benedryl at the hospital for a few hours because you've come into contact with something potentially harmful, you would be too.
I had come to terms with the fact that I will never have reece's pieces, I will never enjoy a snickers bar, and I had come to terms with the fact that I would never know what having peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth feels like.
Until now. Now I have an option. Obviously, I would have no idea if the product actually tastes like the real thing (that's where a fellow taste tester comes into the equation), but I have the option of potentially finding out. I just don't know. The smell of the real stuff makes me scrunch my nose and run for hiding, but that might be a trained response. And if that's a trained response (survival instinct?) then who's to say I wouldn't have an anxiety attack if I tried this faux-butter?

Hee Hee!

At the risk of being one of those people who constantly talks and blogs about their pet, I feel compelled to write this entry. I took Ollie to the groomer today before we go on our excursion to Smithers. He had so much hair before I had no idea just how little he is! He just makes me giggle now whenever I see him...skinny little dog! He's soft as a down, smells like vanilla, has a little scarf (courtesy of the groomer) and is thoroughly un-doggy. I love it! (Brad will cringe, but will secretly think he's adorable) !

Smithers, Voting, Fall, and Crafts

The countdown to leaving for Smithers is getting really small, and I'm getting really excited. We're planning to leave on Friday and at least shave off a few hours from the trip, which means we're leaving in just two more sleeps! We've got a big week planned of doing a whole lot of nothing, drinking gallons of tea (possibly gallons of wine as well?), sitting, sleeping, relaxing, chatting, and uh....that's about it. It will be fantastic!

In other news, Brad and I exercised our democratic rights on Monday and went to the polls to cast our votes in the advanced polls. I really hope that everyone heads out on Tuesday and votes. I've heard a lot of people say that they don't want to vote because they hope if the turnout is really low it will encourage the government to change the process...sadly I think this will backfire. Why would a government who gets voted in (even if it's only by 50% of eligible voters) want to change the process and risk not having the same level of power in future? I hope that more people will vote for the simple fact that they can. We are allowed to speak up and say who we want to represent us, so why wouldn't we? Maybe the "first through the gate" system is flawed, but the only way to change it is to show that we actually care...by voting. That's my two bits. I don't care who you vote for, just do it. I also find it distressing when women don't vote. Think about it, there was a time when we weren't permitted to have a say. Hundreds of women fought tooth and nail for the right to be represented, for the right to make our own choices and not be forced to follow the decisions of our husbands and fathers. Ok, I'm a little passionate about it. But encouraging people to vote is as far as my opinions will ever stretch into the public ear.

Moving on to more light hearted topics...I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I love this time of year. I love fall. Crunching through the leaves when I walk just brings a smile to my face. I love scarves, and gloves, and fall jackets. Don't get me wrong, the heat over the past couple of weeks was nice...but it was hard to enjoy when no one was acclimatized to it. It just felt...hot, and misplaced. But now fall has arrived, along with Thanksgiving and the prospect of dressing up for Halloween...well, I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not dreading this winter like i have in previous years. I'm sort of looking forward to it. Go figure.

Fall also brings the Fall into Christmas craft fair at the Stockade, which happened last weekend. I went with Ashley and her Mum and we walked around and viewed the literally more than 100 booths. It was incredible. There were lots of amazing gifts and crafts for sale and it was really hard not to buy anything. Instead though I dropped $5 on raffle tickets for SouthWest Crisis Services, and it paid off when I got a call on Sunday night saying I'd won a set of handmade mugs! Yay!

What can I say? I lead a thrilling, thrilling life

I haven't posted in a while simply because my life has become mind-numbingly boring. Or, it would appear that way to other people. I'm enjoying the routine and (dare I say) monotony. Shortly after Brad and I brough Oliver home, he went to WalMart and brought home a shiny new Wii. After several weeks without an internet connection, and the subsequent embarassment of finally having it hooked up, we now have the ability to access all those wonderfully addicting games from systems gone-by. I'm such a sucker for those old 8, 16, and even 32 (!) bit games! Much to Oliver's distaste, I've been plugging away at Shining Force. (He seems to have as short an attention span for video games as I do for pretending I want his shredded rope-toy, but oblige him, don't I?).

So, between that and anxiously counting down the days to our Smithers trip...my life is pretty chill.

My One Wish

Can I have a day where I can say whatever I want to people without altering their perception of me?

Concerned for my Mental Well-being...

I'm not sure what's wrong with me. Maybe I'm overly stressed or have too much on my mind or something, but for the first time in my life, I'm not dreading winter.

I'm actually (dare I say it?) looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to cross country skiing, taking some snowboard trips, continuing our new holiday traditions (I may be excited, but I'm still not going to say the name of the holiday that starts with the letter "C" before November). I'm looking forward to going to Smithers for Thanksgiving in 17 sleeps, and for the NKOTB concert with Vassy in 63 sleeps, and for going to visit my family again in the new year, and for Mare coming to visit me in the new year as well. There's lots coming and for the first time it doesn't feel like a big bleak winter is looming.

As someone who adores summer and hot hot weather, I pose this question: WTF changed?

Well, something must have changed because this morning, for the first time since I started driving, when I went out to my car and scraped the frost off of the windows I wasn't uttering a steady stream of four letter words under my breath.

I guess I shouldn't give it too much thought just in case thinking about it makes me revert to my previous hatred of winter...might as well enjoy it, it's inevitable afterall.

NOOOOO!!!! Not yet!!!!

I was running a teensy bit late this morning heading out the door for work at 4:30...ok, 4:40 is more like it. I got into my car, locked the door (a habit I picked up in PG and haven't been able to break...I always lock my door when driving in the dark), and turned on the windshield wipers to get rid of the condensation on the window. But they swiped past and didn't move any water. Because it wasn't water. It was ice.

Ice.

NOT what I had hoped for this morning. So I grabbed my scraper and destroyed the offending ice. Unfortunately I accidentally locked my door when I got out of the car. So I had to run inside, grab Brad's keys, and come back to unlock my door. Thus making me very late. Just adding insult to injury.

I hate goodbyes...

My dear friend Vassy has accepted a job with Global Saskatoon and will be starting there in one week (Congrats Vash!), and so, clearly, everyone who knows and loves her in the city came out on Saturday night for an evening (and early morning) of misbehaving. We started at the Brew Pub and ended up at the Shack.

Me and Vash
~ Vassy, Jon and Me at the Shack
~

The Kindness of Strangers

I know you're not supposed to talk to strangers, but I think there are circumstances...

Vassy asked if I could come to Saskatoon with her on Sunday to help her apartment hunt (and tell her which areas to absolutely avoid at all costs). So we spent the day running around the S'toon until around 6 when we decided it was time to head home. About 15 minutes south of Rosetown, her car started shuddering horribly so we pulled over to the shoulder immediately and sure enough, the back drivers side tire had completely shredded. Seeing as I am a woman of the world, I went to the trunk of her car and found the donut, jack, and tire-iron. I was getting ready to be a big tough girl (rawr!) when a very nice family pulled over in their van. The father and young teenage son came over to help us. Feeling like I had already prove my toughness, I handed the tire-iron and jack over and the pair went to work. They removed the lug nuts (with what was likely more muscle power than I possessed) and went to work removing the wheel. Regardless of what they tried though, it would NOT come off. The poor guy couldn't get it to budge at all. He tried everything from pulling, to kicking, to trying to use the tire iron as a lever before we called Roadside Assistance for help. Only after he knew they were on their way did he and his family leave.

So Vassy and I bunkered down on the car and waited for Roadside to get there. A few people pulled over and we told them what was going on and they went on their way. A little while later a man in a pickup truck with a trailer of tools pulled over. It was getting dark, so I told Vassy that we should just stay in the car and roll down the window a little to talk to him. We explained the situation and he asked if we would mind if he gave it a try. We told him to go right ahead, so he pulled, kicked, and tried the tire iron too. Having no luck with these methods, he went a step further and brought the biggest prybar I'd ever seen from his trailer. Sure enough, the tire popped off and we cheered! He then put the donut on, and told us he would follow us the whole way back to Swift, going 80k (max speed on a donut). We made it back to Swift just about 2 hours later, safe and sound, and very very grateful to the wonderful man who decided to stop and help us.

Not Quite a Convert...

Those who know me, know for the better part of my life (roughly the first 25.5 years) I have had a heavy hate-on for ABBA. I lived by the motto "Better Dead than Disco". Ok, maybe I didn't live by it, but suffice it to say, I was not a fan. When we got out little budgie Peet, I was horrified to hear her start chirping and singing whenever ABBA would come on the radio (no accounting for taste).
So it will probably come as a surprise to those who know me to find out that I went to see Mamma Mia! last night.
Allow me to explain: I'm a sucker for musicals. I love any movie that I can sing along to the next morning in the shower. Perhaps even more powerful than my love of singing in the shower is the fact that deep down in my soul I truly wish I could spontaneously burst into song and have a troupe of highly talented dancers back me up in a perfectly choreographed routine during the most mundane points in my day.
So I went to the theatre (on cheap night, mind you) and soaked up the song and dance. It was definitely laugh out loud, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. At times I found myself deeply embarrassed for the characters, but at the same time loving that they were bordering on psychotic in their jubilation at basically everything that happened. Each time Meryl Streep sang, her voice reminded me strikingly of Susan Sarandon in the Rocky Horror Picture Show (a nice change from the average female singing voice). Poor Pierce Brosnan cannot sing to save his life. He tried, and I'll give him credit, but whoooo...it was a struggle. Occasionally he looked as though he was yawning through the lyrics. Colin Firth did a decent job on the vocals, but I was surprised to hear how high his singing voice was. I have a big soft spot for him though, and frankly he could have croaked out the tunes and I would still have felt as endeared towards him as ever. The storyline was fun, but I have to say, I was mortified by the way Donna (the mother) behaved. She reminded me of some of the ridiculous melodrama I could only pull off as a pubescent teen with a huge crush on my older brother's friends...and even that cost me some dignity.
I guess the bottom line is that it was catchy, fun, and I left humming some of the songs (and hating myself just a little for caving to the draw of ABBA). If you're looking for a chick flick...well, why not? But please, don't force your boyfriends to see this. They may never forgive you.

It was not a good day.

I received some very sad news on Saturday afternoon. My Grandpa passed away during the night on Friday. Mum has gone to Vancouver to be with her sisters and her Mum.
I've wanted to write something and have been thinking about what I would say for the past several days, but somehow I still can't put it to words. I guess the best thing to say is that we all miss him terribly. I have so many great memories of his wonderful silliness, and cheeky sense of humour. Of visits to Parksville and Vancouver Island, of Christmas Eve get-togethers watching for Santa through their New West apartment window, his amusement at me saying he was like RoboGrandpa with his titanium ankle, and of course, being totally grossed out and bewildered at his offer of smoked oysters ("You like smoked oysters, Jess?").
I had hoped that when I sat down to write this the words would just come, but I still seem to be coming up short.

Battling my Low Motivation

I haven't been updating a lot lately for a few reasons:

1. I'm exhausted...I've had the start of a cold coming on for over a week now, and it never progresses or disappears. It just sits there

2. I have a new puppy. This gives two sub-reasons for not posting:

a. I'm afraid this blog will turn into "cute things Oliver does" if I'm not careful, and

b. He's adding to the exhaustion. Turns out our little furry friend has a decent case of separation anxiety and as soon as we leave the house he goes and poos in either the kitchen, the livingroom, or the spare bedroom. Then he goes into the recycle bin and tears into the cardboard, destroying it all over the house, and then he attacks the kleenex box, destroying that too. I'm beginning to cringe when I think about what kind of surprise I might come home to each day. I've done lots of research online though, and everything says it takes a long time to break that anxiety...not terribly encouraging, but I guess that's all there is to it. It's tiring though.

Other than that, not a lot is new. That's why I haven't been updating in such a long time. Not much to say. I go home after work, take Ollie outside, come in, have some lunch, lay down for a nap, take Ollie out again, do the dishes and maybe some laundry, debate on supper for a long time, watch some Sex and the City, go to bed. That's my day. I figure it will pick up once I don't feel like I have a cold anymore. Then there will be some updates.

Cat in Dog's Clothing?

I began to wonder if I had accidentally brought home a cat, simply dressed as a dog. Yesterday afternoon I was stretched out on the couch when Oliver hopped up, climbed on top of the back cushions and curled up in the corner, perched precariously on the back of the couch. He then promptly fell asleep. Had there been a big pool of sunlight on the couch I would have been more suspicious. Perhaps I'm mistaken and he's actually a mountain goat, cleverly disguised as a puppy?

At the Carwash

I went to the carwash today. When I was little, going through the automatic car wash was always a thrill (the different coloured foam was somehow more magical as a child). Today I took the CKSW Cruiser through the car wash.
As I pulled forward and the initial hard spray of water doused the undercarriage and sprayed along the windshield, I had to squint to see through the shower to the sign that says "Drive Forward". Luckily it's green, so I could at least go by colour if not words. Then the whole washing process began.
To the right of the vehicle was a big light-up board that displayed the various stages of the wash. The funny thing about it was that as the soap was covering the windshield, followed by the torrent of pressure washer water, followed by the "spot free rinse" and the multi-coloured foam whose purpose i'm not really sure of, I realized there was absolutely no way I could possibly read the light-up board. I had no idea whether the Laserwash was done and we were on to the clear protector coat, or whether it was time for the spot-free rinse. Why do they bother displaying the stages if no one can see through their windows to read it? Sure I could turn on the windshield wipers, but there's a big sign that says not to! Maybe it's just there to prevent patrons from getting bored by ensuring they have something challenging to do while waiting.