Yep, I'm going to Nipawin again this weekend. I'm not leaving until morning so that gives me the evening to catch up on all the things I've been meaning to do all week.

1. Get caught up on my books.
2. House chores - cat litter, dishes, laundry, etc...
3. Hook up the new programmable thermostat I got last weekend. Well, I *started* that today at lunch time, but didn't have time to finish. Note to all others who might attempt this: FINISH this task once you start. My roommate actually tracked me down at my boyfriend's to alert to the fact that the temperature in the house was 34 degrees Celsius when he got home and the cat was panting in front of the now open back door. It took a few phone calls to my dad and an inch of extra wire to get things going the way they should. Guess I'll know for next time. [GRIN]
4. Made it to Toys R Us to pick up the other two X-Pod creatures to match the one I got in California. Of course, on my trip to Shoppers to get batteries (which I forgot to buy), I saw all the ones I needed for the same price. [sigh]

And I'm planning on playing some City of Heroes tonight too. I haven't played in a very long time.

Serenity time when I get home on Sunday. YAY! Sooo looking forward to it.

... to save a cookbook your grandma gave you from falling into hot oil, you accidentally rip off the front cover

... in the wake of almost ruining a favourite cookbook, a cupboard door comes off and can't be put back up without replacing a portion of the wood frame

... you realize much too late that you lost the hook from your lego pirate keychain in the parking lot of Safeway

... someone tells others some bad news, that was yours to tell, in an automated email

Things to get through a bad day...
... tears
... mom
... hugs
... kittens
... laughter
... friends
... bizarre happenstances

In this case, home is my folks place in Nipawin. I know it's been a long time since I went for a visit when my mom shows me pictures of a full and lush green lawn where I remember there being seed and a small smattering of green blades on black dirt.

I had intended on getting caught up on a few things of my own, like some of the necklaces I've been meaning to make and my books, but that didn't really happen. Almost all my waking time was spent at my parents' business. Mom's been trying to get her books caught up for a very long time and hasn't been having much luck. There are so many things to get sidetracked by that it's hard to stay focused. That's where I come in - I can keep her on task just like she does for me when I need it. And we have the same ideas when it comes to keeping books and how things need to be entered. That helps a lot. So we got through just over 3 months worth of data in one weekend while she hasn't been able to get through one whole month in just about that time. I'm so glad I was there to help.

And dad was good too - he was doing some jobs while mom and I worked on the books. We didn't really get to do much else besides share some meals and go to sleep. Sleep I did this weekend. I slept probably close to 14 hours on Friday night. I was obsessing about work a bit though because every time I woke up on Saturday morning, I was thinking about all the things that need to be done and how they need to be done and how I can't be afraid to say things that need to be said. I'm sure everything will be fine and while I'm finally feeling confident about my ability to do this job and feeling good about the things I'm accomplishing, I'm not perfect and still have quite a few mistakes yet to make. And you know, I'm okay with that.

And then I slept about 10 hours on Saturday night and didn't wake up thinking about work on Sunday. I was also quite shocked that it was 1 in the afternoon when I woke up. I had missed the whole morning. Since I didn't figure there was anything urgent waiting for me in Saskatoon, I thought I could stay late so I finally left Nipawin at about 9:30 which was a bit later than I had intended, but whatever. I wasn't in any hurry. [GRIN] I still managed to be in Saskatoon before midnight.

I test drove a car home this weekend. I don't think I'll buy it but it gave me a good idea of what I'm looking for in my next car. I learned that I need a car with power. [I'm hearing Tim Taylor in my head right now.] I met with a used car salesman and I liked him. He seems like a good guy. We went through what I'm looking for in a car and I think I'm going to have to spend a bit more than I was originally intending, but I know I'll be happier with the car I get. So I drove 3 different cars this weekend. A neon, which showed me that I need power in my car to be happy, an Alero, which had some power, but doesn't come in manual transmission so that wasn't great, and a Camry, which is a good car, but has a bunch of little things going wrong so I don't think it's a good fit for what I'm looking for.

I also discovered that my cell phone loses all signals just before Wakaw which is only 90 km out of the city.

So, Sears...

I expected that when I bought appliances and they were delivered to the correct house and all the paperwork had my new address last year that Sears had updated my address. And they sent me new warranty information two weeks ago to my correct address. Apparently, I was wrong. Just because the warranty people have my correct address, the whole company doesn't.

A statement to pay for my appliances on July 21 was returned to Sears. I talked to some woman last night. Poor, poor woman. I've been waiting for the Sears statement for a month and a half now. Expecting it. Knowing it was coming. Making financing plans to pay for all my appliances so that I didn't get dinged with all the interest.

Apparently, my lack of following up cursed me with over $140 in interest. I was sooo frustrated. And she couldn't even help me except to update my address. She gave me a number to call today because customer service had already gone home. I couldn't resolve it last night. I had to sleep on it. I was just trying to be reasonable all night. My plan was to hopefully spend some more time with my boyfriend, but that had to be aborted because I was feeling too cranky.

And what kind of company calls someone about a late payment and then puts them on hold, "Please hold for an important call from Sears..." Music follows. I hung up on Saturday. I hate doing my personal business over the phone. I usually miss/don't remember something important.

So I called this morning. First thing - I crawled out of bed and went to the phone at 6:30. And I apologized before even speaking about the issue. I apologized to the poor lady because I knew I was going to get upset even though I was trying desparately to remain calm. That helped me later because I knew I wasn't catching the lady off guard when I did start getting upset when recounting the details of what had happened. She responded by saying that first of all, she understood how I could be so frustrated with the situation. I told her my main concerns were the interest and the credit rating impact. She told me that they could fix the credit note and then put me on hold to speak to her supervisor. And they reversed the credit charges as I was paying the full amount - today. She gave me the total without interest to pay. I confirmed both actions of Sears and then confirmed I was going to pay today.

And then I thanked her profusely.

And now I've paid them. And I feel much better. And Sears will get my business again because of the way they handled this situation. I think I'll send them a letter.

Now, I'm not saying that the full moon has anything to do with it, but it sure does make things crazy. I don't normally have to stay overtime, but I've been working overtime for the past week and then the latest was last night until 7. Sheesh! I'm hoping that once I'm done with hiring at work, things will calm down to a reasonable list of to do's and more things on the it can wait list.

But, I did it again this weekend. Ms. Fixit is my name. I spent most of Sunday in the basement. The first hour was mostly disgusting as I can to clean up where my cat had been sick - twice. I guess carrot cake and cream cheese icing aren't the best thing for his little tummy. Next, I did some exercising. And then I rearranged the place and hung up my punching bag and got rid of all the garbage stuffs from the futon wrapping. Then I went grocery shopping and had a great evening with my sweetie watching The Return of the King on his new couch.

Last week is a blur - 4 hour meeting after work on Tuesday for the Canadian Cancer Society. I was soooo caffeinated that the sound of my heart beating kept me awake that night. But no headache which was nice. Wednesday night I went straight to my massage after work but only remember the first 20 seconds of it and the last 5 minutes. Some might say that I was sleepy. I felt grrrrreat! afterwards, though. Thursday night was also caffeinated so I was mostly awake for friends to come over and play Earthdawn. Friday night was my very first double date although it was impromptu. We went to see The Fantastic Four and then had a bite to eat at Montana's after the movie. Then I went to a birthday party for a friend who spent the summer in B.C. working as a camp counsellor. It was awesome to hear his stories of camp. And Saturday, well, Saturday was a write off. There may have been some computer games. Maybe a lot. And there were waffles. Mmmmm... waffles.

There's a llama
And another little llama
Fuzzy llama funny llama
Llama llama duck.

Llama llama cheesecake llama
Tablet brick potato llama
Llama llama mushroom llama
Llama llama duck.

I was once a treehouse
I lived in a cake
But I never saw the way the orange slayed the rake.
I was only three years dead
But it told a tale
And now listen little child to the safety rail.

Did you ever see a llama
Kiss a llama on the llama
Llama's llama
Tastes of llama
Llama llama duck.

Half a llama
Twice the llama
Not a llama
Farmer llama
Llama in a car
Alarm a llama
Llama duck.

Is that how it's told now
Is it all so old
Is it made of lemon juice
Doorknob ankle cold.
Now my song is getting thin I've run out of luck.
Time for me to retire now and become a duck.

September 10, 2004, I moved into my house. So in honour of spending that much money a year, I spent some more this weekend. Finally got the golden see-through curtains for my bed and I only needed 6 instead of 8 and they were cheaper than I thought, only $15 a piece. And then I got a canvas wood holder and carrier. I just take it off the base frame and go get the wood in it and then put the bag on the rack holding the wood I just brought in. It's something I've been looking for since I moved in. And I got rid of the front curtains and replaced them with a bamboo rolly-uppy window covering which is see through so I'll have to back it with some fabric, but it was cheap so I'm okay with that. Besides I have all this curtain fabric to spare. [grin] And I got a green roman shade for the kitchen window for roommate happiness. And I got a futon for the basement which is much better for guests. And I finally hung the roman shade in the stairwell window for more roommate happiness. I bought that shade in November of last year and it took me all of 10 minutes to put up. [sigh] And I got rid of the Mickey Mouse border in the computer room finally which makes it feel sooo much different in that room and it's a really good kind of different. Much cheerier and brighter. And taller, actually - the room seems taller. And much more roommate happiness. And I finally hung the black cat picture over the fireplace that's been sitting on the mantle since I moved in last year. And I also hung the CD rack (8 holes in the wall later) which has been on the floor since I moved in. And I also finally wall mounted the massive power bar for all the electronics in the entertainment unit. And I only broke three CD cases and one of my roommate's baking sheets in the process of all this handiness. Pretty good ratio of fixed to broken if you ask me. ;)

And I had a fire last night which was wonderful.

In the fireplace.

I was wrong. I shouldn't have asked all those people to come to this wedding that didn't want to come. That isn't to say that I didn't really enjoy their company because I did. They just didn't enjoy the event as much as I did. I was selfish. And I should have gone to the gift opening on Sunday too and I didn't.

Kate and Jason Parsons are fabulous people. Kate is someone who I've admired for as long as I can remember. When I first met Kate, I remember thinking, doesn't she know that her smile is too big? And what a horrible thing to think because Kate's smile is just one of the reasons she is such a beautiful person. Her commitment to her friends and family surpasses everyone I've ever known. I've known others that are committed, but they manage to lose themselves in serving others but not Kate. She is strong and devoted and charismatic and beautiful and determined and confident and forgiving. For most people, it takes them a long time to really know and accept themselves as they are. Remarkably, Kate's known who she really is since I met her. She might argue the point, but she was always miles ahead of the pack in that regard. Most times that I think about Kate now, I just think how incredibly fortunate I am to have someone like to her in my life. Everyone has role models in their life and she's one of mine. And to know that Jason loves her and his strength of character to be a partner for Kate for all these years makes me very happy to know that he's the one for her.

On a more humourous note, mom and I were dressing in my room for the wedding and I was changing my bra to go with the shirt I was changing into. Mom just looked up at me as she was talking and turned back to her own clothes and started to giggle. Before she was too far gone into the giggles, she managed to tell me that as she was glancing at me, she noticed my boobs and had the thought, "Hey, I've got one of those." I'm laughing so hard right now the computer is shaking and I can barely see through the tears. LOL We had a right good laugh about it then too.

I got this link from a dear friend of mine who got it from her mom. These are along the same vain as the MST3K episode with the crazy androgynous "Mr. B. Natural!" [shutter] Of course, the little songs don't make me want to run and hide.

My nervousness peaked today as I went to UPS to pick up my package. I knew it was my shoes. They phoned the house to tell us that they couldn't deliver the package because they couldn't find the address. I thought that was weird. Then they couldn't find the package with the number they'd given my roommate. All the time, I was being crowded by this guy standing behind with no sense of personal space. I was getting really twitchy after a long day at work and I really, really wanted my shoes.

And there is was - a shoe box sized wrapper with "oooo"ing and "aaaahh"ing feet drawn on the side. Definitely my shoes. I started getting really anxious - are they going to fit? are they going to be worth everything it took to get them here? did I really need to special order these shoes? The knot of doubt growing in my belly.

First thing I did when I got the package into my hands was look at the address. Sure enough - someone couldn't read along the way and therefore typed the address into their electronic system wrong and since you can't read hand-printing anymore, the UPS drivers couldn't find the address. Instead of 8th Ave N, the street was shown as "8th E" which would boggle anyone's mind. Of course, the policy sheet they stuck in with the form covered everything but the house number. And they stuck the form and policy sheet in a plastic thingy covering my address that was on the brown package in big black marker. And everything was printed very plainly so I could see where they went wrong. NOT!

Relieved that there was no duty and that I finally had my shoes in hand after not 3 - 7 days, but 3+7 days of waiting, I decided to not panic about the large rip in the brown paper which exposed the shoe box plainly. I even managed to wait until I got home with the box on the passenger seat still mostly intact. I did have to open the form in the plastic thingy to see what address had been provided.

Home now and it's about to happen - the opening of the box. Stupid packing tape made the process a little longer than I would have liked, but I eventually won. The box is open now and what do I see right on top? A hacksaw blade. My first thought was, maybe they're too long and will need to be sized down. I didn't like that thought so I dismissed it and put the hacksaw blade aside even though it was still puzzling to me. I wouldn't immediately disregard the thought that someone put it in the package deliberately just to mess with my head so I let the idea rest in my brain while I go for my shoes which are finally in my hands.

And headed straight for my feet. SCORE!!! They're fantastic. I've never had a better pair of shoes in my life. Wahoo! It's the little things that make life wonderful. I wore them around the house for the next hour just enjoying them. I also got a card and a note from the sender with no mention of the hacksaw blade.

Unfortunately, some poor UPS patron doesn't have a hacksaw blade anymore. I can see why it was shoved into my package. It was ripped open and the box had an edge that made it easy to slip something back into which was probably what the delivery folks did. No commitment to customer service. I don't care now though, I have my shoes. And a shiny new hacksaw blade.

I'll bring them by to visit everyone real soon. [GRIN]

Last week was crazy! Trying to get things ready to make the quick trip to Edmonton this weekend. I got some sleep on Thursday night instead of killing myself to get everything done that needed to be done for Friday's trip. Friday, then, was crazy busy. Cookies, laundry, packing, work, keys to drop off, banking... You know, all the little things. Heh.

My roommate and I did the dishes before we left which made coming home yesterday very nice. He drove the whole way to Edmonton which was good and we were there by 10:30ish. I was very tired by the time my head hit the pillow. Socializing and all that nervousness that comes with staying in someone's house that you don't know that well.

I was up very early on Saturday to go visit my aunt before she headed out for the weekend. Some hugs and smiles and stories later, I headed back. More socializing and getting to know our hostess. She and her husband are really great people. Their whole family of friends is great, it seems. Of course, no one is perfect, but there is a fabulous feeling of trust and familiarity that I wanted to be a part of. It made me realize how out of practice I am at making new friends! I confirmed with my roommate that I was much more outgoing and trusting and talky before I moved to Calgary than when I came back. I really value all the friends I made in Calgary and still make time to see all of them as often as I can. I stopped making the effort for acquaintances and I shouldn't have.

I had wanted to spend the afternoon with my other friends in Edmonton, but didn't want to dictate everyone's day. So when I got struck by a monster headache that landed me in bed for the afternoon, I was glad to not have to break any plans. I really wanted to spend time with the newlyweds and my older friends who moved from Calgary to Edmonton a few years ago. I haven't spent nearly enough time with them. I think the next time we go to Edmonton, I'll try to be more prepared and make arrangements to see everyone and still have time to make some new friends.

The game we went to play, Kingdom Come, was a blast. I really, really enjoyed it. I have big plans and big dreams for what I can accomplish in the game. They are very long term plans, but I hope they make the game more interesting for me and for others. That's the point, after all, isn't it?

We left around midday yesterday after a good night's sleep. In fact, Saturday after the game, I pretty much just headed straight to bed. They used an electronic airpump, which if you know anything about them are very loud. I slept through it. Someone took a pillow from under my head. I didn't mean to be laying on all three, but I was. I was very tired, and I'm very happy that I sleep like the dead.

My roommate drove all the way home again. It was good to be home. We talked and then watched Sliding Doors. A fine movie. Makes me cry every time. It's still a gooder.

Today, I had the pleasure of the company of next weekend's bride. She doing better than I might be in her place. She's managing to remain reasonably calm. This is one woman who has always inspired me. She has such a good and forgiving heart. There are some people in this world who I am privileged to be able to call a friend and she's definitely one of them.