Recital

The recital starts at 11am. I am up third.

For Dan

My brother's online name: "If baseball were easy there would be no soccer"

Not Scary

Remember last week's post with the (bad) pictures of my red, swollen arms? That was another fun allergic reaction to my shots! I had to take lots of Benadryl and ice my arm and all that other exciting stuff. Anyway, the doctor wondered why I haven't had so much as a bump on my arm when I leave the office, but then 4 hours later I have an escarpment forming.

I mentioned to him that instead of taking the not as strong but longer lasting anti-histamines like Allegra, Reactin, Aerius, etc I was just taking Benadryl, because that's what I had around. He thought that maybe it was the strength of the Benadryl that was keeping reactions away at the office and that as it wore off at home that's why I had my reactions.

So he told me not to take anything before I come in and he knocked me down to the first dose of vial 2. Now, we've been over this vial thing a bit, but lets refresh... Three vials, each vial is progressively stronger, and I get a progressively larger dose - So, I would start with vial 1, I'd get 0.05somethings of vial one, the next week 0.1 and so on until I don't know 1.0? I think there are only 4 or 5 doses for each bottle. Anyway, my troubles started part way through vial 2 and it took a solid 3 months to get through it. This is because every time I had a reaction, for the next week's shot I would have to go down 2 or 3 doses. So the doctor took me back down to 0.05 of vial two with no antihistamine.

I was a little worried. Not big worried that I was going to die, but um, cautious. Chelsea came with me just in case. I'm kinda glad she did. I got my shots and after about 10min they asked me how I was, and I was really ok. Then I started to get pretty dizzy, my chest started to tighten up, Chels said I was getting Rosy cheeked and I was just feeling bwah. After around 40min they came back to check me. The nurse looked at my arms (and there were only little bumps and a tiny bit of redness), but didn't ask me anything. Since my arms looked good she told me I could go. So I did.

Chelsea took me back to her place where I spent the next few hours on her bed feeling drunk and weirded out. But then I had to go for so much performing. I went through the afternoon and the evening with a fever, a headache and an urge to not breath deep. As the evening went on I felt better and better.

So go my body! It had to fight a little (ok, sort of a lot - but i didn't want to get all fussed over at the doctor's office, and it turned out ok), but this morning I'd say that other than a little rasp in the chest, you wouldn't even know what had happened!

Just To Make It Interesting

The multitude of performances and such starts in a few hours. If you come to all three things I will blog about you...so, if you come to chapel, come Wed or Thurs night to the COM 205 shows and come hear me sing in the recital then I will find a camera, get my picture taken with you and then blog about how much I love you. Ps you may have to let me know you were at all three.

(I'm still waiting to hear about what time I'll be singing on Friday)

Blood Removed and Groceries Bought

Well I had my specialist appointment on Thursday. I wish I could tell you lots about it, but there isn't much to tell. The Dr asked me a lot of questions; felt or listened to (or both) most of my body and then told me that he didn't think that there was some terrible disease lurking in my background. He felt like I was a healthy woman with whom there was just a couple of things that were 'off'. So he ordered up a bunch of tests. I had a bunch of blood removed today for them. Now we wait...

So there you are. Not dying which is good news, don't know what is happening, which is a little less encouraging.

I Do A Piss Poor Job Of Showing My Love To...

Performance

I'm performing in no less than 3 different 'things' this week and you can can catch me in all of them should you be interested.

1. "These Things I Remember" - a psalm show that my COM 205 class put together for our midterm - we're performing it in Chapel on Wednesday
2. COM 205 shows - integrated readers theatre, 4 shows in one night, 2 nights - Kevin Lobert and I are partners and our show is about Choir and worship and such, Katy, Chelsea, Victor and Tenor John are our players - they'll be singing! Oh, and because of another group losing one of their actors to a family emergency I'll be in one of the shows too - Black Box, Wed and Thurs at 7:30pm
3. Voice recital - I'm singing one song, "The Loveliest of Trees" sometime between 10:30 and 11:30 on Friday in the aud. I'll let you know when I know
   

From Tal

Blah, blah, Google, type in "your name" looks like (don't actually type the words your name and then put some witty comment here - not funny)

• Laura looks like a Primary School teacher.
• i have a sweater that does, it has animals on it
  
• Laura looks like she’s about to breastfeed those pups.
• only once
  
• Laura looks like his wife Lise (Claude Jade), who's killed by the Gestapo.
• i thought gestapo was soup
  
• Laura looks quite comfy in the company of 3 VT fellows ,and why not eh.
• VT? very tiny? virgo tellers? verile tigers?
  
• Laura always looks really doll-like but in the close up portraits especially so.
  
• my Mother has always said that
  
• Laura looks hot in this video!
• amen!
  

Only six...so lets also do Laura should

• Maybe George and Laura SHOULD practice what they preach!
• maybe you should!
  
• Laura should be told as much as "when."
• "where" would be helpful too
  
• Laura should re-read her Torah.
• my Hebrew is getting rusty
  
• Laura should know.
• again, something my Mom says
  
• Laura should know better than to stick her nose into something she hasn't a clue of like change the napkins on the table or something Lol!
• Lol or learn sentence structure
• Laura should return to Perkins.
• Amy?
  
• Laura should have won.
• i agree, and let me tell you the academy will get a seething letter
  
• Laura should be able to apply mathematical principles and operations in solving consumer-related problems; to calculate income, taxes, and interest rates as they affect family finances; to prepare, maintain, and interpret family financial records; to apply and solve mathematical expressions that relate to a variety of occupations; to determine revenue and costs associated with business operations; and to establish, maintain, and interpret financial statements relevant to business operations.
• ew, and maybe I should learn how to end a sentence
  
• Laura should battle for a team top five spot.
• i am the top five spot
  
• Laura should just...give it up, lol.
• maybe i should just give up 5 shots to your head
  

Precipitation

Dear Precipitation,

I'm really glad that mid and late November have given you the finger.

Lockie, I'm So Happy You Still Read My Blog

Chortle

The on-campus students are at hotels. First and Second parking lot are at the new Marriot and Third parking lot and Aug Hall are at the Super 8. All the dorms are dead bolted, the Mainstage was canned for the night, volleyball has been moved to Mohawk.

The logistical nightmare has become a reality. Eep.

Snort

Now they have to replace the transformer and do get that all done the academic building had to be evactuated! Early weekend!

AND, rumour has it that if they can't have power for over night they're gonna put all the on-campus kids up in hotels! Oh the logistics nightmare - hope the transformer works!

Ah Ha Ha

The power is out at Redeemer right now. A squirrel got into a transformer and fried the both of them.

Skippy!

Moist

You know what I want?

Some sort of machine thing that will moisturize my skin. All of it. In one shot. Some thingy that I just step into or in front of or walk around that squirts or slathers or somethings and just makes my skin all happy and not dry. I bet that have those on the star ship enterprise. "Computer: activate moisturizing sequence Laura Delta One." Oh yeah. That's the moisturizing of my dreams. For now I have to spend all this time with a little pump bottle. Bah.

Happy Birthday Katy

Dear Kathrina,

I love you a lot. You are my friend. You give good hugs. I like sitting beside you in English. I get sad when you leave. I hope you have a fantastic and biblical birthday.

Love and Hugs,

Laura E. Stewart

Why Choir Birthdays Are the Best

Sometimes...

You only want to have one egg for breakfast, but you drop the carton on the floor and three eggs crack, so you have to eat them.

A Memory

Top row L-R: Crystal Williams (deceased), Lisa Moore
Bottom row L-R: Monica Banting, Sarah Grosjean, Laura Stewart

This picture was taken in Grade 8. We had it taken in celebration of a damn fine friendship. After looking at this I'm pretty glad I got braces (actually I'm missing a tooth here, it was removed for the braces). Also after looking at this I can tell you that Lisa still looks the same, as evidenced in her recent grad photo...


So yeah, I just wanted to post that pic of days and times gone by.

Probably

You should probably come to the choir concert on December 8. Trillium Brass will be there, so will lots of good music. You can get tickets here.

Forgiveness

When you are in a friendship that lasts over 10 years you are going to have ups and downs in that friendship. And unless you're Christ, you're going to do and say things that are hurtful.

The other night I was struggling with the things as a kid or teenager that I had done that I knew had hurt Crystal. Things that I know if they had been done to me, would have hurt me. And I realized that I couldn't go and ask her to forgive me for these things, so matter how small or how long ago they happened. That hurt. But then I knew that I could ask Christ to forgive me for these sins. And I know he's already forgiven me for them. (Now I just have to accept this forgiveness.)

Home

Grandma's going home tomorrow! Her 87th birthday is on Monday and I was really praying that she wouldn't be in the hospital for that. And she's not! Whoot! Praise the Lord!

Don't Worry

I'm ok. Just processing a lot. No worrying.

Compartments

There is a lot going on is this world/brain of mine. Things I've gotten into here, and things I can't let you in on. But its getting pretty crowded in here.

I was talking to Jill today and I told her that I wished I could compartmentalize things. That I could take each 'thing' separately and cry and swear and smash it out when I had time. But I think right now if I let one thing go then everything is going to come with it. And that's going to get messy. Its November. There is no time for messy in the life of a university student in late November.

A Series

So as you may have interpreted from the previous post (or as i am about to illuminate for you) one of my friends died and my Grandma Stewart is in the hospital.

I'm warning you now that there will probably be about a week's worth of posts on these subjects as I sort through some of the emotions. And really what better way than to do it through blogging. The warning is so you know what is coming and can avoid it if you want.

Why not get this party started...

The friend that died has a name: Crystal Williams. We went to school together from Grade 5 through to the end of OAC. I'm not gonna lie and tell you that we were the best of friends all the way through. In elementary school we were a part of a group of 5 girls who were very close. In high school we took a lot of drama classes together and because we were in the same wacked out French program we had geographies, histories, languages and stuff together. So we spent a lot of time together. Her Mom taught at our high school and taught me something to do with computers.

The first time I did Seven Minutes in Heaven was at Crystal's house, the closest I've come to being arrested was because of something I did at a party at Crystal's house, I saw a made for TV movie about Amy Fisher at Crystal's house and many more memories.

And its the memories that are getting me right now. When I learned of her death on Friday afternoon it started a movie in my mind. A movie replaying any interacting with Crystal that it could remember; both good and bad. A lot of people from my graduating class showed up at the funeral and sitting with them and spending time with them, looking at pictures, brought back so many more memories. So now I have all of these memories playing around in my head and all of it is juxtaposed by the fact that there will be no new memories made. Khattam-Shud.

At the reception after the funeral I was talking to Crystal's Mom. She pointed out a picture of the 5 of us girls from elementary school (gr 8) that had been professionally done and was hanging at the chapel. And she said that I had been a big part of Crystal's life and that I should never forget that. When I got home to my parents' place I dug out my last year book. I found what Crystal wrote to me: "Waura! You've made a huge impression on my life! I'll never forget you! See you around, Love Crystal Williams XOXO" Well Crystal, I'll never forget you either and as the pastor said, that is how you will keep on living.

My Weekend

1. Fun
2. And more fun...
   
   

Choir

The RUC choir is singing twice this weekend.

1. 11am on Friday, November 10th for the RUC Remembrance Day service. This service is only scheduled to last 20min.
2. 10:45am on Saturday, November 11th for the Remembrance Day service at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. This is pretty much an amazing service. There are airplanes, veterans, usually and amazing speaker, and yeah, its just amazing, so come. The service is usually an hour-ish.
   

Admission

I've had a two week hiatus of allergy shots because the doctor has been on vacation. I'm kind of scared to get the ball rolling again.

Ain't No Party Like An Alto-Club Party

Maybe 9 out of 10 of the altos were able to get together tonight and have a gathering. There was food, there was interviewing. There was SO MUCH laughing. There was Jennifer Lopez playing the accordion. It was good. I love altos. We are good people.

Just So You Know

I love to eat frozen/raw french fries.

Bad News That Turned Into Good News

Remember how I was supposed to have my specialist's appointment on the 18th of December? Well the other day I got this letter in the mail telling me that my appointment had been moved from the 18th to the 21st. This brought a nice mix of both rage and disappointment. The 21st is five whole days after I'm done exams. So either I would have to go home and come back or stay in the hammer for a very long time. I was not so excited about either option.

I had to call the Dr's office to confirm that I knew about this date change. So yesterday I called and while I was talking with the receptionist I mentioned that the appointment was so far after I was done exams, and that I'm not at all from this area and that my Mom has limited mobility and I really need to go home and help get Christmas going, etc, and if there was anything she could do to get me in earlier it would be really appreciated, but that I knew I was on the low end of the pole for getting a cancellation. She heard my plea and told me that would have loved to give me something earlier, but that she just didn't have anything. She said it would be especially hard because I have an hour long appointment and those very rarely get cancelled. But she said she would put a note in the books just in case. I thanked her for her time and that was that.

Ten minutes later the phone rang. It was Dr Gibson's office. A pre-op had cancelled and I could have my hour on....wait for it....November 23rd! Woooo! I'm pretty excited. Thought I should share.

Trick or Treat

I went trick or treating. I dressed up as a city worker named Steve.



I went with my friend Melissa. She is both young and cute.



Her cuteness gives my age credibility with those handing out candy. Wouldn't you want to give candy to us?



This was my favourite punkin.


The End.

Christmas

Well, you'll be relieved (but not you Jo, cause you said you aren't participating in this ritual), I figured out what all y'all can get me for Christmas...

A Sumo Bean Bag Chair. Seriously I need this (Go to the website, watch the video, look at the pictures, notice the free shipping). Why do I need this?

1. its hip - so am i!
2. it comes in neat colours - i'm neat!
3. its perfect for someone with back pain - can't you just see me - laptop and a pile of books, got the ice pack nestled into the back of it, and there's me, able to to settle in without putting added pressure on my lower lumbar region, but not having to lie on my bed and type awkwardly. yes!
4. can't you just see me with a high-end bean bag chair?
5. it can double as a guest bed
6. if 13 or 14 of you chip in together you'll only have to pay 10$ - a Christmas present for Laura for 10$ waaaaa!
7. artsy people have them - i'm artsy!
8. its easy to clean
9. its waterproof
10. i want one!
    

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Steegens - I love and appreciate you as a friend and a sister, more than you will ever realize.

Sometimes...

You tell one person that they are coming to a costume party. Then you tell everybody else to dress up as that person. Sometimes you love Richard Wikkerink!


Doppelganger! I think we look eerily alike. I also think I look like Kevin Klein in French Kiss.


More Richards...


And more Richards... (including one from his blond unruly locks days)


Yet more Richard action.

And just in case you ever wondered what Richard would look like with pink hair...