Here Is A Picture...Now Take Your Thousand Words

A picture of me joining the CRC.

A picture of my little sister Rachel graduating from Redeemer

A picture of me before doing a sleep test/study

Apologies

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  Apparently it's bronchitis that's been making me so tired over the last few weeks.  Also, typing with a sprained thumb hurts.  I hope to resume the regular M,W,F schedule soon.

Here is a picture, just 'cause:

Possible Delays In Service

Hello faithful blog readers. This is your friendly neighbourhood lstew. I'm coming to you today from the comfort of my kitchen to tell you that me Daddy an' I are heading to British Colombia tomorrow and will be there for a week. This may 'cause interruptions in regular updates. My apologies for any distress this may cause.

-The Management

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

I have no chickens, but I can tell you this: Willem and Thor won the contest. Yes, you (finally) heard it here first (or if you're my Dad, on the phone last night).





They have both won personally autographed photos of yours truly and if they talk to me nicely in the next couple of days we'll work something out that involves me cooking or baking to their immediate benefit.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned this fall/winter for more riveting quiz action!

Delay

Contest results will be delayed due to yesterday's death of my Big Poppa/Grandpa Renton.

Everyone Has Their Price

Franco Language Police: What makes you think I can be bought?
Anglo Restaurant Owner: Short, cheap suit, sweats too much; I read you're the perfect candidate for a bribe.
- Royal Canadian Air Farce

I want to encourage you to jot down your answers to Monday's quiz questions. If you're running into problems with some of the answers and you're worried that you may end up out of the running for one of the exciting prizes, I have a piece of information for you - I can be bought. Yes, there it is, on the internet for all to see. A case of Coca-Cola Classic, a Big Mac meal (no onion, extra pickles), a sack full of candy, a pizza, a lovely neck/back/shoulder massage, buffalo chicken, mozza sticks, gasoline, ice cream cones, mafia hits on people I owe money too, trips to Cancun; all of these are acceptable bribes for an answer or two (feel free to make up your own bribes).

One of these highly affordable options could give you the edge on the road to fame. The winner(s) will be featured on this...very...blog on Monday, along with what they have won! Can you even stand the excitement? I know I can't, so I think I'll fall asleep.

I'd start fueling up my jet or getting my chickens and buffaloes together if I were you.

Heads Up Players

I've moved back to the Hammer.

Heads Up

Just so you know, that internship in Tennessee has been canceled. They had a few very understandable reasons. So I'm trying to figure out what to do next. There is a plan.

Y?

Work is still going alright. I'm exhausted. My brain is so full it feels like it's going to vomit. I need to get my feet back into the routine of standing that long again.

I can do this.

Well Good For Me

So my time with the unnamed labour group has been up for a few weeks now. Unemployment has looked pretty good on me. I have been doing more: sleeping; knitting; Christmas card writing; Christmas present making; phone talking; visiting; watching of various DVDs and VHSs; cursing the snow and falling in love with Sack boy.

I have also been applying for some jobs. I got one. In the new year I'll be working for the YMCA here in London. They have hired me on in one specific department with a lot of chat about cross training me for a few other departments/programs that me and my zany skill set could help in. It looks pretty promising and fun. And after 3 months it comes with a free gym membership. Yeah!

Settling In

I've spent consecutive nights in London now. With Thursday night's sleep it'll be 5! Crazy. I spent part of last week in Hamilton because of meetings, appointments and baseball, and during that little romp I realized that I hadn't slept on the same mattress for more than 2 nights in a row since the 29th of August. That little run got broke when I fell asleep on Tuesday night.

Things are settling in here in London town. I have about 80% of my stuff unpacked. The bedroom looks like I live there now. Its funny how I needed to have my books unpacked before I could really feel at home in the space. I think displaying books is to university grads as peeing on things is to male dogs. If that doesn't make sense to you, I think what I'm trying to say is that those books are a pride thing - a lot of them are great references, but I totally could do with less of them here. But it does hurt me that there is still a couple bookshelves of them lingering in Brighton until I stop moving around so much. Someday my little bookies, someday...

Right, the settling - my housemates are pretty busy people, but I still see everyone at least once a day, if not twice. I haven't had supper alone yet either. I can't tell you how nice that is. I spent the entire summer eating all of my meals alone. Its nice to have nice people around. Nice. Nice. It was also really swell to come back from a week of funeral stuff to a house that was already set up and not just an entire house of boxes.

I have been slowly learning where everything is - this is the first time I've really joined a house in progress. So everything was already going. I love having a dishwasher, like so much. Past roommates if you're reading this - having a dishwasher makes me a better person. There is a really nice patio, so I/we have eaten out there. Its been nice being around food - aka having it in the cupboards and the fridge.

Because I'm still working from home, I haven't been learning too much more of the city than what I already knew. Though that will change when I get another job at the end of my contract. And I think I have a decent lead on a job. But I'm not getting my hopes too up about that.

Just thought I'd let you know how things are going. I'm still pretty fricking sad about the loss of my Grandma and that is still hurting quite a bit. I'm slowly adjusting to life in a new city. Things are coming along.

Life (updated, with a big side note)

The side note comes first. Side note on the side note - did I make that up? Is there such a thing as a side note? Or is that a term I invented in my head and use with such frequency that others both believe it and use it?

Ok - so in the past month or so I have found out 3 pieces of information that people should never, ever have told me. The information they gave me is oh, so very dangerous in the hands/mind of someone like myself.

1. One friend told me that when I change my facebook status she gets a text messagey buzz thing to her phone. That's right, every time I change my facebook status her pocket or purse or desk buzzes. Oh the power.
2. Another friend told me pretty much the same thing, but its with emails. He is doing something in construction or landscaping. So I'm pretty sure if I send my emails right I could be responsible for having him fall off a roof or taking his foot off with a shovel.
3. I was also informed that the labour organization for which I am a contract worker, uses Google Alerts. Thusly, when they are mentioned online a dude in Vancouver (I think) gets an email telling him about it. And I am not going to lie, that totally makes me want to embed the 4 letter abbreviation for this organization (to be named later in the post) in random posts that have nothing to do with it, just because I know someone is going to get an alert about it. And does that make me immature, irresponsible, silly, power hungry, a little dumb? Yes, yes it does.

So, a slight clarification on my job. I do not actually work for that labour group. I am an independent contractor, doing some work for them. I'm doing some pretty cool work with some often very complicated documents. The end result will be a lot of good for a lot of people. So I'm actually pretty tickled to be a part of the process. I'm also tickled to be getting a pay cheque - oh to be able to tell Rogers to reactivate my cell...sigh.

Its a pretty sweet deal. I work from home and make my own hours (there some stipulations in there). So I love going to bed at night and wondering, "hmm, what time do I want to get up and go to work tomorrow?" Its all pretty much determined by what else I'm doing in that day. I also love the whole dressing for work thing. I can get up, put on the same pair of basketball shorts that I've been wearing all week, throw on a clean t-shirt and I'm set. Mmm, I also enjoy being able to swear both at the computers and the documents in the privacy of my dinning room. That same privacy is nice when I have to get up to stop my back from hurting and I do crazy dances, or hop on my exercise ball to loosen up.

It lacks a little more sugar (hello pay cheque) and a comfy chair (borrowing one tomorrow) and then I'll pretty much be the queen of contractors.

Welcome Back To Employment Land

Alors, I have a job.

Starting in early July (after some training in late June) I will be a theatre day camp counselor.

I honestly didn't think I'd get the job....group interview....imagine 11 theatre people, all competing for the same jobs and all asked to talk about themselves. Yeah. Yeah. The nightmare you're imagining is what I sat through and was a part of for over 2 hours.

Related to that, its not the working everyday with the kids aged 6-13, its working with the other counselors that I fear. I was reading the India blog (see previous post) and there was a section about how the 6 of us were working with 190 kids from pre-K to grade 1. And they didn't even speak English. So I think I'll be ok. But its the level of pretense with the artsy adults. I'm hoping that the kids melt right through that and become the focus.

I'll keep you updated on how this is going.

An Unemployed Wonderland

So, I am still what might be termed "under employed" and by under I mean total lack thereof. Now, I can't be too much of a complainer face as I was offered a part part part time job - 5ish hours every two weeks involving teenagers, hot dogs and drunk football fans in east Hamilton - I turned it down in the hopes that well, in hope. I turned it down in hope. Sometimes I confuse hope with trust.

Anyway, I thought I might make a list of some of the things that I have been doing in all of my unemployed magnificence. As you can imagine, someone of my personality is rarely bored, just unmotivated or unstimulated. Grin. I've been a little frustrated that my total lack of income means that now that I have time, I have not the gas money to visit so many people.

I digress - a list of what has been occupying my days as of late:

• sleeping - sometimes a little more than I think I should, but I'm working on a pretty large deficit still
• thinking about walking - it gets romanticized while I look out from the balcony, but rarely happens
• watching Asians hurt themselves - no, not in that row of apartments on the 3rd floor but on youtube
• acquiring Dreamweaver C3 and teaching myself how to use it
• praying
• dancing in my apartment
• not doing the dishes
• not cleaning the bathroom or my bedroom
• painting picture frames
• drawing/text art
• harassing people via instant messaging services
• writing letters
• tiny tiny bits of pilates/work outs
• applying for jobs
• applying for more jobs
• interviewing for very few jobs
• sitting around being hopeful
• sitting around being pessimistic
• discouraging Bernice from laying on the 2 new eggs she laid - I'll get you Irwin!
• reading
• playing ball
• hanging out with people
• letting mosquitoes bite my left foot 6 times
• counting down the days until: Chelsea returns, Amanda returns, baby showers, weddings, teachers stop counting down the days they have left in their school years
• listening for the ice cream truck, hearing it, deciding if I can actually afford to spend the 2.50$ on a small dipped cone, and then evaluating the amount of time I spent thinking and figuring out if I still have enough time to make it down to the truck before it drives away
• watching Portuguese television so that I don't have to watch lame soap operas
• cleaning the pigeon crap off the balcony in slow covert ways
• thinking about my mom's cooking
• running off to donate blood
  
• writing blogs
  

Slowly

I began to make my return to life this week. It was/is exhausting. I had to pick and choose what I had the energy for. And when I wasn't expending energy I was lying down somewhere. For the most part I'm getting much better. I can breath out of my nose 90% of the time. Most coughing is for maintenance (unless I get riled up - which you know, never happens to me as I am very calm and am rarely excitable).

I went back to singing this week. Which may admittedly might have been a bit early. But tonight is my final choir concert as an undergrad and I am in a quartet for a motet and well, as I have said a few times this week - that I will be cold, dead and in the ground before I don't sing in the concert. You don't become the longest standing concert choir member ever by letting a little pneumonia get to you. Heck no. The singing hasn't been too bad. My voice sounds bad afterwards - which I'm guessing is just pure fatigue, but I can sing, and sing pretty well. It is still hard to breath - so I've had to break things up a little more than usual. Ha ha, I went to my voice lesson yesterday and tried an aria that I have to sing at the recital on Monday - holding the sustained notes and trying to get enough air in for them made me dizzy! It was crazy.

Rest assured that I know I am crazy to do what I'm going to do over the next 24hrs. I know I'll regret parts of it as I spend the rest of the weekend in bed. But I know I would regret so much more not singing in this concert (the line up is SO good and so are the singers!). My parents are currently on their way here. So I will have lunch with them and hang for a bit. Then they will do a couple things they need to take care of - I will lay down for a bit and then make myself pretty for the concert. We have a call time of 5:30, but since I am crazy and responsible, I will be there at 5. We have a rehearsal for an hour and then half an hour break (where I will find a couch to crash on) and then we get robed and do final preps. The concert will be a couple of hours with intermission. And then I'm gonna rely on the Holy Spirit to keep giving me energy so that I can celebrate afterwards with both family and friends. Finally Saturday morning my parents and I will keep our tradition of going to the Egg & I and doing a bit of shopping. Apres ca, I will crash.

So you can see that I've healed enough to be able to push. I take that as a victory. Last week I couldn't push. And really, I don't have anything scheduled after my parents leave on Saturday until Monday's voice recital. I'm golden. Right?

FYI

I'm house sitting in Ancaster from Sunday afternoon until the following Saturday afternoon. So if you're trying to get a hold of me its best to do it electronically or via my cell.

Progress Report #1

I thought as part of being accountable I should let you know how the whole out-working is going.

Week One: Good and great and full of legalism, thought I could conquer the world.

Week Two: A little more tired. Discovered that if I started the workout too much after 4:30 then pre-dinner light headedness would occur.

Week Three: Didn't enter the gym - wasn't in this part of the province for one of the work out days - need to learn how to deal with a week that lacks all regularity.

Week Four: Back on the horse again.

Week Five: The routine is getting a bit easier. Added a few more aspects to the ab workout.

Bondage and Freedom

I heard a great sermon on Labour Day weekend about rest. I won't summarize it for you, but if you're really interested you can find it here.

The result of having heard this sermon is a lot of thought on true sabbath rest and what I can do to set up for it.

The result of that is this: I am now laptop free on Sundays.

I had to bend it a little for the first CITB service day, but otherwise it has been quite successful. Yesterday was the 3rd week into this experiment/project/life change.

So if you want to get a hold of me on a Sunday don't look for me online. Call my home, call my cell or drop by.

I'll keep you updated on how this goes and how it changes things for me.

Update

So continue to live. Though I'm not going to lie. I a)may have pushed myself a little too hard over the past couple of days and that has lead to b)feeling kinda crummy. But thus far my schedule has kind of allowed me to push and push and then crash and crash. I'm sure I'll be fine soon. Right? Thanks for your concern and your love.

Milestones, Not Just A Restaurant Any More

Guess what this is?



Yup. Who'd a thunk that way back in January of aught four I'd be making this milestone. 1000 pieces of narcissism up here on the world wide interweb for all to see.

For every post be assured that there is one other post that was brilliantly thought up while I was in the car, out for a walk, pretending to listen in class, etc, etc, that were forgotten before I could find a computer. Just imagine if I had been able to write all of those down too! Wow.

I had wanted to make this a much bigger deal - 'cause there is a special announcement coming down the tubes (toobs) but I just haven't had enough time to refine some of it, and I want it to be really special for you guys. So I'm compromising this milestone for what may prove to be an even bigger one.

I'd like to thank the many faithful readers all over the world. I'd especially like to thank people who comment. Its the commenters who keep me going on the tough days. You know who you are. Thank you.

I feel like I should leave you with a nice picture...hmmm Ok...I looked around. This is my favourite cupcake in the world. Sarah Moerman made it for me. It has blue icing because she made me blue icing. She made me pretty cupcakes with blue icing because she loves me. So this picture is not just a delicious cupcake, but it is also love.