Life of a College Student

Me!

2008-06-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

It is my birthday today. I am 20 years old. Two decades! Ack!
Yay birthdays! So excited!

The Bridge

2008-05-07T10:23:00.010-06:00

There is an old little park in the middle of Lethbridge. Its grassy fields are ridden with gophers, its picnic shelters in dire need of repair. The old staircase that took you to the lookout on top of the coulee has been torn down. Floods in the valley have ripped up massive oaks, they hang stark looking on the footing of the bridge. The beach along the river is no longer covered with smooth stones-a layer of silt, brances, and other dead things blanket them.
I used to come to this park often- my cousin and I celebrated our birthdays together here, year after year. We've had campfires, roasted marshmallows, played on its playgrounds, and skipped stones in the river. All that remains intact in this humble park is The Bridge. The longest of its kind, a train bridge, that stretches from the top of one coulee, across the river, to the top of the next. It stands black and majestic against the blue sky, and quivers when trains hazard their way over. On the top, it sways 3 feet to each side beneath the rumble of the trains engine. The High Level Bridge:

Worst Night Ever, to date.

2008-03-31T10:04:00.004-06:00

Recap:
1:30 AM - Drive home from a friend's choir concert, pull up to Kyle's house.
Notice that my car interior lights are in fact, on.
*******Foreboding sense of doom settles over me*******
Discover that car is indeed dead, still need to bring Michelle and Brian home.
Attempt to boost car, unsuccessful. Decide to leave cables on and go inside to warm up. Its snowing. (What the?!?)
Remember why I left the interior lights on: I had something in my eye while I was driving last, and wanted to find it. Ooops.
Use Kyles car to bring Michelle and Brian home, let Kyle go to sleep because he has to wake up at 4:30 AM to go to work.
Arrive at Kyle's house, 2:15. Crash on couch. Get up to pee. Lay down. Cough up a lung. Get up to pee. Attempt to sleep. Cannot sleep. Get up to get some ibuprofen for sore throat. Does the fact I can't sleep have anything to do with the coffee I drank at exactly ELEVEN PM YOU IDIOT!!! Try to sleep.
3:05 AM - Kyle jumps out of bed, turns on all lights and walks around in sleepy stupor. Me: KYLE IT IS 3:05! GO BACK TO BED! Kyle: What am I doing standing here? *Crawls back into bed*.
3:13 - Coughing fit. Switch couches, attempt to get comfortable. Am boiling hot. Remove socks. Finally fall asleep.
4:27 - Hear extremely loud alarm clock coming from Kyle's room. Yell at Kyle to wake up. Fall back asleep.
4:49 - What the? What is that bright light? Kyle is on FACEBOOK AT 4:49 AM. Serious addict. Fall back asleep.
5:07 - *Door slams* What? Kyle left?! He didn't even say goodbye! *Alex is sad*
5:08 - Kyle comes back inside after bringing his luggage out. Gives me big hug and kiss goodbye.
5:10 - Cannot sleep. Move to Kyle's bed.
8:00 - Alarm goes off, I think I have something to do...aww screw it. Need to sleep.
9:00 - Eat honeycombs and chill with Curtis, attempt to boost car with bigger vehicle. Unsuccessful.
9:15 - Call AMA and wait on hold for approximately 15 minutes.
10:15 - Waiting for AMA to arrive. Checking facebook and blogging.
THE END. GAH.

**Update: 10:45 - Car is running! Thank you AMA! **
***Update: 11:45 - I just left my car idling for one entire hour. Is that bad karma? So much for Earth Day....***

Exciting and a little scary!

2008-03-26T14:43:00.003-06:00

Lately I have been feeling the itch to get away, to learn, to think, to READ, and to just be. And while nothing is set in stone yet, I have an opportunity for a summer job that will take me far, far away from here! (But still on the same continent!)
I am so excited!
This will be so much FUN!
I can hardly wait till May!
More updates to come.

This post, with far too many exclamation! points! brought to you by Alexandria!

Also, this inquiry: how is someone who has never breastfed (me) supposed to teach other women to breastfeed? The answer, coming tomorrow! Or probably not!

Randoms

2008-03-25T17:15:00.003-06:00

Best invention I discovered last week: Baileys flavoured HAAGEN DAZS!! With real Baileys! Who knew?!

I went snowboarding on Saturday, for the first time in 5ish years, and it was SO FUN. I also got a sunburn. From the snow! How cool is that.

All is well on the home front folks, thanks for your kind words.

I am excited for my cousin Christy to move here! Yay!

I really want to quit school, it is entirely and totally lame.

I love tiny babies, and get to take care of them this week working on maternity! So fun! And cute!

That is all. Have a good week people!

Alex is....

2008-03-17T11:06:00.004-06:00

-craving inspiration and support from anyone re: life, and stuff that sucks a lot
-craving lindor chocolates and vanilla hazelnut tea
-going to survive this week somehow
-going snowboarding on saturday
-needing "big huuuuuuugggz"
-needing sleep
-sitting on her ass
-not writing her paper due wednesday
-not happy
-in disbelief
-scared.

:(

2008-03-10T21:16:00.000-06:00

I didn't win. Boo.

canttalknow mustlinktowin prettyapron

2008-03-05T18:13:00.002-07:00

Hola! (Man, I wish I was still in Mexico! I cant stop saying hola and it is driving Kyle nuts.)
Anyway, ALL of you....yes that means you...must go check out Loralee and her sweeet blog because she is featuring these FABULOUS aprons made by her friend, Erin. She has an Etsy Shop you can check out, too!!
What are ya waiting for amigos? Go check it out! (I want the pink one...my birthday is in June!)
Adios!

I must be emo*

2008-03-01T12:46:00.003-07:00

Today is one of those days. You know the days where you're trapped in the house too long, and contrary to what you would expect, you haven't gotten anything done but you've had a series of short encounters with various people none of which have brightened your mood but have made you even more depressed because they aren't actively trying to cheer you up and so you consult the internets to see what rainbows they might have to share with you but you are just plain and simple in a bad mood and it's not going to help anyway and by the way you smell funny and you have to work tonight and pretend to be happy because if you don't you won't make any money and its snowing outside and oh yeah, I still have to write my fricken paper.
Join me in my misery and have a listen to The Postal Service "District Sleeps Alone".

Ahhhh so cathartic.

Back to reality

2008-02-23T12:31:00.003-07:00

Hey! Now that reading break is almost over, it's time to get back to the books. And blogging.
I'm currently working on a paper for my World Religions class. It's tricky. It's one of those papers where you can write about almost ANYTHING as long as it has a smidgen of something to do with something mildly religious, such as pork. You're beginning to see my dilemma. I have no idea what to write about. While I think I have decided on a topic, that may change in the next 13 minutes. My little sheltered life hasn't really motivated me to challenge the status quo, question my religion or beliefs, so I haven't got much ammo to write with. I think I need to read a book. A good one. A thinking one. I need to enrich myself. Any suggestions? Aunty Ruby, I know you read, and you must have some great ideas!!

*******************

In other news, I really like serving (waitressing). There's just something that feels good about walking out with over $100 in cash. Everyday is not awesome, but the good outweighs the bad. The bad: on Tuesday, I had a table that whined about every single thing I brought out: the milk shake wasn't shake-y enough, the chicken fingers weren't hot enough, the drink wasn't flavorful enough, blah blah BLAH....anyway I tried to be accomodating, and tried to be nice, and run across the restaurant 30,000 times to get them what they want...their bill came to $172.62.
They tipped me $2.38 cents. Grrr.

The good: On the holiday Monday, I made approximately $37 an hour! Cool beans. Why am I in nursing school??

Alissa, blogosphere. Blogosphere, Alissa.

2008-02-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

My best friend Alissa just started a blog! Aww, how cute! So young, yet so grown up! Look at her in all her cute new-blogger-ness. Click Here. She is an awesome writer.

Alissa is the cutest, sweetest girl you will ever meet. I have known her for almost 5 years, and she has been there through some of the worst and best times of my life. She is also one of the funnest (most fun?) people to hang out with. You can laugh with her, cry with her, play N64 with her, eat endless amounts of ice cream and cake with her...

She is so kind, half the time I don't know how she puts up with my perfectionist, Type A self. She is very understanding and always knows just what to say. She used to be pretty quiet and shy, but being a nurse and being my friend has kind of ruined that. :P She is honest, Godly, and puh-lease people, she is GORGEOUS! She inspires me to become a better person. I love you, Alissa!

Life is good with good friends. I am so blessed.

3 Things I learned over the weekend

2008-02-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

1. Putting on lip gloss while speedily walking to class is hazardous to your health.
2. Applying blush 5 seconds after you put on face cream ends up looking very bad.
3. P.S. I love you is the best movie I have seen in ages. I cried, a lot.

Bittersweet - A Toast

2008-01-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at my crappy, crappy job. My job had its perks: it was nursing related, it was very rewarding, and I loved my clients (most of them). I worked for a home health care company for 1 1/2 years, and that was long enough thankyouverymuch.
To commemorate our last day together, one of my favorite clients and I went out for coffee to the local bakery. It was bittersweet. Its strange, a little bit, but Mike and I have been through a lot together (mostly him) and his family was like family to me. I would call him my friend. Mike was the reason I stayed as long as I did at that job, but it was time to call it quits.
Its feels so strange to say goodbye. I've spent 6 hours a week with Mike, every week, since July. He's been a constant in my weeks, and I could always look forward to our long chats, playing ping pong, and him teasing me about almost everything. His wife's baking was always a plus, too.
But Mike will continue his recovery from stroke without me. And as much as I want to take the credit for his stunning progress so far, it has been his hard work and determination that got him this far, I was just there to help. His strength and character (and goofy smile) are something I will remember for many years to come.

Crushed....or, Tune Tuesday - Crooner Edition

2008-01-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I am in love with Michael Buble. He is SO cute. I also have a thing for men who can play the piano. Does anyone else think that is ridiculoulsy attractive? Mmmmm.....so sexay.

Without further ado, have a listen.

Pictures!

2008-01-28T16:35:00.001-07:00

My trip to B.C....

My starbucks before we got on the plane. Mmm.

Cuddling during a movie

The mountains through a rainy window

The valley, from the top of the mountain we hiked.
Things here still grow in winter!
Pretty waterfall!
Chris and the kids

My two favorite girls!
Going for a walk

My little bookworm, Gillian!

I won!!!

2008-01-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

What did I win again??? Oh right. Apparently I entered a photo contest a couple of months ago, and now they want to put my picture into a book! How neato. And, if my picture makes it into the "finals" I could win, $1000, or even $10,000! Does anyone else think this is a scam? I don't know what to think. Although I must agree, it is a pretty sweet picture, no? (Sunset photo on bottom). They also sent me an email saying they wanted to give me this pin, for winning the "Editors Choice Award", for $20. What?? I thought that when you win something, they give you stuff, not make you pay for it. Lame.

Its me!

2008-01-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hello internets! How are you all?

Have I told you how much I hate school? Really? I have? Multiple times? Ok. Well, Im gonna tell you again.

School whomps.

My brain is mush and I have to write a mini-speech about why Alberta should NOT have a two-tiered health care system. Before tomorrow. And I have to work (2 hours) tonight.

Anyway, the answer is straightforward. Because one is simple, and two is more than one, and therefore more complicated. And that is why a two-tiered system is bad. Now, look at my pretty pictures.

Me and my man!

Oooh, purty frower. This is where the salt water started to affect the lens shutter thing. Cool effect, yes?

Adventures in Chilliwack

2008-01-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hey! Im in Chilliwack! My brother and his family live here and Kayla and I are visiting. So far, it rocks. Yesterday we went shopping in Bellingham!! WOOT! And man do I wish I lived there. That mall rocks. I got some sweet shopping done. Tonight on the agenda is a late New Years party! Should be good times had by all. Pictures of my cute nieces to follow when I get back home.
I hope your holidays are awesome!

Snippets of Holiday Fun

2007-12-31T11:58:00.001-07:00

Now, I apologize in advance to anyone who is expecting miraculous fabulous pictures since I got a Canon Rebel XT and would like to inform you that just because you get a sweet camera, doesn't mean it will take sweet pictures for you.

You still have to know how to use it.

Hmm.

Anyway here are some pictures of my Christmas holiday! (Or...Boxing day on.)

Kyle is opening his present. He's also wearing his new Christmas hoody and t-shirt. He's so happy! Also, next time do your hair.

Kevin here is displaying how I spent many hours of my Christmas holidays. SO FUN!

NANCY(left) was home from Ontario! Yay! Her and Alissa are so cute.
Kyle's cousin got married (to my 2nd cousin)! Here's the happy couple. Her dress was so gorgeous!
Self-portrait

I got to visit Travis and Becky in their gorgeous new house! Sorry Becky this is the only picture I have. But its not so bad!

I flew to B.C. to visit my brother and his family! Look at those amazing mountains!

I got to hang out with these two cuties! They are wearing the shirts we bought them! I can tell Josie(left) is going to be a poser just like me.

Gillian was thrilled to have the same shirt as me! Just so you know, we also had matching hair and matching socks. This girl is so cute!

My brother Chris, and sister-in-law Laura. I love staying with them!

Here's my nephew Caleb...he is such a cool kid! Any guesses to his age? This little guy had a huge growth spurt since the last time I saw him, plus he is now the ripe old age of THIRTEEN. Crazy!

More pictures to come!

Rebel Without A Cause

2007-12-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

This camera will be mine in just a few short hours!! 8.0 megapixels of pixely goodness, SLR, sweet lens-icity.......Do I need to tell you how excited I am?
Boxing day sales roxers my boxers.

(Only $399 from Future Shop! You can order online! Sale ends on the 27th!)

MUST WATCH. OR DIE.

2007-12-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take a peek at their electric bill.
Thanks to Linda for posting this.

Wanna Come?

2007-12-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Pretty invitations! Yay! Too bad no one will ever get to see them, because it is too late to mail them.

Learning Curve

2007-12-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Three things I learned about myself this weekend:

1. I can run in stilettos, in the snow.
2. I envy people who grew up in big families.
3. I actually like dogs, if given the time to get to know them. My friend has a sheltie named Joey, and he is just the most gentle, sweet, cute little dog.

Christmas' Past

2007-12-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I have had my picture with Santa taken every year since I was born. It was something my aunt did with her two girls, and so my mom thought it was a sweet idea, too. We have them hanging in chronological order in our hallway, for everyone to see! Heres 2 pictures, from 1991 & 1992.

(Aww! Look at how adorable I am, there on the left! But seriously mom, suspenders? I am just a mere 3 1/2 in the picture, Kayla is 1. And Santa is angry at the cameraman.)

(Oh, the unbearable cuteness! My matching sweater and pants!)

Another Christmas tradition is to read the Christmas story before we open our presents. My sister and I would listen solemnly while my mom read. Then we'd blast our Boney M. tape (my favorite Christmas music!) while we opened our presents. So much fun!

What Christmas traditions do your families have?

This n' That

2007-12-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hola!

If you did not know, I went to Mexico in October with Kyle's family. It was amazing, to say the least. I had never been out of North America, (or anywhere warm, really) and it was such a great experience. Here are some pictures from my trip:

Our early morning flight

The resort, from our balcony.

A cool carved watermelon at the buffet.

Two cute girls in Bucerias.

The walkway to up to our room, night time.

A beautiful Mexican sunset from our beach.

What do ya think of my photography skillz, yo?? :P

Tune Tuesday

2007-12-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

Two great (and very different) songs.
The first is "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap, an interesting and almost hypnotic song from the 30 year old singer/songwriter from London. Gives me the shivers.

Number two is a catchy little ditty from the ever popular Justin Timberlake! You've all heard it before, but indulge yourself again....Love stoned. Don't you just feel like gettin' your dance on?? Oh, you say you don't like JT? YOU LIE.

Hmm...

2007-12-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Alex is pondering....which parking lot should she park illegally in today?
Staff parking, student parking, or metered parking!
For not buying a parking pass yet this year, Im doing alright. I have only gotten 1 parking ticket! And that was last week!
I used to be so good at walking to school, until it got cold. (Dont judge me!) And I really dont see the point of buying a parking pass for the less than 5 times I have to go to school this month! YAY!! Almost done the semester!

P.S. I got 100% on my psych paper! Angella, I used your taser idea. Apparently my prof liked it.

Disclaimer: It is never ok to use a taser on your child. Neither I nor Angella recommend or support this tactic in any way.

Tune Tuesday

2007-12-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

When I was little, I had a favorite Christmas tape. (I say HAD because somewhere along the way we lost it). My sister and I LOVED it, we listened to it EVERY Christmas, every day of the holiday season. I'd been lamenting its loss for quite some time now until I had a bright idea to search on youtube! Oh the joys of internet!
Have a listen, will ya??
Did any of you have this tape?

Elfed Up

2007-12-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to Angella who posted this amazing link on her blog. Enjoy! Kyle, Alissa, me, and Kevin!
Get elfed up!

21 days till Christmas!!

I wasn't lying, people.

2007-11-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Eeep! My psych paper is due tomorrow!!! I couldnt let you down and not blog about my impending doom. The topic is: How should we discipline our children?
Im opening up the floor to you peeps and your insight, seeing as I have no children.
Kyle has been gone since Sunday to do electrical work 2 hours east of here. He was supposed to be coming back Friday night. Now, hes not coming back until Monday night! I am one disappointed girl. I miss that guy. On the plus side, hes been working 14 hour days and making tons of overtime. (Yay for Christmas right around the corner!)

How should we discipline our children? Lets hear it.

Homework....minus the work.

2007-11-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

If I go to a crappy province for the weekend and am sleep deprived, I still have to write a paper. If I go out for supper with my family, I still have to write a paper. If I take a nap and dream that my paper is done, I still have to WAKE UP AND WRITE MY FREAKIN' PAPER. I hate school. Why can't papers write themselves? And why does the nursing faculty feel the need to make the MOST useless assignments in the world? And torture their students? You know, seeing as we have to do this PBL junk (problem based learning, for all you non-nursing students out there) you'd think they'd let us choose the assignments we want. You know, projects we would actually learn from. Oh, the inconsistencies.
Woe!
P.S. My paper is due Wednesday at 0900 hours. Hey, that leaves me like 36 hours! Procrastination time! Stay tuned for the Wednesday night edition of "Hey, I have a psych paper due on Friday! And I haven't started! Party on!

Such Great Heights

2007-11-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am thinking it's a sign
that the freckles in our eyes
are mirror images
and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned.

And I have to speculate
that God Himself did make
us into corresponding shapes
like puzzle pieces from the clay.

And true it may seem like a stretch
but it's thoughts like this that catch
my troubled head when you're away
and when I am missing you to death.

And when you are out there on the road
for several weeks of shows
and when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home.

they will see us waving from such great heights
"come down now" they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
"come down now" but we'll stay

I tried my best to leave
this all on your machine
but the persistent beat
it sounded thin upon the sending.

Tell me those lyrics aren't super cool.

"Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service. Click here to listen.

Skinny Dipping

2007-11-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

Dipping for skins, you know? I searched high and low for a nice blog skin. And I swear, 99% of the blog skins I saw were made my angst-ridden emo-children, with titles like *~love.hurtz~* and *^~*WhYdOnTyOuLuVmE?*^~* and were laden with skulls and blood and broken hearts and other sad things of that nature. SOooo...I looked elsewhere and I came up with THIS! TA-DA! My new skin!! Im in love! It has buttons! And I felt all technical because I had to use an image hosting website and I had to copy and paste some stuff, and heck, Im an html pro now!
The skin: you likey???
1...2....3....lets hear it!

P.S. "Pull" the string!

Fried.

2007-11-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

My brain, that is.
Today I got to go to the OR (Operating Room) for a whole day! I saw a baby boy being born by c-section, I saw a little tyke get tubes put into his ears, I saw a laparoscopic tubal clipping! This means nothing to most of you but trust me, it is very cool. Maybe I will be an OR nurse one day. They are fabulous! (Shout out to the OR nurses! Holla!!)
*********
Apparently my brain is more fried than I thought, because in approximately the 1.5349 minutes it took me to type up the paragraph about the OR, I forgot what I had originally wanted to blog about.
*****
Today is one of those days I don't want to do ANYTHING. I want to call in sick to work, and then go home and not do my homework, and then skip class tomorrow because I didn't get my homework done. And then skip work tomorrow afternoon so I can finish the homework I didn't do. It really is a vicious cycle, people. Pity me.
********
ANNNNNDD in other news, group projects suck. Seriously, who ever in the history of time liked group projects? If you have participated in this dreadful activity, do you feel that it helped you to prepare for your career?

I DIDNT THINK SO.
(somebody please, prove me wrong. give me some HOPE here!)

Im Baaaaack....

2007-11-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hi. Im back.
I stopped posting because no one was reading. Or I thought no one was reading. Also, it was cutting into important facebook time. And homework time. And, well, Im just not as witty as those blogging queens I love to read. (Angella, Amanda, Christy, Heather, and others) BUT I have come to the conclusion that I like to post stuff, and talk about my life, and that maybe if one person reads it and knows better about what is going on in my life, that is cool.
So I may post occasionally.
Ta ta!
Besides, I need a hobby. All work and no play makes my life boring.
You think in 9 months blogger would have fixed the thing that makes me unable to post pictures. Grr.

2007-02-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Because I can celebrate a commercialized, overrated holiday all I want.

Happy Valentines Day! Woo hoo!! I think this has been my least exciting Valentines Day EVER, due to my studiousness and Kyle having-a-job-ness. He works night shifts still, 3:30-12:00. Suckyness. But, we are going to make up for it on Friday hopefully. I believe we are going out for dinner, and then I dont know what other tricks are up his sleeve. Actually, Im just hoping there are tricks up his proverbial sleeve. Theres a big, rational part of me that is realllly doubting that. But there is a tiny romantic part of me that is holding onto hope.
Anyway, Valentines Day is kinda sweet, sometimes, but not when I dont even get to see my honey. I miss him. I sure love that guy. Also, we have officially been dating for six months. I know youre excited, I am too.
So how are you guys out there? Good I hope. Actually, I know that most of you are good, because although I do limited amounts of blogging (none) I still manage to keep up on all of your blogs. Hopefully now that crunchtime is over I can blog more. Well see.
Also: I was a guestbook attendant at a family friends' wedding. Good times. And, I caught the bouquet. Woot. Although, I dont think it really means anything, except maybe that I know how to catch awkwardly shaped things.

P.S. Im going to Cranbrook for reading week!! Sweetness!!

2007-01-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

A hearty thankyou to my four relatives, and two others, who so graciously left comments on my blog. I love you too. So much for de-lurking, the rest of you jerks! Im not too broken up about it. Really.
So I suppose I will have to find other ways to entertain you and entice you to comment because obviously my strategy isn't working. Oh well. Im really not that committed. But I'll tell you what I AM committed to: SCHOOL! Yay! I'm finally getting my act together and getting my homework done, on time, and done well. I have finally found a way to manage my time and do everything I need to do (mostly) before the sun goes down. And to whom do I owe this credit? Well it sure as heck isn't me. Don't be silly, I don't have that much self-control to stay away from you internets and all your clever blogs and websites full of witty banter. No, instead, I owe this pleasure to Kyle, whose workplace roof blew off and consequently he is on night shifts. Translated: I can't hang out with Kyle so I might as well do some dang homework. It's working out great cuz I still see him most mornings or sometimes just for lunch and still have tons of time after classes to get things done. It's been grand! Two claps for me.

2007-01-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Heard it through the grapevine...

That it's de-lurking week! Sweet! Thought I should get in on some of that action. De-lurking week may have been last week, but cut my some slack here. Im a busy student. SO...those of you who are reading this right now...leave me a comment! And blow me away with how many readers I have. Please? :) I know there are tons of you from highschool who read this....hmm? And tons of you I don't know yet. Ive left comments on blogs Ive been lurking on, and I can assure you, it is a truly therapeutic experience. Heres a (sorta) funny story that happened today to coerce you into leaving a comment.
I was organizing my car while stopped at a red light: you know, cleaning up the chocolate bar wrappers, putting pens, CD's and miscellaneous items away, when I spotted my 3-time donation pin from Canadian Blood Services. It was sitting precariously on top of my lighter-charger thing, which was haphazardly sticking out from the last time I charged my phone in the car. (Kyle put it there. How silly.) So, without thinking (gimme a break the light was gonna turn green any second) I pulled the lighter up and the pin dropped into the lighter hole.
POP! Oh crap, I blew a fuse. There goes the heater,the radio, the clock....grr. I actually thought my car turned off because there was no sound. But, it was on, and so I continued on the drive home, cold and music-less. Good thing I actually knew what was going on. It was a quick fix when I got home, I just popped a new fuse into the fuse-box. Presto. Yay for me and my knowledge of cars!
Ok maybe that story wasn't funny at all. Leave me a comment out of pity then. And Kevin if I hear one remark about how I suck at telling stories...I don't know what I'll do. Maybe make you drink 1 gallon of milk and eat 1 pail of ice cream followed by 537 buffalo chicken strips from Boston Pizza, sans water.
Toodles!

2007-01-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!!!

So it all started when we went to Kevin's house one spooky Saturday night...we had just finished watching a creepy movie. With nothing better to do, we pulled out THE GAME: Nightmare. "No!" Michael shrieked as he looked with horror upon the aged and faded cardboard box. The four friends slowly glanced at one another as if to say "Are we really going to do this?" They plugged in the tape and skimmed over the instructions, and a scary face which looked like a middle age greasy unshaven trucker who watches too much WWE appeared on the screen. He is THE GATEKEEPER.

Are you scared yet? Intrigued?? I bet. Is this story building up to a whole lot of nothing? You betcha. You can't blame me when four people over 18 play a board game made in 1991 for 8 year olds. Anyway, it was quite amusing. Even the rules were funny:

Once you plug in the tape and press play, you are NOT allowed to press pause or rewind. You MUST follow the gatekeepers rules, for this is his game. If you do not respond to him by saying "YES MY GATEKEEPER" and he catches you, he will punish you.

Oh wow, so much fun. Not to mention the excellent characters! Ghouls, zombies, poltergeists, vampires, werewolfs....let the fun begin. The idea is prety cool, although the budget for this game was probably about twelve dollars. At the beginning of the game, you write down your WORST FEAR (spiders, snakes, heights, etc. *as quoted in instructions) and then place it in the center of the board. You then move around the board, trying to avoid black holes and landing on peoples graveyards. Once you obtain your six keys which give you special powers, you travel to the center and flip over somebodys "Nightmare" card, and if its yours...YOU LOSE! Anyway, we played it competitively for an hour, and it was a lot of fun. Mostly because we made fun of it the whole time. Here's my character, Hellin:

"Hellin was an infant trouble-maker who once threw a temper tantrum so violent, it caused an aneurysm in her brain and she died. But now baby Hellin never has to pick up her toys again and it's never bedtime in her wretched fairground where the ride of your life will cost you it.Haunting a rancid toy box, the problem child from The Other Side is as spoiled as she is rotten. Enough to wipe the smile off a laughing clown. hellin doesn't throw tantrums - she throws anything and everything she can get her sticky little fingers on."
Good times!!

Long time no see

2007-01-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

WOW has it ever been a long time since I talked to you all. Partially due to the lack of significant-worth-mentioning events, and partially due to the copious amounts of time I got to spend with my friends, and especially Kyle. Christmas was awesome and I was very spoiled. I got some really cool stuff from Kyle's family and even more cool stuff from Kyle himself. Man, that kid has good taste! New Years went by not too excitingly. Kyle, Kevin, Mike, Alissa, Brian, Michelle, Lynn and I partied for New Years at Mikes house. Their family rented a hot tub which was extra sweet. 12 o clock came and went, and thats about all. It was fun though, and nice and relaxing. Last week I worked a little (25 hours) and spent more time with Kyle and friends. Kyle should have been working, but lucky for me, he got laid off! Yes I know that sounds really bad, but due to the extreme verocity and ruthlessness of the wind here, the roof of where he works was ripped off. So, the hanger where he builds houses is current out of commission. So he got last week off! Im sure hell tell you all about it on his blog, too.

Tomorrow I return to school unfortunately, but fear not for I believe that me starting school and resuming blogging are closely related. I mean, what else am I going to do in my free time Ive created by procrastinating??? I am looking forward to the classes I am taking, but not the extensive amounts of homework and reading.

In other exciting news....I GOT A CELL PHONE!! Thats right kids, I am with the times. Oh yeah. Im pretty sure Im one of the last people on the Earth to get a cell phone, except for my parents. Sad. Id love to post the number so all of you cool people out there can call me and I can feel really important answering my Kelly Clarkson ringtone while people look on and admire my sweet phone, but Im afraid of those creepers out there. So, no phone number for you. Anyway, here is the new beauty:

Now I dont want anyone griping to me about the nonflip vs. flip phone issue. I deliberated for a LONG TIME (ask Kyle, he had to wait for me to decide). I know I know, scratched screen, etc. But the Dutch in me won out, and I got this phone for FREE with a killer student plan. Plus Bell-to-Bell calling so I can phone Kyle ALL I want for FREE! (Im beginning to sense a theme here...)He also signed up for this feature so he can call me all he wants for FREE too. Sweet. Anyway, talk to ya soon!! I hope everyones' Christmas holidays were as awesome as mine.

A Smashing Success

2006-12-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

A Smashing Success

Well, the party has come and gone. And I must say, it went over very well. Amazing food was devoured, and copious amounts of chocolate were eaten by all. It was very good. Almost everyone showed up, even Mike who was extremely ill and had no voice. The only thing that did not go over well was the sketchy "hot buttered rum" which was indeed all those three things but in spite of that still didn't taste very good. It was OK when doctored up with ice cream. But then again, what isn't? I made my Aunt Shannon's famous vodka slush, and it was AMAZING. So yummy. Here finally are some pictures of the baking I did:

These cookies kind of look like lumps of poo with neon icing. They are indeed Homemade Oreos with Mint Icing instead of regular, and tasted very good.These are Chocolate Almond Thins, also very tasty.

And my personal favorite...Coconut Pecan Bars. Mmm soo good. Chocolatey and chewy and SO yummy. Yay for parties! Thanks for coming everyone.

Christmas

2006-12-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

Done, done, and done!

So today was busy. Lots of hustling and bustling. I went shopping at the mall for some Christmas gifts, and ran into Lindsay! We chatted and walked around for a bit. She was shopping for her boyfriend (and my cousin) Jordan. Then I left to get some lunch, and who did I see? Jordan! And Tim. So I chatted with them and it was fun and all that stuff. Then I actually bought some things for my daddy, and Kyle, and my sister! And I got another gift for my mom. So, I think I am basically done. Yay!!! After getting gifts I zipped over to Aunty Nelly's to get some recipes for some awesome goodies for the party on Friday. She also lent me her punch bowl. Im so excited! I love parties! Then, I went to Sobey's to buy many many MANY ingredients for said goodies. And I didn't even get everything...in fact I bought many ingredients from each recipe, but not all the ingredients from one recipe, so I could only make one thing today. Clever. I made those "Homemade Oreos But With Mint Icing Instead of Regular" you've all been hearing about from Amanda. I had the recipe before, but the mint and the green food coloring was sweet! I even made ones with red icing, to be ultra festive. But you don't get to know what else I am making, because that would ruin the surprise!!!
Kyle came over after I went grocery shopping. He helped me make those cookies, hes great! He calls himself domestic, cuz he knows how to bake and how to spoon cookie dough onto cookie sheets. Its very cute. And even though I might complain that he makes the cookies too big sometimes, he still helps me out. Hes the best!
So tomorrow and Friday I am going to be a busy bee making all sorts of things and decorating and cleaning! Wish me luck.

P.S. - I even found my darling little sister a cool gift for Christmas! Yay!

Best Christmas Party EVER 2006!

2006-12-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids!!

I am totally pumped. For my uber-awesome Christmas party, yo! Its on Friday and its gonna be killer. We are going to eat our faces off with yummy food that I am making, and play wicked cool games until wee hours of the morning. So cool. Wanna come?? Email me! Unless of course you are a creeplor who says and does freaky things to cool people and their blogs and forces them to retreat and close down their blog, you perverts. You cant come. So dont even ask.

YAY FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!! I am SOOO excited for Christmas. More excited than Ive ever been for any Christmas prior. I am basically bursting with excitement, you have no idea. Its probably because I have an amazing boyfriend who is spoiling me for Christmas. Thats not why he is amazing, thats another story. But hey,who doesn't like gifts??? Speaking of...I have NO idea what to get for my sister. No idea. Stumped. Any ideas internets??
Well I hope everyone else's Christmas season is going wonderful...and that you all are taking time to reflect on the REAL reason for the season.
Ciao!

2006-12-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

The End Is In Sight

I love doing well. It is so fun. Im a perfectionist, so doing well meshes incredibly with who I am. I am that annoying girl in your class who got mad if she got less than 90. So it would only make sense that I am ANGRY about my ethics final exam...89%. Just kidding! Im totally excited! Maybe because I've loosened up a lot since highschool, and don't feel nearly as competitive as I used to. So obviously, as you have guessed, exam week is upon me. In fact, it is nearly over because I am writing my last exam at 12 o clock today! Woo hoo!! Oh, and I got 92% on my bio final. Which is super SWEET. Anyway kids, back to studying. And my computer is sucky and super slow right now and its pissing me off.

Picture Update

2006-12-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

The new 'do!

So I got a sweet haircut, way back in October. This was significant for me, as I have NEVER had this short of hair, except when I was a baby. Seriously. So its about time I post pictures.

I got another haircut last week, just a trim, but shorter than the first cut. My wonderful cousin Victoria cut my hair, she is amazing!! Everyone should have a hairdresser like her. Here are pictures of back in October, and one of yesterday. Please ignore the freaky smile in the first one.

And lastly, here are some pictures of my friend Lindsey and I at the Christmas banquet! The picture is quite frightening, as it looks as we are waiting for midnight and a full moon for our werewolf tendencies to appear. Red eye sucks. It was lots of fun. Except for the part where my dress ripped. Yes, Becky, I know its sad but the dress may have to be laid to rest. I was quite disappointed. Organza is stupid. Im on the right, Lindsey is in the middle, and Carrie?? is on the left. One of Lindseys friends. Its kinda blurry, but you get the idea. Also...I am way too tall.

Oscar Meyer Wiener

2006-12-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh...I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner....

That is what I'd truly like to be...For if I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner, everyone would be in love with me!

Why an Oscar Meyer Weiner, you say? Well. Here are my reasons.

1) Oscar Meyer Weiners have a simple life. Its also short.
2) Oscar Meyer Weiners don't have to worry about relationships, because, as we already know, everyone is in love with them.

3) Oscar Meyer Weiners know they are awesome.

4) Oscar Meyer Weiners are always tan, no matter what the season.

5) And finally, Oscar Meyer Weiners don't have to write 3 freakin hard exams this weekend, like I do.

And now that I've extensively wore out the use of the word weiner, Im going to leave. And study. And write a paper. And think about how horrible my exams are going to be this weekend. And maybe, just maybe, I will have fun. But only once. And only for a short period of time. Gah.

Soundtrack of my life

2006-12-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

So I don't know if you knew this about me, but I wear my emotions on my sleeve. A lot. If something is up, people around me know. I also like to express what I am thinking and feeling. You know, bounce it off people. Its not a cry for attention, its just me. Without further adue...
So Im realizing as I grow up, get older, learn things about life, nothing is ever certain. Nothing. Nothing is ever guaranteed. And with that knowledge, I must enjoy what I am given day to day, hour to hour. I don't know how long I can hang on to things before they are taken away. Change is inevitable, and Im learning I don't really like it. Some change is good. Right now, change is bad. Expectations are bad, especially high ones. They leave you hanging and they just hurt.
In any case, this new knowledge is making me thankful. For what I have, for what I've had in the past, and making me hope and pray with all my being that I can keep having it.
Thank you for listening to my cathartic emo rantings.
Here is a great site you should check out. With some sweet music. Which placates my depressing mood and allows me to wallow in my self pity. :) Here is Damien Rice. An excellent vocalist, and the piano in the songs makes me wish I played my own more. Listen to 9 Crimes. And if you want to buy the CD for me for Christmas, that'd be great.

Essays

2006-12-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Papers....sigh.

So, Im a procrastinator. We've been over that. How bad am I? Well, I think I'd put up a good fight against Alissa, my fellow procrastinator. Who writes a brand new paper until 5 in the morning when it is due that day at 8 am. Crazy girl. Anyway...so I've got a bunch of stuff due. And its not done. Particularly two English essays which were due in the beginning and end of November. Ouch. Mom, if you're reading this...I don't need to hear it. They'll get done and I'll do fine.
And I guess there lies the reason for my late-ness. No late marks? No paper! I would be much more motivated if there was deductions for late papers, like in my nursing classes.
Oh, I also have a Bio presentation to make and do tomorrow night. So much fun. Monday brings a host of Ethics assignments which are due and an exam.
On another note....I am officially in the Christmas spirit. I hear the songs on the radio and my heart fills with excitement. Christmas lights are going up everywhere, and decorations line the streets. YAY!!! I love Christmas! Im excited to see the people who moved away to go to College or University and to visit with my extended family and eat turkey and drink Egg Nog....*drool*...

There's no place like home...

2006-12-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

There's no place like home...

Now lets all wear red sparkly slippers and tap our heels together three times. Good. So as you can probably tell, I am at home again. After 3 long days away. Wow, I am such a baby. When I got home I promptly hugged the walls of my lovely abode, and exclaimed "Here I am, house! I missed you!!" I hugged my cat, I tried out my bed. Still comfy. My parents laughed at me, but really, they were just so glad I was back they couldn't contain their giddiness. I kissed my piano, and ran my hand along its smooth shiny keys. When my sister got home, I proclaimed to her, "Yes, Kayla, I am alive!!" My parents looked at me with a look that said..."Haha, you are home! We knew you liked it here, deep down in your heart, and we can't believe you even considered moving out!!" :) And I guess I kinda do.

Bored

2006-12-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Lemon Squeezy

So here I am at school, my darling boyfriend dropped me off here before he left really early for the Flames game. But that darling boyfriend also burned me a sweet cd for me to listen to. :)

So Im getting pretty tired of staying at my Aunts house. Its a sweet house, and I really appreciate it, but its lonely. Theres not a soul to be found there except lonely old me. And the fish. Whose feeding those things anyway?? (Aunty Nelly???) Its been really great seeing as my car is MIA, but Ill be glad when I get the old Touring back.

Living by myself (well, for 3 days) has made me learn a little bit more about myself. Im a people person, and I always knew that, but now I know Im really a people person, as in, I need to be around people, talk to people, not be by myself when I go to sleep and when I wake up. I never realized I was so fragile.

Im pretty sure Kyles getting sick of it too, because me being lonely=me telling Kyle that he has to hang out with me more and being sad when he has to leave for the Flames game. Which isn't very fun for him. It'll be a good situation for everyone when I can finally go home. Im just a baby, after all. I still need my mommy.

Tonight Im going for supper out with "The Girls", the ones from highschool who didnt move away and go to school in a faraway land. Alissa cant come, because she is working. But it should be good times had by all anyway.

If you're wondering why the title of my post is lemon squeezy: I was talking to my good friend Kevin the other day and I mentioned my walk to school and how it was "Easy peasy" and he fired back "lemon squeezy?" I, of course had never heard this, and thought it was MOST hilarious. Apparently its from this so called movie with this guy named Austin Powers??? :P

Anyway I wanted to put it as the title of my previous blog, BUT I forgot the lemon squeezy part. So there you have it. A continuation of my last post.

Easy Peasy

2006-11-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Easy Peasy!

Well last time I talked to you folks my car was dead and I had to walk to school. And what do you know, things haven't changed!! My car is still broken and I still have to walk to school. But, as it turns out, the walk is way shorter than I thought it would be! Walking to school yesterday was actually quite pleasant. Plus, it only took me...ohh...about...7 minutes. SWEET! So, no problem. Easy peasy, some might say.
One down side to staying at my Aunt and Uncles house...its very lonely. And big. And scary. Nobody is home, Im the only one there...and its less fun. But its very handy, being so close to the college.
So they've narrowed down my car troubles a little bit: There is a drain on the battery, but they don't know what it is. They think it might be the air ride suspension which stays "on" even when the car is off. Air ride suspension?!!? SWEET! I figured out that my car doesn't actually have shocks like most cars do. Which is why it is such a sweet pimpin' smooth ride. Woot. Ask anyone who has driven with me in my car...it is COMFY!! Which explains why it is a touring car. Thats right, Im riding in style. Which makes up for the messed up front end, wacky tinting, rust spots, and the other slew of problems it has.

Nov. 28

2006-11-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hey!!!

Today is a great day. Heres how it went:
Alex sleeps in until 11
Alex bakes cookies
Alex talks to Kyle on the phone
Alex cleans kitchen
Alex talks to Kevin on MSN
Ok thats getting old, and besides thats where it ends. Thats all Ive done today. But its still exciting. So relaxing. I love to bake. In other news...I got my scrubs today!!! They are SOO sweet and comfy and cool. Ill be posting pictures as soon as I find our MIA digital camera. I think Kayla has it...somewhere.
My car is broken, it wont start. Well, it will if you boost it. Which is kind of inconvenient. It is in the shop right now. Kyle brought me to class last night, and Chris brought me home. So today I have no car. So I didnt go to school. My mom is bringing me to work tonight, and Kyles picking me up....HOW ANNOYING!! I wish I had the car back. So tonight Im staying at my gracious Aunty Nelly's house. (Thanks!!) She lives right near the college, so I can walk to school tomorrow morning. In the bitter cold. Better bundle up!
Tonight Kyle and I are going to the gym together. It should be fun. And kinda crazy, seeing as I am terribly out of shape.
And another thing that happened which is awesome....last night when Chris was bringing me home, he had to stop over at Brads (our friend) house to see if Aaron (another friend) was there. Steven also lives with Brad. (is this confusing yet???) Anyway, I havent seen Brad and Steve since graduation, which is so sad. They are such cool guys and total sweethearts and I was pretty good friends with them in high school...but you know how people drift apart. Anyway, I got to see them and give them a hug and hang out with them for a tiny bit. It was SWEET! I hope I get to see them again soon.
Well everyone thats all the exciting news I have. I hope everyone else's day is going freakin awesome!!!
Stay tuned for another chapter of "Alexandria:The A.D.D. Diaries", coming soon to a blog near you.

Owie

2006-11-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! I was just thinking about doing homework, (after reading blogs, of course) until I stumbled across Kyles blog, which I don't often check because he doesn't often post, but he did finally! And so I had to steal these pictures and tell you about my poor boyfriend. Its just a small picture for those of you who may get queasy:

This is what Kyle did to his finger last Thursday. (Picture compliments of me) He cut himself while working with a skill saw at Triple M. Apparently, the saw was crappy because it was battery operated and said battery wasnt working too hot. So, his finger got pulled in, and his finger jammed the saw. Thats right folks, Kyles finger stopped the saw blade. Can you say ouch? Not only does he have a cut finger, but hes got a killer bruise on it too. I couldn't wait to see the injury, and when I did my nurses intuition (ha!) told me that perhaps he should have had more than 3 little stitches. Its a pretty large cut, and the doctor said he could see the bone.
So of course hes been whining about it since Thursday. :) Just kidding, hes actually quite the trooper, even though Ive accidently hit it and touched it and hurt it about 192897465238 times already. Sorry sweetie.
In some strange sort of way I am kind of proud...is that weird? My workin' man has an injury, and refuses to take time off work.
Thats my Kyle!

Crunchtime

2006-11-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Its Crunchtime again...

And no I don't mean that we are all going to eat Cap'n Crunch, even though that is an AWESOME cereal. I mean that pretty soon in the next week I have a LOT of homework to do. I wont bore you with the details but I know itll be busy. And sadly, a little more Kyle-free than most of my weeks. :( Poor me, I know.
I got 90 on my Nursing Exam which I wrote last week, which is pretty sweet. Seeing as I did REALLY bad on the last one. Im eager to see what kind of grades I will end up with in December. My non-nursing classes I am doing very well in, but the nursing ones are trickier. And, you have to have a GPA of at least 2.5 in those classes in order to continue. Which isnt that difficult, because that is only a 75%, but still. Im sure I will pass and all that good stuff.
Anything else new in my life? Lets see, I went to a choir concert last Friday. The choir that Kyle, Kevin, Mike, Alissa and Brian are in was singing and they were fantastic. Kyle also did a solo with another choir that was there, and he did great! Singing in front of about 400 people...Good Job Kyle!!
Christmas is coming up quick! I don't really know what I want for Christmas. I know of a couple things...such as a teapot (for making tea, of course) and an iPod, clothes, and chocolate. These are all just ideas.

NEXT WEEK Alissa and I are going to see Annie the Musical!!! Im excited! That was her birthday present from me. Itll be cool. Heres hoping I can book it off work.
Well everyone, I better get goin. I have to go to work soon and I was actually supposed to get some homework done today....oops.
LATA!

I made the front page!

2006-11-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Front Page News

So guess who made the front page of the local newspaper??? Thats right, ME!! I am so cool. This is me trying out a "Proteus Light and Sound Machine" which is supposed to switch your brain waves to alpha rhythms and help you relax. The sunglasses have lots of little colored lights that flash, and the headphones play weird sounds. It was indeed relaxing for ten sweet minutes in which the photographer decided to take candid photos of me in my semi-concious state. I'm pretty excited because Ive never had my picture in the newspaper, and the only other reason I've been in the paper was for scoring points in a basketball game. That, and not only am I in the paper...I made the front page. So cool. Or maybe that just says what a crappy newspaper we have.

Don't I look like I belong in the matrix??

Strep Throat

2006-11-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Strep throat, anyone??

Well. Let's count the number of times Alex has had strep throat in the last 4 months: once, for the entire month of August (I didnt know I had it), once in September, once in October, and yes, you guessed it, RIGHT NOW!
Now, if any of you don't know the joys of this excellent bacteria...just come visit me. (Although I don't know if I am contagious, Kyle has managed to catch it yet) Anyway. Sore throat, achy, tired, headache, and just feeling icky. I don't know what it feels like to not have strep throat. It really sucks.
Every single time my doctor prescribes good ol' penicillin. Thank you Alexander Fleming. YOU WOULD THINK that by now my doctor would figure out that maybe it's not working. Apparently 7+ years in University education isn't enough. Grr.
So today the clinic phones me about my doctors appointment and throat culture which was last week Thursday. It was positive for strep. Could I please pick up my prescription of penicillin, and which pharmacy would I like it sent to? Well, first of all, I don't want anymore crappy penicillin. Because obviously my body is pretty resistent to the stuff...or it is now. So she kindly says she'll talk to the doctor, and his nurse will phone me back.
This is where it gets good.
The nurse says to me "You know, Alex, I think it would be really good if you came in to the clinic today. " (Great...what a waste of time.) "I really think it would be good if you saw the doctor today and told him about your frustrations." (What?? Was I not clear enough? PENICILLIN DOESNT WORK. What else is there to know?)
What is she trying to do, be therapeutic? Empathize with the client? Be assertive? Exhibit excellent nurse-client communication?? This is all the junk Im learning in College. I am so jaded by school, and sick of nursing. Even nurses being nurses make me mad.
So anyway, Im off to my appointment here in 5 minutes. : Good times.

Journal

2006-11-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

My ulterior motive

So, I started a blog because a)I kinda like to write, b)Windows Live space just wasn't doing it for me, and c) because I need to journal for my English class.
I know I know, Im a terrible person. Blogging because I have to. I still enjoy it and its better than writing in a notebook and handing it in to my teacher. Does it matter that I never really talked about English or literature at all during my blogs?? I sure hope not. I mean, Im still journaling. Kind of. So this is dedicated to helping my journal get an A+. Thank you in advance, Professor Stevenson, for giving me a good mark. :)
So we're reading a book in English. Its called "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion. It is very interesting. It is a non-fiction novel (a new concept) about the grieving process she experiences after the loss of her husband of 40 years to a fatal heart attack and follows the illness of her daughter, who later also dies. It is pretty fascinating. Any preconceived ideas I may have had about grief were kind of smashed with Joan's eloquent, literary chapters. As interesting as it is, I cannot help but think if I were to grieve about something, would it be like what Joan experienced? Would I enter a year of magical thinking wishing to bring that person back, that things were as they were before? Im not sure. Of course Ive never been in that place and hopefully never will, but life happens. The other thing I think about is how much easier and better(?) her grieving process could have been if she knew comfort like I, and I assume, some of you readers do. My comfort comes from Jesus. Inexplicable peace and contentedness. A sense of direction and never hopelessness.
I can't imagine going through a catastrophic event such as this without Him.
I can only imagine how lost Joan must have felt.

Thoughts?

2006-11-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Calgary, clothes, and comments.

This weekend Kyle and I went to Calgary for a little shopping trip. We left around 8:30 from his place and our first stop was....McDonalds. For McGriddles. MMMM sooo good. Then we continued our drive, listening to music and chatting. It was fun! We went to Chinook Mall where we did most of our shopping, and it was tons of fun. Kyle was the amazing boyfriend coming with me into even the girly stores. Only once did he complain, and thats when we spent a huge amount of time in Stitches. Sorry Kyle. We got ice cream, I got tons of new clothes, and new shoes, ate lunch in the food court, and it was tons of fun! We made a trip to Market Mall also, but we got lost first. Then we bought a map and navigated our way through Calgary together. We make quite the team!!! We are awesome. By the time we were done shopping we were very sick of it. We went to Jack Astor's for supper, and then drove home. It was a wickedly fun day, but tiring. We rolled back home at around 9.
I got tons of much needed new clothes. It was great. I also got some new shoes, which were also much needed as I was wearing some ugly old Nikes (which are extremely comfortable) that I've had for WAYYY too long. Kyle got a pair of jeans and a new belt. All in all, a great day.
So Im wondering if you folks out there who read this are shy?? Why the no comments? Id love to hear from you if you read my blog. Please feel free to comment in the "Love Notes" at the bottom of the post. You can be anonymous if you like, or you can leave an URL to a myspace or blog you might have. Either way, Id love to hear from you! So leave a comment.

Birthdays!

2006-11-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Alissa and Mike!!

Two of my very good friends, Mike and Alissa, have birthdays today!!!
Mike is turning 19, and Alissa is turning 18!!! Its pretty sweet.
Here are some pictures of them, and of them with me. Cuz remember, this is my blog. :P Just kidding, its because I love them so much that I want pictures with them. Thats right, they are that cool.
Mike is a really cool guy. Hes TONS of fun to be around, and always good for a laugh. If we'e together, its guaranteed I will be laughing my ass off at his crazy antics. He always has a silly face or pose for everything. And doesn't he look like such a snappy dresser? Mike, at times, can be very concerned with his appearance and this is pretty amusing to the rest of us. In a good way. He does always look good though, so I guess it pays off!! (and ladies, he is single.) I can think of tons of crazy things Mike and I have done together, like pretend we were skiing on a little kids playground, fly a kite, bake cakes, leave crazy post it notes everywhere, lock ourselves into a bunk bed inside the motorhome (see picture), and many, many others. At grad we performed a song together, him on vocals and me on piano of course. We have a lot in common we discovered early in our friendship, the most important of those similarities being our unconditional love for chocolate. Of all kinds. He bought me tons of the stuff for my birthday, and you can bet he is getting some for his!!! All in all Mike's a great guy and Im glad he's my friend.

And here's Alissa. Alissa is one of the sweetest girls I know. She is always looking out for other peoples interests, even if it means shes stuck doing something crappy. She doesn't often speak out, but once you get her going, she is tons of fun. She has such a cute smile and laugh, I love to make her laugh!! We have millions and billions of inside jokes, none of which make sense. eg. "Sirry Darryr...." See? I bet that didn't make sense to any of you. She is in the nursing program at the same college as me, which is SWEET even though Im not in any of her classes. (Guys, this babe is also single.)
Alissa loves clothes, she has a ton, and she loves frip frops. She loves chocolate, and cheesecake, particularly toblerone cheesecake. She's been there for me through some tough times in my life, and she always has great advice! She's very smart. Alissa and I also have some great memories: playing walkie talkie hide and seek during spares at school, laughing at hilarious calculus jokes in Mrs. AK's class, talking weird, grad trip, and our equally lame sense of humor that usually has everyone around us groaning. Good times. I love you Arissa!

What a great weekend....not.

2006-11-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Diary of a madwoman.

Well, that was kind of a crappy weekend. Don't you hate that? You only get one weekend during the week, so you kind of hope its good and not sucky, but alas fate smacks you in the face and says "screw you!" and theres nothing you can do about it.
I have been sick and nearly literally coughing my brains out for almost a week now. I cough so violently it feels like my jaw dislocates and my muscles and tendons stretch beyond their capacity in efforts to expel the non-existent material out of my poor little trachea. Its a dry hacking cough that doesn't really accomplish anything except to irritate said trachea and annoy others around me. Oh, and the fact that it keeps me from having a good nights' sleep is another factor contributing to my awesome weekend.
I had my first night shift for the Home health care company that I work for. 10PM-8AM. Sweetness. Although it was a sleeping shift, can't say I did too much of that. I kept waking and listening to see if my client was up and about or if shed had a stroke and fallen down the stairs and broken a hip. A little bit stressful, to say the least. That and the fact her husband was pissed off at me because heck, he's 97 and he can take care of himself and his wife who can't walk up the stairs by herself! And seriously, of all the wrong things in the world, to have a non-family member SLEEP in their house, preposterous! How inappropriate.
That and the fact that I've been tired all weekend and that all added up on Sunday when I morphed into the most annoying and grumpy person Kyle's ever seen, constantly attacking him for things he didn't do and making him feel badly for nothing equals me being the worst girlfriend ever. No questions asked. Of course then I feel like the worst person on earth which doesn't make my monday so awesome either. Ugh.

Grades

2006-11-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe Im a keener, maybe not!

To make you believe I ace every test, exam, quiz and paper would be to disillusion you. There was that one time, two weeks ago, when I failed a Bio Quiz. Thats right, I failed. I got a 51%. (in College, under 60 is a fail). I was most upset. I mean really, do I fail stuff? It was a shocker and an eye opener. That almost made me want to give up. (well, it wasnt that bad). But really: I have so much more of a sense of what people who struggle with school go through. It's very discouraging. I can't imagine the persistence and dedication it takes to get good grades. High school was pretty easy for me, and its pretty neat to see the other end of the spectrum. Im not trying to brag, rather, Im trying to expose my incorrect thinking.
On the other hand, it turns out my Bio teacher made some mistakes when entering the grades into the computer and WebCT: I actually got 71%. Which isn't so bad. :)

Why I can procrastinate

2006-11-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Why I can procrastinate.

Biology Midterm: 90%
Ethics Case Study Paper: 93%
Biology Muscles Exam: 95%
English Quiz:90%
Knowing I can procrastinate and still pull off kickin' marks: priceless.

BOO YAH!!!

Pretty Snow!

2006-10-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hows the weather over there??
Hey Everyone! Im back after my intense week of studying and writing papers. Yay! Now I can annoy the internet world once again.
As you can see from my picture, it SNOWED here! And its staying for more than one day! Which is quite unusual. It was cold and slippery everywhere for the first snow of the year. I don't particularly like snow, because snow=cold. I think its pretty though, specially when theres fresh snow and everything looks so peaceful. I am not good friends with winter, like I said, because I dont like cold. But I LOVE the feeling of being "trapped" indoors and you can snuggle and drink hot chocolate by the fireplace, and roast chestnuts over an open fire. Not quite. Has anyone ACTUALLY roasted any chestnuts?? Hmm? Leave a comment if you have. Are they any good? In any case winter is nice for being cozy. Chestnuts or not.
In other news, I bought some sweet cds recently! A couple weeks ago I bought Ben Harper: Live on Mars, which was awesome. Today, I bought Straylight Run:Prepare to be Wrong, which will of course prove to be good and lastly I bought My Chemical Romance:The Black Parade. That last one is for Kyle, but Im listening to it right now before I give it to him. Haha. Its pretty good! A little too emo for me maybe, but still pretty cool.

P.S.- Thank you to Sigurd E. Hansen and Alberta Blue cross who gave me $1,250 in scholarships!! Woo hoo! Free Money!

About Me

2006-10-27T23:30:00.000-06:00

Some of you may not know too much about me, and I havent been posting many pictures. Heres a few that I like and that say a little bit about me:

This is me, the day of Grad. Becky took this picture for me in her parents backyard. I love my dress! Thanks Beck! I love bright, cheery, colorful things. My dress is one of them. Another one is Becky, but shes mostly bright and cheery.

This is me and Kyle, on the way back from our dry grad party. We had been up all night partying and dancing with our friends, and it was about 8 in the morning. We were just friends back then, but hey, we were really tired!

This last picture is one of my faves. It also features one of my favorite people: Raiah. She lives 4 hours away, and I hardly ever get to see her, but she holds a special place in my heart. I met her at Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp about 3 years ago and we have been friends since the day we met. We shared cabins 3 seperate times, and were really close. She is such an awesome girl and I love her to pieces. Crow is also a very special place to me: I have memories and friendships from there that are so unique. I have done a lot of spiritual growth there, which makes it a very awesome place.

And that is a little info for you on The Not-So-Mysterious Chocolaholic. Leave a comment!

Almost done....

2006-10-27T12:38:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! Im back for a little bit. I just fired off my Ethics paper to my professor. I wrote my bio midterm and lab exam yesterday, and I think they went well. This past Wednesday I went to an Awards Ceremony at the college, where I got $1,250!! Sweet, hey??? They were for academic excellence in high school. Finally, all those late nights of homework and studying paid off. Sweet. :) Scholarships are GREAT!!!!
This weekend I've got BIG plans.....write my Perceptions of Health paper. I am so excited. Actually, Im really scared and not looking forward to it at all because I won't get to spend too much time with....well, anyone at all, because I'll be trapped in my computer room, but you all know I was going to say Kyle. I haven't seen him for TWO DAYS NOW!! But I finally get to see him today, after school! Yay!! And after tonight its nose to the grindstone for the rest of the weekend to get my paper finished. Plus, I have to work on Saturday from 8-2. Sweet.
I hope you all have a great weekend! Happy Halloween (on Tuesday)!!

Almost done this awful week!

School.

2006-10-24T11:48:00.000-06:00

Somebody please poke my eyes out.

Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Poking my eyes out is the only feasible way I can think of to get out of doing these papers and quizzes. I mean after all, it takes time to learn braille, and potentially I'll be in the hospital for some time. The flu doesn't work, you still have to do homework. Family emergencies don't count, because nobody cares. And poking your eyes out is reversible....right???
This is also my warning that I may not blog for a while. I know this will impact all of you SOO MUCH. Please, if you see me updating my blog, leave a comment and encourage me to do all my stupid homework. Yell at me if need be. Because seriously, I am lacking any motivation. Ugh.

Any volunteers on the poking-out-of-the-eyes???

Worst Week Ever!

2006-10-23T21:24:00.000-06:00

Welcome to...the worst week ever!! Brought to you courtesy of the College. This week will feature:

one, all enclusive midterm perceptions of health paper, 7-9 pages long.
one short-but-sweet paper about 2 ethical theories, just 3 pages long!
one, vaguely explained, useless english quiz in format of your choice: short answer, or multiple choice!
one large, extensive, interactive exam on all the muscles of the leg, arm, head, face, and torso!
one cumulative midterm exam featuring SEVEN units of BIOLOGY!

Enjoy your trip! Be sure to purchase travel insurance and pack a survival kit, which may include, but is not limited to supplies such as: chocolate(which keeps every girl sane), kleenex(for those bound to happen emotional moments), a phone(with which to phone boyfriend to also keep sane), and finally, a blanket and pillow. (For nights you actually have time to sleep.)

Thanks everyone for joining the Oct. 23-30 edition of WORST WEEK EVER!!!! Come again Dec. 16-23, where we will be featuring: Finals Week:I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Its Friday!

2006-10-20T11:29:00.000-06:00

Wow, Friday. I love weekends. I don't have school. I don't have to be at the college. However, I do have work, and I do have homework. That keeps me busy Saturday mornings and most of Sunday. On the other hand, I DO get to see Kyle a lot and I DO get to see my other friends whom I don't see for the whole week! Weekends are great for relaxing.
The reason Im posting now, at 11:24 in the morning, is because I don't have a class until 2. TWO!! Seriously, who plans these schedules. I also found out that they OVERBOOKED my program, and had to adjust a lot of things to make all the students fit. Which means me, my cousin, and all my helpless classmates get shafted because WE have last names starting with letters S-Z. Can I help it that I am dutch and my last name starts with a V? Ridiculous. Specially since I was accepted early, back in December, and should've got first dibs or something. You would think.
But alas, that isn't the case and I'm left to deal with many night classes and many classes starting at the unearthly hour of 8 AM. Which means I must leave my house when it's still dark.
Can't you tell I love school?

Tada!

2006-10-19T15:52:00.000-06:00

Well folks it's been about 6 hours and I was already sick of the lame templates blogger gives you. Sooooo...I went and found one! Im not sure what I think of it yet. I like the design, but its very narrow. But I feel pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to make everything work, like adding links, breaks, italics, underlining, etc. Stuff like that. One might say that I am no longer a n00b. Yay for me! Let me know what you think.

Because I can, but mostly because I don't want to do homework.

2006-10-19T10:31:00.000-06:00

Well everyone its me again. Back after another long day of school, interrupted by brief hours of happiness between classes where I went to Kyle's house for supper. Good times. I also practiced my interviewing skills on him for my nursing class. He was kind of being impossible on purpose, which made me laugh. That and the fact he decided that he could just say "pass" for any question he didnt want to think about.
It went kinda like this:
Me: Do you think nutrition is important?
Kyle: Yes.
Me: Can you expand on that?
Kyle: Because if I eat too much junk food I feel like crap.
Me: Ooookkk....next question. How would you describe your appetite on an average day?
Kyle: Extreme.
Laughter ensues, and on it goes. Heres another example.
Me: (talking about stress) What do you do to relieve stress?
Kyle: .....Smoke a big fat one.

Ahhh yes. I love this guy. :)

In other news tonight...last Thursday my wonderful darling little sister had a little plan for some "bonding" time. She went out and bought two big pumpkins, and when I got home from school 8:30, we carved pumpkins together! It was really fun, and we even toasted the seeds in the oven because they are really good. Aside from the fact that we BURNT them and they tasted like ass, we had lots of fun. Heres my scary looking pumpkin:

This post was from my Windows Live Space recently, and I liked it, and didn't feel like writing a new one! Gotta start somewhere, right?
Oh, and just to clarify: Kyle doesnt actually smoke big fat ones to destress. Thats just me. :P

Welcome to my new blog!

2006-10-19T10:22:00.000-06:00

So, that as you may have guessed, is a picture of me. :)
You may be asking what prompted me to start a blog. Well, let me tell you. It all started after a little frustration with the rest of the internet world who are not familiar with blogs, or the idea of it: my friends. I had a Windows Live Space, did they read it? Who knows! Did the comment? Sadly, no. Im hoping that a blog that more people can visit will get people reading and responding. Heres to Blogger!