This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...
So my friend dumped his girlfriend (another friend of mine) on Halloween this year. He was planning on waiting to do it, but alcohol and an argument between them resulted in him having to do it sooner and not the way he wanted to. This is the first time he's done the dumping in any of his relationships but this breakup still reminds me of all the others he's gone through. I don't remember the exact order, but I'll try.
I believe the first was Caitlin. An awesome friend of mine who got along great with James. I was happy to see them together. They dated for a couple weeks before Caitlin realized that our other friend Georgia was looking pretty closely at James too. Caitlin is a sweetheart and will do anything for anyone. So one of the reasons she broke up with him was because she felt bad that Georgia liked him too. This was about July of the Captive summer.
Pretty much immediatly after the Caitlin incident, Georgia and James started dating. They also dated for a couple of weeks before Georgia discovered why Caitlin broke up with James. She, too, couldn't do that to a friend and broke up with James because she felt bad that Caitlin dumped him because of that. I'm sure there were other reasons too, but still. That was one of the reasons. This was closer to august of the captive summer.
Next came Sam. James was head over heels for her for a while. It was exciting because he was actually going into a relationship that he was completely invested in. They dated for a while before Sam finally told him that she didn't feel the same way about him. This destroyed him for a little while, broke his heart. In the end, though, he got over it and he and Sam are still friends, which is a good thing. She even dated one of our other friends for a while. All is well on that front now.
After a while of not beind with anyone successfully (and having cuddles with Georgia whenever she got dumped), James dated Kayla. This is a complicated situation. They dated for a couple weeks before Kayla broke up with him because she "didn't feel that way". The actual reason was that she was falling for him and was scared. He went to Mexico and kind of started to go after a girl named Chelsea. This back and forth thing happened for a while. Kayla liked James, James was after Chelsea and Chelsea I'm pretty sure liked some other guy as well. Complicated. Finally, James and Kayla got back together with a little pushing from me. They dated for three years until Kayla broke up with James last summer. This was a complicated breakup that I'm choosing not to go into here.
Next came Erin. The most recent one. I also choose not to go into this here in order to respect both party's privacy. Too recent to talk about here, maybe you'll hear about it some other time. Only thing I'll say is that James was not invested in the relationship the way he should have been.
My assignment for today, guys: Recycle. Yeah, I couldn't think of a better one.
-Ciao!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
First Meetings
This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...
I've been wondering a lot lately how friends are made. I know a lot of people, but I can't really remember how I met all of them. Are first meetings really that important? I remember some of them, the important ones. Otherwise, I just kind of fell into friendship with people. I guess we do make a lot of impressions with our first meetings of people, but I don't know how important they really are. I have friends who didn't really like me the first time they met me, but now we're really good friends. Why does everyone think first impressions are so important? Maybe some are.
I remember my first meeting with my friend Caitlin. It's probably one of the ones I remember best. We were in grade six, about twelve or so. We were waiting for our bus out front of the high school and a couple of my classmates were giving me a hard time about something (I can't remember what). I decided to do the logical thing and walk away. I went and sat on a curb and started reading my book. I was still pretty upset, but reading always made me feel better. I remember it was the third Harry Potter book that I was reading. I didn't know it, but Caitlin had seen what had caused me to walk away from my classmates. So she walked over to where I was sitting, sat down beside me and said, "Hey, what are you reading?". This was the beginning of our friendship. I don't know why I remember this first meeting so well. I guess it's just something that's important to me.
Another great first meeting was when I met Gen. It was at Caitlin's birthday party one year. Caitlin and Gen were running up and down the street screaming "Honk if you like Peter Pan" to passing cars. When they screamed it at my mom's car then we drove into the driveway, they thought that we were angry at them, so they went running towards the front door. They stopped running once they realized it was me. Needless to say, I immediately joined them in their yelling. It was a lot of fun and that's probably the only part of that party I remember.
My introduction to my boyfriend was a series of meetings. The first time I met him was before school while I was waiting for my bus in front of his middle school. He was friends with Gen and she said hi to him and introduced me. The next time I met him was months later. He and Gen had gone for a bike ride that morning and I came to hang out with them shortly after that. We hung out for a while at Gen's house before her parents came home and told her we had to leave because she had chores to do. Steve lived up Promontory at the time (a big hill) and didn't feel like walking/biking up it that soon after his bike ride so I invited him to my place to hang out. When I got there, my parents wanted me to clean the kitchen. I told Steve he could just sit there and hang out while I did it, because we could still talk while I cleaned. He, however, didn't like the idea of me just cleaning by myself while he just sat there so he started to help. The first time he met my step-dad was when he was sweeping our floor. After that, we hung out a lot. By a lot I mean everyday. Then I went camping with my family and he and our friend Tyson came up to visit for the day. We went swimming and I think that was the day I really fell for Steve. It was one of the best days ever.
Other meetings I've had were more subtle. People I meet at work tend to get the "you work with me, so now I'm talking to you" thing. This is pretty much where I just start talking to the person, forget to introduce myself and we end up as friends anyways. Jaimie likes to say that I became her friend by just telling her that we're friends now and she couldn't argue with it. Most of my newest friends got that kind of introduction to me. I just acted like myself and hoped they would like me. Seemed to work well enough.
I guess some first meetings are more important than others. With some of my friends, it really doesn't matter how I met them, just that we did meet at some point. Others, that first meeting meant a lot to everyone. When I think about it, the ones I remember the most were very connected. If Caitlin had never come over to talk to me that day, I never would have met her, Gen or Steve. I also never would have met a lot of my other friends that I know now. The most important meetings to me, lead to great things.
Your assignment for today is to try to remember the first time you met some of your friends. You don't have to write it down. Just remember it.
-Ciao!
I've been wondering a lot lately how friends are made. I know a lot of people, but I can't really remember how I met all of them. Are first meetings really that important? I remember some of them, the important ones. Otherwise, I just kind of fell into friendship with people. I guess we do make a lot of impressions with our first meetings of people, but I don't know how important they really are. I have friends who didn't really like me the first time they met me, but now we're really good friends. Why does everyone think first impressions are so important? Maybe some are.
I remember my first meeting with my friend Caitlin. It's probably one of the ones I remember best. We were in grade six, about twelve or so. We were waiting for our bus out front of the high school and a couple of my classmates were giving me a hard time about something (I can't remember what). I decided to do the logical thing and walk away. I went and sat on a curb and started reading my book. I was still pretty upset, but reading always made me feel better. I remember it was the third Harry Potter book that I was reading. I didn't know it, but Caitlin had seen what had caused me to walk away from my classmates. So she walked over to where I was sitting, sat down beside me and said, "Hey, what are you reading?". This was the beginning of our friendship. I don't know why I remember this first meeting so well. I guess it's just something that's important to me.
Another great first meeting was when I met Gen. It was at Caitlin's birthday party one year. Caitlin and Gen were running up and down the street screaming "Honk if you like Peter Pan" to passing cars. When they screamed it at my mom's car then we drove into the driveway, they thought that we were angry at them, so they went running towards the front door. They stopped running once they realized it was me. Needless to say, I immediately joined them in their yelling. It was a lot of fun and that's probably the only part of that party I remember.
My introduction to my boyfriend was a series of meetings. The first time I met him was before school while I was waiting for my bus in front of his middle school. He was friends with Gen and she said hi to him and introduced me. The next time I met him was months later. He and Gen had gone for a bike ride that morning and I came to hang out with them shortly after that. We hung out for a while at Gen's house before her parents came home and told her we had to leave because she had chores to do. Steve lived up Promontory at the time (a big hill) and didn't feel like walking/biking up it that soon after his bike ride so I invited him to my place to hang out. When I got there, my parents wanted me to clean the kitchen. I told Steve he could just sit there and hang out while I did it, because we could still talk while I cleaned. He, however, didn't like the idea of me just cleaning by myself while he just sat there so he started to help. The first time he met my step-dad was when he was sweeping our floor. After that, we hung out a lot. By a lot I mean everyday. Then I went camping with my family and he and our friend Tyson came up to visit for the day. We went swimming and I think that was the day I really fell for Steve. It was one of the best days ever.
Other meetings I've had were more subtle. People I meet at work tend to get the "you work with me, so now I'm talking to you" thing. This is pretty much where I just start talking to the person, forget to introduce myself and we end up as friends anyways. Jaimie likes to say that I became her friend by just telling her that we're friends now and she couldn't argue with it. Most of my newest friends got that kind of introduction to me. I just acted like myself and hoped they would like me. Seemed to work well enough.
I guess some first meetings are more important than others. With some of my friends, it really doesn't matter how I met them, just that we did meet at some point. Others, that first meeting meant a lot to everyone. When I think about it, the ones I remember the most were very connected. If Caitlin had never come over to talk to me that day, I never would have met her, Gen or Steve. I also never would have met a lot of my other friends that I know now. The most important meetings to me, lead to great things.
Your assignment for today is to try to remember the first time you met some of your friends. You don't have to write it down. Just remember it.
-Ciao!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Letter to a Forgotten Friend
This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...
Dear world,
Do you remember when you were easy? When I didn't have to ever make decisions and people were just nice? What happened to you world? You've changed. When I was young, you were exciting and fun. I liked going to school, meeting new people. Now I just go to school and to work naturally. There's no excitement there.
Do you remember, world, when I danced on stage? When it was still fun and not at all complicated. When I wasn't so much worried that I would forget the steps or mess up, but about enjoying myself. Remember when it didn't matter if I won and I could still talk to other competitors like they were friends and allies? The judges were our real competition, not each other. What happened that made it change? When did everyone start caring more about winning?
And world, do you remember when I used to watch the stars? Remember when I had time to stop and just watch? Or when I didn't care if my hair got wet in the rain? Remember the day that you poured rain down on us, and Steve and I still went for a walk? We stopped in the middle of the street, our hair dripping wet, but we weren't cold. It was comfortable and fun. I didn't care about being wet, I was just happy. Why don't we ever dance in the rain anymore?
Remember when prom came around, world? It was a long time coming. When Kayla and I stayed up all night to get tickets for our boyfriends, it wasn't a hassle. We watched chick flicks and drank energy drinks all night and I felt accomplished when the time for us to buy the tickets came around. Even moreso when I made it through the whole school day without falling asleep. And when we finally made it to prom, I was so proud of myself in my beautiful dress. I felt like a princess and it suddenly felt like all the work I had done to get to that point was worth it. What happened to that feeling world? Where did it disappear to?
Remember world, when you were still new to me? Remember when I couldn't wait to grow up and be rich and famous and see the world? What ever happened to that?
What happened to you world? You've changed.
Assignment: Dance in the rain.
-Ciao!
Dear world,
Do you remember when you were easy? When I didn't have to ever make decisions and people were just nice? What happened to you world? You've changed. When I was young, you were exciting and fun. I liked going to school, meeting new people. Now I just go to school and to work naturally. There's no excitement there.
Do you remember, world, when I danced on stage? When it was still fun and not at all complicated. When I wasn't so much worried that I would forget the steps or mess up, but about enjoying myself. Remember when it didn't matter if I won and I could still talk to other competitors like they were friends and allies? The judges were our real competition, not each other. What happened that made it change? When did everyone start caring more about winning?
And world, do you remember when I used to watch the stars? Remember when I had time to stop and just watch? Or when I didn't care if my hair got wet in the rain? Remember the day that you poured rain down on us, and Steve and I still went for a walk? We stopped in the middle of the street, our hair dripping wet, but we weren't cold. It was comfortable and fun. I didn't care about being wet, I was just happy. Why don't we ever dance in the rain anymore?
Remember when prom came around, world? It was a long time coming. When Kayla and I stayed up all night to get tickets for our boyfriends, it wasn't a hassle. We watched chick flicks and drank energy drinks all night and I felt accomplished when the time for us to buy the tickets came around. Even moreso when I made it through the whole school day without falling asleep. And when we finally made it to prom, I was so proud of myself in my beautiful dress. I felt like a princess and it suddenly felt like all the work I had done to get to that point was worth it. What happened to that feeling world? Where did it disappear to?
Remember world, when you were still new to me? Remember when I couldn't wait to grow up and be rich and famous and see the world? What ever happened to that?
What happened to you world? You've changed.
Assignment: Dance in the rain.
-Ciao!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Roomie
This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...
So I just had a new roommate move in- a friend of mine from back home who lived at home still until now. It makes me think about the first time I moved out of my parent's place and started to be all independent and "mature". I have two times that I could consider my first moving-out experience.
The first time was when I moved into the dorms at UVic. It was a great experience, but I don't like to consider it my first time off on my own. This is mainly because it was just a dorm room, not an apartment. The room consisted of a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. It was tiny. The bathrooms were public (one for girls and one for boys on each floor) and we ate food in the cafeteria everyday. We also had community leaders to keep track of everything. It did give the illusion of independence though. We could go anywhere we wanted without having to check in and I did spend a lot of time at my boyfriend's apartment. However, I still went back home to Chilliwack at the end of the year. I stayed there for a month before finally moving back out to Victoria to live with my boyfriend.
My second experience, which I consider to be the proper one, was when I moved in with my boyfriend in Victoria. Now, at the time it was him and another friend of mine living in a one bedroom apartment. It was cramped. My boy had the bedroom and our friend lived in the living room. It was incredibly frustrating and we got at each other throats a lot. So, inevitably, our roommate moved out and we got the place to ourselves. So, for about a year we lived in that apartment all by ourselves. I felt quite mature, juggling work and school and paying rent and buy groceries. It was great. The only problem was the apartment itself and our new building manager (the old one got cancer and had to move out :( Not sure how that turned out). Our apartment was small and on the fourth floor. We still had a hole in ceiling when we moved out from where they drained the water when it was leaking down from the roof. The kitchen was also terrible. It was tiny and closed on one end. As someone who is a little claustrophobic, it was really hard for me to be willing to cook/clean in a kitchen like that. So, when our current roommate went through a breakup with his now ex-girlfriend (who is also one of my best friends) and met his new girlfriend on a visit to Victoria, we offered to find a two-bedroom with him out here. So, we did and he moved in a couple of days ago. It's great.
So anyways, there are a few things that I would say everyone should pay attention to when moving into a new apartment. Firstly, make sure to leave room for your roommates, even if they're moving in after you. It's their place too. Don't decorate the group living areas without them or arrange the furniture in a way that they hate. Also, make sure to start doing the dishes all the time. The build up sucks more than just doing them right away. Trust me. Change pots are also a great idea. Have a place where you can all put your spare change. The buildup of change can be used for laundry and buying communal stuff for the apartment. Have a designated mail spot too. That way, everyone gets their mail, even if only one person has the key. In general, just try to work things out so it's easier for everyone. Don't be a dick. If you want your roommates to go out of their way to make your life easier, you have to be willing to do the same. Also, buy groceries! Your roommates will eat your soul if you're the only one not buying groceries. Watch for them labeling things. It's a sign that you need to buy more shit.
So, my assignment for you today is to clean your respective apartments/ rooms. Make your living spaces easier to deal with and try to keep them that way.
-Ciao!
So I just had a new roommate move in- a friend of mine from back home who lived at home still until now. It makes me think about the first time I moved out of my parent's place and started to be all independent and "mature". I have two times that I could consider my first moving-out experience.
The first time was when I moved into the dorms at UVic. It was a great experience, but I don't like to consider it my first time off on my own. This is mainly because it was just a dorm room, not an apartment. The room consisted of a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. It was tiny. The bathrooms were public (one for girls and one for boys on each floor) and we ate food in the cafeteria everyday. We also had community leaders to keep track of everything. It did give the illusion of independence though. We could go anywhere we wanted without having to check in and I did spend a lot of time at my boyfriend's apartment. However, I still went back home to Chilliwack at the end of the year. I stayed there for a month before finally moving back out to Victoria to live with my boyfriend.
My second experience, which I consider to be the proper one, was when I moved in with my boyfriend in Victoria. Now, at the time it was him and another friend of mine living in a one bedroom apartment. It was cramped. My boy had the bedroom and our friend lived in the living room. It was incredibly frustrating and we got at each other throats a lot. So, inevitably, our roommate moved out and we got the place to ourselves. So, for about a year we lived in that apartment all by ourselves. I felt quite mature, juggling work and school and paying rent and buy groceries. It was great. The only problem was the apartment itself and our new building manager (the old one got cancer and had to move out :( Not sure how that turned out). Our apartment was small and on the fourth floor. We still had a hole in ceiling when we moved out from where they drained the water when it was leaking down from the roof. The kitchen was also terrible. It was tiny and closed on one end. As someone who is a little claustrophobic, it was really hard for me to be willing to cook/clean in a kitchen like that. So, when our current roommate went through a breakup with his now ex-girlfriend (who is also one of my best friends) and met his new girlfriend on a visit to Victoria, we offered to find a two-bedroom with him out here. So, we did and he moved in a couple of days ago. It's great.
So anyways, there are a few things that I would say everyone should pay attention to when moving into a new apartment. Firstly, make sure to leave room for your roommates, even if they're moving in after you. It's their place too. Don't decorate the group living areas without them or arrange the furniture in a way that they hate. Also, make sure to start doing the dishes all the time. The build up sucks more than just doing them right away. Trust me. Change pots are also a great idea. Have a place where you can all put your spare change. The buildup of change can be used for laundry and buying communal stuff for the apartment. Have a designated mail spot too. That way, everyone gets their mail, even if only one person has the key. In general, just try to work things out so it's easier for everyone. Don't be a dick. If you want your roommates to go out of their way to make your life easier, you have to be willing to do the same. Also, buy groceries! Your roommates will eat your soul if you're the only one not buying groceries. Watch for them labeling things. It's a sign that you need to buy more shit.
So, my assignment for you today is to clean your respective apartments/ rooms. Make your living spaces easier to deal with and try to keep them that way.
-Ciao!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Work
This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...
So work lately (I work in a thrift store that I will not name here) has been frustrating me and a lot of my coworkers lately, so I feel I should also talk about my opinions on the matter. Since this is a blog about the past, I will keep it there. The way things have been going at this job reminds me a lot of my last job: McDonald's (Yes, we've all done our time at some fast food restaurant during high school).
When I worked at McDicks (as I lovingly refer to it) I got promoted pretty quickly to a crew trainer*. It was pretty cool because I got more responsibility and more money (that's the thing about the place I work now. More responsibility doesn't always mean more money). Anyways, I did that for a while before I got bored of it and talked to my Restaurant Manager about another promotion to Team Leader*. This is where the problems started. When you're becoming a Team Leader you get what's called a shadow- a manager who helps train you to be a Team Leader. I was given the one Manager that my Restaurant Manager* disliked as my shadow. So, naturally there was some hostility between him and the RM. This shouldn't have affected my promotion, but I soon learned that the Restaurant Manager was trying to get me to fail as she struggled against me every step of the way while she helped every other crew trainer who was training for the promotion at the time. For background, we needed to go take a class in Vancouver to get promoted. When this class was coming up for me, I discovered that everyone else had been scheduled to take it except for me. Which is ridiculous because I had been there the longest out of the lot of us. Anyways, I did end up getting into the class only because one of the others couldn't make it that day and they had already paid for his position in the class.
So when I finished the class I got promoted, right? Wrong. No, I got back from the class after doing really well in it and still didn't get the promotion. Apparently, I still needed to know how to do a travel path (walk around and check that everything was clean) and do one for every day for a week. This was retarded. So, I jumped through the hoops and did it. Then, finally I went up to the restaurant Manager and told her I had done what she asked. Finally, she gives me this look of defeat and says she'll promote me. Took freaking forever.
No, things didn't stop after that. After that, everyone was being promoted to Swing Managers*. I figured, why not me? So, I tried for it really hard and this time, the Restaurant Manager didn't even attempt to pretend that she wanted me promoted. Instead, she gave me this BS line about how all the managers needed to vote unanimously for my promotion and "they" (I'm pretty sure it was only her) had decided that I was too nice to the crew to be promoted. Are you kidding me? One of the requirements for a promotion there was a good repor with the crew. They had to be willing to listen to you. Since I had trained the vast majority of them, they all listened to me quite well. They instead promoted a couple of people who I think were not suited for management. Everyone thought they were idiots who couldn't do their jobs. There was no respect for them because they didn't earn it. Well, it was more of one specific person who was like that. Anyways, I never got that promotion and ended up moving to Victoria and getting my current job and going to school.
Anyways, as I said. I'm feeling like it's a similar situation where I work now. I don't begrudge them for not promoting me right now, however, because I understand their reasons. I'm not full time. My hours don't work out properly for me to be a supervisor. I do however, think that the person who did get promoted was not a good choice. I sometimes feel like I don't want to go to work just because he's there. I keep feeling so frustrated around him. When I'm asked to help him however I can to make him a better supervisor and he refuses to listen to my advice, I'm forced to say that I can't help him anymore. It's impossible to teach someone who won't learn.
So, my assignment today is for you to not back down about something you believe in. Don't be silent if you have a problem at work. I'm not. I talked to someone yesterday about the whole situation. Hopefully it will be dealt with.
-Ciao!
So work lately (I work in a thrift store that I will not name here) has been frustrating me and a lot of my coworkers lately, so I feel I should also talk about my opinions on the matter. Since this is a blog about the past, I will keep it there. The way things have been going at this job reminds me a lot of my last job: McDonald's (Yes, we've all done our time at some fast food restaurant during high school).
When I worked at McDicks (as I lovingly refer to it) I got promoted pretty quickly to a crew trainer*. It was pretty cool because I got more responsibility and more money (that's the thing about the place I work now. More responsibility doesn't always mean more money). Anyways, I did that for a while before I got bored of it and talked to my Restaurant Manager about another promotion to Team Leader*. This is where the problems started. When you're becoming a Team Leader you get what's called a shadow- a manager who helps train you to be a Team Leader. I was given the one Manager that my Restaurant Manager* disliked as my shadow. So, naturally there was some hostility between him and the RM. This shouldn't have affected my promotion, but I soon learned that the Restaurant Manager was trying to get me to fail as she struggled against me every step of the way while she helped every other crew trainer who was training for the promotion at the time. For background, we needed to go take a class in Vancouver to get promoted. When this class was coming up for me, I discovered that everyone else had been scheduled to take it except for me. Which is ridiculous because I had been there the longest out of the lot of us. Anyways, I did end up getting into the class only because one of the others couldn't make it that day and they had already paid for his position in the class.
So when I finished the class I got promoted, right? Wrong. No, I got back from the class after doing really well in it and still didn't get the promotion. Apparently, I still needed to know how to do a travel path (walk around and check that everything was clean) and do one for every day for a week. This was retarded. So, I jumped through the hoops and did it. Then, finally I went up to the restaurant Manager and told her I had done what she asked. Finally, she gives me this look of defeat and says she'll promote me. Took freaking forever.
No, things didn't stop after that. After that, everyone was being promoted to Swing Managers*. I figured, why not me? So, I tried for it really hard and this time, the Restaurant Manager didn't even attempt to pretend that she wanted me promoted. Instead, she gave me this BS line about how all the managers needed to vote unanimously for my promotion and "they" (I'm pretty sure it was only her) had decided that I was too nice to the crew to be promoted. Are you kidding me? One of the requirements for a promotion there was a good repor with the crew. They had to be willing to listen to you. Since I had trained the vast majority of them, they all listened to me quite well. They instead promoted a couple of people who I think were not suited for management. Everyone thought they were idiots who couldn't do their jobs. There was no respect for them because they didn't earn it. Well, it was more of one specific person who was like that. Anyways, I never got that promotion and ended up moving to Victoria and getting my current job and going to school.
Anyways, as I said. I'm feeling like it's a similar situation where I work now. I don't begrudge them for not promoting me right now, however, because I understand their reasons. I'm not full time. My hours don't work out properly for me to be a supervisor. I do however, think that the person who did get promoted was not a good choice. I sometimes feel like I don't want to go to work just because he's there. I keep feeling so frustrated around him. When I'm asked to help him however I can to make him a better supervisor and he refuses to listen to my advice, I'm forced to say that I can't help him anymore. It's impossible to teach someone who won't learn.
So, my assignment today is for you to not back down about something you believe in. Don't be silent if you have a problem at work. I'm not. I talked to someone yesterday about the whole situation. Hopefully it will be dealt with.
-Ciao!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Spontaneous Day
This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...
So a couple of days ago, it was spontaneous day. My friend Mav and I were having lunch when she mentioned that she wanted to get her hair cut and colored at some point soon. So, my response to this was "Well, let's go do it then". Anyways, long story short, she ended up with slightly shorted hair, bangs and blue and purple streaks. It was great and it couldn't help reminding me of other spontaneous days that I've been involved in.
One time, when my friend Kayla and I were in the mall (this was when we were in high school and hanging out at the mall was cool) we were talking about the fact that I have my nose pierced and she was thinking about getting something pierced as well. Well, as I always do, I suggested that we just walk on over to the piercing place and get her nose pierced. Needless to say, Kayla ended that day with a pierced nose. Another day, we were spontaneous once again when she got her lip pierced. Most of these piercings ended up being taken out after a while. Kayla's piercings always seem to get infected.
I feel the need to say at this point that I'm usually the one who says "you should do this" and not the one who actually does it. Not sure why this happens. Could be because I'm a redhead and would never color my hair and because I'm pretty sure I only look good with the piercings I already have. Maybe I'm just very persuasive. Not really sure why people listen to me.
Anyways, another great moment of spontineity was when we walked down to the river (we lived down the street from it at the time) on a hot summer day. This was with the Captives, or rather the ones we could drag out that day. We didn't bring our bathing suits because we were only planning on walking around down there. Instead, we ended up emptying our pockets of keys and electronics before jumping in full clothed. Yes, jumping into the Fraser River fully clothed is usually a stupid idea. However, we were in a side channel that was pretty calm and there were enough of us there to save anyone who started to get dragged away. Of course, nobody did get dragged away. It ended up being an awesome day. We sat out beside the water to dry off in the sun then headed off to hang out at one of our houses. Probably one of the best days of that summer.
So my assignment for everyone today is to do something spontaneous. It doesn't have to be drastic or dangerous, just something random that you didn't plan to do today.
P.S. Sorry for the delay in postings. I'm in midterm week right now.
Ciao!
So a couple of days ago, it was spontaneous day. My friend Mav and I were having lunch when she mentioned that she wanted to get her hair cut and colored at some point soon. So, my response to this was "Well, let's go do it then". Anyways, long story short, she ended up with slightly shorted hair, bangs and blue and purple streaks. It was great and it couldn't help reminding me of other spontaneous days that I've been involved in.
One time, when my friend Kayla and I were in the mall (this was when we were in high school and hanging out at the mall was cool) we were talking about the fact that I have my nose pierced and she was thinking about getting something pierced as well. Well, as I always do, I suggested that we just walk on over to the piercing place and get her nose pierced. Needless to say, Kayla ended that day with a pierced nose. Another day, we were spontaneous once again when she got her lip pierced. Most of these piercings ended up being taken out after a while. Kayla's piercings always seem to get infected.
I feel the need to say at this point that I'm usually the one who says "you should do this" and not the one who actually does it. Not sure why this happens. Could be because I'm a redhead and would never color my hair and because I'm pretty sure I only look good with the piercings I already have. Maybe I'm just very persuasive. Not really sure why people listen to me.
Anyways, another great moment of spontineity was when we walked down to the river (we lived down the street from it at the time) on a hot summer day. This was with the Captives, or rather the ones we could drag out that day. We didn't bring our bathing suits because we were only planning on walking around down there. Instead, we ended up emptying our pockets of keys and electronics before jumping in full clothed. Yes, jumping into the Fraser River fully clothed is usually a stupid idea. However, we were in a side channel that was pretty calm and there were enough of us there to save anyone who started to get dragged away. Of course, nobody did get dragged away. It ended up being an awesome day. We sat out beside the water to dry off in the sun then headed off to hang out at one of our houses. Probably one of the best days of that summer.
So my assignment for everyone today is to do something spontaneous. It doesn't have to be drastic or dangerous, just something random that you didn't plan to do today.
P.S. Sorry for the delay in postings. I'm in midterm week right now.
Ciao!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Mexico
This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday....
So I had turkey dinner on Sunday for thanksgiving at my mom's place. It was a lot of fun and it made me start thinking about past holidays. The thing that I find funny is that I find myself remembering the holidays when I wasn't at home. The prominent one was Easter in my grad year.
I remember that year very fondly and I still don't regret missing Easter. I missed it in order to go on this trip called Project Help Mexico. It was a great trip. The purpose of Project Help Mexico is to build a house (or houses) for those less fortunate than us in Mexico. The unfortunate part about it was that we were only allowed to build for people who owned their own land. If they didn't, then the landlords would be able to kick the people out of their homes and rent them out for a higher rent after the new house was built. The people who owned their own land needed just as much help as those who didn't. Their living conditions were not what we in Canada would call good. So, we built a house for this wonderful family in Tijuana, Mexico.
Anyways, the best part of this trip was that we went over Easter weekend. The build site was just next to a church where we could hear people singing during one of the days we were working. Another great thing about it was that we handed the keys to the house over on Easter. It was a great moment and there were a lot of tears. We didn't just give them a house, either. A few of the guys on the trip built the kids of the family a set of bunkbeds that were mounted on the wall and we all chipped in money in order to buy them some housewarming gifts. We even brought some stuff from home. I personally brought them some wool blankets. Others brought them a sewing machine and clothing and other such things. The biggest thing we got for them, I think was their oven/stove. I remember how important this piece was because the mother of the family was very excited to be able to cook a turkey for her family that Easter. It made us all realize how fortunate we were for what we had back home.
Project Help Mexico was a great experience that I would definitely do again if I could. It was the first time in my life where I felt like I was truly making a difference in someone's life and it helped that I did the trip with friends. We had a great time. I didn't completely miss out on my Easter either. When I opened my suitcase in my hotel room, I found that my mom had put a chocolate bunny and an Easter card into it while I wasn't looking. It made me smile and I shared some of it with my friend Kayla, who was sharing my room with me.
Anyways, my assignment for everyone today is this: Help someone. It can be anyone. I would suggest making a donation to Project Help Mexico. But, not everyone can afford that. So, just help someone however you can.
Ciao!
So I had turkey dinner on Sunday for thanksgiving at my mom's place. It was a lot of fun and it made me start thinking about past holidays. The thing that I find funny is that I find myself remembering the holidays when I wasn't at home. The prominent one was Easter in my grad year.
I remember that year very fondly and I still don't regret missing Easter. I missed it in order to go on this trip called Project Help Mexico. It was a great trip. The purpose of Project Help Mexico is to build a house (or houses) for those less fortunate than us in Mexico. The unfortunate part about it was that we were only allowed to build for people who owned their own land. If they didn't, then the landlords would be able to kick the people out of their homes and rent them out for a higher rent after the new house was built. The people who owned their own land needed just as much help as those who didn't. Their living conditions were not what we in Canada would call good. So, we built a house for this wonderful family in Tijuana, Mexico.
Anyways, the best part of this trip was that we went over Easter weekend. The build site was just next to a church where we could hear people singing during one of the days we were working. Another great thing about it was that we handed the keys to the house over on Easter. It was a great moment and there were a lot of tears. We didn't just give them a house, either. A few of the guys on the trip built the kids of the family a set of bunkbeds that were mounted on the wall and we all chipped in money in order to buy them some housewarming gifts. We even brought some stuff from home. I personally brought them some wool blankets. Others brought them a sewing machine and clothing and other such things. The biggest thing we got for them, I think was their oven/stove. I remember how important this piece was because the mother of the family was very excited to be able to cook a turkey for her family that Easter. It made us all realize how fortunate we were for what we had back home.
Project Help Mexico was a great experience that I would definitely do again if I could. It was the first time in my life where I felt like I was truly making a difference in someone's life and it helped that I did the trip with friends. We had a great time. I didn't completely miss out on my Easter either. When I opened my suitcase in my hotel room, I found that my mom had put a chocolate bunny and an Easter card into it while I wasn't looking. It made me smile and I shared some of it with my friend Kayla, who was sharing my room with me.
Anyways, my assignment for everyone today is this: Help someone. It can be anyone. I would suggest making a donation to Project Help Mexico. But, not everyone can afford that. So, just help someone however you can.
Ciao!
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