the bit of sunshine

okay, so my hockey team was booted out before they even got to the playoffs. good news? my football team is well in there. tonight at 5 germany's playing. i'll probably be at work, unless i magically get tonnes of work done quickly this afternoon. i've set the sky (tivo) to tape it. i will be home late tonight, but get to unwind in front of a (hopefully) winning match.

go germany! (in the team sports way... not the war nazi, take over the world kind of way).

5 out of 21 can't be wrong

5 is the number of days i will see gerry for between now and when he gets back from the states.

problem is, the weekdays go a bit too quickly. he's going to jim's to get shitfaced tonight, fishing with his brothers this weekend, and then next week he heads to boston.

now that these dates have been noted, start thinking carca and chatting!!!

stop poking me

since i've been sitting down at work, my bra has been poking me. extra weird, cause i wore the same bra yesterday, no problem. today, big problem. i think the underwire has snuck out... i haven't had a bathroom check yet, but i'm pretty sure that's what's digging into my armpit. this might make it a long day.

ugh.

that's not gonna last long

so far, a regular day at my job has been like this:

get in just before 8
email/check blogs obsessively for the next hour/hour and a half
breakkie at 9.30
do some work, check emails/blogs just in case
lunch at 12
do lots of work until 4.30/5.30/6.30
go home

the job has been very low stress, which is awesome. next week i'll have more training and probably be busier (it's quarter end this week, so i'm just posting and invoicing orders for people while they process). for now, i'm enjoying how nice it is here. sure, tonight is the last day for quarter end, so we're gonna be here for 12-14 hours, but overtime's only for a week once every three months.

besides, i think we get breakkie for free this morning too! we definitely get dinner if we're here that late.

judging a book by its cover

so sinead's blog has a reading list. great idea. she reviewed this book about two sisters whose mom has died and they fight about inheritance, blah blah blah. anyway, the title has something in it to do with tractors and ukrania. gerry bought it a couple weeks ago... probably on her recomendation, and it *looks* like a great book (sweet cover). i thought it would be a good idea to read the book. i've now decided that it wasn't. i don't start books and not finish them very often... it's happened maybe once or twice.

make that three times.

it's too sad... and makes me feel bad.

hump day

work's going well. i hear people feel sorry for me though... cause i've been delegated to all of the posting and invoicing of the orders. apparently it's the most boring part of the job. so far, i don't care. there's not that much pressure and i'm meeting new people. this could change in a few weeks, once i'm doing the full spectrum of the job, so i'm going to enjoy monotony while i can.

tonight's yoga, and i'm really looking forward to it. all the stretching is going to be niiiiice. and we're getting hand outs on doing sun salutation at home. gerry reminded me of that last night, and boy! did he sound excited. then i threatened him with doing lots of it on thursday once i get home from work. he kept changing the subject for some reason.

speaking of humping... yesterday i got home and saw a whole big pile of mail on the floor. i was so excited, something must be waiting for me there! alas, not even a bill. sad me. if you're thinking of sending me mail... like a card, a scrap of paper, or a wee note, please do so. i'd love love love to get something. not that i'm begging... i'm just saying that if you've thought about it, i'd encourage you to make it happen.

first day

today was my first of work at my new job.

the first 30-45 mins were spent having a tour and meeting everyone. literally everyone. there are over a hundred people working there. if they happened to be in a meeting when we came around, we went back. it's kinda cool to do that, but i don't know anyone's names yet. oh, wait. i know a michael and a sven... everyone else i can't remember.

after the meet and greet, i emailed, and checked blogs. then i met with one lady for about an hour to go over systems. then i read some papers for a bit, had lunch, did some training with sven, and then did some work and got to go home early.

bad news? it's end quarter so i've been told that any plans i had for friday need to be cancelled. but that's not really so bad... end quarter only happens four times a year.

so far, everyone is nice and friendly.

ohmygosh

todd bertuzzi has been traded to the florida panthers!!

alex auld and bryan allen are also gone, but it's the todd trade that has me surprised.

wow.

wik(ed)pedia

today's feature article on wikipedia was canada!

how exciting!!!

i would like to say that i knew most of the stuff it said; i'm willing to admit that i couldn't have given a date for the BNA Act, despite studying it in my race and racism class.

i also didn't know that there are about 32.5 million people i canada. huh. the things you learn.

last days!

today is my second last weekday of pure freedom. so i'm trying to fit in everything i need to before all my weekdays are taken! eek!

i got up early... well, earlier than usual, to give isabel a ride to pick up her car, and to open up a joint bank account for gerry and me. i waited for the bank to open and then was told i need to make an appointment. the guy offered me 12.30 initially, and i was like: uh, how about something sooner? so i went back at 10.30, and said i was there for my appointment. the woman was like: oh, have a seat he mustn't be in his office. there was a table of breakfast things and orange juice, so i was going to have some OJ, and then i noticed a guy there. i looked at his nametag, and it was the guy i was supposed to meet... he was just hanging out at the food table. oh boy.

i also went to the lingerie store to finally use the rest of my credit there, picked up some presents, and bought bagels and parking discs so that when i go for my massage tomorrow, i'm not rushed.

afterwards i stopped at dunnes and got some more cereal and strawberries and a spread that does not have dairy. i have no idea how it tastes, but i'm gonna give it a try here shortly. before i go to the post office.

decoding

i finished the davinci code yesterday.

after watching the movie i decided it might be worth reading.

it was kinda like reading the movie. in fact, it was a lot like reading the movie.

did they even have a script writer? cause, as long as everyone read the book, they'd know what their lines were, and how to act, and what the sets should look like, etc.

i guess, in the end, it was a bit boring because it didn't lend to the movie. it just was the movie.

turns out i've started reading again.

wedding belles

i'm having trouble sleeping again. last night i was soooo knackered, but still couldn't sleep... it was after 3 am that i finally crashed out, and had a crazy dream.

i dreamt i was getting married (probably because i've been working on fixing up this wedding brochure for gerry's brother and soon to be sister-in-law). i was in a hotel which was kind of like the moose lodge on queer eye for the straight guy that they fixed up, and in my dream it was the same place that danielle had been married in (she got married in a garden, so i don't get this). anyway, i was getting married in the evening, and was panicking because i didn't have the wedding favours finished, and the shoes that i bought couldn't be walked in. they weren't made properly and one was higher than the other, and the heels were all crooked. luckily!!! someone went to get my silver prada shoes that i bought for danielle's wedding last year. i have no idea where they were, and why they were around but in the meantime danielle and i were trying to put together these huge easter basket kind of favours full of chocolate. and i was late for the wedding, because i was doing all these things, and i didn't even have my makeup done.

so weird.

oil crisis

"You said you didn't give a fuck about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before"

last night i got a phone call from sarah. yay! we talked about too-expensive shoes, making big moves, jobs, and surprisingly, hockey.

everyone knows that i love hockey. i grew up on it... maybe a bit weird, but my (german) dad was a big Habs fan; growing up in a small town in b.c. all the boys played hockey and the girls watched their crushes; and of course we only had one channel for a good part of my childhood... the CBC.

the first time i really really followed the NHL season, the canucks didn't make the playoffs (this was during a huge slump for the nucks, i'll call it P.L. as in, pre-trevor lindon) so the team i picked were the flyers. they didn't win that year, but i was hooked.

sarah, who was never really into hockey before, is converted, just before she moves to san francisco. and i think she likes it.

canada is a country where our most popular coffee shop is named after a hockey player. it's also a country where it's been 13 years since we last held the cup; we go on by saying that most of the players are canadian anyway, but you know that as a nation, we want the cup back.

of course there are people who don't care about hockey, who live in canada (see jeffy's blog, which i read halfway into blogging this) but even he admits to internally cheering for the canadian team when accidently watching the game.

here's the thing: canada gets bullied by the u.s.. generally they win more medals in the olympics, they went to the world cup... we didn't, they have more people... blah blah blah. when it comes to hockey and health care, we know we're better... we just have to prove it when the opportunity comes up, because it's about who you are representing. remember the outrage when wayne gretzky went to the kings?

hockey is a sport that truly represents canadianism... its very nature is canadian. a team game that requires a toughness to survive the elements. it's the level playing field that everyone in canada can participate in... pick a team and cheer your heart out. it even ltches on to this inherent geekness that is canada... the games out back on the homemade rink or on the frozen lakes and rivers. going to the pub to cheer on your team, and bonding with strangers... what's not fun about that? hockey is such a part of the canadian psyche, that songs are written about it, art, movies and tv shows are created in celebration. and some of our most famous canadians, are our hockey players.

am i sad the oilers didn't win? of course! not only are they canadian, they're west side! the good news? hockey's back, and it's as exciting as ever! and to top it off, it's recruiting fans that i never thought possible.

what a feelin'!

this morning, gerry and i packed up the car and headed for the beara peninsula. we arrived at our destination a bit later than originally planned, because of a missed turn, but we arrived safely and happily, so no bother.

there were two couples there with a kid... i think from russia, maybe poland. they stayed while we got ready (wet suits, weights, shoes, flippers, masks, snorkels). wow. the water was even colder than i had thought. i toughed it out, cause we drove so far, and had to get ready, blah blah blah. good spirits until i started swimming with my hands on my face because it was so cold. i couldn't even focus because it really was just too cold. i felt really bad, but had to get out. i'm not sure i can describe how cold it was. i wish i had a thermometer... boo urns.

as we got out, the two couples left, and this woman arrived with two kids... 5 and 7, i'd guess. anyway, the smaller kid was singing, "what a feelin' deh deh". seriously. the little guy had the right tune, the right key, everything... j.lo look out, there's another flashdash fan in town... and i think he might be able to pull off the leotard just as well. it was hilarious.

anyway, we got into dry clothes and sat in the semi-sun, had our lunches, read a bit, and headed home.

i know, we were going to camp and everything, but since the water was too cold, it didn't seem sensible to not do anything, and just sit around at the campsite, or the bar. so, we stopped at lidl, and then at dunnes, and are just about to enjoy some booze and a barbeque. it's kind of like camping. :o)

not so waster girlfriend

yay! i have a job. i start on the 26th. i'll be working at Trend Micro, the place where the ladies love my energy.

this will be my last week free. the extra good news is that i'll be working 8-4.30 M-F. which is a bit early, but it means it won't take me anytime to get to work, and that i'll be home at good times.

yay!

better value?

i used to ALWAYS sneeze three times. recently i've only been sneezing twice. the sneezes aren't any stronger. what's happened to the sneeziness of the third one?

shit mobile service ireland

3 has the shittiest service ever. is this defaming them? i think you're allowed to express your opinion about service aren't you? my friends are my intended audience, so basically, i'm posting a mass email.


dear everyone in the world who is my friend,

3 has the crappiest customer service. i called 7 times yesterday, was on hold at one point for over 30 mins, and still nothing was resolved. (i know 7 times sounds neurotic, but i kept getting different info, different numbers to call, etc.).

i called this morning and was disconnected, and one of their rude rude operators had a hissy fit at me, in only the way a gay call centre operator can. and then i was passed on two more times, and the end guy still couldn't help me, and i now have to wait for a call back. well, make that two... one from the supervisor, and one from yer egit in whatever the hell department i ended up in.

am i frustrated? did this wreck my day? do i need a drink? yes. yes. yes.

love, ursula

work it out

i finally got the game to play on my computer. whoot!

of course, it was just in time for the break between periods one and two. now it's my bedtime. well, i tried sleeping earlier, but i couldn't. so i made some calls, and tried to go to the root of my problem so that i could sleep. i also got in a bit of a game of carca. sweet sweet carcassonne.

hopefully sweet sweet sleep.

Go Oilers Go!

what mythological creature are you?

i like this quiz, not for the spelling, but for the *winks* and *giggles*.

i've been laying here (my back's hurt) waiting for gerry's phone to arrive, and trying to find out where it is... so far 3 can suck *my* ass... and it's not even my phone... but that's an aside, i have time to plot for the call i will make this evening.

i decided to do a quiz, start my monday off right. this one had cool pics... this is what i found out:



You scored as Mermaid. Mermaid: Mermaids are also known as Sirens. These creatures were beautiful women who tricked sailors into becoming completely entranced by their haunting voices and found death soon after. Not all stories of Mermaids are about gentle loving sea people. They are mystical, magical, and extremely dangerous. They have a way about them that brings anyone they are around to seem enchanted. They are very mysterious creatures and to meet one... Would mean certain Death. Let the song of the Sea fill your soul, for you are a Mermaid.

Mermaid		92%
Angel		67%
Dragon		67%
WereWolf		33%
Faerie		33%
Demon		8%

What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!)
created with QuizFarm.com

i can't believe i got a mermaid with wings. what a cool pic!!!

finished

i just finished Jpod.

it was great, very funny with an (i hate to say it) irreverence for traditional novels that coupland pulls off so well.

i'd like to point out that, as advertised, it is a lot like microserfs. it's got the geeks working in pods (this was extra funny to me, because at RCI, where they called them quads, i insisted we call ours, the pod) and the one girl who is a geek, but a deeper more emotionally in touch kinda geek, and the main character trying to find his identity. but whatever. the characters are perfect, the storylines hilarious, and i even liked the obvious making fun of self.

it was a fun read and i'm so in love with this sassy book... how could i not be? i just need to finish hey nostradamus! that i started at kenji and shelley's last fall, but didn't finish, cause i left the country- not because i wasn't interested.

love love love love love love love love love love

jpod

today gerry and i were downtown after his work, and my interviews. we went into waterstone's and i thought i'd give it whirl and see if they had JPOD there. not only did they, but they had a special edition with the little man. how could i resist? i couldn't.

and gerry bought me a "i'm sure you'll get one of the jobs" gift of a dutch-english-dutch dictionary.

so far, i love the book... i'm not that far into it, but the style and language remind me of home.

i'll see your resume and raise you...

today was second interview day. i'd like to say that i think it went well. since the ladies at the first interview were commenting on my energy and one said, "oh i'd met her (me) before... i knew she was in the waiting room before i was told, i could feel her energy," i figure that they might be interested in having me around. the interview at apple was a bit weird. i spoke in dutch to the only other person that speaks dutch there, and then met up with the HR dude who basically has no idea what's going on, he didn't have a copy of my resume with him, and he kept looking around (as in zero eye contact with me) the whole time he was interviewing. anyway, i think (i don't want to jinx myself) i might have two offers my way by tuesday. they both have pros and cons, but we'll see.

blast from the plast

ohmygosh. waiting for my boyfriend, jon stewart to be on, i was randomly going through channels. i have discovered that if we had the sports package, i would be able to watch hockey... go edmonton!!! (go canada!!!).

anyway, what was on TCM2? whatever channel that is... LOGAN'S RUN!!! soooo funny. i had to see if it was a misprint. nope.

anyway that crazy movie that we watched at ang's space party, where i made space marshmallow and peanut butter squares, was indeed on!

it's still really weird... where they discover outside and how they find whatever it is (the sun) warm... and still entertaining.

going dutch

i am madly trying to learn dutch for tomorrow. i know that i used to think that i can speak dutch, but i am quickly seeing that i don't know words like "freight" or even "purchase order" although, it does make sense that "purchase order" translates the same as "buying order" and *of course* i know how to say "buy" and "order"!

with combined efforts i have a list of words gerry thinks i might need, and some phrases i think i might need that have been translated and put into study sheets. i have two interviews tomorrow... basically for the same job at two different companies, to which i will wear the same freshly ironed shirt (note, i did not say well) and will hoepfully wow them with my charm and my newly acquired language.

poffertjes anyone? speaking of which... gerry, let's go to the netherlands one weekend... before the stag, otherwise you'll probably be denied entry.

send me the money!

i just got an email today (well, when i woke up, i happily had LOTS of emails!!!) from barb, the woman who rachel and i went to D.C. and Virginia with. anyway, i had to send my address, so that i could get my cheque sent to me. whoot! i now qualify as a paid photographer, published in the toronto star.

oh yeah, baby!

personality test

i was quizfarming it with kenji, comparing answers and stuff, when i saw an ad for personality100. oooh! sounds official... basically you do the test, and the get some details... you have to pay for the full 100 page description. who needs a hundred pages? not me!

Key Areas of your Personality
Your personality stands out from the average person's particularly in the areas of:

* Your High Curiosity Level
* Your Low Emotional Reactivity Level
* Your Low Distractibility
* Your High Assertiveness Level

Social patterns: You are left-brained when it comes to recognizing emotions in other people. When you look at a person's face you focus on what you see on the right. This is a unique way of viewing the world. You are likely to be sensitive to 'micro-expressions' - the tiny movements of the muscles in the face that occur, for example, when someone is telling a lie. Hearing preferences are an interesting exception to this left-right crossover. For example, if two people were talking behind a closed door and you needed to put your ear on the door to hear, you would tend to use your left ear instead of your right.

much less entertainment in the spelling arena, but fun all the same... there was more info, but that's enough.

i found my weakness!!!

as kenji was suggesting that i consider my weakness (if not kryptonite) to be filling out online quizzes with bad spelling, but (awesome pics) i was in the middle of filling out a quiz for "How are you in bed (awesome pics).

i know why i got the answer i did... because i said that there's nothing wrong with whipping... i really don't think there is, if you're into it. because i did not judge, i missed Sex God and was allocated the title of A Slave to BDSM (which is probably a bit of an extreme interpretation for anything i've gotten up to in/out of the bedroom, but i'd rather be that than boring-whoot!).

"You scored as A Slave To BDSM.

Admit it, you like being tied up and being told you've been very naughty. You like teasing your partner and making them squirm, and not letting them be able to do anything about it. Some people think what you do is sick and disgusting, but you know it's all in good fun.

A Slave To BDSM 90%

Sex God 85%

A Romantic 53%

Virgin 25%"

i have bad handwriting

so i had another interview today. went alright... but i realised that i don't know the dutch word for customers. oops. must brush up on that.

i have mentioned before that there are lots of places in ireland that don't have numbers on the addresses. like our house. so my day started off trying to figure out where my interview was, and going to the wrong place because it had the same name. i made it to the right place, 5 mins. early, thanks to the nice lady in reception.

anyway, i'm currently working with two recruitment agencies (i have an interview with another one tomorrow) which is a whole new experience for me. apparently the places that they are pushing me for are will pay lots of cash, cause sometimes i actually feel harrassed. at the end of the day though... at least they called me back. some places didn't even get back to me, and one place got back to me to say that they'll keep my resume on file... that didn't really impress me, cause i have decent qualifications.

the funny recruitment agency event today:

i was supposed to get a call 30 mins before i left for my interview to go over some questions with the recruiter, she called 1 minute before i had to leave, but wanted me to call her when i was done. i literally got in the door and she was ringing me to see how it went. i told her i should hear something by thursday. she called me just after 5 to tell me that i have a second interview for friday... but the time she gave me clashed with another interview, so she had to call me back. maybe to make up for calling me so late today, and not being able to go over some test questions at the time, she decided now was a good time to try it out. when she asked me what i would say when asked a weakness (this is a position where you deal with distributors who will be selling the product to wholesalers) i said that i really care about the customer, and will go out of my way to help them. she was like: OH! umm... then they'll think you're going to waste too much time on people... why don't you say that you have bad writing... you know, something completely irrelevant to the job, because you're going to be using computers.

i TOTALLY get where she's going, but doesn't that seem like a bit of a silly answer? like, wouldn't someone who doesn't really understand the job say that? correct me if i'm wrong... on friday, should i say that? my gut says no, but i'm willing to be convinced.

your feedback needed!

i have been trying to decide what i should do for my 30th birthday (coming up this november). it's a big one... and an exciting one, so i'd like for it to be special. any ideas? remember, i'm in ireland so ideas have been going on a warm vacation to cyprus, or greece... think warm. other ideas include going to b.c. or something like that. maybe people could just come visit me.

please help me!!!

***

added later

you know what could be fun during the hours of procrastination that will come with me studying dutch for my interview? making a quiz to decide... this all depends on if i go to the beach tomorrow, of course.

a lot corny

ohmygod. i just had this insane craving for corn on the cob dripping in butter.

i can practically taste it.

the only thing that may get close to pointing to why is because today was sunny and warm enough to be summer, which equals corn. oh sweet delicious corn. peaches and cream indeed!

day 1

yesterday we went for lunch at wild ways, and then shopped around cork. penney's was a big hit, in fact, shopping was a big hit.

everyone ended up getting something, i bought a hat and a mat for the beach.

we came home and then packed into gerry's car for dinner at cafe paradiso. after dinner, we had a little tour of cork and then some pavlova at home.

we might head to the beach a little later, becca's not feeling very well. i think it's going to be a take it easy kind of day, we might head to wagamama for dinner.

listed

today:
go into cork
shop around
have lunch (maybe at wagamama)
let isabel meet the canadians
have dinner at cafe paradiso
go to a pub with irish music (we may end up leaving that one for tomorrow)