June 2005 Archives

it's my friday! it's burger day! i just motored through a bunch of really crappily craptastic work and i, amazingly enough, have motivation to keep on motoring! must be the adrenaline of not being here for two days and having to get shit done before i leave. my cold has settled into that barely annoying drippy nose and slightly froggy voice phase which will probably drag on for another week. i'm meeting a slightly-annoyingly needy net.guy for coffee tonight, just to get him off my back already. tomorrow, i'm going to clean my house, do my laundry, ask my dad to come over and help me change my lightbulb in exchange for cookies and maybe go out with keb to a movie in the evening.

i know it's not very exciting, but hey, it's my life.

i was having a pretty good day yesterday, even with all the sneezing and snotty snorting. i got myself into a righteous groove with some work and made a huge dent in some really yucky stuff i've been avoiding. on the way home i stopped at futureshop to return a bag i bought, save-on where i found some china lily soy sauce (my absolute favourite which seems to have totally disappeared from every store shelf but that one), and the library where i registered and picked up a book i'm really excited to start reading.

then i opened the mailbox.

inside were three fake bills from "Domain Registry of Canada" telling me that three of my domains are set to expire and that i should send them $40 for each of them. luckily i'm not an idiot, so i didn't get suckered, but they looked awfully official. fuckers. the really amusing thing, to me at least, was that the three notices were for every domain BUT fubsy.net. losers.

then, the pièce de résistance, a letter from capital one mastercard telling me that "due to a charge posted to your account after it closed" they've reopened my account. they didn't give me any details. instead, they said "in a few days, customer service will be sending the details". uh, yeah, that's not helpful. there was no way i'm about to wait for a letter when you're telling me that there's a charge to an account i closed in FEBRUARY. so, i phone the 1-800 number where a creaky computer voice tells me that i owe them $1000. uh, what?

to make a long story as short as possible, i finally navigate through the menus (which REALLY are constructed to deter you from talking to a real person: it took THREE levels of menu before pressing 0 to talk to a human worked. that pissed me off) to talk to a very nice girl who put me on hold for fifteen minutes while she looked into the situation. anyway, while i'm on hold i start thinking back and it comes to me that, yeah, i think they might be right. fuckers.

i made a payment to them, which i cancelled two hours later, because i was planning to go to the bank to refinance. when the bank paid off the card, and capital one sent me a statement, that statement showed both the payment i cancelled (wtf?) and the payment from the bank. of course, that meant it showed a credit of $1000. i TOTALLY forgot that i'd cancelled the payment, or made any payment at all, so i called capital one and told them to mail me a cheque for the overpayment so they could close the account, which they did and everyone was happy.

until now. FOUR MONTHS LATER. why the HELL did they show that payment on the statment? why didn't they catch this in the MONTH it took for them to send me the "overpayment"? now i'm on the fucking hook for a grand i don't have, two weeks after i spend all my money on an ibook. ugh. i'm really not happy about the situation. obviously.

i spent a lot of time last night wrangling some numbers trying to figure out how to pay it off. which i can't. there's just no way. after paying for lucy and cleaning out all my other cashable accounts i'll still be $500 short with absolutely no cash reserves in the bank. i have to call them back tonight, tell them i figured it out, get them to reopen the account and then start paying it off monthly.

it just makes me so MAD. i was really, really, really proud of myself for not owing any credit card companies a penny. now, thanks to their stupid practices and MY inattention, i'm in the hole.

i wonder if i have anything i can sell. anyone want to order some photocards? or rent a housegirl? i make a mean omelette!

i'm sick and miserable. my best and oldest friend gave me her cold. i think it's revenge for not seeing her for so long. that bitch. ;)

my kitchen lightbulb blew this morning. any bets how long i go without light in the galley because I'M TOO FUCKING SHORT to reach to change it? (hint: last time it was almost a month)

on a whim, i stopped in a used pc shop i've never been in and never thought about entering and found the best little bag for lucy. it's not pretty, but it's small and practical and only cost $30. that'll do for now.

it's a three-day work week for me and then a five-day birthday weekend. i hope you sent packages last week. friday is a holiday here in the great white north, so there will be no mail delivery.

all right, that's enough. i'm exhausted already and it's not even 8:30. ugh. i think it's going to be a long three days.

if i don't post this now, at 5:55am, i probably won't get a chance to post at all. sean was away and yesterday was my first day actually having to do his job without him there to actually do it. did that make sense? probably not, it is before six. anyway, i was so busy running around trying to get even the most basic parts of his job done, i barely had any time to sit, let alone compose.

anyhoo, it's the same again today, but i thought i'd take a second while still damp and towel-clad from my shower to make a quick "no, i'm not dead" post.

oh, and this is my first official post from lucy. whee!

so, yeah. i'm totally obsessed with lucy. i stroke her, i sit with her on my lap, i take her to bed with me. i left her alone at home today. i feel like a part of me is missing. it's just so *hard*.

okay. i'll stop. for now.

last night i met col at tinseltown for some food court food and the seven o'clock showing of the sisterhood of the traveling pants. i don't think there was a single male person in the theatre. all women. total estrogen-fest. holy moly. i still cried. i think we all cried. all the father-daughter stuff really got to me. oy. anyway, it's a good coming of age film. if you're a girl, you should probably see it.

now i just want to know where to find those pants.

i know you haven't forgotten, but it can't hurt to remind you that my birthday is a mere 11 days away. you might want to send parcels having to cross the border earlier rather than later. ;)

i'm stupid tired today. i'd much rather go back to bed than be here today. at least i get to leave early, even if it is for a dentist appointment.

have a good day.

i have an ibook! HOLY CRAP!

i spent last night pumping my macheaded friends for information and navigating mac osx for the first time. i think i've gotten the basic hang of things for now. tonight, on the way home, we stop at the macstation to get my ram installed and then we (that's lucy and me) will be ready to rawk. RAWK!

the best part of the evening, i'd have to say, was stealing some of my neighbour's unsecured wireless bandwidth while laying (lying?) back on the futon chatting with my friends. this is what i've been waiting for. futon + friends = fun.

now i just need a new headset, a case, a mouse and an ipod to go with it! dear me, i'm so happy. i'm such a dork.

not a lot to say today. i'm still high on the last few days. my ibook is in the city, so i expect it to arrive any minute now which will totally deteriorate any hope of productivity at work as i stare longingly at the box i can't open until after 4pm. so cruel.

it's actually great timing because, thanks to jeremy's troubleshooting last night, i'm fairly certain the power supply on discombobulate is dying. i haven't decided if i'm going to try to replace it myself or pay someone else to, but it means that i'm not leaving it on unattended as i'm wont to do. it's so strange not to have ftp access to all my stuff from work. i feel disconnected.

update: lucy has landed. i repeat: lucy has landed! there will be no productivity for the rest of the day. lucy has landed.

so, yeah. i met heather (dooce) and jon (blurbomat) armstrong on thursday night. back when i read they were coming to town, i got a little excited; mel egged me on; i emailed darren and, well, the next thing we knew reservations were made and i was sitting across the table from them at monk mcqueens on false creek along with julie, jen, roland, jamie and colene.

i can't say enough great things about the evening. if you've ever read either of their sites you know they're smart & witty and that translates to real life as well. i was very interested to hear about mormon underwear from jon and some unblogged anecdotes from heather. there was great food, great drinks and amazing company. i don't think i've had a better night out in a very long while.

then, just to ice the cake, julie slept over at chez hessie and we got to spend a fantabulous afternoon together before she headed back to victoria friday evening.

it was a pretty crazy, overwhelming, exhausting but ultimately amazing 24 hours and i really didn't want any of it to end.

so tired. need sleep. can't sleep, gotta be at work. can't work, the applications are all screwy. can just sit here, drinking coffee thinking about how tired i am and how much i did not want to get up at 6:30 after staying up until 1:30. that's all right, i'm leaving at 11-ish and then i'm off for fun puddlejumping with julie. yay julieday!

more later, when i get home and download photos from last night. *suspense*

i got an amazing amount of stuff done last night. i'm really quite pleased. now, i just have to get through this workday and then everything'll be golden. god, i hate it when work interrupts the good stuff in life!

so, i've had this sore foot on and off for a couple of weeks, right? and because i'm that stubborn person who never goes to the doctor, i'm all about trying to find a cure myself. well, i bought myself some of those dr. scholl's "massaging gel" inserts for my shoes, thinking that maybe my foot needed a daily dose of massage.

i put them in my work shoes this morning and all i have to say after a brief commute to and from the car is that they feel like i'm walking on octopi. every step has a strange and slithery, yet highly resiliant squish factor. i'm sure i'll get used to it, and eventually enjoy it, but for right now it's pretty disturbing.

you know what it reminds me of? french kissing. remember the first time someone slipped their tongue into your mouth? it was all soft and wet and it felt totally other-worldly, like "holy crap, there's an alien trying to invade my mouth!" but then you got used to it and even got to like it. next thing you know, you're snogging anyone you can find because, heck, you love that alien invasion sensation.

still crazy busy at work training with sean. i have SO much to do tonight in order to be prepared for the next two days of fun it's almost making me not look forward to the next two days of fun. don't you hate it when that happens? anyway, the post office is calling first and foremost; there are baked goods & photocards which need mailing.

my foot is still sore, i'm totally obsessed with the order status screen at apple.ca and, hopefully, i won't have another two hour nap tonight which makes me stay up too late. naps, while really great, can't actually be good when they totally mess up your sleep patterns like they do mine.

- work busy.
- sore foot.
- bad hair.
- good deed.
- ibook ordered.

i went to a party on saturday night and i think i made two new friends. i'd met them each once before and had an inkling they were pretty neat people, but spending many hours talking with them only confirmed that first impression. finding new people you can talk to and laugh with for hours is pretty fucking awesome. i'm so very pleased.

this week is going to be busy and very exciting. i have big plans at the end of the week and i'm so thrilled i'm almost incomprehensible. sorry for the crypto-blog, but i'll be sure to tell you all about it at some point. ;)

i didn't order my ibook yesterday. i thought i should wait for just one more tuesday in hopes of an upgraded video card. ugh. i should have just ordered it. this technology upgrade game is annoying and stupid: "don't buy [insert product here] because i'll be outdated next week!". well, if you're always waiting for the latest and greatest, you'll never actually get to use anything for fear of obsolescence. i'm still going to wait until after tuesday, though.

speaking of ibooks and birthdays, not that i was talking about birthdays, but i am now so shut up, i've decided that i don't want presents. i want people to click that whoring paypal button over on the left and send me five bucks towards the purchase of my new laptop. c'mon. five bucks! five CANADIAN bucks, even. i don't actually expect this to work, but hey, i'm all about the selling my soul for new gadgetry.

i feel so dirty.

it's finally friday. i can't even begin to express how glad i am of it. i can go home tonight, take off my pants and watch a movie, then sleep in saturday morning after which i will drink large cups of coffee & eat chicken bacon and fried egg whites, then go to grocery store to fetch baking supplies, come home for copious amounts of birthday baking, clean my bathroom, get all tarted up and then go to a party where i will drink vodka and laugh with pretty people i don't know very well.

ahh. the life of a single girl in the city. don't you wish you had my life?

oh, if i'm feeling really daring, i might even order my ibook on sunday.

- i'm cute today
- byron is still good to talk to.
- my supervisor is away for the day.
- i have chicken fajitas and the best yoghurt in the free world for lunch.
- if the weather holds and i don't get shy, i should go out photgraphing with vandigicam people tonight.
- mel and i double-dog dared darren to invite dooce out for beers when she's in town (actually mel did, i'm just being reluctantly drug along with it *cough*).
- it's one week until i order my birthday ibook!
- my hair has sensed its impending choppage and decided to look really lovely this week.
- i love coffee.

wow, wednesday already. and i still haven't gone to bed early or gotten my bathroom cleaned. i did manage to slay the dustbunnies from hell monday night, so i'm not feeling too unaccomplished. baby steps, right? tonight i have to buy ingredients as i have some birthday baking to do for jeremy and wade.

byron the temp is in helping me with crappy uniform stuff today and tomorrow. he seems okay so far. if he is interested, he might be coming back to fill in for me in august while i'm doing sean's job. that would be nice. he's not bad to look at and seems to be able to hold up his end of a conversation which is a total requirement to spend two weeks with me in this office. he vaguely reminds me of morgan in the looks department, except much shorter and with more, albeit just as buzzed, hair, which means i kind of got an instant crush on him, but i'm sure it'll wear off soon.

the weekend was crazy busy helping mom settle into her new apartment. by the time i got home from my whirlwind island adventure, i was ready for another two days off. but this time with actual relaxation. i think i'm recovered now. if only i could figure out why i've been waking up at 5:30 when i really don't have to until 6 everything will be right in my universe.

sleepy.

how many books do you own?
not as many as before i moved last summer. a very quick count, excluding textbooks, reference books & highschool yearbooks, but including graphic novel anthologies (but not individual comics): 85. some of those might be loaners and do not include any not currently located on my one bookshelf.

what is the last book that you bought?
oh, geez... um. that's tough. excluding textbooks, i don't think i actually remember. it was probably 'hey nostrsdamus' & 'all families are psychotic' by douglas coupland. i bought them on colene's last day at the bookstore, which was last year sometime. i'm on a self-imposed book-buying fast. i'm borrowing mostly (or receiving them as wishlist giftage). sorry, authors.

what is the last book you read?
the last book i finished was 'the other boleyn sister' by phillipa gregory. the last book i had opened and read is 'silk' by alessandro baricco.

name five books that mean a lot to you.
'the deed of paksenarrion' by elizabeth moon
'still life with woodpecker' by tom robbins
'shampoo planet' by douglas coupland
'the secret garden' by frances hodgson burnett
'jane eyre' by charlotte brontë

now “tag” five individuals to provide their own lists.
uh, no. that's just mean. the only reason i'm doing this at all is that today is jodi chromey's birthday and no one should be denied anything on their birthday (remember that in 27 days, people).

very disturbing dreams about euthanizing my mother. woke up crying. phoned her just now, but got the machine. it's moving day for her. tomorrow, i take a boat to hook up her electronics in the new place.

p.s. 30 shopping days until my birthday.

p.p.s.
my new favourite website by someone i don't know and won't ever meet: latitude13.

my new favourite word: pleonasm.

i can't be the only vancouver blogger excited to know that heather & jon armstrong (of dooce and blurbomat fame) are coming to our fine city in mere days. the 13 year old fangirl part of me wants to register for vidfest just to hear heather speak and have the chance to meet them. the 32 year old woman part of me wants to go the screenings in a surreptitious attempt to "bump into" them and strike up a delightfully adult conversation.

i'm sorely tempted to try to arrange some sort of meet-like thing, or at the very least, invite them to drinks somewhere while they're in town. we do have the heather bond, you know. and the D70 bond. and the blog bond. yeah, i know. i'm so sad. but, really, who else can i have a conversation about poop with than her?

this ends the pathetic stalker portion of today's post.

last night colene ventured out to the wilds of north vancouver, braved the dasterdly dust-bunnies of casa de hessie, skillfully traversed the mean streets of lower lonsdale and then battled the frightful fashions of fine arts patrons in order to go to dinner and a play with yours truly. that girl has surely shown either her desperation or utter come-undoneness by going to such lengths to spend an evening with me. i'm sure glad she did, though. i had fun! i know it might often seem to the contrary, but i'm actually rather fond of fun and do quite enjoy it when it's thrust upon me.

here's to more fun-thrusting! um. that doesn't sound very good, does it?

i was going to do a "what i did in may" retrospective (don't ask me why, i just had an idea it would be interesting), but i'm training for the other job i have to do as part of my job and my morning got all fucked up. the only thing which kept my head from popping off was the extra-large cup of timmy's i picked up on my way to work.

click the picture for an extra-large version.

today is all about extra-large.

except my cramps. make my cramps extra-small, please.