My last day...

and it's odd, I feel kind of...sad. I guess that is to be expected when any era of your life ends. I've been at this job longer than I've ever been at any job, and I must admit that it has gotten real cozy. So cozy in fact that if I didn't shake myself and move on, I probably would have fallen into some kind of boredom induced coma.

The people that I work with are super and nice and have just been so very lovely for the whole time I've been here, but the work itself? I really need to do something that is not only more challenging, but something that I'm a little more passionate about.

I will not miss the mailman though. No person in the history of my entire life has ever annoyed me as much as that guy. He is seriously ridiculous, and I cannot handle him. Everytime I see him, I am left with a feeling of rage that doesn't go away for about 15 minutes. Even just writing about him makes me agitated. annnnd breathe.

So as much as this is needed, a little bit of fear is creeping in, because what if I fail miserably? I'm totally happy about this decision, but the looming future is a little stressful is all. That being said...I'm totally excited!!!

So I'm off to see my dog buds soon, then I'm going skiing tomorrow, then I'm leaving for Florida on Monday night. Florida will basically be a working vacation, and honestly, work will probably be necessary to fill the time. Because I'm not entirely sure what there is to do in Florida beside sit on the beach for extended periods of time. Which is fine...I'll just be doing that like a total nerd with my laptop. As long as there is no snow, I will be happy as can be.

Annnd, I will be able to start actually posting more regularly. Change...it's a comin.

Two more weeks, two more weeks...

Two more weeks of this, two more weeks. I cannot wait to be outta here.

I just took a walk to go grab something from the storage area and it is snowing like mad, but wet snow that blows diagonally, so it ends up directly in your face. I decided to stop and get a coffee on my way and a cute boy smiled at me and held the door at the store and it was pretty much the highlight of my day so far. Anyways...I eventually get back to the office and go to the washroom, and heidi ho, my makeup is running all over my face and I looked like I had been punched in both eyes, and I most certainly looked that way when I was in the coffee shop. FML. Anyone know of a good waterproof mascara? Clearly I need to stop cheaping out and buying the $5 stuff.

This weekend was so much fun.

We went to see the movie Valentine's Day and it was at this old school theatre that I loved. The people selling tickets were in actual booths and there was a "refreshment centre". And a preview for Sex and the City 2 came on before the movie...I cannot even wait. They appear to be in Egypt or something which seems odd, but I don't even care because I just miss that show. Valentine's Day was...meh. Way too many characters and different story lines for my liking. Plus, I had to pee so badly for the last half hour that I could not even concentrate. In retrospect, I probably should have just went to the washroom, but I have a thing about not missing any parts of movies. I hate being confused then having to ask people what I missed. I really don't want to be that person.

The drive home through the snowy steep mountains was hella scary, but I white knuckled my way through it. The roads are pitch black, and I couldn't turn on my brights because it just reflected the snow, so I couldn't see any potential deer eyes, and oh my god it was scary.

I found this game at Target called Quelf. I gotta say, it is the most hilarious board game I have ever played and was quite possibly the best $25 I have ever spent. It is seriously the most random thing in the world. And it is the best game ever to play when you are drunk. You basically pick up a card and have to do whatever it says or take the penalty. It's a little bit Girl Talk and a little bit Dweebs, Geeks and Weirdos (ummm was anyone else obsessed with that game??) We sang drunk renditions of kumbaya, take me out to the ball game and for one turn I had to make a halloween mask out of household materials and wear it for the entire game. And the cards always say, "you have to do this without laughing", which really, is kind of impossible. Stacey picked up a card at one point that said something like, "pretend you are a singing, rhyming prison guard, who has no lips, has his knees stuck together, and who is covered in maple syrup and feathers. You must make up a rhyming song about how you got that way". I almost peed my pants. Oh man.

Tubing was good times, and nobody broke themselves. It was flipping cold though. Apparently you are supposed to wear goggles while tubing? Who knew??

One night at around midnight, I got a sudden urge to go play in the snow, and two of my friends were like, 'ummm no", but luckily Sarah came out with me. We did some snow angels, and then made a pretty sweet snow carving. Well, as sweet as it can get when you've drank several bottles of rye/vodka.

All in all a great weekend! It made having to come back here even harder, but I just need to keep repeating-two more weeks, two more weeks.

Tonight, I'm off to the t.dot for a reading. Chuck Thompson, whom I have a huge crush on, and who is one of my favourite travel writers ever, will be reading along with some other authors. Here's hoping I can come up with a coherent sentence to say to him! And also that it stops snowing so we don't need to drive through a blizzard to get there!

Hold on, one more time with feeling

I was thinking the other day about fun and anticipation. I was thinking about when I was younger and I just had a really fun day, I would lie in bed that night and just be so sad that the day was over, but at the same time be filled with this complete happiness, because I just had the funnest day ever! I was thinking about how it has been a while since I sat in bed and felt that sad happiness. I mean, I've had fun days, amazing days, but I can't recall a day in recent history where I was just heartbroken it was over. Then maybe I thought, it was just a kid thing, feelings were more intense then. When you are a kid, it feels like the whole world just revolves around you sometimes.

Anyway, I got to work this morning, dreading, just dreading, and I had the strangest feeling once I got here and sat down. It wasn't sad-happy, but it was extreme excitement, that started in my stomach and was wanting to wiggle it's way out of my mouth in the form of a shriek.

I don't even know what I'm so excited for, I just know that feeling it made me happy.

Anyway, I'm not even sure if I explained that in any kind of way that made sense.

I like 2010 so far.

I'll give you some examples of why this year has rocked so far. For weeks now, I've been wanting to watch the movie "Love Actually". I hadn't seen it in forever, and I am in a Hugh Grant phase. When I went to get it at the video store, it was out. So I was sitting there one night thinking to myself, wouldn't it be grand if Love Actually was on tv? And I shit you not, I looked at the tv guide, and there is was, that very night, Love Actually, 9pm on the WTN. HUH!

Then today, as I was walking into work through piles of slushy snow, I very nearly wiped out on the sidewalk in front of a line of cars. Not only did I not wipe out, but I didn't even spill my coffee, which would have pissed me right off. Then, as I was rounding corner, laughing to myself about what a spaz I am, a woman walked by me and gave me the strangest look ever, probably because I was laughing to myself, but the funnier thing was, she looked just like Cloris Leachman ala Prancer. Crazy, awesome. Cloris Leachman! I just right now decided that come hell or high water, I'm going to find myself a t-shirt with Cloris Leachman's face on it.

THEN! I get to work, and after exchanging pleasantries with the boss about how the holidays were, she sat down, face very serious, and was like, "Sorry to tell you this, but we need to cut back your hours." She then apologized for like 10 minutes. All I wanted to do was burst out laughing, because that is amazing. I really could not have planned this better myself. So now I'll have Friday's off to work on writing and whatnot, and that excites me greatly!!

Anyway, we are only 4 days in, and I'm loving it.

My article about Pitbulls is going to be in the paper tomorrow, and I'll link it here if anybody is interested (I'm not actually a crazy dog lady, I just seem that way sometimes).

I'm applying to be a Local Expert with Nile Guides, and so far I've done these:
Best of Niagara
Winter in Niagara

So there's that.

As I mentioned, I've been watching lots of Party of Five lately. I never realized before how annoying Claudia is. I don't think a tv character has ever annoyed me that much, like, I almost want to fast forward through her whiny scenes. I don't know if this was just the way the character was written, or if the actress is just actually that irritating, but GAH.

Anyway.

You know what else has randomly happened in 2010? I bought the new Chuck Thompson book as I mentioned, and I also mentioned that I had been to a reading of his before. I checked out the Harbourfront Reading Series page, and low and behold, who is headlining this years Travel Writer's night? Chuck Thompson! You better believe I'll be dragging one of my friends to that. The tickets are only $8. Best deal ever. Last year, Augusten Burroughs was there, and I freaking missed it, and I've been kicking myself ever since.

I'm working on a travel story for tomorrow about my dear friend Joyce, but I'm not sure it will be done in time. I want it to be good, because she was such a good person. So if that doesn't get finished, I might just do a post/pictures on my favourite cities in Europe. We'll see how tonight goes.

Happy Monday! I've missed rambling in here...

My Eternal Question

I'm at a bit of a crossroads right now. I've mentioned before this whole stuck feeling, and it is still driving me crazy.

I've been thinking lately about settling, and at what point a person should give up on their dreams. Here's the thing-there is this job coming up that everybody thinks I should apply for. It's full time, 9 to 5, doing communications, which is what I went to school for. I think I would have a fair chance of getting it. It would be an okay job. The pay is good and there are even benefits (omg, benefits!). But still, I waffle. I mean, this is clearly all hypothetical at this point, because I don't have the job, but I just can't help thinking, "what if". If I did apply for this job, and I got it, I would have to put all my plans on the back burner. On the one hand, I think I would be settling.

Is it irresponsible of me, to say "to hell with benefits, and large gobs of money, I want to work with dogs for a living. I want to travel, see the world, and I want to write about it." Would it be more adult, more responsible of me to just say, "Yes. I need to buy a house, get married, settle down. Save enough money for retirement. That'll be enough. You can travel when you retire".

But. I don't want to be 80 years old, staring out the window, thinking of all the things I could have done, but didn't.

The money for this job is extremely good, and everything I want to do costs money. More money than I have now, and more money then I could ever make at this job. So, I think to myself, perhaps it would be wise to really try for this job, and just save money. But then I fear I would become stuck and comfortable.

I just don't know you guys. Life is short. There's a big world out there, and while I've seen a lot, there is still so much more.

Maybe I'm making it too big a deal, being slightly too dramatic. I just can't seem to figure out at what point do I stop dreaming so large. A big part of me says never, but there is a little part in there that is just saying, settle down already. I love where I live, but I don't want to be stuck here. I can't be stuck here.

I dwell on these things so much, that everything gets all tangled. Responsible me and daydreamy me are duking this one out, but no one's winning yet. Sometimes, I really wish I could turn off my head.

I meant for today to be a New York post, but that'll have to wait until Monday or Tuesday. My computer at home is trying to kill me with it's slowness. I have no idea what is wrong with it, but I sure can't afford a new one. wamp wamp.

I hope I don't sound whiny or anything in this post, I just honestly dwell on things way to much, and it is nice to put it out there once in a while.

On a completely random note, how great was Glee last night?? So many lines made me laugh hysterically.

"She's the one they made me talk to when they found out I was keeping that bird in my locker."

"Okay. I'm just gonna come out and say it. This is a singing competition. I don't know how those deaf kids got in. They weren't singing, they were like honking and everyone was crying and I was like, "Get off the stage. You're terrible and you're making me super uncomfortable."

"You'll be adding revenge to the long list of things you're no good at, right next to being married, running a high school glee club and finding a hairstyle that doesn't look like a lesbian."

Bwahaha. It's like the only show I never miss.

Anyways. This is the last quarter life crisis post I'll write for a while. Back to puppies and travel stories!

Randomness and Blog Awards

Okay, I am sitting at my desk and the bosses are having a meeting. They are discussing a new publication that the office wants to put out, but the problem is there is nobody to write the editorial. Except that there is. Me. I went to school for journalism. I write for several websites, a magazine and a newspaper. They know this. I want to burst in there and be like "ummmmmm hello, am I really THAT invisible??? I can write!!" It's just...it's really frustrating and it makes me a little bitter. Why would no one think to ask me? Seriously! And yes, I could just volunteer myself, but I am in a place that is so frustrated and stuck, and I need that validation that comes from somebody saying, "hey, I think you would be good at this." It's like...the more they sit and ponder who is going to write this thing, the more I want to scream.

Do you ever have the feeling of being stuck in some sort of box and you are pounding on all sides, but you just can't get out? You go to school, you do well, and you leave expecting that your hard work is going to pay off in some respect, but then you end up in a job that you are horribly overqualified for, but you stay there because you need the money and there is nothing else. Is it just me??

It's not like I don't try...practically every moment of my day is spent visualizing and planning an exit strategy. I grew up thinking, knowing, that when I got older I needed to be doing something that is making a difference, that is putting good vibes out into the world, but I'm just not there yet. Not as much as I want to be.

Yesterday, I googled imaged "doink the clown unmasked", and although it is a valid question...who was doink the clown anyway? It's not a productive use of my time. That is not a piece of information I really need to store in my brain. I don't want to sum of my work day to be, "So, what did you do at work today", "well, I spent an hour researching WWF wrestlers from the early 90s, and then seeing where they are now. Did you know the Undertaker is now a preacher in Alabama?".

I don't mean to get all angsty and whiney, but sometimes I just get overwhelmingly frustrated and I need to vent it out. I just, I feel so positively stuck sometimes. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the city, maybe it's just a combination....all I know is, I really need to get out of this box or I will actually go crazy. Seriously, I will go mental and very likely have to be institutionalized.

Anyfrigginghoo, it's time for Blog Awards! I've received a couple of blog awards in the last couple of days, and it is time for me to pass them on.

The hilariously funny Carissa over at Carissa Jaded, gave me this award:



Carissa is a hilarious, extremely honest blogger, and you should definitely check out her blog if you haven't already. I never miss a post! Love her, she makes me laugh every day, which is always appreciated!! Thanks Carissa!

I'm suppose to hand this award out to four bloggers, so here it goes! Some of these people don't even read my blog, but I am going to say "Thank you for blogging" anyway, because I love their blogs just that much. Also, seriously, how cute are the little pilgrims on this award??

First off, one of my favourite blogs of all time is 2birds1blog Meg is hysterically funny. There are numerous times her blogs have made me laugh out loud at work, then I have to pretend I'm coughing, and it's just awkward. This blog seriously makes getting through the day a little bit easier, and a whole lot funnier! If you don't read this already, you must!! I'm extremely grateful for this blog.

Second, the Novelista Barista, is one of my fav bloggers. She updates all the time, manages to make her blog really interactive, is honest, funny and just seems really nice! Very cool blog.

I just came across The Travel Nerd, the other day. It's a great blog if you like travelling and are interested in travel writing. She doe a lot of interviews with travel writers, which I find extremely interesting.

Annnnd, last but definitely not least, Candice over at That's Tangly, is an awesome blogger. She's funny, loves travelling and is a great writer. I love reading all about her adventures in St. John's, as well as her travel writing career. So great.

This next award was given to me by Jen at Life, Love and Wine. Thanks Jen!! This is another blog I never miss! Check it out please!!



I'm supposed to write seven random things about myself...here goes:

1) Okay, this one is not about me at all, but I found it hilarious so I thought I would share. Some guy just walked in here, picked up a blank piece of 11by17 paper and said, "what is this, a map of the city?". The paper was blank, absolutely nothing on it. My reply, "no, it's blank paper". WTF???

2) One of my best friends in absolutely convinced I have ADD. Apparently I fidget constantly, and jump from one sentence to the next when things are completely not related. I prefer to call this, "bored easily".

3) I've wanted to be a writer since grade 2, when I wrote a story and got chosen to go to Young Authors Day.

4) I hate talking on the phone, a lot. I much prefer email, texts, or just seeing someone face to face. I would rather walk somewhere and talk to somebody then call them on the phone.

5) I am horrendous at math, and I need a calculator for even the simplest things. Except I know my times tables like nobody's business.

6)I have a deep deep love for Alex Trebeck and Jeopardy, even though I feel intensely stupid after watching it.

7) I love climbing things and exploring. I am still obsessed with tree forts. My dream house would have a huge tree fort in the backyard and a secret passageway, much like Dawn had in the Babysitter's Club.

Well! That was more difficult than it probably should have been!

Now to give the award out! I'm going to stick with 4 people, because.... I want to.

Dave at Mark My Words His blogs always make me laugh/think, and I love when he goes on a rant. I tHiNk hE MIGHT REALLY eNjOY ThIS sEnTENce.

Laura at Tidbits from My Mind I'm pretty sure I've given her an award before, but that's cool, because she deserves it! She always has interesting posts, and I never miss any!

Sami at Herding Cats. I started following her a while ago, and I have quite enjoyed her blog! Check her out.

Annnnd I'm giving the award to Carissa because she's awesome. I've already linked to her above, buuuut I"ll do it again. Check out her blog.

Okay, maybe I really do have ADD because that took me an eternity. And my eye won't stop twitching and is driving me slightly insane. That is all.

Happy Holidays!

Where exactly does the weekend go??

Geeeeeez, the weekends fly by way to fast for my liking. Every Monday morning I wake up and I feel like poking my eye out.

Anyway, this weekend was pretty super! It involved playing in an arcade, dance dance revolution, caesars, gossip girl, musicals and lots and lots of baking.

First off, has anybody seen this movie?



I had never even heard of it before, but it caught my eye at the video store, and I'm so glad I rented it, because it was so cute. Seriously, see this movie. I now have the hugest crush on John Krasinski ever. Plus, the soundtrack is so good. Must get.

My friend K and I went to hang out on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls on Friday. Living so close to Niagara Falls for most of my life, I have to say that Clifton Hill is a place I avoid entirely in the summer. Well, I try to, inevitably, I find myself there at least once. But it is so much more pleasant and less "get the hell out of my way" in the winter. For those of you who have never been to Niagara Falls, Clifton Hill is quite possibly the tackiest place on earth. Its juxtaposition right next to the actual Falls always struck me as rather poor planning, but I suppose I have grown to love it. I mean, here is this street filled to the very brim with haunted houses, fun houses, mazes, arcades, souvenir shops, candy shops, restaurants, rides, a total sensory overload, and then just down the street is one of the "wonders of the world", a sensory overload of a different kind. It's two completely different worlds. It's just so odd. Kind of great, but odd.

Oh, and this year they have built this new attraction called "Rink at the Brink", and it is an ice skating rink right next to the Falls. I cannot even wait to try it out. We were laughing because when you walk anywhere near the Falls, you get soaked by a very fine mist, so we were wondering how this might work in the winter whilst skating. We decided that it would be fecking freezing, but worth it. Niagara Falls in wintertime is one of the most beautiful things you ever will see. Everything freezes because of the mist, so benches, trees, lamp posts, etc are all covered in a layer of ice that is pretty damn magical, I must say. I've seen Niagara Falls approximately 1 billion times in my life, but it never gets less awe inspiring.

Anyhoo, that went completely off track. We hung out in the arcade for a while, playing guitar hero, dance dance revolution, skee ball and all those other wonderful arcade games. I believe I collected about 90 tickets, and for this I got a sticky hand, trick gum and some fake tattoos. Win! Afterwards we decided to go in the Funhouse, because as I remembered it from when I was 8, it was the coolest thing ever.

As we were entering, the lady at the entrance was like, "the exit is broken, so you can play your way back up to the entrance to get out". Blokay!

I have no idea if it has changed since I was eight, or my eight year old self was just impressed really easily, but the Funhouse is, well, it's shit. Don't get me wrong, we had fun, but it was just not worth the $10 it cost to get in.

Let's go on a little tour...you enter through a large spinning tube, step on a spinning disk (which stopped spinning when we stepped on it...guess we were too heavy), go over a moving bridge, then head downstairs. The first room you get to is a mirror room. I can tell you that this is the highlight of the entire Funhouse. Seeing yourself as a midget, extremely tall, fat, skinny, it never gets old. We stayed here until the girl brought the vacuum down and started cleaning. The universal signal for "we are closing now".

You then head down a hallway which is lined with doors, none of which actually open. Then you cross a rope bridge, and get to a room with 3 giant blow up balls in it. The floor is hard as rock, so you can't even jump on them without risk of injuring yourself. Then you crawl through a tunnel and come to a crooked room, then a black light room, then a room with a rope net. People, I could have built this thing in my basement, and it would be ten times better. Even children would go in here and be like "who came up with this crap???". I'm hoping it has changed drastically since I last went there, or else my 8 year old self was way to easily amused!

Anyway, I just wanted to warn ya'll in case you were in the vicinity of Niagara Falls and were enticed by the seemingly fun looking "Fun House". Don't do it.

Yesterday, I went to Toronto to see a musical called My Mother's Jewish Lesbian Wiccan Wedding. It was so good! The songs were catchy, the story was well told, and it was just one of those plays that make you happy. Well, all musicals make me happy, but this one did in particular.

I baked up a storm on Saturday for the bake sale coming up next weekend. All I need to do is make some more brownies tonight, make some cupcakes on Thursday and I'll be done.

I need to start writing more seriously. I'm thinking of signing up for some travel writing classes. They are pricey, but I think it might be worth it. I'm feeling massively stressy about money right now, so I keep flip flopping.

Anyway, this week is a leetle intense, but I will do my best to post a couple of times. (Travel Tuesday and Furry Friday for sure). I'm going to start working on my Travel Tuesday right now. Tune in tomorrow for a story about taking public transportation in Ireland!!

Happy Monday!

On Summer

Where the shit shack did my summer go? I'm pretty sure wherever it went it took my sanity and my internet connection with it. This is actually driving me insane, one "no wireless signal detected" message at a time. I don't want you to diagnose the connection problem, I want you to just WORK.

I seriously don't even know what I did this summer, I just know that it is now September. I mean...I was away in May and for a bit of June, but for the majority of the summer, I was right freaking here.

Anyway,summer!

My two favourite summeresque things are:


Okay, so you can get slurpees in the winter, but really, what fun is that? It's cold here in the winter. Last time I got a slurpee, they had a new banana flavour which was delicious. It was reminiscent of penicillin, and whether or not you think that is a good thing probably depends on whether you got to take chewable penicillin pills as a child all the damn time (goooo random heart condition!). Anyways, what I am saying is penicillin is delicious and banana slurpees are effin fantastic.



mmmm corn on the cob. I love corn on the cob way too much, and I'm sad it only happens in August (the good stuff). I'm pretty sure there should be a date written on the calender that says "you can buy corn on the cob now!", or maybe something shorter, like it could just say "cob!". Anyway, COTC season is coming to a close and I am in mourning.

That pretty much sums up my summer! I tried to go through all my pictures to see if I could remember what exactly I did, but all I have are 8000 pictures of dogs, a picture of a pie I baked and pictures from a baseball game that I went too. Take from that what you will. Speaking of that pie...it was pecan, and it was delicious!



I didn't even know I liked pecan pie, but one day I was suddenly craving it. I'm blaming it on Rebecca Wells and her great descriptions of southern life. Anyway,I looked up a recipe and it was pretty much the best pie ever.

I'm done now.