Ok. So Pilates is hard, and I don't think I like it much. I can see that it would work though, so I'll try it for the rest of the week and try to remember some of the moves to do at home. My least favourite thus far is "hundreds" which is like a demented crunch where you have to hold it with your legs extended for a hundred count. Good times!
Not much else going on, I've got some email to catch up on and I think we'll probably hit Ikea or the mall later today. Mom's gone to the gym, which is good because this Pilates thing was embarrassing.

well, the one super thing I learned was about the kiwi bird. it lays an egg that is I think 10x the size of a hen egg. So...that's like a woman giving birth to a 30lb baby. Which seems just silly to think about, but then they followed that up with the startling fact that there was a couple of years ago, a baby born who weighed 23lbs. Sweet Jebus, TWENTY THREE POUNDS. Let's pause for a moment and say a prayer for that poor, poor woman.
That's the only new thing I learned from that show. I also learned how they make toffee and that according to the food network "Top 5s" show, the #1 deep fried treat (over deep fried Mars bars and turkeys) is a corn dog. Gross.

Well. Finally got to see Two Weeks Notice yesterday with my mom and grannie, and it was really good, as I had thought. True, you do have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen, but it's done well, and not in a rolling your eyes predictable way either. Plus, Hugh Grant is pretty funny, I think mainly because he's British so whatever he says just sounds cooler than if say, I were to say it. He and Sandra make a very cute couple, even though you want to slap him for a good part of the movie. so..yes, go see it. It's a good Christmas time movie. I think Dad and I are going to see Star Trek: Nemisis tomorrow. I'm going to get him to come look at digital cameras too with me I think. Can't hurt to have a voice of reason. I know what I want and I'm afraid it's going to cost a chunk of change, but it'll be something I use so it's ok. I want something that has a good zoom on it, macro and video modes. Not some really simple thing that will only let me take still pictures 3 feet away.
Heavens, there's a show on Animal Planet about the most extreme types of animal births. Only in America...I'll let you know if there are any particularly disturbing ones!
(my parents have digital cable and loads of useless channels)

More Darwin Award type things. Not really funny, but funny. I think the last one may be made up, but it's kind of funny anyway.

When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at its intended victim during a holdup in Long Beach, California, would be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder: He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and, after a little hopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company, suspecting negligence, sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine out and lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.

A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus-stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.

An American teenager was in the hospital yesterday recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

A mother took her daughter to the doctor and asked him to give her an examination to determine the cause of her daughters swollen abdomen. It only took the doctor about 2 seconds to say "Your daughter is pregnant." The mother turned red with fury and she argued with the doctor that her daughter was a good girl and would never compromise her reputation by having sex with a boy. The doctor faced the window and silently watched the horizon. The mother became enraged and screamed, "Quit looking out the window! Aren't you paying attention to me?" "Yes, of course I am paying attention ma'am. It's just that the last time this happened, a star appeared in the East, and three wise men came. And I was hoping that they would show up again!

Well here I am in Pennsylvania with my parents, sister and Grannie. The flights here were relatively uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing really. Both were delayed a bit, but such is life. We had a planned 3 hour layover in TO anyway, so the first one being delayed was no big deal. Erin had to share her seat with the lady next to her, which she wasn't to thrilled about, but on the 2nd flight we *each* got a window seat AND an aisle seat. Sounds pretty swank, but really it's cause there was only one seat on either side of the aisle. Interesting. We did have a very cute co-pilot / flight attendant though, who welcomed us aboard and stuff. He looked a bit like Mark Messier, but cuter. Neither of us lost our luggage or had to do anything embarrassing at customs. I did bring one present for my mom that they asked to see in the Moncton airport, but it was no big deal. Last time they asked me to turn on my camera. It's a 30 year old Pentax. It doesn't turn on. I told the guy I could take his picture, but that's about it. Speaking of the Moncton Airport....it moved!? I knew they had opened a new terminal, the Queen blessed it or something, but I did NOT know it wasn't attached to the other terminal. So that was a bit of an adventure, we showed up at the old terminal (which I have no idea what they're going to do with it now, it's deserted) and were like, hmm, there are *NO* cars here. And cars parked in front of the doors to get in. Interesting. On the door they have a sign, telling you where the new terminal is. It's much nicer, but shouldn't there be a big sign saying, TURN HERE FOR THE NEW AIRPORT. There is not. On your way from the old airport to the new one, there's a little sign with a plane pointing into the street you have to turn up, but that's only after you've been to the old one and already have a vague idea where you're headed. Very helpful.
Anyway, I was thinking I probably wouldn't be blogging much, but Mom and Dad have speedy internet, so I'll be on a bit I guess. But to all of you who are headed in various directions for the holiday season, enjoy the time with friends and loved ones. All the best in celebrating your festivity of choice, or in celebrating nothing at all.

Ok. So I've looked at the *actual* course offerings on the registration page, and it looked like I could take 5 courses. Maybe the 6th will be offered in inter or summer session. So, deciding to suck it up and go with my original decision, even though it'll mean being in Freddy 4 days instead of 3, I tell my boss today that I'm more than likely going back to school in January and they'll have to start looking for someone to take over for me. Nature of the job means you really should give more than 2 weeks notice. So, Lori is sad to see me go, but can't begrudge me wanting to further my education. So, tonight, finally, I find myself able to actually register for classes. I couldn't until now, I'm not sure why. So I try, and I can get into 3 classes, one of them waitlisted. The other ones have seemingly just dropped out of existence. They don't have waitlists, and I can't even find out who the profs are to email them, because they just don't come up at all in the registration system. So I'm just at a loss. I could probably go back to work tomorrow and talk to Lori and tell her I'm not going back, but I want to go back. I'm just afraid that I'm going to end up not in school and not working. Not a good combo. Cause I'm not going back for 3 or 4 courses, it's not worth it right now. I'd have to not work *and* pay for school, which is an unfortunate combination of events, and not worth it if I'm not getting a full course load. So. It's looking less and less like I'll go back, but I have to decide for sure, and things are just stupid right now.
On a lighter note, I took pictures of everyone at work (including the cat) and put them all in those nice glass frameless clip frames and put them up at work. They turned out pretty nicely so I'm happy. I also got a couple of really sharp pictures of my boys, which are in frames just waiting to be hung somewhere. I have one more film, that's only about half done, but I want to know what's on it so I think I'll run that one in tomorrow. Maybe I'll just sell photographs or something. Can't be any worse eh?

So, not only can I not find cat antlers, which is upsetting enough on its own, but it's looking like I can't go back to school after all. It's just LOVELY to find out at this stage, that the courses as listed on the "undergraduate timetable" on the UNB page are apparently completely unrelated to the courses that are actually offered. One of the courses is not offered at all, and the other 5 are offered at times which make it impossible for me to take them all in one term. I just REALLY don't get it. After all that, rushing and making life decisions and paying the application fee, nothing. I'll just keep doing this supply work almost exclusively in elementary schools, which probably won't count for jack toward getting a job teaching high school. Wonderful. Not happy.

So, after waiting and not having stuff I needed and not being sure the car was *worth* a new cd player, I've decided it is and finally got that mo fo installed. AND, it works. But now, having proven to myself that I can do it myself, if there happens to be a next time, you can bet your ass I'm paying the $40 and getting them to do it. Just the wire harness and the faceplate cost like $30, then I had to figure out what the hell to do with them. Now I just have to figure out how to set the clock and radio stations. But this one is much more user friendly than the Pioneer one I had. That one was nice, but it was too high-tech. This one has knobs! They don't actually turn, they sort of twist and you hold it one way or the other and it goes up or down, so they're like, high-tech knobs. Cool. Anyway, I have to hit WalMart before work to see if they have cat antlers. ba haha, I love my kitties....they may or may not love me after this...

effing cute. Turn your speakers on.

Cows break out of truck, foil all attempts at capture

Canadian Press

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

COVINGTON, Ga. (AP) - Police Lt. Philip Bradford said it's the oddest call he's been on in his 17-year career.

Four cows remain on the run after escaping Sunday from a stalled tractor-trailer on Interstate 20. Bradford said the animals broke free when the floor board of a trailer carrying 59 cows snapped.

"I must have missed the day they taught how to catch loose cows in police academy," Bradford said. "I guess we have to write a new page."

Police said the bovines caused a minor fender bender and several other close calls before officers shut down a section of I-20. Horseback riders from a nearby rodeo even tried to rope the animals.

The cows jumped through an opening in a guardrail onto a grassy embankment. Police called off the search after nearly five hours.

Johnny Jarel, the driver of the tractor-trailer, was charged for operating a "junky" vehicle, police said.

The cows were last seen headed for Atlanta.

© Copyright 2002 The Canadian Press


who knew cows were so tricky?

Ok. So, tired of waiting for email replies, I called UNB today to see how my application is coming. The lovely and nice lady at the registrar's office laughed when I asked her if I had to send in my grade 11 transcripts. She said that since I just left there in May, they have all the paperwork they need, which is good to know. Then she transferred me to the lovely and nice lady in admissions, who told me they have my application, and they needed the application fee, which she let me do over the phone, and a letter explaining why I want to come back as a no-degree full-time student. Well, cause I already have a degree, and I want to do all the extra courses in one term. Easy peasy. I worded it a bit better though. Anyway, so now I wait. As always, I'll keep you posted.

click. Because it's funny, that's why.

Well. I have to apply and be accepted to UNB in order to go there, who knew. I just graduated, you'd think that would count for something. I emailed them and asked if they really needed my grade 11 transcripts, hopefully not. I told them I could have all the paperwork there tomorrow if they want, but only if there's a legitimate possibility that I'll actually be admitted for this coming term. Maybe I'll just email the profs and ask if they'll let me register. Couldn't hurt to write them anyway, on the off chance I do get in and the sections I want are full or something. Where's Denise going? Off with her long-distance love? haha... I'd be your roommie if you'd have me, for at least a couple of nights a week. Anyway, I've been working full days since Friday, and now I'm off til Wednesday morning, and want to go to bed. Hasta manana.

Well it's been 3 days so obviously I have another minor life crisis to report. I've found out that I can't teach elementary school on a contract, only supply work. So that's a bit of a bummer, however I've also found out that I can become eligible to teach elementary by taking just 6 courses, which could be done in a term. So theoretically, by May I'd be set for any job that comes available. I can't do any of them by correspondence, so I'd have to actually go TO Fredericton, but I like it there anyway, and I'd only have to go for 3 days out of the week. Drive up Tuesday morning, come home Thursday night. So I'm just waiting to see if I can actually register for courses in January at this point, or if I'm too late. That, I suppose, will make my decision for me. I'm not crazy about the idea of having to not work as much and not really being able to supply, but I think it's the best time to do this, since I don't have a "real" job yet, and I still remember what school is like. The courses are all intro level so shouldn't be too hard. I've got myself almost talked into it, but like I said, I have to wait on the registrar I guess and see if that part of things will work.

Dog philosophy

Could we all learn something from this ?
If a dog was your teacher, you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy-ride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...run right back and make friends.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

Stop when you have had enough.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

And finally, never trust anyone until you sniff their butt.

So I went to the Chrysler dealership, cause they'll give you $2000 for your piece of shit car, which is promising, I really don't think I'd get more than that selling it myself. They're going to charge us $75 just to hook it up to their fancy shmancy computer which is more thourough apparently than the Can Tire one, and see if they can find what's wrong. The guy there thinks it might be a sensor that isn't supposed to let it idle below a certain rpm that's not working properly, and if it is it's not a huge deal to fix I guess. But I'm thinking, if there's a way that Can Tire could have detected this, and charged me a whack of money for shit that didn't have to be done, I will NOT be a happy camper, and I WILL let them know that. We'll just have to wait and see, cause they can't take the car in til Friday anyway.

ok, now I have to comment on Subway ads. Firstly. the guy creeps me out. In the last ad, he's at a fraternity house, and asks where the sorority houses are. Hi, you're 35, that's illegal. But the angle that bothers me is their saying that they're the only place who can customize your stuff for you. Wendy's and Harvey's have been doing that for a LONG time, and even McD's has their "made for you". And I'm sorry, but I don't think that the Subway veggies are any fresher than anybody else's veggies, and they definitely don't pick them themselves. They DO bake the bread, but that's really the only thing they have over any other restaurant, as far as I can see. I think that's all for now.

my sister sent me this picture, appropriately captioned: "oh, George..."

I had an excellent day teaching yesterday. And I think one of the reasons I enjoy elementary so much right now, is that I actually get to *teach* them, rather than supervise them doing busywork. I got to introduce new stuff in math, and science! It was really a lot of fun. AND, the principal spent a good chunk of time in my class, and told me at the end of the day he was glad he had because he liked what he saw. Sadly, I also found out for sure that I can't teach elementary for real, just supplying, which is unfortunate. But, again on the bright side, he rearranged a day he would need a supply so that I could do it, which was pretty darn cool. Also, I got 2 compliments on my hair, which I had dried, but not done anything spectacular to, so overall, it was a really good day.

So I'm torn. I could really, financially, do without buying a new used car and having payments on it, and the Neon is behaving pretty well now. My fear is, that if I wait until the Neon is misbehaving or severely broken, it won't be worth crap to sell or trade, and I also can't afford to keep putting significant sums of money into it. What to do? Chrysler has a deal on right now guaranteeing $2000 on any car you push/pull/drag in for a trade. (plus, apparently they have Civics and stuff, so I wouldn't have to get another neon. They can't still be bad though, can they? People wouldn't keep buying them, would they?) Since the neon's running well right now, and has had most things replaced on it that will break, it could potentially be worth more. What to do?
I remember when neons first came out, "say hello to Neon", I was so excited. It was like my dream car. Granted, I was 16 and pretty much any car would have been super, but the neon specifically appealed to me. Hello neon. You have a new battery, new air and fuel filters, ignition plugs and wires, a motovac and an oil change. Last year you got a new head gasket (thankfully, for free as it's a recognized manufacturer's defect). You are so noisy with your race car windows that don't have car frame above them so that winter winds come whistling in on the highway. We definitely have a love hate relationship. Please, just last me until I get a real job, or win enough on the lottery to not need a real job. I'd appreciate it.