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.

so I'm not going to end up saving *much* by installing the stereo myself, but I will now know *how* to do it myself, should I ever need to do it again. But I won't, cause the next car I buy is having one already. The Neon is basically behaving, but sometimes idles frighteningly low and sounds like it's going to stall, but then doesn't. I don't usually let it have the opportunity to stall though, I'll give it a bit of gas. I don't like stalling in public, it's embarassing. People won't know it's the Neon's fault. Although, when I called Canadian Tire today to tell them it STILL wasn't 100%, and told him it was the Neon that had been in for most of the week, he said well, that's your problem right there. Thanks a lot shit head, I guess I'll just go buy a new freaking car. I like the Neon very much, when it's working. It's a good car. But then it breaks, repeatedly, I find that a touch upsetting.

Subject: Beer and Deer

Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it in stupid ways. Some survive their goofy ways. Here's one..

June 2002, Georgia.

EMT's in southern Georgia responded to a call from Coffee County late one night. They arrived on the scene and found a severely injured man lying at the edge of a field. His abdomen had been completely torn open, and he was covered with lacerations and bruises. He also had a prominent tire tread across his chest. The injured man's companion showed up in a racing model ATV vehicle, clearly intoxicated, and gave the following account: He and his injured friend had been drinkin' and ridin' around the field on the three-wheeled ATV, when they sighted a stand of deer in their headlight. The friend, riding in the back as a passenger, was struck with a great idea. "Hey, man," he said, "if you quarter off one of them deer, betcha I can bulldog 'im." The driver thought this was a grand idea too, so he proceeded to isolate a buck and race him down. His also drunk passenger leapt from the ATV, grabbed the buck by the antlers, and pinned the animal's head to the ground - but that's when things went wrong. The buck, less docile than a steer, rose up and attacked his assailant ripping his abdomen open. The buck then stomped, kicked and butted him for good measure. When the EMT's asked the driver about the tire tracks across his injured friend's chest, he responded, 'Well, how else was I s'posed to git the deer off 'im?"

Scientists look at creating a human-mouse embryo

By CAROLYN ABRAHAM
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

North American scientists are considering whether to implant stem cells from a human embryo into a mouse embryo — a controversial experiment that could result in a mouse-human mix reminiscent of mythological monsters.

The chimera proposal, a chimera being a creature born of at least two different species, might, in theory, allow scientists to test if human embryonic stem cells do indeed have the power to grow into every tissue type in the body.

But if it works, the experiment also raises the eerie, and ethically charged prospect of creating a mouse with troubling human features — anything from a human brain to human sperm and eggs.

"If it really did work, then you'd have this very uncomfortable creature to work with," said Janet Rossant, one of Canada's leading stem cell researchers and an opponent of the chimera experiment. "Do you generate a human brain in a mouse . . . where do you draw the line?"

Dr. Rossant, a senior scientist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, was among a select group of researchers and observers who attended a closed meeting in New York on Nov. 13, where the chimera experiment, among other things, was debated.

Sponsored by Rockefeller University and the New York Academy of Science, the day-long meeting was held to discuss ways to evaluate the power and versatility of the lines of human embryonic stem cells now being grown in labs around the world.

Read the rest...

STONEY CREEK, Ont. (CP) -
Hamilton police want to release 40 gnomes they've taken into protective custody, but they don't know where to send them.

The garden critters are locked up in the police station.

They were discovered on the loose Monday morning around the fountain at the former city hall in this southern Ontario community.

Where they came from is anybody's guess.

"We believe they were stolen from homes around Stoney Creek over the weekend and we'd like to send them home," Sgt. Maggie McKittrick said Wednesday.

Ok, so yes, in the past 2 days the car has cost me roughly $300, and that's not including the new battery I got last week for $118. Sweet-ass. It's just old and dying I think, but hopefully its life can be prolonged long enough for me to get an effing job to buy a new one. Anyway, the silver lining to all of this is that I won $64 on the new Atlantic 6-49, so that's good. That's the most I've ever won for sure, and even though it doesn't come close to paying off the goddam car, it's much, MUCH better than a kick in the junk.

well, I think maybe they would try to stand ON the saran wrap. I have things that will fit in the toilet and hold litter, but probably not the weight of a cat. Keep in mind it has to be removeable too since we only have the one toilet. I told Grant it's his job to think of something cause he's an engineer and all, but he has no faith in our cats being smart enough to be potty trained, and thus is putting minimal effort into this project.

Well Deck the Halls and all that jazz, I'm about done Christmas shopping. It's a nice feeling. I have to pick up one or two more things, and order a couple of things, but I think I'm pretty much done the whole mall deal, which, if you know me, is quite something. It's not uncommon for me to do the bulk of my shopping once I've arrived at my parents' house, which is pretty darn close to Christmas.
I also got a tin roaster pan for stage 2 of kitty potty training, which will fit in the toilet but not fall through, God willing.

Well. Despite the fact that NOBODY who said they would come actually came to my party, and I was pretty upset and disappointed at the beginning of it, not so much for myself, but for Charline, our presenter who had lugged all her gear out to now present to FOUR people, instead of roughly a dozen, and we had enough DELICIOUS food to feed at least that many...it was really fun. So :-P I know it wasn't any one person's fault, things come up and there's nothing that can be done, but I have learned from this that I should work around my schedule, since things are going to get messed up anyway, and also to OVERinvite, since there will be people who just can't make it. Regardless, it was fun, and we all bought some stuff, so overall it was a great time, and I'm not too bitter.

potty training is at a stand still, I need like, a potty seat or something to fit IN the toilet that I can put litter in. The cats are loving using the box ON the toilet, but that's not really much of an accomplishment I think...they are using a step stool to get up to it though, lol. The shape of the box I think would be too hard to get into from the floor.
anyway, yeah, it's late and I have to get up early and clean etc, so I'm off to bed.

Seriously though, it was a good movie, I enjoyed it. Eminem and Britney Murphy had SEX! :-O Shocking. It was good though, and mostly funny, so unless you absolutely can't stand the sight of Eminem and couldn't bear to watch a movie with him in it, you should go. On cheap night. I have to work on my tough-guy lingo though, I know.
I just got back from the grocery store buying goodies for my Fantasia party on Saturday. I got pop and jello (there's talk of jello shooters, but I'm not sure...) and disposable dinnerware. And stuff to make my top-secret dessert, that's not really top secret, but only 2 people know what I'm making, so it sort of is. I'm excited, parties are fun, especially these ones!

S'up, y'all, you know, I ain't a big fan of that little b**** Eminem or any of his bullsh**, but yo, I gots ta give props where props is due. I wents to see 8 Mile last night and yo, y'all, it was f****ng aces all the way, yo.

ok, cable internet starts tonight, I'm pretty excited. I can get up to 70Mb of space! :D very exciting....

My parents sent me this joke, it's pretty cute

Only in Canada....

A Newfie calls 9-1-1...
"Hello, is this the RCMP?"
"Yes. What do you want?"
"I'm calling to report my neighbour, Mike Fitzpatrick! He's hiding marijuana inside his firewood."
"Thank you very much for the call, sir."
The next day, the RCMP officers decended on Mike's house.
They searched the shed where the firewood was kept.
Using axes, they busted open every piece of wood, but found no marijuana!
They swore at Mike and left.
The next day, the phone rang at Mike's house...
"Hey, Mike! Did the RCMP come to your house?"
"Yeah!"
"Did they chop your firewood?"
"Yep."
"Happy Birthday, Buddy!"

For those of you keeping track, the cat toilet training stage one is going well. I had to backtrack a bit, they just weren't ready for the bowl of litter yet, so I've got the litterbox sitting on the toilet seat. I'm not crazy, I'm going to be so set when I don't have to change litter EVER AGAIN. mwah haha......

alright, this frustrated me more than entertained me, but once I accepted it, it's pretty darn cool. They really really are the same colour, test it any way you can think of.

ok, the cat toilet training begins. I have a bowl with litter in it wedged into the toilet, and have introduced the boys to it. I think the trickiest part (for them) will be balancing on the seat while peeing, I'll have to keep an eye out. George has already fallen in the toilet while attacking the toilet paper roll, but continues to climb up and attack it, so I'm not worried about that.

In other news, it's Clinique bonus time, you get a little bag of goodies when you spend $24 or more. I also went and made a whack of copies of stuff to submit for the long term supply applications. It seems silly in a way to give a separate application for each position, but I'm not going to question the district (at least to their face) until I land a job. I have 5 apps I'm putting in, basically just 5 identical packages with my transcripts, resume, teaching certificate etc. I suppose I'll do a different coverletter for each one, but they will also be basically the same. Oh well!

No nightmares, though I did think about it a lot, hoping NOT to have nightmares. When we went to the ring, we got there at 9 and the TWO late shows of 8 MIle were sold out. I, jokingly, said "oh shit guys, 8 Mile is sold out, now what?". Roughly 3 seconds later, this couple about my parent's age comes in behind us and the guy says "oh shit, 8 Mile is sold out!". I laughed anyway. The place was *packed* with high schoolers, a good bunch of whom ended up coming to see The Ring cause Eminem was sold out. Now, having said that, even though I hate Eminem's image, the movie looks interesting, and it's getting really good reviews from other people who hate him as well. It's just funny how retarded it is the amount of people who NEED to see it opening weekend.

Ok. 2 things. Thing one: I'm going to be switching over to Rogers cable internet, so this site will have to be moved, unfortunately. I don't know where to yet either, I have no user name or anything. So, I guess that's just a heads up for things to come.

Thing two: I just got back from seeing The Ring. Holy SHIT. It was EFFING SCARY. Very suspenseful, jumpy...just scary. I just had to share that with you folks. It was good, but I don't know that given the chance I would see it again. Well done, interesting and fairly original premise, but I just don't really enjoy scary movies, honestly. They're very stressful. So if you like being genuinely scared, go see it. If not, go see Sweet Home Alabama. Or Punch Drunk Love. I recommend both.

I have to go to bed and try not to have nightmares now. boo.

So, Future Shop won't do shit for me. I'm going to call and see now if I get their stupid insurance if it'll cover my new stereo, since the original one was gotten on the card. I think I'll tell them that if it doesn't, I'm not going to get a new stereo or the insurance. Cause really. I think the chances of it being stolen again are slim to none, assuming I remember to tell everyone about the removeable faceplate feature, BUT, it could happen, and I'm certainly not paying for it THREE times. I'm debating two times. What do you think? The deductable is only $100, which isn't bad. There could be more, I have to call the insurance folks back today, but I think that's it. I'm assuming I'll have to bring in my receipts or something. But it *is* still $100 for a stereo that I already owned. rrg.

But at least I have family pictures! Grant and I, a decent picture, Me, my cousin Kelly, and Erin; and lastly the whole fam damily. Enjoy.

My car stereo was stolen today. I'm very angry. It was new, less than 3 months. Nice one, Pioneer. Erin reported it, cause she was the one driving it at the time. I have no idea what to do. My insurance deductable will probably be the same price as a new stereo, so I think I'll stick with the radio for now. Future Shop will put it back in for free. Not because they feel bad for me, it's just something they do for you in case you get a new car and want to put their stereo into it. So, sympathy and donations to the "Sarah still has no money cause she's paying off her line of credit that she lived off all summer and still doesn't have a real job." fund. I'm going to go watch TV or something, or drink myself into a stupor.
Things are going to turn around soon, yes? I mean, yes, surely they could be worse, I could be homeless or dying, but SURELY, they could be better.

Also, Sears repair people are delivering our TV this aft, supposedly any minute, but I'm not holding my breath. They are delivering it because yes, apparently we could have picked it up yesterday, but they failed to mention WHERE, as in, not at Sears. Of course. Eff. And I can't get it by myself, it's too big for me to carry down the stairs. It took Grant and I both calling, visiting Sears, threatening to just get our money back, and yelling at the imbecilic repairmem to get this stupid thing back. I did finally get to talk to the manager at Sears, and she was very nice, but offered no explanation. Grant talked to somebody at the repair place, who was a dink, and then somebody better called him back. The dinky guy was upset at Grant cause he couldn't leave a message for him at work. Hi, it's my tv anyway, or it's in my name at least, leave ME a message on my convenient VOICE MAIL. Asses. Anyway, I'll let you know how this saga ends, if we actually get our tv back or what.

effing NBNet was messing around with their FTP stuff, so I have been posting, but it hasn't been going to the site. Effers. Anyhoo, I'm off to Halifax for the weekend to visit with my mom and grannie. I'm tired, even though I hardly worked this week. Maybe more regular work is better?

supply teaching is so random, I work one day one week, every day last week, and none yet this week. I'm working Friday, so at least I'll get that, but honestly teachers, start getting sick on a more regular schedule, ok? thanks. also, I got called for Friday at like, 8 this evening, kind of odd.

I want to rearrange the room, and have figured out a good way to arrange it, but it will involve putting the computer and tv on the other side of the room, which will in turn involve running the cable and phone wires to the other side, which might not look great. I think I could do it fairly discreetly though, and it would I think make the room more feng shui (sp?) with the couches facing the door rather than facing away from it. I'm also wondering if I could remove the door that closes off the coat room/entry way from the rest of the apartment, since we don't really need to close it, nor do we ever, cause then it gets stuffy in there. Decisions decisions. If I don't work again tomorrow I'll end up doing it out of sheer boredom.

I just wrote such a good email to Sears. I mean, they won't think it's great I'm sure, but that's not the point. The bastards have had our tv for 3 weeks, and it's been over 2 months we've been trying to get it fixed. We've been calling every other day for about a week now, and they always told us it was being fixed "tomorrow". Grant got mad and called the store and told them he was going to get his money back because this is retarded. Anyway, the guy said something about there being a user fee, and then, magically, I get a phone call, our tv is fixed, and we can pick it up tomorrow. What a load of shit. I'm never buying from Sears again, if at all possible, and I'd like to suggest you all do the same. Customer service is so important. I haven't gotten ANY explanation as to why it took so long, or even an apology. That sure would have helped, honestly. I'm not hard to annoy, I'll admit, but I'm really easy to please too. An apology, a voucher for like, 20% off my next purchase or something, that would have been great. Now...I really just want to return the TV and start over with somebody else.

George just fell in the toilet. BA HAHahahahaha....

He's taken to playing with / attacking the toilet paper. I flipped it so that he can't unroll the whole thing, but he still bites it etc. So he must have been attacking it, there are big gouges in it, and I heard this splash, and then George comes bootin' out of there, all wet. hehehe..

My Mom is here. She made me go to the gym with her. She's so mean. hehe. It was not bad, I haven't been going at all lately with work, Grant working, and Rob having bought a house. Gym buddies my ass! Anyway, so I feel good now, and will probably go out to supper to celebrate. The cats are in the window trying frantically to chase the leaves outside, but them being inside is hampering their efforts. Silly cats.

This, is my Dad. He's awesome. Hopefully those of you seeing this picture will have seen the movie Slap Shot, or know who the Hanson Brothers are. But even if you don't, it's still funny. I have to go watch CSI: Miami now. I'm not a fan of spinoffs as a rule, but this one is good. EXCEPT for whatsername's hair, it's like evil 80's perm strikes back. Odd. She's an attractive lady in real life.

Ok. So I know it happened on Thursday, but I'm just so happy that Robbbb got voted off the island. He brought a SKATEBOARD as his luxury item. Perhaps he missed the memo that this year's Survivor was ON THE BEACH. Jenn said someone should have thrown it in the fire. I said good thinking, but then he probably would have CHOKED them. That there is kind of a long write up, but it makes fun of Robb plenty, because as the author correctly points out, "It's so easy to make fun of Robb. And what makes it so easy is that I don't have to do anything except print what he says."
That's all I guess.

Working 2 jobs is not easy. I admire Jenn, she does it every day. Well, more 'think she's insane' than 'admire', but let's not get technical. My mom's coming today, I'm very excited. I have to work this evening, but not today, and not tomorrow evening, so it should be good. I think I'll go to Halifax this weekend, she'll be there, as will my sister, my Grannie (she lives there) and possibly my uncle Fred. Family reunion time again! Thanksgiving was all my Dad's side, so this'll be all my mom's side. Significantly smaller, just the people I mentioned. Fred doesn't have any kids, and he and mom are the only kids in their family. Anyway, I should probably get dressed and straighten up my place a bit before Mom arrives. The kitties are resting up in anticipation of her visit. or because they were up all night being arseholes. meh.

I did take the bells off the boys' collars, it was just too much. They have their rabies tags though, so they have a nice kind of tinkly noise rather than overt jingling. The tags are cool, they have a webpage on them, www.getmehome.ca that you go and register your pet, put the info up there and your contact info. That way, when somebody finds your lost kitty or whatever, they can find you and you can have a happy reunion. Pretty good idea. That's all. I'm down to 9 minutes. Crap. hehe

So My arm feels better, although I must say I didn't feel too starry this morning when I woke up. That may just have to do with the fact that I really haven't gotten back into the 'getting up in the morning' routine, because every now and then I get to sleep in til...whenever the hell I feel like getting up. Tricky. Grant says I should just get up early every morning, but where's the fun in that? And what the heck would I do for those extra 4 hours?

My sweet little kindergarteners were not so sweet today. Different school, so I wasn't expecting the same class, but was unpleasantly surprised at the difference in the 2 levels. It wasn't just me though, even their regular teacher says that she just isn't enjoying herself as much this year, she's exhausted every day. Alas, such is life. I'd still like to teach the little'uns though, but I now better appreciate the advantages of teaching the older crowd. It's just odd though...I would think, and have been told, that there would be more need for high school supplies, but I've only had 2 days so far, and that was because I knew both of the teachers personally and they requested me. All my other ones have been elementary and middle school. It's all good, it all pays the same and it all goes to experience. Let's not get started on how silly that is. Oh, let's, just for a minute. I'm not doing any lesson planning, I'm not doing marking or evaluation, I'm not getting to know my students and teach to their different needs...but I guess I'm learning classroom control, if nothing else. There, done.

Anywho, I've just been silly tired lately, so I'm making an effort to be IN bed by 11. I have 13 minutes. I think I can do it.

Flu shots are fun! Not really. The nurse did have to hang out with me for 20 minutes though to make sure I wasn't going to die, since I've never had one before. I didn't, obviously. My arm is getting a wee bit sore though. Poor me. I figured though, working where I am, in close contact with lots of people and with little people who get sick all the time, it was a good plan. I need to figure out how to become an elementary teacher now, cause man, it is fun. I'm sure the novelty would wear off after a while, but it would still be cool. What to do? I guess it's better that I like everything I do rather than nothing....right?

Quote of the day:

"Currently, there is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra than on Alzheimer's research. So..... by 2020 there should be a large, elderly population with perky breasts and superb erections and no recollection of what to do with them."

Ok. So.....in mid-August, I called Sears about our TV. It buzzes. It sounds like when you're watching a really old VHS tape, but it's just the tv. So that's good, still under warantee, all good. It takes them roughly a month to get back to us, during which I call them again to see what the hold up is, a girl working there says that the part we need is in, and that she'll get the repair guy to call us. Super. So then they call and say they will pick up the tv on the 27th of September. But really, they call that morning and tell me that the 'loaner' tv has been loaned to someone else, and at this point my computer was broken, and I can't do with no tv and no computer, I'm sorry. So they will call when the loaner tv comes back. October 7th, they call and come get our tv, and drop off the loaner, which isn't bad, but it's not our nice 27". He says, probably by the end of the week our tv will be better. So, as of today, the 22nd, no word. That's 2 weeks plus a day, for those of us keeping track. So I call, and the girl there says that they must be waiting for a part. I say, no, actually, that's why we had to wait so long in the first place, they wanted to order the part so that it would be speedy to be fixed. HA. She says, oh, ok, looks like they're going to install the part tomorrow. Ok. But what have they been doing with my TV for the past 2 weeks? I'm not impressed. Poor customer service I must say. And I miss my tv. grr.

Just a note...the similarity rating on that test is for friendship, and the complementary rating is for "relationships". So although Tiresa and I probably shouldn't date, we make very good friends. Grant scored a 94% complementary with me, which was kind of a funny surprise. So I guess he can date me, or Tiresa, since we are apparently, basically the same person. hehe.

SimilarMinds.com Compatibility Test

Your match with Tiresa you are 98% similar you are 71% complementary

How Compatible are You with me?

Tiresa is famous!

People I love (in the "guys on tv" kind of love):

Ty from Trading Spaces, for obvious reasons.

Vern from Trading Spaces, because last night he bought little betta fish to suspend from the ceiling, and he brought them in in the ridiculously small glass bowls that they sell them in. I was disappointed, cause although we could each probably live in a cardboard box, we're much happier, healthier, and just better off, in a house, or at least an apartment. Know what I mean? Anyway, but then Vern goes on to comment on how the little bowls are so small and dingy, and then proceeded to have big vase type things in which he put one fish and the type of plant they eat, so it was like a self sustaining ecosystem type thing, with more room for the little fishes. Also, it looked cool.

Andrew Anthony, from Matchmaker on Life Network. He's just funny. Last night they had a "dirty dating" special, and there are some dirty, dirty people in the world, who like show their "cookies" to their dates in restaurants etc. Also just plain crazy people who would make me run screaming for my life, but who Andrew gladly spends time with in the Matchmaker limo, commentating on the date. He's very entertaining. Plus he has 2 first names, which is fun.

ok. Got my picture disk, am going out for Chinese and a movie with Jenn. Tiresa found me a really funny site here. I think we should all have sites like this! It kind of restores my faith in humanity a bit, which is always nice.

Ok. So I had to leave my pictures an extra 2 days to get a picture disk made. Let's be clear now...the pictures were already printed, they just had to hang onto them to make the cd. I go today, a day late even so they would have had lots of time. They hand me the envelope, I pay, then look inside the envelope to find pictures, no disk. I am perplexed and annoyed, having waited in line for a bit. I ask the guy how it is possible that the only thing that had to be done, was not done. He says he's not sure, but he can tell me it wasn't his fault. OH. WELL then, let's just forget the whole thing. He obviously doesn't yet understand that if you work for the company, it IS your fault. He claims they'll have the disk ready for me in 20 minutes, which makes me question why exactly I have to wait 2 days normally. Interesting. Anyway, I'm going to try to spend my 'mall money' today, but I'm kind of dreading the mall, it'll probably be busy because there's nothing else to do here!

a bientot.

Well now. Upon closer investigation and a visit to the m&m website, I have discovered a few things. Thing one, and obviously the most upsetting, is that on the opening page you have to choose your country, and Canada is not an option. I can see if like, US and England were the only options, but several other countries are listed. Like Algeria. But not Canada. I had to choose "other". No good. Thing two is that you can get m&ms in a whopping 21 colours. That's pretty fun! You can special order pre-selected mixes of colours for special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving, or you can pick your own colours for your company, team colours, or whateve. That's pretty neat. Anyway, 20 minutes later, it is still bedtime.

Did I miss something? I thought the new m&m colour was purple, cause they want to be smarties, even though they had a snazzy teal colour as an option that WOULDN'T be a direct rip off. But here I sit, eating my peanut butter m&m's, and there are pink ones. No purple. Not a bright pink even, a kind of dusty rose colour. Interesting.

In other news, I got collars for the boys, cause they escape, and I want people to know they're owned, in case they ever escape beyond the driveway. The collars have bells on them, which is cute, but I think may get annoying. I'll give it a shot.

It's bedtime, cause I watched ER at 8. I did NOT however catch most of Will & Grace, cause I have to watch CSI at 10, so if anyone wants to fill me in on what happened, that'd be super. Babies? I love how my life is ruled by TV...at least on Thursdays.

A funny and interestingly accurate write up of the movie Jackass.

Jackass: The Movie Opening Friday, October 25, 2002
Based on the MTV show Jackass, in which regular people perform daring and strangely idiotic stunts, JACKASS: THE MOVIE stretches the concept into a feature-length film

some more pictures...I'll put up better quality ones tomorrow when I get my picture disk, these are just pictures of pictures, but they'll do for now.
Erin and Jamie
Erin
Colin
Kelly
(not from the weekend but a funny picture regardless) Mort

There is an ad on the radio station here, 94.5. It's a clip from a movie, and it goes like this:

guy 1 ------ "Yeah, I read it in a book one time."

guy 2 ------ "Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't...nothing?"

guy 1 ------ "Oh...yeah..."

What movie is this? The 2nd guy has a really deep voice, like the guy from Seinfeld (Elaine's boyfriend who was a car salesman) and Big Trouble. I can't figure it out.

Price is Right is an endless source of entertainment.

The other day, this older lady got in the showcase showdown, and honestly, I can't remember what her showcase was, I think a car and a trip, and probably something else. She started with a bid of $50, 000 to which the audience obviously made a lot of noise, it being a bit high. So, she misunderstood their boos I guess, and changed her bid to $100, 000. Now, I'm fairly sure that as an older lady, shouldn't she err on the cheap side, like 'back in the old days'? The audience kicks up a HUGE fuss at this bid, so she drops it down to $90, 000. Which is good, because the little display thing can't handle 6 numbers, so $100K wouldn't have fit anyway. As you may have guessed, she overbid. It was really funny, but also kind of sad. My friend Jenn laughed when I told her this story and said it was like Dr Evil asking for "One MILLION dollars!".

Today on the show, a contestant was playing a game, and Bob stopped it for some reason. He couldn't hear the buzz or something. So anyway, they can't turn the clock back, so they just restart. There are 4 numbers, and the guy has to put a giant bingo dabber type thing above or below each number, for what he thinks the price is of his prize. After each guess, he has to push this button and it buzzes or dings to let him know if he's right. So he moves 2 and hits the button, and the thing starts dinging and lights up the correct placement of the bingo dabbers. The thing is, that it wasn't where he had them. He had 3 out of 4, but then so it stopped dinging and buzzed, but he had already seen where the things were lit up, so he moved his 4th thing to the right spot and wins.

Bob is losing his hearing and his mind, the games are malfunctioning...I'm afraid.

I took some pictures with my mc3. They're not great, but they're fun enough until I get the real pictures developed. So...(Erin will love this one) Erin, random scenery, a rather unflattering picture of my cousin Kelly, and, in honour of the season, some pumpkins!
Hope everyone ate lots of turkey, or whatever, and had a good weekend overall!

Wow. Grade 4 and 5 is pretty high energy. It's fun, the girls are sweet little things that want to help you and seek approval and whatnot, but the boys just want to be loud and hit eachother. Ah, to be 10. haha. I have to go back and teach grade 7 math and health. Good Lord.

Just a quick note, I'm on dialup, away for the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots and be happy.

In other news...Mort had to go to the vet today, just for shots and stuff. So since we're there I ask the vet about this special expensive food he's on, if he has to keep eating it, but this vet is not the regular vet, and doesn't really seem to know what he's talking about, which is unfortunate. He says we should try to get a urine sample to check for crystals, and commences to squeezing the bejebus out of poor Mort's bladder, claiming that sometimes this will encourage the cat to pee. On the table? I can't see it, but this can't be fun for Mort. So, Mort doesn't pee, then we're done, so we go out into the waiting room to pay, and Mort wanders over into the corner by the plant and pees. On the floor. He did try to climb into the plant, but I wouldn't let him, so he went on the floor. I blame the vet, obviously, since Mort has never peed on the floor here. I think he was embarassed though, he let out this pitiful wail and then went to another corner and hid until it was time to go home. Poor guy. It was kind of funny though. All is well now. Good for another year.
oh, yeah, and he's gained a pound since our last visit, which was probably...2 months ago. He's up to 15.5lbs now. Fatass! So cuddly though...

Yes, Red Dragon was a good movie! It was not gory, but very suspenseful and a little jumpy, which is fun. Also, Edward Norton is in it, and I like him. And Anthony Hopkins. Anyway, I just sort of realized that I said I would report back, but didn't. So here you go. Go see it. Bring a friend.

Yesterday was Erin's birthday! She's a quarter of a century old now. haha.

ok, most fun link I've seen in a while. Thanks to mom. click.

Ok, so I get the Co-op flyer in my email, I'm not sure why, but I guess it's mainly for treasures like this.

THIS WEEK...
recreational and plumbing antifreeze
4L
3.49
Available at the gas bar

(recreational? I'm pretty sure that's NOT a recommeded use, actually...)

Ok, this is just interesting and horribly frustrating all at the same time, so I thought I'd share it with you folks. I've highlighted my favourite parts.

NB Telegraph-Journal | E-Brief As published on page A1 on October 7, 2002

Supply teachers blast province
EDUCATION: Group members told they earn half of counterparts' pay

ROGER LEBLANC
Telegraph-Journal

There was frustration in the air at the annual meeting of substitute teachers this weekend.

About a dozen members attended a meeting of the Substitute Teachers' Association of New Brunswick meeting Saturday. It didn't take long for the part-time teachers to start talking about opportunities outside this province. During a break, one new supply teacher was floored to learn he could nearly double his pay and gain benefits unavailable here if he moved to the West Coast to do the same job.

Substitute teachers can go to any other province and be treated like government employees, one teacher said, or stay here and be viewed as a casual worker without benefits and paid half of what their full-time colleagues earn doing the same job.

The chair of the meeting, Diane Reid, led off with a morale-crushing report that had an obvious impact on many of the young teachers. With poor pay, no benefits, and no government movement on initiatives that would help them do their jobs better, substitute teachers are turning away from New Brunswick and that's harming our children's education, Ms. Reid said.

The association, which has 1,500 members, made huge gains in pay in the recent past, she noted, but that progress has stalled with this current government.

"Right now the attention seems to be on building roads and creating infrastructure that creates jobs," she said. "What we need to do is make our province an attractive place so the professionals will come here . . . What's more important? Kids or highways?"

Substitute April Churchill would like to see the province invest more funding into hiring teachers. She's been working out of the St. George area as a supply teacher since 1991, and since getting her degree in 1996, Ms. Churchill has been applying for jobs with no luck. The sporadic work and heavy pressure to keep quiet means the situation has started to deteriorate.

"You're just not in the class long enough to make a difference," Ms. Churchill said.

Ms. Reid said school administrators either can't find teachers or are choosing to hire casual employees in order to save much-needed funds.

Statistics collected by the STANB show by hiring a substitute teacher instead of someone permanently, the school can save at least $20,000. That, Ms. Reid noted, doesn't take into account the savings of not paying benefits to supply teachers.

Taken a step further, a school can hire what's called a "local permit" supply teacher who doesn't have an education degree and earns even less than a substitute teacher with a BA. So in an effort to save money, she hinted, people with only a high school diploma are teaching and are expected to do so at the same level as someone who graduated from an education program.

A few years ago, she said, there were fewer than a half-dozen local permits working in District 17-18. Today, that's grown to 25 per cent of the substitute list and in the Saint John area that's grown to 50 per cent, she noted. That's having an impact on the quality of our education, she said.

"Kids are coming into the classroom wanting to talk about their sexuality. They want to talk about the environment and world issues. We need good people there to handle it," Ms. Reid told the group. "Once again after the latest settlements, your supply teachers are making less than bus drivers . . . For a system that's starving, what choice do they have?"

But pay and benefits aren't the only thorns in the sides of the teachers.

After more than a year of lobbying, supply teachers haven't even been able to get guidebooks into the classroom. These would be available for every class a supply teacher entered, giving them a detailed profile of students and school policy. It would list everything from emergency plans to which students can be a handful and who can be counted on for help.

Simply having a seating plan could eliminate the trouble substitutes find, said behavioural specialist Nick Plimmer. The guest speaker said children act out when confronted with change. But that can be stopped immediately when the teacher shows they know who's who.

Not having a classroom manual that clearly spells out the school's policies is counterproductive when fighting bullying, hinted fellow speaker Marilyn Noble. We constantly tell kids if they're being bullied to go tell an adult.

"The problem is, most of us then are just like deer in headlights. We don't know what to do," she said.

Children need well-trained teachers who can not only help with academics, but deal with emotional and medical issues, too, Ms. Noble said. Despite this, Ms. Reid said, it's been the STANB that's pushed to develop a guidebook, not the Department of Education which is charged with ensuring students get a quality education.

So I'm off to see Red Dragon. I liked Silence of the Lambs, I didn't hate Hannibal, as many did, but it was awfully gory. I'm a little worried about this one, only for that reason. Grant read a review that said that for everyone who liked Silence, but hated Hannibal, this movie was for them, so I'm hoping for the best here.
In other news, that birthday list paid off, I got the Memento Special Edition dvd from Calleen, and I'm still trying to figure out how to work the effing thing, so many pages of stuff! I did find a handy site that tells me how to do things like watch the movie in chronological order, but it's a bit of a process, I don't know how you would ever come across it accidentally. I also got the Naked Chef cookbook from Erin, and Monsters Inc from Grant. I'm still waiting on the laptop, I'm getting *something* from my parents, Dad said it would "arrive" there soon, and they'll bring it up to Tremblant next weekend. Ok, so probably NOT a laptop, but I'm excited to know what it is.
I'll report back on the movie.

my "listening to" section has been largely influenced by Erin, it's basically the cd she made for her man in Sweden. Just thought I'd let you know...she's the one with taste, lol.

I had my first day of supply teaching today. It was too easy, and now I fear I'm ruined for when I get called in to teach like, grade 8 math or something. I had 2 advanced English classes, one regular English, and a Theatre Arts class. Not too shabby. But the fun parts of the day weren't teaching. One student came into class a little early to ask to be excused to work on a project for another class. I said sure, and when I asked him his name I realized that he's the little brother of a good friend of mine from high school. Pretty neat. I haven't talked to her really since high school, which is pretty crappy I'll admit, but her brother tells me that she's back in town now, for next week anyway, so I think I'll give her a shout. How exactly does one go about re-initiating contact with someone after a break of 5 years? Especially when I know she's leaving in like a week for Toronto. Interesting. The other fun part of the day was that my HS art teacher is now the art teacher where I was supplying, and he recognized me. I would have recognized him too, he looks just the same, but I wasn't really expecting to see anyone I knew there, and wasn't paying attention. Anyway, so that was pretty cool; all in all a good day. Plus, they pay me. hehe.
Also, in other good news, my summer job has offered me a position for 6 months or so, and they'll work around my school schedule, and if something comes up teaching wise, they'll let me go to it. Pretty awesome, I think. They had offered me a position at the end of the summer, but I wouldn't have been able to supply, because it was all day shifts. This one is evenings and weekends, and has a higher pay rate to boot, so I'm pretty stoked. It'll start sometime in the next couple of weeks. I haven't told Grant, but I'm sure he'll be relieved, he worries more than I do about my silly line of credit. My feeling is, I don't have loans to pay off, and that's what lines of credit are FOR! lol...but it will be nice to not have to worry about everything financial. Plus, I LOVED my summer job, so it's a win win win situation. I love good news. Now, I'm just waiting to win the lottery, and that'll pretty much fulfil my expectations for now!

I went with my friend Jenn to see The Good Girl last night, and it was really good! I'm impressed, first that being in Moncton we get movies like this, since Fredericton just doesn't, and second because Jennifer Aniston continutes to prove herself as a legitimate actor. The movie is full of people who will make you think, hmm, that guy looks familiar. It's well thought out, with lots of details that make it seem real, such as, as Jenn pointed out, the fur seat covers in Justine's car, and the day to day mundanities of working at the "Retail Rodeo". It has a good musical score, and while I usually walk out of movies thinking 'that was really funny' or 'sure, worth $6' (only the cheap nights folks), I walked out of this one thinking 'that was a really good movie', which is kind of rare.

OMG. My harddrive DIED, for the 2nd time. Well, first time really, but 2nd harddrive, so NO GOOD. I REALLY have to start backing up my stuff. Live and learn. Anyway, so excuse the absence. The good news is that it only took the company a day and a half to send me a new hard drive, and I got a 20G to replace my 10G, because apparently "nobody makes 10G harddrives anymore". I feel so out of date. *sob* Haha, no! So all is well, it took some doing to get it up and running, but I managed with very little help, so I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm going to try WinXP on here as soon as I'm confident that it's like, up and running well. Maybe I'll back everything up first...

I'm thinking of getting a domain name for my birthday. Which do you like best? Do you have any other ideas? Comments? Lemme know...

Sarah's Domain Name Survey

Which name is coolest?

sarahjay.com

sarahjay.ca

sj.ca

cerah.ca

saerah.ca

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9/24 Smallville WB
9/24 Gilmore Girls WB
9/25 My Wife & Kids ABC
9/25 ED NBC / CTV
9/26 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS
9/26 Friends NBC / Global
9/26 Will & Grace NBC
9/26 Scrubs NBC
9/26 Good Morning Miami NBC
9/26 ER NBC / CTV
9/27 Law & Order: SVU NBC
9/29 Alias ABC
9/29 The Practice ABC
9/29 Law & Order: Criminal Intent NBC
9/30 Third Watch NBC
10/1 According to Jim ABC
10/1 Judging Amy CBS
10/2 Law & Order NBC
10/4 Providence NBC
10/21 Boston Public FOX (why must it be so late??)
11/3 Simpsons FOX (again...November now? come on.)
11/3 King of the Hill FOX
11/3 Malcolm in the Middle FOX

Well. I finally got to go to the famed information session for district 2. It wan't a total waste of time, as I had feared, but I still have doubts as to whether it should be required. All I have to get now are my reference checks, and the nice lady, Jean Barry, tells me that I can go around to the schools anytime now and pimp myself for work. I plan to.

Ok. So as usually happens, right after I have a complete meltdown about whatever life dilemma I am facing, things start to look up. I've already mentioned the long term supply interview for District 16, and today District 2 called and said that they are FINALLY having an info session for new supply teachers, on Monday no less. Wonderful. But just so we don't think things are quite normal at the district office, I'd like to fill you in on one more detail. They have these reference sheets that you can have filled out by basically anyone who knows you. Boss, co-worker, friend, whoever. Bearing that in mind, it asks questions like, "if you had the opportunity to hire/re-hire this candidate would you do so?". Why would you give the reference check to someone who you know doesn't like you enough to hire you? But that's not even my favourite question. Here it is.
"Do you believe that this person would be suitable to work in a school system in direct contact with children?"
Ok. Now there are a couple of things wrong with this question, especially pertaining to me. thing 1 = if you have references that would say 'no' to that question, you should just become a hermit or something, you will be better off. thing 2 = I'M A TEACHER. My JOB is to work in the schools in direct contact with children. I've already passed that test, thank you - had criminal record checks and interviews and a practicum blah blah blah. Simply foolish. I think that's enough for now, the questions are all about that intelligent and useful. I think that's all.

Alright. So I have an interview for a list to long-term supply teach in District 16, which is about an hour plus away from here. The bonus being that for long term supply, at least I would know ahead of time, and could plan for having to drive, or stay over in Rexton. So that's good news. I'm also going to be babysitting Ethan until I get a "real" job, or whatever. I've decided, for now, not to go back to school, for fear or being exactly where I am, but more in debt, a year from now. That's about all for now, it's all a waiting game. I'm going to call District 2 tomorrow and keep pestering them until I get some kind of answer. I could go down and bring Ethan and be like, "I have to feed my baybay, you have to let me work!" haha...no...

Ooooh, courtesy of somebody else's creativity for now...comments! Bahaha..thanks Calleen!

Warning: venting to follow

Ok. So here are my options. I can sign up for supply teaching in District 16, and teach at schools that are an hour or more away, or I can sit around and wait for District 2 to call me about this stupid information session that I don't even see the point of, but that I need before I can supply here. Adding to this option is that I could go back to school in January, do my MEd in Special Education, and graduate the next January with Grant. But which is better, sitting around and perhaps getting some experience, or doing my Masters, thus having extra education, but still no real experience? I know that I do want to work in resource, that's my ultimate goal, and I will need a masters to do that, and I kind of feel like I may as well do it sooner as later. I'd have to get a student loan, but am now a "mature" (ha) student, and thus would qualify for a full loan, so that would be fine, but then I'd have a loan to pay off. I'd also have to like, move back to Fredericton. I love Fredericton, but I'd have to live by myself and leave Grant here for 8 months, which isn't very fun. I'm just really frustrated, and needed to vent, even though most people reading this won't be able to help in any way. So, if you did read, thanks. If you have any advice, please, pass it on. I haven't figured out how to get a comment form on this thing, so email will have to do.

I DID KARAOKE last night. It was really fun. And I didn't even feel really embarassed or anything, because most of the people who were singing, weren't singing very well. We did a bunch of songs, and a good time was had by us anyway. We did much more fun songs than most of the other people. Anyway, more later, I have to go shower so we can go get Big Stop Breakfast. mmmmmm.....Trucker's Special....

"Little" Jake .... not so much!

Ok, for lack of anything better to do, here is a small collection of quizzes for you to waste your time on! Enjoy!




Find your inner Smurf!







I'm Velma, which ambiguous dyke are you? Quiz by Turi.







I'm spiritual Madonna, who are you? Madonna Quiz by Turi.

How Are You Smart?

	All the great heroes can fly. And thats what I am, a great hero. I am well rounded. I have a good sense of right and wrong. I seek to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, but my friends always come first, especially if it's a romantic interest. Despite my amazing gifts, I prefer a quiet position away from the limelight, maybe among the clouds. What's your superpower?

Take the What Kind of Chinese Food Are You? test!

What stupid online quiz are you?

HEY, did anybody else notice that today is Friday the 13th? Does anybody care? I decided to tempt fate and buy lotto tickets anyway. I'll let you know how that turns out.

whee, I had a baby for almost 24 hours. I guess that's enough for now eh? Good times though, good baby, he just like, makes baby noises and rolls around on the floor. that's the kind of kid I want.

Advice to a groom on the day of his wedding. (I think it works for women too).
"Marriage is like a game of scrabble. If you see her put down a word, and you know it's not really a word, but it's not really worth a lot of points, let it go."

I was pretty impressed that I got a picture of Drew Barrymore to represent me....even though it's a pretty old-school picture...hehe

You are 10% geek

OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

I'm all about the counters, guys.....all about the counters.....

Useless trivia for today:

Hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal.

(not house hippos though, I bet!)

ooh, I got a web counter! (it's at the vey bottom of the page)

Ok, so I just watched MTV's Diary on Incubus. Now, I've never really been a fan, I know some songs, but I've never really made an effort to take a good listen. These guys are seriously cool people. I'm gonna have to check them out a bit more. I laughed my butt off during the show, they're totally not the hardcore rock band type guys that I would have expected, and for some reason I felt the need to share this with all of you. So there you go.

OH, I had the best time this weekend. I went to Fredericton, to see Tiresa and Calleen. Snag #1, Calleen's phone number is not hooked up. Her parents are not home, and I have no idea where she lives ("on the North Side" being a bit vague), so it looks like I won't get to see her new place this weekend. But all is not lost, I still had my date with Tiresa to go to the Frex. We stop in at Superstore on the way over to get lottery tickets so we don't have to worry about real jobs, and run into Calleen. Good luck I guess! Anyway, she declined going to the fair with us, but took my sister's number. So Tiresa and I went off to get spiral potatoes, mini doughnuts, and fudge. We did that, and also got to pet hairy donkeys, goats, baby cows, llamas, sheep, and really feathery chickens. We also saw but didn't pet horses and a huge pig. It was really fun. They had gumball machines set up with apparently multi-purpose animal food that all the aforementioned animals ate, so we fed them a bit too. The rides were pretty fun, I think Tiresa was disappointed in me that I wouldn't go on the crazy swinging pirate ship with her, but honestly, the tilt-a-whirl makes me feel like vomiting, so I thought I'd play it safe. Getting old is NO FUN! But good times were had by all, and I even ran into a couple of my students from LHHS, which was neat.
Either Erin's roommate or one of her noisy friends came into her room and turned the light on for a minute for some reason when I was sleeping there Saturday night, it was weird.
Sunday I went to Calleenie's place, it's very cool. We set up the living room about 4 different ways, but I think we got it pretty good in the end. I didn't actually help with the unpacking much, but oh well! Good thing I'm cute I guess. We went for a little tour of the NorthSide, and to Rotten Ronnie's for lunch. Calleen won a free fruit 'n' yogurt parfait, which was not bad, but I think I'd get ice cream next time. I'm on my way to winning a car, you'll be happy to know. We stopped in LBR, and it was kind of strange being back there, not just cause I don't live there, but because I hardly know anyone else who does either.

I cleaned the fish tank today, and euthanized a bunch of snails. I have one seriously unhealthy looking fish, but he doesn't really seem to notice he's gross looking, and the other fish are fine, so I guess it's alright. I think they're happy now. I took out some of the plant, so that if there are any more damn babies, they'll maybe get eaten and stop overpopulating the tank. Does this make me evil? I don't think so...

It's not a new game, I 've just rediscovered it. No worries Erin, I'll beat you, haha.

ok, another addictive game for you all...small file, no worries, but lots of mindless frustrating fun. SUPPOSEBLY there are like, 49 levels. Good luck. I get to about...level 6 or 7. Hopefully this link thing works, it's my first time putting a file on here. Click.

HOW TO TELL WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE READY TO HAVE CHILDREN:

THE MESS TEST: Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in the wet flower bed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

THE TOY TEST: Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream. (This could wake a sleeping child.)

THE GROCERY STORE TEST: Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

THE DRESSING TEST: Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag, making sure that all arms stay inside.

THE FEEDING TEST: Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill Halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Start The jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane. When finished, dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

THE NIGHT TEST: Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8 PM begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10pm. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these until 4 am. Set alarm for 5 am. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

THE PHYSICAL TEST (WOMEN): Obtain a large beanbag chair and attach it to your front under your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10 of the beans.

THE PHYSICAL TEST (MEN): Go to the nearest drugstore. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

THE FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and child's manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run rampant. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you have all the answers.

"After flicking on the light, Professor Zurkowitz is caught off guard by the overnight success of his efforts to cross-breed flying fish and piranhas."

the gym trend hasn't been going so well the past couple of days, but I was working, which I feel is a legitimate excuse.

ooh, new appliances! My life is so exciting! I do get to work tonight though, that's something I guess. I'll keep you posted.

I am so bored. Calleen might be here tomorrow, but maybe not. If not, I'll just have to wait for the weekend, when I'm pretty sure we'll head up to Fredericton. The FREX is in town, and they have little doughnuts. Rides, too, but I go mainly for the doughuts.

AND, I went to the gym today. I'm really quite proud of myself. This could be a trend starting here. Especially since I shelled out for a year membership...

oh. my. god. it's early. Ok, so it's not THAT early, but it is for a Sunday. Erin and I are going to look at cottages and land for my parents, in ... Pugwash. Northport, actually, so says Rick the Real Estate Man. Hopefully Erin arrives soon-ish though, we should be leaving in about 10 minutes. I'm bringing my little mc3 to take pictures. I'd reccommend to everyone that you get one of these....they've been discontinued and so will either be hard to find or really cheap. Either way, it's a sweet toy. I've made movies of such useful things as the cats licking eachother. Priceless, I tell you.

I went to the GYM today. Yay Me.

More from Globeandmail.com.

Plastic surgery, once limited mostly to the middle-aged, is now in great demand among people over 65, The Associated Press reports. The number of cosmetic surgeries for U.S. senior citizens jumped from 121,000 in 1997 to 425,000 last year. A Boston plastic surgeon says many of his patients are over 70 -- including an 82-year-old woman who just had her breasts enlarged.

Last week, a woman in Hamburg, Germany, told police she saw a bare-chested man with two big white dots on his forehead staring through her window, Reuters reports. Officers think it was a bird escaped from a zoo, but are taking no chances. "We're looking for a naked man with big eyes or an emu," officials said.

(how can you confuse those two things?)

(and thanks to Erin for introducing me to this wonderful column...)

We got a new oven. The new fridge (though I'm not sure why we're getting a new fridge) is coming Wednesday. Very exciting. No, I don't get out much, thanks for asking.

I've been babysitting all week, which is pretty fun, surprisingly. So today we went to Centennial Beach, but for some reason it was closed. Rip off, it was nice, and it should at least be open until September. Anyway, so we went to see Lilo and Stitch instead, which is really a good movie. I've seen it before, and so had Miranda, but it was still funny. But with about 2 minutes left in the movie, the screen went all white. It took them about 10 minutes to get it fixed, so we all got free movie passes for next time. Pretty cool!

ok, eff the stupid wishlist thing, I'm just putting them up on the page here. Enjoy.

Are you colourblind?

ok, scary...

In 1939, Lina Medina of Peru became a mother at the record age of five years, seven months and 21 days. No one has ever established who was the father of her son, who died in 1979. She married and had a second son in 1972. Ms. Medina lives in a poor, crime-ridden suburb of Lima, called Little Chicago, with her husband. In 1939, Reuters adds, Peru promised Ms. Medina armfuls of aid. So far, she has seen none.

and now just odd...

The northern snakehead fish, a native of China, worries Americans because it has been discovered in a Maryland pond and may spread across the region. The metre-long species, a voracious predator of other fish, can slither across land and breathe air for days at a time. It's also on the menu at the Yin Yankee Cafe in Annapolis, Md., writes Rona Kobell of The Baltimore Sun: "Roasted in banana leaves, slathered in spicy Indonesian curry and garnished with organic St. Mary's tomatoes, the northern snakehead fish is a tasty surprise. It has the texture of halibut and the sweetness of eel. . . . And what wine goes with roasted invasive predator? [Cafe chef Jerry] Trice recommends a lush, tropical pinot blanc."

gotta love Globe and mail.com. Check the "Social Studies" section.

that link doesn't work, Chapters bastards...try this one instead.

I have to take a moment to express my admiration for Bill Bryson. He writes travel novels, which are thus true, yet still amazingly funny. He just has a way of putting things that it's not like he's trying to be funny, and that makes it even better. I just finished reading In a Sunburned Country, which is about Australia. It all started when Erin got A Walk in the Woods for Christmas from my Aunt Beth. It's also really funny. Giving quotes I don't think would do it justice, so you'll just have to read it and be satisfied with that. Now I'm about to start Notes From a Big Country, which is a collection of his newspaper articles. I'm pretty excited.
Also, my birthday is coming up, if anybody was wondering...check out my wishlist!

AND, it was assembled in Chrysler Mexico.

Things I learned about my car today:

it was made in November of 1995
it has the wrong size tires on it, but that's actually a good thing, because I thought I was going to have to buy R14s, but now I can buy R13s, which are cheaper.
the reccommended passenger load is 2 for the front and 3 for the back. My GOD, people are stupid. They have to tell me that?
reccommended tire pressure is 32 psi. I knew that already, but I thought I'd add it anyway.

That's all.

Check this out. At first, it's creepy, then kind of neat, but I think it's back to kind of creepy for me. Better than being stuck underground I think, but I had this horrible thought of "ok, let's add Grandma to the bracelet now kids!", or of celebrity diamonds being stolen and auctioned off on eBay or something horrible that SO WOULD happen. People are weird.

What's everyone doing for the long weekend?

yeah, I just wanted to get a new Word or WordPerfect or something. I'm gettting mom and dad to see if they can find eMachines laptops for cheap too, cause I want one. Here's hoping! I updated the pictures page, if anyone's interested.

More questions....

why do they shrink wrap cds and dvds, and then also have security stickers on all 3 openable sides? overkill, no? I've got parts 2 3 and 4 of the Blue Planet series, which is really cool and I don't care if it makes me a dork. hehe. Maybe I care a little, but not a lot. But I'm trying to watch part 2, and it's just a hassle to open.

WHY, when I wash my car, does it rain?

also, why are Cool Ranch Doritos not as good as I remember them being? there is some serious skimping on seasoning going on at the Doritos factory...

I love having days where I feel like I actually accomplished something. For instance, today I bought kitty litter, got propane for our little porta-b-b-q, washed the car in super fun coloured and yummy smelling soap, ordered cable (ha HA, Grant is still a student and thus gets $10 installation and 1/2 price 2 months....) and gave the government my new address so they can send me my gst cheques. Wonderful wonderful. Oh, and I planted a sunflower plant that mom got me at the Fredericton market, and ordered a picture disk of 3 sets of negatives. Haha, you thought I had a lot of cat pictures before! Now I have more, as well as an abundance of flower pictures. It's only $5 to have them put on a cd for you, which is pretty good, and they can even do it in black and white. My feeling is that I can make them black and white once I get them home, if I want to, so I'll stick with colour. I'm just about to upload the pictures from my little mc3 and see if anything there is worth putting up here.

ah, I'm back. I had a lovely week of doing nothing, culminating in my getting to set up my Grannie's new computer, which was really more exciting for me than it should have been. I was hoping to be able to steal the new Windows cd or something, maybe get a new MSOffice out of the whole thing, but no luck, the eMachines bastards have preinstalled everything on the computer, and only given you a rescue disk. Anyway, off to buy kitty litter and picture disks.

of course, pictures of Erin. She was saddened that I had no pictures of her, so here you go! These are of her with her friend Ja'net.

Ok, so on Erin's reccommendation, I go check out the new Survivor site. There are many intersting things which must be addressed. For one, there is an unhealthy balance of old people to young. Lots of old folks. For two, I'd like to list some of my favourite and seemingly most useful 'luxury items': Erin (ha ha) brought body paint. Yes, many a time have I thought...if only I had my body paint..... other helpful items include a skateboard, fuzzy slippers, a shaving kit (granted, somewhat helpful, but, come on...), a brush (same comment applies), a Chrisitan flag (what the...?), and a "lucky travelling bag".

Erin has already called dibs on Jed, for reasons which will become clear once you click the link. Unfortunately named, but cute nonetheless. I think that's about it for now.

YOU are so weird. Dumpster diving Norwegian rats? Where do you find these things?

I just worked my last shift at work, pretty exciting. But I think they'll probably call me anyway, cause they love me so much. I'm handing in my supply teaching application tomorrow, which says I'm willing to teach basically, everything, from kindergarten to grade 12, with "imagine the fun I'll have with this class" possibilities like physics and chemistry. Both of which I took, yes, however... but alas Tirésa has brought to my attention that we do not actually need to teach or lesson plan, simply to babysit basically. I'm going to go pimp myself out the week before school starts and see if anyone will take pity on me and give me a long term supply position. That's what Erin's friend Stacey did, and she's had one for the past couple of years now.

Anyway, I'm hot and sticky and disgusting, and need to shower before I go to bed. ick.