W: The Winnipeg Shopper.

I have a question for all the Winnipeggers out there:

When is the best time to buy a Christmas tree (and all the lights and decorations that go with it?!)

Now, I pose the same question to everybody else in the world...

Chances are, if you are from Winnipeg your answer was "After Christmas, when you can get it at 50% (or more) off!" Everyone else probably answered; "Now", or "Next week" or something like that...

Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine who is from Vancouver. -- She moved here a couple of years ago to go to school. -- I was saying something along the lines of; "I really want a Christmas tree, but this is the like the stupidest time to buy one..."

She just stared at me blankly.

It took me a second, but I realized what I said; that I was going to put off buying, and enjoying a Christmas tree for a whole year, just so I could get it at a discounted rate.

Cheap? Or, Winnipeg-saavy?

It's no secret that Winnipeggers love a good deal. (Doesn't everybody?) But we, the Winnipeg consumer, will go to extreme lengths to pay the smallest amount possible for our products.

We will drive two-and-a-half hours to Grand Forks to get cheaper clothes, furniture, and just about anything else we can get our hands on. We will scavenge clearance racks, looking for "treasure", and then brag to friends and strangers alike about how little we paid for something. We will opt out of buying something, even if we really want or need it, just to hold out for an inevitable markdown.

I remember going to Calgary a couple of years ago, and somebody commented on my jacket.

Them: "Ohhh, I really like your jacket!"

ME: "Oh thanks!" (Pause) "I got it for seven dollars at Old Navy!"

Them: No verbal reaction, just a sort of look like "uh, okay..."

ME: A look of sheer pride; "That's right, seven dollars!"

It didn't dawn on me that I did this until a couple people commented on various items of clothes that I wore, and I proudly told them how little I had paid for every-single-piece, every single time! (I think I finally noticed that I did this, because of the lack of reaction that I got from those unknowing Calgarians. I wasn't used of those awkward stares.)

"You like my outfit?! -- I got the whole thing; shoes, pants, shirt, jacket, for fifteen bucks...FIFTEEN BUCKS!!"

(This statement has no effect on people living outside the Manitoba borders, but if you were to say it to a Winnipegger, the reaction would be one of absolute excitement, followed by the question of "Where?!")

Going back to the Christmas tree, I am not sure what I will do about not having one. (Damnit, I should have checked out the eight million garage sales that were going on in the north end this year...Ugh. -- That's a whole other blog post though!) It breaks my "economical" little heart to think that I would pay full price for something that is going to be marked down substantially in a month or so...

Ugh.

What to do, what to do.

G, Genius kid.

My niece doing her correspondence...HAHAHA!

Last night I babysat Kennedy, and I was so astounded by how smart she is; at 19-months she already knows all the letters of the alphabet! (The alphabet, cheese and Barney are her three favourite things in the world!)

I know that people always say that their kids are the smartest, but I am pretty sure that my pseudo-kid is a genius...

N, nothing, nothing at all.

I seriously have nothing to say today; I had the longest day ever...

T, tattoo: I thought it would be less painful than a pedicure...

In February, when I was in Vancouver visiting lil' sis, she suggested that we go for pedicures. I told her no, because "they hurt too much." (I hate when people touch my feet.) While she said this, we were walking down West Broadway, past a tattoo shop, I suggested a tattoo instead...

I still maintain that it is less painful than a pedicure.

P.S. this is not, I repeat, this is NOT a "tramp stamp"! -- It's off to the side, and was supposed to be lower, so nobody could see it. I would have gotten it on my shoulder, but I already have one there... (See below; my stick girls, they represent my sisters and I! -- Looks kinda gross, cause I was in the middle of getting it when this pic was taken...It's not even coloured in yet.)

D, Dr. Love: Comfort-phobic!

Keeping with my theme of "love" (since I am now the self-professed "doctor" of it an all...) I think it's only fair that I throw some more of my unfounded love-babble out there in the vast abyss of cyberspace.

Why wouldn't you listen to me; I'm thirty, I've "been there, done that", and I even though I am so single that my dad thinks I'm too scared to tell him that I'm secretly gay, I still know my way around a relationship...

(In regards to the whole "gay thing", I'm not, but I guess it doesn't help any that I am in a "Facebook relationship" with a girl from work, I dig rainbows and Outwards Magazine, and my sister/sisters keep telling dear ol' dad that I like the ladies...For the record folks, I like guys.)

Anyways, back to my senseless love-babble...

So my last post, the one where I was pretty much shitting on love, was rather harsh. I say this because, after re-reading it, and reading a very thoughtful comment from a certain young CreComm named Meg, I realized that I should probably reconsider some of my recent musings.

I am not adverse to love; I think love is fantastic! However, since I am (in my opinion) fortunate enough to be, what I am pretty sure is one of the last people of my age demographic who is still childless and single, (Oh the stigma!) I have been able to look at other people's lives, and pick them apart from my lonely little pedestal...

(I interrupt this blog post to bring you a special, breaking news bulletin: as I write this blog entry, the man in the apartment either next to me, or below me is making strange noises that are making me really, really uncomfortable! -- And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post...)

So back to love, and my absolute judgemental views on other peoples relationships; I don't think that all relationships are bad. I think many of them are, but I have to admit that there are some people who seem to make being "one" with another human being look easy...Appealing even.

Heck, those people make me want to jump on the Plenty-of-Fish/e-harmony bandwagon, and find me a cyber husband that I can do fun couple stuff with too...Nothing says "in the now" more than finding your man on the internet!

That being said, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't still very "pro-single".

I suppose my biggest concern with relationships is that they scare me; I don't like the level of comfort that many people in relationships subscribe to. Farting, gaining weight, not wearing makeup, and unshaven legs (among other things) don't seem like a pleasant way to be with somebody. (Call me old fashioned, but nothing makes me feel more awkward than liking a guy enough to feel comfortable enough to stop shaving my legs...)

I know not everybody gives way to sloppy comfort when they are with somebody, but there are so many folks who do! (I've done it; just ask some the dudes that I've dated previously...It was gross.)

I think at this point in my life I can honestly say that I have become a sort of relationship-challenged coward, afraid of turning into a hairy monster who bitches about her "old man", and stops attempting to look pretty because I feel comfortable enough to let the little things (like shaving my legs) slide...

How do you avoid that kind of thing? Is it inevitable? Is there a way to tell a new boyfriend that farting, and being overly gross with one another is not OK? Am I destined to be alone forever because of my disdain for poor bathroom etiquette, and supreme comfort?

I suppose, since I am still happily single, I don't really need to stress about these kinds of questions until the time comes when I meet a nice young (or old) man that I want to be in a relationship with. However, I need some feedback on this entire "relationship comfort" subject folks, I seem to have more questions than I do answers here...

Comic courtesy of: Natalie Dee

D, Dr. Love (that's me!)

So the other day I was talking to a friend of mine who is having boyfriend problems.

"We're on the verge of breaking up," she told me. "He's pretty much stopped calling and texting me, and the other day he started a fight for absolutely no reason."

(Poor girl; I spent almost all of my twenties entrapped in horrific train wreck’s that I passed off as relationships, saying similar things about my past boyfriends that she was telling me now; I truly felt for her when she told me about her big, bad boyfriend...)

I felt for her, but even more than that, I felt for myself...

Thank God I haven't subscribed to that "serious" relationship crap for a long, long time! (Excuse me if I sound like the queen of bitter, I assure you I am not. I am just...um, realistic?)

You see, I wasted most of my twenties involved in a string of truly dreadful relationships, and therefore I cannot say that I envy her, or anybody else that has found love. -- Don't get me wrong, I have dated (rather consistently I might add) over the course of the years, but since the last train wreck-relationship I had a number of years ago, I have been rather hesitant about subscribing to anything long-term, and/or using the term 'boyfriend'...

Instead, my method is that when a relationship has run its course, I like to call it quits before things get ugly. Usually at that time, both of us agree that “we’ve had a good run”, but the time has come to part ways…

Let me tell you, since I began this new relationship practice, I have never had such delightful breakups in my life!

The poor girl that I was telling you about, on the other hand, was telling me about her newly dysfunctional relationship, and how this new 'not calling, texting, and picking fights element' of her relationship was something that she believed she had escaped with said-boyfriend.

"I never had to worry about those stupid 'I'm not going to call you' games with him," she said. "That's what I liked about him."

So what happened?

How do so many relationships that start so wonderfully end up like this; catty little mind games that turn both parties into enemies?

Is it just par for the course?

Is it a battle of wills; two people not willing to admit that they are no longer right for each other?

Is it simply all an emotionally charged game of cat-and-mouse that all male and female participants secretly subscribe to when they enter into a relationship?

What is it?

I would like to believe in the notion of soul-mates, and “forever”, but in light of the numerous unhappy couples that I have encountered throughout the years, I am skeptical in the notion that many people in long-term relationships are truly happy, or even satisfied with what they have.

Am I wrong?

Do I just know a bunch of emotionally challenged people, including myself?

Am I being far too cynical for my own good?

I suppose when it comes to matters of the heart, there really isn’t a manual that provides the answers to these mind-gripping kinds of questions. But, really in the grand scheme of things, I think it’s important for all of us to understand that not being in a relationship or holding on to one that doesn’t measure up (so to speak) is a really lame way to spend your time and emotions…

Just sayin…

Oh, and for the record, if I ever meet Mr. Right, I’ll hold on to him…For awhile anyway.

Picture courtesy of: http://fc04.deviantart.net

A compelling adventure; 'Into the Wild'

My last blog post, song lyrics and a video, weak...I know. But I watched the movie Into the Wild the other day, and it kind of struck a chord with me...

The movie, based on the real life story of adventure-seeker Chris McCandless, is one of a young man who was full of ideals and beliefs beyond the realm of the norm.

McCandless, played by ‘The Girl Next Door’ actor Emile Hirsch, was an honour student from Emory University, who went on a two year adventure, living as a vagrant, until he eventually hiked into the Alaskan wilderness with little food and equipment. His reasons for doing this, as explained by author of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer, is that McCandless was looking for solitude away from the society in which he (we all) lived.

The movie is both uplifting and tragic, as ultimately McCandless met his demise in the very wilderness that he longed to be in; he became trapped, and eventually starved to death in the Alaskan bush.

When his body was discovered two-weeks after his death, McCandless is reported to have been in wrapped in his the blue sleeping bag, in the abandoned ‘Fairbanks city bus 142’ that he made home. His decomposing body weighed an estimated 67-pounds.

His journal, found by his body, contained entries from his 113 days of solitude, and torn from the page of one of his books; Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, was a final note from McCandless:

"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"

However, as tragic as the story ends, the events leading up to McCandless' death seem remarkable.

McCandless, a 23-year old man, was smart, in peak physical condition, and came from a good family. (The movie depicts his family life to be plagued with domestic violence; however it is reported that those aspects were overdramatized for the film.) He wasn't mentally ill, or unstable. Rather, McCandless was an adventure seeking kid who had different ideals and beliefs than most people. Simply put.

In the two-years prior to his death, McCandless lived as a vagrant, "thumbing it" through various parts of the United States, under the alias Alexander Supertramp. He met people, made friends, and lived his life the way he wanted to; taking pride in surviving with minimal gear and funds.

However, another tragedy in this story of Chris McCandless/Alexander Supertramp is the pain that the adveture-seeking McCandless caused his family. After he left his life behind in 1990, McCandless cut off all contact with his parents, Walt and Billie, and his younger sister Carine. His parents, desperate to find their son, hired a private investigator in the two years that he was gone, but not until September 6th, 1992, when his body was discovered by hikers and hunters, would his parents know where their son was.

The story of Chris McCandless, AKA Alexander Supertramp, is one that can be interpreted in many different ways; some people see McCandless is a sort of hero, who followed his dreams by living his life on his own terms, away from the society that he hated so much. Others, however, see McCandless as a selfish idealist, who wandered into the wilderness unprepared (no compass, map, minimal equipment, etc...) in what some people have described as "suicide".

The movie, as compelling as it is, romanticizes McCandless and his last great adventure. Though writer and director, Sean Penn does portray Walt and Billie McCandless as emotion-stricken parents, the over-emphasis on the family dysfunction seems to take away from their grief, and justify McCandless' decision to cut ties with his family, for basically no reason.

The partial narration by his sister Carine, with whom he is said to have been extremely close to, gives great insight into what kind of person Chris McCandless really was.

“I understood what he was doing. That he had spent four years fulfilling the absurd and tedious duty of graduating from college. And now, he was emancipated from that world of abstraction, false security, parents and material excess. The things that cut Chris off from the truth of his existence.”

The loving sister justifies her brother’s actions, even after eventually admitting the hurt that he caused her.

The movie is a good one; the script is solid, the acting is phenomenal, and the depiction is fairly accurate according to Krakauer. Even though I already knew the tragic outcome of McCandless' story before watching it, I was still mesmorized by the odyssey that was so seamlessly depicted in this script.

Into the Wild was nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won numerous other awards, including a Golden Globe for best original song, by Pearl Jam front man, Eddie Vedder.

I recommend you check it out if you haven't already seen it...

Society

Eddie Vedder (Into the Wild) song lyrics

Oh it's a mystery to me.
We have a greed, with which we have agreed...
and you think you have to want more than you need...
until you have it all, you won't be free.

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.

When you want more than you have, you think you need...
and when you think more then you want, your thoughts begin to bleed.
I think I need to find a bigger place...
cause when you have more than you think, you need more space.

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed...
I hope you're not lonely, without me.

There's those thinkin' more or less, less is more,
but if less is more, how you keepin' score?
It means for every point you make, your level drops.
Kinda like you're startin' from the top...
and you can't do that.

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed...
I hope you're not lonely, without me
Society, have mercy on me.
I hope you're not angry, if I disagree.
Society, crazy indeed.
I hope you're not lonely...
without me.

O, Old blog posts...

I have been blogging for about a thousand years. (No really, I have been...) Sometimes I like to take a gander through my old blogs (which I have hidden from the peering eyes of friends and strangers alike)and re-read posts from the person that I used to be.

It's neat, sometimes haunting, or humiliating, laugh-out-loud funny, thought provoking, or sometimes just sad...

Anyways, I found this old post, and I actually kinda like it...sums things up pretty well...

Enjoy.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Spirited Energy?!

In Winnipeg the winter nights are so cold and encompassing. Traffic never stands still, it simply staggers through the darkness, awaiting for the sun to rise again. Snow blankets the the entire city, and all of the people who live there make the best of the blistery weather...

There is a lot of soul in this prairie city; a whole lot of personality that possesses all that inhabit this winter enriched land. People abide by the conditions, living their lives as though the weather dictates who they are...It is a hockey city, with resurrected ghosts of a long deceased hockey team that still haunts the childhood dreams of so many...

Their patriotism is with their Jets, their Bombers and a coffee from Tim Hortons. The unofficial national anthem is any given Tragically Hip song; everybody loves the Hip...

Most of them talk about moving; out east, out west, it doesn't really matter, as long as it is away from this joke that they call home. Yet most of those who leave always come back...

It is a place where people proudly shop in clearance sections; sporting knock-off brand name hand bags and last years fashion trends. A place where everyone is connected by someone that they mutually know. A place where musicians are born, and coveted like royalty...

There is no other place like Winnipeg; and only those who have lived it can truly understand...

M, Mac Book Pro...I love you.

So I went out, and I bought myself a Mac Book Pro the other day.

I am already really, really happy with it.

The damn thing cost me an arm and a leg, but I think that it is a good investment, as I use my computer on a daily basis, and it is crucial for the career path that I want to take. (Plus, I am already having so much fun with the photo booth application; check out the picture of me in the clouds...How awesome is that?!)

I still have my old Toshiba, which I plan on getting fixed incase I need a backup, but I cannot begin to explain how great not having to deal with Vista is...

Dane Cook; Mildly hilarious?

Last night my sister Heather and I were offered free box-seat tickets to Dane Cook at the MTS Centre.

The show was pretty good, but the consensus among most of us who attended last night agreed that we have seen, or heard Cook in a funnier light.

There were parts of the show where I thought he was absolutely hilarious. (Like when he described the "secret folder" that all men have hidden deep in the bowels of their computers, containing their deepest, darkest sexual secrets and fantasies...Or, when he described so perfectly the strange "relaxation music" that can be heard at any given spa...) However, there were also times when I thought he wasn't very funny at all. (I'm not a fan of bathroom talk, or making fun of people with special needs.)

We got there a little late, so we missed most of the first act. (I can't even remember his name!!) And the second act, who I also can't recall his name, and have not had any luck finding it on google, had Heather and I laughing out loud almost the entire time. (What can I say, I like crude sex humour...)

I am glad that I was able to go to this show, as I truly think that Dane Cook is funny, but I'll openly admit that I am glad that I didn't pay for my ticket. (My reaction to the show might have been completely different if I had...)

I doubt that I would ever go see Cook again, but I am glad that I got to see him last night!

H, Humiliating!

Well this is pretty darn traumatic...

So today I am sitting in my electronic style and editing class, there's only minutes left until home-time, and low and behold my phone rings...

I thought I turned the damn thing down to silent.

I didn't.

All of a sudden my phone, the little pink razor that my friend Sunny gave me, starts blasting former tween-idol Avril Lavigne.

"You make me so hot...You make me wanna..." -- I don't even know the rest of the damn song...Ugh!

So my phone is blasting this offensive Avril Lavigne song, and I am frantically scrambling to find it in the big abyss of a bag that I carry, and the whole room just stops...

*A hush falls over the crowd*

At this point I am getting hot, and not in the Avril Lavigne sorta way. My cheeks are burning, and I can only imagine that the look on my face is one of pure and utter horror.

I can't find my phone, and it is still ringing...

Where the hell is it? Why won't it stop? I just want to die.

And then I finally find it, press the ignore button, and look up to see all eyes on me...

Oh Dear God.

Laughter erupts in the room, and I can't even help myself from laughing as well, because there honestly couldn't have been a more lame ring tone on my out-dated phone.

"It's not mine!" I say, trying to clear my name of this shame. "My friend gave it to me..."

Laughter.

I shamefully walk out of the room (still laughing mind you) and I try in vain to explain myself to anybody who will listen...

"Uh-huh..." they all say. "Suuuure..."

Ugh.

Stupid Avril Lavigne!

The worst part of this whole fiasco is that not only did I embarrass myself in the middle of class, but I probably lost my professionalism marks while doing it.

Today was just not my day.

Dear Windows, I hate you.

I hate Windows.

The other day my computer prompted me to update to Windows 8, so I did. And it was a terrible, terrible mistake. (Actually buying a PC was probably my biggest mistake.)

My computer is now running terribly, and even though I have been trying for two days to allow "ad ons", it is impossible.

You see, with Windows (Vista) 8 (Or whatever the hell it's called) there is apparently no such thing as watching Youtube, sending pictures through email, or even using your printer (Compatibility error?!) These things no longer work. I have no idea why, and the "help" web page is just a confusing jumble of non sensicle banter, that leads a person to the bowels of their computer, only to find that they are more confused than when they first asked for help in the first place.

I had a panic attack tonight, and I swear I almost threw my computer out the window.

I hate you Windows. I hate you with every fibre of my being!

Tomorrow, even though I can't actually afford it, I am going to invest in a Mac Book Pro.

I am excited.

Picture courtesy of:http://ericfaller.com/

This doesn't look good for me...

Last night, as I sat home alone, I watched a 20/20 special about cat ladies. (I really need to stop watching scary TV!)

I am not going to lie, I started to get scared for myself; I wondered if I was well on my way to being a "cat lady" myself! -- I mean, there I was, sitting alone in my pajamas on a Friday night, watching 20/20...

I don't have a cat (yet), but at my age becoming a cat lady is one of those scary realities.

Ugh.

T, TERRIFIED!

Well, I'm pretty sure that I am too scared to sleep now. (I guess that's not a bad thing, as I have so many assignments due tomorrow...But shucks; I was going to take a nap before the big all-nighter!!)

I just happened to have the TV on the History channel tonight; and low and behold there is a TV show about Nostradamus.

Oh shit.

Now normally I am pretty brave, and don't buy into all this stuff. However, I am alone in my apartment, my front light is burned out, and I am starting to over-think everything that these people from the History channel are feeding me. (Doesn't help that the smooth, scary voice of the narrator is the kind of voice that is going to narrate my nightmares tonight!!)

Ugh.

These "researchers" and "specialists" are creeping me out too, explaining how messed up people are now-a-days, and how we're ruining the planet, and running out of food...etc, etc, etc.

I hate when I get freaked out over stupid TV shows; it takes me back to when I was a kid, and I was scared to death of Unsolved Mysteries, and even more scared of the host, Robert Stack! (Seriously, I was so scared of Unsolved Mysteries, but at the same time I was so friggin intrigued. -- I used to beg my mom to let me watch it, even though she and I both knew that I was going to be terrified at bed time...)

That creepy theme song still resounds in my head, and every time I think of it I can picture a stoic Robert Stack appearing from around a corner in some foggy back ally, wearing his trench coat and staring at me with his piercing eyes...

Ugh.

I can't decide what scared me more; the reenactments of the aliens abducting people (I slept with my light on for years!!) Or, the people who wanted to hide their identity, and talked behind a mysterious shadow with that really creepy voice disguise thing...

That settles it, I am never sleeping again.

I am pretty sure that after tonight, I am never allowed to watch TV ever again.

H, HILARIOUS!

Well, I am pretty certain that I found the funniest video ever on Youtube.

This gem is over eight minutes long, and let me assure you, it is eight minutes well invested! (I was skeptical myself, I didn't want to commit myself to eight minutes of Youtube, but I am certainly glad that I did!)

Watch it, enjoy it, and show all your friends...It is hilarious!

Samosa Day + Bake Sale...

Our grad committee is having a samosa day + bake sale next Wednesday, November 18th...

If you're around the Princess Street campus between noon to 1:00pm, stop by! (You don't even need to be a RRC student to come in and enjoy the goodness! How awesome is that!?)

We'll be in the atrium, if any of you want to stop buy and support our committee!

(P.S. I made these cupcakes...Standard mint chocolate!)

C...Computer!

I really need a new computer. Well, I think I do anyway...I cracked the screen on my laptop about a month or two ago, and I have been teedering on whether or not to bite the bullet, and buy a nice new macbook.

Can I afford it?!

No. But, my student line of credit and Visa make me believe that I can!!

Arrgh.

My laptop is still functional, but the black line running diagonally down the screen is especially annoying when I am writing an assignment. (My friend Lee lent me his laptop, but I need to get that back to him right away...And I have been scared to use it a great deal for fear that I will break it, or infect it with some kind of computer virus...)

I'll probably break down in the next couple of weeks and purchase a new one...Arrrgh!

B, Bed...Oh how I miss you!

I'm cat/condo-sitting for mama and papa Cook this weekend, because those two crazy cats decided to head on down to Grand Forks...again.

I don't mind condo/cat-sitting for mom and dad, especially considering how much they do for me on a daily basis, but there is one thing that I hate about it...

I really, really miss my bed.

My luscious pillow-top and I are already experiencing a strain in our relationship, since I hardly find time to sleep (in it) for more than just a couple of hours at a time anymore. However, even though I don't sleep in my bed as much as I would like to, I can say with a high degree of certainty that I love my bed more than I love most people.

I miss you bed!!

Perhaps you think I am overreacting...

I can assure you, I am not.

You see, I lead an extremely busy life, and even though I don't sleep as much as I would like to (Or probably even as much as any health care provider would recommend...) most days the highlight of my entire day is knowing that I get to crawl into my big beautiful bed at night.

It's wonderful; I make a little nest out of my pillows, and then I snuggle in, get super-duper cozy, and sleep like a baby!!

It's like sleeping on a cloud...

*sigh*

Thank goodness my folks are coming home tomorrow, cause aside from the cat hating me for not paying enough attention to her, I am not sure I can take much more of their couch...

Mr. Bardal, a wonderful man indeed.

Neil and my sister Heather, May 2009

Today, while I was at work, I stumbled across a copy of the Saturday Free Press (Jackpot!!) -- Sadly, one of the first articles I noticed in the scrambled paper (somebody, or bodies, had gotten to the paper first, and it wasn't in any particular order) I saw Gordon Sinclair Jr.'s article about Neil Bardal. -- Mr. Bardal, a prominent funeral director in Winnipeg, is dying of cancer.

Mr. Bardal has been a close friend of my grandma for a number of years (Long before I was around...) Although I don't know him extremely well, I still have fond feelings and fond memories of him...

You see Mr. Bardal goes to my grandmas church, and when my sisters and I were little girls, we also used to go to my grandma's church.

After the long and boring service (And I say that with the utmost respect, but you've got to understand that any amount of adult-content lecture-style sermon is TEDIOUS for a kid...) Neil would joke around with us, and pretend to "snatch our purses".

It might sound silly, but in an old Lutheran Church, filled with mainly "older folks" who were always on their best behaviour, Neil was like a playful breath of fresh air, and we all really liked him.

Over the years Mr. Bardal has buried many of our loved ones, and he has done so with the highest degree of respect and dignity. He is a good man, who has treated my grandma as though she was his own mother, and who can be counted on to attend her birthday parties, and other special functions...

I was so terribly sad to read Sinclair's column about Mr. Bardal's battle with terminal cancer (Which he courageously beat a couple of years ago...) -- I know that Neil has been blessed with a good and fairly long life, but his illness and impending death just makes me extremely sad...

May he live the rest of his days surrounded by the ones he loves, and may his journey to the next life be one that is peaceful and painless...

K - The Kid (Kennedy)

I've posted about KJF before, but I felt compelled to do it again tonight. -- I miss her.

When she was born I was in university; the workload was intense, but I managed to skip school to get to know her, while still maintaining pretty good grades.

Now however, I am not so fortunate.

CreComm (AKA My entire existence) isn't like university; you can't skip, or even be late for classes, and the homework is intense and plentiful. Thus, I don't get to hang out with the munchkin as much as I'd like to.

I probably sound like I am complaining, and I certainly do not want to come across that way, but the last couple of months have been so insanely time consuming, that I haven't had as much KJF time as I would like.

Ahh well...

Thank goodness for wonderful world of Facebook...

A is for AWESOME (Group 3)

I love CreComm! In the short time that we have all been in this program we have all become such good friends...It's the coolest, yet strangest thing I have ever experienced.

Group 3, you guys are Awesome! (Since everyone is so young, I think that it's safe to say that Maeghan and I are the CreComm Cougars! -- Hotness!)