Work Weekend

So it's Sunday. (And it's not just any Sunday either; it's the Sunday of the August long weekend.)

I've decided to go to work today.

Now, I should point out that I don't have to go into work today -- I am after all an intern -- but I have this huge project that I am doing for some executives of the corporation and I really want to get ahead of it. (Right now I have just completed the task of compiling most of my required data. I now need to sort, organize and compile a list of my findings. After that, I will feel like I am on top of this project and ready to go into the next phase...)

It's weird. A few years ago, I wouldn't have even considered going into work on a long weekend to do a project unless there was an incentive (like over-time) involved. But alas I have become accustomed to the ways of a CreCommer. -- Don't get me wrong, I don't want to make myself sound better than I actually am, because I still fly by the seat of my pants for many of my projects and endeavours, but this particular project needs special attention.

My, how school has changed me!

One of the values that I have learned in CreComm (and not in any particular class, but throughout the entire program) is that the greatest measure of success comes from those who work hard and go beyond what is expected of them to get the task at hand done. (It only took a year of stress-filled all-nighters to evoke this revelation!)

I want to produce good work. I want to show my bosses, and myself, that I am capable of the projects that they give me. Perhaps, most importantly, I want to establish a reputation of being someone who works hard. (A good reputation is for more valuable than over-time hours.)

Oh well, that being said, I have to go to work. I have these three huge binders on my desk that are just calling my name! (Seriously, I have been thinking about them non-stop since I left the office on Friday. It's hilarious and strange!)

Cheers friends, happy long weekend!

On a side note: Sometimes I am so damn cheesy on this blog. (There is absolutely no uniform layout for what I write about!) Ugh.

W: I'm a Winnipegger...

So I have this dream; once I am done school I want to leave. I want to immigrate to another province, far away from this stagnant city, that seems to know me all too well.

I don't hate Winnipeg. I am actually quite fond of it, but I'm bored. -- I've lived here all my life, and the older I get, the smaller this city becomes.

I'm starting to feel claustrophobic.

I want to experience other parts of the country/world, before returning to my roots after life has chewed me up and spit me out. (That's what usually happens to most Winnipeggers that try to escape, right?!)

Yep.

I want to naively wander into the world, trying to make something of myself like so many other people do, only to realize that Winnipeg is in my blood. I want to go somewhere, be swallowed up by buildings and swarms of people, and brag about it when I come back for Christmas. I want to become a metro-snob, only to have to eat my words later on in life, when I arrive "home" after I didn't make it in the "real world."

Perhaps I will make it if I try. Heck, if I do, maybe I won't ever come back!

But, I'm being realistic here folks; I'm a long-john wearing, Tim Horton's loving, clearance shopping Winnipegger. I am appalled by my $560 rent, and I hate public transportation. I complain in the winter. I complain in the summer. I bash this city, but furiously defend it when outsiders do. I grocery shop at the 24-hour shoppers drug mart, and fight any kind of change. Oh, and I brag to everyone that I know someone who knows someone who dated Chantel Kreviazuk, and that I went to the same high school as Neil Young.

I'm a Winnipegger, I always will be. But, if I have my way, I'll take a few years off!

Ah well...

I guess we'll see what happens.

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.

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/

W -- Working on Weekends...

Another Weekend, and thus begins my "work week"...

I haven't decided whether the week (while I am at school) is my "down time", or the weekend (when I go to work) is...

My job is not overly hard, but it's tiring. (10.5 hour work days...eek!)

Ah well, it's all for the greater good right!? -- I am going to school so that I can have a career (that will likely be equally as tiring, with the same kind of pay scale...I think) But, the point is, hopefully I will love my career!

I better go, I don't want to be late...

Update: Not sure if I should get a medal/gold star for this or not, but I'm the only one who showed up for my shift-time...There were three sick calls today!! Count 'em, THREE!!!

W - Writers Block.

I am in PR class right now. Our instructor, the inventor of "Blog-mania 2009", said that we have to have a blog post (with a video and/or a picture) published by 1:50pm.

It is 1:34pm, and the creative part of my mind is unavailable at the moment. (Please leave a message, and it will return your call as soon as possible...Beeeeeeep...)

Hmmmm...

Usually I can muster up a bit of creativity, but today I am drawing an absolute blank!! -- I think this is due to the fact that I was up until 3:00am last night blogging (posting pictures on my new little art project blog...) thinking; "It's okay Shelley, two-hours of sleep is plenty!!"

Ugh.

What was I thinking?!?

I keep forgetting that I am not 20 anymore, and that in my "old age" I require at least six hours of sleep a night to function properly. (And that's just to function 'properly'!! -- Eight hours would be even better...)

Ah well, thank goodness for Tim Hortons and Full Throttle...

P.S. As an added bonus to anyone reading my blog; here is a video of Charlie the Unicorn!!