As per Niki's request...

Last night, we had a birthday dinner for me. It was great! My family NEVER sits down to eat a meal together, so it was so nice for all of us to spend some time together over dinner. And both of my brothers were there for an entire hour before Al had to leave to see his girlfriend whom he spends practically every waking minute with. Can you tell I'm a little bitter?!?

I really love my bro, and we get along super-well. I just hate that everytime he gets a girlfriend he spends ALL HIS TIME with her, and then me and my other bro kind of lose a brother. It stinks. Sooner or later Al has to realize that it's not healthly to spend all your time with the same person and neglect your family and friends in the process. Anyways, I'm sure he'll grow up sometime.

Okay, so Niki asked about my prezzies. I got some cool stuff! I got a new toaster that is wide enough for bagels from parents, a "gift certificate" for toronto maple leafs colours paint for my house (I'm doing my guest room with the toronto maple leafs theme) from my parents, a necklace from my granny, star wars 3 from Al, and a Thousand Foot Krutch cd from Tom. And on the weekend, I got a really trendy necklace from lj and a matching earrings and bracelet set from mm. So I got some really sweet things!

Another year older...

but really only a day older than yesterday. But, I am a quarter century old as of today. Scary stuff!

Had a most excellent weekend. On Friday, I didn't really do too much...cleaned, how exciting. Saturday, MM and LJ came to visit - I was so glad to see them again! We went to the fesitval fo trees and I bought a few raffle tickets for some trees, but I guess I didn't win, because they would have called me by now. Oh well, better luck next time. Then we watched the game - yay leafs! We then went downtown to a club and came to the realization that probably 75% of the people there were in the 21-23 years old range. Crazy! Where do all the 25-30 year old crowd hang out? Are they all at home having babies or something? I think the reason there were so many youngins was there were a lot of university students there. Last time I was there, it was in the summer, so there weren't as many students.

Yesterday, went shopping with MM, bought a cool ring, and then had to go down to my house to fix a leaky faucet. Although, my dad couldn't fix it, we need to buy a whole new faucet for the shower and install it sometime soon. The joys of homeownership ;)

Tonight, we're having a family dinner for my birthday. It was so cute, I walked in the door and there were presents and flowers on the table! It was so nice, made me feel special. I haven't opened the presents yet though, I'll wait until after dinner for that. Although, I am quite curious...

That was SO cheap!

Tonight's Leafs game was going well... overtime, and then the Leafs scored, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, they decided to disallow it. I think the ref wanted to disallow it because he blew the whistle, but he didn't realize that the puck was already in the net, bounced out, and then went back in. It was obvious in the replays. So, they went upstairs to the video judge. And they need to get their eyes checked because it was obviously in! Cheap! So, no goal, and the leafs lost in the shoot-out. Crap.

The good news is, lj and mm are coming to visit tomorrow - YAY!!! SO EXCITED!!! I can hardly contain my excitement!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LJ! You're older than me now ;) But only for 3 days, so enjoy it!

LEAFS RULE!

The hockey game on Saturday was awesome!!!! Leafs won 5:1!!!! And they were playing so well. The passing was awesome and they were staying out of the penatly box. If they can keep playing like that, we should be in the running for the cup!

Before the game, I shopped at Yorkdale and spent way too much money. I needed some new "going to workshops" clothes. Because I see a lot of the same people I see at these workshops I attend, I didn't want to have to wear the same outfit all the time. So, I bought a few new shirts, a pair of pants, and a beige cord blazer. Should be set for awhile! And the money I made from working overtime in the last couple of weeks will cover my purchases, so it all works out. Yay!

I'm looking forward to the weekend because nej, lj, and mm (hopefully!) are coming to visit to celebrate mine and lj's birthdays. I can't wait!!! Is it saturday yet????

Go Leafs Go!!!

I'm heading to Toronto in a bit because I am going to the Leafs game tonight! Woohoo! Go leafs!

Yesterday was a very hard day at work. It turns out that since my boss isn't going to a competing company, he will be allowed to stay for 2 weeks. I am very relieved about that. Now I have 2 weeks to learn as much as I can from him. It is so sad that he is leaving.

Like a lost sheep...

...that's how I feel.

Last night, I got a phone call at home from my boss. He is resigning. What a shock. So, naturally, I burst into tears on the phone. How are we going to cope without him? Today is going to be a very hard day. He is going to come into the office to let the manager of the department know, and they will likely ask him to leave right away (company policy for managers, for security reasons).

He is such a good supervisor, and my mentor. I think we are going to be hard-pressed to find someone as good as him.

I was the very first person in the company to know. He called everyone in my group last night and I guess he told another girl I was upset because she called me right after she talked to him to see if I was okay and to offer me encouragement.

Gonna be a hard day at work. Good thing I have kleenex at my desk!

Workshop was good.

The workshop I was at Tuesday and yesterday was really good, I learned a lot. And also made a few more contacts. On Tuesday evening after dinner, a few of us went to "Dave and Busters" which was right next to the hotel. It is basically a giant arcade for adults. It was loads of fun! Especially since all the men paid for all the drinks and games. Woohoo! I even won a few things, so I got a glow in the dark sticky thing as a price. Everyone needs a glow in the dark sticky thing ;)

Yesterday, after the workshop was over, I went to the new Ikea. It was right beside the hotel I stayed at. I walked around the Ikea for 2 hours gathering ideas for my house. I picked out a bunch of furniture that I want to buy. I just have to decide on colours and whatnot. The furniture is so cheap there and it is good quality too! I love Ikea! I am thinking I'm going to have to rent a U-haul in May when I want to pick up all my furniture. It's going to be so much fun to move in to my new house! Only 164 more days!

On the road again...

Tomorrow morning I get to sleep in until 8am! That's two hours longer than usual! Can I get a WHOOT-WHOOT! Yes, I am excited. The reason I get to sleep in is because I am leaving at 9:30 to drive to Toronto for, yes, you guessed it, another workshop. This one should be really interesting. Tomorrow afternoon, I get to tour 2 tripped-out recycling facilities. And for a solid waste management geek like me, that's pretty exciting stuff!

I get to stay over in a ritzy hotel - yay! I just hope I am done "schmoozing" early enough to catch some of the hockey game! Then, on wednesday, I get to learn all about the advantages and disadvantages of single-stream and multi-stream recycling. The obvious being that single-stream is cheaper on the collection, more expensive on the processing. And more residual. Multi-stream being more expensive and "pain in the ass" on the collection, but cheaper on the processing. And cleaner end product. The debate continues! The workshop is called "the debate over single stream recycling". I hope there are some concrete conclusions at the end that I can actually apply to my municipal clients!

Anyways, enough of that grown-up talk. Yuck! I like puppies and cookies!

An interesting proposition.

Today, I was talking with a guy that I dated earlier this year, just a few dates, nothing developed from it, I think refered to him as "NM" in previous posts. Anyways, he asked me today whether we could have a "friends with benefits" type of relationship. Interesting...

The strange part is, this is the guy who doesn't drink because he's against it, doesn't swear because he's against it, doesn't go to bars because he's against it. Yet, he apparently has no problem having no strings attached, totally non-committal sex with me. Doesn't make sense to me.

Since this is a guy that I know I could never have a future with, I don't really see myself getting involved with him. I mean, what's the point? I've never been a fan of the "sex without feelings" thing. I think I need to care about someone and have that committment and trust there. Otherwise, that takes all the meaning out of sex.

So, I have decided to turn down his proposition. I don't know whether to be flattered or weirded out. The whole situation is strange.

You know it's going to be a crappy day when...

I woke up with a splitting headache and a sore throat this morning! GAH! Not cool. Although, this is only my second headache since I started seeing a chiropractor, and I used to get at least a couple a week. So, I guess I shouldn't complain. I have been so healthly over the last few months when everyone else has been sick, so I guess it's my turn now. I think I will have to get a booster juice on the way to work today, they work wonders for me when I am feeling something coming on.

At least it's friday! This weekend is the last weekend of the year that I have free. Crazy! Guess I better enjoy it and rest!

Quiet Weekend

I had a very quiet weekend. Which was nice since for the last couple of months, I have been busy every weekend. On Friday, I went to Red Lobster for the all you can eat shrimp...yum! Yesterday, I went to get my flu shot (my mom and I do this together as a sort of bonding experience. Yes, we get needles together to bond) and then we had a family dinner yesterday evening to celebrate my parents' 27th wedding anniversary. That's a long time! I hope someday I will be able to celebrate my 27th wedding anniversary. We'll see.

Today, I went to church. We have a new pastor now, which is great. We had been without one for almost 2 years, so we're glad to have one again. He seems like a nice guy. Much better than our last interim pastor, who was known as the "sex guy" cuz he always seemed to slip in graphic sexual references. Obviously, with the stand that premarital relations are not what God intended when He invented sex, but whenthis interim pastor is standing up there on Easter sunday giving a step-by-step on orgies, that's when I lost respect for him. It was rediculous. Anyways, this new pastor seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and so far, no sex talk. Which is good.

Tomorrow, it's back to the grind. On Tuesday evening, I have to drive to Orangeville where I am staying overnight for a workshop on Wednesday. Should be good times! I like staying in hotels when someone else pays!

Workshop time!

Tomorrow, I'm going to my first workshop since I started my job. And it won't be the last! I think I am going to three this month. Gee, do you think maybe they are grooming me to move higher up in the responsibility ladder? I think so! It's cool cuz I get to learn all about an area I am really interested in (waste diversion) and when I am all knowledgable and stuff then I will be the company's expert on waste diversion. Sweet!

I'm lucky since one of my friends in the waste diversion industry is also going to the workshop and she offered to share her hotel room with me so I don't have to get up at 4am and drive tomorrow morning. Which is sweet! The next workshop I'm going to is mid-month, and that one is a 2 day workshop, so I have booked my own hotel room for that one.

I'm hoping I'll learn lots tomorrow! Considering I am quite new to this area, I should learn lots of neat stuff. Yay!

One sick c-dub

I woke up this morning with a raging sore throat. GAH! This is SO not the time to be getting sick! I have a crazy month ahead of me at work! I'm hoping that if I stay at home and rest today, I will nip it in the bud and be better by tomorrow. *Here's hoping*

In good news, the leafs won last night! Yay!