I got a promotion at work a few weeks back. The "junior" got dropped off my title and I am now a "public affairs officer". It came with a nice raise, and a change of hours. A new junior has been hired and I am training her now. Which means I am off the 6 am shift soon. I should be high-kicking through the streets, but not so much.
I love getting into work and having complete silence. I find I get a lot of work done when there's no one around. More than that, I lovelovelove leaving at 2pm. Love it. The bus isn't as crowded when I take it to go to Curves, I have time left in my day for appointments or important and private phone calls to make at home. I love the quiet walk to work in the morning when the streets are empty and I can jaywalk everywhere. There's even a Starbucks open at that time of day so I can get my weekly treat on Friday morning. It's heaven.
What I will not miss is the 5am wake up. I won't miss feeling guilty about being awake at 10pm. I get to eat a decent breakfast at home. If I wake up sick, I no longer have to drag myself in, then spend the next 8 hours wondering if I am, in fact, sick enough to go home early. Now, I can just call in sick. It's been just over a year of this 6am shift, and while it feels like mine, I am not going to have a tough time leaving it.
Back to the land of the living!
Resurrectingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Monday, July 21, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A manana
I procrastinate. If there is a project at work due, I will pick at it but leave the bulk for the day it's due, saying that I work best under pressure. If there is ironing to be done, I think tomorrow is a better day to do it because it won't be as hot out tomorrow. In my pre-Byron days, if a bill was to be paid, I would wait until after the weekend, relishing my flush account for a couple more days. I can justify a lot of things.
I go to Curves. And I try to go three times a week minimum. Every Sunday night, when I pack my gym bag, I tell myself I will fo Monday, Wednesday, Friday AND Saturday this week. I feel so powerful walking to work with my backpack of gym pants and sports bra. Then the day starts and so do my excuses. I will start to feel groggy arounf 11 am, and then the excuses really begin. I think I should go home right after work and make a nice dinner for Byron, or do something wedding-related, or tackle that ironing. Really, I am going home for a siesta. The guilt sets in, so I am more determined for Tuesday. I revise my plan for Curves on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Tuesday has always been my most tired day since being on this 6am shift. By noon on Tuesday, I am the walking dead. And my excuses for not going to Curves are blatant. How could I possibly work out in this state? It'd be cruel. So I go home, wash the day from my face and take a siesta.
By the time Wednesday rolls around, I am embarassed to not have gone at all this week, and I tell myself my humiliation should send me home. So I go, and I take a siesta.
Thursday is good tv night, and since I am in the west, I can get the eastern feeds earlier, thus watching The Office at 5pm instead of 8pm, allowing me to go to bed early. I go home.
It's Friday, the week has melted away and I have yet to break a sweat, so why start now. My gym bag has been sitting under my desk all week. Next week, I say, next week.
On Saturday, either Byron has the day off and I want to spend the day with him, or he's working and I take that time to clean adn get the house in order. Next week, next week.
I need to remember how good I feel after a workout. I need to keep that feeling of energy in my mind when the lure of a siesta gets too loud.
I did have a good, and psychological excuse, though. There is a coach at Curves who is a socially retarded douchebag. She's whiney and weird and talks about crap all day. She bugs me. One day, she was asking me about the wedding and I said my dress had arrived. She said to me, and I quote,
"Are you even trying to lose weight or are you happy just like that?"
I was stunned. I could not believe someone in a facility like Curves would say that to me! I sputtered out something along the likes of "I am happy with who I am and I have a man who loves me just as I am." I couldn't resist that last bit, since she's single and has been sort of snots to me about her being alone and I'm not. She really hurt my feelings, and for a while, I was going to Curves only once or twice a week, hoping not to see her.
Then it hit me - I am paying $42 a month to go to Curves, why am I not going?! So I screwed up the courage and reported her to the manager. Turns out ol' sourpuss has resigned and is leaving soon. The manager said she was too focussed on weight loss and not encouraging members.
My goal when I joined Curves was not to drop oodles of weight for the wedding, but tone up and firm up so my arms are fleshy flags jiggling down the aisle. I am proud to report muscle tone in the arms now. I didn't want to be this scrawny thing on my wedding day, just to ballon up again post-September 19th and have my kids ask me in 10 years who that woman is in the picture with dad. I am me. I am big. My thighs are big, my bum is jiggly. I have a tummy (his name is El Pauncho Grando). But I am also healthy, flexible, and happy.
I'm going to Curves tomorrow. (I have errands to run after work today!)
Sweatingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
I go to Curves. And I try to go three times a week minimum. Every Sunday night, when I pack my gym bag, I tell myself I will fo Monday, Wednesday, Friday AND Saturday this week. I feel so powerful walking to work with my backpack of gym pants and sports bra. Then the day starts and so do my excuses. I will start to feel groggy arounf 11 am, and then the excuses really begin. I think I should go home right after work and make a nice dinner for Byron, or do something wedding-related, or tackle that ironing. Really, I am going home for a siesta. The guilt sets in, so I am more determined for Tuesday. I revise my plan for Curves on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Tuesday has always been my most tired day since being on this 6am shift. By noon on Tuesday, I am the walking dead. And my excuses for not going to Curves are blatant. How could I possibly work out in this state? It'd be cruel. So I go home, wash the day from my face and take a siesta.
By the time Wednesday rolls around, I am embarassed to not have gone at all this week, and I tell myself my humiliation should send me home. So I go, and I take a siesta.
Thursday is good tv night, and since I am in the west, I can get the eastern feeds earlier, thus watching The Office at 5pm instead of 8pm, allowing me to go to bed early. I go home.
It's Friday, the week has melted away and I have yet to break a sweat, so why start now. My gym bag has been sitting under my desk all week. Next week, I say, next week.
On Saturday, either Byron has the day off and I want to spend the day with him, or he's working and I take that time to clean adn get the house in order. Next week, next week.
I need to remember how good I feel after a workout. I need to keep that feeling of energy in my mind when the lure of a siesta gets too loud.
I did have a good, and psychological excuse, though. There is a coach at Curves who is a socially retarded douchebag. She's whiney and weird and talks about crap all day. She bugs me. One day, she was asking me about the wedding and I said my dress had arrived. She said to me, and I quote,
"Are you even trying to lose weight or are you happy just like that?"
I was stunned. I could not believe someone in a facility like Curves would say that to me! I sputtered out something along the likes of "I am happy with who I am and I have a man who loves me just as I am." I couldn't resist that last bit, since she's single and has been sort of snots to me about her being alone and I'm not. She really hurt my feelings, and for a while, I was going to Curves only once or twice a week, hoping not to see her.
Then it hit me - I am paying $42 a month to go to Curves, why am I not going?! So I screwed up the courage and reported her to the manager. Turns out ol' sourpuss has resigned and is leaving soon. The manager said she was too focussed on weight loss and not encouraging members.
My goal when I joined Curves was not to drop oodles of weight for the wedding, but tone up and firm up so my arms are fleshy flags jiggling down the aisle. I am proud to report muscle tone in the arms now. I didn't want to be this scrawny thing on my wedding day, just to ballon up again post-September 19th and have my kids ask me in 10 years who that woman is in the picture with dad. I am me. I am big. My thighs are big, my bum is jiggly. I have a tummy (his name is El Pauncho Grando). But I am also healthy, flexible, and happy.
I'm going to Curves tomorrow. (I have errands to run after work today!)
Sweatingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Disclaimer
I feel the need to clarify.
In my previous post, where I was vehemently against children at my wedding (and I still am!), I was in no way talking about my friends. I was not referring to a certain Sydney or Michael or Ashley. I was dissing Byron's friends! He knows a couple whose kid should have been named Damien.
I wanted to make that clarification before feelings were hurt.
Disclaiming Yours,
xoxoSallyt
In my previous post, where I was vehemently against children at my wedding (and I still am!), I was in no way talking about my friends. I was not referring to a certain Sydney or Michael or Ashley. I was dissing Byron's friends! He knows a couple whose kid should have been named Damien.
I wanted to make that clarification before feelings were hurt.
Disclaiming Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
No Kids Allowed
My friend Janet, who is getting married a few weeks before I am, posted this article on her blog. In it, she posts an article from the UK about the growing popularity of kid-free weddings. She's taken the stance that it's not nice to not invite kids. I disagree.
Our invitations were mailed yesterday. On the response card, you will notice at the bottom our respectful request to have a child-free wedding. We have our reasons, which are completely valid to us. And since this is our event, we feel we get to invite who we want. And we don't want kids.
Except for a major exception - my nephew who will be 9 months old by then. Since Jane and Craig are flying to Edmonton and know no one for child care, George has to be there. But again, he'll be 9 months old and when he gets noisy, I know Craig has the decency to remove him. I cannot say the same for other guests and their kiddly winks.
A couple who is invited has a child that is Satan's incarnate. He screams and throws tantrums and his parents think it's cute. We went out for dinner with them and the brat screeched during the whole meal, and his parents ignored our winces and comments about his noise. The only that seemed to pacify him was pouring the entire salt shaker on the table. It was lazy parenting. And I know if that kid was to come to our wedding, he would without a doubt starting wailing and screaming. I also know his parents would not have the decency to remove the child.
But here is my PC explanation. We're getting married at 5 pm. That's dinner time for most people. While adults can roll with it, kids cannot. And dinner won't be rolling around until at least 7 pm. Even though snacks will be provided at the hall, I doubt kids will like that. Since the wedding is taking place later in the day, parents will probably have to leave early with the kids, thus missing the festivities. So why not leave the kids with grandma and have some fun?
That's my opinion and it's my wedding. If you don't like it, you're likely not invited.
Invitingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Our invitations were mailed yesterday. On the response card, you will notice at the bottom our respectful request to have a child-free wedding. We have our reasons, which are completely valid to us. And since this is our event, we feel we get to invite who we want. And we don't want kids.
Except for a major exception - my nephew who will be 9 months old by then. Since Jane and Craig are flying to Edmonton and know no one for child care, George has to be there. But again, he'll be 9 months old and when he gets noisy, I know Craig has the decency to remove him. I cannot say the same for other guests and their kiddly winks.
A couple who is invited has a child that is Satan's incarnate. He screams and throws tantrums and his parents think it's cute. We went out for dinner with them and the brat screeched during the whole meal, and his parents ignored our winces and comments about his noise. The only that seemed to pacify him was pouring the entire salt shaker on the table. It was lazy parenting. And I know if that kid was to come to our wedding, he would without a doubt starting wailing and screaming. I also know his parents would not have the decency to remove the child.
But here is my PC explanation. We're getting married at 5 pm. That's dinner time for most people. While adults can roll with it, kids cannot. And dinner won't be rolling around until at least 7 pm. Even though snacks will be provided at the hall, I doubt kids will like that. Since the wedding is taking place later in the day, parents will probably have to leave early with the kids, thus missing the festivities. So why not leave the kids with grandma and have some fun?
That's my opinion and it's my wedding. If you don't like it, you're likely not invited.
Invitingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Friday, July 4, 2008
Hackey Sack
Everyday, I walk past the bus station on my way to work. In mid-winter, it's a gloomy place, and deserted. But not these days. Everyday when I pass the bus station, I have to maneouvre through a gaggle of hippies. And you know I hate hippies.
The hippies are waiting for the jitney to the West Coast Trail, which is a jalopy that looks uncomfortable and smelly. The hippies have their bags strewn over the sidewalk. There is sacks of granola passed around, and water from aluminum cans consumed. And they are all over the sidewalk, and look at you all moony-faced when you try to pass. It smells of wood smoke, patchouli and stale underarms. I can only imagine what the bus trip is like. Walking through that cloud of hippie-ness makes me cranky.
But this morning, I saw four hippies playing hackey sack in the parking lot. At 6 am. And from what I could tell (since I think hackey sack is stupid), one of the guys sucked and ruined the game for everyone else. Whenever I see a game going on, I have to seriously fight the urge to go over there, take the sack and toss it in a thornbush.
Then in front of the bus station, about 10 hippies were gathered in the middle of the sidewalk. When I had to pass, one hippie girl did that shuffle-to-make-it-look-like-I-moved move. The passive agressive in me hoped my purse would clock her in the back by "accident". All the while, I wanted to scream "MOVE, bitch, get out the way".
Is it people in the way who haven't got the sense god gave a goose to get out of the way that makes me mad, or hippies. Or perhaps it's a dangerous combination.
Hippie-Hatingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
The hippies are waiting for the jitney to the West Coast Trail, which is a jalopy that looks uncomfortable and smelly. The hippies have their bags strewn over the sidewalk. There is sacks of granola passed around, and water from aluminum cans consumed. And they are all over the sidewalk, and look at you all moony-faced when you try to pass. It smells of wood smoke, patchouli and stale underarms. I can only imagine what the bus trip is like. Walking through that cloud of hippie-ness makes me cranky.
But this morning, I saw four hippies playing hackey sack in the parking lot. At 6 am. And from what I could tell (since I think hackey sack is stupid), one of the guys sucked and ruined the game for everyone else. Whenever I see a game going on, I have to seriously fight the urge to go over there, take the sack and toss it in a thornbush.
Then in front of the bus station, about 10 hippies were gathered in the middle of the sidewalk. When I had to pass, one hippie girl did that shuffle-to-make-it-look-like-I-moved move. The passive agressive in me hoped my purse would clock her in the back by "accident". All the while, I wanted to scream "MOVE, bitch, get out the way".
Is it people in the way who haven't got the sense god gave a goose to get out of the way that makes me mad, or hippies. Or perhaps it's a dangerous combination.
Hippie-Hatingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Friday, June 27, 2008
Obessed with my obsession
It is now in the double digits until the wedding. The dreams have started, the dress has been fitted, the invites are deisgned, the venues booked, and things seem to be under control.
Except for my obsession with all things wedding.
I have yet to buy a wedding magazine, and doubt I will. Pages and pages of over-priced doo-dads is not how I was to blow $10. Besides, I don't need their precious tips and hints. I got things under control.
No, my obsession comes with Slice and their bridal shows. "Rich Bride, Poor Bride" is a favourite. I love watching these couple battle over how much to spend on what. And at the end of the show, the couple rattles off what they spent on what. My jaw aches at the end of that segment from dropping so hard. Last night, I saw a couple spend $25,000 on the venue! $25,000! Insane! We've got ours for a song. "Wedding SOS" makes me feel smug. This smarmy British woman swoops in to save the wedding of a lazy couple. I see how little is organized for their wedding, consult my detailed list with all the things ticked off, and I grin with glee that I'm on track.
I look at several wedding-related websites, reading for tips on how to trim spending and etiquette. Etiqueete is a big one for me. I want the event to be funfunfun, but polite, thank you very much. I gasped with horror when Byron suggested we put on our invites where we are registering (Home Outfitters, BTW). It was quite the dilemma for me when we decided not to have children at our wedding. The ceremony is at 5pm, and we won't be eating until after 7pm. The kids will just be cranky and tired and who wants that? Not me. Who would that alienate? How do we tell people that ther kiddly-winks are not invited? What would people say?
I think it might be thinking like this that leads to dreams like the one the other night when I dreamed that I forgot to mail invitations and we had to call people to come to the wedding. We have a DJ hired, so I hope that eliminates all dreams of not having music. My dress is being fitted as I type, so I should not dream of wearing a see-through dress with no bra (that was an actual dream and I scared me. You should be scared, too).
The wedding is 77 days away and I am starting to feel wedding-fatigue. I will not, however, whine here or anywhere else that "I am already doing too much for my own wedding", which a bride-to-be actually said to me not too long ago. How stupid was that? I'm doing all of it myself and am having fun. But, like a bottle of Malibu, there is such a thing as too much fun.
Obsessively Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Except for my obsession with all things wedding.
I have yet to buy a wedding magazine, and doubt I will. Pages and pages of over-priced doo-dads is not how I was to blow $10. Besides, I don't need their precious tips and hints. I got things under control.
No, my obsession comes with Slice and their bridal shows. "Rich Bride, Poor Bride" is a favourite. I love watching these couple battle over how much to spend on what. And at the end of the show, the couple rattles off what they spent on what. My jaw aches at the end of that segment from dropping so hard. Last night, I saw a couple spend $25,000 on the venue! $25,000! Insane! We've got ours for a song. "Wedding SOS" makes me feel smug. This smarmy British woman swoops in to save the wedding of a lazy couple. I see how little is organized for their wedding, consult my detailed list with all the things ticked off, and I grin with glee that I'm on track.
I look at several wedding-related websites, reading for tips on how to trim spending and etiquette. Etiqueete is a big one for me. I want the event to be funfunfun, but polite, thank you very much. I gasped with horror when Byron suggested we put on our invites where we are registering (Home Outfitters, BTW). It was quite the dilemma for me when we decided not to have children at our wedding. The ceremony is at 5pm, and we won't be eating until after 7pm. The kids will just be cranky and tired and who wants that? Not me. Who would that alienate? How do we tell people that ther kiddly-winks are not invited? What would people say?
I think it might be thinking like this that leads to dreams like the one the other night when I dreamed that I forgot to mail invitations and we had to call people to come to the wedding. We have a DJ hired, so I hope that eliminates all dreams of not having music. My dress is being fitted as I type, so I should not dream of wearing a see-through dress with no bra (that was an actual dream and I scared me. You should be scared, too).
The wedding is 77 days away and I am starting to feel wedding-fatigue. I will not, however, whine here or anywhere else that "I am already doing too much for my own wedding", which a bride-to-be actually said to me not too long ago. How stupid was that? I'm doing all of it myself and am having fun. But, like a bottle of Malibu, there is such a thing as too much fun.
Obsessively Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Monday, June 9, 2008
Take Your Pick
In Victoria, bicyclists abound. It's part of that whole eco-friendly-green-hippie esthetic going on here. Bah. Fine, fine, pedal for all your worth in traffic, take up all the bike lanes you can, Super Cycler. But take your frigging pick.
You can have the road or you can have the sidewalk. No. I take that back. You CANNOT have the sidewalk because it's called a sideWALK not a sideBIKE. You can choose between the road or the bike lane. Make your choice and stick with it. Otherwise, I will not be held responsible for my actions.
I can come at this from two sides: the driver and the pedestrian.
The Driver
I loathe seeing bicyclists taking up half a lane of traffic, slowing dozens of cars behind me and they're not even pedalling hard. If you pedalled like your life depended on it, I might nod sympathetically. Or when they blatantly disobey the road rules. Sure, I would love the run a red so I can turn left. Or bomb through that empty intersection at 3pm. It would make my life easier, but much more dangerous. So why do I see the fools on bikes breaking those rules? And then I hear them moan that they are vehicles, too and deserve the road just as much as anyone else. Then USE it like everyone else, douchebag.
The Pedestrian
Again with the sideWALK not sideBIKE argument. Victoria has accomodated you with bike lanes everywhere. Use them. Don't get all huffy puffy with the people using the sideWALK when they don't part like the red sea for your bike. You're in the wrong. Some sideWALKS are busy with pedestrians, old people in scooters and baby carriages. Weaving in and out of all that is impossible. Get your lazy ass on that bike and get in the bike lane where you're supposed to be.
Don't even get me going on the asshats who whiz down the crowded road, then hop on the sideWALK when there's less traffic there. That's double-dipping, road style.
Disclosure: I do not bike. I don't own one nor do I want to. The last time I was on a bike (sober) was when I was 12 and as I merrily went by, someone yelled "Hey! Where's the seat?!?!" Mortified, I jumped off, walked my bike home, never to ride again. That is, until I was 28 and coming home from a bar drunkety-drunk-drunk. I saw an unlocked bike outside the court house in Yellowknife, hopped on and pedalled like I was 10 again. The joyride ended when I hit a fence. But both times, I was NEVER on the sidewalk.
Rules Enforcingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
You can have the road or you can have the sidewalk. No. I take that back. You CANNOT have the sidewalk because it's called a sideWALK not a sideBIKE. You can choose between the road or the bike lane. Make your choice and stick with it. Otherwise, I will not be held responsible for my actions.
I can come at this from two sides: the driver and the pedestrian.
The Driver
I loathe seeing bicyclists taking up half a lane of traffic, slowing dozens of cars behind me and they're not even pedalling hard. If you pedalled like your life depended on it, I might nod sympathetically. Or when they blatantly disobey the road rules. Sure, I would love the run a red so I can turn left. Or bomb through that empty intersection at 3pm. It would make my life easier, but much more dangerous. So why do I see the fools on bikes breaking those rules? And then I hear them moan that they are vehicles, too and deserve the road just as much as anyone else. Then USE it like everyone else, douchebag.
The Pedestrian
Again with the sideWALK not sideBIKE argument. Victoria has accomodated you with bike lanes everywhere. Use them. Don't get all huffy puffy with the people using the sideWALK when they don't part like the red sea for your bike. You're in the wrong. Some sideWALKS are busy with pedestrians, old people in scooters and baby carriages. Weaving in and out of all that is impossible. Get your lazy ass on that bike and get in the bike lane where you're supposed to be.
Don't even get me going on the asshats who whiz down the crowded road, then hop on the sideWALK when there's less traffic there. That's double-dipping, road style.
Disclosure: I do not bike. I don't own one nor do I want to. The last time I was on a bike (sober) was when I was 12 and as I merrily went by, someone yelled "Hey! Where's the seat?!?!" Mortified, I jumped off, walked my bike home, never to ride again. That is, until I was 28 and coming home from a bar drunkety-drunk-drunk. I saw an unlocked bike outside the court house in Yellowknife, hopped on and pedalled like I was 10 again. The joyride ended when I hit a fence. But both times, I was NEVER on the sidewalk.
Rules Enforcingly Yours,
xoxoSallyt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
