Bored

It's been a heck of a week. I was quite excited to have this time off as I was going to putter around the house, get things done, read, relax...you know, all that good stuff.

Instead? I got the flu. Not swine flu, but a nasty case of 'regular' flu, so I've been stuck here on the sofa all week (apart from daily forays to care for my boss's cats) feeling utterly crappy. I'm finally on the mend, but it will be at least tomorrow when I'm able to venture further afield and into public. I didn't sleep at all the first two nights as my BONES ached and everytime I rolled over I woke myself up because it hurt so much! I've never had such an awful sensation in my life and here's to not having to go through that again. I've finally been able to sleep the past couple of nights and that's helped to shift this immensely. I don't normally get so sick, but I hope this is the last of it. I'm really astounded at the sheer number of people dropping from flu symptoms this year; is it just me or does it seem ridiculously prevalent?

I suppose the silver lining to this is that I've driven only one day and have only spent $23 at the grocery store on orange juice and chicken noodle soup (which was actually kind of gross...).

Here's to health and if anyone out there has the flu, take good care of yourself and get better soon.

Guilty confession

I bought it.

Well...

Yesterday I actually managed to do quite well without spending. Technically I DID spend at the dentist, but I'll be reimbursed for that, so it doesn't really count. Right? I spent $3.84 on two teas for my friend and myself at Tim's (darn you Tim's tea! Why are you so good?), but otherwise it was a pretty good day.

I got my tire repaired at Wally World for FREE! As I bought the tires there originally, they are still under warrenty, so hurrah! It was a rusty rim and a broken bead, so didn't even take that long to fix. I didn't have to part with a penny at my nemesis, but I spent too long wandering the aisles and saw many nice things...DAMN YOU WALLY WORLD AND YOUR RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICES!! But I restrained myself and reminded myself that I don't spend $$ at Wally World.

Today, though...Oh My God. Insane! I went out to exchange a video game (turns out I didn't need to, I'm just blind) and ended up at CD Plus downtown. Uh Oh. I parted with $45 for 4 DVDs:

- Castle (a detective show which looks good)
- Arrested Development S3 (best show ever, no longer on TV)
- 2 (for $10) DVDs of "Thunderbirds." Does anyone remember them? (ran through the late 50's, early 60's)

Then when I got home I went to my beloved Amazon and bought:
- The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency S1 (hurrah!!)
- 30 Rock S1

Ouch.

I think I'm feeling a bit "off" because of my news yesterday, so I'm filling in my fear with buying. That's the only rational explanation I can think of.

Anyhow, I'm going to work on my "expression of interest" for the training opportunity over the next few days and that should keep my mind off things until I hear the results of the tests.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Things & stuff

Well, I got some good news today surrounding a job opportunity - rather, a training opportunity - that I'd wanted to apply for. I found this opportunity at work in my email (along with everyone else in government) about two days ago. It's a chance to train as a Communications Officer for a year. You learn to write news releases, arrange media conferences & interviews, prepare Ministerial speaking notes...all that good stuff. You are mentored and guided by a current CO, so that you're trained as they need/want you to be and can compete for further opportunities as a CO!

Because this is a temporary assignment, you need approval from your supervisor, so I asked (never hurts to ask!). She took it to her supervisor, who took it to the Director who said 'yes.' So I now have to write up a strong letter of interest and send it in by November 2nd.

I am happy in my current job. I know I'm VERY lucky to have it and all the benefits and perks that go along with it, however, I don't want to be there for 20 years. One of the reasons I like to work for government is because of all the opportunities like this that crop up. You don't have to take them, but they're there. I want to challenge myself more and gain some skills I can use anywhere: organization, prioritizing, researching - these are all things I could learn with this training. Carry that over to my current job and it applies; carry it through to teaching (which is where I'd like to end up) and it's even more relevant.

But first things first. Write the letter.

My excitement about this opportunity (I'm sure I'd learn how to use a thesaurus properly, too, to find alternate words) was tempered a bit by a visit to the hospital to visit a nephrologist (specializes in kidneys). I've had some health issues the past several years (7 bladder infections in a year to start) and my kidneys have "suddenly" become a concern. They're currently operating - if the numbers are to be believed - at about 50%. No one is sure why. After ruling many things out, I have more tests tomorrow. Then more waiting. It's very possible that I might have to go to Vancouver for a biopsy (which sounded pretty awful when the dr was describing it...ick), but again, first things first. Tests. Results. Decisions.

Despite talking with my sister about it, I'm still a bit freaked out by this news. And I can't eat anything because I have to fast for the blood test tomorrow, so it's just water all night. So I think I'll just watch S6 of "Corner Gas" and call it a night. On top of blood tests tomorrow morning, I've got a dentist appointment right after that, then have to take my truck in to get the tire fixed (just a broken bead I hope). I'm hoping Wally-World won't charge me for that, because I bought my tires there. It's been over two years since I spent money at Wally-World and I'd hate to break my streak.

Argh.

Caution! (lots of) Vancouver photos

This is the view from my 12th floor hotel room on Robson Street. This is six floors higher than the highest building in Whitehorse!



My friend and I rode around the Stanley Park Seawall to Granville Island on Sunday. It was a PERFECT fall day. This is the remains of a tree that fell in a storm (last year's, maybe?).

Vancouver Rowing Club at Coal Harbour.

Rowers practicing.

One of the most famous Vancouver landmarks: the Stanley Park totem poles.

The scuba diver statue; reminiscent of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.

Lion's Gate Bridge.

Ships waiting in English Bay.

Inukshuk and West Van.

Seagull lunch! That's a starfish he's got. He was a bit nervous of me poking about as they're quite vulnerable at this point, but he didn't fly away.

Fall colours in the park.

A new art installation: "A-Maze-Ing Laughter." The artist has used himself as the model for these figures. It's in Stanley Park near First Beach (I think! You Vancouverites can correct me...)

2010 Vancouver Olympic Inukshuk.

First Beach.

Fall colours along False Creek.

Ah! The wonderful sights and smells of Granville Island market...

I'm daydreaming that we might actually get produce like this in Whitehorse...MMMMM!

The jade statue that (international) travellers departing and arriving at Vancouver Airport sees: "The Spirit of Haida Gwai'i: the Jade Canoe", by First Nations artist Bill Reid. It's huge and very beautiful.

So there you have it. A portion of photos from my trip. I'm really glad I took it! I really needed a break to see friends, eat, shop...relax...

Less than $100 on groceries!

AND I got everything I needed for 5 days worth of meals to boot!

Believe me, this is a BIG deal. I budget $120 bi-weekly for food, and generally do manage to stay within in, but it's more than frustrating to come home with just a bag or two of food worth $40 - $50 and eat for three days out of it then have to go again. I found a 4 week meal plan in a magazine at work the other week and decided that because they looked simple (not a lot of ingredients, no more than 20 mins to fix, etc) that I would try this out.

This is week 1 and this is my $80.06 shopping trip:

Ricotta cheese: $3.79
Shredded parmesan: $5.49 (compared to slabs of parmeson for well over $10 each)
Dried apricots (.670 kg @ $8.60 kg): $5.76
Coke x 2: $3.38
Yams x 2 (1.060 kg @ $2.62 kg): $2.78
Bananas (1.150 kg @ $1.94 kg): $2.23
Lime: .75
Bok choy (.840 kg @ $2.16 kg): $1.81
Green beans (.335 kg @ $4.17 kg): $1.40
Ginger root (.100 kg @ $1.94 kg): .19
Cajun trail mix (.335 kg @ $9.80 kg): $3.28
Red peppers x 2 (.515 kg @ $7.25 kg): $3.28
Marmalade: $2.79
Spaghetti (organic, brown rice, PC): $2.49
Pork chops: $3.99
Outside round steak: $2.94
Chicken breast: $8.48
Halibut fillet: $10.63
Tinned cat food (Pres Choice) x 24: 10.98
Sourdough bread: $2.19

TOTAL: $80.06!!!

This probably looks like a lot to a lot of people (in fact, I know it does and probably is), but these are the prices at SuperStore in Whitehorse. You tend to pay more at the even the cheapest place in town, and even at the bulk bin (see: apricots), but you have to eat, right? I'm hoping these meals will last me a lot longer than 5 days, actually, because there should be leftovers for my lunches as well (all recipes, apparently, make enough for 4 servings).

If this works out well, then I will continue with the rest of the meal plans. I see no reason that it shouldn't, so as this will also test my culinary skills (and D is still willing to be my guinea pig), I need to focus and start cooking! You'd think that a person who loves to eat would also enjoy the process of cooking, but I don't, mostly because there's finicky stuff involved: cutting, slicing, dicing, etc. When I'm able to, I'm hiring a chef. ;-)

Post (and pics) on Vancouver trip to follow!

Indulge yourself!

Well. After some hemming and hawing and debate about whether or not I could afford it, I booked myself an indulgent three-day weekend in Vancouver. The time it took to book this little adventure? About 4 minutes. The cost? $657.81.

I know, I know - what the heck kind of (cheap) weekend is that? It looks scary, but this is actually an awesome deal through Air North (for those of you contemplating a trip North, this is the airline to take) that they have a couple of times a year. The posted price includes return airfare + 2 nights accommodation. I just added an extra night - and, of course, got dinged the single supplement because it's all based on double occupancy. Ahem. Anyway...

I have the money for this trip, but I guess I'm finding it a bit difficult to get my head around the fact I'm only going to be there 3 days. It does seem like a lot of money to spend just to get somewhere. But the total price is way cheaper than flight and hotel separately, so it's a good incentive. I have started a list of needs & wants, so hopefully this will keep any shopping insanity to a minimum (MMMM! Cupcakes on Denman...). I will, however, be visiting with friends I missed seeing on my trip Outside last year and I'm really looking forward to that.

This is something D & I had wanted/planned to do after our road trip was cancelled, so there's some guilt about going on my own, but he's just got himself a new job away at a new mine - 3 weeks out, 2 weeks in - and can't go right now. He'll be gaining a huge amount of experience out of this (he'll be doing heavy duty mechanics), so I'm not in a position to say 'don't go'. That would be entirely counter productive and extremely selfish (although I want to...). He officially starts tomorrow, but has actually been working since Thursday packing supply trucks. I know he's a bit uncertain about being away from home for such a long period of time; he's a homebody. But you gotta do what you gotta do and this is a genuine golden opportunity for him.

I am home today mostly because I've had an average of about 4 hours sleep for nearly a week. I have no idea why. There's obviously anxiety somewhere; my body is exhausted, but my mind is going at about 300 mph when it wakes me up and keeps me up most of the night. I spend time thinking about things that I have no control over, can be somewhat disturbing and that literally just do not stop. I've been able to function pretty well the past few days, but today it's catching up with me and I came home after being at work for only an hour. I don't want to make any big mistakes or snap at people or sigh or complain or bitch over the little things, which are the things that irritate me most right now. I can recognize this sense of anxiety starting up the week before my job became permanent, so I have a feeling that has something to do with it, although I couldn't tell you why I'd be anxious about having a permanent job with government. Anyhoo. I have a meeting to attend tonight, otherwise I'd be heading to bed about dinnertime!

Sorry for the rambling post...