Avast!

Hello strangers. And friends who are strange. And those of you who I don't know well enough to call names. Welcome.

So...sorry. I was AWOL again.

To the average outsider, it would appear that I was busy having a life. And you know, they're not so far from the truth. I have had a really rather fun week. Tiring, sickly, but fun.

I closed the store on Monday and Tuesday, so the days were long and pretty much shot. Wednesday, I left from the store to go to Moncton for a training seminar for work. It was a coaching seminar, and it was REALLY a great course. It was a lot of fun, and role-plays, which I usually hate, were a hoot.

I met some really fantastic people from other stores, and really hit it off with the Assistant Manager from our store in PEI. He's a load of fun--and as he's only been with the company for a year, his views on things were really useful to me. And my gossip connections were useful to him. *Grin* The other two folks from PEI were awesome too. I really enjoyed myself. I also met somebody from our Newfoundland location, and he was a hoot. We travelled together in the car on Wednesday and Friday night, so we had a lot of fun.

I got home from Moncton late on Friday night, slept, repacked and headed to the store for 6:30 am. I had to open. I had started feeling sick and hoarse on Friday in the car on the drive home, and Saturday it was full-fledged. I went in to the store, and returned Scott's car. We walked the salesfloor, decided on some tasks for the day, and were in mid-conversation about something. Scott turned to say something to someone else. I was suddenly overcome with nausea. I bolted.

I called him from the bathroom. "I need to go home now." "Why? What's up?" "My breakfast."

So I left. I felt better within a couple of hours, and was able to allow myself to give in to the persuasion of the girls I was supposed to be road-tripping with. We went to Fredericton.

The reason for the roadtrip was Leana's and Heather's combined birthday celebrations. What a freaking hoot that was. It was my first all-girl road trip, and we had such a blast. There was catty backstabbing, pretentious self-admiration and self-aggrandizement, there was silliness, sexiness, and even mad-intelligence. We rocked. We rocked out.

We got a 1/2 price hotel room. Because I'm the queen of disorganization, that's why. I so rock.

We were about to leave the hotel room and check out, when I did my patented 'last look around' routine. I was down on my hands and knees to check under the bed for lost socks, and I flipped back the bedspread. Imagine my surprise (and disgust) when I spotted a used condom. Yes, you read that right. A USED CONDOM. And before you ask, we were 4 girls in one room....it did NOT belong to us.

I made the others look at it. We took its photo. (I'll post it tomorrow if Leana can get the photos uploaded from her digital camera--it broke during our final 'on-the-road-photo-shoot'.) We then went to the front desk and lodged a complaint. Well, Lynn and Leana did. I stayed in the car. I get enough people complaining to me about stuff that REALLY, not such a big deal. Gross, yes. Funny? Damn straight. But it's not like we found it stuck to our socks. Anyway, Lynn managed to get us 1/2 off our room without being bitchy, so I was very pleased.

Our entire weekend away (sans alcohol--that brings up the cost more than I care to say) was super-cheap: $25.00 each for gas, and $12.50 each for hotel. I spent $20 for my supper on Saturday night, and $10 for breakfast on Sunday. So....a cheap weekend away, but a VERY pricy weekend when you include EVERYTHING. *grin*

Good times.

And it got better. The road part of the road-trip, was by far and away the best part. We joked and laughed and giggled. We laughed so hard we cried. Several times. It was fun.

I got home from my Moncton trip on Friday night, and found a message saved on the phone. Chad called me on Wednesday. I called him back on Sunday evening. We chatted for about 45 minutes. It was interesting. We talked about jobs, relationships, the fact that all our friends are married. How we react when other people ask why we're not married. We talked about the average length of our relationships. (His are all long-term too.) It was interesting. And surreal, a little bit.

I guess I'm just not sure about this whole 'grown-up dating' thing is supposed to work. I've never asked/discussed such probing questions before I even go out with someone. Although, I guess once you've sucked face you have a bit of a connection.

We were going to hook up for dinner and a movie tomorrow night, but I have to work, so it may be Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.

So I've been a busy bee. It's been great. But now we're back to the grind...I moved about 6 boxes of crap out of my bedroom on Sunday night, and I tidied up and packed some clothes that I'm giving away. The Big Brothers/Big Sisters van will be overjoyed. At least, I hope so.

And now, I'm beat. It's time for bed. I may post some photos once Leana gets them uploaded. But I may not. We'll see. I'm not sure how I feel about posting photos of me. And I don't want to post photos of other people without asking first.

I may have to resort to Buckley's tomorrow. I'd go back to the doctor for drugs, but I still don't have my new health card, and frankly, I just don't want to deal with the 3rd degree about my citizenship. It's too much hassle. But if I'm still sick in two weeks when my new card arrives, you can bet I'll be right at the doors when they open! I'm tired of being sick. And right now? This not breathing, sore throat, phlegm-hacking coughing routine--wearing a little thin.

Night folks. WAIT!!! A photo to celebrate Saint Boozeaholic's Day on Friday. We should ALL be celebrating, not just Rob. Enjoy.