Brief update

Hey poppets--

I'm in Saint John today for a 2 day meeting for work. It's nice to see all the folks I used to work with, and know that they're happy to see me. Tomorrow we spend the day getting yelled at, but last night and tonight will be fun.

This past weekend--went to Halifax to see the record release show of the Tom Fun Orchestra. It was a great show. It was a bit awkward because Billy was there, so I was VERY happy that Tamara and Joanna came with. We spoke briefly. I saw him holding hands with some girl. Leads me to believe (NOW) that they weren't involved, because he doesn't do that with people he's actually interested in--but at the time, it was a bit of a kick in the gut. (*JUST* a bit. *snort*)

So...I danced like a crazy person with some cool hippie with a beard and ear plugs (*boggle*) and some guy grabbed my ass and I didn't pop him in the face over it. In fact, it was kinda flattering. I know, I amaze me too sometimes.

Saturday I got up early and got a haircut, then Tamara and I ran errands. We went to the market to visit her grandparents, and since we were in Darkness, I called Billy to drop off his stuff. He asked if we would drive him to his car downtown. So we did. I know, I amaze me too sometimes.

I gave him the rest of his Christmas gift, and as I have previously stated...I give GOOD GIFT. He loved them. He opened then, and looked like a kid with a new bike. He looked over somewhat awkwardly like he wasn't sure if he should hug me or not. I was standing watching with my arms folded over my chest, so that pretty much solved that problem.

We dropped him at his car, and all the way downtown I had a hard time finding something to say. We've got too much history for small-talk, and not enough to say to make conversation.

K...roomie's back--more tonight.

Did you know?

...that milk left sitting in a glass, abandoned and alone in a room, for a week or more will turn into a solid?

Now you know.

Friday - revisited.

Today actually turned out to be a pretty decent day, all things considered. (Can you glean from that that my boss didn't show up?)

Until later on tonight...I went onto POF to check out my new mail. I clicked on the 'viewed me' portion...and who pops up? Billy. With a new photo.

Oh yeah. A 'new' photo. At least he didn't steal this one from my Facebook. I'd given him a copy of it for his very own. It was our fucking vacation photo. The only decent photo I have from the last 2 years with the two of us in it together.

What.

The.

Fuck.

I don't understand what is going through his ignorant dumbass motherfucking mind.

*boggle*

I was mad at first, and then I just started to laugh. Because, really? What the hell? I mean...anyway.

So I called Tracey to tell her, because I thought it was pretty funny, and she's my only RL friend (other than Christine) that I'd ever tell about POF (or how humiliatingly stupid my ex-beau is). Even she was astonished that he was so dumb.

She did point out something to me though, that makes a bit more sense now that I'm aware. She talked to Billy before he and I had coffee on Sunday. And as you've read, he had asked me about a couple of my MSN taglines from the week before. I didn't tell him I'd deleted him, but it told me that he hadn't erased me.

Tracey told me that he knew I'd deleted him. Apparently there's some way that you can find that stuff out. I didn't think it told you if someone erased you, only if they blocked you. And I didn't block him. It explains why he hasn't messaged me though. His feelings would be hurt.

But sheesh...this picture bullshit has definitely put paid to my desire to stalk.

It doesn't stop me from being amazed and bewildered by it, but it definitely helps with steeling up some resolve. Honestly, the whole thing just embarrasses me. I find it mortifying that I thought I knew this man. And that I spent so much time pining over someone who could do something so tacky and crass. I don't know if it's intended to be deliberately hurtful or not, but the result is the same either way. Actually, probably worse if it's not deliberate.

Anyway...enough of that. I'm going to go and giggle myself to sleep. I have to be up in 4.5 hours for work. Blargle! At least I get to go to the gym tomorrow night! Hurrah me!

BTW--does anyone in Halifax want to go see Tom Fun Family Orchestra with me at the Seahorse on Friday night? They rock the casbah!

Sadie and the Very Long Day.

It's Friday!

Under normal circumstances, this would be a good thing. Today, however, not so much.

As seems to e his wont, my boss is coming to visit today. He always seems to choose the Friday that I work the close shift. I.e. 12-9:30 pm. Except that he comes to visit me at 9 or 10 am. Which means that in order to a) prepare for him and b) get any REAL work done, I have to go to work at 8 am. And then stay until 9:30 pm. This makes for a Very Long Day. Add to that, the fact that he doesn't seem to notice that we don't stop for lunch...and that he stays long into my supper hour, so that I have 10 minutes to run to Tim Horton's before my only other coverage in the store has gone home for the day. It makes me cranky.

Particularly knowing that today? I'm going to get reamed out again. This time though, I at least semi-deserve it. I missed a deadline on Friday. I sent the email with the file attached, but because he didn't receive it--I missed the deadline. And then I was sick on Monday and Tuesday, so he sent me a series of nasty emails for the first 3 days of the week. Wednesday morning when I arrived, he called me before I could even get into my emails to see the other nasties. I pointed out that I had been out sick, and hadn't received them, or I'd have noticed his file sitting waiting in my Outbox sooner.

Anyway, he got what he wanted, but he's not going to be happy with me. Whatever.

What I found ironic is that my work email account shut itself down for sending because my inbox was too full. Because my boss sent me no less than 6 emails FILLED with photos of other people's stores. And then the email server sends you a very large email telling you that you have to delete things, because your mailbox is too full. I had about a dozen of those. Because once you hit your capacity? Every time someone sends you an email, the server sends you one too. Hilarity ensues. Well, not really. But definitely irony. Irony ensues.

I've got a bunch of stuff I 've got to get organized before I head into the office, so I should head out. I just wanted to drop by and say 'Hi!'. So... Hi!

This is a link...

...that is a bit unusual for me to post.

It's a blog I read--which is unlike anything in my side-bar. It's not one of the blogs that I would normally share with you. But this post....this post is amazing.

It reminds me how a new relationship SHOULD be. Of what I want someone to feel about me. Of what I deserve.

This man is a skilled wordsmith, even if you don't appreciate his topics. And this post is not what he usually writes about...so when I say NSFW--I mean it.

The Provocateur. (Not Safe For Work)

Blah.

So Monday I did something incredibly unlike me. I took a day off.

It wasn't any old day off though. I called in sick. I've worked with this company for almost 10 years, and have been sick as a dog many times. I've never taken a sick day. I was quite proud of that fact for quite a long time.

But Monday? Monday I just Didn't Want To Be There. So I called in dead. Everyone at work has had the flu lately, so I figured..Why not?

The sad thing is that I didn't even DO anything with my day off. I didn't unpack. I didn't clean. I didn't paint. I didn't even shower. I did Nothing. Oh wait...I slept until noon. That part was okay.

Tuesday? Tuesday was my regular day off. I had originally planned to go in to work, and then just use Monday as my day off--then I wouldn't break my 10-year-no-sickie streak. But I decided that I Just Didn't Want To Be There. I stayed home. I did much the same thing. Except that yesterday I filled out change of address cards. So I accomplished...something.

Now today? Today I have to go to work. I'm supposed to be there in 20 minutes. But I'm not going to be. I called in to say I was still not feeling well and that I'd be late. What is up with me?! Sheesh. I need to shake this the fuck off.

In other news...I am the best Gifter that ever did Gift. Just so you know.

The rest of Billy's Christmas present showed up yesterday--Cafepress.com, I love you. And I have to say that a) the feeling of getting a package in your mailbox? Addictive. And b) I luff them. And c) I rock.

I had ordered him a few t-shirts for Christmas in addition to the bagpipe lessons. 2 shirts with his last name on them in university style print--Property of... and 'LASTNAME'.* The last shirt is the best one...it's plain and says "A bheil gaidhlig agad?" Loosely translated: Got Gaelic? *Tee-hee!*

It's a shame he doesn't deserve me! I rock.

Anyway, one of the t-shirts (LASTNAME) is printed crooked. I should send it back for a new one. I wouldn't even blink about it, were I planning to see him on a regular basis. But I kinda just want to mail off the package and not look back. Except that I paid good bucks for a shirt that's wearable. And I am not the type of person that gives a crappy gift just to get even.

So I'm slightly torn. I don't want to have to send TWO packages. I don't want to have to sit on the rest of the gift for another 2 weeks. I just want it gone. I think I'm going to do the leg-work, get the RMA#, and then send it to him with the information and then he can do whatever he wants with it. Then it's not my problem but it could still get fixed. We'll see what Cafepress has to say when they email me back.

Well...that was fast! I just got new mail, checked it, and it was Cafepress. "we are sorry that you are not happy with your order, but we don't want you to incur any new shipping charges, so we're sending you a new one for free." Woohoo. I have to say, in my only 2 EVER online purchases, I've been incredibly pleased with the results.

I'll send him the broken one with a note that they're sending a new and improved one, and that at some point in time, I'll make sure that he gets it. Two birds, one stone.

The new album by Tom Fun Family Orchestra was early-released on Monday. Mine should be in the mail--hopefully arriving today. I had gotten it for my sister's boyfriend for Christmas, as well as for Billy. (it appears I went a little overboard!) I absolutely can't wait. The record release bash is at the Seahorse next Friday night, and while I'm off the weekend, I don't think I can go. This makes me sad. I don't have a place to crash. I mean, I'm sure Steven would let me crash at his place, but I don't want to go using up all my favours too early on into my 'out of town-ness'. That, and I don't think he'd actually enjoy the tunes the way I will--so I'd be going alone and just crashing there. We'll see what happens a bit closer to the date--I really want to go.

Well...I guess I've screwed the pooch long enough today. I am going to have to break down and go to work. I need to live up to my reputation for being 'responsible'. *shudder*

Happy Wednesday, poppets.



*no, his last name is not actually LASTNAME. I maybe a real-name dropping strumpet, but I'm not a complete and utter cow. I'd never use somebody's last name here--hell, I won't use MINE!

Shaking it off.

I don't know where to start in order to sort myself out right now.

I had a great weekend--went into the city and hung out with Tamara. Went out with her and Steve & Duffy on Saturday night--had a great time. Too many martinis and a whole lot of laughing. Not a lot of sleep, overall, but it was a lovely time. (actual details to follow)

Today before I was leaving the city I met up with the old landlord and dropped off the mail-key and the dehumidifier. I was feeling good. I was feeling strong. I made what seemed like a good decision at the time and called Billy to go for a coffee.

He was up for it, so we did. Now, we haven't spoken a word to one another in a week. Which is the longest we've ever gone without speaking in almost 2 years. Previous record? 2 days.

Anyway, we went for coffee. It was nice. We chatted. It was mostly superficial. He's been sick for a few days. Which I pretended I didn't know, but mainly did because of Face*book. It was good. I mentioned that I'd seen Kenneth & Amanda at the market on Saturday morning and that it had been 'more than a little embarrassing'. He seemed surprised and asked why it would be embarrassing. I pointed out that they don't really know me well enough to know that I don't generally have melt-downs in public, and that I found it a bit humiliating having to face them. He said "Bah, I wouldn't worry about that!" Which led me to believe that even he was mostly over my screaming at him on the street.

It was a nice time, and I actually thought I'd come away from it quite cleanly. I thought that almost all the way home. But 2 hours of driving is a long time to drive without Thinking About Stuff. [insert ominous music here]

I got thinking about ways that I could work to be his friend, and yet move on with my life. I got to thinking about how unlikely it is that at my age I'm going to suddenly meet the man who's going to fill all the stupid little dreams I've had about what my life would look like, and how sad that is. I got to thinking about how easy it appears for other people, and that sometimes it's comforting watching other people have difficulties because it makes it easier to accept the mess you've made of your own life by believing the hype. (yeah, I think in run-on sentences too--deal with it.) That made me think that I'm an evil bitch, which is likely why I haven't met Prince Charming yet--Karma. You see what happens when I'm alone too long with my thoughts? Nobody said being a girl was easy!

I made a point of not checking my FB when I got into the house. I unpacked a couple of boxes, made some supper. And checked my FB. And that's when the troubles really began.

I have been making a point of trying not to stalk him. I haven't been playing Scrabble with him. I've deleted him from my MSN. I was doing well.

Until tonight. I started with the stalking.

I should rewind a bit...Last Sunday when I got home after my drama-tastic weekend, I immediately changed my FB status to 'single'. I'd previously had it just benignly as nothing listed. But I needed to make that change for myself, to make myself clue in to the fact that despite how much 'preparing' I'd thought I'd done, it was truly final. I did it, but then hid the storyline so it didn't prompt in people's newsfeeds. Several people noticed on their own and sent me messages--but mainly it was pretty quiet.

Well, Friday...I saw in my newsfeed that little shattered heart icon that stated quite firmly that 'Billy is now single.' And it just about broke my heart. I don't know why it affected me so much, because I'd known. Hell, I did it first. I've known for MONTHS. But seeing it there, in black and white, for the entire interweb to see made my heart do a sad little flop.

It was partly because it made it more real, but mainly because of the loss of something that might have been Not what was really lost (i.e. a dysfunctional dating history), but the Idea that I'd lost. That somewhere out there was someone who Got Me.

Anyway...coffee was good. But I got thinking on the way home. It was too comfortable, the conversation. And not 'too comfortable' as in 'I want to go back and try yet again'...but as in 'we've always gotten along like a house on fire when we're in the same room and why should now be any different'? It was comfortable enough to lead me to believe that we could hang out with impunity. That is dangerous. Because it's not true just yet.

Anyway...I did some unpacking and then made a decision. I decided I'd sign up on POF again(I KNOW!!! *sigh*) to possibly meet some people and make some new friends. I'd actually put down 'friends' on my 'looking for' portion. I filled out the personality profile. I originally opted to not post a photo. I finished the registration, and hit 'my matches' to see what came up.

So...guess who was top of the list? Yeah. Kick to the gut. And he'd been there long enough to have a line in his profile saying that he'd had to change it because people had the wrong idea about what 'hanging out' meant.

I wasn't actually surprised to see him there...I should have expected it. But I didn't. It caught me off guard. And it hurt. But that's probably a good thing. The thing that pissed me off is that 3 of the photos he has posted are ones that I took of him. And one of them I took last Saturday night. He stole them from my FB and posted them on his dating page. *grumble*

It shouldn't bother me, but it does. Anyway. The other person that came up immediately was Dan-o. The guy I went to the wedding with 2 Augusts ago. He's funny as hell. Sent me a message already. We've just exchanged fake names and set up a rendezvous at a trashy motel. Nice to see SOME people have a sense of humour.

I was ready for bed at 8:40..and it's now 11:45. I've wasted the last 2 hours flipping back and forth between FB and POF in a stalking frenzy. I need to cut it the fuck out. I'd delete my POF right away, except that I forgot to change my settings so people couldn't see that I'd checked out their profiles...so when my shock caused me to click his profile, he knew it. And he clicked mine back. So I don't want him to think that I just made a profile to stalk him, because I didn't. I didn't even know he was there! But it would look stupid. And since I deleted him from MSN, I couldn't make a joke about it and move on.

But he still has MY MSN, and I know he hasn't erased me because today he mentioned a couple of my taglines from this past week. So he's seen them, and he's paid attention. He didn't message me after seeing me on POF either...so I think I'll just let it go. Even though the photos piss me off. A lot.

Holy shit, I can't believe I've let this crap bother me so much. I guess what this tells you, poppets, is that you should never fall in love with your best friend. And that once you realize that you shouldn't be in love with your best friend, you don't let them talk you into doing it anyway. Because they're wrong. And you'll only turn into a loopier, sadder, lonelier, mildly crazier version of yourself. Until you learn to shake it off.

I'm learning. But I think it's going to be a long process.

Hey all--

I wasn't going to post this morning, but I'm working really hard at avoiding going in to work--so here I am!

I spent last night trying hard not to chat at Billy on MSN. I worked really hard at not stalking him on Facebook. This morning I deleted him from my MSN contacts list. I had to do it.

I know that it's the right decision, I've known it for a long time now. But when everything else was falling to shit around my ears, I was clinging to what was left of that relationship. That little bit of friendship was my anchor, my mooring. Now? I don't have that anymore.

I feel completely at a loss. I'm floating here in this limbo of a place, with no real place to belong or go for solace.

Don't get me wrong--it's been amazing how many friends have come out of the woodwork. Lynn is going to come up soon, I'm going to Tamara's this weekend for movies and the market... Christine (as usual) has really stepped in. But I still feel so alone.

I shouldn't feel any more alone than I did before, considering nothing's really changed except that I'm not messaging him. I'm not trying, anymore, to include him in my day, or to make him include me in his. He hasn't really been much of a friend for the last couple of months anyway--so I really shouldn't miss him so much. But I do. It's not just the idea of having him around--although that's part of it. It's the idea of knowing that he's NEVER going to step it up. It's very final.

I was in such a black-hole of despair here for such a long while, that I had almost forgotten what happy was like. I just started to get that back in the last week or so after getting back from Christmas. Now I feel like I'm teetering again. I'm on the edge. I need to use that 1-800 number at work. We have a really great Employee Assistance Plan, so I need to get on that and make it work for me.

I'm humiliated about my public melt-down on Saturday night. I do NOT yell. I certainly do not yell in public. And I don't hit people. Ever. My frustration level was so high that I absolutely Lost It. And that scares me.

Particularly since the part leading up to that? Had been amazing. Absolutely fantastic. Better than it's been since we got back from vacation. And then I went postal.

I have no explanation.

I'm kind of off food again...I have been for a week or so. It happens now and again. I eat, but odd things, not real meals. Last night I couldn't sleep, and this morning I can't get out of bed. I was going to go into work early, but I just REALLY don't want to be there.

...and I want to add him back on MSN just so I can see that he's still there. But I'm not going to. Because it's not good for me. I'm not ready to delete the Facebook though. I'll work at not stalking him--but I can't erase the most important person in the last 18 months of my life. Not with the push of a button. Well...I could, but I CAN'T.

Blargle--I HAVE to go get ready for work now. I wasn't early, but I sure can't be late. I updated the blogroll a bit last night, but not the way I want it. I didn't get to add in Badgerdaddy yet--or a couple of others. I'd forgotten how easy it actually is to do when you actually just sit down and do it. Frankly, HTML freaks me out so I'm always a bit scared of screwing with the template...but I've been stalking lots of you daily for the last year, it's HIGH TIME I showed you the love.

Have a happy Wednesday--

Brief update

I went to Halifax this weekend, for what is likely to be the last time in quite a while.

I had an absolutely lovely New Year's re-enactment. My Christmas gift(s) went over incredibly well. I got smooched in public on purpose by the anti-PDA boyfriend. I got abandoned at the bar. I got in a screaming dramatic fight in the middle of the street. I was rude to a good friend. I yelled at a policeman to move along and stop staring at me while I had my meltdown on a public street. I hit Bill. I stormed away crying. I apologized for hitting, but not for what I said. We went home together. We discussed. We ignored. We finalized what we both knew was done a long while back.

I'll get into more gory detail later, but I am so tired that I really, REALLY need to go to sleep now. I just wanted to hit the high/low points while I was thinking about it.

We stayed in bed all morning--with me not able to sleep. We went for food, then had a nap together. We hugged. We kissed. I said goodbye. But it came out sounding exactly like: "See you around some time."

Sadly, sometimes things just end with a whimper.

Love you all--have a good night.

Brr.

For the record, I'd just like to state that I*rving home heating blows dead goats.

Today was a rather average kind of day. Until I got home, that is.

When I'm at work, I turn down the thermostat. When I get home, I turn it up again. When I got home after work tonight it was almost 10 pm. I made some dinner. I did some dishes. Then I wondered why I was so cold. Oh yeah! I didn't turn up the heat--16.5*C isn't really all that warm. So I headed over to the thermostat. It's digital, so very easy to read and adjust. It tells me to the tenth of a degree what the actual temperature is inside the house, and allows me to program it to the half a degree. I cranked it up to 20*C--where I I like to keep it when I'm home--and went to see what was doing online.

After about 20 minutes, I was still cold so I went to the thermostat and noticed that it was actually COLDER inside the house than it had been 20 minutes earlier. This was odd. So I cranked the temperature up to 23*C. I listened for the furnace to kick in. It did not. Uh oh.

The insurance inspector guy was here this morning, so I figured I'd double check to see if he'd accidentally done something to the furnace. I saw that the pilot light was not on. I checked the oil gauge on the tank. EMPTY. Fuckers. I'm supposed to be on automatic replenishment. I'm NEVER supposed to run out of oil, because they're supposed to fill the tank BEFORE IT GETS EMPTY.

Fuckers.

Anyway, at 11:00 pm I called the 1-800 number. Patrick promised to dispatch the oil truck immediately, and that the oil truck driver would do a Bleed&Start on my oil tank when he got here. He apologized profusely for letting me run out of oil. At 11:00 pm when I called, it was 15.6*C inside my house.

I was exhausted at this point, and wanted to be in bed asleep--not waiting for the oil man. I have to work at 7AM. I am going to Halifax right after work. I need to be asleep. But I waited.

And waited.

And at 1:00 I decided I was impatient, and phoned again. Jeffrey told me the driver had been dispatched and was in transit. At 1:48 the truck showed up. And he wasn't able to fill up the tank.

The whistle doesn't work on my oil filler pipe. So he wasn't supposed to put any oil in it. Which is likely what happened on the 8th of December, when they filled (and billed!) me a whopping 5.8 litres. I thought it was petty when I got the invoice, but I figured that with a big storm coming up, I must have had plenty of oil and they were saving it for someone who really needed it. Apparently my logic was flawed.

Apparently, the whistle wasn't working, so they weren't allowed to fill the tank. The guy who was here THAT time, just didn't bother to tell anybody. He must have been the same guy that was supposed to inspect my oil tank before the first fill and didn't, but told them that he did. He must also have been the same guy that then did NOT start my oil tank after I ran out of oil the last time--but told the oil company that he had.

Anyway, they gave me 57 litres for tonight, and started the furnace. It was sooo nice to see the temperature start to climb again! The boy who did it was nice, he put in a service call right away--before he even came inside to start the furnace! I'm the first stop on the service tech's day tomorrow. Which is all great and good, but I have to be at work at 7. So if they need to come inside the house for some reason, they'll have to call me to get someone to run over some keys. Idjits. My contract with them has been nothing but trouble so far. Thankfully they're smart enough to hire a few really great associates that make me not absolutely want to fire-bomb their offices. I'm just sayin'.

At least the furnace is on now, and I'll be warm until breakfast. I just wish that Billy Elliot hadn't been on TV while I was waiting, because now I don't want to go to sleep, even though I have to be up in just 3 and a half hours! Oh well. Plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead.

G'night folks!

So sick of snow.

I'm so sick of snow I could spit. Or curl up in a little ball and sleep until June.* Or have a massage because I'm so tired out from shoveling.

When we had our first REAL snow of the year, back at the middle of December, I thought I could shovel my driveway myself.

I gave it a good try. Granted, having only a mini-car shovel and a big honkin' scoop to do it with, I wasn't exactly what you would call 'equipped' for the task. In fact, that storm ultimately led me to what I believe to be the best decision I made in 2007.

The weekend of our first winter storm I had been in Halifax. To be completely truthful, I actually WENT to Halifax at the beginning of the storm on a Saturday night. I wanted to be there--and honestly, it's just snow. The roads were remarkably clear up until I hit Truro, and by then it was too late to turn around anyway.

It was pretty darned nasty though. I was off on Monday, so went to Gaelic class in town. I stayed on Monday night, in fact, partly because the weather was so icky on Sunday and during the day on Monday. I didn't work until 10am on Tuesday, and wanted to a) milk my visit for as long as I could (because Hey--BED!!! Seriously the best part about visiting Billy for the last month has been sleeping in a real bed--no matter how cramped or uncomfy); b) I wanted to go to Gaelic class in person, and c) the roads were BAD on Sunday night and weren't all that great on Monday night either--an extra day could only help.

It took me almost 3 hours to get back to Amherst on Tuesday morning because the highway was still very snowy, and people are petrified of snow. I got back to my house (late for work already) and had to run into the house to get my uniform. I had to park on the street because the snowdrift at the end of my drive way was 3 feet deep. The top of the drive had blown clear, but the porch steps, and the foot of the drive were snowbound. I scaled the mogul in my sneakers, and dashed off to work.

At work, I wisely purchased the very last snow scoop we had for sale. It was $40 and I very nearly didn't buy it. I HAD a perfectly good snow shovel--in the closet--in Halifax. But I had a feeling the scoop would come in handy some day. (oh what a feeling!)

I worked until 7:30 that night. It was dark. Because I still had no worldly goods, I headed to Wal*mart. I needed boots. And mittens that didn't have a hole in them. I got some great boots in the boys' section. The least ugly, most practical boots that $23.97 will buy. Then I headed home to shovel.

I dug out a path wide enough for my car to squeak through. I shoveled off the front porch so the mail-man wouldn't die delivering my Visa statement. (The poor guy already is risking a hernia from the sheer weight of the thing!) And I parked the car. And I cursed myself for buying a house so close to the NB border. And I cursed myself for being single in a world made for couples. And I realized that I was leaving town for 10 days in just over a week. And that if it were to snow again--even one time--as much as it had this weekend? I'd never, EVER, get caught up again.

So the next day I did the only sensible thing a girl could do. I asked the snow-plow guy from work to add me to his list of people to dig out in the event of a snow-phoon. *cue angels singing*

I've been sooooooo happy the last few days. Oh, I've had to shovel, don't get me wrong. And it's been hard work. But in limited quantities. I've learned how it is that old people can be found dead in their driveways after snow-shoveling induced heart-attacks.

I have a confession. I don't even have a clue how much it's costing me to have my snow moved. And I DON'T CARE.

Exhibit A:



This is my house at noon on December 30th. Note the insane size of my snow hill. I was incredibly grateful to not have had to shovel that hill. Note that the driveway is clear, and pretty much down to the bare pavement. Remarkable day, that was. Nice and sunny. Things melting. Snow clearing. Birds singing. (but only the retarded birds, the ones that weren't smart enough to fly south. Dumb birds!)

It didn't snow all day on the 30th. It waited. Oh, there were warnings. The radio kept telling of 20-25 centimeter snowfalls, followed by rains and possible ice pellets. But snow followed by rain isn't so bad...it means melting. It means no blowing. It means you can get in your car and drive 2 hours to Halifax where all the fun NY Eve stuff is going on. Yeah. It promised.

The snow began to fall around 7 am on Saturday, December 31st. And it fell steadily. And it fell silently. And it fell. And it fell. And it fell. And it didn't stop until about 7:45 pm. At which point the blowing commenced.

The plowing happened all that day, that night, and into the next morning. On Sunday, the plow guy brought dump-trucks to work to cart away the ridiculous amounts of accumulated white stuff. Again, it was a sunny day so stuff began to melt late in the afternoon.

And today? The same thing. SNOW. Oh boy, snow.

We actually closed up shop at 3pm today because we couldn't see the gatehouse from the back door of the store. It's probably about 100 yards? I was afraid I was going to lose what precious staff I have left in a snowbank and not find them until spring.

EXHIBIT B:



This was taken this morning at 8 am. Note how high my mountain has grown? (I'm having the chair-lift installed next week.) I look at that and am sooooo grateful that I only have to shovel the 4 feet that gets stacked in front of the garage doors every time the plow comes. I'm grateful that I don't have to shovel my triple-wide driveway. I'm pissy that the snow manages to stack itself 8 to 12 inches up my front door every single time it snows. But I'm glad. Oooooh boy am I glad that I got Steve to plow my driveway this winter. I don't know how much it's going to cost me--and if it's close to $1000 then next winter I have to buy a snow-blower...but this year? Happy. That's me.

Oh yes...and it snowed and blowed all day long--so the snow mountain is now about a foot higher than in this photo. Yeah. Good times.

Anyway, I'm off to bed, Poppets. This has been a long post, but it feels good to be back to feeling normal again. Welcome to 2008!


*June is likely when my snow mountain will finally begin to melt.

Consumerism much?

You have to see this. It's long, but so worthwhile.