Fine then.

I guess that since the fates seem to be conspiring against me by leaving me no blogs to read, no tv to watch, and no sleep to have--I might as well blog.

Things are...messed up. Getting better, but messed the fuck up. The finances are in the gutter. The job is just Meh at the best of times. And I'm still waiting on an expense cheque from my move (11 months ago--but who's counting?) My car is still being held hostage in Sackville (this is the end of month 3) -- where it will remain until I get my expense cheque and can pay the ransom.

I'm not hating being a bus person, but I think that's mainly because I've been quite lucky to work with some great folks. My boss picks me up every morning at 6:45 AM, saving me an extra 15 minutes at the house. I can generally get a ride home at night-time, saving me the 1.5 hours it takes to make a 10 minute trip home. I've just had to bus that a couple of times--and I don't actually mind it. The only thing that I really dislike about it, is the amount of time it adds to my already long days at work, and that it keeps me from my dog that much longer. I feel quite guilty about the amount of time he spends home alone.

I'll likely continue the bus commute for any day shifts that I work, even once the car comes home. The timing is convenient, and it will save me a ton of money on gas and wear and tear. I just don't like mooching rides at night time, because even though I've driven people home hundreds of times over the last 10 years, I hate asking. I know most people don't mind, but I don't like to count on that at 10:00 pm. Particularly in the rain or snow.

I have Wednesday off, and my mission for Wednesday is to piece together a current resume. I don't have one. I opened the classifieds on Saturday morning at work, and a job jumped out at me and screamed "SADIE!!! THIS IS FOR YOU!!!" so I figure that I should listen or something. The application deadline is next Monday, so I have a bit of time for tweaking.

I've been thinking a lot over the last couple of weeks about what I want/need to change in my life. I work too many hours at my current job for the limited amount of opportunity for growth that is available to me. I love what I do, and I'm quite good at it; but if there's nowhere to GO from here, then I need to go OUT from here. And, dammit, I want a life again. I want to take Gaelic class in the evenings. I'd like to develop a routine. I'd love to have my evenings and weekends free, like most of the mythical people I read about on the internet. I've never known any of those people...but I think I'd like to be one of them. I'd like to try it, at least.

Anyway--bedtime. Because 5 am comes early. *shudder*

G'night, poppets. I've missed you.

What a lovely weekend. :)

Friday at the school went well. I held it together right up until the end of the hour, at which point I realized I hadn't come up with any sort of summary or logical termination point for the lesson. Oopsie. Lucky for me the kids had to rush off to an assembly, so I had them put their desks back, gather the name cards, and then I was done. It was a whole lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to this week again.

One little girl complimented my shoes. I was expecting this, as grade 6 girls tend to always compliment something that the classroom visitor has/brings/wears. But this was not the usual 'you're pretty' kind of compliment, or 'I like your shoes!'. It was 'Hey! Where'd you get your shoes?' I replied with, 'I think I got these ones at Payless...' "Oh. That's all the way in Moncton." So I think that was a compliment, followed by disappointment when she realized she'd have to enlist help to go purchase some of her own. Ah well. My Chucks ARE cool. So there.

Friday night I was supposed to go to a concert in SJ with DD--but I did not. I encouraged him to be a responsible adult and do work and be home earlyish on Friday night, as he had to work in F'ton on Saturday morning at 7am. Would have made attending a concert until 3 not such a wise move. Something *I* would do, even.

Instead, I went for beer with Caillean here in town. We went to the pub that I usually go to, had a couple of drinks and some skins, and a lovely little visit. I was home and in bed by 1:30, which was a nice change.

Saturday morning I was going to go into Halifax for a Gaelic day, but when the alarm went off at 5:40 am, I looked menacingly at it, and said 'fuck it'. I rolled over, and reawakened at 11:40 am. It was a GREAT sleep.

I spent Saturday afternoon cruising around being domestic. I went to check out the competition in town, they were not busy. They were also very messy and not very well stocked. That was kind of a nice little present to my ego. Then, my butt and I went to visit some furniture at Sears. We agreed that only one of the sofas was even remotely comfortable, and that it was still rather ugly. My butt and I then left.

We went to Canadian Tire to look around, particularly at mitre saws. I didn't see any there that I liked (i.e. were a good enough bargain!). Again, my butt decided to test out some patio furniture. We, my butt and I, agreed on one particular set that was both stylish AND comfortable...but we also agreed that it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a patio set. It comes with an 'outdoor' La-Z-Boy recliner. Who the hell needs one of those?! The set, 2 chairs (1 a la-z-boy), a love-seat and a coffee table of dubious stability for the bargain price of only $1400. Not in this lifetime.

I went to work to pick up some materials. I had some actual home improvements that needed doing. I bought myself a mitre saw from the clearance table, a DeWalt 10" Compound Mitre Saw with a dust bag, and a free palm sander. For only $200. I rock.
I also picked up some 2x4s, a quarter sheet of plywood, some paint, and some electrical box covers. In order to be in compliance with my insurance company's arbitrary demands, I had to do a few things. Oh yes, and I also, finally, bought myself a propane tank so that I can use my BBQ! Woot!


I built a railing. Isn't it lovely?

I also installed covers on some junction boxes in my garage, as well as painted a sheet of plywood with which to cover up the window next to my oil pipe. Apparently you're not allowed to have an operable window within 3 feet of an oil intake. Which is okay, as the window doesn't open. But the insurance company was convinced that it does, so I had to cover it up, take its photo, and send it away.

I felt like I was channeling Bob Villa all day. It was great. And then I BBQd some chicken for supper...so good.

Saturday night was a bit melancholy, as I had no plans and nothing to do. I wanted to go out, but such is life in Amherst. I talked very briefly to Billy on MSN--he's in another one of his non-communicative states--and we both ended up staying home not doing much of anything.

Sunday morning I managed to sleep in again. It was great. I hauled bricks and built tables in the greenhouse at work all afternoon, thankfully with the help and assistance of 4 other people. At 4, we came home. At that point, I came home and began tidying here. I was running the sink for dishes, and contemplating supper, when the phone rang. It was DD. He had said he might be out and about on his motorcycle and would help move bricks if in town. (which in passive-crush speak is 'i'm looking for an excuse to come see you, and am prepared to move bricks in order to do it'--I guess that's not such a bad thing. But.)

Anyway, I fed him BBQ steak and made him help me move furniture. He crashed in the spare room again because the temperature dropped so quickly in the evening and it would have been ridiculously cold on the bike. He lives 2.5 hours away.

Funny that someone would travel 2.5 hours to move heavy things in order to spend time with me, when the guy I was dating for the last year wouldn't even drive 2 hours to see my new house or get laid. Feh.

What else...yesterday. Monday.

The trees and shrubs began to show up at the store. I helped to unload about half a truck of trees.

Ache? Holy moly do I ache. I ached last night, so I had a nice hot shower when I got home. I sat all night and did nothing, I was so tired. And this morning? I'm still achy but am having a very hard time getting motivated to do much of anything.

Anyway...time for work.

It was a lovely weekend of home improvement, my dining room looks like a ROOM now, my portable washing machine is now in the basement where it belongs, my bookcase is in the hallway, and my side-board is in the dining room. You know, it is almost starting to feel like a home. Gotta be careful of that! *heh*

Happy Tuesday!

Interesting

It's interesting to me that today, I wake up nervous.

I'm not a nervous person. I seldom get anxious about things, or experiences. Oh, I get last minute jitters, but never 'days in advance' nerves. I went to bed last night a bit nervous, and this morning I woke up much the same way.

Today I head into a local school to deliver the 'Business Basics' course from Junior Achievement to a classroom of 6th graders. It's the first time I've done the program as an instructor, and taking it myself 25 years ago hardly counts as prep-time. *grin*

I'm excited about it, because I think it will be fun. But I don't think I'm prepared enough to lead a roomful of 11 year olds through anything, let alone a lesson! At least the teacher will be there. If I fail miserably, I expect that he'll step in to help.

Wish me luck! I'm on at 12:30!

Now, I'm off to work. Blech--the good news is, I'm off for the weekend! First of three in a row! Woooooo-hooooo!

Happy Friday!