Kirkland Zone

Procrastination

2010-03-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

"Hello, my name is Charlee and I am a procrastaholic." I am not sure if there is a 12-step plan for procrastinators but there should be. Once again I am working front desk and should technically be writing a paper but I found myself logging on and going to the ol' blog and oh look, I need to update...and my paper sits. What has my life been like lately? Interesting, busy, hectic, crazy, fun, annoying, and to sum it all up...senioritis...bad! So not only am I suffering from a case of procrasinitis but also senioritis. Then once again I think one could say the two go hand in hand. Oh and if this blog is not making sense it is because it is 2:51 am and Azalea is sitting behind me telling me all about T-cells and immunology stuff as she has a test and is "teaching" me...I'm a good student *cough* So my life in story form...
I have one of those alarms on my phone that when it goes off it gets louder and louder until you shut it off. So if the alarm itself isn't annoying enough to make you fly out of bed at a high pace the ever growing loudness of the annoying tune grates on a person's nerves so fast that you have no choice but to fly across the room, grab the phone and shut it off. At this point your heart is pumping quickly from the spurt of adrenaline and I make my way to the bathroom where I look in the mirror to give myself another dose of adrenaline. Whoa! There is no way I look that tired! My bags have little miniature bags inside of them! I attempt to make my face look normal but the months of not being outside causing the pasty/white look of my skin is simply a lost cause. So I walk out of the bathroom and open drawers trying to figure out what to wear but as it turns out none of my shirts look good in the morning and none match the pasty look of my face. So I eventually throw something on quickly and walk back into my bathroom, this whole time I am muttering a little famialiar tune that goes like this, "I hate mornings, I hate mornings" ya its simple. I then look back in the mirror and groan as I realize my hair has somehow gone against the laws of gravity that states that "what goes up must come down" therefore my hair should come down but alas it sticks up everywhere due to static and the rest of it puffs out from the little bit of moisture that it has somehow found in the air...tell me how that works! After this I throw my bag over my shoulder and make my way to class where I sit and listen to a teacher go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and ya on and on. No its not really that bad. Thus ends my first class, drugs in society. My archaelogy of the Bible lands class is fascinating and I am enjoying it immensely. After that class I have Native History which I also find interesting but don't try and text during that class...the teacher doesn't like it or msning for that matter. Finally it is lunch and seeing as breakfast never makes it in the agenda lunch is always a welcome sight. Eric has a half hour lunch so he comes back and we run into the cafe and grad something then if its nice out we sit on the tail gate and inhale our food then he is off again and I am left trying to figure out what to do with my afternoon. I wish I could say it is difficult to pass the time but homework rules out and I find myself writing about the doctrines of the church for theology, native youth suicide for Crisis Intervention, drug clinics for Drugs in Society, the multi-layer site of Jericho for Archaeology, abortion or stem cell research for ethics, or government land claims for Native History. Yes, my afternoon's are often interesting. Oh a side note, "Apoptosis= cell death" Azalea is still teaching me. Anyways...so I am trying to figure out what to do next year...to go back to school, to work, to live on the streets...what to do what to do?! I am realizing more and more that real life, not just school life, is about to start. In Crisis Intervention we learned all about various crisis' a person will or can experience. One such crisis is known as a developmental crisis in which a person experiences the end of a chapter and they begin a new one. I realized I have two coming up...graduation which means starting career and marriage. I must say I am super excited about both however right now most of my energy is going into graduation and I will be very thrilled when these night shifts and school all day are done! Anyways Azalea is still teaching me about the death of the somethingmerother cell. Ya...biology is its own language that I know not. Anyways...time to write a paper for theology class. Have a day of good!! I shall try and write again when I can actually think and am not hearing about mitochondria pathways... :)

Almost Done!

2010-02-21T03:03:00.000-08:00

Its late! In fact it is 4:04 am and I am writing this to you. The sun is sleeping, the dorm is sleeping, the world appears to be sleeping...and I'm up! What might I be doing awake at this moment in time? Alas, I am trapped within the confines of a fishbowl yet again and each moment my butt touches this seat I get paid...until the next person shows up at 7am. What made me decide to write? That, I must say, is an easy question to answer. You see, when a person, such as myself, knows there is homework that is in need of doing I seek any kind of a distraction. Make sense?! I thought so. I sit looking into the future of a very busy week with three midterms, two papers, a field trip and a large presentation to start working on for a crisis intervention class. On Sabbath, a week from yesterday, I preach a sermon in Rimbey. It is all good though and why is that? Because I know there is an end in sight, in fact, I can almost see it now. When I start getting really bogged down I just picture the cap and gown and that diploma and I put my head down yet again and try to wade through 18 credits and two jobs. It is not so much the homework though as much as life and here I must apologize for my neglect in staying in touch with most of the world. I realized I will soon be experiencing what is called a developmental crisis, that is, when you make a transition from one point of your life to the next...then I realized there are quite a few of those coming up in the next four months. 1) Graduation 2) find a job 3) get married. Oy! I have always liked working under stress the best so I guess this shall be the craziest test of all. As the realization begins to dawn that real life is beginning I am reminded of another event in the future that keeps me going even when I want to just give up. One day very soon there will be a shout! the earth will shake and give up their dead as those of us alive will watch as those who have died before us are lifted into the sky, then we who are left shall also be lifted into the sky leaving this sin sickened world behind. We then will proceed to put on a different sort of cap and gown, one that is new, clean and spotless. From there we walk forward to meet Jesus who will place a crown on our heads and give us a different sort of diploma, one that reads, "well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord." There will be no more crazy night shifts, no wondering where money will come from, no wondering if the car will hold up or what you should do with your life and best of all, no death. I like to think that Heaven will be somewhat like Florida lol but much nicer (thought of Florida cause I'm listening to Steve Green, The Mission). Anyways I have procrastinated that which must be done for too long and sadly homework does not do itself (or at least I have never found a way if anyone knows of a way let me know). Have a good night or rather good morning!

WHOA! NO WAY!! ITS NEW!!!!

2009-09-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

So! Who would have guessed it eh!?! A new blog post after all these many months! Why the change? Well the equation goes something like this... at school + nothing to do = a new blog post!
It is a Sunday afternoon and I'm on duty in the dorm therefore I cannot go to Timmy's or for a drive, I am, alas, trapped within the confines of my room. There are white walls all around me, a few lights and a window that allows me to look and watch as people drive by on the freeway, continuing their normal lives while I...sit and rot in my room and think about...random things really. For example, the other day I saw this comic portraying a little girl holding a diary close to her heart, in the top corner it said 1950's and the girl is yelling at her mom "Its private!" Then beside that one was another girl sitting on her laptop, the caption, 2008, and she is complaining to her mom, "man only 103,000 people have viewed my blog today!" Crazy how times change! I began thinking about how our lives our so private when 'real' people are around us and this isn't a bad thing. However, online, we share photos, talk about our deepest thoughts, talk to people we barely know and the craziest part of it all is that it feels normal. I notice how at times I will be talking to someone online and a 'real' person will come and start talking to me and I'm thinking "how rude, they are interrupting my conversation!" My goodness, how times have changed. Last fall the power went off in the dorm which meant no more internet, period! Suddenly the lobby was full and people began talking to each other. I find it crazy how we know so much about our 'neighbors' online and yet we may not even know who lives in the house next to us. What is the difference? Perhaps it is that we tell ourselves we are still safe, if the conversation gets to deep, oops internet cut out, whereas in person people can read our expressions, we have to be real and honestly in today's world it is hard to be real because we do not really know who we are. The media tells us who we should be, how we should act and dress and the music we listen to also dictates much of this. We end up with a generation that only really has an online identity but in real life has no idea.
Anyways, I have gone on long enough. I do believe I am going to go and find something useful to do, not sure what, but something. :) Have a great day!!

Last Post was October ... Wow!

2009-01-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

I honestly forgot I even had a blog until Christmas vacation when my dear family reminded me. With facebook and hotmail it is easy to bypass this altogether. However, for the sake of whoever may happen to be checking this I thought I would post a new one...just for kicks.
It is currently 1:10 am and in all honesty I have no reason for being up. I am back at school now and have very little homework as of yet so I should be sleeping. The older I get the more I discover I do my best thinking at night, about life, plans, school, events, etc. Thankfully I do not have to worry about getting up early as I have no Tuesday, Thursday classes this semester. However, my Monday, Wednesday classes are maddening. From 7:40 am - 9pm I'm in class with a few breaks in between, Friday I'm there until noon.
Christmas vacation felt like it went too fast yet at the same time I know life goes on and no matter how much, at times, I want to drag my feet the world continues turning so I may as well keep up. I find the older I get the faster the world seems to turn which means the faster I have to make decisions and the faster I have to go when in reality all I want to do is hit pause and just chill. I suppose being busy is actually a privilege in that it allows a person to appreciate doing nothing, just relaxing. Just like being thirsty makes a person appreciate water or hungry to food. This makes me laugh as I think that maybe I should take a break from school so I can appreciate homework. I stare above my computer and I see bulging binders and books and textbooks and all I can do is shake my head. All that knowledge! I know I have read it, taken notes at one point so its in my brain somewhere...but where? All this homework and schoolwork, countless hours in a classroom and I feel as though I retain very little of what is said. This makes me wonder something else...If computers were non-existent, if I did not just have all this at my finger tips, would I appreciate it more, would I long for it? This leads to another question...if I did not have six or seven Bibles, if God did not feel so accessible, would I long for him more? Perhaps this is why we sometimes experience hard times. Its not God's way of punishing but merely reminding us that he is there and that we can rely on him, we can't do it all ourselves. It seems to be him reminding us that there is something better to come and that this is all temporary. Our measly seventy to ninety years on earth are merely a blink of the eye compared to what we could have. The trial that seems insurmountable today is, in reality, in the grand scheme of things, merely a pin prick. If you have ever climbed a mountain or hill you realize how much you can see. From above you look down and notice the hills and they seem so small. Yet when you are walking down below, those hills, that from above seem so small, feel as though they are mountains! I suppose I am writing this blog to remind myself that everything will be alright. Right now another semester looms high above me casting shadows of financial doubt, homework, jobs, scheduling, traveling, family, and more. Yet when I look back I realize all was fine. I made it this far, I can keep going...but sometimes even the strongest people need help. Sometimes it's nice to just let God help...that's where I need a few lessons. Just stepping back and letting God take over. I'll do my part and trust that he will do his. This semester will finish, the buds on the trees will come out, the flowers will open and the temperature will warm significantly reminding me that summer is around the corner and with it new life, a second chance.

Who Knew?! Shrugs

2008-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

First I must define something: The word blond and according to dictionary.com it means...
light-colored; having light colored hair and skin; as a noun it means: a blond person
It is here that I must stop...a blond person...why do I pause here. Well I think that the term blond should mean something else but I'm not sure what yet. Maybe by the end of this blog I'll have a new definition to present to those reading. You see, today I'm wearing a red shirt with gold letters that read Blonde, the New Smart but what I'm about to write counters my shirt. So, my day has been going alright however I have been extremely overwhelmed today as I begin realizing that things are due and how school really only has one more month left and in that month I have 4 papers to hand in, 4 sermons to preach (the 4 papers have nothing to do with the sermons), 2 of those sermons are in class and one will be in Rimbey and the other in Leduc. Slightly overwhelmed there, more nervous. What does this have to do with being blonde? Well...I'm hoping to use this as an alaby for what I'm about to explain, its not super bad I mean I've done worse. Ok here goes!
So I bought a lamp the other day right?! If you are furrowing your brow read the blog below this one and you'll see that on Friday I bought a lamp with a blue base and yellow shade. So after convincing myself that it was unique I decided to keep it. After all the yellow shade matches the cheerios boxes on my top shelf and the blue matches the Vector boxes so how cool is that...I have a breakfast lamp! Well, I put the bulb into my lamp, plugged it in and turned it on but nothing happened. I groaned inwardly knowing that I would have to take this ridiculous lamp back because it was dead! Here it is, Monday afternoon and I'm getting the box out of the cupboard and preparing to take my unique breakfast lamp back to Wally world...I think to myself "I wonder what would happen if..." and I walk over to my other lamp and grab the light bulb out of that lamp and walk back over to my unique lamp and proceed to screw in the lightbulb...I then plug it back in and click the switch...Voila! I had light! So I walk back over to the other lamp and put the old light bulb into it and it doesn't work. What I am writing is this: I am keeping my cool little breakfast lamp because the only thing wrong with it is my brain blew a fuse and thus no lights came on upstairs resulting in me blaming a perfectly good lamp for my own lack of sanity. So I have a light and I think I will change my shirt to I Love Carbs or something...I will also define blonde as this Blonde: a creature, usually feminine with nothing between her ears as a result of her hair color creating a short in the wiring thus causing a fuse to blow and as a result the wind blows through her ears. Something like that...see my definition doesn't even make sense...I think I may just go back to bed but I'm off to Red Deer to not return my lamp but to grab some things for my hall as we have open house this weekend (where the guys get to come view the halls and rooms and thus everything must be decorated). Later!

A Dead Lamp!

2008-10-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

It is 1:49 am and in all honesty I should be in bed. I still have this wicked cough I cannot kick for the life of me but I'm guessing that not going to bed early is playing a small part. This past Wednesday marked the end of midterms for myself and so far, or at least last time I checked, I'm still breathing. I am completely loving Greek and considering taking a minor in ancient languages but not taking the pre-prof course...the pre-prof is what pastors take however I have little interest in becoming a pastor so I am planning on taking a 4 yr religious studies degree with a minor in history and ancient languages...what am I going to do with this? I don't know yet but I love researching and learning so...we'll see. Anyways, why is my title a dead lamp? For this very reason...
Today, being Friday, I decided to try and play catch up. Last Friday I spent the day in bed wishing that death would come visit but alas that did not happen. I survived and my ailment and today decided I definately needed to clean. So I began with laundry and scrubbing my bathroom and wiping away dust in my room. I then proceeded to vacuum and then distribute toilet paper to the girls on my floor (one of the jobs as an RA) along with vacuuming the hallway. Then it was down to the guest rooms to clean them and make sure they were ready to go for the weekend. By the time I finished all this it was 3 and Michael wanted to go to Red Deer. I was so sick of cleaning that I gladly opted for a change of pace, besides the fact that I had been in Lacombe since I got back two weeks ago. So off to Red Deer we went. Michael dropped me off at Wal Mart as he wanted to go and buy something down the road at Future Shop. So I grabbed a cart, stopped and stared at all the halloween candy, then stopped again and stared but did not buy due to the fact that it is all very overpriced and I will wait until November 1...all St. Day or as it is more commonly known "All Halloween candy for Charlee day." I was finally able to peel myself away from the candy (besides I'm still sick and shouldn't be eating candy right?) and decided to get some important item for my bathroom called soap, you may have heard of it. Its great, its white and comes in a big container and I think it cleans your hands...all I know is it said SALE 2.97 and I bought it. I have to say something here...I am getting older because sales excite me now a days...either that or I'm getting poorer. I see a SALE sign and I have to stop, think about whether I really need it, debate, then if I do need it I buy a lot because you never know when it will be on sale again. For example, Wal Mart had a sale on Special K, it was only 1.97 per box...now for Alberta thats REALLY good because your average box of cereal is around $10! Ridiculous!! So I bought Special K! Then my absolute favorite Cheerios was on sale so I had to get those. Anyways...I'm getting sidetracked. So my cart and I finish walking down the food aisle in Wally world and my cart begins heading toward the aisle that contains cleaning supplies...of course I think to myself I need some. You see, up until today I have been using the cleaning buckets downstais...disgusting! Scrubbing your toilet with a scrubber that the rest of the dorm uses just doesn't float my boat not to mention you have no idea where those gloves have been and ya I decided to buy my own stuff. I know some families *cough* like to borrow the neighbors toilet plunger but...I like to have my own haha just kidding mom. Over thanksgiving our toilet overflowed and to our dismay there was no plunger in the house. So mom is standing over this toilet, water is pouring everywhere and making its way into the hallway and slowly pouring down the furnace vents into the basement and there is absolutely no plunger. A septic installer's house has NO plunger. So mom runs to the phone and dials the neighbor's number...they aren't home! So she calls another neighbor, they aren't home either, apparently on thanksgiving no one is home. So she calls another neighbor and frantically says "Can we borrow your plunger for the toilet?" ... its thanksgiving... its 10pm... a lady is frantic about needing a toilet plunger... the neighbor merely says "Who is this?" My mom quickly explains the situation and they all laugh and the story ends happily when the toilet becomes unplugged later that evening with a lesson about flushing certain feminine products down a toilet that has a septic system...not a good plan..................Anyways I'm completely sidetracked. I'm standing in Wal mart and notice that there is an all surfaces cleaner for sale so I grab it and then I see a light, no, many lights. I begin moving toward the light (don't worry its merely the light aisle). As I'm walking down that aisle I remember that I do need a light for my room as the fluorescent light in the ceiling tends to make a person feel slightly insane. As a student I must find the cheapest light and oh I do, its $9! I grab a blue one and head to the check out. When I get back to the dorm I open my light only to discover the base is blue, the shade is yellow...Oh well, I screw in a light bulb and plug it in, turn it on and NOTHING! So right now I have a dead lamp sitting on my fridge. The shiny blue base looks nice, the yellow is another story but anyways. I have written more then I intended and its 2:11 am. I bid thee all farewell!

Pictures

2008-09-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is the group!! It was really windy!! Everytime the picture was taken the wind blew and threw me backwards.

Azalea standing on the steep, rocky surface

The view of Canmore and a really awesomely sweet drop off. I'm lying on the edge of the cliff with my hands dangling over taking the picture and of course praying that the wind didn't catch my coat and throw me into Canmore.

A few of us on the way up the mountain! You'll notice I'm at the back of the group...taking a picture was my excuse for stopping and catching my breath

this is the mountain that we climbed

This is the view from the side we climbed up, you can see the river valley at the bottom and the amazingly steep trail.

Summits!!

2008-09-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

It was eight in the morning which in my books is way to early to be getting up, let alone dressed and ready to go on a Sabbath...but I was. See at 7:30 my phone rang and I could not figure out why on earth I had to be up so early on a day I knew I could sleep in until church started...needless to say it was Azalea, "are you ready to go?" My mind raced then it all began coming back to me...right! We are going to the mountains today. I got my stuff together rather quickly and headed down to the lobby to wait for the guys and Azalea, in total there was 6 of us going, my brother, Jared, his brother, JD, Azalea and myself. So, I waited until they all eventually came out to the lobby but by this time I was trying to find out where on earth Azalea had disappeared to. See, after she called me, as it turns out, she went back to bed. We waited until she was ready then Azalea, JD and myself piled in his car and the other three piled in Jared's car. The drive was good and of course I slept until we got there. It was 11:30, the sun was out but it was still cool so we all grabbed our backpacks and began the climb up. No joke, up...no, that word is actually an understatement. We were in the woods most of the way then suddenly there were no more trees as the oxygen was way to thin for anything to survive that high. Not only that but if anything did decide to live it would just get blown off. One guy we met on the trail said the wind was 42 knots. Needless to say it was enough to almost blow me around a couple of times. Anyways, we reach this treeless area and the rest of the climb is pretty much straight up and something mom would not appreciate at all. You see, if you look to your right you have an amazing view of this tiny little stream at the bottom, a road that is barely seeable anymore and the mountains are everywhere. Its also a fall that would hurt as you would begin sliding. This is what we walked on. I walked all the way to a point where I figured it would level out but no, mountains don't level out they merely curve straight down the other side. I look over and its just a straight drop off, this drop off is to my right and to my left is a steep ledge we just climbed up. To add to this the wind was ridiculous, I could lean into it comfortably. Everyone kept joking about how I was just going to fly right into Canmore. You see, on my right (the drop off) was an incredible view of Canmore, it looked so tiny and you could follow highway 1 for quite a while. We stayed up there for a bit but because of the sweat you accumulate on the way up and the cold wind you pretty much freeze to death quickly. Not to mention the fact that your nose is running and with wind like that...the guys had fun talking about their flying snot. Anyways, on the way back down we stopped as soon as we hit the tree line again and everyone took off their backpacks and we all discovered that everyone had brought enough food to stay a week. Michael had 7 sandwiches and two bags of cheese buns, Jared had 3 or was it 4 bagels, 3 sandwiches, 2 apples, yogurt, etc, Azalea had a whole whack of stuff including grapes, carrots and dip and bananas and much more, JD had ramen and a stove on which to prep it, Jared's brother had this massive loaf of bread and I brought hummus, buns, an orange pepper, nutri grain bars and I can't even remember what else, oh ya, everyone teased me for this but I also had a can of beans and a ... can opener (they all thought that was so funny). So we ate and ate and slowly the packs became a little lighter but the stomachs became heavier. Either way we carried the food up and down and had much left over. We continued on down the trail and discovered quickly that going down is not as hard on the ol' lungs and heart but extremely hard on the ol' joints. By the time we made it back down to the car it was 4:30. We drove down to the Nordec center (where the cross country skiing events were held back during the olympics in Calgary), why did we go there? Well, I refused to squat over another stinky out house and so we went there so I could use the facilities and wash my hands properly. It was so nice!! Needless to say everything was amazing about the day. The leaves were all yellow (no cool colors here because there are no maples) and the sun was out and the mountains were just so amazing looking!! Thankfully we made it back safely. Thus concludes that part of my day! It was amazing and I took some awesome pics with Azalea's camera, when I steal them from her I'll post them on here for you to see.

A What...A Blog!!! Thats Right! Its a NEW BLOG

2008-09-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Please hold your applause *holds hand up* Oh wait, *leans over as someone whispers in ear* o.k. if anyone has any complaints about not seeing a blog in a while see me after the show. Now back to what I was saying. *A stray tomato whizzes past the speakers ear as an angry crowd member defiantly folds their arms and waits* One question seems to be on everyone's mind, what has this crazy person been up to since the 10th of September? I mean come on, what could be so terribly important that they couldn't even find a few moments of their time to write a blog? The speaker chuckles and begins telling a tale of woe, a tale of laughter, a tale of humility and a tale of tiredness...
"You see," The speaker straightens and looks into the eyes of those listening, "this person, named Charlee, has been up to a lot in the last two weeks. Two weekends ago found her sitting in a chair in her room for two days straight with a 350 page book (no not a school book but rather a book she found in the ABC or as it is now known as the Store in which Charlee should not enter). She did not get up until it was done as it was just that good. Then the mondane life of school began all over again and she started running here and there and was taken on a run through the woods with her friend, however this run turned out to be more of a walk/sometimes run as her lungs folded their arms and said "like whatever, there is no way you are like making us work like that, like come on." Needless to say Charlee kept at it as the days were nice and warm. The weekend hit though and what should have been relaxing was far from it. It was her turn to be on duty and she found herself on Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It was tiring and by the end of it she hated seeing the little pink sign that said "team 2 and 4 on duty." As days tend to do they continued on and before she knew it Greek was beckoning her attention but something else was now happening. Sunday was the first day of the Running Club started by her friend. They went out on Sunday and ran 3 miles. It was a normal fall day. Now begins the tale of woe as a sign was posted saying "Running Club 6 am! Tuesday morning!" How hard can it be to get up right? Sleep is bliss but then something happens, its a noise, yes a sound. Its something that interupts a sleep, oh thats right an alarm clock. She jumps from her bed and looks at the numbers staring back at her, horror filling her eyes. The clock reads 5:45am!! *Music plays loudly in the background adding to the effect as speaker holds heart* Charlee thinks about skipping but a shrill noise cuts through the darkness of the room and she finds herself running toward the sound and quickly picking up the receiver. A voice on the other end greets her ear however this voice sounds way to excited about the fact that they are going running at this absolutely ubsurd hour. She goes downstairs to the lobby and to her surprise there is a large group of people seated there waiting to go. The run turns out ok and she falls back asleep afterwards. This same process is repeated Wednesday morning and as she walks down the stairs she discovers her body yelling at her. She makes her way outside and her lungs immediately say "are you like kidding us, it is way to cold for us to like breathe this air." Her legs begin moving and her heart beats faster and her lungs quit complaining and start working. There is only three of them and the route they take goes through the woods. Her legs begin hurting, her heart is pounding, her lungs are burning from the cool air, her nostrils are wide like that of a horse in full canter, and her eyes are struggling to see the path in front of her. However one factor keeps her going...she is scared to death of the dark and the idea of stopping would mean walking through the dark woods by herself...um no. She keeps going and finds that she doesn't die but rather just, well, keeps going. They get back and she finds the lobby is really hot! However the body cools down quickly and so after having a hot shower and eating a good breakfast she makes her way to class, then another class and another and then cleans and then works some more and finally she sits writing this crazy adventure to you. *The speaker steps off the platform, the audience chears. Bed beckons as the alarm will be screaming "GET UP TO RUN" all to soon.*

Routine

2008-09-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

I realized tonight how long it has been since I wrote last...although I must add that there are not many new blogs as of late due to the fact that school started. Oh! and guess what!?! Third year is actually harder then second or first. So, needless to say I have settled into a routine of being busy. I study Greek anywhere from 2-3 hours a day, yes a day, minus Sabbath. Its pure craziness and the amount of reading I am doing is amazingly crazy as well. I say amazingly crazy because there is a lot of reading but I enjoy reading so in the end it all works out. So, as of late what have I been up to?
If I were writing a blog every night, which I would like to get back into the habit of doing, it might put some people to sleep and if you are already working a night shift or are just suffering from lack of sleep I do not want my blog to be the reason why you fell asleep when you shouldn't have. Ok! Get this too!! In order to understand Greek grammar...you have to understand english grammar! I have managed, for the past 21 years, to get away with not knowing much grammar, enough to get by but thats it. Now I am picking apart sentences like a vulture picks apart a carcass and I'm learning all about these crazy words like...I forgot them...oh well. They are crazy words that pertain to grammar that I don't like but am learning anyways. I am also taking homiletics which is a course on how to preach a sermon effectively. On top of this class there is evangelism, which is a course I would recommend to anyone who wears the name Christian. Acts/ Luke is a study of, well, Acts and Luke, once again a very good course. Last but not least European History which I enjoy. I decided something though, if they made the textbooks just a little smaller and cooler looking, more people would read it. For example, in some of my classes, actually all but European History, they are more like books, well they are books but I mean they are small and compact and easy to carry around thus making reading them fun (I also buy drinks based on the cool bottle...thank goodness I don't drink alcohol), whereas a big, bulky textbook is like looking at a big bottle of 7Up, its just unappealing. Whereas in a cool bottle or textbook it makes the person want to read it more...thats my two sense for today. Well, other then school work, which takes up most of my time in a day, I have also been organizing worship on Monday evenings and taking care of hall worship on Tuesday evenings. Tonight I spent 4 hours in the deans office just making myself available for any poor soul who happened to forget that keys are needed to unlock the door (I too have made this mistake more then once...even in my car once, on the upper level parking of Sears in Kingston and at a movie theatre with the lights on in the truck...CAA was needed for that one and we missed the movie), but yes I act as a sort of CAA dude in the dorm or toilet paper getter when someone runs out. So, what else can I report on...I'm looking around my room right now seeing if I can become inspired but alas nothing is coming to me. It is almost midnight and I have class at 9:30 so I should head to bed and sleep until my alarm clock goes off in the morning. I just wanted to touch base and let you all know I am alive and well just super busy already! Until later

N-O-T-H-I-N-G

2008-09-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Nothing. Nothingness. Absence of doing anything useful. Being lazy. Accomplishing little to nothing. Accomplishing diddly squat. Waiting for school to start. These few words describe my day today. All in all, if added together my day pretty much accomplished nothing. Here's how it went...
The last two nights had found me up talking to people until 3 in the a.m. Of course the last two days (Sunday and today) also found me getting up earlier then I wanted to due to a series of fortunate events. This morning I arose bright and early, ten of the a.m. and made my way into town with eight other people, sorry, thats eight including me. We all decided to go for breakfast seeing as it was labour day and soon school would start again (Wednesday morning, tomorrow is registration). When we got back to the dorm it was around noon and I decided to kill myself by attempting to take 18 credits again. Due to the long walk over and the fresh air followed by a conversation with my mom I opted not too. Needless to say I will only be taking 15 credits and focusing on my classes and my job and in turn not killing myself. I sat in the admin building for quite a while just talking on the phone to my parents and then headed back to the dorm and sat in the lobby/fish bowl for the next four hours (3-7). Why? I have no real reason just didn't feel like going to my room and doing anything else so instead I sat and chatted with people and tried not to fall asleep. At seven of the p.m. I made my way upstairs, this time feeling as though I was a zombi and decided to lay down for a few minutes however a few minutes quickly turned into three and a half hours and before I knew it, it was 10:30, the sky was dark, the stars littering the sky and headlights marking the cars out on the road. When I had originally laid down the sun was still out hanging low in the horizon but still out. It was shining through my window warming me up but of course as nature would have it, the day ended and I was sleeping. So, I woke up at 10:30 and had a quick shower then went down the stairs and sat at the desk which is where I am still sitting. Many students are returning and as a result it is slightly crazy here tonight. If this blog seems somewhat detached or doesn't flow well I must throw in that I have been writing this since 11 and it is now 12:33... many distractions which is what I'm paid for so I don't mind. Anyways all, I am going to say good night.

The Adventures of the Prison Warden

2008-08-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

A student could often compare their life to that of a prisoner, especially if one is living in the dormitory or jail. However as one grows up, one can also apply for a job known as RA or prison warden assistant. This one certain individual happened to apply and get this very job. As a result these RA's were taken on a special trip to Banff where they spent time in the hot springs, going up a gondola, running down the side of the mountain trying to make it to the bus before those riding the gondola (those with weak knees and those who don't run often, such as a girl by the name of Charlee, are not advised to do this as it leads to not being able to walk for three days afterwards), going on a hike in the mountains and just enjoying nature with your fellow RA's. It was a good bonding experience. The next few days that followed (imagine days following days) found this group in a series of meetings which didn't help this Charlee girls legs which felt as though they had been run over by a bulldozer then trampled on by thousands of angry bulls and finally seized up as they sat and then those horrid words were mentioned by those in charge "lets stand for prayer or for the opening song." At those words her legs would scream "no pleases! We are too weak" but her arms would grab the arm rests and push up and her legs had to valiantly muster up the courage to support the crazy amount of weight that pushed down on them from her body. They screamed, they cried, but to no avail. They sent little messages to the brain screaming for help but the brain sent a message back saying "shut up and pay attention." Needless to say just as Charlee' s legs began feeling better something else began to...not feel better. She spent the whole of Sunday night awake in the bathroom praying for an instant death, she didn't care how just death. She tried different pills (not to kill herself but to help with the pain and such) but nothing helped. It wasn't until later the next day that she found out that raspberry leaves made into a tea help big time...modern pills are useless at times. So she tried to catch up on some sleep but she was also on duty and new students were arriving.
Now Charlee is working the front desk and trying to plot out her life...to some extent. Should she drop out of college...just kidding...
On Tuesday Charlee and her friend Azalea hopped into Charlee's trusty ol' pickup and made thier way into Edmonton with Charlee sweating all the way hoping no spark plugs decided to play games again. Thankfully all went well and they made it there safely. They both had appointments at 4:30 to get their hair done and so they both went in and sat down. At 5:00 Charlee was done and decided to go to the food court and get popcorn and call her parents. She sat there, by herself, on the cell phone while trying to place the exploding popcorn into her mouth. This was a problem, you see, Charlee is blonde. As she talked she realized she did not possess the talent to place the popcorn into her mouth and so by the end of her conversation a pile of popcorn had accumlated on the table and on the floor. She bent down and picked it all up, throwing it in the garbage, then continued walking back to the salon only to discover Azalea was still sitting with tinfoil in her hair...it was 6:30. With this she decided to walk to Chapters and "look" at the books. However Charlee happens to suffer from something known as bookaholism which is, for her, the equivalent of an alcoholic walking into a beer store or a kid walking into a candy store...not a healthy combination. She walked in not expecting to buy anything but this is next to impossible for her as she is crazy about books...she walked out with two. So there she sat, on a ledge next to the escalators, across from the salon, reading her new book. People walked by but she failed to notice as she slowly dissolved into the world of the book. Before she knew it Azalea was standing over her asking if she was ready to go and thus they left and headed back to the little town of Lacombe. Now Charlee sits at the front desk on Wednesday evening writing the first blog in a while and now that the blog is finished she will pick up her book and read until her shift ends in 54 minutes.

Oh No!

2008-08-20T23:43:00.001-07:00

As I was sitting here working the front desk I began feeling as though there were something I may be forgetting. I read the book I am currently reading, ate ramen, read some more and then put the book down as I realized, with 16 minutes remaining in my shift, that I had not written on my blog tonight. So, I will give a quick overview of what is going on in my life.
Last night I did not have to drive my truck to the airport as a friend of Azalea's offered to drive instead. Needless to say I was relieved. Sarah got there safely and my brother was picked up and brought back to the school safely. We did not get in until late and were all really tired.
Today was one of those slow days where you find yourself wondering what you should be doing but knowing there is a lot to do. I did get some things taken care of with the school, finished unpacking my room and putting everything in its proper place, went to Red Deer to buy some essentials and then working front desk. It was a somewhat busy day but it was also one of those days where you drag your toes due to tiredness.
Tomorrow night there will yet again be no blog as I am heading to Banff for the night with the school and won't return until Friday. Should have a lot of exciting things to report then. So...Until then!!! :)

Hot!!!!

2008-08-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that in a little while I will be writing blogs that tell of how cold it is and how I wish that the temperature would rise just a little. Needless to say, today was over 35C which meant that it was quite warm outside. It is still quite warm right now and I am currently sitting at the front desk with the AC on and well, still sweating. However, my day...
No alarm clocks went off and even if one had I probably would not have heard it. The night before had felt especially long seeing as I had worked a 9-1 which to my body felt like a 11-3. I should be used to even those shifts as I worked them all last year but I'm still recovering from the drive out and well, its hot! Around 9:30 I rolled over, the sun was shining outside and the temperature was already warmer then it should have been especially since I had to move. So, I crawl out of bed and walk down the stairs to see if anyone is around. No one is as Azalea had to go to work and Sarah had gone on a long bike ride to get groceries. I dressed and walked out of the apartment and to my surprise I found Azalea heading in the same direction I was, to the Ad building. I had to take care of some business and so did she. I am proud to say I got that done, now for all the other things to take care of. After this I decide that I cannot, as much as I'd like to, put off moving any longer and so without further ado I take my stuff and begin the move up to fourth floor, all stairs. By the time I reach the top with the first load I'm out of breath and sweaty as, well, heat rises, this should sum it all up. I open the window and place my cute little fan in the window but for some reason it feels like it is only blowing in hot air. Its hot! So I try to unpack but fall asleep on my bed for a while then wake up. I got all moved up just not unpacked. After this Azalea got off work and with exactly 1 hr 1/2 we ran into Red Deer (before Azalea had to be back again). Wal Mart, stuff, stuff and more stuff. I was able to buy the sockets for spark plugs in case that blows again. The truck made it there and back safely and everything seems snug so hopefully all will go well tomorrow night on the way to Calgary...please pray as I cannot afford to break down nor can Sarah afford to miss her flight (Michael can wait if worse comes to worse lol). Anyways just as I pull back into the parking lot and reach to open the cap I see a red Toyota Corolla come into the parking lot at the school. There is only one other faithful Toyota lover I know and sure enough it was Christel. Due to the extreme heat Christel, myself and Sarah (Azalea had to work) headed to Subway then came back to the dorm to eat it with Azalea. Afterwards Sarah headed off to the gym, Azalea still working and Christel and I in search of something cold. So, we jumped in her beautiful baby (with very cold AC) and headed to Euphoria, a place in Lacombe which makes really good, cold, smoothies. Jaymee would like it. Around 8:30 she had to get home and my shift began at 9 and so now I'm looking at a book called Dear John by Nicholas Sparks and well I'm gonna read it as I have the time. I won't be writing tomorrow evening as I will be in Calgary late due to flights. So...until Wednesday evening, take care

Water Plugs and Spark Parks

2008-08-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

I was hoping that, perhaps, someone that is somewhat dyslexic, might catch my mess up of a title which should read Water Parks and Spark Plugs, I'm tired. Currently I am watching my battery level on my computer becoming increasingly lower and thus I don't know how much I can write tonight before my computer just dies. I packed the plug for it in another bag so I wouldn't loose it and now I can't find it, Oh well I unpack tomorrow.
What does my title have to do with anything, well it has to do with my day and it pretty much sums it all up. However, first I must say, quickly, that yesterday we went to church and then on to Gull Lake where we spent a few hours soaking up the sun and swimming as it was quite warm, yesterday and today. Last night found a few of us at Boston Pizza ordering the cheapest things we could find. Now I can get on to today's news...
I awake this morning to silence, no one else was up yet. I am staying in Azalea's apartment until tomorrow when I will make the long climb to fourth where I shall reside for the rest of the year. Anyways so I wake up this morning, around some crazy time called 9am which to my poor body was 11am, so I'm lying there wondering "hmm, what shall I do today..." I had been to the West Ed oh I don't know, 7 or 8 times before and never ever, nope, not even once, had I set foot in the waterpark. Sarah needed to see the West Ed, I mean you don't come this close to Edmonton and not see the current but not for much longer, biggest mall in the world. Everyone wakes up finally and the process begins of getting ready, throwing bathing suits in a bag and well, getting into the truck. Now, I check all the fluids on the truck faithfully and go over the truck looking for anything loose or out of place and there was nothing so on to the gas station we drive where I fill up and continue on the Edmonton. It was a good drive, the sun was shining, the fields were green and yellow (wheat) the massive expanse of sky in Alberta was blue with very few white puffy clouds. As I left the gas station (to back up quickly) the guy asked me if I had anything known as AMA which is the equivalent of CAA or AAA...I said no...and something in the back of my mind uttered "your gonna wish you had it." Excusing the fact I proceeded to Edmonton where I exited onto the Anthony Henday (shortcut to the West Ed) and suddenly, pop! followed by a loud noise. What! This can't be happening!! I continue driving as I had power and everything worked, just a loud noise. I pulled off at the first exit I could get to and thought to myself, "there is bound to be a garage or something." I was wrong. I pulled off into a very wealthy area with houses ten sizes larger then my own and cars I can only imagine owning. I continue driving down this really nice road with really nice houses and really nice cars and my own vehicle announcing my entrance. Of course, the roads have no shoulder and so I continue on down the road until I see a bus stop area, its Sunday, no buses and thus I pull in. We pop the hood and look and look and Sarah remembers her car making the same noises once before, she walks back and forth then announces "It was the spark plug!" Sure enough the spark plug had popped out. So we tried to insert it again only to be discouraged as we did not have any spark plug wrenches. I'm walking around the truck praying that someone will come and help because to call a tow truck on a Sunday, well, lets just say I wouldn't be owning one of those nice houses soon. There we sit, waiting, trying to get it to work but nothing. Suddenly I spot a black Honda turn the corner and come our way. To make a long story short they were extremely nice people, religious and had a spark plug wrench. We got it back in then with encouragement from them opted to continue on to the mall as they had given us their number in case something blew again they could come help and figured if we were still in Edmonton that would be better.
We arrived at the mall and everything was still working good so we went in and had a really good time! At 3pm its cheaper too so it all worked out. Some of those slides were crazy and caused you to take air. Of course the first slide I went down I do believe the whole pool ended up inside my nostrils. Eventually I got the hint, plug thy nose! I would get into more details but there is now a little red x over my battery so I know my computer will die shortly. Until later though, have a good evening and a great day tomorrow. All I can say is that we did make it back to Lacombe safely. God is good and sent the right people to help and got us back safely. :)

At the Front Desk....Deja vu!

2008-08-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

It is currently 7:28 am in Alberta and I took over working front desk from 7-9 for my crazy friend who was trying to work from 1am to 9am after she had already worked a bunch of hours yesterday and was trying to hang out with her sister and wants to go to church this morning. Anyways, now that I have the time and no excuses I will fill you in on my trip out west.
It all began Sunday, in all honesty, with greasing the truck, changing the oil, strapping on the loose gas tank, and putting new shocks on the front end of the truck. Then Evan helped me clean the interior of the truck (due to a *cough* paintjob on it back in the summer I like it dirty so the exterior of the truck stays dirty). While Evan and I cleaned Michael ran up into the shop and proceeded to run around like a chicken with its head cut off and scream "I hate country music" as Evan and I listened to the radio, with, you guessed correctly, country. Anyways Monday follows Sunday, correct? So Monday I packed and tried to tie together loose ends. Tuesday follows Monday and found me putting everything into the back of the truck, heading to Sears to get our family pictures done and then back home to finish packing and once again tie together loose ends.
Wednesday, this day gets its own paragraph because it is all about the trip now, no more getting ready. My plans said, let's leave at 7 am, reality said "let's not leave until 10" needless to say reality won and we didn't leave until later. Sarah, Azalea's sister, drove up from Buffalo to travel out west with me and surprise her sister. So, we leave the house, dad driving my truck to ensure that all is well and myself and Sarah riding with mom so I could sleep as I would be the solo driver of the trip due to insurance purposes. Around, I can't remember what time, but a time, we arrived in Belleville and ate at Denny's for breakfast, I wasn't all that hungry as I was picturing every possible thing that could go wrong with the truck, the engine blowing, the alternator dying, the rad dying, maybe blowing a fan belt or an alternator belt, a tire going flat...you get the picture. Anyways I choke down some toast and eggs and then we drive to Oshawa where we made a stop at the ABC to pick up some things and meet up with Auntie Faith and Uncle Cary. After talking for a while and just chillin' we said our goodbyes and thus the trip began, it was 12:34. We drove through Toronto, the rain was falling and traffic was thick but finally the 400 was in sight and off I went and headed toward Sudbury. I won't get into all the details but we made it Sudbury around 5 and began driving to Sault Ste. Marie (also pronounced Salt Saint Mary jk). I stopped for gas here and wanted desperately to stop as it was getting on for 8 but knew I had to continue on, so Wawa here I come. The drive between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa takes you along Lake Erie and through a provincial park. This means, lots of hills, no people, due to the hour there were very few people driving and lots of corners in the road. At first I was going 90, the speed limit, as I didn't want to hit a moose or deer. However as the hours crept on and Sarah was passed out in the passenger seat I began feeling tired too. Suddenly, a car went whizzing by me and this was the break I needed, let him hit the moose (what is the plural for moose? there should be one). As I continued driving I noticed the moon's reflection on the water and needless to say, it was very beautiful and picturesque. There were many occasions I was glad I had no one with a camera in the car as many stops would have been made :) Anyways, 11ish I finally pulled into Misty Isles Lodge, a very nice place, nice people, strongly recommend staying there if you are ever around Wawa, Ontario. So, now its 11:30, I've showered and am finally in bed. As I lay there almost asleep I hear it. That faint, utterly obnoxious drone of a mosquito and they always have to hover over your ears! I lay there for a few more seconds, she's still there...I wait...the noise is gone. I roll over and almost fall asleep again and...there it is. Now I'm mad so I begin praying "please God just let it land so I can kill it." I prop myself up and wait, finally, in the darkness, I see this speck on my white pillow, the moment of death for this mosquito is at hand. With one swift swat the room falls silent. I brush her remains off my pillow and proceed in falling asleep, afterall that was an intense battle.
Thursday: Don't you just love the sound of an alarm clock after you have tossed and turned all night in a hotel bed and then you finally fall asleep only to be awakened by some diddy of a tune on your cell phone. Its 6:30 am, I pull myself out of my nice comfortable bed and drag my sore body into the bathroom and change. I walk out, my alarm clock is still going off but there is no movement from Sarah...I hate waking people up unless they are my brothers and I have a whistle. I stand over her "Sarah" I whisper. Then I begin laughing, here I am trying to wake someone up and I'm whispering! *smack!* Needless to say I raised my voice just a little to a half whisper half real voice and repeat name...finally she gets up and gets ready and by 7:10 we were on the road again. Now, from Wawa to Thunder Bay should only take 3 and 1/2 hours...unless there is construction, and more construction and just when you think you are clear there is more! It was depressing, at one point, 100km from T-Bay I look across the lake and there, there, there, there! is T-Bay. Why don't they just build a bridge!!!! Instead you go up and down, around corners and basically follow the lake. 1pm I arrive in T-bay and stop at the Terry Fox Memorial to eat a lunch of sandwiches and walk off my cramped legs and sore shoulders...didn't work. I wanted to just fall asleep there as I looked out over Lake Superior and realized this would be the last real lake I would see for a while, Alberta's lakes are the equivalent of what we would call a pond. The drive continues, I fuel up in T-Bay and drive 500+ Km without stopping once, for anything! Just past Kenora there's a little gas station at which I stopped to fuel up and well you know what you do when you stop. It was around 9 Eastern time, 8 Winnipeg time, when I reached Winnipeg. My plan was to just stop in a truck stop and spend the night in the truck but dad wouldn't let me and booked a hotel in Portage la Prairie, 70 km from Winnipeg. Now, in Winnipeg I should've have taken the by pass but instead I followed highway 1 thinking that's the way you are supposed to go...wrong! oh and who knew the highway turned left on Portage Ave...not me. I kept going until I'm in some really nasty section of town, wondering where I am! All I'm thinking about is the bus incident and I'm holding my neck and driving and talking on the cell phone trying to find a way out of town and holding my neck and looking at all the dings in people's car...looked like a smash up derby...it was bad! So I'm watching all lanes of traffic because they simply don't drive good and finally!!! I make it out of Winnipeg and into the truck stop to fuel up then onward to Portage. Its about 10pm aka 11 for the east. I'm tired! I call mom and dad and while I'm talking to them I open up the patio door which leads out to the pool...suddenly I hear *click* as Sarah comes out of the room and shuts the door behind her. "Sarah, it ..." too late...the door locked and the keys were sitting in the room on the shelf. The lady gave us another key and I found my way back into the room and showered. Around 10:30 (11:30) I crawl into bed and fall asleep...Needless to say due to a few things I didn't get to sleep until 12.
Friday: the last day of the trip!! Its 6:30 pm (7:30 Eastern) I wake up, get ready and we are "on the road again" by 7 (8). I really don't have much to write about the first bit other then...drive, drive, drive, drive, drive. In Regina I took a different route which leads north on the 11 for 2 hours. Then you go West on the 15 until you reach the 4, then head north for a few km's where you stop for gas and then turn west onto the 7 which turns into the 9 when you hit Alberta (don't worry, I didn't hurt it). You are on the 7 for probably 2 hours until you reach the 884, the 54 kms to the 12 West. This was finally the last leg of the journey. 12 leads you right through Stettler (when you turn on 12 its 119km to Stettler then 74km from Stettler to Lacombe). Needless to say this felt like the longest part of the whole trip. The sun had been shining in the driver's side window all day and due to an increase of temperature I had my left arm hanging out the window all day...it got really brown! Just the one arm. So I have this really brown arm and the other arm is tanned but looks white in comparison. Anyways the drive from Regina to Lacombe took roughly 7 1/2 hours. It saved around 2-3 hours taking the back route. Now, Azalea was supposed to be surprised when Sarah arrived but due to a phone call she was informed of the plan and so *sigh* she knew. As soon as I got there I dove for the phone and dialed Panago to get a pizza as the word hungry wasn't strong enough.
Today: well the plan is to go to church after I get off in 45 minutes (9 am here time) and then a group of us will be heading to Gull Lake (pond) to go swimming as the weather forecast for today is hot and the lobby tends to be a million degrees on hot days. So...until later! Later!!

I'm in...Alberta ...again

2008-08-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

The subject pretty much sums it up, I have a lot more to say and I had full intentions of writing more tonight but I am so tired that I will write more later, probably tomorrow evening. So...I'm here safely, write tomorrow night :)

August 1st already?!

2008-08-01T19:37:00.001-07:00

Good evening. I just discovered today, as I walked into the bathroom, that it is none other then August 1st and I realized that the summer has washed away in all the rain we have been having lately. If it was sunny I would write that the summer had evaporated or something but it hasn't been all that sunny thus the...never mind. If I had to sum up my summer in one word it would be...discovery. This summer has been one where I have discovered many new things about myself, other people and life in general. I discovered that the older you get the faster life flies by. As you get slower in all other areas life speeds up just to torture you, and I'm only 21...I also learned that life changes and that change is a huge part of life in general, in a sense it could be argued that the two are inseparable. Life = change. Bills have to be paid, the future becomes more daunting as the realization dawns on you that you don't really know what you want from life or what you can give to others. I also discovered I think too much. I wish I was just a simple human being...the flowers are beautiful, the sun is shining and life goes on but I think into things way to much and wonder about everything... oy!
Oh I have to tell a story. I'm in the excavator moving some rocks into place for a wall that we were building on a job site. I get out when the wall is finished and notice some squeaking nose but I'm in an old excavator so it could be any number of things right!? Out I go and dad hops in and begins moving some dirt and as I'm watching I notice a mouse run along the tracks of the excavator and into the grass. Now my curiosity has sky rocketed and instead of just leaving well enough alone my brain begins turning and I start putting things together. After dad climbs out I jump back in and look behind the seat...nothing. In the corner is an old radio so carefully I pick it up and there on the ground are three baby mice. They were so cute! I know, rodents...kill!! But hear me out. My first instinct is exactly that, kill the baby mice but as I look at them closer I notice they are shaking (no the machine wasn't on) and they had vibrated across the floor and were away from their nest. I jump out of the machine and grab a pair of gloves (there is no way I'm touching them with my bare hands) and push the three babies into their nest which I discovered, after taking the roof off (old grass) that there were 4 more babies... thats 7 in total. I tell dad and he says "kill them" so for the rest of the day I guard these crazy little babies (well watched carefully as I was working). I get home that night and tell my tale of the mice to my family only to be laughed at and told I should have killed them. Agreed, if they were in my house I would but they were sorta out in nature...there little beady eyes (ok there eyes were still closed) but they were cute and helpless. Anyways today they moved the machines back to the yard and Michael informs me that they left the door open on the way home so the mice probably blew out or were moved in the night as they are no longer around anymore...murderers! ok not really. I also saved a frog, I picked it up and moved it away from the teeth of the excavator...I'm weird right now what can I say. Snakes though, should die as should spiders and anything other nasty thing in a house! There is no such thing as a cute snake...ugh! Under our porch outside we have a snake abiding and under the other porch lives a mole. Now to make things even better our cat sits and watches the mole playing as does the snake...and the mole climbed into the dogs dish the other day and couldn't get out...this is the dog's food dish. Tramp, the dog, walks over, sniffs it and helps it out...and people say I'm weird for saving a mouse family...I'm vegetarian, Tramp is not! Weirdness! Anyways I must be getting to bed...just wanted to update everyone and say yes I'm still alive and leaving for school in 12 days.

Whats my password!

2008-07-19T19:49:00.001-07:00

Yes, once again I signed in and my mind went blank as I reached the password spot...guess its been too long eh. I was informed twice that I need to update my blog as these certain two faithful individuals are getting sick of looking at the same date...but you will notice I updated the picture!! So there!
Anyways...There really is not a whole lot to report on. Last weekend we went camping and canoing. It was a lot of fun and I realized that I don't know alot. One girl that was camping with us (she is 7) asked me two questions to which I had no answer but merely scratched my head then shook it as I realized that kids ask some of the coolest questions that in all honesty I never think about. If I ever do have kids I'm reading an encyclopedia first and even then I doubt I'll have the answer to half the questions asked. I suppose at that point you could just start making up answers...jk. Better yet I'll buy them encyclopedias then once again who needs books anymore with the internet right. I read an article the other day which talked about the lack of interest in books these days. Its really sad but people have their internet. There is no more need of sitting down to learn something when you can just type it in and poof! the answer pops up. Sad really. I still adore my books! Anyways I have a way of getting off topic in the summer.
This past week our church began a Vespers/Bible study on Friday evenings and I have the privilege of leading it until I head back to school...in three weeks. Can you believe how fast the summer goes? Needless to say as I look back over this past summer I would have to say its been a good one. As much as I don't want it to end I will be happy to finish landscaping as I have never been so exhausted in my life...its a guy's job (well the kind of work they do). Lifting all those crazy heavy things and ya, I'm a small person! trying to kill me young I guess. I do love being outside though. Oh ya! This past week (on a different note, too lazy to start a new paragraph...not in school yet) I made home made pyrogies and then two days later I made home made burgers and fries. I'm trying to perfect the art of cooking as I have little skill in that department and from what I can tell it turned out ok...in other words, no one died! YAY! Oh and they ate it...including Evan who eats nothing. The burgers were zucchini, carrots, rolled oats and egg and of course seasoning and they work in a bun with ketchup. I've only ever made them to be eaten with potatoes or something. Tomorrow I make lasagna! My favorite and something Jaymee has been bugging me to make forever! So...I'm finished writing for now, hope this hasn't been too boring! Oh yah...on the note of spiders...ok so there was no note of spiders but since I started this anyways...today while I was helping mom making tacos (can you tell I'm hungry right now) I noticed a big ol' ugly black spider with EIGHT LEGS *shivers* crawling on a can of olives. He had to be three feet wide and two feet tall...ok he was maybe the size of oh I don't know...a pen's head...still! He had to die! So...I tried hitting him but alas he got away in a crack and so, to this night, he still lurks around the kitchen. If I see him tomorrow...hes gone!! If anyone out there loves spiders, I'm sorry, but I don't! Until later!

100th Post

2008-07-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

That would be correct, this is the 100th post...unless the computer it lying to me. So assuming that the computer can count then this is it...100. I will admit that I expected to post my 100th post sometime back in April but as it turned out April was a crazy month which included very little to no sleep, a trip to Florida and starting work. May was a busy month full of well, work. Now June is behind me as well and once again I worked, went camping, went to campmeeting and am now scratching my head and asking myself where on earth July is going. I decided to give a brief or not so brief...you'll know by the end of this...account as to what my day is like in the summer. First I must recall this one day in class where one of my teachers was commenting on blogging. My teacher was saying how they just could not understand why on earth someone would want to post their journal or account of their day for the world to read. I began laughing because in actuality I rather enjoy blogging. I am not the type of person that just opens up and shares everything in person and I find writing is an awesome way to express myself. Anyways...I got side tracked already...so my day in Ontario...
Sadly I must start off by saying that I think I am getting old. There was once a time when I could seriously sleep all day if I let myself... now...I wake up faithfully before eight o' clock. Perhaps that will change and I will begin sleeping in again at some point but for now I'm awake before eight...if I have time I will lay in my bed thinking about how wonderful sleep would be but it doesn't happen. So, I wake up before eight and this, my friends, begins my day. I mean seriously, who knew that waking up would begin your day? *shrugs shoulders* I reach over, grab my Bible and have devotions as the words on my Bible dance around as I rub the sleep out of my eyes. Then I get up, get dressed and head downstairs to eat breakfast. I must pause here to repeat that last phrase...I eat breakfast...again...I eat breakfast. This is amazing for me because I never used to and now I find myself wondering how on earth I used to live as I did...no sleep, no breakfast...crazy youngsters these days. Anyways I cannot give you an actual account of what happens next as there are no words to describe it except maybe this...thiodshgoisdoglksjdrlksf...chaotic eh? Ok so its not that bad but it can be rather interesting. You see, I am working for my dad landscaping and thus there is no set pattern that we do anything. It chances with the weather, literally. So, I work from 8-5 then I get home and well a whole number of things can happen. I could go somewhere, or watch Road to Avonlea, I love Lucy, perhaps read or sometimes I do all the above in one evening. I really cannot make that sound interesting. When people ask me what my hobbies are I usually say "I like researching and reading" and they look at me as though I have grown another head and perhaps some mutated eyeball. I guess most people respond "I like snow boarding off of cliffs and almost dying and then I play computer games" which is fine, I like skiing but sadly I have finally learned to say these words..."I am a nerd" and its true. I slowly watch as my room fills up with books and when I travel, get this, I bring more binders and books then clothes...sad eh? The other day I went into a Chapters and nearly died. There were so many books, its like an alcoholic going into a beer store...not a good thing. I was able to turn myself around after 1/2 hr but only because my brother was waiting to be picked up. Anyways I must be going now, but I figured I would write and let everybody know I am still alive. *waves frantically* I will be back at school in a little over a month and I'm sure there will be a lot more blog posts then...not because life is more exciting...on the contrary...see at school I am procrastinating doing homework so I write blogs, just like right now I'm procrastinating writing a sermon and thus a blog is the result. Anyways...off I go to make myself useful...until 101! take care
Oh yes! Happy Independence Day to all those American's out there!! Woot!!!

I Forgot my Password!

2008-06-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

You know you haven't written a blog in a while when you go to type in your password and you sit there saying "uh duh, I knew it a month ago." So needless to say I made it on. In advance I would like to add that if there are any spelling errors it is not my fault...I never proofread and I have a new computer which means a new keyboard which is smaller then my last computer so my fingers are still working through these cramped conditions. In the last month not a whole lot has happened as I haven't done too much. Work, that horrid four letter word has consumed the majority of my time. Ok, its not that bad, I actually enjoy being out in the sun and working and I'm not being sarcastic. Anyways this blog is not going to be long as I need to get to bed but wanted to write something to let mom and Faith know I'm still alive :) As if they didn't know that, mom is currently sitting below me in the living room as I blare my new CD "The Chronicles of Narnia" Soundtrack (Prince Caspian). It is an amazing movie and I would definitely recommend seeing it. This weekend we are going to camp meeting, should be interesting. Well...my blog must end here, hopefully I can write more and all...but for now I need sleep badly.

The Attack of the Spider

2008-05-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

All has gone well since I wrote last, we arrived back from Florida in one piece and no one was too red, just brown. Michael, Adri and Steve have taken off for Nicaragua for six weeks and I am working for dad. Today Larry was digging out a foundation for a playground and toward the end of the day I had to put up the fence so no one would jump in the hole, or if they did we wouldn't be sued or blamed. As I was putting it up I failed to notice my footing and fell in the hole myself...only a blonde right. However my story is pointing in one epic direction...tonight I decided to take my monthly shower (so just kidding, I take one yearly...jk) and so I went downstairs to prepare to shower and wash the dirt off myself. As I did I went through the usual routine, you know, brush the teeth, turn the water on etc...it was then that I stepped in the shower and just as I was about to step under the steady stream of water I saw a movement on the shower curtain. I froze. Slowly I turned my head and looked again .There he was, all eight legs and nasty body. At that moment I realized I was trapped, no where to turn but the wall. I couldn't just spray him into the tub as he was in between the two curtains and I was seeing him through the clear covering. To shake the curtain would result in me setting him free somewhere on the bathroom floor and at his speed he could easily end up in my pjs. With quick thinking I did the only thing I knew to do...scream really loud. Of course no one came which was ok as I was standing in the shower. Keeping an eye on him I quickly bolted out of the shower and grabbed my towel and screamed again. No answer, dad was playing backgammon and mom was talking to Evan on the phone. The phone! I reached down as mom had just placed a phone in the bathroom earlier and picked it up. "Charlee whats all the screaming about?" She says in a very drone voice. "A spiiiidddeer on the shower curtain, kill now I can't." I hear her sigh and then "Ted go kill the spider for Charlee" They weren't coming. Alas, I was alone in the bathroom with a spider. This was a battle to the death, the good times were almost over for one of us. I looked around and assumed my battle weapon, a slipper. Aiming carefully I sought to cast him into the shower and in turn he would go down the drain...I aimed carefully and threw the slipper...and missed. The slipper ended up in the shower but the little son of Satan only advanced closer...I screamed again...no one cared...this was a battle I was alone in, no allies. It was just me and him. I grabbed the other slipped and flicked him onto the ground, he scurried as fast as his eight little legs would carry him and tried to hide by the toilet it was there that the little bugger met his fate as the slipper came down hard, repeatedly, on his icky body. Finally, I was able to shower in peace, another great conquest...now I'm waiting for his brothers and sisters or maybe Charlotte to come and carry my body away in the night. Ya, I hate spiders...can you tell?

Florida!!

2008-04-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

That would be correct. I am currently writing from the sunny state of FL however on that note this is also our last full day here. Sadly reality must kick in at some point and we must go home.
What have I been up to since April 2? I don't even know in all honesty. The week before exams left me scrambling to write research papers and then final week hit and I was studying and taking six finals in five days. Needless to say my blog was the least of my concerns. I spent most of the last two weeks in school awake. Nights were spent doing research or homework, working or chatting to people. Days were filled with tests, running around and basically just going somewhere. Finally it all caught up and I got a cold. I went the entire semester without being sick and on the last day I get sick...I suppose the body can only handle so much. On my last day at school I took two finals then hung out with Steve, Azalea, Christel and anyone else that happened to be around. Packing also consumed a lot of my time as Adri and Christel locked me in my room and told me I couldn't go anywhere until I had packed everything and deciphered between what was staying in the storage rooms and what was going home with me for the summer. When that was finished I went downstairs and for supper we order Chinese. At 11 Christel, Azalea and Steve drove me to the airport (well Christel drove). It then came time for saying goodbye for the summer which sucked. Normal human beings cry but my tear ducts stopped working eons ago. Instead a mixture of major sleep deprivation, being sick, not wanting to say goodbye and being excited about going to Fl all mixed in and I got to taste my Chinese food all over again. Finally it was time to board the flight and by this point I was so tired I could barely think. I walked onto the plane and wanted to just sleep...it was 1am. Sadly, sleeping on an airplane is nearly impossible for me however the guy next to me had no problem. At 7:30 Eastern time aka 5:30 Alberta time... I stepped off the plane. Faith and Cary found me and we headed back to there place. The first thing I saw was the couch and slept for two hours then woke up repacked my stuff into smaller bags, climbed into the car and we were off. I don't remember much from that first day because I slept all day in the car. I know we stopped somewhere I think in PA to eat lunch at a rest area (sandwiches and such...very good) however at this point in time I still had no appetite and ate a little over half and threw the rest away...such a waste of perfectly good havarti. That night we stopped in I think it was West Virginia but ya I don't remember. I slept all night and the next day we were off again. We made it to FL by 7 that evening and mom made soup. That night I took some pill that totally knocked me out and so all day Sabbath I walked around like a zombi until it finally wore off. Sunday we went to the flea market which was amazingly awesome. Anyways this past week has been extremely relaxing and a lot of fun. I love the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the soft warm sand beneath your feet making it nearly impossible to walk but perfect for laying on and getting a tan, the warm sun overhead penetrating your white skin that hasn't seen the light since last summer thanks to Alberta. Yes, its been a lot of fun! I still don't think I have caught up on sleep but oh well. We leave tomorrow and begin the drive home, should arrive late Monday evening as we have to stop in Union Springs to drop Jaymee and Evan off at school. Michael and Adri leave on Tuesday for Alberta where they will meet up with the rest of the gang and head to Nicaragua for six weeks. I was jealous until I watched a movie last night and realized me and bugs and snakes just don't get along so...I will support them from here...Go Guys! Woot! Anyways thus ends another blog...until next time (which will probably be Monday evening when I get home)...take care

A WHAT!? IT CAN'T BE...NO WAIT...IT IS...A BLOG

2008-04-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Thats right everyone!! It's a blog post *music begins playing wildly as streamers fall from the ceiling and balloons fill the air* No wait! Could it be...a clown? Ok no, no clowns, I'd better leave. No wait, if I stop writing there won't be a blogpost so this clown will continue writing. Allow this clown to tell you the story of Charlee.
Alas...there she sits by night and day studying books all so gay, for she has heard a teacher say a curse be on her if she does not stay to study in the library. That would be correct...sadly this is the truth I speak for I cannot tell a lie. You see, as Charlee sat in the library on that Monday afternoon she was forced to ask the question "Why do I hate you, I cannot begin to count the ways." She said these words over and over again to her books. Why this hatred for her books?
Earlier on that Monday morning Charlee sat thinking of all the crazy things she had to do in a very short amount of time and so she resolved to go to library and not get up until her paper was finished. At the hour of 2:15 she walked into the library and there she sat down and began finding books for her topics. After locating the 8 books and piling them around herself she took a seat in the basement of the library in a corner all alone. You see, before her rose the task of writing an 8-12 page paper on a topic of Daniel or Revelation. She chose the seven seals of Revelation. She sat, she studied, she pulled her hair, she longed for death, alas..."It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." She looked at the clock, 4:15. Running to class she noted that she was on time, in fact early as usual (to class). All through class she couldn't help but think of the paper that awaited her return. Afterwards she headed back down the lonely stairs and sat in her dungeon. It is said that there is a time for everything, a time for life and death and at this point in time she couldn't help but think of death, oh woest her. Ok, it wasn't that bad. However, as Charlee stood pouring over her books she failed to here the person approaching behind her until it was to late. In the "This is a Quiet Zone" she yelled...why? Because behind her a man by the name of Steve (her ecrazed boyfriend) had crept up on her and scared the living daylights right out of her. She continued writing and finally finished her paper at 10:15. It was now a time of rejoicing, the good times had begun.
The next day...Tuesday...Charlee found herself scrambling again to write a speech on alcohol. Today, she gave that speech, met with her advisor, ran around campus like a chicken with its head cut off and ran into Red Deer to grab some things. Yes...Charlee now has two more 8-12 page research papers due on Monday and Tuesday and then...exams begin...and then...Florida (two weeks tonight she flies out and she is excited about falling asleep on the beach and not waking up until the day they either picked up her charred body and throw it into the ocean or wake her up to drag her, screaming and gnashing her teeth, all the way back to Ontario. Alas...this story has been told for the benefit of those who happen upon this tale of woe.
Ok, my life isn't that bad at all. Aside from writing papers and speeches and meeting with people and planning something for Saturday night...life has been good. Anyways, just thought I would touch base and let you all know I'M ALIVE.
PS Happy Birthday Steve!!!!! Ay April 3, 2008 marks the 23rd birthday of me boyfriend. Ok I'm really tired and should stop writing now.

23 Days and Counting

2008-03-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

It wasn't until earlier today that I realized just how fast time has gone. Now I find myself scratching my head asking the question, "how am I going to finish everything in 23 days?" Its slightly overwhelming and I apologize for my lack of blogs. It is this crazy time of the year where students run around like chickens with no heads wondering how they are going to finish everything meanwhile the teachers begin sharpening their knives and forks and getting out the garlic (provided by the cafe, thus the abundance of garlic on the bread Saturday), salt and pepper. Ok, so maybe it isn't that bad but there are times where you swear they are out to get you. However, I realize they are under a lot of stress too.
The last few days have been rather interesting...As of Wednesday after class we were officially on our last reading break of the semester...next holiday...summer vacation. I can honestly say I never went skiing once this year...and to think, the mountains are only a few hours away. Thats ok though, I console myself by looking out the window. The brown grass tells me that skiing probably wouldn't be that much fun.
Anyways, my main reason for writing this was to let you all know I am still alive, tired, but alive. I cannot wait for Florida!!
PS. On March 22 mom celebrated her $^# birthday...Happy Birthday mom!! I love you. Can't wait to see you guys

Happy St. Patrick's Day Part II

2008-03-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Yep I'm writing again...why? Well mainly to say that there are some pictures of us, aka Michael, Adri, myself and Steve on Facebook, I do believe Michael will have some pictures on his post and Steve has a pic on his post *takes deep breath* Now! Why am I writing when I should be studying...
It is 11:41 pm and I am sitting here reflecting over the day, well since I wrote 12 hours ago. Currently, the lobby is empty, my notes are sitting in front of me and I'm about to shut off the ol' computer (literally old) and begin studying once more. It was a picture that made me decide that I had to clarify something, or rather a series of pictures...no, no wait! All the pictures taken of me recently. I realized that wow I'm really skinny and I must say I am not anorexic or anything like that but sadly I am on a CUC diet aka cafe food. In less then one month I get to eat real food though and for that I am extremely thankful. I also happen to suffer from mom's horrible problem of forget-to-eatitis *sigh* so now that I have clarified that there is no need to worry I shall proceed.
After writing my last post I put on the hat and headed over to the cafe with Michael, Adri and Steve...I laughed most of the way over...why? We looked like we had gotten separated from a St. Patrick's Day parade, especially Michael with his huge beer belly and hat and ya, Michael. After lunch two little girls, I want to guess 2 and 5 came into the dorm and well I am now hatless as they took a liking to my hat and the little 2 yr old was so cute with it on. When they asked if they could keep it I had to give in...may I never have children (Just kidding mom). The rest of the afternoon went by, class was good and then *music please* studying. I studied from 7-9:30 then finished two assignments and now I'm working front desk and am preparing to study for another little while.
Until tomorrow night I bid you all farewell

Happy St. Patty's Day!! (aka St. Patrick)

2008-03-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone!! It is currently 11:44 am and I have 6 minutes to write this blog before I must go meet my fellow St. Patty's day crew. Allow me to fill you in. At this current moment Michael is walking around wearing an Irish "vest" with a beer guy, hes completely decked out in green (even his boxers which myself and another girl had the unpleasant opportunity to find out), hes wearing a green hat and a green beard...yep, thats my brother. Then there is Adri, myself and Christel all of which are wearing these giant sombrero-like hats that are white with green trim and covered in four leaf clovers...yep, thats us...Steve is wearing a green shirt and a green hat which reads Lucky Charms *sigh* We is a strange bunch...
So I'm currently listening to "I'm in a Hurry to get things done" thinking that maybe, just maybe it'll help me type fast but its not. In fact its doing the opposite and is seizing my brain and causing me to stop typing *shakes head* alas...this hat is stifling my brain. Ok, so for the past hour I have cleaned my side of the room and then I was sitting here looking over old blog posts...did you realize we are nearing 100!! *thumbs up* Anyways I'm going to take my garbage out oh and I may not be writing tonight as I have a big test tomorrow and I must study but time will tell.

Happy Sabbath!!! I Love Sabbath!

2008-03-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sitting on a couch which rests on the mez. I have an amazing view of the 'lake' and I'm all by myself. I have, sitting beside me, a bag of pretzels and on my right knee rests my old laptop. I am surrounded by pillows and am extremely comfortable. In my ears rest two ear phones with Avalon pouring into my ear canals. On the window ledge beside me rests a book, Pride and Prejudice, my keys, cellphone and a bottle of Apple Juice. The couch I am sitting on is facing the window, outside the window the sky is gray but no precipitation is falling to which I am thankful. The 'lake' is white as it is covered by snow which hasn't melted yet...whether the ice under the snow is still sturdy is another question. So...why am I being a loner?
Last night I got to bed around 3 and was awake again at 8:20 so I could start getting ready for church. I climbed out of bed and ran into the bathroom, having already showered the night before it was more a matter of just getting ready. I grabbed my black dress pants and top and changed quickly. Then of course theres that teeth brushing business...what's up with that anyways? I look in the mirror and realize that if you took a pen and connected the zits you would have a perfect triangle, I was impressed. After straightening the old hair and realizing I really need to go in and get my hair thinned again I headed out of the room and to the bug. After picking Steve up we got back to the dorm and while the group that is going to Nicaragua met I headed back up to my room to grab my stuff. By this time my phone is ringing and I'm being told to get downstairs right away as they are ready to leave...where? Ponoka of course. No, we were not all going to the mental institution there but rather to the church *pause and withold comment* Sorry I just remember reading something about the word institution...churches are often called institutions...I'll leave it at that. Anyways yes, the group that is going to Nicaragua put on the church service in Ponoka. Since Adri, Michael and Steve are all heading to Nicaragua I decided to tag along...Azalea wanted to sleep all day and ya hey why not go check out a new church...so I went. It was a good church service, Steve did two special musics, both of which were really good contrary to what he would tell you.
After the church service we were invited over to someone's house for lunch, the food was amazing and their house...was really nice. They also had a dog, part german shepherd, made me miss Nippy *sniff* While waiting for lunch Michael went downstairs and played air hockey with one of the kids and I played cars with another kid, he was two. Let me clarify, it was more like he threw them down the stairs, I grabbed them, gave them back and the process was repeated. So, after lunch Michael got roped into jumping on the trampoline with some kids and Steve and I watched and well, Steve got mauled by the dog and cat. After this we watched Lord of the Bean...go Veggie Tales!! College aged kids, still in love with Veggie Tales.
We are now back in the dorm. If I peer over my couch and look down the mez stairs I can see Michael sitting in a chair in the lobby with Enoch looking at some photo book. Adri is sleeping (thus the reason for me being on the mez, I didn't want to keep her up) and Azalea I do believe is running...go figure. Anyways, I'm thinking of kicking my legs over the edge of the couch and crashing for a bit then tonight a few of us are going bowling. So...Have a great night all

2 Bottles of Water and a Half Eaten Bag of Pretzels

2008-03-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yep I'm working the front desk and have been working one hour and already consumed one bottle of water...folks...I'm a wateraholic (aww look at all the red lines under wateraholic...I guess that word doesn't exist, well it does now). This simply means I drink too much water, or a lot of water.
Anyways...since writing the above paragraph I have been visited by many as I have not worked all week (working 10 hrs on Sunday for two girls, they took my shifts during the week) so I had a lot to catch up on. Anyways my shift is now over, my replacement is here and I am exhausted. Take care everyone!!

Papers and Cleaning and Classes...Oh My!

2008-03-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

I awake, it is 5 am, yes 5 am not pm. I don't give my body a chance to think about how early it is so I stand up right away and fumble into the bathroom. I grab my prepacked (from the night before) bag and head to the mez. It is here and now that the realization begins to sink in...I have 2 hours to write a 3-4 pg paper and do an assignment. I get to work scanning through the poem (On St. Agnes Eve) and write out my thesis statement etc. Only thanks to God and no thanks to my horrible habit of procrastination, I finished. With both paper and assignment in my binder I walk away from the mez and shower and get ready for class. I bought a shirt the other day which reads "Don't Push Your Luck" (I have another one which reads Crabby) but the Don't Push it shirt was the one I chose for the day. The reason for this shirt being worn will become clearer as the day continues. I arrive to class and work on another assignment while the teacher argues with one of those know-it-all students. The class period comes and goes and another class begins. By this point I am feeling the effects of 5 hours of sleep and I'm fighting trying to keep my 1000lbs eyelids open. After class I meet with someone to discuss my personality type...apparently I didn't fail so I do have a personality but I'm so much so in the middle that I'm weird. In other words I'm relaxed, hate large crowds, hate making decisions!! because I think things through a lot which is why, when I make a decision I don't regret it. So...I found out I'm normal...well...wrong word. Basically the way I am is cool, I just have to learn to work with my strengths and not be a pushover as my personality can easily be that way.
I walk back to the dorm, Azalea asks me to grab her some lunch...not a problem. However, on the way back I felt it. That feeling only other women can fully understand. You know, the one where you'd rather be burned alive or tortured but not cramps. 3 tylenol later I lie down in a ball praying for death and sleep...right through my 1:15 class. The teacher understood, being a female. I awake, feeling drowsy and weird but have to run into town to pick up someone from their observations then I hit the bank (don't worry I didn't hurt it). Afterwards I cleaned the guestrooms then went to work from 5-7 at the front desk. By this point in time I'm feeling that same way again and so another two tylenol (2500 mgs in one day...bad I know...but they hurt). I decided at this point that I'm never having children if resembles cramps in any way.
At 7 Azalea and I run down and pick up Steve and go to Timmy's. After this Steve, Michael, Adri and I hung around the dorm until 9. I had to keep Adri and Michael in line...*sigh* they are so mean. At this point in time Adri, Michael and I head to the theatre in Lacombe to watch 10,000 BC...an interesting movie...Adri and I laughed a lot, I don't know if it was supposed to be funny but we laughed anyways. Now I am sitting here, thinking of my bed and how much I want to sleep...but first
I just wanted to write and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! I love you!!!!!

My Day in a Nutshell...or a Watermelon

2008-03-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

An urgent phone call from my mother, an angry sister and no blog...the result...a blog tonight for all to read. The last few days have been rather interesting. If you want to read a good blog on the events of Saturday see Steve's blog. It is official, we are dating (sorry Jaymee). Steve's blog gives an account and well I cannot top it so I merely will point all to the link on my page that reads Steve. He is an amazing guy, extremely talented when it comes to singing (although he will argue that) and he is loads of fun to hang out with. I am blessed to know him. Thank you Steve for all you have and continue to do. I do know that everyone I have talked to simply says "we saw it coming, hows that news?" Well, I'm sorry if it is not news but hey just thought I would write it down.
Saturday was a good day however Sunday was, well, long. 10 hours at the front desk, 2 hours sitting in a hospital with a girl who had the flu and 3 hours in Red Deer with Steve made for a long day but it was good.
Monday, I would be a fool if I said I remembered anything that happened on Monday as it just is a big blur in my mind. I think Monday was yesterday but at this point in time I cannot remember. Oh wait, righto! I woke up early to study as I had a test then...Right right, its coming back. Steve and I went to a friends performance at the local music festival and then headed into Red Deer to watch Adri's soccer game. Adri had an amazing goal but I'll let her blog about the rest.
Now for the good stuff...today! I completely slept through my first two classes, but apparently I wasn't the only one. Adri did not hear her or my alarm, Azalea never heard her alarms and some other girls had the same problem. Its just something that happens to college students around this time of the year. They get so tired because of papers and tests and their bodies just start to shut down. A text from Steve woke me up as I must have turned off the alarm and put the phone beside me on my pillow. The next thing I know my phone is buzzing and the clock reads 10 something. I groan as I realize I have completely missed both classes. I get up anyways and watch as my left arm beats up and down, for some reason it developed some sort of pulse and tonight as I write this its rather numb. I must have slept on it funny last night. After getting a shower and realizing my hair was a hopeless wreck for that day I resolved to just let it (my hair) do its own thing and I went downstairs and hung out with Azalea in the dean's office until Steve got out of class. At 1:15 I went to class and we discussed none other then The Lady of Shalott. It was amusing to look around the room and watch as girls mouth moved along when Bert read "There she weaves by night and day, a magic web of colors gay, for she has heard a whisper say, a curse be on her if she stay to look down to Camelot." And of course the other line "Willows whiten, aspens quiver..." these are all the lines from Anne of Green Gables. I love that movie and if it has not been watched by someone reading this blog I highly suggest you watch it.
After class Azalea and I decided to watch A Walk to Remember...so sad but once again I love that movie. At 3:30 I was forced to pause the movie and take a second personality test (I get the results on Thursday. Hey what happens if you fail a personality test...does that mean you don't have a personality?) After rushing through the test I ran back to the room so we could finish watching the movie before heading into Red Deer which we did at 5:30. I bought some new shirts as everyone says I have no colorful shirts (I tell you, black shirts are colorful). Then we hit up Chapters where I had too much fun buying Pride and Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities. I also discovered A Tale of Two Cities has one of the longest run on sentences I have ever seen (see the first paragraph of the book "it was the best of times it was the worst of time...") its super long. I must say I cannot wait to read these books, one of which I must read for class anyways. I currently have a lot of books on the go, so, whats two more :) After this I received a phone call from my mom and sister and then picked Steve up and went out to Timmy's. For hall worship I we watched I Love Lucy and had a devotional...no we aren't total heathens...just half. Anyways...
This section is especially for my little sister Jaymee...I am just writing to say that I am sorry for no longer being part of the single Kirkby sisters club. However, I am still your sister and I know that you will find an amazing guy sometime soon...you are only 15. When I was 15 I had not even had my first boyfriend yet. Enjoy being single, use this time to figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life. Check out the guys and make lots of friends. College is only a few years away and that my sister, is where the guys are. Just know that I will always be your sister and although you like to pretend you are Beth off of Little Women, know that soon you too will be off and having adventures of your own. Enjoy the time you have now and live your life to its fullest!
To everyone else...have a great night

Today...A Great Day

2008-03-08T22:46:00.000-08:00

Good Evening all. Today was one of those days where you really aren't sure how to categorize it so you just label it was a great day because it all ended well. I woke up super early...11am and realized it was already going to take me longer then planned to get ready...why? Because I decided to wash my hair. Big mistake, I've decided to boycott washing my hair and just let it get all greasy, ok I'm kidding, I'll just shave it instead. Once again just kidding. After the shower and getting ready I met up with Steve and walked over to church...an hour later Azalea finally came, thankfully the prethingys take that long and so she made it in time for the sermon. Needless to say, I laughed at her. The sermon was entitled Congratulations...You're Dead. An interesting title however he was talking about dying to self and letting God take over. Or thats what I got out of it. No he wasn't trying to kill us all.
During the rest of church I had to put up with Michael scribbling all over my hand and the click click sound of his camera going off every other second with its 1 foot lens or something ridiculous like that. After church I drove Steve home and then I hit up potluck as Hana had made her special soup just for me, it was simply amazing, astounding, to die for...whatever word you want to use. After eating super fast I ran back to room and seriously contemplated going with Michael, Adri and Azalea and several other people to Buffalo Jump Prov Park. However due to certain women problems aka PMS I felt like I was going to kill someone and opted to stay in my room and relax. I did just that. I turned on my music, Casting Crowns, placed my pillow on my desk that runs parallel to the window, and laid on the desk while the sun beat down on my face. It was very relaxing. After a few phone calls and talking to my parents on the phone for a bit I opted to sleep for a while aka 30 minutes. At 7 I got up and started my walk into Lacombe. Michael had thiefed the car and so I was stuck walking. I met up with Steve and then we headed to BP's where we ate pizza. At Extra Foods, which is where we stopped on the way back, we met up with Carl who drove me back to the dorm so I didn't have to walk. Now I am working the front desk...tomorrow I spend 10 hours here, that should be fun. If I end up writing a blog that is as long as a doctorate you can now understand why. Perhaps I will write my doctorate on Why Not to Agree to Take Two People's Shift On a Sunday. Sounds like a good topic to me. Anyways...There is other news which I will be sharing but not tonight...Mom and dad you already know. I will write later...until then

13 Years Ago...Feels Like Yesterday

2008-03-07T22:15:00.001-08:00

Pictured to my left and to your left you will notice a cactus...my mom just emailed this picture to myself and other siblings and then asked the question how old is this cactus.
I was 7, my first piano performance was finally finished and I was so proud of myself. To make things better dad had promised to buy me a present if I performed. The next day he met me and handed me...a cactus. I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face, I was expecting chocolate, kittens, or maybe flowers but a cactus. He then proceeded to explain how he got this cactus for me because it would last more then a few days. I guess you were right dad. 13 years later, many winters later, many summers later, this cactus still continues to bloom its flowers once a year and reminds me of that performance all those years earlier. It reminds me that I can accomplish and work through my fears (which at the age of 7 consisted of a piano performance).
This cactus pic got me thinking about God. Sometimes God gives us things we just don't understand and we question why at the time. For some time you may not appreciate what God has given you but years later you will look back and realize that what you were asking for was so trivial and how the gift you did receive was worth so much more. To illustrate this example I will use the story of the Jews. They waited for a Messiah to come and free them from the rule of the Romans. Just as any human does they were looking to cure their current problems with no thought to the future. However God in his infinite mercy and grace gave us a real Messiah, someone who did not just free us from earthly powers but rather from the power of evil. He overcame death and gave us, freely, the gift of eternal life. All we have to do is hold out our hands, just as I had to do when I was a child, and accept the gift.
Today we look for quick fixes but God offers us the real deal. He is looking to give us a gift that is amazing and lasts forever. How cool is that! But how often do we simply turn away or rather how often do we refuse to tell people about that gift? Isn't it available to all?
Have a happy Sabbath everyone and share your gift with someone who needs a gift.

Cheerios or Oreos?

2008-03-06T22:26:00.001-08:00

I choose both! Ok never mind that, it was just a moment of ADD and sleep deprivation mixed in one which combines to make a big pile of mush that looks like my brain, oh wait it is my brain. My reason for not blogging last night was due to the horrible fact that I was up until 2:45 writing an 8-12 pg paper. I started the paper at 12 and finished two hours and forty-five minutes later. Yes, not sure what kind of a grade I'll get on it but time will tell. I always write my papers last minute, its a horrible thing I know but procrastination is key to a student's success, allow me to explain. See, if you work on the paper before hand it takes twice as long and it doesn't mean you are necessarily doing a better job. Some of my worst papers were written over a period of time or when I wasn't stressed. There is something about that last minute adrenaline rush that just helps the words to form quickly and effectively and that paper to fall into place, you just hope it falls into a good grade slot. This is my theory and I'm sticking with it. However, this theory does not always work. For example, I have another 8-12 pg paper coming up that will take about two weeks of solid research that cannot be conducted last minute. It must be spread out and the paper must be written over that period of time. Anyways, my reason for not writing a blog last night was due to the fact that after I finished my 8-12 pg paper (it was 11 pgs) I still had two more assignments to finish before I could hate the bed. So around 10min to 4 I climbed into bed only to discover my alarm clock singing to me at 7:30. I nearly cried at the sound of it but managed to pull myself out of bed meanwhile praying under my breath that I would get through the day alive.
I'm extremely thankful that my 8 am class is interesting, all on Revelation and so I stay awake without many difficulties. Oh, my earliest class in the fall with be 9:50!! They are all afternoon and late morning classes. At 9:20 I discovered a beautiful thing, I had 10 minutes to go eat breakfast which worked just fine for my grumbling stomach. I met up with Steve and we ate quickly and headed back to our classes. Intro to New Testament was interesting but passed quickly. I turned in my paper and felt this great sense of relief which lasted until 11 when I got out of class and realized I had to write a speech for speech class. I wrote it on epiglottitis, which I'm sure most of you know enough about. I finished this, read over it and headed out the door. Where was I going?
Christel had asked me two weeks prior to today to go with her to a bull auction in Rimbey and so I went. It was actually quite interesting in that I love the smell of hay and barn! and of course it smelled of that in there and I realized how much I hate being cooped up at CUC. I feel more city-like then anything. Sometimes I wish the school was more in the country or had more hiking trails or something. Oh well... back to the auction. I was having fun watching the guys bid, some used their hands, others only had to look. Of course, before the auction they served beef and salads and I swear I was the only vegetarian in the joint. Alberta...beef auction...vegetarian...shhh. I kept quiet and ate my bun and picked the ham out of my macaroni salad oh and ate my pickles.
I now sit on my bed thinking about my speech tomorrow and wishing I could just do it now and get it over with but alas that can't happen until tomorrow and so I'm going to bed semi early!! Take care everyone

Essay? What Essay...I Don't See One, Do You?

2008-03-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

So hear I sit, a box of cheerios under my arm and a bottle of ginger ale open and ready to be consumed, slowly, so as not to spend the rest of the day belching. I'm currently trying to write this ridiculous essay but I just can't make myself care about it. Oh well, I will have it done by the time I blog tonight, that I can promise. So, when I signed on I had something to write about now I can't remember what it is or was. Man! First I want to say that I do actually make it to that class, in fact I have a good grade (its all in the txt book).
Yesterday I took a personality test, I learned that my name is Charlee and that I'm an introvert in the sense that I do not disclose information about myself unless I trust the person. I also learned that technically my specialty would be biology and working in a lab, and in all honesty that idea completely appeals to me...my reason for not doing biology is rather lame though...I don't want to be in school that long nor do I want to change my major this late. Don't get me wrong though, I also learned that I am good with people one on one which is what I plan on doing anyways and I love my major at the moment. Sometimes I wish I had a lot of money and I could just major in theo and bio, that would be a dream. But alas, life beckons.
Anyways I will be writing more later, right now I'm really ADD and trying to finish this essay and...trying to come up with a topic for speech class...informative!! ttyl

Papers Papers Everywhere...

2008-03-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

And not a drop to spare...that doesn't really make sense but we are currently studying the Rime of the Ancient Mariner in Survey of Literature course and that is one of the lines, it says "water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." As for last nights blog...well...I decided to do something different but alas those two words really did sum up my day yesterday...I slept all day because I was up late all weekend. Today I wish I could say I slept all day but I have not. I did sleep right through my first class. I was up until 3 talking to Azalea at front desk (I worked until 1) and so when my alarm decided to grace me with a song my brain decided not to answer the call and then my hands must have taken initiative and killed the music and all the while I slept. I'm so glad my body works so great as a team, too bad it makes me miss class. Needless to say I would have slept clear through until who knows what time but mom called and woke me up, thank you! I changed, ran downstairs and through my laundry in as I had no clothes left, well not clean clothes. I then ran back upstairs grabbed my books and ran to class where I was 5 minutes early. It was rather amusing/sad, class still had 5 minutes remaining and a bunch of people just kinda stood up and started walking out and the teacher is left saying quietly "I was going to talk about projection." I laughed, waited a moment longer then left too as class was, by the students choice, over. After this I through my laundry in the dryer, made my way upstairs and through my books on my bed and ran down to the guestrooms where I cleaned and did more laundry. At lunch time I met up with Steve, ate and then cleaned more, took my laundry upstairs and yes completely got scared out my mind. I was busy cleaning downstairs in the guestrooms, completely incoherent to anything as I'm listening to my Ipod and well cleaning. I turn around and there are these two guys standing...I jumped of course because, well, I wasn't expecting it to put it nicely. After showing them to their room I finished my cleaning and ran to class. After class I sat down on my bed with my supper in hand and I Love Lucy on my computer and watched an episode. I find the more times I watch them the funnier they get...maybe I'm just losing it. After this, I finished two projects and sat there thinking and suddenly a ton of bricks fell on me as I realized...I have 4, 8-12 pg papers to write and 4, 3-4 pg papers to write before April 7. I have already written 2 of the 3-4 pg papers and as of tomorrow afternoon one of the 8-12 will be done and next week another 3-4 will be done, but yes, slightly overwhelmed with the reality of it all. Anyways...this was my day. I pray that this blog finds everyone in good health and enjoying life to the fullest!! Until tomorrow night

Today was an Amazing Day that I Will Always Remember For the Rest of my Life...

2008-03-02T23:12:00.000-08:00

I slept

A Title...The Most Important Part...Yay or Nay

2008-03-02T00:24:00.000-08:00

Today was a day that will go down in history...why? I don't know...it just sounded like a good way to start off my blog for this evening. It is currently 2:33 am and I am exhausted, thats right, tired. What would attribute to my current state of sleep deprivation? It could be due to the fact that I was up late working last night then staying up until 5 keeping Azalea company as she worked. Or it could be because of my day...
Today started off as many other Sabbath's do...sleeping, sleeping then suddenly out of no where an alarm clock is blaring crazy tunes in your head and chasing away all that sleep that once engulfed you. Now you are sitting upright staring at the wall trying to figure out if getting up is something you actually want to do or whether you should just skip church and sleep. At first you feel great, in fact, you feel spectacular however this feeling only lasts a few minutes. Suddenly, a wave of tiredness washes over top of you drowning you in your lack of sleep and tossing you around as though you were a sailboat caught in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. In other words, you realize that you want to just be sleeping for the rest of the day. You fight this feeling just as a mouse tries desperately to fight off a cat but just as the cat sits there and merely pokes at the mouse until it finally bites the poor things head off, tiredness plays games with you too. One second you feel fine *poke* then suddenly a wave of sleepiness washes over you and you fight back feeling as though you are winning but alas...ok I'm getting carried away with my descriptions of sleep deprivation probably because I'm suffering from it at this current moment in time. So...alarm clock has rang and now comes the time for shower...it used to be I could get ready for church in 10 minutes. Alarm clock rings I shower, get dressed, do hair and run out the door in 10 minutes. Now, 10 minutes later I'm climbing out of the shower and fumbling for the cream to put on my poor burning legs that are bleeding from the attack of the angry raisers! Then after cooling off the poor legs you get half dressed and stand there, staring at your white body in the mirror and mumbling under your breath about looking like a scared, white mouse that has just been beat up by a cat. Next, you find the cream for your face which at this point is burning as though it has a thousand torches on it and after cooling this you reach for your toothbrush only to discover that after brushing your teeth your breath still smells like morning breath because of the Chinese food you ate the night before. So you drink a bunch of water and start chewing the ol' gum. The next step is the deodorant which is important if you have body odor...I love my arm pits. Finally you look into the mirror again, you are dressed by this point or wearing dress pants and a tank when you realize your head looks like a combat zone. It is a mixture of wet hair and towel head. At this point you have two options...brush it out and pray it flattens on its own or blow dry it then straighten it. So you opt for the third...your room mate who knows how to do cool things with hair. Thus a messy bun is formed and I go to church. Oh...did you think this was my whole day...nope! This was only the first 25 minutes. Don't worry I won't go into as much detail with the rest.
At church I sit and listen as the sermon is preached on a really good topic. He talks about Peter walking on water. He, Richard Gary, said, its not the miracles that make our faith grow but rather the storms. I stop and think, what an interesting concept. He goes on to explain that the 12 disciples had just witnessed an amazing miracle, Jesus feeding the five thousand. However after eight hours of a storm Peter decides to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus. He also points out that out of 12 only 1 stepped out of the boat into the stormy seas. Another interesting concept. I'll let you think on this and if you have any further questions I'll continue it on another blog tomorrow night. Just remember, stormy times in life are not bad, they increase our faith and we should pray for more and be willing to step out of the boat (our comfort zone) and in doing so we will be walking closer to Jesus.
After a really good sermon Andrew, Azalea, Mike and Adri and myself head to Hana's place for some amazing food. Of course the kids end up crawling all over Michael and Adri and I couldn't help but comment on how cute I think they will be as parents one day...Adri glares, Michael laughs. I also discovered that kids have this amazing amount of energy that never seems to run out. The little guy comes over to me and has me tossing him into the air and swinging him back and forth like a pendulum on a clock. My arms were burning! At 7 we headed back to the dorm and Azalea and I met up with Steve and we headed over to another Mark Twain on Slavery performance. It was good as well. I ordered pizza and Steve, Azalea and myself sat in the canteen and talked until 11. It was a good evening...or rather a good day and although I am suffering from lack of sleep still, I am glad that all went well today! Anyways folks my shift is over and my replacement is here...until later

Child Labor

2008-03-01T00:18:00.000-08:00

Allow me to tell you a tale of a cute, innocent little babe that we shall call Charlee. Charlee was not a normal kid, oh no, she was born into a family where work was the only way to get by in life. Her father and mother both worked hard to make a living. One day, before Charlee was born, an announcement came from the head of the Stork delivery department at Eaton's. They had received the wire that this family wanted a baby and so they were currently working on the request. The father and mother were overjoyed, their first bundle of joy was about to arrive. They waited, they watched and they counted down the days until the stork delivery company would come. Sure enough, nine months later that stork flew in and dropped off the little bundle in front of their doorstep. On looking at the baby they discovered how cute it was and how perfect it would be for work...and so, when the child was big enough they forced it to bring in wheelbarrows of wood and carry buckets of water to the cows and dogs and cats. This only brought about one thing...alas...this poor child has turned into, none other then...oh I don't know...I wasn't really going anywhere with this story. It is currently 2:02 am and I'm tired and ready for bed however I just thought I would write something. About the above picture, I have no idea what I was really doing or why mom and dad took the picture but I saw it and figured I could say something about it. I was probably just trying to find some poor cat that I could throw in a pale of water and torture or carry it upside down...who knows.
My day today was a good one. I officially went to every single class this week and yes therefore made it to all of them today. In fact, I even stayed after my speech class as we had a guest speaker in class and he was really interesting, thus I stayed for a whole 45 minutes after class. After class I went back to my room and checked my emails, read blog post comments and then headed back downstairs to hang out. Today was Christel's 5th bday, no shes not turning five but this was the fifth time she has actually celebrated her real bday, go Feb 29. We had a party for her which was fun then headed over to vespers. It was quite good, I was impressed. This guy that is here visiting does Mark Twain impersonations and so he did the one on the Shepherds in Judea. Afterwards Michael, Adri, Steve and myself came back and chilled in the lobby until JD came along. We followed him outside where he then juggled fire, really cool stuff that I do believe Michael took pictures of and recorded...boys and their cameras. Alas, this ends my unexciting blog...I will now be going as I have 42 minutes remaining of my shift, thank you Val for your company up until this point. Anyways all...have a great night!!

Time: Our Worst Enemy and Best Friend

2008-02-28T22:15:00.001-08:00

Due to the fact that my brain is fried from midterms I opted to reflect on life instead...its more cathartic.

So, I was looking through old pictures that mom has sent me and I realized that time has flown by really fast. As I look at this picture I remember how terrified I was, first day of school, 5 yrs old...who would have guessed that 15 yrs later I would still be in school...although I don't chew on my hair anymore I would be lying if I said I still didn't get that same ol' nervous feeling welling up inside my gut from time to time. At the time of this picture a pentium computer had not even been invented yet, or if it had our school definately did not have one. We played games using ms-dos and listened to assignments using cassette players. That building doesn't even exist anymore, go figure, its now a parking lot. The worries of life consisted of making sure my younger siblings stayed in line and if they didn't I would be sure to pound the snot out of them to prove my point, get back in line...of course I never strayed...just kidding. My shoes were velcro, I obviously did not even know how to tie my shoes heck I probably could barely speak english as I had a hard time picking up on the english dialect until I was 5 and a half (I spoke some weird version of Charletese, only Bicka and Jonah, my imaginary friends at the time, understood). Other worries may have consisted of a huge homework assignment of oh I don't know a page of coloring or writing out my name as it had a tendency to look something like this (see below), dislexia was fun!! TOOW (thats WOOT spelled backwards).

Yep life was good in those days...now there is the busy schedule of college, loans, cellphone bills (boo, never get one if you haven't already), midterms, papers, jobs, bosses, and well just life. My title was Time: Our worst enemy and best friend...how is this possible? Time can be your worst enemy when you are working a long shift or in a boring class and the clock has ceased to move and you swear that an hour has gone by when that lying, deceitful clock says only a minute (if your lucky) has gone by. There are other instances where time simply goes to fast...such as those good ol' days when what to play with, legos or barbies, was the decision of the day. It can also be an enemy if you long for one more minute with a person but for some reason time never goes backwards and that minute you may want is gone. Thus the reason we must embrace the time we have now and live every minute as though it were our last and show those we care about just how much we really do care. Time goes on, which can make it our best friend, because time can heal old wounds. I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to heaven where time doesn't matter anymore and we have those (we pray) that we love with us for eternity. More then this though, we have the time, finally, to praise God over and over again for all that he has done for us. I can't wait until that old enemy, time, is gone and this world collapses, the clouds unfold and we can go home.

This is a picture that Faith and Cary sent to me, I guess I drew it when I was five or six (i've never been artistic)...its of the second coming and it has all the members of my family (at that time) going to heaven.

Anyways all, I've just realized, speak of the devil, what time it is (almost 1) and I should be getting to bed...so until tomorrow night...I promise that blog won't be as depressing

This is just a quick word up!

2008-02-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!! It is 1 am and I am just getting off work as Azalea is kicking me out so she can study and apparently I need the sleep...who knew...I guess sleep is good for you. So...I just finished a bunch of homework and my midterm today went well I don't know yet. Its one of those tests where you just don't know until you see the grade. As for my finger I will quickly clarify its fine and its just a little cut, mom! I'm sorry if it seemed huge I just wanted to share about my poor finger. What else to write...um...I am getting a sore throat so I have doubled up on the water. Oh! Tonight I got to eat Kraft dinner! An entire box all to myself...it was so good...thank you Steve for the KD! Anyways folks! I'm off for the night, just wanted to touch base and oh my week of solitude that never existed anyways is over tomorrow haha. Anyways take care

This Isn't Really a Blog You are Only Perceiving it as Such

2008-02-25T23:20:00.000-08:00

After much deliberation is has been reported that the infamous Charlee Kirkby is an extrovert and needs people to survive. Due to this fact she has decided to step down as the dorm hermit (even if it was for a week) and can now be found mingling with the other students. She says her day is more fulfilled and that the only lesson she learned is that 1) being a hermit does not mean she gets any more done due to the many episodes of I Love Lucy that line her wall. 2) She has also reported learning that she just needs to learn time management skills and 3) that she needs to learn how to say no when asked to "hang out" although there is a time and place for everything. Charlee has also reported that she will be writing in her blog again however there will not be a post tomorrow night as she has a midterm on Wednesday in Wisdom Literature.
In other news the finger problem is only getting worse and so tonight Charlee and her friend Azalea boiled water and Charlee stuck her finger into the water to force the blood into the finger. It was reported that her finger started pulsating and then turned white, red, white, red and finally when Charlee could stand the heat no longer (after 2 seconds) she flung her hand back and forth attempting to cool it off. Another cup of water was brought to a boil and a knife was inserted into the boiling water, due to the fact that knives have no nerves no screaming was heard. Finally, after a few more moments of soaking the finger Charlee took the knife, breathed deeply (as her finger was already in agony), looked at Azalea and said "You want to be a doctor so here you cut my finger" to which Azalea replied "I pass." Charlee took another deep breath, looked at the serrated knife and ran the knife, while applying pressure to the knife, over the cut. Finally blood could be seen to which Charlee pulled back the skin some more allowing more blood to flow out then applied salt straight to the wound. After wondering if there could be anything more painful she then proceeded to apply alcohol to the wound and watched in the mirror as her face grew more red. Finally, she took out some antibiotic cream, applied it to the wound and bandaged it up. Now, if only she had done this in the first place this would even be an issue today. Charlee would also like to go on record as saying "mom and Faith, how are you knees?"
In other news Charlee was seen for the third time at the gym working out. Why all this working out so suddenly? This same question was asked to Adrianna and Michael to which the one worded reply came "Florida."
We close this evenings broadcast by listing a few things that Charlee would like done at her funeral as her best friend Azalea said "watch for blood poisoning, if you see red or pink streaks going up your arm then we might want to get you to the hospital." Due to these words Charlee has seen nothing but pink streaks although she knows there are none. However, planning ahead she wishes that not a single tear be shed at her funeral as crying only wastes water and what will the fish swim in if you cry all the water away? Never thought of that did ya! It is requested that everyone wear either black or blue to represent a bruise, just kidding. She has also requested that Steve sing and then Michael tell a few jokes.
LOL Ok sorry about the morbid above paragraph I just couldn't resist, its too funny. Anyhow all, I've got a homework assignment to do and then I'm off to bed!! Until later!!!! Take care
PS mom, dad! I have been informed by two reliable sources that there is something you know but are keeping from me. As the oldest I demand answers!! :) Night

Two Posts in One Day! Oh No This can Only Mean ONE THING

2008-02-23T21:41:00.001-08:00

Charlee is going insane. Thats right folks she is going insane. The reason for this insanity can be attributed to the fact that she is attempting to take one week off of people. All this is doing is proving she is more extroverted then she once thought. As much as she loves her "alone" time she realizes she misses her friends *tear* however due to her grades and the crazy amounts of homework she has decided this will, she promises, be the last blog until Thursday. See, right now she is working front desk. It is 10:46 pm and she has been here since 9 and she is here until 1 and she cannot do any homework because the lobby is open (she can only do homework after the lobby closes) and so she sits, thinking, what can I do to pass the time. It is then that the answer comes to her, at first as a whisper, then a shout...WRITE IN YOUR BLOG! She is blown back and so she logs onto the old computer and listens and prays as it croaks to life, the harddrive grinding together and wait...is that smoke...nope just my imagination. After waiting for what seems hours the old comptuter finally logs Charlee onto the network and she finds her way to the blog and begins writing. What is she writing or rather what will she write seeing as she already wrote earlier today...She will be writing just this...
You see since Charlee wrote earlier something strange happened. No I did not write Charlee is strange, but rather something strange happened to Charlee. She slept for a few hours this afternoon and played scrabble, however it was the saddest game she had ever played against her good friend Azalea as the words were "no" "oy" "the" "bears" yes it was sad. Needless to say something was hurting really bad, it was Charlee's finger. You see, like a fool, Charlee cut herself last weekend on ice and instead of cleaning it she thought "Ha who cleans cuts" well normally she doesn't and it works out fine however this time she had cleaned the bathroom (with gloves on) but nevertheless Charlee was stupid (Don't comment on that). Now her finger was swollen and hurt like the devil (a phrase she got from Road to Avonlea). There was now only one option...however the phone rang and so she headed down to help some people set up for an art show that is happening here in the dorm tomorrow morning. Finally the moment of truth came and so Charlee took out her "forbidden" knife (we aren't supposed to have knives in the dorm) and ran it under hot water then sprayed it with disinfectant meanwhile laughing at the thought of what she used the knife for back in the summer. Images of sitting in the midst of a septic system cutting holes in the infiltrators while the smell around her would make most people gag. Oh speaking of which haha the other day they were pumping the septic here and boy did it stink. Everyone else was complaining except Michael and I who laughed and yelled as we walked past each other "Remind you of anything Michael?" "Yep, work!" Anyways Charlee's knife was as clean as she could get it for the time being. Slowly, with thoughts of Auntie Faith poking her finger and puking running through her head, she began pealing back the scab and working her way down into the cut. There was no blood coming out. This was not good. She poked harder laughing while doing so. She discovered she is not a hemophiliac but the complete opposite, she can't make herself bleed. Now she goes straight down and finally, yes, there it is, the watery crap and then the blood. At last relief fills her. She pours antiseptic spray over her cut and will now proceed to watch it so she doesn't get blood poisoning. The joys of being Charlee or rather the joys of being blonde (however not as blonde as some people, as she discovered this evening). Anyways Charlee has finished writing her blog in the second person because it is more fun. She cannot wait until tomorrow during the pancake breakfast when she gets to, for a moment, be reunited with her friends...then a long day of writing a book report on "The History of the Waldenses" (an amazing book by the way, its by Wylie). Anyways have an amazing night and a good week.

Its Sabbath so...Last Blog Until Thursday

2008-02-23T13:17:00.000-08:00

I realize on my last blog I wrote...Last Blog For a Week...but I forgot that Sabbath's I don't do any homework anywho so here is a blog. I am currently sitting on my bed in my room really wishing this Sabbath would last forever because as of sun down I'm hitting the books hardcore as I just realized I have another paper due soon!!
Yesterday I slept through my first class, I was so tired I must have turned off my alarm and went back to bed as I woke up 10 minutes before my second class began and still managed to make it there on time. I was brushing my teeth, tying my shoes and combing my hair pretty much at the same time. It was craziness! I made it to class as I already stated and I felt great, really great! I had all these plans of going to the gym, doing homework but midway through class (class went 20 minutes over time as some ppl whose first name starts with a D has a tendency to talk a lot) I began feeling really tired and super achey. I had worked out the day before and needless to say yesterday I was feeling the affects. My muscles felt as though a giant knife was stuck in them all and well I just didn't feel good. After class, 11, I went to sleep and did not wake up until 2ish. Afterwards I well, slept more and then slept more. Yep, I slept the entire day away. That evening I worked at the front desk from 9-1, all the college day kids are here from Crawford and so the lobby was jam packed and loud. I was thankful when 12 rolled around and I got to make that wonderful "the lobby is now closed" announcement. I have, already, come to a conclusion regarding next year, God works fast sometimes or maybe I just wasn't listening before but I have my answer now however I cannot disclose it as of yet because technically I'm not supposed to be writing this. I just thought I would say happy Sabbath. And now I'm off, do some reading, relaxing and then tonight!!!!! I hit the books. Adios !!

Last Blog for One Week!

2008-02-21T16:50:00.000-08:00

Its funny, because this is my third time typing this blog...why? Because I have written a bit, hated it, erased it, started over, hated it and started over again. Meanwhile my poor computer is getting hotter and hotter by the second. Anyways about my title...I won' t be blogging/facebooking/msning for a week as I need to get on top of some school work (2 midterms and a number of papers) and I need to think and pray some about what to do next year. I just figured I would give you all a headsup so you don't think I'm ignoring you. I'm not, I will just be locked in the library for a week. Oh I will also not have my cellphone on it. I've found that I have become a slave to the stupid thing so I'm leaving it in my room for a week *gasp* I hate electronics. I also would like to write some more or revise what I have written already (bookwise). I have discovered that my writing (for my blog) changes with the song I listen to haha, right now I'm listening to Steve Green. Anyways that was besides the point.
Right now I am sitting here in my gym clothes (I'm listening to The Mission right now, good memories of Florida). Anyways, I am sitting here in my gym clothes as I got back from the gym about 2 hours ago and well haven't changed yet but we'll get there in a moment.
I woke up this morning and skipped both my classes, I know why would you wake up to skip your classes. Ok well, for starters my grades are good but I just was sooooo tired and well went back to bed. I'm thinking of working at Subway again next year (If I come back here) as the hours are normal (better then 3am). But once again, we'll see how things go. So I slept in until 11 got up and ran into Lacombe as I had a meeting at the bank at 12. Afterwards I met up with Steve for lunch at Subway and got to see many people I used to work with. Afterwards I raced back to campus only to find out the teacher has Strep Throat. I know, I should've felt bad but I didn't and so I ran into town with Azalea and then hit the gym where JD showed me some new ways of working out my abs. After this I "crawled" back to the dorm and sat down on my bed with an episode of I Love Lucy, KD and Oreos...two hours later I'm still sitting on my bed, half the bag of Oreos has been consumed and the KD is gone...working out makes me hungry. I wish I had something slightly more amusing to write about but I don't. I am now going to shower and read the history of the Waldenses for a book report that is due Monday...alas, the week begins! Talk to you all in one week!!!

It Is All Over

2008-02-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

Thats right, break is done and tomorrow morning I wake up and go to class. I wish break lasted forever but then, if break lasted forever and there was no school you wouldn't appreciate break and it would end up being a boring time. Today was an amazing last day of break.
I got off work late last night aka 3:00 and headed to bed around 3:30. I was tired and ready to sleep which I did until, no wait there was no alarm because it was break. I woke up because my stupid body woke me up at such an early hour, 12!! Yes that's right noon. Some people would be yelling at me as their internal clocks or whatever they are called have a habit of waking them up at 6:30 and 8. Not mine, see, my clock has this habit of being quiet and pretending like the hours don't exist so I can sleep as long as possible however today it glitched and I was rudely awakened at noon. After getting up I made my way to Azalea's room where I sat and did nothing until 12:30. I mainly watched Azalea talk to her sister on the phone and then work on a lab. I know, why on earth would you do that. Because it was so funny. She had not had a coffee yet and so she sat, typing away frantically with this look on her face that words cannot describe. Let's just say scary. She looked like she was ready to kill the world. Anyways at 1 pm I talked her into coming on a walk with me into Lacombe (Michael stole the bug for observations). Alas, we walked. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and well it was just an amazing day. We met up with Steve and by this time I was starving. I look around and I see it in the distance. No, it was not my first choice but nonetheless it was a place that served food and it was close to where me and my stomach were standing. That's right A&W, they have good fries and onion rings, or so mom taught me. So I went. Azalea finally gave in and had a veggie burger. We then continued over to the grocery store where Steve ditched us, something to do with working sheesh. I walked around the store looking at stuff and finally reached Michael who was, at this time, back at the dorm. He drove down and picked us up and then Azalea and I headed to Red Deer.
Our first stop was the mall/Wal Mart, they are connected. We walked around the mall as I was looking for shirts that were any other color then black. Alas at Bluenotes we discovered a 50% off sale, thats right cheap stuff. $5 hoodies!! Then we ran into Payless and I got myself a new pair of shoes as my shoes are falling apart. I guess running shoes just aren't made to act as snow boots, who knew. So...Wal mart was the next stop where I found a toothbrush, I was happy as mine is done for and then I got nail clippers as mine blew apart in the bathroom. Yep thats right, I went to clip my nails one day and they just fell apart, little pieces went everywhere. I learned an important lesson that day...Don't buy .84 nail clippers, spend at least $2. Oh I also bought socks as most of mine smell like a bag of tostitos even after being washed. My feet are of the devil, they smell so bad!!! probably something to do with wet shoes/socks all weekend. Anyways after grabbing this stuff we made our way to Taco Time where I had an enchilada and Azalea got a burrito. I must admit, although it is not Taco Bell it wasn't that bad tasting or maybe I was just that hungry. After our excursion to RD we made it back to Lacombe in time for Azalea to join her study group and me, well I cleaned my half of the room. Poor Adri, how does she live with me I'll never know. After cleaning I ran downstairs and cleaned the one dirty guest room...why do people use two facecloths?? What do they need with two! Anyways...*deep breath* I then proceeded to run into Lacombe and pick up Steve and met Hynek in the parking lot. Talked to him for a bit then ran back to the dorm grabbed Azalea, hit Timmy's and now folks I'm writing to you. An interesting day indeed.
Now to answer mom's questions...No I have no pictures as my camera died. I do have pictures on my cellphone though and I will be putting those on my computer soon, so there will be some pics...although they won't be perfect, there will be something just for you. Anyways...good night all, I'm going to bed so I can get up at *cry* 8!!!

What do hiking, wet feet, cliffs, mountains and God have in common?

2008-02-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

A Mission Retreat at Camp Alexo. Yes I had the most amazing weekend I have had in a long long time. It all started on Wednesday when I decided that maybe I should go on the mission retreat this weekend. I'll be honest I did not want to and so I had decided simply not to go. However I prayed about it and it seemed to be the right thing to do. So Wednesday I pick up the phone and dial the number of the guy in charge...I look at the pamphlet again "Please RSVP by Feb 5" I laugh to myself, right, well I've missed that deadline so its probably all full, its Feb 13. Someone picks up on the other end, "Hi, I was wondering if its too late to go on this mission retreat weekend thing?" "Who am I speaking to?" Duh that would help..."This is Charlee" "Right, well, your name is already down on the list, someone already said you were going." I hang up the phone and scrunch my nose together, what? I haven't told anyone, but whatever. Friday comes and I don't want to go. In fact I get to the point where I decided to tell Bernie (the director, nicest lady you'll ever meet) that I am not going. Something stops me though, maybe it was Landon's voice saying "someone already said you were coming." So I go. I determine to make the best of this, get it over with and that will be that. Brandi immediately attaches herself to me proclaiming that this weekend I am her buddy. Julie, a new girl at school, (she lives beside me on our hall) joins us in the vehicle as does Sarah and thus the journey begins. Two hours later we arrive at Camp Alexo and to start things off right we go on a hike. This hike leads us to an old tunnel, see Camp Alexo used to be an old mining camp way back in the day. We arrive at this tunnel and of course a few of us decide to go in. Now, let me describe this tunnel to you...its about 3 ft tall, the floor is made up entirely of ice that is at a nice downhill slant and its dark, really dark. We start off in a squatted position and slide along, nice and easy. There is a turn in the tunnel and now you cannot see the light from the entrance, its just dark oh and now you are crawling as the ceiling is lower or the ice is higher, one of the two. We continue crawling until finally you are on your belly pulling yourself along like a worm. Good times indeed, we finally did turn around and head back out, however this was a trip of its own and boy was it hard. Ice, uphill, dark, cold and by this time soaking wet did I mention I was wearing my sneakers...well I was and they were drenched. We get back to the cabin finally and by this time I'm pooped and ready to hit the hay however we still have dinner to go and vespers. By this time I've noticed, due to the Oh my goodness your hands are bleeding statements, that my hands are indeed bleeding, rough ice and bare hands will do that. After dinner we sat around the table and sang hymns, there were 23 of us.

Sabbath morning dawns bright and early, ok bright and early in the sense that I had to get up by 8 am!! The girls are sleeping in the same cabin that has the kitchen and dining room (we are all on the floor) and the boys are in another cabin. So basically, they all come to our cabin first thing to wake us up and eat. After eating breakfast we had a slight break, many ppl went back to bed and then Sabbath school and church. Both of which consisted of singing hymns and studying the Bible or rather what the Bible had to say about going out. After church guess what we did!! We ate!! Then at 1 we all piled into the vans (3 vans) and drove an hour away (passed by Abraham Lake aka Tick city) and went a little further to where there was a pathway that led to a waterfall. We all got out, it was now a little after two and began our long hike up the mountain. At spots we were walking on snow on a nice angle going uphill. Exhausted but happy we finally reached the 'waterfall' or what was one before winter happened and froze it over. We did get to see a beautiful view of the mountains and in one spot the ice was thin enough so it looked like a window in which one could see the water pouring behind the ice. We hiked back down and during this hike I learned I'm insane. I got to do tons of thinking and I realized I think as though I'm writing. I consider that weird, maybe its not but I think it is. At 5 we began driving back to camp where we ate yet again and had a worship service where we discussed missions. After this we took a short break and then regrouped and had 'vespers' where people could share testimonies if they wished. By this point it was 9:30 and some girls were already passed out. When this ended the normal stampede for the 3 showers began meanwhile Brandi and I just laughed. See, we had opted not to shower all weekend. Ya I know, stinky, but we wanted to enjoy the real camping experience and not showering accompanies that. I vaguely remember Julie saying she wanted to go sleep in the tipi outside but after that I remember nothing but darkness until someone was kicking my foot. Sure enough Landon was standing there kicking my foot, I look at my watch...what! its 8:30 on a Sunday morning and I'm being told to wake up. I groan and slowly get up making my way, once again, to the table. It was here that we watched a sermon while we ate and suddenly it clicked. The people over seas are real ppl to. I should clarify something at this point. My stance on missions is one of disdain. I hated the fact that people felt that they must go overseas to do anything but now I realize there is a need for that because there are real people there too. I also realized many people consider the mission field as being over seas and this brings about a dangerous concept. Missions is here and now. One guy brought up a really good point when he said "either you are the missionary or you are the mission field." We are to serve and show Christ in all the little things we do. This weekend I also began reading a book that Steve let me borrow called "divine nobodies" and in this book it outlines this very thought. When we go to the store or out to eat, are we portraying Christ? I learned something else. So often we go out with the attitude that we know it all and we have something, however we need to stop and view the beggar on the street or the sick person as though that person was Christ. So instead of bringing Christ to that person we meet their needs and in so doing we portray Christ in ways that words never will. Anyways that is what I learned and that is what clicked. After watching this movie we went to the living room and prayed.
After this a hike was organized by JD. We were supposed to go to the tunnel again but instead a group of us decided to follow JD on an adventure down a hill and to the river. All was going fine, hiking through the forest, the mountains in the background, the frozen river beside us, the air was a brilliant temperature, it was just a good day. Finally JD decided it was time for us to climb back up and so, at the base of a hill that is not on a 90 degree angle but close enough, he decides we should venture up. I think, hey this looks awesome and I take off. You are literally climbing straight up and you aren't walking, you are sinking your foot into the snow and once again I use the word climbing. Finally I reach the point of no return. I can't go up any higher because well its all mud now and mud, in the winter, is frozen and slippery. In other words I can't go any higher without sliding and sliding is usually good but as I look around I realize I'm about 100 ft up and to begin sliding now means picking up enough momentum to seriously hurt or kill myself at the bottom of the hill. I look around, one option, go sideways. So I inch my way over and then stop, I've run out of snow, its not deep enough to get a good foothold and the mud under the snow is causing me to slip and I have nothing to grab. For a split second I begin to panic, I breathe heavier, I can feel my heart racing and I'm pouring sweat. By now JD is below me in case I begin sliding he can catch me as he has more of a foothold. At this point I begin laughing, why, I don't know. Just the entire situation was funny suddenly. Beck and another girl had made it to the top by using a small root which had given way after they made it up. Another guy beside me, who is brilliant when it comes to books is freaking out, literally freaking out because he sees no way out and in his mind hes dead. Meanwhile his girlfriend is at the top now and is taking pictures of him hanging on for dear life. I look down below me and I realize that if I go now I'm falling for while, hitting some rocks then smashing into a tree. Its funny. Meanwhile Eric has made it to the top because he came up another way (there was a path we could have taken but this way was more fun) and he is throwing down a rope for me to grab. I do so and begin walking up the side of this hill, my feet slipping out from under me but my hands are glued to that rope. Needless to say I made it up, the others who weren't as high up as me made it back down (they were warned to come no farther) and they went up the trail. We made it back to camp and ate again then hit the road. I don't think my feet were dry this entire weekend as I only had running shoes, nope don't own a pair of winter boots, but it was an amazing time. On the way back to the dorm Brandi, Julie, Eric and I played games. Our van was the first back and one hour later the van with the luggage arrived (we all left at the same time). JD, Azalea, Brandi and myself went to Subway for supper and that was the night. Started this blog last night but was done my shift before I had a chance to finish. So tonight...here it is.

This Will Suffice until Tomorrow Night

2008-02-17T22:27:00.000-08:00

Hey all!! Ok I am currently in the process of working on a blog about my weekend as I had an amazing time...however, it will be quite long and as such is taking me forever to write, mainly because working front desk makes it super hard to write anything...especially tonight, its break and so people are still up, coming in, going out and yes it makes it fun. So...I will have that blog posted sometime tomorrow afternoon/evening. Just wanted to give a heads up, i'm safe and had an amazing time

Random...

2008-02-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Yes that is my life and I love it. I think if I had to describe myself in one word it would be random. I am currently listening to music, quietly of course, and working front desk...did I mention its 2:38 am. I'm finished all my homework and I have completed a scholarship form and written to the school about next year. Now we shall see what happens. Oh, I'm also smelling garlic and tasting it, I'll explain more in a bit.
Today started out as a great day...I woke up tired but for some reason I was just happy to be alive. As the day proceeded my head began to pound and I found myself up front doing a speech on how to dress for the winter. Figured it was an appropriate topic for winter in Alberta. I'm unsure as to how it went but its over and I am so thankful. After this wonderful moment I noticed my head began really pounding however a sudden burst of energy filled me and I couldn't resist throwing on the old gothic pants, bandana and grabbing my "sword." Its a wonder Adri isn't looking for another room mate at the moment...maybe she is. I heard Christel coming down the hallway so I waited in the doorway of my room, waiting, then as she approached I jumped out and completely scared her. It was worth it. Adri, Christel and I chilled in the room talking until 11:30 when they ditched me and went to look for food. I waited in my room then at 12 I changed into normal clothes and came downstairs. Michael and Adri informed me that the food was no good and thus I sat. Christel was going back upstairs and so I bounded after her, stealing some of her tylenol then going back downstairs. Steve, Christel and myself went to Subway for lunch...how was the veggie sub?? haha! After this I had gread dreams of going to the gym but alas, it did not work out and I found myself passed out for the next two hours. Finally my alarm blared and I had to run to class. It was a good class period, Wisdom Literature. After this Jon, Burnie and myself made our way over to the cafe where it was decided the food just did not look appetizing. Steve, myself, Dave and Jon climbed into the little focus that Dave owns and made our way to BP's, I won't say Michael's name for the place. It was an interesting meal to say the least, three guys...what more do I need to say. Boys will always be boys, between Steve trying to sink his lemon to Jon beating the beat to a song on his plate to Dave cracking jokes what more can I say...of course I was normal...the silverware is magnetic, how cool is that. Good times! After this Steve and I hung out for a bit and then I bugged Adri and Michael. Alas, the night came to a close for everyone else...they all went to bed. Me, I'm heading there in 7 minutes.So, until later I must say good night. In five hours I will be sitting in class...yet again...good times! I cannot even think straight currently and so I end this blog. END

The Narrator

2008-02-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone, this is your narrator speaking to you. Tonight, I will be presenting someone by the name of Charlotte *voice in back yells at him* Oh, sorry, Charlene *voice yells again* Once again, my mistake, a young boy by the name of Charlie *Voice yells and hand slaps narrator* What! Charlee, a girls name, you have to be kidding *slap again, the narrator proceeds after clearing throat*
Good evening everyone, this is your narrator speaking to you. Tonight, I will be presenting the life of a girl, get this, by the name of Charlee. Her day started off like any other Sunday. The soft sound of breathing could be heard while the birds chirped outside of her window. Yes, the day had begun but Charlee had not. You see, she was in love, thats right, in love. With what? Well the answer to this question is a simple one...with sleep. Now she slept soundly, however, she did not realize that this sleep was soon to be interuppted by her friend knocking on her door. *Knock Knock Knock* Sleeps love for Charlee quickly took over allowing her brain to incorporate the sound of the knocking into a dream. When the knocking continued Charlee finally realized it was no dream and she was forced to walk to the door and answer it. Her friend Christel stood at the door with a question on her lips however Charlee could not fathom the idea of getting up at 9:30 on a Sunday morning and so she slipped back under the covers. All too soon her alarm rang loudly screaming in her ear. The sound was horrible, she tried so hard to ignore it but it continued. Finally she found the STOP button and went to lay back down but alas Azalea was at the door and ready to go, and thus began Charlee's day. She proceeded to go to Tim Hortons and Extra Foods. Charlee was forced to go back to the dorm as she realized she had a visitor. Thus, she returned to the dorm and then proceeded to head back into town to pick up Steve and do some more grocery shopping. Finally, at 1 pm Christel, Steve and Charlee made their way down the stairs of the dorm and watched The Holiday. Charlee's mother had recommended the movie and Charlee found the movie to be very good, however the other two did not appreciate it as much...they have no taste *sigh.* After the movie Christel and Charlee learned that they were destined to be single forever and grief overtook them. No tears were shed though, instead they helped Steve make Lasagna in the kitchen. At 7pm Adri, Michael, Steve, Charlee and Christel sat down to a wonderful meal of lasagna, salad and garlic bread. *tips hat to Steve, very good meal*
After dinner Charlee and Steve went outside for a while as huge fluffy flakes fell to the ground. The night was not all that cold and so Charlee began kicking snow at Steve and then ran as fast as she could and lay down at the top of the hill leading to the dorm and proceeded to roll down the hill. Snow was wedged down her pants, up her shirt, up her nose, down her socks. She could not figure out for the life of her how it was possible for snow to go up and down but it did and it was cold. However she had so much fun that she ran inside and got her friend Christel to join her. Three times they rolled down the hill, somehow Charlee inhaled the majority of the snow. It must have looked like fun because their friend Josh decided to go down the hill as well. Due to the fact that Steve was not Christel and Charlee tackled him and plopped him into the snow.
Good times had by all. Charlee is now working the front desk however her shift has ended and thus she is saying goodnight and heading to bed. Her demonstration speech is tomorrow and she prays that she does alright... tomorrow night she will tell you the topic and how it went...until then this ol' narrator is signing off.

Food...YUMMY

2008-02-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

Food...is the essence of my being...the lifeline to life...what makes me smile, laugh and wish for another day. I remember when I was a child, running through the fields with Kraft Dinner and Manicotti running with me...ah yes good times. Ok not really, this was more in relation with mom's comment on my last blog, that I've written about food alot and after thinking about it I realized its true and that I have been eating a lot more lately. Yes...my day was another fun day.
My day...began...today...my day began. I know, another profound statement made by me. So today I went to church with Steve and Christel and sat through one of the longest services of my life. At 1:45 we left the church and headed to the cafe, now the cafe usually closes at 1:30...yep long service. One of those services with the 20 minute ending to it. During lunch I successfully ate more then everyone else yet again, haystacks are great. Then it was hang out time. I went upstairs and watched as Azalea freaked out because she hated her dress pants and needed them for the Bistro Italiano that was happening for choir, as a fundraiser. Azalea got mad and I told her to take it out on me, lol this resulted in me getting pushed into a couch three times, she was so mad! I think the majority of it had to do with her lack of sleep, as the girl just doesn't sleep period. Christel and I escorted her over to the Bistro (its now 6:30) and we sit down. We didn't realize we were supposed to be waiting in line outside with everyone else. haha it ended up working out well though. At 7 everyone started filing in and we laughed harder as we realized we had definately snuck in somehow. The Bistro was an awesome time, I went with Steve and of course Christel and Azalea, Michael, Adri and several other people all ended up at one table. The food, Spaghetti, garlic bread and amazing caesar salad. There were a number of performers and then to end the evening the choir sand one of their new songs. After this Christel, Josh, Steve, myself and Azalea decided to head to Timmy's and thus we hung out for a while. Anyways it was an amazing day and now my shift is over and I am going to bed. Until tomorrow night!!

This is a Blog, A What, A Blog, A What, A Blog, Oh a Blog

2008-02-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

It is Friday today!! And I am happy about that! Why am I happy? Because it is Friday, the last day of the week, the day before Sabbath. I can't stop yawning and I will now explain why.
Last night I collapsed onto my bed at 11:50, I was so happy because I could sleep early. My eyes shut and I rolled over, nope, roll over, nope, etc...1:30...I get up and saunter into the bathroom having slept zip zap. I look at the pills I have on the counter and take two, they are an herbal thing that is supposed to help you fall asleep, I never take them but desperate times call for desperate measures. I lay down again, finally, I can sleep...WRONG...4:14...I get up, yet again, and walk downstairs to the front desk where Azalea is working the 1-5 shift. I sit down for the remainder of her shift and talk to her then we continued talking until 6. At this time I decided to try and sleep again...7 a.m...the time I believe I finally dozed off. Oddly enough I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go and so I went to class and thus began my plan of action.
I got back to the dorm at 11:00 and waited...finally 11:50 rolled around and I got the text I'd been waiting for. It was time for me to become gothic. I threw on the black pants with the straps and skull zippers and threw on a black shirt and black toque. My reasoning was two-fold. 1) To bug Steve 2) to get back at Adri for all the color I had been wearing all week. And so...I walked downstairs and got my desired reaction from both, Adri just rolled her eyes. I ran upstairs and changed as quickly as possible then ran back downstairs and waited until the bug warmed up and thus began our trip to Edmonton.
Lets start this trip off right, getting in a beetle with four people, 2 girls, 2 boys. Of course Adri and I get stuffed in the back seat, I have exactly 4 inches for my legs as I am sitting behind Steve. Adri has a little more room but not much as Michael is in front of her. We start driving, the snow is blowing across the road however the roads are clear...get that...let me try explaining it again...the road was clear underneath the blowing snow...if that makes sense. If you stared at it you got really dizzy, but we drove on. It was fun, loads of fun. Finally we get to Edmonton and drive around looking for 80th Avenue, finally we locate it and then head to the mall. Thats right...the West Ed. I decided, thats the perfect place for Jaymee to get married, jk. We walked around the mall for a bit, Michael and Adri took off as Michael wanted to check out West 49 and the Bell store, me, I was famished and so Steve and I hit up the Old Spaghetti Factory. Raspberry Lemonade, Manicotti, Salad and bread! Definately good. After this we met back up with Mikey and Adri and headed home, ya it was a short trip but fun. The rest of the evening was ok, I talked to mom and dad and listened (coached) Jaymee screaming on the other end. Yes, good times. Now I am working front desk and have been since 9, I have one hour 16 minutes left. I cannot wait to crawl under the covers and sleep tonight, it'll be amazing. Anyways until tomorrow night!! Have a great Sabbath tomorrow.

This is Blog # 60

2008-02-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

Thats right folks, 60 blogs since well I can't remember when I started blogging, Sept or October. Anyways its been fun up until now, I hope I have not bored anyone too bad but thats the joy of it all. If you don't like it, don't read it or give me feed back on how I can make it more interesting. So...my apologies for not making blog 60 happen yesterday but I basically spent the entire day in the library writing an english paper. I finished at 10 pm last night then had to write two more assignment papers for class today. Needless to say, by the time I finished I was tired of writing and went to bed feeling accomplished.
This morning I woke up feeling great! I wasn't sure what was wrong, I hadn't slept for a long period of time (1:30-7) but I just felt great. My hair seriously looked like someone turned on an electric mixer and just scrambled all my hair, you see I showered last night and slept with my hair wet. So I threw on a brown hoody shirt thingy and put on my black toque and realized they didn't match. So I threw on my lime green Aeropostale hoody, perfect. Well almost. See Adri has been making sure I don't wear a lot of black lately, so I have to wear colors! Reds, yellows, browns, blues, ya its bad. Anyways So...I tried on her red toque...didn't match with the lime green hoody so on went the brown one again...it worked so I went to class. Its crazy how many people just don't smile in the morning but then once again who can blame them. Oh, let me explain, I'm revolutionizing myself, in a sense. I'm trying to be positive, at least some of the time. Can't say it always works but hey, I figure life it to short to hold grudges or not realize the amazing things out there that God has placed right under our noses. You can find humor in a lot of things. Obviously there is a time for everything aka seriousness. That came during New Testament class when Dave signed online and we had a serious political discussion regarding whether or not Hillary or Obama should win. I'm for Hillary, hes for Obama. Politics is a time when one should be serious and not pay attention in class. After class I ran back to the dorm and chilled with Azalea for a while then she had to get ready for choir so I took off downstairs and met up with Steve and Michael (he was supposed to be studying for a test but alas, distraction beckoned...he must be my brother). We headed over to the new student lounge that opened at 11:45 and got to see the nice new hard wood floors, leather furniture and well ya its really nice. Anywho afterwards Steve and I went and invaded Extra Foods where he had to pick up some things. He wouldn't let me tell him about how I got dad off of meat, such a shame. So I proceeded to talk about tape worms and such. Meat is so good for you :) haha ok so I'm evil. Tomorrow is the big day when I get to officially swear off caffeine for good, Steve is going to attempt it as well. I write this in my blog so that people can hold me to this. Yes folks, I slip up and have an iced capp everyonce in a while...first step, admitting you have a problem. lol ! At 1:15 I went to class and handed in the cursed English paper, its over! Until the next one but thats later. At 2:45 I met up with a friend and played some ping pong then ate supper with Azalea in the canteen, microwavable pizza X 2 and soup. Very good! At 5 I laid down to rest for a second then go to supper at 5:30 but I passed out and didn't wake up until 8. A very good rest indeed. Today was a marvelous day, the sun was shining and to make things even better...tomorrow is Friday! I love Friday's!! Anyways until tomorrow night!! Have a great day tomorrow and NO I'm not on crack I'm just happy for some stupid reason. I have tests coming up next week so this may not last, have no fear. lol Take care all

Today was a Day that Shall go down in History...

2008-02-05T22:30:00.000-08:00

Ok not really but it was an interesting day...in fact...it was so interesting that I will share the details with you all. That's right, the little details that make up a day. Ok not quite that detailed but detailed enough to give you the jist of what life in college is like. *soft music begins playing*
The college, called CUC, is located in the flat lands of Canada in the small town of Lacombe. It is located at something longditude and something latitude on a map however these measurements are not important. At this school you will find a girl, aka me running around mostly looking for the next person to talk to...however on this day things were different.
"I Said its too late to apologize" did not ring this morning to awaken Charlee as she slept peacefully in her bed, in fact, she heard nothing. No she was not dead, if she was this story would not be told, rather she did not feel well and so she slept attempting to sleep off the sickness that was going around campus. It wasn't until a knock at her door at 11:22 am that she realized she had slept through both her morning classes and did not feel any better. She merely yelled at her door, finding out it was one of her friends who apologized for waking her and walked off. I know it sounds mean however it did not come across as mean as it sounds on paper. She lay in bed for a while longer thinking and contemplating about life in general. When she discovered she had nothing more to think about, she rose and dressed and headed to town with Steve. After eating at Subway and chillin with Ashley for a while she dropped Steve off at his place and headed back to campus to get ready for class. This is where her life got really interesting. The teacher had them read a poem written by this guy that adored his cat Jeffrey (or Geoffrey, can't remember) and wrote about how this cat was praising God more then humans etc. The author was later locked up in an mental place. The discussion got interesting from this point on and Charlee's friend Azalea was fuming by the time she got back to her room. Charlee, well, she was in stitches. See, usually Charlee is the one foaming at the mouth by the end of class and the irony of the situation, aka Azalea being mad just caught her off guard and thus she laughed. After class Charlee locked herself away in a dungeon of a room and read for hours, books for class. At this point in time Charlee realized something...school work never ends, it merely increases.
In the evening for worship, the girls, from 3 &4 floors, met in the chatterbox and watched...I Love Lucy...They read a devotional and prayed first then watched an episode. Charlee was thrilled and watched with anticipation, even though she knew what was going to happen as she has seen every episode. Anyways... at the end of the day Charlee smiled as she realized that she had a good day. :)
Ok...here is the practical application part of the blog...I have a demonstrative speech due on Friday...I have 7 minutes to stand up front and demonstrate how to do something...no powerpoint and it cannot be less or more then 7-8 minutes. I realized, other then playing the piano, I don't know how to do anything. So...I beseech thee, HELP! Anyways until tomorrow night...actually I may not be writing tomorrow night as I have an essay due Thursday (I'm starting tomorrow and hopefully finishing). So until sometime soon...I'll be checking for comments...

Its the Evening...No Wait...Its Morning

2008-02-03T23:07:00.000-08:00

It is...yes folks...morning! It is 12:36am. Ok now, since I've written that it is 12:42 and I am off work in 18 minutes so I have to write fast. *fingers catch on fire* I'm really hungry right now but thats besides the point. This morning I awoke at the crack of 11 and proceeded to make my way down the stairs where I noticed the beetle was missing, turns out Michael had driven Azalea into town, it was all good. Instead of going back to bed I went to Denny's with Michael, Adri and Steve...cheese omelette that I swear had at least 5 or 6 eggs in it and oh I don't know one pound of cheese. The toast was really good as were the homefries. After Denny's we hit the mall quickly as Steve needed to grab a few things then began the drive back and Michael singing as loud and out of tune as possible, wow!! Ouch, my ears are still bleeding, in fact, I've lost so much blood from that I may just die. I believe a video of that will be up on facebook soon. When we got back to school everyone hit the books, Adri-our room, Michael-cleaning his room for open house and studying, Steve-library and later I joined him there. I get to the library and sit down at the table and discovered something crazy. Its so quiet there! Me and libraries just don't coexist peacefully. See, I take out my water bottle and BAAM it falls over onto the table then BANG as it rolls onto the floor. Steve sits down in his chair and it creaks really loud, then to make matter worse I'm sitting there doing "homework" (facebook is homework right) and suddenly "Hey Hey You You I don't Like your Girlfriend" My stupid ringtone on my phone is blaring and the girl behind the front desk is looking at me. Good times, what can I say. If crazy things didn't happen in life, it would be dull. A few minutes later the phone goes off again however I have learned from past experiences and my volume is slightly quieter and instead of blaring my phone is merely dancing around the table due to the vibration. I head into town and pick up Azalea and then head back to campus where I study for a while longer. Then over to the dorm to check out some of the guy's dormrooms. Oh, while at the library I found a hebrew Bible, how sweet is that!! I also got lost in the basement reading the Magic Paintbrush, I love books. Anyways Open house, good food after. Hot dogs!! I also discovered I'm getting a gym membership tomorrow because I'm really out of shape. I had to run a coke over to Sarah who was working front desk at the library and was falling asleep. The coke machine is rigged so every second "Sprite" is a coke, go figure. So I ran over to the library in short sleeves and a toque, cold, out of breath and out of shape. Argh! Anyways now I'm working front desk and well...I'm getting off shortly, ready for another week...no but bring it on. Good night mommy!! Have a good night everyone else.

ZZZZZZ Snore What I Wish I was Doing!!

2008-02-03T00:28:00.000-08:00

But alas, I am working the bubble yet again and so I cannot sleep for another hour and 17 minutes. However, the cool thing about writing a blog is that it usually takes me a while to write it due to interuption and so it helps kill time. I am quite tired and so this blog may not seem interesting however I will tell you all what has been happening in my life.
Thursday evening I ended up going into Red Deer with Carl, Danielle and Steve. This was a lot of fun, mainly walking around the mall and eating way too much Chinese Food, I still say this was not my fault, I did not ask for that much food they piled my plate. While in the mall we visited Toys R Us and got fake, styrofoam swords. This is what is really funny, see, when I got back to the dorm this item aka the sword became super popular. I swear, in high school kids think they have to be all cool and prove something and by the time you hit college you don't care anymore and so playing with toys or acting like a moron because acceptable again. I remember one time last year I walked into the lobby when I got off work at Subway and a group of people were standing around a tickle me Elmo that laughed and fell over and stood up again. It was so popular and people loved it. Anyways my point was that this sword became popular. The rest of the evening found me in Christel's room working on a paper while she chatted online. Around 2 am I finally headed to my room and collapsed in my bed. The next morning I skipped my first class so that I could work on my two speeches. Then it was off to speech class where I had to give a devotional then at 10:06 I ran back to the dorm emailed myself the paper on my laptop, ran to the mez, went to print off the paper however this did not work so I found Christel and borrowed her floppy drive. After fighting with this it finally worked. Then...to comptuer services to print it off, 30 copies, and then at 10:36 I walked over to the church and sat, chatting with Christel and watching Heather, Neil and Steve practice. I told the story of when dad got cancer and was healed for my testimony. I don't know how it went because I wasn't all there that morning as I was completely and utterly sleep deprived and didn't know what way was up or down. Ask someone that was there how it turned out. Friday afternoon found us at Extra Foods buying supplies for soup which we proceeded to make that evening. Thank goodness for Steve's ingenuity when it comes to spices. Michael, once again watched and ate, Adri was working front desk and Azalea helped butter bread. After this we headed over to vespers and then that was about it for the evening. Oh I played scrabble and ate popcorn with Azalea that evening, loads of fun, I won!!
Today!! I wish I could say this morning I got up at such and such a time but alas I woke up at 2pm and ended up playing another game of scrabble and chilling and of course calling my parents. At 6 Michael, Steve and Adri and I headed to Red Deer in the bug (Adri and I were squeezed into the back seat, two long legged guys). We ate at East Side Mario's...sooo good. I had Cheese Capiletti and the others had pizza. By the time we reached the bowling alley we were all hyper (no one had caffeince or anything with alcohol) and crazy. After some strikes and some spares and teasing each other and watching Michael and Adri dancing we found that we had played three games and had loads of fun. On the drive home we stopped at Timmy's and got hot chocolate and then listened to Michael sing as loud and off key as he could all the way back to the dorm. Ouch! My ears are still bleeding, thank you Michael. All in all it was a great night. Now I am working front desk and should be off shortly. It is not 2:33, see what I mean about taking some time. People come and talk and then I get distracted by reading the news, its fun. Anyways until tomorrow night when I work again.

A title can be the hardest thing to come up with sometimes

2008-01-30T22:30:00.000-08:00

Today...was tiring. Last night I had hoped to get to bed early but alas that did not happen as my thirst for knowledge and talking to people was combined and I stayed awake until 1:00. This morning I flirted with the thought of skipping class but decided against it as its a shortened class schedule anyways, due to WISE week, and I enjoy the class. I rolled out of bed and got dressed and headed to my first class. I thought I was going to be late but was not as the teacher was 5 minutes late and me, I was 50 seconds early. So all in all I was 5 minutes 50 seconds early. After classes I went back to my room and contemplated sleeping but man alive facebook is addicting so I did no sleeping and headed over to the WISE meeting. After this I headed to lunch where I was informed by Christel that there was a hair on something however she did not tell me what. So I got food however was unable to eat it as all I could picture was a giant hair and bacteria crawling all over my plate...so I gave up and went downstairs and got hot dogs, those were edible and I did not have the knowledge of whether there was hair on them or not so it didn't bother me. After lunch I went back to the dorm and in all honesty can't remember what I did...oh wait...I slept for a few minutes then headed to town with Steve so we could get supplies for supper tonight. See, Michael, Adri and Steve and of course myself were sick of the cafe and decided to make supper. Being the smart person that I am I brought only a jacket and nearly froze. See, today it was warm, only -26 in the afternoon. Needless to say we hit the SAAN store and got toques, thanks Steve. After this Extra Foods became the next goal where we ran into Nicole who gave us a ride back. Now, a quick side note for clarification. If you want to meet Adventists or people from the school go to Extra foods, your bound to run into at least, I repeat this, at least 4-6 people from CUC alone and thats on a slow day. Anyways, when the three of us got back to the school I ran to class and pretended to listen to what the teacher was saying. However my mind was mulling over supper and that evening. After class I got a phone call from mom and then headed downstairs to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup. Naturally by the time I got down there they had already started, they being Steve, the cook, Michael the eater, Adri the dishwasher and myself the other dishwasher. After this we headed to the chatterbox (myself, Adri, Christel, Megan and Sarah) to watch The Notebook. It was a chickflick night, with Doritos. Michael later joined us however he was a typical boy all the way through, men tsk tsk. After the movie ended we headed to the other WISE meeting and now I'm working front desk. A busy evening however it was fun. Sorry I couldn't make this blog more exciting I'm really tired tonight and just wanted to lay out the basics. Anyways I must tackle some homework, yet again. Oh, on Friday I was asked to do a testimony for WISE week so any suggestions are appreciated greatly. I was thinking of telling the story about dad and cancer. Anyways if you think this is a good idea or if you have a better idea let me know. Until later...

The Meaning to Life

2008-01-29T22:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight I opted to just write about something that I've been thinking about lately and so it will not be a chronology of my day or a funny story but rather just some thoughts I had earlier.
Life is composed of a series of events that unfold over a lifetime. Each one shaping us into a mold, either for the better or the worse. Every event we encounter, every trial we face shapes us depending on the person who is governing our lives. Sometimes a person may belive they are living to serve God however one event, one person can show them that they have a long way to go. Sometimes a series of events and only that can fully make us understand how to live for God and lay self aside. How does one do this?
To lay self aside involves knowing God. We must know God and only then will we realize that in order to put one's self aside we must be full of God. This means to know God as one knows a best friend. When you are so excited about what you see and find out about God that you can't help but share him. When this happens one realizes they are focusing and talking about self less and that they are talking about God more. When a person is full of God they will find their life is more fulfilled. How then, do we live for God?
Well first and foremost this involves knowing God. In order to live God you must know him. It is only then that we live as God would have us live. We must put aside self, stop worrying about the cares that today burden us and tomorrow, when we look back, cause us to laugh. Give your day, your problems, your life, to God. Submit your all to God and he will change your life. Stop trying to change the little things, stop trying to take care of your problems and seek God first and everything else will come later.

Just Some Pics (compliments of Adri)

2008-01-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

I asked Adri if I could borrow a few of her pictures to post on my blog and she allowed me to so here are the pictures from banquet. I know that a few of you already have these through email but I thought I would post them for the fun of it. Enjoy!!

-51 This Morning -45 by Lunch Tonight -45

2008-01-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

Cold, my friends, would be the largest understatement in the books. I awoke this morning to the sound of my alarm clock and almost got up instantly except for one factor. My bed was warm, the air was frigid. I slunk into my bed and wished I could stay there longer but I only had 20 minutes to get ready for class as it was and so I got up and dressed for class. It was one of those mornings where you reach the front door and merely stand there, frozen to the spot. See, the thought of going outside absolutely repulses you. You can picture your skin freezing instantly and your ears and nose falling off. To make matters worse all the other schools in the area were closed but not us because we all live on campus. I open the door and am greeted by a gust of wind which instantly snatches my breath away and leaves me standing there gasping for air however there was none as it had all frozen. I look up the long flight of stairs that lead to the next building, West Hall, and bolt like lightning on a mission to strike the earth. By the time I reach the top of the stairs I can feel my nose freezing shut and my eyes feel funny, frozen. I yank open the door to West Hall and take a deep breath, the warm air penetrates my lungs and my heart rate slows a little. I walk a little slower through the building and reach the end where I now must bolt from West Hall to the Ad building, a distance which is usually an enjoyable walk but today it would be the equivalent of having someone pound nails into your body while you are gagged and cannot breath meanwhile your eyeballs are exploding from the pressure. So now I proceed, popping the door open yet again and running, yes running as though a thousand bees were chasing me, until I reach the ad building doors. Within moments the warmth of the building greets me, however this warmth is in no way comparable to my nice warm bed that I have left for what...class. It is 8:30, usually class does not begin until 8:45 but due to WISE week (week in spiritual emphasis) the classes are shorter and earlier to make room for the 11 am meeting. So I bound up the stairs as it is 8:25 and I look and the door is locked shut and the dept door is closed. The teachers forgot. So I slump down in a chair and wait...8:30...8:35...8:40...8:45...finally the prof comes and opens the door and we begin class. The proceeds, after class I write the blog submitted earlier then Christel found me and we headed to the WISE meeting for the day. After watching Christel sleep through it we run like mad women over to the cafe to eat. The rest of the day involved sleeping for a while, class yet again then supper. After supper I decided to go over to the gym and see what was happening there as there was a basketball game and Michael was going to play in it. However this was short lived as I had promised Christel I would help her with music theory. So at 7 I made the long walk back from the gym to the dorm...cold...yes...do I like cold...no, not at all. It was painful. I ran half the way then realized I couldn't breathe anymore so I slowed down and walked however this was not working so well when I realized I was slowly turning into a big block of ice. Eventually I did make it back and theory went well. I then got to hang out with Steve for a bit and play cards with Tamra and Val. And now...yes I'm working front desk yet again and thinking about how I need to finish my homework. So until later...later!!

Cold...a BIG UNDERSTATEMENT

2008-01-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

I just noticed that there is no post for Jan 27 aka yesterday...so I'm gonna write a post right now for the 27th aka yesterday :) Then tonight, while I'm working front desk, yet again, I'll write a post on today.
Yesterday...I wake up around 11 a.m. to the sound of the phone ringing, turns out its just someone who thought I was in their class however I'm not so...they tried someone else. Needless to say I was awake and it was 11...on a Sunday morning. I know, pathetic but hey I'm up late and up early every other day of the week. It is the morning of banquet and strangely the sound of blow dryers and girls screaming as they realize something doesn't fit right or that their hair is just not working out for them or better yet they have a fresh zit on their face, just in time for banquet...needless to say these screams were not filling the hallways. Instead there was the sound of a really cold wind whipping snow around outside and fresh snow falling steadily, actually pathetically, from the sky. At times you couldn't see more 20 feet from your window. We hear word banquet will go on as planned so Christel and I jump online to check the weather reports and more importantly the temperature. Its -33 with a wind chill that makes it feel like -40. Now by the time the temperature reaches -40 it doesn't matter whether its Celsius or Farenheit because the two changes have now gotten married and its just cold. I look at Christel and laugh, this is pathetic. Azalea began laughing at us and Adrianna just simply groaned. The rest of the day proceeds with people running back and forth jumping into showers, trying dresses on and the smell of burnt hair and perfume fills the hallways. When I'm in the shower I hear this scream...it was a girl who was in charge of planning banquet realizing her ride left without her. Oh the joys of banquet. I spent most of the afternoon killing phones...I called mom and dad on Azalea's phone...it died...cellphone...dead...my phone...yay it worked. Then I got chased into a dress, makeup and my hair was done up. The time now is 4:30...time to load the busses. This is the fun part...see what else do girls wear to banquet other then dresses and high heels. Yep, its -40 out and I'm wearing a dress that comes to my knees and open toed heels!!!! CRAZY!!! I walk outside and ouch my skin freezes, my feet are somewhere under the snow. At this point you walk as fast as you can in heels on snow covered ice. Onto the bus we go then you get to sit and watch all the other girls run to the bus, the guys just look cold but not frozen solid!! The roads were snowcovered but decent for driving and around 1/2 hr later we arrive in Red Deer at the Kahlua Restaurant. Amazing food!! I sat with Michael, Adri and Christel. Now on each table there is a vase with gold fish...I think ours was dead as it was just floating there so Michael got up and switched quickly with another table... tsk tsk. Then began the fun of waiting until our table was called to go up and get food...we were table number 20. About 20 minutes later, maybe longer we were finally called. Pasta...mmmmmm...bread...mmmmm...it was good. After the meal we left for the bowling alley, yes bowling in dresses. It was so much fun. 6 of us to one lane, obviously. Now...I had a handy dandy help, I brought a pair of jeans so in the corner of the bowling alley (the lights were out because the neon and blue lights were on) I threw the jeans on and tucked my dress into my jeans...so nice to be "out" of a dress. lol the rest of the evening was amazing however I had to leave early with another couple that was leaving as I had to get back to work at the front desk at 11. Anywho I have to run to worship. Until this evening.

Today!

2008-01-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

Today was today. The profoundness of that one statement is absolutely awe inspiring. Today was today because it was today. O.k. I'll stop now. However now that I've established the fact that today was today I can move on and tell you what made today, today.
I woke up around 8:40 this morning to some strange noise, some new jingle and I couldn't figure out for the life of me what this new foreign sound was. I jump up and stand there looking around but I still cannot place this new sound. I'm thinking to myself, could it be my cellphone? But no that wouldn't make sense. Meanwhile Adri has now gotten up and is madly searching around her bed for her cellphone which, as it turns out, is making this ridiculous noise. Finally she finds it and flips it off then looks really confused and asks "What day is it?" I'm equally confused and respond "I think its Sabbath why are you up?" She looks puzzled for a moment then responds "I work this morning at the front desk." Anyways it was a very dramatic start to an interesting day. With this said though I fall back asleep until 10 when I hear this loud, high pitch noise coming from somewhere. I jump out of bed, this time I'm mad because I think its a fire alarm, this early, on a Sabbath. I run out to the hall and there is no noise so I retrace my steps into the bathroom. BINGO this is the source for my noise. I try everything but the noise doesn't stop then it hit me. The noise isn't coming from my room, its coming from my neighbors. I groan, it turns off an hour later. Take one guess as to what it was! Thats right!! They decided to take a one hour long shower with the hot water tap partially on so it squealed the entire time!!! Needless to say I was slightly perturbed but managed to fall back asleep...until 11:20 when I realized I had 25 minutes to shower and get dressed for church. The race began instantly with me jumping out of bed for the third time in one morning!! crazy I know. I set my alarm to go off in five minutes, 11:25, and jumped in the shower! I have never shaved my legs so fast and I didn't even cut myself, probably because the razor is dull. at 11:25 my alarm goes off and I jump out of the shower and run into my room. Ok, I have 5 minutes to decide what I want to wear. Needless to say this turns into ten minutes as I try different things on...this shirt makes me look to pale...this shirt makes me look to tired...these pants don't fit anymore and I don't want to loose my pants in church...these pants fit...ok...shirt...ah this shirt looks good...no wait....I need a tank top under it...Nope this tank is too short...this tank is perfect...now for the shirt again...oh man I should have tucked the tank in...tuck it in...ok perfect. Now to brush my teeth which I do while putting my shoes on and putting dirty laundry in the closet. Anyways, this was my morning in a nut shell and although it sounds like it took forever it didn't. I was ready and downstairs on time whereas I had to wait for Michael, sad I know. Steve, Michael and I walked over to church and then after church Adri met us and we were picked up by some people that used to know my grandparents. Let me say this, when I got to their house and saw all the food I nearly died. We sat down and began eating, 1 plate full, 2, 3, 4, Yes FOUR helpings of everything. Sadly, when everyone else was finished eating my plate was full for the fourth time and yes mom I was the last one done eating because I just kept eating like you. I ate more then Steve and Adri combined!! However, this is where it gets bad. I'm super full by now and we help them clear off the table then sit back down and suddenly this huge piece of pie is plopped down in front of me. My eyes bug out, Steve starts laughing, Adri just looks at me in shock and Michael only shakes his head. I guess before the meal they had mentioned that there would be desert however I failed to hear that in my state of starvation and I ate a lot. Everyone else around the table finished there big piece of pie and I'm still working on it however I can feel the food, see I think I was full all the way up to my neck because the food kinda landed in my neck and wouldn't go any further. So I'm looking around at everyone else and they are sitting there comfortably and I'm thinking to myself "why am I cursed with mom's last eating thing" Needless to say I finished it all and digested it all within probably an hour because an hour later I was hungry again. How does that work I'll never know. At 4 we went to a concert at the church put on my the music dept and then...headed over to the dorm where we sat until 6. At this time I left to go to one of my teacher's houses where there was a dig party. Allow me to explain. There is an archaeological dig happening this summer and I was interested in going until I found out its close to $5000 by the time you include all the little things and its in the middle of the summer. Needless to say, as exciting as it sounded I couldn't fathom spending that much even if the experience would be amazing. I must add one thing, they had amazing food here as well. It was food that they would eat in Jordan aka Faluful's (sp), pita with hummus and other good things. So, it was a good evening all in all. Now I am sitting at the front desk looking at the people hanging out in the lobby but alas I am separated from the real world for another hour. Oh well. Until tomorrow!

A Night/Day of Memories :)

2008-01-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

Ok...so...I wrote in my blog yesterday afternoon so today I must write about what happened last night and today as both, I found, were quite interesting. It started something like this...
Yesterday afternoon, after I finished blogging I ran to supper and sat with Tamra, Christel and Azalea. During the meal Tamra and I were eating as we normally do, elbows on the tables, slouched a little, and apparently I was taking huge bites and not chewing my food long enough. You see, Christel decided to teach us proper table etiquette so at this point Tamra and I decided to have some real fun. We decided to ask Christel all the things we shouldn't do. So, Tamra burps loudly in Christel's ear, that was a no. I stick an entire link in my mouth, that was no so I approached it from another angle, stuffing tons of potatoes in my mouth and talking. That was a no. Then we slurp soup loudly, no. Tamra yells across the cafe at someone else and carries on a conversation this way, a definite no. Then it comes time to go so we jump up so fast the chairs go flying. Needless to say Christel just shook her head and walked away. Of course we caught up with her and walked the rest of the way to the dorm where at 6:30 six of us decided to go see 27 Dresses. We decided to take Christel's car however her car only seated 5, so I'm thinking lets just all pile into the backseat but NO! A wonderful idea was presented and with that idea one of the girls jumped into the back of the girls jumps in the trunk and off we go. After the movie it was my turn! Yes. I jump in the trunk close myself in and we start moving then suddenly the trunk flies open and some other gals from school are standing there "No way, thats so awesome" and with that we head back to the dorm. Riding in a trunk is really fun! Although I will admit for the first few seconds I almost freaked but her trunk is really spacious and it has a handle on the inside that glows in the dark!! The speakers were right above my head, ouch! But anyways that was last night. Today...I woke up and went to class and after class I went to another class, a great concept eh. This other class just happened to be speech class. The teacher gets up front and begins the lesson by reading a devotional, now we are supposed to be listening to her as we are not only learning to speak but also listen. However I found this really difficult on this particular morning and here is why. In the room beside us a guy is practicing his cello, across the hall we have a girl on the piano playing her scales and in the other practice room (the classroom is down the hall with all the practice rooms) we have another girl practicing her arpeggios on the piano, now get this, to top it all off...we have a lady, singing operatic style German!!! It was absolutely amazingly cacophonous. I was cracking up badly however managed to keep it together...somehow. The day went by rather quickly and tonight I found myself eating pizza with Steve, Michael and Adri and helping Christel with her music theory. A fun night indeed. My shift is almost over and well...I have a lot of homework to finish fast...so until tomorrow night...Night

A Half Eaten Apple

2008-01-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

I am currently sitting in Azalea's room, the time is 3:26 pm and she is at work and Adri is in class so I'm sitting here bored as anything. Now let me make something clear first. I am a good bored! I have lots I could be doing however I am currently choosing not to do them as decided it would be fun to write in my blog when I'm actually awake. I was in english class the other day when the teacher went on about this new obsession of blogging. She says one her friends blogs all the time and she just cannot understand why anyone would do such a thing. The other day I was watching an episode of Road to Avonlea and I noticed the incredible sense of community that they had back then. Everyone knew everyone else's business, you told each other stuff, you helped each and you actually knew who you lived beside. In our day and age though, one barely knows who lives next door to them half the time, no one really cares. Why is this? Our community is now online. Online we post every detail of our lives for the world to read, its true. I do it every night when I write about my day. I can tell you all about my friends all over the world but half the time I barely know what is going on in real life. Its almost as though life has switched to a virtual world. We care and talk to people virtually. I'm not saying this is good or bad as it has its pros and cons. Basically, I just have a lot of time on my hands at this moment in time, I got three hours of sleep last night and since 8 this morning I have sat through three classes and read a few really depressing poems. Anyways, my point perhaps may be (I really don't know what my point is to all this (When I was a child I wrote a play and had my siblings perform it...it had no moral to the story)) that we need to start getting more involved our everyday communities. We are often trapped in bubbles, allow me to explain. We sit in our houses online, or watch tv, we then get into our vehicles and drive to a store where we can opt to go through a self check out. We no longer need to communicate with anyone but ourselves. Try this, next time you go home, read a book, when you go out in your car allow someone into your lane or if you get cut off just shrug and smile. Chances are they are having a worse day then you. Or better yet, just randomly smile at other car drivers or wave at people (and not with one finger). At the mall talk to the clerk, ask how there day is going (this is loads of fun) or if someone looks rushed let them but in front of you. In other words, pretend like there are other people in the world other then yourself and let them go first. Once again, if we start doing little things it may just lead to bigger and better things, you never know. Anyways folks...oh I will explain about my title, basically its this. There is a half eaten apple sitting beside me and I saw it and wrote about it. Good day!

Tired!!!

2008-01-21T23:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, haha this is my second time writing this as CUC connections are of the devil and I lost my previous post and it wasn't saved in drafts boo. So...basically all I said is that I am tired and do not have anything profound to write tonight. Sadly I must finish two papers and read a lump sum of material by tomorrow morning at 8. I work until 3 tonight but I would like to be in bed by 3 so...I'm gonna forgo the experience of blogging this evening. However I do have a challenge. On Friday or was it Monday, anyways sometime soon I have to do a Narrative Speech for Speech class. This is a 3 minute speech on a story in my life. My problem...I don't know what story to tell so...If you can think of a story that would last me 3 minutes I will be forever grateful. Thanks a million and until tomorrow night

Due to Insufficient Funding Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay will be Cancelled until further notice

2008-01-20T22:36:00.000-08:00

Thats right folks, the infamous show, the show that will go down in history as being the best, the most entertaining, the most adventurous, the biggest thriller to hit the big screens, the best acting and the most fun packed drama of the century. It will be missed. *tear* however due to insufficient funding and the main character Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay going insane due to overwork the show was canceled until they find a new actress and get some money. However folks, I realize this is a major set back and so we introduce to you a brand new show, one that, hopefully, will top all the records. It is called "The Quest for Answers" featuring Charlamay and her sidekick brother Michaelay. This is a story about the struggles of two young adults struggling to make a name for themselves, struggling to get by without a cent to their good name. And now folks "The Quest for Answers"
"Oh Michaelay, I really think tonight would be a good evening to go catch an act, wouldn't you agree?" Charlamay's thick southern accent coated her words making them seem thick as pea soup. Her brother tipped his cowboy hat forward so that it would cover his eyes and spit out the piece of grass he was chewing on. "It sounds like a plan, what do you think Adrimay?" Adrimay was Michaelay's girlfriend. "Oh man, I'd just love that. A good ol' show makes me smile inside and out. Yipppeeee" With that said the three made their way to the show hall and watched as the actors performed, the actress changed her dress 27 times it was astounding. Michaelay, however, was not amused and complained about it being a show for gals only. Thankfully he was not alone as they met up with another friend at the theater.
When they got back to their little log cabin Michaelay and Adrimay ran off to go snuggle together by the fire while Charlamay was forced to work late into the night. So late, in fact, that when the clock struck 5 she was still up. Finally, at 6 she fell into a deep slumber until noon. Charlamay sauntered over to the fire place where she picked up the new contraption known as a telephone and called her mommy and daddy, Marilay and Tediday. When finding out all was ok she determined to read a little and dove into a good book. However after a few hours of reading her eyes began to get heavy yet again and she found herself wanting to doze off. The wiles of sleep had almost overtaken her when she heard a familiar voice behind her, "Morning sunshine, slept half the day away already and yousa still thinkin 'bout sleepin' a bit more. Come now, yousa gotta get up sooner or later or you'lla find your life is a wasted away and yous old." Charlamay slowly turned over and began chattin' with Adrimay. (Ok, Adrimay did not really say that however most conversations are fictitious). The rest of the afternoon went well, a very relaxing one indeed. Charlamay's friend Azalay came over and visited briefly. She had run 26 miles (she really did today) to come and visit and was exhausted and hungry by the time she got there. Charlamay found some grub and Azalay ate it with eagerness. She looked and acted as though she had not seen food in years, but after running that distance anyone would. As the evening wore on Azalay left and Charlamay's other friend Christafay stopped by. Michaelay, Christifay and Charlamay all killed snakes for entertainment (we watched Snakes on a Plane, big mistake) and on the way out of the cabin Michaelay pretended to get bitten by a snake and fell to the ground. At that Christifay screamed and jumped backwards sending poor Charlamay into a wall. Yes it was a good evening. However, now Charlamay finds herself tired and ready to sleep as she does not have to work nearly as late tonight. Until tomorrow night...

Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay

2008-01-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

After getting off work at 5 in the morning Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay headed up the many flights of stairs and fell into a deep, uninterrupted slumber. However by the time the clock struck ten Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay rolled over and realized she was not sleeping anymore. Five hours, that was all she had slept on her one day to sleep in nice and long. Slowly she stood and walked to the bathroom and looked at her dark eyes in the mirror. This was simply ridiculous, she thought to herself and strode back to bed where she slept soundly until 12. She got up, the realization that she had missed church began sinking in and she groaned to herself as she had wanted to go. Oh well, nothing she could do now and so she sat on her bed thinking of what to do now. At 2 Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay decided she would sleep some more as she had to work again that night from 1-3 and so she did just that. She fell asleep yet again and slept until 5. It was at that point that she realized her day was really uneventful and...We interrupt this program for a special news briefing. Hello all, this is just a side note to try and make this evenings blog more interesting however I think it is hopelessly impossible and so now we will resume the regular broadcast or wait, someone would like to speak. "Hello all, you don't know me but I know you muahahaha. Ok not really" I'm thoroughly bored haha and out of things to say. It is 2:44 am and I can't even think straight as I am so tired. I get off my shift in 15 minutes so...until tomorrow night when I work again, good night

Events=Real...Character Names= Fictitious

2008-01-19T01:08:00.000-08:00

*This part is fictitious* The trumpets sounded loudly upon the notification that today was Friday. This was a day of rejoicing as it marked the day before Sabbath and all in the prison would celebrate the arrival of the weekend. *these events are true however names are fictitious* (the explanations are for my little aunt). Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay rolled out of bed, the sound of trumpets no longer blaring in her ears as the tune was replaced by that of her alarm clock "its to late to apologize" (see Jaymee with reference to that song). The thought of getting up did not appeal to Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay today as she was tired. Reluctantly she pulled herself out of bed and fumbled into the bathroom where she proceeded to try and decided which shirt to wear. The process took longer then usual as she couldn't find anything to match with her bloodshot eyes and puffy hair. Finally she determined that a black t-shirt would match since black and red kind of go together. With that decision made she headed out the door as quietly as possible so as to not wake her cell mate. She started walking slowly down the hallway, her eyelids heavy, her mind full of facts and figures then suddenly the thought hit her in the head. It was Friday. Although the redness in her eyes remained her eyelids seemed to stay open on their own. This was good! Her feet began to feel a little more light instead of the blocks of bricks they were before. Her shoulder bag, crammed full of books, even felt lighter. How was this possible? The wind of second had blown across the prison yard filling students with a second chance to get through the day. Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay ran the rest of the way to class as she realized she was almost late however when she arrived she found the classroom empty. Looking around she realized she was, in fact, ten minutes early. You see, there is something that must be explained at this point in the story. Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay suffers from an illness, one that people have tried to cure however it seems to be incurable. No matter how hard she tries she is always ten to fifteen minutes early. A memory of early flashed through her mind. It was Christmas, the warden had allowed her to go visit her family for a short term and so she went traveling over land and sea on a giant white bird. When she got home she was asked to come help out in town on New Years. She was to get there at 4:45 as it started at 5. So instead of being fifteen minutes early Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay was fifteen minutes plus fifteen minutes early. In other words she aimed to get there at 4:45 however she was fifteen minutes earlier then that, it was 4:30. She shook her head at the sad memory. Slowly she sat in the cold, dark classroom and waited for other people to show up. Finally at 8:44 the other inmates began arriving. She had to ask, what was wrong with her. Oh well, she excused the thought and continued on with life, well class. At noon she found herself attempting to sleep for a few minutes as her shift got changed and instead of working 11-3 she was now working 1-5 am. The thought scared her slightly so she tried sleeping. When she woke up she discovered she had a migraine. She rolled over, looking at her watch, she had slept for twenty minutes. Not bad. Slowly she got up, the pressure made her wonder if her head was full of lava waiting to be spewed out but couldn't find the opening. She stood still for a moment until the lava settled. Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay walked down the stairs, down more stairs, down another set of stairs, across the main social gathering spot for prisoners and down another flight of stairs. This was it, the moment of truth. Had the dryers dried her laundry? She picked up a pair of jeans. Dry. She picked up a t-shirt. Dry. Perfect. Quickly, she gathered her things and headed back up the many flight of stairs to the highest room in the tallest tower, ok not really as Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay only lived on the second floor of the prison. She began folding her laundry trying to ignore the drums that were now playing in her head. After this she opted to eat some soup and bread, a prisoners meal, and sat down. She hoped that this would take away her headache but alas it was no good, the drum beat remained egging on the eruption of lava that was soon to happen all over her jail cell. She lay down again and tried sleeping but found that she could not and so for two hours she tossed and turned. Finally, after becoming fed up, she got up, tried to calm the mountain of lava, and walked to another jail cell where she took two pills and went back to bed. Alas, the woes of sleeplessness. She tossed and turned until finally, at 11 pm she fell into a somewhat peaceful slumber. However, this slumber was short lived as that familiar tune had the nerve to begin playing "Its to late to apologize." Angrily she turned off the noise and longing to sleep more realize she could not as it was 12:45. Slowly, she pulled herself out of bed. The pain had subsided and so she proceeded to throw on her clothes from earlier and walked down the many flights of stairs. Alas, now Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay sits, it is 3:47, writing this blog to you. Until tomorrow night!!

The Silence or lack thereof

2008-01-17T19:06:00.000-08:00

Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay looked longingly into the hills knowing that the hills was where her help would come from however the prison of Lacombe lacked one thing. Hills. There were no hills for miles therefore no help would be arriving any time soon. Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay sighed longingly as she thought of the carefree days of her childhood when she would play and run free as a deer in the forest. Now she realized she was stuck in a frozen tundra of flatness. Determined to make the best of it she headed to the building of ad and sat down preparing for two classes in one classroom with one teacher. Class commenced, the topic, she found to be somewhat interesting and so Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay listened eagerly to what the Teacher of Prison had to say. Finally, she lifted her eyes up to the clock and alas she noticed the time, it was 10:43 am. She had been sitting in the same spot since 8 and was ready to leap from the classroom and sleep for a while. See Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay was up until 3 am at the front desk then up again at 7:30 so sleep now beckoned to her. 10:47 the door to the room of class burst open and a lady stood there, somewhat calm and reserved however under her cool exterior one could read nervousness deep within her eyes. She uttered the words that Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay dreaded most "We are now in lock down and you will be locked in the classroom until it is finished." Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay groaned as did the other inmates, was it not bad enough already that they were in prison and now they had to practice a lock down in case someone ever decided to shoot everyone on campus. The Teacher of Prison did not seem to notice though and continued handing out the homework. Suddenly it was as if someone clicked a switch, he looked puzzled, walked to the door, opened it and yelled "what do you mean?" We quickly informed him that we were not to open the door as a lock down meant you were locked in the classroom so no one could get in and kill us all if this were a real scenario. Teacher of Prison looked tired and confused as he had taught the last two classes, "you mean we can't leave until this thing is over? I'm stuck in here until then and you guys can't go?" We laughed, yep that was just it. "How long will is last?" he asked looking slightly annoyed. "It could last as long as an hour" one student replied. At those words Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay's bladder kicked into action and she felt as though Niagara Falls had been locked up for some time and now wanted out. Finally...around 11 the keeper of doors came around and unlocked the room however Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay and the others was forced to go to the Chapel of Church and get debriefed (to this Michaelus of Seeleys Bay replied loudly while in the Chapel of Church "I do not need to get debriefed I'm wearing boxers"). Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay talked with Michaelus of Seeleys Bay and found out that his teacher had let them out of class early however as they were walking towards the house of prison they were called back into the building. Thus ended the lock down of the prison of Lacombe. Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay was forced to write a newspaper page and then clean the rooms of guest in the afternoon. Now Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay looks longingly at her bed and thinks of how wonderful it would be to sleep for a full night and finally she decides that sleeping for the night is exactly what she is going to do. Until tomorrow night!!

Prisoner!!!

2008-01-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

The birds were singing, the sun was shining but all was not well at the prison of Lacombe. Poor Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay looked longingly as a little bird flitted across the sky, free to go where it pleased. It was early morning and Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay was on her way into the big building of the prison. This is where most of the weight adding was done so she could not leave. Her second class was one where she learned how to talk all over again, it was called speech but really it was a conspiracy to brain wash her so she could not communicate effectively with the outside world anymore. She tried not to let this bother her however. After this thoughts of sleep toyed with her mind and so she walked back into her room and almost fell asleep however before sleep overtook her she was forced to go talk to the warden. It was here that she learned that she could no longer study the books while doing her night shift nor was she allowed to blog shhhhh. In fact it was new rules that no one working the bubble could do homework or go on the computer. At first Charlemagne froze and almost freaked out however doing that would only invoke terror in her fellow inmates and may start a revolt. So she remained quiet and went to lunch. After lunch she attempted to sleep once more but alas more cramming of the books beckoned her and she had to write and research a word in the ancient language called Hebrew. After this the guards chased her to another classroom where the cramming of the books continued, her brain felt bloated and fat. The rest of the evening was uneventful until it came time for the work to begin. She looked around, no guards, so slowly and ever so carefully she began to write on her arms, what was she writing? Notes of course. What for? So that later on, when it got slow and there was nothing else to do, she could write her paper. Then she grabbed her hoody which she had received while at the prison of Onion Srungs and carefully wrapped her Bible in it so she would have something to read later. Ever so quietly she began walking down the hallway when suddenly a door opened. The prison guard Azalea of Mother stood before her a knowing look written on her face. Thankfully, Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay befriended Azalea of Mother in ages past and Azalea of Mother only shook her head and laughed. See, when Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay was a wee child she used to get sent to her room and instead of staying in her room she would attempt to see how far she could go. So, carefully and quietly she would walk down the stairs, past the bathroom door where her mother, Dawn of Thornhill, stood, and sneak out the backdoor. However, a weird sense of curiousity always got the better of Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay and she had to see if she could get caught. So she would stand in front of the picture window, waiting for her mother to notice her. Finally, Dawn of Thornhill would notice and yell and drag poor, innocent, Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay back up the stairs and into her room. Snapping back to reality Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay felt that same sense of daring adventure creaping into veins yet again. However, this feeling was short lived as the warden gave her permission to study the books while in the bubble. A great relief swept over Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay and a small bit of freedom was found.
Join us tomorrow evening for the rest of Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay in the prison of Lacombe. Will she ever make it out alive? Is she going to rot because of all the information pounded into her tiny skull? Can such an air vent, such as blond Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay's head be filled with anything or will the air always rush through it creating a horrible draft that gives the other inmates their colds? What will be the outcome of all this? Join us tomorrow night and see...
PS Evan, I tried calling tonight but was told by some rude gentlemen that you were unable to come to the phone. So I will try calling again tomorrow. :) Night all!!

Good Evening

2008-01-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

Hello all, this will not be a long blog as I am not working tonight and I can actually go to bed somewhat early for a change. So basically I'm saying hi!! Also, I'm not sure if Evan (my little bro) reads these or not but if so Happy Birthday!! I was going to call but I didn't get out of orchestra (I was there watching) until 9. I'm horrible with bdays in case you haven't figured out by this time. Last year I missed dad's, it wasn't until four days later that I realized what I had done. Anyways I love you Evan!! And for everyone else, have a great night!! I'll be writing my full length blog tomorrow evening as I know that, as I have been conversing with Charlemagne of Seeley's Bay and she has much to say. Until then...nighty night

The Blog Topic for this Evening is...HI

2008-01-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone. I'd like to start off by thanking my crew and everyone I've worked with these past few months *hiccup* I'd also like to thank my mom, my dad and the rest of my family for being there. I'd like to thank my friends who have stood by during the making of this film. I'd like to thank my pet rabbit and my birds for behaving while I was gone *tap tap tap* Oh this isn't the Oscars...o.k. Sorry everyone, I take all that back.
Take two... Thank you so much for attending this evenings meeting. I'd like to start of by addressing an important issue regarding taxes *tap tap tap* Ok so this isn't a board room either.
Take three...Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start off the evening by introducing a new band that is up and coming...Rascal Flats *tap tap tap* Ok so apparently this isn't even the CMA's (country music awards). What is this then. *scary music please* its...its...its...the story of my day. *theme music* "Welcome to my life"
The day was Monday, the time was 8:00a.m when we find our star, we'll call her Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay, asleep in her bed. Why was she sleeping? This was a question that had to be examined before one could continue on with the story. You see, every night for the past four days, Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay, has worked late hours so at night, after work, she climbs up the stairs of the dorm and sleeps. This is so she can get up the next day and attempt to get through the day. Once again, the time is 8 am, and Charlemagne of Seeley s Bay is fast asleep in her bed when suddenly "Its to late to Apologize" blares in her ears waking the poor innocent girl up. Yes folks, its the ring tone of her phone. Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay pulls herself out of bed ever so slowly, meanwhile she is fighting off the demon known as Stay in Bed and Skip Class. After winning she continues getting ready for class. Her classes go alright, however today turns out to be a rather slow day as it was a Monday. Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay, around 11:30 attempts to go to lunch however when she finds out that there is a plot against her life and they have hidden the poison in Casserole's (leftovers, in a dish covered in cheese) she decides to avoid the cafeteria. Instead she eats Smart Food as she knows that it helps raise one's IQ. After she gets smart she then drives into Lacombe...see Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay is a prisoner in a strange land known as Alberta. She is currently being held captive in Lacombe and it is here that she is attempting to stay alive. Everyday she is given what they call homework. It is supposed to help the brain, they say, but instead it pulls a person down as it loads their brain full of facts and figures they would otherwise know nothing about. Because of this extra weight of "knowledge" they cannot run away. Its a sad tale of woe. So yes, Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay drives her royal beetle into the town and then back to the prison. Here she is forced to go learn more facts and finally...she is forced into the cafeteria where she is fed pizza and sprite. The unhealthiness of it, the grease and the cheese all combine to form a kind of poison that puts Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay to sleep. Here she lies for a while until suddenly "Its to late to apologize" blares in her ear yet again. No, its not morning. Instead, it is night. Thats right, night time and Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay must now go to work. Now she sits in her glass bubble for the next few hours waiting and dreaming of the day when she can leave this place. :)

Good Evening

2008-01-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

Good Evening folks...I am, once again, writing from my bubble aka the front desk at CUC. I'm quite tired and looking forward to getting to bed so I can be somewhat functional during classes tomorrow morning. My shift has kind of just started, well 1/2 hr into it...Why am I tired? Well, today in all honesty I did not do much but have been up for a while. I worked last night from 11-1 then woke up at 8:45 (too early for a Sunday morning) so that Beck, Steve, Azalea and myself could hit the West Ed Mall. We met in the lobby at 9:20 then drove down to pick Steve up at 9:30. Our journey began from that point on. Thankfully the sun was shining and it is actually warm out, 28F !! For Alberta, in January that is really warm...I miss Florida. We had to be at the mall at 11 as Azalea had booked herself and me a hair appointment. It was nice to get this load of hair off my head and somewhat thinned. I was only in the salon for about 1/2 an hour as I was only getting my hair cut and not dyed. Azalea was in there for 3 hrs. So, Steve, Beck, Beck's sister and myself decided to go see a movie which we did. As we were waiting in line we tried to decide how much popcorn to get, bad mistake. We ended up with way to much!!!! By the end of the movie we were all stuffed and couldn't fit any more popcorn in our mouths if our lives depended on it. So...after the movie Azalea met up with us and we did some more shopping then hit Taco Bell. The time was now around 4:30 and so we opted to head home.
Tonight was a lot of fun, or funny, both I suppose. They had karaoke in the dorm which my brother Michael partook in I think 3 or 4 times. Ya...he can't dance. Poor Mikey. Steve and him sang the YMCA song, that was fun to watch. People really get into that song. Anyways that was pretty much my night and day. I'm sorry, I would love to make it more interesting but I simply cannot, not because it wasn't interesting, it was but just because I am so tired I can't even think straight. So these are merely the details of my life. Since I am working tomorrow night I will be writing again then and I promise it will be more interesting as I plan on sleeping all afternoon!! YAY!!! Anyways... Until then...bye

TGIF (Thank God Its Friday)

2008-01-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

As I was talking to mom this evening she reminded that I did not post a blog last night. So...I must start off by apologizing for my lack of blog and trying to make it up for you by posting one tonight. This week has been ridiculous, school work galore! I spend my afternoons and spare time doing homework, preparing for a class (speech), reading or just packing my bags for class. Its ridiculous but I tell myself, take more classes now and hopefully graduate on time and be completely done on time. Thats my warped logic.
Yesterday...what did I do yesterday *racks brain trying to remember* Other then class I do not believe I did much. I honestly cannot remember yesterday at all so we will assume it was uneventful as it probably was and move on to today.
Today...I awoke bright and early, the clock read eight. The thought of sleeping through class crossed my mind briefly however it was fleeting and I slowly pulled myself from the warmth of my bed. A cold breeze greeted me, I looked around wondering why? The window was open. After pulling it shut I stumbled around my room until I found my clothes and walked into the bathroom. I flicked the light switch, OUCH, it was as though someone had poked me in both eyes, they stung, they burned *gasp* I turned the knob for the shower and climbed in, the warm water, needless to say, did not wake me up but instead did the opposite. I yawned, the thought of it being Friday today kept going through my head. I got out of the shower and dressed and walked back out into the dark room. See, the sun does not shine here, instead a large ball of gas rises over the campus around 8:30-9 and dimly lights the campus until 4:30-5. But for now, it was dark outside.
I opened my door slowly as I did not want the creaking to awake Adri and then I moved into the lit hallway. Slowly but surely I began the long, cold, lonely walk to the Ad building. At the bottom of the stairs I was forced to look around for any sign of danger, none was found. I walked a little faster until finally I pushed the door open that kept me from the great outdoors. Darkness still greeted me, however on the horizon one could see the glow of gas beginning to rise, not even this ball of gas wanted to be up at this hour. I kept my eye eastward until I reached the ad building. Dark, forbidding cloud hung over the building warning those that would enter that they may never return. I had to be brave. Taking a deep breath I stretched out my arm and pulled the door open, thunder shook the ground and it seemed as though I would soon be swallowed up by the menacing skies but curiosity kept me moving forward. Once inside the doors I could hear the dripping of old water falling from the ceilings to the ground and forming small puddles beneath my feet. The smell of musty books greeted my nose while the sound of scampering rats greeted my ears. Terror clutched hold of me and refused to let go. I was not to my destination yet. I had to climb...the stairs of doom! I began the climb with great apprehension and fear however with each step it got a little easier to keep going, partially because of the monsters roaring beneath me. To stop now would be certain death so the climb had to go on. As I reached the top of the stairs all I could hear was silence. I didn't know you could hear silence, but you can. Its quiet. I walked toward the light at the end of the tunnel and turned to walk into the light. It was here that my journey came to an end, I was finally in class.
The rest of my day was not nearly as eventful as the first part. See, as the giant ball of gas rises over the campus all the monsters disappear or they will be gassed to death. The largest supplier to our protector, gas, comes from the cafe, especially when they serve haystacks or tacos. The emissions given off after such an event help fuel the gas for the following day. However, this afternoon we opted not to support the gas and instead, Michael, Adri, Azalea and I, climbed into the beetle and drove to Red Deer where we ate at East Side Mario's. I don't have to worry about the monsters tomorrow as I will be sleeping in until 11 as church does not start until 11:45. Anyways that has been my exciting days. So until later...later
PS The monsters don't actually exist ;)

The Reading Never Ends!!

2008-01-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

It is day three of the school year and already I am finding myself doing homework for most of the afternoon and evenings. I guess this is what happens when you sign up for three literature classes, big mistake. However, I am enjoying my classes a lot, well, except for Speech but maybe that will improve. Tonight I will be reading Milton's Paradise Lost for class tomorrow, should be a good read. Anyways what have I been up to today and yesterday...
Yesterday! Well, after I got off my shift the other night some things happened and I ended up being up later then I wanted to as I had to take over the desk for a bit. At 7:30 I woke up, no really, I actually woke up, physically but not mentally. As in, somehow I got dressed and walked to class but I'm not sure how. Apocalyptic Lit was interesting, well as interesting as reading the course outline can be but I think it will be a really good class. It is a study of Daniel and Revelation using the Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek words. Speaking of which I have some homework I have to do for that class. After that class, in room A209 I sat there. Now why would I sit in the same classroom when class was over? Lets see if you can remember. *Jeopardy theme music plays* Anybody... Thats right I had another class, Intro to New Testament in the same room with the same teacher so there was no need for me to move. Ohhhh never would've guessed that!! After Intro to NT I got up, thats right, this time I moved and walked back to my room with the full intention of cleaning my half...that lasted long. I ended up going to worship in the church and then lunch. Well during lunch I did something stupid. What else is new right, ok I'm a tad bit blond. See, I turned to one of the girls at the table and noticed she had an engagement ring, so I was like "Hey congrats!!" then I turned to Adri and said "This is horrible, everyone is engaged but you and me it seems" So I took that ring that I wear off my pinky and jokingly placed it on my ring finger and exclaimed "Hey I'm engaged" well get this, the stupid ring proceeded to go onto my finger. Thats cool right? WRONG! I couldn't get if off. I began pulling and twisting but it wouldn't twist and it wouldn't budge. What was I to do now, my finger was turning purple!! I pulled some more but to no avail. All I could picture was me placing my finger on a sidewalk and stepping on it to break the ring off as it is only hematite stone. But that idea struck me as being painful. Now by this time everyone else is in hysterics and making all these cracks about me being blonde, the nerve. Me, I'm freaking out! So, I walk back to the dorm and Adri comes running down the stairs with a bottle of vaseline which I coat my hand with and pull...NOTHING! I'm fully panicing by now however I'm still trying to conceal it meanwhile the wisecracks are still being echoed all around me. Finally after pulling some more and twisting it slides off and all is well. Well everything but my pride. Anyways after that I can't remember what I did oh right! I went to english class at 1:15. Anyways to skip ahead, Michael, Adri, Azalea and myself all head to Wal Mart to get water and other healthier alternatives and things like tide and just things you need to smell somewhat presentable. Anyways after we pay the three of us are standing in the doorway area waiting for Azalea who has run to Sportchek quickly. What else are three 'adults' going to do while waiting when they are surrounded by every little kids dream! Gum ball machines and those machines with the bubbles with prizes inside. Out come the .25 and in the machines they go. Adri's toy gets stuck on its way out and one passerby notices and laughs and says "There still ripping you off like they did when you were a kid" My gumball ends up coming out the shoot and falling on the floor. Anyways yes it was fun.
Today! What did I do today. By now your probably groaning thinking to yourself How is it possible for someone to write so much about their stinkin' day Don't worry I'll try and make this one shorter. I woke up yet again and went to my first two classes, nothing too significant happened other then listening to a teacher talk. After this I walk back to the dorm, this time determined to clean my half of the room and you know what!! I did!!! YAY! After this I ran to lunch and ate quickly. Oh it was so sad! They had hamburgers, the burger was good but...the bun was...now get this...soggy and hard!!! How do you have soggy/hard buns???? Yes I'm still puzzling over that and seriously wondering if maybe the chemistry peoples did something in a lab. Or maybe they placed a hockey puck inside a bun and then dipped it in water so it would remain hard yet be soggy. I don't know, that verse in Deut is right "The secrets things belong to the cafe" Ok ok that was really bad. Anyways the rest of the afternoon I did homework for one class! Wisdom Literature, then I went to class at 4:15 and presented my opinion of the Hebrew word Etsah (advice, counsel, consult). After class I skipped supper as I had to clean the guest rooms and then I made *jubilant singing* Kraft Dinner!! While I cooked my gourmet feast I read John's Milton's poem about his friend Lycidas who had died while out at sea. Interesting poem. Anyways somehow I got carried away reading and ate the entire pot of KD by myself and drank an entire water bottle, needless to say I felt as though I would explode by the time I got back upstairs. And now my good people I wrap up. I'm going to work on the book of Daniel now and write a paper on something, no clue yet. So...until tomorrow...no wait! I forgot something ridiculous I did yesterday.
Yesterday! I woke *fast forward* and walked to the ABC where I needed to buy a Bible, and not just any Bible. It had to be the New Revised Standard Version. I guess it is the closest to the actual script and contrary to popular belief the NIV is not even close. The NRSV is almost on par with the KJV but thats it. The NIV is a translation from a different source and the other bibles like The Clear Word and Living etc are translations of the english version which is a translation of Hebrew/ Greek. Sorry I went off on a tangent. Ok, so I get to the ABC and finally find the NRSV and pick it up and open it to the book of Sirach. Yah I was thinking the same thing...Whats this? Then I realized, how cool is this, the Bible includes the Apocrapha in the middle, and no the apocrapha is not scripture as it was not included into the original Canon but I still thought it was awesome. So I prepare to buy it and bring it to the front. She rings it through and Baam my eyes are blown out by the price $108!!!!!!!!!! I nearly faint. However, get this, I justify it in my mind. And no not all the NRSV's include the Apocrapha, this one is special lol. Here is how I justify it. My Bible that I have had since 1996 officially died that morning and if I have a new Bible I'm gonna have to read it cover to cover to memorize where everything is again and mark it up, also...I didn't have to buy three texts books (which are usually well over $100) so I was saving myself $300 because all I needed for those classes was the Bible. So I actually saved $200. I'm beginning to sound as pathetic as Lucy off of I Love Lucy. Anyways I got the Bible and now I'm sitting here staring at a $100 Bible. Crazy I know. Anyways I'm done. *stops tape of yesterday*
Take care all and I shall be writing again, hopefully not as much.

Back at School

2008-01-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! O.k. first note! Auntie Faith, go check the iv's!! I do not want my blog to be responsible for killing off poor little infants who didn't even have a change at life because their nurse was too busy reading a blog. Alright, now I can continue knowing that babies aren't dying because of me *sighs.* Since I wrote last...I sat in a bug for three days, with four people, across Canada. OUCH! My butt is bruised, ridiculous. Note to everyone reading this...DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT CUSHIONS AND MAYBE A SEDATIVE AND SOME ASPIRIN. We got up early and drove all day Sabbath, I know sinners...we had a clear run, didn't eat a thing as we did not want to buy anything unnecessary on Sabbath. Needless to say by the time the sun set we were in Kenora and I have never seen 4 people run so fast toward a grocery store. We loaded up on Pizza buns and carrots, celery, peppers and dip. Good meal for a car. By 8pm we had reached Winnipeg, Manitoba and were so grateful to be out of Ontario. I decided that the province of Ontario is ridiculously large and should be divided into several smaller provinces so it feels like you are going somewhere, but that's just my opinion. We spent the night with the Gaunts, ate a wonderful meal and slept in comfortable beds. Sadly, on a Sunday morning I discovered that 7a.m is actually a time that does exist on weekends as we were on the road by 8. The roads were horrendous as we left Winnipeg, ice everywhere and to make matters worse we saw around 10 cars in the ditch. Needless to say I was freaking out and have never held onto a handle so tightly (Michael was driving). A few times you could feel the entire bug start to drift and slide around, you look to your left or right and there is a car in the ditch. You swallow hard and imagine trying to explain to your parents that they need to come out to Winnipeg to pick up the bug! The conversation, I imagine, would go something like this "Uh mom, dad, can you come out to Winnipeg?" They would reply, "Oh ok, so now we are going to pick up two vehicles?" to which I would reply "Um yes, is that ok?" Anyways something horrible like that. Thankfully we made it safely through the ice and it warmed up to 37 F (Sorry I don't do Celsius) and we were able to boot along nicely. In Saskatchewan, just beyond Regina, around 2pm I took over the wheel. It went something like 150kmh (90 mph), no cops, no people, nothing! I flew! We hit the Alberta border and I was forced to slow down as Alberta is loaded with cops. By the time we reached Medicine Hat we were all so hungry and tired that I pulled off at the first Perkins I saw. After a good meal we hit the road again and no we didn't hurt it. Anyways to make a long trip short we reached the school around 11pm. I have never been so thankful to stand up before.
This morning I managed to sleep through my first class, I know bad bad, but hey I was so tired I couldn't think straight and the first class is the course outline anyways. Woke up in time for my second class at 9:50 am and went to that. I skipped History of Christianity but made it to Fundamentals of Speech, ok get this! Call me blonde or whatever you want to but I had no idea the class was all going to be SPEAKING!! We have to actually give speeches and stuff and they have to be memorized. I had half a mind to drop the class right then and there. But I won't! *Takes a deep breath* I can do it, somehow. After this wonderful class I went into town with Christel and got some things at Extra Foods, like cheese buns, ginger ale, and granola bars. Don't worry I'm going to get the water and other healthy things tomorrow at Wal Mart, way cheaper. At 12 I met up with Steve, Christel and Azalea for lunch in the cafe...pyrogies...I just made homemade pyrogies the other night...these were...yah...boo! After eating the three of us walked over to the ABC and spent money *cough* on books! Do you realize how expensive books are?? Yes, expensive and you have to ask why? We were all wondering that question as they ran the books through and the bill went higher and higher. CRAZY! At 4:15 I had another class, Wisdom Literature, its a study of Psalms, should be a good class. We study a lot of Hebrew words which I love!! After this I drove and picked up the key to my poor, smashed up truck that was sitting in the parking lot staring at me with its one eye. I then proceeded to jump into the truck and held my breath...would it start? It had been sitting for almost 2 months, been completely smashed into it but it is a Toyota. I put the key into the ignition, turn it, press down on the clutch and it whines for a second then Vrooooom she fires to life! Christel, Azalea and Tyler were outside with me and helped push as I got stuck on the ice in the parking lot haha. Now she is parked behind the dorm awaiting a fixing job. Good ol' Toyota's! Anyways that has been my day. I am now sitting behind the front desk working the bubble and waiting until 1 when I get off. Tomorrow I have three classes, Apocalyptic literature at 8am in room A209 and at 9:30 I have Intro to New Testament in room A209, me and that classroom will become well acquainted as 4 of my classes are in that one room and my other two classes are in W112 ahhhhh. At 1:15 I have British Literature. Yes 6 classes, 18 credits, three of which are literature classes and the weird thing is that I am looking forward to it...for now haha. Anyways I have written a lot! So until tomorrow night, have a great day. I should have a blog posted every night or every other night from here on. Take care all! Be safe and have fun!!!!! Faith go check the IV's!!!

Can Life get any Weirder

2008-01-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

I'm back!!! This Christmas break was fun but too short! Only three weeks!! New Years Eve I worked at the restaurant in Gananoque as they were booked solid with Reservations and needed the help. The next night I worked until ohhhh 5 am plowing snow for dad and the following night...allow me to tell you about it. Ok, so...mom, Azalea and I decide to go see National Treasure 2 at the theatre in Kingston. After the movie I was going to continue helping dad snowplow so I drove the plow truck in and mom took her Focus. We get to the movie theatre and I jump out of the truck, lock the doors, take the key from the ignition, make sure the radio (the one we use to talk to each other) is off, make sure the plow controls are off, and make sure the other real radio is off and I walk away from the truck. Something catches my eye, the lights are on! I turn around and this feeling of oh dread fills me. Why? Because the truck I was driving is a chev! A 1993 Chev! Whats that mean? Well I had the key to the ignition but I did not have the key to open the door (the older trucks were made that way, two different keys for each). Mom and Azalea have walked over by this time and I tell them my dilema. CAA anyone (the equivalent to AAA). CAA arrives about 15 minutes later and another 15 minutes later the truck door is opened the lights are turned off and we have missed the movie. So we head to Pizza Pizza for some of the world's best pizza, no joke! After eating I jump in the truck and head out to help dad clean up the schools, they are doing snow removal and my job is to make the parking lots look all pretty and stuff. Finally at 12:30 I recieve that call over the radio "Charlee this is the last school you can head on home" YES! I think to myself, I can go to bed early. The race home begins, my foot is becoming just as heavy as my eyelids until suddenly I feel that dreaded feeling, my foot is pushing against the gas pedal but we aren't going any faster, in fact, our speed is decreasing (azalea was with me). Then all the dash lights come on as the engine turns off. I think back over the night and remember a "water in fuel" light blinking at me all evening. We have frozen up as the temperature outside is -2 F. I pull to the shoulder, wait a few minutes and start her up again and manage to get it to the top of a hill where it dies again, however I was able to coast it down the hill and pull into the ditch again. From here I wait until Michael comes and picks us up, we try the methal Hydrate but nope its frozen. To make a long story short by 4:30 Larry comes with one of the big plow trucks, gets behind the Chev and yes folks pushes it back to our house, I followed in the bug with the 4 ways going. And NO I'm not making this up!!

Anyways... today was fun. Get this... 4 college students...wait wait, rephrase...4 BROKE college students, one VW Beatle and traveling 3000 miles from Ontario to Alberta. Sound Possible? I don't know, I'll tell you on Sunday. We packed all our stuff in ziploc bags, aka rolled up our clothes, and put them in ziploc bags and packed it in the trunk and yes its all in. Then we put our computer cases around the bug and then piled in. So far its working. We are currently in Kapuskasing, Ontario (about a 12 hr drive from the house in Northern Ontario). Tomorrow the plan is to get up early and make it from here to Winnipeg, Manitoba (about a 14 hr trip or longer). Yes Ontario is HUGE! Below are some pictures of what we look like, oh man! Anyways I probably won't write again until we get to the school Sunday night. So until then! Take care all

Thanks mom for the pictures!!!

life.com (not an actual website) :)

2007-12-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

You know that little kid saying "when I grow up I'm gonna be..." or "when I grow up I'm gonna change the world by doing..." I have found myself still using those sayings until the other day when reality and I collided. Suddenly a horrible realization began sinking in when I realized that today is life, regardless of how old you are. Today, being life, is also a day in which you have the ability to affect someone else's life or do something for someone. Michael is writing this. Back to you Charlee. Michael, my bro, just came and stole the computer and wrote those last few words, now where was I. Right life. So anyways I have just been deep in thought the last few days, and seeing as I don't have a lot of exciting adventures to write about I thought I would share the adventures of...my mind. That does sound funny however. O.k before you think I am crazy and need to be locked up I will continue writing. What led me to these thoughts on life is the sad fact that I am getting older (where did I put my glasses), not only that but I always viewed my life as something that would happen and not as something that is happening. Then the realization struck that God has given us an amazing opportunity to serve him through everyday life. We don't have to look to the future to begin doing great things for God, it starts today, with small things. Examples would include holding the door open for someone that has their hands full or helping a lady unload her groceries into her car when she seems to be having troubles, smiling at someone who appears to be having a bad day or just saying a small prayer with someone who looks like they need the encouragement. Little things like this go so far. I can't take all the credit for this. Josh always says "Pass it forward" and its so true. People do nice things for us so why not continue them and do something nice for someone else. We are given so many opportunities to serve God everyday and yet we pass these up because we are looking for the big ones. Another thing that got me thinking was my mom. When we were in Toronto last weekend she would always be reaching into her pocket or digging through her purse looking for loose change to give to a homeless man or woman. What if everyone on earth did something small for someone else and kept passing things forward? Perhaps by now we would be living in Heaven and there would be no more goodbyes, no more tears. Anyways I'm going to end this post for tonight as it is late and I should be getting to bed! A challenge though...for Christmas this year...do something little for someone else. Merry Christmas all!!!!!!!!

Home at Last

2007-12-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

Yes folks thats right, I have finally landed in what I claim as the better part of Canada, aka Ontario but hey, I'm slightly biased. Something to do with living here my entire life. No I must admit Alberta does have some positives. See, if you like brutally cold temperatures, Alberta is your place, or if you like flat, Alberta is your place. Ok ok I'm being mean. Alberta is nice because it has the mountains which means skiing! and of course hiking! and of course just beautiful scenery. I also must say that Calgary is a nice looking city. Allow me to explain. After something stupid like 6 hours of sleep in two days and as I looked at my watch I realized it was once again around 2:30 the thought struck me, I should probably get some sleep. It was Friday, early a.m. We were leaving the school at 5am. So I went to bed for an hour and a half and woke up yet again and ran my stuff downstairs and threw it into the waiting van. Josh, myself, Azalea and two other sleepy people piled into the fifteen passenger van (now full of luggage) and headed toward the airport, the Calgary airport. We arrived around 7 and headed to drop off the luggage, goodbyes followed (I hate and suck at goodbyes) but alas survived them and went to security. The ladies working there were in a really good mood and after chatting with them I walked through the screener thingy and kept on walking toward the gate. Azalea hit Timmy's instantly, me, I wasn't hungry. Whose stomach is awake that early?? Just kidding. Just as Azalea got up to go to the bathroom they announced that they were going to start boarding our plane so she ran. Alas, at 7:40ish we sat in the plane, buckled in and awaiting take off. I looked out the window as we were leaving, ok, let me reword that. I leaned over Azalea, who had the window seat, and looked out and wow, Calgary is gorgeous. The sun was just beginning to rise and the reflection could be seen on the highrises. But what set this off was the mountains etched in the background, the reflection of the snow picking up the rays of the sun. Beautiful sight, lasted only a few minutes as we changed direction and began the long run down the runway and off into the sky. After watching "No Reservations" on the plane and tapping my fingers against my seat, stretching, going to the bathroom just as we hit some turbulence (not fun) and trying to sleep but realizing it was not possible, we finally landed in Toronto. Sure enough, Faith and Cary were standing there waiting for us as we walked through the doors after collecting our luggage. The rest of the day was good and slow and ended with lentil soup and something really sweet that they made for us. I think the ingredients were sugar, sugar and chocolate chips. Very good! Friday night I was in bed at 10 but up the next morning at 10 (8 Alberta time). We made it for the world's shortest church service (combination of being late and a short sermon) then went home and ate haystacks. Mom and Michael and of course, Sport (the maltese dog mom has officially replaced all of us kids with) came up and met us Saturday afternoon. That night found the lot of us at the Old Spaghetti Factory and me feeding manicotti to my jeans, ya you can't dress me up and take me anywhere. Sunday we went to the Handel's Messiah, amazing performance I must add. Faith bought Chocolate covered almonds during intermission and Michael just so happened to pop one in his mouth as the next song began, all I could hear was *crunch crunch crunch* and Michael trying ever so hard to chew an almond silently. Sorry Michael, didn't happen...brothers. When we got home that evening we decorated the Christmas tree, me, I wrapped myself in Christmas lights and Uncle Cary plugged me in. Good times. Toronto decided to get one of its worst snow storms in years so we decided to spend another night in the big stink aka Toronto. Monday morning (aka this morning) I was awakened rudely at some unearthly hour as we were leaving to go home. I think the time was something like 10 a.m. The drive home was uneventful, thank you Steve for being there and texting haha helped break up the monotony of the drive. Ok, this afternoon we drove into Gananoque and mom, Azalea and myself rented 4 movies. Yup, 4 and so far we have watched three! Alas, mom and Azalea went to bed so we will have to watch the other one tomorrow. Which movies? I'm glad you asked. They were...Loves Enduring Legacy **** Amazing Grace *** and...The Ultimate Gift***** definitely five stars. I would highly recommend it!! Anyways I should probably stop writing as I am tired and it is 1:39 a.m. now and I should get up sometime before noon tomorrow. So...until later. Take care everyone. Be safe and don't get run over if you go Christmas shopping. Warning...malls are dangerous this time of year!

I Is Done!!

2007-12-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hi all!! Yup thats right I is done this semester and mes going home in days two! Sure not if yous can tell but me brain is fried from finals and I's is happy theys over. Ok I'll stop butchering the english language, oh wait, I do all the time when I talk! :) I can't believe this crazy semester is over and you know what! Just when you think you are done you find yourself booking classes for the next semester! I'm going to be taking 18 credits! Wahoo!! I want to graduate on time. I can't wait until I am done with college and I am walking down the aisle of the church, no not marriage, to receive that beautiful piece of paper that tells me I never have to set foot in a school again as long as I live. Unless I want my masters or something like that.
I'm currently working front desk and I'm watching as more people leave the dorm for home while a few are cramming for their last exams tomorrow. I'm kind of enjoying my position, no exams, just watching, pointing and laughing. Ok not really, I feel there pain, really I do. Last night I said goodbye to Michael and Adri then at 4 am I woke up and ran downstairs to say goodbye to Liz and today I said goodbye to Steve. So yes, the school is slowly clearing out for the holidays. Tomorrow I need to think about packing *thinks* wow that was exhausting, ok maybe tomorrow night I'll do that. Then Friday I'm in Toronto eating real food! Can't believe how fast this semester has gone, wow! Anyways folks I'm out for the time being. Take care all and I'll see most of you at home.

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2007-12-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

My title demonstrates what your brain waves look like during this time of the year. Thats right, there is nothing but dashes. This afternoon I took my Philosophy exam and after confusing myself I decided it must have been correct. Five essays, 50 matching and 3 other questions...lets just say my brain was ready for the events that followed. See, Christel, Tamra and myself all took this wonderful *cough* exam and afterwards we needed something to unwind with. What else could there be to do then to throw a ball as hard as you can or just throw it down a lane and knock pins over! Thats right...we went bowling, Christel, Tamra, Josh F., Josh B., Azalea, David and myself that is. So now what am I doing? Well, I was attempting to write a paper that is due on Wednesday at the time of my final, 7:45 am, yes a.m! but I decided procrastination was more important and so I opted to write in my blog, since its been a while and mom keeps getting on my case. So mom, HI here is a blog for you to read. I promise I will be writing in my blog more often after Christmas vacation but alas life has become crazy as a student! Finals, blah. I mean, who thought of that bright idea. Some dude sitting around in an office thinking of some new way to torture his students, suddenly he jumps to his feet "Aha! We will make them think that the school year is over but alas, just when they have been lured into a sense of safety we will spring a final test on them. Ah, yes and this test will be worth as much as we can make it." He takes another puff of his cigar and blows the blue cloud of smoke around his office, an evil grin forming, his double chin triples. Yes folks, this is how finals were thought up! Ok so I don't really know, I just know that I'm glad they are almost over. I have it all planned out, I'm coming home, making a big pot of macaroni, tomato soup and chickpeas, drinking my grape juice and watching I Love Lucy while sitting by the warm fireplace. Or perhaps I will lay in my room eating cheerios and listening to my music on a real sound system. There is so much that must be done before this though, so alas, two more finals loom above me and yes a paper that I must write. A book report by some dude that had way to much time on his hands. Anyways, I should probably write this book report and yes, I will be seeing most of you very shortly. Faith and Cary I will email you with the Itinerary and YES the OSF Sounds AMAZING!!! Can't wait!!! Mom, dad I love you guys see you Sunday!! Messiah yay!! Kendra, Jason can't wait!! MOVIES!!!

Reminiscing

2007-11-28T22:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in this thing in one week! I am officially a terrible person. Can you all forgive me. With the end of the school year drawing to a close school becomes hectic and life just has been hectic enough without school so...I am writing now and I guess that is all that matters. The last few days have been fairly uneventful. Class, walking to town if I need to go. Sabbath night Josh, myself, Liz and Steve randomly decided to walk to Timmy's. Boy was that cold!! We sat there until it closed...yes thats right, out here, in Lacombe, Timmy's closes at 11 pm even on a Saturday night! Sunday I slept in until 1:30, it was beautiful! Then I wandered around aimlessly looking for anyone to bug. Monday, class. Tuesday marked the anniversary of watching the third Bourne movie, the Bourne Ultimatum. Its a pretty good series. We ordered pizza and watched it as supper was leftovers. Today...I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing, it was dad. Talked to him for around 10 minutes, he sounded much better then he did the other day. Afterwards I finished up my last Old Testament paper, I can't believe its the end of the semester already! Its crazy! In my mind I am still on the plane out here and its only September 3, perhaps I fell asleep on the plane and this is all a crazy dream. But as I pinch myself I realize its not a dream, although it does feel like one. This semester has been really busy and really fast! They always say that second semester goes even faster then the first so I am curious to see how much faster life can fly by. Its beginning to feel more and more like a roller coaster everyday, fun, scary, exciting, unsure, but hey by the end of the ride you know you'll have enjoyed it, you hope anyways. Anyways...after I finished up my last OT paper I headed to Francais class. Get this...I have the French final on Wednesday! Can you believe that! This semester is almost over. Before I know it I will be on the plane, once more, flying home for Christmas break and I still feel like I am on the plane out here. It has been, overall, a fun semester. With trips to the mountains on Weekends, horseback riding, interesting classes, meeting new people, hanging out with new people, having random a random guest in the dorm in October, crashing my truck, dropping my computer, and just having fun. So yes, this semester has been a blast and I actually am looking forward to next semester and then next year I am done if all goes according to plan. Anyways, I am slowly discovering that I am getting old, my joints are creaky and snapping, my eyes have wrinkles around them (ok not really). Anyways mom, dad, whatever Michael tells you is a lie, all lies! Punish him mother, punish him. Faith and Cary, can't wait to see you guys soon!! Pretty soon, and believe me it will be like tomorrow, or at least feel like that, we will be standing up as they sing the "Hallelujah Chorus", then watching mom ball her eyes out as they sing "I know that my Redeemer Liveth" Anyways folks!! Keep your chin up and put a smile on.

My Public...I'm Back!!!!

2007-11-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

Thats right folks I'm back!! Sorry for my absence but allow me to explain, after I try to think about where to start. Last Thursday I went to an Edmonton Oilers game. Loads of fun!! Josh and I left the school around 3 pm so we could hit a restaurant first as we were starving so after finding the Mongolie Grill (a very cool restaurant where you go through line, pick out your vegetables and then they grill them for you on this huge grill thingy) and yes after we made our way to the hockey game. There is something exciting about sitting in the crowds watching as the players skate onto the ice then the hush as the national anthem is played, its seriously the only time you will hear a Canadian become patriotic and scream after the anthem is played. Then Minnesota takes the lead in the first period but Edmonton ties is up, the crowd roars!! You could scream at the top of your lungs and not be heard, its seriously a loud stadium. By the third period Minnesota was ahead 4-2 and ya thats the way the score stayed for the rest of the game. It was still alot of fun and since I was with an American at the game, who just so happened to be voting for Minnesota and it was also his first time at a hockey game, it all worked out ok...I suppose...but next time!! Edmonton will win! After the game we hit Timmy's and as we were leaving the parking lot a cop began following us, yes we got pulled over because she said the vehicle was not registered!! After about 15 minutes or so it was all figured out and we were free to go. Dad thinks it has more to do with her checking for alcohol which is probably true. Friday was just another Friday, school, work, shopping and vespers then bed as we had to get ready for a big day. Little did I realize it was gonna be a bigger day then I had wanted or bargained for. Sabbath morning arrives. I notice my left truck tire is slightly low, which isn't new because the valve was leaking anyways. So I take it to the husky and put FREE air into it, no I did not spend 25 cents on Sabbath for air, its free out here. Then Liz, myself, Josh, Steve, Danielle and Carl jump into two vehicles around 9am and start the drive to Banff for an amazing day of hiking. Yes its cold outside but thats where layers come into play. Around 12:30 we reach Banff and head to Lake Mannawanka where we hike for the next few hours. It was fun, snow ball fights, eating junk food (its all we brought, no one thought to buy anything healthy Friday). Liz and I were wearing just hoodies while the guys were wearing layer on layer and yes so Liz and I decided to show them up. So off come the shoes and socks, pant legs go up to the knees and into the mountain lake we go. We walked around for a while then after our feet dried off we reshoed and headed up to another lake where we spent the day hiking and just chilling. By 4:30 we decided to drive up to Banff for the evening where, after Sabbath, we ate at I think it was called Athna but don't quote me on that, it was just really good pizza. We then walked around Banff, the snow was falling, the air crisp and cool and we were all eating giant jaw breakers that Liz decided we needed. After this came the choice, should we follow the other car home through Calgary or go through Airdrie, which is in the country. I opted for following the other car in case something happened we would have help. Josh and I in my truck and Liz, Steve, Carl and Danielle in the other car, me following them. We reach Calgary, all is well until we reach the intersection of 16 Ave and 19th Ave. We approached the intersection going around 40-50 kph, the light turned yellow, they were through, I figured to stop now would put me in the middle of the intersection and why bother burning brakes...I went. Scanning the intersection carefully I continue, then suddenly Josh utters one word, I look left and its too late. I see the car turning left and coming straight at my side. The sound of brakes resonates through my head, the sight of their car coming closer and the realization that I am helpless. Then it happens, that sound, that crunchy sound of metal on some cheap junk that they make cars out of now a days. I am slammed forward, I feel pain in my shoulders and back as the seal belt digs into my shoulder and my body slams into the steering wheel. We stop. The other car drives off quickly but due to extreme damage they stop a bit up the road as there car dies. I restart my engine (good ol' Toyotas) and move it to the side of the road and out of the way. The realization of what has just happened slowly fills me. I sit, staring at my crumpled hood, my hands are shaking, my head swimming. Josh was ok, the other people were ok, my truck suffered more body damage then anything, other then a flat tire and all in all it worked out ok. We stayed at the scene until the tow truck got rid of my truck as it was not safe to drive it back to Lacombe. We waited until 12:30ish (the accident happened around 9:30) until Michael, Adri and Brian came to get us. Thankfully Carl, Danielle, Liz, Josh and Steve were still there as it helped a lot to have them around. Thus Saturday ended with a crashing finish. All in all it was loads of fun but I don't want to do the ending again. I'm gonna try and upload some pictures in my next post of the day, banquet and the accident. Ah yes, speaking of which...Sunday. The girls side of the dorm was a mad house as girls ran around like mice trying to get ready for banquet. The guys, well, they are never stressed. It was a really good time though and yes I will post some pics sometime! Anyways, Auntie Faith, I have written, sorry for the lapse of time. The last few days have been crazy calling insurance companies and trying to get this mess sorted out. Thankfully they are at fault. Anyways mom, I hope this is more then 5 words. Have an awesome night!!

My Public Awaits

2007-11-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

*applause as Charlee sits down at the computer then hushed silence as she begins to type* Today I *Boooooo from the audience, she tries again* Today was a fun *booooooooo yet again, frustrated she furrows her brow and restrategizes and tries once more* My day went something like... *the audience waits this time, a hush falls over the crowd as they anticipate the next word *My day went something like this...*Charlee waits for the audiences reaction, will there be any or will they care? Since there is no response whatsoever she continues* I arose somewhat early, like at 7:40 so I could study for a French quiz, yes another quiz and get this I have a French test on Monday!!! She is trying to make me fail, ok maybe not but sometimes it feels like that *a lady in the front row wipes her eyes as tears of pity form and roll down her cheek splashing onto her marroon dress* I ran to French class and took the quiz, I actually did not do as badly as I thought, I got 20 out of 20, perhaps, just maybe, I will pass *audience hold breath and wonders will she pass or will she fail? They realize they are turning blue so they take a deep breath* One of the guys in my class looks at the teacher and says "How much does an elephant weight" She looks at him and says "I don't know" and he says "Enough to break the ice between me and you" to which the entire class erupted into laughter!! *audience looks puzzled then erupts into laughter, one blonde in the front row sits and looks at everyone else, she leans over to her significant other and whispers something into his ear, he whispers back. She stops. Then bursts out laughing while the rest of the audience looks at her as though she has lost her mind* Anyways yes, French class was very interesting today, the guy that said the joke today reminded me of Shawn in French class back in high school!! I couldn't help but remember the good ol' days. *Audience sighs* After french class I headed to my room as I have no Old Testament class because my teacher is away at a conference or something, all I know is there no OT class until Monday!! *Audience breaks into applause some spring to their feet* So I get back to my room and I look around and think, what should I be doing...homework...what do I want to be doing...sleeping. Easy choice! I jump into bed, set my alarm and doze off into the world of dreamland where anything is possible "I can fly" or "I'm a real boy (well girl)" so yes, at 12:30 I roll out of bed, realize I have slept for 2 1/2 hours and I think man I'm hungry...its Wednesday...PIZZA!! Yes the cafe serves Pizza on Wednesdays! So I get up and run to the cafe, of course its just Liz, Sandra, Josh and myself and the worker ppls by the time we get there as the cafe closes at 1:15 and most ppl are through the line anyways before 12:30. Remember I woke up at 12:30, I got over to the cafe around 1. After I devour two slices of pizza and yes a salad, just for you Auntie Faith! I head on over to the gym to show two girls how to use the butt blaster, it works your legs more then your butt but the name is cool. *One woman in audience reaches over and pats her husbands super large belly hinting at a possible trip to the gym, he doesn't seem to be responding though* I was only in the gym for 20 minutes when I decided I needed to come back to the dorm where I met up with Christel and Sarah and we took a trip to Shoppers to get some stuff for the banquet, of course we had a spraying contest with the perfume and other such spraying things to see what smelled the best. By the time we get into the car we absolutely smell!!! Christel's car quickly begins smelling like a bunch of old ladies heading to a function on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon! Of course another smell quickly permeates the air (correct word, who knows, who cares) AXE! Yep Josh got into the Axe haha so with all these aromas swooshing around we head to Timmy's and add the smell of coffee to the air. What a mixture! Wow! Her poor car!! *Woman in back row holds her heart* So I'm standing out front of Timmy's when my phone rings "Hey Charlee, I need to go to the cemetary and I was wondering if you could drive me..." Uh sure?! So I head back to the dorm and drive Azalea to the cemetary where we get to wander around and look at dates on grades for the next hour for her ecology lab! Yep it was some chart thing, she had to see how many people were born in the year 1850 and 1890? Random or what? By the time this is done I realize once again "Its Wednesday" Except this time I say it in a paniced voice, you see, Wednesday is French lab day which I did not go to today, oh well! So when I got back to the dorm I realized that there were a bunch of people in the lobby so I talked and talked, blah blah blah. Michael fumed about his wonderful teacher and Adri told him to just go in there and stick up for himself, it was very amusing. After this I watched the Borne (whatever the second one is) and yes now I am working until 3 am. Anyways I think my story is a little long so I will end it *audience nods and applauds at idea* So I bid you all goodnight. Mom is this long enough? lol she told me to write a little blog so I did. Anyways take care all and I shall write again soon, either tomorrow night or Friday night! Tomorrow night I am heading to a hockey game, just hoping it doesn't snow and make the roads bad! So yes Go Edmonton Go!! Boo Minnesota! I shall tell you the results of the game when I write again. Sorry dad, when you come out we will have to try and go to a game!! The key is to book the tickets asap! Alright, night all

Procrastination...The Key to Happiness...Perhaps

2007-11-13T01:30:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks! Its been a while since I wrote but tonight I knew I had to because mom sent me a super long email trying to write more then me so...my blog begins. The title of the blog tonight is on procrastination, why? Well the answer will reveal itself. The last few days have been a lot of fun. Sabbath I actually did wake up in time for church partially because Azalea took part of my crazy shift and I was able to get 15 minutes more sleep then her (I stayed awake talking until 4:45 her shift ended at 5). After my wonderful 6 hour sleep I awoke and got ready for church. The afternoon I cannot remember, oh right, I went for a walk out at J.J. Collett (cool nature trails where the landscape doesn't look too Albertaish, more trees). Afterwards the super fun began!! Around 12 of us had planned to go play Laser Tag and so at 6 we headed out only to discover that the car we were in needed fuel...boo. So we inform the others and they keep going, not good. We realize we now have no way of reaching them and no idea where they are going. So we quickly regroup, Liz, Steve, Josh and myself...what to do for the rest of the evening? Well first off we are hungry so we go to Denny's and grab some dinner (Boca Burgers) and we discovered something. WE ALL HATE TOMATOES!!!!!! Four people at one table, what are the odds and here I thought I was alone all these years. There are others out there waiting to be found. Anyways so we are sitting there and the waitress comes over to ask for drinks only to discover we are all weird...we got our drinks in those awesome rocket cups for kids. There was an older couple sitting across from us and I have never seen someone stare as much as this one lady! It was awesome!!! Four "adults" drinking from kid cups!! After we got our cups we left Denny's and went to play some bowling, one game of 10 pin and 2 games of 5 pin. It was a lot of fun!! And to make things even better Liz and I beat the guys (when you combined our score against theirs) this made it all the cooler. When I got back to the dorm I got "lost" in the deans office until 3 am talking! It was fun. By this time I am exhausted so I go to bed, reflecting on an amazing day. Sunday, I roll over thinking its gotta be somewhere around oh 9 or 10 only to discover its 12 so I jump out of bed, eat breakfast and then discovered I was still tired so I slept for the afternoon, well sorta slept. More talk then sleep but nonetheless it was restful. Monday, today!! I went to bed around 3 am last night and woke up for class around 7:30. After crawling to my first class aka French and trying desperately to hold my eyelids open the class finally ended and OT began. All through this class I thought about how awesome it would be when I could finally go to bed after class and sleep for a while. But the funny thing is, the second you walk out of class you are filled with this strange energy that just keeps you going. I ran to the dorm and cleaned the mez and stairs and then ate lunch in the cafe which actually wasn't all that bad today. Then I thought about my paper I had to write that was due well tomorrow and I thought about it some more then suddenly I was hit by this realization...lets watch a movie. So Liz, Josh and I rented the chatterbox and watched "Never Been Kissed" a hilarious romantic comedy. After this we walk upstairs and Christel asks if we can watch another movie after dinner, so at 6 Christel and I and later on Josh joined us in the chatterbox where we watched "In Love and War" I know, sappy love stories. By the time this movie ended I ran upstairs, grabbed my stuff and headed to the soccer game. CUC lost but hey it was still a good game even if one of the guys got his head smashed into the boards really hard. When the game ended I drove back to the school and locked myself in the bubble where I worked until 3. It is now 3:26 am and yes I am tired but here is where my title explains itself. See, I love hanging out with people and I also enjoy decent grades...so...when you combine the two you get me working on a paper on the mez at 3 in the morning, scratching my head trying to figure out "should I just pull an all nighter or try and get like two hours of sleep?" Before you start saying "what a stupid moron" realize that I would do the same for any of you reading this ...stay awake that is and put off doing homework. So yes, all in all it was a fun last couple of days and I wouldn't change anything, even if it meant going to bed earlier tonight. Anyways my dear peoples I must get started on this paper, should only take about an hour. Until tomorrow night!!

Eight Hours in a Bubble

2007-11-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

You probably, automatically pictured me sitting in an actual bubble for 8 hours but no I am not sitting inside a literal bubble. Instead I am sitting inside my bubble. I'll explain in a bit. I did not write last night as many of you may have noticed but that is because I was out late and did not get in until 11 then was so tired I just went to bed. Yesterday I went to class, drove to Leduc, came back to the school, went for a long walk, went to Red Deer until 10ish then came back to the school and I crashed (into bed that is). Today...well no wait. First I have to mention that today was actually a holiday, no school, normally I sleep in on these days. But today...I was up at 8! Yes in the morning. Why? I was working in my bubble, my glass bubble also known as the front desk. At first it wasn't bad but toward noon there were a lot of phone calls. After I worked in my bubble I had to go create bubbles by vacuuming and then scrubbing the stairs down with soap water which is full of bubbles. After this I had a slight break in which I went to town to grab some food. Yes I remembered to eat!! So to Subway I went, saw my old boss and some other people and chatted for a while then just sat in Subway for ohhhhh 2 hours. Yes I got carried away chatting...by this time it was getting on for 4 so I ran (drove) up to Extra Foods and got some soymilk, granola bars and apples (is that healthy) oh and some yogurt (for breakfast tomorrow morning because there is no breakfast in the dorm this weekend due to a small, isty bitsy one day holiday). When I got back to the dorm at 5 I had to work at my bubble yet again. So back to the bubble I sat until 7 at which time I ran up the stairs and threw my clothes all over the room. Sounds crazy I know but I will explain. You see...I room with Adri and between the two of us we keep the room meticulously clean! Its crazy!! Awesome actually. Compared to, I would say, almost everyone else in the dorm our room is always the cleanest...except for tonight. The lady in charge of activities and some recruiting (I think) organized a camping trip (to a cabin in the mountains) for some kids to go to. Michael and Adri happened to run into her and so she invited them to go. After some debate they went and so this weekend I have to room mate. Which isn't a good thing and it isn't a bad thing its just one of those things. Anyways so instead of putting my clothes away like I always do more for my own sanity I decided that this weekend (until Sabbath night) I am gonna be insane and just throw my stuff on the desk, in the chair, on the floor...everywhere. Its so much fun!! Honestly though, I like being clean, I just decided to relax for this weekend though. So yes after my craziness of throwing my clothes everywhere I jumped into some nice clothes and went to vespers. It was pretty good, the guy speaking is from BC and loves sports so his sermon was on both. But he was quite funny so it worked out good. After vespers we all walked back to the dorm where they had food (apples, oranges and cinnamon buns), ok no real food like chocolate and chips ...just kidding. No, it was good. During this time I walked around and visited with people, all in their own separate corners then I went off to my own corner and sat there until I started work at 11!! Yes that is right folks, I am in the bubble again until 1 then Azalea will be taking over until 5. This my friends was my day, although it may seem mundame and kinda boring it wasn't. Working in the bubble isn't all that bad you see, because when I am working different people stop by and say hi. Needless to say the day is almost over now and I cannot wait to climb into my bed and sleeeeeeep!! Have a great night. P.S. I should have pictures soon !!

And the Winner is...

2007-11-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here tapping my keyboard asking myself "what should I write about tonight?" The answer...well...how about my day?I just realize I had better stop writing in French as I can fool you guys (make you believe that I know what I am talking about) but if anyone that knows the language looks at this blog well...I'll be laughed right out of blogland. This brings me to my day. See my day started with studying for French and then I took a French test. How did I do? I don't know yet, if I knew I wouldn't have just asked. Let's just say I'm hoping its one of those tests you take where you feel like you didn't do good but you actually did. After French class I had Old Testament where I learned some amazing things that would solve so many problems but alas if I tried to explain what I learned I would have to write a book in order to make anyone understand...two words...Progressive Revelation. No I didn't learn what that was, I'm merely telling you that in order to make you understand what I learned it takes progressive revelation (The idea that you learn things slowly over a period of time, building a sort of foundation first then building on that and so on). After Old Testament I watched the front desk while the lady that was working had to run because her cat was having a hissy fit at the vet and she had to go pick him/her up. So I sat...waiting...12 my replacement came and I ran off to lunch. I had some rice and beans (thought I would mention something healthy for a change) and well...sadly...I countered that when I realized it was pizza Wednesday...so down to the snack shop I went and had only one slice of pizza. I discovered something else today...I'm a water addict. In the last two days I have drank 10 water bottles, yep thats right...10! I lined up all the bottles on my desk and shook my head. If anyone has a number for waters anonymous I would appreciate it. I do this a lot, over consumption of H20. Actually thats probably how I'm surviving. I drink a lot of water, no caffeine at all, just water. Anyways after lunch I had to clean the mez, stairs and guest rooms. This took me a grand total of two hours at which time I headed over to the gym and blew a blood vessel in my right hand, too many weights I think. Don't worry its only a little tiny dot but I'm gonna reduce my weight...I think. After the gym I ran back to the dorm and with the greatest of intentions I stared at my homework, got up and ran to supper where I ate haystacks and headed to a French lab...so much in one day. This led to another attempt at doing homework but alas I failed yet again when I realized that it was more exciting to read the National Geographics and so I sat and read while my homework grew stale and cold. Thats ok, I learned about memory loss haha. I then proceeded to call my dearest mother and father and talked to them oh and mom...How are you doing? Are you ok? ;) There I asked...she was bugging me because I never email "its just blogs, blogs blogs and no email saying Hi mom how are you" so Hi mom I love you, how are you? :) Anyways I am still waiting to see a picture of Sports coat...yep mom bought Sport a coat! *shakes head in disbelief* In Azalea's words "Is that ethical?" Anyways so yes folks, college life is slowly killing me but to make matters better I am heading to bed early for a change so I can get up and face tomorrow with certainty and anticipation. Have an awesome night all and a great day tomorrow!

Smarties and Bras (?)

2007-11-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

I suppose one could regard this blog as a type of journal except its public for anyone to read. Kinda cool and freaky when thought of that way. I write a journal but my family and close friends read it, no privacy anymore sheesh. Ok so you may be wondering what on earth my title is referring to today and well its referring to my day. Allow me the privilege of explaining what I mean...
After I finished writing in my blog last night I went to bed around oh 3 I think, well obviously since that is when my shift got over. I awoke this morning feeling like I weighed a thousand pounds, it was 7:30 am, yes folks, 4 hours is all I survive on when it comes to Tuesday's and Thursday's. I jump (well pull myself) out of my nice warm bed and get dressed for the day. Everything appeared right on so I went to class. I get to SDA History and I sit down and suddenly (this is something only a girl will understand unless you guys where bras) I felt it. You know that feeling you get when you realize your bra strap has just come undone! Yep thats right. So I'm sitting there, thinking to myself now what. Now I've had this same thing happen in an airplane before, stupid cheap bras. Thankfully everyone was busy in the plane and I merely, nonchalantly, reached behind me and did it up again however today was different. Why? What else do college students do in the morning before a quiz? Some study others have to be nosy and look around. So I'm sitting there, this feeling of dread has filled my stomach, I merely pull my jacket closer together and inhale deeply, preparing to let out a little air at a time and refill quickly or risk losing the stupid thing out of the bottom of my shirt in class! Now you are saying, why didn't you just get up and go to the bathroom, fix it and return to class. Ah! A very good question is raised and here is the answer. I sat down in class at 7:55, I realized what had happened at 7:58 and we had a quiz starting at 8:00. So I held by breath and waiting. Of course this quiz was extra long!! So I wait... and wait...and FINALLY he finishes. I get up and run to the bathroom and everything is good for the rest of the day in that department. Now, on to Health and Fitness where I take another quiz get bored and make a schedule for the next two days, so much to do and so little time ahhhhh! I forgot one important thing, sleep, but I did remember food. So after class I decided, hey I'm gonna go to town but no my spare key is missing (Michael had borrowed my keys earlier and I couldn't find him). So I sit in my room thinking, now, where did I have that stupid key earlier. Finally I retrace the past few days in my head and yes its in my backpack, duh! So to town I go, had to visit la banque. Then of course I called my mommy who was somewhere in Kingston on dad's cell phone:) Talked to her and found out...oh boy... lets just say...Sport...clothes...mom. Need I say more. Speaking of which I am still expecting a picture. Ok, so after this philosophy starts and yes well its philosophy. By this time my brain is rattling around in my head and so I head to the gym to work off some knowledge. After the gym what did I do...right...studied...studied...and yes studied as I have a French test in the morning. I can 't wait until that class is done and over with. I keep trying to look at it positively but all the optimism in the world cannot make me see how on earth I'm A) gonna pass the class and B) gonna survive it but hey miracles happen. Anyways smarties, yes. Well smarties come into play because I am currently sitting on the mez, just finished cramming my brain full of French and I'm eating Smarties (for you Americans I shall translate...m&m's (well not really but like it)) oh and (your version of a smartie we call rockets). So now that we are straight on things I shall proceed to say...good night folks. Remember me as I walk into the battle zone tomorrow and either emerge defeated or a hero...hmmm. Anyways Azalea needs her computer so until tomorrow night...au revoir mon famille and mes amies. Pour tu, bon voyage et pour mon famille je voudrais un chien haha non, pour Sport, ma chien est tres, tres bien awwww. Ok take care all.

A Time for Everything...

2007-11-06T00:43:00.000-08:00

Like sleeping and not studying French. No no no, thats not the reason I chose the title. Actually there is no real profound reason. The last two class periods in Old Testament we have been studying Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon and that phrase was in my head so I jotted it down. Then once again, now that I think about it that expression does indeed fit most circumstances. In life there really is a time for everything. A time to study French and a time to realize its just not sinking in. Ok ok, so thats a horrible way of looking at it. Everything really does have a time and place. Its funny because as I was studying the book of Eccl. I noticed that Solomon, throughout the entire book was essentially saying "life is not worth living without God" thus the phrase that is repeated throughout the book continually "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." In Bible times there was no separation between the sacred and secular, everything was thought to be from God, good and evil. I guess what I am trying to say is in our lives today, if we applied the same principle we would see that in situations, whether good or bad, God is there working behind the scenes. I'm not saying bad things are from God, on the contrary I would argue that we bring on a lot of the bad things that happen in our lives by making stupid choices without consulting God. Now I sound like I'm writing a paper, probably because I am in a paper writing mode at the moment. Getting geared up to write a 3-4 pg paper on Adventism then a 10-12 pg paper on I don't remember, ugh. Yes, so I just felt like rambling on for a few seconds. My reasoning for the above is just this...the more I look at life the more I realize that everything in life has a purpose, a reason and its all leading somewhere, thus...There is a time for everything, even though we may not see it at the moment. Another reason for writing all this...my day was not exciting at all! lol Well ok it wasn't horrible. I got rid of a lot of bottles at the bottle depot and made $5 whole dollars!!! I slept for 4 hours this afternoon (you people are going to think all I do is sleep when in reality its quite the opposite, I grab sleep whenever I can). Of course I went to the gym but I wasn't feeling good at all so I didn't finish my whole workout. I realized my problem though, I forgot to eat yet again. I know, how can you forget to eat. Its like this...mom I know you understand since I get it from you...you get so carried away with what you are doing and you keep pushing off little things like eating and suddenly it hits you, "I haven't eaten a thing all day"I know, some people just cannot understand this at all but believe me it happens. So, I ate and now I feel great and I'm a poet and I didn't even know it. Wow!First Philosophizing like Kante and Plato and now I'm a poet like *thinks* Shakespeare (?) or...Ok so poetry is not my strong point. Anyways...I ate supper and now I am working. Oh!!! I forgot the most important part of the day. I went to the ABC and bought a book :) well it wasn't my first choice of a book, its a book I need for a report but I did get 'lost' in the ABC for 20-30 minutes. Bookstores are a weak spot for me, I see books and I go weak at the knees (thats why I missed lunch). Anyways so yes! That was my day and now...I am going to...finish my shift. Have an awesome night. Until tomorrow night remember "to thine own self be true" (ok ok, I've really lost it now).

7 Hours...Is that healthy

2007-11-05T00:25:00.000-08:00

Ok...7 hours where? Well...on the mez. Yep thats right 7 hours of homework. My brain feels so full it could bust, kinda like the feeling you get when you eat a lot of junk and your stomach feels like its going to pop. That feeling. The feeling of being way to full and you can't do a thing about it. That my friends, is how my poor brain is feeling at this very moment in time. It is yes 1:29 am (I always end up writing this in thing instead of sleeping) and I am planning on going to bed soon but I couldn't sleep without writing first. I just thought I would share some of my day with you before I fall into a deep slumber. I awoke to the sound of no alarm clock but rather the stupid phone. It was Azalea making sure I was up...see I had told her to wake me up at 10...I look at the clock its 10 old time, 9 new time. I'm up now so why not start the day. I must say I seriously contemplated just forgetting homework and pulling my infamous last moment homework feuds but no! At 12, after I really don't know what I did from 9-12, showered, got dressed, gave Michael the keys to my baby (my truck), walked around the lobby, talked to random people. Ya, so at 12 I decided it was time. I walked into my room, took every single school book I have and headed up to the mez, spread out on my couch (I call it my couch because I always sit in the same spot when I'm up there) and began studying. I will admit at first I had a really hard time focusing. I wanted to just get up and walk around or go online and check my blog, facebook or msn but no! I had to finish a paper and a bunch of other little stuff before I could leave. 7 long hours later I finally got up and walked off the mez having completed everything I had set out to complete. I then went downstairs thinking about how I now had the rest of the night to oh I don't know, maybe watch some I Love Lucy or read something else but no, I looked at the shift schedule for front desk and realized "I work tonight!" I was supposed to work from 9-11 and Azalea was supposed to work 11-1 but we traded as she wanted to go to bed early and me well I'm up all the time anyways. So I ran over to the gym and worked out but wasn't feeling to great towards the end (thats what happens when you forget to eat all day...thanks mom). So I came back to the dorm and looked at my super pale face and realized I was probably really tired to so yes I slept for a while then woke up and ate Cheerios (Yay!). Alas, work beckoned and so I ran down the stairs and worked until 1. Its now 2:12 and yes I am thinking of perhaps going to bed soon. Just thought I would write. Sorry there isn't more but as I said earlier...my brain is so full and it seriously can't even think anymore. So until tomorrow night, take care

True or False

2007-11-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

My day, Sabbath, was spent in one of these two ways. You guess which way and I will...congratulate you.
A.) I awoke bright and early to the sound of birds singing and the wind rustling through the trees. The sun was shining brightly giving the world a fresh new look. The squirrels were playing with the rabbits and the cats and birds were living peacefully together. The smell of fresh Alberta air (a major oxymoron! If you have ever lived in Alberta during this time of the year you will note that the air stinks) wavered through my window giving me life for the new day that now dawned before me. I bounded out of bed and hastened to get ready for church. The sound of church bells could be heard in the distance beckoning me to come, so I hurried. I ran across campus to the church and entered into the church. The sound of hymns greeted me at the door and the sermon refreshed and revitalized me for the new week. I walked out of the church with a new perspective on life. The afternoon found me hiking and exploring new places in nature. The deer, chipmunks and squirrels followed me while the birds whistled my song back to me (No I'm not Snow White). The evening found me hanging out with friends and enjoying Amateur Hour with everyone else. Alas it was a wonderful day.
Or...
B.) ZzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzZzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzZzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzZzzzzzzZzzzzZzzz
I had worked late the night before and the events from the past week had finally caught up with me. When I attempted to fall asleep after work I couldn't as my mind began thinking about future events and I was too excited to sleep. Finally at 4:30 I feel asleep and don't remember anything until "Charlee..." I open my eyes and look around the room. Wait, the sun usually isn't there in the morning? "Charlee...its 4:30 in the afternoon, do you want to get up now?" Its what time? I guess I was a little bit more tired then I thought, oops. I roll out of bed and attempt to stand up but I feel weird, my head hurts and wait, ouch my head is pounding. I sit back down thinking about how sleeping this long just can't be healthy for you. I attempt to stand up again and make it over to my water bottles where I grab one and guzzle it. Where did I put those granola bars...ah there they are. I eat a granola bar and stumble down the hall to Azalea's room. "Azalea, do you know what time it is?" I ask in disbelief. "Yep, I figured you needed to sleep." She says and turns to walk out the door, she is heading on a long run (shes addicted to running). I shake my head and walk back to my room wondering what on earth I can do now that I have wasted my entire day. I get dressed and yep sleep some more haha. Azalea returns from her run around 7 and finds me sleeping. She wakes me up and heads down to the lobby. I decide I need some breakfast/lunch and supper so I order a pizza from Panago and head down to the lobby to wait for it to come. Finally it comes and yep I had to watch I Love Lucy while eating it, oh, and don't forget the ginger ale. I look at the clock, its 8:45 so I run back to my room to get ready for work yet again, meanwhile everyone else is heading to Amateur Hour. I finish some homework and notice as the lobby fills up as Amateur Hour is over. My shift finishes at 1am and I head upstairs to the mez and now...its 2 am /1am as the time just rolled backwards YAY one extra hour to sleep.
Ok you guessed it, the second one was how my day actually went. It wasn't all that bad, really. I got a lot of sleep and it was a fun night even though I didn't go to Amateur Hour. Now I am thinking about going to bed but hey...its only 1 now!!! Yay for time changes. Oh and don't worry, birds really don't sing along with me, they just blow up (Go Shrek!) jk Have an awesome rest of the weekend

Bonjour! Comment Ca va?

2007-11-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ah oui, cava bien et fatigue. Je n'aime pas francais. Parle vous francais? Non? Je n'aime pas parle vous francais. Ok ok, so I'm going insane but its all good. I suppose technically this is the time where I usually write about my day. So, without further ado and because I have already bored you to tears with my lack of French ability, I will begin my day. Well not begin my day as my day is almost over but rather I will begin the story of my day. *theme music starts for "day of my life"*
I bet by now you can't guess what I do first in the morning! Thats right, I wake up because trying to go through your day asleep is just not fun, I've tried it. You usually end up forgetting something important, like keys to your room, homework, clothes or anything else important, so waking up is important. As I am crawling out of my nice warm bed and the "cold" reality of another day hits me as I realize I have a french quiz and I haven't studied for it. So...I blow off the dust and brush away the cobwebs...No not from my brain... from the book. I crack open the pages and am faced with the realization that this book is written in another language. Oh duh! its a french book. Its all good I'm just blonde. I bury my head in the book and try and cram in this other language as fast as I can and of course it kinda sticks since I'm blonde and well theres a lot of empty space upstairs. jk! After I cram french into my head for a bit I run off to French class and regurgitate everything I cram in, once its out its out, the joys of cramming. The rest of French class goes pretty good, she talks in French, and Je ne comprend pas anything so French finishes and I run upstairs in the ad building to Old Testament where I sit and ...what did I do. Oh right, we were talking about Esther and yes how the king chose his queen, great topic. The class finished and I ran to the dorm and changed (don't worry I only changed around 4 times today not nine, I'm trying to cut back I hear its not good for me). Yes so I changed my clothes and cleaned the mez and stairs, kinda felt like Cinderella, down on my hands and knees scrubbing these stupid steps while people are walking on them and having a wonderful time. Nah its not that bad I actually enjoy cleaning them they look so clean after :) After this fun process of cleaning I ran to the snack shop (the cafe was serving gagovers) and I ordered a pandini (a sandwich with tomato sauce, cheese and some fake meat thing). Of course I ran back to my room and ate it there while watching I Love Lucy and then I went to the gym and worked out for a while, run run run, lift lift lift, ouch ouch ouch. After a fun workout I drove, yes I know, why am I driving to the gym when Its so close. I promise I have a good reason. You see after I worked out I went and picked up Adri from her observation session. So ha I have a reason. At 3:30 Christel and I ran (ok we drove) to Extra Foods where our horrible logic came in, "go ahead and get this, your room mate will help you eat it" grabs kinder eggs. I look at Oreos, my mouth waters, Christel says "Go ahead you have a room mate" I get them. We leave the store, honestly we didn't spend that much is was just funny. So we jump in the truck and I start driving off and I ask "so you wanna go to Ti..." "YES" so we go to Timmy's and she gets, so bad she does not need caffeine, an Iced Capp and I get my cute little hot chocolate and we head back to the dorm where we decide lets go to supper. So Christel, Azalea, myself, Adri and Michael go to the cafe and what are they serving?! *smells air* GRILLERS. I got two. After devouring my food I walk back upstairs and sleep for a while, well until my shift started at 9 and yes you guessed it I am still sitting here working the front desk. It is 1 in the morning and I am so excited because tomorrow night the time falls back and I get one extra hour to sleep in. Anyways Say la vive! Have an awesome night and a great weekend.

"Its the Most wonderful time of the year"

2007-11-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

No, its not Christmas yet but something is starting that is just as cool! But I will get to that later in my day review. Ok, if you thought yesterday and the day before seemed boring today tops the chart. Do you know why?! I'll get to that. It was different though. See the other day, aka Tuesday, I didn't know how on earth I was going to explain Thursday as I have all the same classes. Well this morning took care of that worry. I just didn't go to my first two classes. You see I woke up feeling not so great, men wouldn't understand but women would thats all I'm gonna say. I did eventually make it to class this afternoon, Philosophy!!! It was here that my brain got pulled apart and had a major workout. We had a quiz, so Michael, Christel and I finish it and we are all proud of ourselves. WRONG!!! The teacher then makes us help those that are struggling, so although we thought we were going to get to leave early we had to teach. The lesson, don't be happy in Philosophy class. Act confused and frustrated and all is well. After Philosophy class I milled around the dorm for a few minutes then decided something amazing! It was Nov 1st, the day after Halloween therefore all Halloween candy is...%50 off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I run to my truck, jump inside and drive to Wal Mart with Shania Twain pouring out of my speakers "In my car I am the driver" and "Ka ching!" in memory of my money going into candy. I get to Wal Mart, park the truck and run into the store and YES! There are still a few of those red boxes of chocolates left, sweet! In those red boxes are Coffee Crisp, Kit Kat, Aero and Smarties. I grab two boxes and leave the store (pay first). Oh yes but while I was at Wal Mart I looked and saw something wonderful. I noticed that where the Halloween candy had once been they were now putting up Christmas decor which means one thing!!!! Christmas colored MINI EGGS WAHHOOOOOOO. From now until Easter the stores will have mini eggs!!!!! *song starts playing "Its the most wonderful time of the year"* After the music stopped I drove back to the dorm and got ready to go to Boston Pizza for Sarahs birthday. I only ordered a drink as I was not hungry (I had eaten at Taco Time) and so I merely sat and enjoyed watching everyone else eat and chat. It was fun though, there were quite a few people there and well it was fun. Needless to say this blog has failed in the interesting department as I am so tired I can barely thing straight and I have a french quiz tomorrow morning I have to study for. I will write tomorrow though. I actually have one request. Can you all please pray for Aniko!!!! Please!!!! Her mom has cancer and is not doing well. Thanks!!

What to write...

2007-10-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

Once again another day has passed, although I do not know if I can make this day seem as exciting but I shall try. The first thing that I can remember doing today was...waking up. I was supposed to go swimming at 6:30 this morning but let me reitterate (my new word) how much I hate mornings. I stumble out of bed and of course its still dark out so I can't see a thing anywhere. I fumble out the door and BAAM! I get hit with this strange brightness, I cover my eyes and squeeze them shut only to realize its the flourescent lights, duh! I somehow manage to make it to Azalea's door and I knock...knock....knock...knock. Nothing. She must be sleeping still. So I knock again, nothing. AWESOME! I run back to my room and throw myself under the covers, I can hear music and laughter. I fall back asleep only to be rudely awakened by a phone call about 10 minutes later. Adri rolls over and mumbles and falls back asleep. The music stops, the laughter has turned to sorrow as I pull myself out of bed and answer the phone. The voice on the other end is surprisingly happy and full of life unlike my own voice. Of course its Azalea telling me how she just got back from this super long run and now she is going swimming "Do you wanna come" HA! I go back to bed. I wake up a while later (8:20 still way to early for my liking) and get ready, ie, get (1) dressed and run to French class. Now let me make this clear! Before noon I can barely speak English! How do they expect me to learn French at 8:45 am?! After French is Old Testament where I honestly did not pay any attention to the class because, well, I was reading other books. At 10:45 class gets over and now this is where it gets fun! I change into (2)work clothes, clean the mez and stairways, (3) change again, run into town and mail off a letter and pop by Subway to visit. I race back to the dorm, its 1:15 so I think...what do I want to do...laugh! I Love Lucy dominates the next 22 minutes, come on laughter is the best medicine and what is life without balance. All work and no play makes a...(thinks) ah I got it... a Student. Anyways so its now 15 minutes to 2 and I (4) change back into my work clothes and clean the guest rooms, which goes by pretty good. Its now 3 and I run back to the dorm with full intentions of doing some homework but alas there are people to talk to and I get side tracked until 4 where I run back to my room and (5) change into my gym clothes and haha drive to the gym, I know, I know, its like a 5 minute walk but I didn't want to waste time *looks around* I finished my strength workout by 5:20 but did not have enough time to do a cardio so I drive back to the dorm and get this...I (6) change again back into my clothes and run to a french lab...how do they expect you to speak french after such a busy day! Ok so maybe I just can't learn a second language, I should have taken Greek it would make more sense because right now French is all Greek to me. Ok lame joke. At 7 I run back to my room and, this is really exciting, I (7) change back into my gym clothes and this I walk over to the gym and run on the tred mill for 30 minutes (straight, no breaks WAHOO). I am thoroughly exhausted by this point so I walk back to the dorm, meet up with Azalea and watch as Adri is making Michael write a paper (hilarious to watch). Then I decided, "After all that I need something healthy to munch on" so I walk over to the snack shop and buy a Mars bar, Munchies and gum and walk back to the dorm and well, talk to people. Its now 9:30 and I walk upstairs with hopes of showering and changing yet again but no, I see my bed and its love at first sight, I fall madly in love onto my bed and sleep for one hour. At 10:30 I was forced to get up yet again and, this is really really really exciting, I shower and (8) change again. At 11 I walk down the stairs and plop myself onto the chair where I am still sitting for one more hour (3am). Oh and guess what I'm gonna do at 3...you guessed it...get changed for the NINTH time today!!! So yes that was my day in a coconut.

Alas!!

2007-10-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Alas...here I sit, I can do no other. Yes I am working the glass bubble yet again, 11-1 and so instead of doing homework I thought to myself...hey why not waste time and write on my blog. So the verdict came back that yes I should just waste time and write on my blog. I can't say I have much to say as today was not all that exciting but excitement is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore I am going to pretend my day was exciting and tell you all about it...
I woke up feeling energized and ready to start the new day that dawned before me (well not really after 5 hrs of sleep) and I skipped merrily along to class and sat through SDA History, which actually is not that bad. I sit in the back and am able to study notes for other classes and of course I eat my vector bar and drink my water for breakfast (the best I can do at 8 in the morning, my brain is not awake so what makes you think my stomach wants food). After this class I walk down the stairs and yes you guessed it, sit through a quiz and another class, Health and Fitness. I learn all about how I am going to die young if I continue eating Munchies and Kraft Dinner and so I contemplate changing those eating habits but alas I cannot for now as I am a broke college student that is trying to survive Cafe food. So after I learn how I am going to die young from all sorts of heart disease (well not really but hey!) I then went to Community Worship. After this the rat race begins...who can make it to the cafe first!!!! RUN!!!!!!!!!! So yes I made it somewhere in the middle because I couldn't imagine running as my calf muscles were on fire from my workout yesterday. After lunch I went back to my room and called mommy and talked to her until Philosophy began. Here's a problem ~{(a+b) v (b+c)} + (a+b) now you use a series of rules to solve this because of a is true and b is true and f is false is the statement true or false? Its loads of fun, really it is!! Its like a warped form of math!!!! AHHH!!! But no I actually somewhat enjoy it, i'm just not looking forward to memorizing all the rules that go with it!! After this I drove to town, nothing exciting happened though, went to the bank. Afterwards I did something so exciting! I slept! WAHOOOOO!!! Yes so I am kinda hyper right now as I woke up and went to the gym and ran for 30 minutes hoping to loosen up my legs a little. And now I am working yet again, the joys of school. Anyhow as for last nights blog I must admit I had some help. I did not create the picture as I am in no way that talented. Anyways folks have an awesome night.

The Curse of CUC

2007-10-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

It was late at night, the clock had just struck 3 am when Charlee Kirkby began the long walk from the front desk to her room. She makes this walk every night that she works but tonight, it is different. No the moon is not full and no there are no mice running around. This phenomena does not occur due to any outside reason but rather it comes from the dorm. *thunder crashes* No there are no ghosts as this is not a ghost story instead! it could be compared to Princess Fiona. For you see, every night at a certain time aka 3 am something creepy happens to this girl...aka Charlee. If she doesn't eat her garden vegetable sandwich from Timmy's or if she has been overexposed to way to much homework something happens, something...creepy. What is this you may be asking yourself. Well she asks the same questions but alas she has found no answers. As she makes the long climb to fourth floor, and believe me it is a long climb, she slowly transforms! But into what you are asking?! (If you are holding your breath please remember to breathe as it can lead to blackouts) The answer lies within fourth floor, you see the farther down the hall she gets and as she slowly slips the key into the lock and opens the door she transforms further. She makes her way across a dark room, trying not to stub her toes on a bed or things just lying around when in haste she carelessly through aside her stuff earlier. As she approaches the bathroom door she slowly turns the doorknob and slips into the darkness of the yes you guessed it, the bathroom *gasp* Slowly she turns and faces the sink and her hand slides along the wall looking for the crazy light switch. She has found it and so she flips the switch only to discover *Music reaches a climax*

She has been turned into!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Frankenstein's Wife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats right!!!!!!!!!!!!! A MONSTER!!!!!!!!! Can she ever love with a giant beehive on her head? Can she ever be loved as a monster? Stay tuned and find out more next week...

Pictures uhhhh....

2007-10-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, yes, um, still no pictures, horrible eh?! Lets just say I fail horribly at this picture taking stuff but maybe one day, somewhere in the far future (holds hands up and squints into future) there will be picture taking (shakes head, shrugs shoulders) well maybe. Ok so the truth, my batteries are dead and I'm to lazy to change them (mouth falls open). So this past week was crazy! Midterms, midterms oh and did I mention midterms? At the end of my crazy week Friday came (profound I know but its the best I can do at 11:22 pm) and thus ended my crazy week. Friday night found me at vespers listening to a hilarious lady talk about "guilt free intimacy" and no it wasn't about anything that you are thinking. I then worked until 3 a.m went to bed and woke up around 11 for church (it starts at 11:45). The service was good, the sermon was on letting your light shine and Shrek pajamas (glow in the dark ones). Confused yet, so was I. He just went on to tell the story of how his grandson walked into the room and when the light was shut off his pjs glowed and how we need to be like Shrek Pjs. Ok so it wasn't as bad as I make it sound but his point was good and was presented well. After church I came back to my room and slept for a few hours and worked last night as well. After work at 1am Aniko came up and asked if Azalea and I wanted to go to Boston Pizza with her. I figured sure why not, make memories and yes I went to BP's at 1 in the morning. Sunday morning I woke up at the wonderful hour of ohhhh noon:) and did homework for a while. This afternoon torture time began as I have to work out for the next 14 days and do a cardio too!! So yes after one and a half hours in the gym I completed my strength workout (I was trying to figure out what the machines did). I ran back to the dorm and worked from 5-9 then ran back to the gym and completed my cardio and that pretty much leads me to this point right now. Anyways I hope all you people reading this are doing well! I love reading your comments and hearing from ya!! I will try and write again soon

Wow!

2007-10-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so if you have been staying tuned since Oct 11 I must say I am thoroughly impressed. Once again I have no pictures as my laptop had an accident and landed on the floor (I dropped it) and the LCD backlight finally died. Funeral arrangements are still being made (jk). I am currently on Azalea's laptop as she is sleeping and me, well I am up still. I will go and steal some of Michael's pictures soon and hopefully put some up as he is the camera fanatic. School has been crazy! I am finished with 4 midterms and I have one left this Thursday. We had girls open house this weekend (where the guys can come and check out our rooms) and Adrianna and I got ADD about our room and rearranged it right before the guys came over, don't worry we finished just in time. Anyways I'm going to jump way back to October break and finish that one up and then move to the present day. Ok so after the weekend in Calgary we returned to the dorm and chilled. Tuesday morning I went for a walk around the lake/pond and got back around 9:30. At this time Jeremy, Val, Beck, Azalea and I headed to the West Ed mall and well shopped (I went and saw a movie with the guys, way more exciting). And get this...I did not buy anything (partially because I'm a broke college student). Oh no wait, I did buy lunch for myself, go Harvey's Veggie burgers!! Anyways, got back to the dorm and worked that evening until 3 but ended up staying awake until 5:30 talking to Josh as he was leaving the next morning. Needless to say this ended my break. Tuesday afternoon, after class (yes I got up for class) Christel and I headed to Edmonton airport to pick up Kirk and then we hit Boston Pizza on the way back (go garlic breath). Since that point I have gone insane with studying, tests, midterms and papers but hey after Thursday its over!!! *applause* Well its over until finals. What else have I been up to, well, haven't gone to bed before 2 in three weeks, crazy eh!!! But I do get my sleep if that makes sense and no I'm not failing my classes, slacking on work or social life (its called naps). I can't wait until Christmas though but life should get interesting over the next month and a half :) So yes, until the next exciting thing happens in my life I am going to bed. Later!!

Thanksgiving Break

2007-10-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

The sad part about this section is...that I have no pictures. That's right I took absolutely no pictures over break, after all that would require work. Thanksgiving break officially started on Friday which I took advantage of and slept in until 11. Around 4 Troy (Azalea's bf) came and picked us up and we headed to Calgary for the weekend for the It is Written partnership weekend. Needless to say we got there kind of late but still made it in time for a good sermon. Sabbath, we had to get up at *gasp* 7 in the morning. Breakfast was really good and so was lunch and dinner (Yes we ate a lot!!) it was awesome. Sunday, I slept in, missed the presentations and breakfast. Around 10:30 we headed down to the pool and two waterslides and swam for an hour. It was loads of fun but hey my shift is over (yes I am currently at work while writing this) and so I must hand over the computer. The rest of the update will follow later. Please stay tuned...

Horseback Riding in Kananaskis

2007-10-01T19:05:00.001-07:00

On September 30 nineteen of us headed to Kananaskis (again) to go horseback riding. What else should a group of college students be doing on a Sunday right?! (We did do some studying in the bus). We left the school (CUC) around 8 am (yes on a Sunday) and headed toward the mountains. Its about a three hour drive but about an hour and a half into the drive, near Airdrie, you start seeing the mountains in the distance and they slowly begin to grow larger as you get closer (what logic). Around 11 we arrived in Kananaskis village where we ate lunch and walked around then at 12:30 we headed over to the ranch where we took a two hour horse back ride through the mountains. The view was incredible, the slopes were muddy and slippery and I honestly felt sorry for the horses having to walk through all that but they survived and we survived. (The above picture was taken in the village and not during the horse back ride).
One of the many awesome views we had of the mountains from the trail we were on.
Our horses awaiting us. Some from our group had already taken off on their horses. They said there were too many of us to all go at once so they split us up.
This photo was taken in the village, the building in the background is a hotel. Do you think that pile of rocks is natural?? Of course (not) Now the rocks in the background are!!

Ok, about this picture. The horse in front of mine refused to walk any faster then he wanted to go. The girl on the horse was kicking him but nope that horse only walked at his own pace which my horse did not like at all! He would try to pass but I would somehow hold him back. About my horse, he was soooooo stubborn and headstrong. If I pulled back on the reins to get him to stop he would get mad (thankfully we quickly established who was boss, him of course, jk). I could tell how close Azalea's horse would get to mine by my horses ears. The closer her horse got to my horse the farther back my horses ears got. Not fun!
Another one of the many views!! :)
I love the majesty of the mountains. They are so tall and grand and make you feel so small. The temperature was well I don't know so lets just say cold and yes they already have snow.

Kirkland Zone

Procrastination

Almost Done!

WHOA! NO WAY!! ITS NEW!!!!

Last Post was October ... Wow!

Who Knew?! *Shrugs*

A Dead Lamp!

Pictures

Summits!!

A What...A Blog!!! Thats Right! Its a NEW BLOG

Routine

N-O-T-H-I-N-G

The Adventures of the Prison Warden

Oh No!

Hot!!!!

Water Plugs and Spark Parks

At the Front Desk....Deja vu!

I'm in...Alberta ...again

August 1st already?!

Whats my password!

100th Post

I Forgot my Password!

The Attack of the Spider

Florida!!

A WHAT!? IT CAN'T BE...NO WAIT...IT IS...A BLOG

23 Days and Counting

Happy St. Patrick's Day Part II

Happy St. Patty's Day!! (aka St. Patrick)

Happy Sabbath!!! I Love Sabbath!

2 Bottles of Water and a Half Eaten Bag of Pretzels

Papers and Cleaning and Classes...Oh My!

My Day in a Nutshell...or a Watermelon

Today...A Great Day

13 Years Ago...Feels Like Yesterday

Cheerios or Oreos?

Essay? What Essay...I Don't See One, Do You?

Papers Papers Everywhere...

Today was an Amazing Day that I Will Always Remember For the Rest of my Life...

A Title...The Most Important Part...Yay or Nay

Child Labor

Time: Our Worst Enemy and Best Friend

This is just a quick word up!

This Isn't Really a Blog You are Only Perceiving it as Such

Two Posts in One Day! Oh No This can Only Mean ONE THING

Its Sabbath so...Last Blog Until Thursday

Last Blog for One Week!

It Is All Over

What do hiking, wet feet, cliffs, mountains and God have in common?

This Will Suffice until Tomorrow Night

Random...

The Narrator

Food...YUMMY

This is a Blog, A What, A Blog, A What, A Blog, Oh a Blog

This is Blog # 60

Today was a Day that Shall go down in History...

Its the Evening...No Wait...Its Morning

ZZZZZZ *Snore* What I Wish I was Doing!!

A title can be the hardest thing to come up with sometimes

The Meaning to Life

Just Some Pics (compliments of Adri)

-51 This Morning -45 by Lunch Tonight -45

Cold...a BIG UNDERSTATEMENT

Today!

A Night/Day of Memories :)

A Half Eaten Apple

Tired!!!

Due to Insufficient Funding Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay will be Cancelled until further notice

Charlemagne of Seeleys Bay

Events=Real...Character Names= Fictitious

The Silence or lack thereof

Prisoner!!!

Good Evening

The Blog Topic for this Evening is...HI

Good Evening

TGIF (Thank God Its Friday)

The Reading Never Ends!!

Back at School

Can Life get any Weirder

life.com (not an actual website) :)

Home at Last

Who Knew?! Shrugs

ZZZZZZ Snore What I Wish I was Doing!!