Bellini-induced Brain Freeze

We're still in this pandemic, everyone. Let's not kid ourselves. Last week my travel agency closed it's doors permanently. Oof. It was poorly orchestrated and it was not headed by the best people for the task. If anything it was a clear indication of how much my dear agency was the black sheep of the corporate family. We really got a sense of who genuinely cared about us and who were "just doing (their) job." They tasked my colleague with a long laundry list of things that had to get squared away...all because she was the only one who had been recalled to the office to do work. The rest of us were only asked to gather our belongings and leave. But after 10 years together I could not leave my team stranded and fend for themselves. I left my new job a few hours early one day and hustled hard with my colleagues trying to empty the office of as many brochures and as much garbage as we could. My regional manager, who is still furloughed, actually texted us t...

My neck and shoulder have been so sore as of late; it's been driving me nuts. I blamed it on an uncomfortable sleep but it doesn't seem to be letting up very much. And then one night while I was trying to give myself a neck rub I noticed that some of the stiffness felt much too firm. It being on my right side, where all the cancer drama happened over 10 years ago, of course makes me feel a little nervous. One night Butch was trying to help work the knot out and he even admitted it felt like more than a knot. This meant a lot more to me since I didn't even tell him what I was already thinking about it all. Good thing my annual followup with Dr. H is coming up next month. I also have my annual physical scheduled with Dr. T a couple of weeks prior. Between the two of them I hope this thing comes out as just a big superknot. Or if it worked itself out before next month I'd probably feel a lot more comfortable, but to be on the safe side I'd rather they had the op...

Lots to say! And I'm sure because I don't write them down as soon as I think of them I will forget most of them before I post. Refreshing myself on my last post; one of my dates from back then has become one of my most favorite guys ever. I guess we'll call him Butch. He's become such a favorite that I've pulled down my profile (and I think he has, too!) off a certain online dating site and haven't really paid any attention to other dates that have started trying to contact me again. Seriously, right out of the woodwork. Like I always said; it seems to be feast or famine when it comes to dating and now that I've met someone that makes me giddy they all decide to try again. Including Bachelor #1 from the last post. He left a voicemail this past Thursday and tried calling again tonight. I hadn't seen or heard from him since our first date over a month ago . And while I think he's a really sweet guy and I see him totally being a great buddy for doing th...

Sunday was another beautiful day to add to my weekend of fun. The familia and I went to the Calgary Zoo to finally visit the penguins in the new Penguin Plunge. I was excited but I had no idea just how stunning it would be. The penguins are sooooo close! Crazy Kid got splashed a couple of times from penguins leaving/entering the water. It was surreal -- and mercifully cold -- I could have stayed with the penguins all day if they let me. The heat drove us out of the zoo by the afternoon so we checked out Smashburger for lunch. Mighty tasty burger! I had the Calgary burger. Dare I say that it could have used less bacon? Not that it was heaped with bacon but because the bacon was so salty it almost spoiled the whole burger experience. Mushroom poutine, while not original, was divine! Plus, I truly appreciate their ice tea bar. Yes, one of the options is American unsweetened iced tea but I'll take it. The siblings and I even had time to hash out a workout at the gym and a dip at the ...

Both dates went pretty great but for completely different reasons. How is a girl supposed to figure out who to go after? The guy I met at the speed dating event (should I give them names? Will they be around long enough to warrant names?) is uber easy to talk to. Conversation flows non-stop and admittedly he is not bad to look at at all . But something in my gut says we'd be better off as friends...however my gut has been wrong about plenty of guys (Hello, Aidan.) so can I even be certain of my instincts? SANDy asked if I had any spark/did I want to jump him and I had to answer "no" to the jumping bit. At the same time, I don't tend to feel the want to jump guys right away. (Ask Daisy and she will boast that she KNEW I was going to fool around with Aidan before I even knew myself that I was going to fool around with him. She claims she knew all along.) We went for tea and were planning on doing some sheesha later on. Didn't get around to the sheesha but we put it ...

What a wonderful weekend! Such a great beginning to the new year. On Friday I got to enjoy calamari and pizza at Manie's . Anyone who knows me has to know that I absolutely love the pizza (and really, all the food) at Manie's so it was a great way to "binge" before I started my diet back up in earnest. And to make the meal even more enjoyable I got to dine with Civic and Daisy. The original 3 out on 17th again! Complete with my big bowl of Vietnamese coffee at Caffe Beano and it was fabulous beginning to the weekend. Even though I had to work on Saturday (and really I don't have much to complain about since we only work one Saturday a month now between all of us!) the day was not for naught. Weird Kid treated me to my first ever lower bowl experience for a Flames game! We were in row 12 -- a fortunate number, of course -- and I was able to celebrate in-house when my beloved Iggy scored his 500th career goal with the Flames! An amazing night, to be sure. Have ...

My first origami crane in a long while; a bit sloppy but like I said I'm keen on actually completing 1000 paper cranes for once. Let's see if I finish this project. My legs are sore from working out, it's definitely a satisfying soreness and I was expecting this but I hope I recoup faster and faster so I can keep up the momentum. So I read the paper this morning and they talked about a man being charged with sexual assault. He offered a young woman a ride home from a downtown nightclub but instead of taking her home he drove her elsewhere, assaulted her, and then kicked her out of the car. They had just met that night. While I don't have all the details, obviously, there are just so many things I find wrong with this story. Numero uno: where were her friends? I mean, who goes to the clubs alone? My friends and I always went together and (apparently a key detail that everyone ought to heed) we LEFT together. Are people really that slack with loved ones' safety nowad...

I read an article in today's newspaper and felt compelled to jump onto the soapbox that was once my blog. As many of you know, I'm not much of a follower in all things political/governmental so this will be more of an emotional response but I felt I had to say something. The article can be found here. but I have cut and paste the article at the bottom of this post in case this link ever disappears. A while ago I wrote about how I panicked when the Tom Baker Centre had decided that I had graduated out of my annual follow-up appointments. Reading today's article made me realize how very fortunate I had been - and for so long, too. I remember when I had my first appointment at the Tom Baker. Talk about a whirlwind. Following my parotidectomy they did a biopsy of my lump - standard procedure - and found it to be a bad guy. I don't think it was even a week after my surgeon told me the news and I was already walking into the Tom Baker with my parents to find out what wa...

A couple of months ago I had the great opportunity to visit Montreal for a weekend and I LOVED it. That makes two massive cities I have visited this year that I have adored. A stark contrast to my lack of heart for Toronto. People predicted, after hearing of how I dislike Toronto (I can't say hate since I have family living there. Hate is too strong of a word.) that I would have a miserable time in New York...even though I've been obsessed with the Big Apple for years. Well, I proved them wrong there. But although I had always wanted to see Montreal as well I was not sure if it would be as cold and uninviting as Toronto only en francais. Good golly I was pleasantly surprised. I have told several friends this but for once I have found a city that could possibly seduce me away from Calgary. And I'd still get to be Canadian, fantastique! What I especially loved about Montreal was how easy it was to get around. I am a huge fan of great subway/metro systems and New Y...