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...

Attempt number 5,352,891 at resurrecting my blog. I gave up social media for Lent and it's proving to be the best sacrifice for me because I sure am missing it! I figured if I can't see what everyone else is up to I may as well try and document what I have been doing. I just got back from a two-week jaunt to the Philippines to visit loved ones and explore more of that beautiful country. It was definitely not long enough; I did not get to see everyone and everything that I wanted. I did not get to eat everything that I wanted! But two weeks is better than nothing...and the awesome thing is one of my cousins and her family are hoping to come to North America in the fall so fingers crossed I can coordinate with them! Butch and I have been together for 3.5 years now. It sure does not feel like that much time has passed! (Also, I want a new codeame for Butch. As much as I love Pulp Fiction he needs a more awesome codename. In an attempt to feed my social-media-fast if anyone...

I keep meaning to blog more often but there was always something going on with my computer. Now I have no more excuses; my baby gave me a new computer last Christmas and he set me up with the fancy new Windows last night. Nothing should stop me now. A lot has gone on all around me. Latina had a baby boy, Civic went to Japan for a semester, my mini BFFs keep growing and being all-around adorable, and Daisy got married. And Butch and I are two years (and a month....but who's counting?) strong. The familia and I went to the Dominican Republic for their first taste (Weird Kid was not with us, alas) of all-inclusive resort vacations. As much as I enjoyed the family time I would have loved to have Butch there with me, too. Hopefully him and I can get away for another vacation sometime. I loved our cruise together. But with all the happy adventures that go on come some down times. When I got home last night I found out my godmother in the Philippines passed away. She was such a ...

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...

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 ...

So I dropped the ball again. So much has happened, and yet I never get around to writing. This is only, what, my 6th crane?! I have a looong way to go to 1000. Where did I leave off? Oh yeah, don't you worry your pretty little heads. I never went out with that guy (still don't have a moniker for him, not that it matters anymore) again. I told him I didn't want to waste his time or his money. That sounds kind of pimpish but what else would you call paying for someone else's video game play other than a waste of money? And I've turned another year older. Imagine my sadness when, as I was reading all my birthday greetings on a popular social media site I was also stumbling upon those same friends mourning an elementary school classmate on his social media page. Another numbing aspect: his birthday was only 3 days away from my own. His mom has always remembered me throughout the years so it was only right that I went to pay my condolences to her and the rest of his fa...

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...

Ha, that song title is a couple of nights too late. But I just saw an adorable video starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt so I'm loving the song at the mo. Hello 2012! Although I don't like the concept of New Year's resolutions I must admit I have a lot of work to do with you: lose weight, gain money, attain love (non-family), organize, organize, organize. Where to start? Ideas: For losing weight: keep up the Aqua Fit and incorporate laps (start with once a week), get back on the South Beach Diet train, get back to my weight training at the gym (start with 1x a week), on off days -- when my muscles can take it -- pop in a Jillian Michaels workout or do my Your Shape workout on the Kinect. (Just got it for Christmas thanks to my fabulous bro, the fitness quiz alone practically knocked me out. LOTS to do!) For gaining money: I think a second job is becoming more and more imperative at present. I don't really want to go back to retail but their hours work bes...

Well, not quite, but it is a gorgeous day outside. And things seem to be progressing nicely *knock on wood* So exactly 7 days ago I was probably snapping out of my anesthetic and the deed was done. So how was it? I would say the pain was at its worst straight out of surgery, in the recovery room. The nurses would ask me for my number -- on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being mild and 10 being the worst pain I have ever experienced (that's practically verbatim, folks) -- and I said 5 off the bat. Unfortunately, she couldn't give me any painkillers yet as my breathing was still really slow. By the time she was able to administer anything I rated the pain at a 6. I don't know what the nurse gave me but it must have been some pretty terrific stuff because my number was never back up there again. The rest of the day and into the evening I rated the pain at 1 or 2, at times even as ambitious as 0. Just like my very first surgery (a corneal transplant in 7th grade) I was taking th...

It's time, ladies and gentlemen. In 10 hours I'm going to be headed into the OR and about 2 hours later (or so they tell me) I should be a little less stacked. Farewell back problems, digging underwires, and stupid social comments? Let's hope so.

In nine days I am going to lie on a table, close my eyes, and wake up a little less stacked. It has been consuming a lot of my "thinking-time" as of late. I still worry, but if I was truly terrified I think I would have backed out by now. What troubles me the most is the recovery. I don't know what to expect. Or actually, I've been told what to expect and have heard from those who have undergone the procedure what I can expect, but I am hoping for better. Wisdom teeth? That was a breeze; the surgeon was surprised I was on the phone when he did his evening follow-up call. Corneal transplant? A piece of cake. Yes, I was out of school for a while (I can't even remember how long anymore) but I do not recall any pain or discomfort...just an inconvenience if anything. My parotidectomy? That one was a little gross -- I recall getting faint when the time came for the doctor to remove that icky drain post-op. I mean, yes, I was happy to get rid of it but I was ...

So...it's happening. After all these years contemplating having a breast reduction I never thought it would actually happen. And you know what? I got a call to set up a surgery date. Oh. My. God. So May 3rd I will become a little less stacked. I would say de-stacked or un-stacked, but let's not get drastic here. Uber scared! I have been thinking about it non-stop. Is this surgery really necessary? Everyone I have talked to who has had the procedure done say they wish they had it done earlier, that I will be so happy I got it done, blah blah blah. I hear that. I understand it. Guess I'm just a big pansy when it comes to surgeries, pain, and the like. My past surgeries have not been that painful, though they were more crucial operations. In this case I'm lying on the operating table for something that isn't really crucial to my health (unless you want to talk about sore backs, emotional happiness, etc.) but all the information I have read make it sound ...

Hoh ho! You get two days of posting in a row; you lucky dog! My coffee table is a whole to-do of books to read. You would think I would just write a list of things I would like to read someday. Instead, I end up with all these impulse purchases from our local bookstore, with a mental post-it note to read it sometime. On one day of wandering through the shelves I came across the cover "Talking to Girls About Duran Duran." Being that I am an amateur Duran Duran nut the book caught my attention right away. So then I found out the book was the second one written by Rob Sheffield; and Mr. Sheffield first wrote a book called "Love is a Mix Tape." So since the second book was only available in hardcover (and I'm not a fan of hardcover) and the first looked like an easy read in paperback it jumped into my open hands and came with me to the cash register. The store clerk was really excited by my purchase...to the point that I was embarrassed that I had never heard...

Talk about timing but I noticed something looked amiss on my blog. Turns out blogrolling.com "ceased" operations as of last month. The inner packrat in me freaked out...all those blogs I used to read on the regular GONE! But - surprise! - I had saved a few of my old blog pages that show my old templates and blah blah blah...problem solved; found all my old blogging peeps. And then came the great purge. Blogger offers a blogroll of sorts, but I had to add them in one by one. Now was a great time as any to finally organize the list. I knew a lot of people had stopped writing - some have even dismantled their blog and it's as if it never existed - so I had to figure out which to keep and which (that were still online but not necessarily active) to toss. If I know you personally or if I've had any interaction with you over all these blogging years I have kept you on. Alas, some of you are long gone and it was with great sadness that I had to get rid of your link. *po...

I'm sure everyone has done it at least once since they have discovered the joys of the internet. Admit it; you have Googled yourself at least once. At least. It came up as a random topic of conversation in the office today so sure enough we all looked ourselves up on Google for an update. I had not looked at my results for quite some time so I was surprised to see the very first match was for a site I had never heard of before. It gave me goosebumps when I clicked on the link. I would like to think that I am fairly savvy when it comes to protecting my privacy online. When news comes around of new sites gathering information and compiling them per person I do my best to make sure my details are masked and such...but this one was new. Sure, it had my age wrong and it was pretty obvious it had gathered a lot of my info off of the major-social-media-site-which-will-remain-unnamed, but yet there I was in fairly legitimate print. Chills. It reminded me (very much so) about all my...

Yesterday was my annual checkup at the Tom Baker cancer centre. It has now been almost seven years since I went through my radiation treatment. Nearly seven years since my parotidectomy and the crazy carnival ride that ensued. I haven't "achieved" the plans I laid out for myself as a little girl and I cannot figure out if this fact would upset me had I not had my cancer. Nothing seems to faze me now and I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. I love my job when many others are looking for better paying jobs so they can have a better life. They wouldn't even consider my position if it were their only way of making ends meet...yet here I am content. I used to believe I would be married and have children by now but the more I get to experience life the more I am unwilling to start that chapter in my book. There is far too much I still wish to see, yearn to do, desire to try. Having kids with me or a significant other to factor into all my decisio...

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...