Rides, food on sticks, deep fried oreos, lemonade and cotton candy.

So yesterday I took Frank the Tank to the vet for his first shots.  He's currently 13 weeks old, and 4.4 lbs.  He took his shots like a champ, and also had a de-worming pill.  In a month I have to take him back for his second round of shots.

After I dropped Frank off at home, I drove over to Just's mom's house, where she was ready to go, and picked her up.  We spent a stormy evening at Capital Ex, riding scary rides, eating foods we shouldn't have eaten, meeting up with her recruiter, and wandering around people-watching.

It was a really pleasant evening, its been a while since I've had an evening that's just relaxed and fun like last night was.  I'm feeling the sugar hangover this morning.... all that cotton candy wasn't the smartest idea, but delicious anyways, and it's not like I eat chicken on a stick at any other time of the year.

Yikes!

Probably much TMI, but I'm stuck in traffic, and have an urgent poo. Sometimes I hate the LRT expansion (sorry Andraea).
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Testing

I'm just trying out the email posting. I might post more random stuff if I'm able to post this way.

A random item would be that Little Dave liked the Vietnamese food so much that he said, "maybe I should marry a Vietnamese girl and an Asian". Wtf Dave, wtf.
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Mmmmmm Vietnamese

So Little Dave (cause we have two Dave's at work, who coincidentally are both super skinny, so neither is really big, but one is younger than the other) comes into my office and asks me if I'd like anything from Tim Hortons, as he didn't bring lunch and is walking there (Little Dave doesn't drive).  I really don't enjoy Tim Hortons lunch, but didn't bring a lunch either, so I offered to drive elsewhere and Little Dave could come along.

He had no idea where he wanted to go, so I suggested one of my favorite places, Noodle Extreme, in Millwoods.  Millwoods is a bit of a drive from the office, so we'd be pressed for time, but well worth the hustle to get there and back.  I had forgotten how absolutely amazing their vermacelli is.  Part of me thinks maybe I should have gotten the Lemongrass Chicken, for old times sake, but I didn't.

Now I'm back at work, and my belly is full and my mind wants to sleep.  Back at it though, lots to do.

3 Month Review

Oh ya!  On a super positive note, I had my 3 month review with my manager yesterday morning.  They're very happy that they brought me on, and are pleased with the work I'm doing and how quickly I'm catching on.  So ya, that's a definite plus.

Updates

I didn't play ball for Manley's team last Thursday, the game was postponed, so they didn't need me.  Ergo, I didn't get the bed moved out of the condo.  I need to find someone to take it this week, as Paul is moving in on the weekend.  Just is supposed to take it at her house, but has made no effort to come get it, and I can't transport it in my car.  I'm thinking I'll just haul it up to the storage room, and she can let me know when she wants it.

My ankle is a bit of a disaster.  I played in a couple bar league slo pitch games on Sunday, and over the course of two games managed to get hit in the lower leg by batted balls three times.  Twice on the low shin (in exactly the same spot), and once right on the inside of my ankle, directly on the joint.  It's colorful, and swollen, but isn't restricted in movement, just a little painful.  When the bruising goes away it should feel just fine.

Things to do this week include getting the bed out of the living room, moving my couch in to the bedroom, vacuuming Paul's room before he gets here, grocery and liquor shopping for Edson, taking Frank to the vet for his first shots, on more ball game tomorrow night, and pack my car to drive out to Edson.  I'd also really like to clean out my car, as it's currently a disaster, and I'm more than a little ashamed of the mess. Aaagh, I also have to go to registries and pay for two speeding tickets as well as re-register my car... not gonna be cheap.

The good news is that my boss agreed to let me leave at noon on Friday, so I'll have a bit of time to get stuff together before leaving town (my first game is at 8pm), but I still don't want to leave all my packing and organazing till the last minute.  I'm a chronic last minuter and don't want to be that way anymore.

My plan is as follows:

Tuesday:

Costco with Just and her toddler (groceries for Edson)

Car wash at lunch

Load camping basics into car when home from Costco

Wednesday:

Registries at lunch

Move bed upstairs to storage room after work

Softball game

Thursday:

Liquor Store (buy enough beer for weekend, as beer gardens are expensive)

Pack clothes for weekend, including bright and tight for 80's night and load into the car

Freeze jugs of water to keep in my food cooler

Friday:

Get gas

Load coolers and pack into car

Drive to Edson

Ball game

Look like a ton of fun?  I think so.  At some point I should also pick up a new litterbox for Frank the Tank. He's a bit enthusiastic when digging poop holes, so something with higher sides would be ideal.

New New Roommate

So I've got a new roommate lined up again.  P seems much better than the last one.  He's got a full time job, has a girlfriend, and seems pretty normal.  This weekend I'll be getting the room cleaned out so that he can move in.  He'd like to come paint on Sunday.

I need to ditch a mattress.  It's the mattress that I've had since I was a child, so it's definitely ready to hit the dump.  Good thing Manley asked me to play ball for his team tonight, and I agreed on the condition that he uses his truck to move this mattress.

I really hate waiting.

I spent 4 hours last night at a medicentre. I got there right after work, so just after 5 pm, and didn't leave till after 9. 

I knew exactly why I was there, but describing would definitely be TMI.  Lets just say I know I needed antibiotics for a non contagious, yet still irritating issue.  I was right on my self diagnosis, and the Dr prescribed exactly what I thought he would.  I'll  be on antibiotics for the next 7 days, and because of the particular drug I'm on, drinking is a definite no-no.  This makes me very glad that Edson is over a week away, as I'll be off meds by then.

I don't understand why people bring their whole family to the medicentre with them.  I went by myself, taking up one chair in the waiting room, and being only one impatient individual.  Some of the patients there had themselves, their husbands, mothers, grandmothers and children with them. Granted, I don't know exactly who the sick member of the family was, but really, a medicentre trip doesn't need to involve that many bodies.

Anyways, I was up at 7 yesterday morning for work, and didn't make it home again till almost 11, as the pharmacy took their sweet time too.  Long day, and I was tired.  I'm feeling it today for sure.

I have a thought....

I'm thinking about grace.  When Paul wrote in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?", he asks a very valid question.  But can you imagine, if our continued sinning could be so awful that it would overshadow the greatest sin of all, a sin that we have been forgiven of?

We murdered Jesus.  I don't think there's anything that anyone can do that is worse than killing the Son of God.  In fact, I know there's no greater sin.  Yet, it's a sin we are all guilty of.  We share the guilt for the most awful act of all times.  There have been some awful acts in history, true, but as far as I can see, nothing even comes close to killing Jesus.  Yet we're forgiven.  God forgives us for killing his Son.  Jesus forgives us for sacrificing him.

We sin every day.  The more rules we set out for ourselves, the more we break them.  Wouldn't it be easier to forget rules, but to live in God's grace, and to love and serve Him.  Serving Him is an act of gratitude, not obedience.  We live in His grace because He offers it to us.  We strive to do His will, because when we die to sin we become like Him, and His will becomes ours.

Flea bath, shots booked, and Edson coming up!

So Frank the Tank has been battling the fleas.  And by that I mean that I've been battling fleas, and Frank has been scratching his bites.  This should all change for him soon.  Last night involved an adventure.  We went to the groomer's and got Frank a flea bath.  He still hates baths, but the groomer was incredibly gentle with him, and at one point during the rinsing process he wasn't even flailing.  Poor guy.  She also had to shampoo his face with the flea shampoo because of just how infested he was.  I'm pretty sure we've got them all now, and still plan on treating him in a couple weeks to make sure we've got them for good.

He's also booked for shots next week at a vet clinic down in Devon.  It's a bit of a drive, but this vet came on the recommendation of the groomer, and apparently the prices are less than most city vets. Shots shouldn't be as difficult an experience for him, he just doesn't like water.

Completely unrelated, August long weekend will see me playing at one of the biggest slo pitch tournaments ever, out in Edson.  There will be 272 teams playing, which is insane!  I'm looking forward to a weekend of slo pitch, drinking and camping.  It looks to be a great time.

Stresssssss

I'm stressed.  I really don't want to get into it on here, but it has to do with a relationship that's extremely important to me.  Contact with this person may be cut off, and it's not what I want, or what they want.

I don't know what's going on, and at this point I can't ask.

Drinking pricey and delicious ice wine with Just last night definitely helped matters then, but I really need to know what's going on, and I don't, and I can't know yet.

Bathing a kitten sucks.

Frank won.  He got tossed in the sink a couple times, but managed to concede to a modified sponge bath. He still has fleas, and is getting the drops tonight.

I'll beat these fleas yet.

Also, he hates me.

Ohhh Kitty!

Frank the Tank is now living in his new home.  Yesterday was a tough day for the little guy, and today won't be any better once I'm done with him. It's all necessary though.

I'm lucky enough to have a kitty who gets motion sickness.  On the 40 minute drive from my brother's place to the campsite, Frank got sick in the car.  He was shaking and so scared when he got to the campsite, but still let me cuddle and pet him, and still let some cousin's kids pet him as well.  This bodes well, as it looks like he'll be a good natured cat.  Thankfully the same cousin whose kids were playing with Frank had liquid gravol for her kids, and we were able to give a little bit to Frank, so the rest of the trip wouldn't be so hard on him.

The gravol seemed to work almost immediately, and his eyelids got a little bit heavy.  The truck ride from the campsite to the airport went better, but he still had a few spazzouts.  Mostly when dad turned the radio on, and it got too loud for his big ears. He seemed pretty calm when we were hanging out in the airport, and fell asleep almost immediately when the motion stopped.

Boarding the plane was another freakout (I think because of how loud it was), but once he was tucked under the seat with a towel over his carrier to make it nice and dark for him, he did really well.  I didn't hear a peep from him till we'd landed back home, and I was walking off the plane with him.

Pretty much as soon as we got home he curled up in sleepy ball on the couch.  I did get him to eat some supper though, and when I woke up this morning he was about halfway through his bowl of kibble, and ate all the wet food I put out for him.  He also drank about half the water from his dish, which is a relief, cause he was probably pretty dehydrated by the end of yesterday.

Tonight's gonna be another test of his ability to stay calm.  I need to give him a bath.  He's stinky because he got sick and laid in it in his carrier, and he's also got fleas.  He was treated for fleas about two weeks ago, so I can't just give him flea treatment again, I've got to try pick the fleas out with a flea comb, and then scrub him clean in the sink.  I might look like I fought a battle tomorrow.  It'll be worth it though to have a clean kitty who isn't itchy.

Leaving on a jet plane....

I'll be back in a few days though.  I'm headed out to Parksville, BC for a family reunion.  My family is generally a lot of fun, so it should be a good time.

My bags are packed, and my room is clean.  My former roommate, Andraea and her boyfriend will be staying at my place, as I'm not entirely comfortable leaving my current/soon to be ex roomate at home alone for the weeekend.  I doubt he'd try anything, but I can't be sure and would rather not find out.

Also, on Sunday I get to pick up Frank.  Yay kitty!

Will post pictures when I have them.

WHOOO HOOOOO!!

So, this whole roommate ordeal has had me a bit on edge.  I really wanted to get rid of him, yet was concerned about the fact that he seems to be very litigious in nature, and would likely attempt to pursue legal action if I wasn't careful about things.

This troubled me greatly, and I thought I would be stuck with him. (Also, who rents videos on demand using someone else's cable account and doesn't say anything?).

Anyways, imagine my great joy when he provides me with 1/2 of July's rent, on the 3rd.  Not rent in full on the first.  I told him, very bluntly, that half rent was not acceptable, and he'd have to pay the whole amount.  He got this deer in the headlights look.  I liked that look.  I continued by informing him that if he couldn't afford the full month, he did have an option, he could be out by the 15th. He then told me that this was the option he was going to have to take.

Then he asked if we could compromise, and I told him,
"I could compromise, but I don't want to.  I don't like you, I don't like you in my house.  I feel uncomfortable in my own home having you here, and I really just want you gone, this non-payment is perfect, and it really actually makes me happy."

Jen wins.

Also WHOOO HOOOOO!! worthy is the fact that since May I am down 20 lbs and 6 inches total.  I rock, even if I'm not giving this fitness thing my all.  I just got an ipod touch, and one of the first apps I purchased was Couch to 5K, which is designed to get you running 5k without a break in 9 weeks.  Once I get back from vacation (or maybe during vacation) I'll start this.  The link is Couch to 5K, for anyone interested.  I'll keep you, my 0 readers posted on how it goes :)

Happy Belated Canada Day!

I was a bit busy yesterday, and didn't have time to update.  Yesterday was Canada Day, 143 years since Confederation.

Generally Canada Day is a statutory holiday, so most people had the day off to enjoy festivities with their families and friends.  Given that it was month end though, and the company I work for is French, I worked most of the day.  Management at my office isn't uncaring though, and were nice enough to have a bbq for us at noon.  They also let us leave in the afternoon, when we'd completed month end tasks.

Following work I picked up some new shorts (yay! denim shorts that fit well), and went home for a bit.  The evening consisted of dinner at Sorrentino's, which was delicious, and then we parked just off Whyte Ave, walked across the river and went to Telus Field, where we watched the Edmonton Capitals beat the Calgary Vipers in extra innings, and then stayed at the park for the Canada Day fireworks.  The fireworks were splendid. Following this we hoped to be able to catch a cab back to Whyte Ave, and the car..... but the roads were closed for the fireworks, so we wound up walking back.  It really wasn't a bad night for a walk, and it felt good after a filling dinner, popcorn, beer and a hot chocolate.  We stopped at a VERY packed Hudson's on Whyte for one more drink, and then called it a night, 6:30am comes early, and I'm back at work now.