Here I am.

Hey guys. It's finally summer! These are the days of sitting on patios and new adventures, in that order. Soon I'll be hammering out some birthday plan details, but before that, I need to figure out a day to go to Canada's Wonderland. I actually liked it a lot better when it was PARAMOUNT Canada's Wonderland and they had the rights to the Hanna-Barbera characters. Oh well. I believe there are still some Scooby-Doo icons floating around in the deserted areas of the kids' section.

Has anyone had any customer service debacles lately? I was pretty mad at Rogers last week. That company just really gets my goat. The story is, I decided to downgrade my cable to "basic plus combo", meaning that I wouldn't get as many channels, or pay as much per month. I called them, and they told me I had to return the satellite box that I had been "renting" from them. I never even wanted that satellite box in the first place and it turns out it hadn't even been necessary for the channels I was getting before. ARGH! So I was paying around $5 per month just to rent this stupid box that I didn't even need. Anyways, I was on the phone for quite awhile with this Rogers guy, figuring out exactly which channels I'd have on the new service, and what my new bill would look like. He said he'd put everything into the system that we'd talked about, and I just had to bring the satellite box thing into any Rogers store.

So later that afternoon, I brought the satellite box into a Rogers store... and guess what... there was NO RECORD of my conversation with dude #1. I repeated everything to the Rogers store people, who were incredibly lame, and then they couldn't take the satellite box thing back from me because there was no indication on my account that my services were changing at all. So essentially, that entire conversation I'd had earlier just didn't exist. The Rogers store people aren't allowed to change things on people's accounts, so they had to call another Rogers person and I had to stand there in the Rogers store and re-explain the whole thing on the phone. SO ANNOYING. Finally the person on the phone changed my account, so the in-store people were permitted to take the satellite box back. It wouldn't have been so annoying if someone would've been even a little bit nice, but they were all really mad at the world and it was super unpleasant.

So, now I'll resume eating berries. Let's take a day off and hang out in the sun!!!!!

THINGS.

Things I did on Wednesday:

- made peanut butter cookies.
- ate quite a few.
- considered slashing my cable. (eg. un-signing up for cable. it's too expensive.)
- had freezing cold toes.
- dropped my green sharpie on my foot, where it left a green mark.
- thought about money, got depressed, thought about money more, concluded that I will never be able to buy a house, ever.
- took the stairs down after work. odd. never done that before.
- didn't go for a run!
- looked at my bike helmet and its ugliness.
- stalked people on facebook.
- talked to one client on the phone like WAY too many times and confirmed the exact same information every time, leading me to believe that she had short-term amnesia.
- listened to "Like a Prayer" while on hold.
-a lot of other items.

weak, weak entry, i know. just trying to get in the habit of posting more often. this is what you're in for. eat more fruits and veggies!

What I've learned.

I'm currently 28.8 years old, and have learned a few things in my day. Here's a quick "TOP TEN LIST" - a summary of conclusions I've made thus far.

1) You get what you pay for. This is always, always true. Most recently, I've discovered this with paper towels. It's just not worth it at ALL to buy the cheap non brand name paper towels. You might as well be wiping a regular piece of paper all over the countertop, because that's the same amount of absorbancy you'll get with the cheap paper towel brand. Buy the thick fluffy ones, unless you want to be really frustrated.

2) Lazy people don't deserve jobs. And yet - they have them! People with zero work ethic should be banned from the workforce, and from receiving unemployment assurance or any kind of assistance. If your heart is beating, you should get out of bed in the morning and do some freaking work.

3) Learning to cook and/or bake well takes a lot of time and experience. Just when I think I've mastered the art of creating a good meal, something turns out a total flop yet again and reminds me that I will always be making things that don't turn out. Last weekend I tried to make a banana cream pie (probably THE EASIEST PIE to make on earth) and it didn't turn out. For some reason, making food and having it not turn out is more frustrating than bad paper towels or lazy people. It makes me want to throw the bad food across the room. Generally though, I just SLAM it into the garbage can.

4) Perfect jeans don't exist. I've been on a search for the perfect jeans for probably about 12 years now, and have concluded that they are nowhere to be found. If I ever win the lottery, I'll pay a thousand bucks to have some custom ones made. Til then, I'll keep buying ill-fitting jeans.

5) Spam is eternal. Seriously. It's 2009, and spam on the internet is still around. Every day at work I'm greeted with messages about increasing my libido or finding a russian mail-order bride. It even sneaks into my yahoo mail sometimes. How is this stuff still in existance? Are there companies who write spam and send it out? They must be making some kind of money, otherwise the spam industry would be defunct. I'm guessing it's people without a solid command of the English language who are composing these messages, because they're always ripe with typos.

6) We are all turning into seniors. Thinking back to those good ol' university days, I can't believe the tiny amount of time I spent sleeping, and the huge amount of time I spent working, at school, doing homework, socializing, and doing a myriad of other activities. I'm still pretty busy, but by the time Friday night rolls around, all I want to do is soak my feet and watch tv while drinking a glass of wine. Our parties are ending earlier and we're all just getting tired.

7) Don't expect more from people than they can give. This is a very true statement that I for one would be wise to remember more often. And that's all I'm'a gonna say on this one, because it speaks for itself.

8) Kraft dinner is still the best mac and cheese out there. But you better believe you're going to pay dearly for it. This delicacy used to run you about 70 cents at your average supermarket. Now you're lucky if you can find it for under a dollar. It's generally around $1.49, sometimes even up to $1.69. OUTRAGEOUS. You may be tempted to go for the underdogs, like "Great value" brand. But this is as disappointing as it is cheap an experience.

9) People love free stuff. We're all suckers for free stuff. It's human nature, people.

10) Songs get stuck in heads. OK..... it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. But it's so true, and so annoying. Even the suggestion of a song is enough to get things going. Example: for the last 2 days at work we've had these postcard-ads sitting around that say "Be our guest" on them. Needless to say, all I can think of is, "Soup de jour, hot hor's d'ouvres/Why we only live to serve/Try the grey stuff, it's delicious/Don't believe me, ask the dishes!"

Our office is obsessed with hand sanitizer.

HHHHHEllo. Since we last spoke, I've been really sick, recovered, and ran a race, among other things.

First, the sickness. It was pretty boring just hanging out at home and being sick. When I wasn't sleeping it off or reading, I had the opportunity to watch quite a bit of tv, and realized that although daytime tv always seems like a special treat, it really, really isn't. Daytime shows that I absolutely despise include: The View, stupid cartoons on TVO, all soap operas, and "local" shows, eg. Dating 201, which supposedly talks about dating in Toronto and is just super lame.

Basically the only things worth watching during the day are Ellen and GSN (the Game Show Network). I caught a couple of episodes of "Just like Mom" which were super great. That show is so awkward. The male host, especially, seems to make moms and kids alike really squirmy. One episode ended in a tie between a boy and a girl. The girl spun the wheel first, and won a set of John Deere toys. (I would've probably cried.) Then the boy won the TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!! I felt pretty bad for the girl, who didn't get to go to Disney World and didn't even get decent toys.

I finally recovered from the illness around the Thursday/Friday mark. Friday night I travelled to Mississauga via the GO train to attend the Runners' Expo, where I had to pick up my race kit for Saturday's 5k. The Runners' Expo was semi-interesting. They gave me some free stuff, including a bag of Werther's, a Subway gift card, a t-shirt, and some Advil. I participated in such activities as taste-testing a protein shake (EWWWWWWWW) and doing a blind shoe test, where I was blindfolded and two shoes were put on my feet and then covered with black cloth, and then I walked around and had to choose which one was more comfortable. It was an Adidas booth. And guess what - the Adidas shoe was more comfortable. SURPRISE! I think the other shoe they chose was the most uncomfortable shoe known to humankind. I did get a free bottle of body wash for my trouble, so it was all worth it. I also bought some new running clothes and ate some free yogurt before I left.

Friday night, LATE, I decided to go for a run, since I hadn't done so in over a week because of my illness. I had a great run but this was probably a super bad idea, as I used up all my energy stores. On Saturday evening during the race, I never really "got into the groove" as they say, and though I finished with a semi-decent time, I think it was a bad idea to run the night before. Now I know. The race was pretty fun although it was FREEZING out. Some people were really really serious about it and others weren't at all. My conclusion is that runners come in all shapes and sizes, even obese men wearing breathe-right nasal strips can claim to be runners.

Immediately following the race, mom and I stopped at McDonald's for some grub, and headed back to mecca (St. Catharines). On Sunday we went out for lunch with both of my grandmothers, which I won't even comment on because I'm sure you can imagine what it was like.

In conclusion..... I need new shoes, I really need the weather to warm up BIG TIME especially for the long weekend (although I have no long weekend plans anyway so it doesn't matter too much), I should probably get my bike out again for the summer, and I've been craving good pizza for the last week and still haven't had any!!!

Another rainy night in the T-dot.

Hello out there. Just got home from some ventures I'll explain in a moment. The taste of my third chocolate cupcake is still lingering, and I gotta say, I'm regretting it just a bit. I've sort of been on this healthy eating kick lately, but today I just lost the dedication, and tonight has been filled with cupcakes, and also some ice cream.

Work sucked big time because things are super busy these days. Clients and non-clients alike call in with lame questions that take up tons of time. The most annoying thing is being asked if I'm free, when I'm clearly in the middle of something and NOT FREE. Know what I mean? Good laughs are usually had at work though, so that makes up for it.

After work I went to the grocery store to pick up some items, then met up with 4 of my friends at a nearby church where we cooked and served dinner for about 40 people from the neighborhood who are "down on their luck", if you know what I mean. It was pretty fun and we made them an amazing and tasty meal consisting of rice with beans and corn in it, and tacos with all the fixin's. And ice cream for dessert! I ate lots of ice cream. Blarg!

Then I came home, popped next door to the laundromat (actually it's 4 doors down, but who cares), fed the machines some loonies, then came back home. I gotta go back there right away to see if the clothes are clean and make sure no one steals them. Usually I sit and read a book while the clothes are spinning, but today I thought to myself, I don't want to spend my time in this dumb laundromat. So i'll just trust people not to take my socks and underwear. I'll let you know how it goes.

Weekend plans are shaping up at this point in the week. First on the list is to diss this Swine Flu at every opportunity. Don't even get me started on this, guys. Seriously, it's just another media ploy. I remember when I was about 13 or 14, living in the town of Edmonton, Alberta, there was this big scare about some kind of disease you could get by inhaling mouse turds. People could actually die from it, so there was this huge uproar about not going into your garage or doghouse or wherever mouse turds could be. Now I'm not saying Swine Flu is on the same level as this mouse turd thing, but the whole point is that the media on the whole likes to SCARE the population, and I feel that's what's goin on here.

Anyways! This weekend will see me travelling back to the Niagara region for a hair appointment, a party at my friend Colin's house, and most importantly, my dad's 60th bday bash. It's gonna be NUTS!!! I'll keep you guys posted. Gotta go check the laundry now.

WEEKEND REPORT.

Best thing I ate this weekend: Paska made by my mom.

Worst thing I ate this weekend: Paska made by some old lady at my parents' church that tasted like play-doh and poison.

Time I was happiest this weekend: Mostly all of it, but especially when I was reading/napping, or eating good food. Also when I laughed at a story this chick told me about being sick in India and the doctors shoving an orange in her face to cure the nausea.

Time I was the saddest this weekend: When my dad told me about how their cat killed a female yellow finch, and the male finch sat on the porch for a super long time just staring and waiting for its dead mate to return.

Time I was the most frustrated this weekend: Going for an early morning run on Saturday and practically being blown into the canal by the excessive ridiculous wind, and also being freezing and having to work thrice as hard as usual to run against the stupid wind, and also dodging huge piles of disgusting goose poo on the sidewalk. Ugggh worst run ever.

Best thing I watched this weekend: I love you man

Worst thing I watched this weekend: golf

Most interesting conversation this weekend: Discussing with dad whether Jesus' body vaporized out of the tomb, then moving on to souls and how they get to heaven, and my dad saying that sometimes airplanes hit souls when they're on their way to heaven. He was kidding, I think.

Worst conversation this weekend: When my brother and I went to a seedy bar and my brother's friend called me by the name of my brother's ex-girlfriend. Soooooo awkward.

Best song I listened to this weekend: Help I'm alive by metric.

Worst song I listened to this weekend: Crazy country gospel crap that was on the radio.

Time I realized I'm turning into a senior this weekend: When my ear hurt and crackled just from the noise of old ladies singing in church.

Time I realized I'm turning into my mom this weekend: When my mom told me I'm turning into her. And when she told me that my laugh sounds just like hers and is almost as loud.

Amount of times I dropped pieces of food on the floor while helping mom prepare meals this weekend: Approximately 37.

Amount of times I smiled this weekend: A gazillion.

Easter Saturday.

Hello! This morning I went for a nice little run using my new "Nike+ Sport" attachment, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.

First order of business: The Toronto Bus Terminal. This has got to be the most chaotic, poorly-run transportation system in a major North American city. I arrived there around 9pm on Friday night, got in line, and stepped up to a ticket booth around 9:07. Spent $22 and change on a bus ticket to St. Catharines, and asked ticket booth guy if I could still get on the 9:15 bus. He said, "Sure you can." I went outside to lineup #3, and assessed the situation by asking a number of people in line which bus they were waiting for - some said St. Catharines, some said Peterborough. One of the St. Catharines girls in line asked the bus driver if that was the St. Catharines bus, and he confirmed that it was, but it was full. Great.

So, me and the 4 other St. Catharines people in line went back inside, waited in the ticket line again, and exchanged our tickets for the 9:30 bus. Heading back outside to lineup #1, we saw at least 100 people already in this line. We joined the end of it and waited. Waited. Waited. W A I T E D. FINALLY a bus pulled up at 10, loaded half the people on, and then some genius figured out that there were WAY too many people waiting there, and another bus pulled up at 10:20 which the rest of us crowded onto. Keep in mind, that bus was supposed to leave at 9:30. So I did finally make it into St. Catharines at almost midnight that night, but in a bit of a sour mood, and freezing because the bus driver clearly thought that the 3-degree weather outside warranted blasting the air conditioning for the entire trip.

The annoying thing is this: WHY the heck did they sell so many tickets? I've come to the conclusion that there is NO logic going on here at all. The ticket guys inside are using these Apple II-E computers, circa 1985, where they just select the destination city and print out a ticket. I am absolutely convinced there is no correlation between how many tickets they sell and how many seats are available on a bus. They just keep taking the money and printing the tickets out, giving NO THOUGHT WHATSOEVER to how many people may be trying to get onto one bus. I mean, COME ON, you guys. There are over 100 people outside lined up for one bus, and you're STILL thinking it's a good idea to sell more tickets for that bus? Wouldn't that tiny customer service gland inside you make you want to actually inform someone that they may be better off coming back in an hour or two when they can actually buy a ticket and step onto the bus for which they bought the ticket? JUST A THOUGHT.

During the bus ride, I had the opportunity to listen to my ipod. I recently picked up two new albums that I'm thoroughly enjoying. Want to know which ones?

Those two. They are solid, solid albums that I'm loving right now. So if you like good music, you may like these. I was going to say a lot more about these two bands and how much I love their music, but I haven't got it in me. I'm going to go stuff myself with more Easter items such as paska (sweet bread covered in icing... mmmm.) Then I'll read a book and fall asleep on the couch. I know you envy me. You too could have an afternoon like this - just do it!