November 28, 2006

Things I Can Do:

A challenge from Starlin created the following list. I doubt that it is extensive but instead of focusing on what I can do, I'm going to go focus on what I should do, aka my world religions assingment. If you have your own blog, make a list or throw one into the comments box. What can you do?

* * *

Read a ridiculous volume of books in a year and
Clean other people's houses with a smile on my face and
Speak English, French, some Spanish, some German and some Persian and
Be a shoulder to cry on or laugh on or just hit and
Take care of five medically fragile children by myself and
Play the piano and the clairnet and
Cross-stitch and
Believe in my own mortality and
Believe I'm invincible and
Convince anyone to buy any book and
Write inspiring letters or cards and
Multi-task and
Talk to children so they feel like adults and
Not fly into homicidal rages when dealing with stupid people and
Strip on stage and
Proof-read other people's essays and
Write long essays on almost any topic and
Sing beautifully and
Sing horribly when I feel like mocking the music and
Anticipate tunes and words in songs I've never heard and
Use makeup to enhance other people's features properly and
Share and
Dance like I mean and
Dance like a professional and
Cook chicken and rice and
Create beautiful scrapbooks of photos and
Find the perfect quote for any occasion and
Drive illegaly and
Organize anything into a more efficient system and
Make people laugh and
Make people cry and
Pose for photos (clothed and otherwise) and
Jump with my eyes closed, not checking if someone is going to catch me...

November 27, 2006

Letter to the Editor

((I wrote this at work Sunday afternoon and plan to send it to the editorials at the Journal as soon as I have a minute to spare. But seeing as it probably will never be printed and many of my readers are outside of Edmonton anyways, I wanted to post it here for your viewing pleasure.))

Working in a retail store around the Christmas holidays can be one of the greatest exercises in frustration and disillusionment for a, generally happy-go-lucky, university student. Since mid-to-late October I have watched hundreds of people come through my store, spending copious amounts of money on books and toys they feel required to buy, often for children of friends or family they barely know. While I commend their decision to give gifts that are more lasting and likely to make an impact on a kid's childhood memories that this year's Tickle-Me-Elmo or Furby equivalent, when these shoppers are unable to provide me with an age or set of interests for the children in question, I can't help but wonder about the commercialization that now surrounds Christmas. I have never been a particularly religious person so I can't imagine how devout Christians must feel to see the birth of their prophet bastardized with candy canes and stocking stuffers, but I know how I feel. I feel like I'm watching a train wreck, most days; as though I can not tear my eyes away from these people rushing around, stressed and freaking out, trying to accomplish so much in such a short period of time. People have become so obsessed, it seems, with having a picture-consumer-perfect Christmas that they have forgotten that Christmas is about love, peace, family, friends and happiness.

This afternoon a gentleman came into my store and spent $100 on brand-new books and toys to be taken to 'Santa's Anonymous.' All he asked was that I picked out books for him that would make some kid's day on Christmas morning. I was touched by the fact that this man would care deeply enough to spend, what seems a lot of money for a student on a budget, on people he knew nothing about and had no connections to. As cheesy as it may sound, I did feel as though my faith in humanity and in the idea of Christmas was being slowly rebuilt. I spend much of my life wishing people would care more about the world around them, especially in the face of new global crises arising on a daily basis but am sadly disappointed again and again.

Mr. M. Merrifield, thank you. With only one month left until the "big day," I feel much better about facing the onslaught on customers I expect to see before then. I can almost guarantee that I will become frustrated and disappointed in the system again before Christmas arrives but, for now, I will be holding onto the idea that there are still good people in the world. Merry Christmas…

November 24, 2006

Ways To Wake Yourself Up In The Morning

After applying tiger balm liberally to your quite ailing knee and washing your hands to remove it (you aren't stupid afterall!), go to the bathroom and put in your contact lenses. Come on, I dare you....

Isn't it funny how something like menthol sticks to your pores. I know I'm laughing.

November 16, 2006

But This Is Not Millwoods!

No offense, Star, but these are not the sorts of stories that I'm suppose to be able to tell. I live in a quiet, residential neighbourhood on the southside, near several schools, where not much happens. I mean when the meth house down the street was gutted and the residents arrested, that was a big deal - we'd never seen anything like that on our street. So I shouldn't come home from Myrna's Stitch 'n' Bitch night to find my brother looking through the snow outside our house trying to find the bullet that was shot at our house!! Jade was sitting at the dining room table when she heard a crashing noise behind her and figured it was probably just another stupid bird hitting the giant picture window. Until she realized that that other noise was breaking glass.... It's a single bullet hole, not even all the way through the glass, but I'm kind of freaked out. I mean, what the hell? If our house was the intended target, then why? And if it wasn't, then also why? It's not like our house is particularily interesting looking - I often describe it as the little shoebox next to the beautiful porched house - or has offensive signs hanging in the window. We don't even have real curtains, for pete's sake! Just burgundy bedsheets tacked up across the window to keep the sun from creating glare on the tv screen. The whole thing is creepy and wierding me out. Which is great considering it's 1:00am in the morning and I /have/ to be at my 10:00am class tommorow to hand in my term paper. Gah!

And here I was, wanting to write my next blog all about my adventures with crocheting and the sad realization that I was not born a natural hooker...

November 13, 2006

The Better Part of Valour

When we went to Bermuda we thought we'd come home dying to blog, with a thousand stories to tell. Now that we're back, though, I find all I have to say is this:

What happens in Bermuda, stays in Bermuda.


Oh. My. God.

November 01, 2006

Never Settle For The Path Of Least Resistance

In a bit over three hours, Star and I will be boarding a plane and flying to Bermuda. We return late the evening of the 7th. I'm nervous, I won't lie, but excited. I'm not sure what the hell we were thinking when we came up with this plan but I suspect that it had a lot to do with, "Oooh, hot capoeiristas!" Or something equally intellectual.

And since I have just a few more minutes for the Crazy Monkey Ninja and Bunny arrive to drive us out to the airport, some things that have been happening in my life for you to ponder and me to elaborate on later...

8 1/2 Things, In Brief - a list by Pixie
1. I did not fail any of my midterms. And I got an A- on my first English paper. Yay for still having a brain!
2. There may or may not be a boy. Well, I mean there /is/ a boy, whether or not there is a something there remains to be seen. But it makes me smile and smiling is good.
3. Re-did my hair again today. It has been my experience that redheads have more fun - this bodes well for my trip.
4. My very favourite Trixie is coming to spend our layover in Toronto with us on Tuesday and I cannot wait to see her! Now, if I can just figure out a way to kidnap her and bring her back to Alberta with me...
5. Work has been alternatingly stressful, frustrating and boring as all hell. I've decided that I object to having to organize Christmas books in October but I had a lot of fun putting in the big toy orders for the holidays. Mmmm, new fuzzy puppets to play with. Did I mention that Folkmanis is coming out with an emu finger puppet? Life occasionally rocks.
6. On a less positive note, with four blankets on my bed I am still waking up freezing every single morning. It's the big thing I miss about having a long-term relationship - there was always a built in heater with my bed. Sleeping alone sucks on so many different levels.
7. I actually have people I talk to in all of my classes and don't feel completely isolated and alone on campus most of the time.
8. I got to spend Baby D's birthday curled up on the couch with him, watching Battlestar and eating ice cream. Well, I ate ice cream, he ate formula, but it was all very sweet and soft and cuddly. I love my boo...
and a 1/2. Two words: Red lingerie. Let's just say I somehow ended up getting a birthday present for Raven's birthday. But really, I think we can safely say that /everyone/ got a present that night.

And I'm out of time. Away I go. See you all in a week!!
--Pixie