Merry Christmas!

It's getting to be that time, folks! For all three people who read my blog, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas (I know I'm three days early, but I work full time and will probably not post anything on Christmas Day - hell, I don't post anything USUALLY... so, go figure lol).

It's tough this year. I thought I'd be alright not being home considering my family is split up in three provinces this holiday season. I guess knowing my Mom is by herself in Newfoundland and My Dad, brother and sister are all together in Halifax stings a little. It's not my fault that they chose to be away from each other for Christmas, but it just further justifies my reasoning that Christmas in my family is no longer what it once was. We may not be small children anymore, but I firmly believe that Christmas should be spent with family. ALL of your family.

Well, that won't be happening this year. Mike's family is based on one island, mine on another. And to throw a bigger wrench into it, half of them moved to Nova Scotia. Sigh. Why can't our lives consist of the big italian families you see in the movies where everyone comes to Big Mama's house for dinner once a week?

Some people aren't close to their families - well I guess my umbilical cord, while quite streched, hasn't been severed yet. I'm frightfully close to stomping my foot to the floor and whining that I want my mother. What a baby I am.

I know one things for sure. Regardless of where Mike and I are this time next year, I will be taking vacation and going wherever my mother is.

Quotes I live by

As I have heard, quoting does not mean you are an intelligent person. However, I feel that the sign of intelligence is whether you actually follow the advice of intelligent people. If you can discern the bullshit from the genuine words of wisdom, I give you kudos, you're on your way.

Here are a few quotes that I either live by personally, or that I find so cute/adorable/hilarious that I wanted to share them with you [all 2 of my followers ;)] Maybe you can read these, and bring them into your own daily activities. I tried to pare it down a bit, but sorry if there are quite a few!

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. -
Confucius

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses. - Confucius

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. - Oscar
Wilde

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. - Oscar
Wilde

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise
they'll kill you. - Oscar Wilde

How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but
by degrees. - William Shakespeare

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind. - William
Shakespeare

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely
players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his
time plays many parts...
- William Shakespeare, "As You Like It", Act 2
scene 7

Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the
people. - William Butler Yeats

A friend is a second self. - Aristotle

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it. - Aristotle

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession
of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. - Jane Austen, Pride
and Prejudice, first line

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;


Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

What did I do?

I am a firm believer in communication. Heck, I am in the profession of communicating. So I try to keep up with all of my friends. It's hard, I admit. I've got so many wonderful people in my life that I try to hold dear, but my arms are only so long and so strong. So I know that sometimes people slip through the cracks.

But the wonderful thing about most of my friends is that they understand that I have a full time job and work crazy hectic hours. There are certain friends who I can pretty much ignore for weeks at a time and then pick up where we left off like time had melted away between us.

So, that being said, I'm really trying to do the same in regards to the busy, hectic lives of some of my friends. Note the main word: trying.

I'm failing miserably.

There are two people whom I love more than anything in the world living their lives - working, relationships with family and significant others. I have tried, tried, and tried some more to get in touch with them. I text, I write on walls, and I call cell phones that never get picked up. After a month of this, I am starting to get a little discouraged. Have I done something wrong? Was there some little Miss Manners taboo that I crossed the last time I saw either of them?

I feel... so left out being up here. I know it's worth it -- the job, the experience. But sometimes I selfishly just want to tell the world fuck off, and move back home. But right now, I don't even know if I'd feel comfortable there, either.

What gives? I wish I could ask -- but no one seems to be listening to me.

Ottawa, so far

Well, I have been living in the Capital for three and a half months. It's getting close to four, and it's given me the chance to really settle in and relax.

I've noticed a few things in this lovely town of mine.

1. Politics rule conversations, mail, and basically everything in this town. Am I surprised by this? Not in the least - I knew I was moving to the political hub of Canada. But did I realize how petty and childish polititians really were before I was immersed into it? Not a clue. As a public servant, I almost feel like a babysitter to the MPs on the Hill. It's embarassing, really.

2. Ottawans could not drive if their lives depended on it. They run red lights constantly; they tailgate; they agressively push themselves into other lanes. I know people say that if they don't drive agressively, others will take over the road and they'll never get a chance. Now, tell me if I'm crazy, but I have a silly little idea. It's called being curteous. Ever hear of the term polite? Here is a good example - someone wants to merge onto the highway. People in the lane closest to them, move into the other so they can get in. Then get back into the lane when you have a chance. Here's another one - don't run red lights. You want to kill someone?

Those are the main points right now. I'm sure as I live here longer, I'll notice more. But right now, I'm just content to go to work Monday to Friday (and sometimes Sundays) and save up money for my wedding in July. :D

My New Life

Okay, so it's been... 5 months since I've updated this blog. And I know I've epically failed on that part. But I'm back, and hopefully with my new life, I'll be able to update regularly.

What is this new life you speak of? Well, it is the life of the Graduated. For good. Finally.

Thank f*cking god.

After seven, long, hard, sweat producing, tear inducing years, I have finished school. With me I take away a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English Literature and minoring in Russian Literature and Language (so basically I've got a 75% Lit degree :D) from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Along with that, I will have the golden nugget - the degree that has landed me where I am right now. My Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University - three years in the making, it's been a long (and seemingly never-ending) journey to get it completed. I've had numerous mental strains and breakdowns, and have needed to recover my nerves in the beautiful bounty that is my homeland of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I landed a job 4 weeks before I graduated from the Mount. Prior to that, I was freaking out about jobs, relationships and how much it would cost to move back to Newfoundland to live off the bounty of my parents, so to speak. Nothing better than the familial dole.

Needless to say, that didn't need to happen. I received an email from Ottawa; Citizenship and Immigration Canada, to be exact. With a moving allowance and a skip in my step, Mike and I ventured onward to the National Capital to follow my dreams of working in the public service. I don't know why it's my dream, maybe because I feel that working for Canadians in helping the government's day-to-day activities is better than putting money in a multi-billion multi-national corporation who is only concerned with the bottom line and not the benefit and welfare of its workforce, or citizens. Call me optimistic.
We moved up here in July - we've been settled away for 2 months and we both enjoy it. Mike's working for Pepsi, and getting trimmer and more muscular by the day. It's an added perk for me! :D

Being out of school is... difficult. I miss the close connection I had with my friends. Amanda, Dee, Justin and Sarah are always in my thoughts as I had to leave them behind to start my life. I wish it could have been different, or that they were small enough to fit into my pocket or luggage and I could stow them away with me up here. It was tough moving from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia three years ago; moving for a second time and leaving behind more people that I truly love and care about is absolutely heartbreaking. I spend my evenings on the telephone for hours, calling people and seeing what they've been doing. It's amazing how much can happen in 8 weeks time in someone's life!

I can't even describe how difficult it is being away from my family - i.e. my brother and his wife. I had the luxury of knowing Curtis, Jenn and Rebecca were only a few kilometres away and I could see them whenever I had the time. Now vacations need to be planned months in advance, and I will be the Aunt that Rebecca won't recognize and will hardly know. The two days we spent at my brother's before hitting the road, I put Rebecca down for the night. I remember rocking her, with her head on my shoulder and I just couldn't stop thinking of how much I will miss doing it.

Maybe I'll have to get one of my own ;) Just kidding.

So, onto happier topics. I'll be heading home to Newfoundland in 3 ½ weeks time for Lindsey and Brogan's wedding. Yay! As I write them, I'm currently breaking in my new brown shoes that I will be wearing with my bridesmaids dress. Well, my shoes are breaking in my feet, more like. But either way, no pain, no gain! After that lovely interlude, I come back to Ottawa for 4 days, and then I'm off again to Halifax, to get my degree. I think it will really sink in around then. One of my best friends will be married, and I'll have my degree. Life is continuing on its path, but I wonder how on god's green earth did I get so far up it? Last I knew, I was meandering through it, taking my time, and I'm suddenly on top of one of the most important milestones of my life.

What's next? Mike and I will be getting a new car, getting married, saving for a downpayment on a house, and moving within the next 2 years. After that, I guess it'll be baby-making time.

I think I'm getting gray hair already. My Peter-Pan syndrome has been proverbially thrown out the door, into the cold, to wander off and find some other unsuspecting adolescent that doesn't want to grow up.

I don't have time for him anymore, I've got to get back to work.

I'm Clearly Useless

I've been off school for nearly 3 weeks and have not posted once on my blog. Well, that changes today!

Let's take a stroll through the last few months of my life, shall we?

January

• Started working back at Shoppers Drug Mart for my sister; school is starting slow, but beginning to speed up slowly and surely.
• Working at Shoppers reiterates my loathing for retail, and I will never work there again.
• Working at Shoppers brings back my repetitive stress injury in my shoulders, and I can't move my arms much above my waist level after working for 4 hours.
• Working at Shoppers brings back at a heightened level, my back injury which causes me to miss shifts and make my employer (i.e. my brother and sister-in-law) believe that I am lazy and have a poor work ethic. In reality, I'm in agony most of these days because I cannot sit, stand or lay down for any more than 15 minutes at a time.

Summary of January: School is OK, job not so much but I need money.

February

• Stillll working. Loves it b'y.
• Attempted to scheme to get my friend to Halifax by paying for a plane ticket to get her up. It would have been epic had all parties been able to agree, and by all parties, I mostly mean my mother.
• School feels like it's .2 of a second from world-ending Apocalypse.
• Mid term break happens - Mike and I go to Saint John to pick up his new truck because he began working for a new company at this time. The recession is affecting everyone, apparently. It's no longer just for seeing on the television, it's affecting my personal life at this point.
• In Saint John I experience the loveliness that it is. Saint John gives me pleasure being there, looking at the architecture, having the big city feeling and being so close to the U.S. border and yet being so isolated from the rest of Canada. Plus, not everything is in French like the rest of New Brunswick.
• I also experience the joys of sleeping in a King Sized bed... my Queen upon returning to Halifax seemed like a twin. I dream of the day when I can have my own Californian King. The bigger, apparently, really is the better.
• I rock out on two mid terms after a seriously stressful study session with my friend, Dee. A+!!

Summary: School is beginning to kick me in the ass, I'm still working but I had the opportunity to take a small holiday.

March

• The world-ending Apocalypse has occurred - project after project is due - all with equal amounts of work needed to be done and none that can be pushed to the back burner. Classes have become optional at this time in hopes that I can get the assignments done. My hair is greying, I'm having panic attacks, and my poor, unsuspecting fiance is getting the brunt of my wrath.
• I pray for the sweet release of death with school and work, and just want it all to be over.
• Mental breakdown number 256 of my life occurs, and I call my "Mommy" asking her to bring me home after the semester.
• Mental breakdown number 257 happens when I realize I'm going home for 3 weeks... and did not request the time off from Shoppers.
• Biggest argument of my life with my brother happens, and mental breakdowns 258 thru 265 happens in a 5 hour period. My poor fiance has no idea how to deal with a hysterical woman.
• I have the biggest mouth ever when under the influence of alcohol. That's all I'm going to say, I dare not say more.

Summary: I hate school.

April

• The world returns to its blissful state, but only after breakdowns of 265 to 270 in a six day period.
• I nearly got a job. But then I didn't (271).
• I came home, and life was great.

So that brings us back to present day. I'm heading back to Halifax on Saturday and I have to put my head back into the whole "responsible adult" thing instead of just lazing at home and watching movies all day. I rather enjoy this no responsibility thing, though. I have to get my summer tires put on, spring clean my car and my apartment, and more than likely work 40 hours. Joy. Bliss.

I have not seen Mike in 19 days, and surprisingly, I haven't been pining away for him like a lovesick teenager like I thought I would be. BUT - I have gotten insanely addicted to Disney sugarpop teen sensations like Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers... maybe I'm channelling my loneliness in different ways? God knows I WOULD NOT be doing this if I were in Halifax. My teenybopper revives itself with a passion when I come back to the island lol.

Anyway, I'll try to post more later!

Heather

Update on the fact that I am indeed living

Oh my GOD! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve posted on EITHER of my blogs. Although, I have started a new one. I can hear my faithful audience of 2 people gasp and say, “If you can’t keep up with two, WHY HAVE ANOTHER?!” Well my little friends, it’s simple. It’s for school. I’m doing a degree in Public Relations at the wonderful Mount Saint Vincent University (Go there, it's really great!) and I'm entering into my last two semesters after enduring a hellish 2 and a half years of classes and work terms and living my life in 4 months increments. I'm soon going to be able to live my life the way I want.

Oh boy, I got off on a tangent. My point - yes. I am taking a class called Advanced Public Relations Writing and it's really into social media (i.e. BLOGS). My professor is probably the only one in the faculty that I know of that is up to the times when it comes to social media. As a future PR practitioner, social media will be a massive component in the way PR is done in the world and I can see it - so can she. Our blogs will be where we have our "hard copy" of our writings. So far I've posted one - a narrative of a day on the job. I chose when I worked for CBSA, because it really had the most varied and interesting experiences. I mean, who can claim that they've met a porn star, let alone hit on you… ulgh. That still disgusts me. No Mario-sex for me, thank you!

So, an update on the last month of my life - well, I'm OUT OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND -THANK *&^%$#@ GOD! It's not that I didn't enjoy where I was - I just wish I had more friends up there. Also, there's nothing to do on that island. The whole freaking thing just shuts down during the winter. It's nuts.

My work term went really well - I was very pleased with what I accomplished and if I could, I'd transport the entire office from Charlottetown to Halifax or St. John's and I'd work there for the rest of my life in perfect harmony.

Christmas was hectic!! We started on PEI - travelled to Halifax for Christmas Dinner and then 2 days later we headed to Newfoundland. The travelling over was great - the roads were clear and the boat was a very smooth crossing.

The way back, however. Was Pure. Utter. HELL!

We had a snow storm from Corner Brook to Port-aux-Basques and what should have taken two hours to drive, took four. We had white out conditions and going through the Wreckhouse Site felt like we were in the middle of a hurricane. Mike refers to the white outs in this way:

You couldn't see the hand in front of your face. IN THE CAR!

The boat ride was horrific. Chairs and plates were flying across the ship and it took 7 hours docked on the wharf before we even LEFT. I thought I was going to die and poor Mike got seasick. It was terrible.

The drive back to Halifax was freezing rain - we considered getting a hotel in TRURO because it was that bad.

We made it alive though, to which I am eternally grateful for my fiance's talents and the fact that he is a professional driver!!

Anyway, I'll post more later!!!

I'm alive, really!

I'll post more when my life stops being so topsy turvy. Lots to talk about though!

Love,
Heather