Tense Trip to Halifax

Today I drove to Halifax for my interview for an internship. It was not the best of drives that I’ve ever had and it took much longer than I would have hoped. I got about a half hour out of Charlottetown when the hood of the car popped up out of it’s latch. I pulled over, pushed the hood back down and went back on the road. About 2 minutes later it popped back up. This is when I started to freak out a little. I have heard horror stories of people who’s hoods are blown right off of the front of the car, smash the windshield and fly right over the roof of the car. I slowed down my speed and pulled into the nearest gas station to take a closer look.

I learned that there are 2 latches which hold a hood in place and the main one was not holding for some reason. So I called Chris in panic asking what to do. He informs me that this is a common occurrence for the car (thanks for telling me!) and suggests coming back and borrowing a friend’s car instead. This is not feasible since all of my friends are either, a) off island for the break, or b) have cars because they need them. Then he says, “Oh it’ll be fine! Just drive slowly and that other latch will hold in place.” I decided the sit in the car on the brink of tears and decide what to do. Go back and find another ride? Take the risk and go for it? Abandon the car and hitch a ride from a trucker?

In fear of missing the interview, I got back on the Trans Canada and took the risk. And I was in sheer panic for a good hour before I decided that I was going to have heart failure if I continued to drive the whole way with the hood banging up and down, just waiting to break off and fly off the car. My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty and I was freaking out every time a large bump in the road made the car bounce up and down. I kept my eye out for mechanics or gas stations that had someone to help, but there just wasn’t anything around (especially since it was Sunday). Then I saw a sign for Amherst and thought, “Kaylynne’s grandparents live there and her grandpa works at a gas station. Maybe he can help!” So I called up Kaylynne and told her what was going on and she gave me directions on how to hopefully find her grandpa. But I had taken an exit which did not lead me in the right direction so I drove around in the wrong area for a good 20 minutes before the frustration sunk in and decided to turn around. I did a u-turn in a large driveway where three men were standing around smoking and having some beer. As I was about to pull out of the driveway I decided to get out and ask them if they knew where I could get some help with the hood. Thankfully I managed to pull into the driveway of three very helpful and mechanically knowledgeable bikers who tried their darndest to get that hood to stay in place. After many failed attempts (but really close!) they voted to use some wire to tie the hood closed so I wouldn’t have to worry. I am so grateful for their help. Nothing like some heavily accented Maritimers to step in and lend a hand to a lady in distress. Good ol’ Maritimers. Not once did the hood pop back up and I was able to make the rest of the drive at ease.

So now I’m at the hotel, in my room, letting my brain settle down. I just spent the last hour down in the swanky restaurant drinking Keiths, eating gourmet food and reading my book. It was nice. I felt very grown-up sitting down there alone, enjoying the food and view from the restaurant.

I’m nervous about tomorrow because I don’t know what to expect. Interviews are evil and mean, especially when you’re the kind of person (me) who can never think of the right thing to say until it’s too late. I wish I didn’t fall on my head so much as a kid.

Tip of the Day: The only bad thing about getting a tattoo (apart from the fact that you may hate it in a few years) is the itch. Oh man, the itch sucks!

Once, Twice, Three Times....an Adrienne (who gets the reference?)

Wednesday was a strange day for me, but in a good way, since it involved me experiencing two "firsts" and revisiting an old love.

First, the old love. At 11am I found myself in Infinite Expressions waiting for my turn to get back into the chair I lovingly refer to as the Tattoo Chair. Yes, the addiction lives strong and well in this one. I met with Jeff Wilson nearly 2 weeks ago to discuss getting a large peacock done on my back/side and yesterday was the day we set up for the first round of permanent scarring. And it's beautiful. I might be a little biased but I truly think it's gorgeous. He did the outline and shading this time and in two weeks I go back for the colouring. I'm so excited to see this thing complete because it's so pretty as it is, I can't imagine it being full of vibrant purples, blues and greens. Yay! I haven't told my mom yet though. I'm guessing that a few of you reading this are reaching for the phone right now to call her up and taddle on me. I'll call her this afternoon, I promise. It's not like she's surprised by this kind of thing from me anyway. For about a year straight, nearly every time we talked on the phone she would ask me if I got any new tattoos, and I'd say no. Then she just stopped asking because I guess I wasn't giving her a reason to ask so frequently. I guess it'll have to begin all over again. But it's so pretty! I showed Chris's parents because I was at their house when I had to take the bandaging off. I don't know what they really thought about it, but I think they're second guessing their affection for me :) Who's this weirdo dating our son anyway??

Now onto the two new experiences. So. Ugh. I can't believe I'm going to say this. It feels so dirty and wrong to say these words outloud. There's a slight gag at the back of my throat at the moment. So, I got a cell phone. There, I said it. Am I excited? Nope. It's still sitting on the kitchen table, still in the box, back at the apartment. Moving on.

Second new experience. I had my first cup of Tim Horton's coffee on Wednesday. I know it's a strange thing to write about but I was driving along and I'd just gotten the cell phone so I had this huge sense of disgust and shame running through me, and when I feel like that I usually eat something that's terrible for me because my self loathing is so low as it is I figure I'd might as well eat a few thousand calories to fill the void where my self-love used to be. So I stopped at Timmys for something delicious and ended up getting a coffee with my purchase because I felt cold and wanted to warm up. After I walked out and took my first sip I realized that I had actually never had one before and it was actually quite amazing that I had lived this long without ever buying coffee from Canada's most famous coffee shop. Plus I got to Roll-up-the-rim (but not win). Now that I have successfully consumed my first Tim Horton's coffee, does this make me an official true-blooded Canadian. Finally! I fit in!

Maybe I'll get the Canadian anthem as my ring tone for my new phone.

All In Good Taste

So the past three days that apartment has been scorching hot (literally, I dare you to touch one of the radiators!) This means that the apartment is a less than ideal place to get any homework done. Sure, it's the perfect location for gathering together some people for hot yoga, but other than that it's not the greatest place to hang around in. So I've been packing up my school-work and heading down to the local coffee shops to get my work done. Today there was a man here who I have to tell about.

So there is a gentleman who I see all of the time walking around downtown Charlottetown, all bundled up in warm clothes and asking people for change for a coffee. We all know these people. We see them all of the time and they ask you for change at every chance they see you and every so often you'll reach into your pocket and hand them a quarter or what money you may have left over from your own Skinny Double Mocha Frappuccino, or whatever your latest indulgence may be. After we give them the money we always wonder where that money really goes - to the liquor store or the coffee chop?... Anyway, I see this man every single time I walk through downtown via University Avenue and give him a few coins here and there, and yes, I wonder what he's really saving his coins for. Today I got my answer when I walked into Starbucks and found him sitting here enjoying a warm cup of Pike Place Roast.

All I have to say is that I am impressed that the guy saves up to buy the good stuff. For a fraction of the price he could walk a half a block and go get a Tim Horton's coffee or two buildings over and go to Robin's, but no. He saves for Starbucks. Impressive.

Playing Catch-Up

Don't worry, I am alive! A week for me without writing a post on this blog is pretty huge, I know and am fully aware of my slacking in the blogging department. In my defense, life sucked last week due to assignments and midterms. I learned that one only has to have one assignment and one midterm to have life become horrible. It's dealing with all of the other people in your life who have multiple assignments and multiple midterms that complicates everything.

The number one thing about the semester that I detest is that 2 out of my 3 courses involves group work and there is not a single student I know in the entire world who likes doing group work. Even if you have the most reliable and intelligent people to work with, group work sucks. The hardest part of it all is coordinating schedules so that you can meet with your group members to discuss what's going on and who's doing what and all that crap it entails. Coordinating schedules and planning meetings and sending email after email after email to make sure that you're doing what you should, and does this person like what you wrote here and is this a good way to approach this topic...blah blah blah...I'm getting nauseous just thinking of it. Plus, in both of the courses we have to do assessments on our group members which is just horrible. The hard part is that a lot of the times you're working with your friends and trying have an objective point of view when giving them a mark on what they deserve is so hard!

I hate group work and I think it's unfair for professors to make us do it. I'm a verifiable control-freak which makes it even worse because it's difficult for me to give the power to someone else to do work which will have my name on it as well. It sucks when someone doesn't pull their own weight and their name is on the list for the group and they receive a good mark since the mark represents everyone involved. Or, on the flip side, you receive a bad mark because someone didn't pull their own weight or handed in something which is below your standards. It just sucks all around and I wish there was a way I could ban group work from the university world. Any suggestions on how to make this idea fly?

In the words of Three Days Grace, "Let's start a Riot! A Riot! Let's start a Riot!"

The thing that made this week so difficult for me is that our group in one of my classes had a large assignment due on Friday and the part I volunteered to do was much much larger than I had anticipated and by the time I realized just how huge it was, everyone else was done their parts and had moved onto other class assignments and/or studying for midterms. When they realized just how huge my part was and began asking if I needed help, it had gotten to the point in which I had already done so much that it was near impossible to give the work load to someone else since I knew where my train of thought was and I knew how difficult it would be for someone to step in and pick up where I left off. In short, I had to suck it up and finish the stupid thing. My head nearly exploded a couple of times but I got it done. Unfortunately I completed it with only a day to spare and I had a midterm the next day.

I haven't felt so terrible after writing a test since Biochemistry. That is a bad, bad, bad sign.

On a good note however, I got an interview for the graduate internship program at Capital Health in Halifax! On a bad note, it's a day long workshop in which they set up all of these skill tests and activities to test your capabilities and to demonstrate how brilliant you are. Frankly, I am terrified. No denying it. I am really good at buckling under the pressure for these kinds of things. There's also the large fee it will cost to travel over there, spend the night, stay the day and drive home. Why does money have to rule the world? Sure it's easy to handle when you have lots to spare. Damn starving student status is ruining my life.

On another good note, I am successfully slacking the past couple of days and spent nearly 3 hours in Starbucks catching up with Sam. We've spent zero time together since I moved out of the house back in November and I loved loved loved spending the morning with her today. We're so polar opposite in so many ways which I love. Hopefully she feels that same way as I do. I've missed her.

It's What's For Dinner

So Jess is giving me shit for buying Chris something today (February 14th) when I said that I wouldn't. In my defense, what I bought him is very very not Valentinesy at all and if it were any other day of the year then I would just be noted at being a nice girlfriend. Since he never reads this blog then I can tell all of you what I bought and he'll be none the wiser. I shall allow my readers to tell me if this counts as a Valentine's gift.

Just for the supreme court record, I do not consider this a Valentine's Day gift.

After school today I went to the Superstore and bought him some steaks.

See! It's not a Valentine's Day gift at all! I win!

The poor boy only gets to eat beef whenever he either stops in at McDonalds at 1am with his friends or goes around the corner to the Kozy Korner Cafe for a burger and fries when I'm at work. He barely ever eats beef in my presence out of respect (famed Cowatarian over here) even though it does not bother me at all to see other people eat cow. But it's nice that he respects my choices and doesn't feel the need to eat it when I'm around. I've created a closet burger eater and it's not something I'm hugely proud of. So tonight I shall make him a delicious steak (smothered with fried onions and peppers of course) because he deserves it. It was kind of weird going all the way to the grocery store just to buy steaks. Come to think if it, I've never done it before actually. I've never bought steaks before. Seriously? (I'm racking my brain right now trying to think back throughout my entire grocery store shopping life). Nope, nothing is coming up. Well, I hope he likes his dinner because I feel like a traitor to the bovine community for my purchase today.

PS. Can someone please make or find this dress for me? Not only would I receive an astronomical amount of attention for wearing it but the dirty jokes that I can come up with right now are overwhelming me and I need to be able to share them with someone.

A Year in Review of Mental Health

It's been a year since my last mental breakdown. I laughed out loud when I wrote that opening line just now because it seemed like such a serious announcement to make. Last year when my life was stressing me out beyond what I knew to be even possible, it was not a funny situation to be in that's for sure! I remember it so well too. It was supposed to be a romantic weekend between me and Chris but it ended up being him getting tied up with important business and me crying at every given moment due the intense stress I was dealing with at the time. Third year was the year from hell in terms of school. The courses were tedious and unrelenting. I was busting my butt and barely sleeping due to the tremendous work-load. Work was driving me insane because the boss was giving me full-time hours when I explained time after time that I could only handle about 15 hours a week (I was getting 32-38 a week instead). Plus I was stressing out over trying to find the time and money to fly to BC for a couple days for a job interview. Yep. Life sucked. But, one good mental breakdown later and me quitting my job the next day helped out a little.

It's funny how we are able to pinpoint certain days in our lives such as me being able to remember exactly what happened on this day one year ago. I guess the reason it sticks in my head so well is that I quit my job the day before Valentine's Day, which was nearly the biggest day of the year at my old job and it felt good leaving them in the dust on such a huge selling day for them. Yes, I have issues with my ex-boss and I am more than happy to share them with you.



So today I am in a much better mental state than I was back then. I am in my final year, which is a very very strange situation to be in, and my work load for school has decreased substantially for this last semester. My new job is much easier to deal with since I have great bosses who give me the shifts I ask for and since it's still technically the slow season, business isn't busy enough to give me tons of hours. I am very glad about that. This year however I have a man who lives downstairs who is constantly sounding like he is hacking up a lung. Not that this has too much to do with my mental state but he is hacking right now which is why I bring it up. Lovely eh? I just wanted to share my experiences with everyone else. What can I say, I like to share these kinds of thought provoking moments in my life.

OH! Good news! My parents have officially booked their flights and hotel for their trip over in May! YAY! They are coming on May 5th and staying until I think the 14th or so and I am super excited to be able to show them this side of the country! Notice all of the exclamation marks in this paragraph!?!? I know! All it took was for me to graduate to finally get them over here.

Tip of the Day: Loud music does not fully drown out lung hacking.

Daydreaming the School Work Away

Crunch time is beginning to set in here on campus. The majority of mid-terms and assignments are due next week which means that stress levels are up and enthusiasm is down. I'm lucky that I only have one mid-term and one assignment due next week so my stress load is lower than most of the students in my department. I guess I also have a giant portfolio due for one class which I haven't been thinking enough about. Forgot about that one! For the next week I'm going to just keep my head down, lay low and get as much work done as possible.

Monday is Valentine's Day which means that the radio and stores are bombarding everyone with advertisements about what perfect gift to give that special someone. I made Chris promise that he will not get me anything because I really don't need anything and I don't want him to spend his money on something like a giant stuffed gorilla holding a fluffy red heart. Obviously he would never buy me something like that, but you all get the point. I like to think that we don't need a special day to show each other how we feel because we're pretty good at that anyway, and it's the little things we do on a regular basis that prove this to each other.

But Valentine's Day is about romance and I wanted to list some of my favourite romantic movies but I'm having a heard time thinking of some. Probably my own personal favourite is The Notebook (oh Ryan Gosling how you get me every time), but other than that I'm drawing a blank! This is not good. Here is my goal as of right now. I am going to research some of the most famous romantic movies of all time and watch some of them. I know that I am going to come up with lots of older movies like Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and The Way We Were (embarrassingly enough I have seen none), so I think an old fashioned movie-a-thon is in order. I am likely going to have to wait until the reading break to do this because I won't have much time in the next week, but it will get done!

The only downside to this movie watching idea is that for some time afterward I am probably going to be living in a romance bubble. Every time a chair isn't pulled out for me or someone doesn't start dancing out of pure glee from their over-consuming love might become complete confusion and disappointment for me. This could cause havoc.

Wouldn't life be more fun if we all lived in a pre-planned choreographed world?