Shake like the fire in me

Wow.

I don't know what to say.

The last couple of weeks have been... interesting. Work is... well, work. I don't love it but it doesn't totally suck, for the most part.

What I've found amazing is my social life. I have one. For real.

I'm not exactly a social butterfly. I don't make friends easily. I don't even like talking to most people. In the last couple of weeks I have talked to more random strangers than I have in the last couple of years. I have met some really amazing people and I have had more fun than I can remember having in ages.

More and more I am finding that I made the right choice moving here, that I did what was best for me. I had forgotten what it was like to actually live life and not just go through the motions.

I don't know if the current trend is something that is going to last or if things are going to go back to the way they were in Vancouver, but I will ride this current wave until the bitter end.

It's good to feel so alive.

So

So this is what winter feels like.

What have I done?

I hear the bells

I feel like I just sold my soul.

I caved and told mum I would go home for Christmas. Of course I had a condition. I said I would go home if she helped me rent a car so I could go spend a week in Seattle.

I'm coming home.

I'm looking for the mechanical music museum

My weekend is trying to kill me.

I've run a bajillion errands. I bought a fist full of products to try and stop the horror of dry skin. I bought a new pair of pants for work. I went out for brunch with a new friend (I have a friend!!!)(Yes I'm a dork!!!). I managed to find my way across town to the yarn store and I bought a shit tonne of yarn, all for one project. I took a look at some couches. I went to the grocery store.

I was a productive member of society today.

Now I am going to eat popcorn and watch movies until I can't keep my eyes open.

Everything is now right with the world... I have yarn.

This is going to get really old, really fast, and I am not sorry.

This is the current front runner in my handbag quest. In brown, not red.

http://tinyurl.com/p3ax9

Kate Spade makes lovely things.

When everything was new

Normally around this time of year I am busy planning my birthday. This year my birthday plans are firmly in the hands of my mum. So instead of sitting and planning my birthday I've decided to pick out my birthday present. Normally my birthday present is a trip, usually to Washington, one year it was Quebec City, but since my trip is already settled, I had to come up with something else.

My birthday presents to myself must always follow strict rules:

1. It must be something somebody else would never get me
2. It must be something I really, really, really want
3. It must be something completely impractical

Since my impending birthday is my 30th, I figured I should get myself something really, extra impractical. Something stupidly expensive. Something I am going to love.

I've decided to buy myself a handbag.

Anybody that knows me knows that I love handbags. I have many, many handbags. What most people don't know is that I have been a very, very, very good girl and I have managed to not purchase a single handbag in the last year. I have managed to stick to what I have.

I am currently eyeing a Coach bag, but I plan on pouring myself into the search for the perfect, frivolous, impractical, most beautiful handbag, the way I normally pour myself into planning my birthday trip.

And then I woke up to a phone call

This week I have managed to actually leave the house for not just one but two social occasions, do all my laundry (folded and put away even), make a new friend, find a good bar, find good beer, not get lost even once, get a good haircut, decorated my office with the smiling faces of my friends and I've started to feel a little less homesick.

Thanksgiving weekend is now upon me. I have no plans. I will spend my weekend snuggled with Bill reading or watching movies. Getting some well deserved rest.

Next week I start work on getting into running condition and I've put together a pretty decent swim training plan. I am also going to go out hunting for a new bike and an indoor trainer. I'm not about to spend my winter in the gym. If I can't ride outside I'll at least ride inside on my own bike.

I may even bake some cookies. I feel the need to bake something.

I can't give you everything you want but I can give you everything I've got.

I wanted to walk through the empty streets

Last night I went to see Junior Boys play at Broken City. It was both great and sucky.

Things that sucked:

I was there by myself
The gross amount of smoke that filled the bar
The opening band was a pain in the ass
There was too much sound for such a tiny place
The show started late

Things that were awesome:

Junior Boys performing even though the lead singer was sick as all hell and they still sounded good
Good beer
Having an interesting conversation with an interesting couple
Broken City is 4 blocks from my house


I'm glad I went. It was good for me to get out of the house but I don't think I'll be going out to too many shows until after the smoking ban goes into place. It's just too gross. I couldn't breathe and now my stuff smells disgusting. It's just not worth it.

I didn't get to hear Junior Boys perform "In The Morning" which is what I really, really, really wanted to hear. I only got to listen to about 4 songs before I had to leave. The combination of smoke and midnight were too powerful.

The venue is way too small for the sheer wall of sound they have. The sound could have filled a room twice the size and still been a little too big.

It's interesting to see that even though I've changed cities, scenesters are the same no matter where you go. 99% of the girls there were dressed in skinny jeans, and the boys all wore the same hats. I've decided that I need new glasses because when I looked around I realized that I was very, very happy I had decided to wear my contacts because everybody, boys and girls, had glasses just like mine or very, very similar. Time for a change.

Today I put up a bunch of pictures I culled from my vast digital library of photos. I had them printed up this weekend. I can now look up at my wall of photos and feel like I'm not so far from home. I have a special little section for all the furry kids out there. My office is still devoid of the art that should be up but at least my filing cabinet is covered in pictures of home.

This is the kind of thing that I get excited about.

Tonight is a thrilling night of laundry.

I'm living on the edge here people.