A touch of culture

I am going to the art gallery to buy a painting. Yes that is right. I had the grand idea to buy my grandparents some art for Christmas. Mom said my very sophisticated idea was an answer to prayer because she was not sure what nice gift to give. Hmm. I am glad I am so refined and polished.

Of course, I can not really take too much credit for the idea because we were desperately trying to think of something to get my boss for our Christmas party last week and one of the other guys in the office said "Why not a painting?" He truly is cultured. He even makes his own fancy wine. Although the members of the Freshwater Biodiversity lab I worked for in university went together and we bought a wine making kit for the lab. My co-lab mate and friend Kristy used to have wine tasting parties where everyone brought truly fancy wines plus we would sample our lab's newest creation. So perhaps I am slightly cultured. Also, the ecologically-based Biology post grads (and us lowly Honours students) often met on Saturday nights to taste fine wines, knit and then go salsa dancing. Actually, I can not tell if that is for or against my arguement of sophistication. Sadly though, I think the true answer lies in the fact that I felt the need to brag about buying art and participating in home-made wine making. I am truly not cultured am I? Sigh.

Seven things to do before I die

While I think about my decision I shall take a quiz. Ah, the stress relief of a quiz.

Seven things to do before I die:
1. The West Coast Trail
2. Learn sign language
3. Secure a husband
4. Have a baby (or two or three)
5. Take a mechanics course
6. Be one of the people that answers the phones on Telemiracle
7. Live in a foreign country

Seven things to do before I die (when I was an idealistic teenager):
1. Get married
2. Become a doctor
3. Go skydiving (hooray! I did it!)
4. Become a missionary
5. Find out my spiritual gifts
6. Backpack through Europe
7. Learn sign language

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Fix my computer
2. Wear a size 2 (or 4 or 6, etc.)
3. Not be emotional after watching a romantic comedy
4. Sit still! I am such a fidgeter.
5. Not sing along to tunes in the car
6. Read Ernest Hemmingway's "For whom the Bell Tolls" (and by gosh I have tried - I always fall asleep)
7. Speak Japanese

Seven things that attract me to my spouse: (Us singletons were supposed to change it to 7 things that I will likely be attracted to or admire in the opposite gender)
1. A desire and ambition to have a family
2. How he will (hopefully) make me feel protected and safe
3. How he finds me amusing
4. How he makes me laugh
5. How he's active and excellent at motivating me to be as well.
6. His voice
7. His gaze

Seven things I say most often:
1. "Fair enough"
2. "Excellent"
3. "Good morning. This is [company name]. Shannon speaking."
4. "Ky" (pause) "HAS A BUM". Except I don't say it - I sing it.
5. "Yeah, no..."
6. "Today, I really wish I had a boyfriend." Most often said in a whining voice to Ky after watching anything remotely sappy on tv.
7. "Sigh."

Seven books I love:
1. Watership Down
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (and the rest of them)
3. Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Aspen Parkland
4. Blue Castle
5. Christy Millar
6. Bridget Jones Diary
7. The Gospel of John

Seven movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Bridget Jones Diary
2. You've Got Mail
3. The Little Mermaid
4. The Sound of Music
5. The Pelican Brief
6. Elf
7. Centre Stage

Too much fun! Still haven't made the decision (see previous blog entry). Sigh.

How to make a decision?

I need to make one but I do not know how. It is about something that I am trying to decide whether to do or not. I see both good and bad things no matter which decision I make. Do I put myself out there, or play it safe? It is something that I have been thinking about for awhile. I even have been reading Proverbs trying to find wisdom about it. All I have so far that pertains is that it is best to be truthful but not rash and that I should gather my thoughts but let God make the decision. The only thing I feel really strongly about is that I should be making the decision soon. But as to what that decision should be, well, I have no clue.

Vague huh?

Polluting

The guy finally arrived to let me into my car after an hour and a half. So much useless pollution all because I am a moron!

And all the way back again...

So, I'm back from Weyburn. And, here I sit. Waiting for the towing guy to get here. That is right, I left my keys in my car which is not only locked but also running. Sigh. At least my office mates got a laugh. I need them to invent a lock that requires only a finger print to get into a car. Actually, I am sure they already invented it, I really just need them to make it readily availible. I wish I knew who them was so I could ask.

To Weyburn (There and part way back again)

I will resist the urge to take a bazillion quizzes this evening. They are so addicting. I thought it was funny that my subconcious (according to the quiz people) was thinking about monkeys the other night. That is the only quiz I will take tonight. Let us see what my subconcious is pondering this time...

..... (Taking quiz) .......

Yikes!!! I'm thinking about guns and ammo! I prefer monkeys.

Okay no more quizzes. Quickly though, since I don't know how to do links yet (I learn technology slowly) if you want to find out what you are thinking about in the recesses of your mind, go here:

http://quizilla.com/users/pollywantacracker/quizzes/What%20are%20you%20subconciously%20thinking%20about%3F/

Anyway, have I ever been having a winter adventure! I was supposed to do a mould assessment in Weyburn on Tuesday (3.5ish hours from home) and the weather was just not good and so I decided I valued my life more than my job and postponed it. But I am a restless creature so the next day when I was bored at work (since I was supposed to be away, I had nothing planned to do) I decided to brave the roads and I ventured out. It was still a little scary in my trusty Sunfire but I went 80 clicks the whole way and survived to Regina (2/3 of the way). I stayed at my favourite hotel with underground parking and had a nice visit with my pal Kristen. She was one of my best friends in university - we bonded over the horror that is Physics. The subject is very interesting it just requires SO MUCH work and to do it all by yourself is practically impossible. But we got a big group of people together and we would spend one night every week after the tutorial doing the assignment together. That class was seriously the basis of my social life for the next 4 years and I am so glad I took it. Ahh, Kristen and Courtney, how I pine for our good times. Digression ended.

So, I got up this morning and finished my trip to Weyburn, rushed through the mould assessment (I completely ran out of time) and drove back to Regina. The roads were okay to Regina but according to the Highway Hotline (I am a complete dork and check it about 3 times a trip) there were "slippery and icy roads, drifting snow, swirling snow, reduced visibility." I do not like to drive when the hotline has picked all possible items that cause crappy driving. So here I am sitting in a hotel room. I ordered a nice herbed cod with rice and veggies, continued reading a book and watched a little Letterman. So far, the trip has been good. Once it is no longer dark tomorrow I will feel much better about tackling the "slippery and icy roads, drifting snow, swirling snow, reduced visibility."

Good night.

journey into my subconcious

I took a quiz and I was thinking about monkeys. I deleted the picture because it was doing weird things to my blog. If you want to take the same quiz to find out what you are thinking about, go here:

http://quizilla.com/users/pollywantacracker/quizzes/What%20are%20you%20subconciously%20thinking%20about%3F/

cottage cheese - hahahahahaha

You're Anne of Green Gables!

by L.M. Montgomery

Bright, chipper, vivid, but with the emotional fortitude of cottage
cheese, you make quite an impression on everyone you meet. You're impulsive, rash,
honest, and probably don't have a great relationship with your parents. People hurt
your feelings constantly, but your brazen honestly doesn't exactly treat others with
kid gloves. Ultimately, though, you win the hearts and minds of everyone that matters.
You spell your name with an E and you want everyone to know about it.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Journey into the cupboard

I had a wonderful weekend. I went on a fairly major road trip and could not have asked for better weather or road conditions (Although I only recommend spending 22 hours of a 48 hour trip in a car if you are with really fun people - like I was). I got to visit with an old friend who has a 6 week old. I was sitting there feeding the little angel and I realised that I had never fed a baby before! Never in my 24 years can I remember doing such a task. And to be honest, I do not even usually hold babies. And I have not really been around that many of them. And I tend not to be that excited when everyone is talking about how sweet or cute a new baby is. So I was terribly surprised this weekend to find myself almost falling for the little one. I held her whenever possible and even got excited about getting my very first burp out of a baby. And the next day I started looking at the parents with young kids in church and feeling a twinge of "I want that someday soon" feeling. I am glad too - I always knew I would want kids someday and I hoped that at some point it would be something that I felt instead of just knew.

So yes, wonderful weekend. And upon returning (just before midnight) from the super fun car ride, I opened the door to my house as any normal exhausted person would do. All I wanted was sleep. But instead the fumes hit me immediately. The house stank. I looked quickly in my cooler to see if I had left something perishable from my last work trip. I had not. I could not quite place the smell so I unpacked the car, checked my email and basically did everything I could to put off searching for the smell. It was the kind of smell that I could tell with certainty was going to require some cleaning effort. Finally when I could put if off no longer I went to my kitchen (which I had cleverly deduced was the source of the smell) and all of the sudden my socks were wet. I looked on the floor and immediately it clicked. Vinegar. Now, I hate the smell of vinegar. When I walk into a washroom or a hotel room that has been cleaned with vingear I want to leave. I followed the vinegar trail to the lazy susan in the corner and found my entire shelf in a pool of vinegar from a bottle that had tipped over and leaked. Yuck. I threw out all my food that was not in plastic or tin and sopped up the standing vinegar. I tore all the labels off the cans (and in my haste did not think to mark them - eating at my house should be an adventure for the next couple of months) and washed anything I could save. The paint was bubbling on the shelf so I wiped most of it off. I dumped the remaining vinegar down the drain (even though there really was not anything wrong with it - it was an emotional reaction not a logical one). Then I took the garbage out, threw the towels and my socks in the washing machine and Mr. Cleaned and then bleached the shelves, floor and anything that could possibly smell of vinegar. I collapsed into bed almost in tears. What a horrible way to end a wonderful weekend.

I think the smell has finally subsided but it will be awhile before I will buy that stuff again.

C'mon it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together...

I needed a pick me up today. I didn't even realise quite how much.

Did I mention that I love Christmas? Last year I felt like I missed it because I was working so much I didn't have time to enjoy the season. This year I am determined to catch a little more Chrismas cheer and tonight on my way home from the gym I saw Santa in a sleigh. He was smiling and waving so I opened my window and yelled "Merry Christmas Santa!" I was practically bursting with holiday spirit. Then I noticed carollers and hot chocolate stands and that was it! I parked my car and walked over, got some apple cider, sang a song and went on the sleigh. It was comfy cozy and wonderful - just what I needed. Oh, and there was a totally hot cop directing traffic too. Sigh.

Now I've turned on a Christmas CD, started some laundry, will do the dishes and pack for my excursion to Calgary tomorrow to see my friend Jess. I am so very excited.

I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas day on Christmas day...

Seasons greetings everyone!

Final Report - 4th time

Well, here goes our 4th attempt. Although this time we only had to make minor changes (still resulting in hundreds and hundreds of sheets of paper being printed off). I will take it to the courier first thing tomorrow morning.

Unfounded anger

Have you ever been right ticked off at someone for something that totally was not their fault? I answer a resounding yes to that question. We have this new guy at work and yesterday I just wanted to throttle him. Violent, I know. When he arrived I was given the option of moving from cubicleland into my very own office. I took it. But, it was 9 weeks ago that this occured and I have been out of the office for six of them and speeding my way through 120 reports for the rest of them. Thus, I hadn't had a chance to set myself up.

So yesterday and today I have finally taken the time to settle in. New guy had moved into my old deskspace and I had left some of my belongings on the shelves and walls over there. He is a hoarder. He has been slowly collecting my thumb tacks, dry erase markers, etc. He was even using my water bottle as a book end. All of these things added to my irritation but the kicker was the shelves. When I first began this job 2 years ago, they asked me if there was anything that I would like to kind of get settled. I said that as a matter of fact I would really like some book shelves. It took a year and a half battle before I finally managed to obtain them. My company is really good at procrastinating simple things that would make an employee's life easier. And I work here so I too take some of the blame for the length of time to get the shelves. Anyway, I could tell right away that New Guy was not going to let me take the shelves without a fight. After my long battle to get them, he was going to make me go get more. The irritation began to grow to anger. So I finally managed to scam some new shelves. And yesterday was the first opportunity I had to hang them up. Now I am not the most handy of girls, but I make up for it with my enthusiasm. I once spent an entire day putting together these huge metal shelves at the back of our office where we store our equipment. I had scrapes and bruises but by gosh those shelves still stand (had I been setting up the shelves for a project and we'd been charging a customer it would have come to around $400 or $500 at my charge out rate - that is at least as much as the shelves cost). So I went to put up my little shelves above my desk and New Guy decides to come and lend a helping hand. New Guy likes to think he knows a lot of things about a lot of things and sometimes I resent it. I am a girl, yes, and he probably does know more about setting up shelves than I do. But after stealing mine, do not try to make up for it by helping me set up these ones that I am perfectly cabable of doing (even though it may take awhile) on my own. Anyways, I was so angry at him the whole time. And I feel a little bad - because New Guy was just trying to be helpful. That is why my anger is unfounded.

But maybe now that I have sort of set up my office, I will be able to get my inner serenity back and start being nice to New Guy. Maybe I should get a fountain.

The final report - for the 3rd time

Last December I recieved a phone call that my company had been awarded a tender for a fairly hefty project. It entailed a lot of work in 120 buildings around the province (it was the biggest project our hazmat department here at the office had ever undertaken) and was mainly mine to handle. I spent pretty much February thru August working soley on this project. I will not go into all the problems that we came up against in our attempts to finish this project - all I will say is that there were many and we (me and my co-worker Jo-Ann) put our hearts into it. After submitting 121 reports (1 for each building and 1 overall summary report) at the beginning of September we began to breath easy, thinking we were done. Crushed does not begin to describe the emotion when all the reports were sent back because of mistakes that our project manager, not us, had made (he left the company shortly thereafter). We re-did all 121 reports and tried again. The overall summary report (and database and cost estimates and priority breakdowns, etc) again came back a couple weeks ago. They have been re-done and I have just returned from the courier. I am hardly willing to let myself hope that it could actually be done. My endless hours of overtime could cease. I would like to be optimistic and hope with all the faith I can muster that I will not see those reports again and that I will not be asked to skip Christmas in order to finish them.

Cross your fingers.

The sweetness of relief

So I went to the dentist last Monday (no cavities Hooray!) and the lady cleaning my teeth was a hygenist that I had never seen before. She was not very gentle with bottom left gum and it actually really hurt. It has been hurting and swelling more and more and more all week and last night I was nearly in tears from it. I sound kind of wimpy but it was driving me nuts. I remembered back to a camp I went to in grade 8 where my friend Sarah decided to bring some Orajel and sneak into the guys cabins before they woke up and spread it all over their mouths so their lips would go numb. I do believe she had a measure of success in her feat. So I thought that maybe if it could work as a prank on 14 year old boys, it would bring some relief to my gums. And it has. So to anyone out there who is unlucky enough to see a demonical hygenist - I recommend Orajel.

(Side effects, slightly numb tongue if you are not accurate in your application)

Terrifying journey into the working man’s land…

Here I sit in my cold little trailer listening to the sounds of cranes, bobcats, jackhammers and drills. The air is filled with dust from the demolition project that is currently proceeding around me. It is my last official day – the asbestos is gone. I feel a mix of glee and sadness that I am leaving this place. For 6 of the past 9 weeks, I have been the only girl working with about 180 men. That's right you math whizzes, 1:180. For those of you who know me well, you would probably think that I have nothing but enjoyed being surrounded by a sea of men but to be honest, I have never fantasized about being in a sea of men. I think if I ever had, it would have been nothing like the male waterway that now engulfs me. In many ways I have not enjoyed working in this testosterone ridden environment. Shall I count the ways**?

1. The language, frankly, astounds me. In rare instances where I have found myself watching a movie where every second word is a curse word (I generally try to avoid those movies), I always think “surely real people do not speak this way”. I have been around some pretty hardcore people that have quite colourful language but I really didn’t believe that large groups of people actually swore like this. My ex-boyfriend, who used to be in the army, assured me there were groups of people that did but I guess I had to hear it to believe it. Seriously, every second word is the “f” word. I even heard one guy say it three times in a row. IN A ROW!!!

2. They tell all kinds of dirty jokes. I would have to say I probably get about 10% of them. The rest of the time I am trying to decide whether to pretend I get it or not. I would be okay with just admitting I don’t and letting them laugh at me, but then they tease me about it until basically I catch on. And then I have to think about it because now I get it. If I pretend I don’t get it, and am convincing enough with my stellar acting skills (digression – we should totally bring the word stellar back. Who’s with me?) then they finish laughing at the joke and leave me alone. In the end they probably think that I understand 80% of what they say.

3. The loss of blissful ignorance that guys aren’t as sick as magazines like Maxxam make them out to be. Sadly, many guys are. At least they act like it when they are with their “bros”.

Oh, interlude. Lunch break has just begun. My office is at the end of the boiler makers trailer. I can hear them arriving. I am getting a lovely serenade of “hey hey we’re the monkeys” and the usual “F” this and “F” that. The jokes and gambling are about to begin. Did I mention they gamble like crazy? Anyway, back to number 3.

3. continued. Yes, loss of blissful ignorance. I guess I hoped that the majority of guys were not the cheating, no respect for women kind. But I have heard so many “right on’s” after someone explaining how they were sleeping around behind their “old lady’s back” and “she has NO IDEA!!!”. And I still would like to be optimistic and give guys the benefit of the doubt that it is just a few losers out here ruining it for the rest of them, but it really hurts to hear it. It tears at my heart actually.

4. The complete lack of respect some of them have for women. The magazines that lie around, the comments that are made. Again, sad.

5. Getting treated like one of the guys. I am not a guy. I do not want to be a guy. I never said I did. Please stop spitting and swearing in front of me.

6. The drama! This is just like high school or something. There are rumors, back stabbing, whining, fighting (I was actually in the middle of 2 guys just as they were getting ready to come to blows – yikes!). It’s like a boy version of Melrose Place. Oh yeah, they steal each other’s sleeping partners (girlfriends would imply much too much commitment) all the time too. I realize some of the owness for this falls on the girls they are sleeping with.

7. How can I say this without sounding retarded and vain. Okay, you will likely never ever in your whole life hear me say this again but I don’t really feel comfortable with some of these guys complimenting me on my looks. It’s not that I don’t like a compliment because I do. It’s just that I have to wear a hard hat everyday. And it’s way too big for my head and so I look ridiculous. And my clothes are covered in dirt and other materials (which could give away where I am working and would violate my confidentiality agreements that I have to uphold). And I wear the smallest pair of safety glasses I can find but come one. Safety glasses – never sexy. And, I walk around with these leather work gloves that are way too big for my hands. And, it’s freaking cold here so I waddle around because I’m wearing so many layers that it impedes my ability to walk. And, I’m the only girl among 180 guys. They’d be impressed with pretty much anything not full of testosterone. So what I’m trying to say is that I’m not taking the compliments too personally. And sometimes it’s a little creepy. Most of the guys I am pretty sure are just harmless flirts (which is perfect because so am I!) but some of them go a little too far and I start to feel uneasy.

Anyway, you get the picture. I have always been one to realize that stereotypes are just that. They are not always true. There are ALWAYS exceptions. Which is why I will also tell you the things I really like and even love about working here.

1. I love the harmless flirting! Most of the time I am working alone in the field and my favourite thing about this job is that I have constantly been surrounded by people. Especially being the only girl. Pretty much anyone will talk to me.

2. I do love the constant compliments. It doesn’t even really matter if they mean it – it makes me feel happy and pretty. Until I see my ridiculous safety glasses and helmet in the mirror again. But I can just go walk around and find my one ironworker friend who always calls me Sunshine. It’s my favourite nickname out here.

3. I love that I can get away with things that I know a male counterpart NEVER could. For example, if I don’t know what a big mechanical vessel is (because really, to me a silo, boiler, and various forms of tanks all kind of look the same), I can ask and someone will very gallantly explain everything I could ever want to know about that vessel. I won’t understand most of it, but I’ll at least get the name. I doubt they would be so nice to a guy.

4. I just realized I was lonely so I got up and had dinner with several boiler-makers. The fact that I have that option and the confidence to is pretty cool.

5. The fact that I survived 6 weeks with 180 guys and I think most of them totally didn’t mind and perhaps enjoyed having me around. Thinking back to my first day I was terrified. I walked into the trailer of the particular group of 20 men that I would be spending the majority of my time with and it was as if they all swiveled as one. Which is very impressive considering the unlikeliness that they have taken any kind of synchronization training. I bet it’s actually really hard to do. Anyway, I was really intimidated, but I have taken the time to get to know enough of them that I realized their bark is worse than their bite. And while their attitudes toward women in general and their language is atrocious, for the most part they have been very respectful of me (to my face at least).

6. Getting teased all the time that I have 180 boyfriends. I wouldn’t actually want 180 – 1 would be fine, but it’s fun to get teased about it.

7. Okay, I couldn’t decide if this was a pro or a con but I decided to laugh at myself and make the best of it. With a simple phrase I can make all the foremans and upper management men burst into laughter and ensure that they will tease me for the rest of the week. The head hancho guy was telling everyone at the meeting on Tuesday that I was leaving. He said “Shannon’s last day will be on Friday. So Shannon, I guess you can kiss us all goodbye.” Now I could have said some nice professional comment about how I’ve enjoyed working with them bla bla bla. But instead, the thing that first that pops out of my mouth was “Well, you can tell everyone to line up.” I’ve been blushing ever since. They all keep asking me where the line is going to be, or if they can take a number. Like I said, blushing ever since. Part of me wishes I hadn’t said it, but it was pretty awesome to get that big of a laugh. One of the guys actually started crying.

8. Amidst the disgust and reinforcing of stereotypes, there is always an exception to the rule. And when you find one, it is the more special because of the surrounding circumstances. I’m not going to go into details, but just when I thought I was quite excited to be going home, something happened to make me a little sad. And I think it would always be nice to be a little sad to leave any place because it would mean leaving behind some new friends and good times.

So blue collared working men who fit all the stereotypical stereotypes, keep on keeping on.


** I hope I have not irked any of my dear male friends with my comments. I have great respect and admiration for many men – especially the hard working labourer. So please do not be offended by my findings as they technically relate strictly to one informal study. I have no control group and a data set of only one study pool, thus this is not even remotely scientifically or statistically sound. Just my thoughts from this particular expedition.

Journey into the blog

Okay, so I've actually read a handful of blog entries in my time but I still feel quite unqualified to start my own. I was surprised at how easy it is to set one up. My roomate (who acts as my unofficial technology advisor) has assured me that I don't have to be as funny as her and her sister to start my own blog and that I would be surprised at how funny I could actually be on a blog - but I shall leave the determination of that up to you, whoever "you" may encompass - and continue on my travels into the binary universe of the technically inclined.

I think a quote from what may become the cult classic of 2004/2005 would be appropriate. As Kip so eloquently croons to his bride;
"I love technology!"

It's true. I do love it. For instance, I love electricity. It allows me to see in the dark without having to first create fire. It allows my room-mate and me to watch Radio Free Roscoe on pretty much whatever night we want to. It allows me to speak with ease to my friends and family without having to wait for days or weeks for someone to deliver a letter crazy distances away. Actually, I don't know - does a phone line use electricity? Well, it at least allows me to plug in the charger for the cordless.

I love that motors and gasoline let me be able to travel to far off lands without having to walk across a few dozen countries and swim through an ocean or two (which is good because salt water really isn't good for the skin for prolonged periods of time). Although, I also hate that we are slowly killing our planet with all the pollution, but that will have to be another blog at another time. I shan't rant today.

I also love the advances plumbing has made in the last century. (And I have experiences with the old school methods in my travels around the world.) Trust me, it might be okay to use the bushes when with 3 other people at a field camp for a couple weeks, but can you honestly imagine a city where no plumbing existed? Even if advances such as outhouses had been made it would stink all the time. And it's not like there'd be a truck coming and emptying it every couple weeks like they do with porta-potties because those wouldn't have been invented either yet. Half your yard would be where your outhouse hole had filled up and you had to start a new one (and since winter in Saskatchewan is like 80% of the time, think about how hard it would be to dig new holes at -40). I know we wouldn't die or anything because there are developing nations that live like that now (although not with the -40 issue...), but I have to say I really like being able to flush. Yeah for flushing! Wow, I can't believe I just talked about flusing on my second post of the blog. I'm kind of embarrassed actually.

Now there are things I don't like about technology but I want this to be an optimistic post so I'm not going to end my message here and go for lunch.

The journey begins

I feel so vulnerable knowing that anyone could see this. But with vulnerability comes truth and self discovery.