Yesterday was a long day. There were a few unfortunate events, but personal luck was on my side.

I met up with a naturopath for a lengthy appointment in the late morning. I have faith in him! I thought I was going to be late for my appointment since I didn't see my bus. I thought I missed it. I took another one instead and ended up getting back onto the bus I meant to take. I felt lucky that I wasn't late for my appointment, and I was also to squeeze in a physical, too!

Then at work...we had a round of layoffs. What a shitty day. I felt SO horrible. My (stinky) office mate was let go. I am going to miss him. About 10% of the company was let go. Yet...I am still employed. My office mate had been with the company for about 12 years although he had just transitioned into tech writing from office admin. I am on contract. I did speak to my manager about the situation on the phone (he's based in Australia). I just feel really lucky I have a job right now although my contract ends in June.

Since we were all told to go home (early), I went down to Washington state to pick my Christmas gift for Mr. Nick. I ended up not having to pay duty for it because they were too busy at customs! I saved a bit of money there.

And then that shizzle in Mumbai! I feel lucky to be a Canadian and in Canada.

This morning I found out that the sale of my dad's condo fell through. The buyers were not able to get the downpayment they needed. *sigh* So...I keep waiting.

So...lots going on. I feel tired and drained. It's been a rollercoaster of 18 hours! Our CEO is going to discuss further in an hour or so.

I'm slightly torn.

You're supposed to get rid of negativity from your life. It's all part of the energy and what not. And this elimination would include people.

I have a friend. I guess we have an emotional bond, but we don't have much in common. He thinks life should be about fine wine, custom tailored clothes, customer tailored knives, eating caviar and drinking champagne. I thought he was joking around when he talked about these things he was doing. Well, I knew he was serious, but I thought he was trying to be funny by letting everyone know about it. He's a snob, and his snobbiness has never bothered me. It doesn't affect how I live my life.

But his judgemental-ness got to me today. He often puts down what other people do if he's not into it. I asked him about face paint today. He asked me what I needed it for, and I told him I was going to paint my face for my next Canucks game. He said "that is. So tacky." His opinion wouldn't make me not do something, but seriously. What's it to him? He's not into sports. He would never go to a Canucks game. And he would never let loose. I wonder if the only time he lets loose is if alcohol is involved.

He doesn't want to appear "low class." I suggested he work on himself...because if he was happy with yourself, he wouldn't care what other people did. He said he was happy. I don't think so. I told him even though money can make life easier, it doesn't bring happiness.

He makes me think of the nouveau riche - the ones who don't know how to handle wealth and be all flashy. People who have a lot of money also know how to manage and don't come across as uber rich. I heard some stastictic about what most rich people drive...I don't know where it was taken or if it's even true, but the top car came out to be a nine-year old pickup or something.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand -- has the friendship come to the end of its life? I want to surround myself around people that I want to be like.

Last night, I attended my first Canucks game EVER! I had so much fun! The game was pretty good for the most part. We won in over time despite Detroit having almost twice as many shots on goal as we did. I would have really liked to see Bobby Lu in action, but he's out. Maybe he will be back (if I'm lucky) when I go to my next game at the end of next month!

There were a couple of tasty fights. I don't know why I enjoy watching hockey players fight. And we had some great saves and near scoring moments. All in all -- a lot of fun for me!!

The only thing that would have made the game better is if our faces were painted and if we were in wigs. Next time! Now I just need to convince Mr. Nick that it would be a great idea!! BWAHAHAHA

I've just been YouTubing New Kids on the Block. I totally forgot that someone had thrown their bra on the stage. BWAHAHA It wasn't a very sexy bra though. And where I sat, I guess I missed out a lot. Jordan was singing and dancing with a Twix bar when they were doing the song Twisted. BWAHAHA I think they were really having a good time out there. They looked like they were having fun anyway. I like when performers look like they want to be there.

In my mom's building, people have no respect for the property. The common areas are pretty trashed, and the building is probably just a few years old.

Anyway, there is a sign in the elevator which is no longer protected by plastic. People are always scribbling profanities on them or they make updates to announcements and signs. The signs are always written in bad English.

I have corrected the signs a couple of times...BWAHAHA I just cross out the incorrect English and scribble in the correct grammar.

When I talked to my mom earlier, she asked me..."did you make corrections to the sign in the elevator? It kind of looks like your writing." I told her no...BWAHAHA  I tried not to laugh...

And I got my new car yesterday! It is going to some time to get used to it :( When I have the steering wheel a comfortable tilt, I can't see the odometer!!! 

Let's pray to the banking gods that the couple get the financing they want so they can buy my dad's condo! When the sale goes through, the condo will have been on the market for about 3 weeks. Not bad in today's financial atmosphere! And hopefully they will buy my dad's car, too. That would all take a huge load off of my stress levels!

New Kids on the Block concert was last night. OMG, the show was fantastic. They were extremely entertaining. Like wine, they've gotten better with age. Joe is back to my favourite New Kid again. They dancing probably wasn't as fancy as it was 15 years ago, but they're all in their late 30s. They can sing! And I cannot believe I squealed and screamed throughout the concert. Seriously, that's not me. My throat is still sore! They put on a great show, and they threw in a tidbit of Queen.

I was a little disappointed by my seat at first. I had floor seats. They weren't bad, but it was row 33, and there people in front of me, all standing on the same level. And I am not a tall person! But then it did get better for a short while. The crew cleared out the row in front of me and the last row of the section in front of me leaving a nice pathway -- A NICE PATHWAY FOR THE NEW KIDS TO USE!!!! They ran to some special stage on the floor that had a piano and stuff, and they sang a few songs on that stage. Then they ran back to the main stage. I got some real closeups of them. Donnie even touched Bridezilla's HAND! We screamed some more! It was a very loud crowd. I never remember to bring earplugs!

My first North American concert was New Kids on the Block in 1989 or 1990. I still have the ticket stub!! I think I had a better time at this show than the last one.  One comment that Joe made was that there were a lot of fine looking ladies out there...and were "definitely not 13 anymore." BWAHAHAHA My goodness, the boys were HOT...like sexy hot. You don't think those things when you're 12...but when you're 31...OMG.

And this morning, I dropped my car off at the scrapyard. I felt such an extreme sense of loss. Sometimes I feel like I am more emotional about my things. I cried when my bike got stolen (okay, I was 15ish). But I had 13+ years with my mustang. There was still some juice left in him. When the guy working at the scrapyard saw it, he was surprised. The other cars there were definitely much older. One's clutch was practically out. I am going to miss that car :'( I guess one of the longest relationships I've ever had is with my car. 

:(

You know how it is with the real estate market these days...and who goes shopping for a new home around the holidays?!

I don't want to jinx anything, but I am very hopeful!! Tonight could be the night!!

That is what my optometry clinic needs.

Their Web site is out of date.

They take days to respond to emails about setting up appointments (if they respond at all).

My optometrist was half an hour late. At least he apologized. But I had to rebook to finish up my eye exam. This clinic is busy, and I have to book 3-4 weeks in advance if I want a time that is late in the day. When it was time to pay and book another appointment, the receptionist told me to wait while she counted money. Then she told me to wait some more while she did her paperwork.

OHMIGAWD.

And then the optometrist gave me a trial pair of contact lenses. He thought they would help with my eye dryness. He did not tell me I would be paying a deposit. He only told me that someone would tell me about purchasing a package. He told me to come back in two weeks to see how the contacts were working for me and to finish the eye exam. When I tried to make an appointment, all the times left were in the middle of the day, and I said I had to work. I also didn't want to be blind all day long. The money-counting receptionist didn't want me to book an appointment that was later than two weeks, so to speed things up, I made an appointment.

But now I have to take the time to call back to rebook a friggin' appointment. 

What a waste of my time it was last night. I need someone to pick me up from my eye appointments because they use eye drops that impair my vision. I didn't get those drops last time and now I have to make arrangements for my next eye exam that is convenient both for me and the person picking me up.

GRRR! I could have smacked that receptionist. "Well, you CAN'T book any later than 2 weeks." The only reason why I told her two weeks was because the contact lenses are bi-weekly. I am supposed to throw them out after 2 weeks. Well...gee, maybe I will just not wear them until it's 2 weeks before my next appointment?? Bitch, get it??

I left my bra at home today. I absolutely cannot go around braless (anymore), so I guess I have to go buy one after I get to work. I'd been meaning to get some more, but I'd been totally putting it off!

I almost sold my dad's car this, but the guy who was interested wanted to pay less than what I was asking for even after asking me how low I'd be willing to go. Ugh.

I'm glad my dad's condo has gotten a few offers, even with the current economy. The only trouble is that is totally a buyer's market right now, and I didn't think I would have to go as low as I probably will. The first person who placed an offer didn't want to play the counter offer game. The second person who had an offer in mind asked for 13% less than the listed price. The latest person...who I hope will come up with a good offer...offered less than the listed price in a normal way but also wanted my dad's car. If I took her offer, it'd have been throwing the car in for free.

Anyway, this potential buyer doesn't want to buy the car now because she wants to have more money for the condo. I'm keeping my fingers doubley crossed that her offer won't be less than my absolute low (for now). It is already lower than its last year's market value. I wonder what the market value was in 2006.

I was fretting about my upcoming trip to Hong Kong in March. I was thinking I would probably have to go to mainland China to take care of some stuff for my dad's flat there. The stress of having to apply for a visa, getting there, finding someone to go with me, what to do with Mr. Nick, having to deal with Cindy, and then doing the paperworok just really stressed me out. And then it occurred to me...what could it hurt if I did absolutely nothing about the flat? I don't need to worry about the utilities/taxes, etc. because Cindy would be responsible for those. Both her and my dad's names should be on the title -- that I should find out, but that's just another few hundred dollars out of my pocket. But what if I just leave it? Nobody can come after me. Nobody can go after my dad. Cindy can deal with it all!

And if she doesn't want the flat anymore, then she can come to me. She wanted me to give her my dad's half, so whether I give it to her or leave it alone, it doesn't cost me anything. It does, however, cost her a headache of having this piece of property that she shares with someone who is dead. She doesn't have a copy of my dad's death certificate either, so she can't do anything with the flat!

No more of my delicious chocolate milk before bed!

It was the chocolate milk that was keeping me up! I guess there was too much caffeine in the chocolate for me. BOOO!

I have been scouring many Web sites shopping around for gifts!

I just really wish the dollar was a bit higher!!!!

And I wish having things shipped from the States wasn't such a PITA! 

Something I ate kept me up late last night. I guess I had too much sugar too late.

I went to a huge craft fair (almost like a trade show?!) and ate lots of samples of chocolate and jam. Then I came home and had some carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate milk (pretty much chocolate ganache mixed with milk).

Anyway, I was pretty wired! I think I still am!

I spent a lot money on my last trainer -- way more than I imagined I would. I was going to see her for 6 weeks and that was it. Then she recommended another 6 weeks, and I have been buying the supplements she recommends. So...I probably spent 2.5 times as much as I originally intended. I also now spend 3-4 times as much as I used to on groceries.

When we finished up week 12, I said to her that I only wanted to see her once a week but I wanted her to set up a workout for me. She said she would charge me $50/session. Then she gave me some spiel that she won't do packages for now because she might be moving back to London. Based on what I wanted, she said she could see me once a week but two times the first to give me some direction. Fair enough.

When we first met, she said she gave her clients the knowledge so she wouldn't be needed. She had also said money-back guaranteed.

She has always had a hard time listening. I don't know how many times she has asked me when I am getting my fillings replaced.  I have told her more than once that I want her to design a workout for me AFTER we're done with our program. I also told her that I only wanted to train with her once a week. She has no idea how much extra time it costs me to train with her since she is not at a convenient location. And I have hated living out of a backpack for 12 weeks in a row now.

Now she tells me I should be working out at 4 times a week, that she wants to see me twice a week. Also, if I pay her up front, she will charge me $50/session. Otherwise, it's her regular price of $100/session. She will also continue to make supplement recommendations and test me weekly for my body fat percentage. Apparently for me to reach 10% bodyfat, this is what i have to do.

I never said I wanted to be 10% bodyfat!

Her last email just makes me want to stop training with her altogether. I have felt soooo relaxed this week, after having trained with her for 12 weeks and not having to see her this week. Knowing that I don't have to do all the preparations just to train with her makes me feel a lot better.

I am going to tell her I can't afford to train with her, and see what she has to say. I've spent two months' salary on her, and that is way too much.

The thing with having a public holiday in the middle of the week is that the day after always feels like a Monday.

I have a coworker who refuses to wear a poppy. He says if he wore one, he would be supporting war. I wonder if he took the day off yesterday, then. He should not have!

I spent most of my day clearing out my dad`s storage lockers. I knew of the contents in one of them. I think Cindy threw in a couple more things. The other storage locker had way more stuff! We found the last snow tire, cans of paint, lots of shelving, and luggage! Some of it I moved out, some I will be moving out, and some of it I threw out. A lucky thing I experienced was that the building manager told me which was Cindy`s locker. Even luckier was that I had a key to her locker!! I took a peek in, but there was nothing of my dad`s in there. However, she now has some more of my dad`s stuff. I threw as much junk in her locker as I could.

On the weekend I realised she even took my dad`s CURTAINS when she moved out. WHO DOES THAT? Seriously, why did she even bother moving? So since she wanted everything, I thought I would just give her a few more items. You can`t pass up wood or buckets. I also chucked a decent-sized bag of moth balls into the top corner of her locker behind a bunch of stuff. I hope she enjoys them all.

Cohabitation is a point of contention for me and Mr. Nick. I don`t want to cohabitate at this point in time, and he does. Is there a way around this?? How can we compromise? I don`t want to live with a guy until we`re married or at least engaged. I`m not sure engagement is anywhere in the near future, and by no means am I using any tactics to push for us to get married. I don`t feel the matriominal burrn.

This wouldn`t be as much of an issue right now if I wasn`t planning on moving in the next few months. As soon as my dad`s condo sells, I will be looking for a new place. I don`t want to wait. I need a home with better feng shui. It would be a waste of time and money for me to move into a new place for a year or two. So it would make sense for me and Mr. Nick to move into together now. But I don`t want to cohabitate, and I`m not sure our relationship is solid enough for cohabitation.

So on Friday night, Mr. Nick and I went to his friend's engagement party. Mr. Nick was a little disappointed with the snack selection. He was expecting more than potato chips and a Costco cake. We weren't specified to which liquor to bring, so Mr. Nick brought a bottle of wine. What a nice boy. He researched engagement party etiquette, and gifts aren't required. Anyway, he figured if we were asked to dress up that the food would be a little more high class.

Anyway, the "highlight" of the evening was happening in the building across the way. A couple was sharing some intimate times. Their blinds were drawn, but I guess they did it with the lights on. At one point, everybody at the party was standing in front of the window looking over at the couple, giggling. I think people cheered when the guy climaxed. I couldn't look. It just didn't feel right. I also didn't really think it was a big deal to notice a couple getting it on. Am I modern or de-sensitized?

Exhibitionism is fun, but I don't know if it is for unsuspecting spectators!

I'm scared! Full moons make me very emotional.

My hypnotherapist is offering an info session that night about her seminars. I'm somewhat interested in them. I'm only afraid of the time commitment. I was losing a lot of Saturdays to acupuncture appointments. And now that I have slowed down on them, I feel relief. But another 4 Saturdays in a row...*sigh* I don't know. Her seminars are about achieving goals through meditation, hypnosis, and being around others who want to achieve goals as well. You use the group's positive energy. 

My coworker really reeks today. In fact, he reeks every day. I hold my breath every time he walks by me to leave our office. On Friday, we gave out cookies, and since he was doing training in another office, we knocked on the door to give them cookies. The room stunk horribly when I opened the door. I was really looking forward to two stink-free days, but he didn't take today off as he intended.

And then on the bus today, there weren't a lot of seats left. I had a few choices, but the ones that were left only provided me with 3/4 of a seat to sit on. At least I didn't fall out of my seat.

For some reason, my mom seems to have taken over selling my dad's condo? She hasn't consulted me on very much this weekend. It was the first open house, and it seemed like there was a lot of traffic. In fact, we even got one offer, but they really lowballed me. I'll be signing a counter offer tonight. They offered 10% less than the listed price. And then she told me about the items that were sold...a granite table top and the items that people were interested in buying. Apparently, someone picked out 20 of my dad's records, and these were records I had been planning on keeping for myself all along.

My mom keeps trying to persuade me to sell them, and I keep telling her I don't want. "Are you going to listen to them?" No, but they hold a lot of sentimental value to me. But maybe I would change my mind if they offered more than $1 each? *eyes roll*

I'm getting really excited about getting my new car. This will be the first time I've ever bought a car!!@!@

I am trying to figure out the best way for me to do it financially. I have money set aside in a high-interest savings account, so the longer I can keep my money in there, the better! I wonder how much of the car, they'd let me put on my credit card...I don't have a super high limit anyway. Maybe I should call to increase it and then lower it after I pay off the big bill. I keep the limit low in case someone steals my card!

And now I just think about how I could pimp out my car. I won't do anything to void the warranty, of course. But I still want to make the car my own!! I'd love to put a body kit on it...and then when I look at photos, I remember that I wanted a car that was practical...not another snow plow...*sigh* oh the things I could do...but definitely need a new horn that sounds manly and beefy.

Bell Mobility is taking a long time to send me the refund on my dad's closed cell phone account.

For the last two bills, they have said they owe me a credit. The last bill I received was the Sept.22 one. I thought the cheque would have come by now because if I owed a payment, it would be considered overdue. I called Customer Service (who are usually nice to deal with but hide behind process) and asked about the credit.

First, she asked me if I had a power of attorney. What is UP with these people constantly asking me if I have a PoA?? Then she talked about the payment being put back on his credit card, and I told her the auto payments were already canceled.

My call took 20 minutes. She spoke with her supervisor twice.

All I wanted to know was when my cheque was going to arrive and its status.

She estimated early-mid December because these things take 74 days to process. Geez.

I think if I was a man, my penis would be angled to the left. Seriously!

2010 Winter Olympic tickets have been requested. YEAH!

And I'm glad the US election is over...it seemed to go on for quite some time.

OMG, Obama is the best speaker EVER. He just drew me in.

And isn't he a mix? Why does everyone keep calling him black/African-American? I also think his life will be in danger at the hands of his own country's people.

I find that overweight men who have sweated have a similar stinky odour.

I share an office with someone, and there is not enough air circulation in here sometimes. My coworker walks a lot. Sometimes he comes back from grabbing lunch, and not only do I smell his lunch, but I smell him, too!!

And then today in the elevator...I was standing behind another larger gentleman. Although he was smelling "fresh," unfortunately, it wasn't shower fresh.

And I am also tired of walking behind, beside, or being anywhere near smokers. We have a bylaw around here where have you have to smoke 3 meters (??) away from bus stops and doorways. People move to the edge of the sidewalk to do their smoking. I have to walk through the smoke. And it never fails that I have to stand next to a smoker at a stoplight. I can move away, but the wind just blows the smoke around. And I often walk behind smokers. If only they would move out of the way -- I would surely pass them.

I took my last test drives yesterday.

I checked out the Mazda 3 sport and I took the Fit for another test drive. The Mazda 3 Sport was nice and smooth. It almost reminded me a little too much of my car. I hated the sales guy. He was slimey, didn't talk about the car, or find out what I was looking for. He did ask me what colour I was interested before anything else. When I told him I was looking for a 2009 model, he still tried to sell me on the 2008 models!! I don't know if Mazda has any sales tactics.

I was so uncomfortable on the test drive. First, I didn't think he'd be there because he offered to let me keep a test car overnight right away. And then he drove us to a spot to let us change seats. His driving freaked me out. He didn't talk and just sat in the back with his arm draped over the seat. I couldn't drive the car like a maniac to test the braking and turning. When we were leaving, he made us wait because he wanted to introduce us to his manager. What a waste of time. His manager was busy on the phone, and there was no reason to meet the guy either.

After the Mazda dealership, we went back to Honda to see if they might have any brochures in yet. When we got to Honda, we were repeatedly greeted by people working. It was crazy! "Good afternoon, welcome to Honda." And my salesguy was in the office. He'd always been very personable. He remembered my name and details about Mr. Nick. He was just pushy enough, too. He called me last week to follow up. He also asked me if I wanted to take the Fit for another test drive, which I did. My salesguy makes me want to buy from him because he was good, and the experience I've had with Honda has been really good, too.

Even though I liked the Mazda 3 Sport, it's a little more than what I want to pay for, so I doubt I will get it. And the sales guy just made me not want to buy the car, either.

However, Mr. Nick is going to check with his auto broker to see what he can get me. I'd love to buy from George, but if I can save some more money going to someone else, I probably will.

Oh, how I've missed having dried cranberries in my salad.

I've had a couple of phone conversations with aunts over the last week. I think only Auntie #2 is the only person who actually listens when she talks to me. All the other aunts just want to share their opinionated opinions and then either expect you to not say anything or to be in full agreement.

If they want to be heard so much, they really need to get a blog or a journal or something.

And then they can't keep their mouths shut!

They talk amongst themselves and gossip. And then when someone tells them something in confidence, they will share it with someone else. The most common thing is, "okay..I'm going to tell you something someone told me in secrecy, so don't tell anyone else."

When I stayed in a hotel in Hong Kong, Auntie #8 told Auntie #3 that the room was free. I was originally going to stay with Auntie #3, but I ended up staying at the hotel, and Auntie #8 didn't want to offend Auntie #3 so she made up a story. When I was talking to Auntie #3 last night, she said she heard through Auntie #2 that Auntie #8 lied to her about the hotel room. I pretended not to know.

I was on the phone for 2 and a half hours with Auntie #9 and her husband last Monday. So a lot of the stuff that Auntie #3 and I talked about last night -- I had already heard from Auntie #9. But holy #$%@, the rumours that get passed around in the family just piss me off. I was shielded from this crap while I was growing up but now? I see it all! They just speculate and make their assumptions without getting the info directly from the horse's mouth.

Every time I have to hear about aunts or talk to them, I just dread it now. I get so stressed out! And when I go to Hong Kong next March for two weeks, I won't even be able to have a normal freakin' vacation there. I will probably have to go to China for at least a day to deal with my dad's condo. I hope I can get as much sorted out as possible before I go. And then Mr. Nick will be with me. If I have to do anything official, having him with him in China will probably not help. The last thing I want to do is look like a foreigner.