I think I am back to normal now.

No more smelly things, and no more wanting to do every guy that walks down the street! YEAH!

My sense of smell has been really sensitive lately, and I really don't like it. I think my new power is related to me going off the birth control pill. I'm definitely noticing changes in my body.

And my hormones are probably out of whack. Every man I see puts me in a mood and not in a bad way. Our waiter sure smelled nice last night....

I got a rash on my inner upper arms yesterday. I have no idea from what -- working out??

They're kind of itchy.

I don't know when the spa opened up in Holt Renfrew. Being such a classy department store selling high-priced items, you'd think their spa would be top notch. Nah. They are just overpriced and not worth it.

A couple of girlfriends and I went to the spa on the weekend to celebrate a birthday. When I booked services with them last month, I had wanted all of us to get facials. "Oh, we have only one esthetician." I thought that was a little weird. What kind of spa can only do one facial at a time? We all got different services instead.

When we arrived, little Miss Tan Face showed us to the lounge, which was very cozy, to fill out our forms. Nobody asked us if he wanted a beverage. There was water but no drinking glasses available.

My friends were led to their appointments, but nobody came to get me. I asked someone to get my technician. She said nobody told her that her appointment had arrived. I was getting the most expensive manicure they had available. It was a ripoff. It was supposed to be the ultra hydration manicure. My technician didn't even look at my form. I didn't understand the point of writing down our issues and have them completely ignored. Anyway, she exfoliated my forearms to the point where my skin was even sensitive to the spray from my shower the next day. And she used a couple of creams. No hand massage.When I left, my hands were feeling extra dry.

Then she asked me for my phone number. This woman talked too much, by the way. She said technicians are not allowed to view their clients' information in the computer. She liked to keep to be able to reach her clients to solicit her services, I guess. "Some of my clients have been with me for over 25 years." I just knew that I wasn't going to be one of them, ever.

And when we were all done, we sat in the lounge and chatted some more. Nobody told us what we were supposed to do if we wanted to pay and leave. So we went back out and lined up for what seemed like ages. The till was right next to the makeup application counter. It was a total madhouse. I felt like the reception area was extremely disorganized.

The whole ordeal was disorganized!

I know that my friends and I don't plan on going back there again.

It's Chinese New Year! I took yesterday off. I like my self-made tradition of taking Chinese New Year's Day off. I go watch lion dances and watch festivities. Of course if there wasn't anything going on, I probably wouldn't take the day off. It seems like a lot of Chinese people here don't make a big deal of it. That's too bad.

And I think the recession has gotten poeple's Chinese New Year spirit down (or people are just really cheap...The current generation of North American Asians joke that Chinese people are cheap. We are definitely a frugal bunch.). The custom is for all married people to give "red packets" to everyone younger than they are and are unmarried. Red packets are red envelopes filled with money -- not stuff, but just a bill of some sort. At the shopping centre, I ran into a family friend (and her husband) and my nosy aunt (and my uncle). Both were with their grandsons. They were all watching the lion dance together. My mom and I met up with them afterwards.

My mom pulled out a red packet for each of the little ones. It wasn't until then that the other couples were scrambling to give red packets to the little boys. The family friends didn't give me anything. And my aunt (who was not prepared to give out money) gave me one packet (nothing from my uncle), and the envelope was for couples getting married. The family friend's grandson who was probably about 2 and a half asked why his envelope wasn't sealed. BWAHAHA Her envelope was old and ripped and had been clearly used before. Oh, the best part about her giving me my packet was what she said while she was handing it to me, "Here is a red packet for you. Only single people get them, you know." Gee, auntie...in my 32 years of going through Chinese New Year, I had absolutely NO FRICKING CLUE how it all works! Thank you! I do think that maybe if she did a better job of teaching her own kids about Chinese culture, she wouldn't have to be so condescending to me about traditions and culture or be so surprised if I showed any knowledge about it.

And my nosy aunt and I had a lovely conversation. I don't know why she gets to me, but I just really wish she would mind her own business. I would be fine if she never spoke to me again. My mom's travel agent knows my aunt through church. I guess if you have a mutual acquaintance, it's okay to talk about them, right? @#$! So...my aunt says to me, "I heard your Perth trip didn't work out." The fricking travel agent told her. Then she went on, "I have a nephew who's a doctor and he is there doing some training. He's single and by himself. You could stay at his place. You wouldn't have to be alone in Perth." I told her that I wasn't going to to Perth, but she continued. "You could stay at his place. He has to have a 2-bedroom place. He's a doctor doing some training. Why don't you discuss it with your boss." I was kind of silent because what else do you say? She just kept looking at me and started talking again. "You could stay there for free! Why don't you talk to your boss again and tell you have a place to stay?"

Yeah...I want to stay with a complete stranger for free so I can take a trip to Australia. No, thanks.

I was hit by flying carry-on luggage while I was going down an escalator.

Some woman was pulling a suitcase and had her carry-on bag on top, and I guess it fell off and rolled down the escalator.

I'm soooo glad I was there to stop it. 

I thought it was the woman dragging her suitcase down the escalator. The least she could have done was yell or something instead of just waiting for her stuff to hit me. It hurt!

This morning, I stopped by my naturopath's office to get started on my heavy metals test. I was in there for 20 minutes for some IV action. Then he gave me a cup the size of a plastic beer cup and a container.

I knew I was going to need to give a urine sample, but I thought I had to go back later in the day to give it (after 6 hours).

No...I have to collect all my pee for the next 6 (well, 5 now) hours. All of it!! BWAHAHAHA It's almost amazing how much pee you can expel in one go. Sometimes a cup just isn't enough.

I don't think I will be able to drop off my pee until Friday, and until then, my pee will just sit in the office. At least I don't have to keep it in the fridge.

I should be able to hear my results in about 2 weeks.

I'm doing this test to see how toxic my body is. It could be the metals in my body that have been affecting my health. I guess I'll see!

I don't think apathy is a good thing, for the most part.

Anyway, I don't follow American politics intently, but I am listening to Obama speak right now (well, I have cnn.com up with the feed. I am quite impressed that CNN did something in preparation for the heavy traffic...). I think he's a great speaker. There's a bunch of people in the lunchroom watching the inauguration as well.

My English co-worker came by my cube and said, "oh, not you, too." I can't remember what I said, but he did respond with, "I really don't give a shit" regarding American politics and things that are going on today.

Well, I care to a point because what the US does inevitably affects Canada.

I really like this quote:

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. 

I know Obama said more, but I find that quote really fitting for relationships. I am going through a rough patch with Mr. Nick right now.

Well, after that whole ordeal with trying to get my dad's refund, I think it's just about 100% resolved.

Bell Mobility couldn't tell me why it looked like the refund was given to me. They assumed it was being processed. Bell Mobility CSRs do usually do their best to help you out, but sometimes they're just locked in a sea of bureaucracy.

It looks like they refunded the money back to my dad's credit card.

In my second call to them, I already told them his credit card was canceled. They said they'd make a note of it so that I would get a cheque.

GRR

So I called up Visa, told them about the statement I got, and they confirmed that yes, the credit card account was closed, but businesses can give you money back on them. (I never did get my dad's airline ticket refund, but I didn't get the ball rolling on that one, so I am going to let it go.) So Visa is going to send me a cheque for the refund. It should arrive in a week. And then I will rejoice.

Mr. Nick's usual breakfast foods are not part of my diet, so I bring my own food whenever I stay there. (Sometimes I think staying at Mr. Nick's for a span of time takes even more prep than going away on vacation.)

I had a slice of sprouted grain flax bread in a ziploc bag. I also been in two Ryvita flatbreads to bring to work. This morning I noticed my bread was kind of stale when I put it in the toaster. I thought that was kind of weird given it was from a fresh loaf. And then I picked up my  Ryvita which were all floppy. I thought all was lost, but I put the Ryvita in the toaster, and that totally did the trick!

I have added some carbs back to my diet. I still feel a little weird eating bread, but I am happy to eat it. I just won't usually eat the regular bread. Last weekend I did have some REALLY good cinnamon raisin bread. It's one of my favourites. And it was WHITE bread. Crazy!

Sometimes I think about getting rid of my toaster oven. It takes up a lot of space, and I hardly use it. Since it's more cost effective for me to use my real oven, that's what I use for cooking. And I could just use a real toaster!

Every time I see photos of a girl I knew from high school, I wonder "why did she do that to herself"?? I thought she was really pretty. Her face is all gaunt now and she is stick then, but she got a boob job, and they're huge! I'm okay with boob jobs, but she has porn star boobs.

And I need new bras even more desperately now. My size has changed!

I was really planning on traveling this summer, but it doesn't look like it's happening. It was pretty much job-dependent. Right now, I'm on contract which is supposed to end at the end of June. I was going to travel when my contract ended, and if they offered me a permanent position then I would take some unpaid leave.

There's an important deadline coming up in September, so me taking the whole summer off would not work.

But with the company's financial position, there is no room for another permanent member to add to the team. My boss is going to try to get my contract extended until December, so I can be around to help out with the deadline. Being employed for another 12 months wouldn't be horrible at all.

I guess I'll know what will happen with my future at this company when the budget comes out in early March. And things may still change depending on what my colleague chooses to do when she finishes her maternity leave. I know she'd rather work elsewhere because she really doesn't like working with our boss. The last we spoke she said she was going to propose working only part-time and/or working in a new position. I'm not sure how her proposal will be received. On one hand, she will cost less to keep, but on the other hand, there's a lot of work to be done in the next 8 months.

I am not too worried, but I've ever been totally jobless before!

Why am I always having to find out for myself what I should do?? Why can't someone just give me the answers??

Basically, I have some money to work with right now...I'm not rich by any means! But I have no idea where to put my money.

Do I pay off my mortgage and pay a penalty? I'd be debt-free!

Do I increase my mortgage payments so I pay it down faster? I will still have debt, but I wouldn't pay a penalty. There is still 3+ years to go with my mortgage.

Should I be paying back the money I borrowed from my RRSPs for my HBP? I have to pay back the HBP anyway, but since it's interest free, why wouldn't I take my time to pay it back?

Should I max out my RRSPs? Isn't that what you're supposed to do??

I got a lovely iTunes gift card to go with my iPod touch for Christmas. I've not been wanting to spend it all  at once, so I haven't. I have rented a movie.

When you use an iTunes gift card, the amount gets loaded onto your account and as you make purchases, the amount is deducted from your account.

I've purchased lots of freebies, and then I decided to buy Tetris since it was 50% off.  Only the cost didn't come out of my account! I thought I got it free by accident until I looked at my credit card statement. I was charged for it.

I sent the iTunes people an email asking why my purchase wasn't deducted from my account.

Game and application purchases cannot be made with Canadian iTunes gift cards! Lame! I am not sure why it's like this, but it's lame.

So, if you're a Canadian, and you're using an iTunes gift card, you can use it to buy movies, TV shows, and music only. Well, I am not sure about books.

I was psyched to be able to watch movies and TV shows on the bus, only to find out that I get motion sickness from doing it.

I've also been wanting to buy Diamonelle stuff for a long time. I've just been waiting for the right piece. I saw a great ring, but it was sold out. I saw another great ring, but now I am not sure I want it. I don't wear much jewelry so I am picky about what I buy. I hate when there are things best tried on in person before buying!

So...to my understanding, the latest salmonella outbreak in the US is due to peanuts. I wonder what the US will do to peanuts -- pasteurize them, too?

I will no longer buy raw almonds from the USA (and Canada, too, probably). There was a salmonella outbreak when people ate contiminated almonds a while back (purchased from conventiional farms), so now ALL raw almonds (even ones labelled as organic) from the US are pasteurized. Not only are they rancid, but they are treated with propyline oxide, which is a highly explosive and possibly carcinogenic chemical. It used to be used in racing fuel, but was banned because for safety reasons.

Almonds are a healthy snack, but now I will only buy European raw almonds. Those do not need to be pasteurized.

There are some places I don't mind baldness on myself, but not so much on my head.

I've never done much with my hair, so I don't touch it very often. The last two visits I paid to the hairdresser, she noted that my hair was a lot thinner than it used to be. So yesterday I grabbed my hair and was surprised by how much hair I had lost in the last while.

I guess with all the stress in my life, I've lost hair and what's left is going grey! Fantastic.

Are these trends reversible?!

Thank goodness I had a lot of hair before.

The lovely effects of vacation have rubbed off already. I'm already 4 hours behind on my TV shows (well, and Smallville).

I think I am getting into a funk. My heart is heavy. I wish I could snap out of it or figure out the trigger.

I'm in mining software training all day today. Good times! YEAH!

I was absent from tBlog all between Christmas and NYs because I took time off from work. I didn't spend much time at the computer (except to look up Boxing Day sales). I spent my time sleeping (I always thought 7ish hours was enough, but most days I slept for 8+ hours), reading, catching up on TV shows, working out, and clearing out some clutter.

I yanked EIGHT gray hairs from my head in 2 days. I haven't found any more. It's kind of addicting looking for those suckers. But I don't want anymore. I always thought I inherited my mom's hair genes. She didn't really start going grey until she was 50+. Maybe it's payback...My dad started going grey when I was born. Maybe I have started going grey since he died?!

You know when you go on vacation, and you have a grand ol' time and forget about everything, but for every one else, nothing changes? I've been happily moving on from dealing with relatives on my dad's side. But in the last week, I got a phone call from one aunt...asking for an update. And then I got an email from another aunt...talking about her emotional pain and dealing with her sisters. Honestly, I don't want hear any more about the sisters. At one point, I couldn't escape another aunt since my cousin was in town and we all went out for lunch. Good thing there were lots of people around and she only asked about the sale of my dad's condo. (She is constantly asking my mom for updates.)

I also found out the bitch is back in town. I hope to not have to deal with her ever again! She did cost me another $50 to purchase a key FOB for my dad's place since she took it.

It's my annual Year in Review!

2008 was a stressful year. I don't remember much from 2007 to compare!

What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Experience the death of a parent and have to handle almost absolutely everything that went along with it. Find more than 2 gray hairs.

Did anyone close to you die?
Well, my father died but we weren't particularly close relationship-wise.

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Less clutter.

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Feb. 17. It's an important date when handling affairs of the estate.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
None, really. Big events have led to much stress: came out handling my dad's estate beaten up but still surviving and started a new contract job

What was your biggest failure?
Trusting Cindy.

What was the best thing you bought in 2008?
cookie dough scoop

Where did most of your money go?
My and my dad's bills.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? Neither
Older or wiser? Older and wiser
Thinner or fatter? Thinner
Richer or poorer? Richder

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Experimental cooking

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Freaking out and finding gray hair

What was your favorite TV program?
Fringe

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Cindy

What was your greatest musical discovery?
None.

Top 3 Music releases in 2008 in your opinion?
NKOTB - The Block
Coldplay - Viva la Vida

Lady Gaga??

What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't know...I forget what I see very quickly. I did see Yes, Man and that was good.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More emotional support

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Holey

What kept you sane?
Hypnosis

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None.

What political issue stirred you the most?
The US elections got interesting.

Who did you miss?
My dad

Tell of a valuable life lesson learned in 2008:
Get a will. Don't die abroad.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
She's a maniac, manic on the floor. (BWAHAHA sort of but not really)