According to Mr. Nick, these are two things I say a lot: "What's the point?" and "No more talking."

I thought of that because I asked myself "what's the point". Everyone at work has been asked to install Skype. We're an international company and it's just cheaper to use Skype than calling long-distance numbers.

My favourite coworkers uses it, but she is always invisible. She also works from home. I don't understand why she doesn't make herself available in case people want to or need to contact her. Because I know she works odd hours and doesn't have set hours, I know the best way to communicate with her is through email.  Although working from home accommodates the person doing it, I don't think it means the person can put in less effort to make themselves available. Or at least have set hours so that people can reach you directly if need be.

Hey, lady on the gondola -- you're not that fat. It would have been nice if you were more considerate instead of taking up 1/3 of the bench when everyone could have comfortably fit on it.

I had peach pie for breakfast, and it was divine although I do wonder if they used canned peaches...I sure hope not. I want to bake little pies! YES!

I made a shortcake on the weekend. It was okay, but I don't think I am making them properly, still.

The guy next to me on the train this morning played his music a little too loudly for my taste, and he was very hot. When he got up, he left puddles of sweat in the shape of his buttocks.

There was a double stabbing on Friday night at the first McDonald's in Canada. I live really close to it. When I went to leave on Saturday morning, my driveways were all blocked off. At first I thought they were doing paving, but then I noticed it was police tape. Then I saw some markers on the sidewalk in front of my building, and I thought the crime happened in my building. It felt too calm, though. I found out that two people were stabbed inside the McDonald's. They died on scene. How horrible. The murdered was caught pretty quickly. Police are seeking specific witnesses. I think one of them was sitting on a bench outside my building. I feel for the people who had to witness the incident, too.

It's almost a little strange I didn't hear anything the night of. The night before was a busy night for emergency services. I live on some ambulance route, and the sirens are pretty loud! Right now, our paramedics are on strike. I wonder how that works. They still need to do their job to save lives. All the ambulances are adorned with "ON STRIKE" signs.

I started talking to The Hypochondriac again. We didn't discuss our blowup that led to a couple of months of silence. He works in the culinary industry, and I have asked him questions about cooking. He answers my questions often. I always forget the horrible attitude he has that goes along with his knowledge. I need to remember to not ask him questions anymore. In fact, I need to remember he's not really the kind of person I want in my life.

Anyway, he's told me time and time again to not use recipes. For me, if I have no recipe, I don't know what to do with ingredients. He made some comment today that "Chinese people are often so concerned with superficial duplication they often miss the point entirely." I probably shouldn't have jumped to any conclusions and taken things personally -- I was talking about making ratatouille. He said something about there being tonnes of variations out there and to just go with my gut. All I was looking for was a recipe to follow while I make something to eat.

He needs to accept that not everyone is like him. In fact, he knows most people are not like him. I think the next time he pisses me off, I am going to tell him off. I don't want another blowup and couple months of no talking. I'd rather tell him that I don't want him in my life anymore. I'd tell him the reason too, but that might be too hurtful and perhaps cross a line. The things he says to me are just really annoying and I find him unlikeable.I did start to miss him when we weren't talking, but I think the friend I remember disappeared some time ago.

And I also need to remember that Voldemort is a bitter-about-to-be-divorc ed man. Unfortunately, I cannot talk to him like I want to anymore. I definitely have to avoid talking about relationships especially if it's happy stuff. His advice to me was "don't get married, it's easier." Whether he meant it to be a joke or not, I think I will address it. I feel that he is saying that because his marriage didn't work out that I shouldn't experience the joy (there is some joy, right?) of getting/being married. I don't know if enjoyed being married...it didn't really sound like it. But marriage is something I would like to experience.

I don't know if I want to get married, but I do want to experience being married. I've only learned that weddings are ridiculous. I also do not wish to have a typical North American wedding, and I have no desire of meshing two cultures together. I think dancing at weddings is lame. I think watching the first dance is lame. I'm all for going to the banquet, eating a long feast, and getting outta there!

DEEP FRIED OREOS!!! They were surprisingly good. The cookie became cakelike. And then there was more cake around it. Soft and warm...oh so delicious.

Deep fried Mars bars...no thanks. The warm nougat and salty caramel  didn't do it for me.

Deep fried jelly beans were gross.

I've been wanting to get a Vita-Mix for a while. They had them at the fair, but I didn't want to spend the money on one. Where can I get one for cheap and that's brand new??

Anyway, my plan was eat all the crap that I could handle at the beginning of the fair and enjoy it before my feelings of discomfort kicked in. It took hardly any time before I felt gross. I was so disappointed!

After I ate my delicious chocolate chip cookie last night with a glass of milk, I felt ill. I'm not sure if it was because of the cookie or the dairy. Either way...I know I was consuming stuff I wasn't supposed to.

I was really crampy yesterday afternoon, too. I had felt cramps in YEARS! And then after the cookie, I got mildly crampy.

I am sure I am not doing my body any favours by continuing to eat my processed ingredients. I was going to allow myself to "enjoy" some of this stuff for the summer. Aside from the immediate delights to my senses...I've also gained bloating, weight, and zits! It will be back to clean eating soon.

Yesterday, I thought I saw a friend driving down the street, so I waved at him -- only I don't think it was him.

And then today I was walking behind someone I thought I knew but I wasn't sure if it was him, so I made sure to stay a few steps back. If we got on the same elevator, I would have said something because I was pretty sure it was him. But then he went to the other side of the building.

I'm going to the PNE today! I'm so excited! It's just the annual fair that we have here. I can't wait to eat doughnuts and scones! I want to try deep fried Mars bars, deep fried Oreos, and deep fried Jelly Belly jelly beans. I"ll be buying scone mix and soap for sure. I wonder what else I can consume! YEAH!

I worked from home yesterday, and now it feels like Monday.

I worked hard yesterday, and got a lot done...a lot more than usual. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe it was that knowing that I would take a break after working like a madwoman for 45 minutes made it easy. And that I had to get up to get a snack.

I have everything at my desk here. Sometimes I don't even want to get up to go pee!

So...I got a letter stating I was going to be fined by my strata council because insufficient written notice was not provided.

The subject line in the letter says "Move-in Violation - Failure to Provide Proper Notice," but the content of the letter says I didn't provide proper notice for a move OUT.

So...which do I go with?

I know they are referring to my tenants' move-in, but the letter says "It has been reported that you recently completed a move out from your suite and it is alleged that you failed to provide proper notice..."

The letter doesn't specify any dates.

The letter's contents differs from the subject line.

I am tempted to respond to the "move out part" because I have a nice paper trail stating that I followed the rules. Also, the content of the letter is what I am supposed to respond to, right?

After much waiting, I decided to try making *that* chocolate chip cookie. It's been a hit around the Internet ever since the article was published in the NY Times last year.

It requires a combination of flours, sugars, and special chocolate. After you make the dough, you need to keep it in the fridge for 36 - 48 hours. The waiting is the key for this dough to rest in the fridge!

I didn't have bread flour, or 1 1/4 pounds of bittersweet chocolate disks. 

I also measured the ingredients using measuring cups and spoons.

The next time I bake these cookies because I want to follow the recipe to a T, I am going to weigh the ingredients, and to purchase chocolate discs. I would love to try these cookies as they were meant to be made.

Anyway, my dough is resting in the fridge, and the dough was *really* tasty. I guess I will bake them tomorrow...

I got a bill in the mail for some fire alarm testing that was redone in my old building *after* I moved out. I called the property management for more information about the bill...but I guess I was also telling him non-directly that I shouldn't have to pay the bill.

1. Technically, I wasn't notified...or was I? I saw the notice in the elevator around the time I was moving out. Maybe I would have more of an effort if I knew I'd be charged for the re-testing.

2. I do not want to pay for a service I do feel not feel that I got. Even the invoice says that there was no access to my suite.

What was starting to piss me off was that he said that I should have known about the fire alarm testing. But how? My suite was vacant by the time they did the testing. Nobody was living there. He even said "well, maybe it was already rented out." But it wasn't, and the building manager and the council are aware of every suite's status. That's why the building manager takes everyone's keys after they've moved out. "Why would you need a key after you've moved out?"

The property manager told me to write a letter to the council if I wanted to dispute the bill. I darn right will since I have a paper trail stating when I was moving out. It's unfortunate that I didn't specify that my suite was going to be vacant but I do have other emails to say that I was going to be renting out my unit, leaving the presumption that my unit would be empty until then. Anyway, what should be the point of my letter?

I am in so much pain today from my workout yesterday. Actually, it's mostly my left arm. No more two month breaks from working out for me!

One of my favourite coworkers came in to the office today. He'd actually already started his vacation, which is why he was all casual looking and stuff. He wears *really* short shorts...

Over the last year, I've changed my diet quite a bit. I try to stick to a clean diet of whole foods. Over the last month, I've let myself experience a it of naughtiness, i.e., junk food. When I eat food made with grains, I tend to feel ill...like bloated and tired.

I baked Martha Stewart's banana loaf over the weekend, and I added chocolate chips. I ate a piece of it last night. Before I even finished the piece, I could barely breathe! I was really congested! This morning when I woke up, I was still congested and I felt horribly bloated. I can't wait for this discomfort to go away.

Time to give away the rest of that banana loaf! I wouldn't have made that extra loaf if it wasn't for the potluck on the weekend.  Nobody even ate it!

Aside from being a really good suitcase packer, I am also really good at finding results when I use Google! (I ought to get more acquainted with Bing; the one time I used it, I didn't think it was horrible!).

I've been thinking about what I might want to say about my friend's wedding. I was there the night she and her fiance met, but I don't really remember the details. I figured I probably blogged about that night because I met someone on that night as well. Praise the gods that he didn't end up calling me. Anyway, with all the blog entries I have and since tBlog always turns up in Google, I decided to Google for some very specific terms, and I found the blog entry. I wrote it January 2005!!! Man, am I good.

I've known this friend since we were in Grade 1. There are so many things that I could use in my speech. I don't think the format I used for my other friend would work as well for this wedding. But back then I hadn't heard a lot of wedding speeches so I did it my way. The only thing I remember about that speech is I mentioned how I knew her husband was a good match for her. Now that I've heard more wedding speeches, I think about what other people have said and liked their words. I just know that I want to keep it somewhat short and light-hearted.

Hmm...I bet I could Google and find my old speech. But I don't need it.

I am going to think about how I can encorporate the night of their meeting and find some sort of theme to use in my speech. Apparently, it was because of me that the groom got her number. I drove them both home. I think they were drunk (probably...BWAHAHA). When he was getting out of the car, I asked him if he wasn't going to get my friend's number. Unfortunately, there is no one else I can ask what happened that night since it was just the three of us! I don't think I can ask the bride what happened without looking suspicious.

Actually, I think I will try to slide it in on Sunday. She is treating some of her closest friends to high tea! She was going to uninvite Bridezilla but then changed her mind.

I was all set to take the new train to get home yesterday, but I nixed the idea when I found out the wait for 2.5 hours long! And then I found out today that people had to also get off at another stop to get in line again (in order for everyone to have a chance to ride the train).  Thousands of people were in line...tens of thousands of people rode the train yesterday. The lineups were insane...out the stations, around the block, etc. The rides were free yesterday -- lots of people came out to take advantage of that! And I guess it was a monumental day, too.

But I got on the the train this morning and I really enjoyed it! Mainly because it took me 40 minutes to get to work instead of 60. It took me 10 minutes to walk to the station, ride for 25 minutes, and another 5 minute walk to the office! It was also pretty empty. They are still running the buses, so I think people are still taking those. It will be a lot more packed when the buses are no longer running those routes. And I'm sure when it's back to school, there will be even more people! Lucky for me, I get on and off at the last stations.

That's my excitement from this morning!

Last night I *finally* saw the latest Harry Potter movie, and in 3D! Well, it was only 3D for the first 12 minutes. IMAX is expensive. It was $17/ticket. When did they raise the prices?! The movie was good, but I didn't like the story. There was a lot of walking around in the movie, too. And it was more different  from the book than the other movies. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was definitely my least favourite of all the HP movies.

The bride also asked me if I would say something at her wedding! I felt so honoured to be asked! I am not sure what I want to say though. I will have to mull that over! Can't wait!!

I think my ears are still recovering from the Kings of Leon concert on Saturday. They are a great band to see live, and their energy and gratitude were wonderful! They sounded like their CD, but they still played like they were playing their songs for the first time. I don't mean that they didn't sound polished, but they played like they were bored of their music. Definitely a great show! And I didn't even mind with my view partially blocked from time to time. It usually bugs me when people raise their arms or move around and stuff in front of me.

Being at the show reminded me that I wanted to look up the DJ that opened for Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour on iTunes. I love iTunes! I can't believe Madonna is coming out with another album this fall.

I still haven't seen Harry Potter yet, and I really want to. It will be out of the theatres soon. I want to see it in the IMAX theatre!

I'm also really excited that today is the first day of the Canada Line. It's a rapid transit system that I can take in my city!! Instead of sitting on a bus for about an hour, I should be able to get a train and be at work in about half the time! The only downside is that I now have to walk a teensy bit farther to my stops.

Yesterday, Mr. Nick helped me put together my wardrobe and put some shelving up. I am really grateful for that. When he was putting up the shelves, I was reminded that my dad did that for me the last time I moved in, and then I wished he was around to see my new place. I felt sad. But then I also figured that he probably wouldn't have helped me out as much as Mr. Nick did either.

Last night, I went to a seminar graduation. It was like the one I was in 3 months ago. Listening to the graduates brought me back to that time when I was doing my seminar. These graduates were saying things that I was saying at the same time...They reminded me of the enthusiasm and energy and I had for accomplishing things. I want to get those things back. I can't wait to coach next month!!

Time to check my bank account balance. It's payday! Wahoo!

I have a fear of children, but it's been a fun visit with Mr. Nick's niece and nephew.

My insurance broker just sent me an email. This is what she wrote (and I can totally hear her accent in my head, too...it's quite annoying):

Hi Rosie,

 

I received a phone call from underwriter. She would like your property manager to inspect the unit every 2 months. Thanks.

 

Whatever works for you, lady!

I am getting tired of my old building manager calling me with issues...The point of having a property manager is so that I don't have to deal with this kind of crap, right? Anyway, my old building has strict rules about who gets access. I wasn't even able to get a spare keycard when I was living there. I still have my storage locker there now, which I use. The property manager said that by law, I should have access to it because I own the storage locker.

The building manager wants to me to give my keycard back because I am not a resident  The keycard is now registered to my tenant. When I want access to my locker, I have to call her so she can let me in. I think that is a slightly ridiculous because her hours are like 7:30am - 4:30pm M-F. Technically, I am able to access my locker, but I am not able to access it whenever I want.

And she was yelling again...sometimes people think if they say the same thing over and over again with increasing volume that their point will come across better -- so NOT true!

I guess I need to talk to my property manager. I really hate relaying this kind of stuff. Why can't they just talk to each other?!?

It's insurance renewal time. I want to switch brokers because the one that I was assigned is extremely annoying to deal with.

Another broker said the easiest thing for me to do is to roll my existing insurance to a new broker. Switching brokers is not going to save me any money.

But I hate dealing with my existing broker. I'd only have to deal with once a year, if at all, but when I do deal with her...I don't enjoy the experience.

This new broker has been helpful and if I don't go with her this time, I will never be able to show my face (or email/call) again because I keep asking her for quotes and then disappearing!

Should I switch brokers or not?!

(Also, in terms of convenience...my current broker is in my city while the new one is like an hour's drive away...should I ever need to go into the office.)

I finally have a tenant!

Apparently, the property manager called and left me a message a week ago. It must have been over a week since my voice mails automatically get deleted after 7 days. I guess I didn't get notification of it while I was in Oregon. GRR. And now I am scrambling to get the FOBs and keys sorted out since their official move in date is Saturday. But I am glad I have tenants. I hope they are good and stay a long time!

I also just found out that an old acquaintance of mine is engaged. That didn't take long. When we first met, he was engaged to be married to someone else. We were online friends and we chatted a lot. He didn't tell me he was engaged until the day before he was getting married. He wasn't sure about getting married and was looking to get insight from me. I think he was sort of choosing between two people. I had told him the one he didn't marry would have been a better match. Anyway, they ended up divorcing about a year later. And now he's engaged to be married again. I think he and his fiancee have been together a year? We pretty much lost touch after my first visit to England (where he lives) 3 or 4 years ago.

It hates me right now!

Must stretch.

I'm not talking about anuses -- just butt cheeks.

My regular warmup routine was too much for my butt to handle yesterday! I hope it doesn't take me long to get back to where I was physically a few months ago. It's interesting what my body composition must be like right now. My weight hasn't changed, but I obviously I look quite different!

The volume on my receiver goes up on its own! I'll be watching a nice HD show and then the volume increases!! And then I have to turn it back down. Why is this happening?? I wonder if it happens if I'm watching a DVD...or a recorded show...I haven't pinpointed when it happens, but it just does. And it's annoying!!

I also need to get my iPod fixed. Sometimes it just doesn't turn on when I press the buttons, and then I have to reset it. After that, podcasts that I had deleted appear to be not deleted, but I can't play them.

I think there was something else I wanted to blog about, but really ... I just want to be on vacation!

Oh! Right. One of the things I use most in Windows is the calculator. I checked out the calculator in Windows 7 and it is AWESOME!!! LOVE IT!!

It's now time to catch up on sleep and to cut out the sugar. I think all the ice-cream I consumed on my trip is contributing to my lack of energy.

I cannot believe the ice-cream portion sizes in the US! A single scoop is the size of my fist! 

Anyway, I had a really fun time, and things with Mr. Nick felt normal. (Had I mentioned we had a talk before we left?) The sand dunes in Oregon are amazing. The scenery on the coat is beautiful! And the trip has made me love my car even more now. BWAHAHAHA There were other families on the trip, too, and it was a good time. We ate some good food and relaxed. I did manage to squeeze in a bit of shopping but not as much as I would have liked.

And now for this month -- no spending! And time to catch up on TV shows!