Depressing Posts...

It does occur tome from time to time that things were pretty damned good for 4 years or so in Guelph, and itwould be pretty sweet to go back to that, but then I remember that most people have moved on so it's in vain. But things will inevitably get better.
To conclude our insurance fiasco story, everything turned out how we wanted. Actually, it turned out better than we wanted. I'll wait for Sarah to have a cheque in hand so as to not jinx it, but we're happy with the settlement we've received. We still think ICBC (i.e. money grabbing demonesque bureaucrat assholes) can go to their own special circle of hell, but at least we don't get utterly screwed.
Right now I'm trying to convince Sarah to look into pharmacy scholarships. They'd send us to a backwater shithole, but frankly, I think we're both just about ready for that. We're having this growing impression that everyone in this city is trying to kill us with their horrendous driving "skills", and that it's only a matter of time before we get flattened by some douche doing his/her makeup while eating a doughnut and reading the paper whilst running a red light on the wrong side of the road (only a modest exagerration). In other words, the quiet life on island-time is extraordinarily attractive.
Well, that's enough for now,
Maybe I should also post on my own blog, but I have to watch my vocab there... so maybe not...

Remi

Procrastinating

Hey, all. So I should be studying for my pharmacy practice lab final that's this week, but I'm bored, so I thought I'd post. Things are getting hairy with our insurance company on the car, so I need to vent, anyway.

Remi found a new piece of evidence in our favour the other day... Well here, let me re-cap. Car crashed, we found out that I hadn't changed my "territory" when I moved to Vancouver on my insurance, so I wasn't paying what I was supposed to be paying (it costs more to be in Vancouver), apparently that makes me in "breach of contract", so they don't have to pay for my accident until I pay a nominal fee (which started out at $7500 and then got dropped as a "favour" to $1500). OK, so I'm fighting tooth and nail so that I don't have to pay said penalty and I can just pay what I owe. ICBC (the insurance company) departments do not communicate with each other out here, so even though I changed my address with one department, it apparently wasn't the "right" department and now we're screwed. Makes no sense, right? So that's what they're saying... I say if they made it easier and prompted people with reminders, people would very rarely breach their contracts and as such, things like this wouldn't happen.

Anyway, to Remi's evidence... All it is is a little piece of paper that we have stuck to the backs of our driver's licenses with our change of address on them stating: "ICBC address amendment card". Not Motor Vehicle Department, or Driver's License amendment card, ICBC amendment card. So... Sounds like I changed my address with ICBC. I'll throw this at my insurance adjuster Monday and see how he tries to get around it.

Keeping you posted,

Sarah

Inspired

So Dave's fantastic post inspired me to write a little something myself. A lot has been going on around here lately. I'm getting very close to a lot of people in the pharmacy program out here. I can actually say that a lot of people are "friends" now and not just people I go to school with and that's nice. I'll never be able to replace you guys and the chemistry that we had at the 6-9-5, but I think over the four years here I'll get something just as good, but in a different way with a lot of the people in my program. I'm so glad that I skipped out on my interview in '05 to go to France because the year ahead of us just doesn't seem anywhere near as cool ;)

So what's new at school? Mostly it's Skits Night. I've written a bit about it on our facebook page, but it was really a fantastic event, so I'll write again about it here. It was a fabulous bonding experience with the other cast members and people involved. What happens is that each year of pharmacy and the faculty write skits that are performed on a Friday night in March every year. The skits usually consist of making fun of faculty members and jabbing at the pharmacy program in general. It's actually a great way to get to know the profs too because most of them come out for the event. I got to play one of the lead roles in the skit and I can't wait to participate again next year. I was stressed about it and feeling a little unsure about my acting abilities, but the absolute fun-ness of it won out ;) Remi couldn't make it this year, but I've posted some pictures of it on our blog (http://remiandsarah.blogspot.com/) if you guys are interested.

Anyway, the thing that's really big in our lives right now is the car accident that happened a week ago today... It was bad :( I was making a left on a four-lane road and the middle lane had stopped to let me through, so I safely (or so I thought) inched forward and then proceeded and out of nowhere some asshole in an SUV blasted into the back end of the passenger's side (near the gas tank), pushing us into the curb and then flipping the car up onto its side before it settled on the roof. It was extremely scary. And of course I'm handling it the way I usually handle things - by bottling it up. I have a tendancy to joke and make light of things, suppressing them a bit until finally one thing sets me off and I cry for like an hour or so just to get it out. I wish I could handle stressful situations differently, but that's just how I am. What set me off in this case was the news that the car is unfixable, a total write-off :( I was so upset when they told me that, that any positive thoughts about us not dying were quickly erased by the total unfairness that my car was destroyed and that asshole drove away from the accident with no more than a caved in hood.

Anyway, we're still waiting to hear how much we get for the car in the settlement, but neither Remi nor I are optimistic. It's an insurance company, we're going to get screwed. We're also still waiting to hear about fault. Yes, I was making a left, but the man was speeding and it was pouring so he had no control and all of this factors into their decision on fault. Our adjustor seemed very optimistic when Remi and I talked to him that I would be found at most at 25% fault (which is how they do it out here - 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%). We'll just have to wait and see what the witnesses say. It only takes one person telling the insurance company that I just drove wrecklessly around the turn for us to get screwed...

BUT, I'm staying positive, as I always do. Maggie wasn't in the car with us and both Remi and I were wearing our seatbelts, which locked as they were supposed to and left us both suspended upside down after the car finally settled. Neither of us our hurt, besides a bit of back pain in my case which is subsiding. And even though the car is a write-off, we'll get a new-used car and be back to more or less normal. We're handling it together. And we live in a good location with a grocery store and Costco within walking distance, so no worries :)

Anyway, that's what's new with me right now. I am finding the toils of pharmacy school so much more meaningless after surviving my car-flipping and can't wait for summer to start so that I can rest and re-charge for next year. I still have so many assignments left though!! RIDICULOUS! I start my job at the hospital pharmacy on April 30th, so I'm eagerly awaiting that as well. Only three more shifts at the boring Shoppers Drug Mart before I'm done there! Remi's job is going well. He should be getting benefits soon and maybe a bit of a raise (he's coming up on 6 months), so that's nice too. Things are good besides the car.

How is everyone else doing? I'm glad some of us are still using the blog to keep in touch :)

Bye bye for now!

10 degrees

This weather is AMAZING.

I want to play baseball in this weather.

I want to run around in circles waving my Leafs flag.

I want to sit outside and drink a milkshake.

I want to walk.

I want to watch baseball.

I want to blast music outside.

12:54am...

I'm feeling so bungled up right now...from everything, from my evening...I was out with a few friends playing a new game I have become obsessed with, I listened to music, I read some of my book, which is reaching its climax and getting very suspenseful and disturbing, and I just had a quick chat with Jessica and it's always so hard to say goodbye. On top of that, Wish You Were Here came on iTunes and that just set me over the edge. I'm brimming with so much right now and this is my release. I've tried writing in a journal that I got for me and Jess to share and write in and swap so we can read about each other's days and lives and thoughts. It's relieving, but I haven't developed a rhythm for writing yet so it's not fully therapeutic. I find if I don't write things down, though, I get to the point I'm at right now and I just have to release it all. Fortunately, I have this blog, which I clearly don't treat very well.

So as you can probably tell, given my jumbled writing, the therapist I was seeing for a month did not help at all. She referred me to a behavioural therapy clinic, but they don't accept OHIP so I must first find a job to give me money that I can exchange for goods and services. I would like to purchase many goods at this point on top of paying off a balance that is steadily working its way up into the commas: Roger Waters tickets for the July 14th show at Skydome (1/2 the show will be solo work and songs from The Wall, the other 1/2 will be Dark Side of the Moon from start to finish); books...I can't stop reading suspense/mysteries...Lisa Gardner, James Patterson, both great writers with a knack for creating suspense and deception. Easy reading and fun to boot! I'd like to buy a cottage; I'd like to buy baseball cards; I really want to own the special edition of Magnolia. Okay, off track a bit...So the clinic, sounds great, need funds and then I'll start going. I just need to get over my insane nervousness that I develop in low- and high-stress environments. I need to learn to control my fears and act like I know I can act. I haven't felt relaxed for about two years. It's weird, I know. The classes will help and I'll start them ASAP.

As for the job front, I've been sending out resumes diligently, and though not much has arisen, I'm not concerned. I had an interview for a job at the Hudson's Bay Company offices across from the Eaton Centre for a job inputting data and information into Excel files and creating power point presentations for the president of the department. The job was easy enough and relatively monotonous, but they gave it to someone internally or someone who had more experience with those programs. It was a fun experience, though I really don't think I would have wanted the job for two reasons: one, I would have gone nuts in that tiny cubicle; two, the girl I'd be replacing (named Jessica) is a Habs fan. I just couldn't work in a space occupied by a Habs fan for so many years. Just not right. Bad vibes all over the place. I have been working on a small project for Jess' sister, Rebecca, trying to get a website to appear as the first Google search when a certain title is searched. I'm doing that whilst applying for other jobs and doing my course.

My course...

Lots of fun. We just finished a three week UN conference discussion within our online groups. I represented Saudi Arabia and got all of the countries, except for the US, to agree on my terms for certain policies. Negotiating is easy when it won't actually change the world. I'd be very interested to sit in an actual UN debate to see how countries make proposals and negotiate to meet their terms while helping other countries fulfill their own agenda. ...stupid Saudi Arabia.

One thing I've learned about myself lately is that I cannot accept what I have if I'm not gaining anything from it or learning anything or enjoying anything. I do not like my bedroom right now. The space is too big for me so I am switching rooms with my mom! I do not like the concept of working in a cubicle, so I am going to put 99.9% of my efforts into working/interning/scrubbing toilets in the music or film production industry. I don't care what I do there to start, I just want to be there. I want to grow my beard and I want to wear normal clothes. That is what I want and that is what I'll get. It's fantastic to know what I want. Who knows if I'll get it, but just having the vision is very helpful. I have started taking time to myself each day, for one hour, doing absolutely nothing and not feeling guilty for it. Sometimes I'll just sit and hear music or I'll play a baseball game on Playstation (I never had video games growing up and now I have one...and my idol as a kid, and even today, is now a Blue Jay and he's kicking ass in my game:D). Next on my list is the way I eat and the lack of exercise I get. I have waaaaaaay too much energy to be sitting around all day. And I've discovered that it doesn't cost a lot of money to eat healthily. My kitchen's good for cooking and now I have to put it to good use. Goat cheese with jam on toasted gluten-free bread is amazing.

Quite the rant, eh? Transitions in life can really change a person. I've not really changed, but I'm starting to make realizations and actually doing things about them. I haven't paid much attention to what my body and mind craves until now and it feels so good to just do something instead of just thinking of doing something. It's hard to make these changes, but I'm loving myself for doing them. I would never ever imagine not having any of you in my life, but lately I had to make the horrible decision to tell a friend I couldn't be around her anymore. She just sucked the life out of me and I could not take it any more. That was very difficult and took a lot out of me, but I knew I had to do it to move forward. Changes like that in this transition are really taking a lot out of me, but in the end it's going to make me so much better.

On a totally unrelated matter, the next month is the greatest time of year for me: the end of the hockey season and the start of the playoffs, and the start of baseball - ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I am so excited for the playoffs and, as usual, so pumped to watch baseball. Sarah, I'm tellin' ya, this will be a great year. I have not said that we will make the playoffs, but given the Yankees' and Red Sox's lineups and pitching staffs, we have a very good shot at making life very difficult for them. I think we have as good a chance as anyone to make the playoffs, but I have already picked four teams not named Blue Jays to make the playoffs. Regardless, Frank Thomas, the person I've named every internet id after (bighurt135, anything 35, anything frank) is a Blue Jay and I will give him a standing ovation in my Thomas jersey every time he comes to bat. I will be even more like a little kid at a ballgame. I will give shit to anyone who puts him down at a game :) I am so pumped and giddy that I occasionally break out into a random smile while walking down the street. The Leafs are another matter. If they make the playoffs, I'll be satisfied. As of right now, they are one point out of the last playoff spot. It'll be tough for us to make it. Go Leafs Go.

As for Jessica, the only thing that would make our relationship perfect is if she lived in my bedroom. She makes it back to Toronto whenever she can, and I'm making the trip to Windsor at the end of the month for her formal, but it's hard to not feel such a void when we're apart. Anyhow, apart from that, she is everything I have waited for in another human being of the opposite sex and we've really only just begun things. I could go on and on and on, but I'll hold off for now. I really wouldn't know where to start. What I can say is that she brings out the absolute best in me. The last time I felt fully myself was living with all of you at the 695. Until I met Jess, I was just not the same. That's a long time to not feel like yourself.

So this game I eluded to at the start of this post is called Settlers of Catan. It's a nerdy game involving earning resources (wool, ore, wood, and brick) in order to purchase settlements, cities, or development cards. The object is to achieve ten points. Points are achieved by having settlements (one point), cities (two points), and development cards worth one point (there are other uses for these cards). Settlements/cities are joined by your own roads, which are purchased by trading in one wood card and one brick card. The longest road will garner you two more victory points. And there are more stipulations...just search the game and have a look if you're interested. It's played on a board comprised of 36 hexagonal cards, which are comprised of four of each resource randomly lied down at the start of the game. Oh there are so many things to explain. Just Google it if you want a concept of what I'm talking about. It's addictive.

Okay, it's now 1:33 and I feel I've released a lot of tension. I feel I can sleep. Thank you for your eyes or ears if you read this out loud to yourself...

I'm going to win March Madness.

A gust of wind

So... you come here often?

Yeah, me too.

So, obviously begging, pleading, goading, and making threats only works to get about one post out of everyone. We had a nice little flurry of posts there around the end of Jan/early Feb, but since then, nada. And I'm guilty of this, too. Now, what I'm curious about is are we still checking it? Do we go to this page just to see if there has been any activity and when we don't see any (or maybe we do), we just move on to Facebook or email or whatever else we look at online. I know that's what I do. So, when you read this, don't forget to leave a comment and tell us what your blog behaviour is. In fact, go ahead and do it right now. Don't worry, this post will still be here when you're done, so comment now.

I'm serious, go comment now!

Okay, so, now that I've done the usual rant about our absence from here, on to my update. As you all should know by now, I will be returning to Maine this summer. I start sometime around mid-May and will stay thru October. I'm looking forward to going back, though not as excited as last year. This time I already know what to expect as far as place and job are concerned, but I'm anxious to know who's going to return from last years crew of interns. I also will be living with the two new education interns, and I'm hoping that I'll like them and that at least one of them will be neat and tidy, so I'm not the only one cleaning up all the time.

I've also started working part-time at the state park with the reservations system for the state. I answer the phone and help people make or change their reservations for the state park inns across the state. Not a highly demanding job, but that's fine by me. I get to read in the slow times, so it's fairly easy money, if you can get past the jerks and geezers that call in. I haven't done any substitute teaching, as I mentioned I might in my previous post. This other job has me working most days, so I don't really have time to sub, which really doesn't bother me.

I am also making money as a human guinea pig. I'm taking part in a comparison study of two acne medications (Tazorac and Retin-A-Micro, for those of you who care) to determine the efficacy of one compared to the other. Both drugs have been on the market for a number of years, so it's not as if I'm risking my nose falling off or anything for a brand new drug. Nor am I wasting my time with a placebo, b/c there isn't one. So, I've been put on Taz and it's only been a week, but I'm already seeing results. My skin is peeling like a minor sunburn, but the texture is already smoother and it may just be my imagination, but the color seems less uneven. So, besides the obvious benefits of using the free medication (plus cleanser and moisturizer), I'll have seen a dermatologist and made about $100 from this little adventure. Not a bad deal.

I finally have a new computer now, too, so I'm hoping that I'll be more inclined to be online now. I got it through the Dell Outlet, so it's a refurbished unit, but it's only a few months old and even though it was listed as a scratch and dent, I can't find anything wrong with it. Plus, since it was a scratch and dent, I was able to afford getting a better processor and more memory and features, therefore I ended up with a pretty sweet computer for the price of a moderate one. I'm quite pleased, if you can't tell.

So, I'm pretty satisfied with my life right now. Unfortunately, my brother is going through some major problems financially, so things are kinda tense in regards to the family, but as long as the troubles stay with the money, we are fortunate.

That about covers me for now. Make sure you keep tabs on your March Madness status. The selections for the tournament are tomorrow, so after tomorrow evening, you can complete your bracket. Good luck with your picks and if you need help, you can check this site: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology

And if you haven't posted a comment yet, DO IT!!!