Goodbye j-go-5!

As per my last entry, I now have a new blog :) But I don't want to put the address on here...if you want it, leave me a comment or send me an email or a Facebook message, and I'll let you know the address!
♥Jill

Do di do...

HI!

Miss me? If anyone actually reads this. Yes, I know, I suck on the posting thing. Something about this blog just doesn't appeal to me anymore, so I'm thinking that now that I'm done university, I'm going to get me a new public blog. Expect that up & running in a few days, and stay tuned for details!

Hope all is well with everyone else out there in Cyber-World :)

♥Jill

So I know I've been writing only about every 3 days lately, and it's only been a day since I wrote last, but I felt the need to write this today.

For EWB, we had 2 guest speakers today, Bill & Karen Butt, who have been living in Mozambique for the past 8.5 years. It was super-interesting, and I can't even imagine some of the lifestyle there - a lot of their work is with AIDS education. Teaching people new skills, and getting them to use these skills to teach others about AIDS. The other main thing, that Karen mainly does, is work with young girls. Teaching them new skills, in order to boost their confidence. A lot of them have such low self-esteem that they don't stay in school, they sleep around A LOT and thus, obviously are more susceptible to AIDS/STDs. Also, a lot of them used to get married by age 12. However, with Karen's work, a lot of them are now staying in school, and are doing things that will help them. It's wonderful! But still, some of the pictures & stories they told are scary - things I could never imagine here in Canada!

Another point they brought up was global warming. Here in Canada, obviously we hear about it, but really, I don't see much effect of it, other than the warmer weather this winter. However, in places like Mozambique, they border the Indian Ocean I believe, and the ocean is so hot, that the water evaporates, but then it doesn't cool down enough to condense & rain, so they have major draught b/c of global warming! As such, the women who walk like 5km to get water for their families every day now could have an extra 3km to walk, and there's not nearly as much water.

Wow. Just wow. I'm learning so much from EWB this term - it's amazing. Scary, but amazing.

♪Hip to be square...♪

Hello all!!

Or maybe I'm hip to be a triangle? :P

I'm not sure if anyone actually checks this still, or if people gave up on me. But oh well - if there is anyone out there, this one's for you ;)

Life = busy. Fun, but busy. But really, it would be boring otherwise!

I guess the biggest news of this past week was the birth of my new niece, Emeline Jane, to my brother Jon & my sister-in-law Danya. Born in Singapore on January 13, 2007 at 12:34am, at a weight of about 8lb and a length of 21.5". The entire family is doing well :) And yes, I am Aunt Jill again :D

Other than that, busy week! As per usual, when it's me. EWB is going to be busy this term, but fun!

Thursday night was fun - went to Laurier's place for Grey's Anatomy, then we were chilling out & chatting. Some good, interesting conversation, as per usual when it comes to Laurier! I love friends that I can talk about almost anything with - there aren't a whole lot of them, but they rock!

Friday night, a bunch of us went to the Ranch in Guelph. Now, somehow, this is the THIRD weekend in a row that I've gone to a country bar. WTF is going on?? LOL. I actually don't mind country bars though - they're a bit less crowded, and not as creepy. And I'm getting more used to the music. I predrank pretty well, so didn't spend too much there. I wasn't drunk at all, but definitely pretty tipsy! HOwever, at like 12:45am, it suddenly hit me that I was exhausted, and almost fell asleep in the bar...oops.

Saturday I went for lunch with Ashlee :D Ashlee is my longest friend, since we were 3! And one that I only see once every couple of months, but definitely one of the people that I can tell everything to! And we haven't seen each other since August, so it was great to see her :D I introduced her to the wonderful world of Thai food - my Pad Thai was AWESOME!! I think she enjoyed it. Then we hung out at her place that afternoon & looked at pictures, since I took my laptop over b/c I knew she wanted to see pics of Calgary. I love that girl!

Saturday night, I went to a Cookie Party at Grace, Vicki & Kevin's house. It was fun...more fun than I expected. It was a nice, laid-back night with friends :) We ate cookies (and other desserts!) and played Cranium & Mafia, and some of us chatted when others left till close to 2am! Some people there that I haven't really seen since August, so it was great.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of work, but unfortunately, it wasn't. I got up late, and when I went downstairs, Mom asked if I had time to go to a hockey game with Dad. A friend of his (and well, all the family) Fred had gotten tickets to the Kitchener Rangers-Ottawa 67s game, but couldn't go. (BTW, this is OHL hockey, which is Junior A - basically 17-21-year-olds, some of whom go on to play in the AHL & NHL) So Dad was offered the tickets, and I went with him. It was good times - just like old times. Dad used to be a teacher at Eastwood, which is a local high school where all the Rangers go to school when they're here, playing. So, Dad also used to get free tickets to most of the games, and back 10 years ago or so, he & I used to go to the games every Friday night. But we haven't gone in years, so it was nice to go (plus you just can't go wrong with watching hockey!!) They've changed parts of the arena around, and of course, I don't know the players anymore. But we were looking at the picture of the old teams, when I used to go all the time - some of them have made it to the NHL, and some make me wonder where they are now. But it was a great afternoon :)

Today was a SNOW DAY! Moreso b/c it was quite icy out. So I didn't leave the house all day. Did some work here though, which was good.

However, you'd expect me to be thrilled about a day off, right? Pretty well all my classmates are. However, I'm a little disappointed. First off, I have no classes on Mondays, so really, I don't miss class at all. Secondly, I was supposed to meet my friend/semi-classmate Moo to work on yearbook. I say semi-classmate b/c we are technically in different classes, but her class & my class have had about 85% of our classes together over our university years, so we're all basically one class. Anyway, Moo is doing the pages for her class, so we were going to work on our pages together, and also figure out the software together. We have deadlines for this, and are going to need more than just one day to do it, and today was the best day for me to start working on it :S

So instead, I stayed home & tried to do some work here - did some, but not much. Plus I didn't really get anything done yesterday. I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed (thank goodness for not doing FASS!) As well, my parents were looking through old pictures - some from when I was a kid in the mid-80s, some from when my brother & sister were kids in the mid to late 70s, some from when they were kids in the 40s & 50s, and some from when my Grandparents were younger, in the 1910s-1930s. It was pretty funny! Some of the hair, and the clothes, and the glasses - so funny!

Anyway, not much more to say. I need to go review the stuff that we did in the summer for our fourth year project, then likely read a bit & go to bed. I'm so tired lately, which sucks. I wish I wasn't, so that I had time to get everything done more. Haha. B/c my life is always busy, and I wish sleep wasn't so important :P Then again, I do have a kickass immune system, so at least I haven't gotten sick like everyone else yet! *knock on wood*

♪You're just too good to be true...can't take my eyes off of you♪

Ok, so it's been a long time since I updated this thing! With a real entry. However, one of my New Years resolutions was about my writing - where I'm trying to write in my paper journal every day (which I started writing in again, after years of not!), writing in my friends-only blog every couple of days, and keeping up with this one once a week. We'll see how it goes.

So today is Monday the 8th. Already. I've obviously come back from Alberta, celebrated Christmas & New Years, and started school again. So, a brief update of those things.

Alberta. I loved it, and was saddened to leave, especially the mountains. Speaking of which, one highlight since my last real post (towards the end of November! Oy!) was skiing in Banff, at Sunshine Village. Now, a lot of you know that I'm not much of a skiier, mainly b/c I'm scared of steep hills, but I stuck to the green runs, and actually had a lot of fun! It was BEAUTIFUL!! And I'm actually thinking that if I settle one day in a place with winter, I may take up skiing :)

Other than that, not much else that was super-exciting happened in Alberta - finished both jobs, said good-bye to people. The flight home wasn't too exciting, although I did enjoy the WestJet mini-televisions! Good to see my parents again, and friends & other people back in Ontario - that was one of the main things I missed, were the people. Still lots of people to see though again!

Great Christmas - I flew back late on the 19th, then my parents & I drove to New Hampshire on the 23rd to return on the 27th. We celebrated at my sister Jenn, brother-in-law Mike & nephew Henry's place, with Mike's parents, George & Louise. Henry turned 1 on January 2nd, so it was his first Christmas. Of course, he didn't know much of what was going on, but still got spoiled! Although I think he liked the boxes better ;) As well, since I hadn't seen him since July, when he was 6 months old, it was awesome to see him (and Jenn & Mike of course!) again. Henry's grown so much! We also had a mini-birthday party on Boxing Day, where cupcakes were made, and one was just put in front of Henry in his high chair (wearing just a diaper & a onesie) with garbage bags underneath, and he just went at it! It was fun to watch :)

December 30th brought my dear high school friend, Sarah's wedding to Mathieu, in St Catharine's. It was a morning wedding with lunch afterwards. Lovely wedding, good food, and lots of great people that I haven't seen in awhile! It was a great time :) That night, I returned to Waterloo for my Dad's side of the family's Christmas party, which is always fun! I'm a lot closer to that side of the family, and they're a good time! Also, I got to meet my cousin Peggy's new son, Ben for the first time, as he was born in September - beautiful baby!

Obviously this leads us to New Years, where we predrank at Amanda L's place, then a bunch of us hit the Stampede Corral. Great times that night!

School started last Wednesday. 4B already - wow! Classes seem good - only 12 hours scheduled a week! When I'm used to 20-30, I almost have problems wondering what to do with my time! Actually it'll be a busy term - I'm doing dance, playing hockey, got involved with EWB, playing squash in my spare time, and doing my class' "fun yearbook pages." Plus fourth year project, other courses, and partying b/c it's my last term ;)

Speaking of hockey, we started last night. We have a campus rec team, on which I know almost everyone I think (not everyone showed up last night) Last night was just a practice/scrimmage amongst our team. It felt good to get out there again, after 4 years of non-hockey. I'm excited for games - should be fun :) And somehow, it appears that I might be the Enforcer of the team, even though I'm one of the shortest people! :P

Ahh...back to my busy life...I love it :D But for now, back to either Japanese homework or bed! :P Till next week (I hope) take care all! ♥ (that is, if anyone reads this :P)

♪Homeward bound...♪

It's about 4pm in Calgary. I'm going to be leaving within 15-20 minutes for the airport. My flight is at 6:30pm Calgary time, and I'll be landing in Ontario about 12:16am EST. So the next time you hear from me, I'll be home!

♪I've heard it all so many times before...it's all a dream to me now♪

Post about the rest of my time in Alberta since my last post to come at some point...hopefully.

However, I fly back to Ontario on Tuesday evening already, and finished work yesterday, so was starting to pack today. I was getting sick of organizing, and it looked nice out today (well, chilly, but sunny!) So I decided to go for a walk to the SAIT campus, where there is a nice open space by the parking lot, that gives a clear view of both downtown and the mountains in the distance. I took some pictures, and sat, watching the sun set over the city. And wrote this:

Sunset, over the mountains, over downtown
Quiet, peaceful, serene
Goodbye Alberta, I'll miss you
Getting darker, darker, dark.

I did not cry, but I was close to
I miss family, friends, home
But I'll miss Alberta
It's been good to me.
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On slightly related, but not really, news, I am a geek. Well, we all knew that, but this is why:

When I left, I didn't know how long I'd be gone, so I changed my MSN name to "out for a bit, or a bit longer than a bit?" Then I thought "so, a bit longer than a bit...am I gone for a byte? No, I'm gone for 2 bits ... a byte would be seven bits longer than a bit, not just one bit." Haha. I amuse myself! :P

♪You're as cold as ice...you're willing to sacrifice my love♪

It's been bloody cold here for the past number of days! I think this is the 4th or 5th day that the windchill has been in the -30s. Yes, that's degrees celsius (although it's been down to -39oC...which is about -39oF, since -40oC=-40oF :P)

In Waterloo today, it was supposed to be 15oC. With the windchill, it was about -35oC here. That's a difference of FIFTY DEGREES!! Ontario's looking quite tropical.

However, tomorrow, the temperature is supposed to be -13oC. WAHOO!! I never thought I'd be so excited about a temperature of -13oC! Hahaha.

♪Strange & beautiful are the stars tonight, that dance around your head♪

It's cold. So I've been surfing the net a lot today, and I also went to the mall. Which brings me to the following subject.

I am not artistic. In any way. Sure I take some good pictures on occasion, but I couldn't draw to save my life, nor can I write. I wish I could. Especially write. Well, I can write if I had something to write about (sometimes) but I never have any ideas or inspiration. I'm very uncreative. I wish I could be.

Similarly, I can't sing worth shit, and I don't know if I'm really that good a dancer - I probably look clumsy when I do :S

Speaking of art though, when I was in Edmonton, Natasha introduced me to the art of Bev Doolittle. She paints, but does a lot of camouflage in her art. SO COOL! :D

♪I still haven't found what I'm looking for...♪

This blog ain't called "Rambles of my Life" for nothing. Some rambles today:

I haven't mentioned, but I was saddened at the beginning of November to find out that Bob Barker is retiring in June. Then again, he is 82 - I guess that's a good reason to retire :P I've watched Price is Right (although not as much anymore) for as long as I can remember - it's always been one of my favourite game shows (alongside Jeopardy!) But I said when I was a kid that I would be on PiR when I turned 18. Well that was 5 years ago, and I have not been yet. I'm doubting I will. While they are going to replace Bob, it just won't be the same.
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More friends are getting engaged! I've known (but haven't mentioned yet) for awhile that Kevin & Nina got engaged. And more recently, Em & Adam got engaged! Both of those are super-exciting, and those are two weddings that I'm not sure if I'll be invited to. We shall see :)
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Calgary weather is crazy. It was cold for awhile at the beginning of the month, then it got warm for about a week & a half or so, and now it's freezing. The daytime highs this weekend are around -20oC!! Oy vey!!
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Since the beginning of November, I finished reading 1984, read the entirety of "The Bookseller in Kabul" and am now reading "The Green Mile." 1984 was good and The Bookseller was excellent! It was non-fiction, and quite interesting to read about the life in Afghanistan. Some of it was pretty unbelievable! I'm enjoying The Green Mile so far - that was one of my favourite movies, so I'm interested to see how the book differs.
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Some interesting nights out this month:

- one night, we predrank, then went to a shisha lounge, then this techno-house-y type club, which wasn't busy, and it felt like we were walking into this place where everyone else knew each other. It was my first time doing shisha though, so that was interesting, and tasty :P

- last Thursday night, I had to work, then ended up going out with Sophie, Amanda, and two of their friends from work to Cowboys. Good times! However, this is now the third time that both of them met guys, and I did not. Well, no one good. I did have one weird guy dancing with me, who did PUSHUPS on the dancefloor! That was amusing :P
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I move back to Ontario in less than 4 weeks already! I fly home on December 19th at 6:30pm, and get in just after midnight (Ontario time) However, it's going to be a busy Christmas break. I have a few things I need to take care of at home when I get back (possibly including some Christmas shopping?) Then, we leave on December 23rd for New Hampshire, where we're spending Christmas at my sister/brother-in-law/nephew's place, along with my brother-in-law's parents (and possibly his brother & sister-in-law) We come back sometime between December 27-29 - depending on if my sister needs a baby-sitter on the 27th or 28th. Sarah's wedding is on December 30th in St Catherine's. The wedding's at 11am, then a lunch afterwards. I'm also hoping to get back to Waterloo by 6:30-7pm too, since it's also my Dad's family's Christmas gathering, so I'd like to see them. The 31st is obviously New Years Eve. It's looking like I'm going to the Stampede Corral with Amanda L & a bunch of people for a band, and some good times! Then, school starts on January 3rd - my last school term! But still, going to be a busy Christmas break!
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Yes - a country bar/club for New Years! Oh man, I never used to like country, but it's growing on me. I don't like some of the older stuff, but I definitely like some of the new country. LOL.
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Earlier this week, I saw teaser trailers & fan-made trailers for the next Harry Potter movie. It's coming out July 13th. ANNNNNNNND...rumour has it that the next book will come out July 7th (the 7th book on 7/7/7) The book makes me even more excited. I was practically having a mini-HP-induced orgasm the other night :P
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Tonight was a chill night at home. I watched Grey's Anatomy for the first time ever - OMG! How have I NEVER watched that show?? SO GOOD!! I may definitely have to start watching it regularly. As well, then I watched CSI, which was a really good episode. I don't watch much tv, but it was a good night for television! :D
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I did something that I didn't plan on doing the other day - I joined MySpace. I joined mainly b/c a friend of mine blogs there a lot, but due to some assholes, she had to set her profile to friends-only. So I got one to be able to read her blog. Whether or not I'll actually use my own site, that's too be determined still. It'd be my third site to update, plus Facebook.
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I need to tell both restaurants in the next week or so that I'm done work in a few weeks. Oh how I don't look forward to that.
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I woke up today with a feeling of something missing. I don't know what, but I just don't feel satisfied. I just seem to get bored easily, and need some new excitement. Even though I have lots to look forward to in the next little while, I get depressed when I just sit around :S
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I'm really really hoping to go to Europe in May - I've been looking into places to go, and flights, and hostels, etc. I want to do EVERYTHING though, and I know I won't be able to. However, I was talking to my buddy Calvin tonight, who's doing an exchange in Scotland from January-June, and told me I had to visit there if I go. And Ash & Blaise will be in France, so hopefully I'll be able to hook up with them there!
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Well, I think it's time for bed. Hope everyone's doing well - take care, and talk to y'all sometime!