handsets for everyone

I thought this made a fun photo. My workstation is shared with 14 people, so this is our way of avoiding sharing earwax and germs. There's another drawer full of disinfectant.

daylight savings extra sleep? yeah, no.

The 'fall back' time change back to pacific standard time is a happy time for most due to a whole extra hour of sleep. For me this year, it was not to be. I had a night shift on Saturday night, which means that while everyone else was blissfully sleeping or out carousing for that one bonus hour I was at my post at work, fortified by many coffees.

Lately I've been walking home in the dark from night shifts, so the big bonus of working that one extra hour was that the sun was up and shining when I was crossing the Burrard Street Bridge.

This made a 13-hour night shift worth it:

I'm obsessed

I've had a few motorcycles over the years, and I have had a couple of gaps between some of them. The last couple of times I sold my bike, I thought that I probably wouldn't get another because of the cost of running what is basically a toy, the greenhouse gas emissions, and the safety issues. That said, whenever I have sold a bike, I have always held on to my motorcycle gear, ie: boots, helmet, jacket and bags. I was obviously kidding myself when I thought I wouldn't get another bike. I was pretty sad to see the last one go - she was old and all scratched up, but she was a tonne of fun.

So, somewhat predictably, I've been thinking about getting another bike, hopefully by spring. I was planning for something along the lines of my old bike - used, not too expensive, but lots of fun to ride. Unfortunately, a friend pointed me in another direction:



I ended up at the Ducati dealer a day after he put the buzz in my ear. Let's just say that I'm very incented to get a big bonus at work this year.

Yes, it does.

I saw this ad on the back of a Handi-Dart the other day. It seemed inappropriately flippant to me. I'm not typically the most politically correct person, but "Psychosis Sucks"? Hmmm.

planner-pants

Anyone who knows me knows that I am organised (don't look at my files in my home office, look in my pantry instead) and that I am a planner. No matter what's happening, I plan ahead, I just can't help myself. I can generally be counted on to have plans for the short term - like what I'll be doing after work or on the weekend - and I have plans for what's going to happen in the next few months and beyond. I think it comes from my dad, who loves to sort out how to get things done efficiently (though sometimes I think he causes more headaches with all his logisticising, but that's a whole 'nother post).


So, when my (ex)husband and I were renovating our condo (a huge exercise in planning and logistics) for those seemingly endless months, I was planning to live in my dream condo - with him, of course - for the next five years or so. I planned for all the sweat and tears to pay off over many years of quiet enjoyment of the beautiful new kitchen, bathroom and deck. I had visions of selling it at some point when I was actually sick of living in it, and was able to possibly even go up in size.

Back in August, all those plans went out the window as the plan of my life had to adjust to the massive change of a separation.

The new plan: sell the condo and downsize to something more affordable for just me. After all, a single me doesn't need all that much room because I'm planning to get out and socialise a lot.

You'd think I'd be upset, but I am laughing a lot these days thinking about it all. I'm surprised at how happy I am during all this upheaval. Could it be because a wrench in the works requires more problem-solving and planning?

weird dream

So, I'm at Blackcomb getting on the Excelerator Chair. Two friends and I are about to sit down when we see that the detachable quad has been replaced with a teeny, tiny fixed-grip chair meant for two small children. I jump aside and let my friends go without me. They yell as the fixed-grip hits them in the back of the calves, then somehow squeeze themselves on the chair and exit stage right and up.

Another one of these teeny, tiny chairs comes around, smacks me in the calves and I can't seem to squeeze myself, never mind another person into the chair. I try this a few times with other chairs that come around until finally I am satisfied that I won't fall out halfway up the ride. However, for some reason one of the lifties thinks this is a good time to check on something (this is hazy - it is a dream) and grabs onto my legs and somehow ends up heading up the mountain with me. I'm barely squeezed onto the chair, and now she's hanging off my legs to boot. I ask her about what her plan is, and she says "well, I'll jut get off", but then the look on her face tells me that she's just realised that 'getting off' requires a large drop which would result in in leg breakage or worse.

And then I wake up.

WTF?

right when I needed it, too.

A guy recently followed me from a mall food court (where he was having lunch) into a kitchen store (where I was looking at stovetop espresso pots) to ask me out. Is it creepy to follow someone through a mall like that? Is it pathetic that I was so flattered by it that I'm now posting about it?

Whatever. I'm going to take it as a compliment and let my ego be boosted. Yay me!

wow, life.

Oh, how much can change in a few months! I've gone from being a happily (if somewhat numbly) married woman, to being a slightly in shock, but much more self-aware single woman.

All kinds of different emotions are bubbling up, as I'm told can be expected. I'm just trying to keep perspective and stay upbeat while still allowing myself to grieve the relationship.

While this is a difficult time, I feel very lucky to have some great friends, and I'm curious (though scared at times) about what comes next. I also feel lucky that my ex is still a good man, and that we're splitting in a very amicable, caring way, and we're actually able to laugh at our situation together. So, all things considered, this is not such a bad time after all.

I also suddenly have a lot of closet space. Nice.

getting out of here soon(ish)

We just booked tickets to Australia! We'll be leaving on Feb 9 (my birthday) and we'll be there for ~4 weeks. Anyone want to housesit and hang out with Gracie while we're gone? I promise the kitchen will be fully functional by then, and Gracie's pretty mellow...

get me out of here

It's been awhile, mostly because I haven't had the desire to write anything because my living situation is getting me down. Not that there hasn't been anything going on... Since my last post:
1. We moved back into our apartment (though the reno wasn't - and still isn't - complete)
2. We finally got our shower and sinks all working (after we moved back in - it was getting icky for a bit)
3. I graduated from shadowing shifts to doing solo shifts on the main operations desk (I love my new job)
4. I visited Travis in Shalalth and did some paintballing and waterskiing with the guys (the waterskiing was a tad cold, but fun)

Of all those things, numbers 3 and 4 were by far my favourites because right now, anything that is away from this apartment is good. I'm hoping I'll eventually be able to enjoy spending time here again, and I'm guessing it will all get better when there is some semblance of organisation in this place. Until then, I'm going to focus on things away from home to keep me sane.