I feel like I'm 4 all over again

Here is the story of the day.

Today I had to get the first of two mumps vaccinations that I need in order to assist one of the students in volunteering at the hospital. The reason I was getting injected was because my immunization records have been lost somewhere in this province. For three days I called every health unit in every town I have ever lived, only to find out that my immunization records were last seen leaving Magrath in 1989...and they never made it to their intended destination of Cardston. Kill me!!

Cut to me today at 10:30, sitting in the waiting room of the Lethbridge Community Health Unit, surrounded by infants. When I went into get the shot, the nurse asked me if it was for my child. I had to tell her, that no, it was actually for me, but that due to my fear of needles, I was probably going to be a bigger baby than most of the actual babies who were in there. The nurse was very kind, and I made it through relatively unscathed. I didn't faint, but my heart rate wasn't too leisurely paced.

The best part of this story is that I have to go back for a second shot on July 27th.

Here's hoping that the rest of my day goes better...

"You kids can't handle the quiet parts!!"

This week was the opening for "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen" (Duh-duh-duh...)

Will I be seeing this movie in the theater? The answer is no. In case any of you have not heard the story, I fell asleep while watching the first Transformers in the theater...twice. Yes, I fell asleep at the exact same moment in the movie both times - basically as soon as the big action scene is beginning. In my defense, I went to a 10:00 show both times, I am not a guy and therefore was not cheering and crying through the whole movie, and let's be honest, action sequences are too boring for me to pay attention to.

So, because the sequel has even more action, and considering I may have lapsed into a bored-coma during the trailer for Fallen, I will not be in attendance. Well, unless some ridiculously handsome gentleman offers to pay for me, buys me some cola-type beverages, and takes me to the earliest show they have (although, not a matinee, cause afternoon is my sleepy time...I really am an old lady).

You also need to know it isn't just me who thinks this might not be the best movie of the summer; I decided to go for back-up. So, for your enjoyment (or outrage), here are a few reviews of the movie (see The National Post, Wednesday, June 24th, 2009):

"It's like watching a blender for two hours while someone shouts at you. And then the last half hour is the same, except it's more like having your head strapped to a washing machine while you watch a blender and someone shouts at you." -Paul French, FHM

"At once loud and boring, like watching paint dry while getting hit over the head with a frying pan" - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

"Go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination. "
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times

You can stand under my umbrella, Ella.

I had such a great moment on the weekend when I went with the youth for a baptismal trip to the Temple. As we were waiting to go in, I noticed an old man walking by us. Well, what I actually noticed was that he was really, really old. Like 180,000 years old. He was extremely stooped over and moving at a pace that would make a turtle impatient. As he passed me, he said that he liked my shoes. (I was, of course, wearing my bright yellow heels) I said that I did as well, and he remarked that they were actually gold. I said that I referred to them as my golden slippers. He loved that! The exchange absolutely made my day.

I really do get more comments about those shoes than any others I have. People must love the colour yellow.

Anyway, on to another week, my last one alone. It has already started out great with the most wonderful rain this morning. I have to say, I enjoy the rain so much more now that I have a car, and don't have to schlep around on the bus.

Have a wonderful Monday!!

"You can't dust-buster a baby!"

I would like to start a new segment here at the ole blog entitled, "Things not to do".

1. Things not to do alone:

-go to Costco - this is really a team event because there is so much to do and see. Also, who are you going to play "Let's see who knows the most people here" with if you're all by yourself?

-participate in "Target Hunger". I had to drive and look for the bags on people's doorsteps, and pick them up too. I almost got in an accident several times while trying to drive, spot the yellow bags, and all the while, try not to look like I was casing the neighborhood, or staring creepily at the men out mowing their lawns.

-watch the season finale of SNL, hosted by Will Ferrell. You can't endlessly quote back your new favorite lines to yourself. ("You can't dust-buster a baby!") You can't remember fondly the 45 times you have watched "The best of Will Ferrell", and cheer when he included some favorite characters - During the Jeopardy segment, I was wishing with all of my heart that Ashley and Denise were there with me to enjoy both Sean Connery and Burt Reynolds.

2. Things you shouldn't do in the summer:

-drive in the "Red Rat" while the air-conditioning is on the fritz
- play your music at full volume at 1:00 am with your windows open. Especially some weird "Fleetwood Mac" concert
-run out of ice

I just ran outside for a minute to enjoy a sudden summer shower, and to breathe in the smell of rain on the warm pavement.
I am pretty sure that is what heaven smells like.

More to come throughout the week...let's see if I can survive living alone, as Denise is on holidays.

Ciao!

"Everyone's watching to see what you will do!"

I can not even begin to express my joy about the fact that it is almost officially the weekend!! I have been looking forward to my "days off" all week, and I have a few plans, as well as some glorious hours to fill however I want.

Tonight I am going to see "Said the Whale" at The Slice with Ashley. Tomorrow morning I will be picking up bags full of food for "Project Hunger" and taking them to the Stake Center. Then, I have all Saturday afternoon and evening for pure relaxation, with a little bit of prep for my YW lesson thrown in there. On Sunday, I am going out to Magrath for my Dad's birthday dinner, and then spending the night there.

It has been a particularly busy week at work, mostly because my boss is away, and we are not only taking over her student load, but I am preparing for our upcoming student interviews. This includes booking the room, forming a committee, meeting with prospective students, getting the advertising out there, and setting up an interview schedule. Fortunately, this is the stuff that I really enjoy!

I wish all of you a magical weekend, especially our dear Denise who is heading down to the Promised Land with her parents.

Lucky!

..."You say its your birthday..."

Today marks that last day of the Denise Garner birthday celebration multi-day extravaganza! Her actual birthday was yesterday, but we have been celebrating for a few days, and certainly in style:

Sunday: We had a beverage party at our house with drinks provided by Afton. We had the house full to capacity, and the best part of the evening was the 2 hours of karaoke we played on the xbox. The highlight of the singing was a toss up between 2/3 of the party belting out "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles, Ashley singing some sort of weird rap song about lip-gloss, or Braden favoring us with a country song (me thinks a sight I had thought never to see). Denise and I were our usual competitive selves, and I have to say that as usual, we were pretty amazing at the Karaoke.

Monday: Denise and I had a birthday dinner with the parents, and then she, Leita and I went to see "17 Again"...again and enjoyed a variety of outfits on Zac Efron.

Tuesday: Denise's actual birthday on which she went to dinner with Ashley.

Today, I am going to pick up the birthday present I ordered, and I will give it to her this evening. It is pretty awesome, so I am excited!!

Happy Birthday, Denise. I don't think it is possible for either of us to have a quiet celebration, as much as we say we want it.

Testification

This, ladies and gentlemen, is my 189th post. Thrilling? Yes. Worth a mention? Absolutely.

Here is evidence for the awesomeness of the number 189:

189 (number)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
One hundred [and]eighty-nine189 is the natural number following 188 and preceding 190.
189 is a centred cube number.

There are 189 lochs in Scotland... (from travelblog.org)

Some sources say that there are 189 countries in the world. (The UN says that there are 192, but are those guys really trustworthy? I am sticking with my nebulous claim of 189. Let's be honest, some countries don't even sound like real places. Finland? fake name.)

According to the 2000 Census by the United States Census Bureau, the villages of Cobalt, Missouri and Riverside Oregon had 189 people.

There are 189 dog friendly cities in Georgia.

In Martial Arts, there are 189 classical Golden Dragon forms.

There are 189 scenes in the shooting script of the 1982 movie "Gandhi".

For poetry day, here is an interesting tidbit. On May 31, 2008, Walt Whitman's 189th birthday,there was a gathering in Washington Park to read "Song of Myself" in its entirety. No small feat, if you know of this poem at all. So, I will include a section here:

From Song of Myself

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left,) You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

I love a piano

If my blog is looking different these days, it is because I am experimenting with the different applications, etc. I am having a difficult time with it because my new template isn't as easy to manage. Also, I am technologically slow, so what would take a normal person a few minutes takes me at least an hour.

Kill me!!

This past weekend was the Sarah Slean concert in Calgary. It was my 4th time seeing her, and I definitely enjoyed it as much as the other times I have attended. For me, her voice gets more rich and interesting with each concert, and I actually prefer her with just the piano. The intimacy of just singer and piano makes it more of an emotional experience, and her mad keyboard skills bring out the sound of all the absent instruments. I have always preferred music more acoustic, though.

She played a variety of songs, including some covers by Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton and my favorite, a song called "Black Flowers" by Lynne Miles.

It was especially fun to meet my Internet friend, Laura. She mentioned that it was weird to officially meet someone when you read their blog, and so know all about their life. It really wasn't awkward at all, and I too look forward to real-life friendship.