Subway rantings

Today was just crappy. CRAPPY. Crappy enough that I bought 2 bottles of wine on the way home and am now curled up in my flannel PJ's (yes, flannel...its been cold here lately, cold enough to turn on the heat and wear flannel PJ's).

Customers were just stupid. And you usually get one or two, no big deal. But today, they all came...to MY store! It was more than I can handle. I swear, common decency and common sense no longer exist, and I have observed that people are very UN-observant. Its infuriating and frustrating...I blame it on the end of the month.

It was also frustrating because a lot of the customers were teachers from schools in the area, who are getting ready for classes to start again. And I am a teacher, who is not teaching but is working at subway. And who is waiting for an interview for a potential unknown job, but don't know when I'll be called or if I will be called. There is no gaurentee. They are all living their lives, starting their careers. Everyone is around me, most people I went to school with around me have started their careers. I am in my 3rd year out of school and I'm starting over, literally starting from the beginning in a new city. I know a job will come, but its frustrating at the same time having to wait and not knowing or having any control.

Add to the fact that I'm tired because I had to drop Stephan off at the airport for his 1AM flight (N.B again for work, back next Tuesday) and have had about 5 hours or less of sleep makes me more susceptible to silly customers.

And its cold. And, while Stephan is out east there's a hurricane heading his way around Friday. At least it didn't happen while he was flying last night.

But its ok, I have warm PJ's, wine, some maybe icecream and my shows and a good documentary I taped on the weekend waiting for me. Some serious me-time will fix this day!

weekend recap

Sadly, I don't have any pictures. They are all on Stephan's camera, and he does not have time to transfer them to my computer tonight, as he's packing to go back to N.B for work for the next 8 days. When I get them (mid. next week) I will update this post with the pics! I promise!

Friday was a relaxing day at home. Stephan requested his favourite, Rouladen, for dinner. We rented a few movies and just stayed at home enjoying the night.

Saturday we slept in a little, and then made plans. We decided to go back to Drumheller to see the dinosaur museum. The entrance fee was a decent price, but the museum was packed. We only spent a couple of hours there, as Stephan is not comfortable in crowds. We would have liked, and could easily have spent, more than a couple of hours there. We plan to go back. The museum is definitely worth the price. It is phenomenal and very well put together, with loads of information. It's all well displayed and easily understood. We were very impressed.

We still had some time after the museum, so we decided to go visit the Atlas Coal mines. We got there and discovered there were several different tours to choose from, like the train tour, the tipple tour, the tunnel tour and the ghost walk. We decided on the tunnel tour, it was about 1.5 hours and cost was $12. It was also well worth it! They geared you up with a hardhat and light, and a battery pack and then took you through the tunnel and up to the mine entrance. You can't go into the mine entrance yet, they are still excavating it and hope that it will be up and running by next summer or the summer after. But still, it was really cool and interesting. I highly recommend that if you are in Drumheller, you go check this out!

Sunday we had some friends in from church: Derek, Lana and their kids Ethan and Mikayla (age 7 and 4). Lana was sick, so sadly she wasn't there. But it had been awhile since we'd seen them, and the kids were dieing to see Stephan. They came over and just hung out with us. Me and Derek worked on picking out some congregation songs for church while Stephan took the kids grocery shopping for dinner, and wrestling with them on the bed. They somehow convinced Stephan to buy them some chocolate. They adore him, its the absolute cutest thing in the world. We watched a movie, and had some dinner and then they returned home.

I just love to watch Stephan play with the kids, especially Mikayla. Stephan is such a big guy, and she's this tiny little girl with blonde BLONDE hair, big eyes and the sweetest smile. Although, when she's around she puts all claim on my boyfriend and I don't stand a chance. But its ok, its too cute! In the grocery store, she held his hand the entire time. Correction...she held onto his index finger the entire time, all through the store. Way to sweet. I love those kids.

A phone conversation with Dad....

Before I share this conversation there are two things you need to know:
1.) Stephan has never, not once bought me flowers. He does tonnes of other cute little things, which I love him for. But never flowers. Its been a quest, and I drop blunt hints all the time.
2.) My dad is a smart ass (pardon my language), Stephan is a smart ass. They get along great. Both always have a comment ready to throw back during conversation. This is KEY!

Me, in a super excited voice: Dad, I bought Stephan flowers, and then went on and on about them and how nice they look in the apartment. And then Stephan said that since my birthday is on the 7th, I can buy flowers on the 7th of every month!!!!

Dad: .....Why doesn't Stephan buy you flowers on the 7th of every month?

Me, turning to Stephan: Dad says why don't YOU buy me flowers every month?

Stephan: ..................................................................................................................................

**at this point, I'm dying of laughter inside because for the first time EVER, Stephan has no smart ass response**

Stephan, finally: ...........because I'd rather spend the money on pretzels.

Me, turning back to Dad: He said he'd rather spend it on pretzels.

Dad: Don't worry, he'll figure it out eventually.

random happenings over the last 2 days

1. I meant to buy Stephan a flower when I picked him up at the airport, but when I went the store was already closed, so I bought him a flower...or 2, yesterday as a make-up. Really, it was an excuse for me to buy ME flowers.
   
   
2. I went on and on about how the flowers make the apartment look so pretty, until Stephan asked when my birthday is again...I thought "oh great, he's going to promise to buy me flowers on my next birthday, and that's almost a year away!!" Instead, I said May. He said, "No, the date". Which is the 7th. He said "Since your birthday is on the 7th, you can buy flowers on the 7th of every month" YAY, I HAVE A FLOWER BUDGET!! This is the next closest thing to Stephan buying me flowers himself. I'll take it!!! :)
   
   
3. I want a pet...I'm not allowed pets here though, nor do I have money for all its shots anyways. Right now though, I'm so desperate I'd settle for a gerbil. Seriously. I even had to leave my beta fish behind when I moved here...it was quite sad.
   
   
4. My hair sucks, its strangly and in need of a hair cut. I wanted to grow it out long, but I forgot how much work it is. My hair is neither straight, nor wavy but something weird and gross looking in-between. Hence, it forces me either to straighten it EVERY TIME, or throw it up in a pony tail. I'm not girly, I can't do much with my hair. So that's about all you get. I need a hairdresser, but I don't trust many. And I need one I can afford. And I need to decide if I want to chop it all off again, or find some way to manage it long.
   
   
5. Today, there was a fruit stand in the parking lot at work. Fresh fruit from B.C. I decided I wanted some. I was given free samples, and they were DELICIOUS, the best I've ever tasted! Perfect texture, sweet and juicy. I bought cherries and necterines and I'm super excited to eat them.
   

HAPPY TUESDAY!

Stephan comes home today!! YAYYY!! He's been gone 8 days!! I have to go make myself look pretty and pick out an outfit for when I meet him at the airport....!

changes in the wind...

So, over the next week or so I'm going to be making some changes on my blog! As you can already see, I've changed the layout and background.

I will be adding a section on pens. My dad turns pens, and does a wonderful job. I'm waiting for some photos from him and then I'm going to create a section devoted to that, so I can show off my dad's handiwork.

And I'm making one on Mom's cake, she's awesome at them!

And since summer is nearing an end, its time to get ready for hockey!! Another section will be made devoted to my Habs. Junior camps are already underway, and after that is the Habs training camp. So time to get the whip cracking!
..It's also a way for me to try and get excited about my team, since there have been so many changes in the last year that I am still not comfortable or happy with. I know people reading this site are mostly girls, and do not care about my Habs. But hey, its my blog. It's about me. And I'm all about the Habs!!! (this section could end up becoming quite extensive!!).

A fiery day in Calgary

I looked outside today and though "wow, it looks really smoggy outside. It must be super hot and humid." Then I found out that it's not, the "smog" look in the city is the result of the fires in B.C and that the smoke affecting Calgary even stretches over the boarder in Saskatchewan. Air quality has been labelled between fair and poor. No outdoor strenuous activity is suggested from now until Sunday, and if you have heart or breathing problems you are to stay indoors.

It even smells like smoke and fire outside!

For me, this is absolutely incredible. I knew about the fires going on in B.C, everybody does. But never did I think that you would be able to see/feel the effects here in Calgary. Man, is nature a powerful thing.

opposite ends of the country

So, Stephan found out on the weekend that he might have to go to New Brunswick this week for work. That turned into a definite yes. He flew out this morning at 1 am, got into New Brunswick at 11:30 their time, and then worked the afternoon. He hasn't slept in almost 48 hours (he can't sleep on planes), so he's exhausted.

He will be gone for 8 days, which means I get to pick him up at the airport next Tuesday. I'll miss him. He hasn't been home much in the last two weeks...just 1 night. But, it's something he has to do. It will be the first time I'm alone for a weekend here in Calgary though.

On an upper note, Stephan flew out with 3 other guys from the company. He found out last night before he left that the company has made him the foreman for the job he's doing out in NB, while he's there anyways. And he's still on probation!

I'm so very very proud of him :)

Impromptu plans

So I'm in Fort MacLeod, sitting in a motel room!!

Stephan has to work all weekend, until next Thursday. We talked about me visiting this weekend, but he said he'll be working past dinner time both Friday and Saturday, and there's nothing to do here so it wouldn't make any sense.

So I got home from work on Friday, and was just sitting in front of the tv, trying to figure out what I would do this weekend. I wanted a lazy weekend, since the last few weeks have been insanely busy. Plus, all my friends are busy here anyways. Then I decided, why can't I be lazy in Fort MacLeod?!!! Stephan will be working, I can be lazy while he works. And this way, I would at least be able to see him in the evenings and have SOME time with him. And I could leave here Sunday morning when Stephan left for work and be able to get to church on time, so it would work PERFECTLY!!!!

So, I made it into a big deal...it would be a surprise. I would drive down the 1.5 hours to Fort MacLeod, and be waiting outside my car when he got back from work. I talked with a friend online, and we decided I should dress nice, that way he can't be mad that I came to visit when he had already said no. I work my skinny jeans, and a t-shirt dressed up with red-heels. I would look pretty, and he would miss me and be happy and then he couldn't be mad!!

And the surprise worked perfectly!! He got back from work, and I was leaning on my car waiting for him. And he was happy, and not mad! :) yay! Right now, he's gone at work and I am having my lazy day. I slept in, then had a bath (yay baths!! I only have a shower at my apartment, I miss baths!!!). Then I'm just going to be lazy, watch tv because this motel gets the rest of the basic channels I don't get at home and maybe read outside at the picnic table. And when Stephan gets home, we'll have dinner.

And, it's a VERY good thing I decided to come and visit...because Stephan's company might be sending him to New Brunswick on Tuesday for 8 days. 8 DAYS!!!! Someone cut their hand stripping cable on site there, and Stephan will probably be the one to replace him.

Man....would I have been kicking myself in the butt, and hating myself if I hadn't visited him this weekend, and he does end up going to NB!!!

Parents & Ian's trip out: Part 3: Banff Day 3, and the last few days

Ok, so I'm gonna finish off my family vacation/visit in this post!

Banff - Day 3
Sunday, we decided to just do some driving around this day, not in Banff though. We took a gravel highway up behind Canmore that my parents found on their first trip here, they said it was really nice. It was the same road a pamphlet had recommended, and it led into another highways. It was all gravel, and it was apparently the highest road in the mountains (or gravel one anyways). Eventually, this road connected to Highway 40 through Kannanaskis country (and a BUNCH of provincial parks). All in all, it took us about 4 hours to get home to Calgary. But that's because we spent a lot of time driving down random side roads to do some exploring, and to stop for some good photo opps. And man, was there a lot to take pictures of!

We saw 4 moose, 4! Including a cow and her calf, who walked out from the bush and passed right in front of our car. They then stopped on the road to stare down a coyote that had wandered onto the same road, until momma decided it was safe and led her baby back into the bush. We also saw a young bull, and an older bull (although he wasn't huge, he still had bigger antlers then the little bull we saw). Here is the coyote...its very small, on the road near the top. This was as far as I could zoom in

Staring down the coyote

young bull

older bull

And, miracle of miracles, WE SAW A GRIZZLY BEAR. And the most amazing part was he was on top of a hill, on one side of a small bushy area that joined up with a parking lot on the other side. 100 meters on the other side of this little forest area were people in a parking lot, with kids and dogs, totally unaware of how close they were to a grizzly. And he just sat on top of the hill (I decided it was a boy), eating berries off of bushes. And we just sat and watched him in the safety of our van for about 20 minutes, taking tonnes of pictures. It was unbelievable. And relieving, because Stephan was fully prepared to drag me through the bush for the next 2, 3, 4 years until he found his bear. So thankfully he saw his bear without getting either of us killed. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever.wandering into danger (really, they never went past this spot! Its a joke on Stephan's dad)

Then it was back home for the night, where we stopped for dinner on the way. At home, we watched a movie all together before heading to bed. Oh, and did laundry. Fun.

On Monday, we went to the Olympic Park. We bought tickets to go up the ski jump, where there was a little museum of Olympic memorabilia, it was quite informative. We also got to observe people zip-lining down the ski-jump. We also took a look at the bobsled/luge/skeleton course, and then played a game of mini-golf. It sucked. It was an extremely difficult course (I didn't know this, although I've been wanting to do this course for awhile). It was beyond difficult, it was ridiculous. It wasn't much fun, and I quit on the 15th hole. I've never quit a game of mini-golf before, but I was just to frustrated and starting to get angry. Stephan, who is quite good at mini-golf, even had difficulty. My dad too.

Then we hit the road again, to go down to Fort MacLeod. Stephan had to go back to work. But first we planned to visit Heads Smashed In Buffalo Jump. Sadly, none of us were smart enough to check the hours of the museum online before we left, and it was closed by the time we got there. So we just went for dinner in Fort MacLeod, we found a nice little place called Johnny's. And then we spent sometime wandering around their little downtown, they have very old buildings there. Including a theater from 1912, with original seats and everything! I want to see a movie there sometime...

After we dropped Stephan off, we headed back home so my parents could finishing packing. It was back to work for me the next day, and my parents left Tuesday morning.

It was a wonderful time with my parents and brother, we did and saw a lot and made many wonderful memories. I'm really glad that they were out here and we got to spend some time with them. And I'm really glad that my Mom had such an awesome birthday...I know its one she will remember for a long time.

a little sunshine on a rainy day

So, I was all set to be mopey today.

Its raining outside and ready to thunder storm, and customers are exceptionally mean this week. My parents and brother have left, and Stephan is gone for work. He said he might have to work the weekend, which turned into just Saturday, but is now back to the full weekend again. Which means I won't see him until next Thursday.

I have to teach an hour piano lesson tonight, and I really didn't feel like it earlier at work today. I just wanted to mope at home and watch a chick-flick.

But then, I got home and there was a letter in the mail......from the Calgary Board of Education....and............I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE BOARD!

Now, this doesn't mean a job. But it means I'm in the applicant pool to be called for interviews for potential jobs. WOOHOO!! Its one step closer! It really brightened my day, that's for sure!!

Parents & Ian's trip out: Part 2: Banff, Day 1 and 2

So I need to break Banff up. We spent three days there. I'll cover day 1 and 2 in this post.

Day 1
We decided on day 1 (Friday) to start off with a trip to the Columbia Icefields. Google said it was 2.5 hours from Calgary...turns out it was 2.5 hours from Banff. On the way, we saw the first of our wildlife:
The Icefields itself was really cool. They took you out on an ice explorer, down the steepest drive-able hill (only by these machines) in the world and onto the toe of the glacier. The area we were on made up only 2% of the entire icefield, which you couldn't seen beyond the top ridges. The part of the glacier we stood on was the deepest, and it was as deep as the Eiffel Tower is tall! They were also very concerned with the glacier, the tires were really soft rubber so it wouldn't damage the glacier, and they plowed a road out there through the snow. Every few years they moved the road so it wasn't in the same spot, so it wouldn't weaken the glacier. They also said the glacier receding was a natural process, and that it has been receding gradually forever. We also got to try the glacier water. All in all, it was a great experience. Oh, and we saw big-horned sheep on the way to the glacier (females and their babies).


On the way home from the icefields, we stopped to look at Peyto lake. Yet another pretty glacier lake in the mountains.


We checked into our hotel in Canmore, which was brand new and actually was a condominium with a fully equipped kitchen. It was so awesome, we immediately booked for a 2nd night. It looked like this:
It also happened to be Mom's birthday (she turned 52), so we gave her her presents, and then took her out for dinner in Canmore. We came back to the hotel for a swim, and then went out to buy dinner to bbq for the 2nd night.

Day 2
We drove out to Lake Minnewanka (spelling?) on the way to see Lake Louise. By the lake, we saw another big horned sheep and did some exploring on a trail down the hill overlooking the lake. It was very pretty. Then we headed out to the Lake Louise Gondola, hoping to see some grizzly bears since it was a hotspot for them. We didn't see one, but there was one in the area and as a result we weren't even allowed to walk down the road to the interpretation centre, the gondola people drove us down. After the gondola, we took Ian to see Lake Louise. Sadly, it started raining so we didn't get many photo opps, nor did we get to explore with Ian around Lake Louise. So we headed off to Lake Moraine, my parents really wanted to see it and the rain let up for it! Mom and Dad liked it better than Lake Moraine, Ian too since he could climb up rocks with Stephan and do manly guy tough stuff.


We also saw another black bear, but he ran across the road too quickly to get a picture of.

We also made a stop in Banff to show Mom and Dad the Cascade Gardens. Since me and Stephan found it the first time I've been wanting to show them, I knew its something they would really love. And they did! Dad has quite a few pictures from the garden that he would like to turn into puzzles.
Then we headed back to our lodgings for the night and had a wonderful BBQ overlooking the mountains, and a swim in the pool. We finished the night off with a few drinks and a movie.

Parents & Ian's trip out: Part 1.

So I guess I'll start with the vacation recap at the beginning.

My parents and brother arrived on Monday. Stephan had the day off because it was a holiday Monday. Mom and Dad surprised me by bringing out all my remaining boxes of books, so now most of my stuff is here :) We had a nice dinner, and then Moms took us grocery shopping and bought us food (yay for Moms!!). I also gave my dad his belated Father's day present. Tuesday Stephan had to go back down south to work. I dropped him off in the morning, and I also had to work Tuesday and Wednesday. While I was working, my parents went to see the Calgary tower and did some shopping. On Thursday, it was time to pick Stephan up (since he had the day off, and the rest of the crew was still working). We made a day out of it.

We traveled to Okotoks to see the Big Rock, which is made out of the same rock as the mountains. It traveled here on top of a glacier, and then got left behind when the glacier receded. It was kinda neat. But apparently we weren't supposed to climb on it, someone got mad at us...I figured we did less damage then the teens who obviously party there by evidence of the broken bottles all around the rock.
Then we drove west towards Crowsnest Pass, through the foothills at the base of the mountains. We went to see Frank Slide, which is the site of Canada's most deadly landslide. An avalanche buried part of a town and killed about 70 people in the early 1900's. Turns out the mountain was unstable, and the Indians had tried to warn them that the mountain moves or "walks". They obviously didn't listen. You can't even see the houses anymore, they are buried under huge boulders and it stretches pretty far. It happened at 4 am, and in about 90 seconds so they didn't stand a chance.
Oh, and since we were close we drove over the B.C boarder. Just to say we were in B.C.

Then we picked up Stephan. Mom and Dad gave him his belated birthday present (which was in June): a coffee maker and coffee!! Instead of a coffee pot, it stores 6 cups INSIDE and keeps the coffee pretty hot. Stephan was pretty impressed and happy with the gift.
And that's the end of Part 1!

eerily quiet

Vacation with my parents was really nice. My parents and brother went back home today. Stephan is down south for work until Saturday. And the house is empty. I am all alone, all by myself. No boyfriend, no parents and brother. It kinda sucks. Its too quiet now, and I went from being surrounded by family and getting Stephan for more than 3 days to nothing.

And I got freaked out on by a psycho-lady at work who screamed "F**k you", storming out of the store over a misunderstanding when she said one thing but meant another. It kinda made for a crappy day.

So I decided to keep myself busy. I ran errands: returned movies, went to the bottle depot, bought some new running shoes. And I cleaned the apartment and vacuumed, made dinner. Now I figured I'll load some pics to facebook and hopefully get a blog done about this past week with my parents. I think I'll have to divide it up into several post, otherwise it will be endlessly long. And my posts tend to be long enough, since I like to talk.....

leaving for a bit...

hello everyone! I probably won't be on very much until next Wednesday...my parents and brother are here! They arrived Monday, and now I'm off of work for the next few days. We will be traveling around and doing a bunch of sight-seeing stuff. And my brother also hogs my computer. Hence why I won't be on much to blog. haha!

see you all in a week!

A little history lesson

On Saturday, because of the ominous thunderstorm looming (the one that didn't happen...), we decided to go to the Military Museum. We found out about it at the Stampede, and Stephan had really wanting to be go.

Admission was $10, and it was definitely worth it! We spent about 4 hours at the museum, but we could easily have stayed the day there if we had read every tiny piece of information posted. We were both really really impressed with the museum, we found the displays very well done (A LOT of time and money had been invested in this), and it was jam packed with info. Not to mention, the place is HUGE!I was also surprised, as I thought the museum was specific to the WWI and WWII, but it also covered the Korean War, peacekeeping stuff, Afghanistan, the Boer War and many others!

I strongly suggest seeing this place, it is well worth you time. You won't be disappointed!

One of the displays they build, it was quite impressive and detailed.


I found this one interesting. This young man died a P.O.W, at enemy hands. But he was also the only man to be awarded the Bavarian Cross of Military Merit for saving a young girl from drowning. The Bavarian cross is the one on the bottom left.

This is the very first Canadian flag EVER.

Aviation section

Navy section

Stephan with a German U-boat captain

I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. Anyone notice the bottle is full? I drool at the thought....


Some of the tanks outside of the museum