CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS

Monday, August 31, 2009

Hello from the sky

If you're reading this just after its posted, hello from the sky! (Okay, fine, its a scheduled post, but seriously, do you have to kill my fun?) I'm currently en route to Ireland, for a week with friends...one last hurrah before school starts again.

We took off at 8:50 on August 31st local time, and we'll land in Dublin at 10:20 on September 1st local time. I'll be back to my regularly scheduled life in Canada on September 7th, which coincidentally is my birthday. The airfare was 300 bucks, including taxes, round trip. Who did I sleep with to get that? No one, my friends. I am just that awesome.

So cheers to a week of gorgeous scenery, Irish accents and amazing history. I'll see you all when I get back.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Fridge on notice

I have officially put my fridge on notice. And my landlord is soon to join that list, because oh my goodness, the apartment has been nothing but a headache for the last month.

The window that was supposed to be fixed isn't, we didn't get access to mail until the 20th, which meant my tuition bill sat there for a month, and almost got paid late. And the worst of it all, the fridge.

Oh, the *bleepity bleep bleep bleeping* fridge.

Freezer works, fridge doesn't. Immense amount of groceries spoiled in the fridge. Milk, the rest of the dairy, things melting. After 5 e-mails to the landlord's account, I finally get a response. Landlord's solution is to unplug it, let it thaw and plug it back in, which sounds like such a solid fix. Didn't work. It took 2 more e-mails to finally get him to agree to a repairman coming in.

So now, I'm sitting at the apartment, with the boys, waiting for the repairman. The boys insisted that they come, so the repairman "can't rip me off," and no matter how many times I explain that he can't because the landlord is paying for it, they're all here anyway.

So now we wait. Fridge, you are SO on notice.

Friday, August 14, 2009

For your blogging pleasure

Sometimes, my buddies give me the best blog fodder out there. A lot of the time, I can't figure out how to make the story anonymous enough that I'm not giving identifying details and you suckers miss out on stories that make me laugh hard enough that I can feel the six pack coming in. (Ha!)

Quick back story: One of my best guy friends that I mentioned in my last post has been dating a girl for about 6 months. They're pretty casual, and no one's sure if its going to be a long term thing or not yet. She's a little clingy, which turns most of us off, but other than that, she's an okay person. But apparently, today...she jumped off the deep end into The Crazy.

So my cell phone rings, and I see my friend's name on the caller ID, and pick it up. The following conversation ensues:

Me: What's up, champ?
Him: She--I--FOR FUCK SAKES--I can't believe--
Me: Uh, okay? Hi to you too?
Him: It has NOT been--I am NOT about to--WHY DO I ALWAYS PICK THE NUTJOBS?
Me: Nutjobs, eh? Okay, so we're discussing your girlfriend, am I on topic now?
Him: YES!
Me: What about her?
Him: She's losing her fucking mind!!!
Me: So send her to the mental ward already. What'd she do this time?
Him: Do you know what she asked me?
Me: No, obviously not so why don't you tell me?
Him: She asked me why I haven't proposed to her yet!!!
Me: Whaaaaaa?
Him: That's what I said. And since I didn't answer, I got a big ass lecture on her needing to know where its going, and if we're not serious enough to get married by now, she is wasting her time and I am stringing her along. And THEN she started talking about how she's got our wedding planned and baby names. Seriously. Baby names--
Me: (cutting him off) We ARE talking about *inserthernamehere*, the girl you've been dating for all of 6 months, right?
Him: YES!
Me: ...Baby names?
Him: Elijah Michael, for the record. And that makes me think of Frodo from Lord of the Rings. And YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE FRODO.
Me: (starting to laugh at this point) Your hypothetical son with your hypothetical wife is going to be named Elijah?
Him: And if I'm not game for that plan, I'm stringing her along. Apparently.
Me: (laughing even harder) Then you better be stringing her along, or we are not friends anymore.
Him: Crazy bitch.
Me: Y'think? So where'd this whole demand for a proposal come from anyway?
Him: Her best friend got engaged.
Me: Monkey see, monkey do.
Him: Are you calling my girlfriend a monkey?
Me: Seems appropriate.
Him: ...Touche. I think we need to go away this weekend. No females allowed.
Me: Ahem
Him: Except you. Of course.

The conversation continues from here, but it gets less funny for the general public, because it includes a lot more references to events only we understand, inside jokes, etc. But seriously, girls...after 6 months of dating? Not the time to ask why he hasn't proposed and picked baby names with you yet. It sends him running for the hills.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Seven

I am an only child. I have six brothers. Both statements are true. They're not related to me by blood, but damn anyone who says they're not mine. We actively choose each other, every day of our life. We love fiercely, unconditionally, constantly. We're each others best friends, confidantes, and teammates. Friends by chance but siblings by choice.

Tonight, we celebrate a birthday of the one born August 7. Tomorrow, we go to the 17th annual photoshoot. We all have an album with pictures of all 7 of us, taken every August. It started the year before we went to kindergarten, and has continued since. All of us, in one picture, every year. We've grown up together, and its in pictures for our children to see one day.

____________________________________________________________________________________

It started when we were babies. Its been a 22 year love affair. Except instead of 2, there are 7. We were babies, and our moms were Catholic. There was a mommy and me social at the church, and that's where we met, before we could even talk to each other.

The years flew by, and we were dragged to the same church events, community events and playdates. We went to the same elementary school. By then, we were already causing trouble together, from behind cheeky 5 year old grins. We survived scraped knees, falls from bikes, puberty and all the fun elementary school had to offer. Barriers were knocked down before they were put up. We don't need permission to stay at anyone's house, and we walk in without ringing the bell...because we've never had to. As a joke, one of the dads started calling us The Seven. There are 7 of us, and we're all born on the 7th of a month, from February to September of the same year.

We grew older still, and high school rolled around. We got the same speech from everyone; that friendships would change, and maybe things wouldn't be the same.
We didn't have the same classes all day anymore, but nothing changed. We were still loyal. Protectively loyal. Fiercely so. We survived calculus, broken bones, broken hearts and car accidents. Then we lost one of the seven. It shook everyone to their core, but not our relationships. We survived. Then we graduated.

We got the same speech, about how post secondary will change things. This time, we were scared. There was going to be real physical distance. We may not see each other for a month at a time. Would we lose each other? The first Thanksgiving, we were together within 5 minutes of getting home and nothing had changed. Worry gone. We were still us. We survived long distance relationships, dorm rooms, apartments, learning to live alone, and failed grades. We're still us four years later.

We're us because we choose to be us. We're not connected by DNA, or family ties, or anything legal. We don't have any reason but we don't need one. Unconditional love just is, without a why. We have our differences. We argue and fight and get mad. We're not perfect. But we'd be there for each other, any time, anywhere, no matter what. And that feels pretty sibling-real to me.

When people ask me if being an only child is lonely, I smile, and say I don't know. I carved out a family for myself, and they're mine, DNA or not.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Oh hi there

I have a blog, right? Right.

I'm absentee until at least Sunday, and even for the next month after that. Its for 2 darn good reasons, so you'll just have to forgive me.

1. New place - Obviously since school is in another city, I've got another new place. This time its with a friend from high school. I'm either going to love her or hate her by the end of this. I guess we'll see. But currently, we're trying to make the place liveable. Its in good condition structurally and size wise, but the paint colours are terrible and whoever lived here last didn't understand the concept of "cleaning." So we've got some serious work to do. Also tied to the new place is a lack of internet of our own until next Monday, so I am pirating signal until then and it tends to kick out on me.

2. Wheat harvest has officially started, so when I'm not painting or cleaning, I'm on a combine or a tractor. This is going to continue for at least a couple weeks, so if I'm spotty at blogging, forgive me. They're long, long days.

Just figured I'd let you all know I'm alive. Off to tape off more trim now.