The "donated" furniture

Sorry about the quality of the picture and one of them really sucks but here's the "donated" furniture. I requested the permission of the President of the church council and he agreed as long as his face wasn't on them. (he was posing in the first pictures we took)

So what do you guys think? Anyone want it?

Saturday update with pictures

I had a crazy week, that's mostly why I didn't update but I'm back.

I have my student, I hired him Tuesday in the late evening, he starts on June 25st and I'm happy about this (TFB is happy too). Will I be willing to do the process again next year? I can't answer now but we'll see.

Church council on Tuesday night was, let's put it this way "weird", Mr. Power Trippin' was on a roll. Not only did his actions bother me but The Tall Friend saw it himself, The Friendly Boss too, I think he has huge issues with women and I am one. That's one of the problem with the clergy, some of them can't stand women, they think we are inferior and react strangely to our presence. Whatever... (I would write more about the issue but with my luck, someone from the Parish will find my blog and know I'm referring to "him", I could refer to him as "He, who shall not be named".

I took pictures for The Gal, of my purse and my shoes and the new shoes I got yesterday. The brown leather shoes and purse I bought last week and the black leather highheels shoes, I got yesterday. I love 'em. I feel feminine, hot, sexy... (sorry for the crappy pictures)

I was sick last night with acid reflux and for some reason, puked my gut out until 1h00 AM. The freaking acid burns... Oh my gosh, but I'm better now, I did think I was not going to survive this but all is well.

I just vacuumed, mop the floors and did laundry. I'm going back to reading a book and relaxing. I need this, after a few week of Parish's hell, I need a break.

I hate this...

Once again this morning we had an interview for the fucking summer job. The person was very interested when I called yesterday and invited them for an interview at 9h00 AM tuesday morning but called 30 minutes before to cancel. The person had my fucking home number but instead of telling ME, called the Parish's office to cancel.

This is what I looked like when The Friendly Boss called to let me know:


then

then I hung up, took a long shower while


and now I'm pissed off.

Screw that, what the hell is wrong with this generation? Doesn't anyone want to work damnit? Full time job for 6 weeks, the work isn't very hard, it's interesting and fun and no one wants it? Fuck that shit.

I called the lady at the local Service Canada Center for Youth, she's always been nice with me. She was telling me that they are lacking student to fill all the positions available. Great positions that were easily filled in the past years are not being filled this year. Student don't really wanna work. It reassured me to see this was NOT just about us. But it still pisses me off.

If it was up to me at the moment, I would just throw the towel. This sucks, royally sucks. I know it has nothing to do with me as a human but it's taking it's toll on me because I'm the silly one who's working like crazy on this for no fucking results.

I think today is not my day. I'm too sensitive.

Friday shopping therapy

To forget about my week of hell with The Parish's stuff, I went shopping with The New Blogger. She doesn't like shopping but needed some things and you know me, I enjoy shopping.


I bought my first high heel shoes, they are in brown leather, they are gorgeous. I got a matching purse (leather) that I'm in love with, capri's and a green shirt. We had a good dinner with The Tall Friend and the kiddos and I'm just happily sitting at home. I'm watching TV, just because I haven't had a time to watch any in the past week and I'm just going to sleep in tomorrow. I want to go to the library and rest.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Slice of life

We need to do the process to hire someone all over again. It's a real PITA but it needs to be done. I've been trying to get the word out that we are looking for a student for the job, seriously been doing that constantly since yesterday at 15h15, it's going to have to work out.

I've had meetings related to The Parish non-stop, I want to sleep in tomorrow and maybe go shopping? After my meeting this afternoon I drop by my hairdresser for a cut, I needed to feel pretty and take a break, then tonight I went to eat with a friend and we stopped at The Passionate One's for a coffee, it was nice.

Seriously, we need to hire a student that will do the job, pray for us? TFB is unavailable this week due to engagements so I'm trying to find applicants that we will interview next week. I want to do the job, I want to do my share of the work because that's what team work is about. I'm a fixer, I can do this. I will "fix" the situation. I'm an action type of girl, I HATE inaction and reaction, I'm pro-active, I'm strong.

Action = power = control over a situation.

What relaxes me at night is to play "Who has the biggest brain?" on Facebook, a friend of mine hooked me on this game.

Annulment of Muslim Marriage Over False Virginity Claim Sparks Outrage in France

From this article

The annulment of a young Muslim couple’s marriage because the bride was not a virgin has caused anger in France, prompting President Sarkozy’s party to call for a change in the law.

The decision by a court in Lille was condemned by the Government, media, feminists and civil rights organisations after it was reported in a legal journal on Thursday. Patrick Devedjian, leader of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement, said it was unacceptable that the law could be used for religious reasons to repudiate a bride. It must be modified “to put an end to this extremely disturbing situation”, he said.

The case, which had previously gone unreported, involved an engineer in his 30s, named as Mr X, who married Ms Y, a student nurse in her 20s, in 2006. The wedding night party was still under way at the family’s home in Roubaix when the groom came down from the bedroom complaining that his bride was not a virgin. He could not display the blood-stained sheet that is traditionally exhibited as proof of the bride’s “purity”.

Mr X went to court the following morning and was granted a annulment on the grounds that his bride had deceived him on “one of the essential elements” of the marriage. In disgrace with both families, she acknowledged that she had led her groom to believe that she was a virgin when she had already had sexual intercourse. She did not oppose the annulment.
Related Links

* Debate over Muslim brides’ virginity

* Sex advice: I'm a 35 year-old Muslim virgin

* Teacher at Muslim school 'was asked if she was a virgin'

Critics ran out of superlatives to condemn what they depicted as a dangerous aberration. Valérie Létard, Minister for Women’s Rights, said that she was “shocked to see that today in France the civil law can be used to diminish the status of women”.

Elisabeth Badinter, a philosopher and pioneer of women’s legal rights, said that she felt shame for the French justice system. “The sexuality of women in France is a private and free matter,” she said. “The annulment will just serve to send young Muslim girls running to hospitals to have their hymens restored.”

Although officially discouraged, the 30-minute operation is in increasing demand from Muslim women who fear the consequences of being unable to prove their virginity on their wedding night. Numerous agencies offer services for surgery trips to north African nations. One is offering a “hymenoplasty trip” to Tunis for €1,250 (£980). Internet sites and blogs are full of would-be brides in fear of the test of “the blood-soaked sheet”.

While ministers fulminated against the Lille decision, a different stand was taken by Rachida Dati, the Justice Minister, who has Moroccan and Tunisian parents. The law had, she said, protected the bride. “Annulling a marriage is a way of protecting the person who perhaps wants to undo a marriage. I think this young girl wanted . . . to separate quite quickly. The law is there to protect vulnerable people,” Ms Dati said.

The annulment was defended by Xavier Labbée, the lawyer who acted for Ms Y. The decision was justified by the bride’s deception, not her sexual history, he argued. “Quite simply it is about a lie,” he said. “Religion did not motivate the decision . . . but it is true that religious convictions played a role.”

Requests for annulments have risen sharply to nearly 2,000 a year in France, but experts could recall no case involving non-virginity.

In the news here today, they're saying that Quebec's civil law is similar to France's civil law and such a judgement could be made here. What the hell? An annulment because the bride was not a virgin. I'm outraged!

Well, well, well...

We have got ourselves a student for the summer job at The Parish. We scheduled 5 interviews today, 1 cancelled 30 minutes before, one didn't come and 3 were interviewed. One will get a call tomorrow and will be very happy to hear the news. It was NOT a difficult choice. The Friendly Boss will call the 3 students to let them know our decision, if they have or don't have the job.

One of the student really lost points when she started to talk about one place where she send her resume, and named her and called her lots of ugly names. Seriously, it was hard not to roll my eyes at her. TFB said he will be telling her, as constructive criticism that it's not appropriate to act like this and that she needs to stop doing this during interviews that it's hurting her. He worked human resources, he knows what he's talking about. I mean, I know it's fucking inappropriate to do it but he'll be good at telling her gently.

I'm confident about the one we picked, absolutely confident in her capacities and the work she will do. It's going to make my job easier this summer. (TFB and I will be her supervisors and be there for her if she needs anything).

Other than that, we got some work done with The Tall Friend around 19h30 because we've got a big meeting with all of our employee and our volunteers tomorrow night.

I may be posting The Ugly Couch soon... I think I'll take pictures without The Friendly Boss in them.

Currently listening to...

Where do you go by No Mercy.

Where do you go my lovely
Where do you go - I wanna know
My lovely I wanna know
Where do you go?
I wanna know
Where do you go?
I wanna know
Where do you, where do you go?
Where do you, where do you go?

You leave without a word
No message no number
And now my head is poundin like rollin thunder
You left me with a heartache
Deep inside
Girl you should see me
Cry all night and I wonder
Everybody says what a shame
What is wrong
They dont like the game you play
Heard youre hangin round every night
Until dawn
And waiting for you night and day

Where do you go my lovely
Where do you go - I wanna know
My lovely I wanna know
Where do you go?
I wanna know
Where do you go?
I wanna know

You gotta break the silence
Dont keep me waiting
Just like ariver flowing to the sea
Youre running back to me
Girl, hear what Im saying

Where do you go my lovely
I wanna know
Where do you go?
I wanna know
Where do you, where do you go?
Where do you, where do you go?
Save me
Come back and dry
The tears I cry for you baby
You gotta stop this heartache
Deep inside
You gotta help me make it through the night
Save me - come back and save me

Where do you go my lovely
Where do you go - I wanna know
My lovely I wanna know
Where do you go?
My lovely where do you go?
I wanna know
Where do you, where do you go?

I think we danced on that song at The Bar Friday night. I had such an amazing time that I'm willing to do it anytime again. Amaretto mixed with grape juice is a great drink, I had more than 9-10 drinks. I haven't had any alcohol since. Last night one of the girl and I went for a coffee and both she and I were unable to have anything with a sip of alcohol after Friday's party.

My friend is not back yet, so I'll get home around 22h00, which is totally fine with me. I haven't worked on anything for the Parish today and yesterday, I'm a bad bad girl.

Sex and the city and girl's night out

Because of my friend The Gal requested it, I'm going to let you know what I thought of the movie "Sex and the city". Friends and I went to see it (9 girls), I followed the whole series, so I loved the movie but it wasn't as good as the TV show. If that makes sense. Plus, the movie was in French so the voices didn't match the real actress's voices. But I was happy we went, I laughed, I was touched with the story and the 4 girls. Go see it, it's worth it!

Then we went to a bar, gout ourselves a lounge and partied until 3 AM. I was wasted totally... We had loads of fun, we danced, it was awesome.... When we left the bar we stopped to eat something and I got home at 4h15 AM and I was in bed by 4h25. I got up at 11h55 this morning when the phone rang. (I'm still tired)

I'm at The Nurse house spending the night with her mom and I'll be back tomorrow night at home. I bought my MacBook with me. So I'm online...

Update, a story from The Parish and all...

Remember my rant about life insurance? Well, after more than 2 months, I was finally accepted. I'm covered! I received the call after lunch. I was relieved and thrilled and happy and thankful and happy.

Our Parish Priest wanted to do a "welcoming room" in the rectory. He thought his office wasn't decorated well enough, he wanted new furniture, new curtain, paint and all that jazz. We don't have money to buy all these stuff, so we suggested he find some second handed furniture. Oh My gosh! What was my shock on Monday when I went to the rectory, entered his office and saw THE UGLIEST EVER PIECES OF FURNITURE. I mean terribly awful vintage 3 pieces chairs and a couch. They are velvet pinkish coloured, with build-in spotlights, glasses and some old build-in tape and the speakers. The glasses would be paradise for a coke head who'd wanna sniff and relax on the couch. It's awful. It was given by an older and very nice parishioner but for god's sake it's just terrible.

The Friendly Boss and I were hysterically laughing this morning while meeting in that room, we even took pictures of the furnitures with TFB acting in them. I have 2nd handed furniture but wouldn't want these pieces in my home. They are for a freak's museum. We can't have people sit on those. Our old ones were not THAT bad. They actually were great. See, The Parish Priest wanted newer stuff and now he's stuck with those. He can't throw 'em out. That would hurt the nice parishioner's feelings ya know.

I would post the pictures (not showing TFB to respect his private life) but with my luck someone from the parish would know it's me if they saw those awful to god pictures. Ha Ha HA!!!!

I'm getting back on the Parish's computer to work in our database, transferring old files.

Sorry about the lack of update

I'm swamped with work for the Parish. I have a cold and I'm just feeling overwhelmed with tons of stuff that I've got to take care of. I'm well, mood is good, I just wish th cold could get away but I'll survive.

I'll be back soon!

13 things I did since last Thursday Thirteen

I know, I'm not original at all.

1. Donated blood.
2. Went shopping
3. Collected donations for The Parish (last Friday and this Tuesday and I'll be doing it again the same days. We are running the annual campaign until the beginning of June.
4. Worked on The Parish's records
5. Worked on the darn letter to address some financial issues with The Diocese.
6. Went out with The Passionate One, her sister and another friend. It was a fun girl's night out!
7. Watched Untraceable with The Young Priest.
8. Slept (not enough)
9. Cooked
10. Cleaned
11. Talked on the phone. Darn I love to talk on the phone. I'm a chatty Cathy.
12. Read
13. Went to a conference on Tuesday night. A Catholic priest was addressing some people and 2 people offered their testimony of faith.

PSA on sending your resume to get a job

The Friendly Boss and I are in charge of hiring a student for a 6 weeks student job, we've put 2 ads on the Internet on some job searching places for students and have been getting resume by email. (that's the way we asked the candidate to contact us) The job description is clear, it's a great opportunity for a student. Now, with my PSA.

First, if your cover letter has a lot of spelling errors, the person who's going to read the email will roll her eyes. But damn it, the worse is sending your resume in a Microsoft Publisher file. Damn it, send your resume on a Word document. I don't have publisher, not everyone has access to this program. Use a very commonly use format like W-O-R-D. I had a soft spot for the candidate because she's obviously pretty young, so I emailed her back, asking her very nicely to send me back her resume in a Word document explaining that The Parish doesn't have Publisher and that we can't open her Resume.

So the fun is starting, we'll do interviews in 2 weeks I think. The Friendly Boss and I still need to discuss it but that seems good for me.

We just want a college/university level student interested in being at the church full time for the visitors and do tours and talk to the visitors/tourist about the Parish's and the area's history. We want someone smart, outgoing, mature, interested in history and good with the public.

Please, pray that it works and that we'll make the correct choice this year. Even if school was started for me I couldn't have the job because when you are on the church council (elected) you can never be paid or receive money, it would be a conflict of interest. I love my volunteer position at The Parish and I prefer to give my time for the Church for free. That's my gift of faith to this community.

It's a heartache

That's what I'm listening at the moment. It's a Bonnie Tyler song.

It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it's too late
Hits you when you're down

It's a fool's game
Nothing but a fools game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown

It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down

It ain't right with love to share
When you find he doesn't care for you
It ain't wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you

It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it's too late
Hits you when you're down

It's a fool's game
Nothing but a fools game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown

[Instrumental Interlude]

It ain't right with love to share
When you find he doesn't care for you
It ain't wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you

Oh, it's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down

It's a fools game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown
It's a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down
It's a fools game
Standing in the cold rain...

I got up pretty late today but I have a good excuse. The Young Priest and I went for a coffee yesterday, we met actually quite late (8 PM ish) because he had to attend a practice for a wedding he was doing today, and after the coffee, we stopped at the grocery store and he offered to watch a movie. We rented Untraceable, it was good but fucked up. How can people be that mean? How can human being be so evil? I was delinquent and stayed online until 3 AM.


Today? I cleaned and washed the outside windows. Man, that was fun. I thought I did a great job but I looked at them with the sun down and it's full of streaks. Fuck it, I don't know if I'll be courageous enough to do it again tomorrow.

Yesterday I called Baby Sister who's oversea, it was the first time I spoke to her since she left and it was nice.

I decided not to go to mass this evening because of the priest who was celebrating. I mean, I wish I could say more but it wouldn't be OK of me to discuss this specific person. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe I'll go tomorrow, maybe not. It's hard to be very involved in a parish where you get to know the real side of everyone. It sucks and It's hard to see people who don't practice what they preach. It just makes this girl not want to attend church. I'm not perfect but I practice what I preach. Hazelnut, does it make any sense to you? Do you see the same sometimes in your parish? Anyone else?

Thursday Thirteen

It's been many weeks without my participation in the Thursday Thirteen. It's the grand retour tonight. I'm back.

13 randoms things from the last week.

1- Baby sister got married this past Saturday. Perfect weather, perfect bride and groom.

2- At the wedding the crazy relatives were ignored by this girl. Fuck 'em I didn't let them ruin my time.

3- I have not been to mass in the past few weeks. I wish I could go, I need the peace but some stuff at The Parish are making me mad. You know, practice what you preach and all that jazz. It's hard to see people who should be witness of Christ act like total assholes. It's worse when they are ordained minister or mandated by the diocese.

4- I've been praying. Not attending but praying. Next step, get my butt to mass this next Saturday.

5- The Friendly Boss and I picked up the Parish's new computer. It was given to us by a college. It's going to suit our need. It's inside of my living room and I'm going to work on our datas from this puter.

6. I gave The Friendly Boss his laptop back this morning.

7- I called The New Blogger at 11h20 and asked her if I could join her and the kiddos for lunch. It was nice...

8- I mailed a package to an online friend in the states. Someone's going to enjoy treats soon.

9- I have cried a lot in the past days, thinking of lots of stuff. Sometimes we need perspective and the opinion of someone. I had it this morning, damn it, it helped me get better in my own head.

10- Still nothing from the program I'm waiting at the college. I'm still unemployed and waiting.

11- I've been listening to a song all evening, it's called " Mon coeur n'est pas un numéro" from Quebec singer Marie-Élaine Thibert. It's awesome.

12. I worked on putting ads for a summer job for a student at The Parish. We'll hire someone for 6 weeks this summer as a guide for people to tour our church.

13- I am working on a letter from The Parish addressing some unethical financial matters with the Diocese. (they are charging us a fucked up amount of money and it needs to be slowed down) I'll try to be good. I'm usually very good at argumentation. Are you surprised???

Tagged, I'm it!

a. Link to the person who tagged you. That's Julia over at ... A piece of My Mind
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. When people hear me speak in English they are surprised to know it's my second language because I don't have a French accent.

2. I filmed some part of The sister's wedding yesterday but I forgot my camera has no sound. Duh!!!!

3. I took 185 pictures yesterday. Call me crazy!!!

4. In 2005 I seriously considered becoming a nun.

5. I am scared of dogs, when I'm walking and cross a dog, I change side of the street or move to another direction.

6. Many people have said I'm really a good writer. When I'm composing stuff for The Parish or just expressing my feelings. That said, I'm better in French.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play.

I feel like terrible blogger

I have not been posting regularly, seems life has gotten the best out of me.

Anyway, I went to the mall this morning to pick a wedding card for The Sister, birthday presents for TTF's kiddos, tights for my "kit" for the wedding Saturday and some Clinique stuff. I thought of Claudia and remembered that lingerie would make me feel so much better and I got myself a cool bra. What makes a girl feel better than a beautiful sexy bra?

I also stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some Immodium, It actually helped. I think I'm probably alright, maybe it's just stress? I have no clue but the Immodium has stopped the madness.

Overheard at The Church's council meeting last night. I'm just posting what can be said, some part of it will just remain unpublished.

Wow, No Nonsense girl, you are almost pretty. Said by the retiree when he was commeting on my new hairdo. I smiled and showed him my middle finger.

I'm just kidding, you know that do you? I know dude, I know.

I'm getting back working on The Friendly Boss's laptop The Parish's records. I am tired. I wanna sleep better, I need to relax more.... I'm working, working , working and stressing out for the wedding. Some of my far away relatives are C-R-A-Z-Y!!!!

Stolen from The Gal Herself

I read this on her blog and decided to do the test and we're alike. http://onegalsmusings.blogspot.com/

What Your Feet Say About You:

You are more expressive than most people. You let everyone know how you're feeling - the good, the bad, and the ugly. You are a somewhat passionate person. A few things get you very fired up, but you're usually pretty laid back. You are an assertive person at times. You'll pull out all the stops to get what you want, if it's worth it. You take a while to fall in love, but once you do, you stay pretty attached to your partner. You are not afraid of anything. You are brave and courageous, even when most people would be terrified. You are very practical and down to earth. You're more concerned with action than thoughts. You are an amazingly hard worker. You aren't spoiled and you don't mind getting your hands dirty. You are easily influenced by other people. You're quite impressionable, so you should only be around people who are a good influence.

What Do Your Feet Say About You?

Can I whine for a minute?

I have been feeling crappy since Friday, nauseas and the runs, it comes on and off but this morning I even puked. I dragged myself to bed until 11h30 AM and I just wanted the nauseas to go away.

I'm not sick, I mean if I had something serious, it wouldn't be on and off and I'm not pregnant, unless this was the immaculate conception. But seriously, what the heck can this be?

This afternoon I was at The Parish's office and didn't feel well but I sucked it up but it's back again. The freaking runs and the damn nauseas. yuck, I hate feeling like this. I hate not to be in charge. I know, I'm a control freak! Does anyone know what this could be?

I have been working all evening on the Parish's datas for the new program. It's a pain in the butt to look through more than 18 000 records to find all the priests/deacons that celebrated the baptism. When I'm done listing the priests for the baptism, I'll have to do confirmation, marriage, funerals ETC. I'm patient, what can I say.

When I'm working and when I'm busy, I swear I'm feeling much better. I feel like myself, I feel on top of the world. I'm an active gal.

Tomorrow, working on the Parish's record, going to my hairdresser at 1 PM, she's going to do haircut and highlights and I have a Church Council meeting in the evening.

Please, send me good vibes for my tummy and pukey problem. Have a great night!

After such a long time

I have missed you guys but I've been swamped with work for The Parish. I've been working my butt off (with the help of TTF and TFB) on the new program to manage the Parish's records, certificates and everything there is to manage and deal with in a Parish.

The new program works on Microsoft Access, so TFB lent me his laptop (a PC) so I could work on it because I'm on a Mac (not running Access) but last night when I got home, I installed Parallel Desktop on my MacBook, so I'm running Windows XP on my MacBook. It's a cool application, I kinda like it and at the same time I kinda feel I sold my soul to the devil. I borrowed TFB's Windows XP Installation CD and his Office CD because the one I have is the Office 2008 for Mac. So it's working well, next week I guess I'll go help TFB install Desktop Parallels on his new IMac.

I've been working all day today entering and searching our postal code, street names and now I'm going to start working on listing the priests that have been celebrating for the last 150 years. That's a hell lot of work but I needed to work. When I'm working, all is better.

At the same time the church council is working on the finance campaign for the Parish, working on scheduling a meeting with all the employee and volunteer that's going to take place the first week of June.

So that's it, The Sister's wedding is next saturday! My clothes are all well and ready.

I'll update you when I can... I'm glad everyone loved the Donkey fable. I'm well, I'm tired but at peace.

The Farmer's Donkey: A Fable for Our Time

I received this from a parishionner this morning. He couldn't have been more right on spot with sending this today. I really I'm not a "FW" person but I copied it and emailed it to most of my friends this morning... Here's what I got. Let me know is this inspires you at all.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn't worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, when the donkey realized what was happening he cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. (Shifting)

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone's amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Every adversity can be turned into a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.

What happens to you isn't nearly as important as how you react to it.

Author Unknown

Some things I've been pondering...

So, here's my rambling thoughts...

What makes a person strong? What makes someone weak? Can someone be strong with some weakness? Can you be strong, smart but have a darker side of you? Is it possible to be both strong, courageous and wise but still feel weak in certain area? Are we hypocrite to not show our dark side, our weak side all the time? Do we have to be perfect and infallible to be strong women? Do you guys have a weak /darker side. You know a part of you still affected by whatever you've been through? How the hell do you reconciliate both side of you? And still feel the strong You? Does it make any sense?

I had a phone conversation with a representative from the insurance company. (head office) I applied 3 weeks ago for a life insurance policy. She asked me all type of questions, the period they're allowed to ask questions for is the last 5 years. The lady asked me some stuff covering ALL my life. What the fuck? They can't even ask for my medical record covering more than the last 5 years so why the fuck ask me stuff covering a longer period of time? So I'm still waiting to hear my approval or rejection. It could take up to fucking weeks. It's unfair, I'm healthy, I'm sane, what the hell? My local rep is a sweetie, I gave her a call to let her know about this afternoon's phone talk. She was cool and nice, she told me this company takes a lot of time making decision.

My weekend was nice, I stayed with The Seminarian and The Nurse's mom and was back yesterday in the early evening.

I wanna go to the mall tomorrow, I need to pick up a Clinique product and shop around. I have a meeting for The Parish on Wednesday so I'm free till then.

I watched this weekend few episodes from the "The L Word", it's very good. I enjoyed the show. Are any of you guys watching it?

What's up with you guys?

25 things all women should learn to do already

Taken from Jezebel, this is inspiring. I'm copying ans posting part of the article and directly you with the link to the website where the article was posted. I am not the author but go check the link. There's lot of cool stuff on Jezebel.

Chop vegetables like Penelope Cruz in Volver.
Onions, peppers, garlic cloves and olive oil: are there truer friends in times of economic woe? (Besides Top Ramen duh.) Is there any other aspect of women's work so fundamental to the survival of the species? I dunno, I'm just making excuses, I just think it's sexy.

Choose a perfume.
Floral scents, what can I say: I hate them. Yes, toilet water is an overpriced luxury good, but considering all the cash we blow on overpriced luxury goods dedicated to appealing to one's sense of sight and touch, you'd think we wouldn't be so thoughtless when it comes to the ritual of coughing up a hundred bucks to have that whole other sense covered for the next half year. So go: I may never encourage you to spend money again; spend some quality time at Sephora and come out smelling like something more interesting than a boutique hotel.

Tell the truth.
I can't make it tonight. I have a date. I'm interested in your ex-boyfriend. When you cheated on your husband it really disturbed me. You should maybe look into taking responsibility for your actions. "I would like to put a hit out on your therapist." I know, it's not easy. But isn't that kind of sad?

Withhold information.
Gossip is analogous to bacteria; humankind could not survive without it, but it can be deleterious in an unhealthy context. Get into the habit of withholding a certain amount of pointless amusing information just to keep your immune system in shape.

Take nothing personally.
He didn't do it to hurt you, and if he did, that's fucking weird. Humans are self-obsessed, that's the only reason you think this is about you, when it's really about something that has left people much smarter than us befuddled for millennia now, so you might as well focus on what you can control, which leads me to...

Take yourself personally.
Your persistent low self-esteem: how did it get that way? Were you awkward growing up? Not quick or witty enough? Just ugly? Once you gained a shred of confidence, did you blow your wad seeking out companions you knew would make you feel inadequate? Why? Think you're a narcissist? Or just a weak person? Guess what? We're all different. We're all completely individual assemblages of genetic traits and collected experiences. We're all special, which is precisely what makes us so un-special. If you harbor lingering dissatisfaction with yourself, figuring out what it is is a pretty good way to start coming to terms with that.

Apply makeup without a mirror.
You do this every day, right? Have a little faith in your abilities. Be that girl who is capable of leaving the house on three minutes' notice.

Assemble furniture.
Ikea would not sell $20 billion worth of furniture every year if putting it together was really that hard. It's a pain in the ass, sure. Your ancestors got their water from wells.

Get off.
It has never been easier. There are vibrators at CVS. Porn is an ill-advised Google Image Search away. And really, we all need sex. If you masturbate enough, you'll only seek out casual sex for self-affirmation. And knowing you are doing that will make it a lot easier to handle rejection!

Get hit on politely.
Go ahead and smile, make eye contact; he's probably not trying to rape you. The sexual charge will defuse over time and in the interim you can maybe make a friend. Dudes bear an unfair percentage of the responsibility for flirting in this society, just as we bear an unfair percentage of the responsibility for looking pretty. Let's be sympathetic to one another, how about?

Cry.
There's an unlimited number of reasons you should. To do anything about any of that you have to stop crying eventually. You'll know when.

On second thought, laugh!
God, don't we feel lame after all that crying? So lame we actually laughed at that Dane Cook bit on the lameness of crying. Anything will make you laugh when you've finally gotten sick of crying, but hey, that's cool, dudes love it when you laugh at your jokes and that heady mix of "no pride" and "no standards" is the essence of funny jokes and good drunken one-night stands. Try to laugh as much as possible.

Know when you truly cannot do something.
And fuck no I am not talking about living heavy objects or figuring out how to use Excel. I'm talking about making as much money as your sorority friends, or having a child by 35, or marrying your boyfriend, or being anything better than mediocre at something you think is important.

For the rest, visit this link.

A Friday Meme

I got tagged by CQ , here it is:


1. What is your occupation? at the moment unemployed
2. What color are your socks right now? I'm not wearing socks
3. What are you listening to right now? the sound of silence, everything's off in my home
4. What was the last thing that you ate? peanut butter toasts with cheddar cheese this morning
5. Can you drive a stick shift? nope
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? The New Blogger few minutes ago
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, I do.
9. Favorite drink? coffee, diet coke
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? hmm, I don't watch sport, I do like watching kids play soccer.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? many times
12. Pets? one cat, his name is Mr.Cat
13. Favorite food? Chinese food, Italian, I love food.
14. Last movie you watched? I am legend , I saw it last Friday.
15. Favorite Day of the year? Christmas
16. What do you do to vent anger? I write...
17. What was your favorite toy as a child? I don't remember
18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? fall
19. Hugs or kisses? hugs
20. What kind of pie? pecan pie
21. Do you want your friends to email you back? I'm not going to email it, I'll post it on my blog.
22. Who is most likely to respond? I don't know
23. Who is least likely to respond? No clue
24. Living arrangements? Alone in an apartment
25. When was the last time you cried? in the night of Sunday to Monday.
26. What is on the floor of your closet? clothes LOL
27. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending/tagging this to? I'm going to tag anyone who wants to play on my blog.
28. The friend you have known the shortest amount of time that you are sending/tagging this to? re: 27
29. Favorite smell? Vanilla, my perfume is Clinique Happy Heart
30. What inspires you? Hope, honesty, peace and freedom
31. What are you afraid of? failure? I'm trying to be less of a perfectionist.
32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheesy
33. Favorite car? none
34. Favorite cat breed? none
35. Number of keys on your key ring? 3 + the church's keys
36. How many years at your current job? currently unemployed
37. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
38. How many provinces have you lived in? 1
39. How many countries have you been to? 2

Thursday update

I've been reading John Case's books (borrowed couple of them this week), I have been going on long walks, I went to TTF's with the kids for lunch and just moving with life.

It was very windy yesterday but I went for a 90 mins walk, walked up to The Bay, walked near the pier, the winds was powerful, but I face it and it's like the wind fed me, it energized me back, it was a nice feeling. I stopped for a coffee and walked back to my side of The Town. When I got home, I went back to my book but I knew exercising would help me get better sleep and also because it's good for the soul.

I'm going to go watch The Nurse and The Seminarian's mother this weekend. She has Alzheimer's and they'll be away, so I'm going to go and stay with her. They've got a great home and Internet so I'll be connected as I am at home.

Chikku was telling me it's cute how I refer to my friend, their nickname on my blog is related to them or my relationship with them. Here's few example:

The Friendly Boss, obviously he was my boss and he was friendly, that's why I gave him this nickname. He's now a friend but the nickname sticked. The Tall Friend is obviously tall. His wife "The New Blogger" is a convert to the world of blogs... The Young Priest is a young priest. The Seminarian is studying at The Seminary to become a catholic priest....

Most of the nickname I give are related directly to my friend's personality/traits or jobs.

I wonder what nickname they'd give me eh? I'll ask 'em.