would you like some waves to go with that?

Yesterday was crazy - I had a doctor's appointment in the morning and she was on time when I got there but then of course the patient before me was a father with two or more kids. That took such a long time so that by the time she got to me, I had waited about 40 minutes. Alisia was waiting for me so we could drive downtown to see Karin for the reunion lunch. Well, we were then 30 minutes late as it took us forever to find and park her (power-steered) car. Terence showed up last looking like he had just woken up, which was probably the case. Good filling lunch with catching up. We're planning a reunion trip for sometime next year.

I made it in home just in time to change into my uniform and head back out downtown to work the carol ship. It was on my old boat so I was familiar with the setup. Nice because the boat is small, but it also has NOTHING so I had to go to the Princess and the Britannia to get buckets of ice and stocks of liquor. Anyway, it was a neat experience taking orders and serving drinks. Man, I had no idea that champagne glasses were so heavy! They aren't alone, but filled to the top and sitting on a tray...my poor arms were shaking afterwards from holding it up so long while guests arrived.

This was a charter and the people really wanted to go to False Creek so we headed out that way, but it wasn't a good idea. The waves were way too strong and I had difficulty standing and making my way up and down the stairs! We turned around shortly after and the rest of the night was smooth sailing. I helped a guy carry up two drinks on a tray (he held the third) and he tipped me $2. I made about $15 on my own but it's split among the catering staff and bartender and me so while it seemed like a lot to give up, I ended up with more than $15 so it worked out well this time. I did have to put up a bit with one guy who was being friendly even right in front of his wife but it was in a joking way. Anyway, good experience overall. Course with the cleanup and waiting for the car windows to defrost, I didn't get home til nearly 1am. I suspect the next times I work will be about the same.

christmas madness

The race is on for the holidays. The cold weather yesterday made it feel like it would snow but today it has done nothing but pour. Luckily, it's a casual day for United Way so I don't mind splashing around in the puddles in my jeans. Two of my co-workers (boss included) were away again Wednesday so I'm keeping my distance. Everyone was back today but thank goodness I have two days away from everyone.

There are sales going on everywhere and I am slowly easing my way back into this Western culture of ours. I am trying not to forget about Cuba and its people but it is so difficult when everywhere you go around here, materialism is pursued and promoted.

This is going to be the beginning of a crazy month. Karin has organized a lunch get together for the group of us tomorrow downtown at a sushi place and I have also gotten a shift on the boat for the first of the carol ship charters. Sunday will be a day off but there is so much to do still! I spent last night selecting photos I want to print from my Cuba trip. I am trying to limit my selection to one quarter of the total pictures that I have taken, which would be about 100 photos...yes. A lot, I know.

Then next week I get to go to the World Championship Ice Skating show as well as the lawyer's seasonal dinner at the Four Season. The week after that, I start voice training, and during the same week, it's the staff Christmas party. I'll be working two more weekends after this one and then my sister comes home and it's the final bit before Christmas! It's going to be a packed month!!

keeping to my corner

Ok, so I don't have it so bad that I have a cubby hole at work but I'm sticking to my desk and away from my co-workers nonetheless. So far, all of them are sick and two of them have missed two days of work. One of them is my boss. I don't want to get it, whatever it is they have! Flu season is supposed to be really bad this year too.

Snow on the mountains. Gorgeous ride on the train in today. Feels almost like winter.

biding my time

I have to wait it out. My desire for a change of pace. I went for a reading this afternoon and am now trying to recall most of the conversation because the tape was so fuzzy that I'm majorly disappointed over it. :( Basically, my window of opportunity is coming up this next year and the full opportunity will present itself in 2005. It's a long 9 months she says I will have to wait. Travel will be coming up but not in the sense I had planned. She said some people do their traveling while young; I will have to wait but she said it's better cuz I will have the money then. Presumably the guy as well as things are supposed to 'gel' for me by then. Patience is a virtue...I'll have to keep telling myself that.

the real first snowfall

It finally snowed last night. The mountains opened up a couple of days ago but we actually got snow in the lower elevations. When I looked out my bedroom window this morning, I saw a thin blanket covering the rooftops of homes across the streets. However, it's started to rain a bit so it's disappearing. Of course, once I reach work, there isn't any snow downtown, and the sun has actually begun to peek out a bit.

You can't get away from it: our building lobby has a tall Christmas tree already up. Normally they put it out the first week of December. Thank goodness the tree in our firm lobby isn't up yet. I was thinking of putting up our new tree this coming weekend but only because I figured we should enjoy it a little longer. I'll do it either this weekend or next, depending on time but I have to have it up by the time my sister comes back to visit!

first snowfall

The weather forecasts have never been 100% accurate. They called for up to 5 cm of snow last night but it did not materialize. All we got was rain and lots of it. Funny how the leaves haven't even dropped off all the trees yet and there is snow already on the mountains. It was definitely chilly out yesterday. I went with my mom to a workshop on past lives. While waiting (because we were early), we sat at Spanish Banks and watched the sun coming up to cast a pink glow on the snow dusted mountains. I also spotted an eagle that soared by and landed on a treetop. A few moments after I took its picture, it flew off.

The workshop wasn't very successful - too much noise out in the hallways of the school; I didn't see anything or regress anywhere. I did get completely relaxed but that was the extent of it. A couple of people in my class saw tons of stuff. One woman was crying because she was at her dad's funeral. It is such an interesting phenomenon. I haven't been able to see or experience it, which is a bit frustrating! But I think it's just going to take tons of practice.

Oh. And talk about weird things happening. On the way home (after a shopping stop at Oakridge where both my mother and I bought a pair of shoes!), we were nearing the place I lived during my graduate studies and I saw a car in front of us. It looked SO much like RD.DK's. And the guy sitting in the front was Asian and wore glasses. There weren't any dangling things from the rearview mirror but I spotted the radar detector which he had. I don't really know his plate so I was uncertain if it was his car, but I was pretty sure because he told me he had just gotten his car a couple of months ago (when I met him) and the expiry on the plate was sometime in June or July...also, if I recall correctly, his plate had numbers of his cell phone. He swerved off quickly (with a female? passenger) so even though I asked my mother to look inside when we passed by, it was almost too quick. Almost sure it was him though. What are the chances??

sunburnt

A few people at work have noticed my 'glow'; I tell them it's more of a burn. My nose got the brunt of the sun damage :( but I was so good about putting on sunblock after that one day of too much sun. Seems like a lot of people knew I went to Cuba. Interesting how word gets around.

I found a new cool hair salon downtown. They sell almost all the major brands but at a great discount! So I bought some L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner. No, it's not coloured stuff. I figure that one of these days I'm going to stop colouring my hair and at that point I will need some regular shampoo. It came in a cute mesh bag as I guess it's perfect for Christmas presents. However, I bought it because it was cheaper than buying it individually (and yet the individual product prices were good too) and for the fact that it also came with a bonus - this one had a mini can of hairspray. Not that I use hairspray but that's beside the point. :) Got some shampoo for my mom too. The great thing about this salon is that they encourage you to bring old bottles back to recycle and they give you a coupon for $1 off future products when you do.

worlds apart

Right now I will admit to be unsettled and disturbed. Though the trip to Cuba was really great in terms of seeing how other people live, it also leaves me feeling a bit ill at ease to say the least. I have seen how little people in Cuba have, and how they make use of everything that they own. Little boys flying kites made of plastic garbage bags...playing with cardboard boxes on the streets of Trinidad... and when I come back home, I see this massive materialism and huge waste. When I was there, Christmas couldn't be further from my mind. Now that I'm back, all I see are stores flaunting their goods - what one can wish for and the 'joy of giving.' I'm not sure what to make of it...I'm not sure what to do with it. We of the first world have it so good and it seems like it's not enough. The contrast could not be greater. I have two 'thought du jours' which I have pasted to my computer monitor that I'd like to share:

"Money may buy the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite, medicine but not health, acquaintances but not friends, servants but not faithfulness, days of joy but not peace or happiness." - Henrik Ibsen

"The rich are satisfied with what they have, no matter how little; the poor are dissatisfied with what they have, no matter how much." - Anonymous

cube-ah

I returned from Cuba last night at 11:15 and didn't get home until nearly 1am. Woke up to go to work today and am just finishing downloading the photos from the trip. There are 400 shots and now that I've gone through and viewed them, I'm not sure how I'm going to decide which ones to print out! Anyway, Cuba was amazing minus the mosquitos. Thoughts are still swirling in my mind and when I have some time, I will write them out. For the time being though, I'm exhausted and need to get to bed.

p.s. There is snow on the mountains - what a difference one week makes. I noticed a light dusting on the mountains when I came in to work this morning. The ski hills will be opening soon!

jewel of an island

Tomorrow I'm off to Cuba! Some nice warm sun for me. :) I just finished cramming things into my tiny suitcase. Not much to buy there so I don't need to pack a large suitcase. Easier this way too as I will have to lug it around myself anyway! I already had to drop the skirt I was planning on bringing because there was just no space! My new Oakley sandals (Smoke Rings) are huge space hoggers and they are the only pair of shoes I'm bringing apart from the Skechers I'll be wearing! Now it's just a matter of packing my backpack and choosing my reading material. It will be an early morning - Alisia's dad is picking me up at 6 am!!

the view from up here

The window cleaners just finished my windows. I was just speaking with my coworker the other day about how dirty the windows were and how they probably wouldn't do my corner because we are on the curved part of the building...well they showed up today. It's beautifully sunny out, but again, mega-cold. -4C this morning. I can't wait to jet out of here on Monday! :) :) With October, we beat all rain records, and had one of the biggest wind storms ever. November so far has been beautiful - this whole week was pure sunshine!

The week has been so busy that I lost track of time - didn't know what day it was yesterday and took my lunch at the wrong time. I haven't been feeling so well and am trying hard to make sure I don't get sick for my upcoming trip. Lots of little last minute things to take care of. This weekend, I will be just packing, and prepping - reading up tons on my little island of paradise!

all saints' day

I didn't mention on thursday, because it was before I got on the train to go home - but they checked tickets on the way home too! That's twice in the same day; but this was on an earlier train (train 3) than what I take in to work (train 5). Still...serious crackdown happening.

Hallowe'en was uneventful - a beautiful sunny day...it was also my tea day so I brought in Hallowe'en cookies. The laywer brought in his wife's homemade pumpkin cheesecake. It was delicious! And I normally don't like cheesecake! I went to bed fairly early (23:30ish) because I had to work this morning. Modern dance class was cancelled as Jane was still sick with pneumonia; it bothered me as I had to change my eye appointment around her class and now I lost it because someone else had taken my time...anyway, it all worked out as I ended up going in to work to do some OT... 7 hours worth (excluding a lunch break.) It was mind-numbing photocopying...so glad I'm not going in tomorrow!

It's also soooo cold out that they said it might snow tonight; it's cold enough to, but I doubt we'll get any as per our usual luck, when it's cold out, there aren't enough clouds, when it's warm, we get tons of rain!