recovery

Have been fighting some sort of flu bug since Friday.  Think I picked it up at the pool as that's the only thing I can think of.  Had dinner at the Mill on Friday evening - gorgeous sunny night out on the patio.  You know how someone you have a crush on is cool...until you find out a nasty habit?  This one guy - I found out he smoked.  It was so disappointing but at the same time a bit of a relief to know I don't have to keep thinking of him.  (Mind you, I haven't really thought about him a lot.)

Work on the weekend also sucked.  Had to slice up about 50 million limes for drinks and then only got half the tips as usual since I was only doing the floor work.  It was a bit more relaxed compared to the caribbean cruise.  The salsa crowd is more subdued and it's a shorter cruise, which all translates into less tips all around. I knew it was going to be small since I wasn't running off my feet.  Plus, it was a stifling 32 degrees on Saturday and I almost didn't want to go into work at all.  I also don't understand why jerks get such nice girls.  There was a jerk - early 20ish guy who I thought had tossed some garbage into the slop bucket.  Perhaps I could have been more polite when I told him it wasn't a trash can but he got all offended and later on, when his very pregnant girlfriend asked me where the garbage was so she could drop off her food plate, he roughly told her to put it on the counter and that I would take care of it.  She dismissed him and listened to me tell her where it was, although I took the plate from her, seeing as it would have been difficult for her to get around.   Didn't get home until 2:30.  Crashed at 3am.

I almost fell asleep at work yesterday as I was feeling pretty tired and not well at all though appearances are deceiving.  Am off to bed now to rest up some more.

double booked

I just don't understand why everything happens all at once. I either have nothing to do, or too much. Dinner plans popped up at work although I was supposed to meet someone else so now things have been shifted. But as you can see I'm still here and waiting to go over for dinner. Who knows how long the wait will be to get a table. It's nice outside so I could be in for a bit of a wait... :( No reservations at The Mill when the weather is nice out like it is today.

I'll be working tomorrow night and then going shopping with S. on Sunday. Window shopping. She just bought a new pair of shoes (as did I in Boston) so we shall see if I end up finding something else...

working for peanuts
 
I was unhappy about working 3/4 of a shift to only get half the tips but apparently this is what the boss says is the new system they have implemented.  Originally, he told me that he would try to find me an earlier time because I commented that it would be more feasible for me to add an hour or hour and a half to the shift since I'm driving all the way in from the boonies anyway but then when I explained the tip bit, he sort of shut down and told me he couldn't make an exception for me, and that I'd have to consider what I wanted to do (i.e. do I want to keep working the rest of the summer.)  I'll really have to think it through whether it is worth my while.  He did say he would like to have me on the floor as I guess he at least trusts my work.  He also offered me the catering positions or the weekend island trips which I am not keen on at all.  The question is, with the amount of halved tips, is it still really worth the late night headache?  I said I'd work this weekend anyway as I had requested it.  I may still do an odd shift for August...guess I'll decide after working this weekend.

eastern zone
 
It appears I haven't quite recovered from the jetlag yet as I woke up at 6am this morning.  I suppose it's fine as that means I am up when the sky is just beginning to turn pink...it only means I need to go to bed earlier to make up for the hours that I'm awake.
 
Still working away at my report but I will admit that I'm doing pretty well - it usually takes me 2 good weekends to get it done but I have for some strange reason been so motivated to get it done and out of the way it isn't even funny.  I guess I want to do it all before it becomes more of a blur to me.  Tonight when I get home, I'll continue to work on it and hopefully have the whole thing done and ready to hand in tomorrow...or maybe Thursday.
 
Funny thing - my boss left right a 5.  Since she no longer really has reason to stay behind, it's me who's still sitting at my desk.  Just an ironic observation that our roles seem to have reversed.  As an aside, my colleagues all loved the little red Boston lobster on a lollipop candy that I gave them as a souvenir from my trip.

heat stroke
 
After a blistering day that set a record high of 29 degrees yesterday, I had trouble falling asleep last night.  I couldn't even see the sky last night but a cover of dark grey clouds waiting to unleash its rain.  The mugginess finally lifted this morning as I stood at the bus stop.  It had started a light rain so I pulled out my umbrella.  Another passenger was waiting under the eaves of a house and came out to the stop when the time rolled near for the bus to arrive.  I figured the rain was actually going to stop as it got lighter and lighter and then bam!  The sky opened up and a downpour followed for a good 2 minutes.  The man looked in shock and asked if he could share my umbrella so I nodded yes.
 
It was still pretty muggy outside though, but the train ride in was cool and refreshing...almost too refreshing as I started getting chilly near the end of the trip.  Headed into the office to find it blistering hot, like involuntarily being stuffed into a sauna on a already hot day.  The air conditioning is broken, and apparently only on my floor. 
 
While I was gone, they did the office shuffle and someone finally claimed the corner office that had belonged to a partner who had left the firm a couple of months ago.  So now I don't even know who is where anymore.  Add to that, the elevators seem to have a mind of their own.  They don't stop on our floor.  To go down at lunch, you need to go Up.  Makes sense, eh?  The day can only look up from here I hope.
 

house arrest
 
I am under a self-imposed house arrest today.  After going to work yesterday (not such a bright idea?) the jetlag and lack of sleep has finally caught up to me.  I woke up early as usual (Boston time) and ended up feeling tired all morning.  It's been super hot outside, which has only added to the lethargy I've been feeling.  So I sit indoors and try to type up my report while the sun goes on shining outside.  At least I don't have to work a cruise tonight...I felt like I could have done it yesterday but obviously the reality of being back hadn't quite hit me back then.  Thank goodness I didn't get a call to work!
 
I got a surprise call from H. this morning from his current home (hotel) in Korea.  We chatted a good long while.  He's planning on coming to visit me in August and requested that I show him the new dress I bought in Boston.  I laughed and told him I would if he took me to a nice place for dinner.  He agreed.  I just need to find a place I want to eat at now. :)
 
My friend E phoned me up and asked what I was doing.  She wanted to drop by the mall close to my place to check out some shoes but didn't want to make the trek out just for that.  I told her I could do dinner with her tonight but she already had dinner plans.  She was thinking more about tomorrow but I said I couldn't.  She's off next week to Toronto and Ottawa for 10 days and we'll get together for lunch after her return.
 
My grandmother came over for a bit to work on our sewing machine; hers has been broken for ages and my uncle has also kept his broken promise of fixing it.  Just dropped her back off and will be working on the report.  Funny how it seems hotter here than in Boston.  Could be due to the lack of air conditioning as well...

ringing of the phone

I spotted an eagle perched on a pole today on the train ride in. It turned out to be an awesome day. I got a call from the model - he missed me as I was on the phone with another person I hadn't talked to in ages, a friend working on a ship in San Francisco. Then, another phone call, from the salon. B. says, hi honey, we got the photos back. You are going to freak when you see them. Basically, he told me that I was one of his top 3 choices and that I was going to be entered into 3 entries, unlike the other girls, who were going to be entered into 2.

wedding blues

I went down to Gastown to do a photo shoot for Unique Weddings and Events, a new company that was shooting multi-ethnic weddings for their upcoming website. I showed up and the photographer and her sister called me across the street to do my makeup. I guess they figured it was me since I was dressed in black as they had requested. We started my makeup and waited for the other model to turn up. He was a no-show. So they phoned up another model that they had used for their Egyptian themed wedding and he drove in from Surrey. This guy is an actual model and actor. Turned out to be quite tall - 6.0 feet and they told him he was going to be a rock star because they didn't know how to explain gothic to him. It was pretty hilarious.

Sitting on the sidewalk getting my makeup done, I felt like I was on show. They have artists that draw the likeness of the customer onto a canvas but everyone walking by turned to glance even if it was a short glance. Funny how some people tried not to make it obvious. I hid my face from the model so he wouldn't see the makeup that I had on. He was not keen on his - blue-silver eye-shadow, and metallic blue-silver lipstick.

I did some headshots on my own while he was getting his makeup done. Then he joined me and we did some photos together. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw him because of his makeup but he thought it was because I was embarrassed, so he kept telling me that I didn't need to be embarrassed. We were taking some more and were almost done when we saw a police cruiser going down the street and slowing down by the model's car. He had parked in a no-stopping area and got ticketed. We ran back to the car but it was too late. So we just took a few more photos with my camera and then I left. We were done relatively quickly. A group walked by and said, "Oh, there's the groom now." It was pretty funny. Apparently, at an earlier shoot, some people thought the couple was real and congratulated them on the wedding.

He asked me for my number, saying we should get together sometime. Told me I had the 'look' for a model and that he could get me into some movies since he's done a few. I said ok...never hurts to see what happens although I'm not holding my breath.