show after show

After the Shakepeare play and a quick drive home on Thursday, I was pretty exhausted on Friday. A dinner at the Chopstick Cafe with J. (yummy again but not as good as the first time...perhaps my expectations were too high but he loved the food) and then I went home. It was a bitterly cold, wet, windy night and I couldn't wait to take a shower Friday night.

On Sat., J. came in to visit me and we drove through the neighbourhood to show him some monster homes before dining at Mr. Mike's. I had never been there before; food was ok, not exceptional, especially when I compared my shrimp and scallop salad to the sashimi salad I had on Friday for a cheaper price! Then we headed over to Superstore to pick up my photos and to Rocky Point for a quick jaunt down the boardwalk. Nice lovely sunny day compared to the nasty weather on Friday. Watched Master and Commander while organizing my Las Vegas photos.

Today I slept in til 10. Lovely, lovely sleep. Made a quick trek down to the supermarket and got some deli for lunch tomorrow. Took a brisk walk around the neighbourhood (cold and a bit cloudy) and then E. picked me up and we went to see Finding Neverland. Then had dinner at Cactus Club, had a good chat and he dropped me off by 8:30. All in all, a pretty good weekend! :)

a stranger's birthday

So A. bailed on me again for this show at the Arts Club Theatre. I ended up inviting P. as a backup. We met after work for a quick dinner at Cafe Crepe on Granville and 14th and then headed over to Granville Island. He gave me a little tree/plant that he named GW Bush. Boy does he have a sense of humour. We just missed my bus so he thought he'd try to play catchup. In the end, he drove me all the way home, which was super nice as he lives out in Vancouver. And when I was in the car leaving, that's when he told me it was his birthday today! I couldn't believe he'd spend it with a stranger. When he dropped me off, he didn't give me a handshake but he did say goodnight X. (We shook hands when we first met.) No discussion of meeting again but I did fire off a thank you email as soon as I got back home.

animal spirits

This weekend has been a blast. Slept in on both days and got about 10 hours each night. It was awesome to just sleep. Yesterday, I headed downtown and then took the little ferry to Granville Island. Walked around a bit through the market and the shops and then headed back to J's place. It was quite chilly out though. Getting wintery these days.

As for today, it was a session of physio followed by the animal healing totem workshop held by Derek. There were 14 in total including myself, Derek, the Reiki teacher, and Debbie, the shop owner. We sat in a circle with Derek in the middle. We first spoke of our favourite animals and then he went on to describe the characteristics. 2 others had eagle as their totem. I should add that of the group, only 2 were men (not including Derek) and that there was a mother and 2 daughters as a family unit.

We started off pretty much having to know our totem...then launched into the first drumming - the bear. We were to visualize being in a cave hibernating with a bear beside us. We were to BE a bear and then wake up and head towards the light at the cave, wander the forest and see what animals we saw. I have to admit I had low expectations cuz I always have had trouble with 'seeing' images. None of the others did. I did 'imagine' myself wandering through a green forest and came upon a red fox peering out and blinking its glowing eyes at me. I also came across a snake, and an eagle that soared above. I also noticed a white bunny. He started singing 'twinkle, twinkle little star' to the beat of the drum and told us to look above to the big dipper (bear) now that it was night time. I saw that and then he told us to head back to the cave.

I listened as we went around in a circle sharing our experiences. It was interesting to hear what the others saw. One girl ended up doing a past life regression instead. And wound up continuing that through the second and third 'sessions'. Our second session was the buffalo drum.

We were to imagine that we were in a herd of buffalo and that we were one of them. I was one and saw myself munching and grazing my way through a yellow field. Mountains rose in the background. I saw a turkey vulture soar above and then I saw a glimpse of a fox trotting through the tall wheat. All of a sudden, an ostrich pops into my thought. Like I could picture the face of an ostrich. It was the strangest thing. (The lady next to me saw a giraffe, which Derek said is very rare. He said she was sticking her neck out for a lot of people, which is true b/c she is a teacher/counselor.) He told us that we were doing a buffalo dance now. So I tried but didn't get very far. Finally he told us to rest. When we took turns to describe what we saw, the others sort of laughed with me when I said I just stood there eating and eating and refusing to move. Derek said it was ok, that I was just learning...spiritual growth, that food nourishes the body. I had said I was having trouble visualizing so he knew where I was coming from.

We took a break and returned and pulled out a tarot card each from a deck laid out on the table. He said we were guided to the card. The one I picked out? "Birther" What did it mean? He said 2 things. One, is that of a big change ahead for me. He asked how old I was. When I told him, he looked at me and repeated my age in disbelief twice. The others in the class were probably shocked as well. He said that a lot of people start developing their spiritual skills when they are in their 30s b/c the 20s is the time for them to have fun. When adults ask the youngsters what they want to be, a lot of them say they have no idea. He said we want to have fun and enjoy our lives before settling down and figuring out what we want to do. So change was coming but that the door was there and I just had to open it but I had to be prepared. (My hesitation in opening the door is probably The second thing was that of a child coming into my life. I asked, "any child, or my own?" and he said my own. He said that having the child would change me - that it would be the most important thing in my life. That it would be an enlightened child. He then quickly went about saying that everyone's child is special but that this one would be more so.

The third session was the eagle drum. Derek began telling us to visualize being an eagling. I saw myself up in a tall tree of a green forest. I grew into an adult and was flying around looking down at the forest floor where I spotted a log house/cabin. I felt like I was protecting the cabin but I was waiting for someone to come in or out but didn't see anyone. I soared above the forest and then over to the water where I saw a killer whale swim by. Then I felt something at my foot. I thought it was the guy next to me so I moved my right foot closer to me, but then I felt it again. So I opened my eyes and was a bit surprised to see nothing there. The guy was quite far away from me. And to top it off, I started hearing a female voice singing with Derek. It was coming towards my left so I looked over to Debbie but couldn't see. I wasn't sure if she was singing/chanting in the native language. I also heard some talking when Derek wasn't singing. Turns out I wasn't the only one. When we sat up, someone else asked. So it wasn't just me. The great spirit had come to visit and she had joined in the singing. She was standing behind Derek on his right side (I was sitting on the right side so that made sense why I heard it coming into my left ear) and talking to him, telling him how nice the song was. She was also singing. (Although I think Debbie was singing a little bit to speed up Derek.) When it was my turn, I told him about the feeling on my foot and he said that the guy beside me was nowhere near me and he wasn't either. So he said that I was blessed by spirit.

When Debbie spoke, she named three names - Linda was the wife of the guy beside me, and the other was Kyle, the boy - brother of the two sisters, and son of the mother. A third lady, Sylvia, no one claimed. Debbie said she was holding on to them and when Derek was singing the song a river keeps running (paraphrased) and life keeps on going, the spirit was telling her "faster, faster" so that was why she joined Derek in the singing, to push him faster so that they could give them wings to fly. They thanked us for being there and said goodbye.

One of the girls said she saw a rainbow in front of Derek's face and didn't know if it meant anything. He told her that she was seeing auras. He said that he saw green halos around the family and said that it was the boy.

Fascinating night that I will finish describing later. It's getting late and tomorrow's a work day...

animal spirits

This weekend has been a blast. Slept in on both days and got about 10 hours each night. It was awesome to just sleep. Yesterday, I headed downtown and then took the little ferry to Granville Island. Walked around a bit through the market and the shops and then headed back to J's place. It was quite chilly out though. Getting wintery these days.

As for today, it was a session of physio followed by the animal healing totem workshop held by Derek. There were 14 in total including myself, Derek, the Reiki teacher, and Debbie, the shop owner. We sat in a circle with Derek in the middle. We first spoke of our favourite animals and then he went on to describe the characteristics. 2 others had eagle as their totem. I should add that of the group, only 2 were men (not including Derek) and that there was a mother and 2 daughters as a family unit.

We started off pretty much having to know our totem...then launched into the first drumming - the bear. We were to visualize being in a cave hibernating with a bear beside us. We were to BE a bear and then wake up and head towards the light at the cave, wander the forest and see what animals we saw. I have to admit I had low expectations cuz I always have had trouble with 'seeing' images. None of the others did. I did 'imagine' myself wandering through a green forest and came upon a red fox peering out and blinking its glowing eyes at me. I also came across a snake, and an eagle that soared above. I also noticed a white bunny. He started singing 'twinkle, twinkle little star' to the beat of the drum and told us to look above to the big dipper (bear) now that it was night time. I saw that and then he told us to head back to the cave.

I listened as we went around in a circle sharing our experiences. It was interesting to hear what the others saw. One girl ended up doing a past life regression instead. And wound up continuing that through the second and third 'sessions'. Our second session was the buffalo drum.

We were to imagine that we were in a herd of buffalo and that we were one of them. I was one and saw myself munching and grazing my way through a yellow field. Mountains rose in the background. I saw a turkey vulture soar above and then I saw a glimpse of a fox trotting through the tall wheat. All of a sudden, an ostrich pops into my thought. Like I could picture the face of an ostrich. It was the strangest thing. (The lady next to me saw a giraffe, which Derek said is very rare. He said she was sticking her neck out for a lot of people, which is true b/c she is a teacher/counselor.) He told us that we were doing a buffalo dance now. So I tried but didn't get very far. Finally he told us to rest. When we took turns to describe what we saw, the others sort of laughed with me when I said I just stood there eating and eating and refusing to move. Derek said it was ok, that I was just learning...spiritual growth, that food nourishes the body. I had said I was having trouble visualizing so he knew where I was coming from.

We took a break and returned and pulled out a tarot card each from a deck laid out on the table. He said we were guided to the card. The one I picked out? "Birther" What did it mean? He said 2 things. One, is that of a big change ahead for me. He asked how old I was. When I told him, he looked at me and repeated my age in disbelief twice. The others in the class were probably shocked as well. He said that a lot of people start developing their spiritual skills when they are in their 30s b/c the 20s is the time for them to have fun. When adults ask the youngsters what they want to be, a lot of them say they have no idea. He said we want to have fun and enjoy our lives before settling down and figuring out what we want to do. So change was coming but that the door was there and I just had to open it but I had to be prepared. (My hesitation in opening the door is probably The second thing was that of a child coming into my life. I asked, "any child, or my own?" and he said my own. He said that having the child would change me - that it would be the most important thing in my life. That it would be an enlightened child. He then quickly went about saying that everyone's child is special but that this one would be more so.

The third session was the eagle drum. Derek began telling us to visualize being an eagling. I saw myself up in a tall tree of a green forest. I grew into an adult and was flying around looking down at the forest floor where I spotted a log house/cabin. I felt like I was protecting the cabin but I was waiting for someone to come in or out but didn't see anyone. I soared above the forest and then over to the water where I saw a killer whale swim by. Then I felt something at my foot. I thought it was the guy next to me so I moved my right foot closer to me, but then I felt it again. So I opened my eyes and was a bit surprised to see nothing there. The guy was quite far away from me. And to top it off, I started hearing a female voice singing with Derek. It was coming towards my left so I looked over to Debbie but couldn't see. I wasn't sure if she was singing/chanting in the native language. I also heard some talking when Derek wasn't singing. Turns out I wasn't the only one. When we sat up, someone else asked. So it wasn't just me. The great spirit had come to visit and she had joined in the singing. She was standing behind Derek on his right side (I was sitting on the right side so that made sense why I heard it coming into my left ear) and talking to him, telling him how nice the song was. She was also singing. (Although I think Debbie was singing a little bit to speed up Derek.) When it was my turn, I told him about the feeling on my foot and he said that the guy beside me was nowhere near me and he wasn't either. So he said that I was blessed by spirit.

When Debbie spoke, she named three names - Linda was the wife of the guy beside me, and the other was Kyle, the boy - brother of the two sisters, and son of the mother. A third lady, Sylvia, no one claimed. Debbie said she was holding on to them and when Derek was singing the song a river keeps running (paraphrased) and life keeps on going, the spirit was telling her "faster, faster" so that was why she joined Derek in the singing, to push him faster so that they could give them wings to fly. They thanked us for being there and said goodbye.

One of the girls said she saw a rainbow in front of Derek's face and didn't know if it meant anything. He told her that she was seeing auras. He said that he saw green halos around the family and said that it was the boy.

Fascinating night that I will finish describing later. It's getting late and tomorrow's a work day...

animal spirits

This weekend has been a blast. Slept in on both days and got about 10 hours each night. It was awesome to just sleep. Yesterday, I headed downtown and then took the little ferry to Granville Island. Walked around a bit through the market and the shops and then headed back to J's place. It was quite chilly out though. Getting wintery these days.

As for today, it was a session of physio followed by the animal healing totem workshop held by Derek. There were 14 in total including myself, Derek, the Reiki teacher, and Debbie, the shop owner. We sat in a circle with Derek in the middle. We first spoke of our favourite animals and then he went on to describe the characteristics. 2 others had eagle as their totem. I should add that of the group, only 2 were men (not including Derek) and that there was a mother and 2 daughters as a family unit.

We started off pretty much having to know our totem...then launched into the first drumming - the bear. We were to visualize being in a cave hibernating with a bear beside us. We were to BE a bear and then wake up and head towards the light at the cave, wander the forest and see what animals we saw. I have to admit I had low expectations cuz I always have had trouble with 'seeing' images. None of the others did. I did 'imagine' myself wandering through a green forest and came upon a red fox peering out and blinking its glowing eyes at me. I also came across a snake, and an eagle that soared above. I also noticed a white bunny. He started singing 'twinkle, twinkle little star' to the beat of the drum and told us to look above to the big dipper (bear) now that it was night time. I saw that and then he told us to head back to the cave.

I listened as we went around in a circle sharing our experiences. It was interesting to hear what the others saw. One girl ended up doing a past life regression instead. And wound up continuing that through the second and third 'sessions'. Our second session was the buffalo drum.

We were to imagine that we were in a herd of buffalo and that we were one of them. I was one and saw myself munching and grazing my way through a yellow field. Mountains rose in the background. I saw a turkey vulture soar above and then I saw a glimpse of a fox trotting through the tall wheat. All of a sudden, an ostrich pops into my thought. Like I could picture the face of an ostrich. It was the strangest thing. (The lady next to me saw a giraffe, which Derek said is very rare. He said she was sticking her neck out for a lot of people, which is true b/c she is a teacher/counselor.) He told us that we were doing a buffalo dance now. So I tried but didn't get very far. Finally he told us to rest. When we took turns to describe what we saw, the others sort of laughed with me when I said I just stood there eating and eating and refusing to move. Derek said it was ok, that I was just learning...spiritual growth, that food nourishes the body. I had said I was having trouble visualizing so he knew where I was coming from.

We took a break and returned and pulled out a tarot card each from a deck laid out on the table. He said we were guided to the card. The one I picked out? "Birther" What did it mean? He said 2 things. One, is that of a big change ahead for me. He asked how old I was. When I told him, he looked at me and repeated my age in disbelief twice. The others in the class were probably shocked as well. He said that a lot of people start developing their spiritual skills when they are in their 30s b/c the 20s is the time for them to have fun. When adults ask the youngsters what they want to be, a lot of them say they have no idea. He said we want to have fun and enjoy our lives before settling down and figuring out what we want to do. So change was coming but that the door was there and I just had to open it but I had to be prepared. (My hesitation in opening the door is probably The second thing was that of a child coming into my life. I asked, "any child, or my own?" and he said my own. He said that having the child would change me - that it would be the most important thing in my life. That it would be an enlightened child. He then quickly went about saying that everyone's child is special but that this one would be more so.

The third session was the eagle drum. Derek began telling us to visualize being an eagling. I saw myself up in a tall tree of a green forest. I grew into an adult and was flying around looking down at the forest floor where I spotted a log house/cabin. I felt like I was protecting the cabin but I was waiting for someone to come in or out but didn't see anyone. I soared above the forest and then over to the water where I saw a killer whale swim by. Then I felt something at my foot. I thought it was the guy next to me so I moved my right foot closer to me, but then I felt it again. So I opened my eyes and was a bit surprised to see nothing there. The guy was quite far away from me. And to top it off, I started hearing a female voice singing with Derek. It was coming towards my left so I looked over to Debbie but couldn't see. I wasn't sure if she was singing/chanting in the native language. I also heard some talking when Derek wasn't singing. Turns out I wasn't the only one. When we sat up, someone else asked. So it wasn't just me. The great spirit had come to visit and she had joined in the singing. She was standing behind Derek on his right side (I was sitting on the right side so that made sense why I heard it coming into my left ear) and talking to him, telling him how nice the song was. She was also singing. (Although I think Debbie was singing a little bit to speed up Derek.) When it was my turn, I told him about the feeling on my foot and he said that the guy beside me was nowhere near me and he wasn't either. So he said that I was blessed by spirit.

When Debbie spoke, she named three names - Linda was the wife of the guy beside me, and the other was Kyle, the boy - brother of the two sisters, and son of the mother. A third lady, Sylvia, no one claimed. Debbie said she was holding on to them and when Derek was singing the song a river keeps running (paraphrased) and life keeps on going, the spirit was telling her "faster, faster" so that was why she joined Derek in the singing, to push him faster so that they could give them wings to fly. They thanked us for being there and said goodbye.

One of the girls said she saw a rainbow in front of Derek's face and didn't know if it meant anything. He told her that she was seeing auras. He said that he saw green halos around the family and said that it was the boy.

Fascinating night that I will finish describing later. It's getting late and tomorrow's a work day...

magical night

I went to see David Copperfield last night. The show was really good...I just can't figure out how my mind can be so easily tricked!!! It was an enjoyable evening with dinner at the Aria restaurant. I had caribou medallions and a chocolate toblerone fruit fondue.

I also spotted two eagles this morning. One sitting on the wooden tree trunk in the water and the other just flying away from me and landing with the swish of its white tale. Spotted 3 people wearing winter coats with wolves, making me think that the wolf may be my animal totem...

no surprise

After waiting almost two weeks to hear back, I wasn't shocked that they told me that they were not going to continue to the next stage of the interview. The only surprise was that they didn't wait for 2 weeks exactly, but just one day shy of that. So my heart was thumping like crazy with the slim hope that it would pan out but I suspect that these things do work out for the best. I spotted what I think was an eagle this morning as I got off the train. It was flying in the opposite direction and looked too large to be a seagull.

My mom has been inundated with changes at work herself and things keep looking like the world is turning upside down. It's almost funny that she and I are both struggling with our career decisions.

On the brighter side, I went to the large craft fair (http://www.circlecraft.net) on the weekend and had a blast. There were over 200 exhibitors selling everything from pottery and wooden art to paintings and handmade clothing and jewelry. I ended up getting a cute bracelet for my sister, and found a handheld mirror in the shape of a fan for her friend's wedding gift. J. went with me and bought me a silver necklace with a handmade carved-out flower pendant. I wore it yesterday and already got a compliment on it.

daily musings

I fear this is becoming much of a bitching board than anything else lately and scaring away readers. (Why else has no one commented? If you're reading, drop me a comment...tell me you empathize, or tell me that you want to smack some sense into me because I have a job while there are so many who are unemployed...)

Foggy morning on the west coast. Spotted my eagle perched on the regular piling but no late-breaking news going on at work so I'm still waiting. Maybe it's just a sign of faith that I need to keep holding on to. That I'm not alone in the world.

a new day

Work is still as shitty as ever. I am losing motivation by the second. Wanted to leave so badly. And to top it off, I'm spacing out. I knew my co-worker was away last week but had no idea it was for a conference. How bad is that? My boss asked, "You mean you didn't notice that _ was away?" I said, "Of course I did...I just didn't know where." It was even in the staff meeting minutes but I obviously was zoned out during the meeting...and didn't read the minutes.

The new boss started today. She got a huge bouquet of flowers delivered. Courtesy of the headhunting company. Gee, I suppose if you're getting a huge chunk of her salary you can afford some flowers. Can you tell I'm bitter? I just feel a tad like a child getting a new sibling. Not even that. I guess I feel a little resentful that they bypassed me, TWICE. It would be nice to have the option of turning down a position. It sucks not being able to even have that choice.

rainy wet weekend

Slept in a bit today after chatting on the phone last night. J was talking about a different 'breed'. I cant even recall what it was we were talking about but that stuck in my mind as the third sign. This Firm hires a different 'breed' of people.

I was feeling so lazy today that I didn't even want to get out to meet someone that I had been chatting with since the summer. We've been talking about 3 months on and off and finally got together. I felt that we had a good long chat; he even gave me a hug at the end before he left to go to his friend's engagement party. So I'm actually glad that we met!

eagle

I spotted an eagle this morning. Almost the same place it was in yesterday morning, but a half hour later than yesterday. I wasn't expecting to see one. I don't know what this means except that there will be a change happening soon. Or else, the eagle was just there to confirm that I'm on the right path...

Was reading all the news about Arafat and the arguments about whether he was dead or brain dead or about to go etc. Then clicked into the travel section where the survey revealed restaurant goers in Philadelphia are the best tippers. The last statement in the article: Eastern seaboard cities Boston (3.0 per week), Washington D.C. (2.8) and Philadelphia (2.6) were at the bottom of the frequency list among the biggest cities. I am assuming in terms of tourism. And there was also an ad to click and try 4 issues of the Times for free. The image accompanying the link? "The joy of sox". Some baseball player swinging his bat.

Tonight I'm heading off to Oakridge to do some shopping before I go to dinner on my dad's side. Aunt A. has returned for good from HK and tonight's dinner is to celebrate Aunt H.'s birtday. Another family dinner but it's gotta be done.

hopeful signs?

I was hoping for my totem and early this morning, I spotted an eagle sitting on one of the pilings along the route to work. I don't know if it was because it was sunny or because it was early...I had taken one train earlier than normal to make it to a meeting at 8:30 this morning so I was pretty groggy. I haven't spotted an eagle for what feels like months now.

At work, it was meeting after meeting all day long it seemed. During our professional excellence meeting, the lady giving the talk mentioned the Boston Red Sox twice in her mention of baseball games (reference to recent world series) and hockey. Then when I went to read the paper, the second page had a shot of Ben Affleck who's in town shooting a film "Man About Town" ironically. He was wearing a Red Sox sweatshirt...

price of anticipation

I think I bombed the interview. *sigh* I can't get over how I just started fumbling and stumbling my way through. The nervousness got to me. There were only two interviewers - one had to leave about 10 minutes into the conversation. By the time I got comfortable enough and relaxed with the interviewer, it was time for the case study where I immediately tensed up again. So I guess I'll just keep my eyes peeled for other opportunities. (They were on a tight schedule, phoning me a bit late as their previous interview went late, and then 'booting' me off right at half past so they could continue with their other bookings.) Busy day for them I guess. Meaning my chances are slimmer than ever. :(

all eyes on america

I've been watching the numbers changing. Bush 249, Kerry 200. Looks like Bush will win this one although they had said it was going to be a tight tight race. Meanwhile, both my eyes have been glued to the books as well as I prep for my interview tomorrow...