Princesses, squared: My interview by the Princess of the Universe

So, a little ways back, my lovely cohort in royalty, the Princess of the Universe (who also sends me dried fish and chocolate-- true story) made a tempting offer-- to interview her readers in five questions. 

My answers are below, but first, if you would like to play, these are the rules... 

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (note-- I can't guarantee original questions for all. Depends how much caffeine I have drank that day. Or how lame of questions you will tolerate- e.g., what's your favourite number?)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Without further ado, la Princesse asked me....

1. Have you ever been to Winnipeg? And seriously, what do other people in Canada say about us? Are we at least cooler than Regina? Or Guelph? C'mon, we HAVE to be cooler than Guelph!

I have in fact been to Winnipeg. When I graduated high school, I won (and I use that term loosely) 30 days free Greyhound travel across Canada for two, and a bunch of nights stay at hostels. So, my sister and I set on a sibling-bonding trip across our very, very vast country to see our father's neglected side of the family.

Spoiler: The Greyhound sucks. And it eats luggage.

Stop one on our way was Winnipeg, only about 36 or so hours in. We stayed for a night. I remember very little except a bridge, a bunk bed, finally getting to shower, and drinking bubble tea for the first time. Honestly, I didn't form much of an impression from what I saw, as I was there for less than 24 hours. 

But my friend from Winnipeg raves about how much fun she had living there. Apparently it is more cultured than people realize, with a much more laid back attitude than some other cities.

Without stepping on anyone's toes, it *was* prettier than Hamilton, at least!

Oh, and one more Winnipeg memory? When we were waiting in the bus depot to leave, I left to buy a bottle of water, and came back to the sleaziest guy in the planet hitting on my 15-year old sister. He was from Winnipeg and inexplicably hanging out at the bus depot. When she told him she had a boyfriend, his response (and I quote) was "Fuck him, I have a bigger dick than him anyhow."

Sorry.

The Winnipeg Jets were awesome, though.

2. I have a little soft spot in my heart for Freud, because I took a Topics course on the guy. What are your thoughts? Genius? Depraved?

My favourite quote of Freud's is "I was pass over all the details which showed how utterly correct I was" (from his famous Dora case study).

So egomaniacal? Yes, to say the least.

Honestly, though, despite the current views that the guy was full of it (and it does tend to be a bit of a knee jerk reaction when you hear about penis envy), he was a genius. So many of his ideas were so phenomenal, considering how far they were from the paradigm of the day-- where would modern psychology be without concepts like defense mechanisms or the unconscious? I think we tend to ignore those, and focus on the more kooky stuff that seems so over the top and misogynistic now.

I recommend that everyone with an interest in psychology read some of his case studies. Whether you believe his conclusions or not, they are hugely fascinating, as he weaves these amazing poetic linkages between dreams, body language and word choices to come up with this amazing picture of a person at their core. He may be completely out of left field, but you almost want to believe him.

3. The Tragically Hip: Best Canadian band ever, or WAY over-rated?

For those of you non-Canucks out there, the Tragically Hip are one of Canada's pride and joys. We like the fact that they haven't really been discovered by the rest of the world, that they sell out stadiums here but barely sell out bars south of the border, that they seem like good humble non-Hollywood Prairie boys.

I'm going to go in the middle for this one. They've certainly got some catchy tunes sprinkled across their musical career, and I don't complain when someone puts their CD on. But I also don't own more than a few of their songs, and find some of their stuff a little underwhelming.

Besides, any true Canadian knows that the best Canadian band ever is Loverboy.

4. Starbucks or Tim's? And if Starbucks- do you understand how to speak their language? Cause I totally have a blog post I keep meaning to write about the humiliating day when I had the nerve to order a "medium" hot chocolate...

Again, a bit of Canadiana-- Tim Horton's is our favourite coffee and donut place, named after a hockey player, and apparently holding 62% of the Canadian coffee market.

There's a time and place for both. Road trips are Timmy's all the way, as is any early morning camping/sporting excursion. But coffee breaks and sit down dates are Starbucks.

I will certainly take a double/double over Starbucks' gut rotting coffee though. That stuff rips the enamel off my teeth. Starbucks is only for multi-word orders, not just plain coffee.

But I have been known to order a non-fat sugar free Vanilla latte. But I swear I don't tell them how I like my foam.

5. Hot vacation or Europe? Discuss.

For just a week or so, I'll go hot vacation. Anything much longer, though, and I'll go Europe all the way.

I am the stir crazy type. I can take about one lazy day of sitting in my PJs, and then I begin to get jumpy. I figure that could be prolonged somewhat if you slapped some sunscreen on me and put a marguarita in hand, but mostly, I like doing things. I love exploring new places with nothing but a vague agenda, and taking time out to people watch. Europe seems like the perfect place for that, as there would be so much to keep me stimulated. I can't even conceive of the notion of so much culture packed into such a small place... 

***

We're venturing into horn-tooting territory, I'm afraid.

The nominations for the 20-something Bootleg Awards have come out, and despite my insistences that I am in no way cool, I have been nominated for a few (most distinct voice, most sincere, best commenter-- ironic considering my Google Reader is still guilt-tripping the crap out of me, and best title). Umm... Now What has also been nominated for best group blog.

Proof I'm not cool? I can't play this smooth. I'm tickled pink and I can't tell anyone in my real life (though I may have whispered it into the Duke's ear as he was waking up because I'm lame like that), so I'm telling you guys.

Last year, when I was nominated, I decided that I wouldn't create a big hullabaloo and tell people to vote. Last year I also went 0 for 3. So, you know what? I'm going to be honest, and tell you all that it would be really sweet, if you are a member of 20-something bloggers, you did vote. There's a lot of amazing people up for awards, so show some love!

So this is the new year

Yep, it's that time again-- the obligatory welcome to 2009 post!

As I did last year, I'm going to kick this post off with a meme, with a twist. The standard rules say that you are supposed to post the first line of the first post of every month of the past year. I choose to do the last line, as it seems like we are celebrating the passing of the last year and the beginning of a new one, not vice versa.

January: It's time to bust out the hideous tacky metaphors and hop on the train back to Princess-land!

February: Arghblephiz.

March: Part of growing up with hippie parents is summers spent in the great outdoors.

April: ... and I go a little crazy.

May: It came to mind yesterday, while at a event scattered with random faces from my past, that my ten year high school reunion is due to rear up next summer.

June: I adore Chicago.

July: Two Yale law students, fed up with threats and lies being printed alongside their full names at the law school admission forum, AutoAdmit.com, filed a lawsuit against multiple anonymous trolls.

August: There are reasons one doesn't skinny dip in a lake in the middle of the day.

September: Last week, an exterminator came by to discuss our furry apartment visitor.

October: I don't entirely understand those who enjoy being scared.

November: A little housekeeping out of the way first...

December: I usually have a post more or less lined up in my head before I start writing, a few choice lines on repeat in my head.

***

Other than these choice words, what has 2008 been for me?

I kept plugging away at the good old PhD, and actually just finished my last course, meaning I may be able to pretentiously call myself Dr. Princess sometime in the future. 

(Don't get too excited... I still have those pesky things called a dissertation and an internship to get through)

I left behind my apartment and moved into our apartment.

February brought me to Albuquerque for a conference and a hot air balloon ride.

May was a visit to Seattle (including very personal questions by customs).

In June, Chicago spited me, but I continued to have full on unrequited love for her.

In July, I hid out on an island and went camping.

I also celebrated nuptials and poutine with my girlfriends for an epic stagette.

In August, the Duke and I celebrated awkwardness in a hijinks ridden wedding trip.

September had a far more mellow wedding weekend away.

September also had our celebration of two years, and another wonderful escape to an island to frolic with marine life.

I also made it back to HomeTown two times.

While last year, I had one bloggie meet-up, this year, I had something like five separate meet-ups-- which were shockingly consistent in their ease and awesomeness.

These included a a multicited visit with Distracted Spunk, three separate meet-ups with a veritable Chicago blogger explosion, and a bad luck filled reunion with Surfergrrl and first meeting with Ultra Toast.

I also started on a very exciting group blog endeavour!

(oh, and FYI, I didn't end up having to go to court... a nice extra Christmas present)

The year finished off with a quieter, but still equally wine-soaked, night than most-- and the first one that I was able to ring in the next 365 with a kiss from my guy, which I figure has to be a good omen.

It is funny... while thinking about this post, I managed to convince myself that since I hadn't met any of the major milestones I'd passed in years passed, I'd actually had a sadly uneventful year. Perhaps that is one of the bonuses of having a blog-- being able to have a documentation of those little excursions and moments as a reminder of what the past year has been for you. It doesn't look so boring, now, after all.

Choosing sarcasm over superstition

Bad luck in threes seems to be my bare minimum. 

Fours and fives are seemingly more of the norm. 

(see here and here for prime examples)

This is apparently even the rule with the most minor of inconveniences... as you probably figured out by now was the case for today.

I arrived at work to find out there had been some sort of massive scheduling snafu come fall regarding myself and my coworker, which needed to be resolved pre-coffee, and resulted in me spending far too long with a bottle of white out and the scheduling book.

It is, of course, only once the white out has been filed away that I get an email from my co-worker stating that he is going to have to switch around his shift in the new semester. Not only does this require another round of white-outing (let's declare it Fumes Friday!), but it turns out his supervisor wants him to come in on my day (we're all graduate students and only work part-time)... which means that my careful scheduling for the new semester has been thrown to the dogs.

As today was only my half day at work, I did my little public transit routine up to campus, where I was set to do an assessment of a fellow. Who decided not to show up and not to pick up his phone.

It was only after having already wasted a good chunk of my afternoon that I realized I had left my memory stick back at my workplace-- for the second time this week!- and it was back on the bus and the train for me. Of course, this little detour put me on a train that was delayed due to a medical emergency.

It was only when I finally made it home, and found myself unnaturally irritated that the smoothie place's debit was down and I would have to make my own snack that I realized what a day filled with little stupidities it was.

Anyways, in an attempt to brighten things up a little (we're pretending that I'm not about to use a bottle of wine for the very same purpose), I decided to steal a fun little meme from Jenn's place.

The idea? Find five cards from someecards.com (aka. funniest website on the planet) that describe you...

This one is incredibly topical, considering today my mother used a word processor for the first time ever. She called me at work to ask me how to spell a word because she knew the red squiggle underneath it meant it was wrong, but didn't know how to check. She also asks me if I've "internetted" my friends lately. I'm actually a little sad she's learning to use the computer... it just seems so un-her.

I get oddly sad when I discover that the Duke hasn't been Facebook stalking me near enough or hasn't read my latest blog post... since, you know, we don't live together or anything.

Wait. We do.

Eight years and counting, baby!

(Though real work does sound really dreamy. Particularly the idea of scheduled hours rather school leaking into everything.)

Woo! Validation!
Sometimes a girl needs to enjoy mashed potatoes guilt free. 

And there's something about saying "fuck eating healthy tonight" that feels more liberating than simply eating crap without acknowledging that you shouldn't be.

Meming like I mean it.

Due to the ridiculous downpour outside and a cancelled meeting, I am trying to work from home today. Trying being the operative word in that sentence. We had the misfortune of our garburator deciding to bust open a few days ago, which we only discovered after turning on the dishwasher left our kitchen floor resembling a pond, minus the cool parts, like lilypads and frogs, and plus the nasty parts, like chunkies of garburator goodness. Today has so far been spent with plumbers and such darting in and out of my front door-- not fantastic for concentration. So, instead of hearing my musings on the current state of the literature in intergroup relations, you get to read all sorts of random facts about yours truly, thanks to some alphabetty taggage by the lovely Miss Libby!

A. Attached or Single? Attached, to a certain dapper fellow I call the Duke. It is our three month living-together-aversary in a couple days!

B. Best Friend? It always makes me sting a little to admit that I don't really have a best-best friend. For the bulk of my life, I did have the prototypical spent-every-spare-moment-with and tell-everything best friend. However, our closeness was seriously damaged at one point, and then, as some of you may recall, a cherry was put on top on my last visit home. 

At the current time, I have a number of very tight friends, to such a point that I am afraid I may have a record number of bridesmaids whenever that day comes along. But there is no one at the top of that heap. I think it is in part because I never put all my trust completely in one friend-- once bitten, twice shy.

C. Cake or pie? Most definitely pie... the fillings are too damn good. Key lime pie is destined to be my downfall.

D. Day of choice? Saturday. I know its cliched, but do I really have to explain?

E. Essential item? This is a little vague... in life? In my house? In my purse?

I'm going to go with purse, and say my iPod, because my life needs a soundtrack.

F. Favorite color? Dark red, like a burgandy.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms!! They make for way more fun pre-eating (you can wiggle them, tie them in knots, stretch them out), have more gummy goodness, and usually have two different flavours in one! This is no competition! And don't even get me started on sour gummy worms...

H. Hometown? Anonymity reigns here, I'm afraid. I'll just say that you can read more about my little HomeTown here.

I. Favorite indulgence? Dr. Loosen's Riesling, saltwater taffy, and a massage. Heaven!

J. January or July? How is this even a question? The month after Christmas, full of rain & snow, where holidays are pretty much the furthest away than any other point in the year, or sunshine and beaches? July, please.

K. Kids? One of these days... and by these days, I mean years. I do really want children, but I have this pesky PhD to get through first, and would to actually experience some stability before I throw everything out of whack again. 

L. Life isn’t complete without? Coffee?? Oh, and friendship & family, plus little bits of joy and excitement inserted into day-to-day routines.

M. Marriage date? I'm definitely thinking I would like a late spring/early summer outdoor wedding. But I can't get much more specific than that!

N. Number of brothers and sisters? One younger sister... three years younger than me.

O. Oranges or Apples? Christmas oranges (aka. mandarins) always dominate. I pretty much live off of boxes of them come December.

P. Phobias? Spiders. HATE THEM.

Q. Quotes? I always feel so put on the spot with these questions, because I know there are approximately two billion quotes that I should be using. Instead, I'll go with old faithful:

 "Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love"~ Charlie Brown

R. Reasons to smile? I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, where I easily can get to a beach, a lake, the forest, the mountains, or killer shopping.

S. Season of choice? I'm a summer girl, through and through. I look best with bare feet and a tan.

T. Tag 5 people: I always like to pick some of my newer reads for this one...

The Almost Right Word

Rachel

Jessica

Your Ill-Fitting Overcoat

Carrie

U. Unknown fact about me? I was such a crier in elementary school that my teacher taped a calendar to my desk, and drew a sad face on every day that I cried. I got a prize if it was under two days a week. This may explain why I now hate hate hate crying in front of anyone.

V. Vegetable? I adore green beans. Especially this kick ass garlic-chili green recipe I recently discovered. I would easily eat bowls full of that as a snack.

W. Worst habit? I talk too fast. My mom claims it is because I think too fast. Whether that is true or not, it takes a huge effort for me to slow down, and I always feel like a parody of myself when I do. "Asssssss I wassss saaaaayyyyyinnnnnggggg...."

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Wow. Was this really all they could come up with for X? How about xylophones versus maracas? (Kazoos always win, by the way.)

I guess I would say ultrasound, despite never having had one, as it seems there could be a positive reason for having an ultrasound. I can't think of a single positive reason for having an x-ray.

Y. Your favorite food? As a general rule, probably cheese, in its many delicious forms. My friend told me she lots 10 lbs by just dropping cheese from her diet, and I almost started to cry at the possibility.

Z. Zodiac sign? Sagittarius. Maybe I should be brushing up on my archery.

On apologies and memes

Arghblephiz.
That's all I feel coherent to say about now.

Oh, and that I almost tried to pet a raccoon today, thinking it was my cat friend who guilt trips me when I've been drinking.

Life? Is crazy.

I arrived home nearly 15 hours after I'd left in the morning, which included 8 hours at work, 4.5 hours on campus, and 2.5 hours commuting between home and these places.

I'm having french fries before bed. I've decided that calories are an old wives tale.

I just sent the following text message to my guy: "So brain dead. French fries then bed. Maybe bath. Full sentences hard."

I'm also close to paying someone to do my dishes for me, because, seriously, my brain doesn't believe me anymore when I try to trick it into thinking that chores are *real* breaks. 

On top of all I've been stressing about, today at work, my boss thought he was giving me an "opportunity" by having me do an unexpected assessment and report. Generally, I would agree-- when the court doesn't want it in a week, especially the day after other epic projects are due. Someone pushed me back off the tightrope when I was finally taking a step again. 

The truth is, even though I'm already behind on blogs, I am still using what little browsing I can do as a procrastination tool, and I think this needs to be halted for a bit. 

As such, I may be MIA for a week. 

Then again, I may not be. 

While I still find myself wanting to post or comment, and I may do so, the reality is, I can't have another obligation on my plate this week. Feeding myself is difficult enough.

I hope you all can still feel the love emanating from the general vicinity of my laptop. 

As a way to break you all off my princessly words gradually, I leave you with a meme, as I was tagged by the fantastic fellow who goes by Therapeutic Ramblings (who is especially likely to feel my pain at the moment). All of these answers are in no particular order...

8 Things I Am Passionate About

1. Psychology (though it doesn't feel that way at the moment)
   
2. Constant learning (non-psych related-- hence my love for documentary films)
   
3. My guy (he's pretty great)
   
4. Traveling and random explorations (I find this to be so rejuvenating-- whether 20, 200, or 2000 miles from home)
   
5. Films (one day, I will take the full 2-3 weeks off when the film festival comes to town, and just soak myself in great cinema)
   
6. Writing (it makes the running dialogue in my head that much more productive)
7. Photography (I'm an utter amateur, but it makes me see the world in a different way)
8. Friends and family (cliched, but who would I be if it wasn't true?)

8 Things I Want to do Before I Die

1. Get my damn PhD
   
2. Own a car (26 years old, and still no dice. Wanna see my shiny student loan?)
   
3. Husband and babies and kittens and all that jazz
   
4. Go to the Galapagos Islands
   
5. Own a piece of waterfront property (preferably a home with a very large deck)
   
6. Learn to scuba dive
   
7. Have visited every continent (though I'd be willing to scratch Antarctica)
8. Do some valuable research or advocacy in mental health

8 Things I Say Often

1. Indeed
   
2. Fair enough
   
3. For serious.
4. ...Bitches! (primarily when paired with something exceedingly nerdy... like "I'm doing mad multiple regressions, bitches!")
   
5. Fabulous! (There's a flamboyant drag queen inside me yearning to get out. He also wants me to rethink my choice in cushions.)
   
6. You're a *fill-in-the-blank*. So, if someone asks me to pick up a towel, I will promptly declare "You're a towel!" (points if you know where that comes from)
7. Over-the-top (apparently the best descriptive term in the world, next to fabulous)
8. Boooooooo

8 Books I've Recently Read
(caveat-- reading for fun is a little few and far between lately. I'll try to not have the entire list be nerdy!)

1. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
   
2. The Gift of Therapy by Irvin Yalom (I heart Yalom. For serious.)
   
3. Can You Hear the Nightbird Call by Anita Rau Badami
   
4. Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder by Marsha Linehan
5. Clinical Neuroscience by Honestly No One Cares
6. Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier (I just started reading this one in little bits-- it is an ethnography from the Duke's Sociology class, but really fascinating so far, about the street vendor/panhandler culture in Greenwich Village)
7. Keep Sweet: Children of Polygamy by Debbie Palmer and Dave Perrin (super disturbing, especially as it is happening in our own backyard)
8. Runaway by Alice Munro

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over 

(to be fair, these rotate every once in a while)

1. Rootless Tree- Damian Rice
   
2. Ugly Before- Elliott Smith
   
3. Breathe Me- Sia 
   
4. Amen, Omen- Ben Harper (I actually have a rule about this song that I can't listen to it more than once at a time-- it has such a delicious effect that I want to savour it. Even though it makes me cry.)
   
5. Elevator Love Letters/Heart- Stars (To be fair, these are two songs. But they come after one another on the CD, and I always listen to them together, so they just fit like that for me.)
   
6. Lodestar- Sarah Harmer
7. Backseat- Arcade Fire
8. My Moon, My Man- Feist

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends

1. Quirky sense of humour
2. Genuine kindness
3. Sense of adventure
4. Passion
5. Overanalyzing tendencies (need someone to share it with!)
6. Trustworthiness
7. Confidence
8. Compassion

I'm feeling a little apathetic about tagging. I know its a cop-out... but be gentle with me today!

Scatterings

#1- I just spent nearly an evening appeasing my Google Reader. How on earth is it in the triple digits again? I will be catching up soon, pinky swear!

#2- Thank you times a million for all your wonderful comments on my Bus Stop post. It's nice to feel like someone enjoys your observations, because sometimes stories don't seem to fly so well when they are thrown out in the middle of "real life" conversations.

As you all know, I'm recovering from my epic bad luck spell, and it feels like it may be taking a little of a toll on me. The other day, I actually said "Lately, it feels like writing may be the only thing I'm good at." So thanks for making me feel good at something.

#3- Part 2 of "Enquiring Minds Want to Know" is in the works. The answers to all your burning questions are soon to be revealed!

#4- And now I'm blushing...

Some amazing people from 20-something bloggers nominated me for a few (more than one?!) awards-- best title, best mid-sized blog, and most encouraging/uplifting.

I am seriously so flattered. It is a funny thing to walk down the street, anonymous as can be, and to know that someone a half a world over knows you better than the person beside you, and better yet, likes learning about you.

Plus, my competition? Is FIERCE (with a capital everything!). It includes some of my most favourite bloggers. So it is an honour and a half to be considered in the same league as them.

Thanks, again, for making me feel like this little evening habit of mind is something that really does matter.

(I know... I'm gushy)

#5- I was tagged by another of my most favourites, the fantastic Miriam D.

The rules for this particular meme?

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Share six (6) non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm going to cheat a little, and add this to the slowly developing collection of 100 royal factoids about me...

#46- I've already shared my love of all things pickled here.

Given my pickle cravings, whenever I buy a new jar, I will promptly devour most of it within a few days.

But that last pickle? 

It remains in brine limbo for sometimes a few weeks, because I can't bear the notion of being officially out of pickles-- as such, it can only be consumed under the most supreme of pickle cravings.

#47- I have the writing of a 14-year old ditzy girl.

We're talking dramatic loops, frantic underlining, and the largest circle i dots ever.

It provides a pretty big contrast to the actual content of what I am writing (e.g., therapy notes).

Once, on an exam, my prof took the time to draw an arrow directed at my "i" in the margins of my response booklet, accompanied by the phrase "biggest lollipop i ever!". My adolescent handwriting was that compelling.

#48- To further ditzify your impressions of me... 

I use the descriptive term "over-the-top" at such a frequency that my boyfriend once suggested I should abbreviate it to "O.T.T."

As a joke, I began to use it in my speech with him.

But then it began seeping into my regular speech. 

I'm just waiting for my supervisor's response when I describe a client's behaviour as "so O.T.T."

#49- I hate socks. My toes feel too damn constrained in them. As such, as soon as the weather gets a little less rainy, I banish them to the depths of my dresser, and traipse around my apartment with my bare toes. 

As a side note, I always leave footprints on the passenger side windows of friend's cars.

#50- I am a very fidgety person. If given something with a label on it, I will peel it off in long strands. I will use my nails to inscribe random doodle in styrofoam coffee cups. I will shred napkins, and chew on stir sticks. I crunch ice cubes. All of this while completely enveloped in serious conversations.

#51- Rather than changing into a set of pajamas, I will often try to integrate part of my current outfit into sleep wear, usually whatever t-shirt or tank-top I am wearing, no matter how inappropriate for slumber. As long as it is reasonably comfy, it seems to me worth saving laundry space for.

Lastly, for tagging, I'm gonna pick a few of my newest reads who I would like to find out a little more about:

Deutlich

Autobiography of my feet

ttcmb

Any last words, 2007?

Welcome to my obligatory all-things-New-Years post. 

I figured I'd kick things off with a meme I stole from Abbey. The basic premise was to just post the first line from the first post of every month over the past year... 

However, I cheated a little, because this post is going to be a little about endings and transitions, rather than beginnings. As such, I'm taking the first line of the last post of every month.

January: It's an odd thing, realizing you are someone else's therapist.

February: It becomes a little deflating when one realizes not only how much rudeness occurs in a big city, but also the negative impact that other people's rudeness has on you.

March: I think life knows my silly little traits, and decides to challenge them every once in a while, just to remind me how ridiculous they are.

April: Yep, finally!

May: Dave the Obscure Fetish Prankster is definitely NSFW (not safe for work).

June: I'm going camping this weekend!

July: I'm sitting somewhere over the Rockies at the moment, a little dehydrated and fatigued.

August: I have the tendency to get a little stir-crazy at times.

September: The Scene: A busy sushi restaurant on Friday night with four other friends, two of each gender.

October: This Halloween, I decided to put my craft skills to the test.

November: Things you may already know about me:

December: For unfathomable reasons, it was decided that the most effective way of confronting the awkwardness was head on.

***

While this time of year tends to focus on changes and new beginnings, it's also the time to do a little reflection on what has come to pass over the last 365 days.

2007 was the transition I desperately needed after what may have been the most draining 6 months of my life, in which I negotiated a Masters thesis along with the end of a 6 year relationship while spending a month living on someone's couch. I defended my thesis in December, was falling head over heels for my new fellow, and was ready for a new mindset.

So what did 2007 provide?

On the education front, I kicked off January as an official PhD student, with a big fat three year research grant to boot.

I survived ethics oral exams, did my first conference talk, and after much searching, found a (paid!) part-time practicum in a forensic clinic, which has challenged a lot of my beliefs about what I am and not capable of (note- thankfully, the cards are stacked on the capable side).

On the travel front...

Memphis  brings both a brain full of conference related learning, as well as drunken excursions to Beale Street and hungover excursions to Graceland.

Nearly three weeks at summer institute in Austin brings swan attacks, epic rain storms, riverboat rides, sweaty elbows, phone stalkers, and the most rigorous schedule of partying with more learning squished in there.

I also manage a few weekend excursions with the boy, which provide delightful distractions from city life, even if one was spent mostly trapped in our hotel room. These trips also allow us to share our mutual love of tidal pools.

May long weekend was spend with twenty of my closest on a nearby island, whereas July long weekend was spend with one of my best girlfriends camping in a ridiculously high rolling site.

I also managed to make it home more times than usual, including a fabulous end of summer road trip with the Duke, and a quick trip home for Thanksgiving.

Although these trip in and of themselves may not be particularly glamourous, they are what took me out of the day-to-day, and thus they are what I will remember about 2007.

Another trend that made 2007 special is great music. This was the second year into what I call my real discovery of music, and I went to a lot of amazing concerts. Some of the highlights including the Arcade Fire, Bjork, Stars, Regina Spektor, Damien Rice, Feist, the White Stripes, the Arctic Monkeys, Tegan & Sara, Les Savy Favs, Black Mountain, Queens of the Stone Age, Ratatat, and the list goes on. It's nice to have a venue where you can truly escape from your thoughts and get enveloped in something so completely.

However, what I will also remember about 2007 is losing a friend. 

This year also brought about my first move into an apartment I'd picked out completely on my own. The move was incredibly cathartic, and felt like I was finally leaving the last stitch of my old life goodbye.

I also began blogging early in 2007, and completely underestimated how big of a role it would play in my life. Not only have I met (literally!) some incredible people, but I feel like I have finally found my way, however informal, back into the world of (non-academic) writing that I used to enjoy so wholeheartedly. I also feel like blogging has provided me with an opportunity for much needed catharsis and to learn a lot more about myself, as writing has become one of the best coping devices I have. 

And, finally, I fell in love.

Not such a bad year, hey?

***

Last on this New Years extravaganza is how the actual 2007 to 2008 transition was spent...

Up a long driveway on a snow-capped mountain, where the stars burned brightly and cell phones didn't reach, with a few of my closest friends.

Yes, the happy couple were there. Yes, I was a little apprehensive, and my mother may in fact have forgot that I'm no longer in high school (seems to be the trend, doesn't it?) and lectured me about not spending any more time with them (ironic when she is okay with my sister going to the Bahamas with a stranger, it seems).

However, I am pleased to report that the last post was not a false epiphany. It was like some fundamental disconnect had taken place between the past and present, and their antics were now irrelevant to me. It felt so free not to care, and not to worry about anyone misinterpreting my actions in that way. As we all fell asleep on the living room floor, and I drifted to sleep, I heard the rustling and wet noises of kissing. For a second, my mind fell back in time-- but it was more out of skepticism than reminiscing. Things were different, now, and the nostalgia is gone.

There were a lot of insightful and thoughtful comments on the last post. However, the one that sticks out in this moment is by Crushed, who said "In a weird kind of way, it seems to have allowed you to draw a line under C, to say goodbye to him without guilt or remorse. And what better time of year for that?"

 That's it in a nutshell. Though I officially got over him many, many years ago, he was always the one who it ended with before it felt right, as every other relationship has ended when it should have, or maybe even a little late. As such, especially with his tragic story, I always looked back on him as a little more special than the rest. Now I realize, though what we have may have been special in the moment, its sparkle is a little lost, and our connection has long past faded. It also makes me realize that all the years of desperate maintenance of TG's and I's friendship after her past betrayal may have simply been throwing a blanket over the truth. Thus, with the beginning of 2008, I am doing some letting go. 

The highlight of the evening? After catapulting off our crazy carpets for third or fourth time on a particular hill, one of my dearest friends and I laid in the snow, under the stars, convulsing with laughter.

 Once I catch my breath, I turn to her and say "I think falling may be the best part."

Please me like you want to (read to the very end before you judge!)

Some more confessions:

-The first time I got drunk, it was off tequila, with french onion crackers as chasers. I was with my much cooler cousin, who had been drunk several times before, so I was too embarassed to tell her it was my first time. Instead, I choked back the tequila and tried to keep a smile on my face, like this was something I'd done many a times before.

- I never return my DVDs on time. I used to live right by a chain that allowed up to a month with no late fees... and they spoiled me. I don't think I have ever went to rent a video over the past few months without cringing when they tell me how much I owe. And the store is only 4 blocks away!

- With regards to my prior post on smart girl stereotypes... my ex really did have me convinced for a while that being intelligent and opinionated was a bad thing. I'd always been told I was too modest about things, so it was such a slap in the face to be denigrated for the one thing I felt I could express any confidence in.
Our last fight was about when I dared to disagree with him in public about politics... in front of all of his guy friends (I was the only girl present, making it even more courageous for me to feel like speaking up), he got up, and patted me on the head. Like a dog. As though I was there to be seen, not heard. Although we dragged it out for another month, that really was the end.
It was painful to realize that someone I'd spent six years with cared so little about the real me and so much about how I appeared to others.

- I loathe doing the dishes. There is in fact a sink full of suds waiting for me... and I "suddenly" had a burst of bloggie inspiration.

- I always faked an orgasm with my first sexual partner because I thought that was what you were supposed to do.

- Too much of my identity is wrapped up in being the person people go to for support. I actually get offended when a friend doesn't confide in me-- yet I have noticed that I don't confide in many people at all. Maybe I bring the psychologist role too much into my day-to-day life.

- I'm a bit of a neurotic monogamist. I'm either single, or not. I've only ventured into dating once, when I was in my first year of college, when I dated two guys occasionally during the same month. It was a bit of a mess, as one couldn't grasp the notion that I had asked him out and told him I wasn't looking for anything serious, yet I wouldn't sleep with him, while the other just couldn't get around that I didn't want to be his girlfriend, and kept on acting as though I wanted to .
(Excerpt of conversation-
Him: I'm so sorry I never called you.
Me: That's okay, you'll notice I didn't call you either.
Him: It's just that I can't really get into anything serious right now.
Me: Neither can I. I told you that before.
And so forth....)

- I am blessed with lots of amazing close friends, but ever since I was burned really badly by my best friend of 9 years when I was 19, I have no one best friend. As such, I hold back on relying too much on any one person... I try to balance it out across various friends, which doesn't feel natural at all.

***

On a completely different tangent...


So I've been tagged by the lovely tbf.love for a musical meme aka. psychic experiment. If anything, it should be good for a few giggles and a secret look into my iTunes, however embarassing!

The Rules:

1. Put your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT
(this is in capital letters, so it is very serious. No hiding your showtunes, folks!)

After you’ve answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and then let them know they’ve been tagged to do the meme themselves!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Lesson learned- Ray LaMontagne
(sounds like a bit of a guilt trip!)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Only Got One- Frou Frou
(no multiple personalities for me, apparently)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Real Men- Tori Amos
(haha!! No metrosexuals for me!)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Morning Sun- The Beautiful Girls
(though I didn't see it... ahhh, sleep)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
The Drugs Don't Work- the Verve
(that's depressing!)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
The Coo Coo Bird- Be Good Tanyas

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Handle with Care- Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
(wow... that's inspiring. Apparently I'm vulnerable!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Soft Revolution- Stars

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Dreamworld- Rilo Kiley
(I am a daydreamer)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Secret Spell- Tori Amos
(the answer is apparently not so simple)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Good Feeling- Jack Johnson
:)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Me and Mr. Jones- Amy Winehouse
(huh?)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Only Happy When it Rains- Garbage
(wow, depressing)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Apres Moi- Regina Spektor
(I want to be after me when I grow up?)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Better Be Heaven- Stars
(he better be!)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
You Can't Always Get What you Want- Rolling Stones
(haha! Damn!)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
505- Arctic Monkeys

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Walk Alone- Jack Johnson
(seems a bit appropriate)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Pacific Theme- Broken Social Scene
(I do like the ocean)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Uphill Battle- Sarah McLachlan
(This is really making me sound depressed)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
The Grass is Green- Nelly Furtado

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Please me Like You Want to- Ben Harper
(oh dear)

And five people to tag...
Yoda
Libby
Miriam
Frog Princess
Ashley

Cinco (or how to distract oneself from grad student-itis)

Ohhhhhhh.....
I've got the grad-student-at-the-end-of-the-semester-with-too-damned-much-to-do blues.

The things that are particularly grinding my gears at the moment?

-Group projects. My prof thinks its a good idea for us to focus on these at this stage in our education, as collaboration is a reality of the academic life. I want him to try to find a few matching hours to spare in the life of two massively busy people. As well as a way to not waste countless hours trying to make two completely different writing styles flow at all.

-A supervisor who has taken over 4 months to edit a manuscript I wrote, yet wants me to write an entire chapter in! the! next! month! or! so!

-Bosses who say one thing to reassure you, when the very opposite is true. Like we won't make you commute hours and hours a day when there is another person working the day before and the day after you with a car.
By the way... new boss, it isn't cool to ask me why I don't have a car. I've been a student for eight years now. I pay full-time tuition even when I'm working full-time at an unpaid practicum. Why do you think I don't have a car?

Anyways, for this, and multiple other reasons, I am going to have to put aside my few topical and thoughtful posts for the time being. As such, it looked to be the perfect time to pull out the meme that my fellow royalty, The Frog Princess tagged me to do.

In actuality, it is just the classic five weird facts about me meme. Since I am already plugging away at 100 facts about me, I figured I would do the whole two birds, one stone thing.

#41- This will probably exhibit my total Canadian-ness, but I was a huge fan of Mr. Dressup as a child. As such, my friend and I were thrilled when he was doing a live show in our city. My friend even made Casey, the fellow on the right, a doll (she was adamant that Casey was a girl, as she couldn't figure out how a boy would have such bright cheeks without the help of makeup).

So, went went to the show, and had a fabulous time. Once it had finished, my friend's father somehow managed to get in contact with one of Mr. Dressup's "people". This person apparently had the connections to get my friend backstage so she could give Casey the doll she made. However, apparently I, by virtue of my doll-less-ness, was not allowed to accompany her-- no matter how much I cried, pleaded, and begged.

I think the person who made that decision must have been jaded and hateful of children. Who else would let only one of a pair of seven year old girls backstage to meet a childhood idol?

#42- I had to wait a few years until around the age of 13 for my celebrity moment-- being an extra in a film.

An especially bad film, called "Gold Diggers: The Legend of Bear Mountain".
Don't you be misinterpreting that title- it's about treasure hunting!
It starred Christina Ricci pre-Indie films (and post "Adams Family") and the chick from "My Girl".

If you look very closely, you can see me walking up the street as Christina Ricci rides past me.

Altogether, it was a pretty un-glamourous job that mostly consisted of waiting in a large room for my supposed four scenes (of which I only actually got to be in one, due to time constraints). I totally got free catered lunch in the same room as Christina Ricci, though! *insert star-struck teenage squeal here*

#43- My parents never allowed us to have a video game system growing up, insisting that our time was better spent gallivanting outdoors. Outside of some initial glee at playing Duck Hunter at a friend's place, playing video games was never something I felt I had missed out of in childhood-- after all, a treehouse is way cooler, wouldn't you agree?

However, apparently a bit of my unconsciousness disagrees. As you may remember, I purchased a Wii for a certain fellow to celebrate his tolerating me for a whole year (I swear it wasn't a bribe!). As he basically lives at my house without technically having moved in, and he didn't feel like sharing with his roomies, he decided to set it up at my apartment. At first, I enjoyed dabbling around with the sports games, but was generally fairly indifferent.

Until Super Paper Mario came around.


And now I've turned into that 12 year old I never was. I used to roll my eyes at video game previews... but now I am seriously into this game. And not at a logical level- like an overstimulated adolescent. I gasp, swear, and make all sorts of random sound effects. You should have seen me freak out last night when a giant green spider came after me. Put a controller is my hand, and the adult apparently disappears.

#44- I am apparently an exceedingly fast speaker. It is something I'm not generally aware of- it's just my natural rate of speech, particularly when I am excited about something, and thus takes some extraordinary effort to deliberately slow down (and makes me feel like I am speaking in the most patronizing slowed tone ever).

The funny thing is that I don't recognize it in others. My brain follows along remarkably well, while everyone around me is struggling to keep up. I have a few friends with whom others cannot follow our conversations... it's like we play off each other and quickly cycle into hyperspeed.

Even more intriguing is people's interpretation of my reasons for speaking so quickly. My mother used to tell me it was because I thought so quickly, my mouth tried to keep up. Of course, I am fond of this interpretation, and others have at times attributed it to confidence. Others, however, instead place it within a more anxiety based framework, thinking that I am generally nervous, particularly when giving presentations. It is funny receiving course evaluations when I have TA'd saying the opposite things, which I attribute partially to them using whatever story about my fast paced speech that works within their view of me.

#45- My first full time job was a cashier at KFC... aka. the worst job ever. My friend was kind enough to refer to me as the Colonel's concubine as a result.

I could write an entire post about the sheer awfulness of this job. Be it the fact that I was vegetarian working in a greasy meat pit, the time I spilled insanely hot gravy on my hand and had to keep on working (with one hand!), the number just being in such a greasy location did to my otherwise clear skin, the minimum wage, the 16 days without a break, the split shifts, the incredibly passive aggressive manager, the fact that we were short-staffed by almost half the number of employees we were supposed to have because everyone kept on quitting, the neon green coleslaw we squeezed out of the end of a massive bag.... ugh.

The worst, however, was the customers. It is an odd thing how it has somehow become socially appropriate to take out your frustrations on me people who make less than what your meal cost an hour. I was yelled at for anything and everything, including prices, food we didn't serve, food the cook had made, restaurant policy, closing time, the fact that we had no fresh coffee on at 4pm (seriously, guy, no one drinks KFC coffee except the five elderly regulars who arrive at 9am- who, BTW, were totally my favourite), or the fact that I had to ring in an item rather than just take the cost of it out of her change.

I do get a little of a smug sense of satisfaction, though, knowing that most of the people who treated me so poorly were total elitists who had never worked a service job... and now, with me so close to my PhD, if I was to play their classist game, I would be far above them on the hierarchy.

I actually have this little fantasy whereby, once I am Dr. Pointful, I go back to KFC and work until the first asshat decides to yell at me for some reason... and which point I show him (it's usually a business man middle manager type in this fantasy) my ID, introduce myself as Dr. Pointful, Psychologist, and tell him that I would like to ask him a few questions, as I am writing a report on the association between abuse of service industry workers and overcompensation for small penis size. Ha!!!

***

So, there you go, five more royal factoids that ended up taking up just as much time to write as a "thinking" post. Oops.

I was going to tag, but I realized that most everyone I know has done this one at least once. I will put in my plug for it being a good filler post, though!

Starlight, starbright

A couple weeks ago, I was tagged by Crushed by Ingsoc for a meme. For some reason, I thought this meme was about wishes, and spent my commute home today contemplating the topic. I just returned to the original post, and it turns out it was about dreams, not wishes. Whoops.
However, I'm not going to waste my valuable pondering time, so I'm just going to cover my ears ("la la la, I can't hear you!") and continue on as though my thoughts on wishes are particularly relevant.

At first, I pondered beginning this post with a list of things wishes that are especially poignant for me this week. For example...

I wish that pickle jars were substantially lighter than they actually are.
I wish I could have faith that the truth will always prevail.
I wish that there was such thing as diet candy corn.

However, in thinking a little harder about the nature of wishes, I started to notice a trend in what I was wishing for (diet candy corn excluded), in that the bulk of my wishes seemed to fall into two primary categories.

The first of these is your typical "wish upon a star" type. These are the idealistic wishes about the future, the ones that flutter through your daydreams. They tend to be about love, success, riches, happiness, and the like.

I wish I was in the South Pacific right now.
I wish to still be in love when I am 75.
I wish that I could fastforward through the last few years of my PhD.
I wish that I could buy my parents that log cabin in the woods.

However, there seems to be a darker side to wishes. More often than not, it seems that the phrase "I wish..." is tied into the past, things people wish they hadn't said or done. Wishing is intrisically tied into the notion of regrets. With regrets then being connected to guilt.

I wish I hadn't been on holidays when my cat took his last breath.
I wish I started running when I was younger.
I wish I had taken more time off before starting grad school.
I wish my then unknown last goodbyes had been a little more profound.
I wish I had stood up for myself more in the past.

My case supervisor recently told me, in discussing how haunted some people become from their regrets, something that rings very true- It is a near human universal to regret spending too long doing something you shouldn't have. The only people without such regrets are those without insight onto their past.

There is something comforting in seeing regrets as more of a rite of passage, as lessons learned. After all, what one of us has not looked back on days, months, years too long spent in a bad relationship, and beat ourselves up for that time presumably wasted-- when, really, the fact that we will never find ourselves there again because of that time that was too much. Isn't that worth those extra years?

Living without regrets is a bad reality show catch phrase. Living through your regrets and learning from your regrets seems like something more realistic to wish for.

Eight Princess Factoids

Approximately an eon or so ago, All Mod Con tagged me for the classic 8-facts-about-you meme. Again, a little late, but still worthwhile, right?

(I actually wanted to provide a little weekend entertainment, because I'm afraid my last post [outside of Esteban] was a little dull.)

#1 - As a child, I had a propensity to develop rather intense crushes on fictional characters. The two most prominent?

Joe Hardy of the Hardy Boys, and Kit Cloudkicker from the cartoon show Tale Spin.




It was a rather depressing realization that our love was never to be... particularly given the whole cross-species thing with Kit, and the fact that Joe would have been around 56 when I was 9. I coped with this reality by writing Tale Spin and Hardy Boys fan fiction... and writing a not so subtle version of myself into the plot, whether another bear named Katie, or a teenaged sleuth a la Nancy Drew.

#2 - While my first kiss may be a delightful tale, my second... not so much. I was a very awkward 13 year old, to say the least, at a masquerade ball/fund raiser with two of my significantly more experienced friends. During the dance, one of their friends, a boy clad in baggy pants who had a bad-boy air about him, made a rather dramatic show of interest in me- keeping his arm around me all night while he smoked, calling me pretty, and, eventually, kissing me against a railing in front of the whole group. I was besotted- a cool guy liked me!

I abruptly came down from the clouds two days later, when he called me, only to inform me that "I played you, bitch!"

Ouch.

Ironically, I ran into him at a bar many years later, where he actually apologized-- and gave me his phone number.
Which I conveniently lost.

#3 - Unlike the majority of the population, I adore karaoke. Why? Because I know I have a horrible voice- thus I don't worry about sounding good, and dedicate myself to full-force butchering the song. Duets are my favourite.

My karaoke high point was when the Hell's Angels were making a well publicized visit to my small home town. Sunday night, I found myself at the same place as them- the local hole in the wall's infamous karaoke night. I attempted to woe them by a heartfelt version of *NSync's "Tearing Up my Heart" with two friends. They didn't clap.

#4 - Despite my afore mentioned lack of vocal skills, I was rather involved in musical theatre as a teenager. My first role was the Goose in Charlotte's Web (I will remember my first line for all eternity- "Hello! I'm the Goose and this is my friend the Gander Gander Gander!")

However, the role that seems to capture everyone's fancy is when I played Abstinence in a sex-ed play shown to high schools in the region.

#5 - I have a horrible habit of talking during movies. Not loud and obnoxious so as to disturb other movie goers... rather observational whispers that seemingly need to be stated out loud so they are not forgotten. I'm especially bad if anything psychological is mentioned, as most Hollywood films tend to get it horribly wrong, which I then need to inform everyone watching the movie of. I'm really working on biting my tongue.

#6 - I collect tacky mushroom paraphanelia. I am the proud owner of, amonst other things, mushroom cookie jars, salt & pepper shakers, pot-holders, napkin holders, a tablecloth and a butter dish. I also have a large collection of wall hangings, which I now restrict to my kitchen, for fear of looking like a tacky stoner, rather than a mere fan of kitsch.



(I have several of these exact same cookie jars!)

#7 - I am such a caffeine addict that when I was on vacation with my mom and dad in a motel with no coffee maker, I drove several kilometers to the nearest caffeine provide- a golf course- and (with shaky hands, head throbbing) filled up my thermos with golf course coffee, which is a decidedly foul substance.

#8 - The most random animal I've ever come face to face with? The coati, a Central American relative of the raccoon. The especially random part was that I had just come out of a dense rainforest, where I'd only seen birds and butterflies... and then a coati meandered through the cloud forest parking lot.


I know I am supposed to tag a whole whack of people... but, honestly, hasn't nearly everyone done this meme?

If you are shaking your head... then tag!

Meme-a-linga-ding-dong!

Madame Airam, teaching lady extrordinaire has tagged me for the meme below

INSTRUCTIONS: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.

A Blog of a Good Time
Classy & Fancy
[Cherry] Ride / 5of9er
Secrets Unzipped
... and hijinks ensued.

Select five people to tag:
I, of course, would love to find out about all of you, but I thought I would actually guilt-trip a few of you into action since I always avoid tagging-- and I also selected those I thought seemed likely to go through with it-- some of you appear less like meme-ing folk.

Ant -- Always hoping to get a few more witty observations out of him.
Crash Dummie -- I have a feeling in advance that her answers will make me smile.
iFreud -- There always seems a bit more to learn about this lovely lady.
LMizzle -- Because it's not like she's busy or anything-- I kid! Because she's good at these, and she doesn't have to care about spending her work-time productively anymore.
Heart of Darkness -- She's a delightful writer, and I still don't know very much about her!


What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I would be a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 15-year old just going into summer break after finishing Grade 10. I would have just told my jerk of a first serious boyfriend that I wouldn't take him back after the fourth time he had dumped me, and be just beginning my only summer fling.
I actually remember the summer of 1997 as one of the better ones in my life. I worked enough (mostly doing gardening, babysitting, and housecleaning) to have spare money, but not enough to keep me away from the beach for more than a few days at a time. I miss that sense of freedom with just enough responsibility for the contrast to make it seem that much better.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

Last June I was in full on conference mode. I spent a week in Calgary for CPA (Canadian Psychological Association conference, for all you non-psyc folk), then a week in Los Angeles for another conference, which was also my first completely solo real trip. Actually, it was another great taste of freedom. I was still living in the old apartment I came to loathe, with my (now) ex, slowly figuring out that I may have been a little mistaken about meant to be, and working on finishing up my Masters research.

Five snacks you enjoy:

1. Dill pickles
2. Cheese on pretty much anything
3. Pita with tzatziki or artichoke dip
4. A super stocked spinach salad- with lots of nuts, cheese (yes, again), and fancy veggies like artichokes and avocado
5. Homemade smoothies with frozen fruit- especially berries and peaches

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to:

1. Summer Lovin'
I love me some Grease.
2. Ain't No Fun
This is the most dirty and misogynist song on the planet, by Snopp Dogg and posse. My guy friends would listen to it in high school, and they would just roll their eyes if we protested the lyrics. So we decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and took it upon ourselves to rap along loudly whenever it came on.
3. I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller by Skee-lo
Because, really, I do.
4. I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany
My sister and I, now that we are "adults" and no longer easily embarassed, will demonstrate our choreograped dance to this song to anyone around when it comes on. We become especially vigarous with the "and you put your arms around me and we tumble to the ground" set of moves when drinking is involved.
5. You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette
I challenge any teenage girl from the 90s who's been dumped not to have these lyrics permanently seared on their brains.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Erase any and all debt that I, my parents and my sister may have.
I totally stole this from Airam. And I'm drooling thinking about my student loan magically disappearing.
2. Hire a cruise ship for the ultimate girls' party week in Mexico.
3. Pay the Duke's school a little extra cash to let him off of his Masters for another year or so while we take our so-far-just-a-dream trip to South America. And maybe hop over to Europe for a quick hello.
4. A few homes could be taken care of... including a giant heritage home in my current neighbourhood for the time being, and the log cabin by a lake for wherever I ended up settling. And a piece of property for my mom and dad.
5. Some serious and regular donations to worthwhile charities, including the SPCA, Amnesty International, and the United Way.
In all truth, I am getting exceedingly disgusted with all these shows like "The Fabulous Life of Donald Trump". I cannot morally support a man who owns fifty cars when the bulk of them are never used and are just there so he can say he owns 50 cars. One of those cars would buy food for a family for years. Some people's Oscar gowns could pay someone's entire university tuition!

Five bad habits:

1. Eating in bed
2. Hitting the snooze button... multiple times
3. Apologizing, even if something wasn't my fault, in order to avoid conflict
4. Gnawing on pens
Spare the oral fixation jokes.
5. Dropping random things and other assorted clumsiness

Five things you like doing:

1. Going to concerts
2. Random explorations of new places, whether in a different country or a few blocks from my house
3. Getting truly sucked into a book for hours at a time
4. Wine and board games nights with friends and family
5. Watching nature documentaries in my giant bathtub with my guy.
I did this for the first time last night and it was pretty much the greatest thing ever. I watched a seal and a penguin battle while snuggled up in bubble bath!

Five things you would never wear again:

1. Vinyl or animal print skirts
2. Dark brown lipstick
3. Pants five sizes too large
Getting a good picture of me in high school yet?
4. Spandex
Really, this should be on the list of things that no one should ever wear again. Although, I was in elementary school, so I figure a bit of a break is in order. Would you believe that someone actually stole a pair of my spandex pants from the school changeroom?
5. Clip-on earrings


Five favorite toys:

1. My MacBook
2. iPod
3. Boardgames- Boggle, Scrabble, Cranium, Taboo, Scattagories, Outburst-- I love 'em all.
Except for puzzles. Boo for puzzles-- unless they have less than 100 pieces. Seriously, does anyone really enjoy those 5000 piece puzzles? Is a schooner really worth all that effort?
4. Trampolines
Though I do recognize them as a form of a death machine, they are a damn fun death machine-- except when playing "crack the egg". That was a not-fun series of near-death experiences.
5. Bubbles
I found several bottles of bubble fluid during my last move, and took 20 minutes away from packing to blow bubbles on my balcony. It was fantastic.

Meme of 4s and related babbles

Abbey tagged me for the meme below. However, being the procrastinator that I am (although my 1st first authored manuscript is shaping up very nicely!), as well as a Princess who likes to talk about herself (the blog makes for a lovely excuse, doesn't it?), there are some related thoughts accompanying the entries... not just lists!

4 jobs I have held:
1. Fast food restaurant cashier
By far, the worst job I have ever had. I would even take my 13-year old self's job of babysitting 3 kids for $3 an hour over being treated like utter garbage by virtue of my oversized uniform and the fact that I am serving you greasy chicken.
2. Wal-Mart sales associate
Coming from a small town, I swear that a quarter of the people in my grad class worked there at once. The good part-- I worked in the toy department, and thus was able to wear boas and crowns as part of my job without being scolded. The bad part-- the rumours about the Wal-mart cheer are true, and there are some older ladies there who took it very seriously.
3. Research assistant/lab coordinator
I've had this job in a few different labs. The first time was in my third year of university. It was an enormous step up from the service industry, though I did work in a windowless basement for many summer in a row. The best was 80s Fridays, when we would crank the 80s tunes and serenade our incoming participants with Bon Jovi
4. Behavioural therapist
I worked as a year doing ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis) with a girl with autism. It alternated between insanely rewarding to just plain insane (especially during the hair-pulling phase... I literally lost handfuls). It also prepped me for a lot of the government and organizational politics that came when I later did practicum work at a hospital

4 movies I can watch over and over:
I, too, am not one of those folks who watches movies several times over. I actually own very few. I only really re-watch if I'm too lazy to go to the videostore.
1. Grease
This is the exception. I have a geeky fascination with this movie. When it was re-released in theatres, my friend had to keep on elbowing me to keep me from automatically singing along.
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This has remained on the top of the list for a while now. I actually had to re-watch it a few times for a recent project, and was thrilled to discover something new each time I watched it. It has so many layer. Charlie Kaufman is a genius.
3. John Hughes films, particularly The Breakfast Club
What can I say? I was a child of the 80s.
4. I honestly don't have a 4th... maybe Lord of the Rings? I've seen the first one a few times, and wouldn't mind re-watching the trilogy in full.
Or... my high school boyfriend was obsessed with Army of Darkness, so I have unwillingly seen it multiple times. Then again, we would also get high and watch fractal videos.

4 places I have lived:
My attempts at anonymity keep this one a little boring. I will say that they are all located in Canada!
1. Suburb
We lived in a suburb until I was 10, although we were lucky enough to have a big secluded piece of land. Somehow my future vegetarian parents raised pigs and chicken at this point.
2. Small town
My parents had been saving up to move here for as long as I could remember. However, I was furious at my parents for making me move, especially when Grade 5 was the year I officially entered the popular group. My worst fears were confirmed when I fell back to loser status at my new school. However, I consider this small town my real home town. I love it and all its quirks-- plus revisiting the suburb revealed it to be a pretty horrendous place.
3. Big city
I left small town, which you are pretty much required to do for a little dose of reality and to make something of yourself, for university and basement suite living.
4. Even bigger city
And I moved here for grad school. I adore this city, though I find myself thinking of small town for about 10 years in my future. I'm also trying to figure out if I'm sufficiently bilingual to do my internship in Montreal!

4 categories of TV programming I enjoy:
I know it is cliche, but I actually don't watch a lot of TV. Instead, I tend to rent good shows on DVD and watch episodes in my own schedule.
1. 24
Gets a category of its own because it's the only show I absolutely watch every week. Though I actually missed the season finale because I was on holiday... and I can't download it from iTunes because they have forsaken us Canadians :(. Any ideas? And by that I certainly don't mean give me a plot synopsis!
2. HBO shows
Actually just the Sopranos and Six Feet Under, both on DVD. I knew I was watching too much Sopranos when I started dreaming I was taking out hits on people
3. Sitcoms
Arrested Development, the Office, etc
4. Nature documentaries
Bet you didn't see that coming! Though the Duke made me watch a taratula special last night... blech

4 places I have been on holiday:
I'm not nearly international enough-- though I head to Texas in a month and a half! Yee-haw!
1. Costa Rica
My parents were crazy enough to let me and my best friend backpack for a month when I was 17. Probably the most amazing and perspective changing month of my life.
2. Los Angeles
I had a conference there last summer, and went out a bit early on my own. It was the first time travelling completely solo and I loved it-- the feeling of anonymity and freedom is spectacular.
3. Across Canada
I've done the coast-to-coast trip twice. Once via Greyhound (not recommended!) with my sis, and once flying and by train with my mom. As a side to all those who think that they could never travel with their mom-- my mom is cool! We stayed in hostels most of the trip and would meet loads of new people and go drinking with them.
4. Memphis
Not really much of a holiday, other than hungover Graceland.

4 websites I visit daily:
1. Dlisted
I'm guilty of loving the malicious celebrity gossip.
2. Facebook
I'm also guilty of stalking old friends.
3. Various bloggers
As well as enjoying peering into other people's lives
4. Gmail

4 of my favorite dishes:
1. Anything seafood- crab, prawns, scallops, oysters-- preferably with garlic butter
2. Mashed potatoes.
3. Various sushi and sashimis-- the rawer, the better
4. Pad thai and other yummy stirfries and curries.
Though not an entire dish in and of themselves, dill pickles and salt-water taffy get honourable mentions.

4 places I'd rather be right now:
1. I'm sure everyone said at the beach... but I'm going to, too! But not just for relaxing... this beach has sand and tide pools!
2. In a bubble bath with a little wine
3. Hiking or camping somewhere
4. On a patio, with a marguarita, sunglasses, and friends. No books or articles in sight!

4 other blogger buddies to do this meme/list:
Quite frankly, I like to find out more about all my bloggie pals, so I tag you. Ha!