The World of Ginner

T-Minus 3 Days and Counting.........

2006-08-30T16:56:00.000-04:00

So with 3 days to go until the time P and I stand up in front of a room full of people and pledge to love each other until the cold hand of death parts us, I must say that things are coming together nicely...

I am alternating between "cool as a cucumber" and "psychotic breakdown" modes, but am also told this is pretty normal.

The Weather Network says it's going to be a lovely day on September 2nd - 22 degrees C with cloudy periods and only 10% probability of precipitation... Though these are the only people who keep their jobs after doing it correctly only 40% of the time... But I believe!!!

We have had to add en extra guest to the list because P's sister gave us a new niece yesterday at 4:30 a.m. but they can't decide on a name so for now we shall put her on the seating cart as "Peanut". She is one wedding crasher that is whole heartedly welcome!

I stopped biting my nails in time for the wedding som I am getting my second-ever manicure on Friday.

Totally random - this is how my brain is working lately.

There are 3 days until wedding. MY wedding. Okay, OUR wedding.

Goin' To The Chapel

2006-08-25T18:24:00.000-04:00

For Mark, so he doesn't take me off his blogroll and for Jen who has been asking me to blog about the wedding for a long time....

As of right now, we are 8 days away from gettin' hitched. Almost 13 months after the night he asked and I said yes, we are finally going to take the long walk of a short plank into the wonderful world of matrimony.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

That's an Eeeek of excitement, by the way, not chilly toes. I can't wait for Saturday the 2nd of September to roll around! The family members have begun arriving, I officially start my vacation from work at 4:30 p.m. August 29th, we're going to have a great big honkin' party, I get to pledge my heart for the rest of eternity to the man that I love and puts up with me every single day of his life (Evil laughter inserted here)...

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I get to be all dolled up, hair coiffed, nails lacquered, and wear a pretty XXXXXXX-colored (color omitted because groom-to-be will read this) dress?!?!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

The planning has gone surprisingly well and with just over a week to go, we're in the finalizing of details stage - which, consequently is perfect for yours truly: the obsessive-compulsive organizational genius/maniac who feels the need to plan and schedule everything to the last nano-second. It's a good thing I am marrying a man who smiles at me and pats my head and takes the day planner out of my hands for both our sakes, that's all I have to say!

My mom hasn't yet driven me to murder or suicide, which shocks me to the core of my being. She has been amazingly supportive and helpful and not too nuts and only once have I had to remind her that this was MY wedding and not HER dream wedding lived through me. It scares me a little that all the time we have spent together in the past few months has made me realize how like her I am slowly and ever so reluctantly becoming, but all things considered, our collaboration was a resounding success.

P and I are thrilled because it also seems as though we are fated to have the coolest of everything at our wedding:

The Venue
This great little place in the Old Port of Montreal dates back to 1754, is considered to be the oldest Inn in North America and is now a great restaurant. The sales lady we dealt with needed to be chased for everything including the 10 days it took me to get her to call me back about giving her an effing deposit, but other than that, it is perfect.

The Band
Squidjigger, a hugely talented band P saw at O'Reagan's Pub one night and wanted to book on the spot. They are a Celtic trio who play about 8 instruments between them and should be a perfect match to the kilted madness we want to enduce on the dancefloor. The tense negotiations for their hire went something like this:
P: "Hey, do you guys do weddings?"
Band: "Um, no. But we could..."
P: "Cool, 'cause we really like your music and we're getting married and we would love you to play at our reception."
Band: "Yeah, we could do that. How much does it pay?"
P: "I don't know, how much do you want?"
Band: "Um..... I don't know... I guess $$$ would do it.
P (ecstatic): "Really? Wow, you're hired!"
Band (hesitates): "Oh and food. You'll need to feed us."
P (no hesitation): "Yeah it's still a great deal, you're hired!"
End Scene

And that was it!

The Photographer
Ben is amazing and if he had a website I would give you all the link. He is a commercial photographer mostly now, but we were luck enough to book him before he left his day job at Michelin for a full-time photography gig working for himself. He even worked the Formula 1 this year and took pics from the pit!

We were very techie about our nuptials, so feel free to visit the site P built and bask in the cheesy-ness that is us.

More later....

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

The voices in My Head

2006-03-17T12:48:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get anxiety over the dumbest things.

Example:
I was waiting in line at Subway during the noon rush today. It's Friday and many people are "eating fresh" these days so the queue was long, weaving through two sets of ropes right to the door. The man in back of me was in such deep conversation with the guy next to him that I had the time get through both sets of ropes and up to the Subway Sandwich Artist before he noticed.
The entire time a little voice inside my head was screaming, "MOVE!!!!"
I kept looking back, willing this man to see he could move up and bridge the gap between us.
"MOVE UP!!!!" I screamed in my head.
I began to worry about the annoyed faces of the people behind him, wondering if someone would get bitch and ask him to keep the line moving.
I kept expecting that normal social order would collapse and hungry Subway patrons would stampede this ignorant non-mover and crush his bones into the yellow linoleum floor.
When it was finally my turn the SSE asked me what I wanted, I mumbled my order and took another look over my shoulder. The man stood there another moment then FINALLY moved through the rope lines and took his place approximately 18 inches away from me.
Immediately, all was right with the world once again.

See, I told you it was dumb!

************

T-Minus 10 hours 'till lift off.....
feudally Deeeeeeeeeeeee
Arch, AYE!!!!!

Reality Bites

2006-03-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this.
Sociological experiment or capitalizing on the potential volatility of people's emotions regarding Race?
You be the judge.

I Heart Hippies

2006-03-15T11:20:00.000-05:00

No matter what is said on other blogs about these guys, you can't help but love their infectious energy, light-hearted attitude and general good humor through the first legs of Amazing Race 9.
I mean, they jumped out of the bushes and scared the Hell out of those creepy frat boys. They can't be all bad!!!
Conclusion: The Hippies must stay!!!!

Arch, Aye!

2006-03-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

T-minus 4 sleeps until we once again travel to the land of Braveheart, shortbread cookies and Scotch.
The only land where P can get his beloved pint of hand-pulled 80 Shilling.
The land where fish and chips were born.
The land that begat golf.
The land where cars share the road with sheep.
The land of castles.
The land of islands in the sky.
The land of mountains so beautiful and awe-inspiring they made me cry.

Though my roots are not Scottish, I feel a great pull to the land of P’s childhood. The History, the architecture, the Pubs……..

Only 5 days ‘till we’re in Edinburgh again!!!!

Arch, Aye!!

In Her Shoes

2006-03-11T20:01:00.000-05:00

Today was the first Spring-like day we have seen in Kanuk Land for some time. Though we had a relatively mild Winter by Montreal standards, this afternoon's +7 degrees celsius was like a breath of tropical air for the soul! So P and I decided we would hit the bricks and pound the pavement Saturday style: walking the downtown streets, peppered with stopping in to various boutiques, shoe shops and even a toy store.

Everything was going swimmingly until the shoe shopping... You see, I have a love/hate relationship with shoes:
I am a girl, therefore I love them: shiny shoes, shoes with bows and flowers on them; pink shoes, brown pumps, Mary Janes, strappy sandals, these amazing little black numbers with a rhinestone dragonfly lovingly shaped out on the straps......
*sigh*
Alas, I am doomed to walk the earth with Sasquatch-like clown feet, therefore I must apparently also walk the earth in sensible UGLY shoes. Therein lies the hate part.

We went to Winners and Payless, which are always a gamble. Sure, in the rows of shoes marked sizes 6 to 9, they had some pretty cute stuff. Once we got to the 10+ section, the pretty ones were gone. Flowered flats my aunt Pauline would love were abounding, but no cute shoes were to be found. Picture if you will a lush, beautiful forest turning into a deep, dark, dank pit of dead branches with creepy-crawlies where nothing beautiful could ever gorw and you will have some notion of what it was like.

We went to Tony's Shoes on Greene to check out the merchandise. P was there 5 minutes and found a great pair of brown leather shoes for $20. I kept picking up shoes and asking, "Do you have this in a size 10?" only to get my hopes dashed three times in a row when the poor salesman came back from the store room empty handed, shaking his head pitifully at me.
Only once was his quest fruitful and even then, the size 10 strappies he brought back for me were tight and pinched so much I could barely get around the store and back without whimpering.

Needless to say, we came home without any shoes for this Ginner.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.... Tomorrow, I hit the Quartier Latin to ask the drag queens where they get their size 12 heels!

Rackin' Frackin'......

2006-02-22T09:13:00.000-05:00

At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy - i.e. the kind of person I used to roll my eyes at myself - I need to address a problem that I feel has become rampant among those working in the service industry:

As it turns out, they just really couldn't give a shit!

Yeah, so I'm in one of those "I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" militant moods. But really? If I work hard for the money I earn and elect to spend said hear-earned money at the retail outlets of my choice, shouldn't I be greeted, served and generally treated with care and appreciation?

Isn't it important to forge bonds with customers in the ever-increasingly competitive world of commerce by offering them the one thing that sets your business apart from the other guy - i.e. CUSTOMER FRIKKIN' SERVICE?!?!?!

Now let me preface this by saying that I am in Customer Service. I make my living at making my customer happy and doing everything within my power to make sure they get what they need, when they need it. I pride myself on being the go-to girl for the most gnarly, rotten, temperamental customers we have and I make it my job to turn them around and send them off with a smile. I take pride in what I do, I am damned good at it and I expect to be treated the same way as I treat all of my customers: I let them know they are special to me and that there is nothing I would rather be doing at that moment that serving them.

I am sick of walking into Loblaw's and busting my budget on the pretty red peppers and quality chicken breasts only to end up at the checkout, desperately trying to get the attention of the cashier who can't stop gossiping with the bagboy (or girl) about the latest employee affairs or complaining about how they have worked for three whole hours and not gotten a break yet.
Look at ME! Nod at ME! Say "hi there" to ME! At least acknowledge my presence for the LOVE OF GOD!

I am also sick of paying the price for the service person behind the counter who is in a bad mood. It is NOT my fault that your car wouldn't start this morning. It is NOT my fault you didn't get the raise you wanted. It is NOT my fault that the last three customers you served were bitchy to you. I KNOW it is hard to put on a smile and a brave face when you are really not feeling it. Hell, I'm so co-dependent that I even try to change their moods by being extra nice and smiling at them more and telling THEM to have a nice day.

FUCK!

I wish I was like my friend Kiki. She used to be like me and swallow the crap service; look the other way even when she felt she was being grossly mistreated. She attributes her new attitude to turning 30 and being too old to take shit from anyone anymore, but I have seen her in action and she's my hero.

But I am still dumb enough to look the other way. I feel bad asking to speak to an employee's manager and complain about shoddy service; it's like I would immediately and irrevocable turn into my mother. Or a NARC. Or "The Man".... I am too shy to interrupt the Loblaws cashier and her groupie bagperson and say, "Hi, I know you are having a conversation here, but would you mind paying more attention to your job and to your most important source of revenue: ME?"

After all, in the grand scheme of things, it is me paying their salary, right? So what if it's only minimum wage, does that give them the right to disrespect their job and as a result, me?

There would be no job for her if I didn't come in each week and pick the ripest, most pretty (and overpriced, by the way) peppers, right?

That's it. I'm not 30 yet, but I'm sick of paying to be abused.

I'm starting a revolution.

NO MORE CRAP SERVICE!

The Group Of Seven

2006-02-20T13:19:00.000-05:00

So he tagged me... FUN!

Okay, here goes:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they are any good, but they must be songs you are really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they are listening to.

"Better Together" by Jack Johnson (I'm with Lambic regarding Jack Johnson and this song in particular makes me smile to my toes.

"Ordinary Day" by Great Big Sea (the turn-my-mood-around song that never fails to brighten up my day).

"Black Betty" by Ram Jam (seriously, I play frikking air drums like Animal in the Muppet Show when I hear this song and CHOM is nice enough to play it often).

"Run" by Rex Goudie (the song he was thinking about and for all the same reasons).

"Breathe" by Anna Nalick (it's melancholy and just beautiful to listen to).

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (the best song on the face of the earth EVER and makes me sing out loud like a freak in the car).

"A Rush of Blood To The Head" entire album by Coldplay (it's my "what if you were stuck on a desert Island and had the choice to bring ONE CD ONLY pick).

Wow, when you start writing it down, 7 is so little..... I could keep going and going and going and going and going and going.....

TAG!

How I Feel About You

2006-02-14T11:33:00.000-05:00

FULFILLMENT

"And lo, I have opened unto you the gates of my being
And like a tide, you have flowed into me.
The innermost recesses of my spirit are full of you
And all the channels of my soul are grown sweet with your presence
For you have brought me peace;

The peace of great tranquil waters,
And the quiet of the summer sea.
Your hands are filled with peace as
The noon-tide is filled with light
I am utterly content;

About your head is bound the eternal Quiet of the stars,
And in your heart dwells the calm miracle of twilight.
In all my being there is no ripple of unrest
For I have opened unto you the wide gates of my being
And like a tide, you have flowed into me."

***

Because there is little happiness in me without you.

Because wherever I am with you is Home.

Je t'aime.

I SUCK!

2006-01-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that I haven't posted since Decembre 16th.
That was last year!

For shame....

In my own defence, things have been rather wacko in the World of Ginner lately.
Not that I'm making excuses or anything.
I mean some people have had a baby, others have gone out of the country and back, STILL managing to keep up their blogs....

Shame, shame, shame.

Oh well... I'll try to do better!

Since I last wrote, here's what has been happenin':

Christmas (too long ago to talk about, though we had a great time and I was spoiled beyond mesure).
New Year (P played a gig and I got to climb up on stage for my smooch at midnight).
I had 5 whole days of vacation (YAY!).
The girls and I went shopping and I GOT A WEDDING DRESS! (Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)!!!! *footnote* I actually just ordered the dress and it'll arrive sometime between now and the wedding date - they don't actually keep real girl sizs in the store, only half-portion sizes available off the floor).
I trained my replacement at work in Purchasing.
I was trained for and started my new job as a Customer Service Rep. and have since been exhibiting signs of impatience when others in the Service Industry - I'M TALKING TO YOU' LOBLAW'S CASHIERS!!! - are less than service oriented with me (but that's a post for another time).
As nucelar fallout from my hectic job training schedule and subsequent new position, I have become 75 year-old lady, falling asleep on the couch at 8:00 p.m. and actually dragging my arse up to bed around 9:30 (I know, partaaaaaaaaaay...).
I have finally gone through all of my digital photos, organized them, put little captions on them for the slide shows and even printed some with the new difital photo printer P and my sister got me for Christmas.

So that's it in a nutshell...

Happy election day (a contradiction in terms, I know) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

What's new with all of you??

SNOW DAY!

2005-12-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

As I write this, I am certain most Montreal area bloggers will be posting something today about the projected 40 cm (15-inch) snowfall that began while we were asleep last night.

Normally I am afraid of driving in the snow; I had an accident on the Decarie Expressway a few years ago - one of those "life flashing before your eyes" accidents... And since then have been known to get completely unglued at the prospect of getting behind the wheel during even the smallest accumulations of snow.

Well this morning I woke up to 8 inches already blanketing the city and surrounding area - not to mention my car. I was excited at the prospect of clearing the car, warming it up and taking to the snowy highway. No, I really was!

And the drive wasn't so bad. Taxis are psycho, but what else is new?! I drove slowly and carefully, didn't rush, left more than enough room between my front bumper and the back bumper of the driver in front of me and most of all, I am proud of the fact that I never once panicked the way I normally do. I mean, never once did I think, "Oh FUCK, I'm gonna run off the road and die!" .... That's a first.

It was a strange and surreal feeling to drive in this morning, all 25 KM without being able to see the drivers in the cars around me. I felt alone, but not lonely. All the regular noises of the road were muted by the falling snow, as if everything was wrapped in it's own little bubble of white insulation. It was amazing!!!

Now I'm sitting at work in a half empty office and the spirit is one of a bona fide Snow Day. Everyone is a bit giddy after the drive in, we're all preparing for today's annual potluck lunch and those that braved the weather to come in are supposed to get some sort of recompense (though this may just be the latest office urban legend rumor)...

So against company policy I have taken up some of the teeny bandwidth we have and opened a session of internet radio. I have my second cup of coffee on my desk and I'm ready to face the rest of the day.

All of my customer deliveries are late, our trucks are stuck, people are late or absent altogether, schools are closed, daycares are closed... but no one seems to mind that much because, hey: it's a Snow Day!

...and we're all in it together.

Go see what a snow-covered Montreal looks like here.

Going to see an Island about a Nunn...

2005-12-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

Satuday night we went off the island of Montreal and ventured into the wonderous realm of Nunn's Island - home of Kowy and Shatnerian - for a delightful evening chalk fulla food, drink and my favorite movie, The Sound of Music (oh stop it, you know that you too want to be sixteen, going on seventeen).

We were a little early for the evening and used to being the first ones to arrive anywhere for anything (which we still ended up being), so we decided to take a tour of P's first neighbourhood after moving here from the U.K....

Holy overpriced abodes, Batman!!! Although there are some really cute and affordable rentals, any real estate you wish to purchase on Nunn's Island would cost at least an arm and a leg, not to mention your first born child thrown in as a downpayment.

As we drove along taking in the pretty views, appreciating the expanse of green space and the great community feel of the island, I began to think that perhaps one day I actually could move out of the downtown core (after all, Nunn's Island is a 7-minute drive to the heart of Montreal). I could almost picture the yuppy-esque lifestyle we could lead if we only owned one of the sweet looking townhouses standing row upon row.

Then we made the mistake of stoping at the local mall and picking up a town paper - only to have our dreams of living la Vida not so Loca on NI dashed. Sure, we could still live the dream... If we were willing to pay over $500,000 for a 3-bedroom condo/townhouse with zero yard, that is.
Um... no.

Oh well, I'm not crazy about yuppies or their healthy lifestyles anyway. We never jog unless we're running for a bus, or away from a mugger. So we have a ginger kitty, not a chocolate Lab; he purrs when he isn't trying to eat our toes. So what if we own a '96 Cavalier and not a BMW; ours is paid for in full. Okay, our furniture isn't new or modern or "chic"; our livingroom is for LIVING, not just looking at.

Who cares if we rent for the next five years. How many people do you know who can leave their house and walk to the Bell Centre without a coat on in the dead of Winter because it's only a block away? Ask P, that's worth all the townhouses on Nunn's Island put together!!

Can You Smell What The Ginner Is Cooking?

2005-12-08T15:15:00.000-05:00

At this time of year when the temperature begins to plummet as the season changes from Fall to Winter, I begin to get obsessed (or more obsessed than usual) with cooking.

I have an unnatural yet very satisfying need to fill the house with wonderous smells of stew and onion and garlic... Almost all of my late Fall / early Winter recipes involve sauces of some kind, the oven, at least three of the four stovetop elements or a slow cooker. Soups bubble, sauces simmer, meats roast and everything is right with the world.

Perhaps I am suffering from a chipmunk-like need to stuff my cheeks for the long haul - and hibernation does sound incredibly apealing....

Maybe I'm trying to perpetuate that warm, fuzzy feeling I used to get when I was a kid and my mom or granny would be the pillars of the kitchen, concocting some of the most mouth-watering comfort food I have ever eaten.

Or maybe I'm delving too deep and I just really LOVE food.

Of course my recipes are slightly varies from the days of my fore-mothers... I don't use whole sticks of butter or cooking lard in any of my recipes (boo, I know...). I have branched out from the Shepherd's Pie and baked rigatoni my Gran used to make as well as the roast beef dinner my mom is famous for.

I have learned that the secret to a good curry is coconut cream poured in at the last minute. I love to cook Thai and experiment with the wonder that is peanut sauce. I make a mean chicken lasagna with cream sauce and have, in my own modest opinion, perfected what I deem to be a superior guacamole.

*drool*

Okay, I'm hungry now... AND I'm looking for some culinary inspiration...

I want to know: what you you love to cook?

Mia The Mighty

2005-12-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

So after 7 whole days as a member of the Human Race, I thought it was high time to pay tribute to the and most beautiful first daughter/niece/grandchild on P's side of the family.

She is gorgeous, apparently quite a calm baby and for obvious reasons, the apple of everyone's eye.

Without further ado, I would like to introduce the word to:

Mia the Mighty

Unfortunately, Mia and her parents live in London, England.
Which sucks because we do not.

But we will love her with all our hearts anyway and count the days until we can see her, hold her, spoil her and win out against P's sister for "Best Auntie and Uncle In The World" honors.

Not that it's a competition or anything.....

Tag, You're IT!

2005-11-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

I got tagged by new uncle Procrasto to partake in a funn little Google experiment: type "your name needs" into the browser and Google tells you what it thinks you need. I came up with the same answers as J, so I used Ginner:

G needs a monitor
G needs producer perspective on short fiber measurment (well, doesn't everybody??)
G needs to tailor variety choices to market needs (will this fit in my Christmas stocking?)
G needs Findlaw for legal professionals (yes, yes I do!)
G needs to cotton farm (why not!)
G needs motors, controls and much more
G needs member benefits
G needs sage advise (now that I COULD use!!)

Google actually linked to my old blog as well, which is cool because that means I'm out ther on the WWW... Our little girl is all grown up now *sniff*.

The sad part is that I waited too long to do this and now I have no one else to tag, so if you are just happening by:

TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!

Hello, Helloooooo..... Hola!

2005-11-28T15:40:00.000-05:00

It was an event I had looked forward to since I first got P the surprise birthday present back in April. I have never kept a surprise under wraps this long before (I'm the one who waits until Christmas Eve to shop so that I don't give the presents to their intended owners as soon as I get them), but I digress...

So there we were, sitting in the very last row at the very top of the Bell Centre, waiting for the main event to begin. At first I was a little disappointed we were sat so high - the sound started off a bit distorted - but then it happened: Bono ran out onto the stage and started to belt out "Vertigo" and everything else melted away, leaving nothing but a slightly awestruck, prefectly wonderful feeling of happiness.

Not that I would have refused front row seats, mind you... But there was something slightly magical about having the bird's eye vue perspective: looking down on the 20,000 people below you swaying in perfect time to the music, singing their hearts out to all the same lyrics and clapping their hands in unison to a thunderous conclusion. There wasn't an empty seat to be had and it showed.

When the boys launched into "Where the Streets Have No name" I got goosebumps. When they played "With Or Without You" I was transported back to memories from long ago and far away. When they played "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" I went as wild as the rest of the crowd. When Bono started "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" and took his sunglasses off our of respect for his Dad, I was moved.

Montreal responded well to U2. Spirits were high, the mood was euphoric and I must say that even in the crow's nest of Section 434, Row D, seat 12, I felt like I was part of something BIG. I wish I could make everyone feel what is was like to be there, it's something I will never forget.

Happy Birthday, Baby!!!

To Pee, or Not to Pee....

2005-11-22T12:13:00.000-05:00

I was just in the Ladies' and noticed for the umpteenth time that the stall I chose to use had been sullied by a previous occupant... There was pee all over the seat!

I can understand men's toilets being gross and grungy and splashed upon because of having to aim and everything, but how does a girl manage it??? I checked the mechanism and there is no big pressure release at the time of flushing that would explain the seat splashing....

Could this be chalked up to a person or people with the pee jetstream of champions? I mean who can pee with such pressure that the urine hits the water then catapults back up onto the seat?

I'm just sayin'......

And it's bad enough that this has happened before, but Jayzus Mary 'n Joseph girls, at least clean up after yourselves!!!

I wish I could avoid going in to the Ladies Room at all when I'm in the office.... I have seen some creepy things and have come to the startling realization that more than a few people I work with are against hand washing (say it with me folks, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!!!"). But alas, with a bladder the size of a chickpea and the 2 liters of water I drink per day at the office, I fear my plight is far from being over.

Great, I have to pee again.

High School Redux

2005-11-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

You know how when you're a teenager and you think to yourself, "Self: when you are an adult all this superficial, teenage angst-ridden, clique-based social crap will end, so just hang on..."? You look so forward to becoming an adult and joining the corporate world because you think as a grown up, you are meant to rise above being petty, vindictive, snide, cruel for no good reason, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum...

Then comes the fateful day when the reality of the world comes crashing down on you like a gazillion ton weight, pressing down on your chest and leaving you gasping for breath.... One day, like an Epiphany to overshadow all Epiphanies, you get it: not only is the corporate world like the dreaded high school social mill, but it is in fact WORSE.

Never in the entire time I was in high school did I ever encounter the caliber of backstabbing, butt-kissing, gossiping, bullshitting and general weaselness as I have since I have embarked on my corporate journey to Hell. Nowhere other than here have I seen the lengths that people will go in order to get ahead, move around or even just stay afloat.

You learn that the "little guy" hardly ever gets ahead based on hard work alone. He keeps his head down, nose to the grindstone and never makes waves, but is overlooked for promotions 99% of the time because he either isn't liked by the "right people" or hasn't kissed the right ass.

You learn that most of what they call Management consists of those people that have clawed their way to the top either on the backs of "the little guy", because of who they know as opposed to what they know, who they have dirt on... Ooooh, or Nepotism, we can't forget Nepotism!!!

You learn that just because you are a Manager does not mean by any stretch or scope of the imagination that you are actually qualified to lead or be responsible for any other human beings.

You learn that 99% of the decisions are made by the 1% of people in power positions without ever really looking at the bigger picture. Unilateral decisions about restructuring and work processes are handed down from upon high (picture if you will, the Wizard behind his big green curtain, pulling levers and blowing lots of smoke) without the input, opinion or knowledge of the people who actually do the work on a day to day basis in the first place.

Most of the employees you talk to are discontented, disconcerted, disheartened and depressed about their state of affairs, though most would deny it if directly questioned by their superior. No one is happy, yet no one is willing to speak up because like in high school, if you stick your head out and call attention to yourself as being different than the status quo, no good can possibly come to you.

Office politics, like high school "cliques" create these invisible yet almost palpable lines drawn in the sand and employees are made to feel like troops at war having to pick which side of the battle to be on. Am I with the cool kids? Do I even want to be one of the cool kids? Should I play the game? Can I survive and be happy if I don't?

There HAS to be another way to get by other than this maniacal 9 to 5 existence and ensuing quest for the almighty dollar that makes me want to rip all my hair out and run screaming from the building, never looking back.

Maybe I'll move to B.C. and start an Alpaca farm.......

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2005-11-15T15:09:00.000-05:00

This is what MgGill College looks like at the moment. I'm not sure if you are ready to see it, but there is snow.... SNOW! This is our first frozen precipitation of the 2005-2006 Winter (yeah, I said it) season and compared to last year, it may even be considered smalltime.

No matter though! Snow is snow and it is the first we have seen in 7 months.

What, didn't you miss it? The wacko loser drivers who think they can still tailgate and then break at the last minute without sliding on black ice and slamming into you? The cold wet slush that infiltrates your boots despite the layers of protective crap they sell you at the shoe store and say is waterproof? The whipping wind instantly freezing the sidewalk before you so that your once simple trek to the store becomes the stuff that Ice Capades are made of?

Yeah, I missed it too.

Yay, Winter is here!!!!*

*note: please read tomorrow's post on global warming... I just saw that it is supposed to climb to 16 degrees Celsius Wednesday (approx. 60 degrees Fahrenheit).

Arch, tah Hell!!

Bonjour!

2005-11-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

So this is my first blog here.
Before, you could read my consistently inconsitent entries here.

For all of you who are new to me don't worry, you'll get to know me quickly. I am at once passionate and dispassionate; loving and hateful; enthusiastic and lazy; a go-getter and a procrastinator; an optimist and a pessimist; a dreamer and a realist.

I have an open mind and an open heart. I used to have thick walls of protection around my heart to shield me from the possibility of pain and the trauma of rejection. Then I met a man with the soul of a poet and a heart the size of the world that taught me walls are for sissies and true happiness is only possible if you open yourself up. Yes, there is some pain... But there is also Peace and a joy I have never known before.

I am unwaveringly loyal to those I love and a right bitch to those I don't.
I can take the weight of the world on my shoulders when the occasion calls for it and even sometimes when it doesn't.
I would like to be a starving artist, but I'm too fond of my creature comforts to make the sacrifice. Besides that, I'm not so much artistic...

Basically though, I am just me.

Who are you?

Welcome to the World of The Ginner!