29 (for the first time)

Today is my 29th birthday. The end of my 20's...sigh...

I woke up to swollen tonsils at 2:30 this morning. It hurts to eat and swallow. This is probably the tenth time I've had swollen tonsils in the past year. My stupid doctor still says I shouldn't get them out.

Anyway, my best friend put up three signs on my office door so people couldn't help but notice that it was my birthday at work.

My grandparents, aunt, and girlfriend came over for dinner tonight. My girlfriend hasn't been feeling well for the past few days, so she went home shortly after dinner. We had a Dairy Queen ice cream cake and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding because my grandmother had never seen it before. My grandmother caught me up on the ailments of my extended family. Quite scary, really... two uncles have cancer, one terminal and will be gone by year's end. One great aunt died last month from cancer and another one had her shoulder joint removed and cannot lift her right arm anymore. One other great aunt has the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease and yet another has severe diabetes. Jesus christ... this is what I get to look forward to. Heart attacks, cancer, Alzheimer's... suddenly turning 29 is even more depressing.

I received $30 in Esso gift certificates and $60 cash which will come in handy for the Jasper trip this upcoming weekend. I also received a Cotton Ginny gift certificate (love that store! Pants that fit perfectly...) and my sister has a manicure, pedicure and massage booked for me on the 24th. My girlfriend bought me the perfect robe (not too thick, but warm... just what I've been looking for), another pair of much-needed cotton pyjama bottoms (I keep losing my pyjamas for some reason), and two pairs of Curious George socks (I love Curious George!!!). I don't remember ever getting so much for my birthday before. It was kind of overwhelming...

Today I'm grateful for:

* My girlfriend, who came over for my birthday even though she was feeling awful and gave me just what I hoped I would get.
* My family for helping me celebrate my birthday
* My friends for remembering my birthday
* My co-worker for letting me listen to James Blunt at work for today (he hates him)
* My health (my tonsils notwithstanding)

Curling is too a sport...

I'm watching the Brier final right now. It's a really close game, which makes it interesting. The guys can always hit doubles and make hard shots, but the girls are more entertaining to watch.

I find it amazing how they can throw the rock at the exact weight they want and curl it where they want it. An amazing amount of skill is needed for this game. I suppose a person probably has it or doesn't.

More nice weather this weekend except it's really overcast and grey. The snow and ice continue to melt off the roads and sidewalks. I didn't really spend any time outside though, I basically left the house to go to Tim Horton's on a coffee run.

Yesterday I watched Days Of Thunder for the first time. I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but it was pretty good... probably because Robert Duvall is hilarious and John C. Reilly has always been a favourite of mine. It seems Cary Elwes plays a jerk in every movie I've seen him in except probably for The Princess Bride which I couldn't stand. I still have no idea why that movie has such a huge cult following.

Today I watched Wedding Crashers which I thought was hilarious. Rachel McAdams looks great with dark hair. I love Christopher Walken in everything and anything, so it was worth seeing just for him.

My sister's boyfriend is such a loser. In booming Alberta, where you practically trip over a job on your way out of the house, he can't seem to keep a job longer than two days and just lives off of my sister's paycheque (as well as his parents'). The guy is in his early twenties...no excuse for being such a lazy slack ass. He does drugs (as does my sister, unfortunately), although which ones now, I don't really know. Meth used to be the drug of choice for both of them. Not sure if it still is. Anyway, he can't afford a car and even if he could, his insurance would be very expensive because I think he rolled a car once, or something. My sister bought his parents' old car and pays for the insurance, but he drives it around all day while she works. Apparently they broke up for the hundredth time this week. He dumped her saying he wanted to clean up his life, etc... so she said fine, she took the plates off of the car and said she was cancelling the insurance. He and his parents got so mad... said she still owed them money for the car, etc. Whatever. Fucking losers. Of course she's a dumb ass too because two days later, she took him back. Hm... he breaks up with her then realizes he'll have no car to drive around anymore and then asks her back. Wow... must be true love.

Today I'm grateful for:

* My awesome girlfriend who made this weekend wonderful
* The upcoming work week is only four days long for me
* Wal-mart being open late on a Sunday
* Not being as dumb as my younger sister when it comes to relationships

Mid-week blah...

Still struggling to get through the week. Had an okay day today but this evening was not the greatest. I'm finding it hard to fall asleep tonight, worrying about stupid stuff...

The nerve damage in my left index finger is driving me nuts today. I've had shooting pain and throbbing all damn day long. I wish there was a way to get rid of it. Maybe there is and I don't know about it. I should research that one of these days. There's nothing like hitting it against something and having blinding pain that hurts so much, I practically roll on the ground in agony. There have been times where I've accidentally hit it while driving in rush hour traffic and to try to control the car from crashing, I've had to bite my right hand hard enough to distract my brain from the pain in my finger. How sad is that?

Today I'm grateful for (this is tough today...):

* Zantac
* My 14 year old car still working well
* Another day of warm weather

Monday Burn-out

I don't normally dread Monday morning. Monday is usally a light day for me at work, but with all of the added workload and stress... bleah. There isn't a day I enjoy at work. Maybe Friday afternoon. No, that's when I feel pressured to finish whatever I'm working on for the day by 4 pm when everyone is literally standing at the door waiting to go home. I think it's safe to say that I'm the only work-a-holic in the office.

I'm still waiting to find a good stress reliever (other than sex). I wish the weather would warm up again so I could go walking...

My boss brought in her month old son for us to see. God, I love babies. He threw up all over me and himself but it didn't really bother me (I had a lab coat on). They're so cuddly and cute and demand all of your attention. I've been thinking about kids a lot lately...sigh...



Today I'm grateful for:

* Getting to hold a cute little baby
* Being able to talk frankly with my co-worker about issues bothering me
* Almost finishing a project I was supposed to finish in January

Weekend Getaway...finally.

I am beyond thrilled to be getting out of the city and far away from work and family for a few days later this month. For an early birthday present, my best friend gave me one night's stay & breakfast at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge to use with my girlfriend this month. I'm going to use it on a Saturday and I booked at another hotel for the Friday so we can do the five hour drive that day and have all of Saturday in Jasper.

I'm not sure what exactly we'll do on the Saturday because I've only been to Jasper twice, once for only a few hours and the other time to spend the night on our way home from Banff. I'll have to look online for some ideas. Unfortunately my girlfriend had a sports accident a month ago and tore up her knee, so skiing and hiking are out of the question. Maybe there are some tours or something we can do...

Today I'm grateful for:

* Internet access
* Sleeping in
* Call display
* Coffee

Warmer weather, better mood (in theory)...

Today was above zero and the snow was melting like crazy. Of course we have so much snow that it'll take two months to melt it all, but it's a start. Being outside was an absolute pleasure while the sun was up. Fresh air and sunshine... I even had an ice cream cone. I saw girls out in flip flops. That's a little crazy, but in Canada, anything is possible once it starts to warm up. It's so nice to ease away from the cabin fever. I just can't stand staying inside this much anymore!!! I want to walk around, but right now the sidewalks are very icy and I'm accident prone, so I'm not going to risk it yet.

I bought a new shower head (one that has a hose to help rinse the walls/tub) and three new bath towels. I bought the three towels for cheaper than the shower head. I never realized how expensive they could be. I didn't even get a massage feature on mine... it just 'drenches' which is basically all I want in my shower. For a massage feature (but less drenching), it was an extra $10 - $20. Um... no thanks. $39.99 plus tax was enough for me, thank you.

Tonight my girlfriend had plans with co-workers, so I went out with my mother, sister and my sister's friend to see Music & Lyrics at the local theatre. I really enjoyed the movie and might buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Today I'm grateful for:

* My parents for telling me they love me today
* Afternoon naps with my girlfriend as my pillow
* Funny people who make me laugh despite myself
* Daydreams about things I may want in the near future

Thank you for [blank]...

I realized, as I pulled away from the drive-thru window at Tim Horton's this morning, that people do not say 'thank you' or exchange praise nearly enough as they should. In the past few years, I've been trying to extend more positive feedback to the individuals I interact with, whether friends or the person handing me my coffee through the drive-thru window. It's amazing what a change that makes. I remember when I worked in the fast food industry, I could be having a lousy shift but all it would take is one customer who gave a compliment or a 'thank you very much' and suddenly it wasn't all that bad. A little praise goes a long way, whether reflected outward or not.

At work, shooting off e-mails of praise for completing a particularly hard project makes co-workers happy to help again the next time. Acknowledging hard work is probably one of the best things a supervisor can do to improve moral in the workplace. A raise, as wonderful as that is, often fades from memory within a few weeks. Praise for exceptional work lasts a lot longer and makes people actually want to be part of the team and do well. Praise and thank-yous also help get me my coffee at the drive-thru window without the person practically throwing the debit pin pad into my car for me to process.

Today I'm grateful for:

* The fact that tomorrow's Friday.
* Another project almost finished at work.
* Only another month and a half to two months of cold weather until spring/summer.
* The fact that unlucky February is over. Brutal 28 days this year...