For Your Entertainment

Okay, here are a few photos from Christmastime. While Mike and I made sure to take lots of photos with our new camera, we unfortunately only bought it on Boxing Day, so everything all of the photos I have are post-Chistmas. Oh well!

The Assest Management department Christmas party

Girls night!

Testing the egg nog on New Year's Eve

Spreading the joy of Piddle Paddle

It's Peanut-Butter Jelly Time!

Isn't amazing how quickly the holidays go by?? I was off for a week and a half and it felt like maybe... 4 days. And going back to work on January 2nd is tough stuff. I feel like I never even had a break! There was somewhere we had to be every single day of the holiday and we were perpetually busy. But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

I guess Christmas this year was pretty standard, nothing out of the ordinary happened. But that's good, because that means it was great! Theoretically, this was the last year my family will be all together on Christmas morning, so we made it a good one! This was, however, my biggest Boxing Day ever: Mike and I bought ourselves a new digital camera (8 mega pixels, baby!) and our very own Christmas tree for next year, the first Christmas in our house together! So it was pretty exciting, these were our first purcahses together, which has, in a way, made this whole home-buying thing all the more real to me. It seems like things are finally moving along!

The only disappointing part about the holidays was that I never got a chance to drive! Throughout the whole week and a half off, I was either out, the weather was terrible or the car wasn't available. Sucks. But I'll get my chance when I move back to Montreal.

My time here in Ottawa is wrapping up pretty quickly. After this week I only have one week left at work. And the week after that is moving time. And the part I hate the most about moving is that I'll be back at my parents' house. The loss of independence is going to be really, really unpleasant; I felt it enough throughout the holidays. It's funny how quickly one can get used to being alone.

Anyway, when I have more time I'll post some photos from the holidays... the photos taken with our new digital camera!

In the meantime:

Music Video:PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME (by Family Guy)

Music Video Code provided by Video Code Zone

If you were there, you'll understand.

Hear Those Magic Reindeer Click

I think that today, it finally hit me that Christmas is coming. Despite the fact that I've already finished most of my Christmas shopping, I wasn't really feeling it yet. But all of a sudden, it hit me this afternoon while I was putting up decorations in the office. Why it didn't hit me while I was decorating the Christmas tree last weekend, I don't know! But anyway, to kick off the holidays, I'm putting in a Christmas survey that I filled in!

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
I love them both! I guess it depends on the time of day: Can't be having a rum-based drink in the morning, now can I? I'll stick with the hot chocolate in the a.m.!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
I hate to be a spoil-sport, but last I heard, my parents did both.

3. Coloured lights on the tree/house or white?
I grew up with white lights on my tree and house, and as a result, I always found coloured lights kind of garish. But on the other hand, the new LED lights can be really nice.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I never have, maybe I should start!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
The first weekend of December.

6. What is your favourite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Turkey, I suppose. I don't know, we always have either turkey or spaghetti, and there's nothing really exciting about spaghetti.

7. Favourite holiday memory as a child:
I must have been around 8 years old: We spent one Christmas at my aunt and uncle's house in the Laurentians, along with our 3 cousins, all of whom are somewhat older than my brother and myself. My brother and I had to share a room in the basement and naturally we were too excited to sleep, especially since we had our stockings waiting for us at the ends of our beds. At about 5:00 a.m. we ran upstairs to wake up our cousins and decided as a group that we should all assemble in the bathroom. That way, we could all play together without waking up any of the parents and therefore not get in trouble. So we ended up spending about 3 hours the 5 of us playing in the bathroom, and we had a blast! Luckily it's a rather spacious bathroom. This story comes up every year when our two families get together... The eldest of the 3 cousins always complains "They woke us up at 5:00 a.m.!" But I know she had just as much fun as the rest of us!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I had been fairly sure Santa didn't exist for a while, but it was confirmed to me one Christmas when I realized that Santa and my mom had the exact same handwriting on the labels of the gifts. Moreover, that same Christmas my brother got some skates from "Santa" and our cousin's name was written on the inside of each skate!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Not usually. Only once. One year our parents woke us up at midnight (okay, so it was technically the 25th by then) and said "Come and see, Santa came!" So I got up to look at the tree, all the while thinking my parents were cruel for teasing us like that. So I glanced at the gifts, said "Wow!" and then turned around to go back to bed. I totally didn't realize they meant to have us open our gifts at midnight! Mom still makes fun of me to this day for going to sleep at present-opening time.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Putting up the tree is always my job, I'm the only one that likes to do it!Lights first, of course. Then the balls, the bows, and then each set of ornaments. I put up the single ornaments that don't come in a set after that. I fill in any remaining gaps with the largest ornaments. Then, up go the ribbons and tassels. There's a whole technique to it, you know.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
At Christmas, I love it. For the rest of the winter, I could take it or leave it.

12. Can you ice skate?
Mostly. I have a hard time turning left. And I discovered last year that it's a lot easier to keep your balance if your holding a hockey stick!

13. Do you remember your favourite gift?
I seem to remember being awfully excited about my first DVD player. I think they were expensive back then...

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Seeing family and finding that perfect gift that you know someone you really care about will absolutely love.

15. What is your favourite holiday dessert?
It's not strictly a holiday dessert, but it's a family favourite that we always have a Christmas: John's pudding! That's not actually what it's called, but that's what I'll call it here, because I don't know it's actual name!

16. What is your favourite holiday tradition?
When I was really young, my parents made an advent calendar, and every first of December we put it up to count down the days 'til Christmas. For some reason, this calendar has really grown on me and has become a staple of our Christmas celebration. In the last several years, the question has become who will get the calendar when the kids move out? since my brother and I love this calendar so much. Consquently, for several years I've been looking for the pattern so we could make another one, that way we could both have one for our own homes. As luck would have it, I finally found one on e-Bay just a couple weeks ago. So I'll be helping mom put together the new one! This is what it looks like:



17. What tops your tree?
For the last several years it's been a dinky little angel. I don't like it.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Well, getting presents is awfully nice! But I've never gotten that "heart in the throat" feeling opening presents that you get when you're giving someone a gift you're excited to give them because you know they'll love it so much.

19. What is your favourite Christmas song?
If you haven't already guessed from the title of this post, it's "All I Want for Christmas is You".

20. Candy canes! Yuck or yummy?
Candy canes are alright, but there are many other sweets that I'd pick before I have a candy cane.

21. Favourite Christmas movie?
Miracle on 34th Street (the original one, not the remake) and Holiday Inn.

22. What would you ask Santa for this year (and it has to be a material thing... none of this "world peace" or "happy family" stuff!)
This year I asked Santa for a yoga mat and a duvet.

Closer All the Time

New addiction number one:Dell Holiday Frenzy. Holy crap, I just can't stop!

New addiction number two: On the weekend I discovered the peppermint mocha at Starbucks. I had one today after lunch and gulped the whole thing down in a very short period of time. After quickly consuming the giant minty, mocha-y monstrosity, my heart started beating at an alarming rate, I got really warm and I was practically bouncing off the walls... it's no wonder I don't do any drugs! Just imagine how I would react, considering what just a little bit of caffeine did to me!

When I was purchasing the Coffee of Surefire and Terrifying Heart Palpitations, I commented to the girl making my beverage that it was unfortunate that the peppermint mocha is only available during the holiday season, considering it's so yummy. "Oh, it's available year-round" she told me, "it's just not advertised. Starbucks always has the mint. You just can't always get the sprinkles on the top." I was so excited when she shared this very interesting piece of information. But I think I'm in trouble... looks like I may be spending a lot more time dangling from the light-fixtures in a caffeine- induced high...

Loveguns

I'm proud to say that I've had a rather interesting week! Usually, the days pass, I go to work, I go home, whatever. It's good, but it doesn't make for interesting posts!

Anyway, this week I was at the Real Property Institute of Canada workshop from Tuesday to Thursday. I was really lucky because I got to go for free (the three days costs $1200) because I was there volunteering. This consisted of sitting at the registration desk, working powerpoint presentations for speakers and other random tasks. When I wasn't busy, I could sit in on workshops. I also went to all the luncheons and the gala dinner for free! Only problem was, I had to be at the congress centre every morning for 7:00 am, which meant early mornings waking up at 5:30 (gross!)

So I encountered some really intersting people at the conference. At the gala dinner on Wednesday, the keynote speaker was Paul Rosen, a former NHL hopeful. What an amazing man: his leg broke in 14 places during a hockey game and after many surgeries, his leg was amputated. And yet he persevered and ended up playing for Team Canada's paralympic sledge hockey team, who placed first is Torino. He even waved his prosthetic leg in the air! He was truly inspiring, talking about the importance of following your dreams and never giving up. If you'd like to learn more about Rosie you can read his story here.

I also had the opportunity to meet another truly amazing man; Bob Gray. Some people know him as "Backward Bob" and he teaches people how to improve their recall, which helps to remember names, dates, just about anything you want to remember. Anyway, this man has some pretty unique talents: he talks backwards, writes upside down and backwards at the same time, can memorize a 30 digit number and recite it back to you and can name the capital, area and population of every country in the world. And he's an amazing speaker! I highly recommend you check out the videos on his web page . Anyway, I ended up being picked to sit at a little table after his presentation and sell copies of his book on improving rapid recall. Lucky me, he told me to keep a copy for myself and he even signed it for me... backwards, of course!

Not quite related to the conference, I had an interesting run-in with a cabbie. After the gala on Wednesday night, I grabbed a cab to take me home. The driver claimed to have second sight. This was apparently the result of being born in a leather bag (???). He tells me that sometimes in his country, the birthing mother may be placed in a leather bag and therefore he was born from a leather bag and this apparently results in a child with second sight. Sure. Okay, because that makes sense. So anyway, this man (who kept calling me Sweet Nancy) decided to tell me all about myself: I'm shy, I don't always tell people what I'm really feeling because I don't want to hurt their feelings. Well, he got that one right, I mean, how could I tell him that he's a complete nutjob?! And then he told me my future: I'm going to be happy and successful and live in a big house. Could you be any more vague? You know, I have second sight too: I predict he was looking for a big tip...!

A Lesson in Vocabulary

I read this on the side of a bottle of "Clearly Canadian" today:

"Phraseology

Sport: n. Any game played on a frozen surface where a team of players on ice skates uses a bent wooden stick to steer a small polymer disc into their opponents' net. See also hockey, religion."

Hockey's coming, people!

YARRR Matey!!!

Wish for Better Weather

Hey; I'm no longer an intern! Now I'm an official public servant. At least, for the next four months or so.

So, a few exciting things coming up! This Saturday is Mike's company's annual golf tournament, which should be a lot of fun. We've been to driving ranges and golf courses for the past several weekends... hopefully all of that practise will pay off on Saturday! If not, there's always the steak dinner after the tournament to look forward to!

As for next weekend, I'm currently trying to decide whether or not I should go on a camping trip with some of my old buddies from school. I haven't seen them in a long time, and it would be fun to get together again for a weekend. So that could be awesome. There are issues though: it's at Lake Champlain and for someone without a license, let alone a car, it will be difficult to find transportation (oh yeah, and not to mention I'm in OTTAWA and not Montreal, like everyone else). Also, there's the issue of going two weeks without seeing any family or friends... but I think I can deal with that one. I think I'm getting rather used to being, for the most part, a loser loner!

Speaking of being a loser, I was forced into taking last Friday off, because I was required to have a one day break in service between the end of my internship and the beginning of my contract position. So what did I do on my off? Well, I stopped by the office, of course! And went out for lunch with some of my coworkers (we always go out on Fridays and have an extended lunch). I have to take every opportunity I can to interact with people!

Chaotic

Okay, I've just encountered one interesting video... starring Britney Spears. Now, I know everyone loves to hate Britney Spears and this video will simply give you another reason... I don't really know whether I hope she's on drugs in this clip or not, but the sheer stupidity she displayes is utterly shocking...

What I Love About Ottawa

Sewers that look like fish!

And that's all I have to say about that.

Oh, and here's a picture of my office building:

Not what you were expecting, is it??