A new era...

I think, for me at least, blogging is a cyclical thing. It has been nearly four years now since my last post, so a lot of things have happened. I left Queen's, I left Kingston, I moved to Ottawa, I got engaged, I got a job. Not precisely in that order. Recently, I've had to start working on a blog for my job, which made me want to go back and read my old blog. Which made me really nostalgic. And also made me realize how fun it can be to bitch and moan sometimes! And holy crap... My first post about facebook? Classic! I realise that because it's been so long no one is still reading this, but I miss having a permanent record of my witty banter and terrible judgement. And hey, now facebook has features like Links so I can share the blog with friends! How did we survive back in 2007?!

Gabriela -- [adjective]: Banshee-like 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Well... Considering my campus email address keeps getting confused with ogre, I should be used to being associated with icky mythological creatures.

I see London, I see France, I see the blood on Bush's Underpants!

So what is up with crazy celebrities lately? I saw the metaphor-off between Sean Penn and Stephen Colbert... Last week? I don't know, its exam period. I have no sense of the passing of time. But I digress... I saw the show and was struck by how silly Sean Penn is. Does he think he's funny? He's not. Does he think he's being smart? Well, he's coming across as pretty dumb. That being said, he's probably one of the smarter celebrities in the news lately. Alec Baldwin gets angry at his daughter for being spoiled and it makes the cbc evening news. You don't scream at your kids in a public place when you're a celebrity (the first thing was apparently a tape, but they caught him doing it again)! That's just common sense! People hold you to a different standard. An average person yells at their kids, people tend to dismiss it as a bad day. A celebrity? Apparently it makes international headlines. Hmm... Who else has been nuts lately? I guess its been a while since Brit had her freak out, but I still can't shake the creepy image of her with no hair. Ick :P

Things I Have Lost

I seem to be losing a lot of things as of late, some more important than others. Here is a list of things I have lost in the past year or so...

• My keys
• My grandmother's engagement ring
• My grandmother
• My grandfather
• My iron ring
• My bands mug
• My fear of spicy foods
• My iPod
• My phone charger
• My cell phone (sometimes vibrate isn't useful)
• My wallet
• My coat
• My sobriety (repeatedly)

Now this is not an exhaustive list, and some of these items were found or can be replaced, with two notable exceptions. I only had two grandparents to start with, and now I'm down to none. My grandparents weren't perfect, but they were good, caring people who I will miss greatly. My grandma's funeral is Tuesday in Port Credit, where she lived for the better part of her life. Yesterday we had to clear out her room at the nursing home where she's lived for the past 2 years. I cried. In fact, I'm crying a little now. My grandma was pretty much the definition of sweet old lady. She was quiet and caring, didn't like to complain when she was in pain but liked it when people around her were happy. She valued music and education and was overjoyed both when I began studying violin and when I was accepted to Queen's (my grandpa was also pretty happy about the latter). Her mother was Scottish, so she liked hearing about all the Scottish traditions at Queen's. She was happy when I took up Highland Dancing too. I'm glad I could make her proud. But I don't think I'll be able to listen to any piping for quite a while without crying.

Trifecta!

I know there's such a thing as underemployed, but is there also a term "overemployed"? Well, not according to the dictionary in Mozilla. Then again, the word Mozilla isn't in that dictionary either, so I don't think its all that trustworthy. As I stated in (possibly) my last post (I'm too lazy to check) I got offered a summer job in the Chemistry Department at Queen's, I got a part time job working on local food systems, and I was seeking an AMS job. Well, now the seeking has become "found" since I got a job at the Common Ground. The CoGro, as it is affectionately called, is the student run coffee house on campus. They make tasty caffeinated beverages, fruity beverages, and a variety of foods. I love this place. They make better raspberry mochas than Starbucks does. And now I get to learn how to make them too! And get paid for it! Hooray!

I thought for sure I wouldn't get this job, but that's how I felt about the Chem job too. I guess you never can tell. Then again, the only reason I thought I wouldn't get the job was cause I was late for the interview... I got into the zone writing an essay and didn't notice what time it was till it was 5 minutes until the interview, then I had to pack up my stuff and run to another building on campus. You're supposed to show up 10 minutes early. Oops. But then I told them a funny story about going camping and running into a bear, so I guess that made up for it. I can be a very animated story teller when I want to. And it was a true story, so that makes it all the better.

Note to self: Bears not as bad as Stephen Colbert says. They can actually get you a job.