Life and Times – Part I
Most of my posts have been about a particular topic, so I decided it’s time for a good old fashioned general update. You know – the kind people send in Christmas cards.
First, I’m happy to announce that regional council has accepted a motion to review the model non-smoking bylaw presented to them last night (as per my previous post "I hate smoking"). That means within as little as six or eight weeks we might have a decision “yay” or “nay” to a 100% smoking ban. That could mean no more rolling over on your smoky hair the night after going out for drinks! Oh, and I guess I should also say ‘no more dangerous exposure to second-hand smoke’!
I love my new place. I really, really love it. Even though my uninstalled dishwasher is serving as a mail-collecting kitchen table, and most of my dinners are eaten on the couch due to a lack of other tables, I still feel at home. Furniture will come with time. I made a commitment and put up one piece of artwork on Monday night… hopefully with time I will make the commitment to others, but I have to wait until I’m ready. As the snow melts I am getting introduced to my sidewalk and back patio cement blocks (ewww). I can’t wait to whip my yard into shape and grow some flowers!
The boy… ah, the boy. What a great man. He can drive on the highway AND give me back rubs at the same time; he compliments my cooking even though sometimes it’s honestly not that good; and he voluntarily does fix-it stuff around the house. What more could I ask for?
However, life is never always roses… I also have some really sad news: my best friend’s mom passed away. I flew to Victoria last Friday to attend the service, and it was an immensely sad day. Kory was like a second mom to me when I was a kid and the family lived right across the street. She was very creative, fun, quirky and probably the liveliest person I’ve ever met. It deeply saddens me that she is gone, and I don’t think I’ve yet accepted I will never see her again. The worst part is that she will not be around to see Kristen fall in love and get married, or meet her grandchildren. The best part is that Kristen possesses the same good qualities and tremendously positive energy that her mom had, and I’m lucky to have such a fantastic person for a best friend.
And now for some materialistic bad news… say “good bye” to the midnight blue grand am you remember me driving since I was 17 years old. I got rear ended by a truck three weeks ago and just received the news on Friday that they’re writing it off. She was still in such good shape, too, besides the hole in the back bumper that had yet to be repaired from four weeks before that when someone backed in to me (see “No parking in the driveway” post). It’s funny how life works:
(1) move into a house that you can afford, but only because you already own a car;
(2) get rear-ended the very next day;
(3) soon get forced to choose between driving an older, used car so you don’t have car payments, or stretch your monthly budget to its limits and buy a newer one.
Ha. Ha.
Food is starting to take over my life again. (Could it have something to do with the stress?) I’ve been lucky so far and limited my weight gain to a measly two pounds, thanks in part to the two bouts of A&W. When I got back to Edmonton from Victoria on Sunday, I was dying for Maurya Palace; however the people I was with hate East Indian food, so it was a no-go. I settled for Earl’s Jeera Chicken Curry when I got back into town, which is not nearly as delicious, but satisfied my craving nonetheless. Wish me luck on curbing this evil thing called hunger.
Who loves spring time? I know I do! It’s very sunny outside right now, and the sun streaming in through my window is making me look forward to when, in a couple months, I will be floating down the Clearwater River on a floatie with the sound of good friends surrounding me and the smell of sun tan lotion in the air. It could very well snow again in the next four weeks, but the melting snow and re-appearance of pavement is making me ache for camping, barbeques and the smell of dusty Fort McMurray summer air.
Okay, seriously! No one’s life is interesting enough to keep a reader’s attention for this long. Especially without pictures. Thanks for hanging in there, dudes. <3 Nicole