argh.

apparently, that picture was already loaded a few days ago -- so, enjoy it again.

and this one too.

love.

WOW.

So hey...haven't been able to blog for a while -- but now we have THE INTERNET, so hopefully things will be running a little more smoothly.

here's some picture love -- don't think it's been here before. It's me, dee, ma, and mike, in olds, alberta, the night before dee left for africa and awesomeness.

ivcf looks like it'll be interesting this year -- troy taylor is fantastic to be working with (his wife kirsten is pretty fantastic also), and the exec teams is a group of very rad and real individuals. They camped out in my backyard last night, while I slept inside.

heh.

riddle me this.

new pic of dee -- sooo beautiful.

working @ boys and girls club is cool -- and so are five year olds.

example:

me -- (playing air hockey).

zoe -- (watching).

me -- (score a goal).

zoe -- hey! now you have five, same as me, i am five!

ahhhhhhhhhhh. kindergardeners are the best.


and then on the news tonight, George Bush was talking about the danger of Iran starting a weapons-based nuclear program...

and yet, Bush himself presidents the only country to have used nuclear weapons with the intention of harming other human beings...

interesting. at times, infuriating.

i had sushi and rice pudding for dinner.

here we go again.

I'm here!

in Lethbridge!

The moving thing isn't such a big deal -- besides, sleeping in "THE PINK ROOM OF WONDER" means that I get the luxury of a double bed, for just a bit longer. Although, to be honest, it's too short...I can stretch out head to toe. I have to angle across the bed -- so awkward.

Shelley -- wow, that was a ridiculous four months of not hanging out. I'm having a big ol' party @ thanksgiving -- consider yo'self invited.

All ye other blog readers, same thing goes -- thanksgiving weekend (oh, I'll be back in Richmond) will be a big ol' party -- so get ready.

I'm working today...just going through the Boys and Girls club staff manual. Wahoo. It's waaay further from my house than I thought -- we'll see how this job works out. It might not work out...but I think that's ok.

Hmm...there was a small wind storm last night -- with many more to come, it was an appropriate "WELCOME BACK".

team!

hey all.

so...i'm in golden. woot woot.

only one night and six hours 'til lethbridge -- but i may or not be able to move until friday...oh the challenges of roommaties and moveing about and all of that stuff...



Lord, give me strength.

For serious.

no jet planes, but still...

leaving.

next week.

monday.

aiieeeeee.

i'll pitch this putt.

Ben comes home from work.

"wanna go to pitch n' putt?"

"yes."

"really?"

"yep."

"ok, let's go."

So, me and my lil' bro headed into "the big citaay", to play a little 18-hole pitchn'putt @ stanley park.

We played 9 holes with issac and anna (strangers, but nice ones, who asked us if we wanted to team up), and then we quit because we were SO HUNGRY.

We headed to commercial, in the mood for some kind of ethnic food. We found a small, but wonderful, El Salvadoran restaurant -- Mmmm...Pollo Asado. What's up.

Then it was on to Belgian Fries for a deep-fried mars bar (me) and poutine (ben). I will never have another deep fried mars bar. Ever. *shudders*.

Anyway...there ya go. Melinda and Ben have an adventure.

we're home alone together this week -- there's an open invitation for dinner guests, sleepovers, monopoly tournaments, guest chefs, rock n' roll, jazz jams...lots of fun.

FUN TIMES.

I, personally, am looking for someone to help me transfer all my files from our desktop back to my laptop -- aiiieeeee. That's a long, slow process with no network, friends.

hey! hey! hey!!

EFFECTIVE DAY...

I got pedals that 1) fit my bike, 2) accomodate clips, and 3) were $8 less than the ones I bought before.

WOOHOoO!!

Rad Pink Helmet!

Newly Installed PEdals!!!

Does it get any better than this?

new habits part 2.

*SIGHS*

The new pedals don't fit my bike guys. It's like fitting a sqare peg in a round hole, except it's a round peg, and it's just not gonna fit.

This means, a super FUN trip back to the bike shop, with an existing pedal in hand, to ask them what I should do. *sighs*

Good thing I have a rad pink helmet.

new habits.

EFFECTIVE DAY no.1!!

bike helmet!
bike light!
bike pedals!

IKEA poster returned!

physio'd!

timesheets fax'd!


still to be done...!!

transcripts ordered
call favourite bike mechanic
renew library videos
return rental movies
call jo.

degrees.

did you know that sprains are classified as first, second, or third degree? also, as mild, moderate, and severe.
at physio today, I was reflecting on how this newest injury (knee and ankle) really has changed the shape of my life, at least for the summer. Peter agreed -- how life can change in an instant...really makles you appreciate your health.

compy isslow, so that's the end of the blog.

peacelovetrees.

e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

almost august --

almost time to move back to lethbridge!

aaaaaaaaaaaah...

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

not sure how i feel about that. good. but i'll miss this coastal land.

what else?

i was @ physio this morning, with peter, who moved to west germany from east germany in 1958 (with his parents). if they hadn't moved, he would've been in east germany until 1989 -- 29 years after his family moved to canada. we were talking about how the decisions your parents make have such huge implications for your own life.

for instance...i could've been a prairie girl my whole life, living in a small town, 200 friends and nosy neighbours...but my parents moved out here when i was six. what would my life have been like? what is it like now? what is life?

bah.

happy..july 29.

new day.

I woke up this morning.
TOo hot.
Too allergic.
Too frustrated.
Too still.

Thus, I am going to the beach.

YAY coastal living!

not so intimate.

MAN.

I AM SO FRUSTRATED.

AND ANGRY.

AND FEELING HURT.

and trusting God. slowly. moment by moment. inbetween FREAKING OUT about WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY LIFE!?

I went to physio today. That was cool. Peter is fixing up my ankle and, more importantly, my left knee. It's a little out of sorts, what with having been sprained at all. So physio was fun. I'll go again on Thursday and Saturday.

I had a new job @ a london drugs call center, but it fell through, so I am again unemployed. The good thing about the tempagency is that Jenna is finding jobs for me -- I might go in and retest for my office skills, because I was nervous and definitely sucked at the windows test.

*sighs*.

Had a good, good hangoutwalkchat with amanda last night, but definitely brought up some feelings and memories and awkwardness that I hadn't expected to share. Those are all hanging out just below the surface of my skin.

I think I need to spend some serious time with Mikael because I miss her and love her and she's such a constant "I have not, will not, never fear, reject you" in my life. I guess that's what best mates are for. Unconditional. Even when I am lame at keeping in touch.

Anyway.

Here's a picture/art from Amanda's computer.

anxiety hinders search for true romantic love.

I read an article in the Richmond News today -- something I rarely do, because it's mostly a crappy paper, but this one was interesting.

Dr. Terry Estrin was writing about people my age who want to be married, and how we shouldn't stress about it!

Here are his tips:
- expect emotional discomfort.
- relax.
- take chances.
- be selective.
- consider your own needs.
- trust your instincts.

He expanded on all those things, but I'll let you find all that out for yourselves.

WOODSONG...was great. Really good time with good friends, for whom I am very thankful. Rosie Thomas made me cry, and the imr boys are in good form, sounding and looking and putting out good vibes better than ever.

[images to come. uploading is taking too long. grr dialup].

woodsong.

it's 11.48pm.

the alarms will go @ 4.00am, to start our day, our roadtrip...nay, our epic adventure to...woodsong!



imr is playing on saturday night, along with rosie thomas!!

i'm pretty amazed and frustrated that i'm still awake -- but it's been that kind of week. the knee/ankle sprains aren't really much better, which is maybe what i should have (but didn't) expected. anyway...

i went into work today (pavilion) to say goodbye -- it was a fond farewell, with many reassurances of how welcome i am to come back...and how much i plan on doing so.

random post, lame post? lame me...lamed...can't walk...get it?

ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

bed time.

america -- prepared to be roadtripped.

new day.

I bought "the places you have come to fear the most" by dashboard the other day. On Monday, I believe.

Wow.

Great album.

Glad to report that the emotional impact it once had is gone, although I still enjoy it. Glad because...that was way too intense.

In other news, I got a new job -- I'm catapulting into the wacky world of office work. I think that "Office Space" and "the office" will take on WHOLE NEW MEANINGS.

What else? HMmm...My left ankle and knee are both still sprained...I'll be icing them soon...and then abusing them when I go up to Keats tomorrow. Aiiiee. Maybe Theo will be my chauffeur.

wow.

back from camp 2.

here's what i brought home:

3 aweful dolls (1 original, 2 tortoises).
1 torn knee ligament.
1 sprained ankle.
1 cold.
1 sunburn.
1 heartful of new friends...straight outta the blue and into my life.
2 new (well, my first 2) voice students. yeeeah!

a whole bunch of insight.
humility.
understanding.
a renewed hope in the possibilities of camp ministry.
an excitement for my future -- to be a dangerous dreamer; one who dreams in the daylight, and can see dreams become reality with open eyes.

a year of plans with campers, staff friends, and alberta girls.

woot woot.


[and also, a word of reminding for all us bloggers -- just because someone doesn't comment, doesn't mean that he or she doesn't read your blog. so be discerning in what you write -- it may be private when you type it, but once its on the web, it's open to interpretation and reading by anyone...that's how misunderstandings occur.

and when you're already awkward (like me), increasing awkwardness or awkwardness potentiality via the internet is a BAD idea.]
:)

blog on.

Krysta Lowe and Amanda Dorst come to town.

actually, it's more like "Melinda Appenheimer comes to Krysta Lowe's house and posts a blog".

here's a picture...



and Krysta's website...

done.

goals have been accomplished today, friends.

i biked home from work.

that is, i rode my bike from the stanley park dining pavilion to my home in richmond, bc.

my chain fell off once when i tried to change gears to an impossible gear -- but we survived that.

vancouver is a mountain city -- my bike and i are mountain riders.

SO HARDCORE!

happy birthday lovers and friends.

hey.

it's canada day tomorrow.

happy day.

i'll be biking to work.

yep.

and then i'll watch KING KONG in andrew chong's backyard.

i'm looking forward to the day.

and 200 sandwiches. maybe more. 18 salads. 76 naninmo bars, 52 day squares. 24 yogourts. lots of yelling and laughter.

happy canada day.

note of interest.

my posts are recorded in alberta time.

oh, i almost forgot...

at work, we get vegetables from bc hothouses.
they say "hydroponically grown" on the labels.

haha.

no kidding.

the end of tuesday.

i rode my bike.

i got a maaaaaad sunburn. (my skin hates me).

i recorded with andrew and andrew. my harmonies were a little bit wack.

i recorded with zoe and adam. pouring out my soul.

i had the best bubble tea in vancouver, and chinese food that was a rip-off, but so grand.

i wore the wrong shoes.

i figured out why i'm tongue-tied. zoe is wise.

the shoes are outfit shoes, for standing or sitting, not for walking.

seriously.

good day.

lazy tuesday.

last night (monday) i did some on-the-spot recording with chonger, andy and t.hags. i just went to pick up cd's for ben, and they needed some girl vocals -- pretty much, rad.

me.

today...oi. i have errands, and i want to ride my bike, and it's pissing hot out -- i was gonna do pilates too, but i dunno if that'll happen or not. also, i'm record with zoe and adam at 2pm because he scheduled another session in the am.

aiiya, is life hard, or what.

i'm so caught up.

This is not a post about usher.

yeah, yeah, sure, close the browser, surf elsewhere.

I believe that I've been experiencing SOCIAL CULTURE SHOCK.

It's true, it's true, lemme explain. In Lethbridge, I had a few friends. Not just a few close friends, and then a larger network, but just a few friends. These friends are rad, and I enjoyed hours upon wonderful hours in their company, but it made for a fairly uncomplicated social life.

Where am I going to hang out? Oh, @ andrew's with the girls.
Where am I going tonight? Oh, to the girls'.
Where are we going tomorrow? Oh, to mma's, house. Rad.

I knew some other people through school, and we hung out sometimes, and some people through other churches, but I mostly was with my roomies, or "the dames". So like...15 people, let's say, on regular rotation in my social calendar.

FLASH FORWARD TO VANCOUVER -- I'm going crazy. Way overbooking myself, trying to stretch into 5 cities, including Victoria...meanwhile, pretty much ditching my family all the time, because I suck at scheduling hang out time with the people I live with...

Here I've got the North Van crew, Pat in Burnaby (who I still haven't seen), Leah & Nate in E.Van, Darcy who is hard to get hold of, mybestfriends Mikael, Zoe, Jessica, beloved Katrina, asap crew, girls' group on Monday nights, Richmond boys, Tsawassen Jeff (going to anvil), Keats crew (already gone!), Jenny B (going to Europe)...ahhhh!!!!!!! Nevermind random school friends, surprise good friends in Victoria, Dave & Anna briefly here while travelling around the world..Malcolm, who I'm sure still exists in the flesh, but I can't guarantee it..

It's madness, friends, madness.

And in the midst of trying to stretch myself and see everyone, and HAVE QUALITY TIME NOW, I work full time, I'm poor because of gas and VISA, I just want to stay home and read, get up early and rundrinkteareadbible, going to anvil in a couple weeks, harsh need to call my co-counsellor, and our campers...

I need to slow down, but I'm afraid to. Lethbridge return is looming, which is great but deafening and I don't know how much my heart can handle it.

a million little pieces.

here's a piece:

My Mother speaks. As she does, her eyes start to tear.
Thank you, Joanne.
Certainly, Lynne.
My Mother walks around her desk and Joanne stands. They hug each other strong and true in the way that only women can hug each other. There is no hesitation between them and there is no distance. No emotional distance, no physical distance, no distance of any kind.

end.

I get along without you very well?

Of course I don't.

and I don't even know who you are.

Tonight, I played @ a friend's fundraiser/show. It was a great atmosphere, lots of talented people, lots of talented jazz musicians.

May I say that if you want to date a musician, I must recommend a young, talented jazz musician. They are just intrinsically hotter than the rest of us.

Moving on.

I got up to sing/play, and my guitar sounded tinny or something, and the whole sound was too loud, which is always slightly embarassing to hear, and I felt so awkward, and like I'd never performed before...ARGUGHGAGAH!!!

*sighs*

I also spent the day driving like crazy, for reasons unbeknownst even to me, really...chasing after something or someone, not realizing just how crazy I was being.

Anyway, on the way home, I wanted to talk to someone, to be held, to cry, and to feel comforted. To tell the stupidness of previous few hours, and have someone just not judge that, but understand it, and love me, and laugh!!! Because it was so ridiculous. Classic me.

However, no "one" was there, and I drove home alone, tired and carrying the weight of my day, and the knowing that I am moving back to Lethbridge in the fall, when my social network shrinks, and my family is gone, and that makes me hungry and ravenous for all the "time with" and "time doing" I can get...

I am working tomorrow. Or rather, today. Yippeee...sandwiches.



I was talking to Ben (BEN!?) about relationships, and he said something andrew lee said...andrew is excited to be with heidi, not with a girl, or a girlfriend, but with heidi.
Ben said that's how he feels about Ashleigh.

I thought, that makes sense. I don't feel that way about anyone -- or no one in particular. I'm just wanting to be with someone, anyone, and yes I want him to be amazing, but Ben sort of articulated this thought I've been having -- when I date someone (sooN!?), I want it to be like...he supercedes the other crushes I've had or do have...I think he has to be attractive or "it" above them, at least for my heart...

I fall in love too easily...I fall in love too fast.

beautiful self

.

i'm going to victoria today.

i have no confirmed place to stay...

i do have friends to hang out with, but i think they're all about real hospitality, and girls from bcalberta sleeping on their couches is not an option.

c'est un peu bizarre, oui? mais, c'est la vie.

i'll keep you posted.

love

m.

something new.

at church this year, I was prayed for/prophesied over a few times...and the words have stuck in my head.

particularly one about me being created as a wildflower...

still working out what that means. on days like today, I get a glimpse of the picture...and I like it.

what-what.

birthday:



june 3. delayed celebration.

me & a bbq, keeping happy theo ash brett jeff steve chong jon ben neal ash.

steve ben and chong making beautiful music in the basement.

darcy tyler mary jo! emily jonathon. come to hang out.

milkshakes @ denny's with les boys. birthdays bring out the generosity. love it.

near death driving experience with jesse b.

latelatelate night walk with ryan f.


way smaller partaaay than i expected, and some no-shows that were a shocker (zoe playing badminton for 3 hours...not at my house), but pretty much awesome. i will never be a chef for life, but cooking for people i love is great.



ok.

not my computer.

so, hello blogalanders.

i'm at my friend jonathon's house in east van (not earl styles though...little less ghetto).

it's good times -- lots of cyclers, so i haven't told them yet about my *cough* car.

mm. not much else to report. party @ my house tomorrow night in case you didn't already know.

COME OVER.

that's all.

here's a picture:



by: emily. "folkfest".

oooooh.

those kids on Laguna Beach are in HIGH SCHOOL.

it all makes so much more sense now.

it's that time again...

CANDLES!!!

Wh-what is new with me, you ask?

I can't think of where to begin.

We all know about my new job, yes yes, and there's no new boyfriend, nono. I got some new cd's for my new age (24).

Oh, and this:

I went to the chiropractor last Thursday, to ask about orthotics and the phenomenal pain in my back. We got that all sorted out, and $335 later, I was on my way.

Fast forward to SUNDAY: dad comes in to wake me up for church, and as I roll over, willing myself to consciousness, I notice that my back hurts. No biggie -- whenever I sleep for more than 6 hours at a time, my back is sore/stiff/etc. My ankles are still every morning when I wake up, so this is NO BIG DEAL.

HOWEVER:
I drive to church alone, because I got up late, and my back still hurts. This is sort of unusual, especially since when I breathe deeply, the pain worsens. All through church I feel pathetic, but the sermon is about DO NOT DESPAIR, so I think, ok, fine, I won't.

AFTER CHURCH, we go to milestones: still in pain.

Fast forward to MONDAY: I get up to go to work, still in pain, even after extensive stretching on Sunday night (before bed). Nonetheless, I drive to Stanley Park, and do my sandwich thing. While wheeling a cart of lasagnas and salads into the cafe, I slip on the freshly mopped floor, and fall on my derriere. MOMENTS LATER, I am walking back into the kitchen, and I slip on a piece of lasagna and fall again.

AH!

The pain is not much worse, but I elect to go home early.

WHILE DRIVING HOME: I decide to swing down dunbar, to see if Mikael is home. Somewhere on Pt.Grey Road, my flip flop gets caught under the gas pedal, just as I need to brake suddenly, so I violently SWERVE into the next lane, to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I take my shoes off. I am shaken, but ok.

LATER ON: my neck hurts. It is painful and nearly impossible to turn my head. AHH what have I done?

THIS MORNING: the chiropractor and I talked about WCB claims, at my pre-office hours appointment. She says, while fixing me up, that I seem to have whiplash, a muscular injury, and I should file a WCB claim.
*whiplash*, I think. Oh, and then I recall my self-inflicted car "accident".

I don't think I can claim that from WCB.

THUS: I am in pain. I will not despair, but I am in pain.

a greater thought.

for most of this year, i have been an AVID watcher of 'the amazing race'. family edition...wow. and now back to the regular edition, featuring "the hippies" bj & tyler. the final episode is on in...25 minutes.

i have a couple friends who wanted to hang out tonight, one of whom mocked my plans to watch 'amazing race' and 'lost'. fair enough, it's nice out, and she and i should hang out, but come on...

i'm talking about TRADITION.

happy birthday, happy birthday, happy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to m e.

I wish it was still May 16.

Alas.

This picture is from last year, my birthday -- not the best pose, but fitting for the occasion, non?


On may 16, the 24th anniversary of my birth, I:

.got up early, and went to work.
..had a good, but hard, day at work. exhaust fans were broken so it was all heat in the kitchen baby -- ALL HEAT.
...got changed after work, which is worth mentioning, because...I said so.
....drove to n.vans (note: the exit from stanley park --> lion's gate bridge is CLOSED during evening rush hour).
.....dinner with chong, amanda, ashley/eigh, katrina b. and a grumpy waiter.
......asap, just the tail end.
.......bellinis and THE BEST CHOCOLATE TORTE EVER with laura b, sidney, amy. hoorah for milestones, and australian waiters.
........less b.day emails than previous years, but it's all good. natalie and kasey called, wow, kasey is so amazing, even at 6 weeks old, and over the phone.
.........sidney and I were talking about this amazing guy we know, who has all the girls in love with him, but ignores them all. I said he should go for this girl who liked him forever, sidney said, "he should go for you!!". that went a long way towards making today amazing. I never think of myself as the girl the guy should go for.
..........yay me.

oh my word. it's coming.

it's 11.53pm. in the province where i was born, it's already happened.

on may 16, 2006, i will be 24 years old.

i can't tell you how strange this feels.

i have a job that i love, but it is exhausting. i have no boyfriend, and no crushes to speak of. i just watched the season finale of grey's anatomy, and shows like that make me feel alone.

i'm still going to school, for a B.Mus, which may or may not amount to dreams coming true. i live at home, and i'm mostly broke. i have a beautiful guitar that sits in my room.

my brother, who's 19, tells me that he's cooler than me, and that my friends like him better than me. i can imagine in my head the day i snap and scream at him to stop saying that because it breaks me into pieces.

i have a lot of people scattered across the globe, who have little and big pieces of my heart. not that it's been taken apart, but it's spread everywhere. i long, sometimes ache, to see them again.

i never used to think that following God could be hard, but now that it takes my best friends into marriage, and me into alberta, it's getting tough. it doesn't seem fair. how could i be made to love so deeply, when the ones i love are adventurous and bold, and not here with me? how could that be fair?

at church this year, a man named blake prophesied over and prayed for me a few times. he prayed for a lot of things, not all of which i remember, and not all of which i will share. however, he did say several times that i am a beautiful wild flower, and God has made me that way. i'm not wrong, or a nuisance, or needing to be tamed -- i'm growing the way i was created to.

wild flower.

well, i'm 24 now -- happy birthday to me!

*sighs*

this sure is strange.

new things.

I learned how to properly use a knife yesterday. I also learned how to cut onions. Who knew there were such things to be learned?

In other news, I just bought a parking pass for Stanley Park for the month of May.
daily parking: $2/hour, $6/day.
my pass: $25/month.


I'll be 24 in a few short hours -- keep on your toes for an awesome party, june 3.

beach-y.

i...am really starting to like laguna beach.

oh what the heck, starting to?? i love it. well, i like it a lot. i'm hooked.

no more friday night life for me.

nono.

*sighs* the only man in my life was kasey, and now he's 14 hours away.



i live through the pretty blondes of california.

oh, and also, i got a job.

ack.black.blah.lah.lag.tublave.

I NEED A JOB.

IT MUST BE:
fun.
flexible.
well-paying.
interesting.
close to home.
challenging.
non-confrontational.
engaging.
musical?
perfect.




ya, true story ladies. i don't know where i'll find it.

no hazel eyes here. nope. brown, but not hazel.

this is me, checking my email 1,000 times, and not having any new ones.

EXCEPT:
jessica bell will be @ the airport between 10.30 and 11.00 am tomorrow morning -- i'm not sure where, but i will find her.

jon bentall is getting married on may 20 in a small service -- thus, no invitation. it's strange, i think, to miss the wedding of a good friend. strange. major life event for you, a day of bike riding and mundaneness for me.

i emailed myself patty's email addresses -- that was handy.

i guess that's about all for now.

oh, you want to know how the last day in victoria was? ok, well, ma and i went to andrew dean's for lunch, and markwatt was there, and patty came too. then we walked to the beach (even though andrew thought we should drive, even though it's a 3.75 minute walk away). we adventured on the beach for a bit, found a crab, and when i held the crab, he dropped his claw -- that was weird.

we left the beach, sunburnt and smiling, said good bye to the boys, and headed off for dinner @ patty's, where i gave a small living-room performance. ahem.

we left patty's searched for, and did not find, gelato, then boarded the ferry and came back to richmond.

WHOOOEEE.

less animated.

[i don't know these people, but apparently they are joel, matt, and shawna. go patty's computer, go].


my posts don't have pictures...because i haven't been using my own computer. but i found pictures on this one.

*sighs*

but i'll look around on patty's computer, see what i can find.

SO MONDAY was amazing. we said farewell to andrew, and then had this little encounter:

me + ma: [re-packing the car].

mr.crutches: hey, that was really funny when you cut me off.

ma: is he talking to you?

me: huh?

mr.crutches: yeah, i was laughing.

me + ma: what? was that for us? hmm?

me + ma: driving around the airport parking lot, trying to figure out if we could have ever cut this guy off. we determined that it was impossible.

me + ma: driving around victoria, laughing every few minutes, and then admitting to each other that we were still laughing at, "hey, that was really funny when you cut me off."

thank you, mr.crutches, for a brilliant and funny memory.


Post-airport, mary-ann and i went to find somewhere for her to get her pics developed (or rather, put onto cd), because her memory stick was full.
Then, we went to find a beach, and discovered that reading and following a map is pretty dang fun.
We found the beach, watched a puppy play, exfoliated and tanned. I called andrew dean, he called me, and we slow-ran toward each other and embraced, to cheesey music, when he arrived.

ma + me went downtown, had lunch at an amazing irish pub, walked around the harbour, and i think that once again someone refilled our parking meter.

we explored some city gardens which paled in comparision to the x-men castle gardens, but it was ok. we took pictures at mile 0, and enjoyed some amazing ocean breezes.

THEN andrew dean made us dinner, we got the scoop on LOST from jeff (geoff?), played volley-tennis with andrew, jeff, tim and karen, had spitting contest, got maccccc'd up by jeff (geoff?), and finally arrived at laura's house to watch a movie and reunite with patty.

WHAT AN AMAZING DAY.

capital adventures

i'm in victoria, adventuring with mma and andrew.

andrew says he hates my brother, because ben said he hated andrew, while he was hidden under all the stuff in the van on the way to vancouver from lethbridge.

anyway.

we had really, really good dinner. captain's table, on the waterfront, in sidney.
we sang 21st century music in the rainforest.
we were blown away on mount doug. (i saw luke's house...well, mt.tolmie).
we went to the x-men castle.
we saw where andrew spends his summers (in paradise).

it was great.

the bad news is that we can't get in touch with the girl who said we could stay at her house on monday night.

homeless? hostel? hotel? lynne and john? andrew dean?

WHO KNOWS.

kind of exciting. kind of stressful (for me).

BUT I have gotten good news from pedalheads bike camps -- they want me to come for an interview on monday. I'll be in victoria, so we'll try and work that out.

Ok.

best moment from "rock n' roll high school".

quite possibly the worst movie i've ever seen (clips from), but the Ramones are in it, so that adds something.

here's a line:

[principal togar]: those ramones are peculiar people.

[policeman]: they are ugly....ugly, ugly people.

[getting pics off the internet is taking too long so i'll add visuals later, love melinda].

home.

my room is a jungle of stuff.
old stuff to throw away, new stuff to put away, everyday stuff floating around.

my laptop picks up somebody's wireless, but doesn't actually connect -- so i sit, staring at the "connected" icon, all the while knowing that it means nothing.

like a hollywood makeover. pretty on the outside, garbage on the inside.

hence, i blog from the family computer.

let's see what pictures i can find.

home.

10hours19minutes.

well folks, in a few short hours, i will be on my way to vancouver, my home away from lethbridge, and i can hardly believe it's true.

what a surreal feeling -- to be leaving one home to return to another.

i've been listening to a lot of country songs, about going home, or being from a small town, and how that's always who you are. well, i'm not really definitively from anywhere. marsden, richmond, now lethbridge --

in the most sincere way possible, i think that my home is love. HA! CHEESE!



but seriously, home is where i feel at home. there are things about everywhere i've lived (even townsville) that i really liked, and there are things about living in vancouver that have been hard to live without (here), but honestly...when i think about home, or where i might "settle" one day, it's the people who i hope will be there that really matters to me.

yep.

CHEESE. SINCERITY. HOME SOON. SO CALL ME.




ps close to lethbridge is VULCAN -- it's quite the experience.

there are times i lose my worried mind.

what the --

oh right. i didn't sleep last night.

NOT A WINK!!!

the sun is rising, and i'm all suited up for a run, with a powerbar and the necessary amount of water in my belly.

just waiting about 10-15mins, and i will head out...running.

hopefully that will make me tired, so maybe i can nap when i get home.

i guess the bonus is that i packed for the last 3 hours, so my desk and my shelves are pretty much ready to move when julie or anyone else comes over.



yesterday, deanna was looking at my birth certificate (a reissue, i've had it since April 2004), and she noticed that my first named is spelled "MEILINDA".




my-linda?
may-linda?

i prefer melinda.

jack black says...

"It was a lame gig. I learned a valuable lesson. Never do a lame gig."

profile. texture. art.

me. ben. sunglasses.

i know i will get up before 7am at least once this month.

April 30, when I drive home.

But today, I woke up @ about 10.40am. Naturally, I reached over and turned on my radio, to listen to the Saturday morning CBC Radio 2 set...The Vinyl Cafe and I Hear Music.

SO good.

This morning on I Hear Music, we are exploring the music of Hoagy Carmichael, who wrote The Nearness of You, Skylark, and I Get Along Without You Very Well (just a few of my favourites, and also the only ones I know the titles of).

Actually, those three would be a nice little set for a recital. They're all three quite slow, but...beautiful.

I felt pretty jazz savvy though -- Chet Baker's version of I Get Along... is the "definitive" version, according to the radio guy, and I AGREE! I listen to that song at least a dozen times whenever I decide to listen to my Chet Baker album on this here computer.

Yeah.

Jazz Savvy.

So many doubles of obscure letters.

Radio guy said that to get a Carmichael song, the singer needs a vision and an ear for the structure of the entire song. Yeah. I could do that.

oooh new pictures!

i uploaded a bunch of pics from deanna's compy today.

thank you verbatim store-n-go.

these are some snapshots of my life in lethbridge, over the last couple weeks or so.


DONATING BLOOD.






LAST CLASS BASH.









POST-DONATION TATTOOS.





and that's all...for now.