Nanaimo Trip and Shopping Goodies

A few things I picked up in Nanaimo this weekend when we were there visiting my sister:

2 BBW candles (Apple Crumble and Pineapple Mango)

Rose balm...I don't know what the brand name is but it really smells like roses!

Cotton nightie and a soft pink housecoat from La Vie En Rose...

Some earrings from Icing By Claires

China Glaze nail polishes in 3 colors...a hot pink, electric blue, and silver glitter (came in a set) 

Patterned box for our nail polish collection

I don't know why it felt important to share this. Maybe because secretly I wish I could be one of those bloggers/youtubers who do nothing but buy countless things and then tell everyone about it. 

 Meh. Home now happy to be relaxing...didn't get much sleep last night as we slept on the floor of my sister's dorm...pretty uncomfortable. :/

 

Your Eyes Could Make Water Flammable

Hi!

So I recently bought a song on iTunes and now it only plays halfway through, then stops and goes to the next song! It's called "Dangerous Girl" by Jay Loftus, and it's addictive, I am warning you right now. His voice is so lovely it's almost like I could fall into it. Yes. I'm a music whore, okay?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQLzIZmCLQU&feature=BFa&list=PL271E36B43B08CE92&shuffle=349869

Just listen to it and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, I've been told by the iTunes support people to download iCloud and delete the song then get the "new" version off iCloud. I don't know what this means but I'm going to try. 

I am currently backing up all my music to "the cloud"...We'll see. 

That's pretty much all I have. Just needed to rant about not being able to listen to this amazing song besides on youtube. *cry*

CIMH

I seriously really have to share this video somewhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eDQdYIqhbE&feature=g-u-u

KIMBRA, one of my newly favourite artists, just released her newest music video for the song Come Into My Head...I love this song and I'm so glad she went with the whole "psychiatric" feel to this video. Oh my goodness I can't stop watching it!!

In other news, our little foster ferrets are happy, have a good bill of health and will be going to their permanent home today! I'm so relieved!!

SMQ (9)

81. What situation has recently caused you to question your ethics, and why?

I don't know...

82. If you had to sacrifice one of your senses, what would you choose and why?

I have to approach this from a comparison angle. For example, I'd rather be deaf than blind. I'd rather have no sense of smell than no sense of taste. If I had to choose one sense to lose....I guess I'd choose scent? I mean, it wouldn't be the same, but it'd be better than being blind or something. 

83. What about a goal makes you most likely to procrastinate?

Mostly the fact that it takes work. I never accomplish anything because I procrastinate because I don't want to do it. XD;

84. What would it be like to be in a tornado?

I'd imagine it'd be terrifying. I imagine the movie Twister, and I imagine either being in a storm cellar with my family/friends or whatever, or being stuck against the side of a flimsy building just hoping that it didn't come my way (like in the movie). 

85. Where would you go to relax, and why?

When I get home I usually just chill on the couch and watch a movie or sew or something. Its incredibly calming to go for a walk along the ocean or in the woods, though. I also love wandering around stores with friends.

86. How do you make ice cream?

When I was in grade 9 our teacher had a bunch of ice cream machines and we made the base then poured it in and waited for it to freeze. The machines spin around and make a lot of noise to make the ice cream perfectly...it tasted way better than anything you can buy somewhere.

87. Why does the ocean have a tide?

Because of the moon!

88. Who has more power? The government or the people?

Depends on your situation. If it's your average day, the government pretty much controls everything. If, however, the people decided to strike, they can usually make a difference. I don't know...I'm not up on politics, nor do I want to be. I don't have any real interest in it.

89. Did you recently have a really interesting conversation?

I don't know about really interesting...I recently talked to my mom, but that's just your average phone call. 

90. What is a scary dream that you remember from your past?

It involved a red piece of string that choked people by laying across people's throats and strangling them to death. I remember watching it crawl like an inchworm into my parents bedroom and my mom woke me up, said I was screaming. I don't remember how old I was.

A (perhaps silly) choice, provided I actually stick with it

I was recently in my local Walmart and noticed several of the brands there in the beauty section are cruelty free. I've decided, provided I can keep said brands in my memory and I can make sure to actually follow through, to go cruelty free with my makeup/skincare/haircare etc. I've already made a start in a way; the most recent things I've purchased have been cruelty free without me knowing it. I don't intend to go vegan or anything, I just kind of want to stop purchasing those brands that test on animals. Why purchase those brands when there's so many good ones that don't? Even drugstore stuff! I mean....I have some of their products already and I have to say, besides my Maybelline Color Tattoo's and my CG mascara, they've got to be my favourites. Like NYX - their eyeliners have got to be the best I've found so far. And Hard Candy? Their primer works better than the Revlon one, in my opinion, and it's cheaper, and cruelty free! Physician's Formula, which I haven't tried, is less expensive then Revlon or CG, even Maybelline, and they are cruelty free too. So really it won't be that hard. 

I tried a while back going vegetarian, which didn't really work, but I find that I do eat less meat than I used to, and I'm more careful about what kinds of food I order say in a restaurant, because if I'm given the choice between fettucinne alfredo and a burger, I'm probably always going to choose the pasta. I of course, indulge like the average person, and enjoy a good burger now and then, but I find it's when my body is really, REALLY craving it, and then I know that maybe I have low iron or something and that's why I'm needing it. In which case, I do indulge, because what's life without the little things, and why not, once in a while? I'll be honest, I shouldn't eat crap like that because I am overweight and I shouldn't be eating shit that continues to feed that overweightness. Is that a word..? It is now! Anyway....what I'm trying to say is I know better. Sometimes though, I just can't help myself, and really, once in a while is not so bad. Yes, on an average day I try to eat right, or well at least, and usually don't eat that much. I do feed my caffeine addiction with London Fogs, mochas, teas, lattes...but doesn't every working class individual? Coffee is the backbone of most people's lives. It's a good thing. It's actually been proven that it helps regulate digestion etc. 

And yes, I should exercise more, but it's hard when you're a manic depressive and when you get home from an 8-9 hour work day (depending) you don't want to do anything else. I really should get out there and do some walks or something. I play Just Dance now and again. xD;

I was looking through my old posts and realized that I used to end each post with a picture, a song, and a quote. I'm going to start that up again, though maybe it'll be just be a lyric instead of a song, or a photo instead of a quote, whatever. I'll end the post with something, anyway.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAx7tfe3ekw

For today, here's a song I've recently been loving. My favourite line is "I'm just a puppet in my own play."

SMQ (8)

71. What do you think about when you're falling asleep?

Depends on the day. Say, if I've been drinking, I usually just go to sleep, no problems, no questions asked. If it's an average weeknight, I usually calculate mentally the number of hours of sleep I'll get before waking up for work the next day. Sometimes I think about the day I just had, sometimes I think about last night's dream, sometimes I'm waiting for my cats to calm down and settle so I can actually get to sleep. Usually I sleep with one arm under the pillow and the other wrapped around something, so finding a comfortable position isn't exactly easy; sometimes I am thinking that I am uncomfortable. It depends on the day.

72. What is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

A certain someone's completely blissful, happy, genuine smile.

73. What is your favourite thing to do outdoors? Why?

My favourite thing lately has been taking the camera and wandering around in the forest, on the beach, along the trail...anywhere beautiful and natural, and taking photos of anything that strikes my creative bones. 

74. What would you write in a letter that you could send back to yourself as a teenager?

Considering I was still technically a teenager last year, this one won't be so easy. 

Dear teenage me,

This is your twenty-year-old self. I want you to know that even though your high school years weren't the best, to cherish them and the time spent with all your friends, because once you graduate, you'll hardly see any of them, and if you do, it's once or twice a year. I also want you to know that I regret not staying in piano till the bitter end (meaning, grade 8 piano), as seeing our sister's success in it made us insanely jealous. Never leave the one that loves you best. Come March 2013, it could have been five years. But I'm proud of you. While you feel that no one sees you, I am proud of you, and love you. Keep going, and you'll be rewarded.

75. What would you write in a letter you could send forward to yourself in ten years?

Dear 30 year old me,

I hope that you've made something of yourself. I wonder if you decided to become an author, or if you're a vet tech, or if you're still a receptionist. I wonder if you're a mother, as you always wanted to be. I wonder if you're married, where you're living. I wonder if you're still in lousy Campbell River working behind a desk. Granted, I love our job, but I hope that at 30 you are making something better of yourself. It's odd to think one day I'll be 30. Hey, maybe I'll get hit by a van at 21, and I'll never see 30. But I am assuming you'll still be chubby, baby-faced, making no progress. I sincerely hope not. If we have a daughter, please name her perfectly, and if we have a son, you know what to do. I hope that our child(ren) is/are beautiful, and that their father (?) will love them to no end. I hope Phoenix and Anubis are still there and they're lovely older men. I wonder if they'll ever settle down? I'm sure whatever life you live is where we want to be, and I trust you.

76. When did you first realize that one day you would be old, and someday, die?

I honestly don't remember. I was probably young.

77. Describe what it was like to fall in love.

Oh boy. This one's going to be good....okay. The first time, it was easy. Effortless. I fell in love with my best friend; we already knew each other inside and out, we were intricately connected on a deep level that only friendship can give you. We were inseperable...still are, really. The second time...it was painful, because I loved two at once. Why did my heart think I could take that? So I left the first to pursue the second, thinking that this was what I wanted. When he left me, I went back to the first, despite the rule that states never going back to exes. There are a couple other stories in between, but the end fact is that falling in love is hard, it's easy, it's painful, and it's wonderful! It's something everyone needs to experience at least once, and if nothing else, the pain lets you know that you're still alive, and that you're still something that's real, something that feels. Sometimes it can feel like you're losing yourself in the other person. I have to assume this happens to everyone...

78.Explain how you chose your career path.

When I was a kid I always wanted to be a vet. When I needed a job, a couple of years ago now, my friend pointed out the dog boarding ad and, desperate, I applied that day. The manager seemed to like me but they went through a couple other applicants before finally hiring me. I worked in boarding for 8 months until it shut down, then they kept me in grooming to cover another lady's vacation to China, and halfway through, one of their receptionists took sick and was going to be off for six months, so they offered me her position. In January, it was determined she wasn't coming back, so I was made permanent, and have since been working happily up front. It's kind of a funny thing that I wanted to be a vet as a child and now I work with them. I work in the treatment room too, so I get to be alongside the doctors and help them out. It's fun, exhausting, nerveracking, but I'm getting better, and it's good. I'm happy there.

79. When have you realized you were really wrong in your judgement of someone?

I don't know...I don't really judge people..if I can help it. It's hard to judge people based on anything really, but like everyone else I'm not perfect, I'm sure I've made a wrong judgement of someone, I just don't remember an instance at this time.

80. How do you react when you've made a mistake?

Usually I feel like shit, especially if it's something important. Like, leaving air bubbles in the IV line accidentally, or forgetting to turn something off, or leaving the door open. 

Pictures? PICTURES!

So I haven't done some photos in a while...mostly because our fancy on-loan camera went back to its owner so we haven't been getting out there and getting creative behind the lens. However, we did acquire some foster ferrets and wandered about today. So there are pictures indeed!

 Testing! Trying out my old camera again after a shower the other day, wanting to see how it stacked up to the newer, nicer one. Not bad, but I definitely prefer the focus on the other one...and the zoom!

SMQ (7)

61. If you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be?

I'm not married.

62. What is the greatest vacation you've taken and what lessons can you take from it?

I'd have to say our 10 day trip to Vancouver/Surrey a few years back. We recently went back there and the tranquil feeling was unmatched. Being with someone else's family is a little weird but it's nice to sit around a dinner table to an excellent meal and discuss dogs and all manner of things with people that genuinely care about what you have to say. When we went back in 2010, I had just started a new job as a hostess/busperson at a Chinese restaurant which I hated, and was told to take 2 weeks off while they "tried out" new people. This seemed a bit weird, but when I got home I had receieved a call from my supervisor saying they liked me and wanted me to come back to start training as a waitress. I was so pleased that they weren't trying out new people to get rid of me. However, a couple days before my first shift after my vacation, the owner called me and said it "wasn't working out". I was quite upset about this, as they had just told me how much they liked me and wanted to train me for more things. Anyway, I'm getting off the point here. When we were in Surrey in 2010, we spent a good 10 days there, went to the aquarium, shopped in Vancouver, rode the skytrain, all kinds of things that one does when they are raised in a small town and are unleashed into the city for 10 days. It was a lot of fun! The biggest thing I can take from this trip was that I may love Campbell River, and I may like visiting Vancouver, but Campbell River is my home, and I will always love coming home to it. After driving around in Vancouver a couple times now (to clarify, I was not the one driving) I can see how calm Campbell River roads are and why I love it here so much. I almost had a panic attack in the Metrotown Mall because there were so many people pushing and shoving by. It was terrifying! Here the most you get is a couple odd people in the store with you at the same time. Well, in the larger stores there's more people, but nothing near to the number in Vancouver. Yikes.

63. If you won a million dollars but had to give it away, who would you give it to and why?

If it was a person, I'd give it to my roommate and best friend, or to my parents so my mom could finally buy a little house in the country with farmland and a deck. If I had to give it to say, a charitable organization, I'd fund an animal-related society. Not necessarily the SPCA or PETA or anything like that, as they euthanize more than they adopt. Maybe something like WWF which focuses on conservation of endangered animals.

64. What was your first pet? Why did you choose this pet?

This can be misinterpreted. Technically the first pet in my home was our dog Ranger, who my parents had before I was born. But the first pet I bought for myself was probably a fish, and then my two beloved (but moronic) cats, Phoenix and Anubis. I did have a guineapig but it became the family's guinea. On a side note, my mom's current guinea pig recently passed away. :( But anyway, I've had a couple bettas on my own, and then my two cats, and now my snow cornsnake Stellaluna. I'm definitely an animal lover...and that doesn't include all the various pets we had growing up! I can list them all...Cuddles the pirana (my father's), the ever growing fish tank, Ranger the longhaired shepherdXgreat dane, Munroe the rottweilerXshepherd, Buddy the guinea pig, Friskie the hooded rat (my sister's), Mira the hooded rat (my sister's), Popcorn the hamster, Rosie the tarantula, Oreo and Fudgeo the guinea pigs we looked after for a couple consecutive summers for the school, Timbit the huskyXgerman shepherd, Trojan my sister's betta fish, Pffernusse the white and black guinea pig, Eoduin Augustus Theodore Grace my first betta, Ulysses Tennyson Wordsworth my second betta fish, hmm is that everyone? My mom also had a couple of rabbits before I was born...Dartanion and Buckwheat. Dartanion was gone before I was born, but Buckwheat lived to be 13! Oh shoot, we also had two birds, a finch named Patches and a yellow canary named Goldie, and now my mom has a red/brown canary named Ferris Nathaniel. She also currently has Rosie (who was a school pet but we eventually got to keep) still, and also some stick bugs named Bonnie, Clyde, Jeckall and Hyde (though one has since died and I don't know which one), and a praying mantis who I can't remember the name of. Okay, why did I choose my cats? Because we lived in an apartment and our friend's cat was having kittens. We wanted a dog but it wasn't practical. I love them dearly. <3 Why did I choose Stellaluna? Ever since I looked after an albino cornsnake named Leroy in grade 6 for a teacher, I've wanted one. She looks albino, so that's why I picked her.

65. If you could build a car customized just for you, what would it contain?

Oh jeez, I don't know. I love those little hatchbacks, they're so cute, and I bet they wouldn't be bad on gas, considering the only thing I'd use it for is driving to and from work, and groceries, and the occaisional road trip. XD But if I could customize something like that...hmm. I don't know much about cars, so all I can really think of is little add ons. Okay. So I'd want it to be in a color I like, one time I saw a coral car and fell in love with it for the split second I saw it. So I'd love a coral car. Or silver, black, white. Something simple, if not colorful.  My best friend's car has an ipod thing in it, and that's practically essential, as all my music is on my ipod. I have a few cd's but I'd get bored of them soon enough. I also love sun roofs!

***

On a side note, my washing machine just made a scary noise so I stopped it o.o

***

66. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Ironically, a vet. And look where I am!

67. If you had to write your life story, what would the title be? Why?

Well, I've always thought of compiling a poetry collection, and since that's kind of like my life story told in poems, I guess I'll go on about that. I wanted to call it Surreal Paradise, which was the name of my first blog and would be the name of many other things if I had the motivation to do it. I don't know why Surreal Paradise. It's something I came up with a couple years ago when it was first suggested to me to publish a poetry collection. I don't know if I'll ever do it.

68. How do you feel when you see something beautiful? Have you ever seen something so beautiful it made you cry?

Yes. I have seen so many beautiful things, beautiful in their simplicity. A new flower, a newborn baby, a crisp blade of grass, a gathering of trees, the world that lies behind my cat's eyes. Yes, I have cried for beauty. I have a poet's mind. Everything seems more complicated than what it is, to me. I can look at a flower and see more than just a flower. I don't know if anyone else does - if you do, I'd love to know it's not just me. Sometimes I think I'm crazy. 

69. What are you thankful for?

Where do I start? My roomate and best friend, her everlasting patience with my tsunami sometimes, her support, her love, her constance. I am thankful for my beloved animals, my pets. I am thankful I have all my family still. I am thankful that my grandparents are no longer in pain and are elsewhere enjoying their afterlife. I am thankful that I am working, steadily, and have more than enough to pay my rent and bills and get the groceries I want, to splurge on little things without worrying (too much). I am thankful for so much and feel I don't give enough to those who give to me. I can't always convey what I'm feeling. So many people ask me, "are you okay?" and I always reply, "yes, of course." I can't always show that I'm happy, that I'm having a good time, that I'm smiling on the inside because for whatever reason my face doesn't always smile too.

70. This morning, when I got out of bed, I....tonight, when I got to bed, I....

This morning, when I got out of bed, I dressed in a plain, too-long dress and did some much-needed cleaning in my house. It was getting bad! Now it smells like febreeze and swiffer fluid. 

Tonight, when I go to bed, I will probably crash. Or maybe I'll read or go on the computer. I don't know yet!

And now that I've written this extensive entry, I'm off to shower so I can be presentable. Then I'll probably clean some more things. Clean ALL THE THINGS!

Vancouver, Old Friends, and Labor Day

Saturday was kind of a shit show.

Excuse my French there.

But honestly, I worked from 8:30 to almost 6:00, multiple emergencies and everyone was waiting, though in fairness it was good that we could see everyone with one doctor and still made it out of the building by 5:30. Anyway, by the time I made it home and got all packed up to leave it was just after 7:00 and we were really starting to panic. Nanaimo is 2 hours away, our ferry was for 9:30 and we still had to stop for gas in Courtney (half an hour away from Campbell River). Thankfully, because my roommate likes to push her little Acura Vigor ("Toby"), we made it with some time to spare and got on the ferry with no problem. It was dark by then so we stayed in the car and relaxed, reading and listening to music. By the time we made if off the ferry, we were so tired but still had to get to the hotel. I read off the map we bought at the ferry terminal and she got us there safely, almost falling into a speed trap at the exit (it was under construction so the speed was 30!). We crashed and slept till 8 (her till 9:30) and then set off for Starbucks and Metrotown for shopping.

We did meet up with an old friend of ours, though, and trooped around Chinatown (disgusting, piss-smelling street markets unfortunately included) for a while before heading back to the car via skytrain. Apparently there is some kind of convention going on in November that my roommate wants us to go to, so we'll be seeing our friend again then. I don't know how I feel about being stuck in a large building full of anime geeks but we;ll see how it pans out. She says I'll enjoy myself, so I guess I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

We spent the evening in Surrey with her family so we had dinner and her cousin took us for a ride in his gorgeous yellow Camero. My goodness, it still smelled like new car. Fancy little thing that hit 200 without feeling like it'd passed 60. You don't feel speed in that car the same way you feel it in Toby. Maybe it's because Toby's 20 years old and the Camero is this year's model. Haha, I don't know, but it was exhilerating. Dinner was lovely and I was much more brave that I thought I'd be, chatting with her aunt about dogs and her cousin about movies and classic cartoons. It was a nice time, even though it wasn't my family.

We went shopping in Surrey on Monday before heading back towards the ferry to go home. Once we hit Nanaimo we went to visit my sister to see her new "apartment" style dorm, which was very nice. Then we took her out to dinner and headed on home, making it back by 10. It was a tiring trip, but lots of fun.

Right now I am watching netflix and painting my nails with Essie's Bikini So Teeny. It's a lazy kind of day. I gotta catch up on my relaxing!