Stress is Starting to Sink In
My apologies for not updating as often as usual. Life has been busy and I've been tired. I expect it'll be like this until I get settled into my new place.
I've been working .. and it's two weeks after my contract finished. It looks like I'm going to be back at the office again next week.. *sigh*. Well.. money is always a good thing, oui?
This coming weekend I'll be heading off to camp in PEI. I'm looking forward to it (sort of). I'm just slightly hesitant about it (though I can't pull out even if I wanted to :P) because the group that I'm TAKING are all high schoolers.. most of them aren't even 16!! Ahh.. I already felt OLD last year.. I imagine it's going to be worse this year! Oh well. I am looking forward to some peace and relaxation when we hit the beach. I should bring some reading or something...mmm..now.. where did I put my discman (ya.. poor me, I can't afford an Ipod YET. No worries.. someday soon *wink*)
I'm feeling stressed out over my move.. so much to do before I leave. My family is also having a yard sale the weekend before I leave and there's a whole bunch of stuff sitting in the living room of the basement waiting for me to sort through and price. :( I imagine that there's going to be a lot of cleanup work afterwards too.. my favorite activity (can't you hear oooozing sarcasm?) Besides that, CCANB's summer camp is coming up and there seems to be a lot of minor details that haven't been taken care of. I sort of feel like there is an expectation on me to make sure things are smooth. Ahhhhh at the rate this is going, by the time I get to Ottawa, I'm going to need a WEEK of SLEEP!
I just received a package from the University.. I guess it looks like we are starting classes on September 1st.. *JOY*. Ah.. they make it sound so intimidating.. but I keep trying to tell myself that it's always more intimidating than it actually IS. I just don't want to get lost since I have absolutely no sense of direction :P
Anyways, thats all for now. Ciao everyone. Have a good long weekend!
Sleepy Sunday
Been working all week even though my contract was up two weeks ago. They've hired me on for an additional 30 hours and sometimes I wonder if it's worth it .. then I think of the money..hehehe :P
Anyways, I've been trying to get ready for our yardsale at the beginning of August - man, we have lots of junk! We're trying to de-clutter our house in order to make the move easier in a few years. The only thing is yard sales are so much work and I'm already tied down with cleaning my own room and preparing for summer camp. Oh well, I gotta do what I gotta do!
I've delayed my move until mid August so I will be around for Chinese school's summer camp. I will be around to help out and there are some parts of the camp that I'm rather looking forward to.
Next weekend I'll be off camping with the youth group. Ahh.. I think I'm going to be feeling even older than I felt on the trip last year because most of the girls that are closer to my age aren't going to be there. Oh well, I've become the "mom" now. *sigh*. On the bright side, the guys that are going are pretty funny so it'll be entertaining to listen to them. Plus, PEI is a great place to be.
Yesterday I went to Grand Manan with my parents - first time ever. The island looks a lot like PEI is is rather quaint. I was surprised that there were so many houses so close together. It seemed a bit boring if you didn't go whale watching (there are so many whales out there!!!!! We saw at least 3 just on the ferry going over! WOW!) which we didn't do because it was a 4-5 hour tour and we didn't think we'd have enough time. Oh well.. next time. Anyways, upon travelling back to Black's Cove, we heard some locals talking to a tourist about some of the island's spots. They were saying that there is a magnetic sand beach (yes, the sand is magnetic!!), a 'mountain' where you can pick up fossilized rocks (thought I heard something about volcanos but I'm not sure), and a couple of nice fresh water ponds where the water is warm.. ooo.. sounds nice eh?? It'd be a really nice place to stay at at cottage for a week and just enjoy the quiet life... sleeping in, reading, doing crafts, going for walks, going swimming, etc.
My furniture has now moved into my apartment by my friend Joanne. Ooo la la.. I've got furniture in my apartment!! heheh.. I'm getting excited to actually SEE it. Hmm.. On the other hand, I'll be there ALL year so I'll probably be sick of the place in a month!! hehe
Alright, that's it for now. Ciao people.
Want to take a closer look?
Pretty water eh!
Another view of the falls
Niagara Falls
Crystal & I in Niagara Falls on the Maid of the Mist - darn it's wet!
Time Flies - As Always
I was just browsing, and somehow ended up at the FHS website. After reading some of the entries in the guestbook from my graduating class, I had to dig up the old yearbook to figure out if I even knew some of these people (which I didn't). It also came upon me that we are at the halfway mark to the 10 year reunion. hmm.. by the time that rolls around, we will all be 28. I will probably have moved away from Fton by then. I wonder if I'll even bother to attend? At the moment, I'm thinking it would be interesting to see how people turned out. Back in 2000, I probably wouldn't have thought of attending because the people I'm close with, I keep in touch with! But, as we all know, as time passes, people lose touch and you start to miss some of the people that you never thought you'd miss (??). I guess for the most part, I'd really like to catch up with my elementary school classmates. Afterall, going through three years together (if not more) makes you all pretty close when you embark upon Junior High School. I see a couple of them around but there's usually not much time to stop and chat. I guess both parties feel it'd be awkward to say "lets get together for coffee sometime and catch up" after not really talking for .. 10-12 years!? I do really wish to talk to them though .. all of them!
I also came upon my elementary school's website. I was looking at the staff list and was surprised to see that some of the teachers/staff that were there when I was in that school are still there now! Wow! I am sort of wondering how weird it'd be for me to email some of my old teachers.. in particular, I'd like to email my old math teacher that initially was my YMCA afterschool coordinator.. (Coincidentally, I discovered that one of the professors I work for had him in one of her classes, but I never saw him come into the office and I only found out at the end of the term when I was helping her compile her grades).
That's all for now. Ciao
Itchy Heels
If there are any people out there that have any solutions to my problem, please PLEASE tell me. I have itchy heels. Weird eh? My heels have been really ICKY the last few years.. lots of hard and dead skin that never goes away. I guess I have consistently tried using that pumice stone and lotion but it's been getting a bit better over the last while.. until lately. Especially at night, my heels get itchy. It's itchy underneath so you can't really scratch. I've tried Dr. Scholl's cracked heel relief cream (my heels were a bit cracked) but that doesnt' really help. The only thing that sort of helps is soaking my feet in hot salt water.. but I can't really get up and do that in the middle of the night (noisy). *sigh*.. if this problem doesn't go away by tomorrow, I'm going to the doctor! Hope it's not really some sort of disease behind it.. I read on the net that it could be a sign of diabetes.. :S
Last night I went to "the tap" downtown.. was suppose to meet up with my friend Dave & his girlfriend but he was a no show (they left Nova Scotia at 8pm and ended up getting back really late so they missed the "appointment"). Anyways, it was a good thing I had Ricmond there with me. We had a nice chat and then went to the Dip for some food afterwards (bad me)... it was really really packed in there... and this was at 1:30am! Well, not really unexpected but it was a tad irritating to have to wait to get a table.
Anyways, gotta make this short.. going out to dinner with some friends tonight to celebrate someone's birthday. BYE!
Pretty Surprising Day
It was pretty obvious that my co-workers were planning something yesterday since we were doing the same thing for the teacher a few weeks ago (we surprised her with a babyshower and she was sooo emotional - that's another story). Anyways, we went to lunch at Brewbakers today, I was really surprised that it was as big as it was (hehe..I've never been there!). They gave me a nice card with some really nice things written in there from each person and a gift certificate to Sears. I didn't look at the gift certificate til I got home and I was really surprised at the amount! I expected it to be around $60 or something.. turned out to be $150! Nice eh! That makes $200 in Sears gift certificates now.. (my student gave me another one) .. I wonder what I'll buy with it?? It was a thoughtful gift and I sure need some cash to buy things for my apartment (or maybe for myself..hahah!). I really like the card too (okay, I can't really say I like it more than my gift certificate because that would be a lie, but I like it just as much because it is really sweet!!)
Speaking of my job, there have been some ups and downs this past term with it. Mainly with the amount of work that I have to juggle and some not so understanding situations, but I sure have met some great people there! I'll sure miss seeing my co-workers everyday.. there have been so many fun times with them.
I'm working on a new YG website these days.. actually, I just sort of downloaded a template and started to make changes because I was too lazy/busy to fiddle around with a new design. It's almost done (btw, Jeff, your website won't be lost, it's become an archive and has a special spot in the menu of the new one ^_^). It's nothing really spectacular or flashy, mostly simple and plain - I think the content will be more interesting than the layout!
Yesterday I was looking at the HRDC website and looking for stats about teachers in Ontario, BC and NB (not very successfully). I did come across some information that was saying that Elementary School teachers were being paid nearly the same amount as Seconday School teachers in Ottawa. I was sort of surprised! I guess if you look at it, elementary school teachers may not need as many teachable subjects but they still have to deal with "needier" students, probably very exhausting work. Hmm.. if that's the case, I wouldn't mind being an elementary school teacher!! HEHEHE!!
That's it for now.
Ciao!
JY
Last Week of Work (sort of)
The last week of work is now upon me. Technically, I may be working next week if there is any 'unfinished business' which I'm pretty sure there will be. I don't really have the initiative to stay on for a while longer to train the new secretary.. *sigh*.. but I don't really know how to get out of it.
Anyways, my family is arranging a yard sale this coming weekend and I'm dreading it. I don't want to move things out, price them, sit at the yardsale, and move things back in afterwards (so basically, I don't want to do anything with regards to a yardsale!). Boho though, I've got to tough it out!
Hmm.. besides that, I've been going over my budget for the next school year and my heart is feeling very sorrowful because of the money that I must spend. A little bit of this, and a little bit of that makes JY feel oh so so unhappy. I guess it doesn't help that all my money is going OUT and there's nothing coming IN!! PAINFUL (though I like shopping and all, I do also obsessively like to see money go into my savings account..heheh)
Yesterday, my piano student (and also my neighbor) came over and delivered me some hand made flowers. She was so shy yet so cute! Plus, her flowers were really impressive, I could even identify which types they were. Awww!!
Thats all for now.
JY
Soaring Gas Prices - Gah!
OK.. it's official. The price of gas is at a record high - 102.9cents a liter!! WHAT THE...
I never thought I'd see the day when we'd have $1/L.. nevermind $1.02! Gees
It's so mind boggling that I gotta stop here.. HEHE :P
Count Down Begins
# of Days until the Move: 32
Man.. it's hard to believe I'm going to be leaving in a month. Summer is coming to a close soon!! There is still so much to be done before I leave, I'm not really sure how I'm going to do it?! Still lots of paperwork to get completed and probably a few gatherings to hold us over til Xmas.. plus volunteer work and work (beats me how they expect me to get everything done by the end of next week). *Sigh*.. my big problem is that all I want to do is slack! Eat, sleep, watch movies, and read.. that'd be the ultimate way to pass the next few weeks..heheheh
I met up with Stella last night at Starbucks.. it's been a while hasn't it?! I'm trying to convince her to go to Ottawa and not Toronto..hehehe..don't think it's working too well ;)
I've been a slacker all morning.. slept in and didn't do one bit of work.. so I'd better get moving and get my hours finished or I'm going to be in trouble :P
Ciao.
Happy Birthday Canada!
ah.. a day late, but I was just way too exhausted to post anything yesterday. I slept around 10 hours last night - WOW!!!!
Yesterday was an incredibly packed day. I was up at 9am for fear that I wouldn't have time to get ready in time before the 10am meet. (I had to get all the drinks and such stuff ready). I was there on time, even had some time to grab a coffee & bagal at Tim's! We were suppose to go to someone's house after meeting at UNB because there were a bunch of people who were joining us from there (we didn't all meet at UNB because we were going to depart from the North side and some people lived over on the North side so it'd be easier for them to wait for us over there). We were made even later because I hit every single (I think 99%) of the traffic lights on route - they all turned red when we approached ... GAH!! So by the time we arrived at take off point, we still had to get all the equipment into the truck which took another 15 minutes. Now, we were SUPPOSE to leave at the latest 10:30, and ended up departing at 11:00.. mmmm.. parade started in Canterbuy at noon.. hmmm!!!
It took us an hour to get there (with some very interesting speeding), and arrived just in the nick of time. Heh.. now, this is a small small little 'village' past Nackawick. While walking the parade, I heard some funny/unsettling comments from the children, in particular "LOOK!! CHINESE PEOPLE!!". Hmm.. it's not really unsettling, but I'm not sure what other word to use. It was funny at first, but when you think about it, it's sort of sad that kids of that age group (some of these comments were made by kids who were around 8 -10 years old) are so isolated that they don't see people of other races. Hmm.. on the other hand, it wasn't as if there were being racists! Anyways, people seemed to have enjoyed the parade, so that was good. Afterwards, I think we spent about 30 mins waiting for them to let us leave (they were giving out awards), until I realized we were cutting the time really close. We ended up leaving Canterbury at 2pm, sped most of the way home, and arrived back around 2:40 (HEHEHEH). We shoved some McDonald's down our throats and went to pick up our trailer and off we were to the next parade.
The parade at home was more interesting (in my mind). This year, the theme of eco friendly made it so that there weren't so many commercialized floats - which cut out all of those huge trucks :D! I think there were a LOT of people attending this year.. more than usual actually! The crowd was really enthusiastic with our float.. lots of clapping for us..hehehe! The kids got their attention too and did really well. The weather was perfect, cloudy but not raining (well, it did sort of sprinkle a bit at the end) - so not too hot, not too cold, and not windy! YA! I think we were all getting pretty tired by the time the parade was over, but still had cleanup and a potluck to deal with.
The potluck turned out to be pretty successful. Lots of families in attendance and the kids had fun playing volleyball and "chase the older boys" (well, the girls at least!). The only complaint about it was that the misquitos were vicious!! grr!! I was talking to some of the parents, and they keep telling me that they think the Youth Group is great. They've never seen this kind of interaction in any other organization.. the older kids playing/taking care of the younger kids, and the younger kids look up to the older ones (of course). Sometimes, I sit back and I listen/watch them interact (be it between yg/little kids or yg/yg members). It usually brings up these warm fuzzy feelings because everyone is like family. Especially amoungst yg/yg, no matter if they are boy or girl, they still bicker or talk like siblings! It's also sometimes very amusing! They always crack me up with the subjects they talk about, especially when it comes to relationships!
I attempted to go to the fireworks last night, but nothing happened for 30 minutes!? They were suppose to begin at 10:20, but by 10:40, still nothing. I was too tired to keep waiting, so I left. Guess what - they started to go off just as I was driving home :P BLEH.. I kept driving anyways because I figured that there wouldn't be a miracle that would have made them spectacular. If they were, I don't want to know!!! :P
Anyways, this post has been pretty long and probably pretty boring..hehehe.. I'm going to stop here! Ciao
