barf

Fantastic. Another weekend wasted being sick. Stomach bug hit Thursday night and has ruined the past few days. Last night was a big success because I managed to eat a bowl of soup. Sure, it took me two hours to finish it, but I didn't throw it up after. Yay me. I'm still feeling a bit icky today. This is getting very annoying.

we now bring you this important news bulletin.....

It's time for an update in the thrilling, fast-paced, ever outrageous life of Amanda Blue.

This week's update will feature news concerning professsional advancement, social vivacity, and passionate romance! Read on for the latest news, documenting in detail Amanda's blissful satisfaction, including euphoric commentary on the utter fulfillment she feels about her life.



There is nothing to report.

Mooooooooaaan.....grooaaan

Can.... barely.... move... Thighs...... aching.

Man, I am in rough shape, that kickboxing sure was hard on the legs! Every time I stand up or sit down, it's accompanied by "owowowowowowowow". But a good ow; lets me know I was exercising. And all that punching and kicking is so fun!! I can't wait til next class, I will soon be a deadly force to be reckoned with. LOOK OUT!

That is, when I'm not hobbling around all battered and bruised.

Ma petite vacance

Ooh, my French is horrible.

Anyway, that attempt at Francais was in honour of my most recent little holiday. We went to Montreal! I've been to Montreal many times before, because that's where my dad's family lives, but this was the first time I really got to be a tourist. The siblings and I all went, and my mom and her boyfriend were there too. Us kids stayed at the downtown Y which was great because of it's location. It was like we were backpackers again!

The grownups took us around in the rented car, up Mount Royal, through pretty parks, past the sites, into Old Montreal etc. Very nice. However, when left to our own devices, all we did was shop. Shopshopshopshopshopshopshop. I bought quite a bit, or so it seemed at the time. Of course now I wish I'd gotten more. Oh well. We also went to synagogue for Yom Kippur services (serious day of atonement, shortly after the Jewish new year begins). That was nice too. It didn't seem nearly as long and tedious as I expected.

We also checked out Montreal night life one night. At $7 a pint, the prices were much higher than we're used to in our hick town, so we did the classy thing and bought some booze from the dépanneur, which we then consumed over card games in our room. Just like the days spent crossing Russia and the Baltics. Lots of reminiscing as we kept saying "a year ago today we were looking at the terracotta warriors", "a year ago today we were walking the Great Wall" etc. We had fun sifting through old memories of days on the road.

Anyway, we were on a very lively street, nothing but pubs and clubs. Loads of people everywhere, a really vibrant atmosphere. Man, I wish we had something similar in lame old Winnipeg. But we don't. Because we're lame. After a pub drink we tried out one of the clubs. Very young, very ethnically diverse crowd. People speaking French, people speaking English, people speaking a variety of other languages. I must say I was disappointed though. After seeing oodles and oodles of gorgeous young men on the streets of Montreal, there was not a single piece of eye candy in this entire bar. Boo! Jennie and I did get a good laugh at the dancers on stage though. Typically, in Winnipeg anyway, it's girls that hop up on the stage or speakers to shake their booty around. But there were nothing but guys up there. And about 5 guys were dancing in a line, facing the dance floor, all wearing similar dress shirts, all unbuttoned to mid-chest. It was hysterical! You'd think the unbuttoned shirt look was actually a dress code requirement. So ridiculous!

So that was Montreal. Shop-shop-eat-shop-shop-drink-shop-shop-dance-shop-shop-somberatonement-shop-shop. Comme j'aime être une touriste!

Another job

Yep, I've got a another job. This one is a proper Mon-Fri full time position. I'm an agent's assistant, working for a company that represents musicians and various artists, booking tours, concerts etc. And after my first shift, I''d like to share with you my first impressions:

I hate it.

The majority of the staff seem really nice. And perhaps there would be some cool perks like free tickets to shows and meeting lots of different people. But there are a variety of cons that outweigh the potential cool factor.

1) My salary is much lower than I'd like

2) The hours are stupid: 9-6 instead of 9-5. Grr!

3) The work doesn't seem very stimulating and it would be ages before it got interesting

and most importantly,

4) The boss is a real asshole,

I couldn't believe how rude he was to me! He wanted to arrange my contract, spell out the details etc. I asked if there was overtime and he replied very snarkily "No. Why, did you think there would be?" To which I said no, I was just wondering. It's a fair question after all, and if they have no intention of paying overtime, they better not expect me to work 10 hour days like the girl I'm replacing.

But that's not what really shocked me. I mentioned that I had a class once a week that started at 6, so would it be alright if those days I worked 8-5. He abruptly said no. Just a flat out NO. For a second I thought he might be joking. But he wasn't. Then he went on a tirade about how I'd already asked for 4 days off (I told him when he made me the job offer that I was committed to several shifts elsewhere and asked if it would be a problem) and he was running a business and blah blah blah being so nasty! I was so taken aback by his unjustified inflexibility and unnecessarily rude tone. Anyway, I don't take talk like that, even from the boss, and I told him that to be fair, he had just dropped those 9-6 hours on me last minute, which I found surprising because they aren't standard hours, so how was I to know that my classes would be a problem. Then, like an obnoxious child, he told me he wasn't in the mood to discuss it with me and shoed me out.

I'm not impressed. This doesn't make me look forward to tomorrow, let alone the next.... indeterminate amount of time that I work there. So, the job search continues.

Look to the left

Not too far... just look at my profile.... check out what it says next to "occupation".

I'm employed! Somewhat. I've been hired to write some stuff for Nunavut tourism. How cool!!!! I'm actually getting paid to write! I had to submit samples of my writing and everything. I used blog entries. Nothing too recent of course, that's all been pretty crap. But I took a few choice entries from China and my travels. And he liked it, yay!!! So now I must write copy for a travel planner, something to inspire you to journey to the great white north. Experience the magic of the arctic! I've never been there, but I'm sure I can make it sound fabulous. This is so damn exciting. YIPPEE!!!!

As of yet I have neither written anything, nor been paid. But all in good time. I figure the first step to embracing my newfound profession is to adopt some eccentric habits and quirks. Perhaps I will only ever write wearing an old housecoat. No, that's overdone. I could start smoking a pipe? Nah, too gross. Maybe I need an odd pet, like an armadillo or a bat. Or I need to have a plate of assorted cheeses next to the computer - scrap that - typewriter. I could start wearing ratty old camel-hair ponchos, carry a beaten notebook around in which to constantly scribble notes, drink copious amounts of coffee, and make bizarre word choices like calling glasses spectacles and movies "the pictures", all while slipping in and out of some inconsistent, affected accent. And of course have a pencil on hand at all times, either behind my ear or stuck in messy hair.

Yes.... gotta get these important character details sorted out first before moving on to the trifling penning of words.

Nope. Nothing.

No title.

No words.

I don't even know if I have a proper thought. Someone i knew was killed in Afghanistan. I keep having these jolts as I remember and hear the words hit me again: "he died". Nope, that's not right. I remember us going for nachos and bowling and parties and lazy old hanging out. He's not dead.

He wasn't even someone who was that close to me. One of my best friend's ex boyfriends. I knew him for years. The two of them, and Theran and I, we went on some double dates. I just don't know what to say.

I saw his picture in the paper. And I saw it on the news. They showed the soldiers caskets being carried and I thought I might throw up knowing he was in one of those boxes.

They were handing out candy to local kids. That's all, just giving out treats. And some guy comes along with a bomb on a bicycle. One minute passing around candies...

And now he's gone.

Belly dancing class no. 1

Instructor: "Are you guys beginners?"

Jennie and I: "Yes"

Instructor: "Oh.... see, this is level 2. You might want to try the earlier class."

Faaaaaaaantastic. Just to let you know, we didn't join level two because we thought we were so talented we deserved to skip intro. The guy who  registered us said both times were the same level. But yay, I sure was eager to look like a moron in front of 18 other people.

And I did. Luckily, I always look like an idiot when I dance, so I was used to it. We had no idea how to do any of the moves and just ended up shaking our butts around while laughing. The instructor did all these little dances: wiggling, shimmying, and swooping seductively, while we flopped and spazzed about like dying fish. Soooo sexy, lemme tell you. Good thing there were no mirrors; I would have been unable to resist myself.

On the up side, all the laughter was a great ab workout!

Brrr

It is so cold! What the hell happened? Just a few days ago it was nearly 30 degrees and now it's freezing and rainy and the ground is covered in fallen leaves. I'm not ready for summer to be over. I missed it all, sitting in my dull, grey cubicle.

Unemployment is treating me well. Just taking it easy, going for lunches, going for drinks, staying up late on school nights. Can't complain. Except for the fact that I'm spending money at an alarmingly fast rate with no income to replenish my account. Pffft, no worries.

And now that it's fall, I've got a couple of classes to look forward to. Belly dancing starts tomorrow and kickboxing on Saturday. How fun. First I will entrance you with my exotic shimmy shimmy shimmy, then HYAH! a powerful and unexpected punch punch kick! Or.... I ridiculously jiggle without an ounce of coordination, then pull a muscle while attempting some feeble move. Yep, it'll be a good time.

chilllllllll

So, I have been feeling the pressure of, I dunno, life stuff, bearing down on me. I hate all this uncertainty. Stress has been building up since my job ended, and lately it just feels like my heart is going to burst through my chest, leaving shattered ribs to pierce all my vital organs. Ow.

So today, feeling overwhelmed with anxiety and on the verge of a serious panic attack, I resorted to an old pharmaceutical aid to alleviate my pounding heart. I took the one, and felt mildly appeased, but not quite. Still too much tension in the belly and head and chest. So I took another one. The pack does say one to two, so it's not like i went overboard.

And now I am feeling very relaxed, all loopy and limp like a wobbly cooked noodle.

Mmmm... noodles.

I can't concentrate anymore. Time to go flop in a chair and not think about... about anything.