Freedom!
Yay! I can keep soup down now. I am very glad that my body has stopped rebelling against the world.

I'm not certain what I am doing for New Years Eve, as the waitress implied that I should stop by after 11:00pm (when she is off), another friend of mine is watching movies and playing boardgames, my parents and sister are doing much the same, and another friend of mine invited me to her friends for a New Years party. *sigh*

PS - Lost another 0.1 on Hot or Not!

Ode To Food Poisoning
So I have been praying to and sitting on the porcelain god all day today. It started at 9:30pm last night. I thought I was going to die! 14 hours later and I am still vomiting up my Two Cheeseburger meal from McDonalds. Eww...

Dear God I hope I feel better for tomorrow!

Merry Christmas
My best wishes to you and yours durning this holiday season and beyond. It is my hope that good fortune will smile upon you in the New Year.

Even More Bah Humbug!
Yikes! A White Trash Christmas!

I am almost done my Christmas Shopping! Yay!

Male / Female Dynamic
It is a wonder that the human race still exists. A male and a female both commented on the December 20 posting ('Tis The Season To Spend Money). They are diametrically opposed!!! I am truly amazed at how adept and skilled our species has become at NOT communicating. :)

PS - I just lost 0.2 on my Hot or Not Rating!!! Oh the Humanity!

32 Flavors - Alana Davis (Ani Difranco)
Squint your eyes and look closer
I'm not between you and your ambition
I am a poster girl with no poster, I am 32 flavors and then some
And I'm beyond your peripheral vision so you might want to turn your head
'Cause someday you're going to get hungry and eat all of the words that you just said
I am what I am, I am 32 flavors and then some
God help you if you are an ugly
Course too pretty is also your doom
'Cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the prettiest girl in the room
God help you if you are a phoenix and you dare to rise up from ash
A thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy while you are just flying past
I am what i am, I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm taking my chances as they come
I am 32 flavors and then some, I'm nobody but I am someone, someone...
I'd never try to give my life meaning by demeaning you
And I would like to state for the record...
I did everything that I could do
I am beyond your peripheral vision so you might want to turn your head
'Cause someday you're going to be starving and eating al the words that you just said
That you said
I am what I am, I am what I am
I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm taking my chances as they come
I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm looking for truth and there is none
32 flavors and then some
I'll never forget where I came from
32 flavors and then some
I'm nobody but I am someone
32 flavors and then some
I'm taking my chances as they come
32 flavors and then some
Looking for truth and there is none

Bah Humbug... Everyone!!!
I am so not in the 'Christmas Spirit'. The poor experience of last year has driven the enjoyment of shopping for Christmas presents completely out of me. I had hoped to go singing Christmas Carols last night (to force Christmas Spirit into me) but my two friends, who were going to go with me, were ill and could not do it. (SIGH)

I bought several presents yesterday at the mall, but I lost them… I have no idea what happened to them, so now I have to go and re-purchase them!

Three Shopping Days...
Still not done my shopping... well... uhm... still havent /started/ my shopping is more like it. Gah!

How to Ruin American Enterprise
I really suggest reading this article from Forbes magazine written by Ben Stein. You can check out his website or email him here.

'Tis The Season To Spend Money
I haven't even started my shopping yet! Yikes!!!!!! Four days to get everything done... I must be insane.

I talked to the waitress last night... I am completely confused! Judging by her comments, she seems to leading me to ask her out again... I just don't know. I'm completely at a loss for words on how to explain this?! Why would she have made the 'not dating customers comment' or did I miss hear it. Suggestions?

Lovers In A Dangerous Time - Barenaked Ladies (Bruce Cockburn)
Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by
You never get to stop and open our eyes
One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall
The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time

These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste

Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time

When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime
Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight
When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time

We were lovers in a dangerous time
We were lovers in a dangerous time

Hark The Herald...
Going to talk to the waitress again tonight... I will see if there is a cool reception or anything else different. I hope not, I’d actually feel very uncomfortable if a simple coffee made her feel awkward… although… I’d still be confused as to why she just didn’t say no in the first place. (SIGH)

So I think we are going caroling tonight. Happy Christmas, Merry New Year and all that.

All For One And One For All
I went to a dinner theatre performance last night. A friend of mine was performing (and serving) and this was his second-last performance for this show. It was very good! I must say, it was an excellent performance by all of the actors. I was seated with Don's best female friend: Jacqueline. We talked about the developments in our lives and generally how glad we both were that Don finally seems to have found his niche…acting.

Jackie just separated from the father of her child, and has been offered a television job in Victoria, even though it’s only one story a week and won’t pay her bills. Both Don and I told her to do it… even if she can’t afford it… she will find a way to make ends meet.

Future Prediction: Don and Jackie will realize they have been good friends for a long time, and love each other. They made the classic: ‘If we both aren’t married by a certain date, we’ll marry each other’ agreement. It will happen: Jackie is intelligent, artistic, beautiful, and appreciates Don. Don is artistic, creative, opinionated, and most of all he’s my friend and deserves so much better than the people he has most recently been attracted to.

Great Big Sea
They say that the sea is full of fish. There are alot of seas out there too. I am beginning to like this whole 'dating' thing... testing the waters (so-to-speak) to see if there is anything there. I am somewhat curious where to go from here. I know alot of single women I'd like to get to know better... but I am still a big coward in actually asking. I'll talk it over with my friends at work and elsewhere to see if they can offer some pointers.

PS - I am very tired.

Thou Shalt Not…
An eleventh commandment that is not well known:
Thou shalt not date customers!

That is pretty much how it went. She slipped in a comment (that I almost missed) that she will not date customers. I am a little confused why she did not just say that when I asked her out for coffee but – that is women for you! I can either stop being a customer of the place I have been going to for 9 years and date her, or not. Hmmm…Not a very difficult decision. We have a great deal of common interests, so I am a little disappointed – I’ll find out the rest of the story in time.

BTW - Off to see Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at 12:05am... It's going to kill me because I have to work tommorow but I think I am going to have a REALLY cold shower to jolt me awake before I goto work with four hours of sleep

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas
So I left the staff Christmas party at 11:20pm last night. I went to NAKED on Whyte and updated some of my game stuff in order to kill some time before midnight. I think the conversation I had earlier in the night told me that I shouldn't wait on the faint hope of some future relationship. So I psyched myself up, walked into the restaurant at midnight just before the doors locked and asked out the waitress for coffee. We have a coffee date tonight at 6:00pm.

The Mists Of Uncertainty Have Cleared
I talked with the young woman I have been pining over last night and we worked out the exact interpretation of the ‘Not Now’ statement she had issued. Now, you have to understand, she just recently got out of a very bad relationship, the implications of which I am not going to get into in this journal. I really do care for her as a friend, I would like to pursue more than that but quite simply she is not ready, and likely will not be for quite some time.

‘Not Now’ = ‘I Don’t Know’ (In her words) = NO (In my definition).
However, now she thinks I am hurt. I’m not. It is now a whole lot less awkward, I can concentrate on being her friend without hoping for anything more than that. I just hope I can convince her that I am not upset. ARGH! – Women!

Commitment Is A Four-Letter Word
So I arrived late to the LRPS council meeting today. They knew I was going to be late however, and there was nobody else there... other than the outgoing President and the Ombudsman. I hope this is not indicative of the effort I can expect from the new council; otherwise, it is going to be a very long year.

All The World Is A Poem

Ottava rima? Me? That can't be right!    Too frivolous? But tut, there's no such thing! Let others ponder thoughts of wrong and right,    Or sit and think how much they love the spring; I'd rather spend my time in gleeful spite,    Or maybe laugh, or maybe sit and sing. Besides, it might be fun to be inspiring - But surely it would get so very tiring. What Poetry Form Are You?

I state, for the record, that RavenBlack is wierd.

When I Fall - Barenaked Ladies
I look straight in the window, try not to look below
Pretend I'm not up here, try counting sheep
But the sheep seem to shower off this office tower
It’s nine-point-eight straight down, I can't stop my knees

I wish I could fly
From this building
From this wall
And if I should try
Would you catch me if I fall?

My hands clench the squeegee, my secular rosary
Hang on to your wallet, hang on to your rings
I can't look below me, or something to throw me
I curse at the windstorms that October brings

I look in the boardroom; a modern pharaoh's tomb
I'd gladly swap places, if they care to dive
They're lined up at the window, peer down into limbo
They're frightened of jumping, in case they survive

I wish I could step from this scaffold
Onto soft green pastures, shopping malls, or bed
With my family and my pastor and my grandfather who's dead

Look straight in the mirror, watch it come clearer
I look like a painter, behind all the grease
But painting's creating, and I'm just erasing
A crystal-clear canvas is my masterpiece

I wish I could fly
From this building
From this wall
And if I should try
Would you catch me if I fall?

I wish I could fly
From this building
From this wall
And if I should try
Would you catch me if I fall?

When I fall
When I fall

Job Interviews - The Ultimate Test Of Charisma
I have an interview for the Night Audit Supervisor position at a very prestigious hotel. I don’t want to leave my current employer on bad terms, but I know that they will not agree to pay me what I think I am worth, so it’s time to look elsewhere. I hope I do well... it is the most prestigious hotel in Edmonton: it would look excellent on my resume and would greatly assist my career growth, should I choose to remain in the industry. Wish me luck!

Score One For Procrastination
Apparently procrastination does work. So it looks like I will be able to enjoy the Christmas Party with the rest of my staff. I am happier now.

I am thinking about asking out the waitress... probably worth the risk. If I swallow my foot in doing so, who cares? At most I will look like a fool, but that isn't much different than normal. :)

The Sweet Smell Of Bitterness & Resentment
Not a happy camper today. My bosses procrastinated to the point that it now appears that I will be working the night of the Staff Christmas Party so that the rest of my staff can enjoy themselves at the party. I don't really mind, but if they had done what they said they were going to do a few weeks earlier then we would have borrowed cover from Calgary. *SNARL*

Also, last night I ran a little test to see if someone would call me back. I got a 'I will try to' and of course, I didn't get called. So I'm done even trying to work at it. Friends is just fine with me, although I must say I will now interpret anything that is neither a YES or a NO, as a NO. "C'est la vie".

About the only good thing that happened recently is we went to Yuk Yuk's last night. I had a blast, it was amateur night and while there were a few bombs, most of them were good. The headliner (John Wing) was hilarious... I recommend you go see him.

Ah! Comments
I have a new host, or will soon have one. *AND* I'll have comments!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

To Ask Or Not To Ask - That Is The Question!
I'm getting interesting vibes from a waitress at one of my local hangouts. I'm considering asking her out for coffee or a movie etc... but I am concerned that it's just an act for the benefit of the fact that I am a regular there. I dunno... going to have to think on this one for a bit.

Honesty / Temperance / Fortitude
A friend of mine recently met someone over the Internet. I was happy for her: she had a bad string of relationships, including a near-loveless marriage. She recently met him in person and they got along as if they had known each other for a long time. However, he seems to have communication issues and was driving my friend up the wall until she finally stopped caring about it. The worry over whether he was truly interested or whether he was just leading her along the garden path had finally been too much for her. He just contacted her after a 10-day communications drought.. throwing her world a little upside-down so she needs to sort herself and her feelings out. I hope she does and I hope he smartens the F*CK up!

Two words of advise to men and women out there: YES or NO. Do not give any misleading lines out to people who approach you out of romantic interest. You may think you are doing them a favor by letting them down ‘easy’ but are only compounding an already hurtful problem by giving hope to a hopeless situation.

It didn’t help that I was pining over someone myself… a person who doesn’t return phone calls . In addition, I just came to the same conclusion it does not matter. If the person I am pining over wants to develop a romantic relationship that will be great, in the interim however I’m not holding my breath.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery
I stole the roll-over code from Nightshade...

Put your mouse here! ... Ah Ha! I rule... or Nightshade rules... or somebody does!

People As A Race Are Stoopid!
I talked to a friend of mine today. We dated for a little while in January/February and while it didn't work out as a romantic relationship we maintained friendly relations. I broke it off after I realized she was still in love with her long-time ex-boyfriend. I don't like playing second fiddle in most things (Yes, I am a control freak), and certainly not in a relationship. It seems that she has gotten herself in a fair spot of trouble... she pregnant... again... getting an abortion... again... [SIGH].

I like her as a friend, and she needs help: she is allergic to latex (actually allergic... rashes and swelling etc.), but isn't careful in ensuring that she uses protection at ALL times. She engages in high-risk behavior, but seems to ignore the consequences in the 'heat of the moment'. Did I mention... the fact that she wasn't on the pill at the time because she couldn't afford it? ARGH!!! Why is that? Anyways, she gets to go an get another abortion done, and rumors have started at work about her upcoming abortion so she is getting flak from her co-workers about murdering her unborn child. That's real productive people... pressuring an obviously distressed woman into carrying a child to term that she is obviously unprepared to have: emotionally, mentally, and physically. I'm not exactly a Pro-Choice person but I do feel that using abortion as a method of birth control is wrong and isn't something that our overburdened heath care system should support. Rape, Incest, one-time errors sure... but the second and third and fourth abortions that I know some people have should not be covered.

Anyways, back to my friend. I hope she gets some help. She has promised me she is going to see a counselor, and that she is going to abstain from sex until she gets herself sorted out. I hope so… because I do not want to see a friend die from something that can easily be prevented.