Merry Christmas!

I realize that Christmas day is past, and we have now moved into "Boxing Week", a celebration of collective consumerism; however, I would like to share holiday greetings with my cyber friends. I hope that you were able to experience a little warmth and cheer this Christmas season.

I am heartily enjoying my holiday with my family in Kamloops...curling up by the faux fireplace, going for walks in +9 weather, drinking my dad's lattes...

In preparation for the new year, I have a couple of confessions I need to express:

1. My dad and I went to the Apple store on Christmas Eve and now I am dreaming at night about the macbook air...Such a slender frame with a lovely glossy screen. And the weight! A mere 2.7 pounds! I need the macbook to help me round out my image as an artsy, indie nerd. I got the dark framed glasses and the awkward, quiet persona...so I'm almost there!

2. I created a profile on EHarmony. What began as a silly joke has turned into a passionate pursuit for my one true love. Seriously.

3. My parents usually go to bed at approximately 8pm, hence I am left alone in the evenings with my book, the remote control, and a box of chocolates. Last night I watched Sarah Palin's Alaskan Adventures on TV whilst eating coconut ferrero rochers. Anyway, it's a pretty great show. Action, family dynamics, and kids with really strange names.

4. The week before I flew home I went to the gym 4 times. This phenomenon is mostly due to the encouragement of my friend Angie who used to be a personal trainer. She says nice things to me, like "Go Jennie! Pump that iron". However, I'm pretty sure I reversed any muscular progress in a mere 24 hours.

In all seriousness, I wish you a mug of relaxation, with a dollop of adventure and a sprinkling of new perspective.

Above all, may you experience the awareness that you are loved this holiday season.

A glimpse into my head

Scary title I know...

I was reading over my journal this morning, and came across an entry that I wrote almost exactly a year ago...Reading it renewed my thankfulness for the passage of time, change, and particularly the fact that I am no longer in school.

Prepare yourself...it is honest and slightly depressing:

An Excerpt from Jennie's Journal
Listening to: The Acorn
Mood: Exhausted, pensive, troubled, sad…too many words needed to describe my emotions tonight.

I am exhausted and don’t really understand why I am awake. Just need time to sit and think and regain my sense of self. Feeling pretty out of sorts lately. Like nothing is going right. Had some hard stuff happen this week. Maybe I will feel more motivated to share about them on a different day.

A busy week. I wrote two papers, prepared for a presentation, went to class, went to work, went to practicum, missed my bus, spilled chai tea all over myself and the floor...

Tonight I watched Anne of Green Gables with Bethany and laughed at how things just seemed to happen to her (just like me) and she could see a lot of the negativity, when in the end things worked out really well.

I hope things start turning out well for me.

I hope I can find 2200 dollars by Monday.

I am scared to hope.

Thank you for music and friends and family.

Sigh. I can’t help but cling to the fact that things are going to get better. They are right? Please? Gasp. I am so tired. I hate writing papers. I hate going to practicum and feeling as though I am completely inadequate.

Reading some Henri Nouwen.

In case you cared.

Learning about the power of fear, and realizing that the thing I fear most is rejection. Ouch. It hurts, it stings, it stays with me for a very long time. Just when I think I have gotten better, stronger, I find out that I am still a teenager in my obsessive self-disregard. I care too much about what people think. And it hurts.

It hurts.

I forgot to order the decaf

I went to Starbucks with my friend Janna tonight and I totally thought that I had ordered the decaf Gingerbread Latte. It is clear now that I didn't.

I love coffee.

I also love sleeping.

Sigh.

On the positive side, I don't have to work tomorrow.


I'm listening to ol' Corey tonight, sitting in front of my heater, and applying Burt's Bees lip chap every so often. This is indeed the good life.

Shine on the ones I love

I see the moon the moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the ones I love

Over the mountain over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the ones I love
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the ones I love

I kissed the rose the rose kissed me
Fragrant as only a rose can be
Please take the kiss that comforts me
Back to the ones I love

Stuff

* I think I would like to go to the Bodies Exhibit.

* I received 2 marriage proposals yesterday. Both from married men. Both from men over 80. One of the gentlemen remarked, "Where you go, I will go". I hated to point out that this was one promise he would not be likely to keep.

* I booked my flights to go home for Christmas and I'm bringing my little brother back to Winnipeg with me for a visit.

* I had a terrible dream two nights ago, and it involved several of the elderly residents and I in prison together...it wasn't pretty. There was vomit and fistfights.

* I now have a little heater in my room, and it is making my world a happier place.

* I have already managed to loose my mittens, and it hasn't even snowed yet. This is probably a record, and yet somehow not surprising.

* I have been listening to Aqualung lately.

Autumn Tunes

Do you ever look back on your life and connect certain life experiences to the music you were listening to at the time? As Autumn is now in full swing I thought I would share some of the music that I have been enjoying in this season of my life.

1. Arcade Fire: I have been greatly enjoying their lastest album.

2. The National: I just love his voice. Sigh.

3. Jordan Klassen: I keep playing "Harvest March" over and over. "Where oh death, is your sting, is your victory?"

4. Peter Broderick: Pure, contemplative beauty.

5. Passion Pit: They warm my heart.

6. Freelance Whales: I feel creative just listening to them. I love watching them perform as they are constantly switching instruments.

7. Noah and the Whale: They sing to a certain part of my soul.

8. Said the Whale: I think they are just such a nifty band. Plus they are Canadian. Plus they are from BC.

9. Vince Vaccaro: He is so dreamy and cool.

10. And lastly, the 2010 FIFA World Cup music. I don't talk about sports on my blog very often. Perhaps because I have so many embarrassing moments associated with them in my past. However, soccer is the sport that I stuck with the longest, and is the dearest to my heart.

Here comes the bombshell...

"If you look at the horizon
there is always something ducking out of sight
When you’re looking at the treetops
and they’re scratching out their patterns in the sky
Look up, open the clouds
Here comes the bombshell
On the way home…"

Isn't my sister pretty?

This picture was taken at Eat! The restaurant in Aqua Books, which has delicious food as well as Manitoba Rooibos, which is a beautiful tea.

They also have cool tea pots.





























Chuck was also at Eat!


Funny stories from the nursing home:

Male resident sitting in the dining room chewing on his breakfast toast exclaims to no one in particular: "Excuse me! Umm, I think I have the wrong teeth."

A male resident is sitting in the dining room, having just finished his lunch. As I passed by his table, I asked, "Hey, how are you doing?" To which he responded, "I'm fed up." I was surprised because usually this particular gentleman is quite amiable and happy, so I asked, "What's the matter?" The resident responded, "I just ate lunch." I paused, and pondered whether the lunch was particularly bad that day, until my brain finally caught up. I love puns.

A female resident in a wheelchair leans towards another male resident sitting in a wheelchair next to her. She asks gently, "Excuse me, are you going to the dance tonight?" To which the gentleman responded, "Well, I suppose so." The lady asked hesitantly, "Well, would you like to accompany me? We could have a lot of fun. I'll give you my number." I looked at the male resident, curious as to his response to this invitation, and discovered that he had fallen asleep.

Sidenote: There is not a large selection of available men at the nursing home, and I am quickly learning that this poses a slight dilemma for the women who are, well, looking.

It's windy.

Confession: I have a strange personal satisfaction with reading comments of CBC news articles and agreeing or disagreeing with them. It is almost as satisfying as voting. Which I did, at exactly 7:59pm tonight, one minute before the polls closed. After I had turned in my ballot I celebrated with a fist pump and a "YES! I made it."

Sam Katz won by a 20,000 majority....but I have been consoling myself by disagreeing with all the narrow minded comments on CBC.

Have you noticed that I have just expressed a rather blatant political opinion on my blog? Usually I avoid controversy and stick to the middle ground. Jennie is growing up.

In other important news, I found out that Halloween costumes are mandatory for work on Friday. I am thinking of ideas for a cheap costume that has a creative element, and does not scream status quo. It's a tough road.

This week's funny story at the nursing home:

While playing Bingo, a rogue resident wheeled herself around the tables during one of the games, and pulled a tablecloth off the table, which in turn knocked the dishes onto the floor, fully disrupting the exciting Bingo game. The dedicated staff worker that I am, I engaged the situation with attempts at bribery and begging, urging the resident to give back the tablecloth which she had tied around the arms of her wheelchair and connected to a chair. The resident began pulling the chair behind her in noisy semblance of delight. Despite my pleas for the resident to hand over the tablecloth, she denied my request with an air of stubborn indignation and a few words that will not be repeated. After exhausting my list of reasons why this lady should give me back the tablecloth, and to no avail, I had an inspiration. I admitted that I was interested in the tablecloth for business related reasons, and that I would be very interested in undergoing a trade for the tablecloth. The resident responded that such a trade would only be acceptable if she were able to see the item that would be given in exchange. I faltered. But only momentarily, for I remembered where the hand towels were kept. I offered the resident a crisp, white hand towel, freshly laundered, and still slightly warm. The trade was completed successfully, and the tablecloth was returned with no bloodshed, and only a slight prickle of sweat, and trickle of tears. On my part.

I need to clean my room

I'm cold despite my long johns and wool socks. I suppose this is a foreshadowing of future cold evenings in Jennie's bedroom. Sort of romantic in a depressing, Jane Eyre sort of way.

I need a heater.



I am enjoying my job.

This week's funny stories at the nursing home:

Two elderly residents both with Alzheimers have a particularly close connection with one another, although both are married to other people. The female resident whispers to a staff member in a dreamy voice: "____ has been very attentive lately, I think he may propose marriage, although I need to make sure that he gets baptized first."

A staff member is showing a resident to her room, and the resident remarks, "My, what a nice street this is. I'm so glad that I live in this area of the city."

I am thankful for my family.

October's got those orange eyes...

I had a dream of giant red sunflowers the other night. They were tall and looming and beautiful...and then I realized that they were growing in the middle of a swamp, and the only way that I could pick them would be to swim in brown, murky water that had steam rising from it. I tried to google the meaning of this dream...but alas, red sunflowers do not occur very often in dreams apparently.























That was random.

Don't fix my smile...

Went for a walk...

"Everything dies, they say,
Everything dies,
Their colours pierce the branches."
-Margaret Atwood-







"This is 'poetry', this song
of the wind across teeth..."
-Margaret Atwood-

Bringing in the Harvest

A Snippet

I have a sucky camera, sometimes it doesn't work. When it does work the batteries often decide to die. But I try and bring it places anyway to capture wee snippets of my life and the people in it.

Renee-the-roommate and I getting groceries at Superstore


















Katie and I went to the dog park by the University of Manitoba. Here is Katie and IV playing fetch.
























And last, but not least...my sister and soon-to-be niece or nephew. I got to feel them kicking, like 5 whole times! It was incredible. I've already read "Snuffy the Dog" to the stomach and I think we are ready to try some Jane Austen next.

Storm after the calm.

I just started working as a recreation facilitator at a nursing home. I am only a casual which means my hours are generally unknown, although I've been spending a lot of time the last couple of weeks getting to know the residents (there are over 150) and learning what each one likes in their coffee or tea. And for some, their preference changes quickly, like the gentleman who always asks for sugar in his tea, and then proclaims moments later that it is too sweet and he would like a fresh cup.

I've quickly been gaining a collection of hilarious one-liners from certain residents at my new job...here is a small sampling:

Male resident whistles at me.

Me: "Did you just whistle at me?"

Resident: "No"...(Long Pause)..."I whistled at your rear-end."


Male resident states that his pants are falling down
Another female resident nearby responds: "Oh Goody, a bum!"

I just realized that both of these one-liners refer to the butt....next time I will try and have more variety.

I am thankful for this job.

Being busy with work has been a refreshing if somewhat exhausting change from my lovely hiatus. It has also been a wee bit stressful, and my body has succumbed to a germ and as a result I am sick and cankersore ridden. I am also grumpy, which is an even less endearing quality, but in the spirit of honesty and vulnerability, I feel like sharing.

Grumpy, sick Jennie crawls under her fuzzy green blanket and thinks about how nice it would be to live closer to her mother, so that she could have tea made for her, someone to tuck in the blankets and remind her to gargle with salt water.

Grumpy, sick Jennie watches Grey's Anatomy.

Grumpy, sick Jennie wishes she had a vanilla milkshake, even though she knows the sugar would likely just prolong the illness.

Grumpy, sick Jennie wishes she had caught the right bus this morning so that she could sit beside the cute boy, instead of catching the wrong bus and having to run 10 blocks to work.

Grumpy, sick Jennie likes this music, even though it reminds her about the reality of Manitoba winters, as depicted below by The Wilderness of Manitoba.



Don't worry. It's still Autumn. For now.

It's a sleepy Friday evening, with gray skies and swaying trees.

I am about to commence a baking spree tonight. On the agenda is a recipe called, "Pretty Little Brownie Bites" compliments of The Pioneer Woman.