Jemma

dancing, naked people

2010-06-23T13:02:00.002-06:00

The last two years of nursing school have robbed me of my love for writing. For awhile there I actually thought I hated it even. Nope. I just hate writing about things that have no relevance to me. Like nursing theories. It is almost all behind me though and I can continue writing about things that don't really matter but still provide me with entertainment.

For example. There are several shirtless, fit, tanned men running around in my neighborhood at present. In theory my roomies and I should be pleased by this fact but reality is that they are ruining our lives! They steal our parking spots, operate shrill sounding machinery in the wee hours of the morning, leave nails on the roads that flatten our tires, stare into our windows while they eat their lunches...poo in our neighbors yards when they think no one can see them. Seriously! My neighbor actually heard from another neighbor-friend that a wayward construction worker was caught in the act of deficating on a well-maintained, lush suburban lawn. And apparently in the field behind our house in broad daylight. And....who knows where else?! Our garbage cans? Eavestroughs? Under our decks? Like stray dogs they think the world is their choo (that is swahilli for "toilet"...in case you don't speak swahilli). What I'm really trying to say is there is nothing sexier than a man who knows how to drop his pants on the spot and take a dump without interrupting whatever it was he was previously doing. Boys take note! I hope you feel liberated by this...those construction guys obviously did.

At least some of our neighbors are normal and don't dance naked (while brushing their hair) in front of their window for us to see. Well maybe they do, but our house doesn't face the ones we know. Relationships tend to change when you see people dancing naked. I have no experience with naked, dancing people personally but my intuition leads me to believe that I would feel uncomfortable with our friendship later on if I were ever to witness such a phenomena. Especially when they found out I had posted the video to YouTube and it had gone viral in less than two days...

I'm just saying!

SHERWOOD PARK HYUNDAI HAS TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

2010-03-29T17:55:00.004-06:00

Sherwood Park Hyundai does not care about customer service. They are dishonest scammers. DO NOT BUY CARS FROM THEM!

identity crisis?

2008-06-03T00:19:00.009-06:00

Life happens, and so do distractions. I have to admit that I haven't been totally on track with this whole writing businack but... :) luckily my fans are faithful. And who has the time to sit at their computer when the sun is shining, there is ice cream to be eaten, motorcycles to be ridden, fires to be roasting hot dogs over (or if you're Leigh, plastic), pickup trucks to be hot tubbing in the back of, significant others to be saying goodbye to...

My special friend moved to Revelstoke today and I am...jealous. I mean I miss him and all, but somewhere between sadness and lonliness lies a small tinge of envy. He is living my dream. Snowy winters with deep, beautiful powder, steep skihills, gorgeous valleys and mountains, lakes, peace and quiet, hiking, boating, the nearby okanagan, vineyards, fruit farms...darn him! Why do I live in the city??? I am squandering my youth in this concrete jungle. And as for all those who are taking off to Golden, seriously guys, take me with you. I'll sleep in the bath tub.

Anyway, all ranting aside, life is pretty cool. I've had a few adventures in the last month. I've been eating alot of aquatic life lately (lobster, sushi, octupus, raw tuna), which is a little weird for a fish-hater. Apparently my hatred was unfounded. Nowadays, you can give me anything that formerly had gills, fins, tentacles, or an exo-skeleton and I'm game. If it can swim or hold it's breath for an extended period of time...I'll entertain ideas of it lying on my dinner plate. I've also acquired an addiction to bubble tea, vietnamese soup, and vietnamese coffee. And I know how this might all be sounding, like I'm turning asian or something...it's like I don't even know who I am anymore.

Back to the whole seafood thing. I have to say, I find boiling live lobsters to be a little cruel (even if they do sort of resemble my nemesis, the arachnid). I was sort of tempted to stroke the poor little crustaceans tentacles as it kicked it's numerous legs in a desperate, but futile, attempt to climb out of the scalding liquid. I wanted to console it and tell it that it would be alright and that I really hadn't intended on cracking it apart with my metal tools and scattering it all over my plate (and sometimes the floor...and wall). I kind of wanted to save it from that awful fate and make it my pet. I sort of questioned how well it would have gotten along with Leigh's cats though. I pictured them not playing very fairly with my pet lobster - constantly excluding it from their game of tag (because he would have an unfair advantage with all those legs) and batting at his tentacles. The lobster probably wouldn't be able to climb on the cat jungle very well either. Or jump up on the bed. I dunno, I think he would have been pretty fun to have around though. You know, a different kind of pet. But then I ate him. And he was delicious.

Poor little guy.

life happens

2008-03-13T13:02:00.012-06:00

Have you ever noticed how some of the coolest adventures and best times of your life happen randomly? As in, if someone hadn't been spontaneous or creative (either yourself or someone else), you wouldn't have gone on to all those crazy places and have all the fond memories that you do (of course some of the trips took alot of planning...don't think I'm trying to take away from someone's hard work)? At least that is what I have been finding as I look back in time. Things just happen, and some of the best things that have happened I couldn't have conceived on my own. I guess I'm not just talking about events that took place, but also the people I have met and some of the things I have learned. I suppose that is what I mean when I say that life is better lived unplanned. God is so much more creative than I am. I have come to realize that life is so much more fulfilling, exciting, colorful, joy-filled, beautiful, amazing, etc. when we let God guide us through it.

And without further adieu...some of the more amazing moments in my recent past:

The West Coast Trail Summer 2006

Idaho Roadtrip Fall 2006

Hawaii Spring 2007

Kayaking Trip Summer 2007

I thoroughly look forward to the next adventure...I'll just have to wait and see what awesome things 2008 has in store. I'm excited:)

realizations

2008-03-07T14:42:00.004-07:00

That it is easy to accumulate alot of useless stuff. that useless stuff is surprisingly difficult to get rid of. that although falling down my staircase is extremely painful, I love battle wounds (if you can call falling down the staircase a battle). that there are alot of interesting places to visit and things to see on this earth. that life is more fun lived mostly unplanned. that doing taxes can be satisfying. that I have a surprising amount of inner geek. that boys who sing and play guitar are easy to fall in love with (ie. jack johnson). that it is nice to have someone to cook for you. that getting mail is one of the loveliest things ever. that it's all in my mind. that I own some of the most resilient tetras ever hatched (they refuse to die!). that humor makes the world a little more bearable. that the sun makes life a little more bareable. that I would really love to reside in a tropical country right now. that, according to the advice of my 89 year-old patient, I should never grow old. that there is a huge need for grace, but so little of it demonstrated. that some of the simplest pleasures can be found in a box of popsicles (that's a little affirmation for julie). that I know alot of really interesting people. that starbucks should never be allowed to play opera music. that life is better lived in the moment. that God is alot more creative than I am. that randomness makes the world go round. that my timing is often very off. that life is very short. that you can dance anywhere. that some of the most thrilling activites are made even more thrilling when done naked (ie. naked cliff jumping, naked bungee jumping, naked bowling). that life is more fun when you rap about it. that bananas aren't all that bad. that is it cooler to speak in sentence fragments.

good morning starshine, the earth says hello!

2008-02-29T09:59:00.003-07:00

I never thought I'd be saying this but...I love mornings! I love the feeling of getting up...starting the day early and getting the most out of it. You know, instead of sleeping through the brilliant, rising sun and chirping birds, getting out of bed to enjoy the fresh beauty of a new day...
And yes, this is Jenna writing this post. Shocking hey? Anyone who knows me well knows that historically, morning has been my mortal enemy. In the past, not only did I not wake up until most of it was over, but even after I pulled my sorry, lethargic self out of bed I still wasn't fully conscience until closer to dinner. Yes it's true, I was not born a morning person. But recently I have started to realize that I have been missing out all these years. There really is nothing more enjoyable than getting up and going for a walk first thing in the morning. It is such a wonderful thing. And today while I was strolling down a river valley path with some friends we encountered a loonie and two quarters lying in the middle of the path. How does that old adage go? The early bird gets the cold hard cash? If that's not positive enforcement then I don't know what is. At the very least it was enough to buy a coffee to wake one of us up enough to open our eyes. It is tricky trying to navigate an icy, twisty path with closed eyes...

Jitterbug stroll

2008-02-13T23:22:00.001-07:00

knee slap, knee slap...breaktime!

jitterbugging penguins

2008-02-13T22:27:00.003-07:00

Well, I realize that I've been gone for quite some time and there is a good chance hardly anyone reads this anymore...but I'm going to write something anyway. If anything this is for Julie, Lowell, Duane, and Kevan. The ones who won't let me forget about this blog.
It sort of seems as though I should be writing this from a distant country where there are new and exciting things happening aroud me everyday. Writing about daily life in Edmonton is a much more challenging task. I suppose this means I'll have to be creative. Either that or write about how this city seems to sneak farther north everyday and how, if we're going to live in such a artic climate, we should at least get to have penguins waddling about. How awesome would that be? In BC we had herds of deer in our yard all the time. I'd much rather have to walk through a herd of penguins in my yard to take the trash to garbage cans in the alley. Perhaps it is all wishful thinking. sigh. I'd even settle for polar bears. anything to take my mind off of this harsh weather...I'll bet it's really hard to be concerned with -40 degree temperatures when you have a ravenous polar bear nipping at your heels.

Back to the whole blogging thing, does anyone really blog anymore (other than Lowell, Julie, Duane, and Kevan)? I mean, is it just me or was blogging just a phase that died out as soon as facebook came on the scene? Am I trying to relive an era long gone? Luckily I am into myself enough that I don't need an audience to write to:)

I really don't have much to say this time around, but it is a start right? Like Cher, even though I probably should have stayed in retirement, I am back on the scene. But before I go I want to share a video of the new dance I have been learning in my swing dance class. Actually it's a really old dance, but still really awesome. A couple of months ago my grandma wrote to me and told me how she had been doing the jitterbug at a senior dance over christmas. I didn't really know what it was at time, but now that I have been learning the jitterbug I find myself impressed with my grandma's agility. I mean, she is old. Maybe this is arrogant, but I find that I am sweating buckets by the time I'm done the jitterbug stroll. I am starting to worry that my 87 year old grandma is in better shape than I am....

Calvin & Hobbes Snow Art

2007-10-09T00:38:00.001-06:00

One of the funniest comic strips ever...

Proverbs 31:10-31

2007-09-18T15:54:00.000-06:00

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

29 "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Into Thin(ish) Air

2007-09-12T15:14:00.000-06:00

Recently I have been rereading this book about climbing Mount Everest called "Into Thin Air." The first time I read it it terrified me and I couldn't imagine why anyone would subject themselves to that kind of torture, or why they would risk their lives to climb a mountain. Climbing Everest was definitly the last thing on earth I wanted to do. But reading the book again almost 10 years later I am feeling a bit differently about it...I sort of find the whole thing a bit thrilling. Like, maybe I wouldn't want to climb Mount Everest, but the idea of climbing big mountains is very appealing. I think I may be coming down with a bit of "summit fever." Not 29,000 foot summit fever, but rather 11,000 - 13,000 foot summit fever. I suddenly want to climb a whole bunch of mountains. And I don't just want to walk up the mountain to the peak, I want to be challenged and risk a little more to get to the top. So this weekend David is giving me the opportunity to try something a bit more technical. We are going to climb Mount Athabasca.

I am pretty excited. There will be harnesses, ropes, ice axes, crampons, glaciers, crevasses, seracs...just like in the book. To a considerably lesser degree that is (although it would be cool to climb something that required sherpa assistance), but still it will be awesome.

We aren't leaving for our climb for another couple days but I was so excited that, to my roommates surprise, I felt the need to put on all my gear and walk around the house in it. If they think that is weird, wait until snowboarding season when I am tromping around my house in snowsuit, toque, goggles, mitts, and snowboarding boots. They really haven't seen anything yet...

loser club

2007-09-12T14:38:00.000-06:00

So a couple of years ago I was having a conversation with Julie Greidanus (now Taylor) about something kind of geeky. We were discussing how exciting it is to get email. Especially when you are sitting at your computer and you hear that new email notification chime that you get when you are signed into msn messenger. AND when you see that little window that tells you that you have a new email...yeah, super thrilling. Actually when we were talking about it, we both realized that, not only were we excited to get new email, but we were excited talking about getting new email. In the end (and with the help of another friend who was listening to our head spinning conversation) we concluded that we were big losers and that we should make a club and proclaim ourselves co-presidents. We would call this club simply "Loser Club" and anyone else who could admit to their own nerdy habits would be welcome to join. Anyway, I sort of forgot about this conversation after awhile, that is, until Julie gave me this special present for my birthday...

The other day I found myself very excited by a new email I got from Julie so I decided to go whip the shirt back out. This is for you Julie...we obviously can't fight it so let us embrace our loser status!

stalker

2007-09-04T01:45:00.000-06:00

I'd be super surprised if people even thought to check our blog seeing as we have basically abandoned it over the summer. Actually we started abandoning it even earlier than that but were mostly in denial about it. Stupid facebook. It is so time consuming and yet a poor substitute for blogging. Not that we ever blogged about anything substantial...
So summer whizzed by even faster than it whizzed by last year. I spend the better part of the year wishing for summer to come (the sad fact about canada is that the better half of the year happens to be winter) and then in a blink it has come and gone and I am left feeling this great loss. After my 23 years of summers and winters though, I have decided it's time to cope better with seasonal changes and maybe even try to embrace them. Now if we could only get rid of February, March, and April this task would be easier (my apologies to everyone who has a birthday in these months - you would just have to do without). For some reason those 3 months seem to drag out winter to the max. And don't get me wrong, I really love winter, it's just that eventually one gets tired from being under all those layers.
Anyway, onward to fall. I think New Years should start in September. I can't really explain why, but it just makes sense. School starts, the air gets colder, people return from their summer adventures...and stuff. It just seems like a good time to change life up. You know, buy a new pet (just in case the old one[s] dies in a tragic accident that has nothing whatsoever to do with the owner), get a new hairstyle (double mohawk anyone? hengen?), new timing belt...whatever strikes ones fancy really. Due to my inability to think for myself, I've decided to copy everyone else in my family and take up photography. I'm not expecting anything big here, I just got this new toy for my birthday (a very pretty, almost-new SLR) and now I want to photograph everything in site. Although one of my most recent observations is that fancy cameras have this magical ability to turn even the most innocent, unsuspecting individuals into creepy stalkers. I would like to avoid this if at all possible. Either that or harness it and turn it into something useful. I was thinking that for all the camera stalking my brother Kevan does in his business he would probably be quite successful as a sniper. I mean, there are obvious steps, like maybe he'd try his hand as paparazzi before jumping straight into the sniper business. And yeah, maybe he'd have to learn how to use a gun or poison blow dart shooter or something. Perhaps I will mention this to him. Now that he is no longer teacher full-time this might be a nice little side business apart from his photography business.
I completely forgot what the point of this post was. Oh wait, I never had a point to begin with! Regardless, I feel the need to end this somehow. So...
In conclusion, I really dislike eating fish.

A new look

2007-06-15T13:31:00.000-06:00

For whatever reason I was feeling our previous template was a little bit dark and that, because it is now summer, our blog should look like summer too.

a sleepy masterpiece

2007-05-16T05:08:00.000-06:00

Against my better judgement I have decided to write a blog. It is 5am and I have been awake all night long and am completely lacking the ability to thinking clearly. And yet I still blog. It is breaktime for me on medicine unit 5echo3 and not wanting to waste precious "downtime" doing homework I have commited myself to writing a masterpiece. I'll be sure to run my spellchecker over it later. I wish there were such things as grammar checkers. I know this may come as some surprise to you all, but even I must resort to a spellchecker every now and then. I have this nifty little electronic dictionary/thesaurus/spell-checker that I have been known to tote around from time to time just in case I ever need to correct someone or appear more brilliant than I really am. During the first few months of owning this silver beauty my friends and family became envious and started referring to me as geeky for possessing such an amazing grammatical tool. I had to keep the dictionary close at hand for fear of someone kidnapping it in a jealous rage. At first I kept it in my purse, but since I often left my purse unattended I became fearful that my poor little gadget was too vunerable. Especially with all my so-called "friends" lurking about. To rectify the situation I purchased a cute little fanny pack so that the dictionary would never have to leave my side, or rather, my fanny. Also, the fanny pack provides quick and easy access in the case that I ever find myself in an emergency situation. The fanny pack has quite a large capacity and can even hold things like water bottles, slap bracelets, and protective eyewear.

In other news, I must report that I am feeling quite ill at the moment. I just ate my supper, or should I say, breakfast and it seems as though my poor little stomach is not up to digesting at this hour. I don't blame it, I do not really want to function at this hour either. And like my stomach, I am finding it difficult to function well. The sick part (excuse the pun) is that I typically spend the entire shift forcing myself to stay awake and alert. By the time 7am rolls around and the shift is done I am barely able to form sentences, let alone muster the energy to wipe my drool off the nursing station desk and drag myself to the elevator. It is hard being in an environment where you have to watch people sleep but cannot fall asleep yourself. Anyway, by the time I have walked to my car and made it home without running any cyclists or pedestrians over I find myself starting to wake up. Now this doesn't usually happen until I have pulled onto my street and have turned the ignition off. It is as though I suddenly snap out of a long, fuzzy dream and find myself sitting in my car. I usually find it hard to recall the details of my trip home, but I assume that I haven't hit anyone or anything because there are no dog leashes or bits of clothing or buildings stuck to my car. And although I can hear the sirens around me, I have yet to receive a visit from any of the friendly neighborhood police officers. I think I am doing pretty good so far, after my mom would finish a shift at the hospital she would almost always come home with deer bits all over the hood of the car. It was only a matter of time before she came home with people bits on the car.
So as I was saying, by the time I get home I am wide awake and practically bouncing off the walls. The sun is shining and there are so many distractions...and yet, I know that if I don't force myself to go to bed I will probably end up falling down my stairs in a fit of narclepsy later on. My poor body gets so confused on nightshifts.

Well, I am having trouble focusing on the screen so I should end this here. That and I am starting to drool on the keyboard and fear that I might electrocute myself. Good thing I am in the hospital already.

Good night or good morning. I am not sure.

the transrockies

2007-05-02T12:55:00.000-06:00

My brother Matt and Rocky (the guy who owns the RockHard gym from our hometown) signed up to do the TransRockies Race this summer...best of luck to them!

Beautiful Ladies (Beautiful Girls) - Opihi Pickers

2007-04-10T11:23:00.001-06:00

another song that frequented our radio while on the island. this video is kind of funny...

Ziggy Marley - Beach in Hawaii

2007-04-10T11:21:00.001-06:00

This video is cool for a couple of reasons. First, because this song is the one we frequently listened to while cruising around the island. And second, the video was shot by some random guy and most the places he shows are the places we visited while there. His cliff jumping shot was filmed at South Point where we also went cliff jumping. Anyway, gotta love ziggy.

on the beach in hawaii

2007-04-10T10:26:00.000-06:00

With time zipping by at the speed of light, it has already been more than a week since we returned from our hawaii trip. In a way it both saddens and excites me. While I really miss being in hawaii, if time is going by fast it means that I will be on my (tentative) sea kayaking trip in July. Although the downside to this is that it too will be over quickily. Also, I don't want to wish away the spring and summer months as they are so rare up here in the artic north. For example, the day before it was warm and sunny, today it is cold and sucking...I mean snowing. Snowing all over the place. Snow on the dead brown grass, snow on the pinic table, snow in my face...it is getting into everything! Including my plans for summer weather.
Anyway, I am going to go back into my happy place and recount some of the details of the hawaii trip while it is still fresh in my sleep-deprived mind. So, the weather was perfect. It was a constant 28 - 30 degrees everyday - just enough to singe every part of my exposed epidermis. Warm enough to dehydrate me to the point of sun stroke (I should have known better, but it's been so long since I last saw the sun that I forgot its potential...). We went snorkling, hiked down through a tropical forest to a cove and watched surfers surf 10 foot waves, ate lots of wonderful local fruit, drank coffee (sadly even with Kona's 'best coffee in the world' we still managed to locate a starbucks on the island), perused through all the farmer's markets, swam with the sea turtles, mocked american tourists, watched amazing sunsets every night, slayed us some coconuts, cliff jumped, played with geckos...the list goes on. We did alot of cruising around in Lewis's Land Rover listening to all the relaxing, drug-inspired island music. For that short week it seemed perfect and just what the doctor ordered. We put on our flip flops and sunscreen (but not enough apparently) and momentarily forgot about life back home.
Then we arrived home back to our snowy, cold reality. Luckily though, it is April and we can still look forward to spring and summer. And maybe our summers aren't filled with tropical flowers and palm trees, but to me summer in Canada can be just as beautiful. Anyone wanting to argue with that comment go and hike the West Coast Trail first and then get back to me.

jenna

Native Hawaiian now

2007-04-02T21:52:00.000-06:00

I am back from Paradise. I have a really lovely tan to prove it. Sun-burn faded into sun tan. Just to clarify something, my Hawaiian name is not the ridiculous one that Jenna made up for me. She thought she was soo funny. Kakalimu Jenna!

It was a very good time. I would like to live there in a tree house in the Tropical forest. I could live off fresh fruit from my backyard forest and swim in the ocean to stay clean. I would drink Kava and slay coconuts which i would then use to make bowls and spoons. I would make coffee from the coffee bean trees and pineapple juice from pineapples in the ground.

I shall add some pics to share with the world.

I am still tired from the overnight flight. I shoudl have left a day after for sleeping. It is only 6pm in Kona and so my body is exhausted and confused.

Good night!

Anna

Howzit

2007-03-31T02:30:00.000-06:00

Aloha!

Local people say howzit. They say other strange things like flip flops are jap slaps. interesting eh?

so at this time we are still in Hawaii. About five times a day we consider ways to never leave this place. I love it. Kona is less touristy than other
hawaiian locations and so it is not overwhleming.

Our burns are flaking into lovely tans. Some patches of Jenna's skin look kinda like rawhide, but i think that she will pull through all right. At least compared to the rest of Edmonton, we will be dark.

anna - or as they call me in hawaii...mauikonaoahuini (can be shortened to makohu)

hello peoples of the artic north, it is I, Jenna...the soon to be hawaiian native. Yes, I am getting so dark that I almost look a different ethnicity. I figured, what the hey, why don't I just reside here since I fit in so well? So that is the plan. To reside here. It's been nice knowing ya'll. David, it would never have worked anyway. However, if you want to come to HI then delete that last comment in your mind. The lava here is hot, so are the beaches, and the men (I am just quoting anna, I do not have eyes for the men here). I am going to go downtown to purchase a pair of jap slaps tomorrow and also a surf board.

hang ten.

J-dawg or as they call me in hawaii...Juakini

Golden memories

2007-03-20T04:53:00.000-06:00

This last weekend officially marked the end of winter and the beginning of spring for me. When the last run has been skiied (or in my case, viciously ripped up by the sharp edges of my snowboard)for me there is no longer any other reason for winter to linger. Snow has no other purpose than to provide Warren Miller with a subject for all his films and for the rest of us winter sport enthusiasts with something to do in the winter. And even then, I don't have much use for it in places other than the mountains.
Hengen, Kevan, Leah, Duane, Karyn, Matt, and I just came back from a glorious, muscle-aching weekend of snowboarding at Kicking Horse. I love that resort. I am starting to love it almost as much as I love Fernie. Given enough time there I think I could love it more than Fernie. It is steep, it is deep - it is heaven in the form of cornices, powder, cliffs, and gondolas. It has everything...even a live grizzly in a little hut on the edge of one of the runs. His name is Boo and he is the keeper of the Kicking Horse.
I took my camera but mostly forgot to use it. For everyone who was not on the trip the highlight of the weekend might appear to be Duane brushing his teeth after his morning bagel.

So now that I am back and have satisfied my snowboarding needs I am ready to fully embrace spring. And since Edmonton is not as ready as I am for warm weather and sunshine, I intend to find it elsewhere. Elsewhere = Hawaii. Our plane leaves this saturday afternoon and we don't plan on coming back until Edmonton sheds its winter skin. For 9 days we will bask in the warm Hawaiian sun, splash in shark-infested waters, fling ourselves off cliffs into the sea, and picnic on active volcanos. Hopefully when we return Alberta will be ready for Anna's flip flop...because I know I will be.

Upon requests I am graciously willing to spend some of my time in Hawaii thinking about my friends back home. Just ask where and when you want me to think about you (example: Kristy Bidne, day 5, on the beach) and I will arrange a moment for it to happen. It will almost be as good as being there yourself...you may never feel the need to visit tropical paradise again.

Jenna

March 8 was the day

2007-03-12T23:46:00.000-06:00

March 8 was the day that I decided was the day to take out my thongs (flip flops for those of you uncomfortable with the proper term)

five months of winter and counting...I am too impatient to wait any longer. Normally I start wearing my flip flop thongs in February, but these are snowy times. March 8 was also the first time that I got to see the sights of Innisfail. In a long story shortened, I was walking around Innisfail in my flip flop thongs looking for the local impound lot, and there was mud, and ice, and snow.

Mud + ice + snow = dirty & cold feet.

I looked down at my unfortunately clad feet and laughed out loud for all the townies to hear.

This adventure did not stop me from wearing flip flop thongs again. I have been wearing them ever since. Even though it is a little bit crazy.

Anna

On a scale of cold...

2007-03-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

There are exactly 20 days until I arrive in Hawaii. It seems quite far away still. 3 weeks is the equivalent of 2 papers and four finals. When you look at it in those terms it feels like 20 days will never finish before I get to feel the hot sun burning the top layer of my flesh. After five months of snow a sun burn will be a welcome change. Normally I try to protect against skin damage, but this may be the first time that I dare the sun to alter my skin colour to a nice rouge.

Yesterday was soo lovely that I had to go outside and wade through the slush. But, when I use the word lovely it has to be understod from the context of a comparison to the day before. Friday was soo cold that I could hear ice crystals crunching inside my legs when I quit waiting for the bus after 25 minutes and then went back home. This said, I find it humourous that nice weather in Edmonton is relative to the weather the day before. On a scale of cold...

Hawaii will be a nice reprieve from Edmonton. If I could, I would bring our hosts a bucket of snow to treasure. The locals have probably never seen it before.

This moment of thinking about Hawaii was a vacation in itself from thinking about homework stuff. I may not even need to go. Just Kidding!

Anna

yogging

2007-02-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have finally discovered a good use for this frigid artic north weather we are most often uncerimoniously subjected to. Jogging. Normally when I engage in strenuous activities that make me sweat I get far too overheated and then want to give up. Now I still want to give up just because jogging mostly sucks, but strangely enough I feel like I want to give up less. By the time I am finished and am arriving back at my house (10 minutes after leaving my house), I am a nice temperature. And if I find a way to ignore the stabbing pain in my chest and abdomen, and the lack of oxygen in my lungs, I figure I will eventually begin to somewhat tolerate jogging in the winter. Jogging in the summer is a entirely different thing altogether. The only way I can figure out how to get around the overheating issue is to jog naked. Yeah, exactly...the solution seems far too easy. I guess I still have awhile to think about it.

Someone once told me you feel something called a joggers high after jogging. The only high I feel is attributed to the fact that I am usually about to pass out due to the lack of oxygen going to my brain. Frankly smoking something seems easier.

Jenna

We are soo bad at this

2007-02-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

We are terribe at keeping this thing updated! But, since I have homework to procrastinate from doing, finding something to blog about seems rather appealing. Back in the days of University in Lethbridge, it was much easier to procrastinate from homework. There were always people that wanted to play Rook or go to a movie. If Liane was not home then Jenna and I would think of some way to PUNK Liane's room. Like the time that we stuffed everything into balloons or when we placed a hundred post-it-notes on every available surface. I am sure that Liane remembers those times with just as much fondness. I think that since going back to University I have created a schedule of cleaning my room that correlates quite accuratley with the due dates of all my major assignments and exams.

Hmm... only 5 minutes have passed. This is hard. There has got to be better things to do to procrastinate. I need some ideas.

A.W.

just a spoon full of sugar...

2007-02-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

As usual, Anna Horgus is right. It has been far too long since I shared my story with the peoples. Sadly, my story is rather short and uneventful. I will spare you all from my many "epic" tales of exam-writing and employment. It is my desire to bring words of great cheer and joy instead. Unfortunately, I cannot think of any at this time as my head is full of sinus fluid and might, at any given moment, explode and spray little bits of jenna cerebrum and cerebellum everywhere. As you might already have guessed, I am ill. Unlike my dear friend anna, I will not be attempting any courageous feats such as 'tire changing' or 'dance class' in the near future. Instead I will remain a prisoner of my spacious, comfortable loft, that is, at least for the next 24 hours. And oh, what a long 24 hours it will be. There is not even a television or good old fashioned game of twister in the vicinity.
I am still quite contagious so any gifts, flowers, money, soft, furry animals, and/or sympathy notes may be placed at the bottom of my staircase. I have positioned a little bell on the third stair from the bottom that people may ring to inform me that they have left me something. I do not have any masks or gloves available at this time so I advise gift-bearers not to linger. Although, I will leave a scheduler at the bottom of the stairs next to the bell so that my fan...I mean, friends, may request to spend time with me later on in the week when I not so close to death's door. Time slots are limited and will go fast so come early and bring the biggest gift.

Jenna

Man Skills

2007-02-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a markable day. I added to my list of skills, a man skill. My friend Liane came to pick me up to go out for coffee and just before we left she noticed that the back tire on the passenger's side was flat. While she was looking for the phone number for Roadside assistance, I worked on getting the lugnuts off the tire. I had one left by the time she found it. So she didnt call. She hoisted the jack and I put on the donut. This may be presumptuous, but for one afternoon I was her hero. When you read this Liane: "I can be your hero baby..." Play this song in your head. You know the one.

Today Tire changing, tuesday dancing, thursday...... I may bake something.

Anna

Over the Hill

2007-01-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

I know it is now a day too late, but I just wanted to wish my brother Kevan a happy birthday.

Happy 26th Kevan!!! May you and Wayne Gretzky have many more.

Jenna

dance dance revolution

2007-01-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

there was a day when Jenna blogged more than I. Can I steal the right to bother Jenna about needing to Blog more often? votes?

Dance lessons started tonight. First we watched them demonstrate the dance and then after a few practises with girls on one side and boys on the other, then we had to go find a partner and dance. Well, I sucked soo much that guys ran away from me. Practising on separate sides was actually a chance for guys and girls to size eachother up and check out skills. At least that is my theory. It was lucky for me though when Ruthey left and her partner was left unattended. After staying an extra hour after the lesson for some extra instruction (from James) I think that I have a tiny grasp of the footwork for the Waltz.

By the end of the semester I anticipate being able to do one dance. But not one single one, a new modernized combination of all the dances that looks nothing like anything the dance instructors could recognize. I am convinced that since my learning curve is longer than everyone else, I will not master any and have to improvise a combination of all of them. This will be the birth of the new one. during The spring I may hold my own dance lessons for anyone interested in learning modern ballroom dances for the gracefully inept. Sign up will start soon and cost will be a skill trade-off. I give you dance lesson you teach me a new skill of yours.

Sign up here.

Anna

Edmonton is shrinking

2007-01-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else feel sick of this snow? I am feeling itchy to have hot weather and green grass. Roller blades and flopping. The longer that this snow takes up space, the more that Edmonton feels like it is shrinking. I suppose that I could try snow flopping.

Anna

I figured out how to turn back time!

2007-01-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

My alarm went off at 7 this morning to signal that I needed to wake up, shower and get ready for school. So I jumped out of bed, showered, dressed, did my hair, and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I was completly surprised though when, I read the clock on the stove and it read 6:40.

While I was in the shower I turned back time!!!

It was 20 minutes earlier than when I woke up. I was so overwhlemed by this ability that i stared into space for a few minutes trying to decide what to do with my new found time. I didnt have to leave until 8:20, but I was ready for school. I almost read my textbook to celebrate. GOOD NEWS! I didnt read it and instead went to bed for a little longer. Ahhh...what super power will I have tommorrow.....?

Anna

Coffee O.D.

2007-01-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

I actually physically reached the point where I consumed too much coffee. Not only was I awake alll night last night,(not even a little bit tired), but I had to pee all night too.

I went out to watch the Battle of Alberta last night with my friend Liane, of which Calgary won 3-1, and all I really ordered was a cup of coffee (and 10 10cent wings). Hockey games are generally about 3 hours long, that means 3 hours of refilling my coffee. 3 hours of solid coffee consumption. I still felt water-logged during church this morning. My stomach made water splooshing sounds as I walked about.

Anna

so that's how it's gonna end...

2007-01-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I figured it was time to discover what fate awaits me:

You scored as Poison. Your death will be by poison, probably because you are a glutton and are around so many people that it would be easy to get away with it. Several important people in history share your fate.

Poison

80%

Eaten

73%

Natural Causes

67%

Gunshot

60%

Stabbed

53%

Bomb

53%

Suicide

47%

Disease

47%

Accident

47%

Suffocated

40%

Disappear

33%

Cut Throat

20%

Drowning

How Will You Die??
created with QuizFarm.com

shoot.

jenna

Co-blogging on our co-blog

2007-01-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Anna and I have had many requests recently to update our blog. SO we decided that, since we were hanging out together this afternoon, that we would write a blog together. The first of its kind.
Anna said to me, "what should we blog about Jenna?" I said to her, "something that we always discuss when we are together." To which she replied, "ourselves and how hot we are?"
"Exactly," I said.
She then began laughing uncontrollably like a Tickle-Me-Elmo and started making gurgling noises out of her nose.

"Seriously," she said. Then we got serious.

Some funky music came on the stereo and we began to groove. Music from 1997, the best year ever for music. Music that shaped how we viewed the world. Songs like "sex and candy" altered our perception of candy while "Glycerine" and "Mo Money Mo Problems" made us aware of real world issues. The best memories of the 7th grade I have are when I would cruise the streets of Elkford on my skateboard with my ghetto blaster loudly projecting Weird Al's soul-seeking single "Amish Paradise." Anna has similar memories. She single handedly ruled her Coalhurst hood listening to Coolio and dribbling a soccer ball around The Hurst's 4 metropolitan blocks. She could often be seen sitting on the sidewalk drinking her favorite chic-a-cherry Cola. Yep, 1997 was an epic year for the both of us. One decade ago this year.

In other news, Anna reports that she will be posting random acts of dancing in the upcoming future. Stay tuned...

AJ Wilgus

dance fever

2007-01-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

I am going to take dance lessons!!!'

Even though I have 5 left feet, they have let me sign up.

I made a new years resolution this year. It was to quit drinking coffee. As a back-up resolution I decided to acquire new skills. the coffee one was a fake one I suppose, since deep down I did not actually want give up my favourite beverage, snack and replacment meal.

Anna

ok go

2006-12-07T23:54:00.001-07:00

this brings me such joy.

J

SIGH

2006-11-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Snow makes me so very happy. I don't really know what purpose it serves in the city (other than for aesthetic value and smashing up your car) but as long as the Elk Valley is getting dumped on (which it is) my heart is full of joy. It's going to be a very merry christmas this year.

I just watched the latest Warren Miller film. I am now fully inspired to go out and attempt to duplicate that which I have seen...

back to the land of sorels and giant snowplows

2006-11-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

You know you're getting old when you find Christmas a source of stress. For the first time...ever, I am anticipating christmas shopping to be holiday hell. The moment I step foot in a shopping center I feel clausterphobic and tense. I fear that if I stop for one second I will become roadkill for the masses of cell-phone toting maniacs and offspring. Mass consumerism has once again sucked all the joy and goodwill out of the season, leaving a pile of spoiled, materialistic gnomes in it's wake. I don't think it was ever meant to be like this.

the city is exhausting.

On a happier note, I am very excited to be retreating to small town BC where I can escape the general public and hide away in my parents cozy home on our quiet street. The place where I see the stars at night from my driveway and fear being attacked by the aggressive deer living in our backyard. I miss simple things like that. Sometimes I even miss the people - the ones who wear their snowmobiling suits and sorels to the grocery store to get milk (why drive a boring old car when you can rip through the streets of town on something called "The Snowmeister 3000"?). I miss the delinquent youth smoking pot behind the dumpsters while trying to light the mall on fire. I even miss the hicks. There is something very endearing about it all.

I think the first thing I'm going to do when I get home is build a snow fort. Kevan? Matthew? Daniel? Leah? You guys in?

J.

beautiful Italian Man

2006-11-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

So I worked a job for my Temp agency today asking travellers going between Edmonton and Calgary some questions. This survey will be used as research for the upcoming high-speed train that the Government is hoping to build. (next summer they are hoping to put together a proposal.) (sure they will). The man that was my boss for the day was a good-looking Italian man from Toronto. He had an Italian accent. We spent part of the day in a coffee shop listening to live music and drinking coffee in between buses leaving for Calgary. When the day was over he asked me out for supper. Beautiful man with italian accent invited me to join him for a late supper. I declined, but i really wanted to say yes. Sometimes being a christian sucks. just in case this was not such an innocent invitation from a lonely man that spends most of his time travelling between major cities in Canada, I said no.

It could have been romantic. He could have told me more stories about growing up in Italy, I would not have minded.

Alas, this is was my day. I blogged about it because it may never happen again that a rich, beautiful mathematic Italian man will want to go out for supper with me. Maybe I better find him before he leaves and marry him. He is probably very rich, I can quit school, move to Toronto. visit Troy.

A. Wilgus

drug cartel operation on Whyte

2006-10-17T16:09:00.000-06:00

So I was walking home from school and a funy thing happened...

The entire builing with the Roots Organic Market was Police taped off and there were at least 20 police cars with more on the way. We had to take a detour and walk aound it on 83rd. My couriousity has been sparked. I imagine that is was something far more exciting than it was. But I momentarily pondered finding a seat to watch the large group of cops assembled in the parking lot beside the building. They were all talking into their shoulder walkie talkies and looking really puzzled.
I wanted to get out a notebook and pretend I was the first journalist on the scene to record the breaking news.

I walked around the block with two others and we put together a little story of our own. We figured out that there was a manhunt for some wanted criminals that were holding out in the building. There is actually a drug cartel operating in the basement. The Police must have found out and were doing a raid. It went wrong and lots of back-up was called in.
-You guys heard it here first.

It Happened

2006-10-16T11:40:00.000-06:00

It happened.

This morning welcomed the first snow fall.
Mmmmmm.....
I think that I am watching Gilmore Girls too much. Lorelai gets excited in every season that the first snow fall occurs. I think that I had to agree with her this morning. It kind of feels magical. If it werent wet, it would have been perfect. It is not freezing cold, making it completly lovely.
It is a little romantic. Anyone want to go for a romantic snow walk? Maybe with a Pumpkin spice latte at the end? (Liane?) (Jenna?) (Jim?)

A. wilgus

bad timing

2006-10-12T10:59:00.000-06:00

I feel like a big jerk.

This morning I was woken up with a start to loud, floor shaking music. I was a little confused because both Kaarina and Liane were gone so groggly I went downstairs to see where the noise was coming from. It was our basement tenant, at 8:30am, blaring his music so loud it was causing the vents to vibrate. This was not really a normal thing for him. He is the guy who brings us wine and all sorts of vegetables from his father's farm on a regular basis. He usually super quiet and is a really, really nice guy. I felt sort of bad going downstairs to ask him to turn down his music but it was so loud I couldn't escape it anywhere in the house. I went downstairs and knocked on the door (it took awhile because he couldn't really hear me knocking over the noise). He answered and looked super surprised to see me. He told me he thought I wasn't home and then proceeded to apologize over and over again. I told him it wasn't a really big deal, just maybe that he could turn it down a teeny bit. He apologized three more times.

An hour later I hear a knock at my kitchen door and I answer it to find basement guy. He put a bottle of wine in my hands and told me again that he was super sorry about all the noise. I told him it wasn't a big deal and that he didn't need to give me anything. He told me that it was just that he had gotten laid off from work and he was feeling down about it so he cranked his music to forget about everything. I think my mouth dropped. I suddenly felt really selfish. He told me that he was going to go get a job on the oil rigs (one week on and one week off sort of dealie) so we wouldn't have to hear much of him anymore. I wanted to cry I felt so bad. I told him I felt badly about him losing his job and again that he didn't have to give me stuff but he wouldn't take it back.

yeah...oops.

Aloha

2006-10-05T16:16:00.000-06:00

We're going to Hawaii!!! (we bought our tickets today!)

ANNA Is BACK. Hello again.

2006-10-01T20:02:00.000-06:00

Jenna never thought that I would ever write on this Co-Blog again. Not true Jenna, here I am writing. I have re-added the co in our co-blog. Actually, you just left an hour ago. I miss you. Wanna come over and play crib? Its not too late.

Okay, this is my peeve at school. I bet 80% of the girls at University have a sweater from LuluLemon. Kinda makes me sick. I think that being at camp for three months has destroyed my ability to put up with trendy "got have the latest" people. All identical clones of the same ginger bread recipie. Uck. Sometimes it gets to my head and I feel this indirect pressure that I should look completly done up. Sometimes I want to be pretty and attractive too. Truth is that I do think I am beautiful when I am not around large crowds of these trendy people. Maybe not Jenna beautiful or Niki Taylor beautiful, but enough. So How does one not hate themselves and other people in this kinda world. I am not really looking for answers, just to sit here and reflect on the evils of my inner conflicts is kinda interesting. Here is the main point, I hate wanting. I hate wanting different clothes, different pillow cases, different hair, different furniture, Jenna' s swearter. I hate it. I am a minimalist. I worked at a mall for a total of 2 months and it got to me soo much that I had to quit. Stuff is useless. Hair styles are a waste of time. Pony tails are fast and practical.

I knew that my PITs would have a transition period after camp to re-adjust to 'normal' life. But I never considered that I would have a hard time re-adjusting. I kinda hate it. I want to go back to living out of society. Dwell in the forest in some kind of Ewok-village- style abode. Jenna are you coming?

I am ready to leave North America. Travel. Live on a beach working in a hut selling necklaces or something. Actually, the more that we joke about it, the more I really want to do it. Abandon this and go.

Jenna and I are going to practise living on a beach in March. We are going to Hawaii for a week. Yay Yay Yay vacations on a beach. I have never been to one. We intend to be enteretained by the Draxlir brothers and learn how to surf. We may nto return.

I promise that I will write again. Many times.

a bad dream?

2006-09-26T01:17:00.000-06:00

Ugh. I can't sleep. I predicted that maybe I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight so prior to going to bed I made myself some sleepytime tea. It didn't work. The silly thing is that I am always tired when a bunch of us are hanging out and watching a movie or something. It'll be like 8pm and I will get this overwhelming urge to bail on the hangout and just go to bed. But then there are nights like these and I wonder, why aren't I doing something useful instead of trying to trick myself into sleep? Also, I could probably afford to turn on some lights, typing in the dark is sort of tricky-like.

I have been developing some alarming night-time habits lately. The other morning I woke up to find an empty bottle of gatorade beside my bed and a bright blue tongue. Let me clarify, the tongue wasn't beside my bed but actually in my mouth. It was my tongue. Anyway here's the problem. First of all I don't remember any gatorade bottles lounging beside my bed the night before. Also, I don't remember drinking any gatorade in the middle of the night. So either one of my cunning roomates placed the empty bottle next to my bed in the middle of the night and sneakily dropped blue food coloring into my mouth whilst I was sleeping, I ate a smurf in the middle of the night, or I downed the entire 710ml bottle of gatorade in my sleep. Once on Oprah I saw obese people who blamed their obesity on sleep-eating. They claimed they would wake up in the middle of the night only to find themselves snuggled up to an empty bag of chips or with ketchup smeared all over their face. They never remembered actually consuming the food but the evidence spoke for itself...massive weight gain, empty cupboards, nawed off corners of the bed frame...
Surely you can see how I find all of this a little concerning. It starts with gatorade, something seemingly harmless, a little bit of electrolyte replenishing, but it ends with me being 600 lbs and polishing off entire chocolate cakes and tubs of ice cream all while enjoying a full eight hours of undisturbed sleep. I guess I will have to start sleeping in the stocks before this gets out of hand.

J.Wilgus

bring on pumpkin season

2006-09-18T23:32:00.000-06:00

So I'm a student again. Weirdness. I might get beat up for saying this, but it is so nice to have a little bit of slackness in my life again. Sure there are deadlines and such, but compared to working full time...school seems like a vacation. On the other hand, I haven't really started most of my classes yet. Perhaps there is a difficulty to being a student that I cannot remember. Or maybe I just never took being a student all that seriously. Either way I will find out. At this moment though, I am enjoying studentness. I love new books. I love office supplies. I love handing in assignments. I...don't love tuition or electives. But I do love feeling like I'm accomplishing something.

I'm enjoying alot of things about Edmonton this year actually. Lately Anna and I have been discovering alot of little coffee shops and such. Coffee shops are one of my favorite places. It is so enjoyable to go to a coffee shop to read or play cards with a good friend. I know that it is not very original but it is something I find comfort in it. We spend so much time stressing ourselves out these days that it is good to indulge in a little comfort from time to time. Hey while I'm on the topic of coffee shops I may as well put in a plug for my friend Andrew Legg who just opened up his own coffee shop here in Edmonton. It's called Transcend. If anyone is interested there is a website: www.transcendcoffee.com. I am planning to go there frequently this year, it looks very cool.

Life. Like Hengen I am rejoicing because it is nice and simple right now. I have very little to complain about. Summer was awesome and now it is getting close to snowboarding season. And as most of you know, that makes me very happy. It's almost time to bust out a little bit of Warren Miller action. I can't watch them too soon though. Watching ski movies when I can't actually snowboard makes me ridiculously ansy. I start fantasizing about snow...waxing my board over and over...putting my snowsuit on multiple times throughout the day and parading around my house in it...it sort of freaks my roomates out I think. So maybe I'll wait another week to start.

Yeah, life is good.

J

cantankerous killer kittens riding kicycles in caves

2006-09-13T21:59:00.000-06:00

I figured if I didn't post something soon people would eventually stop reading our blog. Am I correct? I find myself even checking my blog to see if anything new has been added...since Anna apparently isn't going to pick up the slack (might have something to do with her lack of internet) I guess that means it's all on me. So you'd think one of the reasons I hadn't written was due to the fact that I didn't have any excitement going on in my life. Actually (and don't act too surprised) it is quite the contrary. There is so much going on right now that I can't even pull myself away to write a little blurb. Um, that is, except for now. Now being the time when I should be sleeping.

So my roommate Kaarina has developed a new way to combat roommate conflict. Stocks! Not like stocks and bonds, but actual wooden stocks. We decided that whenever we think one of us is being silly we should just drag them out to the backyard and lock them in the stocks for a couple of hours. I'm willing to wager that once the icy cold winds of winter hit sillyness will get old real quick. Also, chances are the person in the stocks would be forced to socialize with our cantankerous, senile polish neighbors. The ones who like to periodically spy on us from their backyard. They are so weird - I can't even imagine a more intolerable punishment. Oh wait, yes I can...being locked in stocks in the backyard in the dead of winter and being forced to read a statistics textbook. That is the story of my life lately, minus the stocks and winterness. Anyway, the moral of the story is: when conventional methods of solving conflict cease to be effective...just use brute force! Whenever my brothers and I ran into conflict we prettymuch just ended up smacking eachother around. It's quick, it's easy, it's satisfying...

Wow, I am completely off topic now. That's not what I intended to write about at all. What was it again? Oh yeah, what I've been up to for the last month. Since I have already wasted so much sleeping time already I'm going to have to sum it up. Okay here I go: birthday party in the graveyard, camp, rope swing of death, herds of wild turkeys, murderous wasps, 'kicycle man', caving, and "HIV" the killer kittens.

I love my vacations.

J

of senior citizens and pigeons

2006-08-11T18:40:00.000-06:00

The other morning I was coming home from work via Edmonton Transit when I looked out the window and saw a little old man with a helmet on walking down the sidewalk. It was one of the most adorable/sad things I have ever seen. Now if you don't already know this about me I have a special place in my heart for little cute old people. Especially the senile ones. I know how that must sound, but when I used to work in the alzheimer's unit with the crazy old people I couldn't help but develop affection for some of them. Like Doug, the little scottish man who always used to stand on his walker in attempts to scale the chainlink fence and escape. He looked quite frail when you would see him pushing his walker down the halls (it was all an act), but in fact he was quite agile. Anyway, maybe it's the nurse in me but when I see these old poor cute helpless people I just want to take care of them. Like the cute chinese patient I had whose english vocabulary consisted of only the word "thankyou." He would say it over and over (with his hands together and his head bowed) and sometimes at inappropriate moments, but it was adorable. It's strange how much senile old people remind me of small children.

Maybe I am sounding crazy. Anyway the old man in the helmet made my day. Of course I felt like I should get off the bus and help him find his way home...
Okay one other thing. I also think pigeons are kind of cute. So overwhelmed, so confused, so...stupid. Hey I guess old men and pigeons sort of go hand in hand. Alright, confession time is now over.

confession time

2006-08-05T16:34:00.000-06:00

Today I spent most of the afternoon trying to think of ways I can avoid procrastinating when I start school in the fall. Unfortunately this afternoon I was supposed to be doing my statistics homework meaning...I was procrastinating while thinking up ways not to procrastinate. What's worse is that I didn't actually reach any sort of solution to my problem. I realized that, while I have any length of time in which to procrastinate, 9 times out of 10 (which is, 90%...ha, take that stats!) I will use that time to procrastinate. In other words, if it is Friday night and I have until Sunday evening at 9pm to finish my work, chances are very good that I will begin the work Sunday at 8pm.
The reason I am bringing this up is because earlier this week Hengen pegged me as slacker. That is, he pegged me as a slacker without any prior knowledge of my studying habits. Come to think of it, so did Josh. Anyway, I wanted to prove everyone wrong come fall but I see now that that is impossible. So guys, I hate to say it, but you are right, I am a slacker. Best to stop the charades before they start. Apparently I was transparent anyway.

Now, back to the homework...

Jenna

The West Coast Trail

2006-07-23T18:50:00.000-06:00

I don't really know how to start this post but I do know that I have to write it before I forget everything. As it turned out I managed to survive the world-famous west coast trail. I am struggling to find one word to adequately describe it so I will just say that it was...interesting. It took the 9 of us (my parents, Kevan, Matt, Dan, Leah, Duane, Karyn, and I) 7 days to complete the trail. Two of those days were in torrential rain but luckily the rest of our trip was in gorgeous sunshine/fog. The entire trail was approximately 76 km. That is, 76 km of sand, water, mud, roots, cable cars, tidal waves, trees, bog, boardwalk, bridges, boulders, and of course...ladders o' death. It was pretty dang cool.

(day -1: on the ferry to the island. we look decently clean.)

Day 0 (Km 0): Pachena Bay campground to...the washrooms at the ridiculously far end of the campground

In order to get to the campground we first had to take a 4-hour harrowing bus ride from the south end of the trail through narrow backcountry logging roads. Part of this trip included going over really sketchy bridges (they were less bridges and more strategically placed boards over 100-foot gorges). After crossing one particular bridge at 140 km/hr matt asked the driver, "so, how many times can you miss the bridges before they fire you?" The driver looked intensely at matt and replied, "I dunno, I haven't really missed yet. ha ha."

After the west coast trail express (it was VERY express) arrived at the campground (the driver didn't miss any bridges) the boys decided to practice with the bearline. Kevan sustained a minor head injury in the process.

Leah and I burned off energy on the beach...

(Leah often found herself being chased and eventually drenched by the ocean waves - "guys...the ocean keeps sneaking up on me!")

Day 1 (Km 0 - 12): pachena bay to michigan creek

Nothing much happened on this day other than me getting my hand stuck in my sandel (it was on my pack) as I tried to get my pack on and getting separated from the group and finding myself crossing a creek and climbing up part of a tree to get onto a broken overhanging ladder only to find out that I was going to the wrong way. The rain started as we were settling ourselves in our sleeping bags.

Day 2 (Km 12 - 25): Michigan Creek to Tsusiat Falls

Matt and Dan woke up to their tent floating in the middle of a small lake (I think dan's sleeping bag was actually submerged in the pool at the entrance of their tent). It rained like madness so this picture of us soggy hikers is one of few pictures I took for the next two days. When we arrived at Tsusiat falls it was raining so hard we almost didn't get a fire started. Everything and everyone was drenched and Kevan and I were borderline hypothermic. Tsusiat was supposed to be the most beautiful campsite on the trail. I was having a hard time seeing the beauty at that point.

Day 3 (Km 25 - 42): Tsusiat Falls to Cribs Creek

After only traveling 5 kms we stopped at a cave along the beach, built a fire, and attempted to dry our clothes out. I can atest to being a little bit cranky. dan accidentally dumped my pack in the wet sand after I had so carefully placed it on a sandless log and I'm pretty sure I nearly lunged at him with my trekking pole. Sorry dan.

We continued after the cave and made it to the first ferry crossing/place where we ate fresh crab (the crab all had to die a horrific death on the dock in order to make it to our plates...it was very graphic. I had to close my eyes. The second picture is Leah watching the ferry operator man rip the crab's shell off while it is trying to scamper away. Of course Daniel would be sadistically entertained by the ordeal.) It was 4pm by the time we left the dock and we still had 9 kms to cover. We ended up covering almost a km/20 minutes. Leah fell off one of the boardwalks into a waist-deep bog and after the boys pulled her out she took out her frustration on the poor boardwalk with her trekking pole. The boys weren't sure whether to be scared or laugh. We didn't get to camp until it was dark and it was still raining. Not to mention Daniel ended up barfing from the massive amounts of crab he ate and had to leave his pack 2kms from cribs creek campsite. Kevan and Matt ran back for it in the dark after everyone had arrived at camp (bless their hearts).

Day 4 (Km 42 - 48): Cribs Creek to Bonilla Point

The Carmanah Point Lighthouse. Matt stuffing his face while we break at the lighthouse. We got to see killer whales from the lighthouse viewpoint.

We were definently all ready for the burgers at Chez Monique by this point (Monique lives in a weathered shack on the beach and serves wonderful food to tired hikers. Also, she has the coolest dog ever). It was there we met a hiker wearing a kilt, he had just scattered his father's ashes into the ocean.

We walked down the beach after Monique's at high tide. Little did we know that after we crossed Carmanah Creek (the mouth of the creek opens up into the ocean...we were crossing at the mouth) a huge freak tidal wave would come crashing at us and suck a bunch of our packs, cameras, trekking poles, and unattended hiking boots into the ocean. Matthew and Duane heroically jumped into the surging creek in an attempt to save the gear. It was a chaotic and adrenaline-filled moment but in the end only Matt's and Leah's (brand new) cameras and mom's trekking pole lost their lives. Weighed down with 30 extra pounds of ocean in our packs we decided to make camp at bonilla point...five km's short of our original goal.

Day 5 (Km 48 - 63) Bonilla Point to Campers Bay
The day started out beautifully with the fog with the sunshine shining gloriously through the trees, the walk on the beach, the dead octopus matt found...we found out after that the trek to Campers Bay was one of the hardest days on the entire trail. One word: ladders, ladders, and ladders (oops that's three)

The Octopus had no head mind you, something had killified it ('killified' means really, really dead)

Ladder hell followed by a little bit of swaying-suspension-bridge-across-a-deep-gorge action followed by some more ladder hell...then came the roots and knee deep mud.

Day 6 (Km 63 - 71): Campers Bay to Thrashers Cove
We had two route options this day: the forest (more roots and mud although a very safe option) or the beach/boulders (tides had to be at a certain level to take this route and the boulders were not advisable although everyone said it would be worth it). After we spoke to several other hikers (one of which included the british man in the spandex suit) we opted for the boulder route. We were told some of the boulders were the size of houses and this is where people usually broke bones. In the end we were very happy to have gone this way and the boulders ended up being alot of fun. It was like running through frank slide...with water in between the rocks and, evidentally, little raccoons.

Matt decided to take the unstable log route, the rest of us just walked through the dry surge channel. Next, we came across sweet tunnels carved by the ocean. I wanted to see what it was like when the ocean surged though these caves but I figured I might have to be uncomfortably close to the water to get a decent view.

We took a breather before embarking on the boulders. Mom was still shaking from the surge channel crossings (the really undry ones).

Matt bounded across the boulders like a little monkey (his pasty-white complexion nearly accidentally sent signals to the nearby ships so we made him put his shift back on). During one of our breaks he felt like a little boulder hac would be in order (we had already played ferry hac, beach hac, boardwalk hac, and big-rock-with-waves-crashing-against-it hac).

Thrashers cove was an appropriate name as the tide came close to thrashing our tents. As we were preparing dinner Matt and Karyn fell asleep on a big rock. They woke up at high tide and found the rock surrounded by water.

Last night of sleeping with sand in my tent, sleeping bag, pants...last night of people collapsing my tent as they walk by, last night of matt letting the air out of my thermarest, last night of dad throwing dead crabs at me, last night of sore feet...we could see civilization from our campsite.

Day 7 (Km 71 - 76ish): Thrashers Cove to Gordon River
The day started out with a vertical kilometer to the main trail. It sucked. Before we even started Leah offered to carry some lady's pack up the first set of 300-story high ladders. The lady was overjoyed by the offer and so up Leah went. When she came down to get her own pack she told us, "that was just my warmup." Sick.
Usually right before you get to a ladder you will see a sign that says 'tsunami' with a picture of a big wave and a arrow that points in the general direction of straight up. If we were to ever encounter a tsunami we were to drop our packs, pee our pants, and head straight up the ladders before being devoured by the sea. At the top of the ladders was a little sign with a picture of a house reassuring us of our safety. Fortunately the ocean never did chase us up any ladders.

After a brutal 5 km stroll (4 kms uphill and a sharp 1km drop) we arrived at the end of the trail where we were to signal for the ferry to take us across the gordon river to our vehicles. I think my mom wanted to fall down and kiss the blessed ground but I am not certain. Prior to kilometer 76 we had a thought to move the 74 km marker (a little yellow sign) and place it between km's 72 and 73. After much thought we concluded that such a thing would be a childish and mean. Also, in order to carry it out we would have to hike back a kilometer and a half to place the sign.

Now I realize this has been a decently long post and I should end it here but ah, what the heck, here are some more pictures.

Congratulations to all those who took the time to read through this post.

2006-06-25T21:57:00.000-06:00

neither here nor there

2006-06-25T20:38:00.000-06:00

I'm tired but I will share with you folks the few thoughts flowing within my inner cranium right now (in point form):

- only 7 more shifts until vacation
- crap! only 12 more days until vacation (I'm not ready!)
- it's freaking hot right now
- at least I don't have to find someone to watch my frogs while I'm on vacation
- I want to be hiking
- I want to be at camp
- Liane is cool
- my favorite animal at the zoo is the bat-monkey (I don't know what it's really called)
- omni's are space efficient
- I need a hair cut
- I wish I had a kayak
- if I were a marsupial, what kind of marsupial would I be?
- basement guy gives me the willies
- mmm ice cream
- money sucks (and talks!)
- battlestarship galactica is the devil
- if only Kaarina knew I had a box of 72 fruit-to-go's...
- the city is devouring my soul
- I am a euchre/crib queen (ha!)
- mmm sleep

THE END.

the saddest kind of goodbye

2006-06-22T07:49:00.000-06:00

I cannot express properly in words the grief I am feeling right now. My pet frogs. Dead. All I wanted to do was get them a bigger and better tank to romp and play in. They just had that little beta fish tank...it seemed cramped. Little did I know that, to them, it was perfect. I forced them out of their home into a new home and they hated it so much they keeled over. I had had them for just over a year. They travelled with me from Lethbridge to Edmonton and from Edmonton to Elkford...they withstood the freezing winter without a temperature regulator in their tank...they survived the cat trying to scoop them out of the tank with her paw. All I did was put them in a bigger, brighter tank. My poor little frogs.

For months my friends would come over and ask if I had killed them yet. I was so proud of myself for keeping them alive this long. Well now my friends....the answer is this: "yes, I have killed them."

Goodbye little buddies.

so long, farewell

2006-06-15T02:10:00.000-06:00

I had to part ways with my dearest friend tonight for the rest of the summer. It was very sad, but the evening was fun (as they always are). We walked downtown for frappacinos from the starbucks...if you walk 600 miles to get them then I find you feel less guilty about consuming them. After we watched a movie whilst we stuffed our faces (or gourmandised, as some would say) with ice cream and chewy cookies. We laughed until we choked on our tea (or at least until I choked on my tea) and then said our goodbyes. And while I will miss my friend dearly while they are gone, sometimes it is good to give up the things we love for awhile so that we can better understand how much they mean to us. I take the bulk of my friendships for granted.

It will take me until the end of summer (at least) to work off the cookies and ice cream...just in time to welcome my friend home and do it all over again.

Jenna

"People fashion their God after their own understanding. They make their God first and worship him afterwards." - Oscar Wilde

2006-06-13T00:28:00.000-06:00

Any votes for Chuck the Truck?

Josh W. thought of a good one, but i can not remember it. So if anyone talks to Josh, or Josh reads this then they should remind me of his good idea.

of flour and blow darts

2006-06-01T16:01:00.000-06:00

IT'S OVER! At last, my statistics midterm is o-v-e-r. Mind you, just because it's over doesn't mean I did well on it...sigh. It's probably a good sign though that everytime I say the word 'mean' a statistical formula pops into my mind.

Being instantaniously stressfree is a fantastic feeling. It is a beautiful +27 degrees outside. I think I'll go for a early evening frolic. I'm happy and carefree even though some yahoo in the parking lot whacked my left sideview mirror into an unnatural position. Luckily my mirrors are bendy. Made me want to whack him into a unnatural position...

I have been enjoying summer so far. The city is full of beautiful foliage, summer means summer vacation (at least it does this year...although that is not usually the case), and basement guy has taken it upon himself to become the official house lawn mower - it couldn't get better than this. On second thought, it probably could. I could be rollin' deep and already on vacation. My midterm could have been a final which would have meant I was done. But nevertheless, I am attempting to remain optimistic. In preparation for the west coast trail I think I have planned for myself a 'camping in the backyard' adventure. The only difference will be that, instead of potentially being eaten by large, terrifying animals of the...animal variety, I run the risk of being either torched or stabbed by large, terrifying animals of the human variety. Either way, it is a good thing I have a safety whistle/buckle on my new Asolo pack. I am trying to make this experience as realistic as possible so instead of carrying a cell phone with me as backup protection (like one would normally do in the city) I am going to carry a blowdart gun. You know...just like the natives use on the coast. Right Kaarina?

This pre-conditioning for the WCT is nothing in comparison to the vigorous training my parents have been undergoing. My mother has been putting big bags of flour in her backpack along with my father, who crammed dumbells in his, and together they hike 6km trails. These are not flat trails either. Also they have been running up and down our basement stairs with the flour and dumbells in preparation for the...ladders? (not really sure about that one). Sort of makes me glad I'm not home these days. My father is clutzy sometimes, it is only a matter of time before he trips with the bag of flour. Poof! and suddenly our stairwell looks like a winter wonderland.

On another note I would like to report that my guitar mentor Lane remains hot. Good news, he still hasn't caught on to the fact that I already know how to play guitar:)

Jenna

NAME THE TRUCK

2006-06-01T10:21:00.000-06:00

I have a tradition. Every time that my friend buys a new truck he lets me name it for him. This is truck number three. Truck number one had a fabulous name and truck number two had an okay name, it just did not stick as well as the first.
SO now he has a new forest greenish silverado, fairly new, and it needs a good solid name. At this time I am looking for suggestions. I call this contest NAME THE TRUCK.

Go ahead give me your best names. I may choose the best one and green truck will henceforth be called.......?

P.s. In my tradition of naming his trucks, I choose masculine names. Trucks are not girls. Pink Cadillacs are girls.

-Anna

unplanned consciousness

2006-05-29T02:33:00.000-06:00

The facts. It's 2:30am. I have to get up at 5:10am for work. I can't sleep.

I don't really know how things went so wrong. You see, I was sound asleep in my nice warm bed and then 12:50am struck and I bolted awake and immediately began reprogramming my alarm clock. Not just resetting the alarm, but changing ALL the settings. When I finally realized what I was doing it was too late - the damage had already been done. I made sure to reset everything back to the appropriate time (I had set the time to read 5:30pm instead of 12:50am), thought 'hmm that was weird", shut my light off and settled to go back to sleep. The only thing is...I have been awake ever since. My inner monologue refuses to shutup. My mind woke me up and randomly decided it needed to solve all of life's problems in the middle of the night (luckily I snapped out of my delirium or one of which would have been being late for work).

Life is so cruel sometimes.

If anyone is reading this right now and would like to come over and sing me a lullaby or two...it would be much appreciated.

Jenna

Camping

2006-05-22T23:19:00.000-06:00

May Long Weekend. The official kick-off to summer. I went camping, as all good Albertans should do on May Long. Mmmmm... yes, it was delicious. Sunshine, mountains, rain, waterfalls, campfires, lawn chairs, tents.....

I am still mourning the loss of Calgary in the Cup contention. Whilest camping, I came upon a band of Calgary fans that were drowning their sorrows in beer. I happened upon them while looking for a misplaced friend and decided to stay as I had something immediate in common with them. The Calgary Flames. One loyal fan had been to every play off game against Anaheim, home and away. He looked down into the fire as he recounted his pledges of loyalty, barely holding himself together. (though, I had suspicions that it was due to his loyalty to something else entirely...beer worship)

Good Bye Calgary. You let us down.
Thank you Edmonton for beating Anaheim in the first two games. I shall be watching to see if you can do what Calgary failed to do. Beat Anaheim! I hate Anaheim for what they have done. I really wanted a battle of Alberta. Who knows what would have happend. The only sure thing is that the tensions and hatred between cities would have flared. Oil and fire. What a gross combination. Who would have survived? This weekend we burned wood that had been soaked in oil. The smoke was black. But the fire defintely won out. The oil-stained wood was decimated.

I have to watch Edmonton though and even cheer them on. I am from Lethbridge where you are allowed to choose your favourite team. I do choose Calgary over Edmonton, but seeing an Albertan team succeed is pretty exciting. I do not feel like I am betraying the Flames. I am not from Calgary. Some might say that this is band-wagon hopping, but I am a hockey fan. I love to watch this game and want to see Canada take the cup home.

Living close to Whyte ave made me a little bit inclined to want to go and join the party after game 6 against San Jose. SO I dragged Jenna along Whyte Ave and we walked up and back down high fiving everyone as we went. Jenna was a little scared. Karen and Sherri told us to take a knife. But we went unarmed. I did make Jenna change out of a purple shirt. Anaheim likes the colour purple and I did not want anyone to misconstrue us for Anaheim fans. We were home by 11pm. Probably the only two people that went home that early.

Good night.

-A

Our Lady Peace

2006-05-03T00:24:00.000-06:00

I just went to the most enjoyable concert of ever. I have been to many concerts in my life, but this one definitely rises above the rest to be my new favourite. They had tough competition too. They were the very first band that I had seen in concert during their Clumsy tour. That was my last favourite. Now, 9 years later on their Healthy in Paranoid Times tour, they have a bigger colleciton of songs. I was anticipating that they would play mostly newer songs, but I was happily made wrong when the opening chords to Naveed began their progression to begin the party.

I love these guys, even though their old stuff is better, they are still pretty awesome. My favourite part had to be when Raine left the stage and disappeared. About two minutes after he disappeared, I looked down the 3rd row of the second balcony and there he was, walking towards me. They also brought half a section of fans onto the stage and let them bounce around for the rest of the concert behind Jeremy Taggart, the drummer.

For those of you who are OLP fans, you should wish that you were there. The only really annoying thing about the concert was that all three opening bamds (who were boring) and OLP did their best to get the crowd riled up in honor of the Oilers victory. They got a kick out of hearing everyone scream. I have to say, that if Calgary loses tommorrow night, I will be very very very very very sad. I hope that they will live to give us a battle of Alberta. So far I have to admit that I have watched all of the Oilers and Flames games and cheered for bot. But in a battle of Alberta I will have to solely cheer for Calgary. The people here in Edmonton would kill me if they knew. I will have to cheer with Liane within locked doors.

A.

most people were overjoyed

2006-04-28T11:57:00.000-06:00

You know...I don't think it can be said enough. The death cab for cutie concert was absolutely wonderful. As I stood in the crowd gazing up at Ben belting out his beautiful music I was filled with an overwhelming sense of awe. I only have three complaints: 1. that it wasn't longer 2. they didn't sing transatlanticism and 3. the show wasn't in a small cafe where I could be sitting right next to them instead of trying to see around the tall people standing in front of me. Now wouldn't that be lovely? A cafe concert that is.

I also had fun with the hackey sac between bands. I don't think people hac enough these days. Back in...1998 you couldn't find a person that didn't have a hackey sac in their pocket. As soon as people formed anything that even resembled a circle a hac was dropped in the center. And who remembers killer? Steve wanted to play killer the other night and no one else was up for it...but steve, just so you know I also secretly wanted to play killer. Sure it involves very little skill, but who cares? It's like dodge ball, baseball, soccer, and a firing squad all in one. How could that not be fun?

You know what else we should play?...calvinball!!!

Jenna

Calgary rises to victory!

2006-04-22T07:38:00.000-06:00

Calgary 1-Anaheim 0. Good job boys!

Edmonton, where were you last night? I think it would have been just as easy if the game had been cancelled, and in it's place, Detroit could have just taken shots on on our Goalie. The rest of the team could have come back to Edmonton a bit early and maybe practised how to play the game until we have home ice.

Let the playoffs begin.

2006-04-19T00:06:00.000-06:00

GO Calgary GO!

---- dangerous words to utter in the streets of Edmonton. So I declare them here.

bits of tim

2006-04-15T12:55:00.000-06:00

i feel like a giant timbit today.

J

A Challenge

2006-04-12T23:45:00.000-06:00

I am issuing a challenge to all those that love the game crib to step forward and play. I will serve tea and we can engage in delightful conversation. Nay! I say we have a tournament. 5 bucks to get in. Round Robin and then finals. Winner takes the pot. Anyone? Anyone? We should get like 10 people in on this. anyone? anyone? Jenna you are in. David hengen, how about flying back for a weekend? What if I throw in cookies? cake? coffee? mmmmm.....cookies....

2006-04-12T23:42:00.000-06:00

Hat
Mat
Sat
Bat
Hay
Bay
Pray
say
sock
lock
mock
rock

The end

the countdown begins...

2006-04-12T23:16:00.000-06:00

It is that time of the year again when I pull out my shorts and sunglasses in anticipation of the approaching summer months. I am bored of this luke warm weather and want hot weather NOW! A few times I have put on some shorts and a t-shirt hoping that on the other side of my front door will be some complying weather. Each time I have been disappointed at the return and have had to traipse back to my room to put on longer layers. There has been moderately warm weather, but it lasts only for a few minutes it seems.

It is in these times that I wish I lived in the mountains, or at least somewhere more nature-ish. The sound of ambulances and the power lines right outside my bedroom window are a little bit depressing. There is something to be said for a slower place of life with less people and less noise. I do not feel this way because I am old, I just prefer the smell of the nature over the smell of pollution. I prefer the peaks of mountains over the peaks of tall commercial buildings. Mountain goats to stray cats.

welcome to geriatrica

2006-04-11T00:38:00.000-06:00

I don't really want to go to bed right now which is unfortunate because it is way past bedtime. My mind is telling me I'd be better off in bed but my body won't let me get out of this chair. I've always hated bedtime. Also, I have this habit of wasting entire days and then panicking at bedtime because I didn't do the things I had promised myself I'd do. Not just panicking though...but making desperate attempts to do an entire days (weeks, months) work in the middle of the night. Thus, the 5am paper. Back when I was a student during finals (way back 14 months ago) I'd mostly attempt studying with the best of intentions. My downfall was that I'd often try to suntan in my backyard at the same time...which usually resulted in 5 minutes of studying, 3 hours of napping, and an agonizing sunburn. I guess what I'm trying to say is - I procrastinate like a banshee. Please, don't act like you're not surprised.

And although I didn't get many chores done today like I had promised myself, I did have a rather enjoyable afternoon frolicking with my trusty sidekick through Edmonton's wilderness. That's right, today Anna and I wandered into the "ravine of death." The murderer's and rapists playground. Before I left Lethbridge I was forewarned by a good friend not to go near the ravine at night or surely I would die. Good news though, it was not night time and I didn't even see one shifty character (unless you consider sappy, lovesick couples shifty...). The ravine was beautiful in fact. It reminded me of how much I miss frolicking in the forests back home. Actually, I think one day I will live in a forest. That is my long-term plan, forget this career business. I am going to quit life and run away to the mountains. There will be a treehouse, a rope swing, and a pet goat. Oh, and I will definently get dreds. Who's with me???

Another thing I'd thought I'd mention...I love summer!!! Yay for warm weather, frolicking, foliage, thunderstorms, nice green lawns, roadtrips, barbecues, hiking, cliff jumping, tornados (just little ones), playing in the rain...etc. Farewell long, torturous winter!!!

I had an epiphany one night this week while I was hanging out with Anna (side note: if you think we hang out a lot...you're right. she is the only one who ever wants to partake in my random, irresponsible adventures). I am getting old. We were sitting in her living room watching a movie (it was around 11ish) and...I fell asleep. Not only did I fall asleep, but I also had a dream. I didn't even watch five minutes of the movie. At the end of the it I drove straight home (at least I think I did, I don't exactly remember the drive) and went to bed. Clearly the excitement of the evening was too much for me.
I freaked out at the Metric concert when I found out it didn't end until 11:30 because I had to work the next morning. Not only did it end late, but it was far too loud. Did I mention that mostly all I do in my spare time is play cribbage?

I think I just found gray hair. Oh, where have the years gone? Come back to me sweet youth.

I just hope I live to see my 22nd birthday...

J

the best feeling in the world

2006-04-04T10:58:00.000-06:00

I guess I've been pretty busy lately. Being a car owner is pretty tough work. It is sort of like having a pet. I have to feed it, wash it, and spend time with it. I feel obligated to take it for trips, you know, so it can spin it's wheels a little bit. First it was only demanding that I take it around the streets of Edmonton, but lately it has been getting a wee bit restless and wants to go for longer drives. Last weekend it wanted to go to Airdrie. I fear that it will never be satisfied and it will just want to keep going farther and farther. It told me it wants to go to Tofino next. I just hope I have time to satisfy the honda's needs. I would hate to think what would happen if I denied it's requests.

So last weekend. For lack of a bigger vocabulary I will just say this...wow. The trip inaugurated promptly after I got home from working a 12 - hour night shift at the hospital. Not wanting to waste a moment of the weekend, I neglected to nap and instead hopped into the honda and aimed myself south. I realize now that it was a silly decision to not sleep before I started driving; sleeping while driving isn't nearly as comfortable. Also, the last half an hour of the trip I had to keep waking myself up as I was paranoid I would miss my exit. I arrived in Airdrie noonish and met up with my lovely sister-in-law Leah. We had a few hours to kill in the afternoon before Kevan got home from work so we decided to go have drinks at Bogey's Pub & Grill, an establishment right down the street from Leah's condo. The sign on the outside had a gigantic golf ball on it after the word "Bogey's" and advertised, what I thought would be, a good time. Inside, the decor left something to be desired...strangely it had absolutely nothing to do with golf. In fact, our server was dressed up as a cowgirl. I didn't see a pro-golfer anywhere. Not to mention the highly priced/watered down drinks and the uncomfortable chairs. Our cowgirl server (who I assumed was done her shift) left with leather chaps in her arms. We figured her horse must have been tied up outback behind the parking lot.

Ben arrived at Kevan and Leah's condo after dinner and we all piled into his car to drive to Elkford. We spent Saturday in Fernie enjoying incredible spring skiing conditions. It is a strange sensation riding in hot weather. I even saw one guy skiing in shorts and a t-shirt. I just loved the feeling of the warm sun beating down on my face while I weaved in and out of the trees through the soft snow. When we went down at noon to eat lunch there was a band playing outside of the lodge and a crowd of people eating at the picnic tables. Two girls in white skin tight sleeveless one-piece suits with big furry boots were walking around handing out prizes or something. I think they were supposed to be kokanee girls (there was some sort of kokanee promotion going on that day). I thought their outfits were ugly but a lot of people in the crowd seemed to like them. Also, they were kind of annoying and, in my opinion, out of place on the ski hill (I mean, if they fell on the slopes in those suits they wouldn't be able to stop themselves...). The band was good though. They made us all want to break out into an irish jig. Ben actually did.

Anyway, it was a gorgeous day and Kevan ended up getting some pretty good shots with his camera. I was tired by the end of the day (happy tired though). I slept the whole way back to Airdrie.

The next morning at 6am (5am technically because of the time change) Ben and I woke up to drive to Lake Louise for another day of boarding. Due to a lack of sleep I was pretty grouchy when I woke up (I tried my best to internalize it for Ben's sake), but once I got on the hill I forgot that I was mad. The sun hadn't quite warmed up the snow so it was still a little bit icy for the the first couple of runs, but once it came out and everything softened up a bit it was fantastic. After lunch when the sun was blazing high in the sky Ben and I decided we were going to hike above one of the top chairs to the peak of the mountain. With a backpack of water bottles, a thick layer of sunscreen, a couple chocolate bars, and our boards in hand we headed up the steep snow path. The steps obviously weren't designed for short girl legs. I had to practically jump to get to each step. In a little over an hour we were standing on the top of the world looking down into banff. Having never peaked a mountain in the winter before I was pretty darn amazed at the snow-covered valleys that were spread out before us. The air was crystal clear and you could see for miles. I made a snow angel. Initially we were going to go down the front side of the mountain (somehow avoiding the massive cliffs), walk the rest of the way to the highway, and hitchhike back to the resort. Plan 'A' seemed a bit dodgy though (seeing as we didn't know how to get down without dying) so instead we sailed down one of the ridges on our boards and dropped down the backside of the mountain into a bowl of untracked, fresh powder. It was unlike anything I had ever done before. There was nothing holding us back. The snow was smooth and deep and with every turn my board showered the slope with a huge wave of snow. Ben was laughing (out of pure joy) the whole way down. I felt like I was in a warren miller film. We sat in the car on the drive home with big, goofy smiles on our sun-burnt faces.

Not a bad way to leave winter behind. Stay tuned for next season's heli-skiing adventures...

Jenna

whatever happened to a bible's width apart...?

2006-03-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Isn't it lame how long its been since I last posted? I'm disgusted with myself. Also, I keep waiting for Anna to write something about our 'chasing the random homeless man down whyte' adventure last week but I have not seen anything yet. Disappointing.

I am actually procrastinating right now. It's nothing serious. It's just that I have been trying to make a 'list of all the things I like to eat' (more commonly known as a shopping list) but I cannot make myself get past the first three items. Also, it has been over a week since I started the list. Food was scarce last week, this week I am resorting to the non-perishables in my cupboard. Anyway the list - I'm sure I must like to eat more than tomatoes, sour cream, and mushrooms. The other thing is not only do I have to complete the list, but I also have to get myself out the door to the wholesale store. It is only 2 blocks away, but the task is surprisingly daunting. I have an hour and 53 minutes before it closes. 1 hour 52 minutes. 51 minutes. dang. This is never going to happen. I guess I'm taking canned fruit in my lunch tomorrow again (canned fruit has been most recently cut from the 'list of things I like to eat').

I went swimming with Kaarina at the Bonnie Doon pool today. It wasn't as ghetto as I was expecting. Actually it was quite pleasant. Well...it was pleasant up until the man with the wild thrashing back stroke got in the lane. I think he was single-handedly trying to drain the pool. Or maybe he was just trying to scare us out of the lane. A very strategic method. Eventually we did get out of the lane to go in the hot tub...where we encountered a couple trying to eat eachothers' faces. Everytime I go out in public I find myself in extremely awkward situations. For example - sitting on the bus in the seat behind a couple making out. Sitting in the cafeteria beside a couple making out. Standing in the elevators with a couple making out (elevators??? seriously...). Escalators, coffee shops, sidewalks...they are an infestation that needs to be dealt with. There must be some sort of chemical we can spray over the city or something. We spray the forests for pine beetle. We dump chemicals on forest fires to put them out. Couples making out in public are like little forest fires that need to be put out. I encourage everyone to at least douse the next making out couple they see with the water from their nalgene.

1 hour and 34 minutes left. Alright, I'm going to go. I'm getting pre-nausea from thoughts of canned fruit lunches.

Jenna

student-ness

2006-03-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here waiting for P Jorgesen to pick me up for a weekend of camp madness. He said he'd be here at noon but I have a feeling it will be a little later than that. That is okay, I'm not really ready - mentally that is. Every year I wonder why I do this to myself. It always ends up being alot of fun but it is...so tiring. Not that I should be doing this for myself...Alright, I guess that settles it. This isn't about me at all.
I didn't really sleep a whole lot this week. There was some unsettling feeling in the air all week that prevented me from functioning in any real sort of way. And no, it was not the humpty's mozza sticks this time. I didn't even venture into the humpty's this week (my digestive tract is eternally grateful I'm sure). Unfortunately, not going into humpty's means that I didn't see Anna either.

I started school this week. That's right, I'm a student again! Not just a member of the working class. To be honest I am sort of thrilled about it. I love new books. I love new pens. I love shrink wrap. Um, that's about as far as I got actually. I fear now that all the shrink wrap has been peeled off everything my attention will soon wane. It's sort of ridiculous, the moment I opened my box of textbooks I started procrastinating. Ruthey asked me to study with her and I told her 'alright, I just have to go find my calculator.' I found my calculator alright...I also found my stethoscope which I played with for approximately the next hour and a half. Turns out Ruthey has slight crackles to the bases of her lungs. Did I mention that my heartrate is 95 bpm? I must be stressed or something.

It's good to be a student again.

J.Wilgus

dolour

2006-02-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

i think you killed me. my heart no longer beats. i cannot feel anything. i am so very cold. my skin is tinged blue. there is nothing left...so empty.

and yet - someone told me this is not the end. it is so hard to believe, i can practically see the signs. someone told me that this was meaningless, utterly meaningless. there will be bigger battles to fight. someone told me, "you can't be more than you are," which was what you were asking of me.

I can hear voices in the distance, they are voices of laughter and joy. if I try too hard to listen, they disappear. but i think they are still there. at least, i cannot give up hope.

jenna

the score

2006-02-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Staircase of death (3)

Jenna (0)

2006-02-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

Now that I've gone on my rant about blogging being too mainstream I've decided, regardless of whether I have any cool stories or not, to blog with a consistancy of sorts. I often talk to myself (big surprise there). This is one of the more recent exchanges:

"self, all the others have epic tales, you haven't contributed anything in over a week."

jenna's personality 'take two': "but I can't think of anything to write about..."
jenna's personality numbero uno: "that's rubbish (apparently this personality is both spanish and british)! it's about creativity!! creativity!"
jenna's personality #3: "...i'm hungry."

and thus one of the recurrent conversations I have with myself. I will now issue a warning of sorts. Just because I've decided to write more frequently, doesn't mean it's going to be good. It's just going to be...more frequent.

And now, I must tell you all about my music lesson today. It was the first of it's kind. My teacher's name is Lane. He is in his late twenties and is, as it turns out, very attractive. Good-looking and musical. It is going to be hard to concentrate I'm afraid...

2006-02-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Torn between yesterday and tommorrow...

I went to a wedding this weekend past,
where there I met my past
Faded memories almost clear again,
as if it were still yesterday.

Although only a year has passed
since these memories were my friends,
they seem just as strange
as the strange new place I am in.

In the ambivalent existence that I have carved,
nothing seems familiar
caught wandering between
yesterday and tommorrow.

I moved to Edmonton because I wanted change. The ironic thing about it now is that the change that I sought before is what I am sick of now. Now I want what I had. I suppose you have to be lost sometimes to find home. I have to admit though that God knew what he was doing in bringing me here. I could not have changed if I were still living in yesterday. Who knew that I would be frequenting a Humptys once a week eating revolting food and drnking cold coffee, and that it would be my favourite place in Edmonton because of who I meet there. I absolutely hate Humptys. I feel dirty just walking in there. The food is terrible and the washrooms speak for the whole restaurant with vending machines featuring condoms. But it is Humptys that is geographically located about halfway between me and Jenna, so it is there that we meet.

Humptys reminds me of the 2004 summer olympics. Why? because it is there at 5:30am while watching olympics that I laughed so hard that Bacon came out up and out my nose. Never was bacon so painful. For hours bacon came out. I breathed and it came out. I sneezed all day. I still can not eat bacon.

Good night dear Jenna. I must go to bed.

2006-02-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

suddenly the thought of having a blog seems a teensy bit ridiculous to me. I mean, everyone's doing it right? Isn't this just another crazy fad?
It's the new slap bracelet or pink and black combo of internet communication/expression. Everyone wants to be a blog-master. It seems I have sold out. And yet...all these blogs are so darn entertaining. I love reading about other peoples lives. It makes me feel okay somehow.

my friend once made a comment that the word 'blog' doesn't sound anything like what it really is. It would make more sense if someone said, "oh I feel queasy, I think I'm going to blog" or "is that a blog on your shoe?" It could be an infectious disease or something you fall into when you are walking through a dark and scary forrest. Also, if you say the word 'blog' too fast, too many times you get dizzy and start to sound like the cadbury easter bunny...who really just sounds like a chicken.

in conclusion, i like blogs. i also like beef (mmm...supper).
I also like death cab for cutie but it was friggen sold out in the first ten seconds and i couldn't get any tickets which, if I thought about it for too long, would make me want to put my face in my pillow and scream. but as it stands, death cab isn't all that important and i still have everything i need to happy - including blogs.
and once again, the world is an alright place.

Jenna

2006-02-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

what not to say when giving a suppository...

"it's a little uncomfortable, I know, but I'm hoping that it will rectify our present situation..."

It's true...I said that.

J.Wilgus

2006-02-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

ahh valentine's day...pink and red in every shop window, people walking around with flowers, chocolate boxes, and infatuated looks on their faces, and a full parking lot at the ever-so-dodgy love stop. I went to a job interview today (not at the love stop) and the lady interviewing me wished me a happy valentines day. I didn't quite know how to respond. First off, I didn't know you just wished anyone a happy valentine's day (I thought that sentiment was generally reserved for more intimate relationships), and second, um...off, I have never given the day much regard. Truth be told, it seems to me to be entirely frivolous. I am not just saying this because I am jaded or bitter about relationships (because I'm really not), but because - I just find it all very silly. There is nothing you could buy me that would elicit any sort of swooning response. But then again, that is just me, and there has been much discussion as to whether or not I am emotionally dead inside. I personally think that is a little far-fetched, at the very least I am in emotional coma. I blame it on my british mother...the brits were never much for outwardly emotion.

Actually, as I have had the opportunity to discover this year, Kaarina and I both share a dislike for extreme emotion. Of course, Kaarina's phlegmatic demeanor does serve a larger purpose...she is, afterall, trying to be an evil world dictator. She would not let something as trivial as emotion get in the way of her tyrannical appetite. With that being said, I do not want to give the impression that people like us are devoid of all emotion. It is just that we reserve our emotion for...other things. Inanimate objects such as: snowboards, old sneakers, and (this one is Kaarina's) backpacks. I do hold some emotion for sentient beings as well. For example, I have a fondness for cute old people and little furry kittens. See? That is not so bad is it? You just won't find me gushing over a dozen roses. It could be worse.

valentine's day...who invented this tripe?

Jenna

2006-02-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Like anna, I am also feeling a bit...despondent tonight. Maybe it is something in the air. Perhaps it is due to all that Humpty's food we ate this week (did the mozza sticks look at little sketchy to you anna? better question, do you think those really were mozza sticks?). I am not sure. What I am sure of is that when one finds themselves in this state, one often has a hard time getting anything done.

I was going to try painting to pass some of the time. Anna and I have this little activity we like to call 'paint by emotion.' It is sort of like 'paint by numbers' but has been found to be considerably more erratic and, not to mention, dangerous (many a emotional painter has been known to find certain objects such as, paint brushes and/or easels, embedded in themselves or fellow e-painters at the end of a session). But then again, it all depends on the emotion you are trying to paint. I encourage you all to give it a shot, it is very liberating.

I also thought about taking a jaunt down whyte ave by myself. I figured maybe I just needed a harrowing experience or two of my own (like davey h's) to forget about my troubles. I sort of chickened out in the end, I did not want to get captured by gypsies or hauled off by the angry bikers at the Timmy Ho's. At least, not tonight. Also, I am not as brave as hengen.

I am not certain what activity I will decide on in the end. Chances are pretty good that by the time I devise a master plan I will have tired myself out enough to go to bed. I think my eyes are already starting to droop...

Just in case anyone is interested and so that there aren't any surprises later on, I will confess to you all that Kaarina has aspired to be the next Stalin (she will settle for Hitler though if Stalin doesn't pan out). Perhaps someone should have a little chat with her. I would...but she keeps trying to kill me.

J.Wilgus

2006-02-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

"I cannot say that I have gone to hell for your love...but often found myself there in your pursuit"

William Carlos Williams

I think william and I would have alot to talk about

J. Wilgus

2006-02-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

I feel melancholy tonight. It has gripped my heart and squeezed it so that I feel a desperation and almost a need to cry. What do you do when the pain you feel is not tangible like a cut on your leg? You know that time and maybe a band-aid will heal the cut. A heart might heal in time, but what band-aid can you put on it? There is no formula for that, no assurance. A close friend is hurting and torn up from heart pain. It reminded me of my own shredded heart that I had tried to fix, until the band-aid began falling off. I want to tell her that it will go away and that it can be fixed, when from my own story I can only say that it probably will not. At least not the way that we would want it to. So to this friend I say I am crying with you. At least someone understands.

A.Wilgus

2006-02-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here I stand on the edge of a diving board yearning to plunge. Looking over the edge I flirt with the idea of jumping. Years of training to navigate ground have solidified a mastery of its turns and twists, or at least I have a created a compass that never fails in directing me through its traffic. I have nurtured a grid of reasoning and rationalization that I can plot any decision on and come up with the best response. I trust it with my life and use it for everything. This saves me from using the uncertain tumultuous waves of emotion to propel me. Emotionless existence makes life a little more safe. SO why do I stand here wanting to taste something more unplottable? Waves can toss you in any direction under wavering weather forecasts. But I desire the uncertain sometimes. So I climb the ladder to the diving board and wait for something to push me into the water so that I dont regret making the jump myself if the water is a little too cold. After a while I have become bored waiting for the push. I want to jump, but cant lift my foot. i can see others enjoying the pleasures of thre surfaces joys, but i know that there are others riding the waves trapped somewhere underneath because the waves were too much to handle.

A. Wilgus

2006-02-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

bus stops and blind people

I was walking down whyte ave today when I suddenly started thinking back to the time in Lethbridge when I was assaulted at a bus stop by a blind man (I am the most nostalgic when I am walking). Sort of a humorous situation actually. I was peacefully waiting for my bus outside of the hospital early one morning after a long night shift when all of a sudden I was interrupted by a semi-loud "WHAP!" followed by a sharp pain in my calves. I hadn't a clue as to why I was in pain at that moment but nevertheless I was filled with an instant rage. "%@#$," I thought. "Why would someone hit me like that? I was just minding my own friggin' business. I turned around to give this inconsiderate jerk a piece of my mind. I had fully expected to see a young punk, probably a teenager, dressed in black leather with a stupid haircut, stupid multiple piercings, and with a smug grin on his stupid face but instead I saw...a man with dark shades frantically flailing a stick around looking a tad bit precarious. I think he maybe thought my calves were the bus stop sign. I quickly jumped out of his way when I realized my mistake because at that moment he was walking very rapidly towards me and still whipping his stick around. I felt very guilty. I almost yelled at a blind guy.

J.Wilgus