So this year, things have obviously changed. We moved to Sweden not long before Christmas and into our home just a couple weeks before we were to leave for England to spend the holidays with Neil’s family. Our Christmas tree was about 2 feet tall and although I decorated with a few strings of lights (in the basement where we have been dwelling) there wasn’t a lot to signify Christmas at the Holden household. I was willing to accept this mainly because I knew that we’d be heading to London (which is always very charming at Christmas) en route to Hailsham and Eastbourne to spend time with Lauren and Neil’s family.  Picking Lauren up at Heathrow Airport was a lot of fun.  It was cool to be on the other side of the arrivals for a change and I was so emotional when I saw her. It had only been a few weeks but it really did feel like months since we last saw each other!

Christmas was good. It was so great to spend Christmas day with both of Neil’s parents back at the same house Neil grew up in. Lauren got the chance to experience an English Christmas complete with sausage rolls, pigs in blankets and trifle! Neil’s siblings brought a ton of treats for boxing day as well and the whole family came together. I have to say this was an improvement on their Christmas last year with Neil’s mom still being in the hospital at the time. What a difference a year makes!

Lauren came back to Sweden with us to celebrate the turn from 2011 to 2012. Although we didn’t plan a ton of sightseeing, we managed to show Lauren around the area we live in and introduced her to a few of the Swedish traditions that we know of (Glögg for one).  We had a fantastic dinner out at a local Japanese restaurant called Mikado where we enjoyed sukiyaki which was served similar to Shabu Shabu but you dip your cooked meat into beaten raw egg. It was a delicious experience and we received a lesson in Japanese culture at the same time.

New Years Eve turned out to be a sort of backward experience. We went into central Gothenburg to watch the fireworks at 5PM which are very well known. Our experience was slightly less than impressive because the area was so foggy that the fireworks lit up the sky into some lovely colours but we could not actually see them. We rushed back to the train station so that we could beat the swarm of thousands of people exiting the area. We were lucky because we managed to get a seat on the train before it filled to capacity and set off to take us home.

We celebrated NYE by having a variety of pickled herrings, liver pate, cheese, crackers and glögg. After a break we then enjoyed a cheese fondue with bread, vegetables and meatballs for dipping.

As the time neared midnight, we noticed (from the basement) that there were popping sounds outside which of course were very recognisable as fireworks. Sure enough, the whole neighborhood (and surrounding neighborhoods) were lighting up the sky with a brilliant fireworks display. Even our immediate next door neighbors were setting them off right over the house!  It was brilliant. We live in a fairly rural area which gets very dark at night so the fireworks were even more dazzling! We sipped our sparkling wine and pineapple juice while outside sounding noisemakers! It was so much fun!  I have never seen anything so cool on New Years!

The only trouble with the changeover to 2012 was that I had to see Lauren off at the airport. Its tough to say good bye! I miss her!

On a positive note though, just a couple days after Lauren left, all of our things from Canada arrived!  Our bed, our clothes and my jackpot! Boxes of Kraft Dinner, Mr. Noodle ichiban soup, Lipton Onion Soup Mix and Stagg chili!!! It was awesome!

Yesterday was a lot of work though. The movers arrived 1 1/2 hrs early at 7:30 am. I was up and dressed so it wasn’t that bad but I was annoyed that they didn’t bother to protect the floors. They traipsed throughout the house in their shoes without any regard for our home.  I spent the 2 1/2 hours they were here freezing with the door wide open and marking off the inventory sheet to confirm that all of our items were received. Once the door closed and everything had arrived safely, I was overwhelmed with both excitement and the urge to put everything away! Although we don’t have all the furniture we need, we have enough to get by and I was able to unpack the majority of the boxes!  I think I overdid it but our kitchen feels like it belongs to us and we got to eat dinner using our wedding plates and cutlery!

The best part of yesterday was that we were able to move out of the basement and sleep above ground! I managed to make the bed up with all of our newly washed bedding, covered the windows in bed sheets and oh it was a wonderful sleep!

Until next time…

Two weeks ago when we arrived in Sweden, I completely understood what it feels like to be without a home. It just felt so empty to know that you have no home address. I think being sick made it all worse since I think people tend to want to be all comfy cosy at home when sick…  Last week I really hit rock bottom. We moved into our new home with a few suitcases of clothes and little more. We managed to purchase what we needed until our container arrives and I think we’re both grateful to have this opportunity but I think there is more to it than the adventure of it all. I had a little pity party for one several times throughout the earlier part of the week and I will probably have another small one this Friday when Neil goes to his company Christmas party without me ;P

Aside from the little pangs of homesickness, feeling slightly out of place and the language barrier, things have improved dramatically. We made some fantastic decisions the first week that I think have shaped our future here in Sweden. Neil is enjoying his job, we moved into a house in Anneberg that not only fulfills every wish I have had for a home, but is also owned by the nicest family I have met in a long time. The kind of people that I can see us becoming very close to! Not only are they extremely considerate but they are also willing to help us out and include us in their traditions. Sheila and Anita are fantastic, as are the rest of their families.

Before we moved, I read a book about Swedish culture. It was a depressing read. Detailing the Swedish ways as being cold, unfriendly, bland, grey etc.. and in contrast we have experienced the exact opposite.

This week our neighbor Eva stopped by with a plant and welcomed us to the neighborhood. It was so unexpected and thoughtful! Sheila and Anita also dropped by at the house and Sheila gave me an old meat grinder/food processor to use (until it breaks) and then Anita invited me to see her daughter sing at the Saint Lucia celebration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy%27s_Day). Afterwards Neil and I were invited to their home for fika which is an event usually involving a hot beverage and a pastry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fika_(coffee_break). For this fika we had two varieties of glogg (white and red) which is served with rasins and almonds, and we ate gingerbread cookies and traditional saffron buns.  We sat around their table, talked, enjoyed the food and drink and got to partake in a piece of their culture.

Today, I went in to Kungsbacka centrum and booked an appointment to register for Swedish languiage lessons. Had I known I needed an appointment, I would have called instead of dropping in but it turned out to be another decision that led to something wonderful!  After booking my appointment (for tomorrow morning) I took a walk around Kungsbacka and ended up in a store called Body Mind Spirit. I ended up chatting with the store clerk who spoke english and found out that they sell Mighty Leaf Tea which is a favourite of mine and they also sell some other cool culinary treats like pure mexican chocolate. While I was browsing, another couple came in. They also spoke english and before long, everyone was brain storming about where I could potentially work and how important it is to learn Swedish etc.. When I left the store, the clerk took my hand, squeezed it and said some really sweet things. I just felt such a tremendous warmth from them all. Then on the train back home another lady started talking to me in Swedish. Although I couldn’t talk to her, it was so comforting to know that people here really are friendly. That book I read and become an addition to our burning materials for the fireplace soon enough.

Tonight I am meeting Neil at Liseberg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liseberg). When it gets dark, it is all lit up for Christmas and should be very beautiful. Although there is no snow right now, we will still enjoy it.

I think the moral to this story is that all it takes is a little time

Will write again soon!

Our first kiss as husband and wife

Wow things have changed dramatically since I last posted.

To recap, on September 10, 2011, my Soul-mate Neil and I were married at Heritage Pointe Golf Course. What an amazing day.  We are still in disbelief that it all actually happened and so perfectly. The few issues we encountered were so minor.

In May of 2011,  Neil and I were both away at separate conferences in the US. Neil was in Denver and I was in Sacramento. Neil was asked to speak at his conference, doing a presentation on his research. That led to two opportunities and eventually, two job offers.

In August, Neil and I were flown to Sweden for 4 days while Neil had a job interview. Then a couple of weeks later, Neil was in Seattle for another interview. Two nights before the wedding in September, we had to make the decision… were we going to move to Seattle or to Sweden.We knew we were moving but the decision of where was difficult. Without being prior citizens of either Sweden or the United States, we were faced with making a decision based on gut feeling… instinct.

I have to admit, the decision making process was difficult. Its easy to fantasize about living in Europe. The adventure, being connected to so many countries and cultures. Its so romantic to envision starting off a new marriage jetting off to a foreign country. Ultimately we chose Sweden over Seattle because of the lifestyle. We made the decision pretty much solely on the quality of life offered. Money was definitely not a deciding factor and although we exchanged proximity to my family for proximity to Neil’s family, that really wasn’t a decision point. We plan to have a family and when thinking about raising children, Sweden seemed like a smarter choice than Seattle.  I guess the end result remains to be seen!

When we were about to announce at our wedding that we had chosen to move to Sweden, someone shouted out, “So what is it, Starbucks or Ikea”?

The process to sort through a lifetime of possessions was much more difficult than I thought it would be. I really did not enjoy the process. Because we had to have our things professionally packed/moved, I couldn’t go through the cathartic process of picking up an item, making a decision on it and then placing it either in a box or in a “to donate/trash/sell” pile. Instead, we shifted things from room to room creating “staging” areas where we could separate the items to be moved from the items that Lauren would keep. Of course we did have a “to sell/donate/trash” pile but the diving lines were slightly more blurry. Things remained incredibly cluttered and it was much more difficult to identify what had been put into each pile. Then, not a week before we were set to have the movers come in and pack things for us, we were told that we had to itemise, value and list off every item we were moving that we wanted insured. Nightmare!  I suppose it was a bonus that we hadn’t packed/sealed boxes up but what an undertaking! It is actually an interesting experience having to go through every single item you own. It creates some mixed feelings.. some items make you feel a little like a hoarder and other items make you feel nostalgic. I ended up leaving at least a dozen boxes in the house with Lauren that contain priceless memories. Things I can’t replace. Things that, if the container fell off the ship, I would be devastated to lose. So some day when we’ve decided for sure where we will settle, I will collect those things.

So now, here I sit, in the middle of Gothenburg.

We arrived in Sweden last Tuesday the 29th of November and have spent the last few days house-hunting with our relocation rep. House-hunting with my new husband was interesting. In every single instance, we had the same gut feeling. We would walk through a house, talk to the really nice landlord, look at each other and immediately agree just with a glance whether or not we liked the house. After viewing half a dozen houses, we had to choose between two that we liked and finally settled on one. It is extremely huge compared to houses we are used to. It has far more rooms than the house back in Calgary and even has a sauna! We move in tomorrow (Sunday).

Thankfully, the landladies are kind enough to leave us some furniture and lamps until we are able to get settled. We’ll pop by Ikea once we have moved in and pick-up a few items to help us get by until our shipment arrives. The boat is set to dock on Christmas eve and since we will be in England during Christmas, we may not see our things until January.

Now that we are here, officially living in Sweden, we have a lot to do. For starters, we need to have an identity. You pretty much don’t exist here without a personnummer. Although we have sim cards for our iphones, we need to get a land-line & an internet connection. We will try and make-do without a TV until perhaps the post-Christmas sales. Luckily we have use of beds, sofa and table so that we can put-off the purchase of these bigger priced items.

Aside from the typical move set-up/logistical stuff, we have moved to not only a new city, but a new country, a new continent… a new hemisphere. We are set to sign up for Swedish language lessons, I will need to re-test for my drivers license (within  a year) and I, of course, need to start looking for a job. There are english-speaking ex-pat groups that gather here that we can hopefully meet and I recently heard about an international business women group that is english-speaking as well.

To say this process has been and will be overwhelming is a bit of an understatement.

With Neil working already and being integrated into his company, there are a number of things that we won’t get to do together. Apparently we don’t get to take our swedish language lessons together and since he will have access to exercise facilities at work, we will probably not do that together. I think there is probably a blessing there somewhere since I will be able to maintain my own identity but it is a huge leap into the unknown.

Yesterday, Neil and I had a very humorous but really REAL experience together. We are staying at a hotel and needed a place to eat lunch. The easy option would have been to do what we have done all along and go grocery shopping and cook in the hotel room (we have a microwave and two cook-top burners). Restaurants here aren’t always obvious. A lot of lunch places are cafeteria style and aren’t visually obvious as a restaurant. We saw a sign in a window that read “Lunch Dessert” and it just appeared to be in an office building in the middle of an almost industrial type area. We found the front door which had a menu and tried to decipher the Swedish text. We basically understood the menu but we couldn’t tell if it was open to the public or if it was even open. I pulled up a translate app on my phone and was able to translate that the restaurant offers wedding catering etc.. so we realised it was open to the public. It was so awkward to feel so uncomfortable. We eventually overcame the fear of the unknown and went in.  We were greeted by a very nice young man that was able to explain to us (in english) what the process was.  “Grab a tray and plate, grab a glass, choose a beverage (one fill included), choose from the buffet etc.. The place looked very much like we were stepping into the private cafeteria that was available for employees only. The food was tasty and plentiful. After dinner we had a coffee/tea and a cookie and placed our tray on the trolley and left. The total cost was about $11 CDN.

I think this type of experience will be common for us here. I think we will be faced with many more of these uncomfortably unfamiliar events that we will need to overcome.  It seems so silly now but it really was a huge leap for us to walk in the building.  It really would have been so simple to go to the big supermarket next door, buy some groceries and go back to the hotel to cook.

It is now very early in the morning and I am feeling awful. I acquired a very fast-acting sinus cold yesterday that has left me feeling like I don’t want to leave the hotel room. I went to a pharmacy (apoteket) yesterday and without a prescription, could only get herbal sinus medication. Note for next time.. “Bring favourite cold medicines from home!” So here I sit with cup-o-soup, instant coffee and both herbal sinus tabs and some good old-fashioned Canadian pain killers..”

Time for some rest…

So I got an Iphone a couple of months ago… and guess what happened?  I stopped picking up my laptop and I started usign apps for everything.  For the record, typing on any handheld device sucks!!

So I am going to try and get back to blogging!  I have a lot to type about!  I recently attended the STC 2011 conference, I am still getting married in 108 days and I have a poor sick kitty!

So… I’ll TRY to get some words down.. share some interesting foodie reviews and let you in on my wedding planning secrets.

No promises though

You tend to expect death at old age and even though it is still sad, you can at the very least rationalize that the person lived a full life but it is the unexpected occurrences as young as early 20′s and 60′s that is hard to accept.

This year, I have done a lot of travelling (maybe not a lot more than my new usual but a lot still by my standards). Some of the travelling has been for leisure and part for less enjoyable reasons. 

In June, Lauren and I ventured down to Las Vegas. We were Vegas virgins and although I was going down there for a specific reason, we were set to have a blast and I couldn’t believe how much I loved it!! I used to scoff at Vegas. I thought it was all about gambling and lewd behaviour but I didn’t think that there was so much more to it than that! Of course you still have the gambling and lewd behaviour everywhere you go, but you can choose to opt out and enjoy the fantastic architecture, food, entertainment and food! (yes I know I listed food twice).

As I mentioned, we went down to Vegas for a specific reason. The surgeon who performed my weight loss surgery 3 years ago was visiting Vegas for a conference. Every year, the conference is held in a different city in the US and this year it happened to be in Las Vegas. Often, previous patients make arrangements to visit with the Doctor to celebrate his birthday since it happens to fall on the same week as the conference.  This year he turned 69!

So Lauren and I met up with some former patients and with one of the kindest and most thoughtful men in the medical profession that I have ever met. Dr. Marchesini saved my life (through my decision to fly 14 hours to have surgery) and he took care of me. I was honoured to have the chance to see him again, thank him and spend a couple of hours with him. Even with all of the thousands of patients he keeps up with, he remembers me well and seems genuinely interested in my well being. You just can’t get that quality of care elsewhere! Vegas was amazing and I fell in love with the city, the warmth (40 degrees some days!!!), the air conditioning, the food and the shopping. I didn’t enjoy the massive sunburn but otherwise it was great. We stayed at the Trump Hotel and it was luxury! Also, being in a non-gambling/non-smoking hotel, it was a pleasure!

Anyway, after Vegas (literally the day we arrived back in Calgary) Neil and I flew to Vancouver. I was going there for work and we tacked on a couple of days just for the two of us to check out the city. Vancouver was a whirlwind trip. We met up with my mom which was great since she hadn’t met Neil yet and we managed to see a little bit of the city.  We didn’t enjoy the Pan Pacific hotel that much but I had just been spoiled at the Trump International so that may have skewed my perception slightly.

Not long after the Vancouver trip, my family was devastated when my niece Jessica passed away. We attended her funeral and that’s when it occurred to me that the time between now and our wedding, we can’t really plan for everything. People that meant a lot to me won’t be at the wedding.

Buying my wedding dress was supposed to be a wonderful and thrilling moment and although I love the dress I bought, I was flanked with grief about my niece and the news I was about to receive. Neil and I had already put a deposit down on the venue so finding my dress was exciting. Unfortunately, while I was off buying my dress, Neil was finding out that his mom had a stroke. All I wanted to do was get home to be with Neil.

We waited it out and received daily updates on Jackie’s progress. We all kept a positive attitude and everything seemed to be moving forward until she came down with double pneumonia. Within a day, we were contacted with the news, booked the flights and were off to England to be with Neil’s family. We had to take a side trip to Toronto to get an emergency passport for Neil (his original passport was being processed for his landed immigrancy – the Toronto trip was a whole other crazy adventure) but within a couple of days, we were in England at Jackie’s side. Although we expected to arrive in England and attend a funeral, we were thrilled that Jackie started to quickly recover and improve dramatically every day. Neil and I stayed in England for 2 weeks helping out and visiting Jackie.

The trip was all business and no fun. The only day we had that was the least bit fun was our final day in England. We were in London and got a great hotel room for cheap right at the airport. We were upgraded to a better room and also club lounge access, and for the first time in two weeks, we were able to relax!

The day we were departing England, I received the sad news that my aunt had passed away.  All of the euphoria of the previous night was replaced by worry and sadness.  The day after getting back to work, we were down in Lethbridge attending her funeral. It seems like there was no time to rest and recoup!

The crazy thing was, we had already pre-scheduled a trip to England for November to attend Neil’s brother’s wedding. That trip was still going forward so just 4 short weeks after arriving back in Calgary, we were flying back to England. In that 4 short weeks, I was in school trying to catch up on classes I missed because of the emergency England trip and write my final paper (which I am still in the middle of!), we attended the funeral and also attended a Westjet plane dedication for Jessica!  

The second trip to England in November was much more enjoyable. Jackie was moved to a facility closer to where we were staying and she is still making progress towards recovery. Neil’s brother’s wedding was a lot of fun and I am so glad we were able to attend. I was finally introduced to one of Neil’s best friends and got to see the house Shakespeare was born in! We brought back way too much stuff (as usual) and ate some amazing food. Not everything went as planned but we weren’t greeted with any tragic news this time around and that is something to be thankful for! Lauren did give us a bit of a scare but nothing too serious!

So now that we are back, travel (at least outside of the province) is done for the year. We are planning our next trip(s) for the new year and starting to think more about the wedding. I am trying to get through my paper and complete it before the deadline and then Christmas is upon us. Next year though, is when things are going to get really crazy!!

After all of the changes family-wise, I am hesitant to finalize the wedding invitation list and send out the save-the-dates. We are fairly certain Neil’s mom and dad won’t be able to come all the way to Canada for our wedding.

Life changes so quickly and yet things can seem to take so long. The wedding is still 9 months away and Neil and I are faced with an inevitable move. We don’t know when or where but we know that we could be faced with a potential move outside of Alberta. A very daunting, yet exciting possibility.

Reflecting back on everything that has happened, I am amazed at how much can happen in a year. Some years seem to blow by with no major events and other years seem to have it all. This year, I have been filled with tremendous joy, sadness, discomfort and excitement. I guess in the craziness that is life, I can only be flexible, patient and thankful for all I have.

We decided to head up to Banff for a romantic weekend.  We booked a room at a hotel and reservations at one of our favourite restaurants.

So on Saturday we drove out past Lake Louise to Bow Lake [So I had been planning to propose at Bow Lake for at least a month, and I had no back-up plan].  When we arrived, we discovered the lake was still completely frozen over and everything else was buried under 6 feet of snow.

My boyfriend was adamant that we go out to this bridge by the lake to “take some romantic pictures”.

As we started towards the path, another couple came by and warned us to stay on the path and that we should be “okay” but that otherwise we would “fall in”. 

We weren’t sure what that meant so we started on the journey to the bridge.  We quickly learned what the fuss was all about.  Along the path on either side, we could see deep holes where other people had sunk into the snow.  Looking to the bottom of the holes, we realized we were looking at the tops of bushes and the tree branches I was grabbing onto for support were actually the tops of trees!!!!!

We cautiously moved along the path with Neil ahead of me.. suddenly he went down… all the way down! [I had the engagement ring in my sweatshirt pocket, and I was absolutely terrified of it flying out or losing it]  He was ok and managed to pull himself out which was lucky because not too long after, my whole left leg was swallowed up by the snow. I couldn’t get my foot out so I panicked and ended up pulling out my leg with my bare foot out of my shoe!  My shoe was stuck!!!  So neil came over and lying on his stomach, managed to pull out my snow-filled shoe [and in the process gave myself frostbite on my fingers].

At some point, about half way to the bridge it was decided that we would give up and start to head back towards the car.  Had we made it to the bridge, we would then have to get back again..

On the journey back, we had more incidents of falling in. At one point my right leg was swallowed up much like the left leg before but this time, I wasn’t willing to lose my shoe.  Plus, Neil was getting himself out of another hole ahead of me so I was on my own to get my foot out.  So I sat there and wiggled and moved my leg in an attempt to get my foot out with my shoe on!  I eventually did, thank goodness!!

As we walked back, we started running out of places to step.  Each time Neil or I fell in, we created a huge hole that eliminated a place to step.  Eventually, I told Neil we should crawl.. and we did…  we crawled to a fairly stable area and then walked out.

Throughout our journey I can’t remember exactly how many times we both went in but it was a lot! As scary as it could have been and as cold as it was, I laughed my butt off and had a lot of fun!!!

So we were both just soaked.  At the time, I was wet from the hips down and my jeans were just dripping.  We got back into the car and Neil started banging his head against the car seat headrest [lol I was sooo desperately trying to come up with a back-up plan].  I couldn’t figure out what the issue was.. I mean, we had fun and it was an adventure.. [I needed to come up with a romantic place, there was no way I was going to propose in a car parking lot!!!!!]

As we drove, we pulled into  a couple look-outs so I could take some pics.  I saw a raven and another grey bird called a Clark’s Nutcracker but Neil wouldn’t get out of the car.  He was so grumpy [every place we pulled into just wasn’t suitable and whilst Pia was out of the car I was desperately running through different scenarios should I propose at the restaurant later, or should we drive to lake louise? Etc etc...] 

So we got moving again and headed down Highway 1a.. we found a place called Rock Bound Lake.. Neil pulled in there and suggested we get out and go for a walk to dry out our jeans [hehe].  So we headed into the forest up the path.  At the time I remember thinking about whether or not there were bears in that area.. then suddenly Neil decided to go off the path.  I asked him where he was going and he responded “exploring”.  So I followed him.

He stopped in a small clearing that was surrounded by trees and had a moss carpet and we hugged and kissed.  He told me how much he loved me and that we were Soul Mates and how he couldn’t imagine life without me.. and then he said he had something to say to me… I remember his face being suddenly really boyish and so innocent.  He seemed like a kid who just got the best ice cream cone in the world… He got down on one knee ( I don’t remember doing it but he said I started to spaz out saying “Oh my God Oh my God” and then he said “Pia Kerber, Will  you Marry Me?”.  My response was… “Yes, Yes, of course, Yes!!”

His hands were trembling.  I held out my hand and he put the ring on my finger.. I helped because with the trembling I didn’t want it to get dropped!

It was like a huge release though because the second that ring was on my finger, Neil was a huge bundle of excitement!  it was like all he had to conceal from me was released and he let it all out.  He kept saying “we’re engaged!”, “I proposed to you!” “We’re going to get married!” It was so cute. 

He then told me about all the things he thought I suspected because he was sure I knew he was going to propose this weekend [I was sure she had seen the ring box in my pocket even though I kept on making her walk on the other side of me!].  He also told me all about when he got the ring etc.. and that he had a bottle of champagne in the car [It was a bottle of Rose Champagne, as I knew Pia wasn’t too keen on white champagne].

So we went to the hotel and checked in.  After drying out a bit we got ready for dinner and went for a pre-dinner beer at the Magpie and Stump. After that we went to the Grizzly House for our dinner reservations.  It was so funny… all the tables at the Grizzly House have phones at them so you can call other tables.  As soon as we sat down, the phone rang and it was a bunch of girls at a bachelorette party asking if we had any marriage advice.  I laughed and told them that I had JUST gotten engaged that day!  They freaked out and were screaming and cheering.  When they left, they all congratulated me on the way out.

We had a great dinner!  We started with steak tartare and cheese fondue.  For our mains, Neil had the hunter hot rock (Buffalo, wild boar and venison) with an additional ounce of Ostrich meat.  I had the seafood hot rock (salmon, swordfish, halibut, prawns, scallops) with an additional ounce of beef.  We also had some cider.. Neil tried the pear and the apple and I tried the cherry. 

After dinner we went back to the hotel and shared a bottle of Rose champagne. Time to let loose and celebrate!!!

After the champagne, we then shared a bottle of white wine, followed by a bottle of red… Thats where things went a little fuzzy!  I can’t remember much past that point.  I remember laying down and having the room spinning around me but when I woke up the next morning, I was in bed and couldn’t remember how I got there. I was hurting!  Worst hangover ever!!!

But all the good stuff I remember clearly and we had so much fun!  We truly did celebrate!

So it is Friday morning.. which in general seems to make people a little happier.. it is spring too, so that helps.. but this morning, Lauren and I were at Tim Hortons and it seemed like the happiest place on earth!

It is ‘roll-up-the-rim’ time and so the long Timmies line-ups are generally much longer.. so we are in line and a man from near the front of the line offers his spot to trade with a woman at the back of the line who was toting around 2 small children.  I think I can speak for everyone in the line-up when I say that we were all really impressed.  He not only gave up his spot, but he influenced the entire line-up with his infectious friendliness. I think it ended up affecting the entire place because suddenly people were holding doors open for one another etc.. it was pretty cool and I am glad to have wittnessed it.  In fact, I have really begun to lose faith in the Human Race.  We have so many horrible people living on this planet.  Our history is riddled with hatred and torture and murder.

It is really nice to know that somewhere on this little planet, on a tiny speck of land in Calgary… someone was kind!

Now it is lunch time… and I have been craving both egg and tuna salad sandwiches thanks to our catered lunch here at work yesterday.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a variety nut and often, when I can I will ask for as many variations and options as possible.

So I went to Marcellos and asked for a sandwich.. 1/2 tuna, 1/2 egg.  So she starts to spread the tuna salad on a whole slice of bread and I try to explain that I want it spread on only half.. she doesn’t understand so she passes me on to another girl who claims to understand EXACTLY what I want.  So she begins to spread the egg on another whole slice of bread… so now I am envisioning how this sandwich will taste.  I can’t imagine it will be revolting.. so I just play along.. I get the lettuce and the cucumber and salt & pepper… Luckily she puts all the vegetables between layers.. and then folds it up and cuts it diagonally.  She hands me a tuna & egg salad sandwich on white bread with lettuce, cucumber, salt & pepper.  Hmmmm.. thanks! I brought it back to my desk… took a bite of the frankenwich… and its not THAT bad!  As a matter of fact, I would consider eating something like this again sometime.. but my craving was for each sandwich individually.  So I carefully separated the two halves, split the veggies evenly between them and ate them separately.

I remember this now from when I was in a call centre working as a phone rep.  Everything had a place.. albeit a small one.. but things were orderly.  The occasional rep had a horrible mess for a desk but in general, things were tidy. 

I have been getting teased though.  Apparently by moving in my gumball machine and multiple photos of friends and family, I have made the place seem homely.  As I look around, I realize that no one else has brought their own flair to their cubicle… how sad.  I spend more waking hours at work than at home. 

I didn’t actually bring home to work… the things I have here  were acquired for work specifically or were given to me as a gift.  I want to make it clear that I am not making work my second home.  I am not trying to bring home here… I am just trying to make it a comfortable and enjoyable place to be!

I guess this all leads me to the fact that I have a new job!  I was transferred to a new role.. an exciting role.. a role that actually seems to be a perfect fit for me.  Most of all, I am going to be challenged which is something I have been missing for a long time.  I miss being challenged and I miss being part of a team.  I will get to experience that here.  I am in the same company but in a different department so even though the learning curve is steep, I have the advantage of knowing most of the members of my team.

All in all, so far so good!  Things are looking up!

I get this way sometimes.  I slip into a mood or phase or some other category yet to be defined and like Snow White’s kiss, only one particular trigger will snap me out of it.. the problem?  I don’t know what that trigger is.

I think what bugs me the most is that I have everything to be happy for and nothing to be grumpy for. Ok so I know I have a bad habit (unconscious) where I tend to absorb the moods of those around me.. but to my knowledge no one around me is overly grumpy today.  Who knows.. maybe I am channeling someone from a floor below me

I am changing jobs soon.  I have a new role that really suits me better than my current one.  I have an amazing boyfriend whom I love immensely and I have a wonderful family.  I am surrounded by all good things.. and yet here I am… practically sitting in a slump with my arms crossed and a scowl on my face that would scare small children.

I fake a smile as people pass me in the hallways and I am pretty good at responding “good thanks!” when people ask how I am.  Seriously, who wants to sit there and here me basically recite this blog about how I am grumpy and how maybe it is PMS or maybe its just that I am channeling the mood of the guy next door.. oh and by the way, I am just grumpy enough to tell you that I really don’t enjoy idle chit chat and would rather you not ask how I am..

I am sure that would go over well.

So here I am.. I had some sushi in an attempt to cheer me up.  It always seems to help when I am sick.. but then again its not great Kinjo sushi so I am not thrilled.  I also had some noodles.. forgoing my home made dinner from last night’s roast beef.  As delicious as last night’s dinner was, it wasn’t satisfying that need I have.. that little thing behind my right ear grumbling about how annoyed and irritated and bitchy I am and how I should try and fix it by employing every vice available… mmmm caffeine, mmmmm magazines, mmmm sushi, mmmmm noodles… hmmmmmmmmm car wash…

Yes, I did say car wash.  Its a valid vice!  Its pleasant and makes me feel like I have accomplished something, even if it only lasts 3 or 7 minutes or however long it takes… But there is something about going in dirty and coming out clean that is so satisfying…

Wow.. that actually cheered me up!  Thinking about a car wash actually just made the muscles in my face lift.. hmmmmmm…  I think its time to take Mizu in for a wash!

So here I am… a little less grumpy… about to run out and grab some form of caffeine or maybe just something carbonated but in general, annoyingly cranky for no reason whatsoever.. and that gets me even more annoyed!