Odds and Ends

It's been awhile since I've posted anything on here besides pictures, so here's a quick recap of what's been new in my crazy world.

APRIL

Today is me and April's 8 month anniversary, so happy anniversay honey! It's hard to believe that it's been 8 months already. It's even harder to believe that next month it will be a year since we first met. I still feel unbelievably lucky to date someone who totally gets me and puts up with me. I never imagined being so comfortable around someone. Not too many couples feel comfortable enough to fart on each other! I am still completely in love with her and I still love hearing her voice when she calls from work and I still love seeing her when I walk in the door from a long day at work. April is definitely THE ONE for me.

WORK and SCHOOL

It looks like my days at Safeway are indeed numbered. I applied for the buy-out last month so I find out officially some time this month if I get accepted for the buy-out or not. By the sound sof it, everyone who applied for the buy-out will get it. My manager got a memo from head office and he has started asking cashiers if they would prefer their last day to be either Feb. 4 or Feb. 11. So it looks like Feb. 11 will be my last day at Safeway. In a lot of ways I am really looking forward to being out of Safeway, but I'm sure I will have a big lump in my throat on my last day. There are many aspects of the job that I hate and there are lots of bullshit and politics that go on at Safeway, but I do have ltos of fond memories and I have met some truly amazing people that I will really miss. Over the years I've had the provelege of becoming friends with Natasha, Bobby, Sandra, Megan, Geneise, Cory, Scott, Hung, Breck, Joanne, Dawna, Kerri, etc. I have spent one third of my life at the Regent Park Safeway so it will take getting used to not being there anymore. However, I think the change is necessary and will help me finally get onto the next stage of my life and finish my school. I am really looking forward to waking up every day and focusing on my thesis 100%. I can't wait to go get into a routine of going to Stone's Throw coffee shop and having some coffee and doning soem reading for an hour or two, coming home and going for a quick run and then typing away for 4 or 5 hours. This buy-out will also help me feeling more like an actual student. I will be able to participate more in Grad Student events and attend more conferences and social events. In less than a month my life will be drastically different, but I am looking forward to it.

XMAS

I never really wrote anything about how my Christmas was, so here's a quick, belated recap. Overall I had an enjoyable Xmas. For Christmas Eve, April and I went to my parents house. The last couple of years my parents have had a big come and go social night at their house on Christmas Eve for friends of the family. The only problem is that I could honestly give two shits about mingling with the vast majority of these people, especially during Christmas time. I had a far better time after everyone left and April and I just hung out with my parents. It's pretty sad when I go "home" for Christmas and I don't even feel like I'm at home at all because of people like a certain "vocalist" diva with size 26 jeans who can't even say a simple "hello" to my girlfriend. However, I did enjoy the quiet time with my parents and April. For Christmas Day, April and I went to her aunt's place in Weyburn with her parents, sisters and several other relatives. It was really nice meeting soem of her relatives for the first time and they really made me feel at home. They really made me feel like I was a part of the family. April and my parents were getting frustrated with me because I never gave them many ideas of what to get me for Christmas because I never really wanted anything aside from some CDs and DVDs. However, they caved and I got the two main things I asked for. April got me the Ramones boxed set Weird Tales of The Ramones. It consists of 3 CDs for a total of 85 songs, along with a DVD of all of their music videos. The packaging is amazing. It contains a comic book of assorted mini-comics about the Ramones by cartoonists ranging from the guys who do Archie to Mad Magazine to The Simpsons. I think it's my fave Xmas present ever. My parents got me the Bruce Springsteen Born to Run 30th Anniversay reissue box set, with the remasted CD, a restored 1975 concert DVD and a documentary DVD on the making of the record. A really cool package.

Other than that, the holiday season was very hectic. Tina was down for two weeks so our rowdy gang went out a few times. My cousin Ian was down from Calgary so it was nice to touch base with him again. It was a fun-filled two weeks but I'm glad to get back to reality for a bit now and look forward to my post-Safeway phase of my life and get my thesis finally done.