Friday, July 13, 2007

Friday the 13th


This morning one of my co-workers asked if I was suspicious and worried about today because it is Friday the 13th. I told her that it had been a pretty good day, and it had been. But overall, it was a scary scary day.

Terrifying

I've never been so scared in my life. My family was visiting some friends, these friends have three dogs, one of the dogs is very territorial. These friends didn't mention the territorial bit, they probably didn't think that we were going to bring Merly with us. So, we get there, and my dog, Merly, is sniffing around, and their dog comes running up to Merly. Merly is the most friendly dog I've ever known, he trusts everyone and everything. So, this dog comes running and Merly expects to play, except this dog grabs him by his neck and starts shaking. There's four people in my family and nothing we can do. The owner of the other dog finally manages to get his dog off. It seemed like an eternity before this happened, was probably closer to 20-30 seconds.
I've never heard a noise like the one that was coming out of my puppy. I can't even describe it. Nothing I ever want to hear again.
We finally make it to the ER Vet (after 6 on a Friday night, not much is open) and they take a look. It's just his back skin that was ripped open, so hopefully no major damage.
I can't get the image of my poor little puppy being shaken out of my head. He's only 9lbs, and this was a big Border Collie cross, she was probably 50-60lbs.
Friends only entry posted on Friday July 13, 2007, 9:23 pm

Edit:
I was just informed that the Vet called, Merly will be ok and allowed to go home tomorrow. He will have to wear a cone for a couple of weeks, but he will be fine.

Terrifying

I've never been so scared in my life. My family was visiting some friends, these friends have three dogs, one of the dogs is very territorial. These friends didn't mention the territorial bit, they probably didn't think that we were going to bring Merly with us. So, we get there, and my dog, Merly, is sniffing around, and their dog comes running up to Merly. Merly is the most friendly dog I've ever known, he trusts everyone and everything. So, this dog comes running and Merly expects to play, except this dog grabs him by his neck and starts shaking. There's four people in my family and nothing we can do. The owner of the other dog finally manages to get his dog off. It seemed like an eternity before this happened, was probably closer to 20-30 seconds.

I've never heard a noise like the one that was coming out of my puppy. I can't even describe it. Nothing I ever want to hear again.

We finally make it to the ER Vet (after 6 on a Friday night, not much is open) and they take a look. It's just his back skin that was ripped open, so hopefully no major damage.

I can't get the image of my poor little puppy being shaken out of my head. He's only 9lbs, and this was a big Border Collie cross, she was probably 50-60lbs.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Summer

Summer has arrived. Yesterday was a scorching 32 degrees, enough to make me want to sit in an air conditioned house all night. I would have been happy to stay at work, because my house does not have the wonderful thing that is air conditioning. The closest I get is fans on and windows open in the cool of night, and blinds drawn and windows closed in the heat of day. It works well, except for when it does not happen. I am currently enjoying a cool breeze after a pleasant 25 degree day.

Reading back, I was right to be sad about leaving Canada Place, my new job is boring and repetative. After my first week I stated that I would not last two months. It is now two months later, and next Monday I transfer into a new department. This time I will have my own cubicle and computer, but still be restricted to the intranet. I did make friends with my co-workers and I am sad to leave them as my new co-workers are closer to the baby-boomer generation. In other work news, I have the opportunity to try and become a Correctional Officer at the Edmonton Maximum Security Prison. While talking to the lady in charge of staffing, she realized that I had an education and put me in touch with someone who might be able to get me into the HR side of Corrections. This would likely mean that I would have to move to Grande Cache or Drumheller. I am looking into it, but nothing can happen with that until the new year. With 3 classes left, and four years of post secondary under my belt, I am not leaving anything before I get that diploma.

A noteable change in my life is that of transportation. In May I got my Class 6 license, which allows me to drive a motorbike. On June 9th I drove away from Heritage Harley driving my brand new (used from 2000) Buell Blast. It is freeing to drive a motorbike. Yes, other cars are dangerous, but I do my best to avoid them and stay alive. There are pictures to be found if you know where to look. All you car drivers should watch out for me, and my fellow bikers, we are vehicles too and hate being overlooked... mostly because it hurts us more than it hurts you.

Oh yeah, and I turned 22. It was a fairly uneventful day. I had lots of cheesecake, and a good BBQ at my parents house. There were also many messages and writings on the wall from friends. Thank you all of you.

Some of you may have heard of my cousin Petra Blundell. She had cancer five years ago, and in the fall she is running a marathon. While she has passed her goal, every little bit helps. She has been an inspiration in my life for quite some time, if you read her story on this website, you can start to understand why.

I'm off to dinner and a movie, so I have to go and suit up.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Things Change


Alright so, as you may know, in early May I put a deposit on a Honda CBR125R, a new little sport bike with remarkable pep for its size. I was deposit number 6 or 7, which would put me in the first set of bikes received. But, everything was running late, I had to buy a second set of gear so I could have proper gear for bike training because the gear that came with the bike wasn't in (even though the guys promised it would be). Then we were promised that we would get our bikes in the first few days of June. That didn't happen, the earliest I could get that bike is on June 12th. So, I had heard about Buell, and how they had a small bike that was low so us short people could ride it too. There's only one dealer in Edmonton that carries them. So, I gave them a call today when I got home from work, and they had a Blast in stock. A 2000, in perfect condition, great first owner. I sat on it and was impressed with the size, and the feel of the bike. Insurance followed quickly, and I pick it up in the morning. Hopefully the registry will open at 10 so I don't have to wait too long before I can ride. I'm just not looking forward to going back to Honda and telling them that I'm no longer interested in their bike. The morale of this story is: Don't promise more than you can keep. Also: Don't buy the first thing you see, shop around.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Work is done

This was originally written on Thurday, April 26th. I was interupted there, and lost my train of thought.

So, today was my last day of work in Canada Place. I am happy I went there. Good friends were met, good experience was had. I would have been sad to leave the girls in my unit, except I'm seeing them all on Sunday, and then I am going to a rodeo with one of them, so I will still be in touch. It is weird, I am 21 years old, and I have had ten different jobs, and this is the only one I have really felt sad leaving. It was fun, it was hard work, it was frustrating, it was enlightening.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Tablet PC

So, I have recently, quietly, come into possession of a tablet PC. While my old laptop is not quite yet dead, I felt the need to splurge, and so, a new toy for me. The touch screen is fun, surfing Nexopia has never been easier. No worrying about losing the mouse, just point and click. Writing recognition is a little sketchy, even after going through the tutorial, but that should get better as we both learn how the other works.

On the mouse issue, if I can ever get Sims installed, it will be great fun to be able to play it on long bus trips without the bulkiness of a normal laptop computer.  It is only 13", wide screen, no bigger than a text book, and lighter than most. When I saw it, I just had to have it. Lucky for me, it was on sale.

In other news,  school is over, so far, two B's. I'm mostly happy with that, though it will bring my overall average down. I'm not overly hopeful about my last class, so who knows.

Also, I'm done work on Thursday. My 90 shifts this year are up, so something new for me. I will be back at Nexopia until my papers come through for my new job.  Nexopia will be helping out with HR/Accounting stuff, they need some support there. Then off to K Division with the RCMP to work in their mail room. Should be boring, but I'll make the best of it, and work on getting a better job in the building. If I stay in the RCMP for the next 30 years, I can retire at 50 with no loss in my pension plan... this could be the start of a wonderful relationship.