Vacation

yay, I'm going away for a week. I'll miss my riding buddies, and my bikes are going to be so lonely without me. I just hope one of them starts when I get back... or I'm going to be late for work that day. I'm going to visit my friend in rural Sask, so hopefully I'll de-stress nicely before I go back to the really hectic life of work and school. The good news is that in less than 4 months I'll be done with school for the foreseeable future, YAY. Can't wait to have all of my evenings back, I'm going to miss them. Hmm, gotta leave in an hour, I'm all packed though... sigh

This is why

The other option I have been looking into (and I know you don't understand why I want this at all) is small town Saskatchewan. The fact that I can buy a pretty nice house for $60k or one that needs work for $30k (or one built in 1992 with over 2100 sq feet for $245k) is a really interesting prospect. Because I work with the RCMP, I can request a transfer to one of the detachments in the area and have a job almost right away. The fact that I would not have a mortgage means that I could waitress and still put money away into savings. It would be a total change in lifestyle. But, whenever I would go out and visit my friend who lived outside the city, within an hour my shoulder muscles were totally relaxed. That never happens even when relaxing at home now. It's a different atmosphere which I really enjoy. There are three towns that have about 75,000 people in them, and many smaller towns around those bigger ones. Realistically the only thing keeping me in Edmonton right now is my school, my house and my job. School is almost over, house can be sold, and job can be transferred/a new one found. This is probably the only time in my life where I will have the freedom to just pick up and move. In a few years I will have the startings of a family, and starting that somewhere else is an option. Yes, this did start because my friend moved out there, but it's the starting reason, not the reason I've been looking into it for so long.

Tragedy

They found more swelling this afternoon.... and the shaking was worse than they originally thought... he was on a morphine drip, but there were complications with his Addisions disease... they put him on a weaker pain killer.... he was yelping randomly because of the pain.... He passed away at 9:35 tonight, less than 27 hr after he got attacked. This house is never going to be the same.

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.

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.