Day Eleven - Hipsters, Goths & Family - Oh My!

My family lives somewhat far away [a little over three hours], but Joseph's family lives an entire ocean away [with one brother being an ocean and a continent away]. So, when Joseph's family comes over it's a bit of a big deal. His dad travels here for business sometimes and he takes us out to dinner and we try to pay and he won't let us and he brings us neat stuff from Belgium [which is probably courtesy of Joseph's mum].

In return, we try to keep him entertained. I like making conversation, so I do a lot of that. Joseph's dad was only really in town for one day this time and it was somewhat nice weather today so we decided to go to Queen Street West to look at all of the trendy jerkasses around there and try to find me a handbag. So, my ET for today is that I went shopping and had lunch with Joseph's dad. Couldn't find a handbag anywhere - but I had a fun time in the music store. I know have two missions to accomplish within this year: 1. get my piano back [find space in the house for it] and 2. buy a cheap violin. I also bought a trendy hipster douchebag outfit, which I shamefully love.

And seriously - if anyone knows where to find a cute, inexpensive medium-sized handbag [with a strap long enough to wear across my body] - I will be forever in your debt.

Day Ten - ...Like it's 1999

I don't get out much. And, in fact - I rather enjoy this. I love spending time at home. However, in spite of the fact that I have a far-reaching social anxiety problem I am cursed with the fact that I feel infinitely better when I'm with people. Life is complicated. I have a hard time making friends [perhaps because I don't get out much...it's all coming together now]...and a harder time calling someone my friend.

However, in recent months @ my job I have been lucky enough to meet a couple of really cool chicks [yup, that's some hip lingo] and tonight I went to a party at a coworkers house. With the exception of my Zellers days - I think this is the first time I have ever been to a coworkers house for social reasons. It was a tough sell [and not because Kathryn is unpleasant in anyway] and the decision to go was discussed at length over dinner.

I'm glad I went though - there were glostick things that we fashioned into fine jewellery!

Day Nine - Face to Face

In my job I send a lot of emails. A lot. I think maybe our company is a little email obsessed, but I don't have much to compare it to, so maybe we aren't. Anyway, I organize a lot of social things [or rather I used to] and sometimes this would involve the firm across Canada. As a result I would get into email conversations with folks from other offices. One of these people was the former receptionist in our Vancouver office - we found that we liked a lot of the same art, films, etc. She no longer works for our company and has recently made a temporary move to Toronto and made contact with me with regards to meeting up.

So, today I went out to lunch with someone I have never met before. Normally this type of social interaction would freak me out. To the point where I would make up some crazy excuse and cancel. Possibly in a way that would drive people away from me. Not good. But instead I went, it was lovely and pleasant conversation was had with nary an awkward moment. Except for the lackluster food @ Cantine which I have come to expect anyway.

Day Eight - The Closest I've Been to Rehab

For the last two weeks in October the company I work for has their annual United Way campaign. And it is a fine thing indeed - lots of money is raised and we get to have a break from our regular work. A good portion of this money is raised through bake sales and other food-centric activities. Eating cream cheese brownies @ 9am is totally justifiable when you are doing it for the kids, no? So yeah, it was binge-city in these parts.

Last year a few of my co-workers went on this crazy cleanse/detox thing - they weren't very agreeable people during those two weeks [but they did eat pills from a large bottle that read "snacks" which I found highly amusing] - but I decided I wasn't up for that. So, today I did a one-day detox. I know - how pathetic is that? What's more pathetic is that it was so challenging for me. What's even more pathetic is that there are 30-minute detoxes available [on the internets] for people who are more crap than I am.

Things started off well enough with yummy Weatabix and vanilla soy milk...but by 11am my head was on my desk and I was crying out for high fructose corn syrup. Not my finest hour. The mid-afternoon slump was particularly harsh - I thought I was going to black out and crack my head open on the bathroom floor. This is the first time in well over a decade that I've gone without caffiene [and I don't drink much of it] for a whole day.

Right now I'm quite exhausted, but otherwise I don't feel any differently. I'm glad I did the detox though as it made me keenly aware of exactly what types of food I'm normally shoving into my piehole. Honestly, I don't think my diet is all that bad, but I might have to do some re-examining. That being said, I'm totally downing a double espresso and something with highly refined white sugar tomorrow morning.

Day Seven - Witch-ay Woman

For as long as I can remember, I have been into all sorts of new age-y, spiritual things [almost as long as I have been into true crime stories - what a magical childhood]. True enough, I boxed up my horoscope reading things and Ouija board and Tarot cards to move with me to the big city. However, more practical concerns got in the way and I have not done a Tarot reading in nine years. In fact, I couldn't even find my Tarot cards and I had to go on a mystical journey to the highly mystical Indigo Bookstore to buy new ones [which, were actually the same as my old ones].

So - with mood properly set [yes, the TV was on]I did Tarot readings for numerous co-workers. In total I did around 15 readings and it did all come back to me, so I was impressed with that. Now - do I believe in this? I certainly don't live by it...but I don't think that anything that can be cause for self-examination should be ignored.

Day Six: Sticking it to the man!

I used to be quite the little spitfire. Endless stupid confidence. General boldness. Outspoken. Sadly, I have lost a lot of that. In private and with friendly friends I might still be a fiery chick, but I really do struggle with giving people the business. Even when they clearly deserve this. I am most anxious to remedy this and start acting a bit more like the a-hole I know I can be [and less like the wussy who will not leave a store without buying things I don't want and allows service people generally to make me feel small].

What better way to start than with some Yorkville fat cats? True, I am a bit of a Yorkville fat cat myself...but I had a bad experience @ a spa...and ultimately I wasn't happy with just walking away being out well over $100. So last night I went back to the spa and complained - in person!. I got things resolved - I got connected with people who are important - and I think I might even get something for nothing. I did all this without getting unnecessarily emotional, which is a super bonus.

Day Five: Footloose

I was going to do something slightly more exciting for my Extraordinary Thing, but this one kinda came about rather organically. Born out of my laziness and me forcing Joseph into daring me to do it I wore my slippers to the store. True, I do live embarassingly close to the store, but it gave the teenagers across the street something to really gawk at...so I'm sure that's something.

The store owner guy didn't notice [and he does know me, so maybe he assumes this is usual behaviour]. Shuffling across the street was a bit daunting [a tiny bit, but more than I thought] as indoor walking varies from outdoor walking. My slippers are pretty beat up [I actually brough them out of retirement after my old cat ones suffered a catostrophic failure] anyway, but did suffer a little for this wee adventure.

Mostly this weekend's ETs [ha - that's what I'm calling my things - in my mind it's already a sensation] were about me + new apartment [I promise to stop calling it that as I've lived there for 2.5 months]. I've struggled with making this "place" a home and that is something that is very important to me. It's fun to realise the great things about new apartment - the free, cozy, indoor laundry and the closeness to the friendly, non-price-gouging, cozy store.

Day Four: Quarter-free and loving it!

Oh laundry. The simple act of scrubbing one's clothing and whatever happens to be in your pockets [because obviously you are too lazy to clean them out before]. My Extraordinary Thing for today is: I did my laundry for free!

Now - I know what you're thinking [I'm psychic, too] - that laundry is one of the most shockingly ordinary things in the world. Even free laundry. Well, get ready to have your mind blown - since living in Toronto [10 years this past August] I have never once done my laundry for free. My new apartment has this feature [and it's right @ my door - yet one more reason to never breathe fresh air]. Another reason why this is extraordinary is because I do laundry very rarely [like maybe three or four times per year].

I waited around all day to do the laundry [the machines were in use]. Seriously. The moment finally began a bit after 10pm [this should give you some indication of just how hot my Saturday nights are] and it was epic. I could actually hear the machines [if I put my superhuman ears to the test] so I knew when it was time for a swap. Also, auto dry! It was an insanely positive experience. I might start doing laundry as often as once a month.

Day Three - Sweet Treat

On my actual birthday [spoiler alert - it was two days ago - scroll down] I was taken out to my favourite cheap sushi restaurant, as fine dining is not something I'm crazy about doing on a Wednesday. Tonight I went out for Indian food - which is a little out of the ordinary for me anyways, but I decided to really step it up.

I had dessert at an Indian restaurant.I'm not crazy for sweets anyway and usually when I eat Indian food I just stuff my sinuses with starters, paneer and naan. This time I left room for dessert. Being the genius that I am I ordered the gulab jamun which was quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. I managed just two or three bites as it was not my scene at all. I swapped for the pistachio ice cream [also a new thing] which was tasty, but so rich as well. Lesson learned, people.

Day Two: Hatfields & McCoys

One thing about me is that I love trivia [and apparently hate grammar]. Last year I organized a grand night o' trivia @ work as part of our United Way campaign. This meant that I could not participate [except as QuizMaster] so this year I was out for blood! Imagine my sadness when I found out that we were doing Family Feud in place of trivia...however, I am also a master of Family Feud as my grandfather loved game shows. I always loved the cheesy tableaux the families would do.

My Extraordinary Thing for today is: winning a Family Feud/Trivia showdown!The mood was set - our office cafe was filled with people, snacks, alcohol, slight resentment...just like a real family get together. Before our team was called up we fortified ourselves with cheese and Guinness - which made us a bit loagy pre-competition. However, we managed to defeat two other "families" quite handily...and then it was my moment in the sun as my family allowed me to do the final faceoff. It was tense, but I emerged victorious due to my vast knowledge of what people hide under their beds and what people dislike about their bosses. We all won huge sweat-proof shirts! Fantastic!

Most of my time in this job has been spent organizing social activites and therefore not participating. It was actually exciting to be part of a winning team and to play a big-ish part in the win. It's cheesy, it means nothing...but I did enjoy myself - the pressure of the competition was intense [I might lay off people who freeze up on game shows].