The "Happs"...

Since it's been awhile since I've posted (to myself, who am I kidding?), I thought I should write a small update on the happenings in my life.

About a month ago, a customer at work dumped a load of lumber onto my wrist. At first the doctor's thought I had broken my scaphoid, but now they've realized I have ligament damage. I should be finding out soon if they can repair it through surgery. I might add that this was my right wrist. And I am right-handed.

My work didn't take this so well. So without getting into details, I am currently on stress leave. I may or may not be returning in December. That's still undecided.

So while I'm at home, healing (in more than one way), I have decided to write a story. A children's story, for my niece and nephew. It all stemmed from starting to look up Christmas gift ideas for them. I was looking at the Playmobil website, thinking a set from there would be great idea for my three year old nephew. I was asking different people if they thought the Pirates, the Knights or the Egyptians were cooler. Unanimously, Knights was deemed the best.

I showed the set I was thinking about getting to my mom, and she made the comment that I should probably start reading him stories or showing him movies about Knights so that he would know what to do with the set when he got it. This got me thinking... wouldn't it be awesome if I could show him and my six year old niece all the great story characters? Kings and Queens, Knights, Indians, Cowboys, Pirates, and on and on and on...

So rather than researching all the best books and movies to show them, I thought maybe I should try writing them a story with some of those characters myself. So I started. And I have to admit, it's taken on a life of it's own. I've always written on the computer, but this time I'm writing it by hand on loose sheets of lined paper. I started by deciding what kind of characters I wanted (A princess, a witch, a pirate, etc), and then I sketched quick little drawings of each character, and cut them out. Then I laid them out on the table, and rearranged them in the order that I thought they should be introduced. And then I just started writing.

My little story has become a book. I've already written over six chapters, and I feel like the most exciting parts are still to come. It's definitely going to be a book that an adult will have to read to them, but I think my niece and nephew will like it. I hope they do.

The writing is reeking havoc on my poor wrist, but I've found if I keep it well wrapped, and take lots of breaks between writing bursts, I can manage.

So that's the "happs" with me at the moment. Oh, I should also mention that my sister is expecting her first baby in February!! I'm ridiculously excited, and am having fun helping them look up old-fashioned names.

And that, as they say, is that.

They Scare Me...

I am not scared easily. I can watch any horror movie without closing my eyes or hiding behind a pillow. But there is one thing in life that scares me. Teenagers.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not as if I've forgotten that it wasn't that long ago that I was one, but teenagers have changed in the past 10 years. Suddenly they're sex-crazed (even more than usual), they treat their bodies like they are disposable, they have no sense of morality, they treat each other like crap...okay, that has always been true...but now they do it online! And it's all "anonymous" so that they can hide behind their computer screens and bully without getting caught. There is also that site called Omegle? Where teenagers go to have random face to face video chats with complete strangers. Am I the only one who has major red flags going off in her head?

I'm scared of having teenagers. I am someone who was born to be a mother, but I'm petrified of my children becoming these god-awful beings. My niece is 5 1/2, and I just want to hide her away and shelter her from other children in case they turn her into one of them when she hits high school.

I blame sleepovers for a lot of it. I can only recall being allowed to go to two different sleepovers as a kid (not including staying with family). And both times were incredibly scarring! At one, during a game of Truth or Dare, I was dared to dry hump the couch, and I was mortified. I refused to do it and for the rest of the night I was shunned from their games. At the other, all of the girls talked about penises and sex and I just wanted to go home. (As I recall, I had begged and pleaded with my mother to let me go, so on principle I stuck it out)

Other than those two, I'm so glad my mother never allowed me to go for sleepovers. This has got to be when most of this Stranger Chat and anonymous bullying takes place. Under the cover of darkness while the naive parents are asleep.

I think needless to say, my future children are in for a big disappointment when it comes to sleepovers.

Why Hello...

So it has been ages since I have written on here and for that I must apologize. To whom I am apologizing, I am not sure, so let's just say that I'm sorry and leave it at that!

My life has been fairly dull lately, what with currently being unemployed. I've done a few small things such as baby-sit and dog-sit to keep up with the bills, but I'm really looking forward to the time when I have a reliable income.

Tonight (er, this morning) I am thinking about relationships. I have tried my hand at internet dating through a variety of sites and have been repeatedly disappointed. I will meet a nice guy, go on a few dates, and then he says or does something that repulses me to the point that I never want to see him again. Or, as is probably to be expected with online dating, I meet up with a guy only to discover that he did not tell the truth about himself, and I once again find myself repulsed.

And it is not as though I have the worlds highest expectations. Well, maybe that's not entirely true. I do have rather high expectations. I have in my mind the idea of the "perfect" guy for me, and that's probably not fair to most guys out there. However, the idea of settling is just insane to me. I'm a good person, I think I deserve someone equally as good. A physical attraction must also be apparent. He can't be a smoker, and he must not be a sex-fiend who is only looking to get in someone's pants.

So... does that qualify as high expectations? Who knows.

A Note From My Work...

Dear Anne,

Last night the big dog escaped his kennel. He attacked the little dog and her eyeball popped out! We did emergency surgery and she will be fine. Please keep the two dogs separated today.

P.s. We can't find one of the cats.

Well Hello Old Friend...

Has it really been two years since I've posted on this blog? That makes me sad. Oh well, here I am! Back, and more fabulous than ever!

But enough about me. How have YOU been?...

So what has changed in the past two years? Well, plenty. First of all, I never did finish Journalism school. Who was I kidding with that one, anyway? That is definitely not a place I want to be in life. I do still continue to love writing, but I prefer a less intensly-structured environment.

Instead, I have been toying around with a myriad of crap jobs, only to land in my happy place. The animal hospital. There is nothing more enjoyable than getting paid to play with kittens and puppies. (Except maybe getting paid more) I work with lovely people, and look forward to every shift.

I do have to admit that I miss school, though. I really do miss assignments, studying, and essays! Oh, how I long for the days of essays. I would really like to take a night course or something for fun. Perhaps creative writing. However, I would like to get out of debt and move into my own apartment before throwing my money into a class which will probably never help me out in life. Except that it would feed my soul.

So, in consideration of my poor, sad, lonely bank account, I have returned to you, dear blog. You were a good friend to me while I lived in residence, and I believe the time has come for me to blog once more.

Somebody Explain...

There are things that I really wonder in life. If you have the answers, please... fill me in.

Quandary #1: Why are we born with so many things that we can really live without? (i.e. tonsils)

Quandary #2: What IS that smell in the parking lot at night?

Quandary #3: What exactly is in a hot dog?

Quandary #4: Why do people insist on naming their children things that were never meant to be names? (i.e. Pirate or Apple)

Quandary #5: How come some people can do things that other people can't? (i.e. whistle or curl their tongue)

Quandary #6: Why is Winnie the Pooh the only one of his friends who has to wear clothing?

Quandary #7: Why do we drive on the Parkway and park on the Driveway?

Quandary #8: How come Franklin was the only one to get a real name?

Quandary #9: Whose "bright" idea was it to make a handwritten capital Q look like a fancy 2?

Quandary #10: What does the scanner say when the cashier accidently scans Maggie?

The Way You Do The Things You Do...

Who do you look up to? I don't mean for people like myself who are vertically challenged and must "look up to" see the faces of everyone around them. I mean, who do you consider to be your role model? Someone who has qualities that you aspire to have, someone who looks, acts, speaks a certain way, someone who does something that you hope to also do someday.

I have a few personal role models. They range everywhere from celebrities to family members to friends of mine. I admire those people who do the very things that I am afraid of. Someone who has conquered all of my fears, and has that certain je ne sais pas about them that I find intriguing.

Role models are a wonderful thing. As long as you pick the right ones. Sometimes role models can let you down. They do things that you would never do, they pick up habits that you don't approve of, or they blatantly fail at something in front of you and their pedestal status comes crashing to the ground.

Did you ever stop to consider that you are probably someone else's role model? It could be anyone really. If you were ever a camp counsellor, odds are your campers looked up to you. Younger siblings are usually the most adoring fans. Someone in a lower grade than you, someone you taught something to, someone who saw you once across the room and has kept an eye out for you ... just to see what you'll wear or say next.

This is not supposed to freak you out, it's just supposed to make you think. The chances are really very high that someone out there, wherever they may be, thinks you can do no wrong. It's just something to keep in mind the next time you weigh your decisions. The wrong one could not only hurt you, but could also crush someone who truly believed that you could do better.