☆❀☆

☆ It's been raining a lot for the last couple of days. That's good. It's dry down here in the Edmonton area, so it's really needed. Have heard that it's been raining a bit up in Fort Mac as well... That's good. Though ash runoff is going to be a big concern.

☆ Managed to get my hands on some yarn! So I've started this pattern, in the textured + stockingette bands version. The yarn is an avocado-coloured fingering-weight acrylic/nylon mix; I wasn't able to make my way to an actual yarn store, so I had to make do with Michaels, but that's all right. Only thing is, I forgot that synthetics tend to be kind of slippery. And split a lot. Bleh. But I like the way this one feels, and I think it'll be nice when it's done. Kind of wish I'd chosen a different pattern, though - this one has lots of purling, and it looks great, but I still haven't figured out how to purl quickly and easily. The awkwardness of left-handedness... >3>

☆ I wrote something! It's just some bite-sized flashfiction with more dysfunctional Joona/Hannu* but it's something, and it's finished. Still don't feel like working on any of my ongoing things, but this is a good sign.

☆ Totally missed that there is some international hockey going on right now. WTF. I think Diplopod mentioned it recently, but I forgot. Apparently the gold-medal game is today?! I'll have to see if I can catch it. It's a little weird, but sometimes I end up hoping for second place - Canadians can get awfully egotistical about hockey, and in recentish years I've become a little sick of it. ...An exception is when we're against the USA, though. ;p But we're against Finland today, so hopefully it'll be a good game regardless.

Earlier this week, I was kind of in a bad spot. But I'm feeling better now! So it's all good! I wasn't able to reply to those who spoke to me about it, wasn't exactly feeling all that well, but -- it's over and done with. These things come and go! But I'm really glad that I know so many wonderful people. It makes me feel really, really good.

Parents went down to Edmonton Thursday; returned Friday. I had intended to use that time for writing but I got saddled with a huge mass of chores, argh. However, with the house to myself, I was at least able to relax a little. I really needed that. I could just chill out and do whatever I wanted and not worry about anything.

Though not gonna' lie, every time I have to stay in this house alone, I get kind of creeped out at night. Every time the furnace makes a noise or the building settles a bit I get this feeling like "shit, someone's breaking in", even though it's just my imagination being stupid. I guess it's just because it's a big house and if (theoretically) someone managed to sneak into it, I'd have no way of knowing, at first. Except that the security system would go off, of course, but wild imaginations don't take that into account.

Anyway. diplopod made the horrible mistake of linking me to a site streaming IIHF WC matches, so it's very likely I'll get sucked into hockey, like I always do. 8| I haven't been keeping up with the NHL lately, but there's something about international stuff like this that just makes me want to have a stream up all the time. But I'll try to restrain myself, I suppose, because I tend to never get anything done while hockey is on, hah.

The other day, I managed to finish some writing. Nothing remarkable - just the final revision of something I wrote in late 2009 and never got around to calling "done". It's not special, so I posted it as anonymous (though it can be found if one knows where to look). Mostly, I'm just really happy that I finished something. When it comes to writing, I'm hardly able to do it, due to environment (as I've mentioned before). So getting something polished, calling it "finished", that gives me a really good feeling, even if it isn't a new story.

Delicious is changing hands. Everyone who wants their stuff transferred over has to opt-in, so if any Delicious users on my FList haven't done that yet, you might want to. You just have to log in and it'll take you through it. Far as I can tell, the system isn't being changed; it's just background stuff. Anyway, I did the necessary adjustments for my personal account and the indexes, and I backed everything up just in case things go wrong. I expect it'll all be fine, though. As for Index updates, I'll probably do one tonight if I don't get distracted by roleplaying.

Man. I feel so much better now than I did a few days ago. I really, really do.
Oh, and I'll be catching up on entries when I have a moment. Promise. I just, uhh. The last couple weeks have been not-so-great; needed some time to myself, I guess.

The outdoor hockey game on Friday night was fucking awesome. Sure, it was cold, but it was worth it. Our home team, the Oil Barons, were playing Drayton Valley Thunder and it was just -- yeahhhh it was good. And the Barons won; even better.

... The only thing that bothered me was people booing when Drayton Valley scored. Come on, assholes, that just isn't cool. Far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter if it's hockey or something else, or if the home team is playing or whatever. It's just not on. Not only is it rude, it's also unsportsmanlike. :| Geeze.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT IT WAS OKAY.

Last night I watched The Wicker Man with Bice. Well, not really, because he's not here, but we... watched it at the same time and commented to each other about it. Not as much fun as really doing it and sharing popcorn and stuff but hey, what ya' going to do. Still, it was fun, and I hope we can actually do that some time. And man, I love that movie so much. I've watched it over a few times, and every time I do, I appreciate it more.

... I was going to update the Nordic index and the Baltic index tonight, but man, I just plain don't have the energy. After fighting my way through the snow and getting stuck in a traffic jam on the transit twice, all I want to do is chill.

(eta) Oh, and here is one of those Honesty meme things where you can say what you think of me... if you want. Though really, anon is turned on at my journal all the time, so one could just say it here. Ehhh.
... though the subthread with Ari kind of turned into HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY but anyway.

Just a few A lot of things!

☆ My first day at work was okay, but at the end of the day I was very sore from standing all the time and I had an enormous headache. Lovely. I'm sure it'll stop after a while. The job itself is fine, I just -- man, I'm tired. Overall though, the job doesn't seem too bad, and the owner of the store is really nice and I doubt he will screw me over like the previous retail managers I've worked for. ...Unfortunately, with all the time I will be working in the future, I'm kind of concerned that it'll interfere with my studying. Of course the learning is just for fun, but it makes me sad that I won't have as much time for it.

☆ I did some calculations. With the amount of money I'll be making, I will have no problem paying off all my expenses by the end of the month, and at the same time, finally putting away enough money to afford that trip to visit my dear friend. This makes me so happy. Now it won't be a matter of money - it'll be a matter of planning, and getting my passport, and making sure my parents don't flip out over the idea, ahaha. Yes! And even after I have enough money, I'll still be putting a little bit away per month so that I can start saving for another trip - though I'm not sure where. Maybe Poland? Ahhhhh, but that's so far off, I don't need to start thinking about it yet. <3

☆ Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend (we have it a month earlier than the Americans do). To be honest, I'm not all that excited about it. Even at the best of times, I don't like it much because mum freaks out and everything has to be PERFECT and it's always so stressful. This time, we're having family visiting and it's just... ugh, so much do not want. She feels the need to be all pretentious in order to Impress, trying to make us seem better or more well-off than we are. It makes me angry. Maybe it wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't dislike these people.

☆ Hockey season is starting ahhhh <3 Normally I don't pay all that much attention, but now that I have friends like anasyrma who actually like it, I'll probably be watching it from time to time. I'm kind of excited about this -- oh, I don't know, I guess it just really makes me happy to have something to cheer for. ... Even if my team loses, like the Flames did last night. Ouch. Er, those who have me on twitter will probably have to put up with the occasional hockey spam, and I apologize in advance, haha. <3 But I won't be anywhere near as spammy as I was during the Olympics! (One would hope)

☆ Soon I will be putting up a Christmas Card post to collect addresses - either this week coming up or the next. I know it's super early but I'll be sending stuff all over the place and my free time is now drastically reduced, so I need to start thinking ahead! So, yeah, just a heads' up.

Lately LJ has been giving me problems - late comments, sometimes comments not even showing up at all until a day after they're left. So if it seems I'm ignoring you, really I'm not, it's just that LJ's being an ass.

Many thanks to those who had kind words to say about the cancellation of my summer plans. Really, though it's a disappointment, it isn't a big deal. I'll live. ;p With a whole 'nother year to plan, I bet Minni and I will be able to ensure it's extra-awesome. Hell, maybe I could even make arrangements to swing by and see some other people in the country, too... Well okay, I guess I wouldn't really be able to work that out, but it's nice to daydream about.

This week has been up and down and up and down and I'm so frustrated and stressed out but somehow I'm managing to make things out okay. In the next couple days I really plan to crack down on schoolwork. Beltane is Saturday; I keep forgetting that (and keep getting reminded). Even though I don't celebrate that one formally - Solstices and Equinoxes are my big celebrations - it'd still be nice to have that day free to just do whatever I want.

I just can hardly wait until things settle down. I have things I want to do. Writing and roleplaying aside, I want to take time to do my summer cleaning. I need to repair some parts in the washroom - yes, I could call maintenance, but the people my landlord hires just do a slap-job of everything, and I could do better. Need to put everything in order. And I want to visit my family. Even though my mother is absolutely bonkers, I still love her, and I miss my dad, and I want to see my brother again even if we never really have anything to talk about. Urgh, I feel weird being all "I miss my mommy" kinda' thing, but well. Family is family.

On a much lighter note, the Canadiens won against the Capitals today. Yessss. They play again on... Friday, I think? Maybe if I get a lot of work done I'll be able to keep an eye on it. 8D I've been kind of casually following everything - Ari's flailing on twitter helps (hah). And since the Canadiens beat the Caps that's now two drinks she owes me. Awesoooome. I'm totally going to hold her to it if she ever makes her way up here, too. Though I dunno' how I'd be after two drinks - last time I had that much, I stayed up the entire night commenting to Moona and I think the only thing that saved me from making a complete ass out of myself was the fact that writing comments on an iTouch is difficult and awkward.

If you don't care about hockey, here, have something awesome:
China and Kenya to search for medieval Chinese ships on the Kenyan coast

....Anyway.

HELL YEAH FINLAND


YOU GO

YOU GET THAT BRONZE

YEAHHHHHHHH

Man, that was SUCH a good game, oh my gods, that Slovakian team played like hell, jesus.


I'm so happy, what the hell, it doesn't make any sense, ahhhh but still, it's good.

And tomorrow.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY.

I can't wait. 8)

(Yeah, I didn't do anything today, either)

I spent most of today running around trying to find the red olympic mittens for someone on my FList. I hit two different Zellers, but they didn't have them; tomorrow I'm going to try the third one, and if they don't have 'em, I give up. GEEZE, SASKATOON, WHY SO FAIL. They had a ton of them back in Fort Mac, sigh. Frustrating!

After hitting the second Zellers, I decided to walk home, because waiting for the bus would take a while. Unfortunately, I kind of forgot just how long it takes me to walk home from that location, 'cause I hadn't done it since the summer. Over a freakin' hour, man! And I was speedwalking it! Well, at least it was gorgeous out today. Not too chilly at all, only around -9 I think. Still, that walk took a lot out of me, and by the time I got home I was bloody exhausted. It felt good, though. I think I much prefer making that walk in winter - in summer, it's just way too much. I don't do well in heat.

While I was out running around I had a passing thought about how easy it would be to disappear into this city, have it swallow me up. Kind of frightening, that. It made me reconsider some things. For a while, I'd been thinking of maybe, in about five years or so, moving back to Nova Scotia. Well, no matter if I do or don't, I won't be moving anywhere until I'm mentally healthy again. If Saskatoon could absorb me, gods know what Halifax could do, and if I'm unwell, I need to be somewhere close enough that family can reach me in a day. I don't have relatives in Nova Scotia any more, so... yeah. It's frustrating, but I guess it's the best way to go about things. Keep taking it one day at a time, then just see what happens.

Was flipping through my files this evening and came across plans for a Swe/Nor FST that I never finished. I've been in the mood for that pairing for 'bout a month now, so I might as well try to finish it. It's hard though. I keep realizing, man, my current music taste is so limited. Need to broaden it or something. And recently I haven't been listening to stuff that's in English, which makes it harder. If I'm going to use something from another language, it needs to really, really fit (and would preferably be in a suiting language, too...). Oh, well. I'll think of something. Mostly just need two more, I think, and then to do the story/tracklist writeup.

Everything else aside, today was a really good day for hockey. Gold for Canada, yesssss. And Finland beat Sweden, which made me really happy (and man, that game was pretty epic, I'd say). Looks like the women's teams totally made up for the men's teams losing earlier in the week.

Er, excuse me for a sec, I'm having a moment.

WHAT THE HELL

WHY DO MY TEAMS ALWAYS LOSE

CANADA TO THE USA, WHAT THE SHIT IS THAT

WTF YOU DOIN CANADA

AND THEN YOUUUU FINLAND

LOSING TO SWEDEN LIKE THAT

YOU DIDN'T EVEN SCORE

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU

.... I think I'm done.

I'm going to go cry manly tears into my pillow now.

Sob.

Today was uneventful. Slept in until ridiculous o'clock, talked with Minako a while, then headed out. The weather was quite good today, and I was rather happy to be getting some fresh air. Ended up heading down to Indigo. Still had some money left on a giftcard, so I bought myself a French workbook. That, combined with the computer stuff I've been using - some Byki, some Rosetta Stone - should help me quite a bit. It's one thing to go through it on the computer, and another thing to write stuff out. If I do both, maybe I'll remember things better.

Oh - now I remember. I did get something very exciting in the mail today. <3 Ahhh~ Ellie sent me the 2009 'Heritage Project' APH Illustration Anthology. So gorgeous, oh my gods, so many beautiful illustrations - and not to mention, Radittz has some art in it, so that makes me extra-happy, because she's my favourite. Soo-oo, it's very nice to have this, and Ellie is wonderful, aaaand yes.

Anyway. In "Yuu is smart and by smart I really mean a ditz", I don't know how much time I spent looking around for a calendar that would fit on the one bit of my fridge that doesn't have stuff stuck to it. Couldn't find one. BUT. Today I realized - I can make my own. Wow. 5 minutes PSP + printer = one rad monthly sheet, currently featuring the Nordics in their olympics jackets. Man, Finland, your coat is hideous. ANYWAY, I feel ditzy because it took me so long to think of it, but now I'm pleased as punch that I actually thought of it. Go me!

Should be in bed right now because I have another physio appointment tomorrow shortly before lunch, fuck. Oh, well, who needs sleep anyway. To be honest, my wrist isn't doing too great right now, which I'm not thrilled about. Oh, well. And I'll have to do homework after the appointment, too... aaa. Well, I'll just have to be sure to go easy on it, and take many breaks.

( 13-1? Sweden wtf r u doin. Also, thoughts on Own the Podium )

Today was a mixed bag. It started out pretty okay, though. Woke up, talked with a friend, had a good shower and just lazed around forever. Re-read some comics. Just fun stuff.

When mum came home, we went out for a while. In the car I ended up talking about my friends, and she ended up saying so many stupid and ignorant and sometimes kind of horrible things about the places where they're from. Needless to say, I got rather butthurt, but instead of showing it I did my best to explain the way it actually is. I did internally rage when she said "Nobody goes to Finland. There's nothing there." FUCK YOU I'M GOIN|G TO GO TO FINLAND AND IT'LL BE WONDERFUL. Though er, she doesn't know about my plan yet.

Around suppertime I mentioned that I wanted to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies, so we talked about that a while. I had heard a rumour that Rush would be playing, though I didn't know for sure. Me 'n my dad really hoped it would be Rush, though. I jokingly said that "Knowing our luck, it'll be Nickelback. Or even worse, Nelly Furtado". ... And guess who ended up singing at the actual ceremony. UGH. FURTADO. Fuck, I can't stand Nelly Furtado. I hate when I'm right.

But ahhhh K.D. Lang singing made up for it <3

I was going to go on a long rant about how much my mum angered me while we were watching the ceremonies becuase she kept making the most horrible, horrible comments about various places. But, er, I'll spare you that. I'm not in the mood for it. Especially because I was just looking through photos right now, and came across one of the Estonian team, and ahhhh their outfits are so so so cute. I want one of those snowflake jackets, man. (The cute Estonians make up for Finland's horrible fashion sense. Seriously, those coats - absolutely hideous. What on earth were you thinking, Finland? I am disappoint.)

I am so excited for watching everything, but mostly hockey, because ahhhh hockey. I know people keep saying "We have to get a gold this year, and it has to be in hockey". And true, a gold on our own soil for the first time would be great, especially if it's in hockey. But even if it isn't, I don't think it matters much... as long as the US doesn't get it. :| If we don't end up with it, I'd much rather see someone other than the US get it. Sweden maybe. Or even Russia. But, we shall see~