5.31.2006

i hate rogers

no internet connection + unfeeling internet service providers = no blogging

5.07.2006

functions and baby birds

i could go into how weird lou was at work today, but i'm just too concerned about him right now to make fun of the guy. he was just steaming mad by 1:30, but then he just kinda mellowed out and got really sad and then ate a bunch of cake (there was a function upstairs that ryan and i were working: i think it was a confirmation or something - the cake was dished out too fast to read the writing).

but the cool thing was that we discovered there is a starling's nest in the roof, so whenever you go into the backroom upstairs, you can hear these little baby birds chirping; it's really adorable. They probably nested there because matt always 'goes out to feed the birdies' all the old scraps of bread.
anyway, more dishes = more psoriasis = less typing

goodnight

hate to bitch but,

i had the absolute worst shift at the restaurant i think, in a long time. everyone came in at once and there were so many dishes to do that i was stuck either in the kitchen or running food. you can always tell how bad the night is by the state of your hands. i have psoriasis and it only acts up when i am stressed out, or when i have to work with cleaning products. on top of that, if it's really busy, the plates are put right out of the dishwasher and into your hands so you have to carry the whole steaming load (okay, that sounded pretty dirty) up a flight of stairs and then to the table.

so at the end of the night, there are burn marks all over everyone's hands and forearms and my aloe plant is now officially incapacitated. and i have a crack in my knuckle that is getting worse with every click of the keyboard.

but i trudge on to redeem myself. i made a promise to you, and i plan on sticking to it: i will post on my blog, even when all i can do is talk about how much the service industry sucks. and yes, i am going to say it - i should be a server by now. there. i'm conceited, but it's true.

sam said that he wanted james to hire good looking blonds to bring more people to the patio this summer (then lou said, oh don't feel bad because you're a brunette). nothing against blonds - i'm not trying to make one of those statements, but i don't want to do double the work i have to this summer because they are hiring for beauty and not skill. grrrr.

double grrrr because james is actually doing it. so lou said that he wan't to put me at the door in a miniskirt and bleach my hair blond and then everything would be okay. wow. that makes me feel great. he always calls me pretty though, so i don't think he meant anything by it. it was more of a queer eye for the straight girl kind of moment. i'm really feeding into all the stereotypes tonight, aren't i. so i had better go, and if i have another bought of insomnia, i will see you sooner than later.

oh and i am thinking about going to ryerson for journalism, but more on that later.

5.06.2006

blogger aids insomniacs

i can't sleep. i should say i have fallen into a really bad sleep pattern. i'm only working dinner shifts so i either have to wake up early for something and then take a nap before work or i just sleep in really late and so runs the cycle of night owls.

when i get home from work, i am usually so wired from all the coffee or iced tea that i drank at work to stay alert, that it feels like i have a whole night ahead of me to unwind.

this always happens in the summer.

wow. i can be really dull when i am just trying to bore myself to sleep and i think it's starting to work...

okay, here are some really boring facts that i can put you to sleep with:

phantom limb syndrom occurs because dendrites from the amputated limb reroute themselves to respond to the face. every time the face is stimulated, the amputee responds with sensations and often pain in the amputated limb. usually, once the patient is aware of this, their pain sensations diminish.

92% of icelands water isn't even treated with a primary water filtration system.

recollecting tidbits....making me sleepy....

if you cut off the top of a pineapple and plant it in soil, a whole new pineapple will grow from it.

over 90% of the antibiotics consumed in the united states is used for cattle. so much is being given to these cows that their manure, later used as fertilizer for crops, is responsible for the antibiotics that can be found all over your vegetables at the grocery store.

grammar...fading....

a gas powered lawn mower creates the same amount of pollution in fifteen minutes than four cars do in an hour.

the co2 emissions created by four people can be balanced by planting a single tree.

plants are the only organisms that can directly convert energy from the sun into calories and enter them into the food chain. because ten percent of the energy is lost through the process of consumption, it is more efficient to eat at lower levels of the food chain to access the energy more directly. the earth can support more vegetarians than meateaters.

okay....i'm think i'm done. good sleep everyone!

5.04.2006

the deck


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
the deck!

as you can see, i have sloooowly started my garden. there's a hydrangea...and a bunch of empty planters with much promise. the neighbours also have a grape vine that wraps around our entire deck and i already bought my morning glory seeds to wrap around the inside (not to mention my sweet pea seeds that are going to go nuts because the deck is almost all full sun).

then we are going to sneak back to our old place in the dead of night and take back our little baby japanese maple (evil laughter) and then a rose of sharon and that should be that (oh, and a herb box and maybe a box for some greens. flowers, of course).

the quietest neighbours in town


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
makes you love every minute of life. this is the said terminal care hospital.

they own the vacant lot and they just got the money for their renovation plans. it is a beautiful building as it is.

anyway, i know the hospital might be a sensitive issue, so i won't joke about any creepy experiences involving it or repeat any of the things that i may have said when i was washing the dishes.

ok, once i said that it would be a great place to shoot a zombie movie, but i was mostly talking about the relatives that come to visit the patients in the park.

it has to be funny, because we all get old and die...sorry, it's not my fault.

the crematorium


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
we live next to the terminal care hospital and this structure just begs the title.

something set so far


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
this is my little nook in the living room. there is also a hidious purple couch (i love it) from value village and the tv set up and such, but i just couldn't fit it all in the shot...i am very pleased.

notice again, there's a kitchen


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
and not a small one at that...i am just blocking out the office desk that we still have to move into the office (not included in this list of photos, and neither is the bedroom because i haven't made the bed...).

there's my blackboard (by the window) and well, it's a kitchen.

i can stretch my arms, all the way over my head


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
and yes, there is a skylight. the skylight is my favorite for many reasons: one being that there is no one above me, stomping out their daily frustrations; secondly, and apparent from the post title, i can stretch my arms above my head right there and do some yoga in the sun; finally, and i am certain this list is incomplete, when it rains, it has that patter sound and you can't beat that. it reminds me of being at the cottage.

notice the cool new bookshelf from ryan's uncle. the thing looms over me.

there's a kitchen...


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
enough said...but i will go on, because i can. there is a microwave that you can actually use without blowing a fuse. not only that, notice the window - where i have been fondly growing a cactus, and an aloe plant; the aloe plant is half-gone now because of a) the restaurant and b)my new stove.

i know it's a common pattern, but jody: the cupboards remind me of king city.

our new view


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Originally uploaded by jessalauren.
it's pretty high up and, yes, there is an empty lot in between our place and the hospital and at first i thought it was pretty dull - and then it rained.

i can't tell you how much fun it is to watch the transformation from a boring old dirt lot to a gigantic mudpuddle.

5.03.2006

so ends the craziest of the crazies

I think this whirlwind has almost come to a stop and my entire reality has now been altered. I am living in a totally different place! I can see hawks from my deck and the bus schedule is the best. School is through and I am now fulltime at the restaurant.

Lou found out that I want to be a writer, so he said that one day, the two of us would take a trip together. This story was through Ryan, but I'm pretty sure he means he wants to be my agent. If that be the case, then I will totally hire him: you should see the way he talks to the produce guy (the pastry guy, the fish guy especially).

I have even been capitalizing my 'I's; unintentionally, but I have been writing a lot lately and as you can see, I have been off my blog for quite some time now. So much has happened with the world that I wanted to bring to my blog, but it felt like my life was running on autopilot; that's not to say that I wasn't thinking of you the whole time, dear reader. Dear and patient reader!

So I shall be diligent and conscientious and do my best to blog my little heart out all summer. My desktop is still on the floor and I am typing cross legged on a cushion, but things are coming along.

So much catching up to do! I hope you are all good and well and getting some sunshine, wherever you are.