Waltzing Mathilda

Mattie looking sweet and innocent













Mattie considering offering up a bite to the camera




Hanging out on the lawn




BATHTIME! Mattie loves bathtime. It's her very favourite time.




















Mattie has found a new home. Our six year relationship is coming to a happy ending.
Bye bye baby girl.

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The new deal

ohh economics reference

So, yesterday I finally broke and decided to hook myself back up to the internet. I simply cannot do without it, or as the two old people were remarking as they stood in line behind me "seems this whole world just revolves around that darn internet" I tried not to laugh, but it was very funny. They were complaining about how long the line was I guess.

Anyway, back to the point here. I have decided that I have gone long enough without access to the internet outside of work (work internet sucks) and had to find some way to get the internet without increasing my costs.

And I totally did.

For I am genius.

My phone bills have been stupidly frighteningly upsettingly high lately, probably because I have no other way to entertain myself at the end of a long day than to call my mum and discuss chicken skin. Because of my work schedule the long distance allowed hours don't work for me. I get home too early in the afternoon, and have to go back to work in the evening, and who has the time to talk on weekends? That's when sleeping is accomplished. So I've been paying, well, a lot. More than I should, more than I can justify given how little I use the phone otherwise.

So I looked up some home phone service providers and found an unlimited long distance plan that will cost me less than half of what my cell phone cost per month, and I can call for as long as I want, anywhere I want in north america for no additional cost. I can also call asia for 300 minutes for free. I need to get some friends in asia now.

So that I still have a cell phone for cases like power outages and car emergencies (cordless home phones don't work when the power is out) I will be transfering my phone to a $15/month no contract. This means that my cellphone will be an emergency only thing, so no calling me 'just to chat' though none of you ever do anyway :(

After all this is executed my phone costs will be just over 1/2 of my flat monthly rate for the current plan, which expires in October. That leaves me enough money for the slowest shaw cable internet connection. Hurrah! (yes I did check other providers, but the costs are all about par)

Even better, because I allowed my account to lapse with Shaw, they are signing my up like I'm a brand spanking new customer. That means I'm actually getting the next level faster connection, for less than the cost of their lowest speed connection. This deal will last for six months.

1 of 2 things will happen in six months. I'll either get my financial act together and will be able to afford the increase in my internet bill, or I can downgrade to something a little slower.

Now, I have only one problem: Right before I moved this summer I put my home phone in a donation bin, because I hadn't used it in about a year and a half and didn't want to move it to the new place. Oops. Looks like I'll be stopping in at the thrift store to buy it back if its still there.

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There is no light!

I broke my lamp.

I broke it yesterday while moving it so that I could finish painting my living room. It fell and it landed and the bottom snapped and now there is no more light.

On the upside, my living room should be completely in order over the next few days. Painting is done so today I should be able to shove all the furniture back up against the walls. I'm also nearly finished with the bathroom, just need another coat on the shelves (they were pee yellow) and I'm just working on the trim in the front hall. It was also pee yellow among other things including lime green.

So, bedroom, bathroom, bird room, living room, front hall, all done, all that will be left is the kitchen which I will leave for a little bit because I didn't get the paint for it yet. I was having trouble deciding on the colour but I think I've settled on a nice green. I will post before and after pictures of my work as soon as I have everything else unpacked. I'm really pleased that the painting is getting done, it makes the house seem much cleaner and more comfortable to live in. Good news is that the furnace appears to work great. It's pretty new I think, and the thermosstat was replaced with a digital one. It can be programmed to turn on and off at different times of day too, which is something I will use when I figure out how to program it.

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Good freaking morning

Yesterday, on the way to work, I yelled at the radio.

You see the morning show on cbc has a relatively new guy on, I guess, I can't really tell the difference because radio people all sound the same to me. Anyway, I guess he hasn't been at the morning show for very long, and at some point that subject comes up during his chit chat with the traffic lady. And you know what he says about getting up so early in the morning. He says "It's something you get used to" and I lost it.
My reaction was something like this.

NO YOU DON'T YOU STUPID RAT BASTARD! Followed by a word I won't use because I'd like to keep this blog more or less rated PG though sometimes I think I border on 14A.

I have been working at this job going on seven months now (ooh seven months poor baby I know I know) since I was previously only employed during the summer this is actually the longest I've ever been at any particular job, but I still have not gotten used to the schedule. Stumbling out the door before 6 am still doesn't work for me. Now, if you'd asked me about a month ago, maybe a month and a half, I'd have said "Sure! You get used to it!"

But that was TRICK!

During the summer you only think you get used to it because at 5 am the sun is all 'Hi! I'm up and that makes it easy for you to be up too! Horray for morning time!' and though I am not as enthusiastic as the sun my reaction is one of 'Well, ok, since you're up then I guess its ok for me to be up' and it lulls me in to this false sense of security and the idea that even though I am still tired everything is fine because there is light.

And then it FAILS me!

All of a sudden I'm waking up and it's still f--ing dark in the room and even the stupid sun gets to sleep in!

Now, maybe I would have got used to the schedule if I was actually finished working for the day at the end of an eight hour shift. But that's not how it works either. Sure I get to go home, get something to eat but by the time judge Judy comes on its all 'oops! You have to go back to work!' and then you know what the sun is doing by the time I get home? It's going to bed! Where I want to be! But instead I have to clean, and paint, and unpack, and play with a puppy.

So, no, Mr cbc radio man, you do not 'get used to it'.

Clearly I am not cut out for employment. Yes, this is the rant of a previously spoiled child who decided this year was the year to grow up and doesn't like doing it. Oh, and if anyone comes back with the comment "Just wait until you have children" somebody, I can't gaurantee who, is going to lose their face.