If my life was a movie/Rob made me do it

Apparently I am in a blogging contest with Vince and Rob to see who can post the most entries in the month of January. I was happy to leave the competition to them, but I have actually posted a lot this month, a personal best of 18. One of my posts this month was something Vince sent me, so I figure it's only fair to do something Rob sent me. It's a music shuffle game, which I love doing. This one didn't work out very profoundly though.

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button

1. Opening Credits: Bjork--It's oh so quiet
Good start. Evidentally this will be a rom-com.

2. Waking Up: Joe Cocker - Feels like Forever
...Till the weekend again perhaps

3. First Day At School: Gwen Stefani - Crash
Doesn't sound very promising

4. Falling In Love: Barney Bental - Do Ya?
You tell me!

5. Fight Song: Tom Cochrane - Get Back Up
Good advice.

6. Breaking Up: Take a Bow - Madonna
"The show is over say good-bye"

7. Prom: Loverboy- Heaven in Your Eyes
YES! This would mean that I would have been at prom in what, 1985?

8. Life: Hedley - Trip
Cuz I'm so into you...?

9. Mental Breakdown: Big Wreck - That Song
Well, the band seems appropriate

10. Driving: Roxette - Dangerous
"Hold on tight, you know she's a little bit dangerous" Very funny.

11. Flashback: Queen- Who Wants to Live Forever?
Forever in the same moment maybe?

12. Getting Back Together: Frankie Valins - Can't Take My Eyes off of You
YES! Just like in 10 Things I Hate About You! Okay, I'll take you back!

13. College Experience: Howie Day - Collide
No, this one belongs elsewhere.

14. Wedding: Climie Fisher - Love Changes Everything
It does

15. Birth Of Child: Golden Earring - Twilight Zone
Reference to sleepless nights?

16. Final Battle: Jewel - Foolish Games
Battles can be foolish games

17. Funeral Song: Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer
Not no more I ain't

18. End Credits: Brand New - The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Appropriate for an ending

Happy Anniversary, Truck

It was one year ago today that I took Truck home with me. I remember how excited everyone was for me that Truck had finally arrived. It's hard to believe that Truck and I have been together for a full circle of seasons.

I woke Truck up this morning just after ten to take me to Pilates. Truck complained a bit. It was cold last night and I didn't plug him in. He warmed up quickly though. Along the way to class I noticed the reading on the odometer change to 8000 km, which is pretty low I guess but I don't drive to work everyday. We've only had one road trip together (Grand Forks/Fargo) and a couple of trips up to the lake. We'd like to go farther this year; we both have big dreams.

To celebrate the day, I took truck to the car wash and then to lunch at the Petro Canada. Later, we looked at two open houses (both were duds). I might still take Truck to the drive thru for a McFlurry.

It's love

Feelin' poetic today...

The journey: chapter I

The wind whispered in my ear
Go ahead, your future is here

With trepidation I took a step
No idea how far I'd get

Fear and longing
My hands they took
Cautioned me not to look

Destined to fall but not to fail
I continue this potential trail

I believe in a thing called love

Feelin' the love yesterday I decided to decorate my space at work. Last year for the week of Valentine's day I cut out a bunch of hearts in different sizes and colours and stuck them up in my cube. Just because I don't have a valentine doesn't mean I can't enjoy the holiday.

"Whoa, it's like walking into a grade three classroom!"
--Michael, when he walked into my cube this afternoon.

See more lovely visuals of my decorating here.

A toast to Anonymous

It's been a funny day. I love funny. It makes for good blogging. It started off funny this morning when I checked my e-mail and found that some random guy named Steve had posted a comment on my blog "6 weird things about me/Vince made me do it" where I confessed that as a child I thought New Year's Eve meant a big apple would appear in the sky. Apparently Steve thought this too. Cool. Thanks Steve. Do come again!

I'm going to skip now to the next odd thing and save the second occurrence for last (save the best for last!). I got a phone call at work this afternoon from a guy I collaborate with. He wanted to give me an anonymous tip about a project we're working on. He had a solution to a contentious issue we were facing but I guess he thought it might work better if the idea came from me (I have the moderator role in these things) instead of his side. Nice! Thanks man! His suggestion didn't quite work, but it did get us a little further along.

And now for my favourite oddity of the day. I came back from lunch to find this comment left by Anonymous:

In searching for my close friends’ blog on Christmas 2006, I stumbled on A Jill Story. Your story was very inspirational, yet familiar to me. I kept reading. I found your skills as a writer to be phenomenal. Only after reading a few of your life experiences did I realize that I knew who you were. I went to school with you. I started to feel culpable for reading your personal life experiences. I stopped reading. I turned my computer off. The next day I was out with a few of my closest friends. I told them of the guilt that I felt for reading someone’s (that someone being you) blog. My friends are more familiar with blogging and assured me that a blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order and that a blog is meant to give the ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format. Is this true? I do think it’s amazing how many dreams and real life experiences we share. Sometimes reading your blog is like reading my own thoughts. Your blog is very “Sex in the City” Winnipeg Style. I’d like to keep reading but not without your permission. ??????????

I have several things I want to say to Anonymous. First of all, thank you! Your comment means so much to me and I feel truly honoured. Let me tell you though, your anonymity created quite the buzz amongst my friends. Rob and Vince are very curious of your identity. You say that we went to school together, well this covers a lot of territory--elementary school, jr. high, high school, one or both of the two post-secondary institutions I attended, or perhaps even the school where I took my French classes last year. I too am curious but I am not going to ask you to identify yourself (you can if you want. Note that if you choose to comment again you can leave just your first name in the "other" box).

Whether you choose to identify yourself or not I have no problem with you reading my blog. Perhaps you read my blogiversary post where I said:

...there are just some people who I wish did not read my blog. I get kind of possessive about it I guess and there are some people I don't want to share my life with. Call me selfish and immature but I'd just like to shut some people out.

The people I am referring to are not you. Of this I am certain. Although I do kind of like the idea of being someone's guilty pleasure!

Your friends' definition of a blog is correct--welcome to the world of blogging! I should also add that when a person creates a blog she has the option of making it public (as in, anyone can search for it, stumble upon it as you did with mine) or private (like an online diary). A blogger can also choose to only allow certain people to view her posts via a sign in system. I chose to make my blog public knowing the consequences and I write accordingly. You don't need my permission to keep reading, but you have my invite to keep coming back.

I'm happy to hear that we share some things in common. I think blogs are amazing for connecting people who otherwise would never meet. Because you knew me from school, you probably remember me as That Quiet Blonde Girl (with cute shoes?). That's okay, I get that a lot. Everyone thinks I'm shy at first and truthfully, I am very shy (some people are nodding right now, some are shaking their head in complete disbelief). Blogging is one way for me to fight the shyness. I know that I can't be the only one out there who goes through the experiences that I do so I throw them out to the world and hope that they stick somewhere. What some people might be afraid to admit I post it for all the world to see and hope that someone reads it and feels less lonely.

Anonymous, there are days I wish I could write just for you and all the people you represent. If my readers were only strangers or people I don't communicate with anymore I could be free to say so much more. Oh the stories I could tell you! For starters, I could tell you what I REALLY think of Rob and Vince (just kidding, they know I love em' and that they're my best girlfriends-- I mean, guy buddies who jump on me as soon as I come home from a date and demand all the details). It really makes me sad that some of my best stories have to remain behind the zipper. I think I'll get them out some day, somewhere.

Finally, Anonymous, I have to say thank you for giving me the biggest compliment anyone could about my writing style. Sex and the City is definitely an inspiration for me. You know how Carrie narrates the whole show? That's my life, every day. My posts are formed from the constant narration that goes on in my head. It's due in part to my mantra to make every day a good story.

Now I will leave you, and any other anonymous readers with a list of what I think are my best posts (You at least have to read the last two for a laugh):

It's Cool to be Kind

Connect For

Sleeping in Truck's bed?

If this is my future, I'd like to wait for the next bus, thanks

Apartment Stalking

Why Me

My life is a stereo

What am I thinking of?

Hot Yoga. It's not cool

An old flame

Brave and Crazy

The accidental mistress

The search continues as January slips away...

Went to two open houses today. Sigh. They just didn't compare to the little house on Roseberry. The first one was in St. Boniface (mais oui, I've expanded my comfort circle to include part of the french quarter of Winnipeg). It was just so sad. I felt sorry for that poor little house; cute on the outside but messed up on the inside. The interesting thing is that it happens to people too; it just takes the right person to see the potential and uncover the beauty. Sorry little house, that person is not I.

The other house (off of Pembina, right after Jubilee) was just too small, even for me. There was no room for my beloved table.

I'm about thisclose to banging my head against a wall or building a fort in the forest if I don't find something I can at least bid on. Oh wait, is that my song I hear playing? Yes, I do believe somewhere someone is playing Patience for me.

A Jill Story, the pages turn again.

Well, did you really think I could stay away?

Whenever I take a blogging break I always come back refreshed and with a new sense of inspiration. I have found a new reason to write and it makes me so happy.

While on my hiatus this week I took a break from building stories of my own to tell and really paid attention to the stories everyone else was telling. One of my friends found romance, another got into a car accident (she's okay, but her little car is not), another one just told a really funny story of mistaken car identity. There were so many good ones that I briefly considered making my blog all about other people. But that wouldn't really fit under the title of A Jill Story, would it? I'd have to rebrand the whole blog and that would be quite the project.

I know you came here looking for A Jill Story, otherwise you would have typed in asomeoneelsesnamestory.blogspot.com. I'm not one to disappoint so here goes.

I learned that someone found my blog by searching "how long until egg explodes in microwave". (See my Brave and Crazy post). When I tried the search myself I found this other guy's blog detailing a similar experience. I left a "me too" kind of comment on his post and then looked around the blog a little more to see just who I was saying "me too" to. I get interested in reading blogs of people I don't know. I guess I just like to see how they write and find out if anyone else goes through the same life pains (which of course they do, and then suddenly the world feels a little cozier). I got really hooked by this guy's story. He seemed like a really good and sincere guy that anyone would be lucky to know, but he also recently came close to death just for trying to help someone else. I was completely amazed and moved to tears by his story. It was so human and honest and humble. I have to quote my favourite part

The next thing I really remember, besides being completely shocked that he kicked me in the head, was a group of people helping me up and walking me over to an ambulance. I was a bit spaced out at this point, having never have been in a fight before (not that this was much of a fight really, since I didn’t even see that guy coming). I remember feeling bad that I couldn’t take the names and numbers of the people who helped me to thank them later.

Throughout the blog there are a couple of pictures of the guy--post-op, graduation, with his friends, etc. I couldn't help but notice that even though this guy seems to have it all and a great attitude about life, he looked a little sad. I had to contact him. Random, weird, crazy, but that's what I do. I just wanted to tell him, "buddy, I don't know what it is that you're still looking for, but you deserve it, and I'm sure you're going to find it soon." And I think that's basically what I said, or attempted to say when I e-mailed him around 11:30 on Wednesday night.

He wrote me back and thanked me for the e-mail. He said it made his day. "You made my day" is my absolute favourite phrase. It is the most rewarding feeling when you know that you've made a difference in someone's life even with a small gesture. I strive everyday to make someone else's day a little brighter. On Wednesday I did it. To this guy I want to say, thank you, it was my pleasure.

The Way I See It #107
There is no end to a story -- it goes on indefinitely, into eternity. Every time a story is read, it's alive and it's different because the reader is different.

--Alice Hoffman

The end of a chapter

I've been thinking about this particular entry for a while now. I knew this day was coming although honestly I almost forgot about it today. January 14th, 2007 marks the first anniversary of the A Jill Story blog (I can't just say the first anniversary of A Jill Story, because that has been going on in some form or other for most of my life). Thus, I am presented with an opportunity now to reflect, celebrate, and possibly say good bye.

First, let me reflect. My first Jill Story was focused on my first attempt at Hip Hop class and how un-cool, un-coordinated, and unprepared I felt. I admitted to the world (which only consisted of Rob, and then Vince at that time) that I was really a dork, a rather ungraceful one at that who couldn't even find the right shoes to wear. This post really set the tone for the theme of my blog. I wanted to tell stories about my life experiences without hiding my insecurities or awkwardness. Certainly I believe that I am a confident and talented person, but how boring is that? I am sure that if I had used my blog only to celebrate successes I would have lost interest after a month. Real, messy and stupid moments just make for better stories. Period.

Okay, now let us celebrate. A toast to a great year! 2006 was awesome and I am so happy that I captured many of the highlights in a way that was easy to share with my friends. I see how I grew as a person by using my blog to reflect upon life and think critically about myself. I also believe I grew as a writer. In order to improve at something you have to be dedicated to practicing it. Before blogging I was not very disciplined at writing on a regular basis. I kept a journal and still do, but hey, when your audience is only yourself, it's pretty easy to slack off. I also always struggled with the idea of sharing my work with other people. I used to be very critical of my writing voice. Today, I feel better about letting someone else read something I created and I feel more confident about my voice.

And now for a good-bye? I know it is obvious how much I enjoy blogging. AJS is important to me as a writer and as a person who feels she has only started to truly experience life. Blogging has also become a point of frustration in the last few months though as I realize its downfalls. I write about my life story, but my experiences involve a lot of other people. There are a lot of things I wanted to say on this blog but I didn't because it really was not appropriate to do so. Blogging has some therapeutic properties for me so imagine how frustrating it would feel sometimes when I wanted to express something but I felt that I couldn't out of respect of the privacy of others. I also worried that without safely knowing who reads my posts I could end up saying something that offends or hurts someone I care about. I know my stories are biased towards my views so I don't really feel it is fair to present someone in a light shaded by my own wild emotions. Still, I feel that my story has some rather large holes in it and that it is flawed by these omissions.

On the other hand, there are just some people who I wish did not read my blog. I get kind of possessive about it I guess and there are some people I don't want to share my life with. Call me selfish and immature but I'd just like to shut some people out.

Why does this mean good-bye? I realize that the more personal experiences I have, the less I will be able to share. I fear that soon my blog will be reduced to stories such as, "I found a purple paperclip at work today" and therefore lose all relevancy (when I confessed this to Vince last week he responded, "WHAT?! They make purple paperclips?!! Which I took to be his own way of kindly telling me that my posts will always be relevant). I guess I will always have something to say on the topic of "guess what stupid or adventurous thing I did this weekend" but those stories are such small pieces of who I am that I am growing a bit tired of placing such importance on them.

So what do I do? I know I'm getting pretty close to breaking some great stories. I'm sure 2007 will be another banner year full of blogging potential. At the same time I know that it will be full of unbloggable experiences too. I'm going to take some time to think it over some more. If I come back you know where to find me.

My fashion is not a statement

I was standing at the printer this morning when Kat asked me, "is it red day today?" She was referring to me wearing a red v-neck sweater.

"Oh, I don't know," I shrugged. Truthfully, it was the only sweater I had left in the drawer (thank God it was Friday) and it easily matched my black and white wool tweed pants. "Why, who else is wearing red?"

"No one, but isn't it if you support the troops you're supposed to wear red on Fridays?"

I had never heard of this before. Later, Joanna came into my cube and I noticed that she too was wearing a red sweater.

"Hey, you got the memo," I said. It's an office joke. Anytime there's more than one person wearing the same colour (in an office of 40, gee, what are the odds?) someone has to mention it.

"Kat says you're supposed to wear red on Fridays if you support the troops," I explained to her.

"Isn't that AIDS?" She asked.

"Oh yeah," I said, remembering the big RED campaign running at The Gap.

A few moments later, Kat e-mailed me the source of her supposition--one of those globe circulating forwards--which confirmed that those who support our Canadian troops are to unite by wearing red on Fridays.

I decided to pop by to discuss this with her.

"So Joanna reminded me that wearing red also shows a support of AIDS research. Although, the AIDS awareness campaign is a Gap thing, and I bought this sweater at The Bay, so if anything, I suppose I'm supporting the Canadian troops." I continued by adding, "Both are honourable causes, but I just wanted to wear this sweater today because it's cold. I have no intentions of making any kind of statement."

"So your fashion is not a statement," Kat concludes.

"That's right!" I agreed, really liking the way Kat put it. I can certainly put together a smart outfit, but my wardrobe is non-political. I avoid logo t-shirts because I think they are a stupid way to state your opinion, but apparently words are no longer necessary. I guess it's nothing new. Goths are stereotyped with the colour black while soft pink is reserved for those who support the fight against breast cancer. I suppose if I wore a green and white ensemble in public I might get boo'd for being a Saskatchewan Rough Riders fan. Heh, don't even get me started on the Liberal party's red thongs.

Well this is MY fashion statement. I like colours. ALL colours. Some days are pink, some are blue. No matter the colour though, I wish to remain neutral.

The Ewok goes home

On Monday I mentioned that my mom and my sister rescued a little lost dog by bringing him in off the cold street into our home. He spent the night with us and by Tuesday afternoon he was reunited with his own family. Yes, this story has a happy ending!

The Ewok was not in fact an Ewok, but a Lhasa Apso named Sam who lives on our street with his family, mom, dad, and a little boy. My mom spoke to Sam's mom over the phone on Tuesday afternoon. The poor woman was very upset that she had lost her little dog and of course over joyed to learn that Sam was safe. She explained that she was having a frazzled week with her little boy starting back to school. She had let the dog out in the evening and honestly forgot to let him back in. When she realized what she had done, she feared that she had killed her dog. Her five year old son was also quite upset and did not want to go to school on Tuesday morning. My mom offered to bring Sam home but the woman said no, that she would come by as her son would like to send a gift over.

The gift, completely unecessary but so very sweet, was a lovely arrangement of Gerber daisies. My favourite part was the accompanying card that the little boy signed in wobbly five year old penmanship:

Thank you for finding Sam, my pet and my best friend.

My eyes still get a little teary when I read those words. It wasn't until that moment that I really appreciated how that funny little creature was somebody's world. After I read the card I went over to the couch where Elmo was sleeping. I rested my cheek against his spotted ear and listened to him snore softly. I knew I could only do this for a moment before he would get annoyed with me and move. I held one of his paws in my hands and kissed the top of his head. My world is full of hope and love.

I love you, Schmo :)

Not-so-foxy boxing

We had been planning it since before Christmas. Amara, Abby, Kat and I were going to try a boot camp boxing class. Amara had been before but was looking for company to get back into it. Abby was excited about it, Kat was looking to get into something and me, well, you know I'll try anything once.

Abby bowed out today because she was still recovering from her bronchitis. Kat took a look at the website and got scared but she talked herself back into coming. Class started at 7:00 and lasted 75 minutes. It's $10 for a drop in.

It's advertised as "the toughest workout in the city" and I just might believe them, although I haven't tried the boot camp in the park program that starts at 5:30 am.

As part of the warm up we had to do two reps of stairs--that is, four flights of stairs, up and down twice. Challenging yes, but for me, terrifying. I should have noted this yesterday in my News of the Odd post; I have an irrational fear of stairs, specifically going down stairs. I am afraid of tripping down them. My thought is this has something to do with the whole Jack and Jill and Jill came tumbling after thing.

After the warm up and some shadow boxing we got to put the gloves on and hit the bag. Kat and I paired up. I grabbed the gloves. I cringed as I slipped my hands inside. The gloves were cold and damp. As in, soaked. With sweat.

"Just tell yourself they spray them with disinfectant," Kat told me. For the first drill one person punches while the other jogs on the spot, knees high. I held my hands up high, close to my face and nearly lost my lunch. Imagine your nastiest, sweatiest sports socks. Now imagine putting them on your hands and holding them half an inch from your nose. It sure makes you want to put some speed into your jab.

Later we got to practice jabbing at each other. One person hits, the other tries to catch you. Kat was better than I was so I let out a few surprised shrieks. I was embarrassed at my girliness.

"I never fought on the playground!" I told her in defense.

Aside from the icky feel and smell, I liked punching the bag the best. Shadow boxing was boring but really hitting something was great. Too bad you can't get that smell out of your hands though. I think I may have to spray my hands with a bleach mixture.

Near the end of the class we were on the floor for crunches and push ups. Kat and I were tucked away in a corner sharing a mat. We were crunching away, glad to have the smelly gloves off when someone totally let escape some rank and horrible odour that litearally hung around like a bad smell. We couldn't help it and we just started giggling like high schoolers. Okay, truthfully we were pretty much rolling on the floor.

I don't know if boxing is my thing, but it was a good workout. Especially all the ab work from the giggling.

When I got home I was greeted not only by Elmo, but also an Ewok. Apparently my mom and my sister found one wandering around the street. They took it to the animal hospital to see if it had a microchip or tattoo so they could find the owner. It has a tattoo and licence but the licencing office was closed so we have to keep the little guy over night.






See the resemblance?

6 weird things about me/Vince made me do it

Vincent Cheung made me do this and I just can't let that guy down.

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the '6 weird things about you'. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

This is hard. I don't know if these things are really that weird. I think I've revealed most of my oddness on this blog already, but here goes.

1. Although I enjoy many different activities, both solo and with friends, I would have to say my favourite way to pass the time is daydreaming. I spend a lot of time lost in thought. Probably too much time, really.

2. I do make a conscious effort to not use obscene language because I personally believe that I am smart enough to find some other word that will do just fine, but on occasion of course, there are slips. However, two words you will NOT ever hear me say and that are not usually offensive in normal context are "panties" and "nightie". (I honestly can't believe I was even able to type them). I don't know why, but hearing either of those words just makes my skin crawl. It's not what they represent that offends me, it's literally just the sound of the words. I'll say "underwear" and you'll just have to figure out that I'm talking about the bottoms that girls wear under their clothes.

3. I'm not at all ticklish anymore. People try and I don't flinch. However, my sister has some kind of magic powers over me. If she even motions towards my side or my neck (even with completely non-tickling intentions) I literally start to shake and giggle like a Tickle-Me-Elmo.

4. I have found through careful documentation that my lucky day is often the 5th of the month. Good things just seem to happen to me either on that day or on the 4th or 6th. My birthday is on the 5th of the month so that was my first lucky day!

5. The last scary movie I saw was Stranger than Fiction. I call it scary because I actually do believe that there is someone writing and narrating my life. I don't really like my author because I think he/she is a better writer than I am and therefore I am insanely jealous.

6. I remember when I was a kid I always heard about the ball dropping on New Year's Eve in the Big Apple. I somehow got the message mixed up though and thought that if I looked outside on New Year's Eve I would see a big red apple in the sky.

Uhg, I feel so naked now. The world knows all my stupid secrets.

Oh yeah, I'm not finding six more people to tag, mostly because I don't even know six other bloggers but also because I don't believe that breaking this chain will have any negative impact on my life (and even if it does, everything will be rosey again by February 5 anyway!)

1-900 Tech Support

I have to call the help desk (tech support) at work twice this week. The first time is because I forgot my password to one of the databases, the second time is because something wasn't working and it was mildly inconvenient. I put both calls off for as long as I could. I hate asking for help.

Eventually I have no choice; I can no longer avoid calling in to get my password reset. I need in. I hate making this call because I do it at least once a month. I feel so dumb that I cannot remember a password that I chose for myself (in my defense, it does expire every month and it's not like I use it every day). I imagine that every time I phone and give them my id a huge log comes up showing all the incidents of password resets I've called in and the person on the other end is just shaking their head at me. I have always found the support personnel cheerful, helpful, and not at all patronizing, but I can only imagine the venting conversations they have in their hallways about the idiots they have to help.

Anyway, this particular time a cute sounding guy answers. I have never spoken to him before as far as I can recall. His phone voice conjurs up an image of a very hot preppy blond wearing Dockers and a ringer t-shirt. After I make my request he puts me on hold so he can call my voicemail and leave me my new password. We hang up and I retrieve my message. As I listen I actually start to tingle a little (you have to understand, I was having a wicked bad week so sexy-tech-help-boy was actually a big highlight).

"Hey Jill, this is Aaron. I reset your password to access the GWL mainframe. Your new password is J as in Juliet, five, W as in whiskey, J as in Juliet, B as in..."

I smile to myself and let my mind wander off as I think, "why Aaron, Juliet and whiskey? I'd love to do Shakespeare and shots with you. Maybe later you can help me defrag my hard drive". The voicemail lady interrupts my day dreaming, "to delete this message, press seven, to save in archives, please press nine." I decide to archive Aaron, just incase I wrote something down wrong and I need to listen again.

On Thursday morning I make my second help call. This time it's because whenever I try to print a report in Access a little window pops up saying it is sorry but for no explicable reason Access would have to close and I may lose any unsaved changes. Leave me for no explicable reason huh? Access you must be a man. I pick up the phone and cross my fingers that Aaron will answer again.

"Hello, GWL Help Desk, Karen speaking." Rats. I explain my problem to Karen and she manages to figure out that I can print without disaster if I click on the printer icon instead of going File-->Print. She tells me though that she will have to pass my problem on up to the next level (woo hoo! I have a level II problem! That's way more credible than forgetting my password for the 500th time). I print my reports and I go to my meeting with seconds to spare.

When I get back I have a voice mail from Dwayne at the Second Level Help Desk and he wants me to call him back. I dial him up and he proceeds to remotely take over my PC to play around. He's not exactly fantasy material I decide, not like Aaron. I can hear him breathe and sigh and make other weird noises as he pokes around my system. Bored, I use the time to shuffle papers and search for my lip gloss. He's looking at my install/uninstall program list when he grunts, "Google toolbar. Toolbars are bad" before sending Google packing.

I cry to myself, "Noooo! Not my Google! Google knows so much about me, all my favourite places, my history, my habits". An image of me in a two star movie comes to mind:

"I know he's bad for me mama, but I love him and I don't care what you say cuz Google and I are going to be together forever! You can't keep us apart!"

Yeah, Google will come back once mouth breathing Dwayne here is out of the picture.

Forty-five minutes later and Dwayne still can't make me print. He informs me that he'll have to call in IBM to take my PC away for "re-imaging" (like, making it prettier?). Yee-haw! No computer for a few hours? Finally some good news.

When my computer comes back it's not any prettier although it does look different. I spend about 45 minutes re-doing my settings, changing my wallpaper back and generally just getting reacquainted with the thing (BONUS! I can PDF now!). Is my Access problem fixed? I have no idea because now I can't seem to locate the database anymore. Whatever, I'll deal with it on Monday when I need to print again. Here's hoping I remember (forget?) my password.

Tag, you're it baby

For about an hour and a half today I was without my computer as it was in for repair. I was forced to fill my time with jobs that some how did not require printing or consulting e-mails. I started something I had been putting off for a while--going through a binder of investment articles written by our advisors, edited by me. My task was to categorize each one by subject matter by labeling with a Post-it--RRSPs, life insurance, estate planning--some could technically use two labels and I had no idea what I was going to do about that. Later I will sort the articles by category and then by publishing date. As I got into it, I thought to myself, "this is how tagging was invented, isn't it?" Then I frowned because I realized I have way better technology for organizing my personal photo collection than I do for doing my actual job. I felt like the subject of an educational video on life before computers, or at least life before Google.

Check it out: Random Acts of Cooking

My astute followers may notice that I added a new link to my blog called Random Acts of Cooking. Sometime before Christmas Rob, Vince, Justin and I got together at Rob's place for what may have been the geekiest time I have ever had. Enjoyable, but very geeky. I think I got to Rob's place first (because I am clearly the geekiest of them all). Vince was next. I said to him, "It's weird seeing you in person again; you're not just a blinking window on my computer screen".

I showed up that night on the promise that we would not be playing Settlers of Catan. We did not play that game, but we did spend a significant amount of time talking about blogging. Somehow the idea that we should have a group blogging project came up and thus, Random Acts of Cooking was born.

The site is a collection of recipes and adventures in cooking. The general idea is that you're supposed to stray away from tried and true recipes and instead make up your own creation. I generally like to stick to recipes so I've only posted two items so far, both in the "bad cooking idea" category. I say that I like to stick to recipes, which sounds safe enough, but I also have to admit that I often run into problems even with detailed instructions as a guide. Usually this happens when I decide to make a big batch of something and I lose track of my doubling (was that my fifth cup of flour or the sixth?). Do you remember that Rice Crispies commercial where the mom is making Rice Crispie Squares and to make it look like she spent hours slaving in the kitchen over them she purposely dusts flour all over herself? Yeah, I do that but without trying. Whatever, the stuff usually turns out, it's just an adventure to get to the final product, as cooking should be! So anyway, if you are looking for some culinary inspiration and a few laughs, check out the Random Acts of Cooking blog.

Stranger than Fiction: 2006 A Year in Review

I remember as 2005 drew to a close I thought to myself, how can 2006 possibly be better than this? 2005 was awesome! But then 2006 was awesome too! And now here I am going, how can 2007 be better than '06? I can hardly wait to see what is in store, what stories I will collect and share. Here are the highlights of '06.

January 14--First blog posting of ajillstory. I wrote about my first Hip Hop class. 2006 was the year that I added "dancer" to my identity.

January 20--Truck came home! After 100 days of waiting, I finally brought my baby home. Truck and I have since had many adventures together. My love for Truck is indescribable; he truly makes me happy.

February 21--My dear little wiggly goldfish, Itty Bitty died. I don't have any pictures of him. Just imagine the little fan tailed fish in Disney's Pinocchio.

March 2--First Boy Story of the blog, Alex.

March 20--My reputation as a Homewrecker gets its start.

May 23--First trip of the year to the US (Minneapolis). Coincidentally I also booked my trip to California in May. I had a lot of American adventures in '06.

May 29--First golf game. I aimed in 2006 to sign up for more stuff, try new things. Golf was one of them. Thanks to Rob for practicing with me, and thanks to that stranger guy at the driving range for telling me that my grip was upside down.

May 28--My growth spurt! Yeah, this is the girls only post that only the guys commented on. First radio contest prize of 2006.

June 2--My first solo trip across the border. Truck's first highway trip. Good times. Funny Elmo and Dad story.

June 14--My second of four radio contest prizes in 2006, the Back Yard BBQ.

July 1--San Francisco! My first solo airplane trip, my first trip to California, my most southern trip, and just a super fun trip all around.

July 13--Near death experience as I try Hot Yoga for the first time, yet another new activity for 2006. I can tell you that it got easier by the 3rd class.

July 28--Truck sustains an injury. This still makes me cringe.

July 30--Somewhere around this date I set my goal to move out. I came close to realizing that goal for January 07 but I decided that place was not for me. Still on the hunt and keeping my hopes up that I will not have to in fact live in a trailer park with my tow-truck driver husband, Gus.

August 13ish--Vince came home. Yeah Vince, you're a highlight buddy :) Yin and Yang are back!

September 27--RMH Conference and Vince hijacks my comments. September was mostly a sad month for some reason it seems. Let's forget about it.

October 9--The Jill B@rr0tt Media Blitz starts! First there was the CBC interview, then the Free Press story which was picked up in the Brandon Sun as well. In December my fame would reach international status when one of my favourite stories was shared on a North Dakota radio station and posted on the station's website. My last media appearance of the year was when I along with the rest of the Great-West Christmas Choir sang live on the CBC radio morning show. I never would have predicted I'd be such a star in 2006.

November 13--World Kindness Day, aka, Cupcake Day! I wanted to celebrate WKD because I love the idea of random acts of kindness. The day was a huge hit.

November 24--My last trip to America for 2006 and my most memorable one. Good girly fun and memories I revisit often.

December 5--My super fun 25th birthday. I am still Wang Chungin'.

December 20--My first experience with organizing a Christmas hamper.

That sums up the highlights of my 2006 (well, the ones I'm willing to share with you). In 2007 I look forward to more new activities--boxing boot camp for starters--more travel fun, moving out adventures, and all the other "this could only happen to Jill" kind of stories.