Girls Night...In

Instead of heading out for the night, Colin and I decided that we'd like to chill at home and have a "girls night" together. Hardly a girls night when it's the two of us - but he insisted that it was a girls night anyways. We had perogies and bacon for supper, ice cream for dessert, ate popcorn for a snack 10 minutes later and watched Forrest Gump, and The Wedding Singer. All in all, I'd say it was a successful evening!

I am exhausted though, there is something about letting yourself lack in sleep for a while that makes it nearly impossible to ever catch up again. Oh wait, I know what that is...it's called university. Who's dumb idea was that anyways?

Whitefish Weekend

Wow, what a weekend. Colette, Michael, Ryan (Michael's friend) and I went with a group called Downhill Riders to Whitefish, Montana this past weekend for some killer snowboarding. Just what I needed, despite being behind on homework as a result. It was a blast to get away and try a new mountain that is too far away to do a day trip. Also, it was a lot of fun to go with a group of strangers and make some new friends. The bus ride down was a big party, and the bus ride back was... slightly more restful. Here's some pictures of our adventure:

Aren't we cute?

We must have been a ways up, we passed through clouds to get to the summit

The trees were just coated in snow - regardless of the amount of powder lying on the runs

Happy place...

Drool...

New!

I thought that perhaps it was time for an updated look for my blog...and ta da!! What do you think?

Please Pray

Things got hard again. I understand the whole cycling emotions thing, but recently, things got hard again. Last night was College & Career with the Devonians (instead of the people at Ellerslie Baptist), and it is mostly couples...plus me. I'm getting better at still enjoying myself around people who are quite obviously in love, but inevitably the conversation turns to relationships at some point. I can only take so much before I am ready to go home and crawl into a corner all by myself. So if you could pray...for peace and for continued healing... that would be much appreciated. Thank you.

A Day in the Life of...

I was at work last night, and thought up what (in my opinion - obviously) would be a cool blog post. You may or may not know, that to fund my way through school, I work as a lifeguard/instructor at the Leduc Recreation Center Mix Family Aquatic Center. A mouthful - I know. We just call it LRC, or the M-FAC. So what does a lifeguard do? Besides standing on deck and yelling at patrons anytime they come up with something 'fun' to do. Well...that's not really what we're doing - we ARE trying to keep you safe. It just so happens that most fun things are 'unsafe' and thus a potential water rescue. We don't actually enjoy jumping in after you...just so that you are aware. It is true though, that we don't do a lot while on shift - we are paid for what we know, not for what we do. But here's a typical shift at work for me:

• A rotation is the amount of time spent at each guard position, followed by a period of off-deck time. The number of guard positions at any given time are determined by the number of patrons in the pool, and the off-deck time is determined by the number of guard positions, and the number of staff on shift. The amount of time at each position is typically 15 minutes. For example, if there are 5 people on shift, and we have between 10 and 75 people using the pool, we are at two guards. This means that we are on deck for 30 minutes, and off deck for 45 minutes.
• On deck time is spent - watching you swim! Sometimes there are adorable toddlers that get really excited in the water. Other things I typically deal with on deck: parents not supervising their under 6-year-olds, young teenagers deliberately breaking rules (such as multiples down the slide, head first down the slide, etc.) just to irritate us, young teenage couples making out in the corner, adults that think they have 'outgrown' rules, and much more...
• Off deck time is not spent sitting around....well not for the whole 45 minutes anyways. Sometimes we only have 15 minutes off deck, and we are more likely to relax for this period of time. We have a maintenance list - cleaning windows, disinfecting, checking for damage, etc. Little things that need to be done so the place stays nice.
• We used to have to clean the changerooms at night - but we're hired a custodial crew to do that for us. YAY!!! (Do you realize how gross those get?!)
• I've been working at the MFAC for 3 years, and in this time period I've jumped in the water twice. Perspective? Paid for what we can do (know), not for what we actually do.
• I'm also a supervisor - so I get to boss around everyone else. Kidding. Sometimes I have to...request...that things get done though. As a supervisor I'm also in charge of maintaining water chemistry and ensuring the pool is safe and running smoothly. I have to keep it in running order!

The Triangle Problem

Adding to what I said last post about being really happy with where my life is at the moment, highlighting on the friends aspect. I have a best friend, and a really good guy friend, and the three of us make a triangle. The problem with a triangle is that sometimes, three's a crowd. The difference between two people making decisions, and three people making decisions, is that the opportunity for harmony decreases. Let me explain. When two people make decisions together, they really only have to consider the other person's opinion, and eventually they learn what makes the other person tick, etc. Harmonic decision making is possible. When there are three people making decisions together, what often happens is two people come to one conclusion, while the third comes to another. Easy solution - majority rules. But that isn't really considering what that third person had to say. The problem of a triangle is that one person becomes the third wheel. In our case, the "third wheel" changes with each individual event...and at the moment, I feel like the third wheel.

I'm the youngest of the triangle, I live the most out of the way, and I've known the other two for the shortest period of time. I have the most deviant values/ideas from the other two, and have different short term goals (they are both graduating next year, while I have 2.5 years left after this semester). Sometimes, I just feel left out. We're usually pretty good about including each other in everything - but when things come down to a decision, sometimes they just tell me how things are and what's going to happen.

So, I'm frustrated. I'm sure it will all wash over, but it still sucks.

Update

I realized that I hadn't posted in a while, and figured perhaps it was time for an update! There isn't a whole lot new going on in my life. But perhaps what isn't new to me, may still be of interest to you! I started the winter semester of school last week, and so far my conclusions are as follows: school is going to kick my butt - badly! I picked some hard ones this semester, so I guess that means a lot of time spent in the books! Here is what I'm taking this semester:

1. Zoology 250 - Survey of Invertebrates (basically a class on worms, crustaceans, etc.)
2. Biochemistry 200
3. Microbiology 265
4. Biology 361 - Marine Science
5. Education Policy Studies 360 - Society and Education

Oh goody!! For those classes that I didn't put a title on, I think you can derive it's contents on your own. Besides school, I'm cramming in as much work as I can. I'm broke as broke can be....so I have to take any opportunities to work as I can.

And that leaves the social life. Whenever I'm not at school, work, or studying, I'm usually with Michael and/or Colette. Together, we make up a triangle. The Three Stooges! And no, I am not dating Michael (and neither is Colette for that matter). I feel the need to clarify this because we get asked that a lot. We're just good friends, and we feel very comfortable around each other. Colette and I spend time scrapbooking our Europe adventure, the three of us spend time snowboarding, having movie marathons, going to movies, playing pool, etc. Despite the hurt and the healing I'm dealing with in the background, I am happy with my life right now.