Saturday, April 03, 2010
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Abandoned, For Now.
Too much stuff going on lately, sorry I haven't updated. Looks like I've abandoned the blog for now.
Monday, November 28, 2005
"The West Edmonton Mall Trip #2"
November 25th - 28th, 2005
Hey, I just got back from Edmonton. I'll give you a rundown. This post hopefully won't be as long as my last post about an Edmonton trip.
We left for the ferry terminal after I got home from school on Friday. My poor mom was really sick and had a really hard time trying to drive me around from school to home to the back to home and then to the terminal finally. So we get to the terminal at 4:15PM on Friday and the ferry leaves on time, basically everything is going great. We're all looking forward to another awesome trip to West Edmonton Mall, like the last one. It was also bound to be fun for me, because Ryan and I got the back seat (which has three seats instead of two, so it's a lot less crowded if there's only two people sitting there). Pretty comfy so far.
We make it to the Rockies with no problems, except that some of us are getting hungry and our last rest stop was Merritt. We're planning to stop soon, when a tire blows out. This happens at about 2:00 - 3:00AM. We're close to the Mt. Robson rest stop, so we decide to stop there and call for help. The repair people say that we're third in line on a waiting list and that it won't be long. Well, we were stranded at the rest stop (which was closed for the season) for eleven hours. Yes, eleven.
It was really fun for the first half, because at the rest stop, there was a huge field of freshly fallen snow, and we had snowball fights and ran around and climbed the surrounding mountains. Then it got boring and we were all just sitting in the bus waiting for something to happen, and bored with the scenery. Not to mention really hungry. Finally a repair guy came at around 3:00PM on Saturday. We were expected in the original plan to be at West Ed by 10:00AM on Saturday, so our plans were long since ruined. At this point, we thought that we might get to the mall at 6:00 or 7:00PM that night, and get at least a couple hours of shopping in, so that the trip wouldn't be a complete waste.
By the way, this whole time I haven't slept once. Ryan and I kept each other awake, hah.
When we finally made it to Edmonton, it was 11:00PM on Saturday and the mall was long since closed. We see Al for the first time, and he tells us that he's called our parents and they've agreed that we can stay an extra day. Well, we're happy about that but pretty much all we want to do at this moment is go home and sleep, or at least get away from the crowded bus full of people. We drive to a nearby church and are told that we're sleeping on the floor. I'm thinking "Well, that's fine. My sleeping bag should be enough". Then I'm told that they've lost my sleeping bag. I'm thinking "Well, that's fine. As long as it's quiet, I can sleep". Then when I'm trying to get to sleep, I hear the unmistakable sound of the Backstreet Boys playing from some floor underneath me. I'm thinking "Okay, this is not cool". The music kept me up for a really long time, and I had a horrible sleep. In the morning we were woken up at 5:30AM or something like that because it was a church and we had to be out of there before any of the masses were to start. I was really, really sore, but I finally started having a good time again. Al bought everyone breakfast at McDonalds because he's such a great guy. That must have been so expensive, ugh.
Then we got to the mall. It hadn't opened yet, because it wasn't 10:00 yet, but the doors were still unlocked. We went inside and got a short rundown on what was happening, and then we all went our own ways. As soon as I could, I called Manda and Sheldon, and tried to get them to come to the mall, since I let them down on Saturday. They both couldn't because of homework. So that really depressed me. After I hung up with Sheldon, I fell against the wall outside and started to cry. It was inevitable though because I felt the trip was just going so badly for me. My mom says that we're just victims of circumstance. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that this whole time, about half of us were sick with a really contagious cold (Thanks a lot Jacob). I had this cold and I was getting better in the days before we left, but obviously, with all of this stuff combined, I got worse again. Yeah.
So, when I finally pulled myself together, I got up and went inside, changed and re-did my makeup and everything. I was feeling better after that. I did most of my shopping alone and between 10:00 and 11:30AM on Sunday. I got a lot of Christmas presents for people, mostly. After that, I met up with Jacob, Jamie and Curtis. We went to Bluenotes, or as it's called there “Thrifty's”. Then we walked around and bumped into a lot of people from YoungLife. Then it was lunchtime and Matt joined us, and then Ceileigh, and Curtis left and so did Jamie... meaning it was Ceileigh, Me, Matt and Jacob. We went to lunch at Albert's (It's tradition for me, hah) and had a good time, besides the fact that I was on the phone the whole time with various people. Why does everyone call at lunch?
After lunch, we were going to go to HMV, but instead we went to Galaxyland... for some reason. I dunno, it was fun either way. Jacob didn't come, but then we met up with Sara, Caitlin, Bree and whoever else was at the roller coaster. I don't really remember. Anyway, it was kickass. We went a couple times and on some other rides too. Then, lots of people felt like throwing up since we had just eaten (I wasn't one of them. I would have stayed there all day if I could, sheesh) so we left and everyone parted ways, and somehow I ended up hanging out with Matt for the whole rest of the day. He's one of the coolest people you'll ever meet though, and I got to know him a hell of a lot better than I did before the trip (considering that the first time I'd ever met him was on the bus on Friday, hah). So we had a good day together, first at HMV, searching through mislabeled posters, then playing DDR and other stuff at the arcade, then telling the people at Gymboree and Please Mum that we were looking for a birthday present for our illegitimate baby (and getting a free balloon in the process). Overall, really fun.
Then the time came to leave, so we went to the bus (reluctantly, but then again we were getting really tired of walking). The trip home was a lot easier and shorter, since the bus didn't break down again. I got to sit in the back again, but it was pretty crowded this time, so it was uncomfortable. I was sitting with Claire and Ceileigh, and occasionally Ryan, and sometimes other people too. Plus, all of our shopping bags and stuff. Not so fun. I didn't sleep on the way back, though I wanted to really badly. I can't sleep with people touching me or being awake around me. So the overall sum of sleep is the four hours or so that I got on the floor of the church. Woohoo.
The trip home went off without a hitch, and we made it to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal at around 6:00AM today (Monday, 28th). We caught the 7:00AM ferry, and made it home by 8:30AM. My mom picked me up at 9:00AM, and drove me to school. You might find it surprising, but I was kinda tired. She was really insistent that I go to school, so I had to resort to crying in the parking lot, and then she finally took me home. The first thing I did was brush my teeth, but I didn't make it out of the bathroom. I fell asleep on the floor right beside the baseboard heater, toothbrush in hand. Best sleep of my life. I woke up at around 5:00PM, to find out that I've been called by maybe 18 people while I was sleeping. So I call everyone and reassure them, and here I am, writing this blog.
It turned out a little longer than I expected, but I guess there's a lot to tell. Still, I had a great time on the trip. Maybe I wouldn't do it again right away, but I sure as hell would do it in the future. Thanks for listening.
Hey, I just got back from Edmonton. I'll give you a rundown. This post hopefully won't be as long as my last post about an Edmonton trip.
We left for the ferry terminal after I got home from school on Friday. My poor mom was really sick and had a really hard time trying to drive me around from school to home to the back to home and then to the terminal finally. So we get to the terminal at 4:15PM on Friday and the ferry leaves on time, basically everything is going great. We're all looking forward to another awesome trip to West Edmonton Mall, like the last one. It was also bound to be fun for me, because Ryan and I got the back seat (which has three seats instead of two, so it's a lot less crowded if there's only two people sitting there). Pretty comfy so far.
We make it to the Rockies with no problems, except that some of us are getting hungry and our last rest stop was Merritt. We're planning to stop soon, when a tire blows out. This happens at about 2:00 - 3:00AM. We're close to the Mt. Robson rest stop, so we decide to stop there and call for help. The repair people say that we're third in line on a waiting list and that it won't be long. Well, we were stranded at the rest stop (which was closed for the season) for eleven hours. Yes, eleven.
It was really fun for the first half, because at the rest stop, there was a huge field of freshly fallen snow, and we had snowball fights and ran around and climbed the surrounding mountains. Then it got boring and we were all just sitting in the bus waiting for something to happen, and bored with the scenery. Not to mention really hungry. Finally a repair guy came at around 3:00PM on Saturday. We were expected in the original plan to be at West Ed by 10:00AM on Saturday, so our plans were long since ruined. At this point, we thought that we might get to the mall at 6:00 or 7:00PM that night, and get at least a couple hours of shopping in, so that the trip wouldn't be a complete waste.
By the way, this whole time I haven't slept once. Ryan and I kept each other awake, hah.
When we finally made it to Edmonton, it was 11:00PM on Saturday and the mall was long since closed. We see Al for the first time, and he tells us that he's called our parents and they've agreed that we can stay an extra day. Well, we're happy about that but pretty much all we want to do at this moment is go home and sleep, or at least get away from the crowded bus full of people. We drive to a nearby church and are told that we're sleeping on the floor. I'm thinking "Well, that's fine. My sleeping bag should be enough". Then I'm told that they've lost my sleeping bag. I'm thinking "Well, that's fine. As long as it's quiet, I can sleep". Then when I'm trying to get to sleep, I hear the unmistakable sound of the Backstreet Boys playing from some floor underneath me. I'm thinking "Okay, this is not cool". The music kept me up for a really long time, and I had a horrible sleep. In the morning we were woken up at 5:30AM or something like that because it was a church and we had to be out of there before any of the masses were to start. I was really, really sore, but I finally started having a good time again. Al bought everyone breakfast at McDonalds because he's such a great guy. That must have been so expensive, ugh.
Then we got to the mall. It hadn't opened yet, because it wasn't 10:00 yet, but the doors were still unlocked. We went inside and got a short rundown on what was happening, and then we all went our own ways. As soon as I could, I called Manda and Sheldon, and tried to get them to come to the mall, since I let them down on Saturday. They both couldn't because of homework. So that really depressed me. After I hung up with Sheldon, I fell against the wall outside and started to cry. It was inevitable though because I felt the trip was just going so badly for me. My mom says that we're just victims of circumstance. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that this whole time, about half of us were sick with a really contagious cold (Thanks a lot Jacob). I had this cold and I was getting better in the days before we left, but obviously, with all of this stuff combined, I got worse again. Yeah.
So, when I finally pulled myself together, I got up and went inside, changed and re-did my makeup and everything. I was feeling better after that. I did most of my shopping alone and between 10:00 and 11:30AM on Sunday. I got a lot of Christmas presents for people, mostly. After that, I met up with Jacob, Jamie and Curtis. We went to Bluenotes, or as it's called there “Thrifty's”. Then we walked around and bumped into a lot of people from YoungLife. Then it was lunchtime and Matt joined us, and then Ceileigh, and Curtis left and so did Jamie... meaning it was Ceileigh, Me, Matt and Jacob. We went to lunch at Albert's (It's tradition for me, hah) and had a good time, besides the fact that I was on the phone the whole time with various people. Why does everyone call at lunch?
After lunch, we were going to go to HMV, but instead we went to Galaxyland... for some reason. I dunno, it was fun either way. Jacob didn't come, but then we met up with Sara, Caitlin, Bree and whoever else was at the roller coaster. I don't really remember. Anyway, it was kickass. We went a couple times and on some other rides too. Then, lots of people felt like throwing up since we had just eaten (I wasn't one of them. I would have stayed there all day if I could, sheesh) so we left and everyone parted ways, and somehow I ended up hanging out with Matt for the whole rest of the day. He's one of the coolest people you'll ever meet though, and I got to know him a hell of a lot better than I did before the trip (considering that the first time I'd ever met him was on the bus on Friday, hah). So we had a good day together, first at HMV, searching through mislabeled posters, then playing DDR and other stuff at the arcade, then telling the people at Gymboree and Please Mum that we were looking for a birthday present for our illegitimate baby (and getting a free balloon in the process). Overall, really fun.
Then the time came to leave, so we went to the bus (reluctantly, but then again we were getting really tired of walking). The trip home was a lot easier and shorter, since the bus didn't break down again. I got to sit in the back again, but it was pretty crowded this time, so it was uncomfortable. I was sitting with Claire and Ceileigh, and occasionally Ryan, and sometimes other people too. Plus, all of our shopping bags and stuff. Not so fun. I didn't sleep on the way back, though I wanted to really badly. I can't sleep with people touching me or being awake around me. So the overall sum of sleep is the four hours or so that I got on the floor of the church. Woohoo.
The trip home went off without a hitch, and we made it to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal at around 6:00AM today (Monday, 28th). We caught the 7:00AM ferry, and made it home by 8:30AM. My mom picked me up at 9:00AM, and drove me to school. You might find it surprising, but I was kinda tired. She was really insistent that I go to school, so I had to resort to crying in the parking lot, and then she finally took me home. The first thing I did was brush my teeth, but I didn't make it out of the bathroom. I fell asleep on the floor right beside the baseboard heater, toothbrush in hand. Best sleep of my life. I woke up at around 5:00PM, to find out that I've been called by maybe 18 people while I was sleeping. So I call everyone and reassure them, and here I am, writing this blog.
It turned out a little longer than I expected, but I guess there's a lot to tell. Still, I had a great time on the trip. Maybe I wouldn't do it again right away, but I sure as hell would do it in the future. Thanks for listening.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Sunday, September 25, 2005
A Bunch of Small Updates
+ I have finally blocked anonymous posts, after weeks of putting it off. Yeesh. All the deletions you see in the comments of this blog, are all the anonymous comments and advertising crap that I've gotten rid of.
+ I've figured out how to put movie trailers on the blog, as opposed to music videos. It's just an experimental thing though. I'll probably have the music back very soon.
EDIT: Yeah, the music's back, after just one day. I just can't live without my music.
+ Speaking of movies, I saw Corpse Bride a few nights ago. It was killer. Nadia cried, HAH.
+ One of my all time best friends ever, Sheldon (SheldO, Shelbonne, Shella, etc.), is coming to Victoria to visit me on October 7th. Definitely looking forward to that.
+ I recently contracted Laryngitis, which essentially means I have no voice, and on the rare chance that I do manage to get a sound out, I sound like a duck quacking. No joke. So, my weekend, with the exception of Friday night, was pretty boring, because I wasn't allowed to leave the house.
+ I was informed today, that we are selling our 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII (dark green), and replacing it with a 2005 Volkswagen Passat TDI (grey or black). Personally, I'm kind of upset about this switch, because I love the Lincoln and we've had it for ages. My dad says that the mechanical stuff on it will start failing soon, though, and it's the kind of car that has really expensive features in it, and they'd cost a fortune to fix. So yeah. I'm pissed about that.
EDIT: We ended up getting a 2006 VW Passat.
+ There's been very much action in the relationship area lately, some of it good, some of it bad. I'll spare you the details, because no one likes to hear about it anyway.
+ I've started reading a new book, called Old Sins by Penny Vincenzi. It's pretty good so far.
+ I'm going to PCS with Meghan and John tomorrow. I know going to school is a very lame thing to do, when I have Monday off. I could choose to do anything in the world, but I'm looking forward to meeting all of Meg's new friends. So there.
+ Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story comes out on DVD in two days. Definitely getting that.
+ I got four and a half hours of sleep last night, because just before I was going to go to bed, at a respectable 1:30AM, I found a mouse in my room, and I decided that I didn't want to wake my parents up for something as trivial as that. So I just got my blanket and moved to the living room couch, and got to bed at 2:30AM, only to be woken up at 7:00AM by the blinding sunlight in my face. Great.
+ As a result of the mouse situation, I'm probably going to get a screen door installed in my room. I live in the basement, and it's a walk-out, and it's usually pretty muggy down here, so I like to keep the door open, but I guess it's the season for mice, and they've been getting inside lately. So hooray for screen doors.
+ I'm currently jealous of John, because he got to go to the Robert Plant concert, and soon, he's going back to Rockridge for the leaders' meeting thing. Damn you, Foster.
+ Soon, I'm going to build a clubhouse in my back yard. More on this later.
+ I've figured out how to put movie trailers on the blog, as opposed to music videos. It's just an experimental thing though. I'll probably have the music back very soon.
EDIT: Yeah, the music's back, after just one day. I just can't live without my music.
+ Speaking of movies, I saw Corpse Bride a few nights ago. It was killer. Nadia cried, HAH.
+ One of my all time best friends ever, Sheldon (SheldO, Shelbonne, Shella, etc.), is coming to Victoria to visit me on October 7th. Definitely looking forward to that.
+ I recently contracted Laryngitis, which essentially means I have no voice, and on the rare chance that I do manage to get a sound out, I sound like a duck quacking. No joke. So, my weekend, with the exception of Friday night, was pretty boring, because I wasn't allowed to leave the house.
+ I was informed today, that we are selling our 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII (dark green), and replacing it with a 2005 Volkswagen Passat TDI (grey or black). Personally, I'm kind of upset about this switch, because I love the Lincoln and we've had it for ages. My dad says that the mechanical stuff on it will start failing soon, though, and it's the kind of car that has really expensive features in it, and they'd cost a fortune to fix. So yeah. I'm pissed about that.
EDIT: We ended up getting a 2006 VW Passat.
+ There's been very much action in the relationship area lately, some of it good, some of it bad. I'll spare you the details, because no one likes to hear about it anyway.
+ I've started reading a new book, called Old Sins by Penny Vincenzi. It's pretty good so far.
+ I'm going to PCS with Meghan and John tomorrow. I know going to school is a very lame thing to do, when I have Monday off. I could choose to do anything in the world, but I'm looking forward to meeting all of Meg's new friends. So there.
+ Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story comes out on DVD in two days. Definitely getting that.
+ I got four and a half hours of sleep last night, because just before I was going to go to bed, at a respectable 1:30AM, I found a mouse in my room, and I decided that I didn't want to wake my parents up for something as trivial as that. So I just got my blanket and moved to the living room couch, and got to bed at 2:30AM, only to be woken up at 7:00AM by the blinding sunlight in my face. Great.
+ As a result of the mouse situation, I'm probably going to get a screen door installed in my room. I live in the basement, and it's a walk-out, and it's usually pretty muggy down here, so I like to keep the door open, but I guess it's the season for mice, and they've been getting inside lately. So hooray for screen doors.
+ I'm currently jealous of John, because he got to go to the Robert Plant concert, and soon, he's going back to Rockridge for the leaders' meeting thing. Damn you, Foster.
+ Soon, I'm going to build a clubhouse in my back yard. More on this later.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Still Kickin' Around
Extremely sorry for the huge lapse in posts. It's summertime and I'm never around anymore. I've hardly had two consecutive nights in my own bed since the end of school, last month. Promise I'll try harder.
So I went to Rockridge Canyon with YoungLife from the 12th - 19th of July. It was the most amazing week of my life and I'd do it again in a second. I got to spend my birthday there, along with all my friends. I'd tell you all about it, but I have to be leaving again soon (go figure). I'll type a gigantic post on it when I have the time, but not now. Maybe come September?
Have a great second-month-of-summer everyone!
So I went to Rockridge Canyon with YoungLife from the 12th - 19th of July. It was the most amazing week of my life and I'd do it again in a second. I got to spend my birthday there, along with all my friends. I'd tell you all about it, but I have to be leaving again soon (go figure). I'll type a gigantic post on it when I have the time, but not now. Maybe come September?
Have a great second-month-of-summer everyone!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Insanity, honestly.
Guess what? I'm getting a car. A CAR! I'm not even 16 yet, and I'm getting a car. I cannot friggen believe it.
Guess what else? It's a screaming yellow 2005 Mustang V6.
Guess what else? It's a screaming yellow 2005 Mustang V6.
I'M SERIOUS!
Yeah, dude. I know. Click here to read more about it.
I found out Monday night, but I didn't post about it because I wanted to be sure that my parents weren't just joking. Turns out they weren't, and I'm the happiest kid in the world right now.
I'm in serious shock, as I'm sure anyone would be in the same situation. The car is in Port Coquitlam right now, but it'll be in my driveway by next Friday. There'll be more pictures posted when it's at home, but this one picture will have to do for now.
P.S. My relatives are leaving tomorrow, so starting then, I'll have more time to post things.
P.P.S. Everything is in an upswing right now, so I'm very giddy about life. Don't mind me.
Also, happy belated birthday to my mom, who turned 45 years old yesterday. Love you, mom.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
They're Coming...
Today, I have to go to the ferry terminal, yet again. Guess why? A whole wack of my relatives are coming. Brilliant.
My grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle and newest baby cousin Josh will be arriving at around 2:00PM today and they'll be staying for two weeks. Considering the fact that we usually only have three people living in our house (Mom, Dad and myself) this will be a major change for us, and we don't know what to expect. Instead of just the three of us, it'll be just the eight of us. Oh the joy. I have to share my room, which I've never had to do except for sleepovers.
Well, wish me luck everyone. Feel free to come over anytime and save me.
To make things worse, there is a lot of tension in the house right now. To give you some indication of how bad it is, my usually docile mother smashed a picture of me (frame and all) in the middle of the living room. The reason? She claimed that I wasn't helping enough with the house-cleaning. In truth, I was frantically cleaning my room, cleaning her bathroom, vacuuming the entire house, and talking to my father (who's in Port Alberni, and can't help with the cleaning) on the phone. I see no logic here. They're coming at 2:00, and it's not even noon yet! Honestly.
I'll try to post again soon, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to in the next week. Sorry!
My grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle and newest baby cousin Josh will be arriving at around 2:00PM today and they'll be staying for two weeks. Considering the fact that we usually only have three people living in our house (Mom, Dad and myself) this will be a major change for us, and we don't know what to expect. Instead of just the three of us, it'll be just the eight of us. Oh the joy. I have to share my room, which I've never had to do except for sleepovers.
Well, wish me luck everyone. Feel free to come over anytime and save me.
To make things worse, there is a lot of tension in the house right now. To give you some indication of how bad it is, my usually docile mother smashed a picture of me (frame and all) in the middle of the living room. The reason? She claimed that I wasn't helping enough with the house-cleaning. In truth, I was frantically cleaning my room, cleaning her bathroom, vacuuming the entire house, and talking to my father (who's in Port Alberni, and can't help with the cleaning) on the phone. I see no logic here. They're coming at 2:00, and it's not even noon yet! Honestly.
I'll try to post again soon, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to in the next week. Sorry!
Saturday, May 07, 2005
How To Fall Into A Creek - For Dummies
I'm sure every one of you has fallen into (or at least jumped into) a creek or river at some point in your life, right? Well today, I'm writing this so that the next time you decide to go creek-jumping, you do it the easiest way possible, with the least amount of damage done.
I'll start with a description of what happened to me last night.
My friend Meghan and I were invited over to my other friend John's house. Originally, he was supposed to come to Meghan's house, but that didn't work out. Anyway, we arrived at around 7:00PM and John gave us a quick tour of the house and introduction to his dogs. Soon after, we decided to go outside (without shoes, might I add) and run around for a crazy few hours. During this time, we ran, raced each other and Jessie, explored the forest, walked on brambles, almost went to the firing range, and (perhaps best of all) swam in the creek.
The plan was to make our way across an army-style rope suspended over the 10ft. across creek. Easy, right? Not if you're wearing a skirt and are 5'6". Myself, being the girlie girl that I am, was wearing a skirt and absolutely refused to go the normal way (arms and legs swung over top of the rope), so instead, I was to do it monkey-bars style (just arms, no legs). To put it simply, I fell in.
So after I got out of the water, and my friends had finished laughing at me, we started walking back to the house. Halfway there (when we were level with the bridge across the creek), John whispered to me, "Let's throw her in". So, we attempted to drag Meghan to the bridge, but she wouldn't come quietly. Eventually, we all made it down to the bridge, but none of us wanted to jump from that height. Instead, we went down to the beaver dam area and waded in. John ended up pusing Meghan in while standing on a cinder block... yes you read right. John ended up jumping in too.
We all swam around for a bit (fully clothed) and then began to head back to the house. When we got there, we changed into some of John's clothes and tried to warm up. We were picked up a few minutes after that, so we had perfect timing.
So, there's the recollection of my evening. Now, on to the part where I tell you how not to fall into creeks, or at least do it tastefully.
To be honest, I really don't know how to fall while being classy, and I also have to go soon, so I'll just say this:
Stay away from creeks.
I'll start with a description of what happened to me last night.
My friend Meghan and I were invited over to my other friend John's house. Originally, he was supposed to come to Meghan's house, but that didn't work out. Anyway, we arrived at around 7:00PM and John gave us a quick tour of the house and introduction to his dogs. Soon after, we decided to go outside (without shoes, might I add) and run around for a crazy few hours. During this time, we ran, raced each other and Jessie, explored the forest, walked on brambles, almost went to the firing range, and (perhaps best of all) swam in the creek.
The plan was to make our way across an army-style rope suspended over the 10ft. across creek. Easy, right? Not if you're wearing a skirt and are 5'6". Myself, being the girlie girl that I am, was wearing a skirt and absolutely refused to go the normal way (arms and legs swung over top of the rope), so instead, I was to do it monkey-bars style (just arms, no legs). To put it simply, I fell in.
So after I got out of the water, and my friends had finished laughing at me, we started walking back to the house. Halfway there (when we were level with the bridge across the creek), John whispered to me, "Let's throw her in". So, we attempted to drag Meghan to the bridge, but she wouldn't come quietly. Eventually, we all made it down to the bridge, but none of us wanted to jump from that height. Instead, we went down to the beaver dam area and waded in. John ended up pusing Meghan in while standing on a cinder block... yes you read right. John ended up jumping in too.
We all swam around for a bit (fully clothed) and then began to head back to the house. When we got there, we changed into some of John's clothes and tried to warm up. We were picked up a few minutes after that, so we had perfect timing.
So, there's the recollection of my evening. Now, on to the part where I tell you how not to fall into creeks, or at least do it tastefully.
To be honest, I really don't know how to fall while being classy, and I also have to go soon, so I'll just say this:
Stay away from creeks.
Monday, May 02, 2005
"The West Edmonton Mall Trip"
Okay, everyone else is doing it, so I thought "What the hell, I'll try it too".
This is my recollection of the events that happened during Friday, April 29th, 2005 until Sunday, May 1st, 2005.
(Dates in history that I will remember forever, undoubtedly). Just to warn you all, I've never, ever, ever kept a diary before. Never. So I'm pretty sure I'll be awful at keeping this thing updated. Ryan, I'm relying on you to remind me, hahah. Also, I'd like to dedicate this blog entry to Meghan Gartshore, who couldn't be there with us on the Edmonton trip. I hope this excruciatingly long description will explain it to you better, because I know that I did a pretty bad job in person, heh.
On the morning of Friday, April 29th, I woke up feeling extremely excited from the tips of my toes all the way up through my spine and into my brain. I'd been anticipating this day for weeks, and it was finally here. So, I got ready for school, and it turned out to be a very strange day. It was scheduled that our class was supposed to go on a field trip to Victoria General Hospital, and that we did. I have to say, it was one of the coolest field trips ever. Still, I couldn't get Edmonton off my mind, and even as we walked into the morgue, I had a gigantic smile on my face.
So anyway, after we got back from the hospital, my dad picked me up from school, and drove me home really quick so I could pack (for future reference, I'm big on procrastination). I packed everything I could think of, and then downsized because I had three backpack's full. By the time I was all set, it was 4:00PM, and we had to get to the ferry terminal really fast to make it in time for 4:30PM. We made it.
At the terminal, I met up with most of the YoungLifers and we filled out some forms and after waiting for about half an hour, we were ready to board the 5:00PM ferry to Tsawassen. In general, the ferry ride was great. I started talking to a guy named John, who I didn't really know very well, but it turns out that we have so incredibly much in common (ie. same birthday, hair and eye color, shoes, European history, favorite movies, etc.), and now we're great friends. He tried to teach me how to hacky sack down below on the car deck, but I sucked no matter how many times I tried. I'll have to practice that, I guess.
We arrived at Tsawassen terminal at around 6:45PM and we had to get on the bus almost immediately. It was already waiting, so everything was fine. I ended up at the very back, sitting with John, right next to the bathroom (which kinda sucked, because as you'll later find out, a few people ended up puking). And so the real trip began.
In general, the bus ride was really fun, since we had lots to do and lots of time to do it. I brought along an essay that I was supposed to write, but I never got around to doing that (Sorry Mr. Roome. He was really mad at me today at school, when I was the only one that didn’t do it), and I also brought my Zen Touch and a bunch of books and clothes and money. We watched a few movies and then night rolled around. Ryan came to the back to sit with us for most of the night, and we took turns dozing off for a few minutes at a time. An estimation of how many times we changed positions: 60-70. This continued until someone got really sick and puked before he could reach the bathroom. He puked on Ryan's leg (which was hysterical, but not for Ryan, hahah), so Ryan had to go and clean it all off, and he ended up just sitting farther up.
So then, we kept on driving into the night, and I took some pictures, and talked with John, and attempted to read, and watched Ghostbusters and a bunch of other movies. That's just a very brief summary by the way. I don't want to bore you, yet I probably already am. Tough luck. Anyway, John and I prepared to "watch the sunset rise", and so it did. Shortly after that, we stopped in Hinton (Yay for my previous memories of Hinton that no one else on the trip had!) for breakfast. Most of the people ended up going to Smitty's, but not me. I hate waiting in line, or more accurately, waiting. It sucks. So instead of Smitty's or Tim Horton's, I went to McDonalds. Hardly anyone went there, so I figured it would be quiet. I was really disoriented from the lack of sleep by then, so I thought it would be best, hah.
So, after breakfast, we left again for Edmonton, and surprisingly, it didn't take very long at all from that point. We arrived, on schedule at 9:45AM on Saturday, April 30th at Gate 32. We gathered all of our things, headed into the mall, did a quick check on everyone, and then headed to the Waterpark, so that we could get our passes. Then we were finally let loose in the mall. At this point in reflecting, I feel kind of bad, because I practically sprinted off and didn't let anyone know where I was going, even though I promised that I'd stay with some people for most of the trip. Apologies to everyone, but I was over-excited and couldn't wait to see my two best friends, Manda and Sheldon (locals to Edmonton). Luckily, I found them almost immediately.
If I went into detail with what I did at the mall, it would take a few days at the very least. I'm just going to say that in a matter of 11 hours, I was a shopper, an extremely happy girl, a crocodile hunter, a British critic, an athlete (running up the down-escalator = exhilarating), thirsty for watermelon soda and "Bubble Tea", a photographer, a duck-logo enthusiast, determined to take a talking deer home with me, and completely obsessed with finding PJ pants. There is much more to the story, but I'll just leave it at there for right now.
By the end of the day (around 7:00PM), Sheldon, Manda, John and I decided to get some dinner, but Earls was way too full, so we decided to go upstairs to a lesser known restaurant, Cafe Europa. John ended up ditching, but we had fun anyway. After a very long, relaxing dinner, we continued on my search for PJ pants, and were finally successful 5 minutes before I had to leave. We bought them really quickly, but then realized that our locker was way at the other side of the mall, so we sprinted back to Bourbon Street (Sheldon got it all on camera) and then I sprinted back to gate 32 alone after hugging my two best friends goodbye. I suck at goodbyes, but this time, I didn't cry (for once, eh Manda?). So, if anyone was wondering why I was late for the bus, that's why.
The bus departed very soon after I got there, and I was sitting alone for a change. This was a plus, because by that point, I was dead tired and just needed to rest for a bit. They put in another movie quite quickly, but it was all in subtitles, and I was at the very back of the bus again. No way in hell that I was going to be able to read them, so I decided to just read a book. This didn't work at all because the movie was really, really loud. I tried to understand it without reading the subtitles, but that didn't work, so I just settled for drifting in and out of sleep for a few hours.
Soon, we stopped in a small town to stretch our legs, or buy some things. I got out to do both, and when I got back on, a guy named Jessie was sitting in my seat, sprawled out. Since my "seat" was actually three seats, it was fine, and I just sat down by the window. So for most of the night, Jessie and I talked about everything that we did at the mall and stuff like that. We became pretty good friends too, and he introduced me to James (who was actually sleeping at the time), Brad, Chewy and a bunch of other people that I didn't know too well before that. After another stop, I came back on the bus, and Jessie is gone, but John is in his place, sleeping. We stayed there 'til we got back to Tsawassen terminal and by then, it was obviously daytime. I'd guess it was about 10:45AM when we arrived in Tsawassen, which didn't leave us much time to doddle.
We boarded the 11:00AM ferry to Swartz Bay terminal in Sidney. The ferry ride back was very relaxed, mainly because everyone was tired. I ended up exploring the whole ferry and then reading for the remainder of the way. We said our last good-bye's and "see you Wednesday"'s on the ferry just before docking, and then got off and went our own ways.
To summarize: The trip was one of the best I've ever been on, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you so much to YoungLife for welcoming me into the group so quickly, and especially to Ryan, who convinced me to come in the first place. You all rock, the group rocks, that trip rocked, the leaders rock, Manda & Sheldon rock, (EDIT: John's wicked suit rocks too).
Everything rocks my world at this very moment...
This is my recollection of the events that happened during Friday, April 29th, 2005 until Sunday, May 1st, 2005.
(Dates in history that I will remember forever, undoubtedly). Just to warn you all, I've never, ever, ever kept a diary before. Never. So I'm pretty sure I'll be awful at keeping this thing updated. Ryan, I'm relying on you to remind me, hahah. Also, I'd like to dedicate this blog entry to Meghan Gartshore, who couldn't be there with us on the Edmonton trip. I hope this excruciatingly long description will explain it to you better, because I know that I did a pretty bad job in person, heh.
On the morning of Friday, April 29th, I woke up feeling extremely excited from the tips of my toes all the way up through my spine and into my brain. I'd been anticipating this day for weeks, and it was finally here. So, I got ready for school, and it turned out to be a very strange day. It was scheduled that our class was supposed to go on a field trip to Victoria General Hospital, and that we did. I have to say, it was one of the coolest field trips ever. Still, I couldn't get Edmonton off my mind, and even as we walked into the morgue, I had a gigantic smile on my face.
So anyway, after we got back from the hospital, my dad picked me up from school, and drove me home really quick so I could pack (for future reference, I'm big on procrastination). I packed everything I could think of, and then downsized because I had three backpack's full. By the time I was all set, it was 4:00PM, and we had to get to the ferry terminal really fast to make it in time for 4:30PM. We made it.
At the terminal, I met up with most of the YoungLifers and we filled out some forms and after waiting for about half an hour, we were ready to board the 5:00PM ferry to Tsawassen. In general, the ferry ride was great. I started talking to a guy named John, who I didn't really know very well, but it turns out that we have so incredibly much in common (ie. same birthday, hair and eye color, shoes, European history, favorite movies, etc.), and now we're great friends. He tried to teach me how to hacky sack down below on the car deck, but I sucked no matter how many times I tried. I'll have to practice that, I guess.
We arrived at Tsawassen terminal at around 6:45PM and we had to get on the bus almost immediately. It was already waiting, so everything was fine. I ended up at the very back, sitting with John, right next to the bathroom (which kinda sucked, because as you'll later find out, a few people ended up puking). And so the real trip began.
In general, the bus ride was really fun, since we had lots to do and lots of time to do it. I brought along an essay that I was supposed to write, but I never got around to doing that (Sorry Mr. Roome. He was really mad at me today at school, when I was the only one that didn’t do it), and I also brought my Zen Touch and a bunch of books and clothes and money. We watched a few movies and then night rolled around. Ryan came to the back to sit with us for most of the night, and we took turns dozing off for a few minutes at a time. An estimation of how many times we changed positions: 60-70. This continued until someone got really sick and puked before he could reach the bathroom. He puked on Ryan's leg (which was hysterical, but not for Ryan, hahah), so Ryan had to go and clean it all off, and he ended up just sitting farther up.
So then, we kept on driving into the night, and I took some pictures, and talked with John, and attempted to read, and watched Ghostbusters and a bunch of other movies. That's just a very brief summary by the way. I don't want to bore you, yet I probably already am. Tough luck. Anyway, John and I prepared to "watch the sunset rise", and so it did. Shortly after that, we stopped in Hinton (Yay for my previous memories of Hinton that no one else on the trip had!) for breakfast. Most of the people ended up going to Smitty's, but not me. I hate waiting in line, or more accurately, waiting. It sucks. So instead of Smitty's or Tim Horton's, I went to McDonalds. Hardly anyone went there, so I figured it would be quiet. I was really disoriented from the lack of sleep by then, so I thought it would be best, hah.
So, after breakfast, we left again for Edmonton, and surprisingly, it didn't take very long at all from that point. We arrived, on schedule at 9:45AM on Saturday, April 30th at Gate 32. We gathered all of our things, headed into the mall, did a quick check on everyone, and then headed to the Waterpark, so that we could get our passes. Then we were finally let loose in the mall. At this point in reflecting, I feel kind of bad, because I practically sprinted off and didn't let anyone know where I was going, even though I promised that I'd stay with some people for most of the trip. Apologies to everyone, but I was over-excited and couldn't wait to see my two best friends, Manda and Sheldon (locals to Edmonton). Luckily, I found them almost immediately.
If I went into detail with what I did at the mall, it would take a few days at the very least. I'm just going to say that in a matter of 11 hours, I was a shopper, an extremely happy girl, a crocodile hunter, a British critic, an athlete (running up the down-escalator = exhilarating), thirsty for watermelon soda and "Bubble Tea", a photographer, a duck-logo enthusiast, determined to take a talking deer home with me, and completely obsessed with finding PJ pants. There is much more to the story, but I'll just leave it at there for right now.
By the end of the day (around 7:00PM), Sheldon, Manda, John and I decided to get some dinner, but Earls was way too full, so we decided to go upstairs to a lesser known restaurant, Cafe Europa. John ended up ditching, but we had fun anyway. After a very long, relaxing dinner, we continued on my search for PJ pants, and were finally successful 5 minutes before I had to leave. We bought them really quickly, but then realized that our locker was way at the other side of the mall, so we sprinted back to Bourbon Street (Sheldon got it all on camera) and then I sprinted back to gate 32 alone after hugging my two best friends goodbye. I suck at goodbyes, but this time, I didn't cry (for once, eh Manda?). So, if anyone was wondering why I was late for the bus, that's why.
The bus departed very soon after I got there, and I was sitting alone for a change. This was a plus, because by that point, I was dead tired and just needed to rest for a bit. They put in another movie quite quickly, but it was all in subtitles, and I was at the very back of the bus again. No way in hell that I was going to be able to read them, so I decided to just read a book. This didn't work at all because the movie was really, really loud. I tried to understand it without reading the subtitles, but that didn't work, so I just settled for drifting in and out of sleep for a few hours.
Soon, we stopped in a small town to stretch our legs, or buy some things. I got out to do both, and when I got back on, a guy named Jessie was sitting in my seat, sprawled out. Since my "seat" was actually three seats, it was fine, and I just sat down by the window. So for most of the night, Jessie and I talked about everything that we did at the mall and stuff like that. We became pretty good friends too, and he introduced me to James (who was actually sleeping at the time), Brad, Chewy and a bunch of other people that I didn't know too well before that. After another stop, I came back on the bus, and Jessie is gone, but John is in his place, sleeping. We stayed there 'til we got back to Tsawassen terminal and by then, it was obviously daytime. I'd guess it was about 10:45AM when we arrived in Tsawassen, which didn't leave us much time to doddle.
We boarded the 11:00AM ferry to Swartz Bay terminal in Sidney. The ferry ride back was very relaxed, mainly because everyone was tired. I ended up exploring the whole ferry and then reading for the remainder of the way. We said our last good-bye's and "see you Wednesday"'s on the ferry just before docking, and then got off and went our own ways.
To summarize: The trip was one of the best I've ever been on, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you so much to YoungLife for welcoming me into the group so quickly, and especially to Ryan, who convinced me to come in the first place. You all rock, the group rocks, that trip rocked, the leaders rock, Manda & Sheldon rock, (EDIT: John's wicked suit rocks too).
Everything rocks my world at this very moment...
...............................
If you've actually finished reading this, you're incredible and I envy you. Thanks for listening.
Goodnight.
Goodnight.
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