Los Angeles

You know life ain't half bad when...

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I went to LA last weekend to visit my cousins (this being the rescheduled trip from Christmas). The timing was actually perfect - one of my cousins just had his first kid a few weeks prior, and another is going to be moving to Oregon in a couple months (which is actually great, cause it's closer to me!)  I had such a nice visit with them, and just felt really happy and relaxed there.  Better than I'd felt in a long time. (Photos from LA)

Things change so quickly these days, friends having families (congrats Mark and Deb!), people changing jobs, people moving back and forth... I feel so freshly settled into my current life some days that it all just seems to whiz by me.  It's like I'm walking in slow motion while everyone else runs around in a game of tag.

But I know that however slowly, I am moving forward.  I think this summer is getting off to a good start.  Some things that were broken have been rebuilt, things I thought may never be repairable.  And I think with the help of some trusted friends, I am starting to feel at peace with my place in the world, and worry less and less about whether things are right, as long as they work.

"We are entering a world," said one expert, "where people aren't interested in whether something is true or not, or whether they believe it or not, but whether it works." That would be a good prescription for you in the coming months, Scorpio. I recommend that you reject any idea or theory or practice unless it has the practical value of making you feel more at home in the world and more accepting of yourself.  (Freewill Astrology)

Friday, December 19th - lovely dusting of snow, viewed through the window of AB headquarters.  Finished off and had a great evening with friends, then spent Saturday and Sunday running around prepping to leave for LA, where I was heading to spend Christmas with my cousins.

Then came the onset of the snow-mageddon.  I have never seen such a thing in downtown Vancouver, nevermind what hit the entire country!  By Sunday night I was growing very concerned about the state of things, and by the time I was supposed to be leaving for the airport, I realized that the likeliness of being able to get to the airport, nevermind actually fly out was quickly dropping.  I admitted defeat, and Boris cheered me up with some stick to yer bones, hot tasty lunch, and a big tupperware full of leftovers.  Good thing too, as the snow continued to fall so much so that I couldn't even get to the North Shore for Christmas to hang with my mom's side of the family, and happily ate the leftovers for the next three days.

Needless to say, it was a quiet Christmas. Steven suprised me and saved Christmas Eve by making the trek across downtown to hang out for the evening, which was very nice as we were long overdue for some quality time.

And on the upside, I got a full refund for my flight, so I'll be able to reschedule and go later on.

Aside from that and the occasional venture out on foot to stock up on food, it was a quiet and relaxing week...maybe a bit too quiet, but I did my best not to let it get to me.  One perk of being downtown when it blizzards, is that I (being a person who normally avoids boxing day like the plague) took the bus up Robson on boxing day and did a little shopping--it was totally dead out there, and I scored a few great things including a nice wool jacket (I've been searching a loooong time for one).

Then, since I didn't go away, I got to hang with Tall Scott on Sunday before he headed out to go visit with Scott in Argentina for the next few weeks.  Looking forward to having both of my Scotts in back town again a month from now!

Today I finally managed to get my car out after it being stuck in the snow for the last 9 days, and went and bought a new mattress, which will be arriving Wednesday.  Exciting!  The rest of the crew continues to trickle back into town, and this week is looking like it's going to be a lot more fun, which is great after all that resting!

Hope everyone has an excellent New Years Eve--stay warm, be safe, and appreciate having your loved ones nearby!

Well, as you can see, I haven't been blogging much lately...so, here goes a fairly random update. First, in news, for anyone who didn't catch this, Jules is engaged! Congrats Jules!!! Her and Aaron are going to be getting married next September in Manitoba.

In October, I took my first week off since I started working in March, and went down to Santa Monica for my lovely cousin Colleen's wedding.

Spent the week helping prep for it, getting to know Chris (her man) and bonding with my cousins who I hadn't seen in waaaay too long.

Since then, just been back at it, work, hanging out...things have been mostly going well, can't really complain (I'm all complained out thanks to a few good friends)...

Oh yeah, and I turned 27! Haven't gotten around to uploading photos yet, but will do soon... I had an excellent birthday, full of skating, eating, and a massive cuddle-fest with my best friends--I can't think of a better way to start off a new year of my life. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this year has to bring. I think it's going to be a fun one. :-)

I almost didn't make it south of the border yesterday... it was like a scene from a movie when someone has a plane to catch and everything goes wrong. There was actual running from the wrong wing of the airport where I'd stood in line for 20 mins. to find out I was late enough that my bags might not make it, to the right wing of the airport where the bitchy Air Canada lady put a tag with an L on my bags (L is for late), and told me that if I hadn't checked in online the night before they would have given up my seat. At this point, I was checking through 55mins prior to my flight. Seriously, I know I was late, but I'm sure there are way later people!

Anyhow, I made it to LA, bags and all!

I'm staying with my cousin, Colleen, whose wedding I'm here for. She and her fiance Chris live in Santa Monica. It is crazy hot here. Like 35 degrees. There is no shade, and it's smoggy, AND did you all know the hills around LA are on fire??? Malibu is on evacuation alerts, and the road up to where the wedding is going to be is actually closed! Anyway, I am trying not to worry myself about the heat and the fact that my lungs and throat have this not so dull burning going on...

It's great to see Colleen again, it's been a while...she came up to Vancouver back when I lived with Sarah and Val, so that was quite a long time ago. Chris is really nice and smart and funny, so I am happy for her. Tonight I'll see one of my other cousins, Ara, and his family. I haven't seen him since last time I was in LA, which was to be a bridesmaid in his wedding...his oldest kid is 9 now (and wasn't a bun in the oven when they married) so that tells you how long it's been.

But first, we're going to go hit the Wholefoods to get some Ariane-friendly food, and then go to the craft store to get more flower arranging stuff.

Gotta go!