It is done

I've been thinking about cancelling cable for a week or two now. With the weather getting nicer and the days getting longer (it's light past 9pm here) I don't want to be sitting in front of the tv. Unfortunately the only way I will ignore it is if it doesn't work. If I cancel it I can save more than $30 a month and on my current budget, that's a lot.

Today, I finally did it. My $35 package was the lowest available. I put it on hold which means that I'll need to pay a $19.95 reconnection fee on September 1st if I want it back. That's the day my internet comes back as well unless I call and cancel it totally. (I don't have a computer at home though so I don't see that changing right now). Initially not having the TV will be hard but I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it really fast. I already like the idea of not being controlled by what time it is and what's on. I'm not strong enough to overcome that without feeling like I'm missing something so cutting the feed off is the only way. I have a busyish weekend planned and next week I'll start reading more and actually completing pages in my albums instead of just moving stuff around on commercial breaks.

Word of the day #37: draconian

Dra·co·ni·an
/dreɪˈkoʊniən, drə-/ Pronunciation Key - [drey-koh-nee-uhn, druh-] –adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Draco or his code of laws.
2. (often lowercase) rigorous; unusually severe or cruel: Draconian forms of punishment.

This is one of my director's favourite words. I love it :)

Progress!

Remember back in November when I was working on completing my collection of historical Bylaws? Well yesterday we hit pay dirt. I now have an (almost) complete collection dating back to 1990. I also have many copies of the 1986 Bylaws. Only 15 more editions to find!

And, if anyone is wondering WHY I am collecting these? It's because people reference them. Before the last board meeting I had to look up various incarnations of specific clauses going back to 1992. I don't just collect them for the sake of having them, we use them...but collecting is fun too ;)

May Long Weekend Report

My first full, no-work weekend. It was so nice. Really relaxing and wonderful. Friday I just puttered around. I ran some errands, hung out at home and mostly just enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Saturday I met mom at the Farmers' Market in the morning for a pancake breakfast. It was the official kick off for the season and they couldn't have ordered better weather. It was beautiful out!

That afternoon I went to the wedding ceremony of a girl I worked with at NR. It was really nice and I am so happy for them.

Sunday after church Mom, Dad and I went out to the Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair. We didn't actually go to the rodeo part because it's an extra charge over and above your gate admission. We did browse all the booths and exhibits though. I didn't take any pictures at all. Can you believe it? There was just nothing photo worthy. I could have filled a scrapbook with pictures of sunburnt people though. I haven't seen so much red skin in a long time.

After the fair we drove into White Rock and walked along the water for awhile before stopping for some fish and chips.

Monday morning was a statutory holiday (Victoria Day). I was up at 5:30 (there's something wrong with that!) and I drove into the Vancouver airport with Meredith's parents to pick her up. She's here from Australia for awhile. When we got back I went home and went back to bed for awhile. Then I puttered around (tidied my house, scrapbooked, checked emails etc) before joining Mere and her family for dinner.

So that was my long weekend. Quiet and relaxed just like it should be.

My brothers made the trip up to where my extended family (Dad's siblings and their kids) were having a reunion. No one was expecting Seth and Robert and they said when they walked into the hall everyone went quiet for a moment until they realized who they were. The boys haven't seen that side of the family since my Grandfather's funeral a few years ago. They had a nice time and I'm glad they were ready to go.

Today the weather is miserable. There was thunder and lighting so loud this morning that it woke me up and I thought for sure we were having an earthquake. It scared me so bad. It's supposed to get nicer later in the week but right now I'm back at work so it's not that big a deal.

Word of the day #36: petulant

pet·u·lant

Audio Help /ˈpɛtʃələnt/ [pech-uh-luhnt]
–adjective
moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, esp. over some trifling annoyance: a petulant toss of the head.

[Origin: 1590–1600; < L petulant- (s. of petulāns) impudent, akin to petere to seek, head for] —Related forms
pet·u·lant·ly, adverb
—Synonyms irritable, peevish, fretful, pettish, touchy.

I used this in a sentence the other day and then realized that I didn't know if it was really the right word. I looked it up and it was *perfect*.

"Her attitude is petulant. Don't let it bother you."

Yeah me! My vocabulary is better than I though! LOL

Update

So the most exciting part of my weekend was the Alan Jackson concert but that's not all that happened. Let's see, Thursday was the board meeting followed by a dinner in the hotel. I was up until 11:30 drinking with my Directors. Fun but then it's hard to fall asleep.

Friday I didn't have any trouble getting up but by the time the meeting was over I was exhausted. I was home by 3ish which was good. I laid down for a bit but I still couldn't sleep. I ended up going over to my parents house and having pizza for dinnner with them.

Saturday was my last day at the store. It was a good shift. I had great sales and we had a contest going so I got some free clothes. It was a nice parting gift. I turned the keys in as well so I am officially finished. I'm happy with that decision too.

Saturday night was the concert.

Sunday after church we had a catered Mother's Day dinner at the church which was really nice. Then I went home and tidied up a bit and then just scrapbooked all evening. It was nice and relaxing.

Get this though, this is my schedule for the coming week.

Monday - Nothing
Tuesday - Nothing
Wednesday - Church
Thursay - Nothing
Friday - Nothing!!!

I'm so excited! LOL This coming weekend is the Victoria Day long weekend and it promises to be busy but I am loving not having to work when I get home from work and not having any other obligations.

Alan Jackson

Nothing like a last minute decision. Doc Walker was scheduled to come to town this coming Wednesday. This is the second time they've been scheduled and it's cancelled. It sucks big time but what can you do? Friday night I was at Mom & Dad's after the board meeting and I casually asked Mom if she would be interested in seeing Alan Jackson in concert. She seemed open to the idea. We asked my dad and he flatly refused (the concert scene is SO not his thing) So, Saturday morning before my last shift at the store, I returned my Doc Walker ticket and purchased two for Alan Jackson. That concert was Saturday night! I can safely say that I have NEVER bought tickets to a big event, the day of but I am SO glad I did.

I've been trying to be all fiscally responsible lately. Picking and chosing my concerts (because they are my biggest weakness) and only going to the ones I really wanted to see, or the ones that are cheaper. That's what I learned in Texas. Go for local musicians. You get a great show for half the price. I had talked myself out of seeing Alan because I just went to the Deric Ruttan show and Doc Walker was supposed to be on Wednesday. Plus Alan's opening acts were Johnny Reid (who I'm not a huge fan of) and Miranda Lambert (who opened for Dierks in Everett. I like her but I don't LOVE her. Once would have been enough).

Anyways, we drove in and stopped for a high class meal at Ikea on the way. Hey, it's good food and it's cheap! :) When we arrived at the Pacific Coliseum "The Johnny" (as they like to call him on CMT) was already on stage. We must not have missed too many of his songs because we were able to hear him sing quite a few including "Darlin'" (my personal favourite) and "Thank You". Thank You is a song that I don't particularly like but I have to admit, listening to those lyrics with my mom there beside me, I cried :)

One of the drawbacks of buying tickets at the last minute is that all the good seats are gone. We were WAY up in the nosebleed section but, it wasn't really that bad. I was further away when I saw Kenny at Qwest! I did employ my not-so-wonderful-digital-zoom but I also limited the number of photos I took. Especially during Miranda's set. I only have a couple of her.

It was really interesting to see Miranda again. It's been what, 14 months since I saw her last? Well in that time I can definitely see a progression in her performance. She seems a lot more comfortable on stage and in her skin. Mom and I both thought that she could have dressed better (her outfit was pretty blah) but she looked good. Very subtle make up and I didn't think she did as much head banging as last time. I was comparing concert notes with my co-worker this morning and she said she definitely wasn't impressed with Miranda. I guess I knew what to expect so she didn't bother me that much. She is more of a "rocker" though and I just think she's fun.
She sang all of her singles like "Kerosene", "New Strings", "Famous in a Small Town", "Gunpowder & Lead" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", which she explained was dedicated to bringing attention to domestic abuse.

She also sang my personal favourite "Dry Town", as well as "What About Georgia" and acoustic "Desperation" and a fantastic version of "I Can't Be Bothered" which she introduced as "real country".

This is Mom and I waiting for Alan to come on stage :)
And this is the countdown for the last two minutes.

After I saw George Strait in 2005 I made a mental list of the top five acts that I wanted to see live. George and Dierks topped that list. Next was Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney and lastly Alan Jackson. I confess though, I hadn't heard great things about his live show so I didn't *really* try to get tickets. I am SO glad that I did though (even if I did leave it to the last minute) and I encourage anyone who is even slightly a fan of his music, to attend a show if you can. He is a VERY "low key" entertainer but he has a way of drawing you in and really engaging the audience. My coworker said it was because he opens the show with pictures from the "Jackson Family Album" so you really feel like you know him. I'm not positive how he does it but he does it well. I think it comes from being Hall of Fame maaterial and in that "superstar" category. He just has "it". I didn't time his set list but it went by fast. He has fine tuned the art of balancing up tempo songs with ballads and giving both their due. The up tempo songs are a blast but the ballads still get the reverence they deserve. He opened with Gone Country and, in no particular order, sang:
- I Don't Even Know Your Name
- Chasin' That Neon Rainbow
- Livin' On Love
- A Woman's Love
- Little Bitty (Mom's favourite)
- Small Town Southern Man
- Love's Got a Hold on You
- Good Time (the new single)
- Like Red on a Rose
- Pop a Top
- It's Five O'clock Somewhere
- Don't Rock the Jukebox
- Remember When
- Drive
- Chatahootche

For most of the songs he had either snippets of the music videos playing, or other images that reflected the themes of the songs. During "Little Bitty" the camera focused in on children in the crowd. It was so sweet.
He closed with "Where I Come From" and they played a montage of "Vancouver Views". They had shots of everything from Science World and Stanley Park to local theatres, eateries, construction workers, army personnel, hockey teams and many images of the flag. He got a huge response and rightly so. It was pretty cool that a "Small Town Southern Man" like Alan could make ME feel patriotic :)

For an encore he sang "Mercury Blues" and then signed probably two dozen cowboy hats and shirts from the stage. His last number was "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning). The simple image of the candles flickering on the screens was really impactful.

All in all, the concert was amazing. I am so glad I didn't pass up this chance. I asked Mom what she thought (since this was her first major concert) and she said "It was fun. He did a great job. I don't think I'd want to make a habit of going to something like this though." Not making a habit of it was referring more to being around some of the people that make concert experiences NOT as fun. We witnessed a drunken brawl during one set change and we were treated to some nasty cigar smoke. Plus there was the regular issues of people standing up and dancing when the people behind them want to sit. It's par for the course though. I've gotten to the place where I can block it out but yeah, it can be a pain. Anyways, I'm glad we went. I'm glad I could share it with her. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Wordy Wednesday

The calendar says it's Wednesday. I'm not exactly sure how it got to be Wednesday already but my co-workers assure me that the calendar is right. So, what have I been up to lately? Here's a quick run down.

Thursday, May 1st
I had in my planner that I was scheduled to work at the store so after a mind-numbing day of filing with my boss, I ran home, at a quick dinner and arrived at the mall to find two of my co-workers looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"Uh...am I not on tonight?"

"No, your on tomorrow"

"Oh, uh, okay then"

So I wandered around the mall for awhile, went to the library and then went home and vegged.

Friday, May 2nd
I did work at the store. Busy night...until 8pm when traffic absolutely died. I had lots to do though so the shift flew by.

Saturday, May 3rd
Leisurely morning at home. I slept in to after 10am. When I got up I took my time getting ready and having breakfast and then I called my mom and we went for a drive. Stopped in at Terri's Croptoberfest to say hi. Visited a used book store that I kept meaning to go to when I worked out there and finally was able to locate. It's really neat. Stuffed full of books and other neat things. We found a couple of books to complete some of the series that Mom is collecting too. Next stop was an LSS to check out their National Scrapbook Day sales. I walked out with two (TWO!) pieces of paper. I was very proud of me :D Last stop was another used bookstore where we found more books. It was fun.

Oh, I forgot our FIRST stop. At Zellars! A few weeks ago was Administrative Professionals Day (or whatever it's called now). Everyone in the office got $50 HBC gift cards. HBC (Hudson's Bay Company) means that they are good at The Bay (big Canadian department store like Sears), Zellars (like Target), Home Outfitters (like...what? Linen's and Things I guess) and another store.

Now, those of you who know me, know that I am the worst decision maker on the planet. Especially when it comes to spending gift cards. It's HARD. Do I buy something fun? Something useful? Something that is $50? Something more? Something for work? What do I want? What do I NEED? These are all the thoughts that I have to fight with when spending a gift card. (Don't get me wrong. I love them. Feel free to send them to me ;) But be aware that they'll send me into a state of mental gymnastics).

My wandering in the mall on Thursday mostly consisted of making my rounds in The Bay to see if there was anything there that I would want. I started in the clothing section.

"A nice new blazer for work would be good..." Didn't find any.

Shoes? None that I liked.

Purses? "LOVE this red one...it's FOSSIL...it's $200" Not going to happen.

Upstairs. Furniture...nothing for $50.

Electronics. Appliances. Kitchenware. Crystal. Pictures. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

So Saturday I dragged my wonderful mother to Zellars. Same deal. New bedding? Nope. They only have horrid colours. Kitchen stuff? Nothing I NEED (this was right after I had picked up the microwave so I was feeling pretty good on the kitchen front). Foot stools? End tables? Nothing I liked. All of a sudden, BRAINWAVE! LUGGAGE I NEED luggage. I WANT luggage. Can I find a decent set for $50ish? First one? $200. Next? $150 for a set. Deeper and deeper into the jungle that is the luggage section of Zellars.
Do you KNOW how many different kinds of bags there are? Black, blue, red, green, black, purple, camo, orange, black and on and on. I was down on my knees looking at one set when a kindly older gentleman drew my attention to a sale set. I think he regretted it afterwards because I pounced. It's awesome (I took a picture for you) 60% off so it was EXACTLY $50. Teal (not black!) And, four pieces. Probably not super awesome quality but it will be sufficient for the amount of travelling I do. Isn't it pretty? :D

That was pretty much the best part of my weekend. Saturday night was bible study which rocked as always.

Sunday, May 4th
Church in the morning. Lunch with friends afterwards. Then I went to Mom & Dad's typed up minutes for the committee I volunteer on and then we went for a walk. I got a nasty blister from that but it was nice to be outside anyways.
I went home and tried to clean one of my tables off...three hours and six cards later I had a bigger mess then when I started!

Monday, May 5th
We were supposed to start the day with a conference call but it got postponed.
Worked on board meeting prep all day.
Stayed home that night. Actually got that table cleared off! Now I don't have to eat on the couch anymore :D

Tuesday, May 6th
Had that conference call. Got really stressed out about the board meeting. Ended up staying an hour later to get prepared.
Mom came over and dropped off/picked up some stuff and stayed and chatted for awhile.
Took a bath, went to bed early.

There. You're up to date on my life :) Hopefully I'll have something more interesting than luggage to report on in the future.