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Keeping It Surreal .............. << previous // next >>
I added a new feature for this online diary. The menu at the left now offers an option, which allows you to view a random entry just by clicking on the link. I hope that you will find it somewhat amusing. I used it a few times already just to make sure that it was working alright and I was a bit embarrassed by some of my old entries that popped up, but oh well. That's what this diary is for, right? No, it's not here to embarrass me (although...sometimes it does just that...hehe). It's here to display my thoughts on the internet in a raw format, captured like a polaroid photograph in time, for all to see. Everyone is embarrassed about something they did in the past and it's normal. What's abnormal is flaunting your embarrassment around like soiled underwear. That's what I do with this, I suppose...and who knew that so many people would like my soiled underwear...haha... Today in the mail, I received my limited edition copy of Emm Gryner's newest 2005 album entitled "The Great Lakes." The CD has eleven tracks, all of which I love. She really has a knack for writing catchy tunes that emote. Mix that with her talent (writing, vocal, instrumental) and her indie music status....and what do you get? You get substantial (not mainstream) music from an artist of quality. "The Great Lakes" is a special homemade album (crafted entirely by Emm Gryner herself) that isn't available in stores. This collectible is also individually numbered, handstamped, personalized for the recipient, and autographed by the artist. The CD booklet cover has an embossed picture of a tree and it was done by Emm herself. There are five sets of leaves stamped on my CD. My album is copy number 120 and I had pre-ordered it on the first day it was available to order from her website for $17 CDN (includes shipping and handling). One dollar from the sale of each album is donated to Lambton Wildlife. Lambton Wildlife Inc. is a non-profit, volunteer, naturalist organization, founded in 1966, and is dedicated to the conservation, preservation, and protection of the natural environment in Lambton County, Ontario. I wonder how many copies she had to make. I'm guessing it was in the thousands...Phew...what a lot of work to make each album by hand! This shows how much Emm cares for her fans. How many other celebrities do you know who will go that far? I can't think of any. The fourth of this month was Mike and my first year anniversary of being together as boyfriend and girlfriend. It's amazing how quickly a year goes by when you're with someone who you are crazy about and who is in turn crazy about you too. Together, we are keeping it surreal, with a cherry on top and maybe a Godiva truffle or two (for Mike's sake...or should I say addiction? Hehe...). Side note: Speaking about chocolates, I just ate a Baci chocolate. Inside the wrapper, there was a message that said, "Kisses are fond of blue - they prefer the night." O-kay...*gives a weird facial expression* Anyway, we went to the park where we had our first date and then we headed on over to The Keg. There, we had steaks that cause your mouth to water like Seligman's dogs did at the sound of a bell. So what have I been up to so far in September? I went to another job interview. This time it was for a human resources company and they are looking for a Project Assistant in the sales and marketing department. The job seems interesting, filled with many opportunities to advance within the organization, and is loaded with responsibilities. I am expecting to hear from the Account Manager either this week or next week. I went for the first interview in a three-stage interviewing process. Hopefully I will be called to go in for the next step. Last Friday I attended a job fair. Those attending had to pay $3.50. There were hundreds of company representatives at the booths. It was a bit frustrating when some of the representatives could not elaborate on the jobs available and they merely handed me a piece of paper with the company's website, telling me to check there for the details. What's the point of having representatives if all they're going to do is hand out flyers? It would have been more effective if the staff was more knowledgable about the internships offered. If I was an employee representing a company at a job fair, I would use a more personal approach. Of course I would mention the website to potential job-seekers (because it's a valuable resource), but I would talk to the people and find out what they're looking for in a career and why they are interested in the company. I would then explain a little bit about the company's history and what the company offers. This would not only help the job-seeker assess whether the organization and job are suitable, but it would also help the company determine general statistics about the interests of their prospective employees and clients. A personal, friendly approach is useful on either end of the job hunting process. At the job fair, I also got my résumé professionally assessed. I was given extremely good tips from a friendly woman and she thought that my résumé was well composed. I e-mailed her the day after because she said that she had a list of resources for networking that I might be interested in. She replied the same day and I was surprised that she remembered me. You see, the job fair was going on for two consecutive days. Thousands of people got their résumés assessed by her. In her e-mail, she said that I was a "breath of fresh air" and that made me feel pretty good about myself. It's always nice to receive pleasant comments from people you know and love, but when you get them from complete strangers, it elicits a different-but-equally-great feeling. She is a professional career coach and life coach. She sure does know how to spread the sunshine. I very much enjoyed talking to her at the job fair. When I was lining up for the assessment, I thought that it would be an impersonal event where the person just looks at your résumé and offers suggestions and that's that. She was personable and I asked her about how she came to be a career professional and if she was hiring anyone. You can learn a lot from and be inspired by others just by talking to them. Guess what? I bought one of the most fabulous brown suede, stiletto ankle boots. These babies are so comfortable and fit snugly. They look sophisticated when worn with pants. Normally I have such a tough time finding size 5 dress shoes and boots that have a narrow fit. It seems as though the trend is towards wide widths because most styles offer this option, but hardly any offer narrow widths. This is size discrimination!!! The boots cost about $115 and I got them from Feet First. I didn't measure the heels, but I'd say that they're about 3 inches or so. I never wore high heels much, except when I was in high school. At that time, I'd wear those funky-chunky shoes and platform boots daily....and my feet would of course kill by the end of the day. No shoe was worse though than my Grade 12 prom heels, which were about 5- or 6-inch stilettos and I wore them all day, dancing to music like a maniac, I'd like to add. The next day, I remember that I felt crippled, even though I was wearing my most comfortable Nike Air running shoes. The only thing uncomfortable about those shoes is that they were most likely made in a sweatshop and thus, contribute to the whole labour exploitation problem that so many companies (not just Nike) have. Still, the pain and beauty of the heels were worth the compliments I got. Plus, as much as I dislike gender stereotypes and clichés, that night, I felt like a princess in those shoes. Even the most anti-stereotype woman enjoys feeling like a princess every now and then. Sure, we want to kick ass and take names, but then sometimes we just want to be craddled in the arms of someone we love. Real women (and people in general) are all about contradictions. Love them or hate them, contradictions make us interesting. In a previous entry, I was complaining about my small stature and how clothing companies seem to ignore the short, skinny figure. Well, after much blood, sweat, tears, and draining of the ole piggy bank, I managed to find dress pants that fit me well. It's a miracle! There should be dancing in the streets, singing in the rain, or something! *Smirk* From Gap, I purchased a size one pair of chocolate brown pants on sale for $70 CDN. Normally it was $80. That was a fairly heavy price for that style of pants, but it fit me well and since that's such a rarity, I had to snag it before someone else did. If I lived in the United States, I could order plenty of size one or size zero pants in ankle length from the Gap's website, but alas they only allow items to be shipped and billed to the United States. Also, I asked my California-residing relatives if they could order some pants and I'd pay them back when I see them next time, however, they refused because they were wary of buying anything using their credit card online and potentially having their identity stolen by good-for-nothing hackers. That sucks...to say the least...because in the stores where I live, they only carry about ONE size zero or ONE size one in each style and once it's gone, it's gone for good. They don't re-order. In addition, some small sizes in certain styles are ONLY offered online, so you can't get them in the stores. This is annoying, since they carry lots of size sixteens. The other pair of pants I bought are very dressy and black, with subtle pink pinstripes. The waist is embellished with a pink satin ribbon sewn directly on. I got that from a department store and it was reasonably priced at $50 for a size zero. On Sunday I went to a Tristan & America store and found plenty of jewel-tone dress shirts that came in extra small sizes for a reasonable price. I bought one in black and one in grape ($25 each). I also bought a v-neck, figure-flattering sweater in azure and in lavender ($35 each). They are super comfy and sharp-looking. My boyfriend and I went shopping at a downtown mall and he ending up buying me the following: (1) Dark emerald green v-neck wool sweater - $25, (2) Shiny, satin-like, dark turquoise-coloured dress shirt that has vertical pleats for added interest all over - $40, and (3) Black dress pants for $25 in size one, short length, so I didn't even need to hem it! After this unexpected splurge and Mike's eye-popping, jaw-dropping experience when viewing his bank account balance, we decided that we're going to try to spend less money on going out and such. Maybe now we can actually check out the park more often together and get a regular workout routine going. For a while we did crunches together, but that didn't stick and then we got lazy...hehe. I'm going to try to start that up again. I wouldn't mind a 6-pack. *Smirk* My mother came home after attending some sort of convention. Some of the vendors gave out pens, paper, notepads, etc. The only one worth mentioning because of its creative marketing was by a company I am unfamiliar with, called Structured Cabling Systems. They gave out clear packages with licorice. The licorice took the form of a long spaghetti, coiled around like a cable. On the front of the package, there was a label, which said, "Have A Giga Bite & Taste The Future of Structured Cabling Systems." I thought that this was very clever. This is the type of witty advertising that consumers will remember. I ate the licorice and it was quite tasty and fun to eat (because it was a long, skinny strand). Haha, it would be awful if the licorice tasted like crap and people subconsciously associated awful-tasting licorice with the company. At the beginning of this month I got my hair cut. Before my hair hit my lower back, so yes, it was loooooooong and the ends were mega dry, not to mention that I was growing out my natural haircolour, because more than 2 years ago was the last time I had dyed my hair, but near the ends still showed the two-tones. I tried out a new salon and the hairdresser did a wonderful job. She cut my hair so that it now hits just below my shoulders. Since I have curly hair, she gave me layers all over and it really brings the springs of my curls to life. Mike was wary of the change before he saw the results, but afterwards, he said that it looked really good and that it is more stylish this way. He liked my old hairstyle too, but now he likes this one better. Now I don't have dry ends, so my hair looks a LOT healthier and it's way more manageable. Also, because I got a significant amount of hair lopped off, now I don't have the two-tone look AND I now have virgin hair (meaning that not a single hair on my head is dyed). I'm ecstatic about this! I don't want to ever dye my hair again. I've been a redhead. I've been a brunette. I've had highlights and lowlights before. I never want to be a blond. I've now come to the point in my life where I'm accepting my natural colour. Dying my hair was a time-consuming and costly affair (minus Thomas Crown). Now I'm saving time and money. Whenever I buy stuff for my hair now, it's mainly on either styling products or conditioning treatments that help maintain and improve the health of my hair. It's fabulous to be a born again hair virgin. I can't believe that I ever tried to hide my true colours. Even my boyfriend's mother asked if I dyed my hair because she could see some reddish highlights. When she learned that it was my natural colour and natural highlights, she said that many women spend lots of money in the salon to achieve that look. That comment made me feel really good...and a bit smug (hey, at least I admit it). Last week I missed the season premiere of Gilmore Girls, which is now in its sixth season. I couldn't believe it! That is my favourite show. Ever since it's been on television, Global showed it on Wednesdays. It appears that the new showtime is on TUESDAYS. I definitely WON'T miss it tonight. I need my Gilmore Girls fix like a smoker craves nicotine. I'm surprised that I didn't get hives after missing one episode....hehe, okay now I'm just being silly. Ohh...and I can hardly wait until September 27th rolls by because that's when the Season 4 dvd set for Gilmore Girls is out. Being the dedicated fan and a strong believer in promoting quality entertainment that I am, I have already pre-ordered not only season four, but also season FIVE. Yup, the season 5 dvd set is coming out in December 2005! Woo hoo, just in time for the holidays! *clicks heels together* *yodels* *checks temperature with a thermometer* Well, on that silly note, I'm going to sign off and say ta-ta for now! My next entry will be posted sometime in October, unless I feel the strong urge to embarrass myself again before then. *Smirk* Mary Shaw ~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-. SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: "Win the West" by Emm Gryner LAST FEW SONGS I LISTENED TO: + "Rock the Boat" by Aaliyah + "Angeltown" by Emm Gryner + "Imagine" by Jordis Unga + "American Woman" by J.D. Fortune + "Your Hand in Mine" by Explosions in the Sky + "Oh Baby I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain + "Celebrity Skin" by Hole + "Johnny Falls" by Hedley + "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé + "Love in a Trashcan" by The Raveonettes 
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Tuesday September 20th, 2005. - 8:10 PM