Earth Day inspired post

As I've been exploring my career options and choices, I've noticed a lot of push to the new "green" way of life, which I think is excellent. My father has always been fairly environmentally friendly and I think I inherited some of that from him. One place they have really started to look at the way they have been doing this is my targeted industry for my career, construction. In speaking with a local architect, one of the most important things for all members of the industry is to gain Leed AP certification. This is a rating system designed to rate buildings on their sustainability and impact on the environment and is quickly becoming the industry standard. I think it's impressive that the industry is now starting to take responsibility for the way we have been building for the last 100 + years.

The area that I think is really interesting is working to make current buildings (particularly homes) more energy efficient and self sustainable. The government has lots of incentives to improve your homes energy efficiency, money towards buying new toilets and other appliances, rebates on buying solar energy, wind and geothermal systems for your home, and free energy saving items from union gas. I've been considering attempting to open my own business to consult with home owners on what they could be doing to improve their home environment and of course do the drawings for work required, but that seems like a huge undertaking at this point, so maybe in a few years.

First real day of spring!!

I'm so excited, I just got back from my first outside run of the year!! It's a glorious day here in S.W. Ontario!! My little illness is gone, however most of my friends are sick so there will be no going out to play soccer like I had hoped, but it was a beautiful day for a run - and I just had to comment about it.

It's also really nice patio weather - so hopefull I'll be able to enjoy that fun past time in the next few days also!!

Feeling under the weather

Well I've finally come to accept the fact that I am a big whiner when I'm sick. For the past two days my stomach has felt a little off and all I can do is sit here and moan about it. Yesterday I did absolutely nothing, just lied on the couch and watched some movies, in the hopes that what ever was in my system, would get out. Unfortunately, hings didn't work out the way I planned. I woke up this morning feeling much better, but as I started to get going on my day, the good feeling didn't stay. I forced my self to get up and do the errons I was to finish yesterday, then went to the gym. By the time I finished my work out, my tummy was still grumbly and started to get worse. Both yesterday and today have been beautiful days here in Kitchener, and I had been planning all week to go for my first out door run of the season yesterday. Today I tried to make myself do it but all I could do was walk around the block as my tummy just kept rumbling.

The thing that worry's me the most about my little illness is that a) nothing helps, lying down doesn't make it better, walking, standing sitting - no, no, no! Taking antacid medication and asprin also don't make a difference. And b) I have absolutely no desire to eat!! What the heck is that all about. It's not that eating makes it any worse, but I just don't want to eat and I can always eat!!

Here's hoping this thing gets out of me, soon!!

Small things amuse small minds...

It's been almost 2 years since I wrote in my blog - but I figured, now is a good a time as any to start again! I've been out of work for the last month, and there are only so many video games you can play on your computer. Of course I should be applying to positions, or getting up the courage to do these new exciting informational interviews!! (can you feel the sarcasm) But I seem to be so much better and putting it off...

I have been trying to figure out the reason for not keeping up with my blog and I think the best thing that I can come up with, is that life just got in the way. There are so many things that I feel I should be doing in life, yet somehow, I still don't do them. But I also couldn't believe I had been writing on it for a year and then gave up. I've never been one to keep up these sort of things though. When ever I tried to do a diary as a child, I would write for about a week or two and then forget about it. Maybe it's just not my thing. But maybe i'll be able to write something once in a while and it will help me work though stuff as I go. We'll see how it all works out...

Delayed update on the Raptors game

It's like I almost forgot to write about the game... I think i will blame it on Facebook, I'm addicted... it's bad, but there are so many people on line... anyway
The game was really cool. We had a hard time finding our seats. We got to the ACC a little late so the game was pretty much started when we were looking for our seats and we couldn't hear the directions anyone was giving us.. but we made it eventually. They were box seats that Andrew won from work so we had a nice place to keep our bags and jackets and we hung out there a bit at half time but our server was kind of snotty. You could tell she wasn't impressed that we weren't going to spend a tonne of money but she'll get over it. It was a lot different then I expected. I assumed that all boxes were up higher but had a view right onto the court/field / ice, what ever you happened to be attending, but these ones were around the corner from the actual game but it was still very cool. The atmosphere was very, for lack of a better word, crazy. They really encourage ADD at these games, there's always something going on. Even when the game is on they are playing really loud music, not just when there is a stop in play like at hockey games, but during the game and there is dancers off in the corner, more people coaxing you to be jumping up and down in your seat, and of course the mascot running around encouraging you to Cheer. They game we went to see, Steven Cobegale was there to taunt raptor so it was fun to watch the two of them goof around. Raptor actually tacked Steven at one point and I thought it was hilarious!!!
So anyway the raptors won and it was a good game to watch, Chris Bosch is AMAZING!! I was smart and parked at Yorkdale and took the subway to and from the ACC, saved a lot of frustration in traffic, but it was still a sea of people walking to the subway station.
So that is my game update... just for all you facebook folks, I've put pictures from my England trip up on my page, it was way easier then flicker, so go take a look at em!

My how time flys

I realized the other day it's been quite a while since I last blog ed, but what exactly have I been doing that I haven't been able to take a half hour a week just to jot something down. I can't even say I've been working on my scrapbook of my trip, or organizing my pictures, because I haven't. I know it took me a good week to get back into the swing of things. I was pretty much useless at work for that whole first week I was back. That weekend I had some funny bug thing and wasn't feeling well and last week, well last week just flew by me apparently.
So what has happened in the last three weeks, well I did get my scrapbook started, got to see my parents and siblings, my mom also came down to KW to visit me and we did some shopping and I also got to visit some friends.
I have also had to deal with a lot of soccer crap, we thought we had the team settled then the "captain" changed everything that had been discussed so we've now decided to create our own team and that way we get to play with who we want to which will be good. It's really been more of a hassle for Andrew then for me but I have had to deal with a bit of it to so it has taken up my time also.
This past weekend I went out in London for the first time since I moved to KW a year and a half ago. I went to a pub to watch my friend play in his band and ran into some people I used to work with so that was fun. My friend Steph, her boyfriend Jer (the people who came with me to the bar) also went to check out Jer's old band in downtown London. Steph and I used to go to the same bar every Friday night to watch the guys play. It was fun to see them again! We didn't get back to Steph and Jer's house till about 3 which both Steph and I were amazed at since we are such old ladies and used to going to bed at about 10 at night. We had a really good time though!!
In work news I'm switching departments again, and going to the Housewares side of the world as of April 1st. I'm a little nervous because it's a much bigger department then my tiny bath one but also all the stock that comes in to the department is VERY heavy, but at least I'll be getting good work out.
Some more exciting news, Andrew won tickets from work to a Raptors game tomorrow night. We have to rush after he's done work (I'm off for the day) to get to the game on time but we get to sit in the Manulife VIP box seats which will be and interesting experience for sure, even thought neither of us are really in t Basketball. I'm sure we'll have a good time though!!
I'll update you all on the excitement of the game on the weekend!!

Coming back... to a big storm!

I'm back, I made it safe and sound!
It was a very good trip but it was nice to be home and sleep in my own bed, use my own shower and have clean clothes!!!!
It was very different atmosphere at the Gatwick Airport as compared to Pearson. It could have been the simple fact that we left Toronto at 11pm and I was tring to leave London at 10 in the morning, but there was a half hour line up to get thought the pre-boarding screening. The Duty Free Shop is pretty different too though. It was like a huge mall in London where as in Toronto it was a bunch of little stores and they were all seperated and you had a ways to walk between them. One constistant thing is how over priced everything is in the airport. I paid one pound 35 pence for a 750ml bottle of water that in the city cost me one pound and in some small towns I could pick it up for 75p!
I had a small scare just before I got on the plane, as I was walking, taking my time and enjoying the scenery, to board my plane, i looked up at one of the screens and somehow it had already got to last boarding call even thought it was 45 min away. Of course I don't know how it works and figured they could easily leave without me which would so not be cool. I tried to rush but of course at that time all the old people in the world decided they should be walking slowly in front of me. I made it on to the plane and didn't have to rush at all becase we even held up for 10 extra minutes, waiting for other passengers.
I ended up sharing a 3 seat section with just one other lady so we both had alot of space. It was a very comfortable flight and i got some sleep in between watching "Stranger then Fiction" the first inflight movie. I even ended up crying at it and felt like a big losser but anyway.
When we landed the weather looked like CRAP. There was snow all over the terminal, from what I could see anyway, I was hunching myself over and trying to plug my ears because i get really bad pain when landing because of the air pressure.
I was out of customs and everything by 2 and give my friend Caity a call cus she was picking me up at the air port. She had Andrew with her and they had left Kitchener at 1:15 and when I talked to them they were just in Guelph, it took them an hour and a half to get out of the city!!
I spent the next four hours just waiting at the airport. It was interesting for the first bit, but them people started geting on my nerves. I tried to move around a bit so I could get annoyed by different people every 5 min instead of listening to the same person over and over again.
They finally made it at 6 and we headed back on to the 401. We took a break at Dixie road and almost decied to stay over night because we didn't want another 5 hour drive but after our stop it was much better.
It was very weird to come back to all this snow... this is what my car looked like.
Not fun after not having to deal with snow for two weeks... aw well welcome to CANADA!

I've also uploaded some of my pictures on to Flickr but haven't really taken time to organize them or anything yet... but it's a preview for you.
I'm not sure how to have the link set up but here is the website if you want to take a peek
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7144587@N02/