Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
In the past couple years it feels like Camps have been getting kindof out of control. Started by Foo Camp, then Bar Camp, there are now X Camps going on seemingly every weekend in cities all around the world. And now there are camps for almost everything you can think of. Transit Camp. Change Camp. … Continue reading You say Camp! I say, well, this…
As a marketing professional, I try to be responsible and pay attention to other people’s marketing efforts. And I’m often stymied by what passes as good marketing these days. I just have to vent about a couple examples of prime marketing stupidity from two companies that I really thought knew better: Example One: Lululemon I … Continue reading Two Birds, One Stone
That’s it. I fucking hate weddings. Everything to do with weddings.
I told Neil the other night that I don’t want to get married any more, because I don’t feel good about it. I feel like a miserable hag who has no time to be awesome after dealing with shitstorms at just about every angle.
This of course is not true – I definitely want to marry that man – I’d just rather elope at this point.
Apparently, when one is getting married, she is expected to put her life on hold to execute it. And I do emphasize “she.” Neil has a bunch of wedding-related things on his plate as well, but everyone seems to want to talk to me. Or they keep asking me if I’ve “checked up on him” with little disapproving “tut tut” noises. As if I’m partnering myself with a four-year-old who needs to be reminded to brush his teeth, and then examined for tooth cleanliness as well as breath, because he may have just smeared his tongue with toothpaste instead of actually brushing.
For the record, we check in on each other. We both have a shit-ton of responsibilities (both wedding-related and non-) that need to be met in order to keep our lives running.
Anyhow, I digress….
Putting one’s life on hold to plan a wedding is the most ridiculous fucking idea I’ve ever heard. It’s not a fucking coronation, it’s a goddamn dinner party. The end. Considering that for work I can plan half-a-dozen major events with 6-figure budgets at once, a girl should be able to plan one measly 5-figure wedding and still have time for reasonable amounts of work, play and sleep. Not so much.
I’m just so pissed off at this point in the myriad ways I’ve been jerked around and how a bunch of things are self-destructing, that I need to vent for a bit (apologies to those whose RSS reader just exploded – for the rest of you, rambling ranting vent below the cut)…
Continue reading “Affianced = Please jerk me around, I deserve it.”
One of my favourite features of the Nike+iPod setup is the Powersong. It’s a simple concept – pick a song that pumps you up, gets you going, gets the mojo flowing, renews your energy. Program that song into your iPod nano as your Powersong. When you’re lagging and need a boost, you hold down the … Continue reading Powersong
So this running thing, it is still going pretty well. I am only one run away from completing Week 3 of the Couch to 5K program. Of course, this is about where I stalled on Week 2, three times over. One run left to do, and can’t be arsed to bother. Something comes up (or … Continue reading Runaway
Man, when things happen in the “new condo construction” world, they happen fast. It doesn’t help that despite having to solicit the services of “experts” to make this thing happen (mortgage advisors, lawyers, etc.) they all expect us to tell them what exactly is going on. I suppose that in any other real-estate transaction, “us” … Continue reading Movin’ on Up
Here’s one for my colleagues in the marketing industry: I know with Web 2.0 everyone’s drinking the dynamic web kool-aid. (Frankly, the success of the business I work for depends on it.) We all want fancy sites with live demos and streaming this and interactive that. But for the love of pete, please don’t kill … Continue reading Give me back my Static
At the beginning of September, my latest contract with Telus finally came to an end and I made the switch to Rogers. None of the mobile phone providers here actually offer what I’d call “good” rates on voice or data packages in the range I’m using, so my decision to go with Rogers was made … Continue reading Phone-y
Edited April 21, 2009 for The Big Wild‘s Singing in the Rain contest. Oh there was rain all right. Record-breaking rain. And that was the least of our troubles! So Neil and I went on a canoeing/camping trip. Oh my holy hell. Honestly, I had a good time – but I’m not particularly pleased with: … Continue reading Shitstorm
You can’t imagine how unbelievably sad I am to be writing this entry. Ending any relationship is hard, but this one meant more to me than most. It’s seen me through so much, been with me through good times and bad, and its warm, comforting embrace has been the one constant I’ve had to rely … Continue reading End of an Era
A letter I just submitted through Chapters’ online Customer Service form: ——————————————————————– I am completely and utterly disappointed by the way the Harry Potter release “delivery day shipment” was handled. I’m not sure whether it was an issue with Chapters, or with Canada Post, but my order was NOT delivered today, Saturday July 21st by … Continue reading Harried
I only wish I were talking about Neil’s stanky running shirt again. Despite the fact that it had only been 3 days long, this week has been exceedingly busy for me. I’ve had 4 interviews in 3 days and managed to pick up a freelance project. Combine that with an evening volunteering, the sudden heat … Continue reading Odiferous
Further Proof that HR people (or whoever’s doing the job posting these days) don’t have a damn clue: I’m checking out what I missed on various job sites in the past few days, and discovered something pretty odd. There’s one site that lists jobs under “Internship,” “Entry-Level,” “Mid to Senior-Level,” and “Executive.” I like checking … Continue reading Effed Up
While there haven’t been any other exciting or noteworthy developments on the wedding planning front (not that I could share much anyway, or I’ll give away the whole evening to guests who may read this), I did have my first encounter with the “Wedding Machine” the other day. Wedding Machine? It’s the phenomenon that dictates … Continue reading Money Money Money
Our true friends are those who are with us when the good things happen. They cheer us on and are pleased by our triumphs. False friends only appear at difficult times, with their sad, supportive faces, when, in fact, our suffering is serving to console them for their miserable lives. ~Paulo Coelho It’s no secret … Continue reading My So-Called Life