"Verbal" Letter to Roof Man

Dear Roof Man,

Where have you gone?  I thought we had something special.  You fixing and fiddling with wires, me sitting in my cozy office chair watching you out the window.  We had a connection, or so I thought, that day you almost made eye contact with me.  My world just seems so obscure and lonely without you.  Please return to your roof Roof Man and entertain me during the slow times at work.

Regards,

Shannon

You Are So Wonderful To Me

In the past to weeks, working at my new job, moving out of our apartment and trying to settle into our parents’ houses… things have been a bit hectic.  I, as I often tend to do, have been stressed to the max and tired.  I never thought I could be more tired from working in an office all day, sitting down, than when I was on my feet all day in retail.  But I come home exhausted.  The commute is a new adjustment for me too- I’ve never worked this far, nor have I ever had to experience the joys of rush hour traffic.  (FYI if you are in a car near me when I am commuting- stay away and don’t drive like a fool- I may yell at you, flash you some hand gesture or just scream loudly in my car and probably look like a lunatic.

Anyhow, Brandon has been great.  It’s a good thing we both aren’t panic people, or there’d be no one to bring us back from the edge.  Last week, he made my lunch (and breakfast) before I left for work.  He didn’t work that day and still got up to ensure I had something to eat.  He packed up pizza from the night before and it had a few toppings I am not a fan of- which I generally take off before consuming.  When I opened my lunch, expecting to massacre the toppings, they were already gone.  Brandon had taken each topping off both slices of pizza for me!  Incredibly thoughtful.

Earlier this week, Brandon was using my car while I was at work (I carpool) and in the mid-afternoon he texted me and said “do you know what I’m doing right now?” and I assumed it was something to do with my super secretive birthday gift/event that he’s been teasing and harassing me with for almost a month now, so I responded back with some quip about my birthday gift.  Nope.  He was cleaning my car!  Not just removing the garbage… he full out cleaned it.  Removed garbage and random crap that has accumulated in my car over the past…um… year, maybe.  He vacuumed the carpets, dusted off the mats, cleaned the dash, cupholders and doors.  The car looks great (well as great as a 2001 Saturn can look…)

It’s these little things people often look over and don’t appreciate in life, and both these gestures made me so happy and appreciate just how wonderful my boyfriend really is!

Lewis Vatton

As I was walking through the mall which connects to my office building today, I saw a woman coming from the subway doors dragging her Louis Vuitton roller suitcase.  Something like this picture here- sans small annoying dog carrier.

denimology.com

 I'd like to make a few notes on this sighting.

Why do people pay upwards of $2000 for a suitcase just because it has the name and symbol of Louis Vuitton?  I'm not against all brand names, it just seems excessive for a piece of luggage which will ultimately be hastily thrown into the undercarriage of the airplane.  Have you seen those guys just whip your bag off their elongated golf cart into the airplane?  They don't care if that bag is Louis Vuitton or Walmart's George brand! 
Assuming, however, this woman did not come from a plane, why would you take it on the dirty subway of Toronto?  People aren't impressed.
Finally, as this obviously high class woman was walking through the mall with panache and her $2000 bag, the wheel caught on something and it looked like it broke. ....  I don't always wish strangers ill will.  OK, maybe more often than I should.  But really... this woman wanted to be noticed (and I guess it worked) and she wanted to be seen with her "high class" bag and for what, people to envy her?  Not gonna happen from this gal right here.  So when I saw her wheel broke, I snickered... as quietly as possible, but I think it was louder than intended.

All of this to say, I have decided to name my navy blue Bently plain old boring suitcase, Lewis Vatton in memory of that woman's poor, way too expensive bag which today lost it's wheel.

Lewis and I must now find a place to go, so I can request that Brandon refer to him by his given name- Lewis!

Eco Econ: eos Lip Balm

I saw this product many times before I actually picked one up for myself.  It always caught my eye because of it's egg-shaped container packaging and bright colours.  It was cute and stylish.  And I wanted to know what it was.  But it was always sealed.

 

Our bookstore, Chapters, tends to sell some more organic and natural items in their "home" type sections, and the eos lip balm kept staring back at me.  Finally, I read up on it and thought that I, the self proclaimed eco-warrior I am, should give it a go.

Product: eos summer fruit lip balm
Price: $6.00 CND
Location Purchased: Chapters Bookstore
Verdict: While I enjoy the fact that it is 100% natural and 95% organic, the price was my first hangup.  I can go to the local WalMart and buy 2 lip balms in a package of regular sized tubes for around $3-$5, this little egg (which seems to have a lot of product in it, mind you) cost me $6.  I think I've mentioned before, I'm a bit on the frugal side, so this purchase was hard to swallow.  But I figured, if it was a good product I wouldn't mind paying for it, and if it wasn't, well, a good learning experience- and something to blog about.
And so far, I'd say it turned out to be a good purchase.  I've been using it just a month or so now, and I still enjoy the packaging, the smell is scrumptious and the actual lip balm is good.  I won't say great, but good.  It nicely moisturizes my lips and keeps them soft.  My only criticism would be that I would prefer it had a bit more of a gloss sheen to it.  I know it isn't marketed as a lip gloss, but I feel like for $6 having some gloss would make it a worthwhile double duty product.  Then again, I'm sure adding a gloss to it would probably alter the 100% natural, 95% organic claim.
My final comment, is that while I adore the packaging of cute egg shape I worry that if I were out and about and had no purse, side satchel or any other kind of carrying bag- the round shape would make it more difficult to place in my pocket.  Not a deal breaker though. Just checking out their website, a few of the flavours come in stick form.  Not as cute, but practical. Good compromise, if needed.
Now, I'll just wait to see how long it lasts.  I am what I would consider an average to heavier user of lip balms, especially in colder and drier months.  If it lasts for me longer than a typical lip balm I may increase the rating and purchase another.

Final Rating: 7/10

The Uneventful Work Week

I've started at my new job as a recruitment sourcer however, official training didn't begin until this week. So last week I was shadowing and doing self directed learning by basically reading job descriptions and finding definitions of the obscure IT terms on Google. Needless to say, it was less than enthralling.

Somehow, I was lucky enough to be given a window desk seat. That's like not requesting a window seat on an airplane and being given one anyway. Jackpot!

Thankfully, this window has provided me many minutes, possibly up to an hour, of mindless staring entertainment. Let me introduce to you: Roof Man! He's a normal man who comes up onto the roof of the adjacent building and fiddles. Not musically. Physically- with wires and cords and such. He goes up a couple times a day and moves around some wires, pulls on them (he must be checking their strength) and returns back inside the building. The other day he brought a friend up to help him.

This is he only picture I've been able to capture of Roof Man:

He's quick- in and out. So it's tough to get a good photo of the elusive Roof Man. I can only assume he must be doing something of importance but I really can't be sure. I'll keep you posted.

Also, yesterday, a lonely yellow balloon floated past my window :) it was lovely... though it is ultimately going to pollute our environment, it was a nice surprise to my otherwise boring day.

The Hourglass (or pinwheel for me)

Otherwise known as: The Delayed Response

By now, of you're an avid reader, you know Brandon plays World of Warcraft (whether or not this makes him a "wieney" or not is still an ongoing debate).  There are many times I am patiently being a wonderful girlfriend and occupying my time (Internet-less at his parents' house- as they have no wifi) reading books, playing with the dogs, doing laundry and often times just bugging him like the inner 10 year old I am.

I'll begin with a story of some kind, or maybe a question: "what plans do we have for the day?" for example.

Silence.

"Hmmm ok", I think, "he must not have heard me".  So I ask again, "do we have anything planned for today?  Anything you need to do?".

Silence.

Now I know, it's not that he isn't hearing me, it's more that he isn't listening to me.  Because he is so involved with Orcs, goblins, quests, spells, auctions and winning "Toblerone" (unfortunately NOT the chocolatey treat).  So I wait.  I try to occupy myself in some way.  Fast forward between 30 seconds to 4 minutes.

"what? oh. ya. we have to go grocery shopping" the mumbled, gurgley voice of Brandon who hasn't spoken in hours, finally speaks and somehow remembers my question and answers it.  So now, I just try to ask my questions 30 seconds- 4 minutes ahead of time. Ahhh, you see I'm learning!

A memorable scene from a favourite show of mine, "The Big Bang Theory" demonstrates the above scenario perfectly, and proves it's not just Brandon.

What's Going On?

In at least one of my recent posts, I've alluded to some drastic changes that Brandon and I are experiencing and I haven't had time (and still don't really) to fill you in. 

We're Moving!

Although our lease technically isn't complete yet, with Brandon working and living back in his home town, and me living here it's been tough to see each other, care for our dogs in separate houses and organize our lives.  So, we made the decision to....gulp... move back in with our parents temporarily.  Why?  To save up the money we've been spending on rent, and put it towards a down payment on a home of our own.  Yay!  Home ownership!  I've been ready to buy a house for years, and 4 years ago I was in the process of beginning my home search.  Then I decided to go back to school and paying for school and house just wasn't feasible for me.  I'm very excited to begin looking for our first home, though I think it makes Brandon a bit nervous.  (I always see those couples on HGTV and laugh- now it's me and my guy in the same position)

We're definitely going to be looking for a home that has income property potential, preferably already completed with minor renos or updates required.  His dad is a handy man in regards to house improvements, so I'm sure we can enlist his help and education.  I would love if we could be on "Income Property" with Scott McGillvray from HGTV (yes I love that channel), so maybe once we have our down payment all stored up I'll go ahead and apply (much to Brandon's chagrin).

I got a new job!

Goodbye telecommunications company, various shift-work retail world and crappy boss.  Hello full-time 9-5, office job with fun, professional people who actually enjoy working.  What?  Yup- they all get along and enjoy working together.  It's only my second day and I have a company cell phone, a desk with a window, all the free office supplies I could need (and an inside relationship to the office administrator who orders said office supplies), and tomorrow is a paid for team lunch.  It's nice to be in a fun environment where people want to be and work together.  Still lots to learn and people to get to know, but it's refreshing to be outside of a uniform and have my own responsibilities and area.  Oh- I didn't even mention what I will be doing: I'm a recruitment sourcer.  Yay!  Let me know if you need a job.  Though I mostly work with the large banks of Canada.

Needless to say, there's a lot going on with Brandon not living here right now, working a new job and commuting a bit farther than I have been, making all the meals, packing the entire apartment up, organizing what boxes we will open when we move home and which ones will stay packed until we buy our place, plus cleaning everything before the new tenants move in.  It's hectic to say the least and it's a tad stressful.  But Brandon calms me down and tells me it will work out.


We're busy little beavers here.