Happy Anniversary

Yesterday Vince & I celebrated our very first wedding anniversary. Vince planned the evening and it was a complete surprise. He had a limousine pick us up. We had champagne in the back seat on our way to The Keg. There we had supper (after which I was sure I wouldn't be able to eat for a week! LOL), and afterwards, just for fun, we had the limo take us to Tim Horton's for coffee LOL. We attracted a few stares from the people in Tim Horton's... it was amusing :) We got some pictures but I didn't get around to downloading them last night so I'll put them up on facebook in the next few days.

Unfortunately Vince has a bad sinus cold right now so he wasn't having as much fun last night as he normally would have. I suspect I am getting his cold too so I'm on Cold FX trying to fight it.

We decided to alternate planning of anniversary dinners every year so next year is mine. I don't want to try and outdo Vince so I'm thinking of trying something a little different. At first I thought a hot air balloon ride but Vince isn't into heights so I think that would be more scary than fun for him LOL. Then I thought since he loves hockey so much we could go to a playoffs game but unless it's in Calgary (and then good luck getting tickets!) we'd have to fly there which Vince won't do. So I'm leaning towards a romantic picnic but I'll need a contingency plan in case of bad weather. Any other suggestions for anniversary celebrations? I am taking suggestions for the next 364 days LOL.

Seriously, how hard is it to be polite?

Yesterday Vince & I were walking into Tim Hortons. He reached the door first and held it open for me but as I was about to walk through 2 women walked out of the same door chatting with each other but didn't say thank-you to Vince for holding the door open for them. This is my absolute biggest pet peeve because it is SOOOOOOO rude and costs them absolutely nothing to be polite and say thank-you in passing. So as I passed them to walk through the doorway I said "you're welcome!". I honestly don't think they clued in to why I said that but it sure made me feel better. I know it's rude to point out someone else's rudeness but I also think some people need a lesson in manners.

Something that has always bugged me

Why oh why oh why do so many organizations group the prairie provinces together? I seriously don't understand that. Yesterday when I was in Tim Horton's they still had displayed their "Roll Up The Rim" rules and regulations in a poster on the wall. The cup distribution table caught my eye as it listed how many winning cups were sent out by province... or more accurately by region. They listed BC as one entity. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, NWT, and Yukon as another (I guess Nunavut doesn't have Tim's because they weren't on there). Ontario as another region, then Quebec, and the maritime provinces were grouped together too. For geographical reasons I can understand why the maritimes are grouped together. But why oh why aren't Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, NWT, and Yukon subcategorized? I can see grouping Sask and Manitoba together for population reasons. Same with NWT and Yukon. I can even see grouping BC and Alberta together as we Albertans have much in common with our neighbours to the west. But for some reason that never happens. BC is always in a class by itself and Alberta gets lumped in with the other prairie provinces.

The same grouping happens in the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). They list dog shows and trials by region. BC is its own region. Then all the prairies are lumped together. I have never been to a show in Manitoba and don't plan on ever going to one but in order to find my local shows I have to filter through the Manitoba listings in order to find what I'm looking for. BC people don't have to go through this rigmarole. Neither do Ontario people due to Ontario being its own region.

I think its time those of us in Alberta demanded answers to this question. Alberta's economy is booming, as is the population. We are, in many ways, more similar to BC than to Saskatchewan (sadly not in politics but hopefully that will change one day). Yes, the geography is similar to Saskatchewan in some ways (prairies) but we also have some beautiful mountain ranges, forests, and lets not forget the oil and natural gas, which sets us apart from the other prairie provinces.

Am I alone on this? Anyone else wonder why we Albertans aren't given the distinction of our own provincial identity?

Movin' on up :)

On Tuesday (2 days ago) the "person who knows everything in the Registrar's Office" (also known as Linda, the Registrar's secretary) came up to me in my teeny tiny cubicle and said due to some construction they were going to move me out of my cubicle to a large vacant one nearby. I was happy about this and asked when it would happen. She said on Monday as they needed time to do some shuffling of other desks first and then move some boxes out of the vacant one before it would be ready for me. So I booked some time in my calendar on Friday to straighten out my desk so it would be all ready for the move on Monday.

Then yesterday, Wednesday, Linda came by again (this time with movers following her) and said "are you ready to move now?". Ummmm, not really LOL. I had piles of paper, bottles that need to be recycled, and random instructional manuals (none of which belong to me) scattered all over my desk. So much for my prep time! I asked them for a few minutes to get ready which they needed anyways to get the boxes out of my new cubicle. About an hour later I was moved and settled in my new cubicle. It was by far the fastest a move has ever happened in my entire working career.

My new cubicle is EASILY twice the size of my old one. But strangely, it is in a triangle shape so making efficient use of the space is a challenge. However, it is all worth it because I no longer have to do the sideways shimmy to get behind my desk. That was never fun for me.