A word about punctuality

This blog often contains my rants about situations in life that bother me. This will be no exception :)

This morning Vince & I went to Walmart. The best time to go is as soon as they open on Sunday... there is hardly anyone around and we never have to wait in line at the checkout. However, this morning we arrived at Walmart at 6:59, one minute before they opened (yup, we're early birds LOL). The doors were locked so we waited... and waited... and waited. At 7:05 we got impatient and went in a side door where we saw the night shift staff were leaving. The greeter person was there and commented that she was surprised that management hadn't come to open the doors yet. We agreed that since the store opens at 7:00am that yes, they should have come by now.

So anyways, this is just a bit of a rant about the annoyance of people not being where they are supposed to be at a certain time. Time is valuable and it would be nice if people were a little more respectful of others' time.

A word about personal space

In the last 24 hours I've had 3 run-ins with people over personal space. In none of those incidents did I say anything because it's not against the rules or anything but just something of a societal norm that I think some are more sensitive to than others.

The first incident was last night in Safeway. I was standing in the express lane with my selections and a woman came and stood behind me with her basket. But her basket kept touching my lower back. It was very annoying and she was clearly in my personal space. I couldn't take a step forward or I would be in the next person's personal space and touching him with my own basket. So in a very passive aggressive way (LOL) I leaned back to hopefully signal her that her basket was touching me. However that did nothing and by the time I could have said something the person in front of me had moved up so I moved up too.

Second incident occured this morning at the gym. After my workout I went to shower in the open shower area. There are 6 shower heads and someone was using #6 so I started using #3. #6 finished and after a few seconds alone another woman came in and started using shower #2. I was very put off by that. There were 3 showers she could have used that were not right next to me (#'s 1, 5, and 6) and it seemed a huge invasion of privacy to be naked and have a naked stranger stand as close to me as possible. I finished showering as quickly as possible and got out of there ASAP.

Third and final incident was also at the gym. I was doing my hair/makeup before leaving the changerooms for the day and I left my gym bag on the bench in front of my locker. About one minute before I finished a couple of young girls (obviously university students) walked in, scooted my bag down the bench, and sat down. Now I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and assume they had a locker nearby. But they never opened a locker, they just sat there and talked. But I fail to understand the need to move someone's bag. I would NEVER move someone's bag that was on the bench because it's not mine. But these girls had no problem doing so. Note that I try to be aware of those around me and if they need bench space that is being taken up by my bag I will always move it out of the way.... but again, it's my bag and I'll be the one to move it.

So this is a little bit of a rant and really not much can be done to improve these situations because no one is really doing anything bad or wrong.... they are just making me uncomfortable with their obliviousness to personal space. A little more awareness from some people would go a long way to making this world a better place :)

That's some kind of math ya got there!

Yesterday I turned 35 years old. My dear husband turned 43 a couple of weeks ago. Last night we were chatting and he said "do you realize that when you are 70 I'm going to be 86?"

Ummmmm, okay then.

Boundaries

Since we started renting a room in our basement to a student I have learned some important things about myself. It took a while and some soul searching but I think I have figured it out. At first I thought I was anal-retentive, then selfish, then just a bitch. And while I realize all of those things may be true to a point, at the end of the day it just all comes down to boundaries.

Vince couldn't understand why I was getting so upset when the renter kept coming up and using the dishwasher, using my seive to drain his pasta, and using the stove when he has burners downstairs to use. It's all about boundaries. I realize he's not going to wear out my seive (although I would have appreciated it if he had asked first but that's another rant) and that it's more practical for him to use the stove burners which are larger than the ones we bought for him to use. But my kitchen really needs to be MY kitchen. I'm uncomfortable going in there when he is in there and there are times when I HAVE to go in there (cooking, cleaning up, putting away leftovers, etc). And if there is one room in the house that really is mine, it's the kitchen! So he needs to really back off and allow me my space.

So what we have done, in order for me to quit losing my mind every time he comes up the stairs, is purchase all the items to build a mini-kitchen downstairs for him to use. It will have a sink, counter, microwave and microwave cart, and a fridge. The only thing it won't have is an oven (or toaster oven) and any additional appliances the renter may want such as a popcorn popper, blender, etc. Tonight we will start building the cabinets. Within a few weeks I hope to have it fully assembled and functional.

The only thing we still need to buy is a 28" wide refrigerator. If anybody hears of a used one for sale in Southern Alberta please let me know :)

Our tax dollars at work

In the bathrooms at work 2 of the cubicles have those "potty billboards" where advertisers will try to entice you to purchase their cell phones or cable service while you are doing your necessary business. They change them every couple of weeks so a new advertiser can have your attention while you are grunting.

Anyways, about a month ago a new advertiser went in. It was the Alberta provincial government.... they had an advertisement aimed at students trying to show them how perfect Alberta is to work in. You know... work in this "great economy" all week and then spend the weekend fishing, hiking, hang-gliding, etc in the mountains.

Then last week that advertisement was replaced with a new one. This one is from the Canadian federal government.... they have an advertisement aimed at students advertising the opportunities to work and study abroad.

So my tax money is being spent by people with totally contradictory interests. Awesome!

Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens

Kelly of KLAD Cockers fame (yup, she's famous) tagged me, to be honest she tagged anyone who read her blog LOL, to come up with a list of my 10 favorite things and post them here. I am excluding my husband, family, dogs, etc from this list as I think they are a given. And it's fun to be more random than that. So, for your reading pleasure, may I present my top 10 favorite things.......

1. Coke Zero - I'm so original that I picked something sitting on my desk. We're off to a flying start here LOL!

2. Gossip - now, before you all beat me up for this one let me explain. I don't mean passing on questionable information. I just like to collect it and if I question it I will go to the source to verify. I am woefully out of touch with so many friends that I like to hear what is going on with them and that sometimes comes via 3rd parties. I realize it is hypocritical to say I don't spread it (which is true, I rarely if ever pass it on, partly because I really am so out of touch LOL) but in order for me to receive the gossip, someone else has to be the gossiper. I'm not judging here... I'm confessing one of my favorite things. Can't we all just get along? Never mind. Let's move on.

3. Learning - this is an odd one. When I was in school I absolutely hated it! I hate being told what I have to learn about. I want to learn what I WANT to learn about. Therefore, you will never see my butt in a creative writing class or history of Canadian government class. However, recently I have taken classes in fitness theory, group exercise instruction, and project management. In the future I'd like to take some cooking or baking or cake decorating classes.... something fun for me.

4. My laptop - how is a girl supposed to watch TV while sitting on the couch with her feet on a footstool while simultaneously playing Little Shop - Memories without a laptop? I tell you, there is simply no other way.

5. My sister - yes, I'm breaking my own rule by including Louisa. But that girl can make me laugh like nobody's business. Our recent e-mail exchange devolved into spewing of fake "facts". Example.... FACT: 3 out of 4 people will not try a recipe if there is no picture of the finished product. Okay, you had to be there but it seriously made me LOL.

6. Lost - I vowed never to watch this show until it was available on DVD so that any end of episode cliffhangers could be dealt with by watching the next episode immediately.... a solution that is good for my heart and allows me days of Lost-marathon pleasure. However, I admit now that I am hooked and simply cannot wait until the current season comes out on DVD. Therefore I am now watching Lost every Wednesday at 9/8 Central (why do they always omit Mountain Time?) on ABC.

7. My van - We are currently down to one vehicle since Vince's car died a couple of weeks ago. It has been an adjustment for me to, after about 15 years of vehicular independence, suddenly have to share a vehicle with someone. We have a system where Vince drops me off on his way to work and then picks me up again afterwards. It is working so far but I am now limited in my ability to make appointments right after work or on the weekends when Vince is working. I am now aware of the freedom I had before and am looking forward to having that again when Vince gets another car.

8. Air Conditioning - not so much now but in July and August A/C will be one of my favorite things. It's sometimes surprising to me that we grew up in a house without A/C, the cars never had A/C, I don't even think the schools had A/C but don't quote me on that one. A/C has gone from luxury to nearly a necessity these days. We don't use it much but on the days we need it, we REALLY need it.

9. The Hot Tub - on chilly days the hot tub feels soooooooo good. It's especially nice after working out. Ahhhhh, just thinking about it makes me smile.

10. Recognition - whether it's a ribbon at a dog show, thanks from a student after teaching a fitness class, or an acknowledgement from a coworker for a job well done, recognition for hard work just plain feels good. The flip side of the coin is that lack of recognition is one of the most demotivating tools. This goes to show that financial reward isn't everything.

The end. Following Kelly's lead, I tag anyone who reads this to post their own top 10 favorites list. This goes for both of my siblings who haven't updated their blogs in months!!!!!

Workout song list

I've been getting bored of my old workout mixes so last weekend I put together a new song list. Most of the songs are up-tempo... perfect for motivation during monotonous cardio workouts. The last two are slower... more appropriate for cooling down and stretching.

Note, these were mostly downloaded from iTunes so I've left their original names and artists as I found them in iTunes just in case you want to dowload them too. So, if you are interested, here is the list:

1. Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now) [Featuring Big Ali & Dollar Man] - Big Ali, Bob Sinclar & Dollar Man
2. Keeps Gettin' Better - Christina Aguilera
3. When I Grow Up - The Pussycat Dolls
4. Womanizer - Britney Spears
5. Disturbia - Rihanna
6. Just Dance - Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis
7. Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
8. Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyoncé
9. Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) - Soul II Soul
10. Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
11. Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex
12. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
13. Check On It - Beyoncé & Slim Thug
14. I Beg Your Pardon - Kon Kan
15. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
16. It Takes Two - Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
17. Poker Face - Lady GaGa
18. My Love (Paul Oakenfold Radio Edit) - Justin Timberlake
19. Nasty Girl (Radio Edit) - Inaya Day
20. The Power (7' Version) - Snap!
21. Rasputin - The Dancing Queen Group
22. SOS - Rihanna
23. Spirit In the Sky - Doctor & The Medics
24. We Like to Party! - Vengaboys
25. The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) - Timbaland
26. Africa (feat. Culture) [Radio Edit] - Karl Wolf