Fogeyville

Back when I decided to apply to University again I figured it would be easy. You just fill out an application, send them a big fat payment and boom, you wait until they say "WELCOME".

Not so much.

The last time I applied to University I was 18, had the help of an awesome guidance counselor and the internet as we know it today didn't exist. You waited until you got your big fat package from the school and then you sent back the reply letter accepting their offer. For me, someone with a last name starting with R, I watched everyone else above me getting all their letters and when I finally got mine, I was pretty excited.

You see, here in Canada it's not like television where you get a letter in the mail telling you you got in. Here we get the letter, another letter explaining the process, a fancy booklet about life at the school and any other information they feel necessary to help you accept their offer.

Enter the internet. I have registered for my full year of courses without getting accepted to the school yet. I have registered online and have been privy to lots of information for weeks now. And yesterday, I went in and checked out my profile and saw that I was listed as an undergraduate student. Then when I got home I found my package welcoming me to the school on the kitchen counter. (We had a hilarious moment where I jumped up and down screaming I GOT IN!!)

Except, it's not as easy as that...you see, on the letter it says I have to accept the offer by September 1. Which is Monday. I can apparently do this through the internet. But going into the site they link to doesn't show anything. So I tool around the site a bit and see NOTHING. Then I can go into the Ontario University Application Centre to accept it and find...NOTHING.

Am I really this old that I can't figure this stuff out? Or is it supposed to be this hard???

Recovering

It may seem as if for every step you take in a forward direction you slip back a few steps as well, but appearances can be deceptive. If you could see life from a higher perspective you would realize that even your backward steps are taking you forward. Keep moving.

~Sally Brompton, CANCER, August 26, 2008

It's been a very crazy week and a half with a lot of unexpected events occurring. I can't say that it's been good to go through them, but it's been good to come out of them. Or rather, good to be on this side of them. But today, after charging another $1400 on my already smoking credit card for my next semester's worth of courses, I was this close to a little bit of a breakdown. Then I read my horoscope and had my little saving grace for the day. Let's hope that it's true and that this is the start of something good.

True North

You know you're Canadian when you spend a Friday night in August (80 F weather no less) in a hockey arena in capris and sandals. That's where we spent our night tonight, watching my 17 year old cousin try out for Stratford.

But the really funny part was watching his after game snack...a whole bowl of instant chocolate pudding. Nicely done.

My sanity, myself

It's been that kind of a week.

Every night I've thought about going to bed early but then something goes on that stresses me and then I end up not sleeping. And then of course it's been the kind of week where everything that could happen/go wrong, did at about 4:10 each day. Added to that, I had three days of appointments at 5:30 that I HAD to be at.

Today I was stressed because I couldn't find my iPod. I knew I had it on the weekend. I knew I had it on Monday. But from there, couldn't figure out where it might have gone. I had a panic that it had fallen out of my purse somewhere between work, the mall, work, the chiropractor, home, the mailbox. I went through my entire day Monday. Where I went, when I got out of my car, what I wore, what I did, where I went...went through my car, stopped at the chiropractor and then made a mental list of all the places I would have to go to check for it. In the end, it was under my desk at work. Phew.

Also today, I ended up getting a call from Ryerson asking about my transcripts from high school. Thank goodness I had left those at work. I had faxed them to the school three weeks ago but apparently that wasn't enough. And getting through to anyone in the department is as difficult as you can imagine. Added to that, getting through to anyone at my former high school proved to be just as difficult. Finally someone called me back and told me to send them directly to her. I'm glad she called me because she was going to cancel my application. As she put it "I was serious" (she had noticed I had registered for three courses). Transcripts sent by Purolator, problem solved.

Once you factor in the craziness of several media calls, a couple of negative stories we had to respond to, several requests for further information on other charts/documents/materials, a press release on a project, and some follow up and you can imagine why my body and mind is exhausted tonight.

I don't know how anyone has the energy to go out drinking and dancing on Friday nights...

Happy

Happiness is a polka dot dress from Laura. At least that's what I'm going with this week.

I had to get something to wear to a friend's wedding and knowing my luck, I knew it was going to be horrible trying to find something. I wanted to look good but not out of place. And of course, I hate trying on clothes because I am way too hard on myself.

Enter, Vaughn Mills on Sunday. We walked in the doors, walked around the corner and voila, my dress was on a mannequin in the window. I went in and discovered only one size 12 on the rack. I was a little scared because my luck couldn't be THAT good. In fact, it really was. I loved the dress from the moment I pulled it on. So cute and so flattering.

Every time I have pulled it out to show it to someone, I swear I fall in love with it more! I want to wear it all the time! I can't wait to wear it to the wedding!

Paradise

I'm leaving what I call "paradise" today for another kind of paradise tonight. I've spent a week at my cousin's place just lounging, hanging out and doing close to nothing. She has a pool, a hot tub, and loves to be the hostess. Which I am not just sucking up, I swear! Staying with her and her family is fun because it's a different kind of life. The kind where teenage boys run in and out asking for food, clean clothes, money, rides to parties and the like. The kind where her husband is in and out needing clean clothes, food, and directions. The kind where the phone rings non stop and my cousin has about two hours to herself in the afternoon (which she spends trimming plants and cleaning up the backyard no less).

We have still managed to have fun. We have lounged by the pool. We have gotten some sun (hilariously enough I have a tan except for the burn right at the edge of my bikini top line where the sunscreen DIDN'T hit) and we've had a really great week together. She's kind of like a big sister in that she just welcomes me into her home and we spend the time laughing and just enjoying each other. It's been really nice.

Tonight it's off to my friends' place in Toronto for two days with them. I haven't been up to their place since last December. Annette and Mary are the kind of friends every girl needs. The kind that you can sit and laugh with, who can make fun of you without it being bad, and who will talk about everything under the sun and still make sense. I've missed hanging out with them. Who knows what adventures we'll get into in the big city but I'm looking forward to it all the same.

Like I said, paradise. In more ways than one.