24 on the 24th!

Happy Birthday to me....happy birthday to me....happy birthday, happy birthday....happy birthday to me!

Pitchin' a Tent...

The sun is shining, the temperature is up around 30C and it's nearly my birthday.

Ahh....does it get any better than this?

Yes, in fact. It does.

Because it's May Long Weekend. And you know what that means! CAMPING!!!

Okay, so my friends mostly turned out to be lame (still love you guys!) and had other things to do, like "work", but I've found a group of diehards to help me get good and plastered and set fires in the bush. (erm, I mean, have campfires and safely and properly put them out when said fire is done, right...)

so happy. I loves the campin'. Especially the very first trip of the season. It's refereshing and reinvigorating. And you get to eat hot dogs covered in dirt and not give a shit for 3 days. woo!

See ya, suckas!

Love,
K

I am so smart, S-M-R-T, I mean S-M-A-R-T!

So, the Edmonton Journal is having this contest all month where you can win a different smart car each week during the month of May.

And it will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.

Though they seem cramped and you shudder to think what would happen if an SUV ever attacked one, they're the most brilliant commuter transport ever. Like a vespa, only you can drive it in the winter. Woo!

That, and they're just about the cutest things since they invented a kitten-puppy-newborn baby hybrid (didn't you hear about that?)I want to try to beep the horn. I bet it makes the cutest little honk. hehe!

So fingers crossed for me, and if I win it, you can all have a ride around town in my adorable new car!

Lucky Lucky, You're so Lucky....

Heidi Ho, Neighbourinos!

Appy-polly-logies for the delay in my updates. This whole "real" job thing's a bummer. No time to dally on the 'net and update useless self-gratifying blog. *sigh*

Went to see the lads of FF with Death Cab for Cutie on Tuesday with MJ, Hore-atio and The Married One. It was awesome! Even bought myself a t-shirt, which was a first, amazingly, for me. Amazing, since I've been to about 40 concerts in my 23 short years and not a one where I've had the urge to purchase (typically overpriced) swag. But it was too hip not to. Okay, so every other female in E-town will have one, but I care not, for I had a great time.

After the concert, went back to Hore-atio's place to watch the overtime nail-biter between the Oilers and the Red Wings (well, boys did, I started to doze) until about 1am before MJ drove the Married One and I home. Woke up yesterday with a mega head-cold and called in sick. Laid on couch and watched DVDs of X-Files and Dead Like Me and slept. Woot. *cough*

Back at work now, which blows. I'm done with this whole working while sick thing. gonna go home and sleep some more. Maybe eat some ice cream for my throat. Yes, erm, throat, that's it...hehe....

cheers

k

The King is Dead!

Ralph Klein just held a press conference announcing his retirement!!!!

...okay, so it's in 6 months, but STILL! dance a little jig with me, will ya?

hee hee hee!

k

The magical (and well-designed!) land of yellow and blue

yippee!

so,for those of you not in the know, Miss Fitz will be making the transition from mommy's pockets to a home of her very own (!) in the next few weeks. sooo, excited! *squeal!*

ahem. sorry. don't make that sound very often, but sometimes, you need to squeal.

as such, i've been browsing, bartering and begging left and right for furniture and any other accoutrements of a nice bachelor suite. so far, the generosity and deals have been awesome.

Mr. M and his aunt jo have offered me a couch, a tv and a chaise lounge which happens to be my all-time favorite piece of furniture. it's rad.

i know that i have to spend money on SOME things, but i'm looking for deals where i can get 'em. found a great kitchy '50s table at value village, but the asking price was too high ($200 for a 40-year-old table? i think not!) so i went back last night to bargain...and some sucker had paid full price for it. (sad and snickering at the same time...)

so mums agreed/got dragged to IKEA, which is one of my all-time favorite places to shop. i just love it there. every time you go you are just amazed by the clever designs and funky colours. (they love orange, as do i!)

being a snob, i never shopped in the as-is section, since i figured it was all broken stuff. however, scotty, buddy and IKEA employee extraordinaire, explained that sometimes the stuff there is perfectly fine, only with one scratch or even so much as a mere broken box!

so, once there, we picked through the as-is stuff and found a half price dresser in pristine condition, and i also go myself a teeny little table and two chairs for my kitchen that were on super sale. in all, i spent slightly over $150 for all that. not too bad, if i do say so myself. now all i need is a bed and some linens, and i'm good to go!

swank!

k

A little bit fascist, a little bit rock n' roll...

So, looks like the County of Strathcona (ie: the ruling body of my bubblicious suburb) voted 5-3 in favour of a curfew for all those residents under 18. First offence is $100 fine, second is $200 and it only gets more ridiculous from there. As an added kick to the gut, the fines go to the parents of supposed "malicious, rampaging no-goodnik teens" for their implicit bad parenting in allowing their children to stay out past bedtime. *gasp!*

I for one believe this new bylaw is a bunch o' malarky and applaud the kids who I read in the paper are planning to take this thing to court or ignore it outright.

Not that I believe teens should be out raising hell all night, mind you. However, I do not believe that:

a) Staying out late is really the problem; and
b) Imposing a "time limit" on underaged fun is going to curtail mischief-making in the wee hours.

Let's face it. If you're going to be bad, you're going to find a way to do it, regardless of the "rules" of society. so what are we left with? Punishing some poor 16 year old who decides to walk home from a buddy's house after a night of drinking in an effort to be responsible and forcing said teen to work an extra bloody 40 hours at mcdonald's to pay off his not heeding the new bylaw?

hooey. It's all so much hooey. blecch. How about we teach young people respect and give them the benefit of the doubt and instill faith in them that they're not evil little shits who magically transform upon their 18th birthdays into respectable and contributing members of society? It doesn't work that way. Fostering distrust and suspicion will only make the bad more untrustworthy and the good less willing to participate in a society that treats them as lesser citizens.

The irony of all this, of course, is while we're punishing young people for not being old enough, it's the adults in this situation who need to be reminded to GROW UP.

Erin go Bragh!

Hey all you sexy ladies and gents!

yes, that's right, 'tis I, your lovely neighbourhood non-blogger, checking in to wish you all a happy st.paddy's day and all that jazz. This is a particularly memorable paddy's day for me, as it is the one year anniversary of my arrival in the lovely land of Eire for my travels and tribulations in Dublin's fair city. Wow. can't belive it's been a year. that's so crazy. why does time keep speeding up on me? at this rate, i'll be 80 in the span of time that it felt it took to get from 4-8 years of age. damn!

anyways, lots of apologies for not blogging sooner, been a rather hectic past month or so. lots of job and relationship turmoil, to say the least, which has finally settled down and allowed me to do those little fun things again, such as write useless crap and post it for the world to see! yah!

am now gainfully (and permanently) employed for the official opposition caucus of my province, which is actually pretty rad. a decent paycheque isn't too bad, either. leaving the last temp job with the real estate office was tough, since the people there were totally fun, and two of the guys there were fighting between themselves to see who could offer me more money and keep me there. I was seriously tempted, but in the long run i think there are more opportunities here for me. that, and there's a younger crowd of 20-30ish peeps here, which means one seriously awesome thing: new drinking buddies!

last night got rather tipsy with said new coworkers and then went home and baked cupcakes at midnight (amazingly, no 3rd degree burns obtained)and frosted them with green icing for lots of st.paddy's day deliciousness! woo!

Anyways, enough of my blathering. see, this is what comes of not blogging in a while: verbal diarrhea. lots more to say, but will pace myself and just write more frequently.

cheers!

k

Por Nada...

Came home last night to a big pile o' mail at the front door. And what was in that pile, my dearest lads and lasses? (If you live in E-town like me, you already know the answer to this one...) Yes, that's right, my King-Ralph sanctioned Prosperity Cheque. A whole whopping $400.00 from the government, for no particular reason other than, well, "because we can."

Now, while many people see this as a great bonus to being from the great red-neck yee-haw province of Alberta and are planning spa packages (well, those who aren't on the dole and using this money to pay off their mortgage this month, that is,) I am more interested in the "becase we can" part of this equation.

What many of my fellow Albertans seem to be taking for granted in this mad money-grubbing rush is how very fortunate we are to be getting this money at all. I mean, think about it: a few million of us are being given, for no other reason than because we happen to live in one of the wealthiest places in the world, what in some 3rd-world country would be the equivalent of an entire year's salary. I'm sure my $400.00 would go a long way towards feeding some hungry orphans or building a well or some such thing.

Just kinda rubs me the wrong way when some people are getting all self-congratulatory, as if they did something special to "deserve" this. Reminds me of the last Chris Rock HBO special I saw. He made a funny (and hilarious because it was so true) comment about how proud people are and how deserving they feel about coming from a first world country. Chris succinctly put it (excuse lack of humour brought on by my poor paraphrase): "you didn't do anything to get where you are, you just happened to come out of the right person in the right place a the right time. That's not destiny, that's luck!"

In that spirit, I think I'm going to count myself lucky and spend the money on things i really need, rather than just spoil myself. Since the money isn't being spent on things like education and health care (because the "people" use the money so much more wisely than the government, pfft) and i've got no health coverage at the mo', I think this money'll help go to paying off to get my teeth fixed, so this ache that's been bothering me for the past few weeks will finally go away. Not glamorous, but more useful than a new pair of boots.

How are you all going to use your money, E-tonians?

Cheers,

k

Goddammit!

Hi ho, neighbours. Your lovely fitzy is not as cheery as normal. Most likely due to the outcome of last night's elections. Not that I was surprised. You know, one crappy thing about living in E-town is that it is very difficult to complain about the election results. I gotta find the other 2 non-conservatives in the entire province and THEN we could have a dialogue. Unfortunately, I live in a community where the blues are rather popular and the MP for my riding is a jolly complacent fat man who enjoys eating buckets of chicken and kittens. Not that I can verify any of that, mind you. Except the kitten part, that I've got photos for. (hehe)

On the bright side, very excited that the little Orange and Green engines that could actually managed to increase their seats this election. So proud of you, and your authoritative mustache, Jacky-boy.("The mustache is where much of my authority is derived", sorry gotta quote movies any chance i get)

Ah well. Time to make the best of things. I hope you all did your civic duties and voted last night. and if not: for SHAME!!! that's right. i said it. SHAAAAAAAME! hehe.

lemme know how things went in your ridings. i'd be interested to see how my buddies in the T-dot felt about this, my little displaced Edmontonians that they are.

Cheers,

K

2006: The year of the busy little bee...

Whoo, baby!

My appy-polly-logies to all my buddies/readers (yes, both of you)for not being as good at the updates in the new year.

I hope that your New Year's plans went well. My eve was quieter than planned, but by the time I was dressed up and ready to go, the urge to boogie on the dancefloor had mysteriously vanished. Got some good hugs and phone calls in, though, so I suppose that's always something, right? :o)

Well, Fitzy's been busy this year. New job that actually requires real work ethic (wow! It's exciting, I know!) and lack of regular access to the internet have been my excuses. I'm reluctant to try this puppy at home for fear that it may cause my ol' compy to gasp its last breath.

Anywho, things are not too terrible right now. No big complaints or anything. But alas, I have another assignment to finish for work, but there'll be a nice post next time. promise. just checking in so you don't think i'm dead.

word to your mother.

New Year: Almost Here!

Booya, darlings!

I hope everyone had a lovely turkey time on Sunday, I know I did! (my pants are too tight to prove it...yow!)

T'was a smaller Christmas this year, not as many gifties under the tree, but still some good stuff. Mostly clothing, and some guitar lessons so I can really rawk out (i shudder at that grammar, but i am doing it to emphasize my new-found "cool")on my new guitar (for which I also received an electronic tuner, sweet!)

This year was my first Christmas day dinner away from my mum (*sniffle* such a mama's girl!) but dinner with M.J. and his family was really enjoyable--and filling!

Didn't do much on Boxing Day (no shopping, didn't need the headache)except watch an entire season of "Dead Like Me" on DVD. That show kicks ass. I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard of and/or seen it.

Yesterday went shopping at the Great Mall of Horrors (wem) which was still crazy-go-nuts insanity, but not as bad as boxing day would have been. Went to Chapters and got myself a new book (yah! new books! i love new books!) with my gift certificates. And this book is really awesome. It's called "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. It's a non-fiction piece about the phenomenon of people making snap decisions and how those decisions are often more correct than ones we spend time researching and deliberating over. It's radness. Makes you go "hmmm" a lot. I like books that do that. :o)

Well, that's it for me. Anybody got some good ideas for the 31st? I'm free!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

It's here! It's here!

Okay, well, it's not here yet, but as of today (Friday) I am off for four days to celebrate the birth of Santa Claus. Nonono, wait, that's not right, umm...is it Rudolph? Ah well...I forget, but it's not important...anyways...

Things are really going to be fun this Christmas. Granny and Auntie arrived last night and I had myself a grand ol' gift exchange/watching Muppet Xmas Movie time with my favorite pair of smug marrieds. :o)

Have now officially begun not to fit into pants due to excess cookies, but do not care. Contemplating replacing jolly old elf next year if this keeps up...hmm...

Only sad part about last night: I missed out on half of Ed the Sock's Fromage 2005. I LOVE fromage! Tried to tape it, only to find out I taped reruns of "Frasier" and "Friends". Blecch.

Anyways, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a great weekend!

Cheers,

K-mas

PS - While watching music videos last night, I saw the new Korn video, called "Twisted Transistor," or something like that. Not a huge Korn fan, but I encourage you all to see it. They got famous rappers to portray the band in the video, so you've got L'il Jon as Jonathan D. and Snoop Dogg as Munky. No shit! It's awesome! okay, well, HO HO HO!

So...Sleepy....

Girls night was rad, a true bacchanalian treat (always wanted to use that word in a sentence). Stayed up until 3am, though, chattin' and laughin' with the ladies. Was contemplating calling in with food poisoning to work, but couldn't hack it. stupid conscience. gets me every time. So now i'm here, but i'm exhausted. Need a nappy on the nap nap. *Yawn*


zzzzz....z....

Tonight's the Night!

My fabulous girls and I are doing our annual Christmas Girls' Night at the Fantasyland hotel, where we will eat, drink, be sexy and merry! Woot! So excited! This year we even have a theme: James Bond, 00-sexy! (hehe)

I am Octopussy. Meow!

So I will be meeting all you lovely ladies for a "stirring" (punny, no?) good time. I'll bring the bubbly and meet you in the hot tub. huzzah!

2006: Looking Up

Well, with Christmas nearly here and New Year's hot on its heels, I figured I'd find out what exactly 2006 has in store for me. Seems that I'm going to be learning a lot and gaining new experiences. Wow. That's so, like, deep and stuff. Hehehehe...

Here's what de lovely Geminis (like me!)can expect next year:

"While it's always been just about impossible to keep you from expressing yourself, you've probably been a bit quieter over the past year. (really?) Perhaps you've even felt downright hesitant to say what you're thinking -- especially if you're not absolutely sure of the potential repercussions of your words. That's not a bad thing; it's the wisdom of experience and age, and the universe will be tossing a bit more of it your way throughout 2006. If your friends continue to scratch their heads and ask what's wrong, reassure them with the very thing they've come to expect from you: interesting, chatty evenings over at your place, complete with the whole gang. You may be thinking more seriously lately, but that doesn't mean you can't indulge in some fun!

Speaking of serious thoughts, though, the period from early January through the beginning of March may demand some very careful consideration of joint finances -- that goes for both investments and any shared resources. Think of the future, and not lightly. This also wouldn't be a bad time to put a few pennies aside for a rainy day. (hmm, money would be nice...)

You may need to make some serious decisions in the romance department over the course of 2006. Changes to a friendship in April may get that show on the road -- but if you're thinking of turning this relationship romantic, be very sure that you can go back to being friends if it doesn't work out. Oh, and don't ignore a family member's efforts to introduce you to someone they think would be 'just perfect' for you -- no matter what happened last time. They could actually be right."


Hmm. Money, Jobs, Relationships...talk to me.

How's your 2006 going to shape up? find out at http://www.astrology.com

Cheers!

K

What the hell is wrong with people?!!

Firstly, a little explanatory preamble is in order:

My crummy temp job (which is –thankfully!—ending on December 30) involves working for the City Bylaw office taking citizen complaints. Specifically, I take complaints on parking tickets. Now, while this is a fun and exciting (read: mind-numbing) position, it does have its moments of wry irony and hilarity. I must admit that I get the odd giggle from some of the excuses sent my way.

I’m sure everyone’s seen that TV commercial with the guy going to pay the parking ticket, and he tells the men at the counter, “you know, I just didn’t see the sign.” And the two guys at the counter look dumbstruck and reply:

“no!”

“That’s awful!”

“You know, you hear about these things, but when you see that it happens to real people…”

It’s hilarious in its stupidity, because, as we all know, it’s re-godamned-diculous to expect someone to cancel a parking ticket because you “didn’t see the sign,” right. Right?

Well…not so much. Having spent the past 3 months in this office, I can tell you that most people will try to sell you their own mother over the phone than admit to any wrongdoing on their part when it comes to driver responsibility. It would seem that they are all helpless victims of “the Man” who, they’re pretty certain, moves those fire hydrants around to make them closer to their car than when they parked there. Yeah, right.

Anyways, so after about 10 dozen of these calls, they get rather repetitive and boring, but every now and again, there’s one that surprises you. And the lady who just called me was one of these. Never doubt human ingenuity. Or self-importance.

So I had spoken to this woman earlier on in the week and, as luck would have it, I got her again on my phone about 15 minutes ago. She had called on Monday to protest the issuance of a ticket for parking too close to a stop sign. (Which she clearly was, since the measurement’s right there on the piece of paper.) She did not deny parking too close to the sign. Her issue (and the reason that she requested—nay, demanded—the ticket be cancelled) was that the Bylaw Officer had written the offence down as parked “to near a stop sign” rather than “too near a stop sign.” Yes. You read that correctly. The woman was arguing with me that, as the ticket was ungrammatical, it should not count.

Now, as anyone who knows me will attest, I am an English snob par excellence. I have a damned DEGREE in the subject. That said, I find this nitpicking a little excessive. Okay, scratch that, a LOT excessive. So, yes, perhaps the ticket is nonsensical, but putting “to” rather than “too” does not detract from the meaning of the sentence. Many people have problems with homonymous words and, regardless of spelling, with minimal effort the meaning of this offence is still comprehensible. Add to that the facts that:

a) The ticket’s not a legal document and the Bylaw officer can change the spelling later if he so chooses, so it’s really a moot argument, and;
b) Anyone working as a parking ticket distributor most likely does not have the equivalent English mastery that you so deftly displayed

And it’s pretty obvious that this lady is a snooty bitch who needs to find something better to do with her time.

After I spoke with her on Monday, I had a good laugh with my coworkers. That is until we received an email from the head of our department that the woman had emailed her and informed her that the City should take more care in training its employees in spelling. Gah!

Figuring this woman was just venting, I got on with my life. However, she again called this afternoon and wanted to know if the ticket was cancelled (no it was not you stupid cow, now feck off!) so I discussed it with my Appeals section, and we decided to placate her by taking her appeal…to which they will write a polite (and grammatically correct) response telling her, in no uncertain terms, that she is a foolish, time-wasting woman and that the ticket stands. Now give us your damned $40.00.

Bah. Humbug.

All I want for Christmas....

This season I've been more festive than usual, most likely due to the obscene amount of time I seem to have on my hands this year. So far I've filled my family's freezer with enough sugary goods to put an elephant into an insulin-induced coma and, in the process, managed to add a few pounds of shortbread and chocolate to my bum. *sigh*

Our family also dusted off the ol' Xmas video collection, which is one of my favorite parts of the season. Watching Chevy Chase fall off an over-illuminated rooftop never gets old!

As far as the actual day goes, however, I haven't really put much thought into it. I've bought my gifts, but I realize that I never actually made a wish list for myself (kitten). Most likely because I can't really think of anything (kitten) that I want (kitten). Maybe some clothes (kitten) or a movie or two (kitten). But none of that really interests me as much as the idea of a new pet. (kitten!!!)

Yes, I want a kitten. My kitty died over Thanksgiving, and all I really look forward to, truth be told, is a fluffy little buddy stuffed in my stocking (okay, maybe not stuffed, that sounds cruel...umm...gift-wrapped carrier, perhaps?) But I know i'm
not going to get that. no chance. family has flat-out refused my hinting, begging and outright demanding. *grumble*

So I hereby announce a petition to get Kelly a kitty for Christmas! Any comments or words of encouragement can be added to my comments section, which will then be forwarded to the rest of Miss Fitz's family for review. Come on, people! With your help, I know we can get me a cat for the holidays!

Current (and belated) B-Day Shout Outs!

Today my baby brother turned 22. Awww, they grow up so fast, don't they?




Other spiffy December babies (or Saggi-tits, as I like to call 'em):

Martin J. Mitchell - December 13

The Incredible Leah C. - December 3 (I didn't forget...I just, well....forgot.)

Baby Jebus - December 25

Rock!

Monkeys Rule!

Went with Mister M. to see the Big Ape last night, and lemme just say that "King Kong" was AMAZING! I seriously recommend it to anyone with a hard-on for action, romance or big, hairy, silver-backed hunks o' luv. The digital primatamation makes LOTR's Gollum look like something drawn on a cocktail napkin. And, yes, I did get a little teary when he fell off the Empire State Building. *Sniffle*

ps- if not for any of the aforementioned reasons, at least go see "King Kong" for the fight scene between Kong and some nasty dinos. T-Rex = awesome.