The Story of Me: In French (Aka: Monn cray-onn ess lARge)

Since I'm looking for new work, and I live in Quebec, I've decided to do some work on my French. I did my entire high school in French, but I live in an Anglophone part of town, and worked in a store in this part of town, so I haven't been working in a Francophone environment. I haven't lost my French, by any means, but being immersed in it makes a big difference. Like the old bicycle, it comes back to you, but I want to feel more confident.

I'm just trying to decide how to go about it. I'm considering an advanced French course, because a school environment, with homework, and a bit of daily/weekly immersion tends to work well. But there are a lot of language schools here and I don't know which are the best.

I don't want to buy language on CD courses, cause they're European French and I'll learn weird expressions, and useless phrases like "Garçon! Amener les cuisses de grenouilles!"

-- Oh wait! The Université de Montréal has evening courses in the late spring, super cheap for residents. Ooh. Maybe I can start with my Home Plan and then enroll in this. It's only two nights per week. Hm hmm! --

Return to cheapskatatude

Until I again have a regular income we have gone into Supa Careful Monies Mode. It's not too difficult. When I was in school I worked part-time, and Fernando's position was a little less than full-time, so we've always tried to live at a lower standard of living. We don't own a home or a car and schooling in Quebec for residents is unbelievable inexpensive, and I had a bit of monies from my grandfather, and my parents sometimes sent nice gifties--so we've never gone into "good debt." And we pay off the credit card every month, so we have no other type of debt either. But I want to keep it that way!

In January I finally knuckled down and hauled out the half-finished budget I'd worked on earlier in the year, and with Gail Vaz-Oxlade's tools I finished it up. Fernando wanted to go on her jar system, and he chose out spice jars for it. Aren't they cute? Don't bother robbing us, you'll be very very disappointed at our weekly spending monies. And half the jars have fake money because I mostly spend online. So I made up little "Mabel dollars." Whenever I buy something online I withdraw Mabel dollars from my jar so that I'm conscious of SPENDING. It's worked so well that I've become a cheapskate. I like seeing my little fake dollars accumulate.

I also made little I.O.U. dollars cause I know the little Fernando sometimes likes to ahem borrow ahead of himself. And me too sometimes, for gift items.

Anyway. One way Fernando has helped cut money is to let me make lunches for him, and to come home for supper instead of eating at work. (He has a very physical job, so he was often so tired he preferred to stay there and relax and eat.) Which means I get to use all my bento boxes and rume bags! Weeee!

 

Fernando likes 1 jelly bean.

I purposely didn't tidy my bento drawer for you. Here it is in its messy glory. monotone lunch slow and healthy time.

 

lunch bags

Shakespeare bottle

The other thing I did this year was Family Calendar on the Cheap! I like calendars that come with stickers and stuff, but I used to work somewhere with a staff discount. No more! So this year I bought a dollar store calendar...

attached it to the pocket from last year's calendar, where I can keep handy notes and stuff...

 

gathered up all the unused stickers from my last three calendars...

  

And voila! I have a fancy calendar again.

so cold, she's so cold

I don't talk about my personal life much on my blogs. I feel bad about it sometimes, cause I feel like it makes it hard for people to connect with me online. First, my blogs aren't anonymous from my friends and family--I started this blog as a way to stay in touch with my family when they moved out west, not as a place to vent. And then I don't want to talk about other people's personal stories or issues, without their permission. Cause they know that our other friends might be reading! Or they might not like strangers reading! Or they might not want to see MY take on their situation, here in writing!!

Second, when I was still as my old job, I really couldn't talk about it, tell stories about it. As a manager I signed some sort of contract which I'm sure says something about confidentiality in it. But also, I've always been conscious of that feeling: What if a future employer checked out my blog? I can't write about a past job in any light that makes me look lazy, whiny, trouble-makee, etc. I have a pretty vast range of opinions on work related topics that I'm not comfortable sharing, except in the occasional comment on someone else's blog.

Third, there are other things that I don't feel super private about, but my husband's a much more private person. So I think of him as well. He doesn't usually read my blog, but the principle still has to apply.

Fourth, I do have a pseudonym here, which in theory could protect me from future employers and such. But I've ended up using London Mabel as my login for everything, including my non-personal blogs like Mabel Talk, which I want to use in a professional capacity, and for my website which sort of represents me as a writer. To make this blog more personal I'd have to find a way to disconnect it from my brand, so to speak.

And so that leaves me... the cats. Their personal lives get tossed around like Princess Diana's.

As Rorschach would say... hrm.

Story of Me in Doctor-ahjs

I went to my blood appointment today (for my hemochromatosis). She said my ferritin's so low, I probably won't need to be phlobotomized for two more years. I always learned that they do phlebotomies at the hospital near my home, where my husband works; so she gave me a consult paper for a doctor there, and hopefully I can switch over. And never again have to trek downtown at 7 AM (at least not for this) which keels me each time.

I'm glad I didn't have to be phlebotomized, because right now I'm on a Beta blocker for my headaches (it's not working at all) which makes my blood pressure even lower than usual. My doctor thinks I might really pass out the next time, instead of just almost-passing-out.

I also made an appt with my GP, so that's one more thing off the To Do list. Now I need to make an appt with my headache doctor, the dentist, and an optometrist. For many years I was great at staying up to date on all my appointment-making--the fact that I've fallen behind again is just one more sign that my present Pace of Life doesn't suit moi.

How songs fall into my life

Sometimes an old song comes back to me which I Must Own. Today it was: Boys in the Street by Eddy Grant.


(Good heavens--I adjust the width of my blog and NOW youtube comes up with a "custom size" option. Bahstads.)

Then there are songs I used to own on tape, and thought I had in mp3, but didn't! - Revolution by Arrested Development.



And a song I heard in an ad for a TV show. (If I was a musician's agent, I would so try to get their stuff in ads. SUCH good marketing.) "Short Change Hero" by the Heavy (Sounds like a funeral dirge at first, but then it gets funky!)


Music I get into way after everyone else did. Duffy's "Hanging On Too Long."


Bands universally acknowledged as great, and I'm not sure I love them enough for whole albums, but LOVE the occasional song. The Roots' "How I Got Over." Don't you even just love the title?


Best of album for the husband: Phil Collins. ("Against All Odds" really is one of the greatest lovebreak songs of all time. And with heavy drums--how unusual is that?)

Story of Me in Hair & Glasses

Sometime when I was in school I lost my glasses, went without them for a year or two. I need them to see far away, but since I don't drive, and they were triggering my headaches, I wore them less and less. Anyway, one day I finally found them, and I was sooo excited, because I really liked them.

And then lost them only a few months later! I think I left them at the church basement where I had First Aid training, but without a car I could never be bothered to go all the way back to check. :-( So I went back to getting used to being without them.

Truth is, though my headaches are better with the meds, I still wasn't able to wear my glasses all the time. I still have enough on-the-edge days, like right now, where glasses/headphones/hats etc would definitely give me a full headache. But I would like to have glasses this year for Gilmabelfest. And Fernando needs glasses too. So must make the grand effort to get us off to New Look, get our eyes checked, get some eyewear.

It's just sooooo long to pick out glasses. I know exactly what suits me, but you have to try on so many pairs before you find the right size. Good heavens.

In other Appearance News, I've decided to grow out my bleach. I've continued to dye or bleach my hair all these years because it dries out my normally greasy hair, and therefore makes it easier to deal with. But I'm so lazy about doing my roots, I've finally hit my limit. And a few years back I stopped using dye because of animal testing, and switched to bleach. But bleach is much harder to control that dye. It's hard to get the colour even (and I'm too lazy to really try), and the colour doesn't really suit me, it's too blonde.

So. I'll grow it out. Check out how my white hairs are coming along. And if I get sick of my natural hair, I'll just go back to bleach. (There's one brand of dye that doesn't test on animals, but it's not yet stocked somewhere close to where I live and shop regularly.)

I was trying on a black turtle neck today, and it looked so good against my bleached hair, it was my first moment of almost-changing-my-mind. Against my washed-out-brown hair it won't have the same exciting effect! ;-) But I'm tired of the blonde. I don't like having the same hair all the time. And I never mind experimenting, cause it grows out fast. (I have no scientific proof that my hair and nails grow faster-than-average, yet I'm convinced of it. They're weeds, I tell you. Weeds!)

Childhood blondiness (you can see my eyebrows were light too)

Grade 3 or 4, you can see it got darker

1990

A few years later, and you can see it's even darker. I suspect this is the colour we'll be returning to, but with gray.

1998, not long after I started dying it blond.

This was the colour I got when home-dying it. It's closer to my eyebrow colour, so more natural looking. But a few years ago I fiiiiinally stopped being able to Live With Myself in terms of buying a non-necessary item that was animal tested, so I had to stop buying it. And those are the glasses I lost.

Haley eating my dyed hair.

When I first bleached it, I went for as white as I could. This took a LONG time. And turned my hair to the consistency of straw. It took a LOT of conditioner just to make it look un-insane.

And then I added the red.

But bright dyes wash out really fast. (That's why you see girls going around with vaguely green hair, which looks terrible.) And even re-dying it, I couldn't get it back that vibrant shade. Which is why I didn't continue to dye bright colours--too much work, not very satisfying.

Here you see the colour layer has become yellow.

These days I leave the bleach in less long, so that my hair isn't so dry, and so the colour isn't so white. But it's still an unattractive yellow colour. I've never been happy with it.

So this is what we're going back to baby!

Maybe I should just make splotches of blond, and become a calico like my cats. Anyway, so my hair is going to look terrible for the next month while I grow it out. Luckily I'll be on vacation much of the time. Once it's grown out enough I'll chop off the ends, and then decide what I think.

Inquiring minds want to know

Inspired by Glee, I have a question for you -- what one song expresses how you're feeling lately?

For me it's "Flashdance... What a Feelin'". No, I'm not crying in a steel-filled world; but I'm having trouble staying on top of my writing, and I worry that I don't have the drive needed to at least give me a shot at winning the publishing lottery.


The character Rachel on Glee is practically my hero, because it really is people with that sort of single-mindedness who get places, at least when it comes to art. In the real world, I have SO much admiration for my friend Wai-Yant who I've watched slowly build up a ceramics business over the years--she has talent, but she also works hard.

So? What song is YOU right now?

Picture Time

I had to make room on my computer so I went through the slides my dad had made into photos and got rid of the pictures of airplanes and people I don't know. Here are some random pics...

I had to keep this pic of San Francisco my dad took. To remind me that I'll have to get in shape beFORE I go to SF!!

My childhood best friend and me.

My dad's parents, and their best friend.

My grumpy face has not changed one bit. If you see me looking like this, better just send me back to bed.

I don't know who these people are, but check out my grandparents' post-war decor. When I used to houseclean for WW2 vets most of them had furniture like this--at least hidden away in the basement. Very hip now.

I couldn't delete this picture of an otter napping in the sun (either the zoo in San Fran or Stanley Park, not sure.)

Story of Me: In headcolds

Ohhh. I gots nooo energies. Actually that's not true. I have enough energy to sit up, which is more than I would have with a flu or gastro. But the energy to take a much needed shower? Ohhhhhh. I wonder if I can wear my PJs to work tonight. I don't even have sloughy jogging pants to wear, cause I'm not a sloughy joggings pants girl (can never find any long enough for my legs.)

I kept waking up last night, and I only got a 7 hour sleep. Lately when I hit the pillow, no matter how tired I am, I think about work. I need to get out of this phase! Last night I finally sat up in bed and worked on my story plotting, which finally quieted my brain down.

Maybe I should attempt a nap, but I'm afraid it will take me too long to fall asleep and next thing I know I'll have to get up for work. Mehhhhhhh.

When I was in school I used to get 2-3 head colds per winter. And still went to school and work most days, cause I had to. I'm not so tough anymore. I've turned into a big softy.

The Story of Me: In Animals

If you ever want to make me weepy in under 1 minute...



And I never even liked that song!

Answering the questions

If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
Oh heavens. Not anything you'd want to watch, it'd be so dull. Perhaps a comedy.

What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring? Jobs jobs jobs. I feel like everyone I know is either looking for a new job, or switching careers, or thinking about switching, or wishing to switch, or something. There's a lot of jobbiness on the minds of everyone.

What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
Working consistently on my writing.
Getting back to consistent reading.
Consistently posting on my blog.
Finally going to Stratford.

What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?Nothing.

What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?
I was disappointed to discover that cats don't live forever!

What was missing from last year as you look back? A more goal-driven approach to my writing. You know... with due dates. That I kept.

What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year?
Whether or not I go through something shitty is, generally, in my own hands. Kind of obvious, and something I already knew... I've never been the type to blame others for my problems. But I think this year I became conscious of that moment right before one hits the SEND button (literally or figuratively) when one thinks: "Do I believe enough in what I'm about to do/say that I'm willing to weather the accompanying crapitude?"

That was sort of a boring questionnaire. I need a better one.

My books books books

Been doing some more web site building. Today I listed up a bunch of the stories I've written over the years.

My life in stats

I have a terrible memory for dates. So I've decided to start A Chronology of Moi. I've created an excel sheet, put in my birthdays, and started filling in my school years, where I lived, jobs I was working, wedding etc. There's some guesswork involved, though. Like, I'm not sure the exact year I was vegan--I'm pretty sure it was the summer I stopped being a full-time manager. I recall taking a 3 week vacation in which I was allowed to eat my final milk-based cravings, and when it was over I started veganning. So around 2001-2002? For some reason I can remember that I started working in my current store in 1997, but to remember my wedding anniversary I have to think "It was the summer after I started at Current Store, and on Prince's birthday." June 7 1998.

So here's where we stand.

I'm 36 years old
Married 11 years, and living in same apartment.
Writing stories since about grade 2, so about 29 years
I think it was in 1996 (end of BA) that I set my 20 year goal to be published: 6 years left
Vegetarian about 14 years
Vegan about 8 years
Lived in about 12 homes (4 without parents)
Attended 6 schools (Montessori, Woodhaven Elementary twice, Landsdowne, Jean XXIII, John Abbott, McGill three times)
Lived in 3 provinces (Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec)

reviewing your year?

7 Questions to ask yourself about the last year (click link to see more details). Tune in tomorrow to see if I answer any! For now I'm going to finish Love is a Many Trousered Thing and go to bed.

1. If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be? Drama, romance, adventure, comedy, tragedy, or a combination?
2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring? These can be single words or phrases.
3. What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of? These can be in any area of your life—spiritual, relational, vocational physical, etc. Be as specific as possible.
4. What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
5. What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year? As leaders, we naturally have high expectations of ourselves and others. Where did you let yourself down? Where did you let others down?
6. What was missing from last year as you look back? Again, look at each major area of your life. Don’t focus now on having to do anything about it. For now, just list each item.
7. What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year? Boil this down to a few short, pithy statements. For example:
   • There comes a point in every experience where I am too far in to quit but almost certain I can’t finish. If I keep moving forward I will eventually get to the other side.
   • Being present with the people I love is the most important gift I can give them.
   • Don’t over-think the outcome; just do the next right thing.

The Story of Me: In 2009

Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event. Oscar Wilde

Just reading vegan-whole-foods-chef Jae Steele's end of year list, and I liked her categories. So I decided to try them out myself, and tossed in a couple more that I thought of...


Favourite learning experience: Taking a First Aid course.

Best health move:
Dancing in the kitchen while filling the dishwasher, and cooking.

Favourite new health tool: A new battery in my ipod.

Favourite new recipes: Avocado-green-apple salad (adapted from 100 Recettes 100 Vedettes.) Celery soup (I think I adapted it from some internet recipes.)

Favourite comfort food: Curly pasta with lemon juice and olive oil.

Favourite Party In Your Mouth food: You know... when it's the start of your weekend and you make something really nice? Jae Steele's guacamole.

Favourite drink:
Rooibas vanilla soy milk latté at Starbucks. (But what I drank the most was my own latté made with Almond Sunset herbal tea.)

Best writing accomplishment: The query letter. Now if only I could get back to working on the outline...

Best blog accomplishment: Generally maintaining a 5 day/week posting on A Great Attraction.

Favourite garment acquisition: New jimjams.

Favourite tv show discovery:
Welcome Back Kotter (rediscovery); Gavin & Stacey; Spaced.
Purposely avoided too many new shows.

Favourite movie: I don't watch a lot of movies--probably The Hangover.

Best cultural move! : Finally going to Stratford. Runner up: Getting back to reading about a book a week.

Saddest moment: The Night They Drove Old Nombly Down.

Most memorable This Is My Life And It's Pretty Great moments: * Getting home after work and listening to CBC radio 1 while chatting with my cats and making supper. * Watching tv with Fernando, on the couch, and fending off Haley when she tries to lick our ears. * Anytime I spend the day reading and listening to music.

Motto of 2009:

"Every morning, I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work." (Robert Orben)

Ghosts of Christmases Past

Jacob Teddy Marley

Hungrily eying the ornaments.

My brother, apparently outgrowing his jammies.

My Donnie Osmond doll!
(Manlier than Ken. I never owned a Ken doll.)

NUTTY NUMBERS
(We used to get these albums of novelty songs.
They totally rocked.)
Disco Duck!
"I don't like spiders and snakes
and that ain't what it takes to love me
like I wanna be looved youuu."
Pepino, the Italian Mouse
Mr. Custer
Norman
Rama Lama Ding Dong
Little Red Rented Rowboat
Don't Go Near the Eskimos
James (Hold the Ladder Steady)
Chick-a-Boom (back then I thought "chick" meant a chicken)
and the best...
Stranded in the Jungle!

The Hulk, and suntanning doll
My hair must have been changing to a darker blonde.
Looks like I have really excellent streaks!

What is that watch I'm wearing?

With muthah

With fathah

"We are the wee tin soldiers who like to play all day!"
My brother is the tallest soldier.

...
Flashforward several years
(The above photos I have because my dad got his slides converted
to jpgs. So then it's years of regular photos, all in photo albums.
And then my photos, not in e-form.
We pick up the Christmas story when I finally get a
digital camera.)

Fernando and his first nephew, on nephew's first Cmas.

Not sure which winter, but this is when we get to see Mr. Gilby,
when he comes back to town each winter.

2005 tree
Believe I was in school at the time so not much of a Christmas
In fact, ever since I started university in '92, and then went straight into
a retail job, I've never had a real Christmas break.

Very rare balcony snow leopard

The Great Sibling Christmas of 2007
Theme: Swellegant Christmas!

Me and Fernando
(he sat on the couch and sewed)
I'm drinking from the drunken-sot-Santa mug

Playing mini-croquet
(Ever since Pablo and I read Harpo Marx's biography
we've wanted to play croquet.)

Fernando's sister by the Christmas tree.
Since we were at Pablo's apartment, I tried to make the tree
look Cool Yule and masculine.

2008
Ohhh Nombly's last Christmas

And Haley conspiring to knock over the tree

Christmas Present:

I didn't put up a tree this year--there isn't a single decoration.
The gift my parents' sent is sitting behind by Oscar Wilde doll.
That's about it.

Bah Humbug!