Moncton rocks.

I've been spending most of my evening packing for a conference in Moncton. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, and I'll be there until Saturday afternoon, unless there's an opportunity to see/buy a car in PEI this weekend, in which case I will be heading home on Friday evening.

Packing for the next few days is not as simple as one would think. Conference attire is quite tricky. First of all, I need to look good. It's a well-known fact that conferences are sort of like high school - everyone is checking everyone else out to see who the cool people are. It's slightly inadvisable to dress too casually.

However, I don't need to be too dressed up, because I will be sitting and learning for hours at a time. So I'm thinking two pairs of dress pants, one pair of comfy casual pants, and appropriate tops.

Here's where it gets complicated: if I go home for the weekend, I will need jeans, because I'm not spending Saturday and Sunday in work attire. But if I stay for the whole conference, I will be attending a fancy reception on Friday evening, which will require snazzy attire. And what if I want to go for a walk? I'll need my walking clothes and sneakers.

Packing several outfits wouldn't be that much of a problem, except for the fact that I may have to take the bus home, and if so, I don't want to be lugging a giant suitcase around. Plus, I have to leave room for any conference goodies I may receive, as well as any shopping purchases.

Maybe I'll stay home. ;)

You know you're Canadian when...

... during tonight's episode of Heroes, when Isaac gave the messenger boy his sketchbook as a gift (because, you never know, it might be worth something someday), you thought of a Heritage moment. You know the one.

By the way, I'm sick with a cold/sinus infection/allergies. Again.

The hills are alive...

The Sound of Music has now been pushed back into my Top 5 Favourite Musicals of All Time. (Sorry, Oklahoma, you're down to number 6).

I saw in on stage tonight at The Playhouse. It was fantastic. It's such a freaking fantastic show. I had almost forgotten its awesomeness.

Now I must find my cd. And perhaps order the DVD. And perhaps plan a singalong party.

Did we skip spring?

It was 20 degrees here today. Seriously.

Monday there was a snowstorm, and I risked my life driving through ice pellets. And today, Michelle and I went running, and I wore shorts and a tshirt. I got a sunburn.

My sister was supposed to come for a visit on the weekend, but her plans changed, so she had to opt out. That's too bad, because I was really looking forward to seeing her. I have to say I'm also looking forward to sleeping in, since I've been up early every day this week.

And, because my life is not stressy enough, I figured out that my last choir concert of the season is on Mother's Day. Who's idea was that? My mom is in PEI, and that's where I want to be on Mother's Day. The Gray's musical is also playing that weekend. I haven't missed a high school musical at the Centre since 1994. I haven't ever missed Mother's Day. What to do?

Sambalicious.

I've been sucked into Dancing with the Stars again this season. Joey Fatone (yes, that Joey Fatone) was my early favourite, but after this week's show, my new fav is Apollo. I lurves.

Tomorrow is my "day off", but I'm still way behind, so I'm going to hafta go into work for a few hours. Blech.

Groceries!

Memo to the couple at the grocery store tonight: seeing you two making out four times in twenty minutes is four times too many.

A mist of blossoms, a multi-coloured haze...

I don't know if you've noticed, but the weather here has been pretty non-spring-like. It's actually been more of the snow/ice pellets/freezing rain/WINTER persuasion. As in, very similar conditions to when I had my accident.

And where has Lynda been working every day (except for last Friday) since she returned to work after her concussion?

That's right. Woodstock.

And how does Lynda get to Woodstock?

She has to drive.

Did I mention that someone (that would be me), in a fit of inspiration/insanity, decided to overbook herself at work so she could see lots and lots of kids?

I was supposed to remember April 21 if I ever thought of doing this to myself again. Why don't I listen to my own advice?

Anyway, yesterday and today the weather has been quite bad, so I ended up staying overnight in Woodstock on Monday. I'm glad I did that, because Monday morning's drive felt like I was driving on a windy ice rink. Then this evening's drive was like a windy ice rink with a very leaky roof. Hopefully it will stop precipitating soon, so tomorrow's drive will be better.

I'll be in a better mood soon.

More snow?

So apparently even though it was a lovely day today, it's going to snow tonight and possibly tomorrow. Which would be fine except for the fact that I have to drive up to Woodstock again for work tomorrow. I'm hoping that there's enough bad weather so that school is cancelled, because if that's the case, then I definitely don't have to drive up there. Cross your fingers for me.

In the meantime, I'm really digging this trailer for Hairspray. So fun!

Transit ownage.

I'm still in a state of carlessness, so today I decided to take a practice ride on the bus. I managed to accurately interpret the bus schedule and get myself to the hospital. Then I timed my walk from the bus stop to choir and vice versa. I never knew how sprawling the city is, and how limited the bus schedule is. It's about 20 minutes from from the bus stop to choir, and to get back home, I have to trot briskly down the hill for 2 km to catch the last bus of the evening at 9:50. This could be problematic, since it took me 22 minutes to get there today, and I don't get out of choir until 9:30. I'm hoping that the bus will be running late.

One advantage of taking the bus is that it's somewhat environmentally friendly. I'm hoping David Suzuki would be proud of me.

I had to do a lot of walking today, and I'm pretty wiped. Hopefully tomorrow will be a lazy, easy day.

12 of 12 - April 2007

What a difference a month makes! Last 12 of 12, I was still feeling the effects of the time change, and I owned a car. This month, I'm just getting back into the swing of things after my concussion, and I am carless.

6:58 a.m. So I spent the last two weeks sleeping in until midmorning, and now this week I have to get up early to drive to Woodstock for work. Ick.

7:24 a.m. My car was totalled in the accident, so I have to rent a vehicle to get to work (it's an hour's drive). Yesterday I was scrambling to get a car, and this was the only one left in Fredericton. It was huge. Huge.

7:49 a.m. The best part about the rental was that it had satellite radio. With a Broadway channel!!! Julie Andrews!! Wicked!! Les Mis! It almost made up for getting up so early.

3:41 p.m. See, the "SUV" I rented was so big, it needed two pictures. Who needs that much car?

3:42 p.m. Work was really busy. Shocking, I know. Let's just say it was a two-Pepsi day.

3:47 p.m. I decided to take the scenic way out of town, which meant driving through the downtown core. Here we see a traffic jam at the downtown's only traffic light.

6:38 p.m. Pepsi's (Pepsis?) three and four at dinner with Michelle and Mike. Although Mike was just hanging at our table for a while, so I don't think he technically was at dinner with us. Anyway, let's just say I ate way too much pizza.

8:10 p.m. So.... Michelle was dog-sitting for someone, so we went over to the girl's apartment to tend to the creature, who turned out to be a a slightly hyper jumping bean. With teeth. Me no likey (that's an understatement). So, instead of hanging out, Michelle had to drive me home.

8:12 p.m. The girl's apartment was on the North Side of Fredericton. The best part about the North Side is that you have a nice view of the South Side of Fredericton.

8:16 p.m. Gratuitous UNB campus shot.

8:18 p.m. One of the perks of Michelle's dog-sitting gig was the use of a car! From Oklahoma!

8:20 p.m. Once I was tucked away into my dog-free apartment, I sought comfort in the form of chocolate bunny bits and Pepsi (#5).

8:45 p.m. Bonus Pic: My random word was green, which was the same as last month's word. This is the latest green edition to my apartment. At least it won't die. The same cannot be said for my plant from last month. It's slowly shriveling. Very sad.

Oh my.

Very Long Work Day
+
Rental Car Adventures
+
Still Recovering from Concussion
=
Tired Lynda. Again.

In other news, just as I was mellowing out and ready to head to bed, there was an altercation outside my door. Apparently I'm not the only one with noise issues.

First I heard some distant pounding below me, followed by footsteps in the hall, followed by the sound of a fist banging on a door. I guess the Guy Across the Hall was running on his treadmill, and his Downstairs Neighbour didn't like it one bit. They exchanged many harsh and loudly spoken words, and I thought they were going to start whomping each other to pieces. Then Downstairs Neighbour voiced his complaint to The Super, who lives a few doors down the hall. Then The Super paid a visit to Guy Across the Hall, who staunchly defended his right to have a treadmill in his apartment.

Drama!!

Needless to say, I was a little scared.

It makes me glad that I never confronted my Downstairs Neighbour. I'm glad I'm used to wearing my earplugs at bedtime now, and since I put in my politely worded complaint to The Super re: Downstairs Girl, her music hasn't been much of an issue.

And now I'm totally wired (too much adrenaline), and not sleepy at all.

Working girl

Today I went back to work. Of course, my first day back had to be in Woodstock, aka the scene of The Accident. I drove up this morning in my very big, very safe rental car. Work today was insanely busy, and I'm really wiped. I can't wait to crawl into my cosy bed as soon as I hit the Publish button.

The wheels on the bus

Why did I mention the bus in my last post? Why did I even tempt the fates?

In case you missed it, there was a blizzard on PEI on Saturday night. This is noteworthy in that it's APRIL (even my love of snow has its limits), and we got a lot of snow. So when I moved my dad's car today, I noticed a suspicious puddle of yellow fluid on the fresh blanket of snow beneath it.

Now, call me super cautious, but I didn't feel exactly confident about driving a few hundred km's with who knows what leaking from the bottom of a car that's not mine.

So, you guessed it, I had to take the bus home. I do not have fond feelings towards the bus. In fact, it was the craptacular, agonizing 6 hour bus rides from Saint John to Charlottetown that prompted me to purchase my car in 2003. Not to mention the fact that I also forced Michelle to take the bus, as she was supposed to ride with me today.

The bus ride was actually fairly decent. My mom packed me a lunch. Michelle and I got to sit together until Moncton, and we watched Ugly Betty on her laptop. We unexpectedly met the lovely Deidre at Borden, however since she was several rows ahead of us, we didn't get to converse with her. On the way from Moncton to Freddy, I had a chance to think some deep thoughts, which is always relaxing.

I'm glad to be back in my apartment. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed tonight. Tomorrow I become an audiologist again.

Relapse

I was slightly disappointed when I woke up today and discovered that my dizziness had returned. I knew my thoughts of recovery were too good to be true. Perhaps it was the physiotherapy I had yesterday, but my neck was sore today and my head was spinning like crazy. I tried to quiet my rolling brain by staying on the couch the whole day, but it didn't seem to help much.

Finally, I decided that some movement was in order, so I made cupcakes. Actually, I really wanted to eat some cake batter, and the cupcakes were a byproduct.

At least making the cupcakes distracted me for a bit. I am so going home tomorrow, even if I have to take a bus. *shudder*

Getting better.

Not to tempt fate or anything, but I'm feeling a lot better. Like, significantly better than when I wrote my earlier whiny posts. Yay for healing!

My dad dropped off his car to me this week, so I am back on the road. And I hope to be home on Good Friday, weather and state of healthiness permitting!

I think a Gahan House celebration is in order. With nachos. And friends.

Dizzy. Still.

So in between movies and St. Elsewhere, I've been watching a lot of HGTV. Today on Home to Stay, they showed a freakin' awesome loft-like condo that had two levels. I don't know if you all know this about me, but one of my goals in life is to live in a space that has an upstairs and a downstairs. It was a great size for one person - the bedroom was upstairs, along with a space that was used as a home office/guest room. The backsplash in the kitchen was really pretty, and most of the space was painted in a soft blue-grey. And I want to live there.

I've been feeling a bit better today, but now that it's evening, my dizziness is getting a little worse. My main issues are a feeling of pressure on the back of my head and dizziness. I hadn't been taking any pain relievers, because what I've been feeling isn't exactly pain. But today I decided to experiment, so I took some ibuprofen, which seemed to ease the pressure slightly. I also have fleeting thoughts that perhaps my brain is going to explode from the pressure, and it makes me panic a bit. However, then I remember that I'm not having any other loss of function, so that relieves my worry. A bit.