Congratulations

They say rain is good luck on a wedding day, and it is pouring outside, so good luck to Chris & Suzy today.  Your day is finally here!  Enjoy it and relax in the thought that everything you've been planning for can now unfold.  Can't wait to celebrate with you both tomorrow.

Yeeowch!

A couple of years ago, I decided to start getting waxed instead of shaving. Not all the time, but before a trip or special occasion. I started out at one of the spas in town, and although I never had any problems, I was finding it to be expensive. On someone's recommendation, I decided to try a shop a little closer to home. The person doing aesthetics there, S, was really good, and I was happy to keep going back and getting work done from her.

About a month ago, S decided to accept a job at a call centre, leaving the world of aesthetics behind. I was disappointed to hear that, especially since she was giving up the business altogether. I decided to give her replacement a try, and I had my first appointment with her Wednesday night. What a mistake that was.

First off, what usually takes 1h took 1.5h. Had I known it would take her significantly longer, I would have booked to come a bit earlier. She started out by using giant strips of cloth and attempting to take it all off at once... not a good idea. Waxing is the same as the band-aid concept: you should remove the cloth as quickly as possible. She hesitated during almost every removal, making the pain worse. She also forgot to apply pressure right after the strip was removed (this helps the pain immediately after removal) and she kept commenting on how she forgot to do it. She dripped wax all over me and the table, making me stick to everything. She applied the wax too thick half the time, making removal difficult. She would use the same strip too many times (mainly because she had too much wax on to begin with). She never seemed to press the strip onto the area with enough pressure or time so the wax would ahere, resulting in repeated treatments to the same area. She pretty much did everything wrong. I'm amazed that I don't look bad from it.

Needless to say, I won't be going back to that particular aesthetician again. The next appointment I will need will be for my wedding, but I don't want to try someone new for that -- I want to make sure it is someone I've used before. I guess I will have to go through my old receipts and try to remember names of the astheticians who worked at the spa and see if they are still there. It will cost me $40 more, but at least I won't be a sticky mess or experience a lot of pain.

Incandescent bulbs are not the devil incarnate

I'm not usually one for being a conspiracy theorist, but frankly, I think we're being fed a lot of bull about CFL lightbulbs. They're touted as "huge energy savers" of $50/year. I'd prefer to pay the extra $50 to get the type of light from an incandescent bulb, if $50 really is a true figure. Supposedly the real savings come from using CFLs in fixtures that are on more than 3h/day. I can't recall a light bulb in my house that stays on for 3h or more per day, especially this time of year when the sun sets shortly after 9pm, in my area of the world. In the winter, yes, I do need more light, but I currently live alone and only have a light on in the room I am using. Often in the winter I am watching TV with the lights off (yes, TV uses more energy than a light bulb, but I'm pointing out that my light bulbs are not on that often). Isn't just shutting your lights off when you don't use them a better plan overall?

I also don't agree with how it was never made clear to the general public that CFL bulbs couldn't be thrown in the trash. I wonder how many bulbs have and will continue to end up in the landfill because people aren't aware of this? To be honest, I have never fully read all of the fine print on a CFL package, and it likely does state that it cannot be thrown in the regular trash, but here's the problem: People Are Stupid. Unless it's in giant letters on the packaging, the average person is not going to read the fine print. In my city, CFL bulbs are treated as hazardous waste and must be dropped off at the landfill. That will not encourage compliance. A lot of people also just plain don't give a crap and will throw the bulbs in the trash, even if they know better. This is happening, and will continue to happen. We can't even get people to properly discard paper coffee cups. What will the effect be of added mercury in our landfills?

I was unimpressed to hear that the Canadian government is planning a ban on incandescent bulbs by 2012. What angers me the most is how that plan restricts my choice. I want the ability to put incandescent bulbs in my house in not necessarily all, but some, locations. The politicians are pushing this as a way that everyone can do their part, as it is a small sacrifice. I don't disagree, and I do have CFL bulbs in my house... but aren't there much bigger issues we can tackle that will do more for the environment than light bulbs? Vehicle emissions is the biggest one that comes to mind, but that would cost the auto makers too much money, and in turn, cost us more for vehicles. There doesn't seem to be a winning situation here.

I don't want to be dictated to as to what type of light bulb I use. I can, and will, find lots of ways to counteract my usage of a few incandescent bulbs. Just don't take away my choice.

You can't take it with you

Just over a year ago, my grandfather died.  Two years prior to that, my grandmother passed away.  This left their 9 children with a house full of, well, everything.  Over the past year, the executors of the estate have been busy cataloging the items and having them appraised.  Children had first pick of what items they wanted, having it come out of their share of whatever the remainder of the estate will be.  I got an email from the executors today asking grandchildren to pick an item they would like to have as a remembrance of their grandparents, up to an appraised value of $20.

 

Looking over this list makes me incredibly sad.  I don't want stuff, I want my grandparents back... but I know that's not possible.  How exactly do you pick one item that would encompass a remembrance of two people who were part of my life for all but the last couple of years?  I'm finding the task daunting.  Do I pick an item that is just a remembrance item?  Do I pick something I need for my home but don't already own?  It's been over a year since I was even inside the house, and my memory is fading as to a lot of the items on the list.

 

Grammy & Grampy were my mother's parents.  I have many fond memories of going to their house with my mother on any given, ordinary day.  I remember the day I lost a tooth in a Wagon Wheel I was eating.  I remember countless times of walking in the back door and seeing Grammy ironing (one of her favorite activities).  They were also the original energy savers.  Grammy used to hang laundry out on the line even in the dead of winter, a habit left over from times when they didn't have as much money and before clothes dryers were around.  I remember many, many family events where their house was the gathering place for all of us.  I've had a lot of sadness lately about how our family doesn't seem to gather as much as we used to, a lot in part I believe to the fact that my grandparents are gone.  Soon their house will also be gone because it is up for sale.

 

One item I have wanted since Grammy passed away was a cookbook, which is identical to one that my mother has, and contains some family classics.  That is something about which I passed word along through my mother after Grammy died and they started going through her things.  I didn't get the cookbook then, and it is included in a lot of items that currently has one of my aunt's names on it.  I'm hoping they will let me have that one specific book, as I will indeed put it to use.

 

In the end I decided to ask for things that would be useful to me and that I have some kind of memory of.  I asked for the cookbook as well as a wall barometer that was always in the basement.  I thought that would be nice since I like weather so much.  It's something I can use and think of it as having belonged in their basement in the past.  I also asked if I could purchase a picture from the estate after the picking was done (it was over my allotted dollar amount).  The picture is a photo of the gazebo in King Square in winter.  Grammy loved that particular shot that was included in, I think, a 1982 calendar, and had the picture remain on the wall after the year was over.  Later on someone gave her a framed photo of the same shot.  That photo always hung in the back stairwell, and I have always liked it.  I hope I get the chance to have that as well, if it doesn't get picked by someone else.

 

There is no "right" or "wrong" choice I am making in picking from this list, but I still question myself on whether or not I missed something.  What would Grammy have wanted me to have?  Is there something I am forgetting that I would like to have?

64 days to go

With life being pretty much work, wedding stuff, sleep, repeat, I haven't had much to discuss. I can't even talk in too much detail about wedding things because I want some things to be a surprise.

Things are coming along, though somewhat tortuously at times. Last night was supposed to be invitation assembly night, but a combination of miscommunication and printer malfunctions basically rendered the evening a write-off. I did manage, between 2 printers and lots of wasted envelopes, to get all of the reply card envelopes printed and stamped. I'm regrouping today, getting some more printing done, and hopefully tonight will be a little more lucky for assembly.

I have a lot accomplished, but still a lot remaining to do. I signed a contract with a photographer today, so that is one more item that is done. Next on the list, after invitations, will be flowers. I don't plan on going too crazy over those. I like flowers, but not enough to spend a pile of money on them. After that, it's going to be list after list of small details. Who drives who where and when and in what car. Take John over to Moores for tux fitting. Assemble favors. Figure out a list of shots that I want the photographer to take.

I put most of my planning on hold this week while I prepared for a wedding shower that I am hosting on Sunday. I didn't have much notice to pull it together, but I think I've got things under control. My mom was a big help in finding stuff for me, since I have to work and can't shop during the day. She is also going to make shortbreads for me to serve as well. I need to spend tomorrow fine-tuning the games that I am going to run, as well as wrapping the prizes and cleaning the house as best I can. It's always stressful cleaning the house when you know a bunch of unknown women are coming over.

That's pretty much my life at the moment. It seems like this week has been a regular length with all that has gone on. I did manage to get a better sleep last night and don't feel quite as much like a zombie today. I am also getting a few things cleared off my work to-do list, and that's making me feel a bit better. I won't have much time to rest this weekend, though, and that is a concern. I need all the rest I can get these days.

Still the same

I'm tired.  Tired of trying to be proactive about things and still ending up behind the 8 ball.  Tired of trying to improve myself and my processes, but since other processes aren't in place, it's pretty much a moot point.  Wil things ever change?