Life is a rollercoaster..

And somehow, I'm not the one throwing back that lever to control it.

Life's been taking some pretty.. "interesting" turns lately. Mostly good, occasionally bad, even a little jacked up. But variety is the spice of life, no?

In no particular order, with no real emphasis on impact/importance/relevance/etc., this is what all has been happening lately:

I received a call last week from my store's competitor asking me to come in for an interview. And another the next day. And tomorrow I'm taking the assessment test. Say it with me, folks: That awkward moment when you're leaving your company for the competition.

About 3 weeks ago, I earned my gun safety certificate from Mindsight. 

{yes, it says the 18th, but that's because it wasn't printed and handed to me until then. I technically earned it on Nov. 27th}

And I've only become a better shot since, unloading a solid 200 rounds into targets on Sunday.

I happened to get a call from a good friend of mine, about my fractal art. Our friend's mom wants to use it for business, and is willing to pay for the rights to the artwork and whatnot. I'm floored, blown away, amazed, honoured.. every sort of surprised and flattered emotion out there, along with impressed because there are so many people out there that will just take an image off Google and use it to make money, without any sort of regards to the original artist. So she's going to be looking through my albums and "attempt to narrow it down to 25." {she said this with a laugh, she said she thinks a lot of them are beautiful, which was a really great thing to hear!} I told her we could discuss prices after. I've never experienced this sort of transaction before, so I have no idea as to what to ask in terms of price. I don't want to cost her a business opportunity just because of price, though. I'll figure it out. Probably ask around with people who've done this before. Get estimates. Et cetera.

There's.. also been something quite recent that happened. Something I'm not even sure if it happened, outside of one -very- specific detail. And I know I'll never get the truth out of him. I know he knows.. His voice and actions reflected it the next day. But it's something with which I'll have to come to terms.. Eventually. But for now, I would like to kindly ask any interested individuals to maintain a healthy distance. I know most, if not all, of them don't read this blog, but just in case, for any who do. 

Anywhos.. I don't know what time they currently open, but I think I might get ready and head out to Caribou. I don't know why I'm awake, but I have a chiropractor appointment at 10. If I fall back asleep, I know I'm going to miss it, so I might as well go by the 'bou mantra: "Life is short. Stay awake for it."

Later, interwebs.

Double-Take

I've become accustomed to my somewhat new surroundings. I've lived here before, but it's been over a year since then. Only a week back, but it's been the longest week of my life.

::rewind::

It's amazing how we feel so justified in our decisions. We accommodate for other people but in all reality, we're serving our own means. Some of us need to leave the nest, some of us want to take those people under their wing to protect them. 

Naturally a bonding process begins, quickened by a prior relationship. Bad habits are repeated, but with the desire to protect comes the desire to understand, to make them truly see what's important. Clarity is gained, dedication is promised and upheld. A date is set, there's no reason why it shouldn't happen.

However, there's always a layer others don't see. The crumbling of trust, the lack of communication. Constantly checking up on each other, even when both parties are innocent. Utilizing technology to gain access to information where it never was.

And then.. despite a gradual reconstruction of what's broken, a conversation happens between old friends. It's amazing how simply talking can be the catalyst for a relationship to end. Though I don't believe topics such as "experimentation with others" and how your fiancée is nothing more than dead weight holding you back are normal conversation topics between someone who was soon-to-be-married and an old friend.

Or how a text to a radio DJ  is filled with so much contempt that just reading it feels like a vicious, fanged bite to the jugular. Maybe you should rethink what you're saying when you say that it's nice having a stay-at-home future wife and that you always want to care and provide for our little family, because clearly you were lying.

Though a line has to be drawn somewhere. Installing a key-logger due to a lack of trust in what your lover's been saying to others about you and based on your own insecurities is definitely that line.

So I moved out.

::back to today::

Slowly readjusting to life at home. Jobs are difficult to come by but not without a strong effort to find one. A car is next on the list.

Love is a fickle and painful thing. It's insanity. It keeps you attached to someone from whom you try to get away. Well, maybe it wasn't love. Not in its true form. It was heavily diluted with immaturity, ego, doubts, and sex. Yes, sex can dilute love and turn it into an illusion. It can make a bad relationship last longer if its good. Studies have proven that much, life experience makes it true.

Anywho.. I'm off to walk achingly downstairs and organize my room. I'd love to go snowboarding tonight as well but I hit the gym hard the last couple nights, so we'll see if my screaming muscles will let me. 

Later, internet.

Keepin' Life Legit

Hey guys! Sorry I've been so ... Not-around. Didja miss me?! 

...

::cricket cricket::

...

Well anywho, I missed my internet and all the good things attached, so I think it deserves an update from me. Because it's just that awesome, and so has the new turns this life has and will be taking.

School update:

I just finished my Culinary Foundations II class on Thursday {2010-09-23}. I'm not sure if I'll be getting an "A" this term but y'know what? I gave it what I could and I expanded my memory as much as possible. I don't think I'll be too disappointed with my grade.

We had a "Treat Exchange" before our final, and there were many delicious goodies to be had. I made little cheesecake cupcakes topped with a caramel-chocolate-like-stuff which also coated the strawberry halves I put on top. I'm super happy they were a hit! My instructor even said they were good. Which makes the burns I got from the chocolate worth it. Otherwise, I might've had to smack some people around.. Haha, kidding! ... Kinda.

Animal Update:

The Cheschire Cat is now fixed and declawed. As a result, he's gotten lazier. But he still has fun chasing Mercedes and the laser pointer around the apartment. Next up: Freha. But that won't be until around November.

Apartment Update:

Only a few more days until we can move into our new apartment! I'm so incredibly excited, no question about that. More room, easier access to school, and NO MORE STUPID DRIVERS! ... Okay maybe not as much of the last one because those will always exist, but at least we won't have to deal with the college kids taking up all of our parking. And the non-cityfolk who don't know how to drive downtown on weekends. Seriously, they ruin my day.

Car Update:

Well, the Grand Am is officially gone. We junked it not long ago. Kinda broke my heart, especially because we're now down 2k, but it had to be done. There was so much we didn't know about it when we bought it, and it would've put our lives in danger had we kept it through winter. So now we're driving Jon's parents' van. Which, we've really come to appreciate. I mean, it has loads more space, and it'll really help during our moving process. And it has AC. Truly, you never realize how great AC is until you have to go without it. On a similar note, Jon and I have been oogling Mini Coopers. We've already planned out our cars, which you can view on his blog because we're typing on different computers. You know you wanna look. They're pretty great.

Jonathan Update:

He had a very big interview a few days ago with an amazingly huge corporation, and I know he made an excellent impression. I have complete faith in his abilities {especially since he's overqualified for the job which wasn't too much of a surprise to me but I was still nervous that they'd be looking for more than what he could give. But I'm happy he's everything they want and more!} and I'm hoping against hope that he'll get his foot in the door with this opportunity. He's always been a geek at heart and it makes me happy seeing his eyes light up whenever he discovers a new way to do something or how to create something to be more efficient. And I know this job would mean he'd have to go in to work during the day so I wouldn't see nearly as much of him as I do now, but I think it'll help us appreciate our time together a little more. And I won't have to be home alone now that we're going to have roomies, and he's a very sociable guy so I'm not worried about him making friends at work. Plus, I'm pretty excited to make his lunch for work every day! Like legit, I'm pretty stoked about it. And he said he'd like it, too, and it would keep expenses down on food as well. Besides, we're culinary students. We know how to whip up a good lunch. :)

Well internet, I think that's really about it. I don't have a whole lot more to say about my life at the moment, and I'm going to be busy moving in and starting new classes next week so I might not update for awhile {again}. So don't hold your breath waiting for me. But I promise I'll be back again in not-too-long. I have another tattoo to get and I can't keep you in the dark about it. :)

Oh, and Jon: There should never ever EVER be an apostrophe between the "r" and the "s" of "hers." IT'S NOT PROPER GRAMMAR! Plus, it doesn't exist. It could cause problems equivalent to dividing by zero.