treasure hunt

Get this. Due to Diane’s influence, I’ve been planning on doing a 7x7 album of all the concerts I’ve been to. I even have a bright snap pack just waiting for it. My only stumbling block was that I needed to go back through a few years worth of negatives to find the ones I needed so I could make copies and start the book. A few days ago I finally got inspired to start looking. Of course *I* didn’t find anything. I left it with Mom (who has been organizing pictures and negatives on and off for the past few years).

Today when I got home from work she announced that she had found two of the four sets of negatives that I was looking for. After dinner we worked together and with some major brainstorming, came up with another set. The fourth set was eluding me though. I found the first half of the concert but not the shot I had in mind. One I’ve already scrapbooked so I *know* I have it. Why couldn’t I find it? Then off the cuff Mom asks:

“Are you sure YOU took that photo? Maybe it was from Melissa’s camera.”

Me: “uh oh. That’s not funny!”

She’s right. It was on Melissa’s camera. Luckily I have a disk of the pictures…now to find the disk…

~Heidi

Car wash

I washed my car tonight. The first time it has been washed in *months*. I hate doing it but it certainly looks better. Now, if I'm smart, I'll learn to just go through the drive through car wash. Then the dirt won't build up so bad!!!

I'm pretty proud that I finally did it though.

~Heidi

Leann Rimes Concert Pictures

As promised, I finally got these uploaded. I took WAY more then I thought I did but these are the best. Enjoy! clicky
~Heidi

Leann Rimes & Adam Gregory

Are you tired of concert reviews yet? I hope not cause I’ve got another one. :D Saturday was neat because there were so many big name artists there but there is something to be said about a smaller venue. The Plaza of Nations is right on False Creek in Vancouver and Tuesday was a perfect day for a (mostly) outdoor concert.

I left work at 4:30 like normal and ran home and changed. Then I went to the video store to pick up my tickets (it is owned by the same company as the radio station so it's really convenient). They were a bit confused there with who was supposed to get what and I ended up getting both my tickets AND Adam Gregory's brand new cd!

After that I picked up my co-worker and we headed into Vancouver. Traffic was a bit goofy but we made good time. We parked and then had to wait in the LONGEST line I have EVER seen. It only took about 45 minutes to get through the doors though. The good news was that even though the tickets said "Doors open at 6:30" Damian Marshall (the first act) didn't take the stage until just as we were walking through the gate.

Damian Marshall is a fairly new Canadian artist who is getting good airplay in Vancouver. His current singles include: "Where I'm Running From", "Where I'm Running From" and "I Know What Love Is". I am familiar with him from the radio so it was neat to see him live. He played a short set that included a cover of Gary Allan's "Right Where I Need To Be" and was only backed up by another guitar but it was good.

Adam Gregory, who came on next, is another Canadian artist. He released his first cd at 14! It's been fun watching him grow up, and grow up he has! I've listened to his music for years but this was the first time I've had the opportunity to see him live. He was fantastic...of course, being close to the stage makes a HUGE difference. He did really well though. Great interaction with the crowd, excellent stage presence and a good voice. Plus you could tell he was having a lot of fun. He did a bunch of songs from his new cd including: "Get It On", "Really Love Someone", "Get Your Boots On" (my new favourite party song), "She's So California", "Twister Girl", and "Invitation" He also did his very first single "Horseshoes", as well as "The World Could Use a Cowboy", "Could Have Fooled Me", "When I Leave This House" and others.

Adam did a great job of getting the crowd fired up and by the time Leann Rimes came on we were ready to rock. She didn't disappoint either. She opened with "Somethings Gotta Give" and quickly moved through (in no particular order) "Big Deal", "I Need You", "Blue" "One Way Ticket Beacause I Can" and "Commitment" as well as her newer songs like "Some People", "I Want to With You", "Nothin' 'Bout Love Makes Sense" and "Can't Fight the Moonlight".

Leann has an AMAZING voice. It is SO strong and she really used the opportunity to showcase it. It was fantastic. She was very confident on stage, and you could tell she was at home there. It is obvious that she’s been in the business for a long time.

Leann is another artist who I have watched grow up. She’s a little over a year younger then me and she also started her career at a very young age. Lately she’s been focusing more on her pop career and she just released a pop record in the UK. I’m looking forward to the country album she has scheduled for release later this year.

As well as her own material, Leann also did a Janis Joplin song. It was really neat to see her do “other” stuff and while I wasn’t familiar with the song, it sounded really good and the crowd loved it. Her encore was “Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way” and “How Do I Live”.

I’m really glad I was able to see all three artists. It was a fun night. I paid for it the next day though. I was SO tired. My co-worker is still getting her voice back too.

I (again) took lots of pictures. I’ll try and post them in the next few days.

~Heidi

Word of the Day #22: kern

kern ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kûrn) Printing n.
The portion of a typeface that projects beyond the body or shank of a character.tr.v. kerned, kern·ing, kerns
To provide (type) with a kern.
To adjust space between (characters) in typeset text.

kerning
The process of reducing the spacing between certainpairs of letters to improve their appearance. When a fontis created, each character is given a width that includessome space around it so that the letters don't run into eachother when displayed or printed. This can be thought of as aninvisible box around each character. Some pairs of characterssuch as A and V, look better if the boxes overlap slightly,bringing the characters closer together (but still not touching).

“It’s a GREAT morning in the country!!!”

You bet it is. Good thing I made a point of finishing my reviews from Saturday. Guess what I’m doing to night?

Going to the Leann Rimes concert!!!

I won tickets this morning :D The same station that gave me my Dierks tickets in October has been giving away tickets for the Leann Rimes/Adam Gregory concert at Plaza of Nations in Vancouver. Considering I just got back from the huge concert in Seattle, I couldn’t justify buying tickets. I decided that if I could win them, I’d go. I have tried calling in a few times. Last week, at different times I was caller three, four and five (out of seven). Yesterday I was caller five again. This morning they played a game called “password”. You know the word, the DJ knows the word, the news guy doesn’t know the word. You have to make the news guy say the word. For me it was “Rimes”. No one ever looses though. It was awesome :D

So, I pick my tickets up after work and head out to Vancouver!!!!

Stay tuned for ANOTHER concert review!

BTW I’m taking one of my co-workers. She’s a big Leann Rimes fan and she put up with my hourly “Countdown to Kenny” last week so she deserves it. Plus I know we’ll have a ton of fun.

~Heidi

Seattle Concert Pictures

As previously mentioned we were way up in the nosebleed section. Section 311, Row U, Seats 19-21. Get this though. I was sitting there before the concert started playing with my camera trying to figure out how to turn off auto flash. Guess what I figured out how to turn ON? My DIGITAL ZOOM!!!!!!!!! I have had this camera for what? 15 months? And up until now I have only been using the 4x optical zoom. I *knew* it had digital, I just didn’t realize that I hadn’t turned it on! What a great place to discover it though :D

The thing with digital zoom is the camera has to be absolutely still or it will be fuzzy... it also helps if your subject is still. With Kenny it was next to impossible to get a clear shot. I did better with the rest of them. They are very far away, but at least I have some. Have fun looking!

BTW I'm having problems deciding which site is best to share the photos from. I'll be posting the link on the Dierks Fan Club board so I don't really want them in my image event site. York Photo is very similar to Snapfish. I learned about it through mypoints. You may have to create an account to be able to view them. If you really don't want to, you can log in under me: agent713@hotmail.com password: concert.

Now let's hope this works! Seattle Concert Pictures

Kenny Chesney

Just a quick note on the logistics of the stage. As you’ll see in the pictures (when I figure out how I want to share them), it was HUGE. 50 feet high I think someone said? Each performer’s equipment was set up on it and as each finished their set, they just removed their stuff. That meant that Blaine had a little strip of maybe 5 feet back to work in, Dierks was twice that etc. etc. After Gretchen finished her set they unfurled these large banners (I think that’s what they are classified as) so they could set up without being seen.

As you know I joined the Dierks Bentley fan club in Mid March, just before tickets went on sale for this concert. Ever since I have been reading reviews as they were posted so I knew a lot of what to expect. For example, I knew that Dierks would sing “Free & Easy” and the bluegrass version of “My Last Name”. I also knew that Kenny would open with “Summertime” and that he WOULDN’T be on the main stage. What I couldn’t figure out was where he’d be. At other concerts, including the one that Diane went to, everything was in doors. At a lot of them he shows up on a small stage on the second level and then hitches a ride on a swing type thing which delivers him to the stage. Qwest is open air so he didn’t have that option. There was a smallish stage type thing on the field behind the sound booth. I figured it was just related to the sound equipment but the whole day I kept eyeing it thinking it *might* be where he came out. Sure enough, when the music started, the stage rose up another four feet or so, then a trap door opened and Kenny rose up on a platform from inside the stage. SO cool! The lady in front of us was looking at the main stage going “Where is he????” so my friend tapped her on the shoulder and pointed :D

After finishing “Summertime” he came down a little flight of stairs and ran THROUGH THE CROWD!!! They freaked. It was pretty cool :) Of course there were a billion body guards around him but it was still really neat.

From there he made it up onto the stage and proceed to blow. me. away.

OMFSM. After sitting in the hot sun on a not particularly comfortable stadium chair for so long I was getting pretty tired. Kenny was everything I had hoped for though. He sang a bunch of songs, including all the ones I wanted to hear and even brought Uncle Cracker out for “When the Sun Goes Down”. That was *very* exciting for Crystal :)

Seriously though, that man has SO much energy. I can see why he is the reigning entertainer of the year. He *totally* deserves it. His interaction with the audience was awesome and you could tell he was just really happy to be there. I’d love to be closer next time but this was good.

He finished with "How Forever Feels" (my favourite Kenny song) and then came back out for an encore. Jenna asked "is there anything major he hasn't done yet?" I explained that he *always* finishes with "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and that Dierks usually comes out to sing with him. I was crossing my fingers that he would. When Kenny came back out he was alone. He walked all the way to the end of the stage and with just him and the microphone and a single spotlight sang "Who You'd Be Today" (guess I forgot about that one). Then the stage exploded with lights and Dierks and John Rich came out for Tractor :D Dierks had changed into jeans and put a ball cap on and was clinging to his beer but they sounded awesome and you could tell they were having a ton of fun. When the song was done they all stayed and signed autographs and someone brought out a guitar that they all signed. Then Kenny picked a little girl out of the crowd, brought her up on stage and presented her with it. Very, very cool.

Regarding the sound, it still sucked but having over 40,000 people sing along made the words easier to hear LOL. I was telling my co-worker about the concert this morning and I realized that for this event, the music wasn’t really the reason I was there. I mean I *know* it. Inside out and backwards. I know the words, I know the story behind a lot of the songs, I know how they preformed on the charts etc. etc. For me, the point of going to this concert was to SEE the performers and the show and how they interacted with the audience. I guess that’s a good thing that I wasn’t as focused on the music so it didn’t bug me that bad.

So yeah, it was definitely worth the trip. Would I go see Big & Rich and Gretchen again? Probably not. Do I want to see Blaine again? Yes, in a smaller setting. Would I pay to see Kenny again? Heck yeah, but I want to be closer to the stage. And Dierks? Well, lets just say that January can’t come soon enough. Actually they are saying he’ll be at the Everett Events Center on December 1st. Road trip anybody? :D

~Heidi…off to figure out how best to share pictures…

Gretchen Wilson

Gretchen wasn’t much better then Big & Rich. A lot of the fans on Dierks’ message board are upset that he wasn’t right before Kenny. That is what I had expected would have happened and it would have been MUCH better for the show. Gretchen was okay. She does have a good voice and she did get the crowd pretty excited. I’ve been listening to her latest cd for the past few days so I was familiar with the songs that aren’t singles (like “Skoal Ring”) and her brand new single “California Girls”. As an entertainer though, she was just down right boring. Strutting back and forth across the stage and constantly playing with her hair. She did an acoutstic set which I’m sure was interesting but because the sound was so bad and the echo was so loud, most of it passed right over my head. I was glad when she finished.

Big & Rich

There is so much that could be said about Big & Rich but I’ll try to keep it short. As a general rule, I’m not a fan of their music. Sure “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” is a fun rockin’ party song but it’s not something I’d buy on a cd. I was interested to see them in concert simply because they are SO off the wall and get a lot of press. I can’t say I was “wowed” though. Their stage show is very high energy and it fits their music but neither are my style. They brought “Cowboy Troy” and “Two Foot Fred” out which was kind of neat. During “8th of November” they had a few local veterans on the stage as well.

Overall I was pretty bored, especially after Dierks’ awesome performance. The sun was setting during Big & Rich’s stage time and I forgot my hat in the car so if I wanted to see them, I had to hold my hand up to shield my eyes. That got old really fast :P I actually took a bathroom break during their show and I don’t feel like I missed anything. Sorry to any B&R fans out there but I can’t say very much good about them. Oh, and John Rich smashing the guitar at the end was just weird. Total waste of a good guitar.

Dierks Bentley

Dierks, on the other hand, was amazing. Even from SOOOO far away. As you know I’ve seen him twice now. Once when he opened for George Strait in Vancouver when he was still a relative nobody. At that show I was impressed with his energy and how he interacted with the crowd. In October he was …I’m struggling with an adjective for how good that show was. It was at the Commodore in Vancouver. Maybe it was the small intimate venue, maybe it was the fact that everyone was there to see him, maybe it was that I was right beside the stage for the whole night. In any case that show is currently, hands down, the best one I’ve been to yet. BUT in the past almost seven months, Dierks has punched his show up with a TON of energy. Touring with Kenny has rubbed off in a great way. He OWNED that stage! Moving all over, totally reving up the crowd (if you could call it that considering the stadium was FAR from full) and doing flat out amazing. Again, I really couldn’t hear the words or him speaking so I didn’t get as much from it as I could have. The music to his new song “Free & Easy” (which I’ve heard a lot about on the fan club message board) sounded good but I still don’t know what the lyrics are. From what I got the bluegrass version of “My Last Name” was good but I know I missed out on a lot.

Having seen him from so close in October really helped me to enjoy his show that much better. Even though he was really far away, I KNOW what he looks like up close and seeing him live again really brought back those awesome memories. I can’t wait until he comes to Vancouver in January!

On that note, It's almost 11 and my boss gets back from a week away tomorrow so I need to go to bed. I'll finish my reviews tomorrow or as soon as I can. I do have pictures uploaded. I'll figure out how to link them tomorrow.

~Heidi

Blaine Larsen

I am a *really* big Blaine Larsen fan so seeing him was a priority for me. For those of you who aren’t familiar with him, Blaine is a 20 year old singer/songwriter from Buckley, Washington (down by Tacoma somewhere) He released his first cd “Off to Join the World” while he was still in high school. The two singles from it “The Best Man” and “How Do You Get That Lonely” get great airplay in Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest (not too sure about the rest of the country). His sophomore album “Rockin’ You Tonight” was released a week and a half ago. Both cd’s have awesome songs from a very talented young man. Blaine did well on stage but he was definitely out of his element. Even though he has two cd’s out already he has a long way to go before he can be comfortable on a stage that size in a venue that big.

I’d love to see him again in a smaller setting. I think he’d do a lot better. The fact that he was the first of five acts, and that a lot of people hadn’t arrived yet had something to do with it but I think he’s just too fresh.

He has been on tour with Gretchen Wilson (as part of the Redneck Revolution tour) but I don’t know if that has been a good fit for him. Anyways, good but not great.

Stay tuned, Dierks review is next :D

Pre-Concert Ramble

::WARNING:: this is VERY long...in fact I've decided to split it up. This is all the stuff leading UP to the concert. If you want to hear my review of individual acts, they will come later.
...................................................

Wow. What a weekend. I’ll see if I can capture the whole thing (remembering that one of my reasons for blogging is so that I’ll have built in journaling when the time comes for me to scrapbook this event).

Friday night I went to Janis’ because all my casual clothes were there and I hadn’t decided what to wear. (BTW Janis I didn’t get a chance to check what you referenced in the email but I will). Saturday morning the sun woke me up at 6 and I just got up. I realized there was NO way I was going back to sleep so I didn’t even try. I cleaned my purse out, ate breakfast and took my sweet time getting ready. I then went and picked my friend Crystal up. I had to wait for her to finish getting ready but by the time she was, Jenna was good to go. We were on the road by about 9:45 am. It took forever to get across the border but once we were, it was smooth sailing.

BTW, Jenna is my concert buddy. She was with me the first two times I saw Dierks and she bought me tickets to Brad Paisley for the concert in January as my Christmas present. Crystal is another friend from high school and a fairly new country music convert.

Getting into Bellvue (where our hotel was) wasn’t a problem. FINDING it was another story. I kind of did some concentric circles, slowly zeroing in on it before I finally located it. My co-pilot isn’t a great map reader ;) and I relied too much on my own sense of direction – not that anyone who reads this would know anything about THAT :D

The hotel had issues with allowing us an early check in because the room hadn’t been cleaned yet. I had to hammer it into her head that I didn’t need to GO INTO the room, all I wanted was the key so I didn’t have to deal with her after the concert! She finally figured it out and we were on our way to Qwest Field. Luckily the 405(?) from Bellvue to Seattle goes RIGHT to Qwest. That was a blessing. Finding parking was a bit interesting. At Qwest was $25. Umm…no thank you. We decided to drive a few blocks and see if we could find anything cheaper.

A block from Qwest we passed the Pyramid Brewery. I had made plans to meet up there with one of Darrcie’s downline. A girl named Tonya who is a huge country music fan like me. We had both been talking about the concert while at the retreat on Lopez Island and she emailed me a few weeks back to see if we wanted to hook up and go for a meal before the concert. It worked well for me since I knew we’d want to eat but I don’t know downtown Seattle very well and it was nice to have a reference.

So, back to the story. Passed Pyramid Brewery, turned left, found a parking garage that was only charging $15. Still expensive but that was doable. Turn in and I hear someone calling my name. Tonya was standing on the sidewalk!!! They had parked at the same place. It was amazing timing. It was funny, her friend Mary, and her brother John were like “who are you yelling at?” and my friends were like “who is that???” both of us said “The person we are meeting up with!!!”

It worked out perfectly. We were able to walk to the restaurant together and then wait together. That place is POPULAR! We waited for about a half and hour before we even got a spot at the bar (which is part of the waiting area) and we ended up just eating there. The food was good. I would love to go back there on a non-event day.

We got to Qwest Field at just past four. After a bathroom break we walked up a VERY long ramp to the 300 level. Being up that hig, the sound was horrible. Especially for Blaine and it wasn't much better for Dierks. It was REALLY hard to hear the words to the songs and if they were just speaking you pretty much couldn't make out what they said. Someone behind us said that it was an experiment for Qwest to put people in the upper level for concerts so we were guinea pigs. News flash for Qwest, their experiment failed. :(

That said, the day was amazing. We chose to enjoy it and had a great time. Jenna described it as a "concert marathon" and I had to agree. It was a VERY long day. Blaine Larsen, the first act, took the stage around 4:30. Kenny didn’t come on until after 9 pm!!!

We were on the East side of the field so we got the benefit of the full blazing sun. Some people in the Dierks fan club have mentioned that they got sunburned and I was very surprised that we didn’t. It was SO hot. One of the benefits of being up that high was that there was a nice breeze but it was still crazy. We kept chanting “When the sun goes down…” trying to will it down out of our line of sight :)

Stay tuned...

SO excited

EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

You have NO idea how hard it is for me to sit here at my desk and pretend to work. In 25 hours and 15 minutes I will be at THE concert :D I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dierks’ new single “Every Mile A Memory” will be released to radio on Tuesday. They posted it for the fan club today and I’ve had it on repeat. Awesome, awesome, awesome!

I. can’t. wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven’t entirely decided what to wear and I have things to do this evening (pack) to get ready but it’s okay. It will help me pass the time.

~Heidi…SO excited!

Word of the Day #21: ameliorate

a·mel·io·rate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-mly-rt)
tr. & intr.v. a·me·lio·rat·ed, a·me·lio·rat·ing, a·me·lio·rates
To make or become better; improve. See Synonyms at improve.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Alteration of meliorate.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a·melio·ra·ble (-r-bl) adj.
a·melio·rative adj.
a·melio·rator n.

mel·io·rate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mly-rt, ml--)
v. mel·io·rat·ed, mel·io·rat·ing, mel·io·rates
v. tr.
To make better; improve.

v. intr.
To grow better.

panhandlers

Last night was my third session of the writing class I’m taking. I parked beside SteamWorks (for those of you that know Vancouver) like I normally do. When I went to pay for parking I was approached by a panhandler. Now it should be known that I don’t like giving anyone money just because they ask for it. Never have. Normally I just say “sorry I don’t have any” which is usually the truth. That’s what I said yesterday…while flashing my Visa. You have to admit, it is pretty smart to ask people for spare change while they are pumping a machine with it. Oh, and his opening line was “is it [the machine] working for you?” Because the first time I put my card into the machine it didn’t read it. That’s brilliant too, offering to help so that they feel grateful and then want to give you money.

Anyhow, he asked if the machine was working, which it did the second time thankyouverymuch. Then he asked for money. When I refused he added “I’m homeless and I’m just trying to get money for food”. Sorry. Doesn’t work on me. I went back to my car to put the parking receipt “face up on the dashboard” and grab my books. I also grabbed the apple that I had been planning on having for a snack. I went back over to him and said “I don’t have any money but you’re welcome to this apple”. He gratefully accepted it and immediately started eating it.

It was interesting. I still refuse to give them money but I might be inclined to carry more apples with me.

~Heidi

Word of the Day #20: mollify

mol·li·fy ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ml-f)
tr.v. mol·li·fied, mol·li·fy·ing, mol·li·fies
To calm in temper or feeling; soothe. See Synonyms at pacify.
To lessen in intensity; temper.
To reduce the rigidity of; soften.

What do you call lip gloss for a car?

What do you call lip gloss for a car?


Answer:






Wait for it...








AUTO BALM

LOL that is courtesy of my boss who is out of town this week. Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. I'm working on an entry from my weekend but I want to include pictures so it's taking awhile. Right now I'm just focusing on working through my lengthy to do list and blogging is taking a lower priority.

Hope all is well with you.

~Heidi

Honestly

1. Honestly, what color is your underwear?
Today? Boring white cotton. Yesterday? Lime Green cotton

2. Honestly, what's on your mind right now?
I *really* should be working

3. Honestly, what are you doing right now?
not working

4. Honestly, do you think you are attractive?
Yep, in my own way

5. Honestly, do you watch disney channel?
Might if I had it. I try to limit my tv though

6. Honestly, are you jealous of someone right now?
yes but not enough to let it bother me

7. Honestly, do you bite your nails?
I used to but I can honestly say that I’ve gotten over it. They actually look pretty dang good right now!

8. Honestly, what is your mood right now?
tired because it’s Friday and the end of a VERY long week.
Happy because it’s Friday and the end of a VERY long week.
Relieved because…you get the picture…

9. Honestly, have you had an eating disorder?
Does eating too much count?

10. Honestly, do you want to see someone this very minute?
Sure!

11. Honestly, do you have a friend you don't actually like?
LOL yes

12. Honestly, are you loyal?
I certainly try to be

13. Honestly, are you in denial?
Unfortunately

14. Honestly, where would you rather be right now?
On vacation. Anywhere.

15. Honestly, do you like someone?
no

16. Honestly, does anyone like you?
I like to think so

17. Honestly, is it going anywhere with them?
N/A!

Canadian Girl

This picture was taken on Mothers Day. We had a picninc by the river and Dad brought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Since we don't have a thermos big enough for coffee for the family he also did a Tim Hortons run. I thought all the cups together looked pretty cool.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much this week. I've been b.u.s.y. My boss is away next week though so hopefully I'll have time to get caught up on work stuff and to brain strom some interesting entries.

Have a great weekend!

~Heidi

3 Month Review

As previously mentioned, I had my three month review today. It went really well. The process is that I fill out a self evaluation form, my boss fills one out and we discuss our findings. Over all we were pretty similar but she rated me higher on some stuff. That was partially due to me not understanding the questions and partially because I was a bit hard on myself because I know I am capable of more. She is quite pleased though. It was nice to get the positive feedback. We discussed some ways in which I can improve and some action steps I can take. I wasn't nervous at all and there were no surprises.

When I got back from lunch there was a beautiful gerber daisy in my inbox. A gift from one of my co-workers as a "welcome (permanently) to the team" :)

~Heidi

Word of the Day #19: correspondence

cor•re•spon•dence P Pronunciation Key (kôr -sp n d ns, k r -)
n.
1. The act, fact, or state of agreeing or conforming.
2. Similarity or analogy.
3.
a. Communication by the exchange of letters.
b. The letters written or received.

The third one is what applies to me daily. I frequently have to write this word out and for the longest time I spelled it correspondAnce. I finally sat down and figured out that there is no dancing in correspondEnce. :D

~Heidi

Spiders

I don’t like spiders but they don’t freak me out like some people. Good thing too. My bathroom is right next to my bedroom in the basement. There are creepy crawly things around. I know this. Usually I see them and just shrug it off.

This morning when I stepped into the shower I was greeted with the nasty sight of a fairly large spider. Including legs he was probably an inch in diameter, he was one of the ones with a big body though. Okay everyone together now, ::collective shudder:: Like I said, they don’t bother me that bad but there is something about standing there, naked and having to attack a spider. Blech! I did capture him, with a piece of toilet paper and dropped him in the toilet.

That’s not all. When I got OUT of the shower, there was a very small slimy thing slithering across the floor. A centipede type thing. He went into the toilet too.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the ants.

I think I’m going to move into Janis’ permanently!!!

~Heidi…master bug hunter…

Word of the Day #18: efficient

ef·fi·cient ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-fshnt)
adj.
Acting directly to produce an effect: an efficient cause. See Synonyms at effective.

Acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort.
Exhibiting a high ratio of output to input.


I scheduled my three month review for Thursday...which is coincidently my actual three month anniversary.

I don't feel very efficient today. Maybe it will get better as the week goes on...

~Heidi

A little R&R

It's Sunday afternoon and I just realized I haven't blogged in awhile. Nothing exciting to report I guess. I took Friday afternoon off to liquidate some overtime and to give me a sanity break. I came home and did some stuff on the computer and then headed out to Janis'. My goal was to do power layouts. Before I could I had to clear off the table from my scrapbooking and card making supplies. Let's just say it took awhile :P I did get my PL done and yesterday I joined Sue and a few other people at Deb's house for a full day of scrapbooking. I got quite a few pages done and finished up some swaps that are due this week. It was a very successful day.

This morning I slept in an then hung around Janis', ate breakfast, did some journalling and read a bit before coming home. Right now I'm listening to a thunder shower while I wait for dinner. We have an evening church service and then who knows what is happening this evening.

Hope y'all have had as relaxing a weekend as I have had.

~Heidi

Word of the Day #17: heuristic

heu·ris·tic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hy-rstk)
adj.
Of or relating to a usually speculative formulation serving as a guide in the investigation or solution of a problem: “The historian discovers the past by the judicious use of such a heuristic device as the ‘ideal type’” (Karl J. Weintraub).
Of or constituting an educational method in which learning takes place through discoveries that result from investigations made by the student.
Computer Science. Relating to or using a problem-solving technique in which the most appropriate solution of several found by alternative methods is selected at successive stages of a program for use in the next step of the program.

n.
A heuristic method or process.
heuristics (used with a sing. verb) The study and application of heuristic methods and processes.


I started my writing course yesterday. It took almost as long to get to the campus as it did for the course but that's okay. It was a nice day for a drive.

I really enjoyed my first session and I'm looking forward to the rest of them. Our instructor "Tom" is very personable and he makes the topic matter quite interesting. We covered a varitety of items including writing process, critical and creative thinking skills, grammer and puncuation.

Get this. The eternal question for Canadians is how to punctuate the following:

a b and c

do you do it: a, b, and c. or a, b and c?

Apparently the former is American (and how Microsoft likes to see it) and the latter is British. I have struggled with this for a long time so I was interested to hear his take on it. He concluded that we would be better off doing "a, b, and c." The American way. His reasoning is that it is more consistent and clearer. For example if you say "After class I'm going out for beer, rum and coke, and wiskey." That second comma groups the rum and coke together. I don't know if it makes sense here but he did last night. There were lots of other great tips too.

It has been a *long* time since I have been in a classroom setting and even longer since I've studied grammer and punctuation so I am overdue.

Now to get going on the assignments...

~Heidi

Chai Blended Crème

The Starbucks website describes it as follows:

Tazo® Chai Frappuccino® Blended Crème
A unique and spicy-sweet blend of Tazo® Chai and milk blended with ice to creamy perfection and topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Finally, I can enjoy the taste of chai on hot days too. Today I had the Chai Blended Crème. Blended Crème is like a frappacino but there is no coffee in it. It was yummy! Slightly heavy tasting because it is Chai (I had originally gone in for something light and fruity) but it was quiet tasty and not nearly as sweet as the Coconut Mocha Frap’s I’ve been drinking. I’ll definitely have that again.

I do need to remember to ask for it with no whip though. Whip adds FIFTEEN and HALF GRAMS OF FAT!!! OMFSM! Glad I enjoyed it today cause I won't be having it that way again!

~Heidi

Mutts

One of my very favourite comic strips is Mutts I get it delivered to my inbox daily (along with Dilbert). The series that Mutts just ran called "Animal Idol" was so cute that I have to share it :) Enjoy!!!
~Heidi

Fly Hunt

Man I wish I could draw! Our receptionist is currently on a fly hunt.

Picture this. A fairly tall heavy set girl with shoulder length wavy blonde hair armed with a bubble gum pink fly swatter, in the shape of a flower, racing around an office in an effort to rid the world of flying insects. Oh, now she’s talking to it, “C’mon, you know your fate. Take it like a man!!!”

It’s a funny site that would look awesome immortalized as a caricature :D

~Heidi

My Big News

Last Monday in my “What Could Have Been” post, I alluded to the fact that I had some “big news”. I wasn’t ready to post at the time because I was waiting for confirmation and a clearer timeline. Yesterday I got it.

Remember in the previous post how I had stopped by my old office and was kind of sad that I wasn’t part of that organization any more? Well the very next day (Saturday, May 27th) I stopped off at the Farmers’ Market downtown. (Something which I helped launch while at my old job) Lots of local “movers and shakers” were there since it was the first day of the season and the “official opening”.

I was chatting with another of my co-workers when my old boss approached us. He greeted us and then said “Heidi, I’m glad you are here. I have a proposition for you. Would you be interested in sitting on our Board of Directors?”

My immediate reaction was “Heck yeah!” but of course I had to play it cool and be professional. I had to check with my boss to make sure she was okay with the time commitment it would involve and he has to pass it through the nominating committee and get board approval.

How cool is that though? Two months after I finish working for them I’m invited to sit on the Board! This is how I can be involved. I am very excited :D

The nominating committee/board process will probably take a little while. Currently the Board is made up of seven men. There are a few reasons my ex-boss is nominating me for the position.
1. I’m a woman, and they’ve always had problems with female membership.
2. I’m a “youth” (anything under 29 is considered a youth) and they need “fresh blood”
3. I’ve been around for a long time and he likes my input, my point of view and my experience.

I told my mom, that since I won’t work for pay, he wants me to work for free :D
Anyways, I am very flattered to be asked and I am excited to continue on with this organization while still keeping my day job.

Oh, and the Tuesday after I was approached regarding the board position I got a phone call. This one was from one of the references I had used to get my current job. I sit on a task force committee for a local organization that she is the staff contact for. She asked “are you working FULL time?” When I replied that I was she said “That’s too bad. My part time assistant just accepted a full time position at another organization and I would have liked to talk to you about filling this one”!

Talk about good for the ego. I need it though. I’ve got my three month review coming up soon. Wish me luck!!!

~Heidi

Rally Weekend

This weekend was “Rally in the Valley”. The annual event that my square dance club hosts. I missed it last year because it was the same weekend as my parents twenty-fifth wedding anniversary so I was determined to go this year. I’m really glad I did.

It was a LOT of dancing, especially since we’ve been off since mid April but it was a blast. It started Friday evening with a “Trail in Dance”. Square dancing is a way of life for a lot of people. You can pretty much hop in your RV and just go from festival to festival all across the country. If you do that for a few years in a row, you end up making friends and then the next time you come back it’s just like a big reunion. The hall where my club dances is actually part of a school and it is right beside a ball diamond and playing field. By Friday evening there were almost three dozen RV’s parked out there! In all we had around 130 people attend, which is actually pretty small for an event like this but it was a comfortable size for our hall.

Friday night our resident caller, Bill, was on duty. It was a really fun dance and I even managed to get my parents to come out and watch! I’ve been dancing for a year and a half and they have never seen me. I prepped them for this event by talking about it a lot in the weeks leading up to it and when I left on Friday I made them promise to come. They only stayed for a half hour or so but the point is THEY CAME and that was HUGE for me.

Saturday we started with a continental breakfast and then had a morning “pajama dance”. After that I had a few hours to kill so I hit some scrapbooking stores and wandered the mall for a bit. In the afternoon we had a “plus” workshop and a “rounds” workshop. When you start dancing, you are at the “basic” level. Within a year you can move up to “Mainstream” over time you learn “plus” moves. As of our last practice in April I have officially done all of the “plus” moves. I’m far from dancing at that level consistently though so it was good to practice. Plus it gave me a chance to get to know the guest caller, Brent. The rounds workshop was WAY over my head. We only just started a bit of it this year so I am very, very basic on it. It was fun to watch though.

Saturday evening we had a potluck dinner (which was YUMMY :)) and then the Saturday night dance. Very, very fun. I got home around 11 but of course it takes awhile to unwind so I probably fell asleep around midnight.

Sunday I was up at 7:30 and headed back out for a pancake breakfast and another morning dance. (BTW, the hall where I dance is about 20 minutes from my house so it was a fair bit of back and forth). After that I headed back home and went to church and then went BACK out, this time all the way to Minter Gardens. The weather was really crummy but there were some tents up and we had free admission into the gardens. We danced for about an hour and a half and then everyone packed up and went home. I took the opportunity to wander the gardens a bit. If I remember I’ll try and upload some pictures. I haven’t been out there in probably 15 years so it was really nice.

Sunday afternoon I had plans to meet up with my friend Terri for dinner. I want to give a quick shout out to her too. I don’t dwell on who does or doesn’t read my blog but I have to say, it is nice to hear someone say “Yes, I heard about that. I read your blog!!!” Terri does it often. Thanks Terri :D BTW, I still don’t have your cell number… ;)

After dinner I headed home and met up with my family and we went and saw the Davinci Code. I’ll put my review of that in a separate post.

So, as you can see, it was a busy weekend!!! This week is shaping up to be crazy too. My plans for tonight are to head out to Janis’ for a quiet evening and go to bed early!

~Heidi

TIA vs. TPA

What the…???

I just searched for a flight from Vancouver to what I thought was Tampa Bay, FL. They are quoting it at over eight thousand dollars. WHAT??? Apparently the airport code for Tampa is TPA not TIA. TIA is Tirana, Albania.

Ooookay…refine search!

:D

~Heidi

10 minutes

OMFSM!!!!!!!!!!

You are not going to believe this. I just sat on hold for oh, probably ten minutes listening to that nasty music because I was supposed to receive email confirmation on something and it hadn’t arrived. While I was waiting I checked my email. The side bar in Outlook said “4 unread messages” but there were only three in my inbox. After some quick checking I found one in my spam folder (I very rarely if ever get spam at this address so I never check it). Guess what was there? The email in question!!!

There’s ten minutes of my life that I’ll never get back!!!

~Heidi

PS Blogger has been really weird this morning, hence the delay on this second message.

“Please Hold”

Who invented hold music? And why did they demand that it be the *worst* music on the planet? Nasty muzak with some chick saying “please remain on the line to keep your call in priority” every thirty seconds. Uggh. This is brutal!

Although I will say by far the WORST hold music I have EVER heard, is on the Creative Memories consultant line. That stuff was just nasty. It was so bad that it would set our fax machine off. E.v.e.r.y.t.i.m.e. It was just the right frequency. I finally started just calling from work during my lunch hour, or unplugging the fax machine.

I had a crazy busy weekend but it was a ton of fun. I’ll try and update soon.

~Heidi

You're gonna die

One of my co-workers (our receptionist) smokes. On Thursday's and Friday's when our part time receptionist is off I'm responsible for covering the phones when this girl goes for lunch or out for a smoke.

Today, when she informed me that she was headed out for a cigarette I told her

"Girl, you're gonna die if you keep doing that."

She replied with, "If I don't go, someone certainly will die". She's a bit stressed right now. You can't really argue with her logic either :D

~Heidi

Word of the Day #16: eponymous

e·pon·y·mous ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-pn-ms)adj.
Of, relating to, or constituting an eponym.

ep·o·nym ( P ) Pronunciation Key (p-nm)n.
A person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something, such as a city, country, or era. For example, Romulus is the eponym of Rome.
Medicine. A name of a drug, structure, or disease based on or derived from the name of a person.

I think this is the coolest sounding word. I see it often in relation to self titled albums. Just a bit of trivia, George Strait's 27th album was simply named "George Strait" The quote from his website reads: "When asked about the eponymous title of this CD, George replied jokingly, 'Yeah, I ran out of CD titles so I just stuck my name in there'." :D

~Heidi

Party Lite

I went to a Party Lite show tonight. It's probably been about three years since my last one. It was fun. Very nice stuff but I didn't buy a thing. I just couldn't justify making a "token purchase" of tealights or votives or something when their shipping is $4.25 an order. None of the holders stood out to me either. I have more then enough already so it was really easy to talk myself out of anything.

The consultant was really good though. I find that since I have been in a direct selling position, I am very critical when it comes to other consultants. She impressed me though. She's only been selling Party Lite for 14 months and she already has 15 downline!!! Plus she had great product knowledge and she was helpful without being pushy.

Anyhow, I'm proud that I didn't spend money. Everyone else did though so the hostess still got her gifts :)

~Heidi...off to burn a candle from her stash...

Ma'am

I just got off the phone with a hotel in Atlanta. I'm pretty sure that in the last ten minutes I was called "Ma'am" more times then I have been in my entire life!!! Yi yi yi! She was a very sweet girl. I did have her repeat herself a few times because her Southern drawl was so thick but she was very helpful.

This job is certainly interesting!

~Heidi