Yay!

I am very happy to say that I am leaving. I have found a job in Korea that starts in early January. I don't know exactly when I will leave, but it will be soon. I will be living in a city not far from Seoul. The school is pre-school, kindergarten and early elementary. It is a school, not a language academy like the last place I worked. This means that I will be teaching curriculum, not conversational English. It will be quite a change from the last school I was at. I'm very excited about it. I am also very excited that I will get to finally be in the same country as Samuel. It has been a very long time since I last saw him. I kind of feel like I am moving half way around the planet to go on a blind date. But not a blind date. Hmmm. Anyway, I'm leaving. It's a good thing.

Seriously people?

I noticed something recently. It seems that I am quite frequently stuck behind a stupid driver. You know the kind that takes the ramp to get on to the freeway but doesn't bother accelerating to get up to the speed of the other cars on the freeway, or the kind that slows down on the highway before they move over into the turning lane when the turning lane is more that sufficient space to slow down, or the kind that goes ten under the speed limit until you get into city limits and then they go ten above. Why am I so lucky so often? Today I almost got sideswiped by a stupid woman who changed three lanes at once without bothering to look, and then she looked insulted when I honked at her. I was behind a van today getting off of the freeway. Instead of merging into traffic like a normal person, he stopped. Yep. Really. Does anyone other than me actually know how to drive? Some days I really doubt it.

CBC thought-train of the week

Okay, I listen to a lot of CBC podcasts, but I like them, and then I don't have to listen to my own thoughts as I clean toilets and mop floors. Much of the time the podcasts direct my thoughts toward certain things. Sometimes I tell you about my thoughts, sometimes I keep them to myself. I will share this one.

DNTO this week was about repetition. One woman talked about a book she read over, and over, and over again, and why she liked to read that book. I have a book that I have read many, many times; The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. I don't even know how many times I have read this book, but I am on my third copy. This is one of the few books I brought with me when I went to Korea, and I think I read it three or four times in the time I was there. I think I like this book so much because I identified with Valancy. There was the Valancy that everyone knew, and there was the Valancy that she knew was there, but was too afraid to let out. One day she decided to stop hiding the real Valancy, and she started to say the things she always thought, and she did what she wanted to do no matter what her family thought. She started living life instead of watching it. She had fun. And she found her blue castle, the place where she knew she belonged, the thing she had been looking for her whole life but couldn't find. She was finally happy. I love this book. The thing is though, I haven't read it in quite a while. Almost two years in fact. I don't think I need to. I found my blue castle. I'm not there right now, I left it, but I know it's there and I will find it again. My blue castle is waiting for me.

Changing

I was listening to a DNTO podcast recently. As if often the case, it got me thinking. This probably isn't the goal of DNTO, it is a comedic program after all, but it got me thinking anyway. The question they asked that episode was whether it is posible for people to change. My initial response was, of course it's possible for people to change, look at me. Most of you would say that I am definately different now than I was before I went to Korea. I would have said that too. But I'm not so sure now. I certainly behave differently than I did before. There are things I do now that I never would have done before. But am I really that different? I think the core of who I am has not changed at all. I think this person that I am now has always been there, waiting inside, for me to let her out. I just didn't know how to let her out. Now that I have let her out, I am so much happier than I was before. Robin now is the true me. I never really was the real Robin before, and I wasn't very happy. I don't think it is possible to be happy while not being true to who you are. I think I was just pretending to be happy before. Certainly, there were happy moments, but I don't think I was truly happy. Sometimes I feel the old Robin coming back to the forefront, and I don't like that. It scares me because I know what being old Robin was like, and I didn't like that at all. New Robin is so much better. But are old Robin and new Robin really different or does old Robin hold new Robin prisoner until she can escape? I know old Robin isn't completely winning because I wrote this. Old Robin never would have let other people into her thoughts.

I will stop refering to myself in third person now. I know it's been a long time since my last post, and then I have to go and post something overly serious like this. I will be more trivial and funny next time. Unless, of course, I listen to DNTO again. Those CBC programs are deep sometimes.

Did I miss something?

Okay, I thought the whole point of having a convertible was to look cool. You know, driving around in your way cool sports car with the top down. Showing that you have enough money to have an extra car that you can only drive for about two months of the year. Chick magnets. I think I missed something, or that guy totally did. The other day I saw a convertible and I was confused. It was a Smart Car convertible. Okay, it is absolutely imposible to look cool while driving a Smart Car. It just is. There is no way. Making it a convertible does not change that fact. You still look dumb. Only now maybe more so than you would have if you had stuck to the original. It's like pimping out the mini-van. Doesn't help at all. Makes you look pathetic. I don't think this convertible could in any way be called a chick magnet. Unless it gets the girls to go "awww, it's so cute. Like a little baby car." Size matters guys. It really does.

Boys are gross

The other day I forgot to take my Ipod with me when I went to clean. I always bring my Ipod with me. That way I don't have to think for myself. This time I had to do my own thinking. As I was cleaning, I was thinking about cleaning. More specifically, I was thinking about cleaning bathrooms. I have cleaned many bathrooms, and I have reached this conclusion: boys are gross. I don't mind cleaning bathrooms, but I am continually grossed out by what I see when I go into the men's bathroom. Mostly because of urinals. Apparently aiming is difficult. I constantly find puddles on the floor. One time I found a puddle on the top of the urinal. That takes some talent I must say. I always have to wash the walls around the urinals. Standing up to pee is messy work. Why do boys brag about it? I often find gum in the urinals. Surprise! Gum doesn't flush, if they had even bothered to try to flush. You know what else doesn't flush? Paper towel. Neither do pennies. They do cause the urinal to overflow though. Boys don't seem to flush urinals very often. Urinals drain anyway, why flush? Sometimes they don't flush the toilets. Boys pee standing up, so you know what's in the toilet. It often seems that they don't flush because they thought they had something to be proud of and wanted to show it off. It's like the redneck joke, you know you're a redneck when you leave the bathroom and say "ya'll better come see this before I flush it." I didn't want to see it.
The women's bathroom is not all roses either. There is always paper towel on the floor, and soap on the counter and hair in the sink. Occasionally I have to pick up a tampon wrapper from off the floor. Sometimes even pee on the seat. But never pee on the walls or puddles on the floor. Girls pee sitting down. Not bragging; fact.

Bunny in the park

I really didn't intend to write another fashion blog this soon. I really didn't, but the event of the Canada Day celebration in the park left me with no choice. I had to write another fashion blog. What's a girl to do when she sees something that atrocious? Well, write about it obviously.

I was not aware that Canada Day was an occasion for costumes. Not costumes like wearing Canada t-shirts or hats with a flag cape. That doesn't count; that's just being patriotic at an appropriate time. No, I mean costumes with ears. Let me set the scene: we're standing in line waiting to get caramel apples and cotton candy. What's a day in the park without sugar? The line was at a stand still, so I did what I always do when I am in a crowd of people; I looked for things about other people to criticize. I realize that it's small and petty of me, but there are so many people that need to be criticized and I am willing to do it. Anyway, there I was looking around, not seeing much to mock, but then it appeared. Well, she appeared. In a costume. I'll start at the top. The very top. With the bunny ears. Yes, she was wearing bunny ears. Pink ones. I'm really not sure how bunny ears go with celebrating the day our country became a country, but she saw the connection. The bunny ears were not the end of the costume, no there was more. Unfortunately, not a lot more. The rest of the costume consisted of a skimpy pink tank top and very short shorts. Very, very short. I think she must have altered them herself. You don't normally see shorts that short. Yes people, there was cheek. Quite a lot. Definately not in a good way. She was going for the whole Playboy bunny look and failed. She most definately did not have the figure to attempt the Playboy bunny look. Most of us don't, and I'm not faulting her for that, but most of us know better than to try to work the bunny look with figures that would be more suited for the, um, well, a larger, rounder animal look. I really didn't need to see that much of her, but it did give me something to write about, and for that, girl with the rabbit ears, I thank you.

The rights of thongs

There has been a request for the topic of this blog. I am happy to oblige. Feel free to make requests in the future.

I have to start this rant by revisiting the yoga pant issue. I believe I said something along the lines of yoga pants are really tight. Wedged right up there tight. So tight you can't wear a g-string tight. Ya. I remember saying that. Apparently the word has not gotten out yet. I saw this girl the other day wearing yoga pants. It was in the park, so was excusable. The issue was not that she was wearing yoga pants. The issue was what she was wearing with the yoga pants, or to be more precise, under the yoga pants. No, she was not wearing a g-string, she should have been, but she wasn't. She was wearing bikini briefs. I know. I could see every line. Now I realize that people wear panties, I have been known to wear them on occasion myself, but I don't have to see that you wear them. That brings me to the topic of this blog; thongs. A thong is an important item of lingerie. Every woman should own several. Here's why; VPL (visible panty line) is bad. It ruins the line of your pants. It draws the wrong kind of attention to your ass. It looks so much better if your pants lie smoothly with no interruption. Hence the thong, or g-string if you would rather. You can wear underwear, your ass looks amazing, and you don't have to declare to the world "look, I'm wearing panties!" I suppose for some people it would be an unusual event and they would want to declare it. Anyway, the thing about wearing a thong is that it is very definately possible to wear one incorrectly. Let's say there is a girl wearing a rather tight outfit. It's not a far stretch for the imagination, is it? Let's also say she decided that morning to wear a thong. Unfortunately, that thong is two sizes too small. Now the line of her outfit is ruined at her hips because there are indentations where her too-tight thong is digging into her flesh. Not attractive in any way. Now she's declaring to the world "look, I'm wearing a thong!" Not a good declaration. Now, instead of the tight outfit, let's say this girl is wearing well-fitting jeans and a t-shirt. She drops something and bends over to pick it up, and, pow! You get a full view of her thong. You look around to see if you were the only one who noticed. No, everyone around noticed too, and you see the looks of horror and disgust on their faces. They weren't ready for that at this time of day. They feel their senses have been assaulted. She could have prevented this ungodly view by wearing her thong properly. Keep it in your pants people! I don't need to know what colour your thong is. I really don't. You probably don't want to know what colour mine is either. I keep it in my pants. I'll tell you if you really feel that you need to know, but I won't force it on you. I wear it properly.

K-os is deep

I was listening to a CBC podcast today, DNTO as a matter of fact, and K-os was the guest. He said something that I thought was profound. He said "if you follow in someone else's footsteps, you can only go as far as they did." I have never thought about it that way before, but I think I like it. Isn't stepping off the beaten path what makes life exciting and fulfilling? Making your own decisions, making your life yours. Yah. Thanks K-os.

More fashion no-nos

I dedicate this episode to one of the most important inventions in the world today. Without this invention we would have no separation or lift. Gravity would win. Yes, this post is dedicated to the bra.I like bras. I think they are very important. I think every woman should wear one. At all times. Okay, at least in public. What you do in your own home is up to you.

I like bras enough that I have been known to show mine off. Only to a few people. Like when I bought my blue lace bra with the corset lacing, I had to show it off. It's gorgeous, it really is. Here's the thing though, I don't show my bra off in public. It's one thing if the strap slips, which happens on occasion. That's not so bad. Easily fixed. It's an entirely different thing if there is no possible way to not see your bra. For example, a tube top does not go with a normal bra such as the one pictured. It goes with a strapless bra. Halter tops, again, strapless bra. I didn't think this was a very difficult concept, but I see it all the time. Apparently people haven't figured this one out yet. There is another thing that some people don't seem to understand. Let me explain; even if your bra is the "nude" colour, I can still see it. It is very important to have a nude bra, you can wear it under a white t-shirt for example. White bras don't work with white t-shirts, really. Anyway, I was talking about nude bras. This came up when I went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. The hostess was wearing a little black dress. It was a nice dress. The kind that you would wear to a cocktail party or something. Low cut, spaghetti straps. Not work appropriate. There is a limit on how much cleavage should be shown. Back to the bra. She was wearing a regular bra with the little black dress. I could see quite a lot of it. The back, the straps, the sides. Ya, it was disturbing. It was a nude coloured bra though, so maybe I wasn't supposed to be able to see it. It blended in so well. Nude is the new camouflage.

Fashion Crimes

Sometimes I just don't understand. I don't understand sweat pants. Sure, they're comfortable, but ugly. Especially when they have elastic at the ankles and are too short, or when you're a guy, or when they are really baggy. Okay, they're just always ugly, I don't care how comfortable they are. Be comfortable in your own home, look presentable when you go out in public. Just in case you don't know what I think about sweat pants yet, let me enlighten you; sweat pants should never be worn in public. Ever.

Today I saw something that I was so horribly shocked by, it actually hurt. I saw this girl wearing the nicest shoes. These were gorgeous shoes. I totally want them. Open-toe pumps with pink detailing. Really, really nice. I want those shoes. These ones actually. They are from Fixation Shoes and Accessories. Aren't they beautiful? Just gaze upon their beauty. I am.SHE WAS WEARING THOSE GORGEOUS SHOES WITH YOGA CAPRI PANTS AND A HOODIE! She ruined the shoes. She made them look cheap. She doesn't deserve to have those shoes if she is going to wear them without the respect they are due. Is there some kind of shoe social services she could be reported to? How could she do that to those shoes? Why? What is wrong with her? The week before the same girl was wearing ankle boots with yoga pants. I didn't like the boots anyway, but they definately didn't go with yoga pants. You should all know this, but I will tell you anyway; yoga pants don't go with heels. They just don't. If you must wear yoga pants, and I think yoga pants are only marginally better than sweat pants, wear running shoes or flip-flops. Ankle boots go with jeans. Gorgeous open-toed perfection goes with so many things, but work out clothes are definately not one of the things. Little black dress, black dress pants, dark wash jeans, nice pencil skirt, but most definately not yoga pants.

While I'm on the topic of yoga pants, let me rant a bit. I think yoga pants are only marginally better than sweat pants. Only because yoga pants don't look scruffy and messy as do sweat pants. I still think they should never be worn in public. They are work out clothes. You may wear them at the gym, on your way to the gym or on the way home from the gym. You may wear them as casual, comfy pants at home. Don't wear them in public. Often the people who do wear them in public have the body to do so and are understandably proud of their body and want to show it off. Fine. Do you have to show it off that much? Have you ever noticed that yoga pants are really tight? Really tight. Like, painted on tight. Wedged right up there tight. Can't even wear a g-string because you would have VPL tight. That's a little to much showing off. Seriously, I can see everything. Dimple on the left cheek? Yep, I know. I can see. That's just wrong. Can it really be that comfortable with a perma-wedgie?

One more fashion crime of the day, it was a busy day; summer wear. Not a problem in the summer. It's not summer right now, it's April. It was only 9 degrees today. Don't wear a jacket. Wear sandles. Capris are almost acceptable, but still pushing it a little. Shorts with a three-inch inseam, a tank top and flip-flops are definately pushing it a lot. Okay, we have had a long winter and it may seem like a heat wave right now, but there is still snow. There at least should be some green outside before the shorts come out. Good optimism though.

Coincidence? I think not.

I wonder if you have noticed the same thing I have. I listen to pop radio in the morning as I get ready for school. Usually I would listen to CBC but my alarm clock won't pick it up for some reason, the AM or the FM stations. I can get pop music though, and I actually like the commentary in the morning, so I stick with it. Anyway, I was listening to the music and noticed a theme. Well, two themes. Guy songs are about sex, girl songs are about how stupid guys are. Here are a few examples of some of the lyrics; "I wanna make love right now, now, now. I wanna make love right now, now, now." "I wanna make love in this club, in this club, in this club, in this club. I wanna make love in this club, in this club, in this club." "You spin my head right round, right round when you go down, when you go down, down." I kid you not, those are the actual lyrics. Here are some girl song lyrics; "Good-bye, you suck, never really liked you." "and now that we're done I'm gonna show you tonight, I'm alright, I'm just fine, and you're a fool, so, so what..."and the next time that he cheats you know it won't be on me." Does anyone else see the correlation there?

episode 1

When I had been in Korea for about six months one of the Korean teachers asked me if I had a boyfriend. I didn't, so I said no. She said, oh, you must be lonely. I thought about that for a bit. I didn't realize that I needed a boyfriend to be happy. I thought I was happy. I didn't have a boyfriend, and I wasn't lonely. Is that weird? It was to her. I didn't think it was weird. I had never had a boyfriend, and I had managed. I didn't need a boyfriend to complete my life. Then I met Samuel. Now I understand what Sook-Jin meant. Now I would say that I am lonely. I can't go visit my boyfriend after work. I don't get to see him this weekend, or next week or even next month. I'll talk to him, but it's not the same. Before I met Samuel I didn't know what it was that I was missing out on. I had never experienced it so I didn't miss it. Now that I have experienced love I don't want to live without it. So now I'm lonely. You all are great, but you aren't Samuel. I'm lonely for him. I never want to have a long distance relationship ever again. I suppose I haven't not been in a long distance relationship. Samuel and I lived in different cities so I only saw him on weekends and we talked during the week. At least we got to see each other sometimes. It has now been seven months since I last saw him. Now we talk on weekends and email during the week. I love talking to him, I love reading his emails, but it just isn't the same as actually talking to him, when I can see him. I would really like to have a not long distance relationship. I could try that. See if I like it.

So want to know what I think?

I had this cool idea for a blog post today. It requires your participation, so you will have to comment. You know how I said I want to write a book? Well, this is my idea for a book. Kind of self-help, kind of auto-biography, kind of "Dear Abby", kind of my thought of the day type thing. I will write about whatever particulary annoyed me, or excited me, or whatever I have been thinking about. I could write about pretty much anything. News items are good. Did you know that President Obama is adopting a Portuguese Water Dog for his daughters? Do you really care? Does it really matter what kind of dog he gets? Personally I think that he should get a black lab, because it's the best kind of dog ever. I don't know what a Portuguese water dog is. Do you? I suppose I could look it up, but I don't actually care, so I won't. Probably.
Now it's bugging me so I have to. It turns out that Portuguese Water Dogs were originally bred as working dogs for Portuguese fishermen who used them to retrieve nets and buoys from the water. They are the 62nd most popular breed in the United States, and apparently are rather high maintenance dogs. Who knew? Who cares? Well the Portuguese fishermen probably, but very few others most likely.
Anyway. Back to my book/blog. You have now had a taste of how it will go. Here's your part; you need to give me suggestions of what to write about. If no one gives me suggestions I will have to make up something for myself.
I should be writing papers, but this is way more fun.

When did a rodent learn to predict the weather?

Does anyone else think that Groundhog's day is stupid? Who had the stupid idea that a rodent could predict the end of winter? Apparently both Wireton Willie and the other one, whose name I can't spell, and died several years ago but won't let that stop him, predicted six more weeks of winter. No kidding! I don't need a rodent to tell me that. This is Saskatchewan people! Of course there are six more weeks of winter. If we're lucky. If we're not so lucky there will be more.

Here are my predictions. No, I didn't check out my shadow to make these predictions, I just made them up, just now. I'll bet my predictions are just as accurate as the groundhogs'.
It will snow four more times. One of those times will be toward the end of April.
We will continue to complain about the cold for at least two more moths. Then we will complain about puddles. Then we will complain about mosquitoes. Then the cold again.
Some stupid teenager will wear shorts to school in early March. He will be cold, but will be determined that it is spring. The groundhog said so.

Don't let a rodent make your decisions. Think for yourself.

100 things about me: the finale

I was going to finish this before the new year started, but that didn't happen. Obviously.

81) I think about Samuel pretty much constantly. Chances are pretty good that if I am not speaking, I am thinking about him. I'm pathetic, I know, but I'm okay with that right now. I wouldn't say that I'm proud of it or anything, or even that it's a good thing, but that's how it goes right now. I even think about him in class. Usually my thoughts are way more interesting than the class. Doesn't take much to be more interesting than some of my classes. The thoughts don't always make sense though. The other day I was thinking about donuts, trying to decide what kind I wanted, and then the next second I was thinking about Samuel. I don't see the correlation between Samuel and donuts... they're both yummy? That could be it.
82) I really don't want to be at school right now. I want to be finished. I don't even care a little bit about my classes. I realize that I have a terrible attitude about it, but I don't care. So there. I'll go, because it would be stupid not to. I have less than three months left. I'll go, but I won't enjoy it.
83) What is it about girls who think they have to be blond? I don't get it. Everyone seems to want blond hair. Why? It just looks stupid. Okay, the first few days are fine, but then you get dark roots and it looks ridiculous. Maybe what I hate is the dark roots. Why would you let yourself look like that?
84) I wore sweat pants out of the house the other day. I had to run to the store to get eggs. I didn't want to change. I know. I am embarrassed for me too. I wore ugly pants. In public. How wrong.
85) I have a tendency to pull out my arm hair when I'm bored. I hate it when my arm hair sticks up, so I pull it out. It's weird, I know, but I do it anyway. Weird is acceptable.
86) I don't care how long you were in labor for. I really don't. Not even a little bit. I don't see myself ever caring.
87) I get tired of people, and it's almost always women, talking about weight. Can't we be obsessed with something else? Politics, environmental issues, the state of the economy, the stupid neighbor's stupid dog. Anything but weight. Fine, you gained a few pounds. Get over it.
88) I could spend all day watching television. I would feel yucky by the end of the day, and get absolutely nothing accomplished, but I would do it anyway. And I have done that. I will do it again too.
89) I feel bad about starting every item with "I". However, this blog is about me, so it is perfectly acceptable, but I could at least attempt to be more creative. I am incredibly lazy so I will probably not put in the effort required to think of another way to begin a sentence.
90) I really, really like hamburgers. I must be related to my father or something. Hamburgers are great. Especially with mustard and barbecue sauce. I thought barbecue had a q in it, but this is how the computer tells me I should spell it. And yes, I will let the computer dictate how I must spell. I think it looks funny. Mind you, it looked funny with a q too. Maybe it's just a funny looking word. Good sauce though.
91) I shock myself every time I talk in class. That's not something I do. But I do it now. I'll probably blog about that at another time.
92) I really don't want to go to class now. But I should be good and go. I didn't do the reading. It's hard to when you don't have the textbook. I probably wouldn't have done the reading even if I had bought the textbook. I'll go to class now, and try to pay attention. I'll go, but I don't have to like it. Yep. Bad attitude.

93) I don't know anything about cars. Wait. I know that you have to put in gas and oil to make it go. I know how to put in the gas. You go to Co-op and get them to do it for you. I could do it myself, but that would just be silly. For getting oil put in the car you tell Dad, and he does it. That's all I know. I don't know how to change a tire. If I ever get a flat tire when I'm driving I'll have to stand on the side of the road and look like a girl. I'm okay with that. I can look like a girl.

94) I like knitting. It's relaxing. I have to have a purpose for it, like baby blankets or something. Right now I'm knitting a blanket for Gianna. It's pretty.

95) It really bothers me when people mix up you're and your, and their, they're and there. Really, how hard is it? If someone uses the wrong one I have to reread the sentence to try to figure out what they actually meant, because the sentence doesn't actually say what it should. It hurts me. Look! I started a sentence with a new word.

96) I have never been one of those girls who has had every detail of her wedding planned since she was 10. The details don't seem all that important to me. Okay, I already have the paper for invitations and programs, but that's just because I was in Korea and the hanji paper is pretty, not because I have to have all the right details. Really.

97) I think it's embarassing that we, as in Canadians, associate our national identity with a donut place. I like Tim Horton's and all, but I'm pretty sure I can be Canadian and not have a Tim Horton's mug. I can be Canadian and not watch hockey or say "eh". Pretty sure. I don't have to own a Tim Horton's mug. I will eat the donuts. Mmmm. Donuts.

98) Baseball is boring. Both to watch and to play.

99) I want to go everywhere. There's probably lots of cool stuff to see, and I want to see all of it.

100) I still find my cleavage distracting.