I Remember You

Year in review... with pictures.

January

We hang out despite the cold.

• I have a decent New Years despite my lack of lips to kiss (I did however kiss Amanda on the cheek). Finally being able to drink is nice also.
  
• I remember very little of January.

February

Amanda and Clair get "engaged"

• Amanda comes home from Las Vegas and we decided that night that we should go to Europe.
  
• We celebrate early St. Patrick's Day on Feb. 14 as you do when you are single and think Valentines is a good reason to drink.
  

March

Aimee and Amanda bid Regina farewell

&....

...adventure ensues!

• I have a very fun REAL St. Patrick's Day (There are pictures but lets not...)


• I set off on a three week adventure to London, Norwich, Paris, Dublin, Dundalk, Blackrock and Carlingford.
  
• I fall in love with Temple Bar
  
• I fall in love with Ireland


• I never want to go home again (except when I sort of do....)
  
  

April

Peter Pan statue

• I go to the Peter Pan statue on what is easily my favorite day ever!


• I come home from Europe a little wiser and a little sad.
  
• Clair has a fun birthday at The Pump (I miss seeing the karaoke!).
  
  

May

• Nothing good happens in May


• I remember almost nothing from May
  
• Did I even have a May?
  
  

June

Aimee and Amanda cute up for a nice June walk.

• I start wearing dresses....
  
• I have a lovely June (my heart is only broken slightly... but I bounce back).


• I am hit with a beer bottle while riding my bike home.


• I discover that I can ride my bike drunk.


• I decide I want to quit my job (but end up staying).


• A man puking on the news entertains me for far to long!
  

July

The gang gets together to celebrate Amanda's birthday and to have some summer fun.

• We all go out to Clair's cabin and have a good time of it.
  
• Skinny dipping.


• I learn to play, love and hate Settlers of Catan


• I fly a lot of Kites.


• I have a few very nice evenings walking around, drinking at O'Hanlon's, playing on swings and talking on church steps. (Followed almost immediately by being disappointed again in matters of my silly stupid heart).
  

August

A fair, a wedding and a festival. Merriment all around!

• I see Weird Al at the fair.


• I see MANY hot guys at the fair (but alas no Fernando!)


• Ashley gets married!


• Folk Fest comes and brings with it The Weakerthans, Old Man Luedecke and Library Voices.
  
• Old Man Luedecke hears me say that I want him to sign my boobs.
  
• Clair, Amanda and I yell "Ross is our hero" at Justin Peroff from Broken Social Scene (and Our Hero!!).
  
• I miss Satsuma Season.
  

September

Man hugs, hanging out in fountains and spankings.

• We tomfool around for most of September.


• I think almost exclusively about Neil Patrick Harris.

October

Halloween!

• I randomly start hanging out with Cooper (we eat cheese cake and hang out).


• I have trouble peeling a pineapple that ends up being disappointing anyways.


• I get a Wii.


• There is a crazy blackout and I rediscover my fear of Zombies (not that I ever really forget).


• I remember very little about Halloween (A bus stop, puking, and a yellow teletubbie)
  

November

I drink, it gets colder and I drink some more.

• I have an AWESOME time at the Christmas Staff Party.
  
• I see a very odd play.
  
• I have a solid week of nothing but nightmares.
  
• I get "serious" about completing my "20 before 20 list"
  
• I partake in a CRAZY night! (Keys to the night: Alcohol, girl make-outs, alcohol, cuddling, alcohol, minor car accident, sketchy party, nervousness, french fries)

December


Me and my friends have fun on my birthday. AND my Christmas tree (from this year despite what the date on the picture says).

• I do a bang up job of looking like an idiot and I get my heart broken (For those of you wondering... NO I don't learn my lesson EVER!).
• I fail miserably at my "20 things list"
• I have the best birthday ever!
• I get two weeks of holidays that I use to restlessly sleep, play Wii, and Internet around.
• I get drunk on Christmas eve day at O'Hanlon's with Amanda, Jenn and Matt (I feel very lovely and happy and christmasy!)
• I have a very nice Christmas.
• I go out for lunch a lot
• I consider my options (on a lot of topics.... should I or shouldn't I?)
• I write a blog about my year while washing laundry and trying to decide what to wear tonight.

Not a bad year over all. I love my family and my friends. I have a job that will do for now. And looking back I have had a good time even when times were not good.

Bring it on 2009!

Birthday

The Top 20 Things of My First 3 Days of Being 20 (in no specific order)

1. The Graingrowers Game (A game of chance, luck , risk and guts.... just like REAL grain farming in Western Canada)
   
2. Learning that my bosses favorite holiday movie is The Polar Express (Santa's technicolor whip gets me EVERYTIME)


3. Getting the first 2 seasons of Road to Avonlea!


4. Getting mood modifying texts from people that usually have very little influence on my mood. Way to turn the night around C.H.


5. New shoes with useless zips


6. Pretty new scarves and a crazy bowl!


7. A grown-up ear flap hat.


8. Coat help and french fry offers


9. Biceps


10. Having the BEST friends that a girl could ask for!


11. Receiving delicious gingerbread that I have been jonesing for, for a year now!


12. Getting a borrowed necklace from my nephew as a gift.


13. The Statue of Banana


14. Mustard coloured cardigans on HOT boys!


15. Shoulder touches


16. Hand touches (...)


17. Letting go of past disappointments


18. My new Mariners Jersey


19. My ability to sing Swing Low Sweet Chariot in a way that creeps my cousin out.


20. A Drunken Angel
    

***

It was twenty years ago today,

Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play

You Really Got a Hold on Me

There are a million things I could write right now that would make me cry (and maybe even you). But instead I give you 21 alternative uses for vodka.

1. Bandage Removal- To remove a bandage (almost) painlessly first soak it in vodka. It dissolves the sticky!
2. Bathroom Clean Up- Fill a spray bottle with vodka and spray in shower/on tub. Let it sit and wipe it clean. Vodka kills mildew and mold!
3. Eyeglasses Cleaner- Dampen soft rag with vodka and clean those puppies. Once again it kills germs and is quick drying.
4. Prolong the Life of Razors - Soak razors in vodka after shaving. It disinfects and prevents rusting.
5. Vomit Removal- Spray on. Scrub and rinse. (It can put the stain in and get it out!!!)
6. Facial Astringent- Apply to face and it will clean and tighten the pores.
7. Better Shampoo- Want your shampoo to cleans your scalp, promote better hair growth and get rid of toxins in your hair. Add a jigger (1.5 ounces) to your shampoo bottle!
8. Pest Control- Spray on bees and wasps to kill them. I bet it works on spiders also. I bet that's how I am going to die!
9. Refreshable Reusable Ice Pack- Add 1/2 cup vodka and 1/2 cup water to a ziplock bag and freeze. Makes a nice slush that moulds over aches and pains.
10. Tincture- Put packed lavender flowers in a clean jar and fill with vodka. Set in the sun for 3 days and shake occasionally. Strain and apply to pains.
11. Homemade Mouthwash -Mix 9 tbsp ground cinnamon and 1 cup vodka in an air tight container. Let sit for 2 weeks and strain. Add to warm water and rinse. DO NOT DRINK!!
12. Cold Sore- Apply to a cold sore to dry it out.
13. Blister Pain- Pour on broken blister to help with pain and keep sore clean.
14. Anti-dandruff- Mix 1 cup vodka with 2 tsp. crushed rosemary and let it sit for two days. Strain and apply to scalp. Then just let it dry.
15. Ear Ache- Drop a few drops of vodka into sore ear. The vodka will kill the bacteria.
16. Fever Relief- Rub vodka on back and chest. Works as a liniment I guess.
17. Stinky Feet- Just wash your feet with vodka.
18. Jelly Fish Sting- Disinfects and helps with pain. Much better then urine!!
19. Poison Ivy- Pour on affected area. It removes the poison oil on skin.
20. Tooth Ache- Just swish over hurt tooth. Your gums will suck in the alcohol and numb the area.
21. Temporary Amnesia- Drink so much you forget who you are and where you are. If you still remember your troubles have another shot. This also has the added bonus of not feeling like dealing with all your worries the next day. If your anything like me then family, work and relationship problems will mean nothing and enchilada rice and lemonade will be the only things on your mind.

~

I don't like you

But I love you

Seems that I'm always

Thinkin' of you

Oh, oh, oh, You treat me badly

I love you madly

You've really got a hold on me

All I've Got to Do ....

... is stop thinking about it. Right?

Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!

Mr. Kite = Amanda
*Click on comics to make them read-able




ScritchScratch
Why I like It- It's a single panel and I have a short attention span. Also it often has the saddest ghosts.
Work Appropriate- I don't think I have ever seen a "bad" ScritchScratch.


The World of Mr. Toast
Why I Like It- The most random shit ever!
Work Appropriate- I'd say yes.
Note- I like GAGS the best.



The Perry Bible Fellowship
Why I Like It- IT IS SO FUNNY!!
Work Appropriate- Not always
Note- The hilarity of it is worth the risk of reading at work.



XKCD
Why I Like It- Sometimes it goes over my head but when it doesn't.... man!
Work Appropriate- Most of the time.

(before) (now) (Sven)
Questionable Content

Why I Like It- I like how the art changes and you don't really notice it very much at the time. Also the story is REALLY good. Also I'm sort of in love with Sven.....
Work Appropriate- I think that you would be able in the story to tell when things are going to get not work appropriate... you might not be able to stop yourself from reading however.





Anders Loves Maria
Why I Like It- Mostly it's charming with just a hint of awful (but in a good way).
Work Appropriate- Most of the time.
Note- The main characters name is Anders von Silfersked..... Awesome!

Golden Slumbers

I can't stop the nightmares.

Your Feet's Too Big

Christmas Party Awards/ Awards That Are Random

Best Hair- Tie: Boy who's hair was both a fohawk and hockey hair! Missy who's hair was exactly what I imagine grown up Shirley Temple's hair must look like.

The Freaky Small Feet Award- Ken's Wife.... A whopping size 3

Best Drink- The free ones....so all of them!

Best Food- Tie: Chicken Wellington (I wish you had not been stolen from me). 3 Cheese Pâté (It broke Ashley's cracker.... or was that just her being drunk?)

Worst Dressed- Me. I looked like I should be in The Partridge Family

Most Disappointing Moment Award- When was told I looked 26.... Not cool

Scariest Event Award- When I wasn't sure Ashley had made it home okay.

Most Chivalrous- Aidan

Funniest "Insult"- Ashley being ID-ed. All night long she told the story of how I am only 19 and got in and she was asked for ID (and there being a 5 year difference between us). For the rest of the night she was upset with the bouncers and made sure she showed her stamp to them when we would come back in from smoke breaks.

Cutest News Award- There will be a new little O'Hanlon

~

All the other girls here are stars—You are the Northern Lights

They try to shine in through your curtains—You’re too close and too bright

They try and they try but everything that they do

is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you

With a Little Help From My Friends

Let's do this!

I am the Walrus

I am not dead.

Things I have been:

• Sick (I felt like I was going to die!)
• Watching How I Met Your Mother (When it ended I felt like I was going to DIE!)(Also I am so in love with Barney it's a bit sick)
• Eating cheese cake (Wasn't a fan at first but cheese cake is growing on me)
• Listening to my iPod on shuffle (Sometimes it scares me how it knows just what I need to be hearing. My iPod is a brilliant boy and if he was in a human body we would make-out all the time....) Side Note- I'm really liking the The Solids and The Flamingos right now.... they make for an odd playlist combo.
• Getting ready for Halloween (I love it so hard. I watched The Halloween Tree today and it's still my number one favorite holiday movie of all time ever. "Ah yes, Joe Pipkin. Some say that on the day he was born, all the soda pop bottles in the world fizzed over. Pipkin who could yell louder, sing better, and eat more popcorn. Pipkin, the greatest boy who ever lived." This quote makes me happy every year. I count on it.
• Missing everyone (We are all so damn busy with school and work and being lazy (that last one is all me)
• Avoiding the peeling, coring and slicing of my pineapple (I have to do it tonight! I should have done it yesterday! I'm going to do it now!)

-BlackPlaid

OK I know I've been MIA for a while and everything I've been up to will be revealed soon (not that it's important or even interesting). However this is not the blog that will do that. This blog is about ... you guessed it... NEIL PATRICK HARRIS!


And a little bit about how Boy Kissing makes me happy.

Ok So...
It looks like I'm going to have to rename my blog I Love Neil Patrick Harris or something to that effect....

THIS MADE MY DAY!!!!

Junk

I have NOTHING to write about that would take up an entire blog. So here is what's going to go down. I'm going to write a random thought or fact or thing on my mind and then move on unless I feel I have more to add.

• I'm convinced that if I was a boy and this was movie/ TV world I would have a hot girlfriend by now. I'm plump. Basically nice and good. I'm the type of person the hot movie girls go for. And the hot movie guys always go for the pretty girl "disguised" as an ugly girl. Which makes me wonder where are the girls like me and who are they getting with? ... OH I forgot! Nobody. That's right.
• I'm a little ball of anger lately... I'm seconds away from punching you right now I swear!
• I missed satsuma season by about three days.
• I don't like plying Settlers Of Catan by he real rules. I do however love settling Catan by my own rules.
• I've noticed that there are a lot of things that I don't have in my life and am not sure that I want them at all but also can't figure out if I should want them or not. I'm realizing that my life is very different from a lot of people I know. I can't figure out if that's a good thing or not. Over all my observations have just made me more confused.
• Lost girls don't find themselves over seas

-Black Plaid

When I'm Sixty-Four

When I'm sixty-four I hope I am happy.

Speaking of happy here are some things that have made me very happy in the last few days.

• Old Man Luedecke (Proof of Love rocks my face! I wish I had been able to catch him singing I Quit My Job at Folk Fest! I also wish I could find a copy of it to listen to at work... It would make me feel a little more free then I am.)
• Lovely conversations with lovely boys. (Talking nonsense is the BEST! Also just having someone say lovely things is nice. ("Cause I'm going to need you all the time") I know a very sweet boy!)
• I beat Riff Master! (However the bonus song sucked!) Fireflower with the keyboard set to rocker is the way to win though. SO fun!!
• I read for SO long the other day. It was lovely and my book is really good. I really like Maeve Binchy. It's cool reading about places and REALLY knowing what the place is.
• We (Amanda, Jenn, Matt and I) came in fourth in trivia at O' Han's (Harry Potter vs. LOTR ... needless to say I was useless!) It was a lot of fun though!
• Tri-coloured bubbles!
• I turned around at work to see Blue standing in line holding some potato salad. All he said to me was "Potato salad is so good". I smiled for the rest of the day... and am again.

There are lots of things to be happy about... if you are amused by rip off Guitar Hero games and car wash bubbles.

~

"If we're both not married by twenty-two

Could I be so bold and ask you?

If we're both not married by twenty-three

Will you make my year, and ask me?

~

If I get to sixty will you let me slip away

Into an armchair for the rest of my days

Cause you've got your family and I've got mine

The love that we share is for another time"

-Black Plaid

I've Just Seen a Face

The fair is here once again and in my natural way I have fallen in love.
Name- Ivan
Age- Most likely to old.... but maybe not
Occupation- Polar Express Eye Candy/ Sex God
Description- Black hair and a body I'd like to see in a suit... and out of one

In other news (that is similar) here are some things that are important in my nerdy little head.

1. North American Midway Entertainment (NAME) has a traveling school for the children of people who travel with the show. (WHY WAS I NOT PUT INTO THIS SCHOOL????!!)
2. NAME powers the entire midway with soy biofuels when it can.
3. NAME donated 100 new toys to the victims of the arson fire in Edmonton that destroyed 18 neighboring duplexes.

Now usually don't have that many good things to say about NAME (being a Conklin girl myself) but I thought those were pretty decent things that NAME does.

Speaking of Conklin here are some things that are equally nerdy and interesting (most likely only to me)

1. Conklin's Giant Wheel was the largest portable wheel in North America
2. Conklin was founded in 1916
3. G-Force weighs in at over 240,000 pounds
4. In 1994 it cost $5,000,000.00 in gas to move the fair from Florida to Calgary and back
5. All our old favorites have either been discontinued, sold or were shelved and are being kept in West Palm Beach (some being Octopus, The Kamikaze and the original Drop of Fear. Also shelved but thankfully returned were The Rainbow and The Zipper)

On a completely unrelated topic I read xkcd today and this picture nearly killed me.

Sie Liebt Dich

It's like I'm saying it in a different language isn't it?

I'm Looking Through You

“...there is something so awful, something so gross about watching someone who loves you struggle to believe what you both know, deep down, is partially a lie.”
-An Invisible Sign Of My Own, Aimee Bender

I read this line today and it popped off the page and smacked me right in the face. Sometimes books do that to me. I thoroughly enjoy that. I like it when life just lines up and something you happen to be reading (or listening to, or looking at) at the time just happens to be significant to you at that exact point. Like fate. Like something knows what you need to get past a tough point or to keep you going. But then maybe it's just me looking really hard for fate. Either way it makes me feel better and that's always good on days when you feel genuinely shitty about the world.

Yesterday

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

"Didn't anybody tell her?
Didn't anybody see?
Sunday's on the phone to Monday,
Tuesday's on the phone to me"

So I just had a crazy night. It started off normal enough with a bike ride to the library then to Jenn's house. I came home at a decent hour (on account of not wanting to be "attacked" again). I figured I'll catch up on some emails. I'll watch Craig Ferguson. I'll read new books. I'll go to sleep.... Nope. Instead I sat at my computer to catch up on emails and could hear a faint but terrified cry come from my window. I went out to investigate (which in my neighborhood takes a lot of courage) and found a girl being chased by some other kids. I asked if she was okay and if she wanted to use my phone. She was drunk! Very drunk but for some reason my heart totally went out to this poor frightened girl. From what I was able to pick up from her drunken phone call her name was Brook and that she was only 13. Her Auntie had recently commit suicide and to cope she was on a bender. Also she had just lost her virginity to a boy who no longer/ had never liked her. She was on the phone to his new girlfriend telling her how much she loved him and how she didn't want this girl to hurt her. Also that the girl was the only person she could trust. All a bit messed up and highschoolish (slash middle school... 13 for God's sake!)but I was following (What with being a 13 year old girl myself once and currently having one in my family).
Then Brook said things that I don't think I will ever forget. Things that were beyond her 13 years. Things that made me think about how intensely we must feel. Things that I'm sorry she was dealing with already. It all ended with the police coming and taking Brook... home I hope. I don't know why really but I sincerely hope she is going to be okay and that she is strong enough to keep going. I saw the cuts on her arms and I saw the look in her eye and I was scared for her. This one odd and completely random event has put a lot of things into perspective for me.

Happiness is a Warm Gun

I have decided to go in search for happiness this summer. I am going to get happy no matter what it takes! Even if this means quitting my job. Which is a 95% sure thing at this point. However 5% is a lot!

Pros to Quitting My Job

• That much closer to being happy
• Some time off to help out around the house for the summer
• I could read more
• I could paint more
• I could try to get into better shape
• I could bum around and relax
• I wont be stressed over stupid (job related) things anymore
• I wont be treated badly
• I could travel a bit
• I could go to the beach more
• I could stay out late and sleep in late
• I could get my life a bit clearer

Cons to Quitting My Job

• Money (lack there of)
• I'll miss people at work (Red and Blue!)
• I wont get my daily fix of hot guys in suits
• I'll feel lame
• I'll have to look for another job
• I wont get support from my family
• I'll miss the lame funny things that make work worth getting up for (seeing crazy things out the window)
• I'll have less stories to tell
• I wont get very much contact with real people
• I'll ALWAYS feel guilty for it
• I'll eventually miss my work friends
• Did I mention I wont be getting money.....

I really don't know what to do. I don't feel like I'm getting much support from my family in regards to quitting. At first I though I did but not so much anymore.

But this is just bumming me out and that's not what life is about. So here is something that is sure to pick you up. (Well sure to pick me up at least)

Things I ACTUALLY Heard at Work

1. "Have you heard of that You Tube thing? For videos." "Yeah, (disgusted)the kids put some nasty stuff up on that.' - My boss's wife and sister
2. "I was on The Facebook last night..."- My Aunt
3. "I'm going for the dark roast" 'OH! You're a darky.' -Women talking about coffee

-Black Plaid

Don't Pass Me By

1 pour Blue Boles
1 pour Coconut Rum
1 slightly larger pour Lemonade (purely for good measure)
Fuzzy Peaches
Eagle vs Shark

Mix liquids and sit at computer. Drink.
Listen to sad She and Him songs until
you can take it no longer. Watch movie
while choking down delicious peaches.
Try not to think too much.

~

Now that I know what I want,

see I think that it haunts me,

I want you too much

-Black Plaid

Ain't She Sweet?

SHE IS SO DAMNED SWEET THAT SHE NEVER ENDS UP WITH WHAT SHE WANTS!!!!!!
-Pink Flamingo

Please Mister Postman...

... send me these in the mail even though I have no way to order them.

Quite possibly the funniest way to reference TMNT... I have a similar shirt actually.


I want to say this to every emo ever now.


I don't think I have to justify my want for this.


It totally is. But a nice bullshit town!


It really is! I guess....

Too Much Monkey Business

Here is some random stuff that has given me WAY to much pleasure in the last few days. I feel like I'm seven.....


Seriously I laughed about this for about 20 minutes. Then again every time I told anyone about it. Then again when I found it on youtube. Then AGAIN just now when I loaded it.... what's wrong with me?
Another thing that tickled my inner child was Amanda chanting "Fart on the news. Fart on the news!" in my living room. Even better was that all this puke/fart fun was followed up by a lovely night of drinking (if you ever want to get me really drunk really fast just give me shots of Hot 100... wowza!).

On a completely different note here are some lines from a song I LOVE!

"I saw it glitter as I grew
And loved a boy I never knew"

And here is even more randomness....
I found a pickup line generator while on one of my excursions into the series of tubes we call the Internet. Basically you put in the name of the " person you want to score with" and it gives you the line you should use on them. I put in two names and here are the lines I was given.
Boy #1- Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk past again?
Boy #2- Are you a parking ticket? Because you have FINE written all over you
I wish I had the guts to say this to either of them because it would be SO funny...
Then I put in my name to see what line is supposed to work on me.....
Me- If I could rearrange the alphabet... I'd put you between F and CK
Oh my....

-Black Plaid

I Want to Hold Your Hand

... But not right now. My hands are numb! From what? From doing mudras without stretching out I guess. Mudras are basically yoga moves for the hands (also used in Buddhist healing and religion as well as in East Indian dancing) and are fairly a new thing in my life. This I assume is why they hurt my hands so much right now. Fingers crossed (YEAH RIGHT) that it will become less painful later. On the plus side the half hour Mahasirs-Mudra has completely gotten rid of my headache. Now I need to find one that gets rid of hand pain I guess.

Another Girl

I feel weird today.... (I know I'm weird everyday but the difference is that it's not a good feeling today).

Have you ever had one of those days where you look in the mirror and seriously can't figure out who the fuck is looking back at you? Those are not my eyes (or at least they are not the ones I thought I had) and these are not my thoughts. Who is this odd mirror girl? Well, if you haven't then maybe you don't look in the mirror enough or maybe there is something seriously wrong with me (most likely the latter I'm sure). Usually I have a pretty good idea of who I am (I'm That Girl. I am an Aunt. I work in a cafe. I have red hair. I am Irish. I drink peach vodka. I read Barrie and Austen. I do other small things that define me and make up my little world).
But today, like I said I feel weird. Off.
How did I let things get like this? When did I loose her and where did she go? Who is this new girl and where is she going?

That'll Be The Day

Recently I was very bored. And so I did the only sensible thing one can do... I pissed around on the Internet. And here is what I found.

A New Years Resolutions Generator

1. Get a pet hedgehog- Okay I'm totally in!


2. Eat more pie- Done and done!


3. Travel to Korea- That seems a bit off.... but travel is travel.


4. Study finger painting- Sign me up!


5. Get in shape with stripping classes- .....HA!

Every Little Thing..

..'s That I Have Lost to the Washing Machine. (I just watched Wheel and am in a 'before and after' mood.)

• bits of change... (nothing over $5)


• my Ipod


• my cell phone


• my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sock (left foot)

DAMN YOU washing devil!!! Although my Ipod has never looked cleaner.... or more broken....

-Black Plaid

p.s. Do you think the washing machine would return my sock if I wrote it a letter and sent it through the spin cycle?

And here are the results:
Yellow: Someone you will never forget ---->Ok that seems about right
Orange: Someone you could consider a good friend -----> And I do
Red: Someone you really love----> Yeah, I guess so
White: Your twin soul-----Awwww that's so sweet
Green: Someone you will remember all your life---->..... well fuck......
-Black Plaid

Here is something cool that I found and wanted to share. Apparently it's part of a test that the Dalai Lama invented. I don't know if that's true (it seems like the Dalai Lama might have better things to do) but it is pretty cool. Some of my answers really surprised me. I won't bore you with my answers or the entire test. Just this small part that takes a few seconds.
Think of someone (who also knows you and is important to you) that you can relate to the following colours. Do not repeat your answer twice. Name just one person for each colour.

Yellow
Orange
Red
White
Green

I'll post what it all means tomorrow. Keep you all waiting a bit.

That's all for now... dear God I'm a dull person lately
-Black Plaid

Glass Onion

I've said it before and I will now say it again.... I LOVE Temple Bar!
We have cracked the drinking code.... Buy your first drink all legitimate like.... then take the 7up bottle to the street and fill it with your 8 euro bottle of vodka and some soda you buy from a Londis (it helps to act like you are French in the Londis.... makes it more ... French). Then you have about 6 (very strong) drinks for the price of one. Then you just party in the street. It's awesome because there are buskers to talk to and LOADS of people getting married (they all wear bunny ears... it's odd).
So yeah that was my night... strong drinks (pretty much just vodka), talking to random people drunkenly, "stalking" a Swedish band called Monde Yeux, speaking Gaelic when people told me to, some kissing (mostly cheek kisses), and over all merriment. Monde Yeux is actually staying in our hostel and are doing a show tonight in the club next to Ted Leo. Currently I am jamming out to their awesome CD Naked Girls. I really hope I get to see both bands.... as the one boy who manages Monde Yeux is Anthony Rapp-ish and adorable (despite his attempt at a mustache).
Now I am off to replace my Dublin pictures and maybe tour the Guinness Storehouse (there is a free Guinness waiting for you at the top... I doubt I need it this morning but oh well).
Also this post is called Glass Onion because my day had layers yesterday of good and not so good... I'm a moody girl and I know it.
-Black Plaid

I have very very bad luck. If I'm not misreading tickets or getting splashed by traffic, then my camera is being erased! That's right..... 2 weeks worth of pictures gone! I feel totally defeated and pretty much like crying at any given moment. London(Big Ben, The Eye, crazy statue people, our first hostel, wall art, flowers), Paris(Our adorable hotel room, our crazy view, Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower(video), crazy boy who looked like Matt, gelato in the weed garden), Dublin(the illegal pictures I took in the museums (love letter, the play bill with Yeats on it, the mosaic floor), the jail, the paintings at the jail, the GIANT tumble weed in the locked jail cell) , Norwich (the boats, the river), Josh Ritter(blurry outlines and creepy glowing Josh Ritter), Drinking with new friends (monkey sound video), The picture movies we made only moments before....gone.
After crying in the bathroom for roughly half an hour I gorged myself on candy and watched The Godfather. I feel a little better now but still..... shittiest thing to happen to me yet. I'm trying to make up for it the bast I can but I feel totally like giving up on pictures all together. Just writing about it has made me feel super shitty again. But I can't watch any Godfather here...... damn!
Other then that things have been really good in the form of:

• Realizing that our tiredness was simply a maple syrup deficiency (quickly remedied by crepes everyday)
• The most adorable Irish family EVER! I want to be adopted by them!
• Hanging out on a Castle and picking sea glass on a small little known bit of beach
• Building sand castles in the middle of the day
• Stealing silverware (a knife for spreading stuff on bread and protection)
• Watching The Godfather!
• Watching an all Gaelic channel (a sailing survivor type show in which one man could NOT stay in his boat!)
• Chicken and Stuffing Sandwiches
• Wacko chocolate bars
• Eating scones in an old castle
• Small bits of hiking
• -A very sad Black Plaid

Be-Bop-A-Lula

I don't want this blog to become simply a place where I rant about hot boys... but today there was a boy with eyes a colour of blue I have never seen and probably will never see again. He was CRAZY! Or maybe just his eyes were crazy.....
New topic... lets see
Things I Saw Today

• A crazy colour of blue and a very hot boy all mashed into one
• A place that sells "Possibly the best cup of coffee in Ireland"
• A Unicorn Food Emporium
• Bog men (so sad and creepy.... but also sort of interesting... it's like they have found a form of immortality without even trying to....)
• A very pretty scarf that would have cost roughly $35!
• The most heartbreaking love letter ever!

also

People I Have Wanted to Beat Up and the Reasons Why

• Lady on Bus - You thought I was a lesbian and were not okay with it. I am not a lesbian but if I was I would totally have made out in front of you (then punched you in the face).... take that!
• Mother and Daughter on Bus - YOU WERE ANNOYING!!!! I don't give a fuck about what colour of pashmina would be your ideal pashmina nor do I imagine monks walking around in Irish Landmarks. You were loud and rude to the garbage guys (who were so cool). If your friend wants to spend $60 on hamburgers so be it! It's pronounced Bram STOKER! And last but not least the three castles on the flag represent (quite strangely and ironically) the three castles of Dublin.... who would have guessed? It took everything I had in me not to turn around and punch both of you in the ears... you got away very easily and should be very very thankful!
• People who wrote on the walls in Kilmainham Gaol - There is no respect left in the world me thinks..... If I could I would hunt you all down and punch you in the heads.

I feel all brawly now...

-Black Plaid

I Just Don't Understand...

... why females must wear bras. I personally HATE them. This has been a moment of random brought to you by
-Pink Flamingo

I Want to Tell You

I don't have much time on account of long winded emails and facebook lookings but here goes anyways. We have a SEX GOD sleeping in our room. It's crazy... this boy, no man, is crazy good looking. Like some laws must have been broken in his creation.
Anywho... I'm really enjoying Dublin and I pretty much love everyone at this hostel. I just lent my key to this guy from Finland who took a shower and forgot his key... so cute. Also I made friends with some really cool Canadian kids (not going to lie... crushing on the boy a bit). I don't know why but I sort of hate writing blogs from here... Anything cool to say has already been said. So I will make another list.... seems easy enough

Things I Have Enjoyed That Are Totally Random

1. Getting a free map from Jordan (and some advice from the Finland guy "Get free maps from nice hotels and use their bathrooms... they always let you if you look like you need it enough"
2. A guy named James saying he shaves his head to avoid paying barbers (then having long talks about the price of barbers these days)
3. A guy yelling at himself in the mirror at a pub (after some crazy dancing to some AC/DC)
4. Being called a sound girl... also having someone say "sorry love" to me
5. Bean Bag Bed..... you are like the ice cream in a banana split of comfort

-Black Plaid

This is a list of things I have learned in the last few days:

1. ALWAYS check your tickets twice... or even 3 times.
2. French humor in English is sometimes hard to follow (especially after a hard day)
3. The London Tube does NOT get very close to some airports
4. In Paris street lines are JUST a suggestion (as are lights and cross walks)
5. Paris boys are cuter when far away
6. ALWAYS check your shampoo lids twice.... or even 3 times.
7. Always make sure you are buying still water rather then sparkling
8. If you want to travel and are from Canada go to New Zealand... the exchange is better and the boys are HOT
9. Try to never misplace £20.... it sucks when you think you have lost it.
10. Red haired boys are hot... even if they don't speak English (Patrice ahhhh)
11. Crack does not mean drugs in Ireland... it means fun. (No I'm not on drugs right now)
12. Boys sleeping all curled up in bunk beds is possibly the cutest thing ever.
13. Pod bathrooms are cute but also hard to shower in.
14. Ireland improves your hearing
15. You can never go home again.

Well that's about all I guess (hardly... that's all I am not to lazy to write at the moment). I'm not going to lie the streets of Dublin are just a door away and my feet are itching to get at it. Anything else that is of any interest has already been blogged on another page (A.Bab) and I haven't the time or patience to be blogging something that has already been blogged. So fuck it! I'm off.

-Black Plaid

A Hard Days Night

OH WHAT A CRAZY NIGHT!!!!!
First things first. Josh Ritter rocked my face off!!!! Right off... I no longer have a face people! The show was very similar to the Regina one in a lot of ways but he changed it up a bit of course... there was the lights off bit in The Temptation of Adam (I was trying to record it and the lights when right out.... I was pissed! God I love that song... especially when he says "tempted!"), the disco and the slow dancing. The different bits were him having an AWESOME opener (Dawn Landes), he was singing with a broken rib (OMG) , oh and the bit where he talked to us! He was telling a story about the tour and when he said he was in Regina we shouted " REGINA!" This threw him off his game in a big way (your never expecting Regina kids.... we are like ninjas!) He replied by saying that Regina says "Hello!" THEN he said "This one is for everyone from Regina" followed by some ooohhhhing and a soft Regina! It was hilarious!!! He then went back to rocking my face off.
After the show is surprisingly where the night got really fucking crazy!! We missed our train so we had to sit outside the station until the next train came... at 5 am... it was 11 pm.... this SUCKED! IT WAS COLD. Like I would have rather been in a Regina snowstorm with a good coat then there in my tunic and Josh Ritter sweater, cold. BUT it gets fucking crazier still. Who would have thought that "sleepy old" Norwich would be the place that one would see, at 2 am mind, a guy get kicked in the chest and knocked to the pavement (chips every where!), and a guy looking for the police because his shirt and coat had been stolen right off his body. Crazier still is the fact that both the kicker and the coat thief was a guy we asked for directions (he was quite nice to us and told me in English that he did not speak English... after telling us that he LOVES England and soccer... but the Ukraine was still the best...in English). So after that Amanda and I both sort of froze to death. Then around hour 4 we both sort of... well we were doing mosh circles of two and head butting each other... so whatever you would call that. Anyways I am missing home a bit but not at all at the same time... it's an odd feeling. But I should sign off. This has cost me a £ and I still need to check my comics (I'm a HUGE nerd but guys like that right?). See you all soon... the next ones coming at you from Paris or from Dublin!
-Black Plaid

In Spite of All the Danger...

Really there isn't much danger. I think I'm pretty safe really.... what with being a street fighter and all. Nothing dodgy has happened so far. Except when we were walking past a bus stop and a creepy man was listening to some strange screeching sounds on his cell phone. Other then that, all good.
However I sometimes forget the way the cross walks work. Thank God for the little massages on the ground telling you which way to look before crossing. London has been super good so far and can only get better I'm sure. Here is a list of my favorite thing so far that I remember....

1. Amanda and I high fived on account of rocking something... finding the right bridge I think and a cute guy smiled to himself over our awesomeness.
2. There is a Robot Museum... we found Amanda's home!
3. There was a man at the Tate Gallery who thinks he could have painted most of it himself.
4. The CRAZY statue wizard!
5. The man who was making sand castles in the middle of the workday down by The River Thames.
6. When it stoped raining (for 5 seconds) and Amanda threw down the umbrella... "I don't need this anymore!"
7. Last night when Amanda was sleeping and I went down to the common area and sat with some Portuguese kids and a drunk Scottish man came and we all talked about the cellular age and it's effect on today's youth. Then he made them choose between friends and family and Indiana Jones... some chose Jones.

And that's just the stuff I remember! This post has cost me a pound! Crazy stuff.

-Black Plaid

She's Leaving Home

Well.... in a few hours I will be on a bus on the way to the plane that will take us to the other plane that will take us to London...shit (she said stuffing a semi-clean t-shirt into her half packed bag). I am SO not ready! But I'm surprisingly chill still. I got no worries (none at least that I am currently letting myself think about anyways... I'll think about these things when I come home, or not... maybe I wont care about my current worries when I come home. Time will tell I guess). Like I said I am totally worry free *rolles eyes*.
So what can I say to you before I go??? Lets see... OH I know! I stumbled across this on my computer yesterday while trying to find hiding spots for some files and stuff that I ... well want hidden. Anywho here is something that really took me back (for those of you that have NO idea what this is... it can still be funny if you try hard enough).

Red Cacti Hotel Rules
No peeing in the hotel pool
Everyone has a backup car and a hiding spot (person and car)
One ‘Big Wheel’ allotted to each person (‘Dixie Cup Big Wheels’ become ice-cream after one hour)
Anyone freaking out in the ballroom will be disposed of immediately (an appropriate disposal method will be chosen by the group at that time)
No murdering anyone unless the murderer is crazy or the decision is unanimous (majority rules)
No Satanic rituals (No Goats. Leave them home!)
All axes and croquet mallets are to be housed 3 miles away from hotel
No sleeping in room 273
No secret satanic rituals (goats or otherwise)
Everyone is entitled to their own room (sharing optional)
Finger friends permitted under the following conditions i)Not named Tony ii)Can’t take up more then a cubic meter iii)Does not reside in your mouth iv) Does not speak v)Not evil
No cannibalism/bugs/grasses/ferris wheels/moths/ very little things
House is to exorcised at the time of arrival and departure
Brushing teeth not optional
Pocket goats allowed (Don’t kill them! Satanic rituals are the devil)
No Beach Boys (old men singers)
Rule makers can bend rules (excluding death, pool, and teeth brushing rules)
No enemas
No brushing teeth while peeing
No spoons allowed other then that for "booping"
No Arnolds!!!!
No push ups
No butt fat
All killing must be referred to as billing (smack)
Jive dictionary will be provided and followed to a tee by penalty of death (bill and beth)
No gravy
No old people

Going to miss you all SO much but we will see each other in 3 weeks.-Sending all her loving to you, Black Plaid

How Do You Do It

More like how do I KEEP doing it? I just wrote a masterpiece of a blog. Worked on it for "hours!" It was lovely and moving and deep and truly award worthy. AND I FUCKING ERASED IT! ... AGAIN. I really really need to learn to save or just learn NOT to hit the "back" button. Damn! Well I guess I will just have to reproduce said blog tomorrow (if I can). I would now but this is the last night I have in my own bed for a while and I want to squeeze all the duvet goodness out of it tonight. If I don't get back to you tomorrow then see you all around. I will return bigger and better then ever and maybe I will have learned a thing or two about saving shit and/or not touching the damn back button while writing a blog.
Goodnight and Good luck
-Black Plaid

All Together Now...

..." Well Fuck!"

I have more then one reason to be saying this right now and these are them

• Europe is coming up fast (for those of you who don't know I'm going to Europe... next Tuesday in fact)
• I have just made a disaster of my family supper (soda bread and stew is to much for me apparently) (Also this was a meal meant for yesterday which was St. Patrick's Day. Instead of staying home to cook like a good Irish girl I went out like a bad Irish girl)

Which leads me to my final Well Fuck of the evening

• It's no secret, or at least it wont be after I say, that yesterday I went out, got a bit drunk, and after an oddly amusing punching game made out with a close friend. I don't want to talk about it really but I thought I had better at the very least acknowledge it.

Well there you go boys and girls I am a giant fuck! All Together Now... That Girl is a GIANT FUCK!!!!!

Ain't Nothing Shakin

I'm so bored today and after an attempt to read a magazine, sleep, watch TV and make interesting plans for tonight I turned to the Internet for some entertainment. I decided to waste my time with random YouTube Videos and here is the best thing I found

This is by a user named AgentXPQ I officially love him and wish I had his comic books.

All Things Must Pass

... Unfortunately!
I just finished reading The Sweet Far Thing and here is my dilemma ... I'm done. I have a love hate relationship with books in general but more to the point sets. Don't get me wrong I LOVE books deeply. My big issue however is that they have an annoying habit of ending. A set however gives you hope... "There is another book after this. No worries they will be back. There are more pages to turn and lives to read".
But alas a series can't go forever. (Unless you claim to be the Neverending Story... which I haven't seen a lot from lately!)
It's odd though how attached you can become to characters (even if they are silly school girl characters with magical powers). When it comes right down to it I'm pleased with the way the book ended and am glad to have all the mysteries and questions settled and solved. But, I don't want it to be over all the same. This is the trouble, I read to know the ending but I hate to see it end.
I will now make up a pro and con list to finishing a good book (why? because I can!)
Pros

• Having all the questions you had while reading answered and put to rest.
• The feeling of accomplishment
• The way you feel richer for reading it
• Knowing that now you can move on to the next read

Cons

• That feeling of missing all the people in the book (as irrational as that feeling is I often feel it deeply)
• Wondering what the characters did next and never knowing
• Not knowing where to go next

This feeling will pass in a day or two and I'll be off reading the next thing. But for now I feel mixed.

-Black Plaid

Act Naturally

A List of 50 Things I Have Done
1. Had blue hair
2. Talked to a boy I liked from a band I like
3. Had whooping cough
4. Fought a girl on the street
5. Slammed someones head into a car
6. Gone a month without wearing pants
7. Watched the streetlights change color while laying in the street
8. Ate a grapple
9. Drove a snowmobile
10. Been to a music festival
11. Missed my own grad party
12. Been present at two births that were not my own
13. Bike surfed
14. Eaten a third of a cake in a single sitting
15. Gone to the fair every year since I was born
16. Seen the same movie twice in a day
17. Drank alone because I was sad
18. Wished I was a cartoon character
19. Been lost in British Columbia by myself
20. Been optimistic even when I shouldn't
21. Been in love with a friend who didn't love me back
22. Slept in class
23. Talked about someone behind their back
24. Made things harder for someone else when I didn't have to/shouldn't have
25. Kissed a boy on the playground
26. Kissed a girl I'm not related to
27. Skipped a class
28. Found out a secret I shouldn't have (and wish I didn't know)
29. Faked a surprise that I knew about already
30. Been sure I was right
31. Gone up a mountain in a gondola
32. Cried on a bus
33. Broken my two front teeth
34. Rode a bus route all the way back to where I started
35. Sent someone I didn't like a love note
36. Loved a song so much it hurt
37. Sang in the shower
38. Lied when the time was right
39. Lied when the time was wrong
40. Regretted my actions
41. Watched porn on a huge TV
42. Laughed when it wasn't funny
43. Flirted with a drunk boy
44. Watched an entire season of TV in a day
45. Almost fell over when I saw a boy I like
46. Gotten in to deep
47. Took the blame so we could still swim
48. Took the blame so someone else wouldn't get hurt
49. Painted my dreams
50. Danced like no one was watching... even though they were
-Black Plaid

You Know What to Do

... But I don't.
It's weird that after all this time and "healing" I still feel ( immensely sometimes) that I am just on the outside looking in at the party. There are so many areas of my life that I don't exactly feel like I fit in/belong at all. No matter what I do when it comes right down to it I am forgotten behind and watch as the ones I care about go on their merry way. In the end where does this leave me? I truly hope that when they all get to where they are going there will be one among them that steps back from the merriment and asks " Where is she?" If not all of this will be in vain I suppose.
-Black Plaid

Why Don't We Do It in the Road?

I don't know if it is simply the fleeting season (Valentine's Day) or what, but it seems that the world is a little extra sexually charged right now.

Just today I got caught up in a conversation about "make out dreams". One in particular really where I was rudely awakened and by some sexy Valentine's miracle was able to return to it several hours later.

What I Remember and am Not to Shy to Reveal- Me and Lime Kool-Aid (not his real name... in fact is the delicious beverage I am currently drinking) are at a fancy club (perhaps a golf club) and are sitting alone in what can only be described as a billiards room. After some intricate dreaming about the crystal tumblers( that I was drinking scotch from) me and LK-A begin to make out. I take off my top and we continue to kiss well into REM (I have no idea how long I dreamed the making outs but it was for quite a while I'm sure). Next thing I know he stops me and says something to the effect of "This is nice but we should stop. I want to know you longer then a year". To which I reply "But I'm topless....." and his face says "I KNOW... but I'm a good guy." When I find my way back to this dream 2+ hours later there we are in the room cuddling and holding hands (god I love holding hands.... it really can be super sexy if you do it right). And that's what I dream about until I wake up.

Things That Are Odd About This Dream

1. I won't say how long I have known LK-A but it has been more then a year.


2. While I wouldn't not make out with LK-A he is not on my top 3 .... hasn't been on my mind that way in a while actually.


3. If I (or any other girl) was topless and making out with him.... he wouldn't stop it.


4. I don't drink scotch.

So yeah... maybe there is something in the water?
-Black Plaid
P.S. Go here to see more by the artist I used in this post.

The World is Waiting for the Sunrise ...

.... or in this case a lunar eclipse.
Okay maybe not the world... but I am and so should you! If you are a like minded Canadian and wish to partake in the viewing of said eclipse you should be looking for it around 9:43 p.m. AT (10:13 NT, 8:43 ET, 7:43 CT, 6:43 MT and 5:43 PT). I am told that all it will really look like is a reddish orange hue on the moon but still that's pretty awesome.

Lets see what other nerdy things can I talk about?

WEBCOMICS!

I love love love....

1. A Softer World
2. xkcd
3. Michael's Exciting Life
4. Questionable Content

1. A Softer World is not only disturbingly hilarious it is also hilariously disturbing. Comes with amazing photography!

2. xkcd is "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". I don't think I need to say more.

3. Michael's Exciting Life is.... unfortunately on hiatus. But the stuff in Archive still makes me giggle.

4. Questionable Content is... well pretty much like an addiction, but to something that is good for you. Like a fruit addiction. It's like "I'm really jonesing for another hit of that pomegranate" and being able to because the % of pomegranate related overdoses is rather low. (In fact drinking pomegranate juice could be beneficial for people with diabetes and could even prevent many deaths. The reason being that drinking pomegranate juice regularly can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, which hardens the walls of arteries and is responsible for 80% of diabetes related deaths). (read it and you will know what I mean). ALSO to anyone who happens to read both QC and this blog.... Faye! Sven! Sex!

-Black Plaid

Hello Goodbye

Hello all. Your seeing this means that, yes Hell has frozen over and a blog involving me has begun. The time has come it seems for even more randomness and utter uselessness to be contributed to the Internet... yay! I guess this is really just me getting started so I don't have much to say really. I guess I will tell you what my intentions are with this blog and bid you farewell.

I aim to deliver randomness and nothing more really. Black Plaid/ Pink Flamingo is a team effort so from time to time it wont be me writing. Topics will very and we look forward to reading any comments that may be posted (assuming anyone is even reading this). So if you like what you see I highly suggest continuing to read.... makes sense don't you think? Right well the first blog is always a bit awkward and I am done it now.....

-Black Plaid