it was christmas?

and so another christmas has come and gone - which means that my blog is approaching two years old now, come march. and it also means that i got christmas presents. the most exciting of which include:

and...

 ... the Dreamy Diana Lens at the Photojojo Store

as well as...

... and various other pieces, including, but not limited to, a burt's bees lip balm, two necklaces, a book about U2, various chocolates, two christmas activity books (mom's idea of a joke?), and a book about good decisions from one of my grandmothers.

altogether, it was a good christmas. lots of time with the family and stuff.

oh yeah and i have another wisdom tooth coming in. ugh.

50 things you won't even care about.

1 . What time did you get up this morning?
6 am

2. How do you like your steak?
More rare than not.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Dawn Treader in 3D

4. What is your favorite T.V show?
Firefly. NICS. Castle. Eureka.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Somewhere warm and awesome and full of mountains.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Didn't eat breakfast today.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Depends on my mood. Italian's a pretty safe favourite though. Or Indian.

8. What foods do you dislike?
Broccoli. Cauliflower. Eggplant. Brussels sprouts. Chickpeas.

9. Favourite place to eat?
Don't really have a favourite. I'll eat wherever I'm in the mood for.

10. Favorite dressing?
Caesar.

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
I don't drive - yet.

12. What are your favorite clothes?
Black. And awesome.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Wales. Sweden. The Netherlands.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
That begs the question, why does the cup even have to contain anything at all?

15. Where would you want to retire?
Scotland? Maybe?

16. Favorite time of day?
Daytime.

17. Where were you born?
Kamloops.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
I don't like sports. But I'll watch hockey every now and again.

19. Something you regret?
Not being more careful.

20. What are you wearing right now?
Pink paisley pajama pants, black pajama shirt with The Beast on it, black hoodie, black slippers with toes on them from last night's ninja costume.

21. One thing you know way too much information about?
Corsets.

22. Bird watcher?
Not really.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning, definitely.

24. Pets?
Soon going to live with two cats - but they will not be mine.

25. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share?
Not really.

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
An author, a gymnast, a singer, and an astronaut.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
I don't know. I think most of my childhood was my best memory of my childhood.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Cat. Defs.

29. Are you married?
Single. Again. Never married though.

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yep.

31. Been in a car accident?
Yes, when I was an infant - mom ran into a ditch and the cops thought I had a serious head injury cos I used to have a big red birthmark on the back of my head.

32. Any pet peeves?
Bad spelling, bad grammar, things not being in tune, people who hang over my shoulder, tone-deafness, annoying and unending beeps.

33. Favorite pizza topping?
Ham & pineapple.

34. Favorite flower?
Daisies, roses, lilies, orchids.

35. Favorite ice cream?
Cookie dough.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
A&W.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Have failed 3 times now, but I refuse to fail a fourth time.

38. From whom did you get your last email?
The Isaaks.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Gibbous Fashions (if an online store is allowed).

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Does drinking too much at last night's party count?

41. Like your job?
It's a job...

42. Broccoli? Cauliflower?
Neither!!

43. What was your favorite vacation?
Never really had a vacation as such. So no answer.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Rebekah.

45. What are you listening to to right now?
Death and All His Friends - Coldplay

46. What is your favorite color?
Black.

47. How many tattoos do you have?
One.

48. Coffee drinker?
No. Defs tea.

49. How many children do you have?
Zero.

50. Your favourite guilty pleasure or indulgence?
Sour gummy candies.

somehow

i promised myself i wouldn't
i did my damnedest
but somehow
somewhy
i cried anyways

it's been so so long
i lost track of the days
but somewhere
in there
i still miss you

i try my hardest not to
i do my best not to care
but sometimes
sometimes
i still think of you

and when i saw you
after so long
somehow
somewhy
i cried anyways.

© Elizabeth Klassen 2010

it snew. in november. who knew.

a tasty thing i made

too late for lemonade.

life threw me a lemon but i don't know whether to make lemonade with it or throw it across the room and hope it goes through a window on its way out the door, so i sit here and watch it moulder on the table and i wonder what to do with it, because in all honesty the mold is making quite a pretty blue-green-and-white garden on my poor little lemon, but on the other hand i'm afraid the spores'll make me sick and then i'll catch pneumonia and die, and then where will i be? so i really ought to throw the poor lemon away, i think, but i really have grown quite atttached to it. maybe i'll freeze it in carbonite, then i'll have it forever - or maybe i can paint a portrait of it sitting there, and THEN i'll throw it out. i'll decide later. for now, i'll just watch it moulder.

because i have now found a practical way to post blogs without a computer :)

... i can email blogs to you lot on my phone! win!

so. guess what i did last night?
went to see the new harry potter movie - in the new galaxy theatre in chilliwack, the one that's next to the superwalmart. and was it good?
Oh. My. Gosh. it was freaking fantastically Epic Win. i've been annoyed with some of the previous movies and their so-called adaptations - but this one was the closest to the book of any of the other ones, AND it was a good movie. everyone laughed at all the right parts, and clapped after dobby's speech, and so on. and it was generally just brilliant. the end.

also - snow in the fraser valley in november? unheard of.

i'm not you.

you can't see me
you can't hear me
hiding behind your normalcy
you don't look for me
you don't care about me
scared that i might give you honesty

you can ask me why
don't be shy
i'll give it to you straight
if that bugs you
i won't pity you
i got other things on my plate.

and honestly
i'm happier
without your petty bitching
so shut your face
don't slander me
your life's not mine, and i'm not you.

© Elizabeth Klassen 2010

nothing.

what is this?
it's a noose for your own neck.
what is it made of?
it is woven from choices you've made.
why?
because mistakes are never forgotten.
what did i do to deserve this?
nothing.

what is this?
it's a deadly poison, tailored just for you.
what is it made of?
the bitterness and anger of others towards you.
why?
because mistakes are never forgotten.
what did i do to deserve this?
nothing.

what is this?
it's your death.
what is it made of?
fear, anger, and hopelessness.
why?
because your pain is never forgotten.
what did i do to deserve this?
nothing.

© Elizabeth Klassen 2010

working at tim hortons

... has been interesting. i've learned a lot of stuff very quickly. for instance, they stuck a drive-through headset on me today - and it's only my fifth shift there. however - i simply must tell you about the best customers i've had yet in my five shifts working there. they came to my till this afternoon. i would say they were about in their late 40s/early 50s. they told me it was the first time they had ever been in a tim horton's. when i expressed surprise, they explained that they were from south of the border, and were here on a visit from florence, oregon, and just could not leave canada without visiting a tim horton's - so as to have the full canadian experience, of course. so we had a great time. she had a small ice capp, he had a small coffee with cream, and they took a box of ten assorted timbits as well. and they paid with american money - he thought it would just go $1-$1, but i explained there was a button for USD, that did the exchange for us, and he thought that was pretty neat. so yeah. i enjoyed serving them. and i hope i made their first tim horton's experience a good one. and yes, i know that sounds dreadfully cheesy. but i mean it. so there.

oh, i'm the type of girl that likes to roam around ... ?

so way back a couple of weeks ago i had an interview/tryout at a little inn as housekeeping staff. basically the head housekeeper took me around a room and showed me how they clean it, then had me do a room by myself. so i found out the other day that i get paid for that, cos i was kind of technically working for them. so i got my check this afternoon. only 12.75, but heck, any money's good right now. in the bank it went, and then i was going to use it to go pick up some stuff that i needed. so i'm waiting to cross a street, and this guy with wonky teeth comes up to me.

guy: are you going this way?
me: yes i am.
guy: i'm going to tim horton's. [waves a fistful of coinage at me] where are you going?
me: i don't really know where i'm going. [meaning, "i haven't made up my mind where i'm going to pick up the stuff i need."]
guy: you mean like you're a wanderer?
me: [chuckling to myself] i guess you could say that.
guy: it's funny how people don't know where they're going. wanderer is my word for people who don't know where they're going.
me: it's a good word. [cycles off as the light changes]

it seems to be my luck, to have oddball conversations with guys with odd teeth. see "apparently i'm ... impressive." "and .... viciously gorgeous." for previous examples. now not only am i impressive, i'm a wanderer. an impressive wanderer? um... okay. [insert expressive shrug here]

a different sort of post.

so in various blog posts so far, i have told you about things i've seen, things i've heard, things i've done, things i've thought about, things i've thought, etc. but i've never written a blog post about this before...

what i smelled today.

today i smelled waffles
and coffee, lots and lots of coffee
doughnuts and fresh bread
bathroom sanitizer (yech!)
hot tarmac
green leaves in the sunshine
blackberries
sweaty people and sweaty people's deodorants
tea tree oil (i think one of my new coworkers uses tea tree oil shampoo or something)

i want to go back to bed now.

so it's been a while since i last posted any real kind of update.

 i'll start with the easy stuff -
my grandma got married on saturday, it was a sweet little wedding/reception/thing, and now she's off to the USofA for her honeymoon.
which leads into the next thing:
everything of mine is going back in boxes! that's right, i'm moving again, but i'm staying in the wack. i just got a job at Tim Horton's on friday and it's two minutes from where i will be living, so that's perfect.

less easy -
it's caused a bit of agitation and disquiet in certain quarters, but i'm purchasing a microKORG for use in our band. no, the quarters are not in the band. and if the quarters read this: no, i haven't changed my mind, and i'm not going to. it costs less than my DSLR did. so chill.

even less easy -
psalm 91 band had to say goodbye to two of our members. our bass player and our backup vocalist have decided to move on. blessings to you, chris and nicci, we all love you very much.
on the upside, jeremy has rejoined the band on bass; he was the original bassist from the cd and knows all the songs. had a couple of practices last week with him and it went so easily, and we all get along really well together - me, rich, jeff, leanne, and jeremy. it's pretty awesome.

so there it is, and here i am, and life goes on.

♥

And you have a privacy policy why?

To whom it may concern:

I have a serious complaint to make.
Recently I began receiving newsletters from your company. To my knowledge, I have never signed up for your website or your newsletters, and nor did I ever want to. The only reason that comes to mind that could possibly explain why I inexplicably began receiving what I can only think of as SPAM would be that about two months ago I dropped off a resume at a Bluenotes location in the Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack, BC, where I live.
In my mind, dropping off a resume is merely an application for work, NOT a request to have my address (whether email or physical) given out for gratuitous and uninvited mailings. I feel highly displeased that my information would be abused in such a manner, and as a result, I will no longer be shopping at any Bluenotes locations.
Please remove my email address from your mailing list immediately.
Thank you.

and .... viciously gorgeous.

as a post-script to my last blog:
my good friend jessi came out to see me today. i met her at the bus station after the incident in my last post. i told her what happened, and as we were waiting to cross a street, who should come up behind us but No-Front-Teeth Sunglasses Guy.

guy: i know you, we talked earlier! what was your name again?
me: i never introduced myself. i'm lizzi.
guy: [fists out] i just have this urge to smack everyone i meet. but i talked to you, you're cool. [to jessi] you're cool too, what's your name? [pause] i own chilliwack. but not this part. but i'm working on taking over.
me & jessi: [smothered laughter]
guy: i'm also working on becoming absolutely viciously gorgeous.
me & jessi: [more laughter]
[light changes, we cross the road, laughing the whole way]

apparently i'm ... impressive.

well that was mildly creepy and somewhat amusing.
i was walking down a bike path, all gothed out, long black coat and eyeliner, and these two Native guys are walking towards me. one of them had sunglasses and missing front teeth, and as i'm walking past, this is what happened.
guy: hi
me: hi. [keeps walking]
guy: [stops me] you look ... impressive.
me: thanks. [tries to keep walking again.]
guy: you're so ... impressive. [pauses] my name is Chico186 and i'm impressive too. i own the city.
me: [mildly amused] i see.
guy: i like your eyes. do you like my eyes?
me: i can't see your eyes behind those sunglasses.
guy: [takes off his sunglasses, his eyes are all unfocussed, and he's got a black eye] battle. i've been in fights.
me: i see.
guy: i like you. maybe we should ... go for yogurt. or something.
me: [getting a little wary] i really don't have the time right now.
guy: but you're so ... impressive. and i really like you. i want to get to know you. [pauses] do you want to get to know me?
me: i'm sorry. i appreciate the compliment but i'm busy and i really have to go.
guy: okay. but you look so impressive. i really want to get to know you.
me: [walks away]

here i am.

so here i am,
i'm completely lost
and totally confused.
you're shadow-boxing
and fighting with ghosts
and it does no good
it solves nothing.

i want to comfort you
i want to help you
but i don't know how.
all i know is
i don't see the real you yet.
i see the layers
that you cover yourself with.

i can't fix you
for you.
that's not my job.

all i can do
is stand here
waiting for you
to be ready to be real.
so here i am.

© Elizabeth Klassen 2010

this WAS going to be a poem, but i changed my mind.

so just a quick update.
psalm 91 had a show in vancouver on saturday, it went pretty well, we get a video and an EP out of it, so that's cool.
i'm currently in a multitude of dilemmas, including one about where i'm going to live, and one about what i'm going to take at school, and one about what i'm going to do for a job, and one about what i'm going to do for transport (car???? driver's licence?????????? ehhhhh..... ), and the list goes on. so yeah.
jeff and i are coming up to one year dating, in a week - woot! love you jeff!
also, i got a new hole through my face on wednesday last week - i have a lip ring, bottom right. i WILL post pictures as soon as i can get my camera hooked up to a computer. have patience.
and yeah, i think that's about it for now.
love you all.

a project for a friend

lucky.

your breath is warm on my neck
as i shiver in the cold;
your hands are warm on my skin

i drink you in with my eyes
studying every pore in detail
i think you're incomparably wonderful

how am i so lucky?

© Elizabeth Klassen 2010