March 2014
Things that I rocked today:
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- Baking midnight cupcakes
(because why the f not)
- Grooving out in my living room to Robyn
- An interview at a really exciting prospective job
(people like when you give a double thumbs-up, right?)
- Taking care of Tyrone after his dental surgery
(as per usual)
- My CodeAcademy lessons
- Home-made chicken noodle soup
(boom)
- Totally not falling in a single puddle at all
- This blog post
(obviously)
So I've started learning HTML & CSS with CodeAcademy
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Pretty sweet, amirite?!
Volunteered at Siloam Mission for the first time last night
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and wasn't prepared for what an amazing experience it would be.I went with my parents, who have been volunteering for two years or so and to their credit have been bugging me to come with them forever.
They're pictured here, looking amazing as per usual and holding the four cakes that my mum baked for this week's dinner.Because in addition to giving up every Thursday night to come down and help serve dinner, my mum also does a ton of baking for the patrons so they always have a wide variety of desserts.
When you ask her about it she'll be like "oh it's no big deal" even though it's totally a big deal.
Which is why she's so cool.
So we went in and started prepping for dinner which was slow-cooker pulled turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and dessert and it was crazy to see how quickly everything came together and even crazier to see how quickly it went.
The line was intense and we served basically nonstop for over an hour.
I got to meet some really great, hilarious people who made the hours fly by in the blink of an eye.
But the real joy was being able to interact a little bit with the patrons, because it's really easy to become cynical and dismissive of people in our society who are less fortunate than we are.
We've all ignored that outstretched hand at least once in our lives.
So being able to help give them something of value -a warm place to hang out for a while, a decent meal, a friendly face- really affected me deeply.
I realized halfway through my shift that I recognized a lot of the faces coming through the line from my years of living, working, and going to school in downtown Winnipeg.
These people who smiled and waved and joked with us as they waited for their meals. People who thanked us and said "god bless you" and came back afterward to complement us on the food.
I saw a side of these people that I hadn't seen before, and it was wonderful.
You know, I go on a lot about how much I try to be a decent, contributing citizen and be someone who actually gives a damn about the world around me, and it felt good to start putting some money where my mouth is.
It was hands-down one of the most rewarding things I've ever done, and I'll definitely be going back next week.
I wasn't going to blog about this, but I will
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Because I advocate writing as a therapy.
I always say things like "if you don't bear yr soul nobody will give a damn about what you had to say" which I still think is true.
If I expect people to give a damn when I'm at my highest, they need to know me when I'm at my lowest.
Right now I'm at my lowest.
The past few months, however, I was at my highest: I was working somewhere amazing and I loved the shit out of my job.
I loved the people I worked with. I loved the work that I did. I even loved our clients, as much as they drove me crazy on occasion.
I walked into work every day happy to be there.
But good things don't always last.
Challenges exist to teach us lessons
the trials we face in life help us grow
and all that stupid bullshit people say to try and save face when their heart is breaking.
So now that you know that my heart is breaking
let me say this:
I'm going to miss that place. I'm sad that I've left.
But I wish everyone there all the best, because they deserve it.
Rock on, DF.
xox
yr girl Shaner
I've nearly forgotten what relaxing feels like
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Work has been insane.Life has been insane.
In the best best best way possible.
Been working on a huge client project at work -bigger than anything I've tackled so far with tons of complicated pieces and a lot of stress and all of it on top of all the regular shit I have to do.
There's been a lot of coming in extra early and staying late and midweek 9pm bedtimes and you'd think I'd be pissed off about it but no, I'm thrilled as fuck to be involved.
Watching a project that you helped build come to fruition and become a success has to be the best feeling in the world.
Better than acing an exam.
Better than eating a giant hot fudge sundae.
Better than dancing till 2am in the rain.
(All of which I've done so I can speak from experience)
I'm hooked on that euphoric adrenaline. Bring it on!
In the middle of all that I've successfully initiated the first step of the Penpal Project
aka I mailed my letters (sorry to wait so long, everyone!), took Tyrone for the ballin-est dinner ever at Bistro 7 1/4, gone skating, hit up Festival du Voyageur twice, dragged myself to my scifi book club, wore a fox mask, got rowdy with my friends, bought Tyrone a lucha mask, froze my feet outside, stayed up too way late and a million other things that I can't even think of anymore.
So you'll have to excuse me while I enjoy this moment of solitude catching up on blogging and all things Internet.
(At least until Ty says I have to give the laptop back in a bit so he can play some emulated Minish Cap, but until then...)
Enjoy your weekend, lovelies!
red wine, fat cats, final fantasy
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Bún at the local vietnamese place
getting shit did at the office
wearing fleece jackets that are from china and meant for boys
texting yr best girl
holding hands with yr best guy
thomas dolby, stars & smoki tigr in the car
zapp branigan jokes
super strong coffee
are the things a good Friday are made of.
happy weekend!
xox yr Shaner
