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Looking out the window...
stripped bare
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Shish Kebob (because it sounded better than Smorgasbord)
There are a lot of reasons for wanting to cover up my most recent post, most importantly, I would rather not come to my website daily (or several times per day, whatever) and be reminded of my brother and the fact that he could be very ill. While ignoring the situation will not make it go away, it will allow me to dwell on other things, such as, whether or not Bridget will tell her grandma that it is actually her or if her grandmother will figure it out on her own. Also, it allows me to worry about parking my car between the two vans in the parking lot since they have their fair share of dings and scratches, I don't want one of their drivers to hurt MY car! In any case, despite being told that he would be able to speak with someone about further options yesterday, they knew nothing of his results and even questioned his being there days earlier.

So, onto other, much less dramatic things. I heard a commercial for Wendy's today, they were advertising the Spicy Chicken sandwich, I thought to myself (as if a lightbulb had gone off over my hear) that I used to eat that sandwich, before I gave up meat. I miss meat. Not the taste of it, not even the nutrients that I get from it, but the convenience. I'm never able to eat things when I go out to restaurants, fast food places, while never something I enjoyed in the first place are now off limits (except for Harvey's who sells a tasty veggie burger). It's annoying. I know that people do this for YEARS and maybe if I wasn't so damn picky I could too, but as it is I eat very few vegetables. I miss the days when my friends would suggest we stop somewhere and grab a bite to eat and I'd be able to get a full meal instead of ordering french fries. I refuse to eat the salads, yes, they are healthy, but you pay an arm and a leg for them and they still come with chicken. I know that I can have the meat removed, but I'll still pay the original high price, it's not worth the cost.

Enough of that rant. While writing something, I don't know what, reminded me of elementary school and the number of times I got in trouble. That number? Three. I was in trouble three horrible horrible times and one of those times I actually had to go to the principal's office. The first time, I was in grade 1 and was sent to the hall for talking during story time. I still remember it as being one of the most horrific moments of my childhood (sheltered much?). I was in the hall for what felt like hours and I cried the entire time. When my teacher came out to talk to me about it I sobbed that I was only talking because I was telling the girl next to me to be quiet so that I could enjoy the story. My teacher hugged me and all was right in my six year old world again. The second time was in grade four, this was the time I had to go to the principal's office. A couple of my friends and I got in trouble for chasing a boy around the school yard with lip gloss. Yup, for that, I had to sit in the pricipal's office, and we were given a stern warning to never ever let it happen again. The third time was in grade seven, we had a new teacher (she started with our class in February after our teacher took over the vice-principal's job) and we hated her. She was yelling at us and said something very condescending, without even thinking I made a stupid hand motion, no, I didn't give her the finger. She deemed the hand motion as being disrespectful (which it was) and sent me to the hall. This time I didn't cry. I remember the school telling us a few times that everything we did from grade 6-8 would be on our records for the rest of our academic careers and we wouldn't get into university if there were bad things on there. I thought that would be on for sure.

That's enough, I should be working... tonight I'm going to see a movie, next weekend it looks like we're going to the casino and I'm planning on having people over, but we'll see what happens.

Happy Humpday!

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posted by Ashley at 3:51 PM [ ]
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Monday, May 29, 2006
The one where there is no answer to how come
My brother could die. I know, everyone will die someday, but my brother could die a slow and painful death and it could happen sometime soon. He's 27, he's supposed to be alive for decades more, he's supposed to get married, and have children and then watch his grandchildren play in his yard on a balmy summer day. He's supposed to become a chef and be happy and not worry about the future. But, my brother could die and I don't really know what to do. It seems ridiculous, and a part of me still thinks it's a comical joke, something that we can tease him about at family dinners without having to face reality that this is serious. And it's true, we did joke about it last night, but in the back of everyone's minds was the thought that this isn't funny, this is serious, and he could die. On the other hand, he could be perfectly fine.

My brother contracted this worm from his dog, random and disgusting, I know. This worm is apparently very easy to get, yet, very rare. I don't know how that works but that's what everyone has been saying. In seventeen years our vet has never heard of a human catching the worm and the hospital that my brother went to didn't even know what it was. It's a worm specific to animals, in animals it is very treatable and not something to worry about but in humans it is life threatening. These worms lay eggs in your bowel, this part, while absolutely disgusting, is not the problem. From this point, their larva will absorb through the lining and into your bloodstream which will then, as happen with blood, be carried to your brain. It can cause serious brain damage, blindness, liver failure among other life threatening thing. The worst part of all of this is, there is no cure as there has been almost no research done. Apparently, by the time the worm is in your bloodstream the only course of treatment is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a scary word, it means he will get very very sick before he can get better and it means that he may not get better if it does not work.

It seems almost silly, he has a worm and it could kill him. It seems like a joke, if it were cancer it would be so much easier to explain and to understand. Instead, it's something completely obscure and odd and scary because even if my brother and I don't get along I love him with a fierceness that cannot be replaced and never would be. And so I told him that I would give him part of my liver and he laughed and told me that it wouldn't work. That's true, he would need the chemo and the transplant, because even if he got a new liver the worms would still be in his blood and would still kill him. It's scary, but there isn't a bone in my body that would say no to the chemo, I would be getting on that table next week because when it's an issue of losing your hair and being very sick or death it is no contest which I'd pick. He's scared and he's helpless and so are the rest of us, because we don't know what's going to happen, but he has to be okay, because I can't let myself believe it any other way.

He goes into the doctor tomorrow, I don't know what they will say because they hadn't even heard about this until last Friday. I'm scared but I'm actually okay, I know he'll be fine, I just do.

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posted by Ashley at 2:18 PM [ ]
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
He told me that he loved me, then we switched off the lights
Long weekends always make me feel a little bit better, you are able to take some extra time to do the things that need to get done, and you can even sleep in on one day since all the stores are closed anyways. It doesn't help that when you go back to work following a long weekend you know that you only have a four day work week. Oh, another great part of long weekends is that you get PAID for a day off! Anyways, my long weekend was great, the only thing that could have made it slightly better would have been if the sun peaked out for more than five minutes and if the temperature hadn't been capable of producing snowflakes. I guess you can't have it all. Em's cottage was fun, we played a lot of card games, which I never thought I'd enjoy quite as much as I did. We also drank, a lot. Not a lot of alcohol but a lot of times... I mean we drank our fair share but it isn't as if we were knocking back a 2-4 each night. I could write about our adventures, but we didn't really have any. It was a relaxing weekend, there were a lot of jokes, both inside and obvious, and we went into town a few times. We walking into the water up to mid calf (or so) and it was cold. We saw fireworks from one of the docks down the road (it was cold but pretty). We went for walks, didn't get bit by blackflies and saw no bears. I finished a book, one that wasn't school related at all and that I actually enjoyed! Since being back I have been angry that I've had to work, and I have played countless hours of Hearts on my computer (a game which I was taught this weekend and am now, apparently, addicted to).

There are some pictures: here.

Finally, something that I find pretty interesting: Waterloo was named in the top seven most intelligent communities in the world! How cool is that!?

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posted by Ashley at 2:28 PM [ ]
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Thursday, May 18, 2006
5 seconds from death and proof that I ate paint chips
Yesterday I went to Waterloo, there are a variety of reasons for this trip all of which I used to justify the 45 minute drive, but the real reasons were as follows: 1) I wanted to buy sunglasses from the same stand as I bought my old ones... hopefully the same pair (sans broken), and 2) I wanted to watch ANTM (America's Next Top Model) with my roommate Leanne and Meghann, who wanted to come along for the ride. We arrived in alright time, there was rain which slowed down the highway but we still got to the mall, picked up our Swiss Chalet and watched an episode of Friends before the anticipated episode of ANTM. The show kept us on our toes, but voted out Jade who quite frankly I hated before advancing to the final two. I can't say I was super happy that Danielle won, I liked Joanie but to be honest I didn't dislike Danielle so I also wasn't upset. In any case, we hit the road to come home, were almost at Meghann's house and I was in the intersection waiting to make a left hand turn. The light turned yellow, I was ready to go, I waited for the oncoming traffic to stop, they were all stopping, I st arted to roll, the light turned red and a cube van going approximately 80km/h starts barreling through the intersection. I slam on my brakes, slam on my horn, the van swerves JUST around my car and keeps going without even touching the brakes. My heart was racing, Meghann was clutching my arm and I thought we were going to die! It was really scary, the stupidity of some drivers astounds me. They ran a full on red light when the traffic around them was stopped, nearly plowed into my car (if they hadn't swerved they would have hit my driver's door and even still was only about a foot in front of my car) and most likely killed both Meghann and I due to their speed and the size of the van.

And now, since I can laugh at myself and my ridiculous attachment to television shows, I would like to share the e-mail I sent my beautiful roommates the morning after the second half of the season finale of Grey's Anatomy aired. To be honest, these people are my friends, if I didn't know better I'd think they were real, but I know, I know, they are characters, they are just playing a part... *sigh* well in any case:
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT! OMG! So, I was bawling, it was so sad and then I was angry because how DARE they do that to me and make me wait 4 whole months. I feel so badly for Izzie and can't believe Denny is gone and if she quits the hospital does this mean she is leaving the show? What's going to happen with her and Alex? He is so in love with her, it was so cute when he picked her up and held her when she cried but I don't think she is going to be ready to date for a long time. And then there is Mer/Der. I was alright with them being apart, I had adjusted to Addison and actually started to feel badly for her and then he had to go and fuck it all up! I liked the vet, he was hot and he was vulnerable and just as messed up as Meredith, they were perfect for one another and now she has gone and broken his heart! ARG! I can't believe Cristina was ignoring Burke and wouldn't just BE there for him, what's WITH that? And let me tell you, just because she walked into his room at the end and held his hand does not make up for all of that! Then there is George, poor George who is in love with Meredith but trying to move on. I can't believe after all of that he admits that he was so angry because he felt it was HIS fault! I'm glad that he's with Callie but I think she's a super bitch. I hope she doesn't spill the beans to George that she walked in on Mer/Der but I liked how she was nice enough to tie up Meredith's dress. I hope Burke ends up being okay, they can't get rid of that many characters... I just hope that they don't bring that chick heart doctor in to fill his position because I don't really like her very much. Alright, I'm going to stop now, mostly because I have made it WAY too obvious that I'm OBSESSED with the show and also because I want to go check the Grey's Anatomy website and see if they have posted anything yet on any of the three blogs... *sigh*.

Since this e-mail my roommates and I have talked, they are just as baffled and obsessed as me, which makes me feel better about my pathetic existence. It's sad that I'm so involved with their lives... and that I read the show's blogs.. and that I will watch this season finale many more times until the show comes back in Sept/Oct... oh well, we all have our vices? Right?... *sigh*

This weekend I'm going to my friend Emily's cottage, it's a long weekend and I'm making it extra long by taking tomorrow off work. We are driving up later this evening and spending a glorious weekend with no work, sleeping in, and probably a little alcohol.

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posted by Ashley at 2:04 PM [ ]
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Monday, May 15, 2006
Shooting star
We met in history class fighting about something or another. I hated him, I thought he was egotistical and everything I didn't like in a person. We argued on a regular basis and eventually we were fighting about the nothings in order to keep talking. When we started to be friends I was hesitant. Trust was something I didn't give out easily, and it was hard to go from disliking a person so much to accepting them in my life. I turned to a friend, someone that I would rather be dating but was, for whatever reason unavailable to me, he told me to go for it, that things wouldn't change between us. They did, if only I had known what would happen in the end. Hindsight.

He invited me to a party, I took my friends because I didn't want to go alone. We flirted across the room and he asked me to go for a walk. We talked as we walked to the park down the street, he put down his coat and we laid on the grass. We looked at the stars and listened to the wind blow through the blades of grass. We both saw the same shooting star and he asked me what my wish was, I told him that it wouldn't come true if I told him and he told me that his had already come true. I knew that he was using a line on me, but I didn't care. He asked me if I wanted to go on a date with him and I said no. He asked me again and I said yes. He went to kiss me and I moved away, I told him that I wouldn't be another girl on his list, that I wouldn't let him play me. He assured me he wasn't and I let him kiss me. We were sixteen and I didn't know any better. We walked back to the party holding hands, he told me he'd call and my stomach did a flip flop. When we got back to the party it was chaos. People were drunk and one of my friends had locked herself in a bathroom, the other was making out with a boy in the corner. I cleaned up the mess that I had brought and went home smiling.

He called the next day, we made plans to go out and we talked on MSN. I fell in lust almost immediately, when he called my heart would pound and when we saw each other I couldn't break his gaze. When he told me that he loved me I said it back, although, I don't know if I really felt it at the time. I was head over heels and nothing was going to break my high spirits. At some point in my relationship one of my ex's stepped back into my life, they wanted me back but said that they respected my decision. I was offended and hurt, it wasn't just my decision it was my life. My ex said he liked my boy and he broke into my e-mail account to get his e-mail address. They talked on MSN and I got angry. I made the ex leave me alone, I told him that it was too late and he needed to accept that. He said that he did.

Things were great with the boy, we went to concerts and he wrote me songs about love and the future. I took him to parties and introduced him to my friends, they said that they liked him and I smiled inside. We rarely fought but when we did it was horrible and time consuming. Things started to break down, I was more in love with the friends I had developed as a result of our relationship and more concerned about the friendship I lost with the boy who assured me it would all be okay. We drifted apart and our fights began to be more heated. We broke up and two friends intervened to trick us into getting back together. We made up in a basement and things were okay. We broke up again shortly after, some things aren't meant to be fixed. It was horrible and painful and caused secrets shared between boyfriend and girlfriend to come out in full force. The worst part of the breakup was the realization that I was more worried about losing 'our' friends then I was about losing him. While I missed the relationship we had shared, a lot of that had been gone for a long time and it was easier to accept. I talked to our friends and realized that there was nothing to worry about, we continued to spend time together but things were not always pleasant. There were awkward moments and new relationships. We didn't pretend to be friends, we didn't speak and we didn't care, or at least I didn't.

I was sixteen when we met and even though I thought I did at the time, I realize now that I didn't love him. It's true, enjoyed spending time with him, but without him my heart was not broken and my days did continue. I miss the days when a smile from a boy made my heart melt, I have become cynical and distrusting, I am no longer a teenager.

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posted by Ashley at 1:30 PM [ ]
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Sunday, May 14, 2006
Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day.

While pregnant with me in Florida with Chris

Mom and I at Grandma's birthday party June 2003.

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posted by Ashley at 4:06 PM [ ]
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Thursday, May 11, 2006
Premeditating Sick
Have you ever premeditated a sick day? I have. When I worked at my old job I did this once or twice. I'd be working on a Wednesday and would start coughing, talking about being dizzy and how my stomach just wasn't feeling that great, but instead of asking to go home I'd push through like the good little employee that I was. The next day, I would once more comment on these symptoms in casual conversation and for good measure I may even throw in that I keep getting winded. When Saturday morning rolled around, and the un-wanted shift arrived I'd call in sick and have nobody question my actions because I have clearly not been feeling well these past few days. Instead of lazing in bed and drinking flat gingerale I'd usually head to the mall or a party with my friends. Perhaps this wasn't the best way to prove my "good employee" status, but skipping work due to premeditated sickness, but it was much needed when I worked 5 or 6 days a week and just wanted a break.

Now, I'm working at a much different job with much different and standard (9-5) hours. I want a break, but I know my only breaks are weekends. Weekends that are short and full and don't allow me to relax which is great but still, relaxation is needed. And so, I want to be sick tomorrow. I won't be, but I wish that I were or that I'd planned well enough in advance so that I could dial the phone at 8:45am (so as to miss talking to a human) and say that *cough cough* I'm sick. I guess it seems silly wanting this already, it's only the second week! You know, this time last year, at this EXACT time in fact I would have been walking the streets of Paris as the sun was almost set and the nightlife was just beginning. Lija and I had just begun our trip and when we awoke in the morning we would have new adventures afoot. Tomorrow when I awake I will be struggling to find my jeans (because it's casual Friday, every Friday) and a shirt that looks half decent and smells almost clean. I will be making sure the pillow creases are gone before heading into the office and that I have my trusty travel coffee cup in my hand full of a caffeinated beverage. Funny how things work out... at least I can hope that I don't spill on myself.. again.

In other news, I have been having fun recently. On Saturday I went to Markham for Shirley's birthday (which she writes wonderfully about over here). It was fun and it was cheery and we drank more than we should including the dreaded blowjob shot which quite frankly is way worse than the real thing. At least that's my opinion. Shirley is fantastic and funny and since she knew almost EVERYONE in the bar it made me feel kind of popular, like I was out with the head cheerleader and everyone (even the girls) wanted to get into her pants (or something like that). The bar in itself was really cool, and big. It was called the Honest Lawyer (Ha. Ha.) and had a bowling lane (!!), many pool tables including an L shaped one, air hockey, one of those punching things, a kicking one, and other things that I just don't remember because well, we drank A LOT.

Meghann and I did something on Monday, but that isn't interesting... yesterday Em and I got ice cream (because after a long hard day who doesn't want sugar?) and then we parted and then we met up again because we all went to Playdium which I could talk about but won't and instead pictures:


Anyways, in almost the same breath as I talked about how I use posts about my days to cover up who I really am I wrote this. I should be given a blogging (get it... blogging sounds like flogging... yeah okay).

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posted by Ashley at 4:00 PM [ ]
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Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Blogging Honestly
I made a promise to myself that the next time I blogged it would be honest. I find it so easy to fall back into the trap of talking about my weekend, himming and hawing about what classes I have and the assignments I have to write, but none of this is who I am, none of this is truth. I mean, I'm not lying about my plans or the due dates, but I am lying about who I am as a person by pretending that these things are who I am. I am not school, I am not weekends at bars, while I do these things they should not dominate who I make myself out to be. They are colourful excuses to hide behind and perhaps I like this but it can't go on forever. I started out his blog being honest and open, but people came to me and told me that they didn't know I was so "deep" and had "those kinds of thoughts" and for some reason I took this as an insult and I made most of these posts a draft and stopped writing about a lot of things. I have changed a lot in the time since I started this blog, and I have shared truthfully and fully about a lot of things, but I also hide and pretend to be someone that I don't think I actually am.

As a person, I am confident and outgoing. I love to speak, I love to be around people, new and old. However, I am also very self-conscious. I hate the way I look, and always have. I look in the mirror and turn away because it's the last place I want to be looking. When I catch a glimpse of myself in a reflective window or somebody's glasses I shudder. Perhaps it's the confidence I show when posting pictures but perhaps you don't realize the number of photos I delete or fail to show simply because I don't like the way my smile causes a line down my face or the shirt makes me look very fat. Perhaps it isn't even worth noting this here, completely irrelevant to the person that I am, but to me it means sometime. I feel as if I come across as the opposite as I feel simply because I'm confident in my actions and my words. But don't let this fool you, I hate who I am, I hate the person I have become and the person I started out as. I wish that I could be four once more, when I happily walked around the neighbourhood with my self cut hair and a smile on my dirt covered face. I scoff at the media hype about body image, but I have fallen very much victim to what I've heard on TV and seen in magazines. These are the images that circulate around society, they have determined what is 'normal' and made everyone who does not fit into this mold feel as if they need to change. I hate that I cannot step up and say that I am happy with who I am, maybe one day I will be able to, but in a way, I doubt that it will happen.

This is who I am, there are a lot of other truths that I have ignored, things that I am equally ashamed of but eventually, with time, will share. Because this is who I am, and I'm not living up to my title "stripped bare" it's time that I changed that. While I cannot promise there will not be anymore posts about my weekend escapades and such I will try and be honest about myself and show who I am on the inside.

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posted by Ashley at 1:13 PM [ ]
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Monday, May 08, 2006
Saying good bye to a great man.
The visitation was on Sunday April 30th for Meghann's Dad. It was in a 3 room suite with a large kitchen and balcony and it was packed full of people. It was amazing to see how many people loved not only Mr Campbell but the entire family.

On Monday, the service was held at a local church that was filled beyond capacity. There had to be at least fifty people standing at the back and along the sides, all there to show their love and support. The first eulogy was done by the three girls, Meghann and her sisters, they showed such strength and held such power in their words. They did a beautiful job. After them came an Uncle, a childhood friend and a brother in law. Each shared touching stories and showed great love for Mr. Campbell and his family. After, everyone drove to the cemetery. There must have been 50 cars following the hurst; we were number twelve. The burial was difficult and emotional. Each family member placed a flower on the casket, and after doing so, his mother broke down into such fierce sobs she had to be held up by her husband. It was hard watching her, hearing her sobs, watching the girls as they said good bye to their Dad and Mrs. Campbell as she said good bye to the man that she loved. It was hard watching my friend cry, knowing that she felt such pain yet I could not do anything. I still feel helpless. While we can all be there for her, there is nothing that we can do to make her feel better. It was a quiet drive back from the cemetery. The reception was boisterous, much like Mr. Campbell had been. The family has been very 'held together' in recent days. I don't think that everything has hit them yet but I do know that it will be a long road before life is 'normal'.

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posted by Ashley at 2:28 PM [ ]
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Thursday, May 04, 2006
Stuff that made my heart hurt, and mindless drivel to fill space.
**Totally Updated to tell you that I forgot to mention we had an EARTHQUAKE yesterday. This was the first time I had ever experienced something such as this and according to 'those who make up numbers' it was a 2.7. It made a really loud noise and shook my desk and the epicenter was only two blocks away. If I'd had time to react I would have run to a door frame becasue as I child I was paranoid about natural disasters and learned how to survive. However, I live in a place where there are no earthquakes (usually), floods, tornadoes or anything else, so I was worried about nothing.**

I'm not really sure why I avoided writing about my car woes a couple of weeks ago, perhaps because it pained my heart to think about or maybe because I have the attention span of an earthworm and forgot. I'd probably bet on the latter, although the former is true, it still hurts my heart to think about. While driving back from Waterloo, on the day that I moved all of my stuff home, I was just about to go around the curving on ramp to the 401 and a rock was rocketed off the road by the car in front of me. I swerved to the left as I stared at the GAPING HOLE in my windshield, sure it must be a mistake and that there was just a little smudge there, not a GAPING HOLE! Once on the highway, ticking along at a steady 130, I glanced over and sure enough, the damn rock and RUINED my poor windshield. My heart palpitated and I wanted to cry. Not only did this mean I would have to pay to have the windshield fixed, but it also meant my (nearly 3 year old) baby had been in it's first 'accident'. I got home, unloading my possessions and looked at my parents with guilt eyes explaining to them that I was so sorry. I plead innocence and said that I hadn't seen the rock coming. I told them I felt horrible and that I wouldn't let it happen again. And they looked at me, laughed, and said the insurance would cover the cost. So, I worried for nothing, but I mean... it was a GAPING HOLE! I took the car in to the recommended Speedy Autoglass and they plugged the hole, telling me that it could spider at "any moment" and to "watch closely". I'm still waiting, I think it will be okay. If I have to replace the windshield my deductible is $300 which I guess isn't bad, but plugging is free.

The next day, after getting the GAPING HOLE plugged (btw you can still see a mark, which gives my car character but I hate it) I took my car in to the 'tire place' (and left it there... ) and got the winter tires taken off and my summer tires put back on. My Mom then drove me to the Acura dealership and I picked up new windshield wipers, because my car has these stupid inserts that you have to buy and it's ridiculous, but they rip and need to be replaces sometimes, but they only cost $5 each so I guess it's okay. While picking up the aforementioned wiper inserts, I booked my car in for an oil change, because I was due and my Mom made me. While booking it, they suggested I get the 'big' service done because even though I'm not close to the number of kilometers it will take too long and my car will erupt into a pile of smoke and fire (or something less dramatic) before that time. I disagreed and booked it in for the oil change.

When I got home, I told my Dad who made me call Acura back and book my car for the 'big' appointment. It was supposed to cost (with tax) $312 which I thought was absurd. They said that they had to test this and that and take off an oil my breaks... or something. They called at about the time I should have been heading over to pick my poor car up and explained to me that my car needed new rear breaks, that they were almost gone and would start making noise in a month. I told them I would think about it and hung up the phone. My Mom looked at me and said "you have to THINK about replacing the breaks". But common, it's not like I really need them... right? My Mom called my Dad and I had to call Acura back to tell them to replace the breaks... it cost, in total $500!

So now, my car has a newly plugged windshield, rear breaks, new windshield wiper blades, and nicely balanced summer tires. If ANYONE hits my car, I'm going to cry... seriously.

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Wow, that filled a lot of space, I thought I'd have room to talk about the funeral, my first week of work and spending time with Em and Mike on Tuesday. I'll save that for another day... tomorrow for example.

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posted by Ashley at 2:19 PM [ ]
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Wednesday, May 03, 2006
No GST?
So, our new Conservative government announced yesterday that they would be cutting GST by 1%. Most people cheered and celebrated the savings that would follow, but me, I'm skeptical. There is the one part of me who thinks that we should pay down our debt before reducing taxes, but I'm the kind of person that pays my credit card bill almost a full month early when the statement arrives in the mail. The other part of me has one question/concern and one concern. I'm a student, I don't make a lot of money so I rely on the quarterly GST rebate cheques. Now, I understand that by cutting GST I will be saving this money throughout the year, but those cheques always come at the most opportune times allowing me to get past the dry spell of my bank account and pay some necessary bills. I take these cheques into account when planning my finances and assume that they will be arriving in the mail. If GST is cut, I suppose my question, if it is even a question, is will these cheques continue coming? Additionally, the new budget report is raising the prices of tobacco and alcohol. While I do not smoke, I'm a student, I drink. I can't afford alcohol to go up in prices! Anyways, my reasons are stupid and I'm sure this is going to be a great thing for many people, but I'm not going to count on it until I see how efficient things are.

In other news, a piece of an airplane fell from the sky the other day and hit a parked car shattering the back window and tearing off the bumper. Now that's something to avoid!!

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posted by Ashley at 11:14 AM [ ]
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ASHLEY
WATERLOO/OAKVILLE

It's time to make a few changes. This is me. Take it or leave it.

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