santa baby

Santa* was very kind to me this year. I was given free reign to shop at H&M, courtesy of a gift certificate from mom and dad, an Audrey Hepburn DVD box set from the loverly Kate, and in the just-what-I-always-wanted file: a claddagh ring from mon petit prince.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

* Santa: yes, I believe in him. He is personified in the jolly-ness of my friends and family.

me have two jab!

For any/all of you who still care about my current employment situation (and I don't blame you if you've tuned out...I wish I could tune out myself but, well, it's my life). I went for YET ANOTHER interview at a very slick, very chic, very..."Devil Wears Prada" meets "Ugly Betty" environment (which, by the way, has anyone else noticed that the same plot is used for both feature film and sitcom syndicate?). The plastic, buxom blond who greeted/interviewed me also caters to the 30-something CEO of the company, getting his breakfast and coffee at 7:30 a.m. daily, and the rest of the polished metrosexual employees spend their time stockpiling contra to subsidize their salaries, and eye positions in finance and/or sales on the side. It just didn't sound "me".

So I completed the interview as politely as I could and left.

The good news is that another company, a much warmer, friendlier company, has contacted me to give me their front desk coordinating position. The only problem is that they keep apologizing up, down and sideways that the job won't "be what you're used to", "isn't high-powered" and that I'm overqualified.

I told them I'll start on Monday.

Now to give away my part-time Starbucks hours. Except for the odd evening/weekend I might keep around, because, heck, why not make up for all those days spent doing nothing at all?

Did I just waste another entire post with employment updating?

(if anyone, and I mean ANYONE needs tips on interviews/resumes/job hunting, do let me know...I've picked up a thing or two over the past few months and would be more than happy to pass on the wealth of knowledge - gleaned by trial and error - to anyone who might find themselves in the same or similar circumstances)

patsy-cake

Last week, a customer at Starbucks (don't worry, love, it wasn't the "lusty Irishman"...it was a lusty Italian man) told me I looked like Patsy Kensit. She, apparently, starred in Lethal Weapon 2 with Mel Gibson. I wouldn't have thought much of it except that another customer, along with his friend, mentioned the same thing today. I smiled and nodded. Once I looked her up for myself, I realized it was meant as a compliment. I had no idea who she was.

This reminded me that I used to get Lauren Holly when I was in high school, back when she was dating Jim Carrey, people knew who she was, and she was blond. Once, on the street, an older man said I looked like Britt Ekland, one time Bond Girl, and ex-wife of Peter Sellers. I also get Gollum, Ren, and Ezma but the people who mentioned these similarities have been shipped off to South East Asia so I don't suggest you try it yourself.

This lead me further down the look-alike road and reminded me that recently I began a game with someone who didn't want to participate called, informally, "What Celebrity Couple Would Play Us In The Movie Of Our Lives?". The runners up to play Andrew and me included:

• Pete Sanpras and Bridgette Wilson
• Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker
• Chris Martin and Gwenyth Paltrow
• Anne and Gilbert

I'm secretly hoping that this launches a cross-blog Celebrity Look-Alike-a-Thon of epic proportions.

For those of you who read my blog and I have never met in person: you may send the links anyway but I won't be able to verify the resemblance. I'll take your word for it.

tatterdemalion

As some of you know, I have an Irish clonmacnois cross tattoo on my back (incidentally, although inked myself I can't watch TLC's Miami Ink without wincing...ask Kate: as much as I wanted/planned for/dreamed of my tattoo, it HURT LIKE A MOTHER and her poor, consoling, hand was crushed when I had mine done).

I've had an affinity to the Celtic cross' symbolism for many years and just the other day a regular Starbucks patron gave me a quote that made me like it even more. Dennis (or "Dennecha" - his Gaelic name - which he prefers to be called), of Irish decent, who sports a golden claddagh ring (pointed outwards, to signify "single, and searching"), with two fiery, red-headed ex-wives to his name, who sports a turned-up corkscrew moustache, who orders his coffee in a deep, sultry voice ("I'll have a tall, dark, bold, fulllllllll-bodied..."), and who tells me I'm the most beautiful girl in city (liar...*blush*) handed me a photocopied piece of paper with "Celtic Cross of Journeys & Meetings" as its title. It read:

On the journey of life our paths cross a multitude of opportunities, the most challenging can be those encounters with other human beings. The meeting that may bring us fulfilment or even frustration depends on the most startling chance and circumstance. The cross, joining the vertical and the horizontal, is a symbol of the importance and pain of the encounter.

Once it is acheived there are so many obstacles in its path amid the prosaid and petty demands of life. Unions missed, unions broken, uncompleted unions, disasters, misunderstandings, estrangements. The journey from the very first meeting to true union and love, is long and arduous.

"People destined to meet will do so, at precisely the right moment."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson's Law of Spiritual Gravitation)

It makes me think of a previous post of mine where I mused about chance encounters. My life has been absolutely peppered with them. It's comforting to think they aren't haphazard.

merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream

Has it really been nearly a month since I last posted?

I can't count the amount of times I've wanted to scream "STOP THE TRAIN, I WANT TO GET OFF" over the past few months but, alas, the train continued on its tracks and, rejoice! it has brought me to this rather (comparitively) enjoyable and peaceful moment on Monday, November 27, 2006.

November at a glance:

• Went to Kate's cottage with Paul and Sudburian friend, Steve. Had delightful time. It will be noted that, during a rousing game of Scattegories, Paul tried to use "automobile" as mode of transportation starting with "o". To his credit, he pronounced it "ooooooohtomobile".
• Attended youth concert, Kairos, as a groupie of the Youth Network Band. Emo band "Hello Kelly" played before the YN Band so I tried my hand at being 16 again. Unpleasant. Discovered that one Hello Kelliest is oldtime childhood friend, James Watts.
• Susan and Noel had a delightful housewarming soirée at their place in Burlington. Wonderful evening. And the only reason I would subject myself to setting foot in Burlington.
• With the dashing A, went to Roy Thompson Hall for the symphonic presentation of Rimsky-Korsakov's Shahirizad. Forgot to breathe. I'm not joking.
• Still working at Bucks. Wait. Did I tell you all that I'm working at Bucks? Well, I am. Still. Another job pending. Keep praying. Because as charming as 5:00 a.m. openings are...

I've been up since verrrrry early, have had a little too much caffeine today, should probably work on my teacher's college application, but wanted to get the news out to all you lovlies that, yes, I am still alive. In addition to the craziness recently, my beloved 12" G4 iBook (nicknamed "Baby"...for obvious reasons - it takes after its mother: small, white, and cute) has suffered a severe stroke and might not recover. Making emails/blog postings/etc. even more difficult than before. Your patience during this time of grief is appreciated.

when it rains, it pours

For those of you still following this tale:

On Tuesday, September 5th, with pineapple still digesting in my stomach from the Hawaiian BBQ at the Gaz's the day before, I was let go my job.

Now, nearly two full months later - two months of more resume editing, printing, and handing out, more phonecall follow-ups, more "help wanted" sign scouring than I have ever done in my life - I have an interview. At Starbucks. Followed by another interview tomorrow, at a dentist's office. Accompanied by another promising job offer at Berlitz, and three similar administrative positions, at clinics, design firms, and consultant companies, all looking for help.

What? WHAT? Zero to six? In a day? Must be God.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.


(Luke 5:4-7)

love for sale

After having visiting U of T to vie for a job which, I found out, could have upwards of 200 other keen applicants (eeek!) I took my unemployed self to Kensingtons (the cafe...situated in the neighbourhood of the same name) to drop off an additional résumé for kicks. What an odd stage of life is this that I could be equally as happy with assisting the president of a university or serving espressos to bohos.

I've been thinking a lot about the ability to work, in general, and how my skills, experience, gifts and talents are important only insofar as they are used to interact with my world and the people in it. I figure I'd be happy scrubbing toilets if God needed me to befriend a few cleaning staff in a dingy corner of the city. I'd also be happy doing event coordinating again (oddly enough, perhaps not as keen as I would be scrubbing toilets...because of the pressures and temptations involved with a high profile job) if God needed me to befriend a few crotchety business suits in a polished boardroom somewhere.

This morning, I was reading Joshua 19 and came across this verse:

"The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah's portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah." (v. 9)

What an amazing concept and life verse, I thought, so I chewed on it a little longer and came out with a prayer. Would You keep me conscious of what I have that is more than what I need and show me who to give it away to. Thank you that my portion of dreams is more than I can handle and precludes the participation of others. Let the same overabundance be seen in areas of finance, love, time, wisdom and compassion. Let me continually have more than I need. Let me continually give away. Let me be blessed to see others come into their inheritance by me sharing mine.