Lately, I've been doing a whole lot of nothing. Just sitting at home and twiddling the days away as I await my Visa. I really ought to be doing something constructive while I wait. Writing the next great Canadian novel, volunteering with sick children, whatever...but I don't know. Am I being selfish for thinking that maybe I deserve a bit of a break after 4 years of school and an incoming full-time job that does in fact require overtime (that I probably won't get paid for) in a foreign country where I won't know anybody?

That being said, I cannot wait to get my Visa. I can't wait to go over there and actually (at least pretend to) be a contributing and useful member of society.

I just wonder where this need to be needed comes from. It's like the opposite of being needy. I don't need other people to constantly reassure me, I need other people to need me to be useful in their lives? Not that that's any less selfish. Actually, maybe that's just another interpretation for needy.

See, when I have too much time to do nothing, I think, and that is a dangerous combination.

Yesterday, I went with my family to Vaughan Mills. I've never been there before but I was told to be unimpressed and I was in fact, unimpressed. We didn't really have time to even go through the whole mall as we budgeted for 2 hours and my mom took bloody forever in one store. Unfortunately, we didn't get to walk through the enormous and fancily decorated fishing store but we're already making plans to go back (uh...yay?). I bought a total of one cookie and one hairclip while I was there. My mother also bought me this very cute, very Asian lunch box to take with me to England. You know the kind. I really love it though, it's so cute! And convenient! It has polka dots!

You know, I keep whining about still being treated an feeling like a kid and here I am gushing about polka dots. Whatever.

So it's official. I'm going to Manchester! They want us there for July so I'll be leaving in a couple of weeks as soon as all of my Visa information is sorted out...however long that will take. I haven't even started to think about packing or where to begin. I just read over the job description again and I just realized I'm sort of getting thrown into the deep end here, but I guess we'll just have to see. I talked to the other intern that will be going with me. Her name is Kathleen and she's from Ottawa. And a Senators fan. Thank goodness, we can avoid any potential bloodshed!

Got my hair cut today. I gave in to my mother's suggestions and got it permed. She loves it more than I do. I frankly think I look a little bit like a poodle, but hey whatever. We went to T&T afterwards to pick up some groceries. While we were paying, the guy behind us in line asked me about my "Ms. Scarlet in the Hall with a Revolver" t-shirt and where I got it from. I told him Threadless and we talked about Clue for a bit and I swear he could have been Brad Boyes' older brother or something. Which is made all the more possible when one is reminded that Brad Boyes is from Mississauga! But then one has to wonder why Brad Boyes is in T&T in the first place. Although they do have delicious delicious food.

My mother was of course there and she attributed the guy flirting with me to my new haircut. Which is where I reminded her that 1) Talking about Clue is not flirting and 2) My haircut had nothing to do with my t-shirt but I'm happy to let her think she won. She then proceeded to tell me this really hilarious, somewhat creepy story about how she got hit on at Canadian Tire one time.

This is a bit of a last minute desperate plea for any of you are um, available to take an impromptu trip this weekend with me to Ottawa. G had to cancel because it just didn't work out for her to go this weekend and I'm okay with going up by myself but of course I live at home and still require my mother's permission, which as expected, she did not give. Not that I was holding my breath on that or anything. The NHL Entry Draft is this weekend and I have tickets, which are free, but it'll suck if I have to cancel as I was planning this trip to meet up with other hockey bloggers for over a year now. No big deal I guess, there will be other chances for me to meet up with them. Maybe. Unless I go to Manchester for a year.

Speaking of Manchester, no I haven't reached a decision. I've been losing my hair at an alarming rate thinking about it. I hate to say it but one of the reasons is that the money isn't very good. Is 150 pounds a week ($300 Canadian) enough to live on in Manchester? Well, yes live on probably but I probably wouldn't have much saved at the end of the day since we still have to pay for Internet, Cable, Telephone, gas and parking for the car on our own.

I shouldn't think that money is a big deal and I hate to admit that it is. This is a fantastic opportunity and would be valuable experience because I do want and would love to work in the hockey business eventually. All the teams in the NHL require you to have some sort of pro sport experience. So the money shouldn't matter right?

I'm a commerce grad, of course money matters.

So anyways, if you want to go to Ottawa with me leave me a comment or e-mail. We'd probably leave on Friday and comeback on Sunday. So um, yeah you'd have to let me know soon. If not, I'll just give away my tickets although apparently people are buying them online for $125 each. Even though they're free. Free, people.

Dear Sherry,

I am delighted to inform you that we are offering you the role of Business Development Executive with the Manchester Phoenix Ice Hockey Club. The position is with immediate effect and we would appreciate your written acceptance of this offer and confirmation of suitable starting dates for you.

Congratulations and we look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

OH EM GEE.

Oh and in other less interesting news. I convocated today. Whoo.

I have developed a strange like for peach yogurt. This is weird because I hate both peaches and yogurt. I went grocery shopping with my mom and dad on Sunday and my dad bought a pack of yogurt that was best before June 10th (today) that unfortunately they didn't feel like it was appropriate to put on the OUTSIDE of the package so we all were forced to pitch in to eat some. Of course I hate yogurt but I sucked it up and did it. The first night didn't go so well so I tried again yesterday and low and behold, I actually kind of like it now.

Anyhoos, today I had my phone interview with Manchester Phoenix and got more details about the job. It's a lot of calling and talking to people about sponsorships and community work to buy into the team which...I've never done before and sounds very challenging but maybe it'd be a good experience. It's a 12-month internship with two positions and the two interns share an apartment and a car. I'm not sure how the interview went-- I think we had a nice conversation so we'll see I guess.

I just wonder if I'm ready for something like this. Of course I want to work in hockey/sports eventually but you do need experience for it. And I've always wanted to go to England but it's still a huge step. Definitely some things to think about and work out.

So anyways, under the cut a full update (with pictures!) of our trip to Los Angeles!

( City of Angels! )

Full pictures are up on Facebook. There were over 4 albums worth so...you've been warned!

- The weather has actually been quite nice in LA. Connie apologized for the weather not being ideal but the truth is it's been quite nice! I just wish I could have packed better because it's actually been quite mild but I didn't pack anything warmer than a 3/4 blouse. Oops!

- Our hotel is really quite awesome. They have complimentary straightening irons by request! I haven't taken them up yet on the offer but I'm certainly thinking about it. Everybody is so smiley and polite and greets you and opens the door etc...etc...it's all a little unsettling but it's kind of neat. We're also in a really nice area called Westwood. It's across from UCLA and near Beverley Hills.

- We've had a full couple of days and lots of pictures taken (of course). Will have detailed updates about what we did when I get back.

- I'm placated that Detroit won. With this series, it's kind of lose-lose no matter what for me but at least Detroit won on the road. That's something I guess.

- I think I actually function better on California time. Given that I usually sleep late and wake up late, I actually have a "normal" schedule here.

- I have no appetite when I travel. Or it could just be that I'm not used to eating 3 meals a day. Because I'm usually asleep through the first one.

- I hate how you can't tell if people are serious over the Internet because Anna does seem actually upset about the whole "cow" thing but it's Facebook and I can't really tell. Should I be apologizing for something?

Dear Sherry,

Thank you for your application for the position of Business Development
Executive with the Manchester Phoenix.

I am delighted to inform you that you have made it through to the next stage
of the selection process. This will be a telephone interview (30 minutes
max) with the MD of the Manchester Phoenix, Neil Morris.

If you are still interested in this position please could you confirm if you
would be available for interview on Monday 2nd June at 17:30 BST (which I
believe is 12:30 Ontario time), and please provide me with a telephone
number on which you will be contactable at this time.

You do not need to prepare anything for the interview, however should you
have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards,

This is for the hockey team in Manchester. The job that I am horribly and hilariously underqualified for. In Manchester. England. Nonetheless, it's a hockey job. In Manchester. England.

( Here is the job description: )
Deep breaths, y'all. Deep breaths.

Unfortunately, I'm in LA during the interview time so I guess I'll just have to rearrange it.

Oh em gee. Hilarious.

Edited to Add: My mother's facial reactions when I told her the news, as done by emoticons

Me: So, I have a job interview...
Mom: :)
Me: In England.
Mom: ?_?...:D!
Me: For a hockey team.
Mom: >:((((

My mother then proceeded to tell me not to marry a hockey player, to which I assured her I didn't plan on it. She then said that if I'm working around them all the time I'll probably end up marrying one. Since she wanted me to marry a doctor, she suggested I go work at a hospital. I had to then remind her that no, hockey teams tend to have rules against these things as it's highly unprofessional. I then said that I was surprised she would be so against it since hockey players tended to be rich (well, ones who play on this continent anyways). She said that they still lead really deplorable lifestyles. I said some of them were actually Christian and she seemed very shocked at this development. She then went on this long speech about how important it is to marry a Christian. As if I didn't know this already. Oh, mother.

- Our vacation is officially booked. We will be going to L.A. June 2nd to the 6th, my mom (even though she's not coming) insisted we go to Universal Studios for a day. Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with Connie and Finny and the other SoCal bloggerrific contingent while I'm there.

- Finally got all of my grades. 3 As, 2 Bs...I'm quietly impressed. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to pull it out.

- Actually, I'd be really impressed if I could somehow parlay this expensive education into, oh I don't know...a job.

- My mom says that with those grades I could probably get into a respectable law school (we'll just ignore the fact that my averages from my previous years will probably drag my mark down). The hotel we're staying in LA just happens to be across from UCLA. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), we're not going to San Fran this year which means I can avoid any chance my mom sends my dad in to crash Berkley or Stanford to try to get me in.

- I'm going to need a better LSAT mark if I want to get into any respectable law school though. Let's just say my first mark was...horribly underwhelming.

- You don't need to write the LSATs to get into law school in the UK. You need to write the LNATs (which is the UK equivalent) however only a couple of schools require that. Cambridge is one of them (which I will say 'HAH' to any chances of me getting anywhere near that school that isn't in a tourist capacity) but they also say that you don't need the LNATs if you normally live outside the UK and if Cambridge is the only law school you're applying for that is asking for it. Just something to think about.

Is me. Because I just realized for one of my cover letters I submitted I totally wrote down the wrong company name. Guess I shouldn't be expecting to hear back from them. I'm also pretty sure I've done it more than once. Why am I such a tool? Can you believe what I tool I am? Really, I can't get over what a tool I am. This whole job search thing is driving me bananas. Really. I'm amazed by what a tool I am. Dammit.

Okay, well in other news...

- Did we ever really need a live action Dragonball movie? I mean really? When is this ever necessary? With the leads being played by white people with really awful, awful hair? There's a reason that thing was animated in the first place.

- Speaking of movies, I really really want to watch 'The Fall' (and not just because Lee Pace is in it):



(High quality trailer here.

- I have recently rediscovered my love for 'Law and Order' because Linus Roache (EADA Michael Cutter) is beyond awesome (and not just because he's Ken Barlow from Coronation Street's son. He is awesome in his own right) Sadly, Jesse L. Martin is gone now too. See, this is what happens when you give me too much time to do nothing.

- Summer reading list: Just finished "Persuasion" by Jane Austen a couple of days ago, now re-reading "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. I also have "Wuthering Heights" by Bronte and "Without Blood" by Alessandro Baricco lined up.

Seriously, I'm such a tool. Okay, I'll stop now.

Apparently, I can't.

Haven't been able to sleep the last couple of nights for some reason. Well, I've been getting some sleep so it isn't full blown insomnia quite yet. However, it's been the lovely process of going to bed at 1 a.m., tossing and turning until 3 a.m. falling asleep and waking up at 5 a.m. and then drifting in and out of sleep until I finally give up and decide to haul my butt out of my bed.

I chalked it up to waking up rather late in the morning (I won't state which hour to save my reputation-- not that there's much to be saved) and still choosing to drink coffee. So today, I decided that I would forgo the coffee and since I'm so tired, I should be able to fall asleep quite easily tonight. Of course, choosing not to drink coffee the day after a restless night is probably not the best way to go. I really need to think these things through more thoroughly. I lasted all right through lunch. Then, 10 minutes ago I caved.

I mean, I can totally stop anytime. If I weren't so tired, this clearly wouldn't be a problem right? Right?

I'm also going to be conducting a mini-orchestra of middle schoolers at my mother's church for Father's Day. How did I get into this again? I don't even go to their church anymore. I don't even know what we're going to play or if I can arrange the score properly. I'm working off of piano music right now. I've never done anything like this before. Lord, help us. My mother thinks that I say 'no' too many times. If only she knew what a doormat I really was. Apparently, she's displeased with how little I seem to be serving God. I'm not going to get into a fight with her though. For somebody who claims that I don't like listening to other people's suggestions, she's pretty stubborn herself.

Am I going to need a conductor's baton for this? Because I'm not forking out for one. Think it'll look too weird if I use a chopstick instead?

So, today I got my Season One "Robin Hood" DVDs. You'll understand if you don't hear from me in the next couple of days. (I only ordered it two days ago, Amazon apparently ships from Mississauga! Plus shipping was free. And it was 40% off).

Somebody will have to stop me from pre-ordering Season 2.

Dance Off: Colbert vs. Rain

And what the heck is up with Rain's hair? Just because I wear my hair like that doesn't mean you should too, Rain.

I came across this interesting little tidbit on Wikipedia when reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine and her role in the Crusades:

Bernard of Clairvaux took up the monkey during a sermon preached by pig She was followed by some of cow royal butters in waiting as well as 300 non-noble vassals.

"cow royal butters in waiting", huh? I shall never again ask why Wikipedia can't be considered a credible source.

Okay, so. I'm still getting accustomed to my new camera and I know it's supposed to be just extremely simple but the least it could do was ASK me if I was SURE I WANTED TO DELETE ALL BEFORE GOING AHEAD AND DOING IT.

I salvaged most of the pictures by taking out my battery whilst it was deleting. Hopefully it didn't screw up my camera too badly. Unfortunately, I lost the picture of me and Julie before she left and the picture of my empty room I took after I had moved everything out.

Which may be a good thing. I kind of got so sad seeing how deserted it was and got a little teary when we were all leaving. It's just too darn sad. I'm going to miss the ladies. We spent the last 3 years together and I've never really been particularly close to any of my friends except for them. Mostly because we were forced too. I got a pass for extra-curricular cleaning on our last day from G though because of my obsessive need for streak-free windows.

The people moving in seemed nice enough, although one of them is a Habs fan. You had better take care of 'er you guys.

From here on in it's job hunting and catching up I guess. My room looks like a tornado's been through it. How in the world did I manage to accumulate so much junk?

GUYS.


If you DON'T want to be this year's version of the 2006 - 2007 New York Mets THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT.

Pick it up, dammit.

I really want to cry.
Okay, no I don't.

*exasperated and incoherent noises*

Edited at 9:35 pm

Yeah guys, this wasn't what I had in mind.



Heatley just scored. I have renewed hope (?)

Edited at 10:20 pm
This is freaking hilarious, but I'm still going to cry.

- Updated Shutter Sound.

- Finally finished my Labour Law essay due on Tuesday. I hadn't even started my research until this past Saturday after my Commercial Law mid-term (the less said about that the better). I literally have not moved from my spot here all day. It's also a piece of crap but the best I can do for now.

- Made dumplings with Laenne today. It was fun and delicious.

- I'm so incredibly behind it's not even funny.

- I thought I might have an ulcer but it appears it was just a false alarm. I think I need to eat more vegetables. (HAH).

- I told my mom I couldn't come home this weekend since I was majorly screwed for my essay. She said it was up to me to decide and seemed a teensy bit disappointed. I actually miss her quite a bit.

- Why did my Senators let themselves get embarrassed by Joe Corvo today?

To say....Happy Birthday Mags!

Hope it's happy and wonderful.

Um, Kyle Riabko is awesome. Not just as an awesome guitarist and singer-songwriter (one that makes me feel mighty unaccomplished, by the way seeing as he's a year younger than I am) but he does these totally random YouTube videos that are simply sensational.



You'll have to watch until the end for the full effect.



And another one of my favourites. Goodness.

So I had to go back to Mississauga tonight for my post-op appointment tomorrow morning. When I got on the bus, I called home to tell them I was on my way but the line was busy. I call back 20 minutes later, still busy so I try my brother's cell phone hoping he was home so he can tell my mom that I'm on my way. My brother's on his drive back from work so I wait another 20 minutes and call home again. Still no answer and by now I'm about 10 minutes away from the bus terminal. I call my brother again and since he's also about 10 minutes away from the bus terminal, he says he'll swing by and pick me up.

I go home and my mom is still on the phone. I say hi to her while I go to my room but she doesn't see me or I guess hear me. I go downstairs to watch SportsCentre and when she comes down she walks RIGHT BY ME until she's halfway in the kitchen and she's all "SHERRY!" like she's surprised to see me. She asked me how I got home and asked if I took the transit home. I'm tempted to say yes but then I just tell her Po came to pick me up. Apparently there's some serious stuff going down at her church because she's been on the phone all night about it. My cousin's English tutor was supposed to come by tonight and showed up at 10:30 apologizing that it was late and explaining that he had to cancel tonight but couldn't get through on the phone. Heh. She only just hung up too.

I think I'm going to go buy a new fish tomorrow. I've already decided he's going to be named Alfishsson.

Does this mean I'm not wise anymore?

The surgery went well. I have a gorgeous blue and purple bruise on my arm where they stuck the IV in me for the aneasthesia. I was wrong, I thought they were only going to give me laughing gas but they gave me both. When they took my blood pressure at first, the nurse knew right away I was nervous. It was 'awfully high for somebody my size' but it lowered considerably after they gave me the nitrous.

It was weird, I was kind of awake but kind of not. I had my music on and by the time the surgeon came in for the surgery I was only half conscience. I heard her ask me what I was listening to and I muttered something incoherent and she asked me if it was good music and I sort of semi nodded and said 'mmmhmm'.

My recovery nurse was a really nice woman named Rachel. She was very patient in explaining everything and said I had very nice hair and was very pretty. She was also excitedly talking to one of her colleagues about how she went to Ottawa last weekend and skated on the Rideau for the first time for her anniversary.

I was really looking forward to all the milkshakes and ice cream I'd get to eat. Of course, being my mother this was not the case as she opted for more healthy alternatives such as soy milk and congee. Today however, she went to T&T and bought me a big tub of green tea ice cream. Bless her. She was so patient yesterday in changing my gauze every hour and running to the Chase to fill out my prescription.

I'm also really glad I don't have a boyfriend or a husband because all of the oozing, drooling and bleeding afterwards is certainly not glamarous.

I got to keep my teeth. They were actually smaller than I thought they were going to be. Maybe beacuse I'm just generally small. Yesterday was a lazy day, today is a take it easy day. I'm supposed to do activities sitting up to help with the swelling and bruising. That's a good thing because I have to study for my mid-terms next week. Have a case study due next week too but my partner is out of the country so, I don't know.

I sat down to start studying for my mid-terms but I think the medication is making me a bit woozy. I have to take an anti-biotic to fight infection and a Tylenol with Codeine for pain-relief. My mom is paranoid about me taking too much of the tylenol since Codeine is bad for your heart. I'm not taking heart medication right now but I see her point. However, you're supposed to take it before the pain starts. No idea.

Unfortunately, the Senators didn't win it for me last night. I thought about wearing my Alfie t-shirt to surgery because they wanted me to wear a comfortable t-shirt. I'm sort of sad I didn't but at the same time glad because I ended up oozing and bleeding all over my t-shirt anyways.

I look like a chipmunk. Yesterday the swelling died down but it inflated again today. Yikes. I just hope it's all gone by the time I have to go back to school.