Below are the 15 most recent journal entries recorded in Jen's LiveJournal:

Thursday, October 21st, 2004
9:53 pm	Reading Week, Yay! I'm liking this 'no classes on Fridays' business. Means I'm done til November, whee! So its only a week, plus weekends, but saying 'til November' makes it sound so much longer. Just thrilled to have my work done - been at the labs til 9 or so every night this week trying to wrap things up. Damned perfectionism! Cranky that I missed CSI:Miami and NY. Hrmph. Ah well. Still getting a kick out of Kingdom of Loathing (www.kingdomofloathing.com) its goofy, you fight mobs like "an albino bat: Equally as likely to carry disease, get in your hair, or saahk your blaaaahd, but at least this one's easier to see." Also levelled on Astaria for the first time in over a year. At this rate, I'll be 36/20 in 2008. I have no idea why 'accomplished' means a fox hiding behind a newspaper, but, there it is. And off I go to bed. Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: No music, TV. "Ever After" on TBS. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 17th, 2004
7:36 pm	Ahoy! Hi out there! :) Yep, I'm still here, onlykindasorta. Got back from Field Camp on Friday (spent the week up in Mattawa - bout 40 min past North Bay, if ye have a map of Ontario.) Still recovering from the hard work out in the woods. College is going wonderfully. Finally settling into the groove of things, I don't feel like such an outsider geek anymore. Even working on campus at the GIS help desk - they think I'm smart enough to help the grad students! Fun fun. I cut my hair off...here's this year's RenFaire pics to prove it (this is pre-weight loss...down 15lbs from this, go me!) http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rick_neuman/album?.dir=eb17&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rick_neuman/my_photos Broderick, aka Azalin on Astaria, is in the yellow shirt. :) I'll take some pictures of the cat (mom named her Spirit, she thought it was an awesome name, Meg!) next week when I go home. :) Thats it for tonight :) Later guys! - Jen Current Mood: happy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 7th, 2003
10:34 am	Still Alive I'm still alive and kickin :) Just wanted to post, and let y'all know. Current Mood: happy Current Music: computer lab at school...lots of typing sounds (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 20th, 2003
4:09 pm	Oof. So....school is going spifftastically :) I'm loving my courses, and I have fabulous teachers. We went on a fossil hunting field trip last week, out in the Peterborough Drumlins (kinda neat to see the effects of glaciation so close to home.) Found lots of brachiopods, yay for brachiopods! Never thought I'd be excited about teeny little shells...go figure ;) I aced the math exemption test, whoo! Since math was my first subject on both Mondays and Wednesdays, I now have 2 more hours a week of sleep! YAY! I didn't make the varsity Timbersports team though :( Has me sort of miffed. I was rather enjoying the practices so far. Oh well, maybe next year. I don't think falling on a metal spike during tryouts helped me any (its healing nicely though!) I suppose this gives me more time to search out and start a D&D group ;) This week is the Lindsay Town Fair, I'm heading out with my landlord soon (he likes the tractor-pull, but doesn't like going alone.) I'd planned to do some serious camping on EQ, but I can't be bothered....I'd rather go out and be with people than sit in Mistmoore waiting for a troll to show up. What else....I can't think of anything else to say right now ;) I'll post more if I think of something to add. :D Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Frogs outside my window (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 6th, 2003
7:18 pm	Tis been a while Yay, I have internet at my new apartment! I was actually kind of surprised to get cable, as this rather tiny town has little else I'm looking for =P Like....LDoN. No one has it. Radio Shack had one copy of PoP, that was it for EQ. Heck, I was surprised to see a Blockbuster movie rental store. I'm feeling rather out of place still, I sometimes feel I'm the only one in my section without a fishing or hunting licence. But I'm liking Lindsay, even if it is so small. The campus is pretty with all the trees (next week we go on a tree-walk for our Forestry class, whoo!) Wish I could have been in VA this weekend, I know the wedding will be beautiful :) I expect pictures! Current Mood: dorky Current Music: Saturn: the bringer of old age (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 16th, 2003
11:28 pm	Eek Went shopping today, whee :) I wrote a big tuition cheque last week (ouch) but needed some "me" time. Dungeons and Dragons version 3.5 shipped today, so I figured it was a good time. Ended up buying my PH and DMG off Amazon.ca, but still, had to check out the comic shops to see if they'd beat the price. They wouldn't, but I still got to pick up Chobits 6 and Ragnarok 7 at 20% off. Also found out that Hairy Tarantula keeps cats in the store! I spent more than a half hour playing with one of em, she purrs so loudly I could hear over the ringing phone. Also managed to find Combat and Tactics. I think I paid too much ($30C) but I love those crit tables! Picked up Aurora's Whole Realm catalogue too, I liked that one. Bought clothes too. I'm such a friggen clothes-horse, yeesh. But the pants were so damn cool! Black, tight (actually slimming, not accentuating my butt) and had an airbrushed dragon wrapped around one leg. And they're the most comfortable pants I've ever worn, with the possible exception of my silk khakis. I'm supposed to be saving money, not spending it, especially on clothes. Yeesh. But I had fun! Whoo! :) 13 more shifts at work, a week and a half til RennFest, lotsa stuff comin up soon :) Current Mood: happy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 3rd, 2003
10:36 pm	More today Got home from work. Both girls who were supposed to close the store with me didn't show up. One has been out of touch since Friday, the other called from her doctor's office. My manager stayed late, but not til close, and one of the part timers came in for the last 3 hours. Makes me mad though - I can't run the store by myself, its huge! I remember when we'd have 3 cashiers, 3 floor staff, and a manager. Now its JUST ME. Grr. Aside from that....my costume for Otakon is coming along nicely. Got it all figured out, just doing the actual sewing now. Whee :) Not much else. I'll stop babbling now. Back to books. Current Mood: disappointed (3 Comments |Comment on this)
12:36 pm	Erf. I learned something this week. Don't go see foreign artsy films in a group, if only ONE of the group is genuinely interested in the movie. In other words...I did not enjoy "Russian Ark" and would have liked to leave, but Aaron was so enthralled, I couldn't do it. Though next time, I expect warning regarding subtitles, so I'll remember my glasses. Canada day wasn't special....isn't usually for that matter. Not like the bug fuss made of Independance Day in the states. It isn't very "canadian" to celebrate so enthusiastically, but it sounds like fun. Kinda bored here. EQ doesn't hold my attention for long, neither does Astaria, nor my paintings, nor much of anything. I've gotta get out of this rut. Hrmph. Other then that, things are alright. Gonna go see my new place out in Lindsay soon, its almost finished. Gah, gotta get going to work. More later. Current Mood: bored (Comment on this)
Friday, June 20th, 2003
10:23 pm	Quits. Maybe I shouldn't post this, maybe its no ones business but my own. I need a place to vent though, and I'm choosing this as my forum. This past week, Mike told me he wants to call the whole thing off. Its "not fair to either of us" and he's trying to "eliminate the stress in his life." While I'm glad for the latter, I'm still rather miffed that I'm seen as a stress element rather than a pleasant one. Talking to him brightens my day, re-reading last year's birthday card (from before we'd even met) brings happy tears to my eyes, and wearing his T-shirt just makes me feel comfy and complete; even at such a distance. Maybe I'm a foolish little girl, but I thought this was love, and that we could manage even at such distance. For someone like him who wants to be alone most of the time, I'd have thought a distance relationship would be ideal. Plus, he's gone and screwed up my summer. I'd reserved plane tickets, but not purchased, when he told me of his decision. I still want to visit everyone, and go to Otakon, and more touristy-stuff in DC, and see the new baby, and the kittens....and just have fun before moving away to school. Not sure if thats such a good idea now. I still miss everyone, including Mike, but I can't count on staying with him (much as I want to) or relying on him for transportation or anything. Back to moping. Forgive the grammar, I'm not exactly in top form right now. Current Mood: sad Current Music: Lion King Soundtrack (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 12th, 2003
9:59 pm	Yay!!! I visited Sir Sandford Fleming college today, and found out that I've been accepted for the fall! WHEEEEEE!!! This is the first year that a Geomatics program has existed in Canada, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it :) My mom and I spent the afternoon puttering around the town (Lindsay, Ontario is pretty darn tiny...) and calling people who'd listed basement apartments. And I found one :) The owner of the local Chrysler dealership is having a new house built, and he's had the basement specially designed for a 2-student apartment. He already has one girl, a 20 year old from Thunder Bay, who's quite the bookworm. So...new home....quiet roomate (who's been to culinary school - bonus!)....10 min walk from campus....whooo hooo! And completely unrelated....Astaria is back up. astaria.lpmud.com port 5000. Run by Nix & Co. Not that I've got any desire to play, but its nice to talk to some of my old friends again. Eventful day for me ;) www.flemingc.on.ca is the college website if anyone is interested. Current Mood: happy (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 10th, 2003
11:04 pm	Whee! Fabulous day, for NO GOOD REASON....I love these kind of days. The weather sucked, I worked all day, had to walk home...and yet I'm bouncing about, almost giddily. So strange. But good! I got a phone call from SSFC, offering me a tour of the campus...still no official acceptance yet, but I'm taking this as a positive sign. Played D&D on Sunday for the first time in months, felt good. Rick is an off-the-wall DM...we had to herd cattle, for xp, so he hid 200 playing cards around his basement, and we had 5 min to find them all. 10 xp per royal, 1 xp per number, 100xp for the herd leader (the Ace of Spades)...but no one got him, he was under our grid with our char pieces. Was more fun than the dodgeball tournament....reflex saves for catching, ranged touch attacks for throwing, stuff like that. Kinda silly, but fun :) Anyway, bed time for Jenny :) Current Mood: ecstatic Current Music: PoK music (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 8th, 2003
11:56 pm	Always the first to die I love this song, wanted to share. Five guys and a bag of dice; It's Friday night's game. Got a cleric, fighter, and a thief, but we aint got a mage. My friends all looked at me, and said the job was mine. "It might suck at level 1, but you'll rip at level 9!" We're playing the keep, so we enter the town to stock up for the night. I learned the two standard spells; magic missile and light. Suddenly from outta the caves; the kobolds, they attack! I screamed and shit my pants; I took a dagger in the back. Thats why I'm always the first to die, always the first to die, yeah! I'm always the first to die, always the first to die. Some guys get chain or plate, or a bigass sword that does one dice 8. I get the lantern and a 10 foot pole; and some notes on this thing that does once dice 4, one dice 4... I only do one D4! Thats why I'm always the first to die, always the first to die, yeah! I'm always the first to die, always the first to die. Mage 2 was an elf named Shrew; he found a poison trap. Mage 3 was an NPC, so I had to give him back. 4 and 5 went really quick, and 6 was just the same. "Screw you guys; I'm going home." Fuck this game. Because I'm always the first to die, always the first to die, yeah! I'm always the first to die, always the first to die. I'm always the first to die, always the first to die, yeah! I'm always the first to die, always the first to die. Thats it. Yeah. Current Mood: amused Current Music: MP3 of Always the first to die (Comment on this)
11:33 pm	Work I don't mean to use this just to bitch...I'm cranky these days though. What gives someone the right to belittle my life decisions, and tell me "I'll forgive you because you're young." You'll forgive ME? Who fucking cares how old I am, I'm an adult and am making my own decisions. You've lived through it before? Good for you! I haven't. You're not my father, I don't have to listen to you about 'the good ole days.' I want to make my own mistakes; telling me about yours will not shape or change my opinions. So, erm, yeah. I called a meeting with my manager and assistant manager, and told them that I'm fed up with my current responsibilites. I never agreed to take the position permanently, I was supposed to be a bandaid solution til they hired someone else. That was 4 months ago. And I never got my raise or benefits to go with the promotion. My manager said "I'll forgive you because you're young, but if you didn't want it, you shouldn't have accepted in the first place." Ignoring the guilt trips that had been layed on me for 3 weeks before I flew down for a month, and 3 weeks after, when I finally caved. People like to tell me what "kids like you" should want out of life. "Kids like you go to university, Jen, not college." Well guess what, I'm going to college, because I want to. "Kids like you should appreciate the challenge of this job." Extra stress because I'm smart? No thanks. There aren't kids *like* me. **I** am me; no one else is. My likes and dislikes are my own, as are my choices. And why am I always "kid" or "kiddo" and such? I thought this 'awkward' phase ended in high school, and that the 'adult world' was beyond such stereotyping. I guess not. Mark's is getting another 8 weeks, tops, outta me. Classes start Sept 2, and I'll have to move out there before that. Ideally I'd like to spend August in Virginia, we'll see though. I feel like I'm being forced out though - they "weren't sure they could keep me on full time" if I quit BAR....thats a threat and I know it, there are other full-time staff with far less responsibility than me, who make far more than me. Enough venting, must think of school....or at least read more WoT and get lost in Rand's world. Current Mood: discontent Current Music: Always the First to Die (anthem of the d4 HD character) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 30th, 2003
12:13 am	Long time no write Emotional rollercoaster of a week, heh. After spending some time in isolation at the hospital, they've decided that I don't have SARS, but should stay in quarentine, to be safe. Fine and dandy. I quite like the idea of time off work. But I don't get anything DONE....I've yet to mail Meg's presents (can't go to the post office!) or go grocery shopping (my parents won't buy everything) or take my frilly blouses to the drycleaner's, or anything! Its kinda frustrating. And the lack of contact leaves me desperate for attention. Moreso than usual. I think I've asked my mother about getting a kitty at least a dozen times in the last two days. She laughs, she thinks I'm kidding. But a nice lap cat would fill that lonely spot. Doesn't help that my friends think I have the plague and won't even tell me whats going on. They un-invited my brother from last week's D&D game, even. He's not sick! He's just peachy, and bought that new book, The Fiend Folio, to add to the DM's choices of monsters. *sigh* Just deleted many paragraphs of ranting, not worth it. I miss you guys in Virginia, very much. Not just Mike, all of you. And the more I think about it, the less likely I think I'll see you any time soon. I've applied to college in the fall, I need my money for that. Makes me kind of sad, really. Enough rambling, enough for tonight. Back to reading books :) Current Mood: thoughtful (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 13th, 2003
10:42 pm	Tips for shoppers After a particularly stressful day at the store, I need to vent. Here's how to NOT piss off employees while shopping. 1. Don't drum your fingers, tap your foot, check your watch, etc while we're serving you. So the cash register is older than disco - telling me how slow it is won't make the fucking machine work faster. And yes, you have to do the whole "Debit" thing yourself - I'm not going to punch in your PIN for you, so quit looking at me and hurry up. 2. Put things back! The way you found them! You have a hanger, and a T-shirt, is it so hard to put said T-shirt on said hanger? Seems to be much easier to drop both on the floor, despite the half-dozen hooks on the change room walls. Don't remember where it goes? Fine, we're all human (even though you DID pick it up in the first place, and this isn't a large store) but at least put menswear back on the men's half of the store. 3. Don't ask "so whats on sale?" - read the fucking huge red signs that say "SALE!" 4. Price as marked...this means the MARKED price is the SELLING price....no, I won't take another 50% off, just because its you, some stranger who pesters me weekly about when a $9.99 shirt (originally $29.99) will be $4.99. It won't be, lady. If it doesn't sell at $9.99, and we really have to get rid of it, we'll cut the tags off and give it to Goodwill. We're already taking a loss by selling it for $9.99. 5. Don't throw your credit card at me - if you don't want to buy something, I'm not forcing you to. 6. Just because an employee is visible does not mean that they're the best one to ask for help. Yes, the whole store can see me when I'm up on a ladder, changing the signs. NO, I don't have time to check in the back to see if we have that boot in a size 12. Same goes for when I'm moving shelving, counting stock, have an armload of paperwork, or am running ANYwhere. I have no walkie-talkie, my chances of flagging down someone else are probably worse than yours, as I am rather short. 7. Clearance section....this means that items here are CLEARANCE....ie, the leftovers that no-one wanted when they were new. NO, I dont keep shelves of this stuff out back, I want to get rid of it! There are no more in the back, don't ask. No, I don't want to order it in from another store for you, that means if you don't take it I'll be stuck with another hideous outdated thing. 8. Don't interrupt me when I'm helping someone else. Wait your turn, didn't your mother teach you that? I know, you have 'just one question' that really means 'I need jeans but I don't know what make, cut, style, colour, or size I want.' 9. There is no public washroom. We have one washroom, off the staffroom. No, I can't just point you in that direction, there are several doors to go through first. My office is near there, so is my manager's office, and the safe, and all of our purses, jackets, cellphones, etc. You are not an employee, therefor you cannot go back there. Period. 10. The register rejected your card. This is MY fault...how? You're the one over his credit limit, or past his bank balance, or whatever. Don't yell at me. Pay me some other way, or I'm keeping my products. For all I know you stole a card and the real owner suspended it. I need to get paid before you can take your purchase home. And don't yell at me about it - its your defective card. 11. Children should be seen and not heard. Yes, they have angelic little voices, fine, they can talk. But screaming and running and destroying my displays? I'd spank them myself if that wasn't considered assault. 12. You're buying it with the intention of returning it? WHY BOTHER!?!?! This one I'll never understand. If I'm not positive that someone will *adore* and *fit into* the clothes that I'm buying for them, I won't buy it! If its for me, I'll TRY IT ON first - don't go shopping in a hurry. "I'm getting 2 sizes, so he can try them on and I'll be bringing one back tomorrow." Thats nice, you're skewing my sales data, and taking a popular item that someone may want to purchase, and KEEP, but I have to smile and say "that'll be just fine, ma'am, see you tomorrow!" 13. Ordering products in from other stores....there are reasons that my store gets the styles, colours, and sizes that it does. Whilst I'm terribly sorry that my selection of men's small or 5XL shirts is rather limited...so is the fucking market for them. Most men buy large shirts. The most popular pant sizes are 36x32, 34x34, 38x32, and 36x30. But the 56x28 sells out first because some very short, FAT man buys every pair he can get his hands on. Back to the point...we don't have the shirt you want, okay, I can deal with that, I'll order from another store (we HATE doing this, btw, its extra work for both stores, and the sending store gets nothing out of it - many stores refuse to do transfers at all. You want their stuff, go buy it at their store.) but you want me to order several sizes, so you can try them on, and leave me with excess stock...thanks, thanks so much. 14. Don't ask for my opinion - I want a sale and of course I'll tell you that what you picked out is fabulous. 15. Don't say 'oh she's just your size' and hold something up to my back to see how it looks. I'm not your daughter. You want to shop for her, go shopping WITH her. Or bring one of her best-fitting outfits, and compare product to product, don't harass sales staff by touching them. 16. Don't ask if I work here while I'm wearing a fucking nametag on a lanyard that reads "Mark's Mark's Mark's" in bright blue. Doubly suggested if I'm standing at the cash register, and have been processing sales for the last half hour. 17. I charge $7/hour for babysitting, and require access to a kitchen and TV. You are not paying me, nor are you feeding me, or entertaining me while your child sleeps, so why are you asking me to look after him while you're in the change room? If you can't watch him every minute, then don't go shopping with him. 18. You want my attention, fine. Don't yell at me - nothing is more annoying that hearing "Miss?!", which sounds like you're calling a tavern wench to your table. Do not tap me on the shoulder - I'll likely smack your hand and spin around, ready to punch you. Worst of all, do not *whistle* - I am no dog, nor are you Captain VonTrapp. Just say 'excuse me, could you help me in a moment?' and I'll run right over. Better yet, when an employee says 'hello', ask your question! 19. There is no public phone. There are payphones at the end of the plaza though, you're welcome to use them. I'm running out of steam, heh. Enough outta me for now, sorry for the senseless rant about shopping =P Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: no music, throbbing headache (7 Comments |Comment on this)