ipod quiz

Simple really, put your ipod in shuffle mode and use the songs as they play to answer the questions... in order, no skipping, no cheating!!! it's fuuuuuun! :P

What is the story of your life? it's no good (Depeche Mode)
ho, yay... great...
What is your life's purpose? Black Celebration (Depeche Mode)
hehe I'm a voodoo queen! watch out people!
How can you get ahead in life? bizarre love triangle (new order)
what?! by sleeping with my married boss? I don't think so! :S

What is good advice for you? dead enough for life (icon of coil)
I should kill myself? thanx...
What do you want to be when you grow up? Shining kingdom (samael)
see?! I TOLD you I'd be master of the universe at some point...
What is the best thing about you? cmyk (ladytron)
I'm in color? that's it?! pff...
What would best describe your personality? born under saturn (samael)
yeah yeah I'm a weirdo.. moving on...
What does your love life look like? figure 09 (linkin park)
nothing ever stops all these thoughts / and the pain attached to them / sometimes I wonder why this is happening
[...] hearing your name / the memories come back again / I remember when it started happenin'
... ho great.. just great...

what do you say when life gets complicated? let it bleed (the used)
damn right!
if someone say "is this ok?" you say? touch the sky (kanye west)
What is your motto? cherish (madonna)
ho no!! my darkest secret is revealed!!! now you know I actually like people!!! aaaarg!!
What do you think about very often? strange days (the doors)
ha those happy inebriated college days :P
will you get far in life? like it or not (madonna)
this is who I am / you can like it or not / you can love me or leave me / cause I'm never gonna stop, no no
... I think that means yes :)

What's in store for next year? Military fashion show (and one)
change of career again??? I'm gonna join the navy or something?! and look very hot in the uniform?
How will you die? light with a sharpen edge (the used)
electrocuted?! ha shit! that might just happen too :S damn rovs!
how do your friends see you? the kids aren't allright (offspring)
I look that bad?
What do your friends think of you? blown away (akon)
I'm far out! woohoo!
What do you think of your friends? umbrella (rihanna)
when the sun shines we'll shine together / told you I'll be here forever / said I'll always be your friend / took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end / now it's raining more than ever / but we'll still have each other / you can stand under my umbrella..... damn right!
what do you do with your friends? she's a rebel (green day)
hehehe

What do you like in a guy/girl? moon cradle (Lorena McKennitt)
told you I want superman!
what do you think when you see the person you like? redemption song (bob marley)
:( don't see him no more... but it does fit..
how does your boyfriend make you feel? love of my life (santana)
you bet... the next one will have to be to get the BF title! (otherwise they're called toys)
how does your ex make you feel? stone cold crazy (queen)
not an ex per se, but feeling like stone and cold and crazy applies well to him
Do people secretly lust after me? pushing me away (linkin park)
I guess not :(

what does everyone think my current theme song is? give me novocaine (green day)
ok, seriously, do I look THAT bad?!
What will you dance to at your wedding? Vulamasango the african dream
I'll get married in Africa?!
What will they play at your funeral? extraordinary girl (green day)
YAY!

le massacre des saints innocents...

Today is a “crappyversary” to bury...

A year ago today I received an email, with picture attached to back the claim, that revealed the guy I thought would be the love of my life for the sack of lies, false promises and bullshit he is...
My last illusions and my faith in love went through a shredder and out the window, closely followed by my trust in people and the belief that one day I'd have a happily ever after...
A hurricane would have left less devastation...

and the real kicker is that to this day he still thinks that the cheap skank who sent the email is a nice girl... quite a good judge of character that one was!

I really hope there is such a thing as Karmic Retribution...

Merry Christmas y'all!!!

This is what xmas looks like at the Ranger's home :P

Our xmas tree... we used to have 15' high ones.. but the couple who sold them to us retired 2-3 years ago and we couldn't find any over 10-12' that wasn't 200$ which is a bit excessive even for my crazy family... BUT we found a place (right after we already had bought a "small" one though) so next year we'll have our beautiful giant back!!!

German decoration, souvenirs from my trip to Rothenburg... and mail ordered Nurnberg lebkuchen schmidt, the best gingerbread cookies in the world!!!

Schmidt Advent calendar... a cookie every day, and the boxes form a puzzle too :)

Details of my Christmas Pyramid.. a traditional German decoration... more infos here
(warning: very dangerous website for xmas maniacs :P)

Nikko guarding the presents :)

Leftover from the ice storm... ♪ mon pays ce n'est pas un pays c'est l'hi-veeeeerrrs! ♪

missing word

Hey, how come there's no english word for poudrerie?! blowing snow, how boring is that??? powder blow? powdering? intense sideway dusting? find something you literate english weather geeks!!! you live here too!
The Inuits have 50 words for snow, the french side of this country has at least 10 (20 if you count things like white crap and &%%$%@!!!)

Here's the definition.. devise a new word please...
"Poudrerie" is a Québécois neologism which indicates the snow raised by the wind like a fine powder. "Poudrerie" can occur with or without fall of snow and depends on the force of the wind. One in general needs a wind of more than 40 km/h and snow on the ground made of enough fine flakes to be able to be raised.

frosty the snowfingers

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
frostbite on my fingertips!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGG!!!!!!!!!! Ho the agony!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGG!!!!!!!!
it hurts!!!!!!!!!!! it itches!!!!!!!!!!!! my fingertips are all swollen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That'll teach me to shovel the backyard when mom nature is howling wind and blowing snow :S


and no, despite what you might think, I'm not insane, I shovel the backyard, not out of sheer entertainment, but to open a path between the basement and kitchen doors so my dogs can go out...

paaaaaaaarty!

hoooo that was a good one!!!

The party last night rocked the place!!!! pictures in the new album as proof... and reminder... since our brains are not what they used to... after 15 shots of Mui... the special shot in honor of the birthday girl!!! having barmaids as friends has some fringe benefits, including having a drink named after you :P

yeah, the pics speak for themselves.. no need to say more :P

Today was good too, watching girly movies with girly friends (and yes, Sam, that includes you :P) Mama Mia, here I go again my my how can I resist you... hiiiiiiiiii! eating chocolate and satsumas while piles and piles of snow were burying the city under a blanket of silence.

It's winter... no doubt left...

holiday baking

I'm making a chocolate/peppermint cake...

I think my new job may have a down side... this much free time during the holidays = mucho time to try out recipes = I love to bake sweets = everybody I know will become very fat! lol!!!

woohoo!

No email today! I'm gonna be here Saturday!!! *happy dance* XD

life on hold... forever?

If I don't get the dreaded email today, I'll be in town for the party Saturday...

I know Carpe Diem is supposed to be the way to go... but living with 48h notice sucks...
I kinda hope I'll be on a regular shift in a near future... so I'll know which show I'll see or miss, when I can buy tickets to fly to Riviera Maya and book hair appointments I don't have to change 3 times!!!

At least I get to see my dad for sure, he's coming back from Tunisia tonight, and I'll enjoy the xmas tree and decorations for more than 2 days :P

I made the jambalaya recipe from the cookbook I bought in Nawlins and the pecan pie... W-O-W!!!
I can't wait for crawfish to be in season (next summer!!! :( damn!) so I can make the etouffee *drool*

If you like Cajun food, look it up, might be able to order it on Amazon or something : "Gumbo Shop" cookbook, from the restaurant by the same name, on St.Peter st, New Orleans... yummies guaranteed :P

Therese

My sister is renting a house in the Laurentians... about 1:30h from Montreal. The region has been under snow since Halloween and she is surrounded by a forest... aka middle of nowhere.

A couple of weeks ago she realized she wasn't alone in her house. There was a (lot of?) little critters munching holes in her cereal boxes and leaving many tiny footprints in the flour. After eliminating the possibilities of fairies and The Little family, she concluded they were mice and set up some home-made non-injuring traps. She eventually caught one, it was a teeny wood mouse (un mulot vraiment trop mimi!!!). She set it free in the woods. 24 hours later she caught another one, set it free, and so on for a couple of days. But as it went, the critter(s?) learned how to steal the cheese while escaping the traps so she had to devise more clever ones...

The last time she got one, the temperature was -28c (-18F) and she didn't want the mouse to freeze to death outside... so she kept it in a small cage... the weather never really improved and she brought it with her when visiting here...
We are now looking for a bigger cage to keep her until Spring :D I guess that's what happens when you grow up in a zoo :P

Please meet the new Ranger pet:

Therese Casgrain, the woodmouse!

Since then, there was no raid in her pantry.. so lil miss mouse really was the only occupant of the basement...

I'M NOT GOING!!!

... just yet...

They can't send me on the vessel because there's been a change in regulations for the OPITO offshore safety & HUET and I now need a complementary BSTR but it's lucky cause it only takes 2 days as the BST would take five... :P
I sound like a super spy but all that is a bunch of acronyms for Water Survival Certifications... they love their acronyms those offshore guys...

So the cool part is, I now have a chance to be here Saturday for Mui's birthday... a chance only because they are now trying to find me a spot to do the course, but since it's the Holidays it's hard to find flights and the offices will be closing... so it might go after Christmas but maybe not... once again, I could leave anytime with a 48 hours warning.

Let's take it a day atta time and hope I'll be around for the party of the century :D
and for today... *happy dance*!!!!

jingle bells

Setting the Christmas tree
with the family
this year it's so tiny
but very smelly :P

I'll get to enjoy it
for 2 days only
maybe I'll be lucky
and stay for one more week! ho!

Jingle bells! jingle bells!
jingle all the way!
to the Atlantic ocean
where I'll be astray! yay!

Jingle bells! jingle bells!
jingle all the way!
ho what fun it'll be to ride
on a ship like Titanic!
(by that I mean in freezin cold water and surrounded by icebergs godamnit!! cooooold!!!)

dog week II... this one's a bitch!

I wrote to my dispatcher this week to know when I'll be leaving for my turn offshore... mentioning, "my best friend's 30th birthday party is on the 20th, could I please leave after the 21st if possible" (cause anyway, I should have full 2 weeks at home, considering I just spent 7 in Louisiana.. that's their policy I was told, and that brings me to the 21st... but there was rumor I could leave earlier than that)

got a reply today... "I am waiting for our client's approval on the switch, but if it comes on time be prepared to leave the 17th. If it doesn't arrive soon enough we'll place you somewhere else later. I will let you know on Monday."

They will let me know on Monday if I leave on Wednesday...
and not only that, I'm going on a vessel (which one doesn't seem relevant information to pass on to me) halfway through a shift. So for 2 weeks I'll be with a crew that has already been there for 2 weeks and then, on Dec 31st (Happy New Year tabarnak!), that crew is going home, replaced by another one... but maybe not me. I might stay for another half shift and then leave.

Merry Christmas to me!!!
I am not happy... some people might like money that much... I don't...

dog week...

Apparently this week's theme is dogs...
but this one is a sad news... Fred, my friend ML's dog, died today. He was 12 years old and had a real good life, but it's still the end of an era.

She bought him right after high school, when she got her first apartment, who was 10 minutes away from my place. So Fred was kinda my first dog too. He was so tiny when she got him that when he first learn to sit you could barely tell the difference from standing his legs were so short! :)

And ML got so excited when, for the first time, he walked on the right side of the posts, trash cans, fire hydrants, etc, on their daily stroll, not entangling his leash around everything.

He'd been living with her dad for a while now, so the last time I saw him was 2 years ago, when Baloo was a puppy. We went to visit, and Baloo jumped on Fred the minute he got out of the car... and Fred bit his nose! hehehe "Relax you over excited furball!" was the message.. B got it on the first warning.

So bye bye Fred, I'm sure you're in doggy heaven now...

Fred Chicoine
1995-2008

I'm dreaming of a white xmas

and it looks like I'll have it!!!

Why can't snow be warm?! It'd be nice to have all green lawns when it's cold and shovel when it's warm... would even things out a little...

but, apparently, my dogs appreciate things the way they are... (click on pics for better view)

I'm king of the backyard!



I can go play? really?!



Where d'ya think you're going?



Ok, can I come in now and melt all over the living room? :)

zzzzz

I just slept 13 hours straight! :S

I think I was exhausted! 7 weeks in Morgan City took a toll on me and I didn't even know it! (ok, I had some doubts....)

Tonight is HOCKEY NIGHT!!!! WOOHOO!!!! Friends, Beers, Hotdogs and the HABS!!!!!!

Last pics are up

I'm home.. it's FREEZING!!!! and snowing... and my last Louisiana pics are now posted...

As nothing can ever go smoothly, my last hours in Morgan City were a big ol mess. Since the guys had to work on Saturday I was out of a ride to the airport, so I asked miss Elaine to arrange transport for me in the morning. The only options were 3am or 7:30am... my flight being at 11:20am I picked the latest.

At 3:10am, my phone rings. I thought it was my alarm, so I grabbed and closed it... realized it was 3am and wondered what the hell was going on. 5 min later, phone rings again, "Hey Stef, what are you doing? the shuttle is waiting for you".. err I'm leaving at 7:30 man.... "no, we have your name for 3am, there is no shuttle at 7"... followed an arguing match, a couple more phone calls, a wait of 30 minutes to be told "we'll call you back in the morning and figure something out".... didn't sleep much after that.. since no call came, I called again at 7am.... a shuttle was managed and I finally left at 8am!

The flight landed in Memphis, I got out, only to realize I was re-boarding the same plane an hour later... and the same in Detroit!

Anyway, I'm here, I'm cold and I'm leaving again soon for an even colder place! :(
Still no idea where I'll end up... hopefully I'll have two full weeks of break, I need it!

there is no escaping it...

every time I go somewhere I have to buy another suitcase when I come back :S

This time it's really unfair though! I could fit everything in the one I have, but I have 35 pounds of school books!!! so I'm waaaaaaaaay over the 50lbs limits the stupid airline companies have fixed.

Anyway, I got a small one, hot pink with bubbles on it! :D, to put all the books in. On sale too, yay Black Friday!!!

I'm all packed, and ready to roll.. well.. fly... but first, one last drinks with the Southern buddies!

See ya soon y'all!! XD

24 hours countdown :P

The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar

That tomorrow

There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about

Tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs,

And the sorrow

'Til there's none!

When I'm stuck with a day

That's gray,

And lonely,

I just stick out my chin

And Grin,

And Say,

Oh!

The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

So ya gotta hang on

'Til tomorrow

Come what may

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

I love ya

Tomorrow!

You're always

A day

A way!

3-2-1...

I'LL BE HOME SATURDAY NIGHT!!!!!!!!!

It's been a mess since Monday, but I finally got my ticket today, I'm landing at 7:07pm in Montreal Saturday... after a detour by Memphis and Detroit :S

I almost ended up in St.John's for the weekend, to do the H2S course, then I would have gone on the Grand Banks rig on Dec 26th... turned out the plane ticket could not be managed so now I'm going home directly, but since I wont have the H2S certs, I might end up on a vessel December 18th or 19th or 20th until Dec 31st or longer, and then come home or go directly to another vessel or rig for two weeks or more... No doubt.. these guys are well organized! lol! (and that's the condense version.. the real one would take way too long to write)

Anyway, nothing is set and all will change 5 more times in the next 2 weeks, so I wont get all excited over it just yet.

Now I'll focus on what matters and I'll.... START PACKING!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!
*happy happy happy dance*

sweeeeet hooome AAAlabama!

A morning of shopping was enough. I renewed my supply of VS and found the last things on my xmas list for the buddies back home. Victoria doesn't do discount, even on Black Friday, but they were giving out a really cool black tote bag and samples of their beauty line. Yay :P

I met up with Ben (who was coming back from Florida) just out of New Orleans, parked my car at a post office and rode with him to Gary's place in Eastaboga, Alabama. We made good time even with the pouring rain that kept falling the whole way there. We saw at least 25 cars in the ditch, a bunch of multi-crash... and a cop stuck in the mud in the median... that last one made Ben's day :P

Saturday we went to Jeff's house (Gary's bro) to watch the Alabama vs Auburn football game and drink "a little" (Gary has a fondness for Jagermeister so we experimented with mixed drinks... Red headed slut and tweaked Sex on the Beach :P). We met his mom, who is a GREAT cook!!! Turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with ham stuffed with sausage, jello-cookies,chocolate chips cookies, fudge, coffee cake, the best cheese dip in da world, broccoli salad and baklavas.. all home made all CRAZY good!!!

Gary's whole family is just awesome! Friendly, nice people, who were happy to have us there, and that I'll be glad to see again next time I'm around here. We played with the pooch and kitten, watched the game, then I fought dragons on the computer and made paper planes for Blake, Jeff's 9yo son, and Ben got his ass kicked by him at Connect Four ;)

I wish I had pictures of Jeff's beautiful house, Gary and Twila's baby boy and all the family, but I forgot my camera :S.. All I have is a couple of shots taken with my cellphone :(

When we left, Blake asked me for a strand of my hair... Either he's seen Lord of the Rings one too many times and thinks I'm Galadriel, or he has a voodoo doll and weird things are gonna start happening to me soon :P

On the way back to Morgan City, I stopped by New Orleans for dinner at the Gumbo Shop. Their crawfish etouffée is just mental! so is the pecan pie! I walked Bourbon street a last time, until next time... then it was back to reality and the wonderful Days Inn...

In a nutshell, this weekend was all about food and fun... which is what life is all about no? ;)

turkey weekend

The weekend was excellent!
Thursday I went to Derek's house and we watched movies. I prepared spaghetti sauce with turkey.. so I guess it counts as Thanksgiving dinner :P

Friday morning I experienced Black Friday... I was expecting violence, curses, people beating each other up over a parking space or a Tickle Me Elmo... I went to Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie. The parking was full and people were driving around at a crawl... but no gunshots were fired.

On the other side of the Mall's street was a bunch of non-mall stores and their parking lots were empty... guess where I parked :) Good thing Americans are allergic to walking...

I got in the mall, bracing myself.. what did I see? bunches of shiny happy people holding hands, skipping merrily under white clouds of warm snow, singing carols in harmony and smiling as Santa's little helpers handed out candy and hot chocolate. ok... maybe some of that might be a just a tad embellished... but for real, people were all happy and non-fighting :S what the hell?

So apparently it's only at Walmart that people kill each other over a 5$ discount... since I'll never set foot in a Walmart, I'll assume it's true, will call it natural selection and leave it at that :P

Next post, coming soon: Sweeeeet hooome Aaalabama!

JINGLE BELL JINGLE BELL!!!

It's December! I can start singing Christmas Carols!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be home in one week!!!!!!!!!!!!! weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

I'm piloting (on the simulator, meaning I can crash the damn thing all I want :P) this week!!!! weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

I'm on a major coffee/sugar rush! weeeeeeeeee!!! (can you tell? :P)

goble freakin goble :P

Happy Turkey Day!!!

I'll be experiencing Black Friday for the first time tomorrow... should be interesting... not so much the shopping part but for people watching :P I'm bringing my camera and will try to capture the human race at its best. I don't have a lot of shopping to do anyway, I bought most of my xmas gifts in New Orleans already.. mostly I just want to replenish my supply of VS. :)

After a morning of that, I'm off to Alabama, to spend the weekend at Gary's place and experience another txgiving classic.. boozing out with friends! XD

strange day

Today is a weird day for me... a lot of major events that shaped my life happened on November 25th...

13 years ago my friend JF killed himself, creating a wave that still ripples today
10 years ago I started going out with the guy that would be my boyfriend for 6 years
4 years ago I set foot in East Africa for the first time
Last year J asked me to save him from all the crazy women... turned out he wants them afterall :(

So for this strange day, here are the words of Daniel Powter:

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
You tell me your blue skies fade to grey
You tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well, you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say

And I don't need no carryin' on
You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh, you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
'Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day

You had a bad day

arg

Another rotten gem from jackass #1, I had to share... no idea what the context of this is... I didn't hear the first part of the conversation, but it doesn't affect at all the quote

try n guess who he means...

... "that Indian guy that left when the Chinese invaded Quebec"

GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!! before I shove a pen down his throat

where am I? hell?

I can't wait to make it to Superintendent... I'll transfer to the Gulf just so I can fire some of those fuckin American morons I'm stuck with now.

All that follows are real quotes. I swear to you, I'm not making this up...

jackass #1: "who cares about overseas! I aint never leavin the Us."
About starving children searching for food in the garbage in Angola: "you throw fries at them so they leave you alone?" this guy is lucky to still be alive.. if he falls off a rig that I happened to be on, it wont be an accident believe me >:(

the blimp: "what's the difference between a maxi pad and a tampon?" he's 29yo, married with two kids

fuckin moron: "ha man I gotta sleep! those two chicks kept me up till 5am huh huh huh..."
the guy is married, his wife is 6 weeks pregnant

what are you doing? d'you wanna come to my room? Have a beer? (I wont write more details... not sure who's reading my blog anymore, but let's just say the invitation involved more than drinking) from a married guy with 4 kids

the blimp again: "there's 3 things you have to do when you're married, a dutch oven, the fruit bowl and golden showers" google those if you dont know what they are :S

the blimp yet again: "my wife is dumb as a brick." but you married her... that makes you the biggest dumbass

bit of conversation during ET class:
"student -I heard there's a stripper with a peg leg around here...
teacher -it's not true
student -what about the midget? at that place "Mr Lucky"?
teacher - nah.. Mr Lucky's closed now, but it wasn't a strip club.. it was.. well, a notch over strip club...
blimp - a car wash?" yeah the blimp is quite something...

Add to that half the guys in the yard asking Nathalie and Maria to fix me up with them, a guy stopping his car in front of me to try and to pick me up on the street, and another one trying to convince me he really regrets hooking up with his girl cause he likes me better... can I please go home now? I'm done thanx...

The lesson to be learn here:
NEVER get involved with an American!! At least not one that works in a field that sends him away from home for more than 2 weeks at a time. They all cheat, they all lie. It doesn't matter how long they've been with the girl or how hot she is... when away from home that girl doesn't exist anymore. I've seen guys pay to fly their girlfriend over for the weekend and hook up with a "local" the day she left... classy shit, really.
And the way they talk about their girls is so demeaning... unless they're talking to her on the phone of course... then they're all sweets and I miss yous... as soon as the phone is down it's "pfff, I've been with her waaaay too long", "are we going to the strip club?!" and "hooo yeah that chick last night was hooot!!!"

I only heard two guys say they love their wife and talked respecfully about her... and they were both over 60yo...

depressing...

blackout

Coming soon... tribute to a blimp, roomates from hell and other Morgan City news.

I won't have internet access at night until Friday night or Saturday, so you'll have to wait, unless I manage to write during lunch break :P

but she's ugly...

those 3.5 words just made my day :P

Some things are just impossible to understand...

*New Louisiana pics on the right for your entertainment*

woot woot

Kicked the exam's ass...
It's the weekend
I'm going to New Orleans

did some research
found a bunch of good shops in the French Quarter
found the goth stores... but no clubs!!!! wtf??? I'll ask the freaks tomorrow for venues :S

I cant wait to go!
Beignets at Café du Monde!
Antiques on Royal
Hurricanes on Bourbon
Shoes on Chartres
Clothes on Decatur
Shiny beads on... well, everywhere :P

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! XD

dreaming of the weekend

Hydraulics final exam is tomorrow... we group studied a bit tonight but I have a strange feeling it wont be a big deal to ace that thing.

I'm still sick though. Nothing too bad, I'm not throwing up, but I just can't eat :S Anything other than water or coffee makes me nauseous after one bite. Considering that I'm not sleeping either, my energy level is down the drain. Hopefully, a weekend in New Orleans will fix everything. Maybe I can find some voodoo priestess to clear my demon (yeah I've been watching True Blood a bit too much :P) More realistically, I'm hoping for shopping therapy :)

As of yesterday I have a roommate... Days Inn ran out of room or something so Angela has moved in with me (she's in the ROV class that started before mine). She's really not happy about it (can't say I'm thrilled either). At least she only has one week to go and she's done, so I'll get some space back next weekend.

I know it's just the fact that I'm tired that gets to me... but I'm starting to miss you guys a lot... you and our intelligent/diverse conversations (Sean, I'd do anything to bring you down here right now).
For some reason, southern guys only have 3 subjects of conversation: cars, poop (and other bodily functions/fluids) and girls they want to bang/have banged/uglies that are after them, etc. all in a "I so don't give a fuck about them" tone (and that includes their girlfriends, wives and exs). It's getting old... and only makes them sound stupid... to the point where I wonder if any of the stories are real... because no girl I know would ever want to have anything to do with them.

If at least I could respond... but I can't. The stories I could tell are in a whole other universe compare to their crap... it'd probably freak them out and they'd just look at me weird. I do get a bit of inside laugh though, imagining their faces if I started talking about our...hum... "dress code parties", some of Marc's photo shoots or anything involving Dom... hehehe *Vero, you can delete that part for the mom and dad version... :P*

Anyway... they're not all bad, some of them are actually nice guys that I'd be happy to see again, out there or back home. I just miss the endless chats on St-Denis with Balou at my feet, good coffee on the table and good looking people passing by...
3 more weeks and I'll have it back! though people watching season is over until next April :(

Till then, New Orleans it'll be to keep moral up.. who knows, maybe I'll score a real vampire Saturday night ;) I gotta stop watching that show damnit!

Jeff Dunham Holiday Special on Comedy Central,
Sunday at 9pm!!!! ha shit is it 9 central or eastern?! :S

woohoohoohhoohhoo!

:S

The food poisoning might have been a virus... I was better Friday but it came back with a vengeance on Saturday...
I'll spare you the details, lets just say I was half dead from Friday night to Sunday early morning and my throat is still sore from all the throwing up :(

I was barely feeling good enough to go to New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, but no way I was going to waste both days of my car rental :S I got it on Friday, thinking I was fine...

I did a swamp tour in Honey Island, just passed New Orleans. It was great, pictures will be up soon, but too cold for gators to show their snouts. I saw a lot of cool birds and the bayou by itself was beautiful.. in a creepy Ann Rice kinda way :P Next time I'll explore in a kayak though (if i can rent or bring one)... no motor noise, water level.. face to face with the gators :D

After the tour I went to the French Quarter to see Mel. We had happy hour at her hotel (alcohol-free in my case :S) and we walked along Bourbon St to find a place for dinner. We found an awesome bistro, Gumbo Shop, on St-Peter St. I still was a bit off so I only had a praline sunday :P Surprisingly enough it wasn't a mountain! 2 small scoops with homemade caramel... soooooo good!!!! I'll have to go back next weekend for a real meal...

The hydraulics course is much more fun this week. Our new teacher used to be a B-52 pilot... he has stories from here to next year!

I'm exactly halfway trough this training! 25 days gone, 24 days to go! :D

how ironic

I missed school today due to food poisoning :S
nausea, dizziness and massive headache, thanx to a Vietnamese sandwich at lunch yesterday (that'll learn me to go Asian in Cajun country :S).

I must admire the irony though.. East Africa, China, Honduras and all other "exotic" countries I've been to never did a thing to my stomach... I had to come to the USA to get sick. That confirms my theory that Lysol (and all other similar crap) is an invention of the devil for paranoid morons and actually create superbugs that will kill you all, western world neat freaks :P

It did give me time to read half of my new book "Ghosts along the bayou" (don't try to find it in stores, it's out of print.. had to special order it on amazon :S got it in 3 days though, yay!). It's a collection of ghost stories, strange encounters and haunted houses in Louisiana. I mapped a couple of them I'll go see for myself before I leave here :)

Heard in Morgan City

Be careful of what you say at all time, true story told by Bob, our teacher :

New guy comes into manager's office for a meeting, noticing the cute blond at the front desk,
he says "Are you banging that?!" (yeah, some guys have class...)
Manager replies "I don't think her mother would appreciate"
Some time later, blond girl interrupts the meeting and asks the manager "hey dad, where do you want me to put today's mail?"

oops? :P

-------------

In the classroom:

"-I don't trust either of the candidates (for the Presidential), I'll just go for the lesser of two evil...
(break)
-and who would that be?
-McCain." ... of course... :S

-------------

Not heard per se, but loud enough message... on our way to lunch I saw an American flag hung upside down on a lawn... some people down here are not happy with the election result...

Hydraulic board

I remembered to take pictures in the classroom today...

That's the board before we start playing with it

... and Derek in his snazzy orange getup that matches the trainees' orange hard hat. Everybody agrees that he should where it offshore... the old folks will be so startled by it they'll forget to call him pumpkin head (the official nickname of all trainees...)

That's the board once we're done copying the schematic on it... and Bob, our teacher ready to fire it up, after making sure it was ok and not in kablamo mode. :)

O-BA-MA!!! O-BA-MA!!!

WOOHOO!!!

That could just be the best news in the history of the USA... but no matter what, having an intelligent, visionary and positive person in charge will be a wonderful change. ;)

Hydraulics 101

I started hydraulics on Monday... first thing we did was completing a 93 questions test.
Considering that I can fit all I know about hydraulics in a thimble, it was FUN!!!
"-Yeah I'll take a side of dumb with my coffee, thanx so much"... :S

Once done destroying my self esteem, the teacher said not to worry about it, all that was in the test would be covered over the next 2 weeks. I have a strange feeling that this was the actual final exam I "completed". Except that the final version probably wont have "E) I don't know" as last option for all the questions :P (guess how many Es I checked... )

Today we started playing on "simulators"... can't think of a better term (wanted to take a picture of it but forgot.. I'll try again tomorrow). It's a bunch of pumps, valves, motors and cylinders, mounted on a unit, that we connect together with hoses and then try not to blow up the circuits/pipes/classroom. It's fun enough, but I still have no idea what I'm doing half the time... nothing exploded or fried so I guess I'm still good hehehe.

I'm partnered with Derek (Derek Grey! he's the real life McDreamy! :P), a really cool guy except for his Florida Panthers jersey... that he wears expressly to bug me (I had my Habs shirt on today, nice team we were :P).

and I just heard that Melanie (yes Mui, your cousin) is coming to New Orleans this weekend!!! woohoo!!!

I survived

Halloween's weekend was eventful but sadly it didn't include fighting a poltergeist...

Friday night I went with some of the guys to the bonfire party. We had a humongous potluck Cajun style (yum!!!), played music, played with fire, played with the cute lab puppy and then went to the old slave cemetery to wake the dead. No could do, the place isn't haunted :( but the trip was still worth it.
I took some cool pictures, they are in the album "Louisiana" on the right.

Saturday evening I went to Morgan City's "Shrimps and Petroleum Festival" with Ben and Brian.
Ho yeah, every year, usually in September but this year it was pushed back because of the hurricanes, the people of Morgan City celebrate shrimps and petrol... the two main sources of income of the place.
It lasts four days, there's bands playing, classic rock to banjo country, rides for the kids, shops that sells a random array of.. well.. crap... from inflatable hot tubs to satin bows, wooden furniture and plastic Jesus that lit up, and, of course, loads of food... strangely enough I didn't see shrimps on the menu, only jambalaya, gumbo and just about anything fried on a stick :P
(*and Mui, they had red neck wind chimes like the one we made for Alex!!! I almost pissed myself laughing!!! those things actually exist outside of Dukes of Hazzard!!!)

Brian found the girl he's been eyeing, so Ben and me left him with her and watched a bit of the show while drinking giant Hurricanes.. and I do mean giant! In the land of supersized they don't mess around with drinks, 40oz (1.25L) in a glass... not sure about the alcohol content but they pack a serious punch... especially the second one ;) Bored of the banjo, we eventually went back to the hotel and bbqed a late dinner.

Sunday morning we took it easy by the pool at the hotel. Christ and me went to Waffle House for brunch and finished it off with a daiquiri...
Daiquiris is a place that looks like a soda shop from the 50s, but they only sell alcohol, their specialty being 12 different flavored daiquiris, in 32-40-52-65oz format.... that you can buy at their drive-through window... yeah.. whatever...

booooh

It's been confirmed.. I am going to a bonfire party tomorrow night for Halloween :)
The guy throwing the party lives 20 min from Morgan City... and there's a haunted cemetery a block from his house... guess where I'm gonna end up hehehe

If you never here from me again, assume me lost to the Louisiana shadows ;)

rov life

I got my return date today. They don't want me "wasting time" doing shop work here, so I'll do only the first week of piloting. My last day will be Friday Dec 5th, so I should fly home either that night or Saturday morning.

The shitty part is that this probably means I'll be spending Christmas in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. When I come home from a job, there is a 2 weeks mandatory break, but then I'm fair game to be sent anywhere. If I had done the shop work and left here on the 20th, I would have had the two weeks off right in the Christmas/new year Holidays.. but now I'll be "eligible" to leave on Dec 21st... ho well, better get used to it, for the first couple of years I'll be getting the shitty shifts no one wants... that's offshore life... :S but the pay check is worth missing the turkey ;)

And sometime in January I'll start on fixed rotation 3/3 or 4/4, so I'll be able to plan in advance.. and make sure I'm home for the playoffs in May!!! :)

I filmed Chris today (the singer that should definitely get a record deal asap!). I'll put the video online as soon as I can upload it.. it's heavy and the connection is crap.. bad combination...

Donut Cop

The things you see in Morgan City...

That was just too good to pass up :P

My first gator

What d'ya think are the odds of me playing Crocodile Hunter before this trip is over? ;)

We were coming back from Houma and decided to take the scenic route. On the way we saw an ad for bayou tours so we took a turn and checked it out. It was closed, but near the boating dock was a swimming log :) My first alligator hehehe.

Then, on route 182, I spotted another one floating merrily in the swamps. We stopped to watch cause he was much closer than the first one.

One of the guys I was with has been here for 5 years and had never seen one... so either I'm lucky or I haven't lost my eagle eye to spot underwater critters :P

New Orleans

On se rejoint coin Bienville et Bourbon?

Interesting place...

I didn't know much about New Orleans before going there... the history, the reputation, the vampires... but that was about it. I didn't know the real important stuff... like you're allowed to drink in the streets as long as you carry the beer/margarita/hurricane in a plastic container. :P
I don't know why I was surprised though... in a State that sells Daiquiris in drive-throughs, it's only normal that its official party town would allow drinking everywhere.

The place reminds me of Amsterdam, except that instead of "coffee" shops it has liquor shops... right on the side-walk. Same party mood, music blaring, staggering tourists... The architecture is beautiful, lots of forged iron, a definite European look.

Yesterday we only saw Bourbon Street and the surroundings. We went to check the Voodoo Festival, which was in City Park, a bit outside of the party zone. Turns out it was a huge music fest! I wish I had known about it sooner.. cause none of the guys had the money to go in (the tickets for the day were 60$, 125$ for the full 3 days show), so I couldn't go either, I would have been stuck there with no ride home :( I hate not having my car!!!! Godamn car country, there's no way to get anywhere without one >:(
But check the line up here... Wyclef, NIN, REM, Panic at the Disco... all styles and sizes mixed together... would have been awesome *sigh* next time I guess...

The city has recovered well from the hurricanes, the only signs left of it are the blue tarps some houses still have on their roofs. Other than that it's clean and nice and safe. I don't understand why people say it's a death trap... I didn't see anything remotely "scary" out there. I wouldn't go during spring break though.. the amount of drunken, idiotic 21yo must be unbearable...

I noted a couple of very cool stores... when I go back there (by myself this time, I'll rent a car if I have to! no dealing with a pack of boys when hitting the stores!) I'll have one hell of a shopping spree day :D
Gotta get everybody xmas present anyway... ;) how do y'all feel about loads and loads of shiny beads? :P

two of the many attractions found on Bourbon streets...

hehe

Mui, you will be proud of me... I sang in public for the first time tonight!!!

We had a bbq at the hotel tonight, ended up about 20 guys hanging by the pool.. and one of them, Christopher (I'll have a video of him later.. what a voice!!!! holyshitman!!!!), has a guitar and he got us improvising on a freestyle version of "sweet home Alabama"... Sweet home Louisiana... and, as the only Canadian, I held up my ground and went free style for a verse... I didnt go out of tune and managed to come up with good lyrics, yay me!!

and now I'm freakin tired from my first week in southern territories, but f*** happy I made it through, and we're going to New Orleans tomorow!!! woohoo!!!!

:)

Bad Things

Jace Everett is da man!!!
With a voice like I bet most girls would say yes to anything (I would :P)! ... and considering that my nickname is Blue, the 2nd paragraph takes a whole new meaning ;)

I wanna do bad things with you.

When you came in the air went out.
And every shadow filled up with doubt.
I don't know who you think you are,
But before the night is through,
I wanna do bad things with you.

I'm the kind to sit up in his room.
Heart sick an' eyes filled up with Blue.
I don't know what you've done to me,
But I know this much is true:
I wanna do bad things with you.

When you came in the air went out.
And all those shadows there are filled up with doubt.
I don't know who you think you are,
But before the night is through,
I wanna do bad things with you.
I wanna do real bad things with you.
Ow, ooh.

I don't know what you've done to me,
But I know this much is true:
I wanna do bad things with you.
I wanna do real bad things with you.

True Blood... new very hot vampire show on HBO... hopefully soon in Canada, catch it on the net in the meantime to hear Jace's theme song :P

that was easy

I asked today... I'm already enrolled for dual certifications... I'm kickin ass and don't even know it :D

After class I went for dinner with two of the guys at a Cuban place... HMG!!!! best sandwiches ev-er! and sweet potato fries *drool*

My neck is a pain, got stuck with a real bad one this time :S I hope it'll clear for the weekend, I don't want to be moving as a block in New Orleans!!!

nothing much for the day.. it was death by overhead in the Gulf Orientation course... coffee to the rescue (I found the good stuff in the big bosses office... booya espresso!)

if you want to send a care package, I'm at the Days Inn, 7408 Hwy. 182 E., Morgan City, Louisiana, 70380

And those of you who want to become pilots/get more training or jobs, you can contact the Oceaneering office at 5004 Railroad Avenue, Morgan City, LA 70380, (985)395-5247

career choices

One of the managers asked me today if I was mechanics or electronics tech.. I said I wasn't sure yet. I have more mechanics skills, but I like E too... he suggested I'd do a dual certification. This way I'll get more work, and should move faster up in ranking. Since I can do both.. I will :)

Not sure what the procedure is to do so, I'll ask the right people tomorrow.

This place is getting more and more interesting, it's like a big frat :P At the hotel, the guys are always hanging outside (since they all have roomates, the rooms get a bit cramped) so it's easy to socialize and all.. just have to open the door.

I'm still amazed at how everybody knows who I am.. the word has spread that the Canadian girl is a tall red head, so everybody comes up to me to talk... and make joke about Canada :P

Bad news, I have yet another stiff neck... didn't have time to get my back fixed before I left... I'm stuck with hot patches and advil again... they don't sell robaxacet over the counter here, so no muscle relaxant for me :( ouch...
can we mail medication from Canada?

ho btw, there's a 1 hour (earlier) time difference with Mtl, doesn't make much of a difference but still... :)

day 2

While the guys were being dumped upside down in a sinking helicopter, I spent all day doing online modules to stop being a trainee and become a pilot for real... booooooooooooooring.. and, of course, got 100% on all of them :P

I took one picture... the view from my room... hum...

ok... this was the view I had in Utila:
this was the view I had in Costa Rica:
this was the view I had in Fort William:

...and this is the view I have in Morgan City:

Is it just me or there was quite a drop in scenery?? :P

First day done

It's warm and sunny here!!! I'm walking around in short skirt and flip flops!!! YAY Louisiana!!!

Ok, now that this is out of the way... I think this training is gonna be fun. Today was orientation, I met my classmates and was brainwashed about how Oceaneering is a great company to work for (but there was no need to do so... it IS a cool company, they built the Jaws attraction in Florida :P).

One of the guys, Benjamin, was at the Underwater Center this summer. When I told him I was there in spring he said "Ho so you're the Canadian girl"... my reputation precedes me, even in the southern states.. go figure :P

This week is a mix of everything. Tomorrow is survival... which I don't have to do after all!!! the one I did in Aberdeen is good enough... though not for the Canadian east coast... so I'll have to do that when I get back.. there's no escaping it :S .

Wednesday will be my 4th first aid/cpr course in a year... how ironic that I'll be the safest person to be around when I don't even like people!
Thursday is an introduction to the Gulf of Mexico (no swimming involved sadly.. just rules and regulations pertinent to this location)
Friday is basic rigging concepts... I'll be learning some new knots... hehehe

After that the fun begins.. intro to rov, mechanics, hydraulics, electronics and FLYING!!!
They have a simulator.. that should be fun to try.. hopefully I'll get some real flying time too, in actual water...

So all's good, the guys are nice so far, southern hospitality is not a myth, they go out of their way to be helpfull. I don't have a car, but I haven't paid for a taxi yet.. there's always someone around to offer a ride :)

Only downside, but it's all me, nothing to do with the place... is that I keep having flashbacks from my trip to Virginia... the towns look alike, the same restaurants aligned the same way on the road, and the hotel room too... except that here I'm alone in it :(
I hope it wont last for too long and that I'll paste some new feelings on the bad ones, cause now I'll look at the bed and my heart will squeeze and I have to go outside or crank the tv up to make it go away. It's a stress I don't need or want.. I have enough with the "new place, new crowd, new accent" to deal with. but fuck I miss him! I know, I'm an idiot, don't mention it.

Speaking of accent... it's not too thick so I can understand everybody, but medicine sounds like madisson and they do say y'all all the time :) Cute, but Scotland is still #1.

** and for those of you who are looking for work in ROVs.. now is the time to harass Oceaneering.. they are in full speed expansion and need people pronto! in the next 5 years they'll build over 100 rovs (do the maths, that's minimum 400 new rov people they'll hire) and set something like 97 new rigs. That also mean that I could make supervisor in about 6 months, if I kick butts at this :D **

I'm on my way!

more later tonight when I get there.. but I'm leaving for Morgan City, Louisiana, today!
Got the call Friday morning, confirmation Friday afternoon, that I was leaving for Louisiana for 7 to 9 weeks in less then 48 hours! woohoo!

So I'm at the airport, paying appalling wi-fi fees cause I'm bored... security checks took about 2 seconds.. go figure...

I'm going for a training course, kinda like the one I did in Fort William in April, but more specific to Oceaneering... and this time I'm getting paid for it!!! *happy dance* Not only do I have all my expenses taken care of (including cab fare or car rental to go to the movies on the weekends) but I get onshore wages for everyday I'm there... including right now! :P a nice change from the theatre business where, for 5 years, I had to pay to work...

to be continued when I get to the hotel...

coulda shoulda woulda

I've been crying because of him for a year now... it's pathetic...
though there was somewhat of a grace period in November and December... ok, so a year minus 2-3 weeks... it's still fuckin pathetic...

It's hard to see someone exceptional diminished to ordinary :(

woohahahahaha

In reply to the Cat Flushing the Toilet (thanx Mui!) here's the Hamster on a Piano... like the hamsterdance, the more you watch the funnier is gets :P



hihihihihihihihi XD

ED II

Are we allowed to eat a ballot?

The answer and more in the Election Canada FAQ section HERE
(errr ... eating a ballot?! ... frequently asked questions?!?... seriously?!?!?)

Election day

People speculate and get all fired up...
I don't

No matter who "wins" nothing will change in the long run. No matter what ideology reigns supreme it wont be reigning supreme at all. Canadians are lukewarm people, and I mean this in the best possible way.
When it comes to fiery subjects (like abortion, environment, the economy) if a bill, motion or idea is too far on one side (be it right or left) people say no way and it doesn't pass.
We stay in the middle and it's ok, in fact it's great. For the past 200 years we've been moving steadily forward, no matter who was in charge, and living conditions have slowly improved for all... and will continue to do so.

Life is good here... the fact that we bitch about it all the time makes it more so... we can whine and complain and, if the complaints make sense, the people in charge usually will listen... cant say as much for the rest of the world.

*goble goble*

I've officially gone insane... I have the worst craving for super-spicy chicken wings... I don't even like chicken wings! next I'll be wearing a cap backwards and ordering a budweiser... anybody knows a good exorcist?

I just found the 6 seasons of Sex and the City at a megasale price! :)
who said money cant buy happiness? or maybe it's sales that can...

changes

It's weird... my sister is moving today. She rented a house in the Laurentian and might buy it in January if she likes it.

It's the first time the Ranger clan will be split up permanently...

Over the years we've all traveled for extended periods, moved in (and out) with boyfriends, left for jobs for months at a time... so the family home was not complete all the time, but it was always temporary.
Now, sis has a house, next year I should have a condo in Montreal... and baby sis is talking of going to work for Disney Florida...

It's weird...

Stanley Cup in 2009!!!

When a french, hometown rap band writes a new cheering anthem for the Habs.. you know it's hockey fever in Montreal!




TO-NIGHT! TO-NIGHT! TO-NIGHT!
everybody's giddy like kids before xmas! :)

Go HABS Go!!

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow night is the first official match of the season for the Montreal's Canadiens!!!
Which means watching the game at Baloo's with beers, European sandwiches (fancy name for big hotdogs with sauerkraut:P) and loads and loads of hockey deprived friends :D

all together now! ♪ Tananananananana-hey! Tana-nana-nana-nananananana-hey! Tana-nana...

Hey, winter has got to be good for at least ONE thing :P

phone call from the East

I finally got my phone call!!!! ... and I'm nowhere closer to a departure date... :S

They have submitted my name to Petro-Canada and Husky Oil.. standard procedure, they have to approve me. Should take another week before the OK stamps arrive.
They are trying to find a place in Montreal where I could do the survival training, so I don't have to go to St-Johns. Once this is done, I have to do another medical (tell me why again I did all this in Aberdeen?) and then some more training in safety and procedures...
THEN I'll be allowed to work.. except that I wont exactly be working :P...

They have a new big project coming in January, which means all team will be reorganized and I'll have a permanent spot on one. 21/21 on rigs, 28/28 on vessels. For good... or until I get an offer from Mr "Jack Sparrow" Burt in Florida ;)

Until then, I will be on a team, but only to shadow operations and practice playing with the controls so I can learn :) I'll be working with a Magnum ROV (one of the puppies in the pics above).
I wont have a fixed schedule, I'll know 2 to 6 days in advance when I'm going somewhere, and not necessarily for 21/28 days at a time. Between trips, there's a legal minimum of 7/14 days off I have to have, but after that period, all bets are off on when I leave again.

They also want to send me to Morgan City, Louisiana, Nov 3-14, for another electronics course! :D
I've never been to Louisiana... I really want to go to Louisiana!!! weehee! (or yeehaaw?!)

They also provide all clothing! All I have to bring is my steel cap boots... the coveralls, shirts and winter coat(!) are conform to regulation (visibility and fire retardant) and free of charge :)

And, to top it all, they pay all my expenses, door to door. When they send me somewhere, for whatever reason -course, training, work-, I get paid for it, the plane and hotels are paid in advance, and they reimburse me all food bills! (Ok, I know it's standard for most business.. but I've never had that before and I'm excited :P)

And another good news: all their rigs and vessels have women on it... but I'm the only rov girl in the company. Which is just perfect. That means I wont be treated like shit for wreaking an all-boy environment, but will still get enough attention to flatter my over-sized ego :P
(plus I wont have to share my room with a smelly neanderthal hehehe)

The Oceaneering superintendant's wife was a pilot at some point, but it was a while ago. So the guys know it's possible for a girl to be interested in rovs, but there's never been one on the rigs. Sounds like an Animal Planet show "They know women pilot exist, but they've never actually seen one". I'll be the first... poor them... ;)

So all n all, lots of answers. I feel much better knowing I'll be in full training mode for a while, before jumping in for real.
Only down side is that I can't plan anything in advance until next year :S Can't buy the Riviera Maya vacations, show tickets or Xmas Florida trip cause I have no way to know where I'll be when for the next 3 months. Hopefully they'll be able to tell me my fixed Jan rotation quickly, so I can at least reserve the Mexico gig more than a month in advance and save some $ :P

Kablamo!

For those of you who enjoy a cigarette with your morning coffee, you might want to rethink your ritual if you use non-dairy creamer instead of milk (don't see WHY you'd use that crap but hey) ... that powder is highly flammable, as was proven by the Mythbusters...

That's the big almighty explosion, but during previous testing, just a small cup of it went whamo! when ignited with a lighter, creating a dangerous back draft...



That will definitely wake you up in the morning :P
So repeat after me : ♪ there's nothing like the real thing baby♪ ... stick to milk and cream people!

full day

I had a good day yesterday... full and busy to keep me from thinking
Got my hair done in the afternoon.. Isabelle outdid herself! I now have 4 shades of red intertwined, a deep copper as base, two tones of golden highlights and a deep burgundy... looks very cool! I don't know what I'll do when Isa finishes her pharmacy degree and stops working at the salon.. she's a star!

Then I met Sean at Hurley's. We rebuilt the world around a Guinness and tried to make sense of the universe... my own small one and the bigger picture. I left there smiling, which is a rare sight these days.

I called Andrew and went to his place, Christian showed up too. Andrew's place is still a mess.. I wonder if he'll ever be done with the neverending renovations... I guess the answer is in the question :P

We finished the night off at Passeport, a bit of dancing, a bit of drinking, a bit of chatting...
It's weird, lots of people tell me my job is so cool and I kick ass to do it, to follow my dream and all... if it's so, why do I feel so inadequate all the time? I'll probably have the answer to that when I get on the rig... but I still don't know when that will be!!!! :S