going

tomorrow evening at 6pm i will be flying from edmonton to toronto to go to work at camp for the summer. however, i leave home at about 6am to get there. ugh!

i'm not sure when i'll next be able to update this... probably not for a week and a half, for at the most i only will have internet access on the weekends.

but, until then, take care, love life, enjoy the weather, blog lots, and i'll be around. email me at mikao@briercrest.com if you'd like, i'd love to hear from you and i may not get around to everyone's blogs every weekend. and i love real mail too, so that is a good idea. cool stuff. big packages. hint hint. ;)

in Him,
Michelle

last day

tomorrow i am flying to toronto... so today i must pack. ugh. i don't like packing, it's one of my least favourite things to do. i think though, that this is mostly because of the fact that i've lost my luggage about five times in the past. generally i like organizing, and packing is pretty much just organizing.

last night my parents freaked out watching the news because SARS just keeps getting worse and worse in toronto, and they think i'm going to get it. usually i do get pretty much everything that comes around though because i have a cruddy weakened immune system, but i think that if i stay out of hospitals in toronto i should be fine. my dad is still getting me a mask though. i still think it's so weird that there are so many big threat diseases in canada at the moment (SARS, mad cow, west nile). and, i've also noticed that since the whole mad cow discovery, mcdonald's has stopped running it's tv commercials about how proud it is to use alberta beef. hmm.....

my parents are leaving tomorrow for british columbia to go to my little sister's grad. she's getting her bachelor of science in wildlife biology. she's living in a tent this summer doing flicker research (they're a kind of bird) in the middle of no where getting paid big bucks.

but, i should probably go now and make some lunch. and then i should start packing.

ugh.

this is only a test

to see if this works.

yeah so

having a squashed toe is not a good thing to have when you go shoe shopping. but i did manage to find some shoes. not real runners, but the fake-i-just-look-athleticly-retroish kind. they're tan suede. with two darker chocolate brown stripes on the sides.

today

this morning, after a lovely sleep, blackey came for a morning snuggle and woke me up. he's a cat. the best cat actually. :)

then my old housemate rachel phoned and we had a lovely chat about hydro bills and such, and miscellaneous fun stuff as well, so that was nice. i hadn't talked to her in awhile.

then i got on the internet, checked my email (nothing but spam)... surfed around, read some blogs, etc. random.

now i'm going to go and have a shower and wake up, and then at one i'm going shopping with my Mom in attempt to find some new shoes. i have no runners. runners are essential for camp i think. well, actually, i know they're essential.

so, i'm off. have a super day everyone. ryan, i hope you're feeling better soon.

email

when my little sister was in grade two, she told our mom the reason she had nightmares was because we watched "Lassie" on tv but really it was because of French school and she didn't want to have to watch "Lassie" anymore

well, that wasn't very nice.

completion


i am finished my last assignment (a four page internet website for fake parents of my fake youth group promoting our September calendar and providing useful parents information). yahoopagebuilder never ceased to cause me problems, therefore, it kinda sucks.

see it here.

owie

i just came in after dropping a sheep fence on my big toe, trying to get a lost lamb out of the forest and back with his mom.

it's not looking so good. yeeech.

scary websites you wouldn't normally visit

i am attempting to finish up my last assignment... still. hey, i've told you before that i'm a procrastinator. actually, i think part of my problem is i can't resist signing in to msn messenger. and some people ignore the "busy" icon.

but anyways, i needed some cheesy information for parents to include in my newsletter, and in searching for such, i have come across what i'd like to call scary websites you wouldn't normally visit:

Parent Resources Hotline (check out the "Please check the box that best describes your situation.")

Help! I Have a Teenager! Video i especially like the picture on the video box, and hey, watching this video is like attending 8 parenting classes from the comfort of your own home!

CEDU High School, "CEDU is the original emotional growth boarding school, founded in 1967."

there's more, but i have to do my homework. i'm trying, trying, trying to get it done.


"Each child will be attired in the same functional, clothing as all of the other students."

wake up

this morning when i arose from slumbering, my room smelled lovely like the blossoming fragrance i smell each morning when i stay at my Gramma's house in summertime.

ahhhh.

blogger

is the reason my template has disappeared out of my template file because of dano? i wish blogger would tell us blogspotters exactly what it is doing.

thankfully, i saved a backup copy of my template just the other day before i added rss so if for some odd reason my template never returns i do have a copy available to me here.

random alphabet

a) i still like those "those puffy little pink marshmallow strawberries that you can get in the bulk food section at grocery stores everywhere" and always will.

b) some times i think it would be really really super cool just to take off for the weekend. but i probably won't for quite a few years...

c) i don't really like flying. actually, i pretty much don't like the act of travelling at all. being in motion blows cookies.

d) i've had my name mentioned on international radio. that's stinkin' cool.

e) i only ever went to one school dance. it was for jenny clace's thirteenth birthday party in grade 7. it was a valentine's day dance. my friends spiked my bangs (it was 1991). i wish now that i had a picture.

f) today was justin friesen's birthday. he's 25. he was "the guy" that carly spoke about about a month ago. well, he wasn't actually "the guy" she spoke about, he was my counterpart.

g) i like dictionaries. i like words. like fondue, my favourite word to say.

h) i have this bad habit of remembering dates. but not really important dates. may 28, 2002, the day i flew to ontario last year. february 9, 2001, a day i thought i fell in love. september 5, 1998, the day i started Bible college. august 21, 1997, the day i started art school. june 22, 1996, my high school graduation. june 24, 1993, the day my cat slinky died in grade 8. june 1, 1994, the day my friends jessica and keith got their driver's liscences in grade 10. august 12, 1993, the first time i flew in an airplane. october 13, 1988, the day i started at a new school in fifth grade. will this come in handy some day? i sure hope so.

i) bh90210 was a stinkin' good show. at the time. i think i'd probably laugh if i watched it again.

j) i like saskatoons. they're a kind of berry. a city in saskatchewan was also named after them.

k) i also like wheatfields. they're one of the things i miss most about my summers off of the prairies.

l) i love wool sweaters. i have at least 30 (i used to have more, but i gave a bunch away at the end of the school year). if you want to get me a good gift, get me a rockin' cool wool sweater from your nearest thrift store. no one ever has.

m) i cook a mean stirfry. it's delicious. trust me. everyone says so. well, maybe not everyone, but everyone who's ever eaten it.

n) i love sewing. it's seriously one of the world's best relaxers. i also like scrapbooking, even though it's geeky.

o) i think the internet was one of the world's greatest inventions. ten times better than the phone. but of course, we originally needed the phone to get the internet.

p) my older sister's name is pamela. she always went by "pam" until she went to college and requested that everyone call her "pamela". my family still calls her "pam."

q) when i was a kid, i always wanted to meet the queen (of england). i still think it would be pretty neat.

r) resplendent is another good word i'm especially fond of. i would like to be thought of as resplendent some day.

s) i like dressing up once in awhile, but i wouldn't want to do it every day. by "dressing up," i mean the whole nine yards... the prom dress, the hair, the sparkles. but just once in awhile.

t) tinkerbell.

u) burnt umber. i always liked the name of that colour.

v) i love watercolours. i love opening a paintbox and smelling all the fresh colours waiting to be unleashed.

w) i should get off the internet.

x) in second grade i spilt grape juice on our classroom carpet and the stain was still there three years later. i wonder if it still is.

y) i like quik mix in my milk. not the liquidy stuff though, just the powder. i can't find a link for it, otherwise i would link it.

z) zed. it's pronounced "zed." not "zee". and don't get mad at me for that, i'm not the one who makes up the truth.

:)

your daily dose

i submit the following for your entertainment:

that the mosquitoes are out. I'M GOING TO GET WEST NILE. and, oh yeah, have you been watching the news? yes, that's right, there's more SARS in ontario. i'm flying to toronto on thursday. I'M GOING TO GET SARS. and, oh yeah, the mad cow, it lived like an hour from my house. i just had steak for supper. I'M GOING TO GET MAD COW DISEASE.

thank you for your time.
the management

lost & found

i found this info that i had written for a profile on the internet sometime last year or the year before and found it surprising:

a little bit about me:
I like to question things and I like people who take the time to evaluate the norm and decide for themselves whether or not the norm is really right.

favourite things:
the prairies, painting, friends, clear summer nights, autumn breezes, wool sweaters, the wind, wheatfields, apple blossoms, sunsets, flip flops, unexpected surprises, being loved, and the grace of God.

hobbies and interests:
I love eating those puffy little pink marshmallow strawberries that you can get in the bulk food section at grocery stores everywhere.

favourite quote:
"For our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:29

"The Lord your God is with thee, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephanaiah 3:17

attempt

this afternoon i am attempting to complete my last and final homework assignment. i say attempting however, because things are not going so well.

the assignment is to design a 4-page newsletter or build a webpage for parents for our fake youth group (for a class called "Programming Strategies for Effective Youth and Family Ministry"), and i thought i'd go the extra step and do the webpage. but... like i said, things aren't going so well. i'm using geocities, and their pagebuilder, which i really have not used before, and it's causing a big headache, although it looks better i'm sure than if i attempted to do the html myself. much snazzier.

if i ever get done, i'll post the link.

i don't need this

her: so you had a crush on him?

michelle: for yeeeeaaaars

her: serious?

michelle: of course i'm serious... you think i'd make this up?

michelle: that's not even funny.

her: maybe :P

her: LOL

michelle: ha ha

her: that's cute, he's a total quality guy

michelle: well...

michelle: yes

michelle: but nothing ever happened...

her: LOL

her: but it could

her: ;)

real world
where did their ambition go?

so i have been noticing lately, amongst my friends who are recent college graduates, that when you graduate, it's common to panic. after the move back home to save money (or because of a lack there of), it's common to have no idea what you're going to do with the rest of your life. it's common to all of a sudden think "hey, i have no employable skills."

isn't this the same thing we went through when we graduated from high school? only, i guess there was one big difference after high school... you could just go to college or university or whatever. you didn't have to know what you wanted to do with the rest of your life... you could just go and study something. you weren't expected to go out and make money and make a living and all that stuff, really.

that lovely safety cushion of college, that lovely buffer that could last at least four years (or more even)... in actuality is supposed to educate you and give you employable skills and hopefully some sort of an idea of a job that you can do.

but there seems to be some sort of a paradigm shift going on... post-secondary education isn't what it used to be. the number one goal of students isn't to get career skills any more... we're just expected to go to college. you pretty much have to. it's expected. it's respected. it's just something you do. it's like getting a driver's liscence, you don't not get one... and so, the majority of this year's grade 12 graduates will toddle off to post-secondary education in the fall.

but what happens in a year or four years, when they graduate? panic. no idea. "hey, i have no employable skills."

don't leave your ambition at the doorway the day you enter college. keep it with you. duct tape it to your backpack and carry it with you everywhere. and if you did leave it at the doorway, go back and pick it up. scrape it from the ground. work at it and knead it with your hands. you're going to need it again, trust me. that job you wanted before you started college is still out there somewhere, waiting for you.

attached sentiment

you know that feeling, that one you get, when you finally finally finally know for sure when a crush is over?

yeah, me neither.

There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound

upped the antie

is that how you would spell antie in this case? or is it aunty? or perhaps anty, auntie, or even antee? or anti?

anyways, what this post is actually about is the fact that i just spent forty-five minutes upping my filters on my two briercrest email accounts so i hopefully get less junk mail in my inbox and more junk mail in my trash box this summer. well, i don't actually want more junk mail, but i think you know what i mean. i just want it to filter better. and i don't want my incoming emails to max out my email account when i can't check it every day this summer.

why do these people think that i am going to be enticed to open their junk mail anyways? yesterday i got one from "mom" with the subject line "re: what greg was talking to me about on the weekend." i don't know any greg. my mom uses her real name. i didn't send my mom an email to reply to with that subject line.

i also will never ever open an email with a subject line like "iseeihhtk0ppgd kjkj" or "whateradiuid lekrjekrj". i don't speak that e-language.

congratulations!

you got blogspot to load properly! blogger has been having too many problems lately. i'm looking forward to them fixing themselves. (crosses fingers)