Well I am not back in the dating scene yet, but I am definitely making efforts. I am back on the dating website and J. and I have planned a few "single girls on the prowl" events for the next few weeks that should keep us amused at the very least!
I did meet with one prospect on Tuesday for lunch. We have been chatting via email for the past two weeks and decided to see if there was anything more. On initial meeting he was actually cuter that his photos had indicated (always a good thing!) and what I had thought was going to be an hour lunch max stretched into 3 hours, and I could quite seriously have sat and chatted longer. He was indeed good company, said all the right things, couldn't understand why I am still single (awww bless him!) and said my photos didn't do me justice (OK - who paid off this fella to boost my ego?) It was a great first meeting...except...and you know there is a "but" coming in here somewhere...there was no ZING for me. He hasn't said as much but I have noticed that since our meeting we haven't been emailing with quite the same enthusiasm and neither of us has made any suggestion of getting together again. I don't want to just "settle" like I did last time, and by the same token time waits for no man - or woman, so I am not going to wait around and wait for Mr Perfect (or Andy) to come knocking at my door.
In other news...
The Boy and his girlfriend just got back from their 2 day romantic getaway to Niagara Falls ...Le Cirque was fantastic apparently...and a mix up in the tickets meant they got bumped from $40 tickets to $70 ones - so needless to say they were thrilled.
I took advantage of his being away last night to try out a new Indian restaurant that just opened near me. Although the boy is slowly getting more adventurous in his tastes...he isn't quite ready for the wonders of tandoori I fear. Now I may be independant and have no issues doing a number of things alone (movies, outings etc), but eating alone in a restuarant still strikes me as a very sad thing to do - so I got it to go! Very nice, not quite as good as the Indian food I remember from back home - but not bad!
Today was back to work...4am came far far too early. Work was busy but I found it passed quickly. There was one call in particular that I felt the need to followup on. An elderly (80's) female called from Orange County, California, quite concerned for the welfare of her 70's sister who lives here. Apparently she hadn't been answering her phone in over two weeks, her health isn't great and frankly this poor woman was in tears on the phone, she was so concerned.
Normally I would have just thrown a "Check address" type call up on the dispatcher's screen and been done with it; but I recognised the sister's name - Beulah...and I remember having seen it recently when I was working the midnight shift - and noting the calltaker at that time had spelt it Bewla...which I thought was amusing. So I quickly put her on hold whilst I gave a colleague over at the ambulance department a call. There had been many calls to her apartment lately, a lot of calls for neighbours, even a few for Beulah herself, but nothing "recent" that we could find to explain why she wasn't answering her phone. Fearing the worst, I assured the sister in California that we would have an officer check on her sister and call her back with the results as soon as we could.
She was incredibly grateful but after I had let her go, it still bothered me. So I hopped on the line with ambulance again and we managed to figure out a reoccurring phone number from all the other calls to the building that seemed to come from a support worker. I gave the number a call and discovered Beulah lives in a supported housing apartment and a support worker checks in on her 3-4 times a day as her health isn't good. They had last checked on her this morning and she was alive and kicking! I gave the sister in California a call back with the good news and was able to pass along the support worker's phone number, so that she can call direct if there is ever a concern again in the future. She was so happy, crying with relief adding that it was her birthday, and this was the first time Beulah had not called to wish her a happy birthday.
The satisfaction I got in helping this woman is indescribable. I guess that's why I do the job I do.
On another happy note, as I was leaving for the day (I stayed behind to call Beulah's sister back) I was informed by our admin dept. that they had received an awards recommendation for me from the officers in 54 division for a teamwork award following a call for armed robberies back in June. I had been dispatching that day and matched up the descriptions of the suspects with a similar event several hours later in another part of the city. I called the detective office at the station to share my suspicions and sure enough they were able to connect the events resulting in the arrest of 2 young offenders and the recovery of a firearm.
To me it had just been another day - we do this kind of stuff all the time, but very rarely get any kind of recognition for it. In fact I had to read through the paperwork just to figure out what I was being commended on. I had no recollection of the event. They all just meld together into one after a while. Just another day "on the job". LOL What a day!!
Tonight I decided to celebrate and baked a chocolate cake covered in fresh strawberries and frosting. Yes, I am a wild party animal - I know!
July 3, 2006
Betrothed!
No, not me!
I got a phone call from Maybe in England yesterday. Despite the disaster of our meeting last year, and my subsequent broken heart, we have kept in touch. He quickly brought me up to date, telling me that he and his new girlfriend (of 2 months) have gotten engaged.
You could've knocked me down with a feather.
As I listened to him though, I started to wonder where his head - or for that matter his heart - is at. He said that they decided to get engaged on a whim. A case of "why not!"
I guess there was nothing on tv that night. [miaow]
He even admitted that they are still finding out about each other, still learning (not that learning about your partner in a relationship ever ends, I hasten to add). They figured they would get engaged...whilst they decided if they want to get married. Thankfully they have decided to hold off on any upcoming nuptials, until he is finally out of the army in the next 5 years and until her children are finished school. A lot can happen in 5-plus years.
This is his 3rd engagement - hopefully 3rd time will be a charm. I truly wish them well, although even the romantic in me is skeptical.
And me? Yes, there was a brief wave of wistful self-pity - but in truth I am soooooo over him!
[Yay!]
I got a phone call from Maybe in England yesterday. Despite the disaster of our meeting last year, and my subsequent broken heart, we have kept in touch. He quickly brought me up to date, telling me that he and his new girlfriend (of 2 months) have gotten engaged.
You could've knocked me down with a feather.
As I listened to him though, I started to wonder where his head - or for that matter his heart - is at. He said that they decided to get engaged on a whim. A case of "why not!"
I guess there was nothing on tv that night. [miaow]
He even admitted that they are still finding out about each other, still learning (not that learning about your partner in a relationship ever ends, I hasten to add). They figured they would get engaged...whilst they decided if they want to get married. Thankfully they have decided to hold off on any upcoming nuptials, until he is finally out of the army in the next 5 years and until her children are finished school. A lot can happen in 5-plus years.
This is his 3rd engagement - hopefully 3rd time will be a charm. I truly wish them well, although even the romantic in me is skeptical.
And me? Yes, there was a brief wave of wistful self-pity - but in truth I am soooooo over him!
[Yay!]
June 21, 2006
First day of summer
Well it's the official first day of summer and I am sat out on my patio enjoying the sunshine, the flowers and the last few days of my June holls. (I say June holls because I actually have another week off next month!)
The garden is starting to look lovely, the squirrels this year haven't been too bad - must have been all the bad press I gave them last year! Or perhaps it has something to do with the family of Blue Jays that is nesting nearby. Gorgeous looking birds, but very agressive and they tend to chase off all other critters nearby. Go Jays! lol I did however catch a baby racoon with his cute little furry face in my petunias the other night. I stood watching him for a good 5 minutes and he wasn't the least bit concerned about having an audience. The whole time I was mentally calculating if I had time to run upstairs for my camera - but hey another time, I am sure he will be back.
I have officially re-signed on to my old dating website ...writing a profile about oneself can be very daunting - especially if you happen to be typically British in the sense that we tend downplay all our positive characteristics and be somewhat self-effacing. To appear to be overly confident or self assured is not an attractive attribute at all but seen as being smug or too cock-sure of oneself. I am keeping my fingers crossed however that someone's interest may be piqued.
As far as old relationships go N. and I appear to have settled into a friendship - which is great! He called me on Monday to let me know he had gotten into an accident on his motorbike over the weekend and had been taken to hospital unconscious. He came off his motorbike on an on-ramp, so thankfully he wasn't going at his usual breakneck speeds, but he still ended up with a broken collar bone and bruised ribs. He says he doesn't remember a thing about the accident, and when he regained consciousness in the ambulance he couldn't even remember what day it was.
He then got a call Monday afternoon from the hospital saying he was to go directly to the nearest hospital - they had seen something on the x-rays that worried them. He spent the afternoon at the hospital being re-x-rayed and when that showed nothing they did a CT scan. Apparently they were worried about possible spinal injuries. The results however are good and he is stocked with pain killers and has to go back to the hospital for a check-up in two weeks. We got together for coffee last night and he really is in bad shape painwise. Businesswise as well this couldn't have come at a worse time as summer is usually their busiest time at the garage. His partner is now having to shoulder all of the work alone and N. is standing by handing over tools etc. It must be very frustrating for him.
The rest of my week looks to at least be a little more interesting. Tomorrow night I am off to a retirement "do" for a colleague from work, Friday I have plans to go see "Click" (probably solo again - although the boy has shown interest in joining me), and Saturday I am going to drive out to Courtice for their Highland Games. I haven't been to a Highland Games in a long, long time, and it is always a fantastic opportunity to get my sticky paws on all that over-priced British merchandise! I will take the camera and hopefully get some nice photos of men in kilts :)
The garden is starting to look lovely, the squirrels this year haven't been too bad - must have been all the bad press I gave them last year! Or perhaps it has something to do with the family of Blue Jays that is nesting nearby. Gorgeous looking birds, but very agressive and they tend to chase off all other critters nearby. Go Jays! lol I did however catch a baby racoon with his cute little furry face in my petunias the other night. I stood watching him for a good 5 minutes and he wasn't the least bit concerned about having an audience. The whole time I was mentally calculating if I had time to run upstairs for my camera - but hey another time, I am sure he will be back.
I have officially re-signed on to my old dating website ...writing a profile about oneself can be very daunting - especially if you happen to be typically British in the sense that we tend downplay all our positive characteristics and be somewhat self-effacing. To appear to be overly confident or self assured is not an attractive attribute at all but seen as being smug or too cock-sure of oneself. I am keeping my fingers crossed however that someone's interest may be piqued.
As far as old relationships go N. and I appear to have settled into a friendship - which is great! He called me on Monday to let me know he had gotten into an accident on his motorbike over the weekend and had been taken to hospital unconscious. He came off his motorbike on an on-ramp, so thankfully he wasn't going at his usual breakneck speeds, but he still ended up with a broken collar bone and bruised ribs. He says he doesn't remember a thing about the accident, and when he regained consciousness in the ambulance he couldn't even remember what day it was.
He then got a call Monday afternoon from the hospital saying he was to go directly to the nearest hospital - they had seen something on the x-rays that worried them. He spent the afternoon at the hospital being re-x-rayed and when that showed nothing they did a CT scan. Apparently they were worried about possible spinal injuries. The results however are good and he is stocked with pain killers and has to go back to the hospital for a check-up in two weeks. We got together for coffee last night and he really is in bad shape painwise. Businesswise as well this couldn't have come at a worse time as summer is usually their busiest time at the garage. His partner is now having to shoulder all of the work alone and N. is standing by handing over tools etc. It must be very frustrating for him.
The rest of my week looks to at least be a little more interesting. Tomorrow night I am off to a retirement "do" for a colleague from work, Friday I have plans to go see "Click" (probably solo again - although the boy has shown interest in joining me), and Saturday I am going to drive out to Courtice for their Highland Games. I haven't been to a Highland Games in a long, long time, and it is always a fantastic opportunity to get my sticky paws on all that over-priced British merchandise! I will take the camera and hopefully get some nice photos of men in kilts :)
June 14, 2006
Holls so far...
Well my holls so far have been wonderful. Relaxing, restful and therapeutic - just what the doctor ordered!
Or just what the dentist ordered at any rate...I was in to see my dishy dentist yesterday for my bi-annual check-up. I think I have had a crush on this guy for at least the last 6 years. It's one of those silent adoration from a-far type silly school-girl crushes. He checks my teeth, smiles seductively, invariably asks a personal question that leaves me stumbling for an answer - and he's gone onto his next patient. Sadly great genetics and good oral hygiene mean's I wont see him again for another 6 months for my next check up. Sigh. ["Look mom! No cavities!"]
Today was a couple of firsts - my first hair dye, and my first solo trip to the movies. I decided I had referred to my strands of grey as my "natural highlights" for far too long and took the Lady Clairol plunge. Well, L'Oreal to be precise - copper blonde - which ironically isn't blonde at all - but seems to match my natural red to a tea. My hat's off to the drug store cosmetician who recommended both the brand and the shade. The grey is gone, which is wonderful - but I miss the natural tint of my hair - this new "all over shade" seems flat. The irony to all this is I have hated my hair colour for as long as I can remember. Growing up a gingernut in the UK was not the kindest - for some reason it really is a colour you either love or hate. If I had a dollar however for every hairdresser and well-meaning family members that oooed and ahhhed over my natural hair colour and told me about people who paid a fortune to have my colour I wouldn't have any issues over downpayments! I always replied that they obviously had more money than sense and swore that I would never be a "dyed redhead". Goes to show you shouldn't use the word "never" lightly.
My first solo movie originally was going to be a mother and son night - but I assured the boy that I would be just fine going alone - and I am sure he was secretly relieved to stay home for a WoW Guild raid evening. I am touched that he was willing to come with me - he makes me so proud at what a wonderful young person he has become. His thoughtfulness touches me daily. In fact the whole way he responded when N. and I broke up just made me feel so loved and cared for. He's a great boy - correction - a great young man.
The movie I saw? The Da Vinci Code. I read the book earlier this year and I have to say I really think both Ron Howard and Tom Hanks did a fantastic job. Religious arguments aside.
The book I am reading right now? Dr. Phil's "Love Smart" - I know my Mr. Zing is out there somewhere, and I intend on finding him. Preferably before my next checkup with Dr. Wonderful - before I have to touch up my roots however may be pushing it a bit!
Or just what the dentist ordered at any rate...I was in to see my dishy dentist yesterday for my bi-annual check-up. I think I have had a crush on this guy for at least the last 6 years. It's one of those silent adoration from a-far type silly school-girl crushes. He checks my teeth, smiles seductively, invariably asks a personal question that leaves me stumbling for an answer - and he's gone onto his next patient. Sadly great genetics and good oral hygiene mean's I wont see him again for another 6 months for my next check up. Sigh. ["Look mom! No cavities!"]
Today was a couple of firsts - my first hair dye, and my first solo trip to the movies. I decided I had referred to my strands of grey as my "natural highlights" for far too long and took the Lady Clairol plunge. Well, L'Oreal to be precise - copper blonde - which ironically isn't blonde at all - but seems to match my natural red to a tea. My hat's off to the drug store cosmetician who recommended both the brand and the shade. The grey is gone, which is wonderful - but I miss the natural tint of my hair - this new "all over shade" seems flat. The irony to all this is I have hated my hair colour for as long as I can remember. Growing up a gingernut in the UK was not the kindest - for some reason it really is a colour you either love or hate. If I had a dollar however for every hairdresser and well-meaning family members that oooed and ahhhed over my natural hair colour and told me about people who paid a fortune to have my colour I wouldn't have any issues over downpayments! I always replied that they obviously had more money than sense and swore that I would never be a "dyed redhead". Goes to show you shouldn't use the word "never" lightly.
My first solo movie originally was going to be a mother and son night - but I assured the boy that I would be just fine going alone - and I am sure he was secretly relieved to stay home for a WoW Guild raid evening. I am touched that he was willing to come with me - he makes me so proud at what a wonderful young person he has become. His thoughtfulness touches me daily. In fact the whole way he responded when N. and I broke up just made me feel so loved and cared for. He's a great boy - correction - a great young man.
The movie I saw? The Da Vinci Code. I read the book earlier this year and I have to say I really think both Ron Howard and Tom Hanks did a fantastic job. Religious arguments aside.
The book I am reading right now? Dr. Phil's "Love Smart" - I know my Mr. Zing is out there somewhere, and I intend on finding him. Preferably before my next checkup with Dr. Wonderful - before I have to touch up my roots however may be pushing it a bit!
June 10, 2006
This week...
It's been a full week - and every time I tried to log onto Blogger this week I got an error message as the service was down, so this post will be a weekly round up.
Wednesday and Thursday I was on a diversity course at our local police college. It was an interesting couple of days. We had guest lecturers from various sectors of our community and we basically covered everything from race/religious biases to gay/lesbian/transexual issues.
It was during the demographics lecture that I realised how much the "average family" has changed in the last 60 years. Nearly everyone in our class came from large families, with at least 3 or 4 siblings - one lady even told us she was from a family of 11 ...and married to a man who was from a family of 18 (good Catholics!). Today however not too many people have more than 2 kids - IF they have kids at all! What that birthrate has done to our population - and what the effects of that birthrate will have on us in the future is a real eyeopener.
Thursday was also my last day at work before my holidays - originally N. and I had planned on taking a road trip out to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, hitting the road right after work and driving through the night. Obviously those plans changed recently. It was still N.'s birthday however, so I offered to take him out to dinner. All things considered we had a great evening. It's refreshing to see we can be friends. It was obvious that he doesn't have any ideas of us getting back together again and he made a couple of pointed comments to that end. That's cool - I miss certain things about him, but I don't miss having him in my life if that make's sense. I am ready to move on - "Next!"
Friday was the first official day of my holls. I am now looking at 16 days off and no plans whatsoever. There are a few movies playing that I plan to head along to, a little gardening perhaps - but other than that nadda. I will become a lady of leisure! The boy and his girlfriend even telephoned me mid-afternoon telling me not to cook dinner - they wanted to take me out. Wow! Dinner out two nights in a row? I am gonna be eating celery sticks for the rest of the month at this rate!
Friday night J. had told me about a new singles dance out in Oshawa - so I met up with her and two other girlfriends and we spent the evening at what must be the worst singles dance this side of Timbuktoo. Aside from the meager turnout and abysmal male/female ratio, the DJ was awful and the crowd definitely too old for my tastes. At least when I am 50 and still doing the single circuit (heaven forbid) I will know where to go for a night out of dancing. Now there's a depressing thought.
No fear - our regular Saturday night singles dance is tonight, and that should more than make up for the disappointments of Friday night...well that was my thinking at least, until I came down with a killer headache this afternoon. I ended up having to bow out of the festivities tonight - even though I am feeling 100% better, the thought of loud music and flashing lights doesn't exactly rock my world tonight.
Instead I stayed home with the boy and his girlfriend and we had a wonderful barbecue meal together - with lots of fresh colourful salads, corn, baked potatoes. OK I admit I am not going to meet Mr Wonderful hiding at home with the kids - but on reflection I wasn't exactly meeting him at the dances either. I need to rethink my strategy - assuming of course that I have a strategy - which it seems I don't.
On the plus side though I did do something positive for the environment today. Our local utility was holding an event out at a local DIY store, turn in an old A/C unit and get $25. They recycle the parts - heck of a lot better than just throwing it into some landfill somewhere. A win-win situation.
And I am $25 richer.
Wednesday and Thursday I was on a diversity course at our local police college. It was an interesting couple of days. We had guest lecturers from various sectors of our community and we basically covered everything from race/religious biases to gay/lesbian/transexual issues.
It was during the demographics lecture that I realised how much the "average family" has changed in the last 60 years. Nearly everyone in our class came from large families, with at least 3 or 4 siblings - one lady even told us she was from a family of 11 ...and married to a man who was from a family of 18 (good Catholics!). Today however not too many people have more than 2 kids - IF they have kids at all! What that birthrate has done to our population - and what the effects of that birthrate will have on us in the future is a real eyeopener.
Thursday was also my last day at work before my holidays - originally N. and I had planned on taking a road trip out to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, hitting the road right after work and driving through the night. Obviously those plans changed recently. It was still N.'s birthday however, so I offered to take him out to dinner. All things considered we had a great evening. It's refreshing to see we can be friends. It was obvious that he doesn't have any ideas of us getting back together again and he made a couple of pointed comments to that end. That's cool - I miss certain things about him, but I don't miss having him in my life if that make's sense. I am ready to move on - "Next!"
Friday was the first official day of my holls. I am now looking at 16 days off and no plans whatsoever. There are a few movies playing that I plan to head along to, a little gardening perhaps - but other than that nadda. I will become a lady of leisure! The boy and his girlfriend even telephoned me mid-afternoon telling me not to cook dinner - they wanted to take me out. Wow! Dinner out two nights in a row? I am gonna be eating celery sticks for the rest of the month at this rate!
Friday night J. had told me about a new singles dance out in Oshawa - so I met up with her and two other girlfriends and we spent the evening at what must be the worst singles dance this side of Timbuktoo. Aside from the meager turnout and abysmal male/female ratio, the DJ was awful and the crowd definitely too old for my tastes. At least when I am 50 and still doing the single circuit (heaven forbid) I will know where to go for a night out of dancing. Now there's a depressing thought.
No fear - our regular Saturday night singles dance is tonight, and that should more than make up for the disappointments of Friday night...well that was my thinking at least, until I came down with a killer headache this afternoon. I ended up having to bow out of the festivities tonight - even though I am feeling 100% better, the thought of loud music and flashing lights doesn't exactly rock my world tonight.
Instead I stayed home with the boy and his girlfriend and we had a wonderful barbecue meal together - with lots of fresh colourful salads, corn, baked potatoes. OK I admit I am not going to meet Mr Wonderful hiding at home with the kids - but on reflection I wasn't exactly meeting him at the dances either. I need to rethink my strategy - assuming of course that I have a strategy - which it seems I don't.
On the plus side though I did do something positive for the environment today. Our local utility was holding an event out at a local DIY store, turn in an old A/C unit and get $25. They recycle the parts - heck of a lot better than just throwing it into some landfill somewhere. A win-win situation.
And I am $25 richer.
June 6, 2006
The Mark of the Beast
I think most people of my generation associate "666" with the Hollywood movie trilogy of "The Omen." I remember first seeing the movie back in the very early 80's and being both totally intrigued - and at the same time totally terrified.
Here was a movie, that played on the rituals and superstitions of the Catholic Church - which has become a life long interest for me, as a non-Catholic. And in addition it ingrained an absolute fear of chanting monks. Nothing sets the goosebumps running down the length of my arm like the atmospheric chanting from all three Omen movies.
I think the one thing that appealed to us with the Omen films was that deep within our Christian hearts, this was something that could really happen. Many of us went straight from the movie theatre and straight to our family bibles to look up the references of the Beast and his mark in Revelations. Hollywood had created something that was far more believable and terrifying than zombie flesh eaters or aliens attacking.
Ironically a remake of the movie is being released today. The release date coinciding with the only time in the next 100 years that the date will be 06.06.06. Somehow I think the movie will be just a trashy remake of what was a classic cult horror movie in 1976 with Gregory Peck. Just Hollywood cashing in on the date.
Needless to say I will venture in the dark shadows of the theatre, clutching my popcorn, hoping to be proven wrong. (And hoping not to bump into any monks on my way home).
Here was a movie, that played on the rituals and superstitions of the Catholic Church - which has become a life long interest for me, as a non-Catholic. And in addition it ingrained an absolute fear of chanting monks. Nothing sets the goosebumps running down the length of my arm like the atmospheric chanting from all three Omen movies.
I think the one thing that appealed to us with the Omen films was that deep within our Christian hearts, this was something that could really happen. Many of us went straight from the movie theatre and straight to our family bibles to look up the references of the Beast and his mark in Revelations. Hollywood had created something that was far more believable and terrifying than zombie flesh eaters or aliens attacking.
Ironically a remake of the movie is being released today. The release date coinciding with the only time in the next 100 years that the date will be 06.06.06. Somehow I think the movie will be just a trashy remake of what was a classic cult horror movie in 1976 with Gregory Peck. Just Hollywood cashing in on the date.
Needless to say I will venture in the dark shadows of the theatre, clutching my popcorn, hoping to be proven wrong. (And hoping not to bump into any monks on my way home).
June 5, 2006
Message to the heavens...
Happy 72nd Birthday
Doreen Green (nee Pritchard)
June 5th 1934 - December 31st 1983
I miss you.
I love you.
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