Do you remember the vanishing stairs in the Harry Potter books? If you do not, I strongly suggest re-reading book 4, The Goblet of Fire, where the vanishing step plays an important part because Harry gets stuck in it, under his invisibility cloak, while several professors pass by... (believe it or not, I have not read this book in 2 years and can remember every detail of it...). Well, this is not the type of "vanishing stairs" I wish to talk about.
I was instead referring to the staircase outside my apartment door. As I came back from work this evening, the stairs were just GONE! I kid you not. I stood there, standing about six or seven feet beneath the door of my home, looking up at it; musing about how the post-man will be able to place the mail in the little mailbox now affixed ten feet away from the ground.
I called up my roommate and told her that the stairs were gone. She thought I was joking. Despite her being at home all day, she had never noticed that someone had started rennovating the stairs outside. I could not believe it! Thank God they nailed a thick board in front of the door to keep us from opening it... otherwise, I fear my dear roommate would have just walked out and plummeted a few feet! That would have hurt.
Now, I am not really surprised, as our outdoor staircase was really rusty and sketchy and needed urgent replacing. I just wish I had had a little bit of forewarning. It did a bit of a double-take and having to climb up the creepy staircase leading to my apartment's backdoor was not amusing... not in the dark, at least.
In other news, I had the dumbest passenger ever walk up to me today. I still cannot believe the question I was asked. Many passengers will ask you very obvious questions... but this one...!
Feel free to judge for yourselves:
"So, tell me... West Jet and Air France... It's the same thing, right?"
...
EXCUSE ME?! How in the world did you come to THAT conclusion!! They do not even service the same country!! They do not even sound similar!! I was a little too shocked to answer. When I finally came back to my senses, I asked her to clarify. When she just repeated the same question, I sent her to the information counter of the airport. I feel sorry for the people working there - but that woman just broke my brain too much...
I also got some chocolate from Russians, who just gave me chocolate as a thank you gift for checking them in... I was rather flattered. And I also got a huge bottle of Appleton Estate Rum (my favourite!) from a passenger who could not pass security with it. Surprisingly, the woman was disappointed, but not angry. She did not even argue! She just said I could have it! Usually, they argue forever before they hand over their liquids/alcohol. She did not make a fuss at all. I was really grateful for that. I do feel bad though, because all these people are buying duty-free in one country, and then, in the next country, when they are passing security, they cannot go through with the merchandise... Stupid system! And this is not the airlines' fault! This is a decision the airports have taken... *sigh* Poor passengers!
In yet some other news, I am reading an AMAZING book about writing fantasy novels. It does not so much tell you HOW to write, so much as give you tips on what to remember and what to look for if you intend to get published. However, despite not being a novel, it is very handsomely written; every page is filled with great wit and it makes me laugh a great deal. Here is my favourite quote from it; it is from the chapter on "Ideas" and where said ideas come from:
Go ahead and ask me the dumbest question a writer can be asked:
"DUHH, WHERE D'YA GETCHER IDEAS?"
My answer is always the same - since there is no answer to this query. At least, neither Plato nor Socrates nor Shakespeare could make the codification. When some jamook asks me this one (thereby revealing him/herself to be a person who has about as much imaginative muscle as a head of lettuce) I always smile prettily and answer, "Schenectady."
And when the jamook looks at me quizzically, and scratches head with hairy hand, I add: "Oh, sure. There's a swell Idea Service in Schenectady; and every week I send 'em twenty-five bucks; and every week they send me a fresh six-pak of ideas."
And wouldja believe it... there is always some insufficient asshole who asks me for the address.
- Harlan Ellison
Great quote, is it not? ^_^ It reminds me of high-school and the dim-wittedness of some of the students. I remember when the teacher would ask us to write a short-story for class and some would react saying: "what, we have to come up with an idea?"... I cannot believe how many unimmaginative people are out there. It makes me despair for the state of the world. *sigh*
But this book has made me want to pick up writing again. Who knows, maybe I will finally finish a novel!!
As for the cosplay... it is advancing well, but slowly. I am so tired at the end of a day at work that I am having trouble sewing more than a bit at a time. Tonight, I completed the bustle and the right sleeve. Tomorrow I will attack the left sleeve. And then I will have the hood left to sew. Hopefully, I will not hit any snags and then the cosplay will be finished. If so, then I am done on Monday!! (I am praying that this will happen!)
And, before I leave for bed, I want to say that, for some odd reason, it is much easier to be without Michael this summer than the last. I do not feel as desperate or as distraught. Yes, I feel a little sad and a little lonely, but since the day he has left, it is not nearly as bad. Perhaps it is because work tires me out. If you are reading this, Michael, my love, then do not think I am not missing you! I miss you dearly! And I love you very much! I am just not crying every night anymore... like I used to last year. It is very hard to fall asleep though... it feels odd without you... *pout* I miss you!! Also, Michael called me first thing in the morning when he got to Vienna. Unfortunately, I have not heard from him at all since. I am getting a little frustrated by that... I want to hear from him!
Anyways - hoping Michael reads this: many hugs and kisses, and I am thinking of you.
To my other readers: I am thinking of you too, though in a very different manner!
Goodnight!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
In which Michael has gone abroad...
I must warn you - there is nothing cheerful in this post.
I have always found writing relieving. It is somehow soothing for me. So here I am... blogging. I should totally be writing a story, but I have absolutely no inspiration.
Michael has gone. I went with him to see him off at the airport. Of course, I was thoroughly overdressed, as I do best. I hope he will remember how I looked (other than ridiculously overdressed) in the dress that he prefers on me. I actually intrigued most of my colleagues, who were surprised at how formally dressed I was just to see someone off. One of my colleagues called me a "heart-breaker".
Michael's flight for Vienna left at 8:45 pm. I glimpsed him last at the security lines of my workplace, the airport. That was five hours ago now... And I already miss him. I miss him a lot! I know this sounds extremely cheesy. However, I have been living with Michael for a full year now. In three days, our old lease will be up. And this means that, for a full year, Michael and I have been inseparable. Michael and I were like bread and butter, like coca- and cola. I am finding it extremely difficult to picture Michael not being home when I come back from work, greeting me with his gorgeous, enthusiastic and loving smile, loudly clamouring: "hello lovey-love!" (he says that when I enter the house after a long day of work). I will also miss his cooking a great deal! (lol) All those little things he did to make me happy will be dearly missed!
I do not know how I will be able to find sleep. I am so used to having Michael sleep at my side since we have been together. I am used to his warmth beside me, used to him holding me and used to his calm breathing lulling me to sleep. Tonight is going to be very difficult for me...
However, I have followed Michael's advice and gone out with a friend after Michael left, in order to relieve my mind of the sorrow of his departure. I went to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice... it was very entertaining, but I went to see it with a friend from work who is soon moving to Toronto. Another person to leave. It does make me very sad.
Do not get me wrong. I am very happy for Michael. I am deliriously happy that Michael has managed to succeed at getting a lead role in an Opera Programme in Germany! He will be in the most beautiful country in the world and gaining most valuable experience as a singer! I am very excited and happy for his success! What makes me sad is that I cannot be by his side. I wish I could have tagged along. I wish we could have done like the whole past year and just go everywhere and do everything together... *sigh*
The sewing hands have come to a standstill right now. Lately, because the deadline of the Otakuthon was fast approaching, I have been spending every spare minute that was not spent with Michael sewing my massive out of proportion cosplay. This is why I have been blogging so little. I have either been sewing or spending every last moment I could with Michael. I have found myself unable to sew at all tonight. Like writing, I find myself with no inspiration for sewing.
On either side of me are flowers that Michael has given me. Last night, he met me after work, giving me a single, gorgeous red rose. It is standing on my beside table, looking beautiful and fragrant, reminding me of him and his gentle love for me. On his beside table, I have placed another bouquet of flowers. These flowers are bright and the colours of summer and sunlight. Michael came home from some errands this morning, offering me these amazing flowers as a "goodbye present". They are beautiful... but they make it difficult for me not to cry right now...
It is exceedingly quiet except for my typing at the moment. The apartment lies empty of all life, except for myself and maybe another stray mouse. My roommate is out at a party tonight. As I sit here typing, for some weird and inexplicable reason, a song that I have not heard in ten years comes back to mind. It was called something along the lines of "So Weit Weit Weg" ("So Far Far Away") and I believe it was an Austrian singer who performed it. I remember my mother having this song on a cassette when I was little... she would listen to it in her car and tears would well up in her eyes when she listened to that song, while my step-father, the love of her life, was abroad in Germany, like Michael is now...
Darn it! Why can I only think of sad songs??? Michael better be writing to me, because I will be writing to him! And I will wring his wonderful neck if he does not write to me! (did you read this, my love? I am serious!) *sigh*
I think I will fall asleep looking at the flowers and holding Theophilius, the little black vinyl piggy Michael and I purchased (it is just an insanely cute stuffy)... Michael declared Theo as my guard-piggy... he is to protect me of other men who may have lecherous intentions towards me, lol. I love that Michael understands my love of stuffed animals and enjoys "interacting" with them too... I will miss that a lot.
In other news, since I have to let everyone catch up... I have a stupid summer cold! A summer cold that no ammount of vitamin C seems to be able to cure! I blame both the airport air conditionning and the passengers who have a cold and do not bother keeping their germs from spreading everywhere. I am tired of my inability to breathe!
Also, I have been to see Inception recently with Michael and some friends, and the movie was awesome! I strongly advise it to anyone who is free to go to the theaters sometime soon. Despite the movie's goodness, though, I was still able to predict the ending... I sometimes detest those Oracle abilities of mine; they ruin the best of movies! I have also been to see The Last Airbender (originally named Avatar until James Cameron ruined the title with an abomination of a movie!)
Okay, so the acting in Airbender SUCKED. They chose dreadful actors! But, for the first time ever, they actually stayed true to the original series. I was very pleasantly surprised. Sure, they rushed through some bits of it, but, overall, good job at the script writing. It caused me to re-watch the whole Avatar anime series with Michael over the past few weeks. The movie was very entertaining and the costumes and film settings were great.
I also had a photoshoot. I will post some photos soon. I have another one in a few weeks as well. I promise photos of that too.
And now, dear readers, I will try to distract myself with a movie or something. Writing no longer suffices to quell my sorrow. Michael's flight will be landing in Vienna in a few hours. After that, he has a long train ride to his destination, Weimar, in Germany. I do hope his trip goes well and that he travels safely and arrives soundly. I hope to hear from him then.
Goodnight. I am counting on a few friendly readers to keep my morale up for the coming month! Thanks all!
I have always found writing relieving. It is somehow soothing for me. So here I am... blogging. I should totally be writing a story, but I have absolutely no inspiration.
Michael has gone. I went with him to see him off at the airport. Of course, I was thoroughly overdressed, as I do best. I hope he will remember how I looked (other than ridiculously overdressed) in the dress that he prefers on me. I actually intrigued most of my colleagues, who were surprised at how formally dressed I was just to see someone off. One of my colleagues called me a "heart-breaker".
Michael's flight for Vienna left at 8:45 pm. I glimpsed him last at the security lines of my workplace, the airport. That was five hours ago now... And I already miss him. I miss him a lot! I know this sounds extremely cheesy. However, I have been living with Michael for a full year now. In three days, our old lease will be up. And this means that, for a full year, Michael and I have been inseparable. Michael and I were like bread and butter, like coca- and cola. I am finding it extremely difficult to picture Michael not being home when I come back from work, greeting me with his gorgeous, enthusiastic and loving smile, loudly clamouring: "hello lovey-love!" (he says that when I enter the house after a long day of work). I will also miss his cooking a great deal! (lol) All those little things he did to make me happy will be dearly missed!
I do not know how I will be able to find sleep. I am so used to having Michael sleep at my side since we have been together. I am used to his warmth beside me, used to him holding me and used to his calm breathing lulling me to sleep. Tonight is going to be very difficult for me...
However, I have followed Michael's advice and gone out with a friend after Michael left, in order to relieve my mind of the sorrow of his departure. I went to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice... it was very entertaining, but I went to see it with a friend from work who is soon moving to Toronto. Another person to leave. It does make me very sad.
Do not get me wrong. I am very happy for Michael. I am deliriously happy that Michael has managed to succeed at getting a lead role in an Opera Programme in Germany! He will be in the most beautiful country in the world and gaining most valuable experience as a singer! I am very excited and happy for his success! What makes me sad is that I cannot be by his side. I wish I could have tagged along. I wish we could have done like the whole past year and just go everywhere and do everything together... *sigh*
The sewing hands have come to a standstill right now. Lately, because the deadline of the Otakuthon was fast approaching, I have been spending every spare minute that was not spent with Michael sewing my massive out of proportion cosplay. This is why I have been blogging so little. I have either been sewing or spending every last moment I could with Michael. I have found myself unable to sew at all tonight. Like writing, I find myself with no inspiration for sewing.
On either side of me are flowers that Michael has given me. Last night, he met me after work, giving me a single, gorgeous red rose. It is standing on my beside table, looking beautiful and fragrant, reminding me of him and his gentle love for me. On his beside table, I have placed another bouquet of flowers. These flowers are bright and the colours of summer and sunlight. Michael came home from some errands this morning, offering me these amazing flowers as a "goodbye present". They are beautiful... but they make it difficult for me not to cry right now...
It is exceedingly quiet except for my typing at the moment. The apartment lies empty of all life, except for myself and maybe another stray mouse. My roommate is out at a party tonight. As I sit here typing, for some weird and inexplicable reason, a song that I have not heard in ten years comes back to mind. It was called something along the lines of "So Weit Weit Weg" ("So Far Far Away") and I believe it was an Austrian singer who performed it. I remember my mother having this song on a cassette when I was little... she would listen to it in her car and tears would well up in her eyes when she listened to that song, while my step-father, the love of her life, was abroad in Germany, like Michael is now...
Darn it! Why can I only think of sad songs??? Michael better be writing to me, because I will be writing to him! And I will wring his wonderful neck if he does not write to me! (did you read this, my love? I am serious!) *sigh*
I think I will fall asleep looking at the flowers and holding Theophilius, the little black vinyl piggy Michael and I purchased (it is just an insanely cute stuffy)... Michael declared Theo as my guard-piggy... he is to protect me of other men who may have lecherous intentions towards me, lol. I love that Michael understands my love of stuffed animals and enjoys "interacting" with them too... I will miss that a lot.
In other news, since I have to let everyone catch up... I have a stupid summer cold! A summer cold that no ammount of vitamin C seems to be able to cure! I blame both the airport air conditionning and the passengers who have a cold and do not bother keeping their germs from spreading everywhere. I am tired of my inability to breathe!
Also, I have been to see Inception recently with Michael and some friends, and the movie was awesome! I strongly advise it to anyone who is free to go to the theaters sometime soon. Despite the movie's goodness, though, I was still able to predict the ending... I sometimes detest those Oracle abilities of mine; they ruin the best of movies! I have also been to see The Last Airbender (originally named Avatar until James Cameron ruined the title with an abomination of a movie!)
Okay, so the acting in Airbender SUCKED. They chose dreadful actors! But, for the first time ever, they actually stayed true to the original series. I was very pleasantly surprised. Sure, they rushed through some bits of it, but, overall, good job at the script writing. It caused me to re-watch the whole Avatar anime series with Michael over the past few weeks. The movie was very entertaining and the costumes and film settings were great.
I also had a photoshoot. I will post some photos soon. I have another one in a few weeks as well. I promise photos of that too.
And now, dear readers, I will try to distract myself with a movie or something. Writing no longer suffices to quell my sorrow. Michael's flight will be landing in Vienna in a few hours. After that, he has a long train ride to his destination, Weimar, in Germany. I do hope his trip goes well and that he travels safely and arrives soundly. I hope to hear from him then.
Goodnight. I am counting on a few friendly readers to keep my morale up for the coming month! Thanks all!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
In which a blogger realizes all her posts start the same way
Indeed, I have been re-reading my posts and I have come to realize that they all begin with apologies for not blogging in a while. In all honesty, I was going to apologize for not blogging this time around too (I wanted to say that the reason why I was not blogging lately is that I melted as soon as I touched my laptop: the thing gets really hot, and in the sweltering heat we have had this past week, I did not feel like going anywhere near it!). But I will spare you another apology. Or at least apologize for apologizing all the time - lol. No, but really: I am a very apologetic person by nature. I would apologize for the death of someone's dog even if I just met the person and their dog died three years ago!! But I guess that this can also be regarded as compassion... and people like me because I am compassionate... right?
Okay - that was random.
Now to the real post.
So, Air Canada has given me a wonderful start-of-work gift. A stye in my left eye!!! I am going completely nuts with it!! It is itching and makes me look like I got beaten up and it is driving me insane!!! Why do I know it is a gift from work at the airport? Because other employees told me that their career started the same... with styes!!! This is what happens when you are touching hundreds of passports a day and you do not know where people have been keeping them. Then you inadvertently rub your eye and BAM! you are caught with a stye. Now, people say the solution is proper hygiene. However, I doubt I can do more than I already do. I have a HUGE bottle of hand-sanitizer in my purse with me, which I apply about once an hour while at work. Then, every time I get the chance to do it, I go wash my hands with soap and water... how much more am I supposed to do to avoid styes??? Wash my hands after every passenger?!?! I am sure passengers would appreciate that... NOT! They would probably think I thought their hands were dirty!!!.............. *grumble grumble grumble grumble*
In other news, I promised some good gossip about passengers. So here it goes!
1) On Monday, a complete ... uhm... not-very-smart woman (to say it politely) came to my counter. She had already checked in her luggage, but she had been sent back to us by security. Why?
Because she had a freakin' BLENDER in her carry-on luggage!!!
She pulled the blender blade out of her purse: a very sharp, serrated brand-new set of blades. She was waving it in my face and saying that "the security guy" sent her back because these blades seemed to be a problem. A senior agent and I looked at her incredulously. She, I am not kidding, said that she did not understand what the problem was with those blender blades! To answer her dumb question, the other agent asked her whether it would be possible to cut someone's throat with the blades. She said she did not know!!! Did she leave her brain in her checked luggage??? Anyways, she could not grasp why she could not take the blender blades with her and she did not want to throw them out "because it is a brand-new 70$ blender", and so we provided a small box and added the boxed blender blades as a piece of luggage, checking it in... I still cannot believe she was that thick though.
2) This one is rather cute. I was sitting beside a girl at the check-in counter. This girl is a summer-temp, like myself. However, she is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous! Someone in her family is black (I do not know whether it is the mother or the father) so she is dark-skinned, and she is wonderfully tall and really slender (she used to play basketball). She looks stunning! Anyways, a lacrosse player comes up to her counter. HOT guy, I tell you! Not at all my type (blonde and blue-eyed... yiech!), but very well built - so much so, I would have appreciated it if he had removed his shirt, lol. Anyways, he got to my colleague's counter and, for a moment, they just stared at each other, completely speechless, with ridiculous smiles on their faces. It was really cute how speechless they both were about each other. I could not help but giggle a little. Eventually, my colleague snapped out of it and asked for the lacrosse player's passport. He just smiled and nodded and did nothing. She had to ask him twice more before he realized what she had said and handed over the passport, still smiling. She checked him in and even remembered his name. Unfortunately, she forgot to write her name and phone number at the back of the boarding pass. But when it was time for her break, she went specially to the bathrooms on the other side of security to see him again. She told me he waved at her. Sweet, no?
3) This one is really unbelievable and probably very frustrating for most passengers. A lady storms to our counter, with her 10-year-old daughter, and basically yells that security has sent her back. It is important for the reader to note that it was 7:50 p.m. at this point. When asked why she was sent back, the lady soon revealed that she had a liter of extra-virgin olive-oil in her carry-on. Like blender-lady, she did not want to get rid of it. We asked her where she was flying to and when she had checked in. Apparently, she had checked in two hours prior, but her flight was leaving at 7:55. And here she was, arguing that she wanted to keep that olive-oil "or the whole trip will have been for nothing!" She also said that the olive-oil was for her uncle's vineyard (how is a vineyard linked to olive-oil????). Anyways, time was passing, and soon 7:55 came and she and her daughter were the only two passengers missing on the flight. This caused some panic, as baggage handlers had started pulling her checked bags from the aircraft and the lady insisted that she wanted to get on the flight, but that she did not want to get rid of the olive-oil. In the end, even the 10-year-old daughter got exasperated: "Mom! Just throw it out already! We're going to miss the flight!" she said several times. The child was being much more mature than the mother. Swearing a lot, the woman finally gave in, at 8:00 p.m. and decided to run to her gate (and baggage handlers had to be called to make sure the luggage was still on board). The lady forgot her boarding pass at the counter, though, so I was sent running to security to give it back to her. In the end, the flight was delayed by about 15 minutes because of a bottle of olive-oil. I really hope that the cabin announcement with regards to the delay told the passengers to blame the crazy-lady who did not want to get rid of her liquid. As a result, though, we've got some fabulous olive-oil in our lunchroom now! lol
So those are the stories. I did my first wheelchair to the gate last week, which was a lot of fun, but nothing to gossip about. I also did lines and kiosk for one whole day, which not only sucks but really, really hurts the feet once you are done with your shift...
Anyways, work is good and fun. Though the heat did put a damper on things. Because the doors of the airport are constantly open, the air conditioning is rendered completely useless!!
I also went to Ottawa to renew my German passport with my mum on Tuesday. It was a long drive through sweltering weather, but it was fun. Actually, the passport renewal bit was less fun than the long drive, lol.
And that's about it for my week, really. Michael and I went to a street sale on Saint-Hubert yesterday, which was loads of fun and got a lot of really cheap goodies. We also went to my dad's place and made good use of the pool there yesterday and today. My dad (who was spying on us from the balcony) thinks we make a really good couple. Which is good, because that means he approves of Michael. YAY!
And now I feel like actually writing a story. Do not ask me why, the reason is quite ridiculous. I will be blogging again soon, hopefully sooner than last time! Cheers!
Okay - that was random.
Now to the real post.
So, Air Canada has given me a wonderful start-of-work gift. A stye in my left eye!!! I am going completely nuts with it!! It is itching and makes me look like I got beaten up and it is driving me insane!!! Why do I know it is a gift from work at the airport? Because other employees told me that their career started the same... with styes!!! This is what happens when you are touching hundreds of passports a day and you do not know where people have been keeping them. Then you inadvertently rub your eye and BAM! you are caught with a stye. Now, people say the solution is proper hygiene. However, I doubt I can do more than I already do. I have a HUGE bottle of hand-sanitizer in my purse with me, which I apply about once an hour while at work. Then, every time I get the chance to do it, I go wash my hands with soap and water... how much more am I supposed to do to avoid styes??? Wash my hands after every passenger?!?! I am sure passengers would appreciate that... NOT! They would probably think I thought their hands were dirty!!!.............. *grumble grumble grumble grumble*
In other news, I promised some good gossip about passengers. So here it goes!
1) On Monday, a complete ... uhm... not-very-smart woman (to say it politely) came to my counter. She had already checked in her luggage, but she had been sent back to us by security. Why?
Because she had a freakin' BLENDER in her carry-on luggage!!!
She pulled the blender blade out of her purse: a very sharp, serrated brand-new set of blades. She was waving it in my face and saying that "the security guy" sent her back because these blades seemed to be a problem. A senior agent and I looked at her incredulously. She, I am not kidding, said that she did not understand what the problem was with those blender blades! To answer her dumb question, the other agent asked her whether it would be possible to cut someone's throat with the blades. She said she did not know!!! Did she leave her brain in her checked luggage??? Anyways, she could not grasp why she could not take the blender blades with her and she did not want to throw them out "because it is a brand-new 70$ blender", and so we provided a small box and added the boxed blender blades as a piece of luggage, checking it in... I still cannot believe she was that thick though.
2) This one is rather cute. I was sitting beside a girl at the check-in counter. This girl is a summer-temp, like myself. However, she is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous! Someone in her family is black (I do not know whether it is the mother or the father) so she is dark-skinned, and she is wonderfully tall and really slender (she used to play basketball). She looks stunning! Anyways, a lacrosse player comes up to her counter. HOT guy, I tell you! Not at all my type (blonde and blue-eyed... yiech!), but very well built - so much so, I would have appreciated it if he had removed his shirt, lol. Anyways, he got to my colleague's counter and, for a moment, they just stared at each other, completely speechless, with ridiculous smiles on their faces. It was really cute how speechless they both were about each other. I could not help but giggle a little. Eventually, my colleague snapped out of it and asked for the lacrosse player's passport. He just smiled and nodded and did nothing. She had to ask him twice more before he realized what she had said and handed over the passport, still smiling. She checked him in and even remembered his name. Unfortunately, she forgot to write her name and phone number at the back of the boarding pass. But when it was time for her break, she went specially to the bathrooms on the other side of security to see him again. She told me he waved at her. Sweet, no?
3) This one is really unbelievable and probably very frustrating for most passengers. A lady storms to our counter, with her 10-year-old daughter, and basically yells that security has sent her back. It is important for the reader to note that it was 7:50 p.m. at this point. When asked why she was sent back, the lady soon revealed that she had a liter of extra-virgin olive-oil in her carry-on. Like blender-lady, she did not want to get rid of it. We asked her where she was flying to and when she had checked in. Apparently, she had checked in two hours prior, but her flight was leaving at 7:55. And here she was, arguing that she wanted to keep that olive-oil "or the whole trip will have been for nothing!" She also said that the olive-oil was for her uncle's vineyard (how is a vineyard linked to olive-oil????). Anyways, time was passing, and soon 7:55 came and she and her daughter were the only two passengers missing on the flight. This caused some panic, as baggage handlers had started pulling her checked bags from the aircraft and the lady insisted that she wanted to get on the flight, but that she did not want to get rid of the olive-oil. In the end, even the 10-year-old daughter got exasperated: "Mom! Just throw it out already! We're going to miss the flight!" she said several times. The child was being much more mature than the mother. Swearing a lot, the woman finally gave in, at 8:00 p.m. and decided to run to her gate (and baggage handlers had to be called to make sure the luggage was still on board). The lady forgot her boarding pass at the counter, though, so I was sent running to security to give it back to her. In the end, the flight was delayed by about 15 minutes because of a bottle of olive-oil. I really hope that the cabin announcement with regards to the delay told the passengers to blame the crazy-lady who did not want to get rid of her liquid. As a result, though, we've got some fabulous olive-oil in our lunchroom now! lol
So those are the stories. I did my first wheelchair to the gate last week, which was a lot of fun, but nothing to gossip about. I also did lines and kiosk for one whole day, which not only sucks but really, really hurts the feet once you are done with your shift...
Anyways, work is good and fun. Though the heat did put a damper on things. Because the doors of the airport are constantly open, the air conditioning is rendered completely useless!!
I also went to Ottawa to renew my German passport with my mum on Tuesday. It was a long drive through sweltering weather, but it was fun. Actually, the passport renewal bit was less fun than the long drive, lol.
And that's about it for my week, really. Michael and I went to a street sale on Saint-Hubert yesterday, which was loads of fun and got a lot of really cheap goodies. We also went to my dad's place and made good use of the pool there yesterday and today. My dad (who was spying on us from the balcony) thinks we make a really good couple. Which is good, because that means he approves of Michael. YAY!
And now I feel like actually writing a story. Do not ask me why, the reason is quite ridiculous. I will be blogging again soon, hopefully sooner than last time! Cheers!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Photos of Casa Loma
Oh wait! I completely forgot the photos of Casa Loma Renaissance Faire!! Here they are for your viewing pleasure!!
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2 
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5
Pictures:
1- Me admiring a hawk used for hunting. I have always loved birds of prey and I have always wanted to be one of the falconers (if that's a word) like those in Landshut during the Landshuter Hochzeit.
2- Michael looking cute and his obnoxious (but wonderfully FREE) sword is poking out of his outfit. That's the one his ex made.
3- A front view of my knight (without his shining armour) in the shirt that we bought together at a medieval store in Montreal. He was wearing it beneath the coat and thank goodness for that, because it got so warm he eventually took off the coat.
4- Me, looking cute in my caul and dress and sitting on a lovely little bench in the Casa Loma gardens.
5- Me, holding the sword we got for free (all thanks to my roomate). I am Jeann D'Arc, la Vierge d'Orleans! :P
1
2 
3
4 
5
Pictures:
1- Me admiring a hawk used for hunting. I have always loved birds of prey and I have always wanted to be one of the falconers (if that's a word) like those in Landshut during the Landshuter Hochzeit.
2- Michael looking cute and his obnoxious (but wonderfully FREE) sword is poking out of his outfit. That's the one his ex made.
3- A front view of my knight (without his shining armour) in the shirt that we bought together at a medieval store in Montreal. He was wearing it beneath the coat and thank goodness for that, because it got so warm he eventually took off the coat.
4- Me, looking cute in my caul and dress and sitting on a lovely little bench in the Casa Loma gardens.
5- Me, holding the sword we got for free (all thanks to my roomate). I am Jeann D'Arc, la Vierge d'Orleans! :P
In which a blogger is really bloody tired
Hello all you avid readers out there! I know you have anxiously been waiting beside your computer screens, with my page open, just waiting for me to post new stuff! Well rejoice and make merry, for the wait is over and I am, once more, updating!! (And do not give me that bollocks that you have NOT been waiting beside my blog all week, because I KNOW you have!!!........ just kidding! :P )
Anyhoots, I have loads to tell... Really, really have loads to tell. I had been wanting to post all week, but I was insanely busy with work and completely drained and over tired when I got home. For that, I apologize. However, my shifts will be much improved come Tuesday, and then I will be able to blog to my heart's content! Yay!
First of all, I promised some anecdotes related to my wonderfully awesome job. The conclusion? First day of real work = bleeding nightmare! Even my coach was freaking out! I personally thought it was a great learning experience, but, on the other hand, we were told in the classroom that "if all this is happening to you in one single shift, then you're having a really bad day!" Does that mean I should conclude that my first shift was a very bad one?
Let me clarify what I mean. The first passenger I EVER checked in on my own... turned out to be DHP. In other words, his name was similar to the name of someone on a list (potentially even a "no-fly" list) and thus the passenger is not allowed to travel no matter how valid his passport and visas are. So you have to call security and have the passenger cleared so that he may actually check in and board the aircraft. Why is that an issue? Because it takes forever! When you call security, the first thing you hear is "your call is important to us, please hold the line to keep your call priority..." What kind of service is that?! I have a passenger who is super concerned about his passeport in front of me, getting upset about it because he is a foreigner and does not understand why his passport is being refused and I have to be put on hold before I can tell him that he is all clear... *sigh*
Anyways, the next passengers were on a flight to Penticton (or something like that) via Ottawa. The flight to Ottawa had an oversell, so someone took the liberty to offload the passengers (that means to take them off the flight) and put them on a direct flight to their destination. The problem? They never informed the passengers about the change and the direct flight was earlier than the one they were supposed to take. So when they showed up, the flight was closed!! Poor passengers! I felt so bad!
Then, I also had a family travelling to Australia. Everything was in order with their passports and visas. They did not expire until 2018 and they were valid for multiple entries to the country. However, my computer refused to accept the mother's visa. I had to call the "hold the line" number again and was subjected to an even longer wait. So much so that the mother was really getting worried. I could hear her talk to her husband. The children were also quite small and getting fidgety and tired. I felt so bad! And I do not know why the visa was not valid on the computer when I had the perfectly valid paper version of it in front of me. We cleared that up in the end though... Thank God they had shown up early!
Now, I could keep going with stories about the passengers, but I do not feel like it or I will be blogging all day (and this blogger really, REALLY wants her nap now that her shift is done!). But I do have another funny work story to tell.
It was not really at work, but my colleague Chanelle and I were discussing our uniforms and, for some reason, we came to talk about International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I suggested that it would be really funny if Air Canada did something for it (but they would not, as they also do nothing special for Halloween, i.e. reschedule all flights to land in Transylvania). We suggested that the red scarf might be worn as a bandana for the festivities of September 19th. Also, we figured out a completely new procedure on board, specially designed to suit the needs of such a great day as International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
It goes as follows:
"We welcome ye aboard Arrrr Canada. We would like to inform you that parrots are only allowed perched on yer shoulders and should not be stowed in the barrels over yer heads... Also should ye wish ter release the straps holdin' ye down during the navigation, use yer cutlass to undo the belt. If ye've checked in yer cutlass, then that's yer own mistake, ye scurvy dogs! In case of an emerrrrgency that is not on water, a spare wooden leg can be found in the pocket below yer seat. Enjoy yer travels! Arrrrrr Canada!"
... or something like that! ^_^
On a side note: GERMANY WON 4:0 AGAINST ARGENTINA!!! YAY!!!!!!! WE ROCK! Take that, guy at work, who had no confidence in my team!! I hope we win Fifa this year!!
Back to the subject matter...
So I am done with my work stories. Lets move on to the Canada Day Celebrations before I fall asleep halfway through this post...
I went to the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire on Canada Day. It was the only day that I had off during the faire and I decided not to miss it. So I hopped on a flight to Toronto on Wednesday evening after my shift, slept at Michael's parents place, and then went to the faire in the morning.
It was a glorious day! And my costume had turned out really well! I even got compliments from some people who did professional costuming at the faire! I was so happy about it! Many people thought I worked there and admired my dress. I was a photo op for many and my cheeks hurt from all the smiling at the end of a glorious and sunny Canada Day. I myself believe I looked quite ravishing in gold and red, with my cute little caul. Apparently, it was quite historically accurate after all! Yay me and my love for history (and history of costume)!!
I had a lot of fun at Casa Loma. I do not think I have ever gotten THAT much attention before. I will not lie, I quite enjoyed it. And I made some great new friends, which makes me deliriously happy because they are all awesome. The only downside was that I did not get to stay that long because I had to fly back in the evening for work the next day... *pout* Also, Casa Loma is very subdued and tiny in comparison to the faires in Germany and Austria. There, EVERYONE is dressed up and you are an oddity if you are not. At Casa Loma, very few are dressed for the occasion and those who are get asked whether they work there or not. All this to say that I quite enjoyed it. I really fancied the day and just wish it had lasted longer.
I had hoped to make Michael an outfit to match mine before the faire, but that unfortunately failed. So Michael looked really cute in a Tudor-ish costume his ex had made for him a while back. I am quite glad that his ex was not there too. It concerned me a little, because I know she usually goes there too. I think she would have ruined it for us and it would have made quite the fiasco... But nothing happened and thank God for that! I had one of the awesomest days ever!!
And, before I forget, I tried my hand at archery at the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire!!! I am really good at it too! To my big (big, BIG!) surprise, I am actually a good shot. The instructor said I was a natural and was quite impressed by how well I was doing, considering this was my first time actually doing archery. I think I should pick up archery lessons... don't you? I would love it! It would be fun! ... Now, where to do archery classes in Montreal.........?
Anyways - it was AWESOME! And, on the flight back, I was as giddy as a five-year-old on his very first trip on an aircraft. Believe it or not, I squeed about the technology of the Airbus 320. I sat directly over the wing. I was watching the flaps on the wing and noticed that... THOSE FLAPS ARE RETRACTABLE!!! Aircrafts are such an awesome piece of engineering! I have been flying since I can remember and I am still impressed that these things can actually fly! The wings are so cool! ... unfortunately, I do not think you can understand this without a drawing, because it is hard to explain why it was so awesome. But it was awesome. Did that point come accross?
Also, I decided, finally, that life is really good and that I am exactly where I want to be right now, on the flight back from Toronto. I have the best boyfriend in the world, he is loyal to me and sticks to me like glue (I love him!). I have a great, fun and entertaining job. I can exploit some of my talents on the side with modeling. I am honing my sewing skills and achieving great results. I am about to finish my first bachelors degree. What more could one want from life?
What made me come to this realization was the sunset seen from the airplane. It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen! Yes, I believe it even beat the beauty of the sunrise in Japan seen from the top of Fuji-san! The sun was a vast disc of golden-red, floating on the horizon like an orb. Our aircraft was descending at the same time as the sun. At some point, our aircraft was cruising just on top of a sea of clouds... the wings were just brushing the tops of the tufty white waves in the sky. It looked beautiful, almost as if the plane was a ship on an ocean of cloud. And the sun was still following our descent. Then we went into the clouds and the sun was still visible, except that it was now through a haze of white, like a thin veil. It is difficult to find the words of how beautiful this all was without sounding cheezy. When we finally came out from the clouds, closer still to the ground, I watched the sun be swallowed by a darkening horizon and the sky tint itself of various colours of the rainbow... *sigh* It was amazing. And that is when I realized that I really am where I want to be at the moment.
And upon that reflection, it is time for me to shut up and nap... because I really need it! ^_^
Anyhoots, I have loads to tell... Really, really have loads to tell. I had been wanting to post all week, but I was insanely busy with work and completely drained and over tired when I got home. For that, I apologize. However, my shifts will be much improved come Tuesday, and then I will be able to blog to my heart's content! Yay!
First of all, I promised some anecdotes related to my wonderfully awesome job. The conclusion? First day of real work = bleeding nightmare! Even my coach was freaking out! I personally thought it was a great learning experience, but, on the other hand, we were told in the classroom that "if all this is happening to you in one single shift, then you're having a really bad day!" Does that mean I should conclude that my first shift was a very bad one?
Let me clarify what I mean. The first passenger I EVER checked in on my own... turned out to be DHP. In other words, his name was similar to the name of someone on a list (potentially even a "no-fly" list) and thus the passenger is not allowed to travel no matter how valid his passport and visas are. So you have to call security and have the passenger cleared so that he may actually check in and board the aircraft. Why is that an issue? Because it takes forever! When you call security, the first thing you hear is "your call is important to us, please hold the line to keep your call priority..." What kind of service is that?! I have a passenger who is super concerned about his passeport in front of me, getting upset about it because he is a foreigner and does not understand why his passport is being refused and I have to be put on hold before I can tell him that he is all clear... *sigh*
Anyways, the next passengers were on a flight to Penticton (or something like that) via Ottawa. The flight to Ottawa had an oversell, so someone took the liberty to offload the passengers (that means to take them off the flight) and put them on a direct flight to their destination. The problem? They never informed the passengers about the change and the direct flight was earlier than the one they were supposed to take. So when they showed up, the flight was closed!! Poor passengers! I felt so bad!
Then, I also had a family travelling to Australia. Everything was in order with their passports and visas. They did not expire until 2018 and they were valid for multiple entries to the country. However, my computer refused to accept the mother's visa. I had to call the "hold the line" number again and was subjected to an even longer wait. So much so that the mother was really getting worried. I could hear her talk to her husband. The children were also quite small and getting fidgety and tired. I felt so bad! And I do not know why the visa was not valid on the computer when I had the perfectly valid paper version of it in front of me. We cleared that up in the end though... Thank God they had shown up early!
Now, I could keep going with stories about the passengers, but I do not feel like it or I will be blogging all day (and this blogger really, REALLY wants her nap now that her shift is done!). But I do have another funny work story to tell.
It was not really at work, but my colleague Chanelle and I were discussing our uniforms and, for some reason, we came to talk about International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I suggested that it would be really funny if Air Canada did something for it (but they would not, as they also do nothing special for Halloween, i.e. reschedule all flights to land in Transylvania). We suggested that the red scarf might be worn as a bandana for the festivities of September 19th. Also, we figured out a completely new procedure on board, specially designed to suit the needs of such a great day as International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
It goes as follows:
"We welcome ye aboard Arrrr Canada. We would like to inform you that parrots are only allowed perched on yer shoulders and should not be stowed in the barrels over yer heads... Also should ye wish ter release the straps holdin' ye down during the navigation, use yer cutlass to undo the belt. If ye've checked in yer cutlass, then that's yer own mistake, ye scurvy dogs! In case of an emerrrrgency that is not on water, a spare wooden leg can be found in the pocket below yer seat. Enjoy yer travels! Arrrrrr Canada!"
... or something like that! ^_^
On a side note: GERMANY WON 4:0 AGAINST ARGENTINA!!! YAY!!!!!!! WE ROCK! Take that, guy at work, who had no confidence in my team!! I hope we win Fifa this year!!
Back to the subject matter...
So I am done with my work stories. Lets move on to the Canada Day Celebrations before I fall asleep halfway through this post...
I went to the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire on Canada Day. It was the only day that I had off during the faire and I decided not to miss it. So I hopped on a flight to Toronto on Wednesday evening after my shift, slept at Michael's parents place, and then went to the faire in the morning.
It was a glorious day! And my costume had turned out really well! I even got compliments from some people who did professional costuming at the faire! I was so happy about it! Many people thought I worked there and admired my dress. I was a photo op for many and my cheeks hurt from all the smiling at the end of a glorious and sunny Canada Day. I myself believe I looked quite ravishing in gold and red, with my cute little caul. Apparently, it was quite historically accurate after all! Yay me and my love for history (and history of costume)!!
I had a lot of fun at Casa Loma. I do not think I have ever gotten THAT much attention before. I will not lie, I quite enjoyed it. And I made some great new friends, which makes me deliriously happy because they are all awesome. The only downside was that I did not get to stay that long because I had to fly back in the evening for work the next day... *pout* Also, Casa Loma is very subdued and tiny in comparison to the faires in Germany and Austria. There, EVERYONE is dressed up and you are an oddity if you are not. At Casa Loma, very few are dressed for the occasion and those who are get asked whether they work there or not. All this to say that I quite enjoyed it. I really fancied the day and just wish it had lasted longer.
I had hoped to make Michael an outfit to match mine before the faire, but that unfortunately failed. So Michael looked really cute in a Tudor-ish costume his ex had made for him a while back. I am quite glad that his ex was not there too. It concerned me a little, because I know she usually goes there too. I think she would have ruined it for us and it would have made quite the fiasco... But nothing happened and thank God for that! I had one of the awesomest days ever!!
And, before I forget, I tried my hand at archery at the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire!!! I am really good at it too! To my big (big, BIG!) surprise, I am actually a good shot. The instructor said I was a natural and was quite impressed by how well I was doing, considering this was my first time actually doing archery. I think I should pick up archery lessons... don't you? I would love it! It would be fun! ... Now, where to do archery classes in Montreal.........?
Anyways - it was AWESOME! And, on the flight back, I was as giddy as a five-year-old on his very first trip on an aircraft. Believe it or not, I squeed about the technology of the Airbus 320. I sat directly over the wing. I was watching the flaps on the wing and noticed that... THOSE FLAPS ARE RETRACTABLE!!! Aircrafts are such an awesome piece of engineering! I have been flying since I can remember and I am still impressed that these things can actually fly! The wings are so cool! ... unfortunately, I do not think you can understand this without a drawing, because it is hard to explain why it was so awesome. But it was awesome. Did that point come accross?
Also, I decided, finally, that life is really good and that I am exactly where I want to be right now, on the flight back from Toronto. I have the best boyfriend in the world, he is loyal to me and sticks to me like glue (I love him!). I have a great, fun and entertaining job. I can exploit some of my talents on the side with modeling. I am honing my sewing skills and achieving great results. I am about to finish my first bachelors degree. What more could one want from life?
What made me come to this realization was the sunset seen from the airplane. It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen! Yes, I believe it even beat the beauty of the sunrise in Japan seen from the top of Fuji-san! The sun was a vast disc of golden-red, floating on the horizon like an orb. Our aircraft was descending at the same time as the sun. At some point, our aircraft was cruising just on top of a sea of clouds... the wings were just brushing the tops of the tufty white waves in the sky. It looked beautiful, almost as if the plane was a ship on an ocean of cloud. And the sun was still following our descent. Then we went into the clouds and the sun was still visible, except that it was now through a haze of white, like a thin veil. It is difficult to find the words of how beautiful this all was without sounding cheezy. When we finally came out from the clouds, closer still to the ground, I watched the sun be swallowed by a darkening horizon and the sky tint itself of various colours of the rainbow... *sigh* It was amazing. And that is when I realized that I really am where I want to be at the moment.
And upon that reflection, it is time for me to shut up and nap... because I really need it! ^_^
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