Report 134 - Christmas Tree

 A few weeks ago, my mother told me that my sister and her friends where doing a contest of whom has the best looking Christmas tree. It just happened that I bought a christmas tree from Zellers on sale ( since the store is closing). Half the light is working, I barely have any decoration at all, and am forbidden to buy any. SO I told myself: I'm a crafter, I have a lot of things at home that I can use as decoration for my christmas tree, and scott does not want to be part of it – it is all my idea – so I told my mom that hey I will participated too!

Therefor, a few day after, taking a break from studying. I sat down in the middle of my office with those:

I already have a box full of small decoration (top left corner) from my grandmother a few years ago and my sister, as gifts. When I used to work at Staples in Miramichi, after the holidays my boss was getting rid of the window decoration she got for the store, it just happened that I go my hands on them.

SO I have: small decoration, a laminator, window snow-flake decoration, tape, paper clip, scissors, single hole puncher, and construction paper.

I did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to do for my christmas tree. No okay, I had no idea in the first place, I just took out what I could used and went with it. So the first thing I did was laminated the window decoration like that they are more stable.

Then I cut them up and place a single whole on the top, and with the paper clips I improvised.

I end up with a lot more then expected so I was happy. Today I finish off the top decoration: a star, like always, and took a picture of the end product. It is ugly. But it is okay, because I made it. I made it with my own hand and that's what I like. Good thing out of that ugly thing is that there won't be any glitter on the floor! So there it is, my Christmas tree. Under the tree there is the fake snow with the village, and my family's gifts.

I also finished my first semester of University! I loved it. I still didn't receive my final grade but I am confident that I did well, against everyones believed. Scott and I love living on the island, we've been slowly saving up and taking care of the car ( new battery!). Scott is working away, while still looking for a better paying job, but it is hard to find, but he still apply to some. I went and saw a career counsellor, like I was asked, and I feel bad for the poor women since I was just there bawling crying because I have no idea what I want to do anymore, since everyone I tell are just saying it is not good enough and should do better. Or that I will fail because I suck. Thanks guys, my depression is just in need of more wood for the fire!

I compiled a mind map, the day after the meeting with the counsellor, of everything I loved working in and what I would love to do in my future. With what I discovered in myself, I changed my course outline for my second semester and chosen the classes I want to take in the summer to see if I really want to go in that path.

I know I ask for material thing for christmas, but what I really want to have when I go down, is conversation that is not about my future jobs, my inability to make a decision with only TWO class under my belt.I want to talk about the news, weather, my new friends, Scott's friends, my future classes, books, movies, my writing, cooking, funny stories, how everyone is, new projects, how Scott's family is, plans for the summer, camping. Anything else that will bring the joy in our stay.

That is all I'm asking. You can all send me a rent of text in a email or text the day after we leave, but not before. Because I will pack and leave.  I love you all deeply, but there is so much kick in the guts feeling I can take in a month.

Thank you,

Steph

Report 133 - Ghost Ship

(I have a feeling that ghost pirate ship is a recurring theme in my blog...HO WELL)

This is a funny story of me and my dad during the first opening day of Sobey's in Bathurst. It was a really big deal during that time because the only grocery store we had was the atlantic super store.  I was around 16 and picking up my dad from work at like 4:30 and we decided to stop by and check the place.

The Sobey's is not as big as the atlantic store, but it has a huge fruit and veggie section, and my dad love that. So when we got in the parking lot, it was fairly busy, so keeping together we walk in the building and the first thing you could see was a tall table displaying some product but behind the table, kept high, was this most beautiful, detailed ice sculpture of a ship sailing the waves.

It was magnificent, I stood there like an idiot staring at it, trying to capture all the detail in memory, mouth open and drooling. My dad with a grin, warp an arm around my shoulder and told me it was a ghost ship.

"REALLY?"
"yes, if you look at it for a period of time it will disappear." He said to me, I stood there for another maybe five minute, before following my dad checking the place. There was a lot of small tables to taste some new products. My dad goal was to taste EVERYTHING, even the goat milk. There was something about chicken, that was not about its egg or the meat that I don't remember and I know I don't want to remember anyway.

But the point is, I couldn't stop thinking about the ghost ship at the entrance. I kept turning around to look at it and try to figure out how it would disappear. My dad would grin every time I would turn around, and i kept having this feeling of wrongness about the whole thing. Thats when it click.

Its a fucking ice sculpture.

I groan and my dad laugh and pat my shoulder, it took me maybe 10-15 minutes to get his joke.

Its a ice sculpture, it will melt after a while, hence disappearing making it a ghost ship. I hated myself for the whole way back home and dad counted the story to my family, laughing at my stupidity. My dad is a joker, a trickster and my oldest sister and I always fall for his joke.

Still in the ghost ship topic, we do have a ghost ship in the Bathurst area. My mother said she saw it when she was young, walking to the bus stop for school. She said she heard two really strong dongs and when she look at the bay she saw a ship burning as it sink in the sea. It last for maybe a second, she blinked and it was gone. They call it the phantom ship, many people seen it, for a bare second to hours.

Report 132 - Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I work very hard for the past year, I’m good at my job and I like it. I study and work hard in my class and I think I deserve to be on the nice list. There is a few things I want, okay a lot of things, but some are not really materials that people you can give me like, Scott’s health, safe drives, and my health being good. Those I want but no one can really give to me except myself, so I made a list of things that I could have.

The first Item on my list is my alligator stapler. I had one for a very long time but recently it broke. It closed its jaw for the last time and I am very sad about it. I found it twice in my whole life, the first time, it wasn’t even my stapler, it was another student that showed it to me in middle school, a few month after I found it again at Dollorama and bought it on the spot. It was the last on too! But now I can’t find it anywhere from where I’m living and I hope that, being around the world and all, you be able to spot one for me.  :D

The second item on my list is the book 7 of Amos Daragon in French, of course. I though I had all the books in the series but I notice I am missing the book 7, and where I live, the book stores do not have a French section. Plus I did a vow to my boyfriend that I wont buy any books, movies, nick knacks and other things, for at least a year, OR until I would have pay my MacBook again. It’s a long story.

The third item on my list, can be either Cinderella Blu-ray DVD or an iTunes card. I like the movie Cinderella and when I saw they release it again in Blu-ray I was very happy, but like I mention above, I can’t buy movies yet. And a iTunes card because there is this album I like very much to get since I’ve been using YouTube to listen to them and the announcement are annoying at times.

There is more on my list, like the Teen Wolf series DVD or a landscape world wonders calendar, but they are not as important as my alligator stapler or the Amos Daragon book. I hope my list will help you, and I hope you keep an eye open for my alligator stapler, thank you and have a safe trip around the world!

Love,

Stephanie.