Darkhouse on Goodreads
Red Fox on Goodreads
Dead Sky Morning on Goodreads
The Benson on Goodreads
Lying Season on Goodreads
On Demon Wings on Goodreads
Old Blood on Goodreads
Into the Hollow on Goodreads


Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Good News!

That's all I'll say for now. If you're on my Facebook then you already know! I'll post about it in the next two days when I have more to say - not that I don't already :)

Cheers!

Lusty

Monday, September 22, 2008

The curse of the Louboutins



It's fall. I'm unemployed and I don't eat much.

All of the above lead to compulsive, impulsive shopping habits with money that I don't have. Add a dash of insecurity about my flawed feet and you get one big mess of designer shoes.

I bought the most awesome pair of Marc Jacobs boots off of Ebay the other day. They were so awesome that I actually started drooling when I saw them. For realz. You know how I love my boots.

The price tage though was $365, which was a heck of a lot but considering it was orignally $1075, I figured it was a good deal.

It didn't stop there though. I moved onto Christian Louboutins, the re-soled, uber-sexy and uber-pricey shoes that fashionistas covet.

I am not a fashionista but I decided to covet them anyway.

I tried on a patent leather, kitten heeled pair at Holt Renfrew and immediatley felt elated. Magic shoes. Magic shoes with status soles that would erase all insecurities and hardships that I have felt about my feet. Magic shoes that would protect me at an upcoming wedding this weekend and make me forget about my ugly scars.

Magic shoes that cost $595.

I hemmed and hawed about it for a few days. In the end it came down to the fact that I was selling my car anyway so I would need some fabulous "walking" shoes. Plus giving up your car is hard - I needed to be consoled.

I bought the shoes and tried to not feel too sick about it.

But I did later. I could justify that price for amazing shoes if indeed the shoes were amazing (they looked amazing, I thought) and if I could wear them for a million years.

But the shoes were in fact CURSED~!

Already in the store, I walked around and the heel lift started to twist at the bottom. I couldn't feel it but when I looked at the shiny scarlet soles again, I saw it move. Immediatley I told the sales girl who took them down to the cobbler to be fixed.

20 minutes later I had the shoes and was assured that the heels would never move again.

Later that evening, I was helping the Rockstar move some stuff into my apartment (ah yes, moving day is approaching. More on that next post). The heel started to twist again.

And the shoes started slipping off my feet with every step.

So the next day I took the shoes back to Holt Renfrew and complained. They wouldn't take them back THE BASTARDS but they did send them off to get fixed, AGAIN, overnight so that I would have them for the wedding.

Next day I got the shoes back. I saw the lifts had been replaced (basically the rubber tip at the end of the heel). One problem down.

But they still fell off my feet, which for the life of me I can't understand since they fit in the store AND they are supposed to be sized small AND they are already half a size smaller than normal.

So I place insoles in them. Better. Except now my toes in the front were SO painfully squished together that I had to pad them all with bandaids and then some.

And the next day they were still slipping (though my toes weren't going anywhere). So I had to stick in heel liners too. This worked pretty good.

Until I was at the wedding and lost the heel liners. So my toes were painfully squished, the shoes slipped off with every step AND the stupid heel started twisting again! Now I know that these shoes are generally very well made but why did I have to get the defective pair? Punishment for spending a lot on shoes I guess but let me tell you, I have PAYLESS shoes that are millions of years old and they never had this trouble.
My shoes, me and the handsome Best Man

And then the actually lining of the shoe started coming unglued.

And then the icing on the cake? My boyfriend accidently spilled beer in them.

Good ol' beer puddle in my Christian Louboutins.

Now Holt Renfrew REALLY won't take them back, if not for that then for the soles which are all scratched up.

They are going up on Ebay tomorrow. If any of you are part of the occult and would like a pair of cursed shoes, please bid. You won't be sorry!

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Older I Get, The Bolder I Get

So it has begun. The job hunting and all its follies that plagued me throughout the summer. I'm in talks with the production company next week, about what I don't know but I guess they are thinking it over whether they still want to hire me or not. I'm not sure why they won't, after all I have a list of all the stuff I would be doing (had the government granted the mentorship to begin with) and well, they NEED someone to do this stuff. Plus I was going get paid peanuts anyway.

But I'm not crossing my fingers and hoping. I'm being proactive and applying EVERYWHERE anyway, just in case and what have you.

And this means of course dealing with the dreaded RECRUITMENT AGENCIES.

Yup. I've probably sent my resume to about FIFTY recruitment/hiring firms over the last 5 months and as you all know, they are all shit and never get back to you EVER.

Well, after sending the umpteenth resume to a certain firm, I noticed someone on Craigslist had posted a warning about them, basically stating what I thought to be true, that they are all fake jobs that are posted just to get resumes, etc.

So I decided to email the firm again and flat out asked if they were full of shit or not. Since there was a certain staff member whom usually puts out the ads, I asked if she was actually a real person or if they had made her up, like they made up all of their jobs.

Well, five minutes later, my phone rang.

It was said person stating (in a scary, brusque voice) that she did indeed exist.

Then explained a bit (or defended) why she never got back to me over ANY of the billions of resumes I sent (she actually knew who I was) and said I was usually dismissed because of my GOD DAMN Journalism degree - apparently there are no jobs for that, and I know that too since I apply for only admnin jobs, and I guess she didn't know how serious I was about taking any damn job.

Well, to make things short, she asked me to come in next week. She said she wants to talk with me and see what we can do - worst case scenario she can get me temp work.

So I guess calling someone you don't know a liar can really pay off.

We'll see at any rate - I'm not expecting anything. Just thought it was funny. The older I get, the more I don't give a shit, the more I speak my mind. How great

****

So some of you may bitch slap me over this, but I've been taking this stuff this week:


A mix of palm and wheat oil and yucky vanilla flavour, you take these creamer-type shots in the morning and perhaps again in the afternoon. What it does is the oil (like most oils such as olive) takes a long time to digest and sits in your intestines, making you feel full.

It says it makes you eat about 30% less a day and you know what, its totally true.

This week I've only taken in 1000 calories a day (yes I know, bad, borderline anorexia so sue me) and I'm not ravenous or hungry. Yes, I get MENTAL cravings for things all time, but this is not out of hunger and I just have to ignore it - particularly when I am bored.

I'm not planning on being on this for more than two weeks as I am sure somehow your body will eventually find out that it is being fooled but its all good. Like today, I didn't take mine and I still didn't feel hungry. If this is all placebo, who cares, its working. Last week I was eating around 1300 calories or so and I was RAVENOUS the whole time - I freaking bought a bunch of broccoli and ate the whole thing because I was THAT hungry. But now, its smooth sailing and I'm very happy.

And you know me and my tricky tummy, I haven't felt any adverse side effects. Except dizziness on occasion from lack of food - but dont worry, on days I work out I do eat more, about 1500 calories.

So if you were curious about these, I say give them a try. From their website you can try them for $9 for a month or two-week supply. I'm not sure if they are good for people trying to lose a lot but for someone like me who is ONLY trying to lose 6-10 pounds, its great.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

@##&*%%%!!!

What does that mean? It means that the internship/mentorship with the production company that they assured me I would get (I believe I had a 90% chance) is not coming my way.

I just got the rejection letter from the Canadian Government (WHICH I HATE) today. No real reason for the rejection, in the end it’s just a big fat no.

Now I am so disappointed. This was my dream job (though how many times have I said that this year), it “fell” into my lap. Now it is whisked away LIKE SO MANY OTHER DAMN JOBS!

I feel so badly for the production company too because they were SO certain I was going to work for them – they kept sending me emails saying, “so excited for you to join our team.” BUT NO. Though they have been granted an internship worker every year, the year I APPLY, they get rejected.

Bet they really regret taking a chance on me now.

And what do I get to do? Fret for the next two weeks over getting a new job. Not that I haven’t done enough of that this year.

Fuck my life.

Friday, September 05, 2008

What I loved


FACT: I've always wanted to write a successful children's/teenager book series - this is actually a life goal for me and something I think I can do. Maybe not now, but it will happen. And I already have a few concrete ideas in mind.

So what books did I myself enjoy as a child?

Well, the number one series that I LOVED was The Babysitters Club. And if you remember that series at all, you have to check out THIS BLOG. FUCKING HILARIOUS!

What did I love about this series? Well, it had everything - romance, ghosts, horses. I loved it all, except all the damn babysitting business. Didn't like children when I was 12 and I still don't! LOL.

But what do I really remember about the series? Well here are some things off of the top of my head:

-Mary-Anne Spier totally did a turn around when she became Dawn's stepsister (hence the title of the book "Dawn's Wicked Stepsister"). She went from a meek and indifferent girl (at least I was indifferent) to a fucking psycho bitch. And why was SHE the one with the "hot" redneck boyfriend, who looked like a total douche on all the covers. In Maryanne's defense though, as squeamish and exasperatingly shy as she was, she did have a good sense of humour.

-Kristy Thomas. A turtleneck with jeans. I can not wear this outfit without thinking of you, though I must wonder WHY is a turtleneck with a jeans a "tomboy" outfit? At least put her in a wifebeater and surfer shorts. Kristy was also loud and brash (and liked to sit in a director's chair) but I didn't mind it as much as the other characters did. So, she didn't wear makeup. SHE WAS 13! Fucking hated her little sister Karen though - on all the covers she was just the nastiest looking girl you'd ever see.

-Claudia Kishi. WAS SO COOL! No not really, I have no idea what Ann M. Martin was going for when she dressed her up. A sample of Claudia's AWESOME sense of style? Earrings the size of doorknobs. Hair piled to one side of her head with clips shaped like seashells. Purple "leggings." A long man's shirt with huge appliques of vegetables plastered all over it.

I'm seriously tempted to find all my books and start posting what she wore from every novel, it would be hilarious.

Claudia was quite funny though and she was worse at Math than I was which made me feel better. And her love of Nancy Drew novels was endearing. But even though she was half-Japanese, she never ate any sushi and that really disappoints me. She also hid candy all over her room. You know that right now, at age 25 or whatever, Claudia Kishi is one big fat tub of lard.

-Dawn Schaffer was my favourite because she was laid-back, had looooong blonde hair (which, btw, NEVER looked that long on the covers and which really pissed me off)and had a mom that left her keys in the fridge. They also had a house with a ghost (the Ghost at Dawn's House) which I thought was AWESOME. Dawn had come from California and ate a lot of sprouts, avocado, yogurt and granola. Which seemed weird at the time but now it's just obvious her mom shopped at Whole Foods.

-Stacey. I forget her last name. Anyway, Stacey was the pretty diabetic girl (OOOH HOW CONTROVERSIAL) from New York. Stacey, in my opinion, was a snob and a bitch. She would often lament how people thought she was a snob but she never mentioned that people also thought she was a selfish bitch. Cuz she was. Go ahead, eat the candy!

-Mallory Pike. She had red-hair and freckles and seven brothers and sisters. Enough said.

-Jessie Ramsay. She was a ballerina. She was also African American, which in their whitebread Nazi town, was ALMOST as bad as having diabetes!

I especially loved the Super Series – they were quite atmospheric. The blizzard one, the California one (where Mallory gets obsessed with makeup and dies her hair BLONDE – can you imagine how ugmo she musta looked?) , the one where they all went to camp (stupid Stacey fell asleep in poison ivy), the one when they went to the ski resort, the one where they went sailing and ended up on a desert island.

There are a few books too that I loved more than others. I liked it when Mary-anne and Stacey went to “Sea City.” I liked “Claudia and the Phantom Phone caller.” “Mary-anne’s bad luck mystery” “Ghost at Dawn’s House” “Goodbye Stacey, Goodbye” (YES THANK GOD!) “Dawn on the Coast” (so CALI-awesome), “Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook” “Dawn and the We Love Kids Club” and etc. I actually didn’t read many books past the #50 mark. Looking back, I now find it odd the last book written was “The Fire at Dawn’s House” – does that mean they all died in it?


Other books that I loved as a child was:

-The Saddle Club Series (I may have to devote a post to that one)

-Fear Street (although I HATED how at the end of every book it was always found to be a “rational” explanation – it’s FEAR street. Let there be reason to fear! What also got me was the fact that WHY oh why was everyone living on this street?) For a funny look at Fear Street as we know it, click here

-Christopher Pike – not technically a series but these horror teen books always stayed with me. I recently bought a bunch at a used store and am looking to start reading them again (I can finish one in a day). I remember one called Monster which was fucking nuts –it started off with some party where some guy showed up with a shotgun and started blowing people away. I distinctly remember being awed by phrases “his pink guts started to slide down the wall.” I also remember one that I think was called Whisper of Death. From what a recall, a girl goes in to get an abortion and when she wakes up, she finds there is no one left in her town (or the world). I’m not sure if this was an pro-life novel or not but I certainly second guessed abortions after reading it, lest I wake up to an empty world and have a witch (who used to be your friend) living in your womb and stabbing you with sewing needles.

For funny recap of all books PIKE click HERE

-Sweet Valley Twins AND Sweet Valley High - of course! Curious as to how you would view these books (The Hills before The Hills), visit the SVH blog


-The Secret Circle
– this was an awesome trilogy about witches. I’m tempted to dig up my old copies and give a bit of a read again.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Shaking up the South


-I know it’s not my country, and maybe that’s why I find this all so amusing, but I really love what Sarah Palin has done to the USA at the moment.

-Before I go any further, I must say that my views contradict most Republican views: I am Christian, yes, but I am pro-choice, pro-gay marriage and pro-environment (not very “green” though, but more on the animal side of things). If I were voting in the States, I would be with the Democratic Party. I think. Though last time I voted I did vote Conservative (Canada’s republican) – just cuz I was bored of the Liberals being in power for so long.

-Maybe I would be classified as an independent voter? Who cares really, the thing is I normally DON’T care. Politics bore me to tears. I don’t feel strongly for one side or another. They are all liars in my opinion. I know it’s good to care about politics and I’m sure some of you will stress its importance, but I’m just being honest. I have no business or interest in it.

-But I do have to say that McCain’s VP pick, Sarah Palin is delighting me. She’s loud, brash, SO Republican, has a messed-up family and a target of the media, press and democrats since Friday. And she's such the love child of Karen from Will and Grace and Tina Fey. Maybe with a tad of Stockard Channing thrown in.


-I especially love how her role is pissing off the democrats. The funny thing is, everything they are attacking her with is the exact same reason why she’ll appeal even more to the Republicans. Her 17-year old child is pregnant! Yes, she probably would have gained from Sex-Ed in high school but the fact is, the kid is having the kid, which totally appeals to the anti-abortionist crowd.

(on that note, I do think the press and media’s coverage – and a certain bloggers – opinion on the daughter is a bit unfair. Like I said, the mom probably didn’t do her job and discuss sex with her daughter – and I only say that because she was against sex-ed – but I don’t think that has much bearing on what happened. I’ve seen so many women get pregnant and all were well-informed about the risks. Women/teenage girls are there own people – if they wanna have sex, they’ll have sex. One would hope they would be responsible enough but as I’m sure some mothers would agree – it’s kinda outta their hands).

-Again, I would probably vote for Obama if I was a US citizen but I can’t help but love how everything is getting shaken up down there. Politics are getting excited and people are actually getting passionate about things, which hopefully means there will be more voters going to the polls. Anything to get the “non-voters” involved.

-A well-spoken black man for President. A hypocritical but ballsy woman for VP. It’s going be a great departure from the norm, no matter who wins. And a departure from the norm is surely what the US needs right now. I think that’s also why I am enjoying all this election hoopla (aside from the fact that it’s not actually my country’s election). Whether it goes to Obama or McCain, in the end it’s still not George W. Bush. And that’s an improvement on it’s own.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Shacking Up and STP



My bf and I went to the Stone Temple Pilots concert on Saturday and let me tell you, it was FUCKING AWESOME!

I know there was some naysayers at the show who might have dissapointed because they sounded too much like STP but you know what? I've waited TEN YEARS to see STP live and I am fucking GLAD that they sounded like themselves.

They played almost every song off of Thank You (meaning all the greatest hits) plus some songs from their earlier albums which weren't well known. Interstate Love Song, Sour Girl and Sex Type Thing were favs of mine and they saved best for last: Trippin on a Hole. I headbanged the crap outta that song - felt like I was 16 again!


In other news, The Rockstar and I are moving in together October 1st! YAY!

But the house-hunting is being put on hold - for the moment.

As you know, Vancouver is one of the most desirable cities to live in in the world (see previous post which a travel website picked up)and of course that means that prices are sky high.

We are approved for a 284k mortgage which is great but we can only really afford a 250k mortgage (keeping our payments low as possible). That's nice and all but the apartments we are looking at are in the 280-320K range which means we need a deposit of about 50-60K.

This is where my dad WOULD HAVE come in. My own apartment is not selling because the market has slowed and that's fine BUT my dad has 70K of his own money in my place, 70K of which he would have put towards our new place. But now he can't. HOWEVER, he did say he would put some in - providing that my boyfriend's father put in at least half.

My boyfriend's father is awesome. He's 55, handsome as hell and retired. He's made tons of money off of investments and this investment for him sounds like a good idea. He totally thinks it makes sense for us to buy our place instead of rent. However, he thinks we should wait 6 months because the market is bound to drop another 10%, meaning we will get a lot more bang for our buck.

It makes sense and my dad agrees too, of course. But it also means we have no choice but listen to our "investors." We wanna buy a place NOW but realistically that won't happen until March.

And so, my dear, poor lover will be moving in to my place next month.

Yep. My place. My teeny 430 square foot studio.

I'm not terribly excited about stil living in this damn place since I am SO sick of it and not that excited about waiting six months for the fun to begin.

But I am excited for us to be living together and that's what counts.

It's just not going to be easy, especially for someone like me who doesn't normally live well with others (I need alone time. A lot). And I like my early-t0-bed sleeping habits. And I like all the closet space possible.

But I know that somehow (somehow) we will persevere over the next six months. We will be in each other's hair a lot, we may even fight ocassionally (I wouldn't it past us) and it definitely will be the ultimate relationship test.

Yet the bright side is that we are doing it - together - and when this is all over (probably before we know it) we will be living in the sweetest most awesome apartment ever.

And it will be ours. OURS. Forever.