This year? My year.

I spoke with Mitchell last night and told him to get on updating his blog. I think he should also make Jeremy blog while he's living in France. Talking to Mitchell always gives me such a renewed sense of purpose in life. Is that weird?

I started Oryx and Crake yesterday. I'm liking it so far.

My new sick obsession

I cannot stop reading graphic novels. I know at one point I liked books without pictures in them, but I can't remember why now. I'm sticking to a few authors, but still.

Sandman III is at Another Dimension Comics and I just remembered that you pay the US price + exchange there. Hmm. I think I'll have to go there to check it out when I have the chance.

The week is going a little less rapidly than I'd like, but I've come to terms with that happening. It's almost Canada Day, which means champagne and Wayne's World I&II, possibly South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Wish you were here.

It is the dawn of a new week and so I prepare my mind by emptying it of the weekend.

I worked. I consumed caffeine. I watched True Blood. I enjoyed not nearly enough sleep. I bought books. Oh, the books I bought. There are a few that are trashy and insubstantial but really, according to a recent graduate, all books are insubstantial. Nothing written recently will be read in 100 years, with the exception of Saturday by Cormac McCarthy.

It led me to think about what books I own that were written more than 100 years ago. These answers will not shock you:

Jo's Boys
Little Men
Little Women
A Christmas Carol
Dante's Inferno

You could count The Preservationist, because it's really just the story of Noah's ark.

I'm sorry I don't like the old classics as much as I should?

Tomorrow morning, I embark on an adventure. Tomorrow, I'm switching shampoos. We'll see how that turns out...

The moral of the story? I don't like the word "ooze"

Oh look! A present for me! I wasn't expecting anything at all from him. This is a huge shock. I can't really tell what it is because he's ace at wrapping presents. Our text exchange goes something like this:

Melinda: What did you send me?
Mitchell: Why don't you open it and find out?
Melinda: Tease. My birthday isn't until Monday!
Mitchell: Oh are you going to wait then??
Melinda: I should!
Mitchell: As you wish.

During this exchange, I have opened the card. It turns out to be a Christmas card.


AN INAPPROPRIATE CHRISTMAS CARD. Like there are any other kind.


Awwwwwww.

Melinda: You really are a horrible tease. Love the card.
Mitchell: Oh you should just open it.

So. I do.


It's a book! I wonder what it could be. It's a mass-market, I can tell by the size. Was he unable to find "How To Win Friends And Influence People" in Trade? I know that's a favourite of his to bestow on his friends.


It's very telling this was all I needed to identify which book this was.


Oh. Look. A mass-market movie tie-in edition. My favourite thing in the whole wide world. That Mitchell.


My reaction.

Melinda: You are the worst kind of person. I love your sass.
Mitchell: I ooze sass. I was proud of that one.
Melinda: I'm so blogging the photo journey of that one.
Mitchell: Yes!! Dream come true!

In two weeks it will be the anniversary of my escape from the womb. I should celebrate but I'll instead be at work, slaving away and offering books to other people. Worst of all is the fact that I'll be working with Sean, who is approximately three feet tall.

I'm going to see Blink in July, even thought they're assholes who broke my heart and continue to do so. But come on, AAR is opening up for them! And while that's not as great as CCR, it's a start. AAR, FOB, B182. I can just make up a shot to go with each of those names and it'll be easy to get through the concert.

I need a new bookshelf. I must remind myself of that. New bookshelf takes precedence over a new TV. Especially since I so very rarely watch TV on my TV. So. This time, I want to get the Ikea Expedit, because I like the squares. Maybe I'll even use it to divide my books into categories. While I like what Mitchell did with his, I do not have the discipline to not have all of my books displayed. I could go through and weed some out, though.

One thing I would like to do is standardize editions. I dislike that certain trade paperbacks are bigger than other trades and I ABSOLUTELY HATE mass markets. If you want to incur my wrath, you present me with a mass-market movie tie-in edition. Sorry, I'm a little under/over-caffeinated right now.

She doesn't own a dress, her hair is always a mess...

Trashy Tuesday fun fact: I'm trying to go without shampooing every day. I know that's not particularly trashy, but it makes me feel trashy.

I have my Starbucks, and that's always a good time. Say what you want, but coffee makes it go faster.

I worked last night and I work again tonight. My feet are sore, but I still love Chapters. Suzanne pulled me in last night and told me because minimum wage went up in Alberta, my wage was adjusted. Weird. Definitely didn't know minimum wage went up. Oh well. I'll have an extra whatever amount on my cheque on Friday. That reminds me, I need to bring them a void cheque.

I'm reading a book called Clutter Busting:



It's all about the emotional weight we attach to stuff and how that's not really a good thing. For example, there was a man who avoided unpacking boxes for years and years, not really sure why he didn't, but he ended up opening one of the boxes and there was his marriage certificate. He had been divorced for three years. Once he was able to throw that out, he found it was easier to unpack the rest of the boxes and get rid of it.

I would like to find what that is for me, those objects that make me say "I can't move on." Maybe that's what I'll do on Friday.

It's two scant weeks until New York, which is going to be legen- wait for it- DARY! Oh, does it show that I've been watching more HIMYM? I have been. I've also decided this is the year I do all the touristy things I've wanted to do but put off because I knew they'd be ridiculously busy. So, Melinda sees the Statue of Liberty!

1. I hate hold music, I don't care how awesome they try to make it. They could play Paper Planes over and over and over again and all that would happen is I would want to Pow Pow Pow. Actually, I think if all hold music was Paper Planes, I'd be much happier.

2. I love espresso.

3. I Am America (And So Can You) is so ridiculously offensive and awesome. I wholeheartedly endore Stephen Colbert's use of satire.

4. Hannah got fired! Team Hannah has been buzzing with text messages this morning. Information is sketchy right now, but it seems to have happened last night, which means were I still an employee of the theatre, I would've been one of the people responsible for Team Hannah's great sadness.

5. As a remnant of my youth, I still enjoy sitting cross-legged in chairs. I'm doing so at my desk right now as I drink coffee and blog about mundane things from my mundane life.

6. In the vein of The Muppet Christmas Carol, which I love and if anyone loves me back they will find it for me by next Christmas, I shall leave you with a modified version of one song: After all there's only three more sleeps 'til Chicaaaago.

Love me, hate me, say what you want about me...

I'm so happy you're so happy
Otherwise, life would be crappy.

A nice little couplet to start my day off. I had a good weekend this weekend. On Friday, I started and finished The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. It's totally a religious book and I'm almost positive the writer is Mormon. Either way, my upbringing really lets me appreciate books in that vein. I think it's why I like Mitch Albom so much. That being said, still no interest in Tuesdays With Morrie.

I have my candle going again today. It's pretty hot. My desk is a what's what of awesome. That's because where my shame gland should be, there's just a second awesome gland. True story.

I can't get If You Seek Amy out of my head. It's not good. What is good is the new Manchester Orchestra album. I know I pimp them like nobody's business, but it's only because they're so, so, so, so good.

I leave for Failcago on Friday morning. I have plans for when I'm down there that include going to a grilled cheese restaurant. Actually. The weekend will go something like this:

Friday: 6 a.m. leave, noon arrive, 7 p.m. leave, 8 p.m. arrive, 1 a.m. sleep.

Saturday: 8 a.m. rise, 9 a.m. leave, 44th Ward, T-Shirt Deli, AA, UO, Museum?, Concert, Sleep

Sunday: 6 a.m. depart, 10 a.m. arrive, 3 p.m. depart, 5 p.m. arrive. 5:01 p.m. sleep.

There is no time or tolerance for going green. No time for talking, only drinking. I still have so much shit to get done before I can leave the city. Ugh. Oh well, that's what Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights are for.

Also, Elle's grad present just came in. Yay me!

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell...

Okay. First things first. Thursday is never not good. I don't care what anyone has to say about them, my seventeen year-old self loved them and my twenty-three year-old self loves them. There aren't a lot of bands with that claim to fame, I could probably name them without breaking a sweat. Also, there was a native midget there. A native little person, rather. It made my life.

The new Manchester Orchestra leaked, so I'm currently listening to that while looking at audiobooks to steal. It's kind of crazy what exists out there. I'm digging the new album almost enough to do a Music Monday on a Friday, weird, right?

I have a candle burning at my desk and Daniela just walked by and said "Oh, you always have the prettiest things. You have your beautiful plant and now you have this delicious candle." It's mulled wine.

I leave on Friday. Good riddance to bad rubbish. This weekend is all about relaxing and finishing yet another book [2nd this month so far]. Is/Was turned out to be only meh, so I'm glad it's done and done. I'm going to finish The Christmas Sweater on the train today, as long as it doesn't make me start tearing up again. After that, I'm going to put my efforts toward finishing another book I've been trying to finish for as long as I can remember. It will be done. Oh yes, it will be done.

I was just Rick Rolled for the first time ever. FML.

So sleepy. I'm not doing a Music Monday, because it's way too early for me to be into actually posting. I'm just musing on the fact that I need a new pair of utilitarian black shoes.

Spent a good part of the weekend out and about. Friday was drinks with the engineers, never a good idea. Saturday was early morning work, a museum, and chilling in pajamas toward the end of the evening. Last night, I cleaned up a whole bunch of paperwork. So much to shred.

OH! I finished Rant. Not his best work, but not horrible. It was Triple Sec. I'm about to start M for Magic by Neil Gaiman. It's one of his 9-12 Readers' books. I'm doing well on my goal for reading more this year.

I also spent about twenty minutes in bed this morning transferring music to my iPod from my computer. I don't normally do that, but I woke up a bit earlier than usual today.

The drunk kids, the Catholics, they're both about the same...

Trashy Tuesday Confession: I've smoked the wrong end of a cigarette sober. It was always around this one boy who made me super nervous, which was funny because I didn't like him all that much. When I smoke around boys I do like a lot, nothing. 

I've been using the Frilly Lilly Products I won and my skin feels incredible. I've also worked out for the last three nights and that feels good, too. I'm just doing some basic resistance for toning, but taking care of myself feels good. 

I think I'm going to try Aveda's skincare line, because I really like what it's done for a friend of mine. I just got distracted because I remembered he has a blog. So, I checked it out.

Music Monday next week. I had one picked for this week, but I already rep that shit hard. 

I've been reading:

Rant - Chuck Palahniuk

I've been watching:

An American Crime

[Also: Pushing Daisies, Family Guy, and Supernatural]

I've been listening to:

New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones

[Also: The Aldrich Family, podcasts, Motion City Soundtrack, and Bright Eyes]

We're only here for one more night

My boss is so precious, guys. He's applying for Canadian citizenship because he's Irish and he was like "I think it's about time, don't you?" He said he's been here since 1982 and that makes him more Canadian than me. It does, man.

I'm very, very in love with How I Met Your Mother. How have I waited until now to discover this show? It's legen- Wait for it -dary.

I got invited to go to yet another boozelympics this weekend. Also:

YYC -> YYZ -> LGA
EWR -> ORD -> YYC
YYC -> YYZ -> LGA
LGA -> YYZ -> YYC

Check it, bitches. That's in May.

Next month is YYC -> YVR -> YYC

I used to think it was sad that I knew airport codes, but then I realized that other people are lame for not knowing them. In summary? I rock, you suck.

I finished my first book of January. I don't want to tell you what it was, but it was Sweet Valley High. I don't even care how badly these were written, it was good to read the flipside of the Sweet Valley Saga. I truly did want to know all about the magnificent Theo W. I've had this open all morning, I'm so lame.

Anyway. Everyone, watch How I Met Your Mother and we can all still be friends.

Mitchell, I'm sorry, I know I said I'd post my goals in here for 2009 and I haven't yet. I fail, I only just got them down onto paper and into my other blog. Some of them are really, really personal though and I don't really feel like having them everywhere, so I'll just fill you in on them. Here are some things that aren't goals, per se, but things I'd like to accomplish this year:

1. Buy a canvas and either silkscreen it or paint it to match the words I live and die by.

2. Visit Mitchell at least twice.

3. Stop self-medicating to treat my extreme social anxiety. 

4. Be more organized with my personal paperwork. File all papers by third day of following month. Where I can, go paperless.

5. In going along with number 3, find a shrink by June 30. 

6. Clean out my closet and either consign or donate the clothes I don't wear. "I might wear it" will no longer be accepted as an excuse.

7. Make my bed every day. 

8. Take more time to read. 

9. Get more sleep. The fact that I'm posting this after 11:30 on a week night says that I'm not doing so well on that. 

I had a bitchin' Christmas and New Year. New Year's Eve was all kinds of ridic that I won't even mention. I got a lot and gave a lot for Christmas. I'm very lucky to have my friends and family. I love my friends and family. I try to tell them that more. I had the flu for Christmas and woke up Saturday with what I found out on Monday was tonsillitis. Yeah. Awful lotta awesome in my body this holiday season. [That's what SHE said.]

Chapters is still awesome, I'm still awesome, and most importantly, you're still awesome. Because I'm still awesome, have some pictures of me looking awesome with my Femmebot hair. [It's Mitchell's personal brand of heroin. We're lame, we know.]

My new coat. Note how unimpressed I look. That's not for any particular reason.

One of my Christmas presents. Also, I like my boobs in that picture. 

Melinda is tired after Boxing Day. She is tired but her hair could go for days. The winning hairspray appears to be the red bottle from Samy. 

You know things are fucked up when you think -17 is warm. Dude, after -37 last week, I'll take it. I don't really know what I'd do if it was cold and humid. We're kind of lucky that it's dry cold. Either way, I've managed to pick up a spectacular case of the flu. In the last 24 hours, it's increased ten-fold. I wished for sweet, sweet death tonight. Death didn't come. 

I just found out that there's a BluDot retailer right next to my office. This could be a very bad thing. Apartmenttherapy continues to be the downfall of my existence. As does Chapters, my own place of employment. Really, I'd like to just be independently wealthy and buy all the shit my heart desires. 

I went to work tonight even though I skipped out on work today. Well, less skipped out on, more slept so I didn't look completely like death. I'm fairly certain I contaminated the entire store. And as usual, I found about a hundred books that I'd like to buy. And Jarred was hot. The end.

Now, I'm going to go to sleep and pretend that I won't be sick when I wake up. Even though I will be.

This is the latest from Saddlecreek...

I am Melinda, this is my heart.

The more I listen to Motion City, the more I realize that they could be my new Blink 182. It's cliche for a band to save your life, so let's just say they enrich mine. Really, I was listening to a bunch of stuff I haven't listened to for a year or so and trying to remember albums that I loved at one point. I was such a stereotypical twenty-two year old. I'm still stereotypical, but now I'm a year older.

I'm an official employee of Chapters now. For now, forever. 

I'm considering a Toronto visit in March, but only because I'm so ridiculous I can't stand myself. I can't really help it that I'm a suck for anything acoustic gingers. 

Mitchell told me that since I'm a femmebot now I have to be more careful where I toss my hair. This seems to be true. Except that buttflap boy shall not get a chance to sniff my hair now. Fail, Scott.

I love the whole world...

I finished reading The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis. It kind of made me want to be a giant cokehead in the eighties. And then I remembered that I was four when the eighties ended. That would've just been in bad taste. Coke before the age of six is totally unacceptable. 

Lately, I've been watching some YouTube and I'm in love with the Discovery Channel commercial. I managed to download the song, which was pretty cool. I'm currently downloading the Stephanie Meyer book Twilight. I've read it and seen it, but I always like listening to books on tape when I'm on the C-Train. Unless I'm reading a book, which I've been doing a lot more lately. I finally bought and read The Bro Code and it is my goal to be a Wing Woman to all of my bros. 

If a girl sets you up with her hot friend, she has Wing Woman potential. If she sets you up with other hot friends after you slept with the first one and didn't call her back, she's a bona fide Wing Woman. Since I have morals that are as loose as Belle Watling, that shouldn't be a problem for me.

I got all of my Christmas wrapping/addressing done. All that's left now is to take a few items to the post office and mail them off. 

Today at church was weird. It's the first time I've been there in probably a month. That's what going out and partying every weekend will do to you. Well, it's also the first time I've had a chance to debut Melinda 2.0 there and it resulted in some very odd attention from some very odd boys. Note, odd doesn't mean ugly, it apparently just means boys who are shallow as balls. I think I have some sort of dinner date on Thursday. 

Blaine was the most amusing. I was avoiding another boy by calling Meghan in the hall and he started walking over with purpose, so I got off the phone with Meghan thinking he had something important to say. He just said "Melinda, I haven't seen you in fifteen or twenty years." Which would mean the last time he saw me was when I was about eight years old. I've seen him since then, it's hard not to when you go to the same church. Anyway, he just kept looking at me and saying "Wow, you've grown up." And then later he was like "So, what are you doing on Wednesday night?" "I work that night." "Oh, what about Thursday?" "Um, I don't think anything." "Would you like to come over to dinner at my place?" So. Thursday Night Girls Club will have a lot to talk about over espresso and water. In order, I got chatted up by: Blaine, Steve, Blaine, Richard, Blaine, Andrew, Blaine, Scott, Blaine, and Blaine. I'm sensing some sort of pattern there. I was only there for an hour!

I think it's time for bed for me, so...

I haven't tried it but I think I've quite decided I will wake you when you're dead.

Man I miss Piebald. Travis Shettel's half hour of power, anyone? Okay, less half-hour more ten minutes, but whatever. They only had a forty minute set and when you spend most of it shittalking your guitarist for getting kicked out of Herbrew school, there's only so long you have for your solo songs.

I had an awesome night at Chapters last night. A woman came in looking for Breaking Dawn and I probably talked with her for half an hour about what we consider to be classic children's literature. We talked about Bridge to Terebithia and how we thought it translated well to the big-screen and about The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and how it made me want to vomit with rage at how much they effed that one up.

Then to congratulate myself I bought the graphic novel adaptations of Neverwhere, Stardust, a new novel called Is/Was, and One More Day. I don't really know how I feel about Tuesdays With Morrie, because I remember a joke about it on Family Guy.

"Do you like my ass?"
"Yes."
"Do you like cake?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to eat cake off my ass?"
"Yes."

Sometimes my brain does cutaways.

I wasn't all that pleasant to be around yesterday during the day because some person decided to pawn work off onto me. What I did usually takes him/her all day, and I definitely had it done in about an hour. I'm pretty excited for the next time he/she asks me to do his/her work for him/her. Mitchell told me exactly what to say to him/her and it's going to be priceless to see the look on his/her face. Gosh, the pronoun game is fun.

Chapters in general is really fun, even though I'm buying books like they're going out of style. Lately, I've been thinking more and more about something a friend said, which was that they wanted to have the kind of book collection that if they were ever forced to flee the country, it would be their books they took with them. I think I'm getting there. I'm also debating how to organize my books. I've started shelving them with the spines at the edge of the shelves so the disparity of size matters less. I found out there are people who are just as anal about that as I am. There are also people who are anal about the movie tie-in editions and mass-market paperback editions. Finally, I don't feel like an anal-retentive bastard about wanting certain books.



I don't feel like a bad person now for wanting that ^^^ instead of this:



The top one is trade-paperback and the bottom one is mass-market. No big plans this weekend other than to curl up with my laptop and a cup of tea. And now, I do work.

I know, I know. I want! I'm pretty much in love with two things on the Urban Outfitters site.



and



Yeah, I'm actually super lame and no one is surprised. Things like this make me wish I lived in Edmonton or Vancouver, because then I could buy them and my life would be complete. Let's be honest, that Charlie Brown tree? More room for presents!

So, Chapters is going well. I'm secretly kind of in love with books. I keep doing re-shelve or tasking and finding books that I'm like "Hm, I want to read this." But I'm being very careful about not buying everything I see or I'd definitely need to buy a new bookshelf right away.

I already need a new bookshelf. As soon as I move out, I'll probably look into getting this:



because it can handle LPs and oversized books. I'll likely get it in black, though. I might grab a storage basket or two for the miscellaneous 45s and headphones and cords and whatnot that I have.

I'm finally getting a physical copy of Howl
This week is going to be a little more relaxed than last week. In no particular order, I must:

• Change my car's oil
• Get a quote on repairing the driver's side door of my car
• Take wire CD rack to Meghan
• Rip some more CDs to my laptop
• Pick up the last of my Christmas shopping: 1 physical gift card, 3 online orders of gift cards, and 1 gift for the boy who has everything except me.
• Get a hair cut
• Wrap Christmas gifts
• Write 3000 words
• Obtain a copy of How I Met Your Mother Season 1/2

I might also buy The Bro Code, because that shit is awesome. For example:

A bro's mom is off-limits at all times, unless she's a step-mother, she initiates it and is wearing leopard print.

You really can't make that up, can you?

Oy vey it's a been awhile. Things are a lot better on my end. The Conference 'O' Doom is over and I no longer have to meet in the boardroom for six hours out of what were turning into ten hour days. I'm grateful for everyone who kept me sane. They know who they are.

As of right now, I'm setting a new list of goals for myself because the old ones belonged to the old blog which belonged to the old me. There are things I find more important now than getting a huge record collection or seeing a certain band a certain number of times. Like I said, this time I mean it, I'm coming clean.

Meghan and I had Starbucks hangs last night and the newest love of my life is Venti Iced Passion Tea Lemonade Unsweetened. Sorry, guys, you can't compete. I'm in the middle of reading Mailman and I wish it would hurry up and get to something interesting. The premise sounded so promising. That's what she said.

I have two flights coming up in two months and I'm deathly excited for both of them. Seeing someone too often spoils me but not seeing them often enough makes my heart break a little more.

I'm kind of anal about the order of my books. They go alphabetical by author and then alphabetical by book title. Tonight, I was putting away The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks and I noticed I was missing one of my Dave Eggers books. I cannot find A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius! I do not know where it went, at all. I can only think of a few people I loan books to and I don't think any of them have it? If that's the case, I haven't actually had it with me for two years and it's currently sitting somewhere in my aunt's house in Edmonton. I knew living in that city for a month was a bad idea. Oh well, if I have to replace it, I have to. Shit happens. 

I'm currently on Week 2 of my transit experiment. I'm still enjoying it, though I'm sure that will change once the weather turns nasty in the city. Today, I sat on the train and read about twenty pages of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night. I'm enjoying that quite a bit. I'm not sure what I'm going to go with after I read that, but it'll be amusing as well. 

I'm slowly depleting my massive reading list. Unfortunately, it's still going far too slow for my liking. I think what I'm going to do as a goal next year is get one of those "100 Books You Should Read" lists and try to get through all hundred of them in a year. 

Instead of sleeping, I'm blogging and looking at other blogs. I wonder what people will think in twenty years when they think about us using blogs. Will they look at it the same way I look at writing in a paper journal? That is to say, will they think it's a romantic notion but find it difficult to keep up with and ultimately impossible to commit to?

Hm. Also, I'm avoiding the new Indiana Jones movie. I'm not into it, guys.