And the search is on!

Yesterday I woke up and decided to search the internet for job options in the city. I poked around a bit on the website of one of our smaller malls and got nothing. Then I went to the website of the bigger mall and struck job! 

There were about 20 different positions available, and out of them I was eligible to apply for 10. Odds were well in my favour...

So my sister and I travelled to the mall, copies of my resume tucked snugly into their folder. We grabbed some Arby's classics and curly fries for sustenance and strength and then set out to the locations I had put in my phone's memo.  We had to search a mall map 3 times, and I had to fill out three applications in total along with answering what I plan to do with my life, and discussing my availability with 10 different people... but I'm hoping it will all be worth the effort when I get a position or two. 

You see, I suffer from (what I like to call) pre-OSAP-repayment-anxiety... a cruel frame of mind that takes over your every moment of consciousness about 5 months after your last course, exam and essay is completed for college or university. Now this isn't really a diagnosed problem of any sort, but rather it is the psychological moment when you realize you're no longer joy riding on the back of financial assistance. And if your not careful, you could fall headlong into the obyss of debt-repayment and never see the light of day (or your own savings) again.

So here is where I currently stand... a month and 8 days away from the end of my 6 month grace period and with very little savings to my name. Hence my desperate need for employment.

Thanks to yesterday, I have a positive feeling that soon I shall be lifted out of the arms of financial stress and begin floating up into the clear blue skies of debt-freedom.

Its going to be a long journey but I'm eager to begin!

Now I've got to play the waiting game...

Wish me luck!

XoXo

Tea... a drink with jam and bread? or a culture in itself???

My best friend alerted me to this wonderful website that she has begun blogging on.  It's Steepster.com  and is a blog forum for tea drinkers.  It's kind of cute actually- At the top of my dashboard there's a headline question asking me "Hey BilichC, what's in your cup?" which I think is simply adorable!  Luckily, I was able to sign up with them through the wonderful world of Google and can not only follow my friends TeaLog but could potentially post myself.  Now I do love tea, and obviously writing, but since I already have two blogs going, I don't think it wise to take on logging the tea I drink unless I steep something fantastic in my NBC mug.

As there has always been a large number of tea drinkers all over the world, It doesn't surprise me that an online forum would be dedicated to tea's and tea drinking-tea drinkers.  In this day and age where everyone is so engrossed in online social networking and web-based communities, the establishment of TeaLog-ing seems to fit neatly into the fabric of cyber-cultures.  Not only has it become popular and important to share one's entire personal, academic or professional life on "the net", but the variants of topics, themes etc. have become specified to link together people far beyond the previous standards of commonality- language, literature and the lively arts. Yes, even the drinking of tea has become regulated and specified down to the exact type of loose leaf that "everyone" prefers.  Interestingly, as much as there is a huge boom in "coffee culture" in North American society, Tea is gaining for itself a place and reputation within culture that might rival that of coffee.

The aforementioned website which is the basis for this post will clarify just how much Tea has been effected by culture and Culture has been effected by Tea- take a look at the word "Steepster" as a prime example. Is it a clever mixing of the act associated with tea - i.e steeping, and the phenomenon called "hipster"??  Is it a comical spelling for two actions associated with tea- steep(ing) and stir(ing)? If Tea is such a globally shared interest, Why don't (more) people meet up IRL (outside of the internet) to talk about and enjoy tea? Have we become so accustomed to researching and participating in online interests that we forget the importance of physical socialization? These are some of the questions that float around in my brain after encountering a site such as this.  While the online tea drinking community is huge, according to Steepster, it appears to be just as large "offline" with people moving in and out of coffee-shops and tea-houses alike to purchase and consume all manner of tea and interact in social settings around tea such as frequenting retailers that sell tea and tea related implements. . .

Interesting Indeed.

 I checked out "Learn more"  section of this website in hopes of finding an answer but they do not address the phonetics of this word/title choice at all.  They inform their users that the website was created by three New Yorker's who love tea and wanted to keep a track of the tea's they were drinking.

 Furthermore, they provide 6 interesting reasons for why one might *heart* Steepster:

1. It's a connected online tea journal- you can share logs with anyone about the teas your consuming
2. It's a different way to discover new teas
3. it's the largest community-edited tea database on the web
4. you'll broaden your horizons and try new teas
5. it's a place to hang out and talk about all things tea
6. its totally free to sign up and easy to use

These certainly seem to be good reasons for one to participate in the Steepster culture... I only worry if it further persuades people to live their experiences and encounters through online media and negate the need for further human interaction beyond pointing to a tin and handing money to the TeaOpia cashier.

NeverTheLess, I still appreciate that there is a large community-edited forum for something as wonderful and "pure" as tea drinking.

I am aware that I did not address the history of Tea or the present day socio-economic issue around its cultivation, processing etc.  I care deeply, just not interested enough for this post. So no harsh comments please.  Feel free to give me your opinion, thoughts or knowledge on tea though, as always I am happy to receive your feedback and thoughts.

XoXo

Nothing better than a rainy Saturday morning :(

I went to sleep early last and for some reason my body decided to wake me up every hour, on the hour for the last 5 hours... and at the strangest time too- 5:50, 6:49, 7:48, 8:47... notice the pattern?? Weird right?

Unfortunately I got to thinking too much last night and my brain wouldn't let my body rest peacefully. At least its cooled down a lot since mid-August but the rain tends to make mornings a little more depressing than usual.

Last Wednesday night I got my hair cut... and I'm finally adjusted to it. I needed a change desperately and my hairdresser was more than happy to comply. She cut off 4 inches all around and gave me some side layers. I haven't had bangs of any sort since highschool- Yikes! But I'm glad to have them back now. Its a pain when your walking in windy weather but altogether more fun to flip and toss at random :)

I've spent the past 2 days helping my parents reno their bedroom.. let me tell ya.. you accumulate a ridiculous amount of stuff over 30+ years of marriage.. and all of it with a distinct memory attached. Unlike my bedroom reno, I'm not doing everything *hehe* and I'm especially not going to be painting or spackling. I left that up to my dear old dad who surprisingly enough, is pretty handy with a paint roller. I took on the tasks of emptying the room, building the IKEA furniture (a big sliding door wardrobe and 2 bedside tables) and putting everything back in the room. My sisters have also made me the purge police- not an easy feat- which entails getting a 59 year old housewife to let go of the little meaningful and precious "things" she's been holding onto before marriage was even in her mind. *sigh* its going to be a fun next few days but I hope to keep my energy up or else I fear catastrophy.

I have to sing at a polish wedding this afternoon- the Ave Maria in G.. if you know anything about me, you will know how much I fear that song in that key. I know what you're thinking... G isn't a high key. . Well it is for someone who loves the alto range and can't hit anything over an A clearly or loudly to save her life. I went to meet with the polish organist the other day and luckily for me, they have a top notch sound system and very good acoustics.. so as long as the notes come out, I'll be heard. Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck at 2pm today.

I'm so excited because I'm finally getting out of the house and out of the Hammer for a spell!!! My cousin invited me out to Toronto and I have been looking forward to it all week. This crazy renovating queen needs a break! I'm bringing a book and notebook alogn with me, even though the express bus only takes a half hour or so.. but it will be nice to have Jo March- Bhaer and the Plumfield Boys for company :)

Can't wait to tell you all about my adventure, and until then, have a lovely weekend. Hope its dry where you are :D

XoXo  

September 3rd: The initiation of Change and A Bookcase of Wonder..

So its the third day of September and I am finally getting my changes up and running :) Its another beautiful end-of-summer-day with the sun shining just marvelously on the vibrant green leaves and the maple tree helicopters (seedlings) falling.  I've been in doors since I woke up and I finally got through compiling a list of all the books on my bedroom bookshelf.  I have to say, its as much exciting as it is daunting but I am looking forward to losing myself in year long literary abandon!!!  SO enjoy reading through my list and fear not, I shall endeavor to blog along my journey both book-related and non...

I have started up a new blog for my insane undertaking and I hope you will read it and follow along with me in this new wonderful year.  It is entitled    Tales From The BookCase  and you can check it out at CBbookcase.blogspot.com  OR from my blogger profile page (or just google me and it should come up).

Without much more ado, here its the compiled list of books that reside snugly on my BookCase.. If you're interested in knowing what versions, editions etc I am reading, feel free to post a comment or drop me an e-mail at bilichc@hotmail.com

                                               Titles- by Author last name:

Alcott, Luisa M- Little Women
                              - Little Men
Alexie, Sherman- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
                                 - Reservation Blues
                                 - Indian Killer
                                 - Ten Little Indians
                                 - The Absolutely True Diarty of a Part-Time Indian
Andrews, V.C - Daughter of Darkness
                            -Garden of Shadows
                             - If There Be Thorns
                             - Seeds of Yesterday
                              - Secrets in the Attic
                              - Willow
Armintrout, Jennifer- Blood Ties Book One: The Turning
                                         - Blood Ties Book Two: Possession
                                         - Blood Ties Book Three: Ashes to Ashes
                                         - Blood Ties Book Four: All Souls Night
Austen, Jane - Sense and Sensibility
                           -Pride and Prejudice
                           - Persuasion
                          - Northanger Abbey
                          - Mansfield Park
                          - Emma
Banks, L. A: Vampire Huntress Legends
                       - Minion
                       - The Awakening
                      - The Hunted
                      - the Bitten
                      - The Forbidden
                      - The Damned
                      - The Forsaken
                       -The Wicked
                       - The Cursed
                       - The Darkness
                       - The Shadows
                       - The Thirteenth
Boyden, Joseph- Three Day Road
Bruce, Harry- MAUD: The Life of L. M. Montgomery
Baum, Frank L. - Dorothy and the Wizard In Oz
                               - The Road to Oz
Campbell, Camille - Meditations with Teresa of Avila
Churchill, Jill- Someone To Watch Over Me
Cohen, Leonard- Book of Longing
Conrad, Joseph- Heart of Darkness
Dick, Phillip- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dickens, Charles- David Copperfield
                                  - Oliver Twist
Butcher, Jim. et al -My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
Erdrich, Louise- Tracks
Fielding, Helen- Bridget Jones's Diary
Ftizpatrick, Becca- Hush, Hush
Frank, Anne- The Diary of a Young Girl
Gansworth, Eric- Sovereign Bones
Golden, Arthur- Memoirs of a Geisha
Grimms, Jakob & Wilhelm - The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (Unabridged)
Gunn, Robin Jones- Sweet Dreams
Hart, Raven- The Vampire's Seduction
                        - The Vampire's Secret
                        - The Vampire's Kiss
                        - The Vampire's Betrayal
                        - The Vampire's Revenge
Highway, Thomson- Dry Lips Ought to Move to Kapuskasing
Harrison, Charles Yale- Generals Die in Bed
Hiaasen, Carl- Native Tongue
Hughes, Monica- The Dream Catcher
Humphreys, C.C - Vlad, The last Confession
Jackson, Kevin- BITE, A Vampire Handbook
Kate, Lauren - Fallen
                          - Torment
                          -Passion
King, James - Etienne's Alphabet
Lewis, C. S - The Chronicles of Narnia
Lewis, J. F - Staked
Loggia, Wendy- Ever After, a Cinderella Story
Milton, John- Selected Poems
Marston, Edward- The Wanton Angel
McCabe, Patrick- Breakfast on Pluto
Mojica, Monique- Princess Pocahontas and  The Blue Spots
Momaday, Scott.  N - House Made of Dawn
Montgommery, L. M - Anne of Green Gables
                                          - Anne of Avonlea
                                          - Anne of The Island
                                          - Anne of Windy Poplars
                                          - Anne's House of Dreams
                                          - Anne of Ingleside
                                          -Rainbow Valley
                                          - Rilla of Ingleside
                                          -At the Altar
                                          - Magic for Marigold
                                           -Christmas With Anne
Morrison, Tony - Tar Baby
Morton, Kate - Forgotten Garden
Culleton Mosionier, Beatrice - In Search of April Raintree
Powell, Julie - Julie & Julia
Richardson, Samuel - Clarissa
Rhys, Jean - Voyage in the Dark
Rice, Anne - Interview with the Vampire
                       - The Vampire Lestat
                       -Queen of the Damned
                       - The Vampire Armand
Sagal, Peter- The Book of Vice, Very Naughty Things (and how to do them)
Selvaduri, Shayam - Funny Boy
Shange, Ntozake - For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow
                                       is Enuf
Shakespeare - Hamlet
                     - The Tempest
                      - The Taming of the Shrew
Saint- Exupery, Antoine de - The Little Prince
Sparks, Kerrelyn - Be Still My Vampire Heart
                             - The Undead Next Door
                              - Vampire Mine
Stine, R. L - Bitten: Dangerous Girls & The Taste of Night
                  - First Date
Stoker, Bram - Dracula
Thomas, D. M - The White Hotel
 Trow, M. J - A Brief History of Vampires
Twain, Mark - Classics
Walker, Alice- The Color Purple
Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Gray
Yeats, W.B - Early Poems

XOXO

September already.. oy!

I can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by.. first all I could think about was graduating and my sisters wedding stuff.. then we reno'd and now its the end of September 1st. You really have to keep an eye on those moments, because once they're gone.. they are gone.
Alas, we should not be despairing for summers end, but rejoicing in the next seasons beginning. Autumn is my favourite time of year. Change is in the air as the world and its wonders prepare for winter sleep. As the warm summer wind becomes a cool autumn breeze, I find myself falling in love again.. with the trees. The leaves shed their usual green and take on bright yellows and rusty oranges, cheery browns and fiery reds before fluttering softly to enhance the earth. Is there's anything better in autumn then to walk amidst the falling leaves and revel in their hues?
Perhaps I'm partial to The Fall because I'm born in November... golden topaz is the most amazing stone and I am proud to have received it by birth. The change in the worlds colours mirrors the change I undertake each year from September to December... the change in age, in maturity and wisdom among the physical changes that come with the passing time. Like the trees I too have grown my shiny green leaves and nurtured them in the sun all summer, waiting for the change to begin. And so I shed my green for colours of the sunset which bring forth inner change of life. As the sun falls, and my branches release their colourful fringes, this change settles around and upon me to prepare me for the cold that is to come. While I enjoy the winter landscape and snow falling upon the sleepy earth, I can't help but love the freedom of walking through the leaves strewn on pathways and roadways and lawns, and seeing the colours lying carelessly about against the concrete.  I love that the autumn days permit all flights of fancy before the constricting restrictions of ice and slush, snow storms and unshoveled side walks. 
Don't you just love sweater weather???
Autumn time is a time of harvesting ones self into ones own spiritual, mental and emotional siloh in preperation for the harshness that winter brings. I for one am looking forward to enjoying each Fall day, indoors or out, with a shawl around my shoulders and a pen or book in my hands.
*sigh*
Oh speaking of books. I've officially started my year long bookcase marathon!!! I will be posting the list en masse asap but in case you're wondering what I've read thus far, here's a small sampling...
Little Women by Luisa M. Alcott
Little Men by Luisa M. Alcottt 
Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
The French Chef by Julia Child
I'm currently on the second chapter of Little Men and loving every page!
So here's to the next year, the next season and the next chapter of the book, of my novel and of my life.  Come along with me ye who a brave soul be.. tis a perilous journey but it will be well worth doing in the long run.
XoXo