Aaaaand a month later, here I am!

Remember that time when I said I was hoping to be able to post at least once a week in here to keep people up to date with what's going on in my life?

.....That went well!!

On the other hand, I suppose that the fact that I've been too busy to update in here is a good thing, right?!

Or it could be very bad.

You see, this last month has literally flown so quickly that I have NO Idea where it went.

I have lots to show for it, mind you, but the fact that it's almost -no, that it IS the end of April (well, not it's May) is horrifying to me.

I didn't think I'd be the kind of person to lament the swift passing of time, but here I am: lamentation is going on right now, not even gonna lie.

You see, this hasn't been your ordinary, ho-hum kind of month. No, this has been the middle of a massive learning curve, and I'm not through it yet.

Work has been amazing and exciting and scary and dangerous (I may possibly be typing with 2 band-aids on my fingers after having just taking one off of my palm), but all in all I couldn't ask for a better job.

There's so much that's happened in the past 2 months that I don't even know where to start.

Should I begin with the time that our Brewmaster Gunther came into work cradling a small pink ceramic pig to his chest? Or the time I baked breaded chicken in the oven... for 6 hours?

I suppose I could talk about the day that I was locked in the beer cooler for 20 minutes or the day that I was trying to get to a friend's house and got lost in one of the cookie-cutter suburbs in the south side of Edmonton.

All of those are great stories, but I wouldn't know where to begin.

Instead, I'm going to talk about what I do on a daily basis.

On a week day I wake up around 7:00 am, which gives me enough time to eat and get my pants on. Because really, what else could I need?

My bus comes at 8:30 am, and I go to the U of A's South Campus LRT station, which means that I get to take the train to work EVERY DAY!!!!!

It's so exciting.

But actually.

I get to work just before 9, and depending on when C gets there, I could be waiting up to 30 minutes. It doesn't suck right now, but it sure does when it was freaking -13C!

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays we have to put away the order, which is pretty much putting $3,000 dollars worth of groceries. It's not pleasant, but it must be done.

Then we get to work on the prep list!

Our prep list is composed of all of the different items that we need to take care of, ranging from slicing shitake mushrooms to making apple cider vinegar to cooking off the roasts to whatever!! Whatever is needed, we do it.

It's really great, because then things aren't always the same every day. The prep board always changes and on Monday we started a new menu!

I go non-stop until I get off work, which is anywhere from 5 to 7 pm. It's really difficult to plan anything after work because I can never tell when I'll be set free, not to mention that the bus system is a fickle mistress.

All-in-all, it's been great, and I do really enjoy what I do on a daily basis.

The staff is great and though Chef can be a bit moody sometimes, I an thankful for what I have.

Today has been a bit of a crazy day, because one of my very best friends moved away today.

He's been a staple and a pillar in my life so far, and while I know he's not gone forever, it's going to be weird adjusting to not having him around.

I'm pretty much completely exhausted right now, so I'll have to write more later this week.

Don't Panic.

So it's been a while...

Yes, I realize that, as of late, I've kind of neglected to update. And I'm aware that to SOME people (cough-C-cough) I'm a failure. But whatever, I'm alive and I still have my wallet, so I think I'm doing pretty good.

This last month has gone by much quicker than I would have liked.

During this time I have done a lot of growing up. I've learned to navigate the bus route(ish) and open a bank account, and I've been working a full month now and STILL love my job. There aren't a lot of people who can say that.

I mean really, I look forward to work every day. I don't look forward to getting up early or having to catch the bus (because sometimes ((once)) I missed it), but on the whole there is a lot more that I like about my job than I dislike - such as learning something new every day, the people there, and the atmosphere in general. I'm one of only two girls in the kitchen, so the guys are really nice to us. A (the other girl in the kitchen) only works 3 of the 5 days I work there, so on the off 2 days it's always Gang Up On Kenzie Day. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, on a more personal note, I'm still pretty heartsick.

I mean yes, I have a BB so I'm able to keep in closer contact with my parents and siblings, but it's not the same as having them here to hug and tell them I love them (because I DO love them). It's so strange to me, living in a home with people whom I do love but hardly know. We all live such separate lives, and while it's rarely uncomfortable, and while the house is beginning to feel like home, it's not the same as Home. Where my family is, where my best friends are, where my Church family is, where my dog is. Oh man, do I ever miss my dog.

I LOVE YOU, CAFE!!!!!!!

Moving on, I have done a ton of awesome stuff in the past month living in Edmonton.

I've gone on a HUGE roller coaster (facing my fear of heights), gone on a short road trip to an amazing camp in the middle of nowhere (I went for a walk and slipped in a snow bank and upset some geese and got lost and slipped into the river and got unlost and built a snowman and saw squirrel blood in the snow and got lost again and fell into another snow bank and ate some smarties and sat on a bench (IN THE SUN!!!) and tried to dry out my shoes and found my way back to the big building and was lent a pair of sweats so I could dry out my clothes.

THEN I attended common ground), fallen in love WITH THE TRAIN, explored the city, gone on long walks through my neighbourhood, met a whole bunch of awesome people, gone to a bar on St. Patty's day, visited with my Great-Great Grandfather, built and Acorn Horn Snowman (he was awesome. Now he's dead D: ), gotten to know my little cousins better, learned a ton about the culinary industry and learned even more about myself.

I really can't wait to se what the month of April is going to bring!

On a financial note, things are doing pretty good.

I still need to learn how to manage my money better, because it's the little things that are going to be my end.

I guess that in a way, I feel like I have a lot of money in my account because I can't see where it al needs to go.

Admittedly, my income waaaaay surpasses my output, but still, I need to save for college and whatnot. I'd like to be able to become more independent, and maybe one day own a car! (HA, not really. They're a lot more work then they're worth, I think. I just dislike my bus schedule.)

I WOULD, however, like my own apartment. Well really I'd like to room with someone AWESOME (and you know who you are!!) so that had better get underway soon!!

I guess I should wrap things up, I've got to get to sleep so I can be lucid in the mornings.

To anyone who reads this, from back home, my travels or my new life, I really do appreciate you being in my life (unless you're a stalker, then WELCOME!), and I truly look forward to the future.

Don't Panic.

Bus Misadventures all over the place.

So, this morning I took a dry run to work at the time that I'd normally need to go, and after extensive research and much frustration (this city is retarded, I swear) I figured out what I needed to do

So I got up early, ate a Breakfast Of Champions (miniwheats!!!!!) and headed out the door.

I got to the bus stop all nice and early because I didn't want to miss my bus, but getting there nice and early is a bad idea when it's -15C out, let me tell you.

But I waited, and the bus arrived right on time. It was fantastic.

The ride went exactly as planned, and I arrived to the LRT station right on time. The train came 1 minute (literally) after I arrived, and I took it Century Park like a pro.

Then I got a starbucks!! And I'm really jittery 2 hours later.

Back to the LRT I went and took it back to Southgate, and then the real challenge stared me in the face: which bus out of the billion there did I take home.

I knew that my route was either 32 or 33 (both go past my home at one point or another) so I strategically placed myself in the middle of the two so I could see which one came first.

Bus Route 33 came first, and it said Meadows on it, which is the route that I took to get to southgate yesterday, so I was all stoked thinking that I was about to be a champ and get on the right bus the first time.

Wrong.

The bus driver stepped out just as everyone was boarding and I was like "meh, whateva, I know how to get home, I'm the master of the bus routes." So I just sat down and looked official and read my book (Lord of the Flies by Golding. Freaking intense book, btw). But, lo and behold, when I looked up I realized that I was driving past my chiropractor's office. Which is on the other side of town from where I lived.

And I was like, "...oh crap."

So I got up and talked to the driver, who just so happened to be the driver from the day before! The one who was really nice.

I said "So, at this point I'm guessing I took the wrong bus if I wanted to get to Riverbend, right?"

And he laughed at me.

He LAUGHED at ME!

So I laughed too, thinking that if I was nice to him he'd help me get home.

So he told me that I was on the wrong bus, right route.

You see, one bus goes east, and the other goes west.

I needed to go east, and I went west.

Not the best idea.

But he told me to stick around because we were going a little further west, then we'd stop back at Southgate, then we'd be going East (which is home for me).

So I took a seat, and Gary the Bus Driver and I had a jolly good time, talking about everything from God to Mexico to Real estate to popcorn.

It was great.

An hour and 10 minutes after I had first boarded the bus, I was dropped off at my stop.

A ride that was supposed to take 20 minutes took a lot longer than that, but I learned a lot and made friends with someone who has worked on that route for 20 years.

I felt like it was a morning well spent.

I have to leave to go to training at work in a little while, and Gary the Bus Driver even helped me plan my route for the day and told me how not to get lost.

So now I TRULY am Master of Route 32 And 33 (yes, that's now my official title.) and I feel ready to get to work and home safely every day.

This is great.

Now I just need to learn how to get to other places. Namely church.

Maybe tomorrow.

Don't Panic.

Real life is beginning.

And fast.

Today is Monday, and I moved into my new house on Saturday.

It's been an interesting experience, living with extended family. They've been amazing and accommodating in every sense of the word, and they even drove me to church on Sunday. But it's much different living here than living at my grandparents house.

So today I went on a dry run on the bus, and it was an interesting experience.

I misread the bus schedule and ended up waiting in the little bus shack for 35 minutes. When the first bus rolled around I asked the driver if he went to Southgate and he said no, he was going to West edmonton mall (which would have been a much more desirable destination, let me tell you!) so I sat there and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then another bus came by and I asked again if he went to Southgate, and same story. He went to WEM. But, he did say that my bus would be there soon, so just hold tight.

Lo and behold, when the next bus came, it was for Southgate. And boy, were my toes happy. They were thinking about running away. But they couldn't, because they were frozen.

The Bus Doors Opened And: it was the same driver from the first bus. He laughed at me and asked if I had been waiting there the whole time, and I had. He said "Well then you should have just come for a ride with me, it would have been a lot warmer!!"

I completely agree.

So I got on and rode the bus to Southgate, and from the Central Station I got on the LRT (light rail transit, an awesome train-like thing that confused the heck out of me) and walked the coldest 4 minute walk of my life.

It was fantastic.

And tomorrow I begin work.

Which is both exciting and scary, because it OFFICIALLY marks the beginning of my life.

It will be the beginning of ME being in charge of ME.

Crazy, right?

There's a ton more that's happened in the last couple of days (like the moving in process and the family dinner last night that was AWESOME!!) and I'll write about that soon.

I REALLY need to buy myself a computer because I'm using my cousin's at the moment.

Time to go shopping :)

Don't Panic.

Life is about to change.... again.

I feel like it's happening all over again, and it's both exciting and scary.

After being here for a month and literally not doing much (....that's a lie. I've done a lot. But I haven't DONE anything, you know?) on Saturday morning I'm moving into the big city of Edmonton.

It's crazy awesome because I'll actually be able to get out and do stuff, but on the other hand I'll officially be living under my own law. And for those who know me, that's dangerous.

But it's happening, and I'm excited.
On Sunday I plan on taking the bus all by my self for the first time in Canada.

And that makes me want to pee my pants a little bit.

But I'm sure I'll be fine.

So for the past week we've been working on getting my great-grandfather settled in his new nursing home, and oh man, is this man amazing.

He's 90 years old, and has all of the ladies in the home under his thumb. They all LOVE him, and he's so smooth. It's given me SO much hope.

I mean, he was in the hospital since the 28th of December and just Tuesday he was placed back into the home where he lived for the past 11 years, and everybody there adores him, and he was super happy to be back.

He's witty and he has a sick, biting sense of humor that I absolutely love.

He's gonna do just fine.

Tomorrow we're babysitting the munchkins all morning so I'll be focusing on packing and getting some work for literature done.

Man, this whole online schooling thing is laaaaaaaaaame.

I ALREADY DID 12th GRADE, PEOPLE. I didn't want to have to retake freaking classes.

But alas, that is what has happened.
Whateva.

It's being done, bla bla bla, I'm awesome.

Anyways, I need to do some "suggested reading" for a freaking book report (a book report! What, am I 7?!) so I'll update when I can.

......
I need my own laptop.

Don't Panic.

Catering is not my calling.

You know, I don't know why I always do this to myself.

Yesterday I worked 14 and a half hours with PK catering, which is seriously one of the best catering companies whose food I've ever tasted.

It was a long but awesome day, and we did everything from setting up the tables to polishing the silverware and folding napkins and arranging centerpieces to preparing the food and making the salads and putting all of the condiments in little bowls to baking the main dishes and garnishing and making everything look pretty to cleaning up and doing dishes in the end.

It was a really intense day, but it was quite fun.

I have, however, decided once and for all the catering events is NOT what I want to do with my life.

I mean, doing it every once in a while is great, and I'll HELP cater as much as I'm asked t. But actually have to organize everything and make things happen?? No. Not for me.

On Friday I went to a youth group on the south side of Edmonton, and as always, I really enjoyed the people there.

It's cool, because it's just a place for people to hang out and play dodgeball, and everyone's so cool. My cousin J picked me up from there, and I spent the night at her house.

We woke up early the next morning to be at the catering hall at 9:30am, and from there the day took off.

We started by getting all of the tables set up and made to look pretty, and since 2 of my cousins were working there too, we all got to catch up and chat while we were doing all of the tedious, menial tasks.

Dinner was to be served around 7:15, and while that sounds like there would be lots of time between 9:30 and 7:15, you'd be surprised at how quickly it goes by.

I literally could not believe when 6:oo pm rolled around, which is when The Pig was brought in.

Now, you need to understand that this was no ordinary pig. The Pig was a smoked pig that has essentially just been hacked up. It was disgusting. The man who brought in the pig hadn't done anything to dress it up, and there was congealed blood all over the place. He hadn't even stuffed the pig's mouth, so here was this huge pig's head, mouth gaping and absolutely burnt all. It's tongue was hanging out and the inside of it's mouth was just black, and it's teeth were disgusting. Oh, just thinking about it gives me the heebyjeebies.

Then, around the same time that the pig arrives, two guys come in. Usually I'm all for meeting new people, but these boys were 17 going on 12. They were immature and never stopped talking. Plus, they slacked off the whole time. Good fun, really.

But let me just tell you, PK Catering knows how to do a good dessert table. There were tarts and tasty squares and cakes and fruit platters, and it was all amazing. As I was setting things out I kept getting compliments on how much people loved the food and the presentation.
Although it was a long day, I've had longer, and it wasn't as much work as I was expecting. Everyone (except for the boys) shouldered their fair share of work and it went by quickly.

Well, it's snowing.

Again.

I think I've said this before, but I really dislike the snow. And the cold. Even though I'm really sore right now (from being on my feet and running around all day yesterday - mainly ankles and back) I still don't like the fact that I'm all cooped up in the house. It feels kind of like prison sometimes. There's 2 options, which is reading or tv. I don't like being on the internet that much because apart from being painfully slow and temperamental, the internet is in my grandparent's room. It's a little weird.

I mean, if I had access to a bus system it wouldn't be so bad because I could go and hang out with friends or go to a mall or something, but sometimes I'll go for days without seeing anyone, and for me, that's crazy.

I've said this before, but this time I really have no choice - I'll be moving into Edmonton sometime this week. I begin work on Tuesday the 8th, and I still need to get used to the bus system before I start. I'm looking forward to this, but I'm afraid the monotony of it all will get to me and I'll be unhappy. It's not like I won't have options, but I think that this will be the best place for me, and I'll just suck it up!

Don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER excited! But those who know me well know that I'm prone to boredom when it comes to pretty much anything repetitive.

That's why I loved the property management so much; there was always something different to do, always something new. Even though it sucked up my whole life and made it so I had virtually no social life, I really enjoyed it (until the end).

Snowman building is 0 for 3. I've tried and tried, but it's still too bloody cold, and I don't appreciate that one freaking bit.

But it'll come.

Now I'm just looking forward to spring when I can wear shorts and skirts... anything but jeans.

I miss sunshine and warm wind and the ocean and my family and my dogs and my room and sunshine.

I'm still heartsick, I guess.

Well, I think it's time to have a shower and try going for a walk. Even though it's blizzarding it's only -8, which is hilarious (not really...) because when it's -25, it's TOO COLD FOR SNOW.

Gross, right?

I'll post how my adventure goes.

Don't Panic.

Things I have learned so far:

• Static sucks.
• During Canadian winters, it's pretty much the norm to look and feel like a marshmallow. Own it.
• Sometimes the moon looks freaking HUGE when it's rising.
• Canadians are really nice.
• Sunsets here last longer then they do back home.
• Snow is sparkly. And while that doesn't make it ok, it does help a little bit.
• Snow also reflects light like crazy, so when there's a full moon out it's crazy light outside. Like, light enough to make it look like dawn at midnight.
• No matter what people tell you, 0C is NOT warm.
• Never underestimate the power of ice.

I know I've said this before, but Canada is cold.

Really, really cold. And while I'd rather be a little chilly then a little too hot, this is ridiculous.

Learning how to cope with not leaving the house for a whole day has been an interesting process. It's SO cold that I don't even like leaving the front door, as jeans are not the warmest of leg gear and -26C is not the most ideal of circumstances for outdoor enjoyment, lots of reading and tv viewing have ensued.

For those of you who know me, you know I'm not the kind of person who likes to just sit around and do nothing. I have to be doing something, be it knitting, writing, folding, or just something to occupy my hands.

The only problem is that with the tv on all the time (my grandma doesn't like silence) I can't really focus on anything that requires my full attention, because while I can do 2 things at once, I don't like trying to focus on writing a story and having someone else's voice in the back of my head.

On another not, I've yet to build a snowman, and that bothers me.

The snow has either been too cold, too crusty or too light for it to work, and it's starting to make me angry.

I have decided that today since it's "only" -1C, I might give it a shot.

SO the other day my Grandma and I were driving home from Edmonton in the evening, and the rising moon was INCREDIBLE. It has HUGE and orange and super eerie looking, and I looooved it. Unfortunately, Gnome (my small camera) really sucks at night shots and I couldn't capture it. But while we were pulled over on the side of the highway, all of a sudden a big Jeep stops in front of us and backs up really close, and Mama starts banging on the window telling me to get in the car, so I did, and this guy comes out and approaches the car slowly. Mama cracked the window and he just asked if we needed any help. It was so nice!!! A little scary at first (I might have peed a little bit...) but it restored my faith in people, making me realize that not all men who stop on pitch-black highways in the middle of nowhere are there to kidnap you, like they make you believe on Criminal Minds.

Duly noted and good to know.

On Saturday my Grandpa made pancakes for breakfast, and oh man, I'd forgotten how very much I love whole wheat pancakes. And blueberries. If those things weren't so bad for your teeth (they stain them BLUE :/ ) I'd eat them all the time. They're so tasty, it's ridiculous. But then again, so are raspberries. I've only had frozen raspberries since I got here, but they're WAY better than nothing. Also, Uncle K and his wife and their 2 kids, G and Z, came over for dinner.

Hanging out with the munchkins was awesome as always. When it was time for the family to go home, G decided that he wanted to hang out in my room for a few minutes, and we had an impromptu lights show with the little lightsaber thing that he brought. He then informed me that he was going to sleep in my bed tonight, because now that there were things in my room, he didn't think it was so scary.

His dad had to come and get him out. It was great fun.

On Sunday, Mama and I went to church, and again, the people there were really awesome. The pastors son introduced me to a whole bunch of the youth, and as far as I could tell, they were genuinely happy to meet me.

They persuaded me to go to youth that evening, and I'm very glad that I did.

I'm also glad that I'd learned to play the piano, as I ended up doing that too.

You know, I'm always amazed by the little things, and having moved away from home kind of throws everything into focus very sharply.

Like yesterday when we were driving to youth in the evening and the light snow was blowing across the road.

Had I seen something like that in a movie, I would have thought it was just special effects. It looked like liquid fog, and it looked like it was dancing. I was so mesmerized by it while at the same time being repulsed by it, because let's face it, it's still snow.

Today I set up a bunch of stuff needed for going to school this fall, like getting my ASN (Alberta Student Number) and NAITportal set up and figuring out what's going on with the credits that I need.

Things are still not 100% set in stone, but I'm just 1 step closer to getting everything done.

Well, I'm off to go attempt a snowman.

Don't Panic.