Hooray!

I got the job!

I'm now School Programs Coordinator/Educator! (well at least until the end of June, when the contract ends)

HOOOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

..and it's already a crazy one. We had lots of fun in Florida with the family. We went sailing, to a hockey game and we ate WAY too much food. I need a detox and a lot of pilates.

Also, I got a call from my old boss at the framing shop, not the crazy lady, but her ex-husband/co-owner. Apparently, crazy Haddie is no longer working there and he offered me my job back. Hmm...since he wants ME back, doesn't that mean I can ask for a raise?

But I'm not sure about it because I'm still working at the museum but that job too could be changing...nothing definite yet, but my supervisor at the museum left at the end of November on an indefinite medical leave (due to stress). No one has filled his position yet...so a co-worker and I are working on a plan to job share the position. That way we could still do programs with the kids, but also get more responsibility and more money (and share the stress of the job)! We have a meeting with the VP on Thursday morning. Everyone we've talked to at the museum is really excited for us and hopes that it works out. I'm preeeety sure we'll get the job, but ya never know...if it doesn't work out though, I guess I could go back to the store...but I'd rather work at the museum. At least I'd be working towards a career and less of just a job.

Evil octopus of glum.

It's cold here. Really cold. I mean -18 cold. Hurt your lungs, freeze your snot cold. (hooray North Face Arctic Parka for Christmas) Along with it being cold, work has been feeling a bit awkward. Like an old favorite pair of jeans that just won't fit over your new holiday gut uncomfortable. I squeeze to fit in, but it just pinches in the wrong spots. Things will work out, I'm sure, but in the meantime, I just have to suck it in...err up, as the case may be.

*sigh* overeducated, underappreciated, underpaid...

23 days until Florida...2 luxurious weeks in palm trees. I can't wait to get sand up my butt.

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Chinooks!

The weather in Calgary has been GREAT the last few days. Record temperatures (mid-60s) and sunny. It's like summer. The chinooks rule...and they make for neat skies too. This is a view from my balcony the other day. You can see the mountains WAY far off like little points.

Crazy clouds.

Happy American Thanksgiving!

Sprawl-Mart

We went to see the Walmart movie a couple of days ago. I don't think it has a public release in all theatres, but is being shown via private showings and I recommend seeing it if you can find it. Brings up lots of other reasons to not shop at Walmart. I don't anyway, but after hearing that the Walmart heirs donated a whopping $6000 last year to charities (with record earnings in the billions) I REALLY don't want to contibute to their evil company.

Boo on Walmart. I guess it brings up the question, should large corporations have a social responsibility? I would say yes only because it seems fair that you treat your employees they way you would want to be treated (fair wages, health care, vacation...) but that's just my opinion.

Halloweiner.

Costumes and fun.

I got the sick.

I feel like crap. Head, throat, cough...sore...BOOOO! Probably from all the fun on Halloween. It was pretty fun. Some good costumes and some lame ones too..who goes to a Halloween party and doesn't wear a costume? I can tell you this. It is not fun to teach kids while sick.

Going to Bad Religion show tomorrow.

Trading Spouses rules.

Feel the phatty beatz yo.

My friend called the other day and said "i know you listen to electronic music, bring some scary music to my party (for Halloween, of course)."

I started listening to some of my old cds...

I miss the jungle/drum and bass I used to listen to a lot. I wish I had some clubbing friends who wanted to go see DJs...hell I wish there was a club scene here. I noticed that Ritchie Hawtin came here last week. That might have been fun. I've had lots of fun seeing him spin. I need to get out and do that more often. I'm turning into an old married.

Flock of Seagulls.

Yesterday while waiting at the bus stop, I noticed all the people looking left. It was during rush hour so there were a few dozen people waiting for one of many buses and they were looking left because that's the direction the bus would be coming. It reminded me of seagulls. If you've been to the beach, you've seen groups of hundreds of seagulls (even if you've been to a parking lot you may have witnessed this behaviour) ((wow, I just have to remark on that remark...I put a U in behaviour without thinking....the Canadians are brainwashing me)). I've always found it funny that aside from a few, the vast majority of seagulls always face the same direction. Much like humans at a bus stop. I laughed.

Another thing that happened yesterday...though it's not quite as funny. I was teaching a program at the Glenbow. A fun program called Landers and Builders. The students create a "landers" culture by exploring artifacts...it's a long complicated explanation that I won't get into too much detail over...but I start the program by discussing what makes a culture a culture. Holidays, clothing, religion...all that stuff. I asked "when do you celebrate Thanksgiving". Some idiots said June, but most of them said "OCTOBER!". I said, "well I celebrate it in November because that is my culture" trying to show a difference between 2 similar people....well that opened Pandora's box of the "oh great, you're an American..." See, these kids are homeschooled. I'm not sure what their parents' deal is, why they decided to homeschool their kids, but I gather that the parents have strong opinions about many things, including Americans. I've tried to keep an open mind about homeschooling. I know that there are religious and geographic reasons for homeschooling, but I've always felt that the kids don't get the socialization other "regular"-schooled kids get. I guess I never thought about the completely ridiculous opinions the kids are fed from their parents. The KIDS even were "yuck, Americans are bad...they kill people". ARGH! I've never heard this from kids. Only idiot adults who are too ignorant to not believe stereotypes and the media. Teachers in public schools, no matter what their opinion, would not be allowed to teach kids that "(insert group here) are bad people and we Canadians are better, this is fact". But homeschooled kids have no choice. These kids are told what their parents want to tell them and never exposed to other types of people. Yet another proof that homeschooling is bad. Yet another proof people are just a flock of seagulls.

Asian Invasion.

These disgusting things are infesting my house. They are crawling all over screens and outside walls. They aren't ladybugs, though they resemble their helpful cousins. No, these things are Asian beetles. From our friends to the East, they have no known enemies other than me, therefore take over the inside of houses across North America in the early fall to find refuge from the cold winter.

Oh, and they bite.

Snow on the windshield!

As I was on my way to the dentist's office this morning (2 fillings, YUCK! apparently, I have deep, deep crevices in my teef = cavity breeding ground), I drove past cars with snow on their windshields! Imagine that! SNOW! ...ick. I do want to buy a new winter coat. This one to be exact. I guess that's something fun about the leaves falling and the snow not far behind.

In honor of the end of summer. I post a picture of the pretty flowers I had on my balcony.

le premier jour d'automne

It's fall. Gee, when was summer? The weather this summer was awful and the Farmer's Almanac says that October is going to be:

1st-3rd. Rain and squalls. 4th-7th. Fair and quite chilly, then very unsettled. 8th-11th. Cold turkey? Unseasonably chilly. 12th-15th. Rain. 16th-19th. Fair and quite chilly weather. 20th-23rd. Squally weather and heavy precipitation spreads east. 24th-27th. Clearing skies, followed by colder temperatures. 28th-31st. Wet, then slow clearing.

GROSS!

Oh well, at least October is a fun month. Turkey at the beginning and costumes at the end.

A few photos from summer

Public Transit Annoyance #6

Dear Stinky Woman in Front of Me on the #2 Bus:

Why must you wear so much bloody perfume? Your vile stench is like a plague to my sinus cavities. It permiates my head and leaves me with a wicked headache for an hours. Is it that you have a terrible body odor problem? To be honest with you, I'd rather smell someone's stinky feet after bathing in a pot of fermented bile than deal with your 5 oz of cheap Walmart eau de toilet douced upon your clothes. After years of wearing that much perfume, you must not be able to smell anymore, that must be the problem! I recommend one spray, sprayed in front of you and walked into. Because you are definitely over-doing the smell, I can actually see the fumes coming off your clothes!

Sincerely,
A fellow passenger and concerned citizen.

Nerds.

I've finally done it. I registered a domain name. I've crossed into the modern age and I'm finally going to have my own real website. nataliemarsh.com is mine! My own little piece of virtual property to do as I want!

Oh, the endless possibilites....should it be about art? another blog? maybe I will have a store! And to think I have my very own graphic designer at my disposal to create a fabulous animated site full of fun and cuteness.

On another note, Nintendogs has got to be the cutest game of all time.

I have a pug. His name is Mao.

Long time, no update.

What have I been doing in the last 2 months? What haven't I been doing, I suppose would be the better question.

I worked at MRC as the art teacher in the magically delicious Mystical Art (aka Harry Potter influenced craft fun). It was ok. Well, it definitely had its fun moments like silly kids and the satisfaction of creating fun projects the kids enjoyed. It definitely had its NON fun moments like swimming with 200 other pants-pee-ers and barfers, playing dumbass games, and dealing with some of the people who thought they'd enjoy powertrips by forcing idiotic rules and plans even though they didn't know what they were doing and had virutally no experience working with kids. I mean, what do I really know, COME ON...I only have a degree and years of experience. Ah well...it was a means to an end and I know that in neither this life, nor others to come, I want to be a elementary art teacher. Blah, puke, blah...I can deal with pregnancy, sexual orientation issues, and drugs...I cannot deal with crying because you put too much glue on your paper owl and now he's all white (even though the glue dries clear). "It's your own damn fault ya baby, suck it up!"

I was also busy working on the Inuit Museokit for the Glenbow. I had to become a know-nothing Southern North American to an expert on Inuit culture in less than 3 weeks. I did it, the Inuit are really amazing and it was really fun.

We went camping a few times this summer where we got drunk, ate veggie dogs and saw lots of mountain sheep (one even had the squirts, it was quite disgusting and terribly funny). "this truly, truly....truly is God's country"

Now, I'm enjoying a few weeks of leisure before programs start at the museum. I have a painting in the works, I deep cleaned the house and getting lots of things done that I've wanted to do for a while. I think everyone should have a week off once a year, not for vacation, but for peddly things that never get done.

Little Drummer Boy

Who in their right mind would think it's ok to buy a drum set, set it up and PLAY the bastards while living in an apartment building? The person/people who live in apartment #605 I guess. My neighbor is a BAD drummer, he/she's been practicing every day from 1-3pm and he/she is not getting any better...

1...2....3....Bum, chich-a, bum chich-a, bum, bum...CRASH.... 1...2....3....bum, chich-a bum, chich-a bum, bum, bum, bum...CRASH! 1...2....3....

Over and over and over and over and over and over and over. It would be ok if he/she was acutally good. I appreicate a good instrument player. But it never seems to work that way, you get the person who can only play one chord on the guitar or can't quite hit the notes on the sax or in my case, a BRUTAL drummer, that is your neighbor...not a virtuoso.

Just when you think you can't live in a better apartment...the extremely annoying happens.

STOP PLAYING! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, TAKE UP KNITTING OR SOMETHING!

YOU SUCK!

Zoos.

Steve and I had fun at the zoo yesterday. We saw lots of animals, foxes missing legs, owls that blend in with rocks and BABY LAMBS! It was pretty fun and I think we were the only ones there without a baby stroller, damn those things are huge!

I like the zoo and I don't care what crazy, fanatical organizations say, animals don't really care about where they are. As long as the cage is condusive to their needs and they are well taken care of and fed properly, zoos are a good thing. They educate people on creatures they wouldn't normally see and that's pretty neat.