Plain Jane

I've never been the kind of girl who needs at least an hours to get ready to go in the morning. Excluding eating breakfast and warming my car in the morning (Hey, Canadian winters are cold!) it usually takes me about 20-25 minutes to shower, get dressed and do what I need to do in the morning.

I'm always amazed by girls who refuse to leave the house without their full-blown make up done and hair looking perfect. I could never spend that much time caring about how I look in the morning. For me, it's moisturizer, concealer and a touch of mascara in the morning. I'm rather plain Jane that way, and I like it.

Kyle has asked a couple times why I don't wear make-up more often. Friends have "done up" my face on a couple occasions before going out to the bar and I really don't think it improved my appearance at all. Maybe it's because my odd Asian eyelids hide any trace of eyeshadow applied. Who knows.

Anyway, I wish women weren't so concerned about their appearances sometimes, and I'm not talking about weight or anything. Sure, if you have a giant zit that you need to cover up, okay, but do you really need to wear eight pounds of make-up to go to the grocery store? Probably not. Do you think guys will notice that you don't have your make-up on? Probably not. Will they be attracted to you anyway? Probably. Most guys like a natural look.

What about you? Are you "natural" or can you not live without your eyeliner?

10 for '10

I don't make New Years resolutions but usually I try to just do things that I've been wanting to do for a while. I got the idea from this post by Amber to list 10 things I'd like to accomplish this year. Some of them are planned already and some of them are not. Here we go!

1) Celebrate Chinese New Year in Vancouver - I really wish I celebrated my Chinese heritage more and I really enjoy taking part in Chinese New Year festivities. I haven't done so in two years and I'd really like to take the trip down and visit family. Plus, the food is amazing! I don't know if it will happen this year, with the Olympics making Vancouver crazy and all.

2) Have an amazing time during the Canucks game - Back in September, I bought Kyle and I tickets to see the Vancouver Canucks take on the Detroit Red Wings in March. We've recently booked out hotel room, and I'm super excited to go down. We haven't gone on an overnight trip together since 2008, so I'm looking forward to some good alone time.

3) Buy a house - I know it's a long shot at this point, but Kyle and I have been saving for about two years now for a down payment on a house. In October 2008 we had actually made a successful offer on a house, but the financing fell through as it was right during the time they were cancelling out zero-down payments. We're tired of renting and we really want our own place before getting married.

4) Advance in the workforce - Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but one day I'd really like to move up to a daily newspaper. Times are really tough right now, so it's been hard, especially since I want to stay in Kamloops

5) Go north - One of my best friends is having a baby in March and I can't wait for it to arrive! I really want to go up north and visit her in Fort Saint John, plus another friend in Prince George. Unfortunately time and money never seem to be on my side, so I guess I'll just have to play things by ear.

6) Cook - I'd really like to learn cook a wider range of dishes. My skills are generally limited to casseroles and pasta dishes, so I'd like to branch out a little. I love all types of food, so I'm curious to see what I'm capable of making in the kitchen.

7) Get in better shape - I've had a gym membership since July (or maybe August) of last year but I really haven't been using it to it's full potential. I want to try and hit the gym at least three times a week to start and eventually work my way up to four. It'll take some time, I know it, but I always feel amazing after a good workout and want to continue that!

8) Read more books - Last summer I read a ton of books but slowed down in the winter. There's a 900+ pager that's been sitting on my coffee table since October and I haven't even cracked the first page. I definitely want to get back into great books.

9) Hunt - Yes, some people may not like the idea of hunting animals, but I really enjoy hunting with my grandpa and I plan on getting my license this spring. My grandpa is quite proud of the fact that I enjoy going out into the bush with him and hunting for deer, and I can't wait to go again come fall.

10) Be a better blogger - I first started blogging about a  year ago for one of my journalism classes and I rather enjoyed it. Keeping to such a strict topic for my class was quite difficult but I've really enjoyed exploring the blog world and reading all the amazing blogs out there! It's made me want to work on mine and make it great!

Do you have anything you'd like to accomplish this year? Have any feedback on my blog you'd like to share! Yays or nays?

Two jobs, no life

I'm sure there comes a time in everyone's lives where they need to work two jobs (unless they're spoiled or rich or something). I've done it in high school; I was 15 and I worked at a little gift shop during the week and at a Chinese/Western restaurant on weekends during the evening.

I guess at that age not having a social life during the summer was okay. Everyone I knew was travelling somewhere and really, I thought it was cool to have a job. I didn't have to ask my parents for money anymore and I could start saving for something awesome.

I only did the two-job stint for that one summer and ever since then, I've just had one job part-time during school and full-time during the summer. Living at home helped ease my bills and having a dad as a mechanic (technically a heavy-duty mechanic, but he knows enough to fix small vehicles) really helped keep the money I made in my pocket.

Now, however, I live Kyle and have to pay for rent, groceries and all my other goodies. Sadly, I'm having a hard time managing my money and with my hours just being cut at work due to the winter slow season, I'm a little nervous. So nervous, in fact, that it's brought me to re-apply for my old job at one of the grocery stores in town.

I never thought I'd have to go back to working in retail, but I guess when times are tough, you gotta do what you gotta do. I haven't been hired back yet, but I'm sure it will happen. I'm not thrilled about it, but being broke is worse, especially when Kyle and I are desperately trying to save for a house.

So I may go back to not having a decent social life for a while, but if it will calm my mind, it's worth it.

Have you worked two jobs before? Did you mind not having a social life if it meant not worrying about finances?

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fabulous night of celebration last night! I've only been asked a couple times so far about whether or not I've made a resolution yet.

I must say, I'm not one to make crazy resolutions. I've never sworn to eat healthier, quit smoking (because I've never seriously had to), or lose weight. Hell, I hardly make normal ones, like to be more positive, travel or read more books (although I have started reading more often).

Resolutions to me are like empty promises. You can make them to feel better about yourself, but you read in many articles that the majority of people fail within a month or less of making them.

I like to just tell myself that I will maybe do things. Maybe I'll travel somewhere new, maybe I'll go to the gym more often, maybe I'll be nicer ... you get the drift.

Regardless of whether or not you make a resolution, I hope 2010 lives up to all your expectations and then some.

Good ol' hockey game

You could possibly call me a typical Canadian, but there's something about watching a hockey game that gets me excited.

I love the fast pace of it, the fans are crazy and the athletes are talented.

A lot of my girl friends don't quite understand the game or why I love the Vancouver Canucks. To be honest, I never really watched hockey until about Grade 7. My (not really) step-dad is a crazed Canucks fan and so the game was always on.

Right now, I'm in hockey heaven. The Canadian World Junior team is doing very well in the IIHF World Junior Championship, the Canucks are managing to keep their socks off during their games, and the Olympics are coming up in just over a month, which we'll hopefully see both the men's and women's hockey teams bring home gold medals.

There may be many other countries that excel at the game of hockey, but I don't think any country shows as much passion for the sport as Canadians. If there's one thing that brings us all together, it's hockey.

What about you? Is there a sport that gets you excited? Do you enjoy hockey?

Passive Aggressive

New Year's always seems to be a time for moral dilemmas with parties and get together coming at you from every direction.

Usually I opt for staying at home and celebrating with a few close friends. I've done so for years now, so when people ask me to come out with them, I'll tell them that I'm just going to stay home. I don't leave people hanging and waiting for my answer.

I don' t like knowing that I'm someone's back-up plan if their "better" plans fall through. If you don't want to come over because you'd rather go to the bar or rowdy house party, tell me that. I really think it's rude when someone has told you they would come over but change their minds for something better in their eyes.

Other than people dicking around with decision making, I'm looking forward to having a nice little gathering at home. We're going to play boardgames and have drinks. It should be delightful :)

Do you have any plans for New Years? What are your thoughts on people who leave you hanging until the last minute or ditch you for better plans?

Quiet Time

It's interesting when you're home by yourself and you realize how much quieter things are.

Kyle's away for the evening, visiting his dad and grandma in our hometown and while my roommate is home, things are awfully quiet without Kyle here.

Usually the television is on some random channel or a video game is being played, but when Kyle's not here, you could probably hear a pin drop. He gets anxious almost when it's too silent in the house and there's always some sort of background noise, so when I'm by myself I like to just listen to the whirl of my laptop and hear my dogs snore.

Of course, when I'm by myself I always get paranoid that someone is going to attack me in the middle of the night, but thanks to my "alert" dogs (they wouldn't hurt anyone, only bark to let me know if someone's here) and my secret ninja skills, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't happen.

Anyway, it's calming, sitting here in the piece and quiet of things. I wonder if I'm weird for just shutting everything down and letting the thoughts in my head process for once. I would imagine not; I mean, who could live with constant noise? I suppose some people could.

The List

The year is coming to an end and while I'm awful at keeping to resolutions, I did learn many things.

There was a popular Note theme on Facebook this year where people listed 25 things that their friends may not know about them, such as weird quirks or family history.

Instead of doing that on here, I'm going to attempt to list 25 things I've learned in the past year:

1) While it was stressful at first, moving in with Kyle was the decision I've made. We feel more grown up and it's helped make our relationship stronger.

2) Cooking a roast isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Next challenge: A turkey! Maybe next Thanksgiving ...

3) Being done school is the most amazing feeling in the world ...

4) ... but the stress of trying to find a related job isn't so amazing.

5) Shopping for houses is also stressful, especially when you first need a down payment and housing prices are high. I've learned to broaden my desired areas to live in because a lot of areas are out of our budget.

6) It's been really hard for me to get my butt to the gym and get a good workout in. I'd really like to go three times a week but my body disagrees. Twice a week seems to be my usual thing.

7) Budgeting and giving my self an allowance has worked wonders, so I really need to get back on track. I take $40 out of my paycheck and make it last two weeks. It's hard, but I tend to have back spending habits. Kyle hides my debit card and I only use my credit card for emergencies. Some people don't think it's right that he hides it, but I know it's for the best and I'm okay with it, which is all that should matter.

8) Twitter isn't as evil as I thought it was.

9) Living in a house without air conditioning is horrible and having a pool in the backyard doesn't help.

10) Watching people search for parking spots at Costco during the Christmas shopping season is hilarious.

11) Not being engaged after seven years is okay because we have bigger priorities we want to fulfill first. (See #5)

12) I found that I don't enjoy going to weddings or reading about people planning them because it makes me jealous that I don't have one to plan of my own. (But again, see #11)

13) Running is an amazing way to make my anxiety attacks go away. They're refreshing and when I take my dog she benefits too!

14) I love my friends and hanging out but I really appreciate my "alone" time.

15) Mac computers aren't so bad after all (except when they're running on an old OS).

16) You can't throw up in public gracefully.

17) Copy editing is harder than it seems, especially when it's your own work.

18) The North Shore businesses have a whole different attitude than Downtown businesses.

19) There is no comfortable way to pee in the woods.

20) It's really hard keeping track of everything I have to do at work plus several things other people have to do all at the same time.

21) Deleting people I never talked to in high school off my Facebook is okay.

22) Mice are very tricky creatures and shouldn't be underestimated.

23) Two large dogs poop more than you could imagine.

24) Performing world-class cannonballs into the pool is a sure-fire way to lose your bathing suit top.

25) I am perfectly happy with where my live is headed and I wouldn't change a single thing about the past year.

The wait continues ...

As some people may now I've managed to dislocate my shoulder six times in the past. This morning, I added +1 to that total.

When I was 15 I decided to try out skateboarding with my little brother. He told me to stay away from the quarter pipe because I wasn't good enough. Of course, I didn't listen and I went down it, bailed and dislocated my shoulder.

That was eight years ago and now my shoulder likes to dislocate at the slightest bumps. For instance, once I had my arm on the back of the couch, sneezed, and it dislocated. Another time I was swimming underwater and it dislocated.

This morning, I went to roll over in bed and it dislocated.

I've been on the surgery wait list for a year now but because it's not knee or hip surgery, it's a long wait. It's tiresome and I just want my shoulder to stop dislocating. It hurts when I do it, it aches afterwards and it's a pain in the ass.

Damn you Interior Health pushing knee and hip surgeries. Why should I have to wait while others get pushed through?

Eek!

My house has mice in it - more specifically, the kitchen has mice in it, somewhere.

It all started last week and while we thought we caught the one and only mouse, I found poop in our silverware drawer on Wednesday. Siiiick. We caught one more mouse, but somehow three of our nine traps are missing its bait (Nutella). I don't know how the bait is missing without the mice being dead, but we're going to have to go with more drastic measures.

As much as I don't like them we're going to have to buy some sticky boards because if they keep getting the Nutella off the traps, it's not helping. I'd rather have the mice die quick and painlessly. Oh well. Right now I just want the mice to go away.

I never thought I'd have a mouse problem, because we're not dirty, messy people. I feel gross living in a house with mice.

Just the two of us.

Kyle and I just celebrated our anniversary a couple days ago and while it was low-key, it was absolutely fantastic.

To make my blog seem less boring, I've taken the following from Amber.

What are your middle names?
Michele and Thomas

How long have you been together?
Seven wonderful years. People keep asking us, "When are you going to get married?" and really, we're tired of being asked. We have other priorities to sort through first, like buying a house.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Since grade one/two. We're the same age, but Kyle was a grade ahead of me.

Who asked whom out?
I told him that if he were to ask me out, I'd say yes, so he did.

How old are each of you?
We're both 23.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Together we probably see his sister more, even though she lives in Williams Lake.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
There have been many situations where it's been hard. High school was tough because it was high school, but right now it's finding a house to live in where we're both comfortable financially and domestically.

Did you go to the same school?
We sure did - the joys of living in a small town! We both attended TRU as well, Kyle for a little bit of the Business program before switching to welding and I took the journalism program.

Are you from the same home town?
We sure are. When I was little I lived less than a block away! Then I moved across town, but it was still only a 5-minute drive.

Who is smarter?
Haha - Well, we're both smart in different ways. Kyle really knows his math and mechanical stuff, and he knows a lot of random trivia. I'm more handy when it comes to writing and current events and I know lots of trivia about music and whatnot. Overall I think Kyle's smarter though.

Who is the most sensitive?
Me, by a long shot. It's called hormones and I have a lot of them!

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
That's a good question! We like to eat at a variety of different places, but usually we go to a place that serves steak. We do love Greek food though!

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Vancouver last summer for the Top in Trades awards. It was an amazing trip together! I can't wait to travel with him again :)

Who has the craziest exes?
I don't think either of our exes are crazy. We don't talk to any of them any more.

Who has the worst temper?
We both have bad tempers, but in different ways. I get mad at stupid little things like the cable being out during my favourite show and Kyle gets angry and the ridiculousness of Kamloops' drivers.

Who does the cooking?
Kyle does most of the cooking, but he's an amazing cook! I do my best but Kyle is more talented in the kitchen by far.

Who is the neat-freak?
We both seem to go through random spurts of "OMG WE NEED TO CLEAN!" One day I'll randomly gut out the panty and fridge and sometimes Kyle tidies the counters and coffee table.

Who is more stubborn?
I am.

Who hogs the bed?
Probably me. I like to sprawl across the bed when Kyle leaves for work in the morning.

Who wakes up earlier?
Kyle does during the week, but I do on the weekends, only because Kyle needs his rest after a hard week at work. I dont' blame him though, I'd need it too.

Where was your first date?
As I recall, we bought a bunch of 5-cent candy from the convenience store and then went back to his place and playing online computer games. It was fun!

Who is more jealous?
Probably me.

How long did it take to get serious?
You'd have to define "serious". We didn't move in together until a year ago, but we were too busy with school and wouldn't have been able to afford it. But I think we got more serious when we both finished high school and didn't have drama that goes along with it.

Who eats more?
Kyle eats more than me at one sitting, but I eat way more throughout the day.

Who does the laundry?
I do some laundry on Wednesdays when I don't work and we both pitch in on the weekends. I think we both hate doing laundry.

Who’s better with the computer?
I think we both have equal skills but neither of us are nerds. We usually end up asking Dave for help if we can't figure something out. Kyle's better at Excel than me though. Excel makes me want to cry.

Who drives when you are together?
I usually do because my car is better on gas. Sometimes Kyle drives though, usually when we're going down a dirt road. As much as I like to think that my car has 4x4 capabilities, it really doesn't.

Music

I wrote about it for my column next week, but I really do love music.

It calms me when I'm having anxiety attacks. I just let it pour through me and it eases my thoughts. Concentrating on the lyrics, hearing the beat ... it's soothing. I can't help but feel happy when I listen to music.

Don't ever take it away.

Joining the bandwagon

Hurray for joining the Twitter bandwagon. I fear I'm going to regret this. Like I need another addiction.

Follow me here: http://twitter.com/karachow

I created one for work a while ago, but I never update it. Vasey indirectly convinced me to create my own by telling me to follow her, or something. Oy.

There's no escaping it. At least I never fell victim to MySpace.

Boo

Boo to having big hopes and dreams but being broke. Boo to having a job in an industry that's falling apart. Boo to having your boyfriend be an amazing welder but getting laid off because his industry is slow as well. Boo to life right now.

Boo.

Video killed the radio star

It's funny, the first "real" job I applied for was at the NL radio station, and while I got an interview, the guy who interviewed me wanted me to do a whole bunch of other stuff as part of the application process. (Voice recording, broadcast writing style, etc.) I guess I just kind of lost interest in wanting to do broadcast, or maybe I just didn't want to have to do all this extra crap just to maybe get a job. Oh well. As it turns out, I got a job in print media.

Anyway, the funny thing is, now that I'm working at an amazing publication, I've been exposed to so many different aspects of media. Like on Friday, I was on TV, which was crazy-insane. I never thought that working at a little paper would get me behind a camera. It was quite surreal. Heck, I've only been graduated from J-School for a couple months or so now and I've already hosted a seminar to tell people about print media.

It's funny the way things just kind of work out for you in the end.