ITS IN

Note down this time. 12:29 Pacific, I the EX Student, submitted her damn exam for a volunteer position with her skating association. It's been in the works for MONTHS. Its been one bloody road block after another, and I've had incredibly little support and extreme fustration. I've been in school while doing it, I've been pressured by my supervisor to get it done and get it in. AND NOW IT IS SO SUCK IT.

.....now I get to sick back and panic till its marked and I inevitably fail regardless.

lifes a bitch ain't it?

I volun-told you so!

So. I'm a bad blogger. I know this. You know this. The fact I haven't posted in a couple weeks at least is proof of this. So let's just ignore the fact that I haven't been around in awhile and move ok. Cool? Cool.

The last few weeks have been kind of bonkers. The guy I was seeing decided to screw me over and dump me on my birthday. Asshole right? Ya total selfish asshole. Here's the killer though (that crafty bastard), he basically said its because I deserved someone who could comitt and it wasn't him, and that he needed to figure himself out because it was all his fault. And it was! He was the one that couldn't seem to be in the relationship even though it was his effing idea in the first place! And how do you argue with that logic? I mean part of me just believes he was being crafty and getting away with saying that crap to not feel bad, but even so! I can't really argue with much! I can't really be too bitter because while he wasted my time and energy, he effing admitted it! Can't be too bitter about someone who owns their mistakes!

SO ya that happened, and of course I was upset, but to be honest it was kind of awesome I got dumped on my b-day. I AM NOT CONDOINGING DUMPING SOMEONE ON THEIR BIRTHDAY, but for me it turned out that all that day people were around. All that week really. And there was drinking and eating and such to be done so I didn't have a whole lot of time to really think about the guy anyways. I did think about it (of course I'm female and human after all) but with people around constantly it really helped. We don't live in the same place and don't really have too many friends in common so that helped too. Did manage to go out the weekend of my birthday and get quite gooned and drunk text him on T's phone and got my friend SCB (nickname from working together with her....don't ask) to text him and call him an ass.

But ya! I had a birthday! And I turned another year older and had a huge whack of my really good friends out for drinks and was super surprised when so many showed up to go out, or at least sent warm wishes. This time of year is hard because most of my friends are either in exams or its fiscal year end for their jobs. I was also super surprised when some people didn't even make an effort to show up when I bend over backwards to do stuff for them. Which leads me to my new thing. Screw new years resolutions, I've decided to make a bunch of "Birth Year Resolutions"....but I shall leave those for another day.

So ya, got older, very exciting. Just got home from yet another skating competition. This was the last one of my season, and I'm still trying to get my freaking exam done to be promoted with my volunteering (I know! Sounds crazy to have to be a promoted volunteer right??) so ya it was a crazy skating competition (not that there is really any other kind of skating competition) but this particular one was really nutters.

If there is anything I've learned about skating and life in general is that there will always be people you aren't really on the same page as. At this particular skating competition there was one woman that I was particularly scared to work with, as she doesn't have much experience and has expressed desire to become more experienced at working with the marking system, but due to work constraints, isn't usually available for the entire competition, so until this weekend she had never seen set up/take down of a skating competition. Which also means that she's never really seen it get busy because she's never been asked to do the longer tasks at a skating competition because shes never really been around to. Well that all changed this weekend. She was expected to do everything, and as a result we found out how incompetent she is, and to boot how inconsiderate she is. While we all busted our asses, she was out having "breaks" or even better she'd just take off and not tell anyone where she was. Which is annoying because we were already short staffed, but to have a person that didn't know what they were doing, with no ambition to try harder, no desire to be part of the time and absolutely no consideration for others made it even more stressful/busy. People like that really chap my ass.

Anyways. I stayed busy for 4 days straight, and the hotel we stayed at was truly lovely. I'm big on keeping my identity to myself because of all the organizations I'm part of, or else I would totally promote the hell out of the place we stayed. It was just beautiful, and we were all in suites, so even though I had a "roommate" all we shared was the common TV room. I had my own room with bathroom, kitchenette and TV so I had the opportunity to shut my door for down time, which to me, after days as crazy as these was really important. I like to be social with everyone but after having days where I had to schedule my eating/drinking around skating events and the other people on my team so we all got to eat/pee, I don't have the energy to socialize.

All in all, I have had a pretty crazy couple of weeks (almost a month I guess). Emotional turmoil, turning another year older with absolutely not idea what to do in the future, no work plans, and school exams with skating exams and competitions and all this crazy shit going on, I'd say that some down time might be good.

Just task will be to get ready for my last final, and find a freaking job. Oi. And I thought running around a skating competition was difficult.

Don't Mess With A Volunteer

As anyone who knows me knows plainly, I volunteer. A lot. And this year will be no exception when it comes to skating events. I'm currently trying to get a promotion with the skating organization but its been a little more difficult than previously anticipated mostly because the timing has been all off.

Next year the face of Canadian Sports is going to change. All Federally funded sports are changing over to a Young Athlete Development program.So with all the changes that are going to take place next year, I am desperately trying to get better trained now so that when the changes take effect I am still considered a useful asset to skating, and not someone who yet again gets stuck in the change up. All this means that I spent my entire morning updating all the computers starting crazy data input for all the skaters.

That being said, I usually volunteer at the actual competitions, so when I get there all the input has been done ahead of time. I've never really had to do all the grunt work, I know how to make changes to the paperwork should I need to but the actual manual input of all the skaters and all the events? Haven't actually ever worked on a competition, I've only done practice events at clinics. Well turns out there is a huge difference!

The way that one registures for a skating competition in theory sounds simple enough, you go online, you fill out all the skaters information and then you punch in your credit card information and PRESTO, you're entered. The online registration company then emails the chief of the competition the spreadsheet will all necessary information from the online registration, and from there we get it, check it over, manipulate the snot out of it, and use it to do the entry into the system for the competition scoring system.

Now. I say in theory this is simple because apparently people registuring for the competition are learning how to screw this up 8 ways to Sunday. They put in all the wrong information and then some poor volunteer like me has to go and sort it all out and figure out just why the hell the system is rejecting the informationg.

Now I complain but really I guess its better than when we used to get the HAND WRITTEN forms and had to decipher what the form said before MANUALLY typing it all up and then MANUALLY putting it into the computer. However! Where it gets super fustrating (like it wasn't before) is the fact that we have numberous coaches and parents bitching about the new system. They hate the online reg, and they have having to put a planned program sheet into the computer weeks before the skater is set to compete.

Now. I realize that I am a volunteer which means I signed up to be here. No one is holding a gun to me head telling me I have to do all this work and deal with all these persnickity people. That being said, seeing as no parents want to be responsible for the competition, and don't want to fill out forms neatly or lend a hand doing the data entry, I really think they lose their right to complain about the online registration and planned program sheet (which literally is just one sheet of paper that has an outline of the programs elements which speeds up the event emmensely so that the tech pannel has some notion of whats going to go into the computer...god forbid we as you to help us volunteers out).

I guess really this whole post is me complaining about the complaints we poor volunteers seem to get from day one of setting up a competition. I guess my biggest hope is that a parent or a coach will stumble upon this page and realize, that we are just that. VOLUNTEERS. We donate HOURS of our free time MONTHS before the competition and then we spend an entire weekend getting your kids/students on that ice, through a program and off the ice with results and hopefully a medal, and unlike the parents/coaches, we don't get the thanks from the skater or paid like the coach. So if we're politely asking you to help us have to skip a couple steps and take hours of our set up time away? I would say just do it. Here's why:

We sit for hours and set up the competitions because we want to have your kids/students come to the rink and be successful, WE DO NOT sit for hours and ask the parents/coaches to take half an hour (tops) to carefully fill out the online registration forms and planned program sheets because we are crazy anal retentive bitches. We want your kid to come to the rink, skate, and leave without any issues.

If we really wanted to torture you, we'd go back to the manual matrix system. You know where the average results came out approximately 3-4 hours after the event? Not the half hour your used to? Oh I'm sorry have you never heard of those days? Well they happened, should things continue to get worse and people complain anymore, I'm going to start suggesting we use it again. Because while I remember that we're here for the kids, if you don't realize it, the old system required a hell of a lot less grunt time...which means we still get your kid on the ice, off the ice, and hopefully with a medal...but you have to entertain them for 3-4 hours at the rink waiting to find out where they placed. Tell me...would you really want that to happen?

Don't mess with the Data Specialists.

A Year in review.

Ahhh another year is ending and we are looking forwards to 2012. If I do say so myself, I am quite pleased to be finished with 2011.

2011 started off well enough I guess. I started work with the Federal Government and was looking good for a term position, but that fell to pot so I was unemployed again (nothing shocking there). I spent almost 6 weeks treking around the UK on a solo vacation, which was the start of many firsts for me!

on either side of Tower Bridge

I had never been off the North American Continent, and I had never been so far away from home, nor had I ever done it alone. So that was a bit crazy. Walking around London by myself realizing that I was by myself, and could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted? That was just freaking awesome. I wasn't accountable to anyone but myself. I could eat where I wanted, drink what I wanted, and shop as I pleased and see whatever sights I deemed interesting. So yes I spent an hour in Harrods picking out the perfect gift for my mom while eyeing up all the high end designer shoes. And no I didn't check out a single museum in London. Any regrets? Not a single one.

I spent almost weeks on bus tours meeting amazing people from all over the world and started to really understand what it means to never judge a book by its cover. First impressions aren't always right, but your gut feeling never misses. I also learned to stand up for myself because ultimately if you don't stand up for yourself and how you're feeling, no one else will.

Me in the Circus in Bath

UK was amazing for a couple other reasons. I learned that I can do things on my own. Until then I had always had people covering my back. No matter what happened to me I had an army of people behind me to catch me if I feel, and just before leaving for the UK and even more so after returning I realized that I had started to get a bit too dependent on that. Certain people in my life couldn't seem to come to terms with the fact that yes I was very capable of doing things myself, and that I didn't need people to treat me like an infant. A big realization came right as I walked through the security gate to leave for London. The Asscountant felt the need to come with me all the way to Vancovuer, take me to the airport and make sure I got on that plane. He watched my plane take off. Now I know you're all thinking "Ex Student you're nuts that's him showing he cared and he was just doing a nice thing", and to an extent you're right. But before all that I argued with him tooth and nail I could just go over myself and take the bus and take the ferry, but he said no that it was stupid. Now before I start getting all "he said she said" and showing how bitter I am, really my point here is that in 2011 I realized how bloody dependent I was on other people. And it was all the little things that added up to me realizing I couldn't live like that. Isn't part of any relationship blind faith that the other knows what they are doing sometimes?

I spent almost 6 weeks in the UK (England, Scotland and Ireland) and never once did I get lost (ok well that's a bit of lie...I got "turned around" in London but ended up going to Kings Cross and seeing where Harry Potter was filmed and jumped on the Tube and was back to my hotel in no time......so not really lost but was wondering...), or was mugged or got food poisoning. I never once overspent, and I never once got shot or hurt. I was 100% responsible for myself, and everything turned ok peachy. I found my tours, and managed the tubes, I saw a West End Show at night and made it home safely, I had ice cream in Hyde Park and saw Buckingham Palace. I got on the trains and got myself to Manchester, and got myself to and from Dublin by bus and ferry. All came up daisies :)

So I came back from England and didn't let people step all over me. And apparently that meant I had changed too much, and the Asscountant and I went our separate ways. He said I had changed too much, I said I just didn't want him to control my life for me. He had also made some pretty harsh comments about how I am choosing to live my life, and he also mentioned that I was a pain in his ass (in other words but the jist is still the same). I still stipulate to this day that if it had not been for me, he would never have made it to where he is, and would have dropped out of CASB after he failed a module.

Its taken me quite awhile, and while I still miss this person that was so intricately woven into my life, I'm realizing that I can make it without them, and that I certainly don't need people in my life doubting my decisions. Who want things from me but don't reciprocate.

After my UK trip I went back to working with the Federal Government to finish out the last of my contract. After that I basically lounged around for the summer, taking temp gigs and doing whatever I wanted. Which I'm sure did not thrill my parents. But it made for a great summer.  I did manage to see the Pixies in concert and took in Wicked in Vancouver (saw it in NY originally but the Vancouver one was decent). Also saw Dralion the travelling show with my parents which sounds geeky but was totally awesome.

Jasper National Park

I also spent a week with my other sister Krazy (again not her name just a cute nickname) and her son and my other nephew JYD (again...a nickname) going from Victoria to Valemont (hillbilly hell...) to Edmonton (shopping!!) to Jasper National Park. All in this time span Krazy destroyed almost 1000$ of eyewear. All mine, and I was blind. But there was something incredibly cool about seeing more of my own back yard. I got to see what makes this country so beautiful. I got to be a bit of a tourist and of course as I wasn't working it was nice to meander and do whatever. Also cool? Jasper has hotsprings and tons of goats running around! Also got to see moose!! Also learned that I cannot spend a week in a car with Krazy's son because hes an arse. But that's totally another story. Honestly contemplated pushing him off a cliff. We also drove through Banff National Park and I got to see the glacier and JYD I treked to the top, in like jeans and t shirts while people around us had actual gear on....oh well! We survived!

Anway. Still grieving the loss of the Asscountant and having to come to terms with the declining health of my Granddad, I decided to go back to school and take classes. I had the funds and the time and no jobs were coming available so why not? That's not true actually. I could have gone to work with SeaSpan ship builders because of my Federal Government training but it didn't seem like a good idea at the time. I could have also gone to start another school program off the Island but I decided against it. Which I do believe in the end was the right choice.

The edge of the glacier in Banff National Park

I took classes that I figured would eventually get me in a good place to apply to better grad programs and it suited me anyways because after a very long struggle with Pulmonary Fibrosis my Granddad passed away and as a result my life crumbled a bit. He had always been someone impartial in my life that I could talk to about anything. We had lenghty conversations about everything and anything and he always understood me. We had a really unique relationship compared to the rest of my cousins. They saw him as an authority figure, I saw him as the loveable Granddad that always had advice for me. He always believed in me doing whatever I wanted to do and not taking any shit for it. Those were pretty much his exact words "Always do what you think is best, don't take shit from anyone else about it". Also he told me that I had a good head on my shoulders and that with it I could never go wrong trusting my gut. I still feel his loss. Every day. But I realize that he wouldn't have wanted me to be too wrapped up in it that I couldn't live my life.


One of the reasons I decided not to move off the Island is that I knew the minute I did, he would pass away and I would be right back where I started, so now I can move without worrying about him. Wanting to be close by to be near him was really important to me and now that he's passed, I can literally move on too.

Il Pacas at the fair!

So with that all happening, (and with the Saanich Fair happening in there somewhere too) I took a semester of school and seemed to do fairly well. I became a shoulder to cry on and friend for advice for my old work supervisor as she returned to University after years of being with the federal government. I became a study buddy to so most amazing people with shitty time management skills (but oh well it all worked out in the end lol).

My friend T went back to school and seems to be kicking butt and taking names in her Office administration program, which means that together we are one step closer to world domination (I swear get enough coffee and sugar in us and we could do it). Her daughter Squirt (not her real name I assure you but my nickname for her) had a busy year as well, she turned three started preschool and the best part (in my humble opinion) got her first skating badge!!!!! So proud of her accomplishments!

Squirts First time skating!! Us having a pow wow.

Taking Squirt to skating lessons every Saturday I'm sure had fufilled any maternal instinct my ovaries might have ever felt, and it was actually a lot of fun! We did two sessions of parent and tot skating lessons (first session we had a terrible instructor, second instructor was incredibly cute and yes I have a ridiculous crush on him). It also kept us busy with life as both T and I had suffered significant family losses this year.

And with that school continued to pass by as did the fall and we were soon into winter and my skating club decided that this year will be its last with active skaters, with us taking next year to close down completely. I shattered by this decision have really stepped away from my skating club. I also recieved by level one promotion so I've been to and from skating competitions a lot this year which has been awesome.

Every time I go to a skating competition I learn something new about skating, the people involved and skating and even myself. I learn a new trick to my position, I learn whose butt to kiss and who to stay away from, and I learn that I myself never want to be like these people and if given the chance, I want to be able to help change Figure Skating in Canada. I want more people to have the opportunity to skate and I want everyone to remember that we as volunteers are here for the skaters and for the sport. Not to be power tripping dictators, which is sadly sometimes the case.

My dog Roo!!!

As I'm reviewing my year I'm trying to think of all the things I did and places I went. Trying to figure out where things like concerts and such fit in and when I went where. I know I went to a 3 Days grace concert and saw Finger 11 live with the Envy but where they all fit in is a bit vauge. I also stopped associating with one of my oldest friends because she couldn't get over her jealousy or something (?) with me going to England (seems that trip pissed off a lot of people lol) and sadly the fact that I don't really miss their crappy attitude was another rude awakening. Apparently according to T and my Mom I'm a lot nicer now that I don't hang around this person. I know I volunteered with skating and such like a crazy person. Always the person to jump in and help out when needed, but I certainly cut back on things like volunteering at the hospital and didn't take a gig with the SPCA like I've always wanted to. This year also brought me Roo!!! My communal family dog!! Technically BB's dog but he spends so much time with my dad at the farm hes mostly communal. And he's the absolute best thing. Best dog in the world hands down.

Vans Warped Tour 2011 The Gorge

Along the lines in here somewhere I managed to take a couple road trips with my sister BB to see a couple concerts. We took in The Vans Warped Tour in Gorge WA, which was fantastic, and in November we saw the Michael Jackson Immortal Tour which was ok. 

I know they say that how you spend your New Years Eve is how you will spend the rest of the year, and after the year I've had, if 2012 is a quiet year surrounded by awesome family (as much as they drive me literally insane) and amazing friends, then I will consider myself incredibly lucky.

Happy New Year All!! Whatever you do tonight I hope you have a fantastic (and safe) one!!!

I've been a bad blogger lately. I have been so busy getting wrapped up in Holiday Insanity that everytime I thought "Oh I should blog about by day!" I realized that I hadn't even turned my computer on that day and it wasn't in my vicinity before bed. Getting up going upstairs grabbing my computer and coming back to bed just to blog about how I spent my day running around a warehouse attempting to locate donated gifts to meet the deadline for the gift and hamper distribution just didn't seem an appealing option.

But that has been where I have been none the less. I spent the majority of last week volunteering for Santa's Anonymous, a charity that when families sign up we distribute gifts and food hampers to them to help them out through the holidays. In theory is sounds simple but the reality is a lot of planning and the need for a lot of volunteers. Unfortuately (not that these people aren't amazing....I mean no disrespect) the majority of people that volunteer are retired and well they have their own way of doing things, and so this year when they changed the whole system, and modernized it (ie computers) it made some of the older more seasoned volunteers a little upset. Made it a little stressful and a bit hard to manage but we got through it! We had a lot of new volunteers this year that were younger and didn't know the old system, so they didn't let it bother them, but for those that were so used to the "old way" the "new way" threw them.

So with the chaos of the volunteering, I somehow (not surprisingly) managed to leave all my own Christmas things to the wayside and so for the last couple days that I have no longer been volunteering, I've been rushing like a mad woman to get all my Christmas shopping and such out of the way. This year I've turned to "doing things with people" or "making gifts" rather than just going out and buying presents. Year after year I buy things for people and I swear it just sits and collects dust. I forefit. But making the presents takes time, and more specically it takes more time than I had anticipated so I am (not at all shockingly) behind. Damn.

Today I finally finished a sewing project for a friend of mines Mom. We were sitting around one night and trying to figure out what to do for everyone for Xmas, both of us short on cash and trying to be thrifty this year decided to try and make everything. We got onto this idea of sewing a bag, which in theory seemed simple, until I realized that neither of us had really sewn all that much in the past few years, nor had enough experience to really design anything or create patterns. Not that that stopped us. We figured it out, and I managed to get an exuberant amount of pin pricks while piecing everything together to FINALLY get it done today. Phew big sigh of relief. Especially when we wanted to have it done at the start of December. Oh well better late than never! I think it turned out pretty amazingly if I do say so myself. Wish I could have had time to press it properly (hint hint nudge nudge T).

During all of this I managed to get in all the shopping I needed to do for my parents Xmas party for their staff, pick up my new glasses and catch up with T and her daughter (who adored the barbie I bought her...suck on that Asscountant), and take my nephew to a Magic Show. Phew. Busy day! The staff party was fantastic and the magic show was good, and of course my new glasses didn't last 5 hours before I noticed they have a ding in them and they have to go back. WHY ME? Its a good thing the people at my optometrist's office like me so much because tomorrow they are going to be seeing me come in with dinged glasses less than 24 hours after taking them home. Awesome. At least this time I think I'm keeping the frames.

Anyway! So I'm trying to get on board with the Holidays. Tomorrow I'm going on in search of my last couple Xmas presents that I'm not making (I'm not wonder woman) and some stocking stuffers for my parents! I hope whoever you and regardless of what you believe, that you are having a much more productive December than I am!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So in this post I'm going to sound like I'm gloating, but stick with it because I'm not.

Growing up, I never wanted for anything. Every day I got up in the morning, put on clean clothes, put on good shoes, got driven to school by my mom, had a home made lunch, got picked up from school by my mom and then taken to skating lessons multiple times a week by my mom. Home cooked meals every night and a family dinner around the dinner table. Skating lessons, skating trips across the country, family vacations to Disneyland, Hawaii and across the country. Getting closer to my point, every year at Christmas there were always presents under the tree. I usually got everything I wanted on my list whether I needed it or not. There was always a big Christmas breakfast, and a huge Christmas dinner with the whole family. There was never any indication to me that there was any other way one might have a Christmas.

As I got older and started to become a little more aware of the world around me, I started to realize that I was really really naive, and extremely fortunate. I have always volunteered (for just about everything one could ever ask one to do). Teaching skating, volunteering at the hospital, events where extra crew were needed, if you ask I will most likely do, and for many years now I have been getting more and more involved with Santa's Anonymous.

For those of you who might not know, Santa's Anonymous (Santa's as we usually refer to it as) is a non-profit organization that gets together to provide family's that find themselves in need around the Holiday season with a Christmas hamper and presents for the kids. Families put in a request to Santa's, and the (amazing) volunteers get together and put the items that the children want for gifts on the back of paper bears. These bears go to the mall and people at the mall can pick a bear, go and get the gift, donate it to Santa's where the (extraordinary) volunteers then match the present with the family, wrap it, label it and get it to the family along with a food hamper.

This is a huge undertaking. These volunteers? They are just that, they are volunteers, they do not get paid and they do everything they do because they want to help. Most of them have other jobs that they do from 9-5, then they volunteer in the malls helping with the bears, or at the "workshop" wrapping presents and building hampers (ya not easy might I add). I have so much respect for these people that take this on because I think how selfless they are is truly amazing.

This is the time of year where things start to get busy and hectic. Time is tight, money is tight, everything comes down to the wire, and I get that. This is the time of year where everyone is busy, everyone has one event or another to run off to.

This year, I know for a great many people has not been an easy one. The economy is in the tank, and jobs are hard to come by. And that is why this year more than ever I am eager to give back just as much as I can.

I had dinner with my parents and their friends tonight (I'm a mooch and a geek and I love it..) and we got talking about all the scandals you keep hearing about people ripping off charities, thinking they can take advantage and make a quick buck, or how charities in general operate but not to the advantage of the local community. We also got talking about how now that the economy has been so rough that people are giving less, and fewer people are volunteering. After all this talk my stomach started to hurt.

There is so much bad in the world, and so many terrible things going on, yet so few people are willing to help out. So I put it to all of you (the very few who stumble upon my blog...) who have jobs, and food for proper meals, and time to spend with family and friends. Those that, like me have always been fortunate enough to have all they have ever needed, find the time to really give back this Holiday season. Donate some cans of food. Instead of your triple expresso caramel latte with extra sprinkles, skip the coffee and dump the change in the food bank donation bin (or if you really must, get the regular drip, its half the price). Take the time to enjoy the fact that you as a human being can show compassion to another human being.

If moneys tight (I know mine is) donate your time. And don't feed me that crap about "I have kids and we have no spare time"....because that's CRAP. Take them with you. Teach them the importance of what it is to be human, because lets face it. The more and more things turn to crap, the more we all need to lean on each other, and the more we learn that we can be there for each other and not want anything in return, is really what makes this the most wonderful time of the year.

Being able to appreciate what you have, and those you have around you, while helping out fellow man is the most amazing gift you can give to yourself. Its what I give myself every year, and what my parents have given to me my whole life. Giving really is the best gift, and I challenge any of you to prove me other wise :)

....Yea I really need a meeting.

where am I? I am under stacks of pictures, documents, programs and all sorts of newspaper clippings dated as far back as the 1950's. Every single piece needs to be scanned in individually, labelled, then filed into a file pertaining to the date (should something have no date it will go into its own dateless file). My guess...there's something close to a thousand articles here to be scanned and documented. The problem? The scanning software I downloaded to do all of this is only a free trial. I have 29 more days to get this project finished! Wish me luck!

Cool stuff that I've found in this box of tricks? Pictures of my skating coach when she was a student. Pictures of when the original arena I first skated in had its opening day events. Pictures of old fashioned costumes and skates all in black and white. These pictures are telling the history of figure skating to me, and more specifically the history of my skating club, which btw is the second oldest skating club in Canada! All of these pictures are part of the fabric that today weaves the club I am so proud to be a member of. Also! Perk it's giving me some great ideas for club publicity for the fall, but it might be a little too soon to tell.

So here I am. Under a mountain of scanning work to do and not too long to do it (considering the amount) and the fact that the sooner its scanned and sorted, the sooner it can be saved on CD/DVD and the sooner I can make sure that these pictures and memories are never lost! Oh and it doesn't help that once I'm done we can use the pictures to start promoting the club to get membership up. What good is yesterday if no one is around to see it tomorrow?

More details on my new discoveries to follow! Of course I'm not alone in this venture! Monty is right here helping me out....