The year started off a bit rocky since my mum had a mini-heart attack and was in the hospital for a week, but thankfully she made a remarkable recovery. The day that she was coming out of the hospital was the same day we had a bad snowstorm in Victoria. I was at work and Chad had a very important job interview at a place called Smart Dolphins. Even though driving to his interview was out of the question, he took a big step by walking there in about a foot of snow. I'm so glad that he did because now he is working full-time at Smart Dolphins and seems to really enjoy his job.
We also had a family member pass away at the beginning of the year. He already knew ahead of time that he only had a few months left, so we did our best to make sure to visit him as much as we could. It was definitely a hard time for all of us, but especially for my mother-in-law since she was his primary care-giver and his common law partner. Its hard to believe that it is almost one year since he has passed away. I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to get to know him, and I have definitely missed him over the last year. But we will always think of him and remember all of the great times we had as a family.
Over the last few months, my mother-in-law and I have built a better, and healthy relationship. I no longer feel like I have to hold back my feelings of what its been like losing my dad, and we seem to understand each other on a more personal level. I have definitely become a lot closer to her and I know that this will continue for us for many years to come.
Later in the month Chad and I went to San Francisco for PRS Field Trip 14. That was a lot of fun. I met some amazing people who have become some of my closest friends. Going on the USS Hornet and doing investigations throughout the night was incredible, and being able to stay overnight on the Hornet was a lot of fun too. We had a lot of great laughs and created some life time memories.
Then we went to Alcatraz, Chad and I were really excited about this, and we enjoyed the walking tour around Alcatraz while listening through the headset. I would still have liked to have stayed overnight and investigated but at least I can say that I have been there, and it was something else that I could check off on my bucket list.
I really enjoyed the EE sessions that we attended, and a few of my friends (Mercy, Robin, Irene and Jeni) and I won a dinner auction with Ryan and Sergey. It was so funny that during the auction all of us weren't on the same page as to who was going to bid and we were all trying to outbid each other and then finally one of us said, I thought we were all in this together LOL! Going to the right restaurant for dinner turned out to be another adventure for us. We started out in the hotel restaurant, we all sat down, looked at the menus and then we realized that we didn't want to eat there anymore so we all randomly got up and walked out. LOL! Then we started to walk around San Francisco to find another place to eat. We stopped at a few restaurants, some were busy, some were pricey, and nobody could really decide what they felt like eating. I felt like we were walking all over San Francisco but then Ryan found the perfect Italian restaurant. We all sat down and had some good discussions. The food was really good and just having some of my closest friends there was so awesome.
In the evenings, Chad and I hosted a couple of hotel parties in room 1126. Amazing how I still remember my hotel room, LOL! We played games, socialized, had snacks, and plenty of drinks to go around. Overall, Field Trip 14 was definitely one of the best events that I have ever been to, and it was really nice that Chad and I were able to go together since he usually has to stay behind to work.
This was my second year working at Zellers, being a part-time Cashier. For the most part I didn't mind my job, but a lot of changes were being made in the store and I wasn't as happy as I used to be. I liked most of the people that I worked with, so that usually made my days go by a little easier.
Then an opportunity came up to apply for a new clothing store coming to Victoria, Banana Republic. I was hoping that this would be a good change, since I was tired of always being behind the counter and I wanted to help customers on the floor. I went to the interview and I did get the job so I ended up quitting Zellers. Unfortunately working for Banana Republic didn't turn out the way I would've liked. It caused me a lot of stress, frustration and anger in a lot of ways, but one of the reasons was I was never paid on time. I definitely learned a lot about myself during this time. No matter how unhappy you may have been in your previous job you need to look on the bright side. For example, the people you work with, being scheduled to work, and always being paid on time. I also learned to stand up for myself. As much as I don't like to bug people I realized that in order for things to change sometimes you need to get up, go in, and bug them until you are satisfied with the outcome. As I'm sure most of you have guessed by now, I decided to leave my job at Banana Republic and find something else.
Even though Zellers is now closed, I still stay in touch with most of the people I worked with who have also become my friends. We like to go clubbing, watch movies, go to the beach, and play games. I hope that it will continue for us in 2013.
By now it was almost summer time, and even though I wasn't really working a steady job, I was getting some on-call work for childcare centres. It was nice to have a break from retail and not have a set schedule so I could still do the things that I wanted to do. Around this time, I also donated my hair to BC Childrens Hospital for children who have cancer or a certain type of disease that prevents them to grow their own hair. I did this in honor of a few family members and a friend who have or had cancer.
In July, I decided to fly down to LA and spend a few days with a dear friend of mine, Irene who I met at Field Trip 14. Over the last few months we had become really close, and I was really excited to spend a few days with her before heading off to the first PRS Bureau retreat with Robin. During the few days I spent with Irene, we went to Disneyland and met up with a couple of other girls that we had met online within the Para-community, but this was the first time we were meeting them in person. We went to Hollywood, did some shopping, walked around and went on one of the Hollywood Tours that took us to the sign, around the homes and downtown. Robin came over one night and we had Chinese. Before we knew it, the days were up and it was time for me to meet up with Robin and head over to the PA PRS Bureau retreat.
The PRS Bureau retreat was another great event. It all started off with Holly's awesome road trip to the retreat location, LOL! We had a special birthday celebration for Ryan with cake and gifts and Mercy, Holly, Robin, Ginnie and I performed a Lady Marmalade special for Ryan that we had worked on over the last few months.
Even though Ginnie and I had met briefly at Field trip 14 and even ate at the same dinner table at the Hornet, we never really got to know each other until this event. We definitely got to know each other a lot more. I still laugh at the Boat Shenanigans that happened at the pond, LOL!
Our friendship sort of started off in an argument because she said the boat was sinking and I insisted that it wasn't so I got in the boat anyway and start paddling away and then I look back and see the water coming in very quickly and start yelling at Ginnie, "okay, you were right, the boat has a hole in it" LOL! Luckly, I wasn't too far out so I was able to get the boat back to the edge of the pond and Ginnie helped me get out. Describing this in words doesn't do it justice, you just had to be there!
Of course with the many shenanigans we had at this retreat, Ginnie and I have become best friends. It is a little scary how we can read each others minds, and think the same thing before saying anything to each other. I also met a lot of other great people who I have become friends with and still keep in touch with today. I'm so grateful for the PRS Bureau for this reason. This retreat, along with the Binaural Beats that Sergey introduced us to, helped me let go of some of the frustration I had with previous things in my life. I'm not really an outdoor person, but I really did enjoy the scenery, the ponds, and going out for walks everyday through the trails.
In September, which is also my birth month, I turned 27. I had a couple of birthday dinners with family and friends. Then at the end of the month I went to Orlando with some friends. We went to Disneyworld, Universal Studios, Horror Nights, Senor Frogs, Fun Spot Attractions, Cassadaga Spiritual camp, and Barnes and Noble. Some of us went to the Mystery dinner, went shopping, hung out by the swimming pool, participated in the NOH8 Photoshoot, and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning on the hotel rooftop.
I came home for a few weeks and then at the end of October I went to North Carolina for the PRS Halloween Retreat! I'm sure for many of us this was one of the best times we had in a long time. It was really interesting being there the whole time while Hurricane Sandy was happening; it was very windy with lots of rain. It was neat to see a group of people reunite and meet for the first time and feel like family. We all took part in decorating the hall for what turned out to be an awesome Halloween Party. Many of us dressed up in costumes and won prizes. We watched some scary movies, X-Files, played board games, went for a walk in the woods, decorated our own cabins, and socialized with each other.
Here we are on the last day of 2012. Even though there were some ups and downs, I am very grateful that I have met some new friends, had some awesome adventures, learned more about myself, had some great times with Chad and I can't wait to see what 2013 will bring for all of us!! I wish each and every one of you all the best in 2013. For those of you who have hopes, dreams and accomplishments to be fulfilled I hope 2013 will be your year :)
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