Little updates on this 'n' that

Ugh, I woke up this morning feeling like someone had smacked me in the face with a shovel. Headache, sinus pressure, sore throat and achey all over - the first time I've been ill in well over a year - and no thanks to Lorne who once again came back from his recent Vegas trip with a nasty cold and has just about deafened me with a week of his eardrum-blasting coughs and sneezes.

I swear, when Lorne gets a cold, or allergies, he's the loudest man on earth. And while he only attends the NAB trade show in Vegas every other year, it's already a running joke that he always comes back as sick as a dog.......complete with loud barking cough! Not only that, but his snotty, blustery trip home almost always coincides with his birthday so I've learnt not to plan too much - at least not for the first few days he's back anyway. This past birthday was no exception and, while we had to cancel dinner plans I'd made for Saturday night, Lorne thankfully had enough energy for the second part of the evening, which was for us and a few friends to go to the hilarious and very entertaining burlesque show, put on by Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society. The women are all shapes and sizes, they all look fabulous and put on a highly amusing - if not incredibly hammy - performance. It's definitely worth the $15 price of admission.

As for me? Well, I've been busy applying for jobs and endured a meeting with a happy-clappy temping agency last week just to try and get some money coming in - albeit you can watch them instantly tune out the moment you get past confirming your name, the rest is apparently idle blah-blah. I'm amazed they manage to put anyone on a job, given that they simply throw a handful of patronizing questions at you and don't care to listen to your answer. "In my last job I was an axe murderer." "Aaaaawesome, that's a fabulous skill!"

I also paid a visit to the government employment office which unfortunately confirmed my suspicions that I'm completely hooped when it comes to any kind of employment insurance benefits or similar. Turns out, as a contractor (ie self-employed), you get somewhat hosed when it comes to taxes and, despite squirrelling away money on one side, knowing I had yet to pay taxes from the past year, I recently got the shock of an $8,400 tax bill, not to mention the $4,300 I've already paid back for GST. I hadn't accounted for the fact I'd also be 100% responsible for CPP (Canada Pension Plan) payments too - to the tune of $4,000, which I had not anticipated at at all. Crap! So this swallows up my savings plus a whole lot more and is compounded by the fact we also have a Europe trip to pay for (going home for my brother Graham's wedding). Ho hum!

In the past I've been quite lucky in that, just as my money was running out, something has come along just in the nick of time. So much so, that my Mum has a rather eloquent turn of phrase she's always used for me in that regard, "Money sticks to you, Trini, like shit to a blanket." Bless!

So in between job-hunting and regular visits to the doggy beach to get more pics and racking my brains on how to get really great shots and build a website etc., I've been working out regularly at the gym although still making next to no noticeable progress. Despite currently being stuffed up with cold, I feel fit and healthy and believe me I don't take that for granted, but I'd be lying if I said I don't still have that niggling frustration that I'm constantly battling to hold my weight and size steady. Ordinarily I would definitely have seen improvements by now, given the longer and more intense workouts, and yet just a few days ago I still created a pile of clothes for donating to charity - clothes I wore just last year that no longer fit me. And this in spite of the fact the vitamin company, Trusted Nutrients, finally made good on their customer service promise and sent me not one, not two but three bottles of Raspberry Ketone tablets, as well as an additional bottle of Garcinia Cambogia - all free of charge!

I'm impressed by the service but still incredibly disappointed with the complete lack of benefits noted by taking these supplements. I gave up taking the GC weeks ago after 6 months of zero effect. Meanwhile I've been on the raspberry ketones for 3 months and - what have I noticed in that time? - yup, you guessed it - NOTHING. Not one pound lost nor the slightest decrease in my measurements - nothing. Big, fat nothing! It's all a bunch of bla-bla and nothing more. Thank goodness I didn't waste my money because there really is nothing of benefit to be noted here. Nada.

Gees, I sound like I'm completely grumpy but I'm not - or haven't been - at all, except for today, since waking up with face-ache and a sore throat was hardly a fabulous start to the day. On the whole I'm managing to keep hopeful and mostly positive about the job-hunt, although I do need something to work out soon, and I'm really enjoying doing more photography, even if my head's spinning somewhat about where to take it from here, to keep and expand upon this current momentum. Maybe it's just that sensation of trying to clutch a lot of straws yet feeling I don't have a good grip on anything.

Maybe I shouldn't post on this blog when I feel kinda crappy.