Cheap bartenders

One thing I do love about being in a big city is being able to go out to a bar or pub and have a good time with good friends! One thing I do not like about the bars in Edmonton and how cheap the bartenders are... I've got ripped off so many times I can't even count. I don't know how many times I've paid for my drink and gotten little to no money back after I've paid with a 20$ bill. Now I do understand that the tips is making them all their money, but i'm sorry as the bartender, you don't get to pick how much of a tip you will receive from me. Once you give me back the EXACT amount of change, yes I will throw some money into your jar, but if you choose to take your own tip and not give me the right amount of money back, your bar and yourself will no longer be receiving any kind of tip from me. I think the Pint has ripped me off the worse so far, I ordered 2 highballs, came to $10.50, I gave him a $20 bill, what do I get back, $3, now you do the math and see how that seems a bit off. Annnnd after he did this and I looked and realized what he had done, he was no where to be found. He clearly knew exactly what he did and just ran off what the tip. Such a bastard. So yeah, I can't help but to NOT want to tip at the Pint anymore, because that one guy had to rip me off that bad, he ruined for everyone else, which to you might not seem fair at all but hey, I don't have that kind of money to be letting the bartenders choose their tip. The other place where it has been horrible is Oil City or should I say Oil Dirty. I don't care that the male bartenders are usually topless and the females usually have their tits and ass hanging out, that doesn't give you the right to choose your tip from me. Yes all the guys and girls who go their to stare at the abs, tits and ass are probably going to tip you well because your giving them something they probably don't get to look at in their everyday life. For me, no that isn't why i'm there, you make me a good drink and give me all my change back ill tip yah! I find at Oil Dirty they will hold all the change above the change jar and look at you  with eyes saying "can I just take your $10 worth of change and throw it in my jar?" and before you even answer they just dump it in there. Um hello? what are you doing. I will and I mean I will put my hand in that change jar and take my change back so lets just do us all a favor and give the right amount of money back and than i'm happy and your happy because your getting a tip!

Samples at the grocery store

There is nothing better when you go to the grocery store and the first thing you notice is a sample stand. I walk into Save-on today and there she is, the awesome lady that is always sampling their desserts and pastries. Of course I go straight to the stand, what is she sampling today you ask? Pie! Banana pie, coconut pie and chocolate! I went for a banana and it was delicious! I remember about 2 weeks ago I was there and she was sampling st pattty's day cupcakes and she hadn't sold any ( no idea how this happened ) so she forced me to eat about half, but hey I wasn't complaining. Than I go around the corner and there's another sampling table, this never happens! It was like I was in a costco or something. Now people were going crazy for this one, it was some kind of garlic sausage. She wasn't even done cooking it and people were lining up for it! I decide hey, Ill go finish my shopping and come back for it. I come back, get in the much smaller line, a little old lady was in front of me and she was acting like some angry hungry hippo. Not only did she snatch two for herself, when she went to hand me mine, she snatched mine too.When I finally got to taste mine, it was awesome but the lady kept trying to sell the product and its like cmon lady, no ones actually going to buy it, we just want the free samples! People go crazy for free food I tell ya. It just so happened I was starving when I went into the store, so thank you Save-on for satisfying my hunger for free for a little bit so I didn't buy everything in the store! 

Animal Cruelty in Canada

Something that is really close to my heart is animals. I love all kinda animals, where I live there is bunnies everywhere you go and they just make my heart melt. I got my first cat when I was probably around 7 or 8 and it was one of the greatest days of my life. And one of the worst days of my life was when I put her down. But after that we got another kitty and he was also great. Where I live now we have a dog and a cat and its absolutely the best, for two animals, they make me very happy. I cant ever walk past a pet store without at least taking a quick peak. I'm one of those people that if I could save all the strays out there, I would, If I could some how stop all animal cruelty out there, I would. Something that really disgusts me is how much animal cruelty is raising in Canada. Some of the stories out there I can't even read because they're so sick.
Just some sub titles of cases in Canada:
St. Catharines- Cat doused in gasoline and beaten to death
Ottawa woman charged in dog stabbing
Sick thugs hack off cat’s tail in the latest in a string of mindless animal attacks
Teens plead guilty to lesser charges in cat microwaving case
Couple Pleads Guilty to Starving Dogs
Dog left to die in river with brick tied to collar – The Toronto Star
Cat Set On Fire and Thrown in Clothes Dryer


Most of these I read about 1 paragraph and couldn't even finish. It's just how could people even put the thoughts into their head and than actually do it, it blows my mind.
I think the criminal code for animal cruelty in Canada is pathetic. The punishment is not even close to where I think it should be. 
Criminal Code of Canada -

Causing unnecessary suffering

445.1 (1) Every one commits an offence who(a) wilfully causes or, being the owner, wilfully permits to be caused unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal or a bird;(b) in any manner encourages, aids or assists at the fighting or baiting of animals or birds;(c) wilfully, without reasonable excuse, administers a poisonous or an injurious drug or substance to a domestic animal or bird or an animal or a bird wild by nature that is kept in captivity or, being the owner of such an animal or a bird, wilfully permits a poisonous or an injurious drug or substance to be administered to it;(d) promotes, arranges, conducts, assists in, receives money for or takes part in any meeting, competition, exhibition, pastime, practice, display or event at or in the course of which captive birds are liberated by hand, trap, contrivance or any other means for the purpose of being shot when they are liberated; or(e) being the owner, occupier or person in charge of any premises, permits the premises or any part thereof to be used for a purpose mentioned in paragraph (d).

 Punishment

(2) Every one who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of

(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term of not more than eighteen months or to both.
Now this is just part of it, but it is not enough! "Cruelty laws are only as good as those who are willing to enforce them. In Manitoba, the laws are in place, but there is absolutely no movement on the part of the Provincial Vet and anyone involved with that office. You could have capital punishment, and it would deter noone because everyone knows those in charge do NOT give a damn.There's a election coming...time to start making some noise in this province."

I Hope everyone out there could take some kind of stand, because this needs to be stopped! 

When someone doesn't pick up their phone

Usually the people I make phone calls too are the people that are pretty close to me, so I generally know what their daily schedule is so I know when or when not to call them. Something that drives me crazy is when you KNOW someone isn't busy and they don't pick up there phone, especially when it's important! Its so frustrating when someone tells you to call them, so you do and yet they still don't pick up! drives me nuts!! A great example for you all is someone told me to call them today at exactly 2:10 pm, so I did, no answer. Call again, no answer. Repeat that 10x still no answer. Im now sitting at the LRT station frustrated as can be and still, no answer. To make the entire situation worst, my phone is on it's last bar, great, just great. I could be at home relaxing and not sitting on an uncomfortable bench in HUB but yet i'm still sitting here and no answer. 30 minutes ago they were suppose to pick up the phone! How annoying, well for all you people out there, if you ask someone to call you, do them a favor and pick up!!! 

Awful servers at Hudsons

Most of the time when I go out to eat somewhere I get pretty good service. And you would think that anywhere you go, you're going to automatically get a good server, why? Well because I would think that the server is there to do one thing, make money. How is she gonna make good money? Good tips, and how is she gonna make good tips, good service. So yeah, 98% of the time, I find most servers very good! But for some reason, I don't think the servers at Hudsons are there to make money, because the service i've experienced there is probably the worst I've ever had. First of all, we didn't even get a "Hi, hows it going today?" She just automatically asked us what we wanted to drink and when we asked if there was root beer, she bluntly said NO. Second off, after we got our drinks and decided what we wanted, we had our menu's closed for quite a bit of time before she even bothered to see if we were ready. The thing that blew my mind is as I sat there and waited to be asked what I wanted to eat, I watched the servers stand by the bar and eat food. A) why are the servers eating where everyone can see and B) why are they getting fed during service, not even a break when I haven't even placed my meal yet. After FINALLY taking our order, not once did she ask if we wanted drink re fills. Finally our food came and during the entire period of eating I never got asked if everything was tasting alright or if I needed anything, well another water would have been great but that never happened. Once the meal was finished and all was said and done, we said we had debit to pay and she probably answered in the rudest way possible "We don't take debit, only cash or credit" .. OH OKAY. What kind of establishment doesn't take debit and she did not need to say it in that tone. Well needless to say, after the crappy ass service we received i'm sure she wasn't pleased with the tip but hey as I said, Good service = good tips.
Although I would never go back to Hudsons for the crappy service, I would go back just for the sweet potato fries and the amazzing dip it comes with and the overall food was alright. 

Using Transit in a big city

If there is one thing I miss the most living in a small town, it's having my own vehicle to drive. Because if there is something that I have gotten sick of living in Edmonton, it's using transit everyday. The transit is great here but either way it's a pain in the butt. Im tired of sitting by stinky people on the train and waiting for the bus in the cold. Last night I was intoxicated by the fumes of Marijuana as a guy decided to smoke a joint on the train, that was just oh so pleasant. I have days where I would do anything to just walk 5 steps outside and be able to hop into my car and be on my way. Yes I know i'm saving tons of money doing it this way but oh man I want my car here! I think the biggest pain is grocery shopping, who wants to carry all their groceries home on the train, not me. I want to put all my bags in the trunk of my car and drive home.
Well this only gets me more excited for the day to come when i'm making enough money to be able to get a new car and drive it in the big city!

Crackers, cheese and pickles.

There is nothing better than a great snack, if I could just snack all day and never eat a main meal like breakfast, lunch or dinner, I would.

Now there is all kinds of snacks, but the best snack of all times is crackers, pickles and cheese. 

First of all the cracker must be a Ritz cracker, nothing else.

Secondly, the pickle has to be dill, I don't want any of those sweet pickles, keep it dill, keep it good.

Lastly, the cheese must be marble, that way you're getting a mix of mozzarella and cheddar all in one!

The way I like to go about it, is count how many crackers I have on my plate and than after that I cut exactly the amount of cheese, don't be wasting that cheese. And obviously after that you cut that amount of pickles and BAM! You have the greatest snack sitting right and front of you.

The salt from the cracker and the dill from the pickles all added with the cheese is the perfect combo.

When I have all 3 of these ingredients in my house, I tend to indulge in the snack once a day!

Enjoy!

When people show up late

Okay, if there is one thing that really makes me mad it's when people show up late to something.

If I make plans with someone and we decide to meet there at 5, be there at 5, not 5:10, 5:30. If you have things to do before hand, get it done before. Don't use that as an excuse to of why you're late. You clearly knew before what time we were meeting so just be there on time. My way of going about this situation is I always show up a bit early, even if i'm a bit earlier than planned i'm always there on time!  So if your ever gonna plan on meeting up with me somewhere, just be there on time and i'll be happy.

Softball being cut from the summer Olympics

So as we all know the summer 2012 Olympics is fastly approaching and Canada is getting really excited after Vancouver, I am excited but on the other hand i'm really not looking forward to it that much this year as they've cut softball out of the Olympics. 
I think this is huge, what were the people thinking! For most girls that playing softball in the Olympics was the highest dream they could obtain. One speculation for the sport being cut is ever since softball has begun in the Olympics in 1996 the USA has won gold every single year, some may believe there isn't enough competitiveness from the other teams. In 2008, we had 8 teams in softball usually with about 15-20 girls per team, so now we have 100-120 girls not being able to play at that level again. Seems a bit unfair to me..
Another thing, softball was an all womens sport, so now we have less women/girls being able to participate in the games. So now for most girls, college and University is the highest level of competition they will see and for some, their goal was much higher than college it was the Olympics and that dream can no longer happen. My biggest thing with the whole situation is, the IOC has made NO actual reasons to of why they cut the sport and to me its really sad.
So support the women of softball and fight to get the sport back at the Olympics! 

Sleeping in a hot bedroom

Last night, I got woken up suddenly because it felt like my room was about 1000 degrees. I woke up wet from sweating so much and I literally felt as if I was being sophicated and I couldn't breathe. It was probably one of the worst feelings. I don't think anyone should have to go through what I felt last night, so I recommend for all of you out there, always have a fan and a small heater near by, you never know when it may get too hot or too cold and after last night, I will always be playing it safe and having both of these options to either warm me up or cool me down near by.

My thoughts on the perfect meal

So, If I was to go a restaurant, I would always love to have my meal one way. This usually does not happen due to the amount of my funds in the bank account but hey, I can dream can't I...
The appetizer, the appetizer is crucial. This should be something to satisfy your hunger while you wait for the mains but it should not fill you up. Never go with anything that has lots of carbs or bread, because as most of us smart people know, those things do fill you up and once you do that, the main is ruined. My recomindation for a appy is go with something light but tasty to get your taste buds working. My favorite would be some kind of seafood. A good shrimp or just a few tasty pieces of lobster! Yum!
Now for the main, the main should always be a significant part of the meal, this is what you do want to fill you up almost completely. I can't actually recommend a good main because everyone is different, of course. But what I can say, is if your at a nice restaurant get something good! We can all cook a good burger or salad at home. Go for the steak or the delicious pasta that we all know we just cant make taste as good as they can. Personally I love having a good steak, medium rare with onions and mushrooms, delicious! For the side, a ceaser salad always goes well!
When the meal is over, I always crave a good sweet, but remember always give yourself a chance to digest a bit and take a breather but after that, order the most tasty dessert on the menu and indulge, its the perfect way to end a great meal!
Although the meal makes the whole experience great, the company you bring along with you is what tops it all off to be amazing!

School and my thoughts on it

When I first started school (college) I hated it, first of all, I was upgrading, so at this point I'm not even in a program. Let me tell you, upgrading sucks! Although I was in a college I still felt I was in high school, there was no feeling of going to the next level. Second of all, I'm young and fresh out of high school, and to see people my parents age was a bit weird,  but hey i'm doing it so I don't think it's ever too late to do it. Thirdly, when I pictured college, I pictured this huge campus with tons of buildings and I thought I would be walking from class to class and it would be awesome, no. That is not my school, my school is one big several story's high building. How do I get from class to class you ask? Well I either take a small flight of stairs or I take a elevator. Usually the elevator, whose taking the stairs these days when there's a elevator, cmon now. Anyways, it was not the dream school I was hoping for. I wanted that feel of college and I just did not get it. But the biggest thing I learned out of this whole situation was to actually accomplish something and get good marks is a great feeling, for me there's nothing better than getting a great mark and than being able to phone or text or tell everyone and celebrate it. Hey what's better than getting a great mark and than having a excellent celebration dinner with some good friends, if anyone can tell me there's something wrong with that, your crazy.