I read blog posts every day. It's one of the first things that I do in the morning. I wake up, fall into the shower, fix myself some cereal, and plop myself down in front of my laptop so that I can read witty writing and watch ridiculous videos while my brain wakes up. Today I decided to check out my own blog and was surprised to see that I hadn't written anything in an entire year! Considering I have been blogging since high school, way back in April 2001, I shouldn't let this thing go entirely.

My life has certainly changed in the last year. I finished my masters degree (convocation in November!) and I have started my first job as a speech-language pathologist. Well. Technically, my job title is Speech and Language Clinician because Quebec won't recognize me as a speech-language pathologist because I can't speak and write French to the level of their (high) expectations. I won't get started on that, though. I'm still living in Montreal while Jason finishes med school. Then who knows! We haven't planned that far ahead yet. For the first time, I took a life risk. Logic told me to stay in PEI and work as a school speech-language pathologist. I could live at home, pay off my student debt, and be with my family. I always listen to logic! I describe myself as painfully rational. My mom calls me a hard-ass. However, this time, I chose love over money and security. I came back to Montreal in August, though I had been rejected time and time again by Quebec. Incredibly, I found a job that doesn't mind if I can't speak French. They don't mind if it's a bit of a hassle to have my work there. It isn't my dream job, but it is a job doing what I have been trained to do and I have fun doing it. I'm getting experience and forming my own opinion on what life is like working in the private sector. I get to come home at the end of the day and relax... and it's great! I should take a few risks more often.

Last weekend was Thanksgiving and, for the first time, I wasn't home in PEI. I felt a little homesick but things perked up when I got together with friends for a non-traditional Thanksgiving potluck (although there was a lot of pie). It was really nice to get together and relax with close friends. It was a good break from the burden of schoolwork, too. School assignments and presentations are building up and I'm working hard at keeping my head above water until Christmas. Plus I found out yesterday that my PEI student loan is all messed up and I have to do all this stuff to prove that I'm actually incredibly poor. For some reason, they're convinced that I have $8000 in investments and $3000 of income during my study period. That's $11000 they've just made up and now I have to prove and explain why I don't have it! Thanks PEI.

I'm starting to plan my final internship for this summer. I'm hoping to do a six week placement in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (1 or 2 hours outside of Montreal) in a school setting, but the other six weeks are up in the air. I'll probably be going back to PEI to a similar setting that I did my practicum in last summer. I guess I don't mind that because it will be good experience in a population that I like. Plus it is pretty broad, which is apparently good for an internship. Employers want new graduates with broad experiences. Hey, I'm going to be a new graduate soon.

Halloween is coming up! I'm still thinking about costume ideas. I feel like I want to wear a cowboy hat. Maybe a sheriff? The only issue is that I don't have a cowboy hat. I'm sure that I could find one somewhere. 

Today I went to the flea market to sell some old things that I didn't want anymore. I managed to make over $80 (through sheer volume since I priced things very low). I decided to buy a pair of Old Navy shorts from another table for a dollar. When I took them home and tried them on, I was disappointed to discover that they were too small. I reached into the pockets out of habit and discovered a five dollar bill folded inside! Sheer profit!

August has been very rainy - it's rained every day this month. It creates a pretty gloomy mood in the mornings. I've been trying to stay motivated with my running, but it is so much more fun to run on a sunny day! I'm not looking forward to running on the track at school. There's so much cement! 

I bought a new cellphone yesterday! I picked a red Krazr and it is so much prettier than my old phone. I'm still figuring out how to work it, but so far I think it is great. 

Next week is my last week of work! I'm really excited about unemployment. I loved my job this summer, even though it was stressful and challenging. It had a lot of special moments that I'll take with me for many years to come. On Saturday, I'm driving to Moncton to pick Jason up on the train. I'm incredibly excited for that! Jason AND a week off from work - oh the possibilities!

I managed to do a few of the things that I wanted to do this weekend. I moved some boxes around, went through some old stuff, and threw away things I didn't want anymore. I've been in a purging sort of mood these days so I've been getting rid of everything. Every time I empty a box, I feel a lot lighter - like my life has been simplified. My purse/bag is about half finished and it isn't looking too bad. The lining has a hole in it already but I'll fix it up. I don't care too much about it because it is only lining. 

The Nike+ thing is amazing. It turns out I had been running further than I had previously thought! So things are progressing along pretty well on that goal.

My mom brought me home 1.1 kg of Jelly Belly jellybeans from Costco. She may actually be killing me with kindness!

It's the weekend! I'm going to be home alone for the next few days and I have so much that I'm planning to do! In reality, I'm sure very little will actually get done. But oh the plans! I bought the Nike+ gadget yesterday so I want to try that out either tonight or tomorrow.  Or maybe tonight AND tomorrow! Because that is the freedom you have when you are home alone. I want to finish sewing my purse (actually, restart sewing my purse, since I had to take it all apart last time) and move a bunch of boxes around. I am thinking of having a yard sale so I could start working on that, too. Yard sales are stressful because it is hard to picture anyone actually wanting to pay money for my junk. I've never had one before but I did sell stuff at the flea market once. I felt almost apologetic offering my ridiculous trash to people. But I've been there and paid money for other people's junk, so I should know that it happens! It's tempting to just donate everything to Value Village, but it would be so sweet to get a little cash out of things like my pleather boots and unwanted soap sets. I might also try cleaning my room and then not messing it up again for the next month. Impossible? Most likely. And then there's that painting I've been meaning to do...

The running is going pretty well. I haven't advanced past 6km but yesterday I included a killer hill. I've been researching Nike+ and it seems like a pretty interesting gadget. It isn't too expensive ($39.99) so I think I might pick one up after work today as my payday treat! I think the fun of logging my runs onto a website might just be enough to really push me closer toward a 10k.

In other news, I'm pretty crazy about oatmeal and here is a pretty picture of a flower in my garden.

My wisdom tooth is acting up again. It goes through periods of extreme pain every few months. Basically, it absolutely KILLS to open my teeth further than a centimeter and chewing is a nightmare. I managed to make myself a lunch today that didn't involve any chewing (oatmeal and raspberries), but I have been downing some codeine to make meals bearable. If only I liked soup! I think I'll look for an easy gazpacho recipe online. I used to make that when I lived in Halifax, and I remember enjoying it.