Alanna is full of plans & expectations.

The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth

One of my favourite things about summer in Calgary is the Stampede. I didn’t grow up in Calgary so I never found it lame or dorky. It was all new to me when we moved in 1995. Like snow & Chinooks, I fell in love with it.

Part of the draw of the Stampede is how completely ridiculous it is. For 10 days of the year, everyone pretends to be a cowboy. People don boots, jeans & cowboy hats instead of their usual suits to go to the office. There is a higher concentration of plaid than at any other time. & most offices find an excuse to throw a big party & spend the day drinking & socializing instead of actually working.

Arguably, one of the best things during Stampede though is the free pancake breakfasts that pop up in parking lots all over the city. There is one every morning in some community. People volunteer to make pancakes or hand out juice or plates or paint faces or lead ponies around. I’ve worked a few myself & the amount of people that show up is astounding. I guess it shouldn’t really be, seeing as it’s free. There’s usually a band & activities for kids & line dancing.

This year, I told Mom to find us one to go to the Saturday I was back. We headed out to Coventry Hills in our cowboy boots & Stampede gear & joined the masses in line for our free pancakes. Luckily it was a gorgeous day (unlike most of the rest of the summer in Alberta this year) so we enjoyed our pancakes on the curb in the parking lot.

Pancake breakfast is the very best way to start a long day of Stampeding, if you ask me.

deltiology

I don't exactly study them, but I suppose you could say I do collect them. I love Postcards & I have tons from all over the world - some that I've collected from my own travels & some that others have sent me. The back of my door of my room in Calgary is covered with them & I had begun a small collection in my room in my old apartment in Mtl.

This new place, however doesn't really have a bedroom door. & tacking them to my back door is entirely too tacky for my liking so I've come up with a better solution - the ugly glass topped table I have from the old place. It's perfect, especially seeing as I have no table cloth & the paint is peeling and chipping. On top of this, my awesome boyfriend sent me a postcard from pretty much every place he visited, so I have plenty of postcards to cover the whole thing. Ingenious! No?

Do you ever just not know how to feel??

Alanna is getting ready to hit the stampede! Yahoooooo!

settling

Moving. Oh moving. What an…ordeal? Perhaps that’s not the right word, especially seeing as it went particularly smoothly thanks to a few amazing people. Nonetheless, I’ve been technically moved in to my place for two weeks as of today & it’s only finally coming together now. I don’t have very much stuff, certainly not enough to fill a one bedroom apartment, but my studio is packed to the rafters it seems. & I still have a couple of things at my old place (although one is the chair to my desk & the other is a tiny bookshelf).

I’ve been playing with different set up for my apartment. I’m sure it will continue to change over the next few months until I get it all figured out. The hardest part seems to be my bed & chair. 

The day after moving in. Not much has changed in this corner of the room aside from it being more organized.

Configuration One.

The way I’d originally had it set up is slightly awkward for my bedside table (which doesn’t quite fit on the wall beside my bed & sticks out a bit) and my dresser (which sits awkwardly at the foot of my bed.) Basically the set up is awkward all around. Especially since my bed is then up against the wall so if anyone stays with me, they have to climb over me to go to bed – I won’t be forfeiting MY side of the bed…. Sorry.

Configuration Two.

Deux

The latest confuguration looks a lot nicer, but makes for an awkward set up for my coffee table (Yes, I know it’s awkward that my coffee table is just sitting there on it’s own to begin with…I’m not sure what to really do with it.) & in some ways makes things feel smaller.

Basically, I’m almost totally unpacked & moved, but I’m still figuring out the logistics of this apartment of mine.

Prettier, more organized view of my desk/table & balcony

My tiny little kitchen.

Now if only I had an extra foot all around, all of my apartment problems would be solved. I guess I can’t complain too much however, I do have A/C & in 42c, not a whole lot else matters… 

move along

I’m officially moved. Well, according to my old lease & my new lease anyways. & for the most part I am actually officially moved into my new place as well. I left a few things at the old place – 2 mirrors, my desk chair, photo collages, and the modem & cable box – but aside from that everything else is here.

Up until it actually fell together, I was fairly certain that I was going to end up crying on the sidewalk halfway between apartments, France 2005 style. (When, after over 24 hours of traveling, 2 hours of wandering around Rennes like a lost child, with no idea where my residence was & unable to find a single person who would help me out, I sat down on my giant suitcase & bawled. Don’t fret for my 21-year-old self, however. I did manage to pull myself together enough to check into a hotel for the night & get enough sleep to easily find my residence the following morning.) I had 2 sbux coworkers & a friend from school (with her station wagon) help me with the move. & thank god for that station wagon. We managed to fit almost everything in it & only had to carry a few minor things the 4 blocks. I know 4 blocks doesn’t seem like much, but talk to me after you’ve carried a metal legged table that distance. It’s far enough.

The following evening, Kat helped me with the last few things & I’ve been (very) slowly settling in since. Normally, I would have my entire place figured out almost a week into living in it, but there are a few last minute touch ups that need to be finished so with the knowledge that worked will be coming in a out tomorrow, I can’t be bothered to set things up for real & get everything cleaned to my satisfaction only to have them trek through in their work boots. We’re in the middle of a disgusting humidity & high heat warning, so keep your fingers crossed for me that my AC gets fixed tomorrow as promised.

Until all this gets sorted, you’ll just have to keep on waiting to see my new digs. I know, heartbreaking.