Meet the Parents

Now that I've (nearly) gotten over the excitement of being engaged... wait... who am I kidding? I'm not "over" anything! Let me start this again.

B had wonderful timing for his proposal, as my parents and lil' brother are coming to visit for a week, starting today. This could also be "awful" timing, depending how you choose to look at it! My family knows I'm kidding... right?

...right? Hello...? (that sound you hear is me being written out of various wills)

What their trip DOES mean is that for the first time our families will be able to meet. My mom had met his parents on her trip over here last year, but this is the first time that both families in their entirety will be in the same place at the same time (except for B's brothers, one of whom is in Poland, and the other is in America). We're talking the 4 of my family plus 9 of his family... in the same place... at the same time. I can hear the delighted shrieks already, and am mentally bracing myself for 2 moms plus sister-in-law-to-be sitting me down and planning out our wedding in full over the course of this coming bank holiday weekend.

Note to self: Start checking prices for elopement....

I kid, I kid. I'm looking forward to it. Really!

And now I'd better get to work shining up my ring. I have a feeling it's going to be closely inspected over the next week...

I can haz awsum boyfriend? part II

So this weekend, before the imminent arrival of the parents, B decided we should go away to the country. As I've never been one to argue with his brilliant ideas, on Friday evening we headed down to Wicklow, to a picturesque little farmhouse called Ballyknocken. The added bonus? It's also a cookery school! And B, being the occasional forward planner that he sometimes can be, had also booked us in for a tapas cookery course on Saturday, and a gourmet dinner on the Friday night.

It was heaven. But there will be more of the weekend in a separate post. Something along the lines of "Cooking School Raves and Reviews, by K". I promise.

Well needless to say after cooking (and eating) far too much mini Spanish food (mmm... tapas), we decided it would be a good idea to go for a walk in the woods. That's one thing I love about Wicklow - it has hills that are trying so desperately to be mountains that you have to humour them by "hiking" them. Bless.

So we went for a leisurely stroll for a while... and then stopped by a huge tree with a beautiful view of the valley...


...and then he proposed. (insert girlish giggle here)

I can haz awsum boyfriend?*

*a very rare lapse in grammar, but only to preface this post by referencing I Can Has Cheezburger - a website for fans of cats with bad grammar.

Every morning before he leaves for work, B leaves me a note. All together now: "Aww..."

Determined not to run out of things to say, despite doing this almost every single weekday since November, today's note was just too funny (and cute) not to post. Plus me posting photos of his cute notes will probably embarrass him no end, so it's win-win.

If it's tricky to read, it says "Hidez behind the page cat is hiding behind the page, with a note from B to tell you he luvz u"

I suppose after a year living together (as of April 18) and nearly 2 years together, it's the little things...

Plus I secretly like giving people cavities from an overdose of sickly sweet loved-up-ness.

New Blog on the Block

Just in case I didn't have enough trouble trying to update Watch This Space regularly, I've decided to go and create a new blog! There's optimism for you!

Have no fear... Watch This Space will still be my go-to place for personal updates, random anecdotes and the occasional rant. Oh, and photos! Everyone loves photos, right?

Anyway. My new blog is called My PR Quest and is, I suppose, my take on surviving unemployment, the life of a jobhunter, tips and tricks to ride out the recession (I'm what the lifestyle mags are calling a "recessionista"), and my thoughts on the world of Public Relations, since I'm now a PR student.

All of this comes with a slightly humourous slant to everything. After all, without a sense of humour, how can you possibly expect to get by in the world? We all need a good laugh every now and then.

"Through humour, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."
(Bill Cosby)

I hope you enjoy it.

Zoo Babies

I may spark off a controversy here, but I love going to the zoo. I can't think of a more exciting thing to do for a day out except maybe... going to Ikea? More on that when it opens in Dublin in July!

Don't get me wrong - I hate seeing animals kept in pens or cages that are way too small. I hate seeing them pace back and forth listlessly, with a sad look of resignation in their eyes. That's why I was even kind of glad to see the end of Vancouver's zoo in Stanley Park.

And I admit, Dublin Zoo does have some of the same problems. I've noticed it mostly with the Big Cats - what is it about these animals that makes people want to keep them in small enclosures? Poor lions. But other areas are huge and spacious, with loads of trees to climb, things to swing off, and people to stare at.

It's unnerving being eyed up by an orangutan.

So yes, we had a great Easter weekend, mostly involving me squealing (in pitches that only dogs can hear at times!) and threatening to take all the animals home with me. Needless to say, B has mastered the exasperated look.

Case in point - after exclaiming "Aww... look at his little face! I want one!" a few too many times, we stopped to watch the elephants. Cue a small child beside me (no older than 7): "Aww... I want one!" I laughed and said "See? It's not just me!" to which I got "Yes K, but that child is 7 years old, and you are 28."

He'll be a good dad some day.

But seriously... YOU try saying no to this furry little face (below).

(all photos courtesy of B)

Blog-a-versary

(photo courtesy of B - they're mini cakes I made for his birthday)

Happy Birthday "Watch This Space"!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I decided to start this little project of mine. I started WTS as a way of keeping in touch with people back home, and since then it's become a bit of a safe haven where I can vent, or mull things over, or share things about myself and my life.

So much has happened in the past year, and I'm in a completely different space from where I used to be. I moved in with B, and we continue to have a loving, supportive and often challenging relationship (in a good way). I went on holidays to Greece in June, and to Paris in November. I was caught up in the Dublin Floods that marked one of the worst summers (weather-wise) of my life. I lost my job in November and became one of the early casualties of the Irish recession. I've successfully maintained my sanity through 5 months of unemployment. I survived the Snowpocalypse that was Christmas in Vancouver. I became a student again and rediscovered the joys of lifelong learning.

And I've learned so much about myself, particularly over the past 5 months. I've learned that I generally try to put on a brave face and a strong, determined attitude, but that it's okay to let myself slip a bit and cry if I need to. I've learned that I don't have to do everything by myself - that sometimes it's okay to ask for help when things get to be too much. I've rediscovered a love of singing along with cheesy songs on the stereo while cleaning the apartment.

I'm not perfect. I'm only human. But I know that there are friends and family out there who love me and care about me nonetheless.

Thanks to everyone who has followed me this far. If you'd like to come out of Lurk Mode and leave a comment so I know who you are... well... I'd love that too.

The Taxman Cometh...

I'm going to take a brief time-out from my happy, positive lifestyle plan to go on a bit of a "railing at the sheer injustice of it all" bender. Bear with me on this. Happy sunshiney K will be back soon.

So apparently, DESPITE the fact that while I was employed I paid my taxes to the Irish Government, DESPITE being unemployed for the last 5 months, DESPITE my rapidly dwindling savings and most of all DESPITE the fact that I haven't lived at home AT ALL for the last two and a half years, Revenue Canada has decided that I owe them. And owe them Big Time.

Anyone want to buy a spare kidney that I suppose I don't really need?

Now, I understand that I am still a legal resident of Canada, in that I haven't renounced my citizenship (nor do I ever intend to do so), and as such, I am entitled to use all the services and things that one's tax dollars would normally pay for. Olympics, anyone? (Grr...)

The problem, as I see it, is that I'm effectively being shafted by not one, but TWO countries... AT THE SAME TIME! (apologies for the caps... but what is a rant without caps?) When I was gainfully employed I dutifully paid my taxes to the Irish Government, even though as a non-national I'm not really entitled to anything, including welfare, without it having seriously negative repercussions on any future citizenship applications.

"Ah grand, you want to be Irish. Have you ever been on welfare? You have? (insert disapproving tut-tut noise here) Ah well, we can't be having that. Denied."

At the same time, as a Canadian I'm almost totally entitled to use any or all services my tax dollars pay for... only I'm not in the country!!

The only Canadian service I can use is the Canadian Embassy. And don't even get me started on those guys. For the amount of tax Revenue Canada is currently trying to carve out of my internal organs, the LEAST the Embassy could do is be open longer than 9am - noon. I'm only trying to get my passport renewed. Plus they are way way way across town in the middle of nowhere.

I mean seriously.

End rant.