Haven't posted in a while.  July in a nutshell:

• We suffered a minor crisis as an indirect result of installing our new dishwasher, when we woke up the following morning to discover that we had sprung a rather frightening leak in our basement ceiling from a pipe under our kitchen floor.  Luckily Mason and his father Bob the Builder'ed it up and managed to patch up the pipe within the day, and we spent the next week with fans cranked up full force up in the roof and on the floor to avoid any possible mold or water damage.  Things are now more or less fixed and back to normal other than the giant three foot hole still in our ceiling.
• Last weekend we had an unexpected kitty-shaped visitor camp out with us for an evening.  We found the young cat out in our backyard, unneutured, with no collar or tattoos, so I set him up with some food and water, a bed, and litterbox in the garage over night until the Humane Society opened up the next day.  I figure he was a house escapee rather than a stray, considering how openly friendly and affectionate he was, but I went around ringing doorbells that morning and no one recognized his photo.  He was so sweet, he liked to headbutt and nuzzle you in the face, being all "LOOK AT HOW ADORABLE I AM! SUBMIT ALL YOUR LOVES TO ME, MUH HA HA!"  I hope he was claimed by his family, if he had one, or gets adopted by someone nice.  *Hugs him*
• Sister and I had a Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows 2 movie date!  Both halves of this last movie were surprisingly awesome for a change, a really nice wrap up to a sadly lackluster movie franchise (with the exception of the epilogue which, trust me, is just as awful in movie form as it was in the book, only now you actually get too see Ron's thirty-year-old beer gut and Malfoy's hilarious facial hair.)  I liked that they ramped up the castle battle to be a bit more epic, though I was pretty choked that they cut out Fred's death scene; also sad that they hardly touched at all on Dumbledore's backstory.  On the other hand, as much as I've been a long time hater of Alan Rickman's portrayal of Snape, he really redeemed himself a bit in this one.  He finally abandoned the whole campy Capt Kirk line delivery and the over-the-top billow genie moves for some actual acting in parts for a change.  I've never been a fan at all of the Snape/Lily ship, but I gotta say that I sobbed like a giant goober during the scene where he finds her dead in Godric's Hollow, and afterward when he's lamenting to Albus.  ;_;  Oh yeah, and btw, McGonagall?  She's hilarious.  Trust me.
• Only one month until I go back to school.  It's a little pathetic how even at the age I am now that one of the parts I get most excited for about returning to college university (MacEwan would insist on accuracy) is the prospect of new school supplies, especially when you consider that school supplies for my program pretty much consist of maybe a binder, paper, and a handful of pens.  Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the classes themselves, and the concept of graduating in two years and being able to secure a career I'm actually passionate about is obviously appealing, but some how that package of brand new blue Bic ballpoints makes me positively squirm with glee every time I walk by the office supply aisle at work.  Yes, it's absurd, I know.
• On the note of school and library careers, I applied for a (very) part-time page position at the St. Albert Public Library this week which I'm hoping my volunteer cred will score me first dibs at.  Even a few hours a week of legitimate library work would be great for my resume and maybe open up some opportunities for something full-time.  Please cross your fingers for me!  >_<

Mood: A little less pathetic.

Well, sort of. Kinda. Not really.

My cast came off a couple of weeks ago, so I'm significantly less gimpy than I was last time I posted, but not 100% gimp free yet. While it's great that I can finally do things like write and type properly again, and use two hands for tasks like washing dishes and cooking, my wrist still has a ways to go. I have about half the movement and strength in my right wrist as I used to so it can only do so much still, and some times I accidentally put too much weight on it or jar it in some awkward way and that causes all kinds of not pleasant sensations. Currently I'm going to physio twice a week and it's definitely helped, but I was hoping to have had better progress by now. We'll see how it goes.

So we're half way through January now and I'm starting to take the time to do yet another revision of my resume and cover letter to format it for non-library related inquiries. These past months have been incredibly disappointing on the library job front. I suppose I was naive to think that it would be easy to eventually get in as an entry level page, but I never thought it would be this discouraging. Where I used to be optimistic and excited any time I applied for a new position, I'm now frustrated and anxious, and it's hard to keep a positive attitude now while I'm expanding my search into other areas and fields of work once more. Depending on our financial situation after the wedding, I may need to bite the bullet and enroll in some more schooling. The priority now though is to find something at least temporary until then.

On a more upbeat note, I was thrilled to read last week that the family-owned Paradise Pets store in St. Albert has taken a giant leap forward and made the decision to stop selling dogs and cats from breeders. Instead they're partnering with various rescue organizations in the Edmonton area to use their storefront to adopt out animals in need. It is such a positive step in the right direction and I'm immensely proud of them for taking the initiative to do so. I can only hope that some of the bigger pet store chains will see the value in this move and make the same change. It's positive media attention for the pet stores, it helps ease the burden of the rescue organizations, and it makes healthy adoptable animals more accessible and promoted to prospective pet owners. Everyone wins. (Well, except the breeders but I don't much care about them.)

Also, I've never been so excited for movie documentaries! National Geographic's The Last Lions is coming out in February and it looks beautiful. PLUS, it's narrated by Jeremy Irons! My brain just exploded with awesome! XD In addition to National Geographic's production, there's also Kevin Richardson's project, White Lion: Love is a Journey I want to see; as well as DisneyNature's African Cats. It's a good year for lions~

Mood: Warm and fuzzy inside

This morning I attended a orientation session for new volunteers at the Edmonton Humane Society. It's actually the second one I've gone to in the last year or two, but after the first one I never heard anything back from them on how to proceed to the next step, so I'm not sure if I got lost in the fray some where down the line or what. Luckily this time around seemed much more organized and I walked out happily at the end with a yellow EHS volunteer shirt and everything~

The lady from the EHS (who has also served as an EMT) who headed the session started it off by talking a little about her time in New York several years back, and how she was there the day of and helped out during the events of 9/11. She showed us some of her own pictures that she'd taken during and after the attacks, as well spoke about and showed us photos of some of the animal rescue units that assisted in the aftermath; like how the search and rescue dogs were transported across the rubble and debris. Also how in addition to the typical medium to large sized breeds that you usually see with emergency crews, 9/11 had a lot of tiny miniature dogs like poodles and terriers working with the team as well since they could get into so many smaller spots than the rest of of the search and rescue animals. It was really interesting to hear about.

I chose to sign up for the EHS cat socialization volunteer program (you had the option between cats and dogs), so I'm going in for a mentoring session for that on Tuesday. In passing the staff also asked who of us had any experience with smaller mammals like rabbits (I think there was only two of us in the whole room), so I'm arranging another much smaller session to cover that so I can volunteer with both.

I love the EHS, they're such a wonderful organization with the nicest facility and staff. I've wanted to help out some way with them for the longest time. So excited~ :3

Mood: Impatient

Gahhh! Still forty-four days until house possession *angst* but thankfully only two days until house inspection, which will be the only time between now and then that I'll be allowed back into the shiny eventually-to-be-ours new home! I will have a mere three-ish hours to bask and take pictures and measure out rooms! D: *Grasps camera and measuring tape determinedly*

I went to the an SPCA volunteer orientation session tonight and signed up for four different possible programs to take part in~ I didn't realize what a long process applying to be a volunteer was -- I submitted my application at the end of May, just got into the orientation today, and probably won't hear back from the organizer until mid-July. I thought I would already be swimming in puppies, kitties, and piles of furry bunnies by now, but I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles. Apparently since they opened the new location (omg such a nice building, the open house was awesome~) they've had an insane outpouring of new volunteer support so I have to wait my turn. It both saddens me to wait but makes me extremely happy to know so many people want to lend a hand. X3

I've recently finished two books: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, which was short and simple, but truely superb (I highly recommend this book -- it's such an easy read but has such an impact); and Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult. It was all right, though t's not one of her better books that I've read; maybe because it was an earlier work -- or maybe because the lead male character reminds me so much Edward freaking Cullen that I want to hurl it across the room. Oh look at me, I'm so perfectly perfect and gorgeous, but behind this peckish godly exterior hides an abusive, broody (and amazingly annoying) MONSTERRRRRR, arrrrr! All it needs is a little veggie vampirism thrown in and they could be a pair of most likely very dysfunctional twins.

Countdown until shiny exciting house possession: 44 (I think I may go crazy)

Mood: Sooo excited!

PART 1:

Thought I'd start things off the squealing bit. And so...SQUEEEEEEEEE! I'M GETTING A BUNNEH~! :3

...In July. But I can wait! I'm bunny-sitting Nickie's rabbit, Spook, while she's off on holidays starting next week so it'll also serve as a convenient bunny test run I figure. There's lots of flailing and squealing and gushy faces when I think about my prospective new pet and I have to admit it's very hard to concentrate on much of anything else right now for me. I'm aiming for a Netherland Dwarf bunny like Nickie has because they're the smallest (and most adorable) breed; probably a male, because the general opinion seems to be that male rabbits are much more cuddly and get less grumpy than females after they've been fixed.

I've spent the last two days reading all the relevant information I can find on the mighty interwebs about care and supplies, and I also ordered what many sites vouch as the most popular and helpful book on rabbit care, The House Rabbit Handbook, off Amazon. I also may buy Rabbits for Dummies which is supposed to be another must-have. Then tomorrow Nickie and I are going bunny supply shopping~ :D *SO EXCITED*

PART 2:

After a couple days of being so excited and looking for places that sell bunnies, I've realized how much I'd prefer to stay away from purchasing one from a pet store. Aside from the fact that most of the staff in pet stores are bratty teens who have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to the animals they're selling, half the young animals they do sell are sold too young and can go into shock when you bring them home and die. They're not taken very well care of. :c Use pet stores as a last resort!

My first choice to purchase my bunny from is probably a breeder. They'll know about really taking care of the animals and can give you reliable answers to questions you'll have, so you'll know you're getting a healthy animal; usually with a good temperment too because good breeders have small stocks so they can personally give attention to each of their rabbits.

However, I have also found so many bunnies listed at organizations and rescue centers and even online marketplaces like Facebook that need loving homes too. This whole thing, while being very exciting and squealy, has also made me very sad in a way; because I see all these rabbits (and other animals) that are up for adoption around the city and it makes it very hard and distressing to choose one over another. It really gnaws on me, I wish all of them could immediately be adopted by nice people. Everyone please go and give a bunny a good home. :x

• The McDonald Family Animal Rescue
• The Edmonton Humane Society and Animal Shelter

Also (channeling Bob Barker here), please spay/neuter your pets! It's really not that expensive and you're helping to cut down on the amount of poor animals that need homes!