Seasoning Salt

Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote. I've been busy working and cooking around here. Yeah, that's right... I started cooking, and as a matter of fact I know a few different styles too. Of frozen pizza. That's basically the one and only meal that I cook. The rest of the meals are traded off by Mike and Jessica, and thankfully I landed into the right hands as they do enjoy whipping up some gourmet meals once in a while. I will admit, there are some old-school Hawkins meals in there too: Shake N Bake chicken, "fancy" Kraft Dinner (with hotdogs) and of course, spaghetti and meatballs. Those types of meals were the staples of when my good ol' Dad and I had to fend for ourselves back in the day. I will admit I do not credit him enough for all of that back then... he did put in an effort to keep me healthy and eating right - no unhealthy cereals for me!

Now that I think about it... I have developed one of my step mom's most infamous of habits: Hy's Seasoning Salt. I feel like I can't eat a meal without it now, or my food seems naked. I also found myself secretly throwing outrageous peppers and spices into our meals. Salt is definitely the king of all, though. When I go to A&W, I'm shoving those little packets into my pockets as if the world was ending tomorrow.

Other than satisfying my unusual food habits, I have been working 1-9 shifts (which usually results in me working at 9-5 the next day) I've just been enjoying my new environment. I suppose I should stop referring to it as a new environment now - I've been here for over a month and I'm quite used to everything at this point. But I just recently discovered what an absolute privilege it is to ride the city bus here every day, something I plan to continue on doing, which is why I invested in a bus pass. Yesterday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to cross the street in the brisk, cold morning air... and wait for the Black Mountain bus to pick me up at 8:45 a.m. Black Mountain is the name of the mountain we live on, it's almost like the name of a neighborhood. Go figure. Anyways, it's a rural community and not many people live out on this hilltop. The bus is more like a small, wheel-chair accessible school bus, with about eight bench seats complete with seatbelts. Since it was so early in the morning (most of you work folk are probably laughing at me) there were only a few people riding the bus including myself. The very cool thing about taking the Black Mountain bus when the sun just begins to rise, is that it's a perfect time to get a great view of the city and the mountains that surround it. I got to travel through many other different neighborhoods - many of which remind me of the street that I lived on when I was in Dauphin. The houses are big and old, with pointy roofs and giant yards. The view was one of the most spectacular things I had ever seen - and getting to experience that while on a bus ride to work was pretty unbelievable. Eventually it took me back down the mountain and into the city... where it dropped me off at Orchard Park mall for my shift. I was an hour early so I spent my time running errands and checking out the brand new Best Buy that recently opened in town.

Not such a bad week so far, eh ? I also got to spend some time with Landan again on Monday. We did the usual, so I really don't think I need to go on a rant about that for three chapters. Brodie is here tonight, although he's already in bed... he's all tuckered out because he had his first Kindergarten Christmas concert. I guess technically, it would be his ONLY Kindergarten Christmas concert. Hopefully. Mike has been getting a lot of work lately and I have been getting lots of hours... so it might be a good holiday season after all. I'm still applying for jobs but haven't heard anything back yet. That's okay, because right now I have the fulfilling opportunity of bringing joy to people's shopping trips in the mall. That's what Hallmark is all about, right?

Well I really miss all of you and since I'm starting to get a bit bored talking about my life every week... I might switch it up a little and talk about one specific topic that day. We'll see if I actually make that happen, I like talking about myself way too much to give it up now.

Cheers