Secret Santa Struggles

I am going to be honest with you; I am starting to get a little sour about spending Christmas alone here in the Kootenays. It is my first Christmas away from home this year and I thought I would be able to combat my case of the lonelies on the 25^th with indulgences that include (but definitely are not limited to) Chinese food and Christmas movies. The fact is I started to realize just how bummed I am to be missing out on adult beverages with old friend

s, getting out skated by a bunch of kids that were in elementary school when I played hockey at the Annual MRHS Grad hockey day and watching the kids in my family exhibit all the magic of Christmas with crying (yes, I mean tears) and shrieks of joy.

One of the ways I am combating this lonesome Christmas is by taking part in the World’s largest Secret Santa. Now I am at a loss for picking out my gift. I have no idea what to buy my nerdy/athletic/gamer male match. I want something unique, but I am starting to struggle. John Helm and I have contemplated what to buy for our significant others on Morning Rocks, so it makes sense that I am struggling with buying something for a complete stranger. What the hell am I to buy? Here is a little about 'That Canadian Bacon'

I could go with the listener’s idea from this morning’s show, he suggested picking up a ‘Clapper’ for the person who you don’t know how to shop for. What do you think I should send my Secret Santa buddy? Let me know your thoughts by email at kate@mountainfm.net!

UPDATE: I totally ended up finding the perfect gift for my match, something he can use Sunday afternoons while cooking his girlfriend lunch that compliments his neediness with a great Game of Thrones pun!

I will keep you updated about what I end up getting in exchange!  

For more on my Reddit Secret Santa experience click here.

October 29: National Cat Day

I am a dog person.

I realized this in Grade 2 when my family moved to our very own farm and we were given our very own catfrom my Grandparents farm. His name was Leo; he may have been a she. I fought tooth and nail to have a cat, a very specific cat that was my Grandparent’s barn cat that was named Pumpkin. Pumpkin may have been feral, so my parents opted to adopt one of Pumpkin’s golden kittens (less feral) and named it Leo.

Creative names for cats would come later for the Bruce family. Willard, Fletcher, Jimmer, Vesuvius/Olympia, Ugly, Sylvester and Gimp are just some of the names given to the many cats that have lived at Annandale Farm over the years.

So, even though I am a dog person I thought I would pay tribute to my favourite cats on this National Cat Day.

Here they are:

The Queen of sass.

Truthful cat.

Broadway cats.

The Disney cats, even when they are bad they're good.

The World War Z cat.

How could I leave Puss out?

Avenger cats.... the most majestic.

Salem, the lovable pest. 

And everyone's fave, Nic Cage cat.

Adulting With Kate: An Unexpected Stop Over

I set really high expectations for pretty much everything in life. I personally think it all stems from learning

how to read those stupid classroom signs with inspirational quotes on them. I may have taken them to heart a little too much.

It is kind of strange. I had never really thought about it until right now. When I was a child I thought I would be a world travelling professional (specifically a lawyer or a journalist) that would not have to settle down and still manage to wrangle my four or five kids into bed every night after a lovely homemade supper. I have grown out of that fantasy, the one where I was a serious adult with very serious career and demanding personal life. That being said I do take my career very seriously, I absolutely am in love with my job and my adventure working in radio so far, but I still expect to take the world by storm some day when I have gotten the practice and developed the patience it takes to be a real adult. I love my career tract enough to let my personal life suffer a bit, moving across the country away from any friends and family I have ever had to start my career off working independently was a choice I made and that until recently had not really bothered me.

The real adult part is the struggle. Sometimes I set the bar so high on my expectations that I end up a little heartbroken when they don’t work out the way I see them in my head. I am a very visual person and have always embraced visualizing and willing myself to win. I was the kid who always cried on Christmas Day when the magic had worn off and the sugar had set in (and DisneyWorld was still not in the card for the upcoming year). My parents were thrilled when I became able to drive myself to hockey games, I never thought I had played very well and usually was a huge ball of nerves before and after every game. 

I could continue this list of setting relatively high bars to hurdle and uber competitiveness mashed with a side of temper flare ups but I think two examples is enough. I never really was a very whimsical child, I obsessed over music and sports until I went to university and then went on to obsess about getting out of university on time and onto something I would enjoy a lot more. If you haven’t read my previous blogs I was not the best student at university, I freely admit it.

I have always been super passionate about the things I have become involved in, from cutting carbs to travelling there are things that are always on my mind. My attention span may dwindle, but the passion never really has been drained. Let’s just say I can be a little intense.

But, as being part of an adult today’s lesson is that I need to stop reading those damn quotes and taking them so seriously. It is amazing to have aspirations, huge plans, and incredible dreams and to live the fantasy but at some point you have got to get your head out of the clouds and take a breath. Yes, shoot for the stars, but be okay with an extended stopover flight. Sometimes that is what life is, life is a massive journey full of experiences that won’t wait for you to experience them yourself sometimes. These situations thrust themselves on you and though they may not be welcome, or what you expected they are a reality that should be greeted with warmth or at least curiosity.

Sidenote: When I was twenty-one I did end up going to Disneyland (I know it’s not quite Disneyworld) with my boyfriend and I must say it was a trip beyond all of my expectations, even though everyone had informed me after a lifetime of dreaming of a Disney vacation that I would be disappointed, I was not. 

Rant: Girls Night Out

I have come to realize that the phrase ‘girl’s night out’ is one of the most annoying things you can say to a guy…ever.  Seriously, even in a text message you can feel things tense up the second those words are used together. When I throw the idea out there to my boyfriend his eyes squint, just a little bit, as if he is imagining the high decibel screams and eventual tears that will be shed as part of the festivities.   

The headache is also is because most of the time when screaming ‘girl’s night out’ there is a chorus of two or three other ladies joining in and you all have had one or two adult beverages (on the night of). I know just in the planning stages when I say those three little words I picturing those ladies saying it with me in my head, as I pop a bottle of champagne and look hella fine.

That is exactly what is going on in my head every five minutes as we approach the end of this short work week (yes, I know it is still Thursday). As the clock counts down minutes to freedom, getting ready for Friday, I have already pre-planned my outfit for Saturday night and about 90% of the details after my plans changed a slightly. Yes, in my head, I have the ideal Saturday night ready to go. It involves one of the two new dresses sitting in the JJ’s back beside me that I picked up on my lunch hour, a bottle of sparkling rose, some of my favourite people I have ever met working in radio (yes, they all have vaginas… it’s a girls night) and high heel shoes that I will most likely end up carrying at some point.

Yes, I am all about the planning. Always have been, always will be. As much as I love the wild, free, careless disregard of a ‘girl’s night out’ I still love being in control. I am not a very spontaneous person, not at all. Even when I was in university, when ‘girl’s night’ would happen at least twice a week I was all about the plan.

Growing up, I thought it was silly that all my female relatives would flock to the city together, complain that they never went out together enough and drink way too much. But, at the ripened age of 24 I have started to get it. I have a serious boyfriend and single girlfriends so I feel pretty guilty going out without him, it is pretty hard to find nights when we can all make plans without leaving anyone out (or sidelining the boyfriend without annoying him). Now I know half the pain my female relatives faced, the other half being kids… don’t even get me started there.

I cannot wait to sit in a car for hours with my favourite people in the Kootenays and get into Vancouver this Saturday night, end rant. Happy girl. 

Music Experiences You’ll Never Have Again

Little Kate was born to rock.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with music. Seriously, I would wait by the radio for my favourite songs to come on to tape their grainy feed, I would stay overnight at my Grandparent’s house on Friday nights to record the freshest music videos on the Much Music countdown (only to be devastated when they skipped over the videos I wanted to see). I feel like people my age are the last generation of people to know the pains of pre-MP3 music.

           

All of this has been said before and people will complain about it into the future but it really struck me today as I read an article on Buzzfeed titled, ‘35 Music Experiences You’llNever Have Again’. It scared the crap out of me. Though I never want to have kids, I don’t want them to go through life without facing the true pain of being addicted to a song and not having it at your fingertips. I don’t want these conceptual children to be able to listen to a song 20 times a day, the day it is released and kill it for themselves. I want them to pull-up to Zeller’s run to the music section to find that the album they had saved $20 to buy on its release day has sold out and the teenager at the counter has no idea when it will be back in stock.

If you know these pains, you get how torturous these things really are. You know the amazing feeling you could get from a free compilation CD for buying a certain brand of clothing or a magazine during ‘Back to School’ shopping. You get me (at least right now). These lessons in patience don’t happen anymore unfortunately, not only because Zeller’s is no longer a thing, but because we have it all at our fingertips.

I have been musically obsessed since I really caught on to the world outside of country music, the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys introduced me to pop music and recording cassette tapes in the second grade. In forth grade it was music videos (thank you Britney Spears). Grade seven brought music downloads and burning CDs. Grade ten was the year of the MP3 player and in grade eleven I became the first person in my school to have an iPod. It really is not surprising that I ended up listening to music and talking about it professionally.

As much as I complain, I am part of the problem. I still buy music, in fact I have reverted to vinyl once again because I am trendy and it makes me feel classy. I love hunting for vinyl, I hope that feeling of finding the perfect album never goes away. If you could tell young 90s Kate Bruce that at her finger tips she would have a world of music at her disposal 24/7 I hope that you would have blown her mind. Okay, I know you would have blown her mind she lived in a cable/internet free bubble with three TV channels on a good night, she would have had to sit down for that news. I really hope any accidents in my future appreciate the art of music selection not music consumption. 

Kate's Pet Peeves: Social Media Whiners

I hate reading people whine on social media.

It is one of my pet peeves. It seems like people no longer understand how to cope with basic problems in daily life. It is like the new ‘go-to’ response to things is to complain about things online. The only thing worse than the initial complaint or rant about an issue is how offended people get by their ‘followers’ or friends respond unfavorably.

I love using social media, my friends and family are spread across Canada and it is the perfect way to keep in touch on a daily basis. But, do I care that they are angry that people are criticizing their choice to switch their baby’s formula to whatever they can get on sale that week (yes, that is a very specific and real example)? Nope, not even enough to comment about it (except in this rant-like blog).

I really hope schools start teaching children how to use the web properly, because all of us growing up with it kind of suck at it. Okay, that’s not true; all of us radio hosts are Internet-gurus who do not complain and can find you the most adorable animals online.

I am just kidding, kind of. I really do find web-whiners annoying, but recently I have benefitted from a little strategic Twitter complaining. While I do not condone bitching about the onions on your Big Mac, when you are having a problem witch a large corporation and a lot of your money is on the line (to me a lot of money is over $100), than go for it… but only once (per issue).

I have complained via Twitter twice, both times I have received timely appropriate responses on large-scale problems. Why? Because some companies do have people on staff waiting to search you out and ensure that you are one happy customer. And, I used firm language and did not abuse my right to voice my concerns.

My first complaint came nine months ago after a major electronics company lost my iPad they had been repairing (under insurance) two months after they told me it was repaired. My second complaint was last week (August 2013) after waiting nearly a month to hear back from my car insurance company after an accident. In both cases, both companies responded to my indirect tweets (I did not @ message them) within minutes and the situations began to be worked out in a timely manor. Had I have not sent out my tweets than I would have continued to be on their backburners, which would have continued to waste my time and money.

Both of my issues were worked out in amazing fashion once I used a gentle but firm tweet to get my problem out in the Twitterverse. Before I tweeted, people recommended the good-ole angry phone call, but I honestly hate phone calls and I am too busy to sit on hold for an hour. A little firm input online will usually result in a message or email that will get a polite phone call at your earliest convenience (no waits, less angst). Everybody wins!

I have problems all the time, being minorly addicted to fast food I had two imperfect orders at two fast food restaurants within 10 minutes last week (UUUURRRRGGGG!!!!). Like everyone else I am human and wanted to tell the world by picketing outside both restaurants with a sign explaining my slight. But, I only have a half-hour for lunch and need a job to pay off my student loans. Every time I fight the urge to open up my Twitter app and complain, why don’t I? Because I value my followers and would hate from them to think I do not value my place on their news feed. Seriously, 30 cents worth of onions is not as valuable to me as those people’s interactions on a semi-regular basis.

I guess my message in this rant of a blog is that social media is not a time machine that can take you back in time to fix an imperfect situation when you press the post button. Unless you think some specific individuals out there can make the situation better and you don’t mind potentially losing followers because of the post, than keep your complaints to yourself. Especially the age-old complaint, “I’m SOOOOOOO tired”. Being tired is part of being an average adult, have a coffee (like the rest of us) and get over it.  

Okay, maybe I have complained over a smaller issue too… I did once tweet to KFC Canada asking when the Zinger Double-Down would be back; it was August 2012 and as of Spring 2013 the Zinger Double-Down is back in KFC Canada restaurants. Triple-win Kate.

Kate's Bad Cat 'Thank You' Cards

I am not a hugely crafty person. 

I used to really like scrap-booking, but I am pretty crap at it. I cannot cut a straight line to save my life. But, in a book I recently read; 'ADULTING: HOW TO BECOME A GROWN-UP IN468 EASY(ISH) STEPS' by Kelly Williams Brown, I learned the importance of 'Thank You' cards. I have sent them out before, but usually on occasions that involved presents. I am now actively trying to be a gracious adult, who sends out 'Thank You' cards. 

When I started this practice I had one problem, I hate buying cards. Cards are SO expensive and people just end up throwing them out anyways. Okay, I don't throw out cards because I love having fragments of the past to remind me of things and people that are now gone (and I have a minor hoarding problem). I guess the moral to this part of the story is that I love people spending money on nice cards for me, but I do not like to spend money on cards. Also, there are some pretty sweet cards for occasions but I think it is quite possible that all of the slackers are posted to the 'Thank You' division in card companies. When shopping for a nice set of 'Thank you' cards all I could find were cards featuring birds or flowers with semi-sentimental messages, not ideal for a 24-year old radio presenter who loves South Park.

Continuing on to the point of this blog post, I now make Cat Cards. In order to save a little money and add a little Kate Bruce flare, I have begun to make my own 'Thank You' cards. I found a box of great generic colored cards, a hilarious book of cats behaving badly (not my first choice but sassy cats are SUPER trendy right now) and combined the two things for a unique take on 'Thank You'. 

Share your unique ways to say 'Thank You' with me kate@mountainfm.net!

Kate's Reading Challenge Book 1: ‘Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps’ by Kelly Williams Brown

         One of my goals I set for myself on my twenty-fourth birthday was reading a book a week.  I am a little behind, moving twice and finishing school put a damper on my plan. To help motivate myself to finish books on time every week my new plan is to share my latest read with you on my blog. I will read anything and everything and I would love your suggestions, feel free to email them to me at kate@mountainfm.net.

         Book 1: ‘Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps’ by Kelly Williams Brown.

For my first blog I picked a book that is incredibly relevant at this point in my life, it is called ‘Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps’.

         I really enjoyed ‘Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps’, author Kelly Williams Brown is hilarious. Her book is the perfect guide to transitioning between childhood and adulthood. I wish I would have read this book earlier in life, I think it would have better prepared me for some of the mini-disasters that have plagued my life in the past.

         In fact, I was reading this book when I went through my current life crisis (click here for the story) and it really helped me get through it with her AFGO theory in Chapter 10: Times Were Tough (Step 389 especially). My little car incident did not ruin my vacation the next day and everyone commented on how calm and reasonable I was being... unlike my previous car accidents. 

         I recommend this book for anyone who needs someone to help to get it together (I did). I think it is pretty hard to get everything in parenting; this guide to ‘adulting’ is perfect for helping move between stages of life. From ensuring furniture will fit into your new apartment, choosing a partner or even just recognizing that not everyone can be a special snowflake; this book can help you out in any stage of life.

Next Week: 'World War Z' by Max Brooks