September 30, 2004

More time please :o)

This is just a blanket request for donations of time. I would like a week or two if anyone can spare them. I will take new or used as long as the time is in good condition and all the days are in tact. A time-halting device would be simply lovely also, but I will take what I can get. Even if all you can donate is a day or a couple of hours, I will take those also... I need all the time I can get. Will pay for time in buttons and good looks. Thanks in advance because I won't have time to do it later unless you toss in the extra fifteen minutes in yourself with your donation.

And yes, I am strange :o) But I am cute too ;o)

September 26, 2004

Le weekend... le fin...

What a crazy weekend, it feels like it is over way too quickly. Had a great time yesterday cooking a dinner for Jeff and Marcia. Even though there were a couple of small wrenches thrown in the mix, everything went quite well. We had mushrooms stuffed with guacamole as appetizers, broiled and marinated mako shark, cheesy scalloped potatoes, green salad with walnuts, and a super easy chocolate pie made from tofu. Everything was delicious.

I have a funny feeling that this is going to be the norm for the next few weekends for me... too busy and too quickly over. I have an out of town wedding to attend next weekend, which should be a blast (if I can organize reservations for the Saturday night) and Thanksgiving weekend will be spent on possibly the last trip to Airdrie to visit my parents there. I am really excited to see my nieces there since I opted out of my usual summer visit to Cranbrook. They are always so much fun.

Well, I am off to have a bubble bath and read a non-thesis book before snuggling in bed with Myrah for the evening.

September 24, 2004

Book finds!!!!

After a leisurely Friday night dinner with Brennan, we decided on a whim to stop by the new location of Westgate Books. In a half hour, I found some pretty darn awesome books:
  • George Grant's Lament for a Nation, an important Canadian identity book for my thesis
  • Geisha, A Life the autobiography of Mineko Iwasaki, the inspiration for the main character in Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha... the story was fantastic and I am sure the autobiography will be fascinating
  • A special surprise book for Jeanie (shhhh... don't tell her)
  • and.... drum roll please... William H. Rueckert's Kenneth Burke and the Drama of Human Relations!!!!! Okay, okay, this is just a rhetoric geek thing, but this out-of-print book is a rare find at the best of times, let alone in a city where the few people who would possibly own this book would never let it leave their grasp. I think I might have disturbed a couple of fellow shoppers when I started jumping up and down at this miraculous find.

Confessions of a book geek ~sigh~

September 19, 2004

Insomnia

This is a rare occurrence for me anymore, but tonight, for some strange reason, I am having trouble getting back to sleep. I fell asleep early in the night watching Salem's Lot, then woke up wide awake at around midnight. I haven't slept a wink since. I used to get bouts of insomnia on a regular basis, but that was years ago. At one time I would toss and turn until 6 am when I would finally fall asleep. Now, normally anyhow, I am asleep not long after my head hits the pillow.

Perhaps it is because this is the first night in the last week where I am sort of feeling normal again after battling a long bout of the flu. I still feel kinda icky and warm, but I am feeling a lot better than even this morning or yesterday. I was feeling a bit overheated lying in bed, but not in the same fever-y way that has been typical for my flu.

I kind of like the stillness right now. There isn't much traffic outside my window, which is usually fairly active even after the downtown bars close. No faintly thumping music from the downstairs neighbour. No people thudding up and down the stairs. Myrah is fairly mellow (knock on wood). My mind isn't even racing or anything, that is what used to cause my insomnia.

I find it amazing what some people with insomnia would do with the quiet time. I can't remember where I heard this, but there was a woman who would paint imitations of great paintings on the head of a pin with brushes that only used a single strand of hair. I remember seeing the enlarged version of her copy of Monet's Irises. It was beautiful and amazing. Somehow that hobby seems a bit too painstaking for me though.

I think I am just going to take the easy route tonight: Drink a shot of Nyquil and turn Salem's Lot back on until I feel myself getting drowsy again. When the screen starts turning pretty colours I know it is time to turn it off.

September 08, 2004

No more paper!!!

I think I just came to terms today with exactly how much paper I have in my life and how much it rules me. I have student loans papers, registration papers, old bills and bank statements, tonnes of old class notes, and drafts upon drafts of various chapter, among other things. I spent 2 hours looking through 4 boxes of paper and 4 big piles of paper for 2 pages of notes. I didn't find them, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. I think that my weekend project is to get that paper pile in shape, and maybe making a batch of cheesy scalloped potatoes.

Oh, and I got a parking space reserved for me at the University. They have about 180 spots reserved for grad students available only through an online sign up. I waited at the computer until the instant we were allowed to start signing up. My dedication was rewarded and I got a spot in the lot closest to my office. Hooray!

And on a completely unrelated note, my biggest pet peeve: condescending unsolicited advice, which is most often an obvious but extremely simplified suggestion that is rarely followed by those individuals spewing it. To much paper, sort it into boxes. Got a friend who has some annoying habits, get rid of her. Have difficulty with some family members or coworkers, tell them off. It amazes me how many people I know will toss this stuff off without a second thought, then wonder why I reject it since they were "only trying to help." Wow, I feel so much better just getting that off my chest.

September 05, 2004

Back to School

Well, well, well... it is September long weekend just prior to the first week of school. I spent the past week in Airdrie with my folks, helping around the house while Mom is recovering from surgery. She is doing really well and was in great spirits all week. I was amazed at how many flowers and get well cards she received... the dining room table looked like a flower shop. It was quite cheery.

I had one nasty case of back strain just before I left on my trip. I aggravated an old injury that I gave myself when delivering the Sheaf a few years back. I have to remember to take care of my lower back and to strengthen the muscles so I don't re-injure it.

Now to get myself organized and resettled at home so I can get back into a regular thesis writing schedule and prepare to teach another section of GE 300.