Mother Nature's response

She decided to send me fishtailing down a major overpass and has now decided to hold my car hostage in its own parking spot. Oh well... I am going to have some hot tea and go to bed... she can't be this mean tomorrow too ;o)

Open letter to Mother Nature

Quit screwing around with all this white crap and give us a real spring already!!!!

Sincerely, Laura

Well, the only good thing about this weather is that it has put me back in the mood to try my hand at making mulled wine. Maybe I will do that one evening while the snow still flies.

Morning at the University

Well, I am up and I am here. I just finished my delicious banana chocolate chip muffin and I am sipping my English Breakfast tea. It is so peaceful, I am dreading the thought of tainting this with work.

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately, but what I think I really want is more time to do some things that really ground me, like cleaning and organizing. I really really want to get my pile of papers organized and filed, which is a project I have procrastinated on for months. All I need to do is pick up some hanging folders, two racks to convert my cabinet into one that can accommodate hanging files, and some labels then I can plow through this paper party in one day I am sure of it.

I don't feel completely disorganized, but there are certain things in my surroundings that I find quite draining... and this paper pile is one of them. The other is my thesis.

I have been working on it and working on it, but I don't feel like I am making progress because I am not getting many new pages, but I am making improvements to the writing of each of the chapters. I just want this thing to be done now. I know I will get it done, I just want it to be sooner than later.

Treated myself

I went today and picked up the latest CD by Tori Amos called "The Beekeeper." I am quite pleased with it. It is great background music for puttering around my apartment.








I finally unpacked a box that my parents gave me from my grandmother's old things when they were cleaning out her condo. It is a lovely set of china for 8. It is cream with silver flowers and trim. I absolutely adore it. I think I might finish up my marking with a cup of tea in one of the cups and saucers from the set. I love being a girl :o)

Plugging away

Today is a desk day if ever there was one. I have plunked myself behind my desk and don't plan on going very far until I have some solid work done on Chapter 5 of the thesis. I am planning on going on a little excursion to Edmonton on Thursday morning to visit Jimmy for a few days. That will be a welcome break after all this intense work.

This past week, with some much-needed help from Brennan, I rearranged my apartment. It is funny how refreshing it is to have slightly different surroundings. Myrah freaked out a bit with the changes, but she has settled in nicely. I am enjoying the much airier feel of my apartment now. Also, my computer has been brought out of the dark ages of Win 98 and right into the present with Win XP. That has really improved the day-to-day operation of my computer.

Well, I shouldn't take too long a break to blog, so I am off to chain myself back to my office desk. Ta ta!

The New Term

Welcome to 2005... albeit a bit late, but that is not a problem. I am in the middle of a new term and have news. I took on a new job. So now, in addition to writing my thesis and teaching at the U, I will also be assisting another teacher at the local tech college. It is a good course, but definitely a different scene from my students right now. The money will really help out as I am finding it tougher and tougher to make ends meet with just the one job.

Speaking of money, I am counting the seconds until payday. It is only at the end of the each month, but my last paycheck came on Dec 24th. So I am waiting a week longer for pay and the last paycheck overlapped with Christmas and travel and generally excessive spending. Eek!

As for new years resolutions, I have been making it to the gym a lot this year, and I have been making lunches for myself fairly regularly. The Bacon Buffeteria is a bit on the pricey side when you eat from it everyday... and as dubbed, features bacon in just about every dish. Bacon is my arch nemesis. Down with bacon! Well, I will continue my crusade against cured pork products tainting my meals another time. In the meantime I have to slog through a few more assignments.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Hi all! I am in Cranbrook, BC visiting the family for our annual Christmas gathering. I am just relaxing and letting my tummy decompress after a rather large Christmas dinner sans turkey and gravy of course ;o)

I got lots of wonderful and thoughtful gifts this year. Much thanks to everyone!!!

There will be pictures when I get home from the trip. In the meantime, happy holidays to everyone and I will see you soon!

The company we keep?

He swears that he didn't do it, but one of my crazy friends from my hometown of Cranbrook, BC has been accused of submitting this personal ad to a local paper:



I am not totally convinced that he didn't do it :o)

I have some kooky friends.

I have been meaning to put this one up for a while...

It's funny because it's true :o)

Oh baby, it's cold outside!

Yes yes yes, yet another Saskatoon blogger commenting on the final arrival of frigid temperatures to our unseasonably warm winter so far. Well, a girl's gotta vent you know. And she also has to find solutions to daily problems that living in a chilly part of the world can cause... for example, grocery shopping.

At the best of times, getting my groceries is a bit of a chore. I like shopping in all its forms, but the problem I find with grocery shopping is little ol' me lugging a couple weeks worth of groceries up four flights of stairs all by myself. I can usually handle it (or make two trips), but I am much less inclined to do it myself in the -20C weather. Enter my favourite online helper Pic n' Del! They deliver my groceries right to my door for a fairly minimal charge. I don't even have to leave my home or office to order. I just have to be around home the next day. Hooray, problem solved!

One nice thing about the cold weather though is that it makes sitting in a hot tub over the weekend all the more luxurious. I was lucky enough to be invited to some friends' house for a hot tub soak on Saturday night. I had never been in one in such cold weather, but it was lovely. It was cold enough outside that the steam formed into ice crystals on my hair, but the water kept us all nice and warm. Quite the experience!

The weekend was not all fun... it was also quite productive. I was able to finish up marking all of my students' portfolios in time for Monday when I would trade them off for their reports. Once I am done marking the reports, I will be free and clear of marking until the exam on the 23rd. That will give me plenty of uninterrupted thesis writing time. Well, maybe a couple of interruptions having to do with Christmas preparations and parties :o)

I think I am going to revamp my site a bit in the next few days if not right away. That tag board is getting mighty annoying with the slow uploads and popups. With no one using it right now, I don't think it will be missed.

Purrrrr-fection

Call me a girl, but I love French Kitty. I was given one of the books and I think it is the cutest thing ever. When I have a bit of extra money I might just have to order a shirt and some stickers :o)





As for work, I have been plugging away all day at Chapter 2 again and I think I might have it just about under control. I can't wait to have it done so I can concentrate on polishing my analysis chapters. I see a faint light far off there... could that be the end of the tunnel? Well, I still have work to do, so I better get back at it.

Oooo... and I get to meet her at the gym this evening for step class. That will be fun :o)

Writer's Block

It is not that I am actually experiencing writer's block, but I was sent this link and I kinda like it. I think there are some good ideas to get me through those times when I stare blankly at the computer screen with nothing going on between my ears except the whistling of the wind. My favourite is "Talk to a Monkey"

Update

I have been working pretty hard on the thesis lately... including a few more of those 15 hour days. I submitted Ch 4 on Monday, it isn't really great, but it is definitely moving forward. I want to get an improved (though not perfect) draft of Ch 5 in this Monday. I am even nearing a state of completion on Ch 2... it is about time.

Also, I am back participating in Persian Dance. I am performing November 14th at the 40th Anniversary Multicultural Showcase, held at Castle Theatre at Aden Bowman Collegiate. That should be a lot of fun too. The show starts at 7pm and tickets are $10 at the door if anyone wants to see the show.

Oh, and here are the much anticipated photos from Cati and Kurt's wedding reception that happened at the beginning of October.



Other than that I am just trying to stay on top of my marking and thesis work, while getting ready for Christmas. Eeek!

Long long super productive day...

I just finished a 15 hour day at my office. I got in at just after 7am and left just after 10pm. It was great. I submitted 2 chapters to my supervisor and did a good chunk of marking. I think I am going to try and stay late again tomorrow so that I can catch right up on my marking. I am tired, but it is an accomplished tired.

Now to toss in a load of laundry, mark a couple more assignments and go to bed.

Rewrite

I decided that because I think this entire day was so frustrating and annoying to me it no longer exists in my mind. I am rewriting the day here:

I woke up to a warm and sunshiney morning with my well-behaved kitty and both of us were in fine moods. Nothing went wrong. I had no errands to run and so I worked all day on my thesis and marking and made major progress. My apartment was clean and spotless. I was in fine spirits all day without the slightest annoyance or distraction. That evening I had a hot bubble bath and a nice cup of tea before snuggling into bed.

And that is exactly what happened... really.

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)

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.

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~

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.

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.