Here I go again...

I abandoned this blog a long time ago and keep thinking that now is the time to revive it for a diary of the next adventure in education and writing.  I was just accepted into a Ph.D. program.  I start that officially in 178 days.  Then it will be approximately five more years of education and a whole lot of money spent to put a few more letters after my name.

So why am I back?  Maybe to have a record of the next five years.  Maybe to vent and have a place to do so.  Maybe to just offer insights as someone doing a Ph.D. who already has tenure as a Senior Instructor at a top notch international university and has taught writing skills to graduate students. Maybe to do this degree differently, but then again, who doesn't say that when they start this whole adventure out?

I have 178 days to get ready to start on the right foot here.  Over 25 weeks.  That is a lot of time to be sure I am ready to go when I start.  Though keep in mind that I am doing this work while holding tenure and all the obligations within that position.

So what do I need to do to ensure I am as efficient and successful at this degree as possible?
*finish the course I am in
*start compiling a reading list
*take another course over the summer
*set up routines to ensure the important daily things get done (workflow, exercise, bills, sleep, relaxation, dating, hobbies, etc)
*plan fun things to look forward to
*eliminate unnecessary obligations
*revamp and tweak budget to accommodate tuition costs
*teach excellent courses
*plan fall and winter courses well in advance to ensure the least amount of last-minute stress (Ha!)

So it looks like I will still need to write something all over again.

Revamp

For those interested (and given that I haven't blogged in a very long time that is probably extremely few) I am revamping my blog and am going to attempt to use it for fun and reflection.

It may be a slow and sporatic process, but oh well.

Bedtime blogging

Why is it that I rarely get the urge to blog until the time I really should be nestled in bed reading some tres fun novel before drifting off into dreamland? Instead I decide that now is the perfect time to post my thoughts. Not that there is really much of a point since my irregular blogging habit has resulted in a myriad of disgruntled readers who probably don't even look here anymore. Sorry everyone. I am a disappointment as a blogger.

I am a bit amazed with my life right now. As average and boring it is, I am pretty pleased with it. My temp job is a blast and I work with some great people. I have been out and about catching up with lots of people that I have neglected. I am back at the gym again without an ounce of guilt about doing that instead of writing some crazy long document that somehow qualified me to be called Master (I stil get a kick out of that). I still have no real permanent prospects in the job market, but I am plopping my applications all over the place so someone somewhere will eventually like me enough to hire me. Oh yeah, and there is a pretty conspicuous absence in my life right now... stress rarely makes an appearance, which after the past several years is a nice change. People have actually remarked to me how much happier I look, so I must be doing something right.

Mom and Dad are coming up on the weekend for my convocation ceremony. I skipped my undergrad one, but this one seems a bit more important to me. It still feels like a bit of a hassle and I know the ceremony will be long-winded, but it will be worth it.

Insomnia

My defense went really well. Everything for my MA is done. I have a car. I went back to BC to visit family and old friends. I am housesitting in a lovely home. There is little stress in my life right now. I still can't sleep. Go figure.

Busy weekend and fun sightings

You know it was a good weekend when you are still recovering on Monday. There was a fantastic Burke-BQ at one of my colleague's homes on Friday night. It was a great time and good to catch up with all my University colleagues. In the theme of the evening I made a Par-rice-dox of Substance salad, which only true rhetoric heads will get the reference.

Then Saturday was a Pimp n' Hoes pub crawl to raise money for some friends of mine's wedding. That also was fun, though I really didn't go as all out on the costume as some others did. I was more of an executive ho. It was a lot of fun, but I think I may have to officially retire from pub crawls because they hurt the following day(s).

Oh oh oh, I have witnessed some fun and interesting things in the last month that I wanted to share.

• I experienced my very first random high-five, which probably requires some explanation: A complete stranger was walking in the opposite direction from me near the bowl on campus. He looked at me and must have recognized that I just submitted my thesis recently. He raised his hand and asked, "High five?" I said, "Why not?" and slapped his hand. Then we just kept on walking. It just made my day.
  
• Not long after that I saw a bird bathing itself in a puddle and just stopped and marvelled at it for a while.
  
• One morning, Carla and I were out for a walk and saw a hot air balloon being filled and then on our way back saw it being launched. There is just something magical and romantic about hot air balloons. I don't know what it is, but they just make me smile.
  
• Last week, I was just knocking on someone's door and I saw some guy riding a large unicycle down the street. It was just odd and wonderful randomness.
  
• Today, sitting in an office at SIAST, a robin was sitting on a branch of a tree just by my window and watching me like I was an odd little creature in the zoo. It watched me for a good 5 minutes before flying away. Who knew I was so fascinating to birds?
  

Somehow it all feels like I am living in a happy quirky little movie, where the director pops in something weird and wonderful just to see if anyone notices. I kinda like it :o)

I'm back...

After a 2 month hiatus from my blog, much writing, marking, and general academic writhing I have one word to say if my poor beaten brain can remember it...

Subjugate?

Submerged?

Sublet?

Subversive?

Submarine?

Submissive?

Oh yeah... SUBMITTED!!

Now to prep a defence talk whilst I wait for the verdict from my supervisor, and then the committee. Le eek.

Why do I feel like I was just run over by a train though?

So, soon I am going to have to change my subtitle of my blog because I will soon be without thesis, and, for those of you who don't know, I am without my cat. I had to put her down last week, which was quite unexpected. I am doing much better this week but last week was quite the trial. I am going to miss Myrah more than my thesis though. This has been quite the term.

Adventures in teaching

I was teaching my class as usual today, when I looked down at the floor and saw a huge mouse scampering across the front of the class. I have to say, normally while I teach very little phases me, but this mouse freaked me right out. According to my students, I stopped dead in my sentence, squeaked, and stared at the floor. The thing was massive! It was about 3/4s the size of my computer mouse and for the fuzzy kind, that is pretty damn big. As soon as my students saw what I was staring out, about 6 of them started to try and catch the mouse, while I squealed at the front of the class. It was a circus in there for 5 minutes. Once the mouse escaped, I got them back in their seats and continued, albeit a bit shaken. I can't believe how much of a girl I was about the whole thing.

Now to do this to my students...



Okay, soon it will be done right back to me on my thesis, so I should try and be nice.

Public Nakedness

No, not me. Sheesh you guys.

So last night, after a night of beer and fun at one of our favourite establishments, we stuck around after close for an additional drink with the staff. Behind us was another table of regulars who were allowed the after hours privilage as well. We were chatting and having a good time when we hear this roar of cheers from behind us. It turns out some guy decided that he was going to strip in the middle of the place and there he was standing in his birthday suit. Apparently the guy decided to do it because it "just seemed like fun at the time." It took me a minute to realize that yes he was indeed naked. He just stood there with his pants around his ankles for about 5 minutes bantering back and forth with his table of friends before deciding that clothes might again be a good idea. And to think, I was going to go to the Drag Show at Louis' instead.

What a weekend...

I had an interesting weekend. Between sushi making and Memoirs of a Geisha with her, a super late night out on the town with my girl who just came home from Las Vegas, and a day full of packing, cleaning and moving at a colleague's house, I really haven't had time to do much sleeping, though I still snuck in some work believe it or not. Fortunately, it was a fun weekend.

After all the moving we did yesterday, I did wake up today with a cranky back, which scared me a little remembering how I re-aggravated an old injury a couple of summers ago. I couldn't even move without help for a couple of days then, and I didn't really have to be anywhere at the time. I couldn't imagine what would happen if I was in the same state now in the middle of term. Thankfully, I didn't do that again, but I am taking no chances. Tonight is an epsom salt bath and then off to bed with me.

So tired, but in a good way...

Jo and Steve's wedding went off smashingly well and now I am paying the price. Everyone looked great and had a blast, and I am absolutely wiped right now. My feet are so sore from all the dancing last night and my voice is nearly gone from all the singing we did on the dance floor. Everyone there was talking about how this was probably the most fun they had ever had at a reception, and I agree. I am so happy I got to be a part of it.

Today we still had to get up early for the gift opening and to clean up the rest of the hall after minimal sleep... I got home around 3am and took another half hour to remove all the pins from my complicated but well-complimented up do before I could get to bed. Now that everything with the wedding is all done, I am home and trying to get motivated to do work, but all I want to do is nap. Maybe instead I will have a nice hot bubble bath, sip some tea, and go to bed obscenely early tonight and start fresh and rested for tomorrow.

More Vegas pictures will be coming again soon, for those who are interested.

This just made me laugh way too hard

If I don't laugh, it just might make me cry...

Nah ;o)

My cat is out to get me!

My cat is a freak. I was getting ready to head to the college to teach yesterday morning and Myrah decides to hide in the bathroom. I always shut the door when I leave the bathroom to prevent her from getting in there, but sometimes she is cleverly hidden behind the toilet and I don't see her. When I realized she had been locked in there it was an hour later and she had left a mess... including relieving herself in my zen garden which has rocks and candles and lovely white sand that resembles kitty litter. That did not make me a happy pet owner. I think she is trying to torment me.

She also likes to wait until I turn off the lights to go to sleep then she will start wailing at the closet like her life depends on her getting in there. Between that and playing jungle kitty, where she hides under my bed and waits for me to walk by so she can slice and dice my feet with her claws, I am beginning to feel unwelcome in my own apartment.

I love my cat. I love my cat. I love my cat.

Las Vegas 3: The Valley of Fire

Between teaching, marking, writing, and organizing a bridal shower, this week hasn't left me much time for posting these photos. This batch have some of my favourite photos of the whole bunch. I love the red ragged rocks and the little bits of greenery that get scattered throughout. I remember the day felt like an adventure. It was a welcome change from the Las Vegas strip. I went so camera happy that day that posting the photos from one day will need to happen in two sessions. I think she possessed me that day as I found myself looking at the scenery from a desire to see art in nature. I think that might be a sign that I need to purge my creative urges and paint something very soon. Right after I finish that thesis thingy. ~sigh~

Back to the photos, they are here if you are interested. These are my favourites of the day.



Cassandra and Courteny love to pose. Don't let the lack of hair fool you, these are my nieces :o)



One of the very cool rock formations, elephant rock.



I felt like I was channelling a Carla vibe that day. I don't know if she will think so though :o)

Next time, part 2 of The Valley of Fire: Mouse's Tank...

Las Vegas: The Sequel

Here is the second installment of Vegas photos. This batch features getting shelled at M&M World store, the habitat at the Flamingo Hotel, and the car show at the Imperial Palace.





Next time I will put up the photos from our day at the Valley of Fire.

What a gorgeous day today!

When I was heading out to SIAST today, I was absolutely stunned at how unseasonably warm and sunny it is today. It feels more like spring. For the first time in months I have all my windows wide open. I love the fresh air. I know it won't last, but I will take it where I can get it.

Back to work...

First installment of Vegas photos are up!

This may take me a while to do, but here is the first bunch.



Watch for future installments. In the meantime, I am going to hope that when I wake up in the morning, a Conservative minority government was just a bad dream.

Hello again

I must hang my head in shame for not maintaining my blog more regularly. As you can probably notice, besides the lack of posts, most of my graphics are non-existant, which is the result of the their host site being closed because I haven't visited it enough. I am going to have to fix all this eventually.

I have to put up all my photos from my trip to Las Vegas over Christmas. Apparently I took 198 of them! Who knew I could be so camera happy? Getting them all up may take a while, which is probably why I procrastinated on putting them up for 3 weeks.

Well, I am off to do some work before the election coverage starts. I did my civic duty today, did you do yours?

Grammar rules :o)

1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)

6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.

7. Be more or less specific.

8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

10. No sentence fragments.

11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.

12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

14. One should NEVER generalize.

15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

16. Don't use no double negatives.

17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20. The passive voice is to be ignored.

21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.

22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.

23. Kill all exclamation points!!!

24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.

26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.

27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.

29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.

30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

31. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

32. Who needs rhetorical questions?

33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

34. Ewe can knot bee two careful wren using homonyms.

35. Edit for mispellings.

My marking is all done now! Yay! Now on to the thesis and the remaining Christmas preparations. Seven days until Las Vegas...

It never ends...

Well it will end, my marking that is, when I am done marking the last 14 reports of 34 and sections C and D of 34 exams. Tomorrow. I want it done tomorrow, so I can work on my thesis. To bed now.

Tooth troubles

Over the last month, I have been in the process of getting a crown on one of my back teeth. This same tooth has had an internal cavity filled when I was a child, a root canal done when I was 12, and has been cracked for 6 years and needing this crown. I didn't know what kind of a rigamorole this was going to be. By the time I am finished with the process (next Monday hopefully) I will have spent more time in the dentist chair in just over a month than I have in the past 4 years combined.

The most frustrating part is living with a temporary tooth while waiting for the permanent tooth to be ready. Monday the temporary popped off while I was eating a Halloween-sized Oh Henry bar. Damn nugat! So that afternoon, I went back to the College of Dentistry to get it glued on again. Then Tuesday night the stupid thing popped off again during dinner. I had to pawn a piece of gum off of someone to temporarily adhere my temporary back in my mouth again. So it is back to the dentist's office again with me this afternoon. I can think of a billion ways I would rather spend my time. Strangely enough, marking is one of them.