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.

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.

Stormy weather

Rainy days always make me want to hole up in my apartment with a good book/movie. What I should be snuggling up with is my thesis. It is funny how I can't concentrate on work at home if my apartment is a mess. I get around this by going to the library on occasion, but that is happening less and less often right now.

I clipped Myrah's claws last night and today. It was quite the ordeal as she was screaming bloody murder and struggling fiercely. She never protested as much the last time I did it, and I took off less claw this time than last time. How can something this cute be so darn fussy?


I caught up recently with my friend and fellow cheesy movie lover, Jimmy. He is living in Oregon right now, but might be moving again soon as he is in the middle of an intensive job hunt. In our extensive conversation, he also gave me a new cheesy horror movie recommendation... a foreign flick from Japan called Battle Royale. It looks like a great way to waste an evening. I have been told that I must watch it and report back.


I have also caught up on my pictures from my camping trip in July, so if you want to check them out you can find them here.

Is summer almost over already?

I am beginning to feel the pressure of the end of summer. The pressure of applying for jobs (I hope I get another section to teach next term), the pressure of getting the thesis done (just keep working), and the pressure of my own desires to take care of other areas of my life long neglected (too many to list right now). The summer will be officially over for me when I get back from a brief trip to see my parents and help out a bit. August is officially half over now. Where did the summer go? It went by so quick, yet strangely it seems like it lasted so long with so many great things happening during it.

I am looking forward to getting back into a regular schedule with work and such, but I am missing the anticipation of a new course load. Oh well, I should be looking forward to getting the thesis done. I can take more fun courses after the thesis is written. I have a list of things I am going to do as soon as it is written. Until then, I will write...

Uh, hi everyone... here is The Update...

I know, I know... there will be about 50 bazillion people letting out an exasperated sigh and saying "FINALLY!" at the sight of this post (okay, maybe the number is closer to 5 people, but they are a loyal and loving readership!) It has been over a month since my last post and I will try to give a quick update of all the highlights of the past month or so.

• My birthday has come and gone... July 13th... and I am one year older according to my drivers license (which I have now held for over a year... woot!) It was an amazing day! I spent the morning being treated like a princess at Spa Ahava, complete with full body scrub, massage, manicure, pedicure, hydrotherapy tub, and facial. I still have my fancy birthday toes. That night I was treated to a fabulous homemade gourmet dinner a la Brennan and a wonderful rendition of Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan. It was the best!
  
• The day after my birthday, I was given a surprise birthday party that totally caught me off guard. It was all pink too. Thanks so much Becky for organizing it and thanks again to everyone who showed up. It really meant a lot to me!
  
• I have been working diligently on my thesis regularly and spending a lot of spare time at the library writing. I get soooo much more done there than I do at home. Some freaky black furry thing keeps wanting my attention... the big suck! :o)
  
• A few of us went on a fabulous camping trip to Lower Fishing Lake and stayed at a cabin. It was so nice and quiet up there. It was a wonderful weekend. It is nice to know that I got a little bit of camping in this year. Pictures to come.
  
• My car broke down and was in the shop for 2 weeks. Luckily, I have a fantastic secret mechanic who charged me next to nothing for all the work he did. The car is up and running again, thank goodness... I missed her.
  
• I did a bit of Fringing this year. I checked out 2 plays (Pinocchio and GEEK!) and many street events. It was very cool as well. I love all the cultural stuff that goes on in Saskatoon during the summer.
  
• Since my original gym, Women in Motion, closed down in June, I have been slacking off on my workouts. So after some searching around, asking some questions, and taking a few tours, I decided to join Quantum Fitness. These guys have the best classes ever! I took the BodyPump class on Tuesday and really got a great burn working the muscles. The BodyCombat class I took yesterday was super fun as well, lots of great kicks and punching combos. The instructors are super high energy and really enthusiastic, which makes going a lot of fun. I am going to try the BodyStep class today.
  
• I am currently housesitting a couple of kitties on the other side of town. One of them needs ear medication everyday, but she is the most skittish little girl I have even encountered, so each day I have to find a creative way of cornering her to goop up her ears. Poor thing.
  

I think that might just about cover it for now. I am going to make some lunch and get back to work now. Toodles :o)

Work, work, work...

This week has been pretty productive. I have:

• done overdue research at Special Collections
  
• finished watching all of the first 8 seasons of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and determined which sketches and episodes I will focus on more closely
  
• revisited the thesis introduction and worked on a new plan of attack
  
• read other Canadian identity sources for Ch 1 & 2 of thesis
  
• determined formatting guidelines accepted by CGSR
  

And tomorrow I will be taping episodes of 22 Min in order to do thorough analysis for Ch 5 and to provide additional examples for Ch 3 & 4. Sometimes I don't feel like I have really made much progress until I take a look back at what I actually did get done. I feel pretty good and motivated to keep working. I like this.

Happy Canada Day!!

Happy Canada Day!!

Although I will be going out tonight to celebrate Canada Day, today I will be showing my patriotism by studying and writing about Canadian identity for Chapter 5 of my thesis. Yay!

Cute and evil... who woulda thunk it?

I can't believe this exists. Hello Kitty meets H.P. Lovecraft.

Election 2004 and Weekend Report

I voted today and now I am just watching the results. It looks like a Liberal minority with the balance of power being held by the NDP. That is not too bad, I suppose.

The weekend was great! We had a big day out at Pike Lake yesterday, I am still pooped from it. A big group of us went out and had a big BBQ, played Frisbee and football, then went swimming. We topped off the night with another BBQ, smores, and singing songs around the campfire... mostly Irish drinking songs. It was just fun all around.

I have to say though, it was nice to just get back home and have a long hot shower to get the sunscreen, bug spray, and campfire smoke off of me. I was just about asleep before my head hit the pillow.

This week, I have a chapter to put a first draft of together, so my work is cut out for me.

Productive day

Geez, today I have had some pretty good concentration compared to days past. I felt like I made some decent progress on my Literature Survey. I think I am going to work some more tonight still... why stop when I am on a roll?

Music to write my thesis by today:

• U2 - The Joshua Tree
• Simon and Garfunkel - Greatest Hits
• Live - Throwing Copper
• Tori Amos - Crucify
• Tool - Opiate
• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
• The Smiths - Best of... Vol. 1 & 2

Another silly little thing

L	Lucky
A	Awesome
U	Unusual
R	Refined
A	Ambivalent

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Life is kinda funny

I remember a time where I was bringing my resume to my Dad for advice and guidance, and he always had sound advice. Then today my Dad phones me up to ask for some suggestions on changes he wants to make on his resume and I actually had intelligent advice to give a man with vast experience late in his career. Sometimes I sit back and wonder... when exactly did life change so much?

Une question...

Qui est W.H.?

Fun weekend :o)

Saturday was great. We went to the Matthew Good concert. It was fantastic. He has great stage energy. He even played almost all of my favourite songs. It was a great time. Even the opening band Wil was amazing.

Afterwards, we headed back to a house party that was already well underway. It was quite fun, but I knew it was time for me to leave when people started wearing tin foil on their heads. Too much fun for this little girl.

After such an eventful Saturday, it was nice to spend a quiet day at home on Sunday.

Just wanna know who is reading my site :o)

1.Who are you?

2.Have we ever met?

3.Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.

4.Describe me in one word.

5.What reminds you of me?

6.If you could give me anything, what would it be?

7.Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?

8.Are you going to put this on your weblog and see what I say about you?

9.What do you love like a fat kid loves cake?

10.What makes you come back here?

All work and no play makes Laura something something...

I have been locking myself in my apartment for the past week or so working pretty intensively on my thesis. It is going fairly well, and I am seeing progress being made on it, but I was getting a bit stir crazy last night, so I went to the gym. Now I haven't been to the gym since before the conference, so I am a wee bit slower than when I was going 2-3 times a week regularly. Well this morning I hurt everywhere, especially my bum and my upper arms.

I think I hurt so much I can't do any more thesis work... okay, even I don't believe that one. Back to work. I owe my supervisor a polished draft of this chapter Friday morning so I had better get back at it. But I am taking a night off on the weekend for my sanity.