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.

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.