Chronicles of Newfoundland

2006-09-29T23:19:00.000-03:00

So. Finally I have some time to post. And I'm on my way to being healthy again, thank God. I hate being sick. A lot.

I've made it through the first month of med school, which is exciting, I suppose. It's rather overwhelming. Actually, I think the overwhelmingness comes from med school in combination with moving to Newfoundland, trying to get everything set up here, living on my own for the first time, and a number of other things that keep piling themselves on top. It's not too bad though, of you don't think about it all at once. Classes themselves are ok, if not a bit icky at times. Especially gross anatomy. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan. I'd much rather learn about molecular type things than memorize which nerve sticks into which muscle. I am rather enamoured with embryology though, and we have an excellent instructor. More to follow on this.

Social-wise, there's always lots on the go here. Of course, most of you know me well enough to know that I'm always right in the middle of all the hugest parties, loving every minute of it. Right. At any rate, my class seems like a pretty good group even if I'm a little slow at getting to know them well. I get to see lots of Shawn now, which is nice. Actually, he's amazing. I seriously don't know what I would have done here without him. Hopefully lots more to follow on this.

Off to bed for now, I think. Will post more over the weekend. I promise.

2006-09-24T14:12:00.000-03:00

So I'm pretty sure my house has some sort of time warp in it or something. Not 5 minutes ago, my clock was saying 9.40pm, and I was going to watch the House episode that Abhi burned, and now it's 10.52. I know I didn't fall asleep or anything because my Neocitran is still hot. Weird.

Which brings me to my next point. I am sick (hence the Neocitran). My poor body isn't used to these freaky Newfoundland germs. I will attempt to fill you in on life in the Rock whilst I finish off my Neocitran, and slip into a lovely drug-induced sleep. Hopefully I'll have pictures for you in the next few days.

First off, Aliant sucks. I was here a MONTH before they got my high speed straightened out. They screwed it up BIG time at least three times. And they only got it right in the end because I spent a total of close to 4 hours on the phone with them (cumulative). Could you imagine being cut off from Internet for a whole MONTH?! It was insane.

School has been in for a bunch of weeks now, so I suppose I'm officially settled. It's not too bad. There's a lot of studying to do (4 tests already!) and in true form, I have done very little work. I really have to pull up my proverbial socks though, because although everything is technically pass/fail, I don't like being a slacker. Procrastinator extraordinare, oui, but slacker, non. Other than that, things are pretty good.

Despite my diseased state, I was dragged off to a Mustache and Cleavage party last night. Moderately entertaining, but I wasn't brave enough to mix ethanol with pseudoephedrine, so it was a relatively early night for me.

Lastly, the fluffy mammal that terrorizes my apartment. When Mum was here, we made a trip to the animal shelter, and I somehow ended up with a new kitten. Right now she is very adorable, and curled up on my chest, purring while I blog. Had I written this 10 minutes ago, she wouldn't have been cute, as she was tearing through my apartment destroying things. She is totally mental. At any rate, I have exerted my procrastination skills to the best of my abilities, and she still has no name. SUGGESTIONS ARE MORE THAN WELCOME. Please. I will post a picture as soon as I can find the cable that hooks my camera to my laptop. Until then, you'll have to make due with a description. She's a girl-cat, and totally black, except for about 6 white hairs under her chin. Likes to get into anything she can, particularly if it has any possibility of being edible.

I think those are the important points so far. I'm off to bed for now, but I look forward to hearing your name suggestions. And for those of you who might be so inclined, Shit-arse is NOT an option.

I am still alive...

2006-09-19T15:00:00.000-03:00

Hey all!

I have finally returned from the netherworld that is Aliant's waiting list. I have internet at home. My life is fulfilled.

So I have been running around like a mad thing since my plane landed. The next installment will have a bunch of photos to update you all, but today will be somewhat brief. I have a bunch of stuff to do this afternoon, and blogger is telling me it will have a scheduled outage in half an hour or so. Fun.

More stories of med school, living in St. John's, plotting the demise of Aliant, and going insane will follow.

T-minus two days...

2006-08-14T12:17:00.000-03:00

This is I guess my first post in a new chapter of life and blog. In two days I am venturing off to Newfoundland to start my schooling as a doctor. My brain still hasn't managed to accept that. I hope to provide my friends and family with semi-regular posts about life and the trials and tribulations of med school, so in my usual form, I am posting (and procrastinating) instead of packing. Go me.

Last Friday night, Shannon arranged a small gathering of close friends for a 'going away' party. What fun! Here's a few pictures for you all.

Shannon and me, being awesome as usual.

Tout le gang (Jonas, moi, Shawn, Emily, Heather and Abhi). Shannon must have been picture-taking, and HH had to leave early. :(

Shawn (new boy) and me; he gets A++ for putting up with me and my crazy (but equally amazing) friends.

Abhi and Shannon. Abhi must be a pirate in his secret life. And judging by Shannon's reaction, he also smells funny.

Back to packing, but I will hopefully be better with blogging than I have been of late. I miss you all already!

Forough makes me happy

2006-07-26T14:39:00.000-03:00

I just had to post this, even though I'm at work. Forough told me, and I love it.

Q: How do you tell the sex of a chromosome?

A: You pull down its genes!

Tuesday what feels like Monday

2006-07-04T21:36:00.000-03:00

I love long weekends. I love the Friday before a long weekend, when you're all excited about THREE DAYS OFF. I love the first Saturday, because you realize that you have two days to go. You can party your ass off (read: 3 hours of sleep in Moncton) and still have 2 days to get back into the groove. I love the Sunday, which is a nice, relaxed day, usually gearing up to go back to work when you realize in the evening that you don't have to drag your ass out of bed the next day. And really, who doesn't love the Monday. When you're supposed to be at work, but you can sleep, go plant shopping, garden, or do whatever you want. Even Tuesday going back to work isn't so bad, because you only have a four day week ahead of you. Long weekends are really the best, with little surprises and pleasantries all the way through. Mmm...

Needless to say, I enjoyed my long weekend. I love my friends. Even if they're from the future. With an invisible van. ♥

I also watched a movie over the weekend, and a THUNDERSTORM. The movie (A Good Woman, based on Oscar Wilde's Mrs. Windemere's Fan) was thoroughly enjoyable. And I think most of you know how I feel about weather. Mmmm. Nice to get out and relax and eat too many chocolate chip cookies.

I think that's enough semi-coherent rambling for now. More later.

Question

2006-06-30T23:12:00.000-03:00

What do you guys think of this background/font business? I really like it on my laptop at home, but I have seen it on other computers and the font isn't very contrasty against the black. But my computer has the purple and teal as very bright and easy to see. Is it too dark?

MOC, God and Canada Day

2006-06-30T22:17:00.000-03:00

Before I get started on what will likely be a lengthy chat, I want to appologize for my absense the last month. Until this week, I was teaching on a course in Gagetown, and blogger was somewhat discouraged on the computers there. That and I was busy as hell. But it was fun. I will post more later on the MOC, but it was very awesome. Definitely the best job ever. So here we go:

A quick warning to my readers: This post is likely to be somewhat controversial as far as religion is concerned. I don't mean to offend anyone. (But honestly, it's my blog so I can post whatever the hell I want.) It's also probably going to be sad, and pensive. Just so you know.

So I went to Mitchell Emms's funeral this evening. Mitchell and I went through cadets together, and we did the flying schol. course the same summer in Moncton. We weren't close or anything at all, but I knew his mother fairly well. Usually I am ok at funerals. I've been to 4 in the past year, and it's sad, but not enough to make me cry really. Even ones for family. I think the big difference is that all the others were older people, who had lived their lives. Sure they had family (including me) who would miss them, but that didn't include their mother crying in the front row. I think that is the most terrible thing anyone should have to do. One of Mitchell's cousins or something read a letter that his mum had written, and it was devestating. I didn't feel sad so much for losing Mitchell, but for his mum. Her grief was almost unbearable, but I felt it was the least I could do for her. She talked about how 21 years ago she was pregnant with Mitchell, her firstborn, and how she and her husband had so much hope for him, and how he exceeded every dream they ever had for him. Very intense. I wish there was something more I could do for her, but everything I could possible offer seems so superficial and unimportant in the face of what she is dealing with.

Maybe it's just my uterus talking to me again. Then again, I ran into several old fellow air cadets at the funeral, several of whom have children, and it quieted down again. It's very practical at the very least.

So during the service, in a Roman Catholic Church, I started reflecting on death and God and their roles in our society. For those of you who don't know me that well, I am not very religiously inclined, and I was never baptized. Seeing all those people there, grieving for Mitchell almost made me jealous. Not because I wasn't baptized, but because of their faith. It would be so comforting to be able to believe, to have that strength when you're faced with something like death. I don't know if I'd say I don't believe in God, but I definitely don't believe in creation, or Heaven or Hell, or even the divinity of Christ and God. Maybe Christ did live, and inspired a great many people, and had overwhelming faith in mankind; maybe he did change the world and die for everyone's sins, but is he sitting up there on a puffy cloud watching over us? Are all our ancestors hanging out with him peaking down through the clouds? I personally don't think so, but I can appreciate the comfort it would give. Being sure that you will be reunited with everyone you ever loved; knowing that there is a power greater than you, who loves you unconditionally; believing that we can't control everything, but even if we mess up, it'll all work out in the end.

It's not just Christianity, although that has been the most prominent religion in my life to date. I may not believe in religion, but it fascinates me. I can see the benefits, and understand how passionate some people feel about it; but to look back in history and see everything that has been done in the name of religion. It's rather overwhelming. I won't even go there on this post. Looking at it from the outside though, offers a very different view. Maybe it's the analytical scientist in me, but I just can't have faith in the supernatural trappings of organized religion. Transsubstantiation, consubstantiation, or plain old bread? The Bible, the Qur'an, the Torah all have valid teachings and stories, but for me they just aren't anything more than that.

So all this is what was going through my head as I am standing in a too-hot church, listening to Roman Catholic mass. Sure there was lots more but a.) I don't remember it all and b.) I don't want to bore you to death. Suffice to say, it was a tragedy what happened to Mitchell. It still doesn't feel real, whether that's because it doesn't seem possible that someone my age can die, or if I can't come to terms with how his mother must feel. Maybe that's strange, but Kit seems to be at the forefront of all my thoughts on this topic.

I think I've had enough of this soul-searching business for tonight. I think I am going to Moncton tomorrow avec le gang. Depending on my TB. (I don't really have tuberculosis, but I have a crappy cough what won't go away. And I don't want to keep everyone up all night.) I miss cadets and the CSTC, but I am really glad I stayed home this summer. Happy Canada Day everyone!

Siiiiiiiiiighhhhhh

2006-05-30T23:27:00.000-03:00

I haven't blogged in a while. I know, I appologize. I do read all of your blogs regularly though, and I comment, so that counts. Right?

Went to see Over the Hedge AGAIN tonight. It was, I think, more enjoyable than the first time. STELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! :D

I am starting to feel worn out. Not necessarily physically, but emotionally/mentally. I am not sure why. Stress about grad school/med school/the rest of my life? Things in my life now? Work? People? Who knows.

I have realized that I really tend to think the absolute best of people. Does that make me incredibly naive?

Ok, so this post ended up being a lot sadder than intended. I think I need to sleep; I'm starting to get that fun brain-is-diconnected-from-body feeling. Bedtime.

Mmmm

2006-05-22T15:47:00.000-03:00

There is seriously no better feeling that going to bed on a Sunday night, knowing that you don't have to get up and go to work on Monday morning. I love long weekends! Ok, maybe one better is waking up that Monday morning, at about 9pm, and staying in bed, lazing around and reading all day. Yum.

The only other thing on my agenda for today is to write an email to a would-be grad school supervisor. What in hell am I supposed to say to him? I honestly don't know EXACTLY what I want to research, just that his stuff seems interesting, and I would like to work with him. Seriously. This is all very overwhelming and...fussy.

Work tomorrow morning, of course, but somehow a 4 day week is a lot easier to handle than a 5 day week.

Not much to say...

2006-05-21T00:28:00.000-03:00

...but I feel I owe my faithful readers an update, so I am willing to ramble for a few paragraphs. For those of who patiently checked my blog, even when I was frantic with exams and didn't post for 21 days...or something like that.

Quick update: I am no longer unemployed. Yay me! I am working for NRCan, at the forestry centre. The job is a bit tedious at times (repetitive) but I like the people I am working with. And I am done by 4pm, and no weekends. Can't complain.

Graham was home this weekend. As of Friday night, we are also engaged. Graham, come back from Calgary! There are lots of rocks here too!

Friday night was very fun. A bunch of us were at the Snooty Fox, drinking beer and celebrating a number of things. Firstly, Shannon and I are now (finally) UNB alumni. We even have the fancy paper that says so. Very exciting. Now I just have to figure out what to do with my life. Also celebrating Graham, since he had to return to Calgary this morning. AND! The rain. At least I was celebrating rain. This lovely long weekend, I was supposed to take 40 children camping in Mactaquac. But not anymore! Usually I enjoy this camping trip, but I was rather dreading it this weekend. The plus side was, however (and will be, when we reschedule) that I am the only one with my 404's (military drivers licence) so I get to drive the big awesome truck. Last year we had a Ford F350; the year before it was a big-assed Chevy Silverado. These are fun. Especially in Mactaquac.

My laptop is threatening suicide in a matter of minutes, so I am going to leave this post for tonight. I shall, however, return shortly. I have rediscovered my love for blogging.

Public Service Announcement

2006-05-18T10:52:00.000-03:00

Do not, for any reason, consume the new "Vanilla Frosted" MiniWheats. They will kill you. Or at least make your stomach upset. I'm not enjoying it right now. Plus they taste gross. And I have graduation this afternoon. Poor timing for MiniWheat comsumption. Wish me luck.

SIGH

2006-05-16T20:42:00.000-03:00

and that's all I have to say today. It's one of those days. Ugh. Let it be over soon...

I suck

2006-05-10T22:45:00.000-03:00

I'm back. Finally. I went through a phase, for whatever reason, where I had no urge to blog. Very sad, in retrospect. Sorry Graham. And yay! You're (officially) home. AND I get to keep all my appendages. Best day ever. AND! And and and. Dan's home. Double yay.

I am going to bed now. I have started working this week (NRCan, with Shannon!) and I'm still getting used to it. I will, however, resume regular postings. I hope.

Goodnight

Parasites R Us

2006-04-21T16:30:00.000-03:00

I'm sitting in the SUB, learning about parasites. Almost done Nematodes...sort of. Filarial worms and ascarids left to go. Arrrrg. Then parasitic arthopods. Which are stupid anyways.

There are a LOT of strange people here. Seriously. A lot.

Most of them are engineers. Nuff said.

Mum's going to be getting me soon, so I should get back to work. I just needed a small break so I didn't go insane.

More insane.

Oh well.

28 hours and I'm done.

Urrrrggggghhhh.....

2006-04-18T16:45:00.000-03:00

If I see one more matrix, I think I'm going to kill myself. On that note, I will be spending all of tonight, and tomorrow morning in the company of said matrices. Here's hoping they don't get me. The hostage situation is definitely escalating. This is bad.

I just spent the last ~half hour trying to figure out the inverse to a matrix. Sure, I know how to do it, but I am retarded, because each time I tried to check it, it wouldn't work. It made me very sad....and didn't bode well for tomorrow's final. Mum is going to get me in 10 minutes or so, but I can't study anymore. Mostly because matrices suck, but also because I was working in the science library, at one of those white chair/table deals outside. I am fairly sure that I have a grid on my ass right now.

Additionally, there was a pack of idiots beside me. I am totally ok with talking and general hanging-outage in the outer science library (unlike some OLD people....see Shannon's blog for the reference), but:

a.) Please don't talk about stupid shit. School is not stupid. Telling people that Newtons are a measure of energy is. Also, talking about space aliens involved in WWII is very stupid.

b.) PLEASE don't grope each other. I can appreciate wanting to spend time with your significant other. I am ok with you spending time together in public. I can also appreciate wanting to grope your significant other. These two items don't mix. There is a list of "Things Not to Do in Public" This is on the list.

c.) Don't play your ipod so loud that I can hear it when I'm sitting at the next table. Not that I'm overly concerned for your hearing, but it annoys me. Really.

d.) Don't wear pyjamas. Especially if you are going to do your hair up all fancy-like and wear a ton of makeup. It's just dumb.

I think that's enough complaining for now...I'm going to go home and eat and learn more about matrices. This afternoon's attempt at some problems has seriously freaked me out. I really though I knew how to do this shit. Did I just pick hard problems, or am I stupid? Or was I brainwashed by the morons beside me? Or maybe it's gridass getting to me.....who knows.

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T16:28:00.000-03:00

Ok, I have a question about Easter. Or at least the bit before the big party. Why is Good Friday called Good Friday? What is so good about it? I always thought it was a bad thing...I suppose it ended up ok in the end, but no one knew that at the time, did they? Religion is a funny thing...

Here's my athiest contribution to this week's festivities:

I'm still being held hostage by a swarm of parasites and matrices. And rocks, I suppose, but I'm not worried about them. I'm sure I will post fairly regularly, now that I have a lot of work to do. Funny how that works, huh?

My Nan just sent over a hot-crossed Easter bunny for me. She used to make them when I was a kid, and she made me one this year. Homemade cinnamon raisin bun with almond frosting. And of course, cherry eyes and coconut whiskers. Unfortunately he has met the same end as the above rabbits; I have already consumed his tail and his ears. Yum!

I suck, I know

2006-04-10T22:07:00.000-03:00

This post is for Graham...

Dear Grum,
I am still alive. Barely, though. It's exam time. Things are a bit crazy. And I have had absolutely no desire to post anything. It's very sad, but my river of creative juices has run dry. Complete with sandbars. I shall post again soon, after Wednesday; I'm on my Easter break from exams. Yay resurrection!

This also makes me laugh...

2006-04-02T14:26:00.000-03:00

Ok, I take it back...

2006-03-31T22:52:00.000-04:00

Don't go see The Witch. It was bad. I'm all for supporting local theatre, but...arg. And it's not that all the actors were completely untalented. There were a select few (including Graham's brother) that prevented me from poking my eyes out, but there were many other issues. First and foremost, you shouldn't give Shakespeare-esque dialog to a BEGINNER theatre class. It's very hard, and demands a skill that they don't have, regardless of raw talent.

Enough about that. Pubcrawl night tonight, and I was going to meet everyone after the show, but I am feeling a bit sad, and not much in the mood. I don't know why I'm sad...just in general, I guess. I talked to Shannon, and they're all drunk and having fun. I feel a bit guilty for not going (I have this horrible thing with guilt...you'd think I was a Catholic) but I still would rather stay home and be sad.

Off to bed, I guess...market tomorrow (finally!)

1980s hurts my soul

2006-03-31T08:53:00.000-04:00

Ok, guys. Can someone please tell me whose idea it was to bring back the 80s? Sure, a few good things came out of that decade (namely, me), but FASHION was not one of them.

<-- If I EVER dress like this, someone please kill me.

Let me describe to you the outfit I saw on my way to school. Bright orange shirt, very short tan-ish skirt. Tight, not a flattering A-line. And here's the kicker: BRIGHT PINK tights....with blue and green and red polka dots. I little piece of me died right there. It all well and good to appreciate the 80s for their awesome music, Dirty Dancing, and a multitude of other cultural icons which defined our generation, but that does not mean I want to relive it. Even worse, seeing it on protestots.

I have a feeling that I am going to be sorely out of fashion for the next little while. Nothing on this planet can ever convince me to wear tapered-leg jeans. That come to my armpits.

Or neon.....

Or shoulder pads......... :S

Titleless blog

2006-03-30T23:17:00.000-04:00

Titleless if a funny word. It looks very odd...

Ever have one of those days, where you don't want to do ANYTHING? Don't want to see people, but likewise don't want to be alone; not motivated to do things, but deeply dissatisfied with doing nothing. That's me right now. Not even all day, just the last 2 hours or so. Weird.

I watched Broken Flowers (with Bill Murray) tonight. Maybe that was what did it. It was a good movie, but kind of sad. I hope I don't end up like him (his character).

I think it's time for sleep...I'm starting to get that brain disconnected from body, floaty kind of feeling from staring at my laptop.

Pubcrawl tomorrow, apparently. Fun.......

Blog for Denis

2006-03-29T09:07:00.000-04:00

Goooood morning! Isn't is lovely? You know it's FINALLY spring when the university takes all the wood off the steps. I noticed that this morning as I headed into the science library for the exciting world of parasitic copepods. I'm even wearing sandals. My poor Vitamin D-starved toes are very happy.

I must be off to class...this blog was a lot shorter than intended. I will write more this afternoon though.

Oh, and you all should consider going to the "The Witch". It's the English 2170 (Drama production class) show for the winter semester. It runs Wednesday to Saturday nights at 8pm, in Memorial Hall. I haven't seen it yet, so I can't comment on goodness, but it's always fun to go to the theatre. And support your local thespians. And it's only 6$ for students... You should go.

2006-03-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while, and I appologize. Things have been rather hectic lately, and I have little to no creativity. Hopefully it will return soon. Will post more then.

Still alive

2006-03-22T15:17:00.000-04:00

Just to bring you guys up to speed:
1. I survived the advanced cell midterm. I told him things about calcium and calmodulin, cAMP-dependent CREMs, and thromboxane. Yay me.

2. My hand is still attached. I didn't have to amputate after all. It's all red and splotchy now, but it doesn't hurt as much.

I have to work tonight...blech. But I am going to the helicopter squadron and I get to play with night vision goggles, and fly the helicopter sim. Very fun.

Moncton tomorrow...if yous want anything from the COSTCO (heart, heart) call me. I do deliveries. :)

Off to iron my fancy suit (ie. uniform).

Owie ow ow

2006-03-21T12:23:00.000-04:00

Advanced cell midterm tomorrow. Study today. Team procrastination at its best. So this morning I was up all early-like (9am) to go to they gym and study. Making my coffee, and the little filter didn't quite fit on the cup (I bet you can all see where this is going...). So I was holding it to make sure it didn't slip and spill boiling hot coffee on me...and I slopped over the filter and spilled boiling hot WATER on me. All over the back of my hand. I didn't go to the gym. Showering was an experience. Have you ever tried to shower with one hand? Not easy. Then the quest for topical main medication. I am currently soaking in lidocaine, but it has done nothing to ease the insanely painful stinging/burning feel. I know I am a wus, but it hurts. And I have to go study for cell. I think that's a sign to lay off the coffee for a while. Or something...

Well I'm off to learn about receptor and calcium...shall post again later.

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

2006-03-18T14:16:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I went to see "V for Vendetta" last night. A little apprehensive after I learned it, too, was based on a comic book; marginally nervous it would turn out to be another Ultraviolet. It wasn't. It wasn't even reminiscent of the stereotypical comic book. (ie. no superheros and villans). If I hadn't been told before hand, and seen the little DC logo, then I would never have knows. Jenn, I recommend you see this. You will thoroughly enjoy it. I'll go with you...again...if you want.

The movie is about a totalitarian regime in futuristic England, and one man trying to change things. ("The people should not fear their government; rather, the government should fear its people.") It deals with the strength of symbols, and of fear, corrupted governments and all kinds of other cool things.
Plus it has big explosions and neat plot twists. And somehow, Natalie Portman manages to look hot even when her head is shaved. Not fair. Still an awesome movie.

So I spent my St. Patrick's Day writing a midterm (v. weird) and watching this. Then I went to bed. Sorry to all of you for not coming out and being fun, but I was exhausted. Hopefully you are up for more festivities this evening?

Math midterm: went in, got exam, had a look. Four questions, each with parts a, b and c. Started writing. Easy-peasy! At least I thought so....I finished it all, and went back to the two questions I had skipped (required some more extensive thought), finished those and looked at the time: 1155am. I started at 1130. Reviewed the whole thing again, and handed it in at 1207. When I got up, everyone looked at me funny. I hope I didn't miss something important.....but he did say there were four questions, and I did four questions. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

Going to start scrapbooking for advanced cell again this afternoon. I'll be around!

Things that suck

2006-03-16T19:23:00.000-04:00

1. Math

Seriously.

2006-03-15T23:49:00.000-04:00

Why does some of my text wrap in some posts, but decides it doesn't want to in others? That is dumb.

Happy Ides of March

2006-03-15T23:35:00.000-04:00

...or should I say
0100100001100001011100000111000001111001
0010000001001001011001000110010101110011
0010000001101111011001100010000001001101
0110000101110010011000110110100000100001?

That's binary code for Happy Ides of March. How cool is that???!!
Go here:
http://www.roubaixinteractive.com/PlayGround/Binary_Conversion/Binary_To_Text.asp

I love being a dork.

Rar

2006-03-14T23:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, what do you guys think of this?
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/03/14/davinci-court.html

I don't know how the guy can claim that Dan Brown stole his story ideas when his book was NON-FICTION. As in it's history...not your own creation. Plagiarism would be different, but DB included Holy Blood, Holy Grail in his bibliography...
Am I missing something? Is it now illegal to write fiction stories based on fact? Maybe we should NOT do research for things now...
Seriously.

Reasons why I suck

2006-03-11T17:44:00.000-04:00

1. I am researching lederhosen on the internet instead of writing my paper.

...do you think Martin Luther wore lederhosen? Maybe.

2. I am eating....again. See Shannon's blog comments.

Happy birthday Joe!

2006-03-10T22:25:00.000-04:00

Today is Joe's birthday. He's 23! Happy birthday Joe, and sorry I couldn't stay out later. Just wait until school is done. We'll have lots of fun.

To take a page from Jenn's book, I want to tell you all how great you are! Seriously, I had a lot of fun tonight, and I couldn't ask for better friends. You all make me very happy, and I like who I am when I'm with you. This is important; it means good things...think about it.

Well, it's back to Reformation Europe for me. Things are going well (paper-wise...16th century Europe itself seems like it might have been a little insane). I have 3 pages done, and will hopefully write one more before bed. I have everything very well laid out though, in point form. All I have to do is make coherent sentences. Anyone want to proofread on Sunday?

I now have an introductory paragraph(!!!)^n

2006-03-10T15:05:00.000-04:00

The paper-writing has officially commenced. Yesterday was a terrible, frustrating day. For any of you who had to interact with me, I sincerely appologize. Getting the first paragraph is always the hardest part for me, and this time it was particularly excruciating. One page down, 9-11 to go. Word-wise, that's about 10% of the way through it. How depressing. But I am fully equipped with about 10 pages of looseleaf note in point form, and about 15 sources at my disposal. Yay me. Luther, here I come.

My cat is watching my write this, and eyeing my tunafish sandwich while I am distracted. If it wasn't so much effort, I'm sure he'd make a move.

Well, I have to go pick up my stupid brother. He was out drinking last night. He called here at 1am, to tell us (me) he wouldn't be home by 12. Genius, I tell you. Of course, I am the lucky one who sleeps very lightly and got to wake up and answer the phone. Anyone want a sibling? Graham, I know you already have 3 others, but I'll take ALL of them. Even trade.

This makes me laugh...

2006-03-09T12:35:00.000-04:00

Random wandering

2006-03-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

I'm supposed to be writing my history paper right now, so I figured it was time for another blog. I have read a CRAPLOAD of material and am not any closer to having a good idea of what to write about. Ok, that sentence was crap. I have lots of information pertaining to my topic, but no distinct argument. Sigh. I hate that.

I want it to be my birthday. This would be good for a number of reasons:
It would be my birthday (yay me!)
School would be over
I'd know about med school
I'd have a job
I'd have my summer, to do what I WANT before I commit to another 4 years of sucky academics. And by sucky academics, I mean my future career, whatever that may be.

Do you guys ever wonder why people are the way they are? From a genetic standpoint? I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Is there a specific gene that can be attributed to things? Shannon and I were discussing this WRT her celery allergy the other night. Can on gene produce a protein or a chemical receptor that can change who you are? Crazy.

Ugh. Should get back to the paper. I've been at it since 1030 this morning; maybe I should call it quits for the night. That worries me. I have to come up with 10 pages of A-level goodness by Sunday. Shannon wants to go for a drink. That sounds better. :)

I just re-read this post and realized it's marginally screwed up. Oh well...

Turks and Jews

2006-03-07T21:46:00.000-04:00

Writing my history paper, finally have a topic and lots of sources. In broad terms, I am writing about the Reformation and religious minorities (Muslims and Jews).
Important survey: If you had one question about the relationship between Muslims/Jews and the Reformation, what would it be? (ie. I need ideas for a thesis statement)

In other news...I have no news, really. March Break is going pretty slowly; just sticking to paper writing, mostly.

Oh! Went to see ULTRAVIOLET last night. Bad idea. I was in the mood for something easy, perhaps with a bit of gratuitous violence, or at least cool "one woman: sixty bad guys" fights, where the chick always wins, of course. Seriously, it was SOOOOOO BAD. I can't even describe it's levels of badness. I'll outline the plot for you enjoyment though:

Girl was pregnant, got disease, became vampire-like humanoid species, hunted by the rest of humanity. Girl loses her baby when humans end her pregnancy. Girl is sent to intercept weapon capable of destroying all of her species; weapon turns out to be a child with fucked up antigens. Girl develops immediate love/devotion for child and risks her life, killing thousands to protect him. Kills bad guys, but also turns on her own species, who want to destroy the weapon. Kills more people. Then some more. Lead "human" bad guy turns out to be vamp, wants to control all of humanity. Kid was his clone. The End.

I thought for sure that the kid would at least be HERS, what the bad guys took when she was initially infected. At least that would explain the antigen thing....and the freakish overprotection.

Whatever. Don't go see it.

Short post

2006-03-06T15:47:00.000-04:00

Hi All!

This is going to be a short post, as my laptop has just informed me that I have 12 minutes until it is going to die.

So yay March Break! I spent my first official (non-weekend) day of the break doing school work. I love my life. I also made a turkey! With stuffing (mmmmm) and gravy and all kinds of good things. I'm very impressed.

Saturday I took 16 darling children to St. John for the day. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be; I thoroughly enjoyed the NB Museum and the zoo, and the kids were well-behaved. Even funnier to see Fred slipping every 5 steps on the snow at the zoo. :D

Well, there goes my "I'm going to die in 2 minutes" threat from my computer. I'm pretty sure that wasn't 12 minutes, but maybe time decreses exponentially as the battery is on its last legs of life. Who knows.

I'm around all March Break, so CALL ME!

Lalalalalalala

2006-03-03T22:53:00.000-04:00

Well. March Break has officially started. Only I have to get up at 6am tomorrow, and escort 25 charming young children...the leaders of tomorrow...to St. John for a day of touring funness. Kill me now. In defiance, I am going to wear my skirt. I know it's going to be fricking cold, and I have to wear heels too, but THE PANTS ARE DREADFUL. For those of you who are not familiar with CF women's pants....they suck. Seriously. They have pleats. Need I say more? No? Well I will. It looks like I have a ass on my stomach. We call them front-bum pants. They also go up to your armpits. I have seen older women use them in lieu of a bra. Oh, and they aren't very comfy. So I will wear my comfortable, knee-length, A-line skirt. And I didn't iron it. Take that.

Anyways, it's now 11pm. I need to go sleep. I will fill you all in on the exciting details of SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK tomorrow. A demain!

BOYS ARE STUPID

2006-02-28T22:29:00.001-04:00

Just thought you'd like to know.

But I'm not dead yet!

2006-02-28T17:48:00.000-04:00

Just in case you were concerned, as I haven't posted in a while. Not that you were really trying to throw me into a pile of plague-ridden corpses....

Anywho, as with most posts, I am adamantly putting off doing something. Today, the something is studying. I have 3 midterms tomorrow. I hate my life. I'm not too too concerned about parasitology, as it won't count if I suck a lot; he'll prorate the other two exams. Yay nice profs. I also have history, and am currently in the midst of learning about papal schisms, Erasmus and everyone's buddy Marty (ie. Martin Luther). Lastly, I have geology. Terrifying. What if I can't figure out the difference between air and a rock??? With five multiple guesses!? Aaah, the pressure. (Haha...no pun intended....)

I just wanted to leave you all reassurance that I am not in purgatory just yet, and leave you something new to comment on when you visit my blog. I'll talk to most of you when I reemerge from my world of Luther, rocks and tapeworms. Until then, Happy Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday! Eat lots of pancakes; 40 days until Easter!

Ooooooh...!!!

2006-02-21T15:33:00.000-04:00

Did you guys know that Albert Einstein's birthday was March 14th? As is 3.14? I wonder if he celebrated by eating pie....

Ode to moi

2006-02-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

Ok, I really don't have a ode. I suppose I could compose one. Maybe not. I don't really have a lot to say, but I feel like I should post. Today was entertaining....Geol guy freaked out again, and informed us that he has spoken to the registrar. Any more interruptions will be viewed as an academic offense, and will be noted on the transcript, and a grade of F will be given for a second offense. I can hardly wait. Work tonight was fun. I work with a guy named Michael Crawford. Unfortunately, he doesn't sing like his more famous counterpart. He makes me laugh though. There's a fancy party for Maj. Revelle (important guy what is retiring) in March. We're talking 4 course meal at the Delta. Fancy. So I need appropriate attire. My impression is that the level of fancinosity is just below promish. Of course, it is very important to look hot. Any suggestions/desires to help me shop would be appreicated. No smart-assed comments from Graham though. Because I know you have them. Yes. Yes you do. Don't argue with me.

For some reason, I feel like I should be doing work. A lot of it. I feel like I'm falling way behind in school. I am not. I don't have any thing due until March 1st. Is this paranoia? Maybe I should work on shit anyways, and be proactive. Maybe.

Biochem meeting tomorrow. Received email about movie night on Thursday, with 29 exclaimation points. Maybe 50 words. That's a good ratio. Don't know if I'll attend the biochem meeting. I'm becoming rather jaded. Or maybe it's just residual winter blah. At any rate, I hate a lot of things. Or at least view them with extreme apathy. Can you have EXTREME apathy? Is that an oxymoron? Oh well.

Have a good night!

Results and Conclusions

2006-02-18T16:42:00.000-04:00

I appologize to those who have put their lives on hold while waiting for my stunning conclusions. I slept yesterday afternoon, woke up, went to nan's for dinner, then came home, talked to Jenn then slept some more. For some reason, my body decided it needed 12 hours of sleep. Hmm. So without further ado:

I did not freeze to death. I wasn't even really cold at all. It was very odd. I carried my nice fleece around everywhere, and the only time I wore it was when I went outside - WITHOUT MY COAT. For those of you not from around here, it was fricking warm out. The forcast 272K was exceeded by about 12K. It was nice.

We will have to conduct a second experiment, as the unseasonally warm temperatures appear to have affected our results. Whether my warmness was attributed to some t-shirt-related factor, or the abnormal spring-like weather, we cannot definitively say.

My classes varied through the day, with the majority being in the science library, one in McLaggan Hall, and one in Tilley. Math was cancelled (for real...not just by me) and so I spent lunch in the SUB. I wasn't too cold in any of these locations; in fact, the SUB and Geology were too warm.

Funny though, in Geology, buddy kicked someone out of class. His cellphone went off midlecture, but only got in half a ring before Prof. Anal launched into a lecture about how disrespectful it was, and how he was wasting everyone's time, and they paid a lot of money. Of course, not seeing the irony that his silly lecture wasted significantly more time than someone's cell phone going off. Then he threatens the kid, saying if it happens again, he will take his student ID, and report him to the registrar. THEN...the poor sod's phone rings AGAIN, because he didn't turn it off. Oops. The best part was the during all of this, the powerpoint went into sleep mode, and buddy couldn't start it again. Class dismissed.

Report: 1510 hrs

2006-02-17T15:10:00.000-04:00

I am still alive. I am also very tired (although unlikely connected to my t-shirt wearage). I am going to nap, and will deliver a full report when I wake up.

17 February 2006: 0838 hrs

2006-02-17T08:41:00.000-04:00

At school. T-shirt experiment commensed at approximately 0800 hrs; it is a polo shirt, medium-lightweight cotton, pale purple. I am wearing the collar up to retain some sort of neck warmth. Have black fleece just in case. Checked the weather this morning: forcast is 272K (-1) and snow/rain. -1 isn't too bad. At least it's not -100.

0800: off to a good start. T-shirt was very wrinkly as a result of being relegated to the back of my closet during the winter. Spent 20 minutes in the dryer (t-shirt, not me) and was nice and toasty when I put it on.

0815: good start over. Making coffee and knocked filter off, spilling boiling hot coffee on my hand. Literally, JUST poured out of the kettle, into the coffee grounds. Hand is still throbbing. On the plus side, maybe my scalding appendage will warm me throughout the day.

0835: arrived at school. Sitting in science library, writing blog, drinking coffee. So far it's not too bad. My arms are cold to the touch, but my skin is usually cold anyways. Not cold on the inside. Class from 0930 to 1430. Will report more then.

T-shirt experiment

2006-02-15T14:53:00.000-04:00

Ok. I didn't come back and write more. But the advanced cell midterm is over and done with, and it went really well. Yay! Work tonight, which will hopefully be fun. I like fun work.
And. Best thing about Valentine's Day, and it's lovely, over-commercialized emphasis on LOVE on one day of the year? Cheap chocolate the next day. Yum!

Moving on. I have been observing over the past few weeks that a number of girls are wearing t-shirts to school. T-shirt. As in short sleeves. My question is: are they insane? Do they not realize it's winter, and therefore FRICKING COLD? Or maybe there's something about the UNB environment that allows t-shirtage without undue body heat loss. At any rate, I intend to find out. I am going to wear a t-shirt to school on Friday. I am fairly sure that I will come within an inch of freezing to death, possibly with severe hypothermia, but it's all in the name of science. I will have to establish some sort of control test, but I haven't got any ideas yet. There are a number of variables to consider. The obvious answer would be a sweatered group, but that does not account for personal temperature-sensing, different classroom environments, etc. Also, if I was to compare my level of coldnosity to my own sweatered days, it does not account for temperature differentials from day to day. Suggestions welcome.
I will report my findings in Friday's blog, once I have returned home and donned a sweater and made a cup of tea to commence the rehabilitation process. Wish me luck!

Off to iron my uniform. Which, sensibly, has a sweater during the winter.

Team Procrastination looking at gold medal in Torino

2006-02-13T20:28:00.000-04:00

Ok, maybe that was a bit dorky. But it still beats studying for Advanced Cell. Not that I really object - I love the class, and Dr. Durnford even more - but it's the idea of starting. Blech. Today was definitely a blah day too. Went to school, tired, everyone else seemed dragged out and tired, wrote math midterm. Got email from BioChem Keri. I didn't think it was possible to put 41 exclaimation marks in 3 paragraphs!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!! Frick.

I had other news to write about, but my brain is fuzz. More later, perhaps

Home

2006-02-12T11:39:00.000-04:00

Ok, I take it back. Maybe yesterday was the most fucked up day ever. It started out ok, I had a good night's sleep at Mary's, and was all calmy-calm after the previous night's incident. Across to Halifax, tour of DAL, interview....imminent snowstorm. Interview went really well...I was super happy with it. Shannon's and Denis' and Jim's all went well too, so that's really great. I'm VERY happy about that. So then snowstorm, we decided it would be better to head back Saturday. We wanted to go out for dinner before we left, so we went to some place called the Shoe Factory, or the Shoe Box or....Shoe something. Anwyays. It took us THREE HOURS to get food and get out of there. Beer cost SEVEN DOLLARS for one glass. Seriously. Not impressed. So we get out, get our shit, and leave Dartmouth at 10:13. Home: 2:58. So it was a day of mixed emotions and craziness. The trip home wasn't too bad, actually. I felt a lot better once we got on the road. Getting a bit tired towards the end, but Shannon was good, and she kept me awake. Hmm. Long day. Weird, but on the whole not too bad. Halifax was definitely a strange experience, but I really want to go back. We didn't get to do much of any shopping at all, or visiting. Soon!!

Mmmm.....off to study for my Lin Alg midterm tomorrow.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygiddygod!

2006-02-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

Most fucked up day ever. I'm sooooooooo stressed out. And so glad I'm staying at my aunt's house in Halifax. I would have DIED anywhere else. So I bagged by Lin Alg midterm this morning, so we could leave earlier. Am I EVER glad I did. Weather was super until Salibury, where it all of a sudden started a blizzard. WTF. Then the weather was crap most of the way down, we were WAAAAY later than intended, and I was starting to feel a little stressed out. That's when I ran into another car. I hate my life. Ok, it totally wasn't my fault....I was almost completely stopped, and my tires caught some ice (re: random insane fucking blizzard) and I started zooming towards the car in front of me. Being at a red light, she wasn't moving. I tried to turn out of the way, as I was zooming faster and faster towards her bumper, but it was so slippery that my wheels didn't even turn a fraction of a degree. SMASH. The best part was when she was pushed forward from the impact, and hit a pedestrian. I hate my life.
Reasons I am thankful:
1. No one was hurt at all, not even the erstwhile pedestrian.
2. I hit her. If I hadn't, I would have careened into the intersection and been smushed by cars coming at my sides.
3. She was super super nice. Said it wasn't my fault.
4. Only her bumper was cracked...my van was fine.
5. I love Shannon and Denis....they made me feel so much better. Heart.

Funny part: she was a doctor. Thankfully, not doing interviews this year.

So that was my day. Nice, eh? Interview tomorrow, I hope it goes well. Storm forcast for Sunday, so we're going to head out early. I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

Shopping, malaria and lederhosen

2006-02-05T18:35:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! I thought I would write you a post while I am supposed to be studying. I have a parasitology exam tomorrow morning, so team procrastination is working in full force. It was working especially well yesterday when I went to Moncton with Shannon and shopped all day. Awesome. Although much of the trip was underscored with anxiety, as we were suit shopping pour le grande interview de DAL ce fin de semain. Oh my. Seriously, why is it so hard to find NICE clothes for women? You can go to any mall and run into a man-suit store, and be fitted and handsomely clad within an hour. But no no, finding the female equivalent requires weeks of planning and trips to other cities. Why? Does anyone understand this? Women DO work, and the DO wear clothes when the do so, correct? So why is it so fricking hard? If I had any business skills, and I could design things, I'd totally make a whole chain of woman-suit stores. It'll be the next Tim Hortons. Only lots less donut-stink.

On a funnier note, when we got home last night, Shannon apparently made a valentine application for me. I found it this afternoon. It was lovely....I laughed a lot. So far, Shannon, that has been the BEST parasitology distraction ever. Heart Heart. Ich bin nett lederhosen. (I've been learning!)

So I really should get back to the tantalizing world of Leishmanias and Histomonases and Ichthyophthiriuses.....I will in all likelyhood be on MSN as well, so come visit!

Happy Marmota monax Day!!

2006-02-02T14:24:00.000-04:00

Hey all!
Never fear, my previous distemper is nothing but a memory. It's Groundhog Day. Does anyone know what happened? Judging from today (8 degrees!) Spring is well on its way. Unless the sun throws him off, and he sees his shadow. Crap. Oh well. I thought I'd include this for you; he's cute!

Did you know that groundhogs are also called squeavers? Apparently they look like a cross between a squirrel and a beaver. Who would have thought.

So yesterday we had the new geology guy. I must admit, he's no Ron Pickerill, but he'll be good for 1 or 2 blogs anyways. Last class he spent 50 minutes (he was prepared, and didn't have to wrestle with an OHP) giving us useful definitions such as: change, environment, weather, hydro. He had this really handy diagram to show us pieces (yellow dots) of energy what came from the sun to the Earth and ultimately went away. I will see if I can post it for you later.

I'm off to do my Lin Alg assignment now. If anyone wants to help (ie. do it), let me know. Or, as I'm all about motivation, if you can tell me HOW I'm EVER going to use this in real life, also leave me a message.

Happy happy!

2006-02-01T22:29:00.000-04:00

Ok, I just realized that last post might be rather bitter. I'm not! I'm happy now. Two of my favourite things: Shannon and Emily. They're great. Really.

Crabby patties

2006-02-01T22:11:00.000-04:00

Hi. I just got home from work. What a crap day. I'm still sick; in fact, I had to go home from school early because I thought I was going to die. I came home and went to bed, only to be awoken by my dumbass brother who decided to watch very loud TV just outside my deathbed (ie. bedroom). Nevermind the fact that there are 2 other TVs in the house, both FAR AWAY. When I asked him to turn it down, the dialog went something like this:

S: Mark, please turn down the TV.
M: No! It's the middle of the fucking afternoon, you lazy bitch. You shouldn't be in bed!
S: Mark, I'm sick. I feel like crap.
M: Well, if you don't want to hear it, shut your door and stuff the crack with a towel. You can sleep with a pillow on your head too.
S: .....?

The ultimate irony was when he fell asleep on the couch (late poker night last night) and yelled at me for walking too loudly. Sorry, your royal assiness.

Continuing, I was sick and went to work anyways. Tonight was our annual review to make sure we're doing everything right. Which I am. Of course, the amazingly qualified person who was reviewing us had no FUCKING CLUE what was going on. I knew more about HIS job than he did. Let's not even talk about my job. My favourite part was when he came into my office and threw his shit all over my desk, spread all his papers out, and then gave me a crap mark on ORDERLINESS and CLEANLINESS. For those of you who don't know me well, I DON'T DO MESS!!!

On top of all that, my mother bought a house to store my little brother in. Nice that he's leaving and all, but SHE BOUGHT HIM A HOUSE! What did he do to deserve that? Seriously. He gets to co-sign the mortgage, have roomates and collect rent. Rar. I can't even communicate on this topic yet....give me a few more days.

I'm supposed to work at the hospital tomorrow morning, but I'm going to cancell YET AGAIN. This also makes me angry, because I made the commitment, so I hate backing out. On the other hand, I don't want to share my germs with already sick kids. It seems mean. Emily tells me it's ok though, so I'll believe her. She's always right.

Ok, so that's a lot of complaining in one post. Please comment, I like to feel justified in my bitching. Next one will be cheery, I promise; I feel better already!

Goodnight!

2006-01-31T22:02:00.000-04:00

One last post before I go to bed. You know what really makes me angry? Really really? When people say they're going to call you, or stop by and visit you, and they DON'T. They just forget, or don't bother, or what have you. Not cool. ESPECIALLY when you're sick. Not that that happened...no one I KNOW would DO THAT. Right?

Home again

2006-01-31T13:46:00.000-04:00

Well I survived Newfoundland. The interview was....interviewish. You know what really bothers me? When people ask how it went, and you say ok, which they promptly take to mean you are 100% accepted. This is not the case. THEN the person goes and calls every family member, coworker, etc., telling them you're already a doctor. Just because the interview was "ok". Frick. No pressure or anything. Maybe I'll tell them I've decided to become a hermit or something.

Two weeks and we're off to Halifax. I'm rather excited for that; a whole weekend with the girls (Shannon, Tobin, Jenn and myself) and copious amounts of shopping, martinis and fun. The sucky part is that I was very much looking forward to seeing Will (very good cadet friend) in Halifax, and he's going to be in FREDERICTON. Of all places. WTF? Who's crap idea was that? So we're going to have to come up with some elaborate plan to meet them on the highway, carjack (busjack?) him, and steal him back to Halifax. I'll write the Ops Order.

This weekend, I finally finished my purse! I'm excited! It's huge, and I can carry around three times as much junk as I could before. Because, as you all know, this is absolutely necessary. Anyways, I like it. When I was making the handles, I sewed them as tubes, and turned them inside out, them trimmed the ends off to the length I needed. Boring, I know, but the funny part was, that this generated small, 3 inchish tubes, which I brought home for Hamlet as little cat-leggings. They were cute! Unfortunately, Hamlet wasn't quite so thrilled. I guess stripey leggings aren't very dignified in the cat world. Too bad.

In other, completely unrelated news, Jenn is right (and so is Therese, by association); being witty all the time is difficult. And blogging is starting to consume my everyday activities. Everything I do, I think of how I would write about it. Sad, I know. To ramble further, you should all read Confessions of Georgia Nicholson. The book is written as a series of diary (blog!) entries, which are rather funny. I will leave you a small excerpt to entertain you, and get you hooked:

sunday august 23rd
my bedroom
raining
10:00am

Dad had uncle Eddie round, so naturally they had to come and see what I was up to. If Uncle Eddie (who is bald as a coot) says to me one more time, "Should bald heads be buttered?" I may kill myself. He doesn't seem to realize that I no longer wear romper suits. I feel like yelling at him, "I am fourteen years old, Uncle Eddie! I am bursting with womanhood, I wear a bra! OK, it's a bit on the loose side, and does ride up round my neck if I run for the bus....but the womanly potential is there, you bald coot!"
Talking of breasts, I'm worried that I may end up like the rest of the women in my family, with just the one bust, like a sort of shelf affair. Mum can balance things on hers when her hands are full - at parties and so on, she can have a sandwich and a drink and save a snack for later by putting it on her shelf. It's very unattractive.

Ok, I think that's enough rambling for now. No school today, so I will likely post again.

Newfoundland and fish what live on the land

2006-01-25T23:16:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a while since my last post, but...well, I don't care if I have an excuse. So I'm heading to Newfoundland tomorrow, and I'm feeling rather BLAH. I don't think that's how it's supposed to work. I'm cranky with everything (the clothes I have, my packing skills, my interview skills, where I'm staying, etc.); maybe I'm just projecting med school anticipation of some other psychoanalytical bullshit. Plausible, yes?

In other news, I got an mp3 player for Christmas, and it tells me I can play wma files. Only they don't play. WTF? Does anyone know how to fix this? I will buy you beer if you can make it work.

One small anecdote before I go to bed (flight leaves at 0925 tomorrow). Graham, you will appreciate this; I hope to make into a blog series. As some of you may know, I am taking an intro to geology class. The prof is somewhat of a misogynistic, drunk twit, but it amuses me nonetheless. So last day's lecture: 50 minutes. Well, but the time he stopped fiddling with his "paraphenalia" (ie. overhead projector) it was only a 40 minute lecture. Anyways, so 40 minutes, the only thing he taught was that life started out in the ocean, and it evolved and moved onto the land, which is how we got terrestrial life. Never would have guessed it myself. 40 minutes, people.....40 minutes. Today, he informed us that fishes were among the first terrestrial vertebrates. And all this time I thought they lived in the ocean....maybe Newfoundland will be more interesting than I thought.

Goodnight!

Saturday night's alright (for fighting)

2006-01-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

Well, it's Saturday night, and I'm at home (loving my fleece) by myself. I'm trying to figure out how to f-ing code a blogskin, because I know what I want, and it's not any of the crap that is readily available. Any ideas?

In more exciting news (haha) I need a good topic for my history paper. The only stipulation is that it has to pertain to the Protestant Reformation. I don't want a sucky topic like a chronicle of Martin Luther's life.

Crap, I forgot to set the VCR to tape, and missed the first 2 minutes of Battlestar Gallactica. I'm going to go drown my sorrows in a book and some cookie dough ice cream. Anyone want to join me?

Tagged...and I have an H on my name

2006-01-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

This post is going to be restricted to the tag only...I'm on my way to the gym, and promise to write more later today.

Four Jobs You've Had In Your Life:
1. Administration officer
2. Flying instructor (groundschool)
3. Green Village
4. H&R Block receptionist

Four Movies you Could Watch Over and Over Again:
1. Phantom of the Opera
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. Indiana Jones
4. The Shipping News

Four Places You've Lived:
1. Fredericton (twice)
2. Castlegar, BC
3. Dartmouth, NS
4. Toronto

Four TV Shows You Love to Watch:
1. Star Trek (mostly TNG and Voyager)
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Dead Like Me
4. Sex and the City

Four Places You've Been On Vacation:
1. Is it sad that I've never really had a vacation?
2.
3.
4.

Four Blogs You Visit Daily:
1. Shannon's blog
2. Jenn's blog
3. Tobin's blog
4. Graham's blog

Four of Your Favorite Foods:
1. chocolate
2. pasta
3. greek (anything, really)
4. coffee

Four Places You'd Rather Be:
1. Greece
2. England
3. India
4. Halifax, NS

Four Vehicles You've Owned:
and by owned, I mean, my parents' vehicles
1. Toyota Sienna
2. Camry
3. Chrystler LeBaron (complete with "leather" panels on the outside)
4. the many assorted kid-transporting vehicles the military has given be during the summer

Four People to Be Tagged:
1. Shannon
2. Graham
3. Krystal Ford
4. ummm...random person what reads this blog :)

Why is Grum blue?

2006-01-19T23:50:00.000-04:00

Post #2. I've changed my template. I'll get back to something more creative later, but I need something functional for the interim. As you may see, I have added links to other cool blogs. For some reason, Graham's link is blue. Everyone else is purple. WTF. Maybe it's because it's midnight, and I'm quasi-braindead. We'll see if he is still blue come tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will make some progress on the rest of the site tomorrow too. Please be patient!!

Trois ans plus tard...

2006-01-18T22:01:00.000-04:00

Hey all! Here is my first official post on what will hopefully keep you entertained as you procrastinate at work/school. Finally, after much deliberation, I have chosen a name and a URL. You'd think that was simple, but really it's not....