Saturday, January 28, 2006

Pre-Valentine's Day Haiku

i breathe in and out
valentine's red and pink.
i keep smelling you.

4:55 PM - 9:25 PM

Today I went to a funeral. I don't have much to say because I never got to meet the diceased. He only lived about 4 and a half hours.

It was a beautiful service.

I remember that in my Eng 101 class, many years ago, people would ask questions about suffering, about the why and how it could happen. I suppose it is natural that people would want to know these things.

After more funerals and days of crying than I can count, the only thing I have decided about suffering is that when those around you hurt, you go to them and hurt with them. Acknowledge their pain and be with them while they hurt. When you hurt, go to those around you and allow them to see your pain and hurt with you.

Recognize that God is great, and life is painful. Both statements are true.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I had promised myself I would never do this...

When I read blogs, one of the fastest ways to bore me to death is by posting the link to your score on some quiz. The quizzes come in anything from what "personality" tests , to what your personal fairy is, sexlife type, or what your magical power is.

I'm sort of doing this to you.

Amorous Nonconformist

and because it is always good to share...

Playful Romantic Individual Needing Caresses and Embraces

Charming Handsome Adonis Rendering Massage and Intense, Naughty Gratification

Anyway, I'm beginning to feel better, and should post again soon.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Newsflash

I'm sick. Actually sick. After almost being well for, well, a while now. I am sick yet again.

If you spend more time sick than well, what does that actually mean?

A New Look, and more

Along with homework and learning to sew, I have become obsessed with changing my blog. I desperately want a snazzier looking blog, and I went looking for templates.

As a result I now find myself attempting to teach myself html here so I can make something myself. Because you know, it can't be that difficult if millions of people everywhere make up templates and stuff. This will be interesting. I've taught myself how to change colours, now I just have to... find out a format that I'll like for more than a week. Ack. I think I know what I want, I want a fabulous picture in the background, something minimalist probably, and I definitely want to change the font. I've been thinking about themes, perhaps fish, or maybe a space-based pattern. There are some absolutely fabulous pictures from Hubble and the different missions that have been going on.

With other news, I went to go do my part in the electoral process earlier today. I now have the right to bitch however I want about the federal government for the next four years.

Yay Me!

If you live in Canada, GO VOTE NOW, you have approximately 4.25 hours left to vote.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Fun With Friends

This week has been a good week for spending time with friends. I spent Wednesday night with my friend and ex-roommate Palm Tree, and spent most of today with my other friend Stiletto.

Palm Tree is fun. I never know what we will end up doing or who will join us. She just moved back into the duplex where we lived together, and spending the night felt so odd, because while I had lived there for quite a while, the duplex looks a lot different now. The furniture is different and the basement, which was our super-girly hangout, has been transformed to the mecca of all things sports. The decorating scheme is focused around the projection tv and basketball jerseys.

It was so good to see her. She is the only roommate that I've ever had that I still keep in contact with. I totally blame her excess of patience.

I have known my other friend Stiletto, for eight years (how did that happen?) We sat next to each other in the back of our AP (Advanced Placement) English class and bonded over the teacher's dislike of the both of us and our love of poetry. Now she is my fashion coordinator and school buddy. She keeps me looking sharp. She is still disgusted about how she came back after being in China for a year and found that my wardrobe had regressed to shades of navy blue, olive and grey boring.

Tomorrow I'm going to go and hang out with Glen Fiddich, another really good friend of mine, and finish watching Firefly with him. It is my new obsession. I cannot explain how upset and bitter I am that there are only 14 episodes. I never got to watch it when it came out (I tend to not watch tv for a variety of reasons, most of which involve a lack of cable and evening shifts or courses) and I'm so sad about that. I'm even more sad that there isnt more.

This may not be the most interesting post, it's basically just a list of what I've been up to (which actually does include school work, shockingly enough, AND going to the gym, absolutely frightening!) however, I feel good. I feel really good right now, and I hope to stick with this.

It might be that this semester is going to be easier school-wise, it could be my new exercise regime, and it could also be that this is the last semester that Prince Charming and I will be apart. It could also be a bit of all of it. I just hope that it doesn't go away any time soon.

Stiletto is getting anxious. I'm borrowing her computer, and I think we have to go have fun now.

Friday, January 13, 2006

At the Hospital

Continuing in my series of posts from about town, I'm writing in the lobby of the hospital, where they have free internet. Very exciting in a technology-is-everywhere sort of way.

My granny is doing much much better. She's looking like herself again, and talking more. It's so good. She's going on walks and stuff too.

The bad news is that my mother now knows that I have a blog. Mom, if you are reading this, I just want you to know that sometimes you may think that you are reading a bad word. Blogger has this thing where occasionally there are typos and they tend to look like bad words. For real, mom. I don't know how to fix it.

I love you. You are the best mom ever.

And I've never skipped class ever. Or anything like that.

Did I tell you I loved you? And you're the best?

You are.

Ignore the potty-language. Its not really there.

:-)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

At The Library

For those of you who are in the know, you will know that my computer is on the fritz. It is something to do with my BIOS and memory. In that intersection is the reason why my computer still will not work.

Because of that, I am at the Library right now. In honor of that fact I am going to write about books.

Number One

I love Frank Herbert's Dune. It is a magnificent book and I enjoy reading it every time I pick it up. All of the details that he puts into his book created this fascinating world.

It is truly a great book. So, on one hand, I totally understand why another writer might want to rip him off and use a plot line of his instead of making up a new one. I understand, but I don't recommend or endorse. In fact, I think that it is a pretty lame thing to do, and yet, it isn't the first time I've seen it done. Colby Hodge did it in Stargazer.

I look at the cover of Stargazer, and I'm not exactly sure why I picked it up and read it. There is a half naked guy on the cover who reminds me of someone. I'm not sure who though, and that always drives me nuts, so... I still have no clue.

However, that does not change the fact that if you change the name of the Circe in Stargazer and think of them as the Bene Gesserit and think of Shaun as a Maud'dib, it is almost like reading a cheaper and shoddier version of Dune. With more sex and hints of Star Wars I, like Padme (oops I meant Lilly) going to go to the Senate for help to fight the evil invasion of her lovely garden-like home planet.

I think that I'd not be so annoyed with this, except that I've seen it before, and I'm a little shocked. I come from the University, where at the beginning of every term, students are warned of the terrible penalties that await plagarism. Failure, expulsion, a one way trip to hell... you are made aware of them all. Apparently if you are a writer, you get published.

I've also seen this before with the Liadan Universe. The Liaden Universe is a series of fluffy books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller that are half science fiction, and half romance with a dash of fantasy. I can't remember which of them is a Dune ripoff, but just look for the "fear is the mind-killer" mantra and the scene where Paul Atreides is tested by the Reverend Mother. There is at least one other of the books that was probably a rip off of another science fiction book I liked, but I haven't read the Liaden books in a while so if you are curious, you can go look yourself.

Number Two
Robert Sawyer is coming to Edmonton Jan 29 to Stanley Milner Library at 2 pm. He is an amazing science fiction writer. Everyone who likes to read good books should go. I have one of them and I was so impressed by it. The two main characters go walking down Philosopher's Walk in Toronto, and when I was there last February, I absolutely had to go walk down it as well. Calculating God was a great book, and I'm only sorry that I haven't read more books of his.

Number Three
S.E. Hinton has written a new book. It is fantastic. Everyone should read it. Even if you don't like vampire novels. That's right. The writer of the Outsiders and Rumble Fish has given us a novel about a vampire. Hawkes Harbor is what a vampire novel should be.

And that is most of what I wanted to say today, because I'm running out of time here. Enjoy!

Monday, January 09, 2006

Back to School

I've had my first day of school today.

Its always very exciting to have a first day of school. The first day is alot like New Year's Day. You have all of your good intentions leading you straight into the hell of finals week stress. Here is a list of things I've tried to do in previous semesters. I have now learned that one should take a bit of time with things like resolutions and such, and should not be rash when making them.

Good Intentions I Have Had:

1) Do all readings, and not only will I do them, but I will do them before classes
2) Read chapters three times, to make sure you understand them, like those gradschool TA's tell you to, so you too can suceed.
3) Also read something off the recommended list, no, I will read several somethings off the recommended list.
4) Start your big projects in two weeks, so you can have them done before you usually start them, the day before the day before they are due.
5) Get up early every day, so you can have breakfast before your classes.
6) Go to all classes, no matter how boring.
7) Not be late to any classes, no matter how boring.
8) Go to gym and be healthy. Eat good food and not Kraft Dinner for the thirty-third meal in a row.
9) Walk to school, not just jumping on the bus. After all, I'll be getting up early enough that I can, and it will help with being healthy.
10) Go back to the pre-requisite courses and study up on the stuff I didn't quite catch the first time (but totally fluked my way through) for the class I'm taking now and actually do need to know.
11) Go to the extra-curricular speakers that occasionally come to the school to give interesting talks on subjects that are both interesting and unknown to me.

I would just like to say that I don't think that I have ever been able to keep all or any of those resolutions. Part of me feels a bit depressed and low-self-esteem-y at that, but another part of myself just reminds me that perhaps this next semester will not only be my last, but my best.

That is the good part about the first day of something new, there is a break point. You can say to yourself that no matter how it was before, now you are onto something new. As you say that to yourself, you know that it is true. You just have to keep on going, and working, and perhaps, if you work your hardest, and never give up, you might get somewhere near where you wanted to go.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

My Amazing Christmas!

I had a wonderful Christmas. I will just start out saying that all in all, this was an excellent year.

I find it rather funny though, that I, the girl with 1000 hobbies (who really was told, and has been told several times that perhaps I ought to focus, and maybe just have one or two) got a sewing machine.

A whole new realm of craftiness draws me.

Happy New Year's!

To everyone who comes by, Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas!

My holidays have been very good so far, with lots of family and visiting and time with Prince Charming. Unfortunately my grannie is sick though, and she's in the hospital, so I've been trying to visit her lots too.

Best wishes to all, and I hope that the new year brings good things to you all.