I considered not writing in my blog for a couple weeks solely for the ironic contrast to my last post, but I don't think my love of irony is enough to make me want to take a hiatus from writing in here. So here I am :-)
I went in to my old university yesterday to get my Alumni Card. It was the first time it really hit me that I have graduated and no longer have a purpose when I come to the university campus. Despite feeling a little lost, I was excited to get my Alumni Card. It was a neat next step in my life and the whole bus ride I was looking forward seeing the Card for the first time.
I sat there in the office waiting in anticipation. What would the card look like? Would they take my picture for it? Would it have a neat holographic security device? Could I use it to get into clubs? High security government buildings? Speakeasies!
The secretary turns around. I can see that she has the card. It's in her hand. Partially hidden by her sleave. Oh why won't she move her sleave! She walks towards me. Smiles and hands over...the card.
I'm speachless...
It's...just...so...
...ordinary. It's honestly nothing special at all. The world didn't change. There were no trumpets. No falling confetti. Not even my picture is on it. For goodness sake, I have to write my own name on it! This isn't how an alumna should be treated! Forced to use her own hand to validate such a prestigious card! Outrageous!
I'm just about to say something. Voice my indignation. Then she hands me a piece of paper. A list. A list of all the discounts I will get. The anger subsides and I am flooded with all the memories of free things given to student. Oh those were the days! What a stupid card to make me no longer eligible for such fantastic free things, like highlighters and fridge magnets! Now I have to settle for 5% off at hotels I can't afford to stay in anyway. All of a sudden a Masters is looking like pretty good idea...
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Priorities
Hello. I've come to the conclusion that people don't do enough of what they like in life. To a certain extent this can't be helped because unpleasant things like washing dishes and cleaning yourself have to be done in order to function in the presence of others, but I've decided to spend more time doing things that I really love. A perfect example of this for me is hiking. I absolutely love hiking and whenever I'm out in the forest or at the top of a big hill I can't help but smile. However, I so rarely spend time doing this activity that makes me smile. It's amazing how weeks can go by and you are so distracted by the things you feel you must do that the things you actually want to do and enjoy get pushed to the wayside
In order to remedy this, I've decided that every Saturday I'm going to go either hiking or for a long bike ride. I honestly think, that if I have this deadline in my head of something to look forward to, I'm going to be more motivated to get stuff done during the week and the weeks won't just pass by to infinity with no memorable distinction between them. I've already started this past Saturday by going up Ford Mountain in Chilliwack. I was originially going to go with a friend, but something came up and she couldn't make it. I've missed out on so many hikes for this very reason, and I've decided it's a silly one that will be deactivated immediately. So, I went on the two hour drive and hike alone and it was wonderful :-)
Another activity I greatly enjoy and don't do enough of is write about stuff here. So, I hope to do that on a more regular basis and not let it be forever bumped to the back of my to do list.
In order to remedy this, I've decided that every Saturday I'm going to go either hiking or for a long bike ride. I honestly think, that if I have this deadline in my head of something to look forward to, I'm going to be more motivated to get stuff done during the week and the weeks won't just pass by to infinity with no memorable distinction between them. I've already started this past Saturday by going up Ford Mountain in Chilliwack. I was originially going to go with a friend, but something came up and she couldn't make it. I've missed out on so many hikes for this very reason, and I've decided it's a silly one that will be deactivated immediately. So, I went on the two hour drive and hike alone and it was wonderful :-)
Another activity I greatly enjoy and don't do enough of is write about stuff here. So, I hope to do that on a more regular basis and not let it be forever bumped to the back of my to do list.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Beautiful views and ever-present awkwardness
A few days ago I was down in Kilross and the woman at the hostel told me that on my way to the Cliffs of Moher that day I should stop by at the Kilkee cliffs, which (she claimed) were equally as beautiful. About 15 minutes outside of the town she said. She knew that I was cycling so I assumed this meant 15 minutes cycling, but apparently she forgot. It wasn't too long however that I began to get glimpses of the cliffs. They were absolutely stunning!
Since the cliffs near Kilkee aren't nearly as high as their much more famous neighbours, they were no tourists in sight (save myself). In fact, there weren't many people around except the occassional locals jogging and groups of fisherman clusetered on the edge of the dangerously high cliffs. I cycled along the road struggling to keep my bike upright against the wind and knowing that if I did indeed get blown off the wind would just blow me right back onto land. It would be incredibly difficult to commit suicide in this area of the world. I'm surprised it's not incredibly difficult to fish! But they do; they just toss a ridiculously long line off the cliff and, apparently, catch ridiculously large quantities of mackerel.
After cycling alongside these views for about half an hour with no prospect of them ever ceasing to fill me with a sense of awe, I decided that if I wanted to get to the Cliffs of Moher that day I was going to have to figure out where the road I was on went to or turn back the way I came. There was a couple of men packing up their fishing gear on the side of the road. The very same men in fact that advised me on picking up Irish men in bars based on their method of Guiness consumption, as I mentioned in my last post. They were incredibly nice and absolutely hilarious, to the point where we ended up talking for about an hour. One of them gave me a reflective vest to ensure my safety on Irish roads after I had told them I was cycling around the country and even gave me contact numbers for himself and his son up in Galway.
The reason I tell you this story today, beyond wanting to illustrate how incredibly sweet Irish people are, is to illustrate how incredibly awkward I can be. I'm in Galway now and I decided that it would be strange to call someone I didn't know and ask if they wanted to hang out with me, but, knowing myself, I would always wonder if I didn't do it. So I did.
I waited about 8 rings before his son picked up. Now, I realize that this should have been my first clue, but, you know, sometimes it takes a while to pick up your phone. When you've never seen the number before. And have no idea who could possibly be calling you. Anyway, he answered the phone eventually and I told him who I was. "Okay...?" Asked him if his father had mentioned me... Not so much. In fact, he's not even in Galway until late next week. The whole time I'm trying to make lame jokes about how 'funny' it is that he has no idea who I am, but he wasn't biting...just one word answers and an intense feeling of discomfort. You know when you can see someone cringing away from you solely by the sound of their voice. Yea... that was this phone call. I don't know why I put myself through this, it's not even the first time this has happened to me.
To be honest though, I don't really want to learn my lesson from this. I like spontaneously calling people I don't know very well and meeting them. It's fun and you meet some pretty cool people because, generally, only pretty cool people (I say subtly flattering myself) will actually go and meet you. I met another couple today that said I could come stay with them up in Northern Ireland, so maybe I'll give it another go...at least I've actually met these people.
Since the cliffs near Kilkee aren't nearly as high as their much more famous neighbours, they were no tourists in sight (save myself). In fact, there weren't many people around except the occassional locals jogging and groups of fisherman clusetered on the edge of the dangerously high cliffs. I cycled along the road struggling to keep my bike upright against the wind and knowing that if I did indeed get blown off the wind would just blow me right back onto land. It would be incredibly difficult to commit suicide in this area of the world. I'm surprised it's not incredibly difficult to fish! But they do; they just toss a ridiculously long line off the cliff and, apparently, catch ridiculously large quantities of mackerel.
After cycling alongside these views for about half an hour with no prospect of them ever ceasing to fill me with a sense of awe, I decided that if I wanted to get to the Cliffs of Moher that day I was going to have to figure out where the road I was on went to or turn back the way I came. There was a couple of men packing up their fishing gear on the side of the road. The very same men in fact that advised me on picking up Irish men in bars based on their method of Guiness consumption, as I mentioned in my last post. They were incredibly nice and absolutely hilarious, to the point where we ended up talking for about an hour. One of them gave me a reflective vest to ensure my safety on Irish roads after I had told them I was cycling around the country and even gave me contact numbers for himself and his son up in Galway.
The reason I tell you this story today, beyond wanting to illustrate how incredibly sweet Irish people are, is to illustrate how incredibly awkward I can be. I'm in Galway now and I decided that it would be strange to call someone I didn't know and ask if they wanted to hang out with me, but, knowing myself, I would always wonder if I didn't do it. So I did.
I waited about 8 rings before his son picked up. Now, I realize that this should have been my first clue, but, you know, sometimes it takes a while to pick up your phone. When you've never seen the number before. And have no idea who could possibly be calling you. Anyway, he answered the phone eventually and I told him who I was. "Okay...?" Asked him if his father had mentioned me... Not so much. In fact, he's not even in Galway until late next week. The whole time I'm trying to make lame jokes about how 'funny' it is that he has no idea who I am, but he wasn't biting...just one word answers and an intense feeling of discomfort. You know when you can see someone cringing away from you solely by the sound of their voice. Yea... that was this phone call. I don't know why I put myself through this, it's not even the first time this has happened to me.
To be honest though, I don't really want to learn my lesson from this. I like spontaneously calling people I don't know very well and meeting them. It's fun and you meet some pretty cool people because, generally, only pretty cool people (I say subtly flattering myself) will actually go and meet you. I met another couple today that said I could come stay with them up in Northern Ireland, so maybe I'll give it another go...at least I've actually met these people.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Observations
Observation number one that I've made of Ireland is the most irritating, but certainly not the most life-threatening. There is a serious lack of reasonably priced internet cafes in this country. They have free wi-fi all over the place, in almost every hostel I've stayed in, but if you don't have a computer it costs upwards of €5 an hour. This is going to be my excuse for never writing to all of you.
2. At this point of cycled both main and back roads throughout Southern Ireland and I've come to one very important conclusion. The only difference between a primary and secondary road in this country is the posted speed limit. The actual speed of the cars is rarely less than 100km/h no matter what the condition of the road. This is where the life-threatening comes in, as, in addition to this, the roads tend to not have a shoulder to cycle on. This, in conjunction with observation the third, is why i refuse to cycle at night. But I haven't been hit yet, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Third, people drink A LOT here. You see, I always thought that was just an exaggerated stereotype, but it really is almost a way of life. I was talking to a fisherman I asked for directions about this and I think he summed it up nicely with some advice he gave me. First of all he pointed out that Guiness isn't an easy drinking beer that you sip. He told me that when you go to the bar you can tell if a man is worth your while by how he drinks his Guiness. If he finishes it in 3-4 sips he's a good guy and you should go over and say hi. Anything more than that and he's probably either foreign or not much of anything really. And anything less than 3 and you should run out of the bar, preferably screaming. Words to live by ;-)
d) People are incredibly friendly in this country and have gone out of their way on numerous times to make me feel welcomed and at home. I've had people go out of their way to give me directions both unasked and when I've knocked on the door of their little farmhouse in the middle of no where (who would have thought there could be a middle of no where in a country so small?). Whenever I tell people about my trip they seem genuinely concerned about my safety, giving me good advice about places to go and the occasional phone number of a long lost relative up north. The whole country has the feeling of a large interconnected community or family. They may not always get along, but most of the teasing is good natured and filled with love.
And finally (for now), they spell my last name right! There are lots of ways to spell Connolly and in North America they usually spell it Connely, which drives me crazy to no end. I'm still not used to this strange peace of mind though; whenever I'm asked for my surname I immediately spell it after saying it and people give me funny looks as if to ask if I know where I am. But I think the best part of my last name is that when people ask what it is (and the Irish usually ask...probably to do with that very large community feel of the country), they become very excited to realize that I am (even if just a little) Irish :-)
2. At this point of cycled both main and back roads throughout Southern Ireland and I've come to one very important conclusion. The only difference between a primary and secondary road in this country is the posted speed limit. The actual speed of the cars is rarely less than 100km/h no matter what the condition of the road. This is where the life-threatening comes in, as, in addition to this, the roads tend to not have a shoulder to cycle on. This, in conjunction with observation the third, is why i refuse to cycle at night. But I haven't been hit yet, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Third, people drink A LOT here. You see, I always thought that was just an exaggerated stereotype, but it really is almost a way of life. I was talking to a fisherman I asked for directions about this and I think he summed it up nicely with some advice he gave me. First of all he pointed out that Guiness isn't an easy drinking beer that you sip. He told me that when you go to the bar you can tell if a man is worth your while by how he drinks his Guiness. If he finishes it in 3-4 sips he's a good guy and you should go over and say hi. Anything more than that and he's probably either foreign or not much of anything really. And anything less than 3 and you should run out of the bar, preferably screaming. Words to live by ;-)
d) People are incredibly friendly in this country and have gone out of their way on numerous times to make me feel welcomed and at home. I've had people go out of their way to give me directions both unasked and when I've knocked on the door of their little farmhouse in the middle of no where (who would have thought there could be a middle of no where in a country so small?). Whenever I tell people about my trip they seem genuinely concerned about my safety, giving me good advice about places to go and the occasional phone number of a long lost relative up north. The whole country has the feeling of a large interconnected community or family. They may not always get along, but most of the teasing is good natured and filled with love.
And finally (for now), they spell my last name right! There are lots of ways to spell Connolly and in North America they usually spell it Connely, which drives me crazy to no end. I'm still not used to this strange peace of mind though; whenever I'm asked for my surname I immediately spell it after saying it and people give me funny looks as if to ask if I know where I am. But I think the best part of my last name is that when people ask what it is (and the Irish usually ask...probably to do with that very large community feel of the country), they become very excited to realize that I am (even if just a little) Irish :-)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Exhaustion is not man's best friend
Well we did arrive in Dublin eventually. Four days late and completely exhausted, my parents and I wandered around the Big Smoke for three days in a daze. I can honestly say that the few things I actually was able to see and do in that time I remember next to nothing of. And thus my noble plans of visiting Dublin crashed and burned not unlike Seattle in 1889.
Thus, the first week of our trip consisted solely of four days of traveling to Dublin and 3 days of walking like zombies around Dublin standing in touristy lines. Oh good fun! I think it may have been a better plan if we had just made up our mind to sleep for the first day and a half to catch up on our four days lacking sleep and be up-to-date with the time zone. Unfortunately, in our sleep deprived state, we did not realize the extent to which we were actually sleep deprived and, consequently, were not thinking of functioning at our prime.
The trip got a little better when we decided to give up on seeing everything in Dublin and start heading South. We went to County Wicklow. First on the list of things to see was Greystones and the house my dad was born in. It was amazing to wander around the city and, although my dad doesn't remember living there (he was only 4 when he left), it was fun to imagine him running up and down the street wreaking havoc with his brothers and sister. Greystones is a small beachside community, which is remarkably similar to the town I grew up in. Although Dad doesn't remember living there, I think his subconscious must have influenced his decision to move to our current home. Then we went to Powerscourt Estate, which my dad was under the mistaken impression was the estate his father grew up on and at which his paternal grandfather worked. Half a day of imagining my little grandfather running around with the cocker spaniel named Jack that we saw at the pet cemetery was for not when a visit with our Irish relatives informed us that the estate we were thinking of was Kilruddery. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit that estate, but there's just one more incentive for me to return!
Then we visited Glendaloch, which is an old monastic site and beautiful park grounds. Glendaloch was started by a hermit named St. Kevin, who loved nature and sleeping in caves. People thought his life was just fantastic and started moving there to join them, not realizing the irony in their actions.
Now, I was originally planning on departing from my parents at this point to start cycling on my own, but I was so far behind in my plans at this point that I decided to stay with my parents in an attempt to play catch-up with the car. We drove down the coast stopping at Wexford and staying at a really nice little farm hostel of the beaten track in New Ross. The couple that ran it was incredibly sweet and, surprise surprise, had lived in Vancouver for a good portion of their lives. The next morning we traveled South to the JFK Arboretum (beautiful grounds) and took a ferry across to Waterford to see the Waterford Crystal Factory, which is really not much more than a glorified shop, albeit a beautiful one. We stayed that night in Cashel (one of our more productive days driving-wise) and went to see the Rock of Cashel the next morning. The Rock was one of the things I wanted to see, but was going to cut out if I didn't have much time left. I'm so glad I didn't cut it! It was the most Irish-y and amazing things I'd seen up until that point. Amazing! I'd say to look up pictures, but it wouldn't do it justice.
The next day we drove down to Cork and wandered around town before booking into a hotel for the night and a much needed sleep. After leaving the next morning Cork (and spending a couple hours looking for a spare tube for my bike tire), we stopped in Blarney and kissed the Blarney Stone (yes, I realize the locals pee on it, but pee is sterile, right?), before setting my bike up. All of this took so long that my parents ended up driving me to the little town of Dripsey to stay at a B&B for the night.
Now you're all caught up and so am I :-)
Thus, the first week of our trip consisted solely of four days of traveling to Dublin and 3 days of walking like zombies around Dublin standing in touristy lines. Oh good fun! I think it may have been a better plan if we had just made up our mind to sleep for the first day and a half to catch up on our four days lacking sleep and be up-to-date with the time zone. Unfortunately, in our sleep deprived state, we did not realize the extent to which we were actually sleep deprived and, consequently, were not thinking of functioning at our prime.
The trip got a little better when we decided to give up on seeing everything in Dublin and start heading South. We went to County Wicklow. First on the list of things to see was Greystones and the house my dad was born in. It was amazing to wander around the city and, although my dad doesn't remember living there (he was only 4 when he left), it was fun to imagine him running up and down the street wreaking havoc with his brothers and sister. Greystones is a small beachside community, which is remarkably similar to the town I grew up in. Although Dad doesn't remember living there, I think his subconscious must have influenced his decision to move to our current home. Then we went to Powerscourt Estate, which my dad was under the mistaken impression was the estate his father grew up on and at which his paternal grandfather worked. Half a day of imagining my little grandfather running around with the cocker spaniel named Jack that we saw at the pet cemetery was for not when a visit with our Irish relatives informed us that the estate we were thinking of was Kilruddery. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit that estate, but there's just one more incentive for me to return!
Then we visited Glendaloch, which is an old monastic site and beautiful park grounds. Glendaloch was started by a hermit named St. Kevin, who loved nature and sleeping in caves. People thought his life was just fantastic and started moving there to join them, not realizing the irony in their actions.
Now, I was originally planning on departing from my parents at this point to start cycling on my own, but I was so far behind in my plans at this point that I decided to stay with my parents in an attempt to play catch-up with the car. We drove down the coast stopping at Wexford and staying at a really nice little farm hostel of the beaten track in New Ross. The couple that ran it was incredibly sweet and, surprise surprise, had lived in Vancouver for a good portion of their lives. The next morning we traveled South to the JFK Arboretum (beautiful grounds) and took a ferry across to Waterford to see the Waterford Crystal Factory, which is really not much more than a glorified shop, albeit a beautiful one. We stayed that night in Cashel (one of our more productive days driving-wise) and went to see the Rock of Cashel the next morning. The Rock was one of the things I wanted to see, but was going to cut out if I didn't have much time left. I'm so glad I didn't cut it! It was the most Irish-y and amazing things I'd seen up until that point. Amazing! I'd say to look up pictures, but it wouldn't do it justice.
The next day we drove down to Cork and wandered around town before booking into a hotel for the night and a much needed sleep. After leaving the next morning Cork (and spending a couple hours looking for a spare tube for my bike tire), we stopped in Blarney and kissed the Blarney Stone (yes, I realize the locals pee on it, but pee is sterile, right?), before setting my bike up. All of this took so long that my parents ended up driving me to the little town of Dripsey to stay at a B&B for the night.
Now you're all caught up and so am I :-)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seattle
Seattle surprised me. Prior to our unintended detour, the only time I had been to Seattle was in transit to someplace else. Consequently, my only memory of Seattle was a convoluted maze of highways criss-crossing above my head as I gazed bleary eyed out the window on a family roadtrip to Disney Land. I assumed we were downtown because the sign said Seattle, but after spending time in the city, I realize the city is nothing like the fast-paced metropolis I imagined it to be. It shares a lot of the same characteristics that I've grown up loving about Vancouver; it's laid back attitude, outdoor markets, yoga enthusiasts and hippies of all shapes and sizes (ie. vegan or simply vegetarian). I think my most joyous observation about Seattle was realizing that my favourite advice column, Savage Love, and my idol and favourite advice columnist, Dan Savage, both made there start on the streets of Seattle writing for The Stranger an alternative weekly newspaper. I had the great joy of reading his column from the original source and could barely make sense of it through my giddy jumping.
To pass the time in Seattle, other than visiting the mandatory Pike Place Market, my mom and I went on the Underground Tour. Apparently, Seattle has had a lot of historical....sewage....problems. When the settlers arrived there they were overjoyed to find a large expanse of uninhabited and unforested land with a beautiful seafront view. Little did they realize such ideal real estate was uninhabited for a very important reason. You see, the oceans have these things called tides and twice a day the sea level raises in an attempt to drive foreigners away. But these weren't just any tourists, they were pioneers and thus ridiculously stubborn. They found a slightly higher area with a coastal view and started to build a settlement there.
There wasn't much to do in this town to begin with due to the small area it encompassed, so people began to have children (one can only assume due to the monotany of being a pioneer) and the town began to grow. Luckily people's homes weren't flooded because they lived on the safety of a nearby hill and it was only the business district that was located down on the mudflats. Unfortunately, one of the icky things about natural history, as the novel so eliquently states, is that Everybody Poops. There is also gravity...gravity is another unfortunate element of this story. So we have everyone pooping up on the hill into tubes that flow into the sea, which is all well and good until the tide appear (no thanks to a certain celestial body orbiting a town, which shall not be named) and decides that it would rather not be covered in human defication, but would much prefer that it returned from whence it came. As a result, twice a day sea water and human waste would do exactly that through the lovely means of creating geysers pouring into the streets and through people's brand new Crappers into their homes. America's second Old Faithful.
The city's solution to this issue was to build the piping system one story up from sea level and hope that gravity would be in there favour. Luckily for the Seattle-ites, they were presented with just this opportunity when a fire burned down the downtown core. As everyone was rebuilding they made a plain looking store front at ground level and ritzy looking store fronts at the current level of the second floor. So you'd be walking around downtown Seattle back in the day and floating above your head would be all the stores you actually wanted to enter, but you were only able to look at them from afar and wait. Then they built up the streets around the sidewalks, so they were supported at second story level and created a labarynthian waffle of hidden pockets throughout the city's downtown area. Hence, the ever so fascinating Underground Tour.
It just goes to show how good urban planning makes for mind-numbing history books.
To pass the time in Seattle, other than visiting the mandatory Pike Place Market, my mom and I went on the Underground Tour. Apparently, Seattle has had a lot of historical....sewage....problems. When the settlers arrived there they were overjoyed to find a large expanse of uninhabited and unforested land with a beautiful seafront view. Little did they realize such ideal real estate was uninhabited for a very important reason. You see, the oceans have these things called tides and twice a day the sea level raises in an attempt to drive foreigners away. But these weren't just any tourists, they were pioneers and thus ridiculously stubborn. They found a slightly higher area with a coastal view and started to build a settlement there.
There wasn't much to do in this town to begin with due to the small area it encompassed, so people began to have children (one can only assume due to the monotany of being a pioneer) and the town began to grow. Luckily people's homes weren't flooded because they lived on the safety of a nearby hill and it was only the business district that was located down on the mudflats. Unfortunately, one of the icky things about natural history, as the novel so eliquently states, is that Everybody Poops. There is also gravity...gravity is another unfortunate element of this story. So we have everyone pooping up on the hill into tubes that flow into the sea, which is all well and good until the tide appear (no thanks to a certain celestial body orbiting a town, which shall not be named) and decides that it would rather not be covered in human defication, but would much prefer that it returned from whence it came. As a result, twice a day sea water and human waste would do exactly that through the lovely means of creating geysers pouring into the streets and through people's brand new Crappers into their homes. America's second Old Faithful.
The city's solution to this issue was to build the piping system one story up from sea level and hope that gravity would be in there favour. Luckily for the Seattle-ites, they were presented with just this opportunity when a fire burned down the downtown core. As everyone was rebuilding they made a plain looking store front at ground level and ritzy looking store fronts at the current level of the second floor. So you'd be walking around downtown Seattle back in the day and floating above your head would be all the stores you actually wanted to enter, but you were only able to look at them from afar and wait. Then they built up the streets around the sidewalks, so they were supported at second story level and created a labarynthian waffle of hidden pockets throughout the city's downtown area. Hence, the ever so fascinating Underground Tour.
It just goes to show how good urban planning makes for mind-numbing history books.
Monday, August 9, 2010
A Slight Delay
Saturday was absolutely horrible. We left the house late for the plane already, only to get up the hill from our house and have the windshield wipers cut out on our van. Fitting with the typical start of any family vacation, everybody has a different idea of what we should do: fix the wipers, go back and get the car (Petunia), or call a wonderfully considerate friend to drive us all the way to the airport in Seattle. Logically, we decide to do all three of our potential solutions and end up leaving the house for take two of our adventures about an hour late with myself and the giant bike box cramped in the back of Petunia.
An hour trough the border line up and an hour lost in traffic later, we arrive at the airport only to have missed the special baggage check-in by 7 minutes. Ok, it really sucks, but we can book another flight out leaving tomorrow...not so much. There's one leaving in two days for $1000 extra per ticket or the cost of the original return tickets. Let the fighting and consequent tears ensue!
After hours of this and finally grabbing something to eat, we decided to stay in Seattle over night and work on getting a better flight in the morning (apparently all the experienced people work the day shifts, so if you ever miss your flight, call the helpline in the daytime). We end up staying in the oh-so wittily named Sleep Inn with it's chemical infused rooms and exotic view of Seattle's finest trailer park. I don't mean to be unsympathetic towards the plight of it's inhabitants, but there are people all over the world who live in trailer parks and shanty towns who maintain there yards and show pride in their, hopefully temporary, homes.
Anyway, after a fitfilled night of something resembling sleep in every way, except sight, sound, smell, taste and feel, we woke up to the joy of waiting on hold for hours trying to arrange a new flight with Delta. The lovely people on the other end of the line were very helpful and we were able to book a new, albeit convoluted, route to Dublin. We leave Seattle tomorrow for Atlanta and should arrive (fingers crossed and hold thumbs) in Dublin on the 11th.
So, today was spent in Seattle and we'll just have to chock that up to an extended and unexpected addition to my graduation gift; I'll just have to cycle faster in the motherland.
Our Seattle adventures were experienced through the bleary, swollen eyes of last night's sleep. We visited Madison Market for lunch and a little grocery shopping. I still hold that chocolate cake is at it's best when vegan! Then booked into the Mayflower Park Hotel, the staff of which were lovely and helped me carry a giant bike box into their storage area. Then we went on to explore the famous Pike Place Market and see the first ever Starbucks. History in the making ;-) Ending the pleasant, but from hour one exhausting day @ our hotel restaurant.
I now write to you from the hotel lounge sipping a very Irish coffee and hoping the server comes by to dilute it with the caffinated beaverage Seattle has helped make famous. Salut!
An hour trough the border line up and an hour lost in traffic later, we arrive at the airport only to have missed the special baggage check-in by 7 minutes. Ok, it really sucks, but we can book another flight out leaving tomorrow...not so much. There's one leaving in two days for $1000 extra per ticket or the cost of the original return tickets. Let the fighting and consequent tears ensue!
After hours of this and finally grabbing something to eat, we decided to stay in Seattle over night and work on getting a better flight in the morning (apparently all the experienced people work the day shifts, so if you ever miss your flight, call the helpline in the daytime). We end up staying in the oh-so wittily named Sleep Inn with it's chemical infused rooms and exotic view of Seattle's finest trailer park. I don't mean to be unsympathetic towards the plight of it's inhabitants, but there are people all over the world who live in trailer parks and shanty towns who maintain there yards and show pride in their, hopefully temporary, homes.
Anyway, after a fitfilled night of something resembling sleep in every way, except sight, sound, smell, taste and feel, we woke up to the joy of waiting on hold for hours trying to arrange a new flight with Delta. The lovely people on the other end of the line were very helpful and we were able to book a new, albeit convoluted, route to Dublin. We leave Seattle tomorrow for Atlanta and should arrive (fingers crossed and hold thumbs) in Dublin on the 11th.
So, today was spent in Seattle and we'll just have to chock that up to an extended and unexpected addition to my graduation gift; I'll just have to cycle faster in the motherland.
Our Seattle adventures were experienced through the bleary, swollen eyes of last night's sleep. We visited Madison Market for lunch and a little grocery shopping. I still hold that chocolate cake is at it's best when vegan! Then booked into the Mayflower Park Hotel, the staff of which were lovely and helped me carry a giant bike box into their storage area. Then we went on to explore the famous Pike Place Market and see the first ever Starbucks. History in the making ;-) Ending the pleasant, but from hour one exhausting day @ our hotel restaurant.
I now write to you from the hotel lounge sipping a very Irish coffee and hoping the server comes by to dilute it with the caffinated beaverage Seattle has helped make famous. Salut!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Crowdsourcing
I don't usually link to things, but this is exactly why I love the internet...
http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc2010crowdsourcing.php
http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc2010crowdsourcing.php
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Obnoxious people have to eat, too
Working in a restaurant is making me both pleasingly optimistic and dishearteningly pessimistic about humanity. I am continually amazed by how frequently I have to swtich between sharing pleasant banter with lovely, conscientious people and having to smile through gritted teeth while people make unrealistic demands of me in a rude and aggressive manner.
Tonight I was working on the floor as a hostess. We had one late reservation that was supposed to come in at 8:30 and our kitchen was scheduled to be closed at 9. By 8:50, this party of 9 people still hadn't showed up, so I called them to see if they were still coming or if the kitchen could close early. They said they were on their way. 10 minutes, they claimed. 9:10 and there was still no sign of them. 9:15 and I get a call saying they don't know where the restaurant is located. 10 minutes after giving them directions, they finally show up. After taking them to their seat they immediately ask if they can move to a window seat. Keeping in mind that they are at one of the best tables we can five for a party that is that large. I tell them all the usual jargon, which mainly consists of there are people at those tables, are you blind? At this point they grugingly sit down...
...for all of two seconds. Five of them (because it is necessary for five people to be blocking the hallways and disturbing other customres) begin to wander around the restaurant presumably looking to see if people are finishing their food and if this party can then proceed to move to their tables. They spot one table, formerly a party of 9, but currently with only 2 people left sitting at it enjoying a bottle of wine. Delighted they turn to me and ask why they can't move to that table, since there are only two people sitting at it. They want me to go over to this couple having a romantic moment with their bottle of wine and ask them to leave the restaurant or at the very least move to another table because a group of people would rather be one table closer to the window.
All of this blows my mind, but the real kicker here is that after a second of staring at them with incredulity and just before a confused "no" rolls off my tongue, it occurs to me...they are serious. They actually think that a restaurant is going to kick people out of their seats to seat a party that showed up an hour late for their reservation and has come to the conclusion that they deserve nothing but the best seat in the restaurant, occupied or not.
That, in a nutshell, is the source of my daily dose of pessimism, but the world would not be in balance if something lovely didn't happen to tip the scale, level the playing field, create...balance. Right after dealing with our lovely belated party, I answer the phone only to speak with this yin. It was just a girl calling to ask if we were still open, so she and her boyfriend could come in for drinks. A simple call, yes, but it was the fact that she was thoughtful enough to ask if by them coming by for drinks they would disrupt our closing time that tugged at my heart strings and renews my faith in mankind.
It seems ridiculous how such a small act of kindness can cancel out over an hour of dealing with people that blatantly have no respect for you or anyone else around them. A smile from a stranger cancels out whole week of abuse. It sounds cheesey mostly because it is, but people like cheese. It makes everything taste a little better.
Tonight I was working on the floor as a hostess. We had one late reservation that was supposed to come in at 8:30 and our kitchen was scheduled to be closed at 9. By 8:50, this party of 9 people still hadn't showed up, so I called them to see if they were still coming or if the kitchen could close early. They said they were on their way. 10 minutes, they claimed. 9:10 and there was still no sign of them. 9:15 and I get a call saying they don't know where the restaurant is located. 10 minutes after giving them directions, they finally show up. After taking them to their seat they immediately ask if they can move to a window seat. Keeping in mind that they are at one of the best tables we can five for a party that is that large. I tell them all the usual jargon, which mainly consists of there are people at those tables, are you blind? At this point they grugingly sit down...
...for all of two seconds. Five of them (because it is necessary for five people to be blocking the hallways and disturbing other customres) begin to wander around the restaurant presumably looking to see if people are finishing their food and if this party can then proceed to move to their tables. They spot one table, formerly a party of 9, but currently with only 2 people left sitting at it enjoying a bottle of wine. Delighted they turn to me and ask why they can't move to that table, since there are only two people sitting at it. They want me to go over to this couple having a romantic moment with their bottle of wine and ask them to leave the restaurant or at the very least move to another table because a group of people would rather be one table closer to the window.
All of this blows my mind, but the real kicker here is that after a second of staring at them with incredulity and just before a confused "no" rolls off my tongue, it occurs to me...they are serious. They actually think that a restaurant is going to kick people out of their seats to seat a party that showed up an hour late for their reservation and has come to the conclusion that they deserve nothing but the best seat in the restaurant, occupied or not.
That, in a nutshell, is the source of my daily dose of pessimism, but the world would not be in balance if something lovely didn't happen to tip the scale, level the playing field, create...balance. Right after dealing with our lovely belated party, I answer the phone only to speak with this yin. It was just a girl calling to ask if we were still open, so she and her boyfriend could come in for drinks. A simple call, yes, but it was the fact that she was thoughtful enough to ask if by them coming by for drinks they would disrupt our closing time that tugged at my heart strings and renews my faith in mankind.
It seems ridiculous how such a small act of kindness can cancel out over an hour of dealing with people that blatantly have no respect for you or anyone else around them. A smile from a stranger cancels out whole week of abuse. It sounds cheesey mostly because it is, but people like cheese. It makes everything taste a little better.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Changes
As you can see from the changes to my sidebar and the post below, I have revamped the outdated observations on South Africa. But I still wanted to keep them around, so I saved them below.
Let me know what you think about the new list topic :-) I thought it was fitting for this intermediate stage of my life.
Let me know what you think about the new list topic :-) I thought it was fitting for this intermediate stage of my life.
Things which are weird about SA by one Canadian’s standards anyway
Laundry machines are a rarity (from what I’ve heard at least), as a result I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid doing laundry
Driving on the left side of the road…I know this isn’t that weird, but I’ve never had to make such a conscious effort to walk on the left side of the sidewalk. The second I start thinking about something else I walk into people
Milk comes in bags…I know this happens in Canada, too, but I’m from the west coast, so just shut up about it
University residence is called a hostel, which makes for many a confusing conversation when I tell people I’m homeless and staying in a hostel. Hostels are called backpacker’s lodges.
Guys hold doors open for you, but they don’t just hold them open they will go out of their way to hold them open. Example: if they go through a door and you are a 30 second walk away from said door…they will stand, with the door open, and wait for you to make the 30 second trek. Also, they seemed creeped out when I try to hold the door open for them.
Woolworths still exists.
My bank should not be texting me, especially at 7 in the morning, even more especially with smiley faces in the messages. This does not make me feel as though my money is secure.
Boys dance...enough said
Baboons are seagulls...or something like that
Weighing your produce prior to waiting in line at the checkout. I always forget to do this when it's really busy...never when I'm the only one in line, no I have to just hold the entire line up...I'm that chick
People don't swear that often and it's rubbing off...every time I swear it kind of shocks me
They are geniuses when it comes to chocolate bars, possibly because I really like wafer bars. Example: I am eating a Tex bar which combines everything that’s right about a KitKat with everything that’s right about an Aero
It makes my feet shrink. I was a size 9, but now I'm only a 6
People say "shame" in a non-sarcastic manner
I lied about the swearing thing...that's just the people I hang out with. My roommate and his friends swear a lot. In a funny way though 'cause they say kak and fok instead of real swears :P
Despite everything you learned on the Canadian Food guide, chicken is a vegetable. As such it is a cultural faux pas to bring some to a braai
Now, now now, just now, and right now are all different gradations of time relative to the present, none of which means this exact second.
I can't believe I didn't put this up earlier, but traffic lights are robots
Driving on the left side of the road…I know this isn’t that weird, but I’ve never had to make such a conscious effort to walk on the left side of the sidewalk. The second I start thinking about something else I walk into people
Milk comes in bags…I know this happens in Canada, too, but I’m from the west coast, so just shut up about it
University residence is called a hostel, which makes for many a confusing conversation when I tell people I’m homeless and staying in a hostel. Hostels are called backpacker’s lodges.
Guys hold doors open for you, but they don’t just hold them open they will go out of their way to hold them open. Example: if they go through a door and you are a 30 second walk away from said door…they will stand, with the door open, and wait for you to make the 30 second trek. Also, they seemed creeped out when I try to hold the door open for them.
Woolworths still exists.
My bank should not be texting me, especially at 7 in the morning, even more especially with smiley faces in the messages. This does not make me feel as though my money is secure.
Boys dance...enough said
Baboons are seagulls...or something like that
Weighing your produce prior to waiting in line at the checkout. I always forget to do this when it's really busy...never when I'm the only one in line, no I have to just hold the entire line up...I'm that chick
People don't swear that often and it's rubbing off...every time I swear it kind of shocks me
They are geniuses when it comes to chocolate bars, possibly because I really like wafer bars. Example: I am eating a Tex bar which combines everything that’s right about a KitKat with everything that’s right about an Aero
It makes my feet shrink. I was a size 9, but now I'm only a 6
People say "shame" in a non-sarcastic manner
I lied about the swearing thing...that's just the people I hang out with. My roommate and his friends swear a lot. In a funny way though 'cause they say kak and fok instead of real swears :P
Despite everything you learned on the Canadian Food guide, chicken is a vegetable. As such it is a cultural faux pas to bring some to a braai
Now, now now, just now, and right now are all different gradations of time relative to the present, none of which means this exact second.
I can't believe I didn't put this up earlier, but traffic lights are robots
Friday, May 28, 2010
Boyz Under the Hood
I learned something interesting about the male of our increasingly fascinating species. If they don't know something about cars (ie. a thing which by gender they are supposed to be knowledgeable), they will attempt to blame their ignorance on everything except that despite all evidence to the contrary. I'm not sure why or even if this surprises me, but let's at least say that is says something interesting about the role men think they need to play in our society.
Last night when I was leaving work, I realized that I am an idiot and as a result of my idiocy my car battery is dead. Luckily the servers I work with were having a private rock concert in the restaurant after hours, so I was able to get one of the servers to provide me with their car and unwanted confusion about my own car. This confusion arose quickly after popping the hood of my shiny 1991 sedan of which "all the computers" made charging the battery impossible with the presumably classic technology of jumper cables.
Now I may sound a little harsh and I do really appreciate all the effort this guy put into helping me try to jump my car. My issue is only with the fact that instead of just admitting he didn't know what to do, he blamed it on the "computers" in the car and didn't listen when I tried to convince him that there is no way my 1991 vehicle has computers that would get in the way when it doesn't even have a CD player.
But then my father came to my rescue and I was able to sleep safely at home with little Petunia cozy in the drive way. There's something about the successful fertilization of an egg that turns these males into superheroes, but without the magic powers. In other words, it turns them into Batman. What is it about fathers that make them able to do anything?
Maybe this is why all guys feel the need to be geniuses about their stereotypical interests.
Last night when I was leaving work, I realized that I am an idiot and as a result of my idiocy my car battery is dead. Luckily the servers I work with were having a private rock concert in the restaurant after hours, so I was able to get one of the servers to provide me with their car and unwanted confusion about my own car. This confusion arose quickly after popping the hood of my shiny 1991 sedan of which "all the computers" made charging the battery impossible with the presumably classic technology of jumper cables.
Now I may sound a little harsh and I do really appreciate all the effort this guy put into helping me try to jump my car. My issue is only with the fact that instead of just admitting he didn't know what to do, he blamed it on the "computers" in the car and didn't listen when I tried to convince him that there is no way my 1991 vehicle has computers that would get in the way when it doesn't even have a CD player.
But then my father came to my rescue and I was able to sleep safely at home with little Petunia cozy in the drive way. There's something about the successful fertilization of an egg that turns these males into superheroes, but without the magic powers. In other words, it turns them into Batman. What is it about fathers that make them able to do anything?
Maybe this is why all guys feel the need to be geniuses about their stereotypical interests.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunny Daze
The sky was as gray as five month old bread
The ground was as wet as the sea
The wind howled like a cat left unfed
Another day in Vancouver for me
The ground was as wet as the sea
The wind howled like a cat left unfed
Another day in Vancouver for me
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Freedom...kinda
Hello, friends! I am in a fantastic mood today :-) I had my last exam last night and now I'm free to be confused about the rest of my life. Ahh decisions, how I both love and hate you!
In other news that some of you may already know, but I'm planning on cycling around Ireland when I go to visit. I was talking to girl in one of my classes, because she's planning on cycling around Turkey with her brother and friend this summer, about the merits of cycling as a form of travel. Now I'm fully motivated that I should do the same for Ireland. Granted, I'm not the best cyclist (mostly because I often forget that I own a bike and hence never use it), but I calculated how much I would need to do each day for the rough route I want to take. I would only need to average 42km a day. So I figure, I've hiked that far in a day, I must be able to cycle it with some training.
And thus begins the long distance cycling training plan that I developed for myself based on the information Google provided me :-) If you'd like to join me in my quest for numbing my bum to the pain that is bicycle seats, I'll post each week's plan on here. Although there might be mid-week changes if I was too optimistic in the beginning. So here goes...
Week 1
Sunday - 20 min
Monday - 30 min
Tuesday - 20 min
Wednesday - 40 min
Thursday - 20 min
Friday - 50 min
Saturday - 20 min
Sunday - 1 hour :S
In other news that some of you may already know, but I'm planning on cycling around Ireland when I go to visit. I was talking to girl in one of my classes, because she's planning on cycling around Turkey with her brother and friend this summer, about the merits of cycling as a form of travel. Now I'm fully motivated that I should do the same for Ireland. Granted, I'm not the best cyclist (mostly because I often forget that I own a bike and hence never use it), but I calculated how much I would need to do each day for the rough route I want to take. I would only need to average 42km a day. So I figure, I've hiked that far in a day, I must be able to cycle it with some training.
And thus begins the long distance cycling training plan that I developed for myself based on the information Google provided me :-) If you'd like to join me in my quest for numbing my bum to the pain that is bicycle seats, I'll post each week's plan on here. Although there might be mid-week changes if I was too optimistic in the beginning. So here goes...
Week 1
Sunday - 20 min
Monday - 30 min
Tuesday - 20 min
Wednesday - 40 min
Thursday - 20 min
Friday - 50 min
Saturday - 20 min
Sunday - 1 hour :S
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Alice
I went to go see Alice in Wonderland tonight as a break from not getting any studying done. It's funny how movies can affect you in ways unrelated to their plot (or maybe that's just me), especially when you go see them by yourself. I don't usually feel affected by movies more than acknowledging an overall sense of "like" or "dislike". And I would like to point out that the fact that Alice made me think more than just that doesn't necessarily mean that it was a particularly fantastic movie as the last movie to do this was Space Chimps (although I did like Alice).
When I left the movie theater I felt as though I had gone down the rabbit hole, too. Everything seemed fake; surreal. It was all too perfect, all too strange. The flowers were plastic. Houses were too skinny or too short. Even the moon didn't really exist, just a silhouette sprayed onto a dark canvas. I was dreaming. Watching myself. I was spinning and walking and standing perfectly still. I was watching clouds change shape two feet from me as I lay on a carpet of grass infected with buttercups.
I wanted to do exactly what I wanted to do and new that I would, despite not knowing what any of that was.
Maybe I'm just feeling particularly introspective tonight, but that 10 minute walk home made me feel less terrified about graduating with no plans.
When I left the movie theater I felt as though I had gone down the rabbit hole, too. Everything seemed fake; surreal. It was all too perfect, all too strange. The flowers were plastic. Houses were too skinny or too short. Even the moon didn't really exist, just a silhouette sprayed onto a dark canvas. I was dreaming. Watching myself. I was spinning and walking and standing perfectly still. I was watching clouds change shape two feet from me as I lay on a carpet of grass infected with buttercups.
I wanted to do exactly what I wanted to do and new that I would, despite not knowing what any of that was.
Maybe I'm just feeling particularly introspective tonight, but that 10 minute walk home made me feel less terrified about graduating with no plans.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Fa...bulous
For the past month or two I've felt that I over use the word fantastic. It's gotten to the point that the word has lost all meaning to me...like cool or sustainable. The worst part is that I can no longer use the term for its true meaning (ie. unbelievable or within the realm of fantasty) because people don't get that I've switched meanings and it results in a good deal of explanatino to get my point across. Unfortunately, you can't very well downgrade from fantastic. You can't just switch back to your monotonous life before fantastic and walk around saying things like "That movie was good. The character development was really nice." It just doesn't work. Doesn't have the same umph.
The thing is that I only seem to notice the overuse when it's too late. I'll be at my fourth fantastic of the conversation and something will click. It's as if my brain stem, as well as controlling my subconcious processes, has evolved to take on the additonal (get it?) task of tallying my fantastics. Once it has reached its fantastic capacity it causes all speech to stop and the rest of my brain begins the intimidating task of thinking of a replacement word. However, riffling through the lexicon of my mind takes a bit of time and, generally, I've already made it to fa- by the time we need to look for another word... Another word equivalent to fantastic and starting with fa...
Fabulous! Now there's nothing wrong with fabulous. It's a good word. I like it, but when you start to replace your overuse of fantastic with an overuse and kind of forced sounding fabulous, it doesn't always come across the way you would like. For example, describing a movie like Greece 2 as fabulous has a vastly different meaning to describing it as fantastic.
And thus lies my dilema: which is better, being the irritating girl that overuses fantastic or being strangely homophobic?
The thing is that I only seem to notice the overuse when it's too late. I'll be at my fourth fantastic of the conversation and something will click. It's as if my brain stem, as well as controlling my subconcious processes, has evolved to take on the additonal (get it?) task of tallying my fantastics. Once it has reached its fantastic capacity it causes all speech to stop and the rest of my brain begins the intimidating task of thinking of a replacement word. However, riffling through the lexicon of my mind takes a bit of time and, generally, I've already made it to fa- by the time we need to look for another word... Another word equivalent to fantastic and starting with fa...
Fabulous! Now there's nothing wrong with fabulous. It's a good word. I like it, but when you start to replace your overuse of fantastic with an overuse and kind of forced sounding fabulous, it doesn't always come across the way you would like. For example, describing a movie like Greece 2 as fabulous has a vastly different meaning to describing it as fantastic.
And thus lies my dilema: which is better, being the irritating girl that overuses fantastic or being strangely homophobic?
Monday, April 12, 2010
,KDJ;F GO9E
I just finished my thesis!!!!! YAY! Now I can get back to more important things like updating my beloved blog and planning my trip to Ireland, which I just realized you don't know about, but my parents are sending me to Ireland for as long as I can afford to be there as my graduation present and now you're all caught up :-) Oh and I cut a good portion of my hair off...now you're really all caught up.
Time for celebratory cake!!!!
Time for celebratory cake!!!!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
I saw a girl waiting for the bus
She was sitting on someone's lap.
At first, I thought they were a monster.
At first, I thought they were a monster.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A Million
A mother dies trying to save her baby boy.
A martyr dies for his cause.
And we weep.
And we feel the pain of their love as we love.
A million people die in a flood in China.
A million people are killed in gas chambers in Europe.
And we wait.
And we remain unaffected by their love.
How can you comprehend the deaths of millions?
How can one alone be greater?
We want to cry.
We want to be upset.
Because we know we should be.
Because we want to understand.
A million people can't die.
A million people don't even exist.
It's all a corporate scam.
It's all a conspiracy theory.
A martyr dies for his cause.
And we weep.
And we feel the pain of their love as we love.
A million people die in a flood in China.
A million people are killed in gas chambers in Europe.
And we wait.
And we remain unaffected by their love.
How can you comprehend the deaths of millions?
How can one alone be greater?
We want to cry.
We want to be upset.
Because we know we should be.
Because we want to understand.
A million people can't die.
A million people don't even exist.
It's all a corporate scam.
It's all a conspiracy theory.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
I love my country
I'm currently banning myself from the internet, but I just learned something that I feel needs to be shared.
If you Google "hot Canadian prime ministers" (don't ask) the first thing that comes up is the wikipedia entry on poutine...
Epic.
If you Google "hot Canadian prime ministers" (don't ask) the first thing that comes up is the wikipedia entry on poutine...
Epic.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Page Fright
My roommate and I were talking about authors that we like as well as reading/writing in general and, in this process, she recommended a book called Page Fright to me. It's about the random things writers do to get themselves to write. All the habits and paranoid routine they follow to get them inspired.
I started reading it a couple of days ago and I just got to a part where the author is quoting various famous writers talking about their feelings when confronted with a blank page. Now, when I think about famous writers or when I read famous books, they make it seem to easy. They seem so easily inspired and able to make me realize things about the world and myself so effortlessly. I suppose at heart I know this isn't true. Writing is incredibly difficult. How can you put into words feelings and experiences that just are and cannot be described?
I've always kind of wanted to be a writer. When I was 9 or 10 I dreamed of being a journalist. I've always loved reading and to this day think that being able to write a good book would be one of the most precious things I can do in this world. But (and there's always a but) I don't think I'm a very good writer. Or at least, I've had nothing inspire me, no "Ah ha!" moment, if I may use an extremely annoying Opera quote.
Then I read all these quotes by people, whose writing I really admire, saying how when confronted with a blank page or the need to actually sit down at their desk and just start writing, they are filled with terror. They become completely overwhelmed both physically and psychologically. On some level this inspires me because it means that they are just like me, but the thing is...they're not. They're amazing writers and if they don't know how to start, what chance do I have. Where do I start?
The answer I suppose is you just...start.
I started reading it a couple of days ago and I just got to a part where the author is quoting various famous writers talking about their feelings when confronted with a blank page. Now, when I think about famous writers or when I read famous books, they make it seem to easy. They seem so easily inspired and able to make me realize things about the world and myself so effortlessly. I suppose at heart I know this isn't true. Writing is incredibly difficult. How can you put into words feelings and experiences that just are and cannot be described?
I've always kind of wanted to be a writer. When I was 9 or 10 I dreamed of being a journalist. I've always loved reading and to this day think that being able to write a good book would be one of the most precious things I can do in this world. But (and there's always a but) I don't think I'm a very good writer. Or at least, I've had nothing inspire me, no "Ah ha!" moment, if I may use an extremely annoying Opera quote.
Then I read all these quotes by people, whose writing I really admire, saying how when confronted with a blank page or the need to actually sit down at their desk and just start writing, they are filled with terror. They become completely overwhelmed both physically and psychologically. On some level this inspires me because it means that they are just like me, but the thing is...they're not. They're amazing writers and if they don't know how to start, what chance do I have. Where do I start?
The answer I suppose is you just...start.
Monday, February 1, 2010
This is a little late, but
the irony in all of my sleeping over adventures is that I ended up spending more on coffee the next day than I would have spent had I just gone home and then bussed back in the morning
Friday, January 29, 2010
8:01
I don't know why I hedged! I knew I wanted bacon. I wanted bacon since last night. You should always go for bacon, but then the guy in front of me got sausage and I just hadn't considered sausage since I was all for the bacon! So I got sausage and have regretted it ever since.
7:09
Success! I have slept!
Finding a spot was significantly harder than I anticipated. Either my memory is shot or they moved all the comfortable couches out of all the hidden away nooks while I was gone. I ended up just going to the undergraduate society office and sleeping on one of the couches in there. At first when I got to the office, I thought there was already someone sleeping there, the pile of blankets was so high! Then all I could think was "Blankets!!! Those things are so much more comfortable than my coat!" Then I slept under my coat anyway due to the "you don't know where that's been" factor (not sure why this factor was considered at all, but it seemed logical at 3am)
Despite my luxurious sleeping quarters, I must now go in search of coffee and food and coffee.
Finding a spot was significantly harder than I anticipated. Either my memory is shot or they moved all the comfortable couches out of all the hidden away nooks while I was gone. I ended up just going to the undergraduate society office and sleeping on one of the couches in there. At first when I got to the office, I thought there was already someone sleeping there, the pile of blankets was so high! Then all I could think was "Blankets!!! Those things are so much more comfortable than my coat!" Then I slept under my coat anyway due to the "you don't know where that's been" factor (not sure why this factor was considered at all, but it seemed logical at 3am)
Despite my luxurious sleeping quarters, I must now go in search of coffee and food and coffee.
3:08
So tired. I think it's time to stop reading and call it a night. I'm going to go make myself a little nest on the second floor, so I can sleep uninterrupted until a bit later. Hopefully I'll get a good 4 hours, but I'll be happy with 3.5...tomorrow's friday after all. Looking forward to a Timmy's breakfast and coffee (mmm coffee) in the morning along witha new 24 crossword *sigh*
1:32
Evil people are talking to me about food. I will begin to scrounge after I finish this article...must finish article. Damn article talking about delicious fish...
1:24
There's nobody here.
The lights keep turning off 'cause my typing doesn't consititute me moving as though I'm a living thing.
The lights keep turning off 'cause my typing doesn't consititute me moving as though I'm a living thing.
12:55
I'm back in forestry...that break lasted significantly longer than intended. Oh, well I'll just have to read my next fish article extrafast.
The good news (kinda) is that I think I figured out where my U-pass could be. When I was coming to campus for the second time today. I was talking on the phone with a friend as the bus pulled up and I had the pass in my hand. Then the doors of the bus wouldn't open. The driver pushed a button and "pshhhh"...nothing. Again and "pshhhh"...nothing. "Pshhhh" nothing. So we were just staring at each other for a while with a confused look. And I'm trying to talk to my friend on the phone and mime communication to the bus driver through the door. I still had my U-pass at this point, but then I had to go to the back of the bus to get in and I was going to the front (still talking to my friend) and the bus driver waved me away, so I just sat down. But it was all very confusing and I think somewhere amidst the miming and talking and "pshhh"-ing and general sense of confusion, the pass was lost. Therefore, it's probably not at the UBC Carding office, but very possibly at the Translink Lost and Found, which I shall call tomorrow :-)
The good news (kinda) is that I think I figured out where my U-pass could be. When I was coming to campus for the second time today. I was talking on the phone with a friend as the bus pulled up and I had the pass in my hand. Then the doors of the bus wouldn't open. The driver pushed a button and "pshhhh"...nothing. Again and "pshhhh"...nothing. "Pshhhh" nothing. So we were just staring at each other for a while with a confused look. And I'm trying to talk to my friend on the phone and mime communication to the bus driver through the door. I still had my U-pass at this point, but then I had to go to the back of the bus to get in and I was going to the front (still talking to my friend) and the bus driver waved me away, so I just sat down. But it was all very confusing and I think somewhere amidst the miming and talking and "pshhh"-ing and general sense of confusion, the pass was lost. Therefore, it's probably not at the UBC Carding office, but very possibly at the Translink Lost and Found, which I shall call tomorrow :-)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
10:08
It took me a good 90 minutes, but I read one article for my fish class. To be fair to myself, I did manage to check my email 50 +/-2 times in those 90 minutes as well, so it wasn't all wasted on fish. After all that hard work, I'm going to take a coffee/rockband break and go visit a friend before reading my second fish article :-)
The unthinkable has happened...
I have lost my u-pass (bus pass for the nobody that reads this blog and doesn't know what that is). Hopefully this is just a temporary dilema, but I am unable/too cheap/too impoverished to pay the $5 it will take me to get home and back without it tonight. Consequently, I am going to sleep in the forestry building at uni and hopefully manage to get some work done. I've told three or so people of my plans to sleep/stay here tonight and everybody seems so against the idea. It's not as though I'm the first person to sleep at school. Some people are just no fun!
Whatever they say, I'm going to do it. And here shall rest the chronicles of my adventures...
Whatever they say, I'm going to do it. And here shall rest the chronicles of my adventures...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Poverty strikes... as per usual
I've been trying to maintain the active social life I had in South Africa, but it is significantly more financially... unpropritious here than it was there. Now, I realize that I've been MIA for a year, but I refuse to believe that inflation is really this bad. As with everything, I'm going to blame it on the Olympics, but, unlike the rest of my accusations, I feel this one is at least somewhat founded. For example, a beer that used to be about $4 in a pub, is now closer to $6. That's a 50% increase in price in a year! Madness!
I suppose it has been worth it, since I haven't seen my friends in a year and would like to spend time with them. I'm sure it will settle down in a bit, so I should just enjoy it while I can! Also, there were a few places that I really wanted to go to since I've been back. The Yale is a rhythm and blues bar with a fantastic house band (Brickhouse...Youtube is your friend) and it's one of my favourite places to go out in Vancouver. It's super chill and very unVancouveresque or possible very Vancouver, just Vancouver in the 1880s when it first opened. That and my other favourite bar, the Fringe, which is very...Jack Kerouac-esque and thus fantastic! They're the kind of places that are few and far between in our world of Lady Gaga and Britney, and I missed them greatly. So, I suppose, it's worth the economic strain.
Despite my own miniature financial crisis (based entirely on the Olympics and not my own inability to control my spending), the Olympics are kind of growing on me. They reopened the ice skating rink under Robson square and they often have live music playing beside it. They are also having a lot of free concerts and events around Vancouver during the Olympics. Hopefully all the free entertainment next month will make up for my overspending this month. It's all about balance... and free stuff. Oh, student life... how I will miss you!
I suppose it has been worth it, since I haven't seen my friends in a year and would like to spend time with them. I'm sure it will settle down in a bit, so I should just enjoy it while I can! Also, there were a few places that I really wanted to go to since I've been back. The Yale is a rhythm and blues bar with a fantastic house band (Brickhouse...Youtube is your friend) and it's one of my favourite places to go out in Vancouver. It's super chill and very unVancouveresque or possible very Vancouver, just Vancouver in the 1880s when it first opened. That and my other favourite bar, the Fringe, which is very...Jack Kerouac-esque and thus fantastic! They're the kind of places that are few and far between in our world of Lady Gaga and Britney, and I missed them greatly. So, I suppose, it's worth the economic strain.
Despite my own miniature financial crisis (based entirely on the Olympics and not my own inability to control my spending), the Olympics are kind of growing on me. They reopened the ice skating rink under Robson square and they often have live music playing beside it. They are also having a lot of free concerts and events around Vancouver during the Olympics. Hopefully all the free entertainment next month will make up for my overspending this month. It's all about balance... and free stuff. Oh, student life... how I will miss you!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
School Daze
First of all I need to apologize to my one or so reader, I've been kak at updating this blog, especially since I got back from SA and I'm going to try to be better at it (watch this be my last entry for the next 6 months...knock on wood).
Now that that's out of the way, I can tell you about what's been going on in my life. Mostly just school and catching up with friends I haven't seen for a year. This is my last semester, if all goes as planned, of my undergrad and probably the most relaxing semester I've ever had. Although in hindsight this is only because I chose to take 6 classes every other term of my university career. I'm only taking 3 real classes (remote sensing, fish 2, consevation policy) and doing a thesis.
On the class department, so far so good. I've been the most organized I've ever been and have mapped out when I'm going to work on every project I have. We'll see how long that lasts...
Remote sensing is my favourite class. The first day we learned why the sky is blue, whcih I kind of already knew (ie. light scattering on particles in the atmosphere), but not to the extent of why blue and not some other colour. Although my friend tells me that we learned this in high school geography...minor detail. Another perk is that my prof is Australian and hilarious, which makes listening to him all the more interesting and means that I don't zone out every 20 minutes (the threshold for the human attention span). The actual subject matter is pretty fantastic as well; I love messing around on the computer with technology I barely understand! I usually end up understanding it a lot better than just if told what to do.
My fish class is pretty interesting, but very similar to the first fish class. Obviously it's more advanced, but the teacher's the same, so it kind of just feels like an extention of the third year course.
Conservation policy is...incredible aggravating. I like the prof, but most of the people in that class had him for "Foundations of Conservation" with me and hated him. I can kind of understand it, he tends to play Devil's advocate and bring up contentious issues. While I do find this interesting to a certain extent, people tend to personally attack him for this method and he just goes with their attacks, so that the class goes in circles and nothing gets resolved. For example, the past two classes all we've talked about his how we can never harm future generations because they don't exist yet. So, whatever policy we do create, be it good or bad, will change what future generation is created, but not harm that future generation in itself. See what I mean? Really interesting, but not worth 3 hours of discussion. Well, that's not entirely true... It's probably worth more discussion, but not within the scope of everything else we need to cover in the class.
Ok that's all for today, but I'll let you know about things other than school tomorrow :-)
Now that that's out of the way, I can tell you about what's been going on in my life. Mostly just school and catching up with friends I haven't seen for a year. This is my last semester, if all goes as planned, of my undergrad and probably the most relaxing semester I've ever had. Although in hindsight this is only because I chose to take 6 classes every other term of my university career. I'm only taking 3 real classes (remote sensing, fish 2, consevation policy) and doing a thesis.
On the class department, so far so good. I've been the most organized I've ever been and have mapped out when I'm going to work on every project I have. We'll see how long that lasts...
Remote sensing is my favourite class. The first day we learned why the sky is blue, whcih I kind of already knew (ie. light scattering on particles in the atmosphere), but not to the extent of why blue and not some other colour. Although my friend tells me that we learned this in high school geography...minor detail. Another perk is that my prof is Australian and hilarious, which makes listening to him all the more interesting and means that I don't zone out every 20 minutes (the threshold for the human attention span). The actual subject matter is pretty fantastic as well; I love messing around on the computer with technology I barely understand! I usually end up understanding it a lot better than just if told what to do.
My fish class is pretty interesting, but very similar to the first fish class. Obviously it's more advanced, but the teacher's the same, so it kind of just feels like an extention of the third year course.
Conservation policy is...incredible aggravating. I like the prof, but most of the people in that class had him for "Foundations of Conservation" with me and hated him. I can kind of understand it, he tends to play Devil's advocate and bring up contentious issues. While I do find this interesting to a certain extent, people tend to personally attack him for this method and he just goes with their attacks, so that the class goes in circles and nothing gets resolved. For example, the past two classes all we've talked about his how we can never harm future generations because they don't exist yet. So, whatever policy we do create, be it good or bad, will change what future generation is created, but not harm that future generation in itself. See what I mean? Really interesting, but not worth 3 hours of discussion. Well, that's not entirely true... It's probably worth more discussion, but not within the scope of everything else we need to cover in the class.
Ok that's all for today, but I'll let you know about things other than school tomorrow :-)
Friday, January 15, 2010
I <3 Buses
I realize that this post will make all of my posts since I've been back in Vancouver about the bus, but I just can't help it. I'm a transit kid at heart!
I stayed late at school on Tuesday night, so I could go to karaoke night with some friends (our duet of Your Song by Elton John brought tears to the eyes of many). As fun as this was it resulted in having to rush for the bus in an attempt to catch the last one. Unfortunately, my friend's bus had just left and all the other's didn't seem to be leaving any time soon, so we decided to walk to a more bus accessible area to ensure more busing options.
On our walk to this BAA, we walked in front of an out of service bus waiting at a red light. Now, being the transit kid that I am, I've had a lot of luck in my day with out of service buses giving me rides places, so I decided it can't hurt to ask. Besides, he might have at least had advice on the easiest way for me to get home. As luck would have it, the driver was kind enough to give us a lift as far to our respective places as he was going. He ended up being an incredible nice person with tons of really interesting stories. He was Quebecois, but has lived in Vancouver for the past 7 years. Apparently he used to drive trucks from Quebec City all along the East coast of the US. He even happened to be on a highway in NYC during 9/11 and had a hell of a time getting out of the city to make his delivery. People are always so interesting when you take the time to talk to them :-)
Then again today, I took the bus home from getting my grad photos done and there were two little girls sitting near me, who had me cracking up the entire 30 minute bus trip. At first they were quiet and the little one just looked up at me and when I smiled looked away to her nanny. Then back to me and back to her nanny a bunch more times, but never really reacting to either of us. For some reason this made her sister laugh hysterically. Then they proceeded to make faces at each other for the rest of the trip and had everyone who was paying attention smiling.
It's such a simple thing and not even that great of a story, but it's little things like that, which always make my day extraordinarily fantastic. I think I just love listening to people and their stories. Just people watching and seeing such joy in everyday life. I think that's why I love buses so much...
I stayed late at school on Tuesday night, so I could go to karaoke night with some friends (our duet of Your Song by Elton John brought tears to the eyes of many). As fun as this was it resulted in having to rush for the bus in an attempt to catch the last one. Unfortunately, my friend's bus had just left and all the other's didn't seem to be leaving any time soon, so we decided to walk to a more bus accessible area to ensure more busing options.
On our walk to this BAA, we walked in front of an out of service bus waiting at a red light. Now, being the transit kid that I am, I've had a lot of luck in my day with out of service buses giving me rides places, so I decided it can't hurt to ask. Besides, he might have at least had advice on the easiest way for me to get home. As luck would have it, the driver was kind enough to give us a lift as far to our respective places as he was going. He ended up being an incredible nice person with tons of really interesting stories. He was Quebecois, but has lived in Vancouver for the past 7 years. Apparently he used to drive trucks from Quebec City all along the East coast of the US. He even happened to be on a highway in NYC during 9/11 and had a hell of a time getting out of the city to make his delivery. People are always so interesting when you take the time to talk to them :-)
Then again today, I took the bus home from getting my grad photos done and there were two little girls sitting near me, who had me cracking up the entire 30 minute bus trip. At first they were quiet and the little one just looked up at me and when I smiled looked away to her nanny. Then back to me and back to her nanny a bunch more times, but never really reacting to either of us. For some reason this made her sister laugh hysterically. Then they proceeded to make faces at each other for the rest of the trip and had everyone who was paying attention smiling.
It's such a simple thing and not even that great of a story, but it's little things like that, which always make my day extraordinarily fantastic. I think I just love listening to people and their stories. Just people watching and seeing such joy in everyday life. I think that's why I love buses so much...
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