Class Cancelled Today

My AutoCAD class was cancelled today, why you ask? Well here's the answer:


October 21, 2005

Lethbridge Police Service, Fire Department and U of L Occupational Health and Safety Office officials are asking for the co-operation of U of L staff and students.

Effective at 3:00 p.m on Friday, October 21 they will close the east end of Valley Road, close Section E of University Hall from level 6 to level 8 and restrict access to the Level 6 entrance to University Hall as safety precautions to facilitate the removal of a small quantity of chemicals found to be out of date in a storage facility on the 8th floor.

Classes in this section of University Hall have been moved.

Vehicle and pedestrian traffic access will not be allowed on Valley Road below the North lot beginning at 3:00 p.m. until approximately 6:00 p.m.

At 3:00 p.m. in University Hall, the E block elevator and staircase will be restricted, and offices on either side of the staircase entrance on Level 7 and 8 will be closed until 6:00 p.m.

Also in University Hall beginning at 3:00 p.m. Level 6 access will be closed from the D staircase to the north end of U Hall.

Transit buses will not be operating at the Level 6 stop. Please use the Aperture Drive stop.

The Lethbridge Regional Police Service will assign members to control Valley Road and the walking paths.

The Lethbridge Fire Department will also be standing by. U of L Security Services will control all internal access points and again asks for co-operation from the University community to follow posted signs, and any direction given by police or security officers relating to the restricted access to this section of University Hall.

Background information:

An internal audit of the chemical storage by a U of L Academic Assistant, in conjunction with a U of L OHS officer, revealed four bottles of picric acid -- approximately 100 grams -- that require disposal.

At least one of the bottles is in a current state that may be explosive if disposed of improperly. All bottles are being destroyed as a routine precaution. Picric acid is used on the U of L campus for research purposes.

It is important to understand that the picric acid has always been stored in a secure storage area with limited access. There has never been any risk to the University community.

Contacts:

Carolin Cattoi-Demkiw, Occupational Health and Safety Office (403) 329-2350 Randy Joseph, University Security (403) 329-2603

Verse of the Day

"I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed are those who take refuge in him." Psalm 34:4-8

FTP

In an act of sheer ambition I decided to try and set up FTP access to my computer so I could access my files, and more importantly, my music from the school when I have my laptop there and need stuff from home. You'd think this would be a simple undertaking... But no. I've spend over 4 hours now fighting with the thing trying to gain access. I managed to set it up on my home computer both through Windows and through and actual FTP download, neither of which work! I can access the Windows one from my home computer but nowhere else and the other I can't even access from my home computer. I think it's because I'm behind a router and I haven't provisioned the router properly, but how I provision it is apparently beyond me. I've also considered unhooking to the router just to see if I've set it up right, but then I wouldn't have wireless access on my laptop so I would have no means of checking if I did it right... Save for running Ethernet cables all over the apartment (which at gone midnight is a bit too ambitious for me.) I've been to scads of help sites, to no avail and right now I'm ready to throw the whole idea out the window! Unfortunately I'm too determined for that... Perhaps tomorrow someone will be online who can help me... As of yet the few people I know who have any FTP knowledge have been MIA when I am at my computer and in need of assistance. LOL (perhaps that is my own fault for being up at 1am trying to set up FTP.)
Oh well... the battle continues...

Excerpts From the Slang Dictionary

Some of the more "interesting" slang I found tonight in the slang dictionary:

ankle
Definition: To quit; to leave one's job or place of employment.
1) He ankled his job because his salary was too low.

armpit
Definition: An unpleasant or backwards place; an ugly and undesirable city or area.
1) Some people think Detroit is the armpit of America.

redneck
Definition: A bigoted, racist individual; usually a male inhabitant of the rural South.
1) Bernie felt uneasy as he passed through the redneck county.

mack on
To make sexual advances on another; to flirt with someone.
1) Look at that guy. He's macking on three girls at once

zebra
In reference to a white person who tries to act as a black person, or vice versa.
1) Those zebras live in our building, but we know they don't belong to this neighborhood.

404
Someone who is oblivious or unknowledgeable; having no idea what is going on.
1) If you have a computer question, you should never ask Ned at the front desk--he's 404.

hoochie
A prostitute or promiscuous female.
1) There are hoochies on the street corner every night.

hick
A plain or simple person from the country; usually used as an insult.
1) You could tell from the straw in his hair and the mud on his boots that he was a hick.

phat
Excellent, very nice or good; indicates approval.
1) That skateboard is so phat--it's the best I've ever seen.

hood
A person who appears to be unsavory, or a criminal.
1) My mother told me not to make friends with all the hoods on my block.
A locale, neighborhood; local area.
1) Johnny's hood is quite scary at night. No one walks alone.

space cadet
Someone who is generally unaware, or not paying attention, or out of touch with reality.
1) Suzie is a real space cadet -- I don't think she even knows what day it is.

beard
A woman who pretends to be the girlfriend of a gay man, so that people do not suspect his real sexuality.
1) Petra was Sam's beard when he went home to his family for thanksgiving.

guido
An insulting term for an Italian-American male, bringing to mind flashy clothes, gold chains, and plentiful chest hair.
1) "Hey Tony, why are you wearing a big gold chain? Don't be such a guido!"

oreo
A black person who feels more comfortable in the company of white people.
1) That oreo shows up to every social event the college hosts.

gangsta
Member of a street gang; clothing or attitudes associated with urban street gangs in the United States.
1) Tony likes to dress like a gangsta, but we all know that he's actually from the suburbs.

dweeb
A social misfit; someone who is interested only in schoolwork or computers.
1) Tony spends all day on his computer and never talks to his friends - what a dweeb!

geek
A social outcast or misfit; an unlikeable person; a weak, unattractive individual.
1) This place is infested with geeks! Don't any pretty girls hang out here?
2) Look at that geek! He has a pencil up his nose...

nerd
An overly intellectual person with poor social skills; an unfashionable and unpopular person.
1) Bill is such a nerd - he's got pens in his shirt pocket and his glasses are taped together!

loser
One who cannot win at anything; someone who is pathetic and weak; someone unable to accomplish much in life.
1) Jim is such a loser--he has been rejected by every college he applied to!

square
A plain, normal, boring person; someone who is out of touch with the latest trends.
1) John is such a square -- I've never met anyone so boring.
2) You know a dance club has lost its edge when the squares start showing up.

Here's the linky if you want more:
http://www.bluevalleys.com/english-lessons/more.asp?type=slang

Mac Killed my Inner Child

So my roommate found the best video in the world. It's a little .wmv clip starring a guy who rants about Mac computers fro about 3 minutes. It's super funny though. I first saw it when in training for my current job... You should all check it out!
Here's a linky, or if you e-mail me I'll send it to you 'cuz I have a d/led one on my hard drive (about 5mb). Enjoy!
http://members.cox.net/clyqz/macs.html

Song of the Week

"Hollerback Girls" - Gwen Stefani

Superhero Quiz

I am Professor X


http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/superhero/

Convocation Day: Five Years in the Making!

Today I convocated from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts with a major in technical theatre! That is quite a mouth full for a degree that essentially will get me nowhere in life without upgrading. I am okay with that fact though. I am actually quite fine with it. I love learning and I love going to school and by getting a degree that forces me to upgrade it ensures that I can continue going to school.
Despite the worth of my degree I was VERY proud to be receiving it. I've worked so hard for the past five years, and they really haven't been an easy five years, to get where I was today! I risked a lot coming all the way to Alberta and I sacrificed a lot in the way of friends and family to get the degree I now have. It's been a long haul, I want to sincerely thank all my friends and family who've been supportive of me through this time! I really couldn't have done it without you guys! Thank-you so very, very much.
Now I know the question that everyone is dying to know the answer to is, what now? Now that you have this piece of paper, expensive as it was, what are you going to do with it? The honest answer is I don't know. I can tell you some ideas I have though. I would like to get my Master's in Theatre. I don't know if that will be now or years from now but that is what I would like. I would eventually like a PhD and I would like to be a professor, teaching theatre to young University students. I'd like to be one of those professors who shows a genuine interest in their students and cares about each one and if they succeed. The type who take extra time to go over assignments, who have long office hours and who are always busy worrying over this or that student. Many people would think that a dreary lifestyle, but I think I would thrive at it and succeed.
In the immediate future I really enjoy my job at Convergys and I think I may go full-time in the spring. There are lots of chances for advancement with the company and I think I would like to see how that plays out for awhile. It pays well and I really like the company's values and sense of community. I've made many friends there as well and I'm none to eager to leave them just yet, if at all.
Mostly though I'm waiting on God to set my sails in some direction. I know all the plans I'd like to have for myself but they mean nothing next to God's plans, because God's plans will be so much better suited for me than anything I come up with on my own. God knows my heart's desires. He knows my desire for a husband and a family, my desire to be a professor, my desire to always keep learning. He knows everything about me and He will place it perfectly in a plan. For now however, He is telling me to "Be still and know that I am God" it is a lesson in patience, which I sorely lack, and a lesson in trusting that His plan is great and good and the best thing for me. It is a hard lesson to learn, I am a naturally impatient person who likes to plow ahead and keep busy, but I'm trying to be obedient. I'm trying to "Be still" and I think the sooner I learn the lesson the better off I'll be, but perhaps learning a lesson in patience soon is a contradictory... LOL
So pray for me, pray I'll figure out God's will for my life and that it will be a good will, full of happiness and all the desires of my heart.

U of L Referendum Results

At the start of the month the University held a referendum to vote on whether students would put money towards the new Health and Wellness Center the school is building in conjunction with some other partner. The building is a multi-million dollar endeavour that will take until 2007 to complete in its entirety. The University was asking the students to pay back into the project, over a 10 year period $2.7 million. A full time student would pay in $15 a semester and a part-time student would pay in $7.50, apparently this wouldn't cause an increase in student fees. Also this apparently has been done in the past, where the students help build the University (the library building was put up this way.)
Information can be found here:
http://www.uleth.ca/leavingalegacy/

The second part of the referendum, which was not as well publicized or known about was a vote to give CKXU, the University radio station, of which I am a member and DJ, more money each semester. We wanted to increase the student levy from $3 to $7 a semester. As you will note is mentioned on the following webpage, the CKXU vote was not published on the voting page and only upon going into voting did you find you were actually voting on two issues, unless you frequently read the student notice board (which many don't), or are a member of CKXU (which again many aren't). As our station manager was sending out information frequently preceding the referendum.
Information can be found here:
http://www.uleth.ca/notice/display.html?b=1&s=4364
http://www.ckxu.com/reffaq_2.php

As one can expect the results came back as follows:
total voters 6448
total who voted 1734
% who voted 26.89%

CKXU
61.71% NO
38.29% YES

Health & Wellness Centre
33.79% NO
66.21% YES

Perhaps if the TWO votes had been equally publicized on the referendum page, things would have been different. I mean it's only $5 a semester to a primarily student run and supporting organization like CKXU, I think the student body could have afforded it. Quite frankly I am disgusted at the way things were handled and they way they turned out!

Convocation Tomorrow

Tomorrow I graduate, I get my bachelor's degree! That which I have sought after for five longs years. In some ways it's crazy to think that so little time has actually passed and in other ways it seems like a lifetime! It's hard to believe I've been in Alberta more than five years now. In that time I've attended two schools and lived in 3 dorm rooms, 2 apartments, 1 basement and 1 house. (not included mum's over the summer.) I have had 3 boyfriends, 1 fling, and had my heartbroken numerous other times. I've had dozens of friends. a few best friends. Made a few enemies, been to a few weddings, seen a few babies born and lost a few friends (I regret this one the most.) I have been to Banff, Fernie, Sunshine Village, Drumheller, Montana, Idaho, Waterton, Temple Garden Mineral Spa and West Edmonton mall. I have lived in two cities, owned 0 vehicles, ridden countless buses, Greyhound & city and have even taken the train all the way from Ontario. I have been on at least a dozen airplanes, cried at airports & bus depots twice as many times as that. Helped friends move and been moved by friends. I've owned 10 fish, 1 cat, 6 hamsters and for a weekend a dog. I've stayed up countless sleepless nights helping friends and being helped, working on papers and goofing off, talking on the phone, talking on msn, finding myself and finding God.
As I finish five years I wonder how I'm different than I was five years ago and I wonder who I'll be five years from now? I wonder if I've been the person I should be? I wonder if I'll find a better person to be? I wonder if I'm being the best me I can be? I wonder if I've touched the lives of others as I've passed through them? I wonder how they all have touched me? I wonder if convocating means that I need to grow up? I wonder if it means that the student portion of my life is over? or if it means that a lifetime of learning is just beginning? I wonder what I should be doing to prepare myself for tomorrow and I wonder if I'll feel any different once it's over? I wonder what the future holds? I wonder how long it will be before I know and I pray I don't while away my time in the not-knowing and instead spend it doing something honouring to God and His plan for me. I wonder what it will feel like to have a Bachelor's degree and I wonder if I'll ever get to know what it feels like to have a Master's or a PhD? I just plain wonder...?

River Puzzle

Here's an oddity for today:
There is this puzzle online (adapted from an old brain teaser) and the point is to get all the people from one side of the river to the other with stipulations.
There are 8 people in total, a man, a woman, 2 girls, 2 boys, a cop and a convict (prisoner.) The man cannot be left with the girls, the woman with the boys and no one can be left with the con save for the cop. There is a raft to get across the river and only 2 can ride at a time and the children cannot steer it (the con is a child as well.) It is quite fun to play and frustrating to not succeed at.
The funniest part though is when you put two incompatible people on a raft the older punches the younger and knocks them out, as there are no points this makes no difference to gameplay and is rather funny to watch. Also at the end there is a rather natziesque salute and I'm still not sure what that is about... LOL
Oh and to play the game you push on the big blue button (it's all in Japanese or Chinese so it's hard to know where to push to play)
http://users.skynet.be/tiekenei/games/puzzle/river/river.htm

Oh and BTW if you are really stuck here's the answer:

!!! SPOILER !!!

Solution:
1. Cop / Criminal
2. Cop
3. Cop / 1st Boy
4. Cop / Criminal
5. Man / 2nd Boy
6. Man
7. Man / Woman
8. Woman
9. Cop / Criminal
10. Man
11. Man / Woman
12. Woman
13. Woman / 1st Girl
14. Cop /Criminal
15. Cop / 2nd Girl
16. Cop
17. Cop / Criminal

Kindred Spirits

As I came home from downtown tonight on the bus I overheard a conversation between two people on the bus. The one was discussing love and kindred spirits with the other, I don't remember the entire conversation but some of the key points really stuck with me:
- God will provide someone for you in a time when you and that person are ready for it
- People who are meant to be with each other will be with each other no matter what
- Sometimes we meet someone who seems like the perfect person for us and they might be, but if the timing isn't God's then it won't happen no matter how much you want it to
- When you find the right person they will understand you perfectly and love you unconditionally and you will feel the same about them and that' s how you know you're supposed to be with them

Just some things to think about.

Serenity

Tonight I went and saw "Serenity" the movie at the theatre.
For those of you who don't know "Serenity" is a movie based on the short-lived "Firefly" series that was on TV back a few years ago (like 2002). It was a sci-fi series about space cowboys. It takes place in the future and the only two cultures that survived some great war were the old west and Chinese culture. Most of the show (and the movie) takes place in either desert outposts or wild west towns, aboard a ragtag mismatched spaceship called Serenity, in the shuttle of a "companion" (prostitute) who decorates very Chinese or in the only modern looking thing in the show, the facilities belonging to the Alliance. Similar to the Federation of Star Trek.
The twist on "Firefly" is that, unlike Star Trek, the captain and his crew are a bunch of ragtag mischief makers who oppose the Alliance, they are often found bootlegging, stealing, and the like to further their own endeavours, which usually include little more than surviving and outfitting their dilapidated ship with used parts to get through another month.
The Alliance of course doesn't see it this way and is constantly hunting down the crew. Upon taking on a seer who is wanted by the Alliance their wantedness increases.
The movie was about that very thing, the Alliance coming after Serenity and her crew, trying to get back the seer who knows information about the Alliance they would rather not have leak.
It is a very good film, although it would be very hard to follow without some background knowledge of the series, but if any of you by chance have seen "Firefly", even a few times, I would strongly suggest you see this movie.

Food Force

So the United Nations World Food Programme created a video game, probably after the popularity of "America's Army," to promote the allocation and distribution of food throughout the world. The Game is called "Food Force" and is a six-mission game, the object of the game is to get a high score which you can submit to the website for publishing. The game in and of itself is very easy to play and takes little more than half an hour to complete, you cannot lose at the game, only attain a low score. It's an interesting idea, although the game itself is almost too educational and lacking in actual action.

A list of the six missions:
Air Surveillance
Pilot a helicopter over a crisis zone in Sheylan to locate the hungry.
Energy Pacs
Within your budget, create a good balanced diet for the local population in Sheylan.
Air Drop
Drop food from the air if at first you lack cheaper routes into Sheylan.
Locate and Dispatch
Buy food and transport it to Sheylan as quickly and cheaply as you can.
Food Run
Guide a convoy of trucks safely to a WFP feeding centre in Sheylan. The trip won't be easy.
Future Farming
Distribute food aid within a Sheylanese community to help the residents rebuild.


So if you wanna play, here's the linky:
http://www.food-force.com/

Theory & Aesthetics Part 2

As I sit down to finish writing my paper for "Theory & Aesthetics of Video Games" I go to my prof's website to get the information for citation and I realize that perhaps my professor is a geek.
I mean I, of course, suspected as much. A man in his 30's who has long hippie hair in a ponytail, wears vests, jeans, sneakers and teaches a class in video games... I was however giving him the benefit of the doubt, until today when I visited his website for the first time.
Among other materials on his site is a link to his "project" which is a collection of lip prints of women along with their names and the name of the lipstick colour they were wearing. There is a webcam link to an office cam so you can watch him on his computer. There is also a collection of political cartoons, which I suppose is pretty funny. But the kicker is there is a link to his ratings for IMDB he's rated over 300 films and the ones that received 10 ratings are mostly those that would be shown at film festivals.
So I think to myself, is he a geek, or merely eccentric? For now I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that latter, although....
Oh and here's the URL to the website, because I know you are all dying to see it for yourselves.
http://people.uleth.ca/~cleada/

Song of the Week

"Speed Over Beethoven" - Rose

Thanksgiving

Today we are celebrating Thanksgiving as the majority of my friends are unable to attend any festivities tomorrow due to work. Not that I blame them at all, the company pays time and a half for stats and if I were scheduled for work tomorrow I certainly would go in. We are having a turkey dinner tonight with all the trimmings, which I am preparing. I am hoping many will attend (as I've invited about 20) although I fear very few will. (As I've only heard confirmations from 2.) The meal will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, gravy, cranberry sauce (both kinds), homemade buns and homemade pumpkin pie, oh and of course strawberry wine. (zinfandel) It should prove an excellent meal with many leftovers and as I am having a Thanksgiving luncheon tomorrow for many who are unable to make it today but wish to partake before work tomorrow.
But I digress... as it is Thanksgiving I want to state a few things that I am thankful for this year:
- I am thankful that God loves me and watches over me daily
- I am thankful that my best friend is in Lethbridge and that he is my roommate
- I am thankful that I graduate this year with my BFA in drama (after 5 long years)
- I am thankful that I have made many new friends at work
- I am thankful that I have made friends with people who are like me
- I am thankful that I have a family to love me and for me to love
- I am thankful that I have a good-paying job that works around my schedule
- I am thankful that I have enough money in the bank that I'm not worried
- I am thankful that I still believe in love and have not become bitter towards it
- I am thankful that I have an easy courseload this semester
- I am thankful that I have the Improv club to put some of my energies into
- I am thankful that I have many friends at school, despite the amount that have moved away
- I am thankful I am still friends with the ones that have moved away
- I am thankful for my Cambridge friends who have not forgotten me after all these years
- I am thankful for many answered prayers
- I am thankful that I am starting onto a new adventure in my life with graduating and working, and I am hopeful for the future and that it will go well

Hamsters Part 4

On an upnote we were finally able to clean the hamster cage today, Mouse's babies were finally 2 weeks old (well as of yesterday) and able to be touched (and thus moved) so I was able to clean the cage!! On the downside I broke their house that attaches to the cage bars so currently they have their hamster tunnel house instead, they seem to be liking it but I don't know where they'll poop now as the house was their toilet. LOL
Oh and I named the babies. There names are G.P. & C.C. G.P. is the "runt" of the two, he is barely half the size of C.C. the initials stand for Guinea Pig and C.C. who is the larger of the two has initials short for Chinchilla. I still have to get my roommate to investigate the sex of each hamster, I'll keep y'all posted.
I also separated KusKus from Mouse & Gerbil, he was fighting with G.P. and C.C. too much. She is now in the space cage, Gerbil is in the Playground Cage and Mouse and the babies are in the nice clean Gigi cage. (not that the other two cages aren't clean...)

A Little Friend

I went to the movie theatre tonight to see "Serenity" in the end plans fell through which sucks, but that's life and they'll be other plans at other times. Anyways the point is not that plans fell through. The point is that I don't much like the way society rears it's children.
I was sitting on a bench waiting for my friend to show up and a little girl of perhaps five came up and started talking to me. She said hello and told me her name, she asked my name and asked if I liked her pink coat. She was very charming and sweet and so innocent, she was just trying to make friends. Her older sister who was perhaps 8 came up to her and put her hand on her shoulders and guided her away from me, she looked over the girls head at me and smiled apologetically and said "sorry about that, she doesn't know better." I thought how sad that was. The little girl in all her innocence didn't see a sullen punk girl with pink hair and piercings sitting there, all she saw was someone who looked like they needed a friend and she took it upon herself in her five-year old wisdom to be a friend.
I'm not saying that people should let their kids talk to strangers or be disobedient or be bothersome, I'm simply saying that perhaps the wisdom and innocence and perceptiveness of children is in many cases more accurate than that of adults.

Convergys 2

So today all the tools at work were down, which was okay from an employee perspective. When the tools are down the voice system when people call in states there is a problem and to call back in 4-6 hours unless they wish to wait on hold. On average very few people actually wait on hold so we, as employees, only get one call every half hour or so. The downside is not doing work for half hour at a time is very boring. I didn't have any homework or a book with me as I am still in probation period and not technically allowed any of those things. So I talked to my neighbour, which was fine, except that only one of my neighbours was in today.... so yeah.
I mean the other downside is that I don't know how they can really run a business with no tools, in all honesty the company lost money today. I think they should have just called up employees and told them not to come in...

Year of the Dog

In the Chinese Zodiac I fall under the year of the dog (1982).

Here are some dog traits:

The Dog will never let you down. Born under this sign you are honest, and faithful to those you love. You are plagued by constant worry, a sharp tongue, and a tendency to be a fault finder, however. You would make an excellent businessman, activist, teacher, or secret agent.

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people's confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.

On a side note, manpeopleel think that I'm a lot like my daddy..He's's a dog too!

Want to know what sign you fall under?
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/zodiac/zodiac.html
http://www.chinatoday.com/culture/zodiac/zodiac.htm

Got it all Together...

Today I met the most has-it-all-together kid I've ever met in my entire life. He was 18 years old and a first year at the U of L in the music/education program. I met him on the bus on my way into class this evening.
He had his whole life planned out. He was currently working 2 jobs but was inquiring as to my job as he was thinking of letting one of his go. His monthly income as a student was over $3000. He didn't have any bank loans or student loan, only bursaries and scholarships. His parents had given him no money for school, he was paying for it all himself and he currently had enough saved up to pay for most of it. He has RRSPs and money invested in stocks, his financial advisor had planned out his finances for him and he would be able to attend four years of University plus grad school afterwards. He had scholarships from the U of L as well as from grad schools so that he rarely had to pay for his education out of his own pocket. His GPA for high school was close to 4.0.
I couldn't believe it. I am at least 4 years older than this guy, if not 5 and he has more planning done than I do now. He has his whole life in order and every detail of it planned. I wonder if I would have been better off if I'd had the same at his age? I know I wouldn't have been in so much debt... but I wonder if I would've been as happy as I've been. Not knowing is sometimes the fun of it, trusting in God and letting him provide, asking questions and seeking answers. How much more thankful am I for God's providence because I've been in places of need? Not to say this guy won't be in need, it's just an interesting contrast, his life to mine.

Taurus

I am a Taurus, my birthday being April 26, as such, or in honour of, that fact I post a list of Taurus traits (good and bad). Enjoy!

Good:
Patient and reliable
Warmhearted and loving
Persistent and determined
Placid and security loving

Bad:
Jealous and possessive
Resentful and inflexible
Self-indulgent and greedy

Taureans love pleasure and material gain. For them the outcome is all that matters, and it only matters if they have gained. They are physically sensual and tender, and love to bask in excess. Their ultimate pursuit is "the good life" in every sense of the phrase.Like the bull that represents them, Taureans are often seen as stubborn. However, what some see as stubbornness is actually the Taurean's will to stay their chosen course to reach their goals. Bulls are pragmatic and dependable, and left to trudge along at their own speed usually attain that which they seek.Being born in the House of Venus, it really should come as no surprise these self-indulgent pleasure seekers are also great lovers of the arts and all things beautiful. They need to be surrounded by beauty to be happy. Taureans also value tradition, stability and loyalty. At times they may be very sentimental, emotional. Conversely, there is nothing impractical about the slightly conservative Taurean. They are not risk takers. Nor are they likely to fall for get rich quick schemes. While the ways of the stable Taurean may not suit others, they ensure these Bulls will find the earthly rewards they seek.

The Taurean In Love:
Taureans are deeply romantic and very loyal. They value the harmony a happy home life creates. They will go to extremes to keep their mate happy, which, when it comes to love, is no sacrifice to the sensuous Bull. The Taurean need for the good life is equaled by their need to share that life with someone special. Sexually, Taureans are straightforward and down-to-earth. A no-nonsense approach is favored and too much verbalizing or complex fantasizing is not a Taurean trait. This does not mean they are not capable of feeling love. Indeed, the depth of a Taurean's passion may not be understood by others. Music or other forms of sensual, non-verbal expression will strike a chord in the Taurean nature. Very faithful to friends and family, Taureans prefer long-lasting relationships and seek to build strong alliances, although they can be misled by their sensual natures, especially when young.

Famous Taureans Include:
Fred Astaire, Sigmund Freud, William Shakespeare, Barbara Streisand, Malcolm X, Leonardo de Vinci, Willie Nelson, Orson Welles, Katharine Hepburn, George Lucas, William Hewlett, Cher and Adolf Hitler.

Ideal Jobs Include:
Taureans are well-suited to be bankers, artists, accountants, musicians, gardeners or any profession that requires patience, determination and a strong beauty aesthetic.

Lucky Numbers: 2, 11, 29, 29, 37, 56

Planet: Venus

Song of the Week

“Don’t Stop Believing” - Journey

October Skies

There is something absolutely gorgeous about the colour of the sky in autumn, especially October. The sky is so blue, bluer than it is at any other time of the year. It has a blue that denotes a chill will soon be in the air but not quite yet. It's not the dull blue of summer where the sky is too hot to really give it it's all, nor is it like the crisp blue of winter, where the sky is trying so hard not to freeze it can't put all it's efforts into being blue. It's also unlike the blue of spring where there are often so many rain clouds it is hard to know what colour the sky in fact, is.
Perhaps the blue of the sky is accentuated by the changing of the leaves, the dark colours on the ground contrasting so prettily with the autumn blue. The air helps as well, the crisp air that filters through, sometimes breezy, usually not chilling but definitely hinting at it. It is a wonderful time of year.

Corpse Bride

I saw Tim Burton's film "Corpse Bride" tonight. It was pretty excellent. I don't really feel like writing a review, but there was something quite unique about the movie that I wanted to comment on.
The film is about a living guy who "accidentally" marries a corpse when he puts a wedding band on her finger when he is practicing his vows in the woods. She's died some years before and her skeleton arm is sticking up from the ground which is what he puts the ring on mistaking it for a tree limb. She comes up as a ghost and declares they are married. Meanwhile the guy tries to get away from her and back to his betrothed.
The interesting thing about the animation is the juxtaposition of the two worlds. The world of the living is very dreary in many shades of greys and browns, there is very little colour it is all in all very drab and dingy looking. In contrast the world of the dead is very bright and colourful, extremely vibrant and full or rich colours. It's an interesting twist as one would usually think that the world of the dead would be drab and the world of the living vibrant.
So I would definitely suggest y'all watch it as it's quite a cool film.

Pink

Today I got a haircut and I dyed my hair pink! I bright pink entitled "flamingo." Well in all fairness I ddin't dye all my hair pink, just streaks at the front and tips at the back (there is not enough in the back to streak anymore LOL!) I never really considered myself a pink kind of girl, far from it. I always denoted pink with girly girls, princesses who are pampered and prissy. I am certainly not a girly girl! I have noticed though over the past few years (or perhaps it is my world view that has changed over the years) that pink is no longer necessarily denotive of girly girls, of course a light baby pink still holds that image but a bright, vibrant, hot pink is something else entirely. It seems to be accepted of a punk lifestyle, Tough girls with bright pink hair. I'm not saying I am a tough girl either, but it certainly is fun to pay one sometimes. I like the colour, I find it fun. I think perhaps when it grows out a bit I may add in turquoise to the un-pink parts, that would be really fun. I may look like an anime character then. LOL

October

In October I’ll host to witches, goblins, and a ghost.
I’ll serve them chicken soup on toast.
Whoopy once, whoopy twice, whoopy chicken soup with rice.

DDR

My DDR game came in today! Dance Dance Extreme 2 for the Ps2. I am quite stoked about it! I bought the game pad last week and have been waiting for the game to come in. It has over 70 songs in the song list! It was just released on the 27th but I pre-ordered a copy so I'd have it 'cuz that's how much of a DDR dork I am. LOL

Song List:
1998
ABSOLUTE Cuff-N-Stuff it Mix
AFRONOVA (FROM NONSTOP MEGAMIX)
AFRONOVA PRIMEVAL
air
BE LOVIN
BRILLIANT 2U
BRILLIANT 2U K.O.G G3 MIX
BURNIN' THE FLOOR
BURNIN' THE FLOOR BLUE FIRE mix
Can Be Real
CANDY?
Colors(for EXTREME)
DAIKENKAI
DIVE
DYNAMITE RAVE
DYNAMITE RAVE (B4 ZA BEAT MIX)
Happy Wedding
Heaven Is a '57 metallic gray (gimmix)
I Need You (Insideout Door Mix)
INFINITE PRAYER
INJECTION OF LOVE (HINA MIX)
INSERTiON (Machine Gun Kelly Mix)
INSIDE YOUR HEART
KEEP ON MOVIN' DMX Mix
L'amour et la liberté
La Bamba
Look To The Sky True Color Mix
Look To The Sky (Trance Mix)
LOVE IS ORANGEMake A Difference
MARIA (I Believe...)
Miracle Moon ~L.E.D.LIGHT STYLE MIX~
PARANOiA
PARANOiA survivor
PARANOiA survivor MAX
PASSION OF LOVE
Polovtsian Dances and Chorus
Quickening
SAKURA
Sana Mollete Ne Ente B.L.T.style
Saturday Night Love
SEDUCTION
SEXY PLANET
SEXY PLANET (from NONSTOP MEGAMIX)
SWEET SWEET ? MAGIC
sync (EXTREME version)
TOMORROW
TwinBee ~Generation X~
un deux trois

Hamsters Part 3

So today I had to purchase another hamster cage, that makes 3 in total! I had the one I had originally purchased which was a Gigi starter cage from Petcetera that came with food dish, wheel, water bottle and elevated house with ladder. I also, upon getting my two new hamsters purchased food, snacks, hamster bedding fluff, mineral stone and hamster ball (the kind you can let the hamster roam the apartment in.)
This one cage sufficed well enough for one hamster back a year ago when I had only one. It seems though that it wasn't really big enough for two hamsters as they were often getting in each others space and fighting (well I thought it was fighting, in light of KusKus though I'm thinking it may have been something else...) So when my roommate's mom took us to Wal-Mart on the 5th of September I bought a second cage. A Habitrail Playground cage that came with turn-table, food dish, water bottle, and "exploration station." (basically a little tunnel with a clear plastic, lidded area attached to the cage.) In addition I purchased Habitrail Playground tubing and built a walk-way from the old cage to the new so that they had twice the area to play in.
The other day KusKus, being the wiley little "toddler" that he is managed to get out of the opening in the cage that the access tube went into from the Playground cage to the Gigi cage. Neither my roommate nor I saw how this was accomplished but as best as we can surmise she would have had to have climbed upside down to get to the opening. We found her (thankfully) behind the couch and at that point I took out the tubing and shut up both cages securely. In doing so I also separated Gerbil from Mouse & KusKus as I really do want to clean out the cage and am unable to until Mouse stops having litters.
The cage I bought today is pretty cool, it looks like it's from outer space. It's a CritterTrail X It has a slide and a really innovative hamster wheel on a track, a drip-system water bottle, a food dish and an observation deck that doubles as a mini cage for during cleaning time. It is supposed to be compatible with Habitrail tube systems but upon closer inspection this doesn't actually seem to be the case as Habitrail tubes are too big to fit onto the cage in the manner they are supposed to. C'est la Vive I suppose. So now I have all three cages set up with for hamsters with shavings, bedding, water & food. I still need to purchase some more mineral stones so they each can have one but other than that I am pretty set to endure the worst of the litters. LOL

Quote of the Day

"To hear God's voice, turn down the world’s volume"

iCoke Points

The Coca Cola corporation for awhile now has been offering iCoke points on many of it's products via codes you enter onto the website to redeem for prizes or entries into draws. It used to be that a bottle of coke would get you 250 iCoke points but recently all the codes in the bottles have been redeeming 500 iCoke points instead which is great as it takes only 1500 iCoke points to redeem for a free ringtone for my cellphone (which is a good deal as ringtones cost $2.10 from Rogers.) So I, ordinarily, am a Pepsi person but recently I had switched to Coke simply for the iCoke points, I mean the product itself costs the same as Pepsi and is comparable in taste and caffeine content, although Pepsi has a slightly less acidic after taste.
Anyways I purchased a diet coke with lime today and it did not have any iCoke points. I actually thought this odd so I went back to the cafeteria and inspected all their Coca Cola products and none of them had iCoke points anymore. This seems odd, Coca Cola has been running this promotion for about 2 years now, I don't know why they would suddenly stop! Also why they wouldn't put iCoke points on all their products is beyond me, I thought they wanted people to try the new flavours so they would sell and it would seem putting iCoke points on them would be a good way to do this.

Appropriate Timing

The other night, Saturday to be exact, I was out at Essie's with my roommate. We had a few drinks. (Well truth be told perhaps more than a few drinks) As the night wore on I decided to go seek the company of others, other than my roommate that is. So I began circulating the bar, drink in hand. At some point my drink left my hand as I finished a second mini-pitcher of rum and diet coke. (Even in a drunken stupour I've given up un-diet pop, which always amuses me in retrospect.) I wandered back to the table where my roommate sat dutifully guarding my jacket and purse. I procured some money for more beverages and meandered back to the bar.
On the way there I met a rancher, a nice older man who offered to buy me a drink, I of course accepted and we talked while they prepared my drink. He then handed me my drink and left to find his friends saying he'd find me for a dance when they were playing country again. (The current tune was closer to Gwen Stefani than Kenny Chesney) I wandered back to my roommate taking him the drink I had procured for him after speaking with the charming rancher. At this point I realized the evening was winding down (it being half hour to last call) I began wandering again looking for a cowboy to dance with. I figured a night at Essie's would be wasted without dancing with at least one cowboy.
I came upon a guy, who was off to one side aways. I began speaking with him and hit up a conversation, he declined a dance, which was probably better as I was a fair bit too tipsy to keep my balance, let alone two-step. We talked until the bar closed and upon closing he asked for my number. Now I have only given out my number on a very few rare occasions, it is not something I normally do, or something my mother advises on. Also as my best friend Kar says, "You will never meet the man you're going to marry in a bar" so I thought it had been fun talking to him and as he lived out of town I figured it was safe enough. So I gave him my number and left with my roommate. (Which is another miracle as I am sure the guy asked me to leave with him.)
Which brings me to today, Tuesday, 3 days after going to the bar, with no phone call. I of course did not expect this guy to call me back, they never do anyways, it's more of a social etiquette thing to give one's number, the other party to promise to call and both leave acknowledging that your paths will probably never cross again. When I arrived home tonight there was a phone message on my cell phone (which I had turned off while in class.) It was from the guy at the bar! I couldn't believe it! He'd even waited the appropriate 3 days (so as not to seem desperate but also not to seem un-interested.) So now I come to a dilemma, do I call back a guy I met at the bar while drunk? And if so do I also wait an appropriate 3 days or does that bit of social etiquette only apply to the first call? Well I suppose I will have to decide by Friday at any rate. What a funny situation I've found myself in. LOL

The Dairy Queen Sign

I live in an apartment in Lethbridge that overlooks a Dairy Queen. From my window I can clearly see the Dairy Queen sign, logo on and all staring at me. Day and night it stares at me, it seems to say "buy some ice cream, you know you want to." The sad part is I know I want to, and the longer I stare at the bloody sign the more I crave the ice cream, somedays a banana split, others a blizzard, sometimes just a junior dipped cone and still others a moolatte. Oh how the sign mocks me and taunts me until I, being the ice-cream obsessed individual that I am, get up and go to the Dairy Queen and make my purchase. Upon arriving home I look again out the window, cup in hand and the sign seems to smile at me as if to congratulate me on giving into it's spendthrift ways. I enjoy the ice cream, I won't lie to you, it always tastes delicious, always satisfying and for awhile after finishing it I can ignore the sign, but I know I will chance a glance out my window again at some later time and the cravings will begin again, the sign will begin it's mocking and I will be forced to succumb to the logo yet again.

Song of the Week

"Lonely no More" - Rob Thomas

Hamsters Part 2

So evidently Gerbil & Mouse (the hamsters) need to be separated! Today is KusKus's 2 week birthday and as a way of celebrating I was all prepared to clean out the cage, when low and behold Mouse has 2 more babies!! They are also very small and very ugly and very pink. LOL I read on the internet that a mamma hamster will sometimes kill her young so that she only has as many as she can take care of, I'm not sure how Mouse will react to her young so I am going to hold off on naming them as it would be tragic to name them and then have them die. I am also not sure how well KusKus is going to adjust to his new siblings and nestmates.

Pickle Barrel People

In the olden days, back in the "wild west" before there were modern conveniences like motor cars, aeroplanes, electricity and indoor plumbing, back in the days of the Pony Express and wooden sidewalks, when it took months to cross America and the stagecoach or the covered wagon were the only ways to do so, back when there was no internet, no TV and no PS2, back then there were pickle barrel people. Namely the old men who sat in the General store (the one that sold a little of everything and not too much or more than one brand of anything) at the very back, or very front, pulled up on stools overlooking a chess board perched atop a big barrel of pickles, or pickled pork, or pickled beets, or pickled venison, or pickled whatever else one felt compelled to pickle. These old timers who were too old to work the land and too young to succumb to it. Back when women did the housework and once past your prime the only acceptable pastime was sitting at a pickle barrel in the general store playing checkers, or dice or cards or even (for the more sophisticated) chess.
I know that you are thinking it a shame that there had to be an end to pickle barrel people, but fear not for I have discovered the haunts of the modern day pickle barrel people and shall divulge them here:
The modern day pickle barrel people can be found at small coffee shops, the kind with small patio tables outside sitting talking with other old men, or in co-of cafeterias with other farmers, or in farm implement stores (some of which still have barrels, although they be not filled with pickles) talking with old friends. It would seem that the pickle barrel people have merely evolved into a new breed of men, the coffee shop people, not to be confused with the coffee shop junkies (who of course make up a completely different clientele.) These coffee shop people are the ones who go for the cheapest thing on the menu (namely the senior's discount small, black coffee) and milk it for the longest, making one small cup of coffee last the better part of the day. The people who leave home and there not-so-dependent wives to go for "a coffee" with the boys and come home hours later.
Yes the coffee people, modern day pickle barrel people, what would society be without you?

Muffins: an aside

On a completely sad and earth-shatteringly shocking note I have found a muffin I enjoy (I know it's hard for me to believe too.) They are carrot creme muffins as sold at Esquires coffee. They are sinfully decadent, imagine if you will a rather large muffin, devoid of the gooey middle and instead filled with whipped cream cheese that is inserted into the muffin via syringe, filling the center with wonderful "carrot creme". It's just like eating a piece of mouth-watering carrot cake. I still stand firm in the belief that one should eat cake over a muffin do to the wastefulness of the calories and carbs in a muffin, but in the case of the creme muffins it's almost the same as eating the cake. LOL

Hitch

So the movie "Hitch" with Will Smith in it is awesome, my roomie rented it tonight and I was reminded yet again how much I enjoy it. Here's one of the best quotes from the movie, it's actually the opening narration but it's really good:

"Basic Principles - no woman wakes up saying "God, I hope I don't get swept off my feet today!" Now, she might say "This is a really bad time for me," or something like "I just need some space," or my personal favorite "I'm really into my career right now." You believe that? Neither does she. You know why? 'Cause she's lying to you, that's why. You understand me? Lying! It's not a bad time for her. She doesn't need any space. And she may be into her career, but what she's really saying is "Uh, get away from me now," or possibly "Try harder, stupid," but which one is it? 60% of all human communication is nonverbal, body language; 30% is your tone, so that means 90% of what you're saying ain't coming out of your mouth. Of course she's going to lie to you! She's a nice person! She doesn't want to hurt your feelings! What else she going to say? She doesn't even know you... yet. Luckily, the fact is that just like the rest of us, even a beautiful woman doesn't know what she wants until she sees it, and that's where I come in. My job is to open her eyes. Basic Principles - no matter what, no matter when, no matter who... any man has a chance to sweep any woman off her feet; he just needs the right broom."

Theory & Aesthetics

And thus I found myself in the den of the dorks, otherwise known as "Theory & aesthetics of Video Games" an elective that I, unwittingly, chose to partake of this semester. In a class of around 30 persons. Of the 30 persons registered 3 are girls, myself, a girl who seems to only be in the class because her boyfriend is taking it and a 3rd girl who was not in attendance tonight.
As I walked into the room and took my customary seat near the front, so as to actually see the board somewhat, I glanced around me. Most of the boys in the class are just that, boys, little more than 18 years old, many of which still with acne, baseball caps and cartoon characters adorning their dirty T-shirts. Some of the others, who are not at first glance boys, are dressed in a fashion reminiscent of the nerd, dress pants, long sleeved dress shirts, immaculately combed hair and glasses. The remainder are obviously there on a whim in an attempt to pull up their GPA's these are the slackers, the ones who wear baggy clothes, look as though they just rolled out of bed even though the class is at 6pm, and don't take notes, participate and I'm sure are only their for the gameplay. If I were to wager a guess I'd say less than half of these guys have ever had a girlfriend, let alone kissed a girl.
I figured I'd give them the benefit of the doubt though, and as I pulled out my notebook to take lecture notes I began listening in on the conversations around me, to get a feel for what type of people these actually were. The topics of conversation included video games (understandable due to the nature of the class), D&D (again not so far off the mark, although at this point I was beginning to think my suspicions were confirmed), skateboards (slightly cooler than dorks, but still pre-pubescent), blogs (yes, yes I have one too, but mine is not on technical manuals and hacker codes!), message boards (those frequented appear to include sci-fi, RPG, video games, hacking, modding, pirating and the like), and then a lively debate regarding Mac or PC occurred followed by a discussion on Linux as an operating system and the benefits of hacking... Rudimentary hacking I might add. At which point I realized I had in fact enrolled myself in the dorkiest of all the classes at the University. I honestly believe I would be hard pressed to find a class with more nerds per capita.
I suppose I must clarify a bit though, only about half were nerds, some also fell into the category of dorks, dweebs, geeks and hackers.
On a only slightly related note my suspicions about the never been with a girl, were confirmed when we went to the gameplay portion of the class. (Yes for every 2 hour lecture we get an hour of hands-on gameplay on that which we discussed in lecture.) As I waited patiently for my turn on a console more than one of these guys gladly and willingly gave up their controllers for me to have a turn and then stood as close to me as possible as I played. One even smelled my hair and said it smelled nice, which is by no means a bad thing, but the approach was rather.... um.... creepy!
For all my griping though the class doesn't seem horrible, I'm sure I will enjoy myself and learn a lot, at least I'm going to hope so.... I guess we'll find out next week when I return to the Den of the Dorks.... LOL

AutoCAD: friend or foe?

This semester I decided to take a course in drafting with AutoCAD for the stage. Today we had class 3 or perhaps 4 of the semester. It was the 2nd class we were really getting into and using the program to draft things. We are currently drafting very basic orthographic drawings (front, side, top views of stuff.) The first one was super easy and I was so proud of myself because I finished it before the end of last class. I entered the class room all proud of myself and ready to jump headfirrst into the program again today.
The problem was that once I dove in, I hit my head. Or as best as I can surmise it, I basically forgot everything we'd learned last night. My lines kept coming out diagonally, tools kept having stupid rules or line errors or keystroke errors and I couldn't get anything to work. The create new wizard has abandoned me and still has not re-surfaced as did the save option. Although with some tinkering I made that one re-appear so the work I put in today was not in vain. I did finish the assignment about 20 min after class ended and after everyone had left the room, I e-mailed it to the Prof so now all I can do is wait to see if I did it right. Alas I fear I did not, but only time will tell.
So thus far my feelings on AutoCAD are very mixed. I see the merit of the program, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it may have been created by a MAC user, based solely upon the lack of regard for regular mouse click ,drag and roll options! And you all know how I feel about all things MAC!!

Song of the Week

"She Thinks my Tractor's Sexy" - Kenny Chesney

Muffins

I have decided that I really dislike muffins. I mean I haven't just decided this, it is an ongoing pet peeve of mine, muffins are. I know you are wondering how I can dislike an inanimate object like muffins so much, but it's true, I do!
I dislike the texture of muffins, muffins are often made huge so you get "the biggest bang for your buck" meaning that they will use huge muffin tins to bake them and often ice cream scoops to scoop them into these huge trays leaving the consumer with these gigantic monstrosities known as muffins! This in and of itself is not a huge deal except that because they are SO big they rarely get cooked all the way through so the middle is gooey, not moist and yummy, but raw and gooey. Or else the middle is cooked and this is only achieved by charring the outside of the muffin so that it is either burnt looking/tasting a mixture of the two or rubbery and thick making the inside seem gooey even when it is not in comparison with the rest of the muffin.
Another drawback to muffins is the amount of fat in a muffin. Even low fat muffins are fattening, simply because all they are is carbs!! The trays they are made in are first "painted" with a layer of grease to ensure they pop out easily and the contents of the muffins themselves is mainly flour and sugar in abundance. I mean honestly if I wanted to eat that many empty calories I would simply eat a piece of cake, but people think "because it's a muffin and not cake it must be healthy for me." It's not!
In fact my deep-rooted hatred of muffins is so defined that I have determined it is the one factor that will determine the perfect man for me. He will be a fellow-muffin-hater. LOL

Quote of the Day

"Sometimes I slip into my own little world...but, that's okay...they know me there."

Uses for the Internet Part 1

So today I purchased a pizza via the internet. Pizza 73 offers online shopping for pizza, you simply place your order over the website, hit the submit button and it prints you out a confirmation and then in 20-40 minutes a pizza guy shows up at your door with a wireless debit machine, and delivers you pizza. It's absolutely amazing really. I wonder what they'll come up with next.

Rant of the Day

So I couldn't sleep and at 2 in the morning it seemed perfectly reasonable to transcribe Stewie quotes from the Family Guy season 4. LOL So here's the best of them, it's not perfect 'cuz I have no idea what he's saying, it's hard to understand some of his words when he's screaming and pissed off... but it's still a good rant so I'm posting it as is:

"Girlfriend? Oh what kind of sick twisted game are you playing at? HA! I got your hat! Take that, hatless! Now go back to the quad and resume your hackey-sack tourney! I'm not going to lie down for some frat boy bastard with his damn Teva sandals and his Skoal Bandits and his Abercrombie and Fitch long-sleeve, open stitched, crew-neck henley smoking his sticky buds out of a soda can while watching his favourite downloaded Simpson episodes every night! Yes, we all love Mr. Plow - oh, you've got the song memorized, do you? SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE! That is exactly the kind of idiot you see at Taco Bell at one in the morning - the guy who just whiffed his way down the bar-skank ladder. If he wants to throw hands, I'll throw hands!" - Stewie Griffin "8 Simple Ways to Sell my Daughter"

Quote of the Day

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Time Off: The Hard Way

Been awhile since I posted, I managed to get myself stuck in a hectic-busy-crazy life schedule for the past couple weeks, what with school starting, still doing training for work, working the table for Improv club, making posters & flyers for Improv and going out partying way too much. LOL, pretty fun though.
And on the upside in the midst of partying I gave a cute cowboy my number, LOL, not that's he's called, but the point is I gave it to him.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) as I choose to look at it I got a day off. I hurt my eye last week, still not sure how, and I finally gave in and went to the hospital yesterday morning after I couldn't see well enough to put on my glasses. I was there over 2 1/2 hours and they determined I probably needed steroid drops so they gave me some and made ma an appointment with an opthomologist, which I went to this morning. The opthomologist says I have an iritis (http://www.iritis.org) and that my iris (the blue part) is inflamed and sticking to my eyeball causing stress & discomfort. He gave me drops to dilate my pupils and then corticosteroid ones to take down the swelling. I've been on them for about 12 hours at this point and I still can't put on my glasses or see properly, in fact now it's kind of fuzzy as well as sore. Thanks goodness I have Zoomtext on my computer or I couldn't even be typing. So I really hope these drops start working by tomorrow as I am in transition week at work and the first week of classes at school and I really can't afford to miss another day of either.
Oh and the other fun part, I'm supposed to take the corticosteroid drops every hour which means I get little sleep tonight and on top of that the school's drug plan is in a "blackout" period so I had to put up the $50 for the drops out of my own pocket, but they will most likely reimburse me in October, so that's something.
While I was at home today I made a website for the Improv Club at the University, it's pretty neato, check it out:
http://people.uleth.ca/~amberjoy.boyd

Coffee Rants

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall! Decaf! Cappuccino!" - Joe from "You've Got Mail"

"Oh I see what they’re doing! They call “small” “tall” because it makes the customer feel good when they pay $3 for a urine sample sized cup of coffee swill! This way it seems like they are getting more because the word “tall” is stuck into their psyche. I see their psychological marketing trickery! You tricky bastards that’s what you all are!" - Foamy the Squirrel

"And Vien-tee isn’t even a word! It’s some f***ing “hoighty toighty phrase used to make people feel more sophisticated when ordering a large coffee so when they part with the $5 for the coffee they don’t feel like a f***ing moron. " - Foamy the Squirrel

Song of the Week

"Lady" - Styx

Sushi

Sushi, well more specifically sashimi is just about the most perfect food in the world. It's so texturally wonderful. I love how when you put it in your mouth and push down it squishes. It's such a fun food to eat. In fact the whole sushi experience is fun. You get to use chopsticks, which is definitely cool as if you use them outside the context of sushi or Chinese food people look at you funny (believe me, I use them for everything, try eating salad with chopsticks and see how people look at you.) When you are eating sushi though it is only socially acceptable to use chopsticks so if you can't you are in the minority not like the rest of the time when forks are the norm. (I think forks are horribly overrated)
The other wonderful thing about the sushi experience is the pickled ginger, which next to dill pickles is my favourite pickled food, and wasabi, which is just about the best spicy food around. I love the way wasabi hurts in the nose, not the throat, when you eat a big glob of it.
The best part about sushi though is the variety and the general healthiness of the food.
All in all I think sushi is winning as my favourite eating experience.

Hamsters

I have two hamsters which I acquired less than a month ago from the pet store. They are both very cute. Their names are Mouse & Gerbil. They live in a cage that I bought over a year ago for a previous hamster I had who had an untimely end when Celeste (my ex's cat) scared him to death at Christmas. I decided as I am no longer with my ex and as I am not able to have a cat in my apartment that I would try again with hamsters. They are both dwarf hamsters and fit into the palm of my hand. They are beige with dark stripes running down their backs.
I didn't know the sex of my hamsters until today when Mouse (who is the larger of the two, and apparently a girl) had a baby! It was the tiniest, pinkest, ugliest little thing ever! I named it KusKus. My roommate read up on the web and evidently we are not to touch the baby or the "nest" (i.e. clean the cage) for two weeks, which is a shame as I was intending to clean it tomorrow as it has only been cleaned once since I got them.
So evidently Gerbil is a boy, and not just for obvious reasons, we looked it up on the net. LOL

Song of the Week

"Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" - Big & Rich

Journally

So we did simulations of tech calls at work today. It was pretty good, kinda stressful. I hate how frazzled I get under pressure. I was reminded, yet again, why I'm a tech major and not a drama major in Theatre arts. LOL
Oh and super-dee-duper news on the subject of school. I got into the Tuesday night course I wanted, "Theory & aesthetics of Video Games." You seriously study the theory of video games and one hour of every three hour class is spent playing games! Suggested materials for the course include memory cards for PS2 and Gamecube. I'm so stoked! I didn't think I'd get in because it was reserved for New Media and then it was full and then this morning I tried again on a lark and I got in! YAY Me!! Well more specifically YAY God!!!
With the addition of that one I'm currently enrolled in like 5 courses but I have to drop 2, I just can't decide exactly what to take. I have Playwriting, and the pre-req to Playwriting (LOL) and Designing with Autocad for the stage. I also put myself in logic and Anthro 1000 and I tried to get into Japanese 101 but it wouldn't let me, oh well. Funny part is I don't even need courses to get my degree, I've already done my pre-req to convocate classes. So this semester is all about the fun.
If I enjoy work at Convergys I may go full-time come January and try to get a job as a T.L. or as Floor Support, both seem quite decent but they don't even really consider you 'til you've been at the company 6 months.... So come January if I go full time I may have a shot sometime in the spring. That's be cool, although then I may be limiting myself to Lethbridge, still don't know why God keeps calling me back here.... But I'm sure in His time and not mine He'll show me.... I hate lessons in patience. LOL
Well anyways I'm off to make cookies, going to Waterton tomorrow with peeps from worky and I promised I'd bring dessert or desert (whichever doesn't involve sand LOL)!

Sleepy!

2:30 - Workin' on burnin' a CD, just finished blanching some corn (LOL, how very Huderite of me) K-Lite going pretty good, being a bit slow though :( Oh well I guess that'll happen when d/ling over 200 songs.. :P Talked with Boo, she had a good birthday. Wish I coulda been there with her... but she understands.

3:00 - Sleep lookin' pretty good... guessin' perhaps 5ish I'll get to bed.... Gotta finish burning CD and I think K-Lite & Nero have joined forces against me....

3:15 - Listening to music.... so many dirty lyrics is songs from work peeps, naughty people!!! LOL, Boo suggested music too, probably no time until tomorrow.

3:30 - CdeX has joined forces with K-Lite & Nero to thwart my efforts!

3:40 - K-Lite has left the battle, I am victorious.... Playing "Guess the Dictator or Television Sit-Com Character" http://www.smalltime.com/dictator.html stating to get a bit obsessive.... Thwarted them with Gimpy from Undergrads & Nicki from 6teen, almost had them on Fred Flinstone but 4 others guessed likewise and 17 others on the Jetsons. Boo thwarted them on Zoey from Zoey 101. They guessed Lizzy McGuire though, go figure... and Richard from Caroline in the City has been guessed a bunch.

4:00 - Hoping to be asleep by 5.... Maybe.... darn Nero. Install #3 here I come!

4:10 - K-Lite decided round two was in order, now slowing down Guess the Dictator... too slow to function... thining of coffee....

4:15 - Realized I hate coffee.... thinking of tea.....

4:16 - Realizing tea = no sleep.... hmmm.... re-thinking caffeine altogether

4:30 - Settling for dill pickles

4:45 - School server is down.... Pinged it and Tracerouted it and nothing. LOL, not necessary but very proud of myself that I can do those things... considered renewing my IP 'cuz I can and realizing that would probably make K-Lite hate me anymore, thinking better of it.

5:00 - Sleep nowhere in site. Nero finally installed, no music d/ling at 128 X 44.... stupid encryption!!!

5:30 - Sun's up now, kinda sad... I don't like when the sun gets up before I sleep, doesn't seem right.... Cleaned up kitchen, re-inflated inflatable couch, gotta remember to look for that leak when I'm coherent... cleaned up my room, considered cleaning cupboards, realized too tired to stand on chair without falling off again... re-wrote grocery list ('cuz I could) Filled out msn profile, Where are you Now profile, Classmates profile.... Thinking I'm on too many websites.

5:40 - Hi5, Bebo, WAYN, Classmates, BirthdayAlarm, MSN, Geocities, Piczo, Livejournal, Ringo, Reunion & Blogger, too many profile managers!!

5:50 - Almost done, thwarting CdeX by putting all files into it! Finally got Nero to install.

6:00 - Putting on pyjamas.... almost bedtime!!!

6:15 - Nero failed, GRRRRRRRRR.... one more time!

6:30 - Burning, burning, burning.... I don't care anymore I'm going to bed I'll check on it when I get up at 10:00am.

Goodnight!

September

I remember learning this poem in grade one:

In September for a while, I will ride a crocodile
Down the chicken soupy Nile.
Paddle once, paddle twice, paddle chicken soup with rice

LOL,
Just so you don't think I'm too crazy here's the linky to more Chicken Soup poems! We learned them every month in grade one.
Chicken Soup