You don't know how many songs you know are David Bowie

I don't have much to say. Here are some pictures of my nephew (pronounced 'nef-oo') in Nova Scotia:

This is Finnan baby on my knees. We had a fun time since he thinks his feet are hilarious, especially when you put them in his mouth. The shirt says "Bzzzzzy Lil {picture of a bee}". Don't worry, it took me a second too.

This is me and Finnan in the church basement. We're having a great time, hanging out, sleeping and so on. Sounds like what a good day should be.

(I never followed the blogging rules before, so yes, this is me with pictures of myself on my blog. I've been using my real name the whole time too.)

X-MEN!!! ?

So my brother has the X-men trilogy, and naturally I watched it. I want Jean’s hair from the last stand. Its fricken gorgeous.

I’m a huge mega Wolverine fan. Not Wolverine from the comic or the cartoon but the one from the movies. And don’t misread this as a crush on Hugh Jackman, it’s a crush on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. Completely different. And he's totally the main character, they list him first in the 'Cast' section of the creidts and everything (not to metion the rumour of the Wolverine movie, which I have mixed feelings about). The many sides of Hugh-verine:

In the Canadian Rockies and you don't want to mess with this Admantium, Wolverine.

In some cloudy, oddly lit alter existence but still fighting the good fight Wolverine.

Running in my spandex-rubber suit to check out that weird vent rattle Wolverine.

The "I care" Wolverine.

My jeans are possibly tighter than Halle Berry's Wolverine.

I know great hair Wolverine.

I'm a freak out on the bus

I’m here in Nova Scotia and I’ve been up for 19 hours, a little above average, but I guess not much. A little much considering its only midnight eastern standard time, but I got up at 5 am so whatever.

Thanks to my amazing roommate (who was compensated with weird Scandinavian beer) I got to the airport on time for my super short flight that was like an hour and fifteen minutes, once we go into the air.

Anyway, I have now met my nephew in person, and I think he likes me. Actually, I think he likes it when he is jiggled – as task easily performed by any half competent person – but I’ll pretend that its actually me he likes. He sure is a cutie. I totally imagined him (from the pictures I’ve seen previously) as bigger than he is. He’s actually super tiny, which pretty much makes sense for a 2 month old baby.

I’m going to kick back and hang out with the bro-bro, Fre-Fran and bib-baby for the next week, after which I will reread my paper with fresh eyes so I can see how awkward my sentence constructions really. When you’re so close and involved with a paper its so difficult to separate, and I always end up thinking, “Of course it makes sense! You [kindly proof reader/pyweon] don’t know anything.”

Right. I’m going to sleep now, it’s been a long but very worthwhile day.

Peace out.

Canoe Reeves

My paper is now at 22 pages and 6,000 words. To finish this draft all I have to do is write the introduction and conclusion, which I was told to write last in high school. But I usually never do, I always wrote the intro first, it helped me organize the paper in my head. And I always use 1.5 spacing too, but this time I left the margins at 1 inch instead of my usual 1.5 cm. Apparently with double spacing its already 30 pages, but we won’t let on that we know to my prof, no no no.

Have you had enough of hearing about my paper? Well, lucky for you I’m almost done. But it’s not actually due until January 4th, 2007, so there’s the possibility of research paper discussion until then. As I well confessed to my office mate that I’m obsessed with my paper, to which she replied “Yeah y’are” (or something to that effect). I love writing linguistics research papers… I guess that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

The semester is closing fast, I don’t feel like I’ve been here that long. I’m one third done my masters. Cool beans. I’m getting more used to Ottawa, which is still no Toronto, but I know more people better than when I first got here (obviously). I even went out for ‘drinks’ with some profs and other students. None of the students had anything alcoholic to drink because we have a syntax take home exam due today, but all the profs had beer. I know Dinah has experience drinking with her professors, but this is a new experience for me. It’s interesting to get to know them as social people instead of just as teachers. And it’s pretty awesome because the department here is very keen on hiring young, hip people so the three profs that came out were in the 28-32 year old range. Pretty fun.

Have you seen Proof? Good movie, math movie, therefore good. Redeems Gwyneth Paltrow from the worst movie ever – Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – and I mean worst EVER. I expect more of Gwyneth now that’s she’s married to Chris Martin and has borne two of his children.

Mmmmmm, I have a roommate date with both my roommates tomorrow to go to Ahora and to eat awesome, cheap, authentic Mexican food. Chris has never been there so we’re making sure he get’s the full experience. Good times. Hurrah.

Today is a good day

This week has been a pretty feel good week. Maybe it’s the big fluffy snow that finally decided to show up, maybe it’s the little twinkling Christmas lights peeking out into the street, maybe it’s the peanut butter Kit-Kat bars I keep eating, or the Disney princess advent calendar I have… maybe. Or maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have any exams this year (other than a take home which doesn’t count since it’s not even during the exam period). Why is this year unlike any other year? Because I’m not super stressed out, studying for my nazi math class until 3 am in Burwash or writing my final Nishnaabemwin paper into the wee hours of the morning on the second floor of the most homely Robarts.

My mind and body are discussing the phenomena that is this December, unlike any other December since like Jr. High school. Maybe the week has been so good because I’ve been writing my person-case constraint/syntax paper and I’m loving it. I usually love my linguistics papers, which really helps because then I don’t hold back form throwing myself at it. Maybe it’s because I have syntax take home exam which doesn’t phase me at all even though I’m fairly sure “What did John think seemed to have really been said yesterday?” is ungrammatical.

Maybe it’s because I asked a professor to be my supervisor today and it went really well. I might even get to go on a Linguistics road trip! Hey-ya! Everything’s coming up Milhouse! (There won’t BE a home later.) I feel really good right now. I even got the beginnings of my PhD applications done this week, asking for reference letters and everything. This isn’t really that much of an accomplishment since I should have started all this in September but at least I didn’t leave it so long that my applications couldn’t get in by the due date.

Also I get to see beautiful nephew baby baby baby on Monday when I fly out to Nova Scotia. Pretty frickin exciting.

Some times I wonder if maybe I am just the teensy eensy tiniest little bit manic-depressive, not to any clinical or affecting degree. No, the reason I say this is because I regularly go through phases of proliferance and indolence (I wish Anna read my blog, she’s the only one who would get that). I have like 5 days of extreme focus where everything gets done really fast, efficiently and well and then I have an indeterminate amount of time where I can’t focus on anything at all. I’ve learned sometimes to not force myself to work during the wave crests of indolence because it’s a fruitless endeavour, I instead wait for the proliferant time to return and then everything is alright.

I think I tell you way too much about myself.
Did I mention that I can’t sit still?

Ymeh

Previous post wouldn't show up how I wanted. Now its decided to disappear. Maybe it will reappear at some point. Boo-urns.

Because I like you all so very much

Amusing exerpt from prof email:

Hi. A few of you have expressed interest in an optional additional homework assignment. Please let me know if you are interested and if there is a particular type of problem you woud particularly like to optionally solve.

Your Majesty

[[ Post thought better of and deleted. ]]

Here, have a picture instead:

Cap in Hand

I know I’ve told you before about how certain music reminds me of spans of events. But I was listening to Sunshine on Leith, that is, the Proclaimers, on my iPod and it brought me back to a different kind of memory. There are certain collections of music that remind me of my parents and my childhood.

I associate Sunshine on Leith with driving with my dad in his green Mazda pick-up, and I think there was also another Proclaimers album in the mix there. I think of the rents when I hear the Beach Boys because they have some of those records (like vinyl old-school records). Patsy Cline is totally my mom, walking after midnight, in the moonlight, just waiting for you.

A lot of that childhood music is associated with the vinyl collection circulating through the ol’ turntable. Like Boney M and the valuable lesson in Russian history (“Ra-ra-rasputin, lover of the Russian queen”) and Puff the Magic Dragon.

A lot of musicals also come to mind, particularly Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat and Cats since my mom took us to those when we were kids. All very good soundtracks if you ask me. And for anyone who maintains that Cats is stupid, you probably don’t even know that the song lyrics are from T. S. Eliot poems and that T. S. Eliot wrote “The Hollow Men.” Yeah. Think about it. No, YOU think about it.

I know we probably had some kid music rolling around as well, but mostly what I remember is from the TV shows, like Skinamarink and some Fred Penner classics.

But, when I was like 10 or something my cousins gave me this tape called “Cool Jammings.” This must have been my first experience with ‘real’ music, all contemporary and mainstream and everything. It was a collection of beach and summer related songs. These included Stir it Up, Kokomo, Hands up (give me your heart, give me give me your heart, give me give me), Montego Bay, The Tide is High (and I’m moving on, you’re gonna be my number one), Red Red Wine, and many other timeless classics. I didn’t forget much about that tape, especially the fact that my older brother ‘hid’ it from me. I’m sure his reasoning was that he needed to constantly assert his eldest sibling-ness. I think he threw it out because I searched the house for it and it was NOWHERE. Jerk face. Yeah, you heard me. I called you a jerk face (that was just to my brother).

Anyway, what music reminds you of your parents? Anything hilariously embarrassing? I hope so.

But the very next day you gave it away

Well, good weekend with Dinah, who left on Sunday. I believe she will be posting pictures of all the food we ate, so I suggest you all check that out when they pop up (link on the sidebar). Its always the way… you never do touristy thing sin the city you live in unless you’re with someone who wants to be touristy for a while. Unfortunately they had a big box thing around the eternal flame fountain that’s in front of parliament, I really wanted to show her that because its my favourite thing there. Oh well. We looked at the statues and stuff anyway.

And oh the food, there’s this Mexican restaurant called “Ahora” with, seriously, the best nachos ever. And everything on the menu comes with guacamole. So good.

Well, I don’t feel very coherent or narrative at the moment. However, I can tell you about my paper!

I’m writing a final paper for my Person-Case constraint seminar in which I will be talking about inverse systems, normally found in inverse systems (but attested in other language families as well). I’m going to review previous work on the topic which uses different analytic approaches: 1) Grammar external animacy hierarchies, 2) Syntactic and 3) Morphological. I wanted to make my analysis morphological in nature, but it will definitely have to be morpho-syntatic since the agreement on the verb obviously interacts with the syntactic structure. I’m going to compare 3 Algonquian languages, Plains Cree, Passamquoddy and Ojibwa. I’m hoping to get the meat of my argument with Ojibwa, since that’s supposedly “my language”.

But it should be good. I’m going through phases of feeling really good about it and being a little terrified. Its not due till January 3^rd, and only like 25 pages so I really don’t have anything to worry about. Normally I would have a grand total of 3 weeks to work on a paper like that while doing papers, assignments and exams for other classes at the same time. But no, I just have this left, so I’m going to make it as good as I can.

Ok. So I’m really hoping Dinah does a good blogging of the weekend since I don’t feel like I can. But it was good. Very good.

I <3 Wham!.

The British are coming

So MSN hates me for some arbitrary reason. This week I have not been able to sign onto msn from my computer. It just says “Service temporarily unavailable.” Well maybe my version of temporary differs from theirs or else they’re screwing with me for some reason. Nothing changed on my computer. It just will not let me sign in. I even re-downloaded and re-installed it. Piece of Microsoft crap, that’s what I say.

So how do you deal with people you don’t particularly want to be associated with in every situation? Say you’re helping someone with their Phonology homework, and conversation naturally intersperses itself throughout the study time. Good enough. But, also, say this someone has the loudest, most wall penetrating voice you’ve ever encountered and the door to your office is wide open. Further, suppose this person starts telling a story that would easily be interpreted as wildly inappropriate and offensive and repeats the possibly offensive word over and over, and takes his sweet, ear piercing time telling it. Clearly I am now associated with the inappropriateness since it’s in my office. Clearly my likely reputation and a decent person is completely ruined since my office neighbours that of two professors. How do I disassociate from that?

It was obviously impossible during the telling of the tale to tell this someone to shut the ---- up since I am just not the kind of person who can do that. I tried to make signals that I wanted to work and that the phonology study session was over.

Seriously, I need some advice on this. I lost sleep last night. Why can’t people take hints and shut up? I know I should shut up sometimes, and I apologize if I have similarly put anyone into this situation. But honestly, he was so loud. The possible consolation that someone might not have heard was completely destroyed with the mental reminder of the decibel level produced.

I didn’t even want to show my face in the department today, but had to in order to go to class.

Nothing's gonna stop us now

Well sports fans, we have reached the presentation finish line because I am DONE presentations for this semester. The last one was yesterday, and yes, I did turn red, and yes, my handout did shake in my hand but it went pretty well. I figure the major saving factor in any presentation is just really knowing what you’re talking about. So if you get lost on your handout or someone asks a question then it’s ok. Easy!

But now it’s paper writing time. Before I was expecting to have to write two final papers, but then a light shone down from the insulating ceiling tiles above and directed is sparkling rays on the top of my yesterday-showered head. I have the same professor for the two classes that I have final papers in, one class is at the MA level while the other is a PhD seminar. She suggested to me and the other MA student in the seminar that that we should just make the seminar paper a little longer and it would count for the syntax class as well.
Can anyone say Bouya?
Can I get a Holla?

Yeah, I know, amazing. So instead of writing a 20 page paper and a 12 page paper (having to think of distinct topics for both) I just have to write a 25 page paper, all in a continuous flow. I’ve written 25 page papers before, it should be fine.

But today it’s finally SuNnY! Its been raining most days for a few weeks now, and I walked out of my bedroom door this morning and began experiencing an odd sensation in my eyes. I thought to myself, what is different? After a few blinking moments I realized that it was the beautiful light streaming through the window and the lack of low rain clouds in the sky.

So, I’m feeling pretty good. I hope you get a slice of goodness and/or sunshine in your day too.

A runcible spoon

I bought my first uOttawa hoodie today! Now I can wear it instead of my U of T hoodie, which is my favourite, but I feel funny when people see me on campus. I feel like they think I’m saying that I’m better than them, but really I’m just wearing my awesome hoodie. So my new one is like cyan blue or something (Amina, I don’t think you read my blog, but it’s the same colour as that U of T hoodie you got in the spring) which is fantastic since I love blue, but its also kind of a girly blue. I’m finding that a little bit of girl in my wardrobe is probably not so bad, but I could never go all the way to pink, that would betray my very self.

My last presentation is on Monday, and then its paper writing time! Also I’m incredibly excited that Dinah is coming to visit me next weekend, ye-ah! We’re going to eat nachos and poutine and our hearts will stop during the most amazing weekend EVER! This Saturday my roommate and I are throwing a surprise birthday party for our other roommate who turned 26 last weekend. We’re calling it Operation Alpha-Beta… because he’s as many years old as there are letters in the alphabet, and everything sounds cooler when you use Greek letters. There’s also an Operation Hot Brother underway, but I won’t explain that now. And if it sounds bad to you then I’m ashamed of you and I punish you to watching some Arrested Development.

Does anyone else struggle with the question, “So what exactly do you do?” Because I cannot succinctly tell people what I do do. Meh. Anyway, I toyed with the idea of putting the best picture ever up today, but I haven’t because Pyweon might not be thrilled about it (even though I’m in the picture too). It’s from that time we had a girls night at Sharona’s. I think you remember.

Peace out.

Dear Mature Student,

I am very happy for you that you are taking more school and getting the education in the area you always wanted to. I think its fabulous when people do what they actually want to do in life, so Kudos for breaking out of the traditional behaviours dictated by our society. But I have a few things to say.

First, if you are one of those mature students who sits in the middle-back of the class and quietly takes your notes, asks relevant questions and generally acts like a normal student I have no beef with you, keep doing what you’re doing.

If you are the other kind of mature student I would really like to fill you in on a few facts. We know that you’re old, plain and simple. Not to be overly rude, but we can see that and judge the level of your oldness purely on physical factors, so don’t think we do not realize this fact. We also know that by virtue of being old you have had more years of life experience than we have. This is clear. So please do not talk to us in your sing-song storyteller voice like we’re 9 year olds who have a hard time understanding any degree of abstractness. We don’t need it and rarely do we appreciate it.

We know you’ve done other jobs and degrees before you came here to study with us, and when it’s relevant we are friendly with the idea that you would like to share some of that information with us. But relevance is key. It is utterly painful to have to sit through you’re attempt at an eloquent diatribe explaining some riveting phenomena in literature studies, philosophy, English, or any other discipline that is not the one related to this particular class’ course code.

We do not want to hear how you did it back in the day when that does not align itself to how we do it now. Your virtue of being old does not excuse you from the mass amounts of reading that we all have to do or the current level of understanding we are supposed to achieve. Just because you dress in more formal clothes and completely exclude hoodies from your wardrobe does not fool the professor as to your amount of intelligence. In fact, professors are quite clever these days at evaluating students based on their actual work and analysis.

Overall, I do not appreciate your condescension, mostly because I am not a member of the lower gentry in the early 19^th century. I do not mean to disrespect my elder but please realize that we are equals in the context of our studies and we wish to be treated as such.

Mostly I am asking that you shut up in class because we have no interest in you making class go longer than scheduled. I do not agree with your whispered scathing comments but have no socially appropriate outlet to tell you this.

Thanks.

Aren’t we the same as we were in Jr High?

I was just wondering about that today. In girl circles, at least, we still tease each other about boys, complain about homework, eat junk food and watch movies together, and have sleep-overs. The biggest change is the amount of parental involvement/supervision we have to deal with. We decide when we want to do all of those things and no one is yelling down the stairs for us to be quiet while we’re giggling on the living room floor.

I mean, we still watch the same movies we did when we were 13: Dirty Dancing, 10 Things I Hate About You, Centre Stage, Save the Last Dance, The Little Mermaid. The quality and selection of flick seems to be fairly constant. There’s always the new movies thrown in there but the classics remain (and yes, I leave Grease out on purpose).

In Jr High we hung out in guy/girl groups, even now I have the occasion to still do that. We went on (organized) trips where the bus ride was an integral part, and now its just replaced by the spontaneous road trip. We didn’t know where our lives were going or where we end up, and I’m fairly sure that most people my age ponder upon this daily. Some of us have more expendable income (some of us less) but we still buy the clothes and CDs we always did, well, not the exact ones, but you know. A good time hanging out eternally involves good food at some well known casual-type restaurant, but we don’t need the rents to drive us anymore (or we shouldn’t at least). Maybe situations change, but aren’t we still the same? Because seriously I’m not that mature.

Just a thought.

Fig. 1.1 'S'more'

CGNU

It makes me think about coffee while I'm drinking coffee.

2010!

Should I move to Vancouver next year and go to UBC so that I can be in the Lower Mainland in 2010 for the winter Olympics? Actually, I don’t care what you think, I make my own decisions. If I think that going to a school simply to geographically coincide with the Olympics is what I want then that’s what I’m going to do.

Crazily I am again looking at schools, deciding where I might want to do a doctorate. I could go on and on, but I don’t really feel like talking about it right now. But if McGill would let me in I would definitely go there, and hopefully the Olympics would be during reading week….

Am I insane? Is more school what I want? (And yet I do go on and on.) Yes, I think it is… its like avoiding the real world for longer but also being trained and prepared for actual jobs in the real world, doing things I actually want to do. Fortunately grad school is generally funded so it’s not like I’m going to school for 9 years just to have debt for all those years, only half of them. Yes, 9 years, that’ll be about right. I started undergrad at 17 so if all goes in sequence without major complications I should be a doctor of Linguistics when I’m 26.

Maybe I really need to seriously consider a year off. Canada is nice and all, and pretty much the most practical place to do all my schooling, but there’s a whole world out there. A world of no awful presentations or papers (although I kinda like writing papers, we’ll just conclude with a high level of freak-ness contained within my person) where you just do whatever whenever, at least for a few months. Backpacking, the very word tastes sweet as I form it in my mouth.

NOTE: All above questions and ramblings are simply and externalization of ongoing mental dialogue and are not ponderings actually put to you, the reader.

Coldplay

Did you know that if you take your wide-mouthed Nalgene (or any other such reusable container) to 7-11 and fill it with slushie it only ever costs 99 cents? Sweet, I know, but let me tell you that’s a lot of sugar to digest while you’re battling brain-freezes along the way.

I miss having food prepared for me at regular intervals. Don’t worry, I’m sucking it up.

I went to a Catholic church on Sunday, its different, very different from what I’m used to, but it was fine. Very ceremonial and formal. Which can be good.

I’m writing presentation number 2 right now to be presented a week from today.

I love Radiohead, they rock my socks off. There there….

I’m going to my friends house to watch Dr Who tonight, David Tennant is also a sock rocker, but I miss Christopher Eccleston as well.

I was given a Cadbury peanut butter bar today, peanut butter is a close and lasting friend.

I ate a couple packages of Popeye cigarettes. Mmmmm… mhm…

I have to go to class in 10 minutes.

Hallo-weeny

Yes, you will have to put up with a certain volume of baby pictures from now on. But isn't baby cute?

Since I’m telling everyone anyway

So Tuesday was good, I went out trick-or-treating with the little cousins. I did dress up a little, to my shame … my roommate had this board of stick-on moustaches so all three of picked one to wear on Halloween. I wore my stache with an old plaid patterned blazer and I was a salesman, somehow. I guess one of those really greasy salesmen…..

And my roommate went to the Chinese Embassy, but it was closed. Haha, no free electronics for him, probably just an urban legend.

On Monday I did my first presentation which was on feature geometry (in Phonology, I’m not doing Math any more) and I am told that it was pretty good. I don’t know how much I believe it since these comments were expressed alongside a set of other interesting comments. At least I had a partner, which means I only had to talk for half of the 15 minutes and if I started melting into a hideous glob of stage fright I knew she’d still be there to present the conclusion.

This is how it went: I began, doing the intro, presenting the proposal, doing ok. But as pointed out by others afterwards there were few red blotches on my face. The blotches, as the ticking seconds passed by, turned into an even hue of scarlet across the entirety of my normally pasty face. I got redder and redder the longer I kept talking which is accompanied by the hot face feeling.

When I started talking it was mostly full, semi-flowing English sentences. However, as per the increasing blush I began to talk faster and faster as well. My mom calls this my quizzer voice. So by the end of my half of the presentation I was talking too fast and didn’t have any time to think and was almost going to start into a series of frightening convulsions where my voice wavers drastically and I can’t hold a piece of paper. Then my partner took over and I stared at the desk until she was done.

Then, of course, question period comes after and its usually only the prof who’s been asking questions. He asks us what we mean by 3D blah blah blah, so I say, well its like so blah blah blah. He continues to ask, “Could you draw it?” To which I promptly respond, “No.”

Apparently this was funny, saying no to a prof, directly, unapologetically. But my partner began to draw it on the board anyway. I warned my partner many times before the presentation that this would happen, turning red and shaking and what not. I think she felt fairly cautioned because she wasn’t mad at me after or anything.

That was my first presentation, only 3 more to go! Fantastic. People keep telling me it gets easier the more you do it. Whatever.

Sweet Deal

My little cousins who live in the east end of Ottawa made a very enticing offer to me. They said if I went trick-or-treating with them this Tuesday that they would share their candy with me! What a score, and I did not ask them to include me on this venture and share the spoils, it was a spontaneous offer on their part. My elder cousin used to live in Ottawa and go with them, so I was assured that I am simply carrying on the annual tradition.

Also, the costume is optional, so I’m going to opt not to dress up. I don’t think I was ever huge on the costuming; I didn’t like putting the effort into it. Also I only like to move things hundreds of miles if I’m going to have actually a use for them throughout the year. This means I don’t have stuff laying around ready to be costume material, and I also am not crazy about spending money on it.

Maybe as a child I was way more into it, which would make sense especially in the normal sociological perspective. I remember dressing up as a fairy princess – I was super creative. Although in grade 7 (yes, I went trick-or-treating with my friends in grade 7) I went as a bunch of grapes. I tied a whole bunch of purple balloons to a purple knit sweater, it was the best costume I ever had.

Apparently the Chinese Embassy is THE place to go on Halloween here. My roommate was told by his roommate (really reliable information, you see) that they give out techno toys there. One year they allegedly gave out Discmans and other years mp3 players and digital cameras. I’m sure we’re not talking quality here, but still, free electronics is cool. So my roommate will test out this information this year and then I’ll decide whether or not I believe this urban legend.

There, a non-melty non-nostalgic post. Better?

It’s like a bluish purple colour

Going to Chapters is like going home. I walk in and I feel comfortable, consoled, happy. Once inside the door I hear the milk steamer and smell the espresso beans at the in house Starbucks, a little farther in I can smell the Chapters smell. It’s pretty consistent across branches, a kind of new book smell mixed in with the high ceiling/escalator ambience.

Considering the many times I go to Chapters (more so in the past year since Indigo was across the street) I rarely buy anything. It’s the experience of wandering around and browsing that I love. It’s the perfect store, containing thousands of books as well as decent CD and DVD sections. Even though I hate shopping I love getting new books and CDs, they are a semi-exception.

This summer when the T dot was making an attempt at the boiling point of lead I would go to Indigo and sit in the corner reading a comic-strip collection book and indulge in the commercial air conditioning. A/C is guilt free if there’s really nothing you can do to turn it off, so when you’re in the store you might as well embrace it fully.

One time my roommate and I actually got ‘dressed-up’ to go on a roommate date to the bookstore one night. We are wild, I tell you. The self-help section is particularly entertaining if you can get Pyweon to read a book or two out loud in her obnoxious narrator’s voice. It’s the place to go when you don’t know what else to do – everybody loves Chapters.

I remember in high school when getting to a Chapters was a major event since my little bity home town did not have one (I think Starbucks was also a factor in this excitement). It’s like the time we had an international quiz team practice in London – all day we wanted to go to Chapters but never had a chance and it was late when we were heading back so Dr and Mrs A didn’t let us go. However, we did have to stop for gas, which was across the highway from a Chapters. A few/all (can’t remember) of the boys (notice how I was the sensible/boring girl) decided to make a run for it while Dr A was at the pump. That initially didn’t go over very well, although running across the highway might have been exhilarating for them. But when Dr A drove over to collect the delinquents he himself got caught up in the awe of Chapters and began browsing through the books. I think Mrs A was the least impressed out of the group.

Perhaps part of the magic of Chapters, at least for girls my age, is that it reminds us of Belle’s library in Beauty and the Beast. We all want that library, don’t deny that it’s only one of the best movies of your lifetime, you know that it is. But yes, it feels like going home in a wonderful mind expanding way, although the Chapters here hasn’t had a copy of Orwell’s 1984 for a few months.

I miss Toronto

So very, very much. I miss my friends. I miss living downtown, wandering through Yorkville and down Yonge street. I miss using my extensive knowledge of the city core. I miss Springrolls and the incredibly addictive shanghai noodles. I miss ‘Not Just Noodles’ with their reasonably priced and excelelnt bubble tea. I miss ‘Sushi Club’ -- *tear* -- so many, many good times at Sushi Club. I miss 3 am coffee dates at the Timmy Ho-Ho’s around the corner (and desperately trying to win ANYTHING at roll up the rim). I miss convincing Annesley girls that I live there too. I missed the film festival and seeing random stars around. I miss Freedomize, finding a new church really sucks. I miss ice cream runs, and equivalently cookie-dough ice cream. I miss buying clothes on sale from Jacob Conexxion, so many clothes. I miss easily locating south by looking for the CN tower. In fact, I miss the whole exact North-South East-West grid of streets. And I really, really miss the subway, seriously, what kind of city has an entire transit system based on buses?


I don’t miss the construction, and in general I don’t miss the actual U of T. Its not a perfect city, but its my city.

Ottawa is kinda boring maybe b/c of the current friend situation. Living in a residential area is really weird for me, I have never done it before in my life. I grew up in the country, lived in Rez for 2 years then co-op housing at Bay and Bloor for 2 more. There’s nothing really to do on a weeknight, I’m just at home, hating CTV for their crappy programming this fall. Anyway....

Babies Everywhere!

Old, but good.

BABY! I know you're asking me to stay, Say please, please, please, don't go away

I decided to transfer some pictures of Finnan from my brother's online photo account for your viewing ease.

This is a baby in a baby chair.

This is Baby-Momma and baby.

This is my favourite of my brother holding his little son.

I guess he's not even a week old yet so he doesn't have that wide eyed baby look yet. Its funny watching video of him and recognizing the complete lack of sensory-motor skills. All in time. I think at this point he looks more like my sister-in-law's side of family but baby faces change so much so we'll just have to see.

With any luck he'll be a Coldplay fan.

No Mofo Way!!!

Guess who just got mentioned on tonight’s “The Colbert Report”!!!! You’re never going to believe it…..

OWEN FREAKING SOUND!

I am in such a shock at this moment, that Stephen Colbert spent like an entire minute talking about dinky little Owen Sound. It was in relation to his new favourite hockey team, the Saginaw Spirit who named their mascot after him. They play in the OHL and are up against Sarnia, Brampton and OWEN SOUND (the Owen Sound Attack, formerly the Playters) in their next three games.

While readily bashing Sarnia and Brampton he said about Owen Sound, “It actually seems like a nice community,” which takes me by surprise. He’s obviously not familiar with the west side.

Anyway, baby news is much more important, but this is big, this is improbability put down.

And the new era begins

So I’m an aunt, although I really hate the sound of ‘Aunt/Auntie Bethany/Beth’. I have to think of something better for the kid to call me when he learns how to talk. Finnan James was born yesterday at 3:20pm Atlantic Time and is a very healthy 8 pounds 3 ounces.

Momma had to have a c-section, but as far as I can decipher she’s ok. I have yet to actually talk to my brother on the phone, I’m just getting secondary messages at this point. I figure the two new parents are pretty busy and still at the hospital, so I won’t take it personally.

But hooray! My poor sister-in-law was so not enthused to be overdue, but its over. Kinda. More like it just started, but shhhhh, don’t tell her yet. Let her sleep just a little bit more.

If you want to see a picture of my nephew click on the ‘Big Brudder’ link on the sidebar.

Cheers.

I hate shopping

And shoes, I think I can finally admit that I really hate shoes. Every other girl in the world has a fetish with them, I do not. I own sandals, running shoes and only recently did I have to get black leather work shoes. This was not really out of my own volition, but out of “business casual” dominance in my summer-time workplace. That brings the total up to 3 pairs of shoes, if you’re the liberal type who considers sandals shoes.

I was going to say that I hate shopping for clothes and that I like doing it for books and CDs, but really it’s all the same. It takes forever to find what I want at a price I can afford and you have to wander aimlessly around forever to do that. I just hate it. Maybe this is why I’m decent at living thrifty…. and why I don’t really have that many clothes.

And don’t think its because I’m from the boonies, most of my friends were much more into the shopping thing there. And the shoes. Man I hate shoes. Feet should be free.

Is it a privative or binary feature?

So now I have to start thinking about what all my presentations and papers are going to be for the semester. I feel like perhaps I've been slacking off up till now, but I'm all caught up on my readings and I haven't actually forgotten to do anything, I guess this is just how it feels. I really shouldn't get freaked out with the papers and stuff. I think my mind is confused, being so used to have a billion things due for 5 classes, this only 3 classes thing hasn't fully registered yet.

I read another article discussing the PCC (person-case constraint) and a large chunk was talking about why dude used [Author] and [Participant] to define person features rather than including [Hearer]. So he goes on the analyze why [Hearer] doesn't work using the exact system he himself developed to account for the phenomena using [Author] and [Participant]. I mean, what is he thinking? You have to see if AN analysis will work (i.e. doing it from the beginning) with the different features to correctly argue against them. You can't plug them into something that was clearly developed for not it. Whatever, it helps me practice my critical review skills.

I've starting thinking about thesis topics, but its definitely going to take a while before I nail down exactly what I want to research. I'm mostly sure that I'm going to work on Algonquian languages (since I've become very familiar with them anyways) but I now have to pick which syntactic phenomena or class of phenomena I'm going to do. Its hard, because you have to choose something that will give you enough material for a 50 page paper (which I haven't found out if its double spaced or not yet, so potentially 100 pages).

I'm getting a little nervous about the papers I have to start working on, but I really shouldn't. I usually like my papers and am proud of them once they're finished. Its a ride getting to that point but its always worth it. And I need some grad papers so I have more current things to talk about and everything isn't, "What I did in undergrad," which sounds less than impressive.

If you know anyone that speaks an Algonquian language, I'm ready to become their best friend. I make really good orange cookies and crepes if that's enticing enough.

The world’s academic economy runs on grad students

I like Dinah’s post about her soundtrack to life. I could do the same, but then I’d have to go through all the songs I know and remember what type of life moment it reminds me of. But I will instead make an overview of albums and how they relate to my life. I’m not trying to be mushy, work with me. Ok, I’ll do them in the order that I think of them.


Coldplay – X & Y













This album is all about India and Scotland. I bought the album (for 395 rupees) in Calcutta and listened to it also when I was in Edinburgh in the summer of 2005. When I listen to the songs they remind me of my travels. I always think of bonnie ol’ Scotland when I hear “Swallowed in the Sea” and I guess its fitting that Coldplay is from the UK (but don’t call a Scottish person English, big mistake). Sort of an intertwining (….don’t remember what I said….) travels…. India….Scotland… I love Coldplay. (That was for Dinah, and Justin, but I don’t think he knows I have a blog).


Coldplay – Parachutes













Parachutes was all about the summer I worked at camp. I listened to the album all the time. Now when I hear the song “Sparks” I remember my one camper who insisted there were sparks between me and another counselor. She was wrong, of course.


Lifehouse – No Name Face













Don’t make fun, this was in high school. I don’t really want to say any specifics of this album, but I was totally on it for the quiet, emotional ride it provides. You know when you make songs about your life, despite what they’re actually talking about? That’s what I did.


U2 – Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby!, Zooropa










These three albums are first year university and slightly before. I got them in that order as well. Its just good music for good times.


The Killers – Hot Fuss













This album is 4th year all over. “Mr. Brightside” was our song of the year (and me and Amina would scream it in a horrible out of tune fashion at Pyweon), its just music that you can play when anyone comes over and no one ever has a problem with it. I can’t say I’m as excited about Sam’s Town, but maybe I just need to get used to that album.


Newsboys – Take Me To Your Leader













What was that, like grade 6? Jr High? I love the Newsboys, I used to say they were my favourite, but now that’s mostly shifted to U2. The Newsboys are great for when you’re a kid – non-threatening music with sunshine satire blended in. Reminds me of being 12.


Radiohead – Kid A













That’s also a recent one, like last year. This is by far my favourite Radiohead album (and I do own all of them now, except Pablo Honey which I’m not crazy about). It is sometimes very quiet and cool and other times raw.


Ok, so I didn’t really write about what I said I would, but Lila told me to post more, so this is me trying to again post more.

Put a little love in your heart

So its been a while since I actually posted. Now that I have things to do that I usually want to do the blog posting suffers, but I think that is a normal outcome of blogging for many people. So I haven’t contrived anything to sound witty today, nor have I remembered some hidden pop culture phenomenon to share with you while demanding you check it out. I will just tell you about my weekend.

So Friday way my birthday (the big 2 – 2) and it was largely uneventful. Me and my friend Laura had a road trip through Algonquin park b/c she drove me form Ottawa to my family’s cottage in Muskoka, but then she left me and went home. L And oh yeah, I got in trouble for setting off a security alarm in the department, that wasn’t fun, I felt like a huge idiot.

My mom gave a big box full of candy and toys and stuff, she’s always the best at stuff like that. I ate pizza and such with my family and on Sunday we did the Thanksgiving dinner thing, and everyone always wants to know what I eat for some reason. No, I do not eat turkey, and I don’t like stuffing. The staple of my meal is usually mashed potatoes, which I am fully satisfied with.

I got back to Ottawa yesterday only to find many emails and phone messages wishing me a happy birthday. My friends are the best. Especially since I’m one of the worst people for forgetting birthdays. Seriously.

Yes, now I’m in my office at school, class will begin soon and later I get to go fight with the financial aid office. Giving me trouble, they are. And at some point in the next few days I am for sure buying the new Killers album. I’ve only heard one song once from it, but I trust the boys won’t let me down.

Happy Tuesday everyone (and that’s Tunesday to you, Dinah).

No Post

Hansel, so hot right now.



Isn't Magnum beautiful?

Shout outs

These are shouts out to my friends everywhere. (I’m typing this on a French keyboard, so forgive me if some accidental accents show up. I think they should also provide character, and the word processor started me off my underlining every word that doesn’t also happen to be French also).

Shout out to Lila who finally put a new post on her blog and realized that the comments weren’t working before. Thanks for not believing me at the time.

Shout out to Laura who doesn’t have any time to write me a proper email and instead refers me to her blog. But its actually ok because she is having the time of her life in BC, so I’m happy for her and can’t wait to hear about it all, as well as when she is actually going to visit me.

Shout out to my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting my first niece/nephew in like a week (my guess is that the kid will steal all my thunder by being born on my birthday, but that can’t really be helped).

Shout out to Dinah who’s blog I read every chance I get and who I know sometimes writes things in her posts just to let me know she remembers all the good times we had. I miss you Dinah! And about the applying for grad school thing, I know EXACTLY how you feel.

Shout out to Sue who is always open to talking to me and who is currently making things happen in her life. Right Sue?

Shout out to Rachel who is rocking it up in her 4th year, I’m sad that I have seen so little of you this year, but I’ll hold it together.

Shout out to the rest of the Living Room, its not the same here without you.

Shout out to Ben and Marike. Because they are my friends. And shout out to Nicolene too, but I’m not expecting her to check my blog anytime soon.

Shout out to Megs in Alberta.

Shout out to Roz. Hahaha, you still have 2 year of undergrad left!

Shout out to Tala, my grad school buddy (who is at a different school). And Sara too, you get a shout out.

Shout out to Danny because he doesn’t get to shout out to my window instead of ringing the doorbell anymore.

Shout out to Pyweon, I’m sure you’re going crazy over some paper by now. Shout out to Amina, also, for getting our names mixed up and always bailing on me. Tell Barbara I say hi.

Shout out to my family in Ottawa, they take good care of me.

Shout out to my family at home, I know they will send me grocery money when I have zero dollars in the bank. Also its my mom’s birthday soon, shout out to that.

I know that can’t be all the shout outs, and I know that most of the aforementioned don’t take the time to check my blog, but I try.

Prewritten instead of paying attention in class

It’s a titration, you see. Coffee is bitter (or perhaps acidic) and you need to balance these factors with the cream and sugar. Too much cream and you don’t really have coffee anymore. Too much sugar and you’re drinking a sludge-like syrup at the bottom of the cup. But without enough cream or sugar the sting of the coffee irritates the back of your tongue and gives a strong bitter aftertaste. So it’s a matter of balance and titration, reaching the point where the strong roast turns into caffinating goodness. I maintain that it’s all my new roommate’s fault; she’s got me thinking about coffee everyday. I mean, I’m going to 2nd Cup and ordering Ethiopian Medium instead of a vanilla bean latter or a hot chocolate. This is madness.

I’ve been feeling happy about the sate of my life recently. Looking back at the summer and the craziness that was going on there, being back in school is a desirable outcome for this fall. I had offers and pleas from various constituents at the ol’ pension company to stay on for an extra 4 moths until I solidly figured out what to do next. I see this as a corporation trying to sink its claws into me before I could get away so they could gain another compliant and efficient worker to positively adjust the processing statistics and better their corporate reputation.

I did apply to humanitarian organizations: the UN’s World Food Programme Wycliffe Bible Translators, the Himalayan Trust Fund. I feel that work along those lines is definitely in the future for me, that volunteering and working with the world’s poor and isolated is something I was always meant to do. I was uneasy at first, thinking that doing my MA would postpone this work for an unknown amount of time. Now that I’ve started grad school it seems likely that more grad school will immediately follow until I’ve done it all. Now I don’t know when I’ll get back to the 3rd world, but I’m hoping that somehow my further education will open doors to get there. I’ll have to pick a relief work-appropriate language to study.

I don’t want to keep saying, “I’ll do it someday,” b/c then it might never happen. I think about the women I worked with in Kolkata, and even though they made a bigger difference to me than I did to them I can’t leave them forever.

But I do feel happy, at least today. I try not to be moody, but the poetic part of me feeds off quiet melancholy.

20x6

Ok, so I have to write this all down before I forget. I had an interesting dream last night, it involved one Stephen Colbert – don’t get ahead of me. So, for some reason he was one of the pastors of the church I went to ‘that day’ (I guess it was a Sunday) and his wife and family and everyone was there too. One of his friends had parked his car somewhere he wasn’t allowed to (like on a sidewalk) and Stephen offered to move it for him, and for some reason I also went to help move it.

Well, we get out to the car and it’s this amazingly beautiful light silver Mercedes Benz sports car (I’m sure my little brother could actually give me a model name that would sound convincing). So I try to touch the car, since it’s so beautiful, but I get chastised for smudging the wax or something. But then there’s a moment when I look at him and he looks at me and we jump into the car and go for a mega joy ride.

And then for some reason later we’re in buildings running around like we’re being chased, but we’re not. And I forget most of the details of that part, but we end up peeking over this stone, castle like wall over this courtyard and through a window where the church service is still taking place.

Stephen Colbert goes back inside to tell his friend he parked his car and to give back the keys and his wife comes out to peer over the wall with me. She seemed really cool. I think we giggled and talked for a while. Then I started to wake up and began to realize that, in fact, none of this was true. I was a little convinced that he was the pastor, and I had some way of rationalizing it too, but whatever.

Anyway, that’s my dream, maybe its weird, I just think it’s funny.

Now is the winter of your discontent!

Those of you who know me (I think everyone who reads my blog does know me, I don’t seem to be world renowned like Dinah) know that I have very pale skin. This causes me to burn (and no, tanning doesn’t work) in 10 minutes of direct sunlight and so I wear SPF 50 sunscreen (I would wear SPF 500 if I could find it). But something is changing, from all previous data it was inconclusive as to whether I had any melanin in my skin at all – I have been called an albino before (as well as no-hair, but that is semi-unrelated). But now, it seems that I do have melanin and even what I have is leaving me. Firstly, I have a white (not grey) streak of hair at the base of my neck; this is because the skin there has lost any memory of melanin. This has also happened in a spot on my right thumb and one of my knuckles. I am finding more and more white spots on my skin.

I fear I will turn completely pasty with no exaggeration of the lack of colour in my skin. I find more and more spots, on my hands especially, and soon I will not be translucent anymore, but fully transparent. And by the way, if you think I have a pen mark on the side of my chin, I don’t, you can just seen the vein through my skin. Not that it will be noticeable, just a slow cross-fading process from white to colourless void.

I don’t know what I’m trying to accomplish with this post, just wanted to tell you how I’m fading into spectral oblivion. Pasty is as pasty does.

In other news, I love my bike. Its actually my brother’s old bike, but its quality and rides real good. The seat is a little crappy, but maybe I’ll get my dad to help me fix that. I also love toe-clips (not actual clips, the ones you slide your sneakers into). They just make riding seem easier. I was thinking today how my brother would never let me touch his bike when he first got it (and pretty much until he gave it to me) but now its mine and I could add cotton-candy coloured streamers and daisy decals if I wanted. I won’t, though, I like the grayish matte colour it is, makes it blend in with the crappy bikes so its less of a target.

Ok, 4th longest post ever.

Passamaquoddy

If you ever go to Pizza Pizza (like walk-in/take-out) you have to put italiano seasoning on your slice, way better than dipping sauces.

Today I:
-ate cereal
-walked to school
-went to a class for 3 hours
-helped rearrange my new office
-got the best desk in the office by lottery
-got to know an office mate better
-shocked office mate with my age (apparently I’m young)
-went to the gym
-came to the library
-need to go home now

Just to clear things up

Ok people, some impressionist art has people in it. I’m trying to say that I prefer the stuff without people in it, is that so hard to accept? Pyweon, I know you like people art, we’ve been over this before. And Jonathan, I’m basing my like/better like of Dvorjak and Vivaldi based mostly on playing 2nd violin parts in orchestra. Maybe the cello in Dvorjak, or the overall output pleases you better, but I’m just saying. I’m allowed to just say on my blog!

And Dinah, Adrien and I, well, I first met him when I watched The Village, but there was no gorgeous-ity going on b/c his character is kinda weird and creepy in that one. I started crushing when I saw him in King Kong (he was pretty much the only thing that made the 3.5 hours bearable, did it really have to be that long?) But semi-recently I watched The Pianist, which he won the Oscar for. Not only was he gorgeous in that, but amazing in many other ways as well. As for Adam Brody, he’s cute, but not gorgeous, nice connection though.

Any more questions on past post content? I would be happy to clear things up/argue with you about it. Seriously, bring it on.

Rainy Days

You may have noticed that I have not been posting as often as in the summer. This is because I am no longer working at the pension company where I needed some distraction from the grey-space monotony and now I have a little more of a life during the day. That and I’m not sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours and so posting is more of an effort. Just to put that out there. Also, be prepared to hear a lot more about linguistics, since my entire life now revolves around the subject.

Hmmm, what to write about...

I love the group of 7. In general I’m not overawed by art with people in it. I like the impressionistic stuff, the contrast of colour and texture.

Dvorjak is a pretty ok guy, but I think I like Vivaldi better.

And Adrien Brody is absolutely gorgeous. Crooked nose just adds to it.

The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts

I just want to say that I am really REALLY excited about my research assistantship. No no, I’m not going to be a TA (that would require better French faculties than I currently have, but hey, I’m working on it) I’m going to be an RA. Which stands for “Research Assistant.” But if you want to pretend that I’m a “Resident Assistant” you can do that, however you might experience blog content confusion in the future.

I’m going to be working on ‘bare nouns’ (I don’t know what they are yet either, perhaps nouns that don’t take articles/determiners) in Ojibwa. Sweet. Thank you 4th year field linguistics, not only were you a fantastic class but you have opened up the door for a form fitted research job which pays an exorbitant (but university standard) amount. I could get used to this grad student thing.

From what I understand I will (after a month or so) be working with language consultants! Isn’t that great? Yes, yes it is great. So, very, very excited. I am an excitable person, but recently it’s been more negative excitement so this clearly positive news is welcome.

P.S. I heart Sufjan Stevens. His music takes me back to when I was a kid and life had a lot fewer variables and complications. Not that such life is exempt from sorrow and diversity, its just comes out in a much more beautiful way.

Inappropriateness Warning

It gets better around minute 2.



I think its funny. Decide for yourself.
I'm still in love with Stephen Colbert.

I rock at Phonology

So I started classes today, and I’m taking an advanced seminar (one with mostly PhD students, that is) but I find the topic really interesting so I think I’ll be ok. Who doesn’t want to study person restrictions? No one I want to associate with…..

But now, I am going to have to say something. Please don’t read into it, but it must be said. U of T is actually good, in fact better than (most) other schools. I’m not saying this to be proud or snotty or to say that I am better because I went there. No, that is not the reason at all. Through my 3 years of undergrad at U of T (for those of you who don’t know I went to first year at a different university) I was a little bitter about the competitiveness of the downtown campus and all the bell curving (up and down) and adjustments. They make a test way too hard then change the marks. They make a test way too easy then you ain’t lookin so hot anymore.

But, I am so freaking well prepared for my masters, I can’t even tell you. I have covered almost all of what I will be doing in Phonology this semester and a lot of other people in the class do not seem ready at all. Its ok if they don’t like Phonology (but I can’t see why not) I just feel like I’ve been given an advantage. The courses I had to take and the level I was expected to perform at has nudged me up to this MA sphere, kinda like doing first year calculus in BC when I had already done OAC calc in grade 12.

It all seems quite amazing to me, but there appears to be a little merit to the craziness that is Canada’s largest university. So, all my U of T friends, if you happen to make it to the other side you’ll either be sailing through the beginnings of your grad studies or really upset that people in general are just idiots. Not that Toronto offers a lot of development for social skills, but whatever.

Anyway, I do rock at Phonology, I always have, but this is even sweeter because now I can feel good about those sleepless nights (and hours of fighting off the space out) for a little while.

Phenomenology

Just for future reference, my post titles don't always pertain to the post content. They're usually something that just popped into my head at some point in the day. This one, for example, is because I was talking to Eendy.

I don't actually have anything to say. But I hope I wasn't too harsh on the thesis thing, just trying to help the general populace understand the situation a little better.

I start classes tomorrow, all my classes are in the same room, so that should be easy. I hope my office is ready soon, I have random comics to put up.

Be here now

I'm realizing more and more that Ottawa is in no way Toronto. They are two completely different, separate things. Toronto is bigger, commerce based and is extrememly liberal in political and social thought/behaviour. Ottawa is smaller, goverment based and more old fashioned and "behind the times" in its thought. There's a less oppressive feeling here in the nation's capital as opposed to the province's. Its not just geographical and industrial differences that I'm noticing, there's definitely another feel or ambience about the whole palce. I don't know quite how to describe it.

I love linguistics, that's the main thing that makes me feel ok about being here right now. I'm just very overwhelmed.

Ok, and as an informative aside, please note the following: I do not need thesis suggestions. For those of you who have contributed, thank you for your consideration but know that I will not use any of your thesis topics nor anything closely related to them. Understand that I am doing a masters of THEORETICAL linguistics, and as a lay person to the field, you know nothing about it. Trust me. You may think you have an inkling, but it is incorrect. If you want to talk sociolinguistics, fine, or even language acquisition. But I am wholly convinced that when it comes to the Minimalist program or Optimality theory there is seriously nothing you can do to help me.

So, unless you have some sort of degree pertaining to the current theoretical field of linguistics I will not be able to make any use of your readily provided thesis ideas. Also, I think all the suggestions I've already heard have published papers on the topics already. Do a google search people. Its surprisingly handy.

Barfmonzo

I ate two doughnuts this morning. That was a mistake, usually one doughnut will initiate the slow gag reflex within me, but no, I had to have two, I don’t even like doughnuts (probably because they make me feel like puking). But they were “Good-bye Bethany!” doughnuts and you sometimes need to eat the sweet part of the bitter-sweet goodbye. Actually, its pretty much all sweet from my end, the bitter is for those left behind here at the office whose lives will be rift in the absence of my stunning personality and presence. Today is my final pension day – barfmonzo.

I probably won’t be able to post for a little while. I like to post often since I enjoy reading current posts on my friends’ blogs. I’m not sure if this decreases the quality of post, but I am fairly sure it increases the randomness of content. You don’t get the segue (yes, I did have to look it up to spell it correctly), those reside exclusively in my head.

I’m a very picky desert person too. I would never pick doughnuts for myself, but other people like them. Sue can tell you all about it.

I’m not done packing all the little pieces of crap in my room yet. It’s always way more than you think it should be. My roommate is gone, flying to Victoria. My youthful days are over as I move into the sphere of adult life. I do not completely align myself to it, but I will have to travel alongside it for a while. But I will continue climbing trees and chewing bubble gum.

It doesn’t seem to remain in-situ

I watched Trainspotting last night, but I still don’t know what “Trainspotting” means. Like I think there was one suggestion of a train in the whole movie, and I’ve been asking my friends if they know what it means, but they don’t.

ANYONE in the world wide web know what it means? Please tell me! I couldn’t even wikipedia it because it would just tell me about the movie and the book. And the online dictionary was like, “do you mean transporting?” I just want to know, I’m very confused.

Tomorrow is my last work day and my last day in Toronto. The next few days will be crazy. As long as I make it to the other side.

Do old men wear boxers or briefs?
Depends.

Its not whether the wind is blowing

Update: Successful weekend in Ottawa, I registered and found a way to not be homeless (or more simply, I have a place to live) and now I feel much better. Stupid crap, who invented deadlines anyway? Whatever.

Right now I’m registered in 5 courses, even though you’re only supposed to take 3. But I plan on dropping 2, once I figure out what those 2 shall be. Ottawa is beautiful, absolutely nothing like Toronto in the layout and the neighbourhoods – just completely different.

I snuck into the Emily Carr exhibit (mwhahaha). My mom had a ticket and a little shirt clippy thing, which I took it and went in again. Or for the first time. I don’t actually feel guilty, because, well I just don’t.

We had lunch at the casino on Saturday, which was fine. You see all the people mindlessly pushing buttons and feeding quarters into the machines. The best was this toy horse racetrack thing they had. Different people sit around the track and bet on the little horses, which then burst out of the little mechanical gate and make believable galloping motions around the track. Its kinda cool, clearly one of the wonder of magnet technology moving the figures around the green felt. But there was this guy who was like, “Go number 4! Number 4! Number 6!” yelling at the little horses, who can obviously hear him and change their strategy accordingly.

But yes, I’m in Toronto for 3 more days then I’m outta here, both exciting and sad. Single teardrop.

Oh so pasty

I am very pale today. If you thought I was pale before, you were wrong – I actually get whiter. Sleep is an issue, my mental clock doesn’t take the weekends off so I was unable to sleep past 7:30am. Meh, what can you do. I guess it doesn’t help that I didn’t get home till past 1 last night since I went out with my friends. I find it amusing to see guys wholeheartedly singing along to musicals, even if it is RENT.

This was me trying to sleep in:


For those of you who are little tiny babies and don’t remember the 80’s, it’s made of Construx. I think we still have our box of it, with the connectors and the beams and the sweet glow in the dark radar dish things. They even had slanty connectors for whacked out designs. Its particularly good for making scaffolding, very sturdy. I’d always try to make regular three-dimensional shapes. We had Lego too, but Construx was characteristic of my young childhood, especially since they’ve now discontinued it. Back in the day people didn’t care if kids played with little pieces of plastic perfect for choking on. I’m sure I chewed on a few myself.



But, the reason I use this for my lack of sleep description is that I felt like a kind of construx dodecahedron with extra arms pointing out rolling around in my bed. Lack of relaxation you see.

So now I’m pale, but I drank at large tea so maybe I’ll make it.

.

So I’m getting a little stressed out because I have to be settled in downtown Ottawa before September 5th, hopefully more around the beginning of Labour Day weekend. During school I would get really stressed out, like any normal student would, and it feels like all kinds of little buzzings, movement and tiny electric currents going through my brain. Do you know what I’m talking about? If not, don’t assume anything, you’ll likely be assuming wrong.

But now, the stress is different, my head is clear and content. The feeling doesn’t start till slightly below the tops of my shoulders. So the “bottoms” of my shoulder and inside my chest is experiencing all the physical side affects of my anxiousness that would normally reside within my head.

I’m sure it’s because its not academic stress where I have to think and my studies haunt my dreams, its quite separated from that. But it’s still that ticking deadline (“slowly walking down the hall, faster than a canon ball…”) staring me in the face which has to be dealt with.

At least I’m not writing midterms at the same time. That’s what sucks about applying for grad school during the fall semester, all your brain power has been sucked away. If only I could sleep more. I’m jealous of those people who feel absolutely normal on 6 hours sleep a night (I’m looking at you, Pyweon).

Absolutely Terrifying

I got into the Masters of Linguistics program at the University of Ottawa. I'll be moving there for September. Now you know.

L'Abstrait

For so long it has felt like I’ve been heading towards a cliff where I would fall off into the grey space and become part of it. I see myself standing at the top, looking down to where I couldn’t see the bottom. Needless to say falls from great heights are normally undesirable especially when unassisted by appropriate gear so I was trying to avoid the cliff in whatever manner possible. I have been failing at it so far, I still don’t know for sure what’s going to be.

But now for some reason the cliff has changed into an invisible barrier in time which is deftly located by its affects. Now, instead of a person on top of a cliff I am a sheet of dark blue material, like a pulled out roll of brown wrapping paper extending across some non-descript surface. Maybe not quite like paper, but not quite like sheet metal either, somewhere in between. This invisible barrier (that is, September) is where I am broken up into pieces, small squares to be exact, and diffused beyond that threshold.

Square or cliff falling, everything is still up in the air-ish and highly uncertain. Stupid figuring out your life crap, I rather dislike it.

Optional reading

Yes, I am in a poetry mood. Here are some short (actually, progressively longer), fun poems, I find.

1) My first year answering machine message:

Emily Dickinson

By Wendy Cope

Higgledy-piggledy

Emily Dickinson

Liked to use dashes

Instead of full stops.

Nowadays, faced with such

Idiosyncrasy,

Critics and editors

Send for the cops.

2) What my mom recited to us as kids:

The Twins

By Henry Sambrooke Leigh

In form and feature, face and limb,

I grew so like my brother,

That folks got taking me for him,

And each for one another.

It puzzled all our kith and kin,

It reached a fearful pitch;

For one of us was born a twin,

Yet not a soul knew which.

One day, to make the matter worse,

Before our names were fixed,

As we were being washed by nurse,

We got completely mixed;

And thus, you see, by fate's decree,

Or rather nurse's whim,

My brother John got christened me,

And I got christened him.

This fatal likeness even dogged

My footsteps when at school,

And I was always getting flogged,

For John turned out a fool.
I put this question, fruitlessly,

To everyone I knew,

"What would you do, if you were me,

To prove that you were you?"

Our close resemblance turned the tide

Of my domestic life,

For somehow, my intended bride

Became my brother's wife.
In fact, year after year the same

Absurd mistakes went on,

And when I died, the neighbors came

And buried brother John.

3) Part of the Linguistics into to morphology unit:

Jabberwocky

By Lewis Carroll

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought--

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One two! One two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

On Verse

On My First Son

.

by Ben Jonson

.

.

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy ;

My sin was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy.

Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,

Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.

Oh, could I lose all father now ! For why

Will man lament the state he should envy?

To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage,

And if no other misery, yet age !

Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say, Here doth lie

Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.

For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such

As what he loves may never like too much.

Businesses

Business #1: Brad update
I don’t see our dear afternoon security guard much anymore. You see, our paths initially crossed shortly after I crashed my bike and had to take the subway for the month of June. This meant I walked out the front door, past the big security desk where all our “Good evening”s occurred. But since June I’ve been riding my bike which means I take the service elevator to the back garage-type door and I do not walk past the desk.
I did see him at the back of the building once and he was equally as jovial then with a, “See you later.” This is also the moment I realized that he is tall, since I’d only ever seen him diminished by the dimensions of the security desk before.
Last night I walked out the front door with another lady and went around the building to my bike instead of taking the service elevator. I said, “Good night,” (and had to bite my tongue before I said “Brad” since it’s not actually his real name) to which I got a startled response in return. I think he thought I had tragically vanished from the office building and now he had only seconds to deal with the ghostly figure that greeted him in the lobby again. At least my hair was fantastic…..

Business #2: Radiohead
I recently bought Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief from HMV. I haven’t opened the latter yet, I figure one Radiohead album at a time is enough to handle. But I just love Amnesiac, I think they say its from the Kid A sessions (which so far is my favourite album of theirs) and “You and Whose Army?” is my current favourite track. It starts of erie and breathy but then this wicked piano with a deep, raspy quality comes in and I just LOVE it. This album is the most jazzy yet (in my experience of their albums, not for their albums in total) which is cool, influence is a good thing and doesn’t always make you a copy cat. Its how music evolves and changes. If we all started from nothing we’d be listening to, well, nothing that sounded like music.

Business #3: Schezwan (sp?) Eggplant Tofu
Its good stuff, seriously, you should try it.