Life, the Universe, and Everything

2009-09-20T15:18:00.004-04:00

Back on the Bay for another four months. Well, more like three, really.

Down to the County Friday night for karate, new dojo, new people, but as always it's like I've been there for years. On the way back I played Iron Maiden and looked at the stars.

This weekend, I finished one scarf, and now I need something small to work on. The shawl I started in May is too fiddly now, and the rows are too long to work on easily, and the sweater needs math done, and I want to print out the pattern before I get into that. So a cowl it is, quick and easy and a nice holiday or birthday present for someone. It helps that I don't have to buy anything and it gets rid of some of the yarn stash, which desperately needs pruning.

Once this cast on is done it's off to the store for groceries. Nom nom nom!

Erm....

2009-06-03T23:45:00.002-04:00

Well.

I graduate in less than a year. It's less than 250 days until I get my Ring. A mere three weeks until I turn 22.

I'm only mildly panicked about this, really. I'm very much looking forward to having some disposable income, and being able to buy books and yarn without feeling guilty about spending money that I really do need to pay for school or worrying that I will have to move said items in less than four months.

I feel old, and yet I feel very very young.

In other news, I bought a plant today, and named it Kevin.

Tim Horton's

2009-02-25T18:24:00.002-05:00

To the young lady who refused to serve me a non-double cupped chai on the basis that it was dangerous:

1. I work on a construction site. Today I spent my afternoon hiking through what was effectively a swamp while trying not to get run over by a front end loader. A single-cupped chai is probably the safest thing I've done all day.

2. It's called natural selection.

No love,

Me.

Ahem

2009-01-05T20:19:00.003-05:00

*Dusts off blog*

Well. It's been what, five months? Sorry, but the blog material around here isn't going to get better anytime soon. I started my new job today, and if you've talked to me recently, you'll know it's one of those jobs where describing what you actually do on the internet is probably a bad idea.

Maybe I'll start doing more knitting posts, if I ever get my vest done. Christine, you definitely won that one in spectacular fashion. On that note I am bound and determined to reduce my small stash this term.

In other words, today I found what is quite possibly the holy grail of tea mugs at Chapters (I also found the Chapters. By getting lost.). It is stainless steel and acrylic with a basket to put loose leaf tea in. It also has a lid that goes on top of the usual lid that you use to keep from spilling tea all over yourself. I think I'm in love. Or I would be if the mug wasn't 18.99$. Perhaps after my first paycheck? It would be really nice to have though, as I am limiting myself to one coffee per day but all the tea I can drink.

Well, I should probably shower at some point, and get stuff sorted out for tomorrow - though I think I'll get up at 0630 instead of 0600.

Road Trip Chronicles

2008-08-02T18:34:00.002-04:00

I've spent the last half an hour pulling music off my ancient and venerable iPod in preparation for the four day drive back to KW next month. This may seem counterproductive - it's four days of driving eight hours a day, so I should probably be putting MORE music on the iPod.

Except I'm probably doing this drive on my own again. And when I'm driving on my own, there's a point I hit where I'm so overcaffeinated that coffee's not going to do anymore good, and I need something to keep me sufficiently entertained that I focus on the road.

Yeah, I have a terrible lack of focus if I can't pay 100% attention when I drive. So I sing along with whatever happens to be playing. The louder and more upbeat the better.

And I'm sorry, but Pink Floyd and the Lord of the Rings soundtrack just don't fit the bill.

An exciting weekend, to be sure

2008-06-14T18:10:00.002-04:00

Frosh week emails (big, student teams, other huges... I think that's it)
Credit card account stuff
Find and mail RSVP card to wedding in August
Make room less of disaster zone
Remove former taco salad from fridge
Take out garbage
Find more appropriate place to put bag of grapes. They are currently in an empty pizza pops box.
Washcloths. I have .75 of one done. I need at least two. For next weekend. I also need a rubber duck.
Emails about birthday.

I think that's it.

Catch-22

2008-05-22T23:31:00.002-04:00

I'm a redhead.
I burn like nobody's business.
I also have a terrible short term memory when it comes to stuff like putting on sunscreen. Or, more often, remembering where I left the sunscreen.
I've also discovered that I tend to burn my face and ears the most.

Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time dreaming about the perfect hat.

Ball caps are useless. Bucket hats leave my chin exposed to BURN. Tilley hats? Never considered one, I had a beige uniform hat for awhile. It's no longer beige, more of a variegated grey. Yuck. Apart from that, awesome awesome hat.

But.

I have found the perfect hat in the latest MEC catalogue.

Wide-brimmed, in solid dark colours, it's gorgeous. I think I'm in love. Now, before you call the funny farm and have them pick me up, bear in mind that I once burnt the part in my hair. I have probably burnt more surface area on my body than any (20+x) year old should.

It's 32 dollars. Bit steep. But to have a hat!

I know what I'm getting myself for my birthday.

Heh

2008-05-08T23:14:00.002-04:00

You know it's going to be an interesting afternoon when your supervisor says you're going on site, and by the way? Can't take food, water, cellphone, anything combustible because there's explosives on site. LOTS of explosives. The no-food-or-water rule also includes coffee, and smoking is of course verboten.

This site also happens to be a royal pain the the arse with regards to what we are actually doing out there.

I foresee much cursing if/when anything actually gets going there.

Because I'm so awesome at updating...

2008-05-05T19:05:00.003-04:00

The term has ended, I'm still waiting on that blasted 321 mark, and the summer has begun.

Oh yeah, and I'm working in southern Alberta this summer. On a military base. My landlady took me on a tour last night when I got into town and my entire reaction was "OMGTANKS".

It's going to be an interesting summer.

Even more interesting if I don't go get groceries now.

Hang on

2008-03-14T21:54:00.002-04:00

Three more weeks of classes. Then 11 days of finals.

In between, a design project and presentation, a lab, a minor materials selection project, and countless other problem sets.

Oh, and co-op interviews.

Siiiiiiiigh. Someday I will be able to maintain a regular sleep schedule.

These boots were made for walking

2008-02-05T22:56:00.000-05:00

I have horribly messed up feet. They're oddly proportioned, ten years of ballet did a number on my toes, and I have genetics working against me, since I seem to have inherited the foot problems my mother has. So I don't buy shoes very often, and I usually have to look pretty hard to find footwear that fits properly.

I've been wearing the pair of hiking boots in question since December 2003. They've survived two back country trips, Ontario road salt, and walking what probably a few hundred kilometers around campus and various cities across Canada. They're probably my favourite pair of shoes, EVER.

They're not pining, they've passed on. That masking tape is covering the Vasque logo, which popped off sometime Monday afternoon, leaving a gaping hole in the heel. Now that I look at them, the soles are worn in my peculiar pattern of walking, the leather is stained with salt and swamp, and they need to be resealed and waterproofed if they're going to last much longer.

But even taped up, unsealed, not waterproofed since Toronto, they're still my boots. And wading through ice water this morning, they still kept my feet dry and warm. The sole is worn but not gone yet.

So tomorrow when I get home from karate, I'll find an old sock that's too holey to wear any longer, dig out the sealant and the waterproofing agent and give my boots a good going-over. Glue the logo back in place. Maybe I'll find a new pair of laces.

Because I can't give up a pair of damn good boots that easily.

Teh stupid, it burnz

2008-01-26T23:48:00.000-05:00

Another day spent entirely on campus. I'm staying home tomorrow.

I'm mildly cranky at the moment; I have a tendency to get a nasty rash on the back of my hands in the winter and it's gotten particularly bad tonight. This explains why I'm still up, since I want to get as much medicated stuff absorbed as possible before bed.

In retrospect though, I should have gone straight for the medicated stuff instead of using the bottle of scented hand lotion I'm slowly trying to use up. At least the medicated stuff seems to be working. I should probably just pitch the scented stuff anyways, it's pretty old.

Sigh

2008-01-13T01:40:00.000-05:00

At almost 0200, it's kind of counterproductive to be listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack while trying to finish my work report. It really tends to bring about a sense of impending doom.

One appendix done, one started, and one still to go.

Thought

2007-12-30T20:33:00.000-05:00

"Gosh, I wonder how they managed to manufacture the capsule in one piece..."

I don't think I should be allowed to watch Contact any more.

Home again, home again

2007-12-23T17:31:00.000-05:00

I did very little knitting in Pearson, surprisingly enough. Instead I found a random person who was in the same situation as me to talk to.

Flew home, went for coffee, collapsed into bed. Doctor's appointment the next morning for ear issues. Now cannot hear out of right ear at all. This is making for some interesting conversations with my parents. Was sad that I could not hear properly and thus could not indulge in the vast and varied collection of classical music (including a lot of Christmas music) that my mother owns.

I consoled myself with rum. Lots of rum.

Now trying to finish up an assignment, but it's getting dark and colder so I should head home soon since I don't want to walk across the park in the dark. I brought my iPod, but since I use my earbuds, and only in my left ear to allow me to hear... That renders me completely deaf for the walk home.

Time to bundle up and make the trek before there's another train.

Going Home

2007-12-19T21:54:00.001-05:00

Due to an unfortunate turn of events, I am about to embark on what is possibly the dumbest idea I have ever had.

I'm spending most of tomorrow in Pearson's T3. Come say hi if you're on your way through.

I'll be the one knitting.

Counting the hours

2007-12-18T23:46:00.001-05:00

I have one more day left of work here in Sudbury. In January I'll be back in school for another four months.

It's been a good term, despite the dental fiasco in the middle and the ongoing insistence of my landlord and his wife to treat me like their child.

Tomorrow I will go to work, compile the references for my work report and finish off the spec I have been working on for the past month. When I get back to the house I will pack what little there remains to be packed, write a note to my housemate, let my landlord know I am leaving, and wait until 2230, when I can leave for the bus station.

In less than 48 hours I will be home, assuming all goes well. Home.

To all who may be reading - Best wishes to you over the holidays. Stay safe. Have fun. Enjoy the snow.

Well that was different

2007-12-01T21:21:00.000-05:00

For a change, I finished my Giftmas shopping today. Normally I leave it until the last possible minute, but not this year.

I still have some small stuff to get, some knitting to finish up, but the big stuff is out of the way. Now all I have to do is pack and write my work report.

So I got bored this weekend

2007-11-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

Not only am I easily amused, but I also have a rather ridiculous amount of yarn to use up in the next little while. This is not helped by the fact that I just bought wool for a Sekkrit Projjekt (tm) and have to move again in the next month. Among my pile of yarn I have some 100% cotton. Great for dishrags.

I also have a housemate. Can you see where this is going?

I put off doing PDEng for this. TOTALLY worth it.This is my dishrag, in all it's red and white glory. It's going to my housemate. I'll knit one for myself later, once I finish up the Giftmas presents.
It LOOKS like a brick wall, but it's a little too soft to bang your head . So I wore it as a hat instead.

Why yes, I did have too much coffee today. However did you guess?

A day late, but never a dollar short.

2007-11-12T22:53:00.001-05:00

In 2005 I had the privilege of being in Ottawa for November 11th. I went to the ceremonies at the National War Memorial and later in the day wandered down to the War Museum. I took both these photos - the first of the Canadian Peacekeeping Monument and the second of Canadian War Memorial - in December that same year.

And so, in keeping with a tradition I started on LJ:

In Flanders Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

~Lt. Col. John McCrae

Lest we forget.

Note to self

2007-11-03T20:35:00.000-04:00

Cutting boards exist for a reason.

Use them. Doing more dishes doesn't make you bleed.

The Epic Saga of My Wisdom Teeth Part 1

2007-10-21T00:27:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: Everything that follows is absolutely true. Really. I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried.

The events of this past week need to be documented for eternity. In any case, I’m sure it will provide at least some entertainment to anyone who happens to stumble on it.

Last weekend I was down in Waterloo to visit friends and play for Naismith with the Band. Very very early Sunday morning, I got up, rolled off the couch, got ready to leave to catch the bus and proclaimed that I felt like I was coming down with something. This was attributed to the fact that I had had less than three hours of sleep.

Turns out that I was indeed coming down with something.

On the insanely long bus ride from Toronto to Sudbury, my mouth started to hurt. I brushed it off.

Monday. Monday was the day I discovered that Advil would make the pain go away and allow me to function relatively normally. Unfortunately for me I didn’t discover this until after I got home from work. I also bought popsicles. They were tasty. I decided that if my mouth wasn’t better in the morning then I would phone the dentist that a guy at work had recommended to me and get in ASAP, because I was fairly sure this was an infected wisdom tooth.

At this point we noticed that the fridge wasn’t very cold, so we turned up the compressor and went to bed. We being my housemates and I.

Tuesday morning, I phoned the dentist, grabbed my trusty bottle of Advil, and went to work. The earliest time I could get in was Wednesday morning.

Finished up at work, walked home cursing my teeth all the while, then went to grab a popsicle. And discovered that I didn’t have any more. What I had instead was bags of liquid with sticks in them.

Yup, the fridge had gone to that big gourmet kitchen in the sky. I had earlier decided that due to my continuing dependence on Advil to function at a somewhat reasonable level, I would skip karate and take a nap. Karate is awesome, but so are naps, especially when an accidental light punch (or kick) in the face would have you on the floor whimpering like a guy who's just taken a direct hit to, erm, sensitive areas.

Instead I spent the evening throwing out spoiled meat and coming up with interesting combinations of curse words. So much for my nap.

The dentist was Wednesday. Was given a prescription for what I consider to be large amounts of penicillin and told to haul ass to the nearest pharmacy. Bear in mind that I’ve only had penicillin twice in my life before this, and was considered to be allergic for quite some time. However, I did have an allergy test for penicillin and was declared able to take the stuff. No problems there.

Until I discovered that taking penicillin left me with heartburn, mild nausea, and shortness of breath when climbing stairs. Not hard exercising, CLIMBING STAIRS.

I waited Thursday to see if the side effects would go away. They didn’t, and my teeth still hurt. I skipped karate again.

Now this is the best part of the whole deal.

Friday morning I phoned the dentist I had originally gone to. She offered to phone in a stronger antibiotic, but I said I would think about it, since up until now nobody had actually told me what was going on and I wanted a second opinion.

That was my first mistake.

My second mistake was phoning the local dental association to see who was on call that day. The receptionist there gave me a number, I called and they said to come in as soon as possible.

My third mistake was actually going.

I walked into this guy’s office. The building was in downtown Sudbury, and several other offices in there were vacant. Walked into his office, and I SWEAR it was straight out of the fifties. I could not for the life of me shake the feeling that I had stepped into a James Herriot story. The magazines were recent but that’s about it. Explained what was going on, that the antibiotics weren’t working and I wanted a second opinion. Dentist-guy, who looked at least 60, took a look.

It’s an infected wisdom tooth alright. So he wanted to take an x-ray to make sure it wasn’t impacted.

You know how dental film has that tab on one side that you can bite down on to hold it in place while taking the x-ray? None of that for this guy! No, I had to hold the film in place while he ran out of the room and took the x-ray. This was AFTER he had jammed it in my already sore mouth.

Every time I go to the dentist, I gag ONCE on the film. Then I’m fine. I tried to warn this guy. I really did.

Then the kicker:

“It’s not impacted. If you want, I can freeze you and take IT OUT RIGHT NOW! No problems!”

Now, if there is one thing I am absolutely terrified of, it is needles in my mouth. Just regular needles I can usually handle, but not in my mouth. My regular dentist knows this and tries to work around it whenever he possibly can. My reply was remarkably restrained.

“HELL NO.”

“Don’t worry about the needle! I’ve done HUNDREDS of these! I can handle WHATEVER YOU THROW AT ME!”

“You are not coming ANYWHERE NEAR ME with a needle. Apart from the fact that I will have a panic attack in this chair if you try and freeze me, I need to check what my insurance will cover. No, sir, if I have my wisdom teeth out anytime soon, I want sedation.”

“Well, if you want a general anesthetic, you need to book now because you’ll need to go to the hospital for it and I don’t deal with the hospitals any more, they keep…”

He continues in this vein for some time. At this point my well-honed bullshit alarm is going off and has been for some time. I told him I needed to check insurance, paid my bill and walked back to work.

Since I had obviously been fairly upset, D wandered over to my cubicle. D asked how it went, and I told him. Then J wandered over. When he found out who I had gone to, the first thing out of his mouth was:

“Isn’t that the guy who used to be the vet?”

I called the first dentist I had gone to that afternoon and got my prescription changed to something that was not penicillin.

I woke up this morning (Saturday) feeling much, much better, and I’m no longer having to take Advil. The wisdom teeth will have to come out eventually, probably this Christmas, but I’m sure that when they do there’ll be another interesting story or two.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried

2007-10-16T22:59:00.000-04:00

On of my wisdom teeth has been bothering me lately, to the point where I can tell you exactly where the bottle of Advil is at any time of the day whether or not I've had my coffee yet. In an attempt to stay off painkillers if at all possible, I bought a box of what were some tasty popsicles yesterday.

I say were, because they are no more, and no, I didn't eat them all.

The fridge died.

Pretty much everything in there was ruined. Including my popsicles.

Back to the Advil.

I need home for a rest...

2007-10-05T22:59:00.000-04:00

I'm going to the Sault for Thanksgiving.
I'm leaving very very early tomorrow.
I haven't started packing yet.
I'll be back Tuesday.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

2007-09-28T22:36:00.000-04:00

I've been taking martial arts - karate - for my past two school terms, and I've managed to find a dojo up here in Sudbury. I'm finding karate more and more enjoyable as I progress, and I hope to continue with it for a long time.

But it does make for an interesting day at work when you stiffen up around noon the day after a class. Especially since I've been spending my days sitting bent over drawings on my desk.

Hopefully I won't be as stiff tomorrow, I'm thinking of exploring a park on a lake.

How To Buy Safety Boots

2007-09-12T18:15:00.000-04:00

My job this co-op term will require some site work on my part, and because I work in heavy industry, I needed to get special safety boots. The only thing that's special about them is that there's an extra bit of metal in them that most safety boots don't have, but considering I'm rather attached to my feet, well, I'm kind of glad it's there.

Considering where I am, you'd think that finding these safety boots in a reasonable range of sizes, if not styles, would be pretty easy. And it is.

Except I'm female. Therefore the procedure is as follows:

1. Go to local safety store. Get all other required safety equipment, ask about boots.
2. Discover that there is precisely one pair of boots in your size.
3. These are, of course, men's boots, and very very wide.
4. Try them on anyways.
5. Put boots on hold until you can phone large national chain to see what they have.
6. Go home, phone chain, discover all they carry are men's sizes.
7. Since you have nothing better to do, go to chain store anyways, just in case they have something in your size.
8. Discover that they don't. Unless your feet have suddenly become boats.
9. Go to bookstore. Buy knitting reference book and chocolate. Contemplate rum.
10. Try and take bus back to local safety store. Get off bus several stops too early, in what is clearly a sketchy part of town.
11. Walk along highway to store, only to find out you got there 15 minutes after closing.
12. Go back the next day at lunch. Buy original pair of boots.

Sigh. Such is life.

Introduction

2007-09-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

Welcome. I set up this blog as a way for family and friends to keep track of me as I move around the country for co-op and school. I've had another blog for the past three years, but I decided it was time to set up something a bit more formal

I hope you enjoy hearing about my (mis)adventures; the past three years of university have been interesting to say the least, the next three years can only get funnier.