Thursday, September 06, 2007
The Beginning of the End
There's light at the end of the tunnel, finally. Yesterday, I began my last semester as a university student. Only a few short months and five classes stand between me and graduation - and my entry into the so-called "real world." Lots of people keep asking me what I'm going to do, and I can never give them a straight answer because in all honesty, I don't have much of an idea of what comes next. However, I do know what has already happened, and thought I might share with everyone a brief history of my university career.
Courses I'll have taken: 40.
1. Logic: Critical Thinking
2. Basic Concepts in Sociology
3. Basic Concepts of Psychology
4. Introduction to Social/Cultural Anthropology
5. Introduction to World Religions
6. Introduction to Dramatic Arts
7. Anthropology of Gender
8. Brain and Behaviour
9. Introduction to Academic Writing
10. Introduction to Philosophy
11. Social Psychology
12. Methods and Statistics
13. Apocrypha, Apocalypses, and the Dead Sea Scrolls
14. Philosophy of Mind
15. Anthropology of Popular Culture
16. Metaphysics
17. The Hindu Tradition
18. Cognition and Perception: Thinking and Seeing
19. Fundamentals of Movement Studies
20. Introduction to Animal Behaviour
21. Psychology of Crime
22. Deviance, Conformity, and Social Control
23. Human Neuropsychology
24. Introduction to Child Development
25. Dances in the World
26. Psychoactive Drugs, Brain, and Behaviour (independent study)
27. Sociology of Religion
28. Fundamental Neurobiology
29. The Rise and Fall of Satan
30. Stage Makeup
31. Mormonism
32. Applied Child and Adolescent Development
33. Sociology of Youth
34. Neuroanatomy Lab (independent study)
35. Nicotine and Neuron Structure (independent study)
36. Elementary Latin
37. Hormones and Behaviour
38. Learning
39. Social Intelligence
40. Psychoactive Drugs and Neuron Structure (independent study)
Approximate hours spent attending classes: 1,400. Double or triple that for the hours spent completing readings or other homework.
Professors who have taught me: 32.
Professors I've actually spoken to (so far): 16.
Addresses I've lived at at one point or another during university: 8.
Times I've been visited by missionaries at those addresses: 7 (5 Mormons and 2 Jehovah's Witnesses).
Number of roommates I've lived with at one point or another: 8.
Times I've changed my phone number: 5.
Approximate number of textbooks I've bought: 48.
Cost of approximately 48 textbooks: Way too fuckin' much.
Highest GPA for a semester: 3.74.
Lowest GPA for a semester: 3.12.
Times I've logged onto the internet: Hundreds of thousands, almost exclusively for reasons of procrastination.
Boys I've kissed: 3.
Boys I've regretted kissing: 2.
Girls I've kissed: Unknown. I was always too drunk at the time to keep track.
Times I've changed my major: 0
Times I've changed my program: 1
Number of "real" houseparties I've attended: 2. I was miserable at both and boycotted the 3rd.
Labs or tutorial sessions I've attended: 0. I stoutly refuse to register for any course which requires any such extra class time.
Mammals I've killed: 13. (12 rats in a science experiment and 1 gopher that I accidently ran over.)
Memorable moments of university:
Shaving my head for cancer after raising $3,400.
Being hypnotized and forced to sing opera in front of all my friends.
St. Patrick's Day 2005, when Jan and Danielle (literally) dragged me back to my room after too much peach schnapps and green beer.
The day after St. Patrick's Day 2005, when I had the king of all hangovers.
The kegger at Spin in first year.
Receiving 97% and 100% on my Philosophy of Mind midterm and paper, respectively.
Being evicted from our first house in the first month and letting the Hannaford Renting Curse take its course.
My introduction to and subsequent obssession with Facebook.
Randomly going to Denny's with Carling at 2:30 AM and the creation of Snitch 'n Bitch.
Learning to finally stop being a passive aggressive tard and telling two particular people to their face exactly what I thought of them and why they were both jerks.
Decapitating rats and finding out I'm okay with it.
I'm sure that's not all of it, but it's pretty impossible to recall the full events of the past three years in one writing session. There's still a semester's worth of new experiences to be had though, so by no means are the lists finished!
Courses I'll have taken: 40.
1. Logic: Critical Thinking
2. Basic Concepts in Sociology
3. Basic Concepts of Psychology
4. Introduction to Social/Cultural Anthropology
5. Introduction to World Religions
6. Introduction to Dramatic Arts
7. Anthropology of Gender
8. Brain and Behaviour
9. Introduction to Academic Writing
10. Introduction to Philosophy
11. Social Psychology
12. Methods and Statistics
13. Apocrypha, Apocalypses, and the Dead Sea Scrolls
14. Philosophy of Mind
15. Anthropology of Popular Culture
16. Metaphysics
17. The Hindu Tradition
18. Cognition and Perception: Thinking and Seeing
19. Fundamentals of Movement Studies
20. Introduction to Animal Behaviour
21. Psychology of Crime
22. Deviance, Conformity, and Social Control
23. Human Neuropsychology
24. Introduction to Child Development
25. Dances in the World
26. Psychoactive Drugs, Brain, and Behaviour (independent study)
27. Sociology of Religion
28. Fundamental Neurobiology
29. The Rise and Fall of Satan
30. Stage Makeup
31. Mormonism
32. Applied Child and Adolescent Development
33. Sociology of Youth
34. Neuroanatomy Lab (independent study)
35. Nicotine and Neuron Structure (independent study)
36. Elementary Latin
37. Hormones and Behaviour
38. Learning
39. Social Intelligence
40. Psychoactive Drugs and Neuron Structure (independent study)
Approximate hours spent attending classes: 1,400. Double or triple that for the hours spent completing readings or other homework.
Professors who have taught me: 32.
Professors I've actually spoken to (so far): 16.
Addresses I've lived at at one point or another during university: 8.
Times I've been visited by missionaries at those addresses: 7 (5 Mormons and 2 Jehovah's Witnesses).
Number of roommates I've lived with at one point or another: 8.
Times I've changed my phone number: 5.
Approximate number of textbooks I've bought: 48.
Cost of approximately 48 textbooks: Way too fuckin' much.
Highest GPA for a semester: 3.74.
Lowest GPA for a semester: 3.12.
Times I've logged onto the internet: Hundreds of thousands, almost exclusively for reasons of procrastination.
Boys I've kissed: 3.
Boys I've regretted kissing: 2.
Girls I've kissed: Unknown. I was always too drunk at the time to keep track.
Times I've changed my major: 0
Times I've changed my program: 1
Number of "real" houseparties I've attended: 2. I was miserable at both and boycotted the 3rd.
Labs or tutorial sessions I've attended: 0. I stoutly refuse to register for any course which requires any such extra class time.
Mammals I've killed: 13. (12 rats in a science experiment and 1 gopher that I accidently ran over.)
Memorable moments of university:
Shaving my head for cancer after raising $3,400.
Being hypnotized and forced to sing opera in front of all my friends.
St. Patrick's Day 2005, when Jan and Danielle (literally) dragged me back to my room after too much peach schnapps and green beer.
The day after St. Patrick's Day 2005, when I had the king of all hangovers.
The kegger at Spin in first year.
Receiving 97% and 100% on my Philosophy of Mind midterm and paper, respectively.
Being evicted from our first house in the first month and letting the Hannaford Renting Curse take its course.
My introduction to and subsequent obssession with Facebook.
Randomly going to Denny's with Carling at 2:30 AM and the creation of Snitch 'n Bitch.
Learning to finally stop being a passive aggressive tard and telling two particular people to their face exactly what I thought of them and why they were both jerks.
Decapitating rats and finding out I'm okay with it.
I'm sure that's not all of it, but it's pretty impossible to recall the full events of the past three years in one writing session. There's still a semester's worth of new experiences to be had though, so by no means are the lists finished!
Friday, August 03, 2007
A Wedding Update
It occurred to me a few moments ago that in this blog - the blog which is supposed to chronicle the major events of my life - I haven't mentioned anything about Scott's and my impending wedding for nearly a year! I thought now might be a good time for un update, since we recently "celebrated" what I had confusingly dubbed our "negative first anniversary." That is, we have officially passed the date exactly one year before the big day itself. After almost a year of insisting, "Oh, we have so much time," and "We don't need to make plans right now, it's just too far ahead," I find myself unexpectedly saying now, "Yeah, it's in less than a year now," and "We have to book these guys soon!" Still, we do have most of the major components worked out already.
Reception Venue
Finding the right reception venue was the very first thing we did, and incidentally, we picked the very first place we looked at - without a moment's hesitation. My mum suggested we look at the Calgary Petroleum Club, because of its incredible food, so she, Scott, and myself all took a drive downtown to see what they had to offer. As soon as I stepped into the ballroom, I just nodded my head a couple times and said (to myself), "Uh huh, uh huh, we'll take it." After seeing the Petroleum Club, we looked at the Hotel Arts on 12th Ave. Though their lobby, restaurants, and suites were very cool and unique, their ballroom was a dark "chocolate" affair that instantly put both Scott and I off. It was just a big, square, windowless room - not at all like the old-city cosmopolitan feel of the Petroleum Club. So we called the Petroleum Club as soon as we got home and booked our day!
Bridal Party
Surprisingly, this was maybe the easiest part of the major wedding tasks to decided upon. Before Scott even proposed, he wanted to have his brother and my brothers as groomsmen, letting him weasle out of choosing between his friends. I told him to stop being an idiot and ask his friends - he wasn't going to hurt feelings. The next day he told me I was right and asked the guys he actually WANTED to stand up with him. In the end, his brother, Mike, is going to be his best man, and then three of his closest friends, Matt, CJ, and Scott, are going to be groomsmen. For myself, I never had to think twice. Nicole is my matron of honour, and my bridesmaids will be Carling, Scott's sister Jamie, and Miko. Dave and Dan are going to be ushers along with our friend Trevor.
Rings
When I had my engagement ring re-sized a week or so after receiving it, we glanced around at the wedding bands just to see what they had. Scott's we found in an instant. The sales girl took out a bunch of men's rings and both Scott and I zoned in on one in particular. He tried it on and voila! I looked at it and thought to myself, "Oh. That's what his wedding ring looks like!" The only thing is, it's made of tungstun, which concerns me for two main reasons: 1) It's freaken' expensive; and 2) It absolutely cannot be broken. Forget Wolverine's adamantium claws, tungstun sounds to me like it really is indestructible. The sales girl gave us all these warnings about how he wouldn't be able to wear it at work because if he broke his finger, the ring can't be cut off - his finger would have to be. It even comes with a ten year warrenty for weight loss/gain because it can't even be re-sized it's so strong. My wedding ring, though less hazardous, proved to be a little more difficult. We actually ended up talking to a custom jewel designer who took my engagement ring for six weeks and made a wedding band to match it. It's very pretty actually, with two small matching saphires and a tiny little diamond on the side. Now, it's at home in a safe place, and my engagement ring is, thankfully, back on my finger.
Honeymoon
One of my favourite things to do with Scott these days is play what I call "the honeymoon game." It began when we first started to look up information on Fiji, our original destination. We mistakenly started our search by looking in the back of bridal magazines, which apparently are determined to cater only to the revoltingly wealthy. The first site we looked at was for the Wakaya Club in Fiji, where you can take a picnic to your own private island and frolic around as you like until you decided to be transported back to your villa - one of only seven on the Club's entire private island. I was convinced that this was the honeymoon destination for us until I decided it would be prudent to check the rates. As it turned out, their cheapest villa is $1,900 per couple, per night, which kind of put a damper on my dreams. We looked at some other Fijian resorts and concluded that they were all too damn expensive, and that the airfair would be as well. I then suggested Greece, but Scott didn't like that idea as much, so next I suggested Italy and it seems like that's what we've settled on. Now rather than private island picnics, I have dreams of sleeping in castle hotels, touring wineries in Tuscany, and being serenaded on a gondola in Venice...
Photographer
This one wasn't hard either. The photographers Nicole and Darcy had for their wedding, Bliss Photography, were amazing - and there were two of them to boot, making it much easier and faster to get a whole pile of pictures. There was one other company we took a quick look at, but there was only one photographer instead of two, and his rates were over double that of Bliss. I think we'll be very happy with who we chose - after all, they have such photogenic people to work with, so how could they fail?
Church
Finding a church to be married in when you're not religious has to be one of the hardest freaken' things in the world. I've looked at a few, but none of them have struck me in any particlar way. Scott looked up the Knox United in downtown Calgary and we both thought it looked perfect, but by the time I called them, they already had our wedding day booked for two other couples. Sigh... I know we'll find something, but the search continues!
Wedding Band
Fairly early on in the planning stages, we decided we wanted to have a wedding band rather than a DJ. No offence to those of you who had/will have DJs at your weddings, but Scott and I just found the whole idea kind of cheesy. We wanted a little more of a traditional and interactive feel to our reception, and we thought some live msuic would be perfect. The only thing I can say about finding a band though is that's it's nearly as impossible as finding a church. We looked at website after website and got nothing, until Scott finally found a site with some phone numbers for agencies who put you into contact with different bands. We haven't gotten around to calling any yet, but it's high up on our list!
Rehearsal Dinner
It seems kind of funny to be planning the rehearsal dinner this early in the game, doesn't it? But actually, my future mother-in-law came up with the brilliant idea of holding the dinner in the old liquor store where Scott and I met, up in the mezzanine they have for tastings and cooking classes. They can get some nice catering and some of the wine staff at the store would be happy to throw a mini-tasting for us, which would make the dinner fun, interesting, and very unique!
Dress
This part, in my biased opinion, is the best part. I never planned to have my wedding dress this soon, but the Fates deemed to send me out early enough to be able to find my perfect gown before it was discarded as an outdated style. It turned out to be a battle between two dresses in the end. The first dress was one of the first ones I tried on, and the second dress was one of the last ones I tried on. The first dress made me look like a bombshell. My mum was convinced that if Scott saw me walk down the aisle in it, his tongue would fall out of his mouth - and I agreed! It gave my body a shape I never knew it had! However, the second dress won out in the end because... well, it was The Dress. What else does a bride need to know? I won't say much about what it looks like though, except this: It's not princess-y. It's not poofy or crinoline-y or anything else that I don't like to wear. It certainly doesn't look like every other wedding dress out there, and not at all like what Scott pictures me in - I asked.
Reception Venue
Finding the right reception venue was the very first thing we did, and incidentally, we picked the very first place we looked at - without a moment's hesitation. My mum suggested we look at the Calgary Petroleum Club, because of its incredible food, so she, Scott, and myself all took a drive downtown to see what they had to offer. As soon as I stepped into the ballroom, I just nodded my head a couple times and said (to myself), "Uh huh, uh huh, we'll take it." After seeing the Petroleum Club, we looked at the Hotel Arts on 12th Ave. Though their lobby, restaurants, and suites were very cool and unique, their ballroom was a dark "chocolate" affair that instantly put both Scott and I off. It was just a big, square, windowless room - not at all like the old-city cosmopolitan feel of the Petroleum Club. So we called the Petroleum Club as soon as we got home and booked our day!
Bridal Party
Surprisingly, this was maybe the easiest part of the major wedding tasks to decided upon. Before Scott even proposed, he wanted to have his brother and my brothers as groomsmen, letting him weasle out of choosing between his friends. I told him to stop being an idiot and ask his friends - he wasn't going to hurt feelings. The next day he told me I was right and asked the guys he actually WANTED to stand up with him. In the end, his brother, Mike, is going to be his best man, and then three of his closest friends, Matt, CJ, and Scott, are going to be groomsmen. For myself, I never had to think twice. Nicole is my matron of honour, and my bridesmaids will be Carling, Scott's sister Jamie, and Miko. Dave and Dan are going to be ushers along with our friend Trevor.
Rings
When I had my engagement ring re-sized a week or so after receiving it, we glanced around at the wedding bands just to see what they had. Scott's we found in an instant. The sales girl took out a bunch of men's rings and both Scott and I zoned in on one in particular. He tried it on and voila! I looked at it and thought to myself, "Oh. That's what his wedding ring looks like!" The only thing is, it's made of tungstun, which concerns me for two main reasons: 1) It's freaken' expensive; and 2) It absolutely cannot be broken. Forget Wolverine's adamantium claws, tungstun sounds to me like it really is indestructible. The sales girl gave us all these warnings about how he wouldn't be able to wear it at work because if he broke his finger, the ring can't be cut off - his finger would have to be. It even comes with a ten year warrenty for weight loss/gain because it can't even be re-sized it's so strong. My wedding ring, though less hazardous, proved to be a little more difficult. We actually ended up talking to a custom jewel designer who took my engagement ring for six weeks and made a wedding band to match it. It's very pretty actually, with two small matching saphires and a tiny little diamond on the side. Now, it's at home in a safe place, and my engagement ring is, thankfully, back on my finger.
Honeymoon
One of my favourite things to do with Scott these days is play what I call "the honeymoon game." It began when we first started to look up information on Fiji, our original destination. We mistakenly started our search by looking in the back of bridal magazines, which apparently are determined to cater only to the revoltingly wealthy. The first site we looked at was for the Wakaya Club in Fiji, where you can take a picnic to your own private island and frolic around as you like until you decided to be transported back to your villa - one of only seven on the Club's entire private island. I was convinced that this was the honeymoon destination for us until I decided it would be prudent to check the rates. As it turned out, their cheapest villa is $1,900 per couple, per night, which kind of put a damper on my dreams. We looked at some other Fijian resorts and concluded that they were all too damn expensive, and that the airfair would be as well. I then suggested Greece, but Scott didn't like that idea as much, so next I suggested Italy and it seems like that's what we've settled on. Now rather than private island picnics, I have dreams of sleeping in castle hotels, touring wineries in Tuscany, and being serenaded on a gondola in Venice...
Photographer
This one wasn't hard either. The photographers Nicole and Darcy had for their wedding, Bliss Photography, were amazing - and there were two of them to boot, making it much easier and faster to get a whole pile of pictures. There was one other company we took a quick look at, but there was only one photographer instead of two, and his rates were over double that of Bliss. I think we'll be very happy with who we chose - after all, they have such photogenic people to work with, so how could they fail?
Church
Finding a church to be married in when you're not religious has to be one of the hardest freaken' things in the world. I've looked at a few, but none of them have struck me in any particlar way. Scott looked up the Knox United in downtown Calgary and we both thought it looked perfect, but by the time I called them, they already had our wedding day booked for two other couples. Sigh... I know we'll find something, but the search continues!
Wedding Band
Fairly early on in the planning stages, we decided we wanted to have a wedding band rather than a DJ. No offence to those of you who had/will have DJs at your weddings, but Scott and I just found the whole idea kind of cheesy. We wanted a little more of a traditional and interactive feel to our reception, and we thought some live msuic would be perfect. The only thing I can say about finding a band though is that's it's nearly as impossible as finding a church. We looked at website after website and got nothing, until Scott finally found a site with some phone numbers for agencies who put you into contact with different bands. We haven't gotten around to calling any yet, but it's high up on our list!
Rehearsal Dinner
It seems kind of funny to be planning the rehearsal dinner this early in the game, doesn't it? But actually, my future mother-in-law came up with the brilliant idea of holding the dinner in the old liquor store where Scott and I met, up in the mezzanine they have for tastings and cooking classes. They can get some nice catering and some of the wine staff at the store would be happy to throw a mini-tasting for us, which would make the dinner fun, interesting, and very unique!
Dress
This part, in my biased opinion, is the best part. I never planned to have my wedding dress this soon, but the Fates deemed to send me out early enough to be able to find my perfect gown before it was discarded as an outdated style. It turned out to be a battle between two dresses in the end. The first dress was one of the first ones I tried on, and the second dress was one of the last ones I tried on. The first dress made me look like a bombshell. My mum was convinced that if Scott saw me walk down the aisle in it, his tongue would fall out of his mouth - and I agreed! It gave my body a shape I never knew it had! However, the second dress won out in the end because... well, it was The Dress. What else does a bride need to know? I won't say much about what it looks like though, except this: It's not princess-y. It's not poofy or crinoline-y or anything else that I don't like to wear. It certainly doesn't look like every other wedding dress out there, and not at all like what Scott pictures me in - I asked.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
A Wilderness Adventure!
It's time to find some adventure in the Great Outdoors! Let's go!
Peekaboo! I see you!
All these rock formations are neat!
Wait a minute... where are we anyway?
Oh no! We're lost!
Looks like we're going to have to survive here on our own. Let's take a lookout to see if we can find any shelter!
Just more and more rocks...
Wait! Here's a nice cozy cave!
Hm... maybe it's a little snug for the both of us...
This one? Nah, too short for me, not to mention Scott!
But this one is perfect! Okay, we have shelter. Next we need...
...A source of fresh drinking water! Boy am I hungry though...
Hooray! We found some sandwiches!
Mmmm... whoever would've thought we'd find grapes growing out here in the desert?
I think we'll be a-okay!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Daily Horoscope
This was my horoscope today on my Google Toolbar:
Pisces: Concerns about financial issues are bothering you and making you restless. Broken promises and delays in expectable income are only making it worse. It seems that nothing is going as you expected, but soon all the matters that are concerning you will be resolved by themselves.
How fitting, considering the events that transpired today - but I should start from the beginning. A little over a month ago, I was driving through Taber on my way to Brooks to visit Scott when I was unpleasantly rear-ended by an enormous, gas-guzzling Chevy truck. Of course, both the other driver and myself pulled over to inspect for damage. It didn't seem like much - just a couple little dents in the rear bumper. Still, I wanted the other driver's info just to cover my bases, you know? But instead of properly providing me with his name, address, phone number, insurance, driver's license, etc. he just gave me his business card and told me to call. Thank god I remembered to get his plate number at least. For the rest of the drive to Brooks, I cried and cried and cried. Whenever I managed to stop crying, I would remember the feeling of the car jumping forward and just start all over again. It was pretty lame.
When I called the other driver (let's call him Hank, even though that's not really his real name) a little later in the week, we decided that I would go get my car inspected first, then I could send him a quote and he could call the shots from there. Basically, it was up to him to decide how he wanted to pay for the damage, through insurance or simply write me a cheque. I took my car to the collision centre and what had looked to be only a couple dents on the outside of the bumper turned out to be a whole lot more. The trunk was all bent out of shape, making it really difficult to open and close, the rubber lining was disintegrating because of the force needed to open or close the trunk, the bumper and trunk lid needed to be repainted, etc. In the end, the damage came to a whopping - though not unexpected - $1,900. Apparently though, it was very unexpected to Hank, who, when I called him and told him the figure, flat out refused to pay it.
Aaaand... things went downhill from there. We had a rather loud argument over the phone in which he tried to get out of paying for it by saying things like "that was so long ago" (the law says I have up to an entire year to take care of the problem) and "there isn't that much damage" (oh, I didn't realize I was dealing with the lead expert on ascertaining body damage over long distances). He certainly wouldn't listen to a single word I said, and just kept insisting he could make the repairs himself for no more than "a couple hundred bucks." He also tried to convince me that since he was the one who was going to be paying for the repairs, it was up to him to decide who got to do the work. I don't think so. Throughout the whole conversation, I was admirably assertive (if I do say so myself). I wasn't outright rude, but I sure gave him an earful. I still don't think he got the idea into his under-educated skull that I'm wasn't some gullible blonde he could walk over. Oh well. In the end, I told him I would happily mail him a copy of the quote I got from the collision centre and I was also immediately going to the police to file a statement and that he should expect a call from them in the near future. Needless to say, there were no friendly good-byes.
Feeling absolutely wretched, I went to the police station and carefully went through the situation with an officer there. It got pretty complicated at points, because Hank wouldn't give me any proper information. Also, he works at a car dealership in Vauxhall and the truck he'd been driving at the time of the accident had since been sold. The license plate number I wrote down didn't belong to that truck anymore either - it switches around to whatever truck Hank is driving from the dealership. But I gave all the information I could and the police officer assured me that all would be well. They had enough information to track him down and then he would be required to submit any other information they needed. That, or he'd be charged with a hit-and-run.
So now I get to play the waiting game. In the meantime, I have some allies on my side (read: mom and dad) who are going to track down Hank's insurance company and talk to them. My dad also wants to give Hank's dealership a call and relate to them his attitude and actions towards me so they have a better understanding of what kind of person they have employed. Fun! All in all, I'm not too worried anymore - the cops are on my side and the insurance companies will soon start bickering with each other instead of giving me the third degree. And besides, my horoscope says everything is going to be a-okay anyway!
Pisces: Concerns about financial issues are bothering you and making you restless. Broken promises and delays in expectable income are only making it worse. It seems that nothing is going as you expected, but soon all the matters that are concerning you will be resolved by themselves.
How fitting, considering the events that transpired today - but I should start from the beginning. A little over a month ago, I was driving through Taber on my way to Brooks to visit Scott when I was unpleasantly rear-ended by an enormous, gas-guzzling Chevy truck. Of course, both the other driver and myself pulled over to inspect for damage. It didn't seem like much - just a couple little dents in the rear bumper. Still, I wanted the other driver's info just to cover my bases, you know? But instead of properly providing me with his name, address, phone number, insurance, driver's license, etc. he just gave me his business card and told me to call. Thank god I remembered to get his plate number at least. For the rest of the drive to Brooks, I cried and cried and cried. Whenever I managed to stop crying, I would remember the feeling of the car jumping forward and just start all over again. It was pretty lame.
When I called the other driver (let's call him Hank, even though that's not really his real name) a little later in the week, we decided that I would go get my car inspected first, then I could send him a quote and he could call the shots from there. Basically, it was up to him to decide how he wanted to pay for the damage, through insurance or simply write me a cheque. I took my car to the collision centre and what had looked to be only a couple dents on the outside of the bumper turned out to be a whole lot more. The trunk was all bent out of shape, making it really difficult to open and close, the rubber lining was disintegrating because of the force needed to open or close the trunk, the bumper and trunk lid needed to be repainted, etc. In the end, the damage came to a whopping - though not unexpected - $1,900. Apparently though, it was very unexpected to Hank, who, when I called him and told him the figure, flat out refused to pay it.
Aaaand... things went downhill from there. We had a rather loud argument over the phone in which he tried to get out of paying for it by saying things like "that was so long ago" (the law says I have up to an entire year to take care of the problem) and "there isn't that much damage" (oh, I didn't realize I was dealing with the lead expert on ascertaining body damage over long distances). He certainly wouldn't listen to a single word I said, and just kept insisting he could make the repairs himself for no more than "a couple hundred bucks." He also tried to convince me that since he was the one who was going to be paying for the repairs, it was up to him to decide who got to do the work. I don't think so. Throughout the whole conversation, I was admirably assertive (if I do say so myself). I wasn't outright rude, but I sure gave him an earful. I still don't think he got the idea into his under-educated skull that I'm wasn't some gullible blonde he could walk over. Oh well. In the end, I told him I would happily mail him a copy of the quote I got from the collision centre and I was also immediately going to the police to file a statement and that he should expect a call from them in the near future. Needless to say, there were no friendly good-byes.
Feeling absolutely wretched, I went to the police station and carefully went through the situation with an officer there. It got pretty complicated at points, because Hank wouldn't give me any proper information. Also, he works at a car dealership in Vauxhall and the truck he'd been driving at the time of the accident had since been sold. The license plate number I wrote down didn't belong to that truck anymore either - it switches around to whatever truck Hank is driving from the dealership. But I gave all the information I could and the police officer assured me that all would be well. They had enough information to track him down and then he would be required to submit any other information they needed. That, or he'd be charged with a hit-and-run.
So now I get to play the waiting game. In the meantime, I have some allies on my side (read: mom and dad) who are going to track down Hank's insurance company and talk to them. My dad also wants to give Hank's dealership a call and relate to them his attitude and actions towards me so they have a better understanding of what kind of person they have employed. Fun! All in all, I'm not too worried anymore - the cops are on my side and the insurance companies will soon start bickering with each other instead of giving me the third degree. And besides, my horoscope says everything is going to be a-okay anyway!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Sigh... Must Be Tuesday
I have this thing - it's been going on for several years - where I have lousy Tuesdays. Like Arthur Dent from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who "never could get the hang of Thursdays," I don't ever seem to manage to get through an entire Tuesday without something going slightly wrong. Now, this isn't to say that I'm immune to misfortune during the other days of the week. For example, the saddest day of my life, I remember, was definitely a Thursday. And the spider-in-the-mouth incident occurred, I'm pretty sure, on a weekend. No, on Tuesdays, it's usually just a bunch of little things that go just a little bit amiss, and they all add up into one wacky, off-beat day. Today was particularly weird, and I'd like to recount my minor mishaps.
- I began the day by staying awake until 2:30 AM, doing not much beyond lying backwards on my bed thinking about nothing with my lights on. Very productive.
- I slept in, obviously, when the alarm went off.
- I put on my underwear inside-out. Of course, I didn't notice until hours later.
- While wearing only one boot, I suddenly remembered a book I'd forgotten to put in my backpack, so I tripped on the stairs running back to get it.
- I didn't check my pocket to make sure my keys were inside before locking the door and stepping outside. Of course, it's the first day I've ever forgotten to put them in.
- Standing beside my car, I came to the realization that my car keys were attached to the rest of my keys, which were inside my house, which was now locked.
- I walked through the two inches of snow that had fallen the night before to get to school. Apparently Danielle passed me in her car on the way, but (understandably) didn't recognize me because 1) I had my hood up, and 2) thought "why on earth would Jackie be walking when she has a car?"
- I arrived in class twenty minutes late. I disrupted everything because there was no chair in the place I usually sit and I had to lift one over the table. Or else stand. In the front row.
- I completely forgot to study for the quiz I had in my second class until fifteen minutes before that class began. This quiz was the reason I had run up to get the book that made me forget my keys in the first place. The only reason I remembered at all was because I was telling Carling the story and had gotten to the part about remembering the book.
- I couldn't get a ride home when that class ended, not that it would have mattered anyway because neither of my roommates were home to let me in.
I ended up staying on campus for a full twelve hours because of this today, but really, I'm surprisingly chipper about it. I went to the library for five of those hours and got a pile of work done (which I never would have finished at home), which means I'll have a little more time to relax over Easter weekend with my family. So sometimes good things happen on Tuesdays along with the bad. They're not all terrible, just always a little zany.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
What I've Learned About Rats
Recently, for an independent study at school, I've been doing some research at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) at the U of L.
And it's really, really cool. I get to give nicotine to rats!
Truth be told, I'm not actually positive what the experiment is about - I'm doing the middle stage of it, and I'm not exactly sure what happened at the beginning. The point is though, that as much as I disagree with animal testing, it turns out that it's actually pretty fricken cool when you know you're doing useful research rather than smearing lipstick on innocent bunnies. And I've also learned a lot about rats, which are highly misunderstood creatures.
And it's really, really cool. I get to give nicotine to rats!
Truth be told, I'm not actually positive what the experiment is about - I'm doing the middle stage of it, and I'm not exactly sure what happened at the beginning. The point is though, that as much as I disagree with animal testing, it turns out that it's actually pretty fricken cool when you know you're doing useful research rather than smearing lipstick on innocent bunnies. And I've also learned a lot about rats, which are highly misunderstood creatures.
- Rats will bite you until they like you.
- Rats like Froot Loops. A lot.
- Rats will like you (and stop biting you) if you give them lots of Froot Loops.
- Rats don't like heights. They will perch on the edge of their boxes and jump the 4 inches back to the inside, but are terrified of jumping the 4 inches to the outside.
- Rats will attempt to crawl into any item of clothing, especially lab coat pockets.
- Rats can squeak surprisingly loud, especially when a nervous undergrad is trying to inject them.
- Rats like to escape and run around on the floor and generally be extremely difficult to catch.
- Especially if it's your first day.
- Grabbing a rat and dangling it upside-down by the tail is the only way to catch and escaped rat. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them.
- Rats look very funny when they're dangling upside-down by their tails.
- Rats' method of dealing with stress: poop as much as possible.
With everything I've learned about rats these past couple weeks, how could I not get an A for the study?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
I Believe In the One True God: Google
Our Google, who art in cyberspace,
Hallowed be thy domain.
Thy search to come,
Thy results be done,
On 127.0.0.1 as it is in the Googleplex.
Give us this day our daily searches,
And forgive us our spam,
As we forgive those who spam against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from Microsoft.
For thine is the search engine,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever and ever.
Amen.
Hallowed be thy domain.
Thy search to come,
Thy results be done,
On 127.0.0.1 as it is in the Googleplex.
Give us this day our daily searches,
And forgive us our spam,
As we forgive those who spam against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from Microsoft.
For thine is the search engine,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever and ever.
Amen.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Joke of the Day!
I read this in Maxim a few days ago:
A dog, a cat, and a penis are talking to each other. The dog complains about his master, "My master is awful to me! He makes me go out into the yard, dig around in the dirt and do my business in front of everyone!" The cat looks at him and says, "You think you've got it bad? You've got a whole yard to work with, but my master only lets me do my business in a little box of sand that reeks all the time!" The penis turns to both of them and says, "That's nothing! At least your master doesn't put a sock over your head, leave you in the dark, and make you do push-ups until you throw up!"
Delightful.
A dog, a cat, and a penis are talking to each other. The dog complains about his master, "My master is awful to me! He makes me go out into the yard, dig around in the dirt and do my business in front of everyone!" The cat looks at him and says, "You think you've got it bad? You've got a whole yard to work with, but my master only lets me do my business in a little box of sand that reeks all the time!" The penis turns to both of them and says, "That's nothing! At least your master doesn't put a sock over your head, leave you in the dark, and make you do push-ups until you throw up!"
Delightful.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Growing Up Sucks
I'm not going to make any bones about my purpose here: I want a self-esteem boost. Humour me. I'm feeling rather low today.
What has brought about this uncharacteristic melancholy, you ask? I have suddenly and unexpectedly been instilled with the Fear. No, I'm not pregnant - I should be more specific. What I have contracted is the University Student Fear which can be summed up in one succinct sentence: Is this really what I want to be doing with my life?
According to every student I've ever known, we all get the Fear at least once during our university careers, and truth be told, I've always been a little smug that I'd managed to avoid it. I've known that I wanted to do psychology since I was ten-years-old, and that desire has never waivered until now. These days, I'm not so sure that psychology is the right path for me, not because I don't enjoy it anymore, but because it requires so much more than just a bachelor's degree. Really, if I want a decent career in the field of psychology, I need to continue my education at least to a Master's level, and a Ph.D is even more recommended. I used to be so confident about going to graduate school. I'd always been one of the top students in my class, I had no financial barriers holding me back, and I certainly wasn't attached to any person or place.
Last Tuesday, I went to a graduate school information forum to get some information on how and when to apply for grad school, what is required for the application, etc., but found the whole thing pretty discouraging. We all got booklets, of course, and the first questions in them were called "three wishes":
1. If you had no mental or physical limitations and could be anything you wanted, what would it be? What is your dream job? (Rock star, professional dancer, or world-famous fiction writer.)
2. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it? (Massive shopping spree and several lazy, exotic vacations.)
3. If you knew you only had 6 months left to live, what would you do with the rest of your life? (Several more lazy, exotic vacations and attempt to get JK Rowling to tell me the what happens in the last Harry Potter book.)
What do any of those have to do with psychology? When the forum was over, we had the opportunity to talk to some of the professors and grad students who were there to help answer any questions we might have. I went to the prof who had talked the most about the application process to get some advice. I explained that I'm not going to grad school right away because I'm getting married next summer and my husband is very likely going to go to school shortly afterward. One of us at least needs to be working full-time so we can support ourselves. This also means that my choices for grad schools are more limited because I need to attend one in a city where Scott can also have a decent job. Any advice? Apparently not. The prof only asked me what kind of research I wanted to do, how much research I've done so far (I'm just starting now, which apparently won't be enough) and what my grades are like. When I told her I had a 3.5 GPA (which I've been fighting tooth-and-nail to maintain), she called it "not great."
Awesome. Now I'm very much attached to a person who significantly influences where and when I can go to grad school, I have financial barriers because we can't both go to school at the same time, and now I'm no longer at the top of my class, I'm "not great." Also, none of my three wishes have anything even to do with psychology, much less grad school. They all involve being lazy or famous or both.
So my dilemma here isn't whether or not I want to take psychology any more, but rather whether it's worth it or not. I feel like if I just finished my bachelor's and decided that was enough, not only would I be disappointing a whole pile of people, but I wouldn't really have any relevant qualifications for a decent job. I feel like I'd take a job as a secretary and be stuck there because I don't know how to do anything more specialized. At the same time though, I no longer feel like I'm smart enough or dedicated enough to get into grad school. If I did get in, the sacrifices I'd have to make may be too large to be worth it.
To be honest, I imagine that this feeling will even pass in a few days' time, but I probably still won't have anything resolved - I'll just forget about it until it comes to bite me in the ass next year.
If anyone has some magical answer that'll make it all better, please leave a comment!
What has brought about this uncharacteristic melancholy, you ask? I have suddenly and unexpectedly been instilled with the Fear. No, I'm not pregnant - I should be more specific. What I have contracted is the University Student Fear which can be summed up in one succinct sentence: Is this really what I want to be doing with my life?
According to every student I've ever known, we all get the Fear at least once during our university careers, and truth be told, I've always been a little smug that I'd managed to avoid it. I've known that I wanted to do psychology since I was ten-years-old, and that desire has never waivered until now. These days, I'm not so sure that psychology is the right path for me, not because I don't enjoy it anymore, but because it requires so much more than just a bachelor's degree. Really, if I want a decent career in the field of psychology, I need to continue my education at least to a Master's level, and a Ph.D is even more recommended. I used to be so confident about going to graduate school. I'd always been one of the top students in my class, I had no financial barriers holding me back, and I certainly wasn't attached to any person or place.
Last Tuesday, I went to a graduate school information forum to get some information on how and when to apply for grad school, what is required for the application, etc., but found the whole thing pretty discouraging. We all got booklets, of course, and the first questions in them were called "three wishes":
1. If you had no mental or physical limitations and could be anything you wanted, what would it be? What is your dream job? (Rock star, professional dancer, or world-famous fiction writer.)
2. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it? (Massive shopping spree and several lazy, exotic vacations.)
3. If you knew you only had 6 months left to live, what would you do with the rest of your life? (Several more lazy, exotic vacations and attempt to get JK Rowling to tell me the what happens in the last Harry Potter book.)
What do any of those have to do with psychology? When the forum was over, we had the opportunity to talk to some of the professors and grad students who were there to help answer any questions we might have. I went to the prof who had talked the most about the application process to get some advice. I explained that I'm not going to grad school right away because I'm getting married next summer and my husband is very likely going to go to school shortly afterward. One of us at least needs to be working full-time so we can support ourselves. This also means that my choices for grad schools are more limited because I need to attend one in a city where Scott can also have a decent job. Any advice? Apparently not. The prof only asked me what kind of research I wanted to do, how much research I've done so far (I'm just starting now, which apparently won't be enough) and what my grades are like. When I told her I had a 3.5 GPA (which I've been fighting tooth-and-nail to maintain), she called it "not great."
Awesome. Now I'm very much attached to a person who significantly influences where and when I can go to grad school, I have financial barriers because we can't both go to school at the same time, and now I'm no longer at the top of my class, I'm "not great." Also, none of my three wishes have anything even to do with psychology, much less grad school. They all involve being lazy or famous or both.
So my dilemma here isn't whether or not I want to take psychology any more, but rather whether it's worth it or not. I feel like if I just finished my bachelor's and decided that was enough, not only would I be disappointing a whole pile of people, but I wouldn't really have any relevant qualifications for a decent job. I feel like I'd take a job as a secretary and be stuck there because I don't know how to do anything more specialized. At the same time though, I no longer feel like I'm smart enough or dedicated enough to get into grad school. If I did get in, the sacrifices I'd have to make may be too large to be worth it.
To be honest, I imagine that this feeling will even pass in a few days' time, but I probably still won't have anything resolved - I'll just forget about it until it comes to bite me in the ass next year.
If anyone has some magical answer that'll make it all better, please leave a comment!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Coolest Internet Thingamajig EVER
My siblings are officially proven wrong. The math says I'm hot.
Just find a decent, front-facing picture of yourself and stick it into the program to find out which celebrities you look like! You have to sign up first, but it's totally worth it! (And I don't think they send any junk anyway.)
By the way, Elizabeth Hurley and Charlize Theron are both on my Top 5 list for hottest females.
Just find a decent, front-facing picture of yourself and stick it into the program to find out which celebrities you look like! You have to sign up first, but it's totally worth it! (And I don't think they send any junk anyway.)
By the way, Elizabeth Hurley and Charlize Theron are both on my Top 5 list for hottest females.
