The supposed golden path

Apple spice malamel

2012-02-20T12:15:00.004-06:00

Just set up my apple spice mead last night. Because I juiced (yeesh) 17 Lb apples for the mead I had to add campden tablets to it and let it sit overnight before I add the yeast. YOu only get ~6 L of apple cider squish from that if you can believe it...I figured I'd get more than that, but you learn as you go...

Never done this before. It's all very wierd. And I feel like it's not up to lab sanitary standards. Yes I bleached the stuff well and used a newer no rinse sterilizer on the other things but...after culturing human cancer cell lines in a lab this feels like monkey lumbering kindergarten stuff that will be totally contaminated and spoiled. Gah. I would hate to do all this and have vinegar in 6 months, but here goes nothing. We shall see. :)

It took an HOUR to get the 4Kg honey and 10L water up to boil for 15 minutes, then I tossed in some Cinnamon sticks and cloves and a T of nutmeg. Poured this into the bucket of apple goo and campden and covered it up...and it smelled lovely. Tonight I'll add the acid blend and a bit of yeast food and the champagne yeast...and then try and ignore it for a few weeks until it's ready to be racked off..

Once I rack it into a carbuoy I need to ignore it a few MONTHS. Maybe longer until it clarifies somewhat.

Yeesh.

I think I'm made for beermaking. This takes ages :)

I may have to buy another carbuoy and get some beer going for the summer just so I ignore the mead properly...he heh. Apparently it doesn't taste very good for at least 6 months. Must be good.

I'm trying to get work done on my thesis since it's a day off but I really don't want to.

But I will. Honest.

Just getting my mead angst out...

I figure at this rate should be ready to drink right around my birthday. I will stick a bottle away for christmas...and a few for friends to enjoy on their holidays as well. :) If this works it will be an annual thing for the holidays I think...

Frosty morning

2012-02-17T09:57:00.003-06:00

The hoar frost was gorgeous this morning...:)

I was almost late for work snapping a pic or two on my way across campus after my morning workout.

It snowed fresh overnight and there was a thick fog this morning, making a cm of hoar frost coating everything in sight. It's the little things like this that make life grand...

Grit your teeth...sleep is for quitters

2012-02-16T08:52:00.003-06:00

Last night whilst boomeranging back and forth between time wasting, editing the first 2 chapters of my thesis and trying to think about my summer plans and new job I came to realise that it's time to just DO this. So the end is nigh. Ish. 2 parts done and needing proofing. 4 parts left. I came across a website that is a collection of posts by people writing articles who have nearly finished or just finished the hell that is writing the thesis. This post in particular about the process I identify with intimately.

I am thankfully just leaving step 7 and am at some blend of step 8 and 9.

I yearn for 10...

I just want to be done this damn thing and get on with my life...

I'm romantic, see?

2012-02-15T08:39:00.001-06:00

Yes -this was my grunging acknowledgement of Enforced Displays of Love Day. Heart shaped pizza (with heart shaped pepperoni). Tasty...

Yum

2012-02-10T08:56:00.003-06:00

Well...I now know what I'm having for breaky tomorrow.

THIS.

It'll be served around noon. Show up with a mimosa for me and I'll give you some :)

Had Feist running about in my head all morning. Which amuses me since I don't actually have her CD...and yet. Happy ears :)

the one about beverages

2012-02-08T08:45:00.003-06:00

Somewhere between the grocery store and home last night we lost a case of diet coke. Not in the car...just gone.

Somewhere someone is drinking my delicious black fizz juice.

I will have to be content with my case of Canadian 67 - a newer light beer. Normally I'm more of an ale drinker, but sometimes I try and be a little more healthy about my beerism, and this does the trick nicely. It tastes like Heineken, only a lot lighter alcohol wise (only 3%) so I can have a beer with supper and not feel guilty at all.

On other beery topics, I am gearing up to start a batch of apple mead this weekend. I've been gifted 2 L of honey and need only get a bit more along with some organic apple juice and yeast and such and I will be on my way to making what I hope will be the first batch of many delicious meads. My sis in law's parents keep bees on their acreage now. He heh. They are willing to trade honey for mead. This can only be a good thing :)

I love it when a plan comes together

2012-02-07T09:20:00.003-06:00

AH. Last night I felt like an old lady but I died my hair a lovely dark warm brown (as close to "normal" as I remember), read a book for a while and went to bed ridiculously early. I believe I was asleep by 9:15. Yes...it's how I roll. :)

It was wonderful. I very seldom do that, but I needed it. Not the least bit exciting, but so very very good for me.

I feel great this morning. I even woke up smiling to come into my exercise class and I'm feeling all chipper and cheerful. I'll never be a morning person, but I sure hope the sun starts coming up soon in the mornings. Getting up with the sun is so much easier...The sunrise

over the river is just gorgeous in the spring. Right now we have spring weather...so other than extended spring allergy season it all seems slightly out of whack without the sun. Not complaining tho - the mild winter is great.

Today I get a tour of my new lab. He hee...I love saying that. MY lab. The one I will manage. :D

It's almost done construction and they're putting in the benches and such. We just finished the ridiculously elaborate inventory of equipment and now are compiling it to figure out what we've got to set up all the labs. I love this. LOVE it. I'm looking forward to wandering about in my steel toes and hardhat and really having a chance to look at my soon to be new lab-home. I'm so excited :)

Have a great day everyone. I'm off to the land of inventory...I love it when a plan comes together.

There is no why. Only what is.

2012-02-06T10:47:00.005-06:00

Cancer has yet again hurt people I care for and taken another kind soul. I used to ask why. Now it just angers me. For him and others I have known who have suffered from, or because of, the big c today I raise both of my middle fingers to the sky at sunrise to heartily tell it how I feel. These people are working for change to raise awareness...for earlier diagnosis...give people a better chance to survive it. They feel the same way. Every little bit helps.

All I know is this sort of thing makes me come out swinging. Makes me work harder at what I do...

Think before you speak...come on

2012-02-06T09:04:00.005-06:00

Today at the gym 3 muscly guys were joking about typical guy jock stuff in the stretch out area. It's spring training for most of the teams right now so unfortunately there is a lot of testosterone floating around. Not a big deal...as long as you don't listen to them talk. They generally don't ogle...just get in the way and hog the equipment and make rediculous grunty noises as they lift stuff. ANYways...you can tell these are not used to having women around and being in a locker room from some of the crap that comes out of their mouths.

Case in point: One of them saw a sign posted about a rape/self defence class for women being held on the weekend. He turned to his buddy and went "alright guys it's strategy time! We can go to class and learn what the girls are being taught so we know all the countermoves! They won't be able to fight us off" and they started laughing. Needless to say every woman (and a few guys) around them just stopped and glared at them. They were so dense they didn't even get the hint...at first. I had a strong urge to go over and kick them all squarely in the jewels but you know with people like that that it wouldn't make a shred of difference. I knew if I opened my mouth I would have said all kinds of nasty things and perhaps voided my gym membership, but if I ever hear them spouting that shit again I will be reporting them to their coach and the gym desk. I know they were kidding...but that is not even remotely funny to me...

Guys...think about what you say. If you say crap like this in public we can only assume you are even a greater ass in the privacy of your own home, and I cannot believe that your girlfriend would put up with this crap.

Think before you speak. Have some respect.

Ah. That's better. Had to vent a bit. Back to work for me.

love that man

2012-02-02T08:49:00.001-06:00

J and I babbled most of an hour when he got home form work late late last night.

Despite the late hours and the tiredness the next day, we do our best talking at 2 AM.

I'm tired today, but feel great.

He talked me down from the wobbles.

Love that man...he always surprises me :)

What's that spell?

2012-02-01T21:54:00.003-06:00

Well today started out well but has slowly meandered towards lameness.

Slept in and work was good, but on the way home (very sad) friends called to say they (who had gone for years) did not get their BurningMan tickets. And later, after working out and heading home on a gong show of a 70 minute bus ride home (normally 15) I just learned we did not either. Been planning for years to go this year. There's likely still a shot of getting tickets, but without the whole camp of lovelies...do I? How do you plan to participate when you don't know if you can go? I mostly hate that this was to me a thesis writing night and I really haven't gotten anything done, despite being all pumped to get at it. Nothing.

At least I made muffins before settling down to a solid evening of nothing.

Oh I know, I know, this isn't much to really get bummed about compared to some. I'm healthy (albeit it helluva stiff from working out this week after not doing so for months) and my job is good. I have friends dealing with pretty major heavy stuff at the moment, and this seems trivial to talk about when other than my thesis I (and a number of close friends) am really just dealing with a LOT of dissapointment.

I just have no desire to tell my luv about the tickets when he gets home...

L to the A to the M to the E

Geeks for president

2012-01-30T08:29:00.004-06:00

My friend Heather just got our tickets for this year's comic con in Calgary. It's in april this year, instead of June and my friends and I are all geared up for a weekend of nerdy goodness. This time I don't have to rush back for anything...I can stay the whole weekend and enjoy. Jay is covering it for work so he'll be there somewhere (likely with backstage press passes...lucky sod). I will be geeking out with my good good friends. Last year was a blast and I can't wait for this year: Adam West. Cast of STTNG. Starbuck. Billy West. George Perez. Dave Prowse. Adam Baldwin. Should be a howl and a half...the costumes and the steampunk stuff last year blew my mind.

This gives me a solid goal to work towards. I'm hoping to have my thesis completed by the time I go to this. THIS is my reward. This will get me going...I need goals. Deadlines that matter to *me*. This will do nicely.

I've finally started picking away at my thesis. Got a solid chunk of work done on saturday and now feel like since I've started I can get at it. Time to buckle down. Get busy on the writing and get it done.

Then a holiday trip to nerdsville...:)

Um...OK???

2012-01-27T16:12:00.003-06:00

Received this box in the lab today.

Yup, didn't make any sense to the courier either...

:)

2012-01-25T10:48:00.000-06:00

time's a wastin'

2012-01-24T15:15:00.001-06:00

I swear I could procrastinate for my country...

I'm falling a part I tells ya

2012-01-22T16:57:00.003-06:00

Good lord I hope this isn't a sign of the oldiness to come. I've been mincing about and favouring my bad knee for the past week . An attack of random bursitis has made stairs rather painful, and I"m pretty much back to normal on that regard. Haven't been able ot work out or anything...just rest up. And yesterday I awoke to a pinched stiff *something* in my shouldery backish parts. Like I'm stiff in one really specific spot, only I'm not. Just enough to intrude on my consciousness but not enough to hurt good an properly. I've been rocking the heat pack and trying to avoid my thesis as actively as possible...hoping it will fade soon. I miss the morning workouts...I"m falling apart before my eyes...

Yesterday was lovely, despite being rather unproductive. I've been working at being more present in my life. I really need to be taking the time to focus on whatever I am doing and feel and experience it all..not just a means to an end to fall exhausted into bed and do it all over again. There was a little too much of that...it got to be normal. This weekend has been a reversal of that. Yesterday was a day of life with J. Random errands. Baked oatmeal with bananas. Even took an evening to relax and watch Voyage of the Dawn Treader...a book I read a zillion times as a kid. Loved it thoroughly. There were also lovely tasty things. I made pizza from scratch that was, quite honestly and randomly, the best pizza I've ever made. Add in some espresso vodka martinis and finally tasting some of the lemoncello I'd hidden away with a vanilla bean infusing into it (heavenly) and it was a tasty relaxing evening. Yes. Good show everyone.
Today we wandered out to a new little hole in the wall with a friend which we will definitely return to...the Hollows. Had breakfast poutine. Oh my...it had bacon...and a runny poached egg...cheesy curds. Add some peach rooibus tea and it was a tasty way to start the day. I'm currently working on some fresh cheesey spiced rolls (with the help of my bread robot) and will whip up some pumpkin peanut soup for supper to go with them eventually. Precious little thesis getting done I must admit, but strangely, I am not as concerned about it as I could be (should be?). Truth is, I had to step back from it a while...to stop giving it power over me. Working on it made me tense...and dread that "november" would return. That crazy evil month that I somehow survived and thrived in but would never ever on this earth wish to repeat for my own sanity really did a number on me...I didn't realise it at the time. After a bit of time away I finally feel like I can work on my thesis without imploding or being an asshat to the ones around me out of sheer worry or stress. I feel like I am *living* again...with bits of life and everyday things in their more proper place of attention. With J right by me cheering me on, instead of being waved off into a corner in a cloud of stress. I really do need to get to it and write more. And I will.
But, I think I may figure this life thing out yet...

Winter is Coming

2012-01-17T10:43:00.003-06:00

Well, winter has arrived finally after many false attempts.
After a nice unseasonably warm winter so far and a toasty warm christmas (seriously, there wasn't any snow and it was +5 C!) it's back to seasonal norms as of this week. Sad to see it back really, but it is what it is here on the frozen prairies. This AM it was -37 before the windchill, which made it feel like -45ish. I dug out my skipants to wait for the bus...

I am always amazed that life goes on on days like this. The school buses aren't running today (for obvious reasons) but the rest of us come in to do our thing. I am glad I don't have to drive in this weather...I mean my bus broke down this morning from the cold. I was happy to be properly dressed while I waited for the next one - a lot of people were not and I wanted to shake them...I mean wearing just running shoes and a bunnyhug in this weather? Positive thinking is one thing, but losing your fingers to frostbite is not my idea of a good day...at least wear a hat! Jeez...this happens every year. We always have difficulty at work explaining to the new grad students form the middle east why they need a warm coat until the weather actually arrives and they experience it themselves...this kind of cold really is unfathomable until you live through it for a season...

It will take a bit getting used to...it's all rather sudden.

It sure does make me want to stay inside and work on my thesis tho. No going out unless it's absolutely necessary. Think I'll hunker down the next while and get some writing done.
That and drink lots of tea with the help of my new tea robot.
Me hee.

Stay warm people.

It's the little things

2012-01-11T22:25:00.002-06:00

tea anyone?

Been in my head all day...

2012-01-09T15:29:00.000-06:00

Did you get that thing I sent you?

2012-01-09T10:56:00.001-06:00

7 pages down on my thesis...

WAKE UP ALL YOU APPLES!

2012-01-05T08:58:00.003-06:00

Apparently, today is Apple Howling Day in Henfield, West Sussex. In Gill Orchard, always on Epiphany Eve, horn blowing and howling at the trees is said to wake them up and yield a good crop.
I think I'll spend a while howling at the raspberry bushes in the back yard and see what happens...or maybe the neighbour's crabapple tree. I bet they'd love that huh?

First neat thing of 2012

2012-01-03T11:49:00.002-06:00

Today I stumbled across this little short film: Zombie in a penguin suit.

Yup.
It's gonna be a good year.
I can feel it already :)

the last of the holidays

2012-01-02T10:42:00.002-06:00

Today is my last day off before I go back to work.
I plan on sipping wine and reading and enjoying it to the fullest...tommorrow brings back the thesis madness. But for now...it's naptime :)

Happy New Year to all of you!

Anti-Gravity

2011-12-30T17:31:00.006-06:00

Just a few pictures of the venue we decked out for our Space themed all night party on the 26th.
I snapped a few right before the doors opened.

It was a BLAST. We sold out and everyone had a fantastic time. It was a lot of work to set up and tear down but we had 2 rooms of fantastic music of many genres, plus local art, cookies, giant robots and a space chicken.

Anti-Gravity was a great success. All bills are paid and there were many MANY happy people including yours truly.

And now *I* get to relax after cleaning all that up and running a zillion errands
:)
I do believe it is FINALLY time for more mulled wine and a good book.

Happy New Year everyone!

I know my chicken. You've got to know your chicken.

2011-12-22T08:30:00.005-06:00

My poor old laptop. Something is up with the battery connection - when it is less than 1 hour of charge it will discharge all remaining juice and shut down. Poor little bean. I was in a contented posting mood last night about midnight, but the bean decided to shut down middle babble, so the moment passed. Still, I want to keep that feeling I had around for a while. Contented cookie glow is a very good feeling.

Thing is, last night I felt human. Like Me. Despite a busy day, running errands for the party (I can carry 30 dozen beer - rawr amazon), working on my space chicken, baking a zillion sour cream sugar cookies for the party (star shaped "space cakes") and hanging out a bit with a friend decorating robots for a while. It is so mindpolishingly good to know that when I stop working on my thesis and take time to relax and live in the moment there are moments to have. There is life to be had. Things to do. I have baked and sewn a few things and feel a lot more like me than I did a few weeks ago. It's still a busy time but it's a different busy right now.

I'll take it. I'll take 2.

I have taken the giant paper mache chicken and repainted it all bright yellow with an orange beak and tonight and tomorrow I need to make him a spaceship and spacesuit. I have it in my head to make a giant space chicken for the party. I just cannot bear to let such a lovely giant absurdly yellow chicken go to waste :)

I mean come on - giant space chicken.

Does the thought of it not make you wibble with glee?

Cuz it should...

Phew. Two more days of work left until 10 days off..

Giggedy.

image

I'm digging this management thing

2011-12-19T16:07:00.004-06:00

If this weekend is a sign of what being in my new job is like, I am one happy camper...

My new boss threw a christmas thing, where there was much good wine, and fantastic cheese and nibbles. I hardly knew anyone there, but showed up to friendly groups of people and had a wonderful time. I was all nervous, as J couldn't come so it was just me, in the house of the king...and I needn't have worried. It was great. I work with some really nice people...

Did I mention the cheese?

Cuz there were 10 kinds.

Whole wheel of smoked gouda. Gruyere stuffed mushroom caps....and some choice Pino Grigio.

WAHOO!

I for one welcome my new robot overlords

2011-12-17T21:40:00.000-06:00

It's Tobor's first christmas...

Stop! Hippy time!

2011-12-16T07:59:00.007-06:00

Dooo do doodoooo...

The thing about some of my friends being hippies is that while they are great and calm and zen about most things it is bloody impossible to plan events with them, particularly around the holidays. Case in point: I was told the major setup for our party would be on a certain day, which has since switched, so I have to try and replan holiday stuff with my brother. I don't have a yearning to spend lots of time with them, but one evening helping them make ebelskeivers and playing games was something I was really looking forward to. Even if J can't come it may happen anyways, hippies be damned...I mean my sis-in-law just had major surgery I am not breezing in, stuffing my face with pancakes and leaving right away like some self important jerk. I want to at least hang out with my brother for a few hours and maybe play some Catan with a glass or 2 of wine...doesn't seem like too much to ask. It's a challenge to get J over there and put up with my sis-in-law, so the wine helps :)

Grrrr.

All I want for Christmas is to hang out in my house with some rum and nog and not have to do anything or be anywhere. I am hoping the week after christmas will be less insane, but I am not sure. J doesn't have that week off and has to plan a new year's special. I have time off. We shall see...there may be sabotage required to get myself the break I crave...

Getting into the spirit of things...

2011-12-15T13:20:00.001-06:00

A Christmas classic.

Yes.

*ahem*

WANT!!

2011-12-14T23:09:00.001-06:00

Robot tea infusers.

Need.

One.

out of stock.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.....................

Am I the only one who thinks eggnog lattes are gross?

2011-12-12T09:58:00.001-06:00

from: Sheldon Comics

better. yes.

2011-12-10T11:05:00.005-06:00

OK...sorry for all the moping. It's really been a spectacularly sucky week...but slowly its all settling. It is what it is and life goes on. Things are starting to trickle back together...
A little bit of sleep and some coffee and I feel a bit more on the level now. Plus, my throat finally doesn't hurt anymore from when I burned it. It's nice to have some tea and coffee again. Perhaps I will try crunchy foods today. Oh to dream :)

Today I get to relax...finished off some inventory data entry leftover from work this morning and now I can get ready for a haircut and drop off tickets to a sponsor to sell for us. Our local group of crazies are throwing another party. Last time we sold out and it went well, so we're hoping this time it will be the same...this time it's space themed - called Anti-gravity. We're having fun with it - if you dress up like a robot you get a free drink. Free admission with a life-sized robot. We've lined up lots of good local bands and DJs in a venue with multiple rooms and are going to decorate the place up. I'm in charge of the bar and have a few good space themed drinks...should be fun. I am also building a giant astronaut chicken in a space ship for decor...the world needs more space chickens. I finally have a bit of free brain space to start getting excited about it. Hope it goes well...tomorrow is a massive decor session at our house to build robots for the party...so much tin foil...

Tonight I get to hang with my friend Heather who I haven't seen since Comic Con this summer. Ridiculous I know. See works in a lab up north and so she isn't home much and I've been a hermit...so except for email and texts we haven't talked in months and months...it will be good to catch up on everything and just relax and talk to someone about things that do not involve grad school, work or taxes. I really should start on my thesis before christmas...but that is next week. Not now. A little more normality is required...

I hope you all have a nice weekend. I'm going to stare at the tree a lot...drink some cocoa. Let life settle into it's new mode.

boo

2011-12-09T11:04:00.001-06:00

I had grand plans for some $$ I'd earned.

J did too.

It is all going to the government now.

And more.

Time to decide what part of next summer won't happen...

Boo.

yoo hoo!

2011-12-08T08:53:00.001-06:00

Ow

2011-12-07T08:57:00.004-06:00

If you ever thought it might be fun to swallow boiling hot food, don't.

Last night, after a long miserable evening I warmed up some baked oatmeal to eat and took a big mouthful to discover it was too hot. I have a retarded swallow reflex and instead of spitting it out like a normal person, my lovely brain decided to swallow the burning hot food...and it burned all the way down, getting stuck in my throat as only oatmeal can do. I had a cold drink but couldn't eat after that. It hurt.

This am it's still sore, but at least I can eat again, albeit carefully. Managed some lukewarm coffee too... we're going out for a tasty christmas work lunch so I'm hoping my throat won't hassle me and I can enjoy my meal.

Sucky end to a sucky day.

meh.

amen

2011-12-05T08:27:00.000-06:00

link

And that's how we do it around here :)

2011-12-01T14:13:00.003-06:00

YES!!!

Permission has been granted!

A bit of a lacklustre event after all the hard work going into it to to be perfectly honest with you. A few phone meetings for consults and a LOT of writing are now my future...but my research work is declared done and I now get to officially write it up in thesis form, in it's approved, outlined form, for review and defence.

The relaxing sigh I just breathed out can be heard for miles I'm sure :)

The day I've been counting down to.

2011-12-01T08:32:00.004-06:00

Well here goes nothing. I feel like there should be more fanfare somehow after all the work I've put in up to this point...In an hour I present my work to my committee and hope I get permission to write.

I have cookies for bribery...nutella cookies and pepper gingersnaps.

They are delish. Not as cake as I like my cookies, but they aren't for me :)

I must dash and try not to spill coffee all over myself before the meeting.

I do hope they all agree with me that I'm done all my work and I can start officially writing up my data. *I* think I am...but what do I know :)

Here we go...

Giggle

2011-11-30T09:02:00.003-06:00

Just gotta keep it together 1 more day. One more. My permission to write meeting is tomorrow. I've gotten more sleep this week thank frog, but I still feel utterly worn out from this month's utter insanity. I can honestly say I have never been this busy before in my life.

But, only one more night of slavery work...then crossing of all available appendages that it will go well and I get clearance to stop MSc work and I can officially start slogging away at my thesis and relax a bit. By relax I mean not working every damn waking moment....

I plan to bribe the committee with nutella cookies - I have no shame. :)

We were going to go away this weekend, but I'm kind of glad we aren't even though I was looking forward to it. While J works I can put up Christmas lights and make cookies to send with my Dad out to Ontario to my sister for her 4 foster kids to snarf. We snuck away for a day last weekend to a star wars party...at which I won best costume (bwaha! 2 tickets to the Astral Harvest music festival!) and had a little relaxing if only because of the car ride there and back :)

Soon...a bit of holiday break.

Soon.

Just to show off, here's me and a hot Clone Trooper at the Star Wars party...Just to prove that yes...I know how to make a proper costume :) I went over to tell her she had the shiniest pants I'd ever seen. She told me they used to belong to her gay roommate who had given them to her because his boyfriend thought they were *too* gay for him to wear...and she loves them. Best story behind a pair of pants I've heard in a while... :)

The final Countdown

2011-11-28T09:30:00.002-06:00

Only one more week left in this insanity drive...then I can relax a bit...sleep...and drown the house in christmas lights.

Courage.

And to get that ridiculous Europe song out of your head which I know that title put there (sorry), here's a far better one...

so close

2011-11-23T08:25:00.004-06:00

Last night I got a LOT done. I feel like this report will come together nicely. I managed to sneak in a nap after work which went a long way in boosting my morale. I've really been burning the candle at both ends lately and it can be discouraging. Thankfully only 1 evening left... I slept in this morning and skipped my workout and feel much better for it. It got me a positively luxurious total of 4 and a half hours of sleep...which I know doesn't sound like much, but sure felt good after a long exhausting day. Getting up for boot camp might have been too much I think. I don't need to go crazy right now - I could feeling exhaustion poking it's tendrils into my zen. Not cool.

Last night J was fiddling with my new iPhone and pulled up this video to cheer me up:

I've seen it a few times and it still makes me giggle until I snort...he heee :)

The view from up here

2011-11-22T08:28:00.004-06:00

"We are like dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature, add to ours."

~John of Salisbury

Metalogicon (1159)

I have made it this far. I have become king.

2011-11-18T16:20:00.004-06:00

I was up until 5 finishing my draft but I'm pretty happy with it.

Yeah...just a wee bit tired :P

I have the weekend to work on final data bits and proof it monday and tuesday. My supervisors will have comments too Im sure, but I'm so glad so have so much of that headache out of the way.

Now...naptime and an evening off! :)

Today's disappointment is brought to you by the number 4 and the letter S

2011-11-17T14:06:00.005-06:00

I went to pick up my new work phone (and laptop bwaha) for my new job which is going alright so far, and learned that they ordered me the wrong one...so I had to hand back the awesome iPhone 4S they ware setting up for me and head back without one to wait for a regular old iPhone 4 to come in. Yes, yes I know it's free and shouldn't complain because it's way better than anything I have right now...but I was secretly hoping my boss would just say "oh OK go for it" and let me keep it.

So close :)

Data mining

2011-11-15T18:18:00.003-06:00

Well I spent most of the weekend doing analysis on my data that shows me not much at all (*sigh*) which while good for discussion feels like one ginormous waste of my time...but in the end I have worked out a way to make it say something for real, oh yes indeedy, so tonight is try and do all of it at once so I can still have a summary to my supervisor by friday. My *other* supervisor, has finally made contact which is why I now know what to do with my data. Wish she'd been around sooner. She could have saved me a lot of headache.
*sigh*
There just isn't enough time in the day.

On the other hand - day 1 of my new job went swimmingly. I have a new laptop to play with...and much to do. It's nice to be busy at work.

Now that I'm home...not so much.
I have made butter chicken and after nomming it, I will set my mind on data crunching...and I *will* finish it tonight, come hell or high water.

Here she goes.
Curry and coffee to the rescue!!

overstaying your welcome

2011-11-10T21:32:00.005-06:00

So...hello there writer's block old buddy old pal.
I was beginning to think you'd gone and left! I mean it's only 9 days to compile a draft for my supervisor - sure I don't mind if you still hang around while I work. Sure - you can hang on the couch. Just don't leave crumbs...and stop humming...and stay out of the liquor cabinet...

*deep breath*

You know what?
I have to say something -I really think its time you go visit someone else for a while. I need some space. I'm sure Margaret Atwood hasn't spoken with you in ages - why don't you look her up and pop by? That old bird has got to have some good wine stashed in her cabinet.
Really - I won't be offended. I can tidy up myself.
Go on.

No really.
Go.

Holiday sneers

2011-11-07T11:09:00.003-06:00

I saw christmas stuff yesterday while in the mall getting a gift for my niece's 3rd birthday and the new (squee) Beastie Boys CD for myself.

eh.

I so wish I could skip the whole thing (well OK -keep the lights and cocoa and fires and shortbread and peppermints and turkey). I' d love to tell everyone to not get me anything and I won't get them anything and we'll all just hang out together (...and set up a few lights and have a fire and eat come turkey with cocoa and shortbread and peppermints.) I love christmas lights and the smell of the tree, and the *idea* of christmas, but I"m so busy and so tired right now that the thought of all the commercialism and greed just makes me sigh. I just want a few days free to snuggle with my love and cook some tasty food and watch the snow fall.

It was the first snowfall of the year yesterday which has brought this all on. Fall has been long and orange and wonderful and I had hopes that it might just extend indefinitely on my behalf.
No such luck I'm afraid.
I'm good, but I'm not that good :)

Must be off - it's election day in the province so I have to fit that in on the way home and try and sit down to a bit more math for my thesis proposal.
And perhaps a mug of cocoa...

Busy Daze

2011-11-03T21:49:00.005-06:00

I am feeling slightly more calm now.

Yes there were coconut lime cupcakes on my birthday and a lovely bottle of Pino Grigio.

And life seems to be sorting itself out as needed...

It would appear my co-supervisor who took leave for "a while" to Toronto is likely not returning, so my other supervisor and I have decided to change from a paper based thesis to a regular old thesis for my own sanity. Why? Well, the co-supervisor who is far away is the one with most of the expertise I'd need to work with a lot to write the papers *with* and if she isn't here, writing my thesis as papers would be time consuming really stressful and make things more complicated than they need to be. It would drag out things and stress me out and make things worse in this newly developed situation. I must make the best of things, regardless of what she's decided to do...life goes on...and so *much* of it goes on!

In other news, I have discovered that my soon to be old job will not be reposted...the old "me" will be absorbed into the college and put to use somewhere else. When I think about it, altho I feel bad that my old dept. is being screwed over somewhat, I have been underutilized lately, and with most of the researchers moving to the new research groups in the new labs (one of which I'll be managing - bwaha!) my old job would likely have been reworked into something else - and something I might not have liked if I were to have stayed. Sobering thought... I think I did them a favour by actively seeking out and developing myself within the college, and taking my experience to where it's needed and better used, instead of sitting back and waiting for them to possibly change (or delete) my job into something I wouldn't like. I think I won the lottery here.

As it is I'm really looking forward to my new job. I've been updating all the lab inventories, tidying up, and trying to finish up anything critical promised to people so that on Nov. 15 I can shake the dust from my shoes and wander on down the hall to start fresh. I was setting it up for a replacement, but even so, it will be left off well with no real regrets. The bonus of my new job is I still get to have lunch and coffee with many of the old group I currently take breaks with. I always got along with them -that will be a comfortable familiarity in the new job.

Amongst all this newness, I feel focused again with my project. With some solid hard work (and a little sleep)I can focus on the immediate future: new job and finishing my detailed thesis proposal in the hope of getting permission to write. I must group my summarized data to show that I am done my research. I think I am. I still have a few questions as to how I may present some of it, as it is new research and a lot of the standard analysis methods can't be used... but it's coming. The proposal is due in 3 weeks to the committee along with a little song and dance.

Everyone I work with, and my Jay, all have a horrid cold so I am trying to be a germophobe and resist the sickness and get as much work done as I can. Starting off a new job while doing all this is not the time to get sick.
We shall see. Fingers crossed. Getting my flu shot tomorrow. Maybe a hazmat suit...

As for now I should just gather up my stuff and get some sleep. The 3 hours I got last night is not enough...I hear my pillow calling.
'Night!

image

Some onna my house, I'm gonna give you candy

2011-10-31T18:42:00.003-06:00

I am eagerly awaiting distraction from my thesis by cute little goblins. I have playdoh and comic books for the oncoming tiny hordes...me hee...

Happy Halloween everybody :)

Writer's Block

2011-10-29T22:44:00.009-06:00

I have hit a brick wall trying to write up my data.
I've stared at it for days...trying this and that. Getting all worked up. Stressing out over the fact that in 3 days I have to have some sort of outline for my supervisor as to details of what I want to say.

And what do I want to say?
Hells if I know.

All I know is my husband and all my friends are out for halloween and I am at home drinking lychee cocktails and trying to make my brain produce a few lines of intelligence so that I can take off my birthday tomorrow without guilt. J *is* technically doing lights at the party, but...
All I know is I have nearly nothing to show for days of work. I really need to figure this out. How I will not think about it tomorrow and relax is utterly beyond me...here's hoping I can.

Cuz this is just brutal...

Zombies! Run!

2011-10-28T10:56:00.006-06:00

I wish I still ran regularly so I could play this game/app: Zombies, Run! It's an app for your phone that works with the GPS feature to track your run distance, and is paired up with an online game. As you run, distance can be used to get medical supplies, ammo and other things for your group of survivors...apparently there are downloadable tracks where you can build your own running soundtracks interspersed with "news" stories and information about the zombie apocalypse or (eep) be chased by hordes of zombies.

Why are there not more interactive fitness games like this? Why can't you have fun while you're active? This is freaking awesome. I may have to start a weekly run/walk just to try this out and hope my knee is agreeable. I have learned that I am apparently getting an iPhone to go with my shiny new job...so I should make sure I know the complete functionality of it shouldn't I? You know...for science? :)
I always joke that I stay fit so I can outrun the zombies when they come...this is the closest I may get...

"And just look at what you've won!!!"

2011-10-26T08:50:00.006-06:00

Yesterday at the end of my workday I was called up to a meeting where I was given a shiny letter of offer - yes indeedy! I got the job I interviewed for last week! I have to pick a start date, but it will be much sooner than expected. Likely mid-november. Meep! I'll be quiet about it at work until I can hand in a proper letter of resignation so I don't offend anyone, but hot damn! I did it!
I really did it. I
t wasn't until I walked up to get the news that I realised how much I wanted this new job. How I would have been so terribly disappointed to not get it.

*grin*

To celebrate, J and I went out for El Salvadorian food at a favourite local place. Mmmm...I had cheese stuffed peppers and rice and beans and horchata and one damn fine mojito to toast my brilliance :). THEN, as luck would have it, J scored tickets to a play, so we took the night off to celebrate. The play was FANTASTIC. We saw Nevermore -It's a morbid musical on the life of Edgar Allen Poe by a theatre company from Edmonton. Creepy and dark and very Tim Burtoney in costume style with dark humour. I absolutely loved it. Perfect Halloween entertainment.

Now today begins the handing in my resignation (I've never done that before...) and then picking a start date and then adding the craziness of a new job and closing down the old to the pile of nustofaction already in place for November. I'd prefer to start December, but after meeting with them I can see why they need me as soon as possible. Sooooo I have to make sure I give myself enough time to finish up here, but not go crazy, what with all my school stuff going on now too.
Heh. Heh.
Ahem.

My dad is coming to visit on his way through to BC tomorrow. We'll likely go out for supper for my birthday a bit early and definitely celebrate the new job. I can't really afford another evening off, but I'll figure it out.

Yeah. Busy crazy few days it's been and will continue to be.

This AM I was a ball of excitement and got up for boot camp class and was NOT disappointed. She did a whole class of cardio intervals interspersed with many many tabata sets of things. Oh yes...it was as evil as it sounds. Tabata sets...of lunges. All on one leg...then on to the other leg...then Tabata sets of other compiled exercises. Then more cardio. Then more tabata. I pushed myself...muscles burned...I swore...I now feel like jello.
It was brilliant :)

I am truly grateful for everything right now.
I am trying not to think about the fact that I now must add in closing down my job and winding up things for the department now. Update inventories. File documents. Finish up all the little things I've left to do in "spare time" which will now need to be finished up sometime. And a few experiments to finish up too...heh.
*gulp*
All the things on my "to do" list have to get done in a few weeks. If you don't hear from me in the next while, rest assured...that shiny whizz you see fluttering about is me, getting things done :)

BAM!

:D

rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock

2011-10-25T17:12:00.002-06:00

My friend Troy has been playing a game with his son that I think is fantastic:
rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.

Here's da rules:

Rock crushes scissors
Paper covers rock
Scissors cut paper
Rock crushes lizard
Lizard poisons Spock
Spock smashes scissors
Scissors decapitate lizard
Lizard eats paper
Paper disproves Spock
Spock vaporizes rock.

Where's a 7 year old when I need one...

Sister Awake

2011-10-24T14:11:00.006-06:00

As I write this, there is a guy who looks alarmingly like the lead singer from the Tea Party doing an energy rating retest on my home. There is some weird red mesh cover over my front door and a giant fan with a big set of guages measuring how airtight my house is. Yes my friends, there's a number of government rebates you can get for installing a furnace (and other things like water heaters and windows) if you allow ex-rockers who are certified by the government to come into your home and show how your new *insert home energy reno here* makes your house more efficient. I'm hoping we'll get a bit of change back from the government for all this. Anything to ease the pain of the new furnace install will be greatly appreciated.

Once this is done, rather than go back to work I do believe I'm going to work on my MSc from home for the rest of the day... and drink my weight in tea.

Happy monday my good peeps...

C is for cookie that's good enough for me

2011-10-20T21:06:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow night, a week early, we are having a bonfire. Partly for my birthday, partly for a friend who is moving to Toronto (sniff) and partly as a thanks for the crew who works on J's music show. I just made pumpkin cookies for it and I'm trying very hard not to eat them all. (mmm...cakey goodness).
Weather should be not too evil and we have lots of wood. It's become an annual thing and a nice way to close off fall and have one last outdoor shindig before the snow comes. Altho I have grand images of wildly dancing around a hug bonfire, it will likely be a guitar being passed around some smiling people, some beer, hot cocoa and munchables and a relaxing evening. This weekend will be a lot of work on my project and wondering if I get the job I interviewed for today. Things went VERY well with that, so it seems to be a very good chance I could get the job...and that it would perhaps start sooner than I'd imagined. Which is OK in a way. I'm hoping I could convince them that December is a good time to start...so my brain doesn't combust with a new job and trying to get permission to write my thesis in November. I could do it...I'd jsut rather stagger my insanity into reasonable large chewy chunks instead of a huge forcefeeding nozzle of stress.
We shall see...that would be upcoming. Why worry about what might not even be.

I am tactfully ignoring my project, but I think I'll do a bit of tallying before I bumble off to sleep. Tomorrow is my friday off of work (new job wouldn't have those...sniff) so I'm heading in for a full day of MSc instead of job. Here's hoping I can get lots done. I'd be giddy if I could finish all my basic stats by sunday. A freaky but exciting thought, as then I will have to try and say something about the results, whatever they end up being...

Just one more cookie and I'll be good to go...

I Day

2011-10-20T08:14:00.002-06:00

Well...it's interview day. I've got my grey cords and red sweater on and I feel good.
Went in and sweated out my stress in the gym this morning, so I'll just try not to spill on myself this morning and then we'll see just how much I can amaze the panel...and let the world do it's thing.
1:30 PM -I'm ready for you...:)
Crossing fingers and toes!
Come on world. Let's do this!

MEEP!

2011-10-18T08:13:00.002-06:00

Soooo....I have a job interview thursday afternoon!!

I'll be so busy going up to it that other than a bit of reading up, and finding something not too lab-shabby to wear for the meeting, I'm just going to not worry about it too much. I'll go in and do my best at not being a gibbering fool and sell myself well and then either they like me or they don't, right?

But, get excited?

Oh. Yes. Yes I will be doing that :)

MEEP!

Ah. Customer Service...

2011-10-15T12:05:00.007-06:00

J was given a 2TB external hard drive as a gift. Like 90% of all technology that enters our home, it was promptly rendered defective by our household gremlins and after a 28 hour formatting session (that should have tipped us off right away) we backed up some photos to it and called it a night. The next day it is not accessible to any computer anywhere.
So...I went in to return it. Trust me when I say I have a lot of experience with this. Our house is a Bermuda Triangle of technology and I return many many things. Having no receipt, but just wanting an exchange for a new one I figured no biggie. I put on my cute oh-please-help-me look (don't judge...it works far better than the rational grumpy face).
Good grief.
You'd think I was trying to smuggle heroin into a daycare centre.
After much fenagling and watching them hook it up to a few computers to prove that yes, it was indeed f*cked, and no I hadn't dropped it or played polo with it, they reluctantly gave me another. They would not scan it in to get a value for it - just a straight item exchange. When I thanked them and asked if I needed to sign anything and asked for a receipt of soome kind - they scowled and said "Look lady, there's no receipt or papers - be happy we did *this* for you". Then walked away.
Alrighty then.
A hearty get bent straight back to you London Drugs...

Later:
it gets better! I got home to discover they'd given me a 1 TB drive (box looks the same)...so I had to drive back and ask for the right one - at which point they told me that since they didn't have another one of what I returned there was nothing they could do. No equivalent exchange of current price...nada. I asked them point blank if they would do anything else for me. They said no.
...so I went to the other London Drugs in town and they were kind and courteous, and the manager didn't even want to test the drive. She simply logged in, scanned it and got the current price and then said I could pick any drive I wanted of the same value or pay the difference if they didn't have one like it. They gave me a new receipt in case the new one didn't work. Which is how it works in the real world.

Having worked in customer service I KNOW the manager can do this. There is no reason for them not to in a case like this. They lose no money. It just means the dept. manager has come down from his high castle to hit a few extra keys when there is no receipt. The other manager was just being a dick. I rarely complain, but will be emailing the store manager. I don't like it when managers play power games...

On the upside, I finally got around to having the restriction for glasses taken off my license. I had time to go in and get them tested at the insurance office and I can now drive around wearing no glasses at all if I so choose.
To be honest, I already do...it's just now I won't get a ticket for it. :)

And now I must go hide in the dark land of statistical analysis. I have my final numbers to crunch so I can spend all day tomorrow staring at them, scratching my head and trying to decide how to go about selling them to my committee. 6 weeks until my meeting and 5 until my report is due. I plan to lay them all out on the floor and look at them and try and keep the cats off of them while I look for a pattern and sip strong blue mountain coffee.
only 5 weeks?
Gak...
What am I doing here?
Gotta go.
:)

Waiting....

2011-10-13T12:03:00.004-06:00

J ordered my gift for my birthday at the end of this month.
It arrived and is somewhere secret where I will not be tempted to peek at it.

I wonder what it is?

I hope it's from Think Geek.
All I really want is to have some wine and (I hope) a bonfire with friends. Maybe even not do any MSc stuff that day...we'll see.

My brother got me this fantastic cookbook for my birthday - Just Bento.
I've been on a bento lunch kick since my trip to Vancouver and this cookbook is full of tonnes of easy practical bento style lunches. So cute. So tasty.
Meep.

I highly approve of this birthday thing :)

Twinkle twinkle little...

2011-10-12T13:45:00.005-06:00

Today, while in the hall a girl with a skankified skirt walked by (seriously - itlooked like she forgot her pants -just a shirt really... tacky). A guy walking the other way waited a moment and then quietly sang "Twinkle twinkle little slut, no one wants to see your butt..."

I giggled uncontrollably...

Double the turkey...mmm...

2011-10-11T13:28:00.007-06:00

Well...I'm back.
We had a fantastic weekend. It wasn't exactly restful but it was a great time.
There was much tasty nibbles and I didn't go crazy and kill anyone while cooking a meal for 20 people, so hooray for that. J and my brother discovered a great hiking trail about 20 minutes from the cabin I had no idea about, so J and I went back and spent a sunny windy saturday hiking 5.5Km through the woods by the Gem lakes - a cluster of tiny lakes named after jewels...we walked by Opal, Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire and Jade lakes...and not a bear in sight. Beautiful and just what we needed. J and I love to hike and it's been a long time...we'll definitely go there again.

J at Sapphire Lake

Sunday was Make a Whole Lotta Food Day. Dad had invited many friends over, and some of them brought salads and pie and together we all had 2 turkeys (one gluten free) and 2 kinds of stuffing (bread and rice) and potatoes and yams and sooooooooo much good stuff. Everyone pitched in and my restaurant timing skills came back. I even had a little time once the burd was baking to go out for a run in the woods to let off some stress...and then come back to wine and cheese and fruit nibbles until the big feast. It was a great way to thank all the people who've been so kind to Dad in the last year up there...and they're all great people to visit with.
It was so nice to see my Dad. It's nice to be able to do things for him...he's done so much for me that I was so glad to help with the feast. I offered brunch and supper while up there (cooking for a group with a lot of weird dietary needs is a challenge, but I'm willing to do a lot of the cooking as it relaxes me...most of the time). Lunch was fend for yourself and breakfast/brunch was on my timeline...which ruffled a few feathers on my sis-in-law, but ...well...she tends to be that way and I don't deal with passive agressive guilt trips...I just deflect them back, particularly when they're over silly things like mealtimes and taking advantage of me. I decided last year when I got all bent out of shape at being delegated as chief cook on family holidays that my holidays are not entirely for the service of others. I can cook for large groups with little stress, so I've just planned it out and then I take the afternoons off to relax - fair enough I figure. We got to visit lots, and my attempt at gluten free, dairy free, beef free, preservative free cuisine (particularly a damn tasty gluten free pumpkin angel food birthday cake) was superb...we definitely had a nice gluttonous weekend. Despite a little expected melodrama (sigh) we all survived.
:)
Muahahaha.
Monday we got another turkey dinner at J's folks on the way home (he heh. burp) and now life is back to norm...well except we have no hot water....but we're working on that. The dude came over to look at what's up with our new water heater and I'm home for a bit waiting to see what's what...listening to a cacophany of cats as they try and convince me to let them in off the deck before the repair guy leaves. (Rowrwrwrwoooooowrowor?)
Hopefully all will be well and I can head back to work to get a bit more done before I dive into my MSc stuff for a bit. It was a nice little holiday. Hope your weekend was good too. :)

Turkey time!

2011-10-07T12:06:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm going to run away to the woods, eat turkey and pie and hug my Dad a lot.
I'm going to attempt wild rice stuffing and a pumpkin gluten free angel food cake for my sis-in-law and I'm hoping for some truly tasty nibbles. There will be lemoncello too.

Oh yes.
Can't wait!

creaky me

2011-10-06T08:19:00.005-06:00

Now I know how old people feel.
Owie.
My back and butt are so stiff from a new workout yesterday...I came in to work out some kinks this morning in Spin and Sculpt class. It actually helped. Our regular instructor is away and another girl taught and she ROCKED. The spin was challenging, and the workout after used resistance bands a lot and I've never really ahd much experience with them. I learned a lot of cool new things to do with them, and we worked hard. I pushed myself and feel a bit more and less stiff depending on the area of my body :) I feel good. Here's hoping the stiffness stays at bay and I have another good day!

Must dash...big day.

Later taters!

Tucker and Dale VS Evil

2011-10-04T09:11:00.001-06:00

College kids go camping in the woods...near a cabin of hillbillies. Suddenly they start dying one by one...sound familiar? Well Tucker and Dale VS Evil takes a hilarious twist on this horror standby - the hillbillies are just some guys out fixing up their cabin on the weekend and somehow these damn college kids keep dying in ridiculous ways all around them.

This movie was showing as a part of the Dark Bridges film festival here in town over the weekend. Because I was a school slave I missed most of the festival this year. I did make a point of sneaking out to the zombie walk on saturday afternoon (zombie scientists represent!) which was a howl, with about 300 zombified people of all ages shuffling around downtown and over the bridge. The reactions of people cracked me up - especially the people who tried to pretend you weren't there. I mean really - to pointedly ignore 300 zombies hamming it up for all they're worth, covered in fake blood? THAT takes effort :)
Sunday night I made sure we took in Tucker and Dale VS Evil. It was a cheesy gore comedy that made me laugh until my sides hurt at times. It reminded me that life is good and was a little reward for my slavery. That and my lemoncello which is finally bottled. Had a little sample on sunday - SO. GOOD. Thanksgiving will be filled with lemony deliciousness I think!

And so I'm back to the insanity again. Yesterday was a 19 hour long day. Today is more of the same. You've gotta take the fun when it comes...I'm slaving away for Dec 1 - my committee meeting where if I manage it I hope to get permission to write, and then it's whole up with my thesis all winter.
Further up and further in...

Be careful what you wish for.

2011-09-29T09:37:00.004-06:00

I've been at my current job 11 years now. I like it most days, but some of the people I work for frustrate me-I often get treated like personal assistant instead of a lab tech and feel like I'm underutilized...but permanent lab work that's not high stress is hard to come by, so unless something way better came up, I had no interest in going anywhere. So I've been patiently waiting and waiting...a new lab building on campus means new lab manager positions - like what I do now for a few people only for a whole focused group. Quite frankly, it is a job I am a shoe in for - I can do it. All of it and then some. It is the same or bit more pay, with a few perks. I've put my feelers out to those in charge and let them know about my interest and they are happy with me being interested. One of them stopped by today to let me know about one of the positions being posted next week, and I think I'd have a real honest shot at it.

Stupid thing is it all seems too real now. And rather freaky. To give up a permanent job I like but often drives me CRAZY to one which is a 1 year renewable that I will like longer...that is suited to me and everyone thinks I should be doing? It will likely become permanent, but it's still a bit daunting. It's non union, so it would all be about qualifications and not seniority...so I'd get it if I was the best candidate. The way it should be in my mind.

Thing is, I'm the breadwinner so this freaks me out a bit. I know I'm employable, and right now J is gainfully employed so we have some slack...but it's a big step. The kind of step my MSc makes me far more suitable for. If I didn't get it I'd still be OK where I am...and rather disappointed to be honest, but I wouldn't be any worse off. My current job has been more than kind while I did my MSc and I don't want to come off as not being appreciative of that fact.

...but when I look in at my own mind I know I want more.

And so....I have to put on my big girl sparkle panties and pick some good references...and ask their permission and then try and update my resume over the weekend. With any luck all this positivity will turn into an interview...and perhaps more.

Breath in. Breathe out.

oops

2011-09-28T15:51:00.004-06:00

Heh. Our new water heater was making the water WAY too hot...so upon request I turned it down last night to the setting our old one used to be at.
Which was apparently WAY too low. Poor J had to have a cold shower this morning and thought the new water heater was broken..
He noticed what I did and turned it back up but I feel really bad he had to have a frozen shower...it's no fun at all to start your day that way.

Some days I excel at oops.

Halloween is coming

2011-09-28T10:18:00.004-06:00

Man I wish I had time to make a costume this year.

I'm itching to make a Dr. Girlfriend costume.

*sigh* Next year...just you wait...

Yes, it's the stars

2011-09-27T10:53:00.004-06:00

I read this quote today and it made me think of Mum, and other's I miss who've gone on... I like it:

"When you look up at the sky at night, since I'll be living on one of them, since I'll be laughing on one of them, for you, it'll be as if all the stars are laughing. You'll have stars that can laugh!"

"And when you're consoled (everyone is eventually consoled), you'll be glad you've known me. You'll always be my friend. You'll feel like laughing with me. And you'll open your windows sometimes just for the fun of it... And your friends will be amazed to see you laughing while you're looking up at the sky. Then you'll tell them, 'Yes, it's the stars. They always make me laugh!"

~from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

image

Leaf Gnomes are cool

2011-09-24T10:08:00.004-06:00

I'm sitting here, listening to the sound of a pounding drill on the house foundation looking at the fall colours. Some years the leaves fall too quickly. This year they're taking their sweet golden time - I love it.

Fall is my favourite season by far...you dig out the sweaters, drink more cocoa and go for lots of walks through the multicoloured paths by the river. Campfires. Pumpkin everything....Lovely.
I was just thinking of the stories my brother used to tell gullible old me when I was little. Like the one about the Leaf Gnomes. What? You don't know that one?
Well, according to some who are in the know, the leaves on the trees don't just change colour and fall off themselves you know. The Leaf Gnomes do it. Leaf Gnomes live under hillsides like hobbits and wait for fall weather, only coming out at night to start swapping out the leaves one by one for coloured ones...to change them out for fall ones.
Yes. Yes, I believed every word of it.
And no you can't tell me it's not a way better reason than chlorophyll being replaced by anthrocyanin and degradation artifacts until the leaves die and fall off...

Think I'll set out a picnic plate for them for doing such a good job this year... with a glass of milk and some cookies -because as I recall being told, the Leaf Gnomes really like chocolate chips.

The very definition of lame

2011-09-23T17:04:00.002-06:00

Today I was home all day as the furnace guy came to install a new furnace and water heater. The old one needed new wiring so it didn't burn the place down, so we're replacing it and the old water heater with much more efficient ones. Halfway through the day right before 1 the power went out. It just came back on 4 hours later...which royally screwed up the install. Essentially it means I have no heat and hot water right now because they couldn't finish the job without power.

Lame.

The guys will be coming back tomorrow at 9:30 AM to finish the job. There is only a few hours left to do... The water heater and furnace are physically hooked up to power and water and gas, but the whole venting of them outside isn't done yet. So...no worky.

Lame.

I feel bad that they have to come back tomorrow...I mean it's not their fault. I am hoping that it doesn't cost us much more because of it. The installer said he had people visiting him for the weekend...which sucks for him to miss out on. It's just s dumb random event that's royally mucked things up good and proper. I'd have them wait until monday if it was just the no furnace thing, as it's supposed to be nice out and we likely won't need it, but no hot water all weekend is too much I think. We have the worst luck with this kind of stuff. I mean, seriously, random stuff like this happens to us more often than I'd care to say...

To be honest I was kinda hoping the power would be out a little bit longer so I could go out for supper (I might anyways just because)...I couldn't do any work at home on my stuff in the PM because of the lack of power, which sucks, so I feel behind. So much for a solid day's work at home...

On the plus side, I can see how they've moved the water heater to a less obtrusive place, so we'll have more room in the basement, but I won't be able to really relax until it's in and working again.

Lame.

OMGGBBQ

2011-09-22T09:43:00.006-06:00

Mmmm...last night I chopped up sweet potatoes, carrots and onions and put them in a tin foil pouch on the BBQ with some spices. Then I laid more foil and put in a sliced lemon, a trout fillet and some onions with some dill and garlic. BBQ'd them for 20 minutes flipping occasionally.
SO simple.
So delicious. Heaven...

What they get up to when we're not home

2011-09-19T19:15:00.001-06:00

So Say We All

2011-09-16T13:26:00.008-06:00

I ran across a blog a while ago that I read and after a recent video post...I feel like I need to post a link to their blog.

"Wash" and "Tashi " are amazing people...they remind me of me and J...quirky happy sci-fi fans in love...only she's 25 and he's dying of a rare terminal brain cancer.
Yeah. I know. WTF?
After brain surgery and chemo he slowly is fading...and the blog is her venting and talking about it all, and occasionally Wash posts too. They seem like amazing people...I can't imagine dealing with all of that at 25. I just can't.

The really screwed up part is they are living in the state of Arizona where the fact that he has a rare tumour at such a young age makes it really hard to get enough money to care for him. MRI? Compared to Canada wehre I live, their state insurance and coverage is embarrassing...to hear things like Why fork out insurance for someone who is dying anyways? And why pay for his meds- He's not going to get better is he? Man...I can't honestly believe they have to argue against that kind of thinking...they literally don't get enough to live on every month with food stamps and social security, not even taking into account medical costs or her health issues because Tashi had to give up her job to stay home and look after Wash. For some demented reason they actually get more income that way...and he needs that care. And she gets what time she has left to spend with him WITH him.

I'm posting this because she has gotten to the point where she has put up a place on her blog where you can donate to them by Paypal...to help them pay bills. They even have a few things selected from Amazon and Think Geek...little things they'd buy if they had any extra $$ just to make them smile...things you or I would just go pick up without really thinking about it - to take off some stress, so they can spend the few good hours Wash has a day together and just enjoy that time without all the other crap of life weighing it down.

She posted a video blog last week that made me cry with it's honesty and how she spoke of treasuring the good things and how life was too short for little things. If you want a taste of how amazing this woman is, go and watch it. It's how I feel about life after losing Mum and I really can't imagine how she feels...and I want to help somehow.
And so, for what it's worth I'm asking you - if you can, go there and donate. Anything would help them.

It is funny, I was going to run for a breast cancer cure in October like I usually do, but I think I will run 10K on my own for Wash and Tashi instead. To try and raise some funds for them. If you'd like to donate to them instead...if you were going to donate to me PLEASE, I would ask you consider them.
I can't think of ANYONE more deserving right now.

Some days

2011-09-14T08:29:00.003-06:00

Last night was a comedy of errors. Cleaning up catsick. Discovering my laptop battery (with all my data on it) has a wonky battery. After a decent supper and an evening dealing with the above things, instead of working on my MSc as I had planned I ended up curling up in a ball for a few hours with some of the worst abdominal craps I've had in ages...hooray for being a girl.
Yes. Woo.
Now I have a little hint of what Tasha has to deal with from her IBS. All the time. Man.
I feel OK today-rather drained as I didn't sleep well, but not as bad as it could have been. J was concerned when he got home, but just having him around helped.

Today is a new day. I felt OK enough to get up and work out this morning so we'll see how today goes. Hopefully today I can do more on my MSc after work. I've hammered out a new timeline for the fall with my supervisor and it looks like the end of November is panic time, where I will work my ass off to present it all to my committee in the hope to receive permission to write (with a periodic table of cookies as bribery). Now comes the tedious task of cleaning up data and coming up with a coherent and clear way to present it all in a few papers, while working with the national quality program to start implementing the method next year...You know, nothing huge...just that and Mt. Thesis. :)

Well my good peeps. I must go do some cool stuff today. Some days, working where I do in research makes me feel like I'm able to help people...just a little. I get to extract DNA from some tumours today so I can sequence some of the genetic bits of it, looking for a mutation to set up a screening test for the lab here. Although I'm glad to know my work will help people here and there in many ways, it's strange to look at a tissue block and remember it came from some one...a real person dealing with cancer and chemo and scary life shit. I won't meet them...Don't know how or who they are...but I hope that their gift to us can help us help others. I know developing better screening tests isn't a cure, but it will help our doctors help people better and faster. After knowing so many people who've faced up to cancer this matters to me. Some won Some lost. All deserve a chance to be with their loved ones as long as they can be.
Maybe we can help them do that...
It's nice to have a job that helps people.
Yes. I like my job some days.

How did I get to have this life? :)

2011-09-12T14:36:00.006-06:00

My husband and furfriends missed me I think. :)
I got home quite late last night to a smiling J and 2 very affectionate cats. I had a nice weekend in Vancouver. I learned a lot, had incredible research learning opportunities and then spent the weekend relaxing with J's family. The *cool* auntie :) Added bonus was that both her daughters were there too, which was nice. I get along really well with older daughter, who's had a lot of health stuff to deal with in the last year - like being diagnosed with IBS AND freaking cervical cancer. After a year of surgeries and treatments I am happy to say she is cancer free now. She and I shared a room together and talked until the wee hours and caught up on so much...

I am also convinced J's aunt is a saint - she has taken her younger daughter and her young grandson back into her home after retiring and she and her new husband are trying to look after them both as her daughter goes back to school to try and make a life for herself and her son while the other daughter deals with incredible life sh*t and her husband recovers from a heart attack. I hugged her and her husband a lot because they are fantastic. She's J's second mum really and he misses her and loves her to pieces. I do too. I was sad at times watching mother and daughters together, seeing what I can't have anymore...but then they would take me along, and let me know I *was* family...and for that I am eternally grateful. I missed my mum a lot this weekend, but it was OK. It was all very satisfying. I wish J could have been there.
In Vancouver I was in a hotel near the ocean and managed to go for a sunrise run along the ocean the first morning there. I can now inform you that running along the ocean harbour listening to Burst Generator by the Chemical Brothers while the sun peeks up over the mountains and glistens all over the water is one of THE best ways to start the day. It's official. It increases internal glowiness by 2000% :)

Add to that multiple sushi excursions, a trip to the amazing toy store, the best Dimsum in the 'verse and a trip to the giant chinese $2 store where I loaded up on sushi and bento gear that I've always wanted but could never find? It made the long extended flight home worth it :)
It's good to be home tho. It's been a busy few weeks.

There are exciting prospects with me and work and my MSc project which is turning into an incredible working relationship with a national program for quality control...where (GEEEP!) it is starting to look like my project will be adapted into their national testing program! I get to be involved on all levels. They want me to succeed so they can succeed. It blows my mind. Little ol' me is working to make this kind of testing better nation wide.
Holy guacamole batman!

Yes.
Life is exciting my friends.
Gobble it up before it gets away from you :)

A little excursion is good for the soul

2011-09-08T10:03:00.003-06:00

Ah!
I just spent 5 days visiting my Dad at the lake - wish I could have stayed longer...
It was nice to relax and be in the outdoors. I stayed on a few days after J had to go back and spent time relaxing, reading, hanging out with dad, making food and just unwinding. It's been a while since I've been able to just visit Dad...I miss him already. I know he gets lonely still at times so it was nice to keep him company. I heart my Dad :)

I got to go for a run through the woods in the sunshine, take the quads into a remote lake to catch some fish, bake up a storm, hike with J, have a few BBQs, finish off a good murder mystery and then have a twilight cruise on the lake with Dad and some of his friend's on their pontoon boat...it was a beautiful way to end the holiday.

Dad gave me Max Braithwaite's "Never Sleep 3 in a Bed" to read on the bus back home - it's a humorous autobiographical collection of stories from his childhood, growing up on the prairies around Prince Albert, where I and my Dad grew up. I'd recommend it, for a few giggles and a look into what my parent's childhood must have been like here on the prairies. The bus ride home was driven part way by someone my Dad taught in grade 8, so we traded stories about him and our families all the way back to PA. It was a nice trip...made it go by so much faster.
I wish I were home with J a bit more, but today I'm off to Vancouver for the weekend for training and visiting with J's family after before heading home again. Ooh la lah - what an epic traveller I'm turning out to be. :)

Dude. You can eat the bowl.

2011-08-31T10:54:00.002-06:00

Geo had an idea.
Last night she was going to make biscuits to go with her chili...and decided to use the dough to make bowls.
How you ask?
Well, she made regular biscuit dough (2 c flour, 2 heaping t baking powder, salt, 1/4 c butter cut in with 3/4c milk), threw in some garlic and pepper and cornmeal and then turned a muffin tin upside down, greased it and divided the dough into 6, spreading the dough over top the mounded cups and then baked them at 450 for about 10 minutes.
Result?
Crispy yummy decadent biscuit bowls for her chili.

You have NO idea how good they were. It was biscuit heaven with yummy chili. Only one remains. It is mine for lunch.
Muahahah!

Go Gadget Go!

2011-08-29T22:34:00.005-06:00

Every year Easter Seals has a fundraiser in a number of cities where people dress up like superheroes to repel down the side of a building to raise money for their charity.
This year, tomorrow, J is doing it here - and will be going as the one and only Inspector Gadget.
Yes -I am sending the camera along :)

He hee...I'm married to a superhero :)

Later: He made it down all 23 floors!

His job is WAY cooler than mine!

Pumpkin scones anyone?

2011-08-28T14:12:00.004-06:00

I just made my new favourite thing-a recipe I've been eying up for a while from the Veganomicon cookbook...I just substituted in real butter and milk for their alternates. They are delicious...a little more cakey than traditional scones but delicious and reasonably healthy too. This AM I went to the farmer's market in search of scones, but on sundays there aren't a lot of vendors there and so I came home sconeless...and so I decided to make some of my own. They were really good..

(Preheat oven to 350)

In a big bowl mix:

1 c flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 + 1/6 c sugar

2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t ginger

1/2 t cardamom

1/4 t allspice

1/8 t nutmeg

1/2 t salt

cut in 1/4 c cold butter until tiny bits and it looks crumbly.

In another mix together:

1 1/2 T molasses

3/4 c pumpkin puree

1 t lemon zest

1/4 + 1/8 c milk

Mix together and then into dry until just mixed. If you like, now is the time to add 1/2 c tart fruit or nuts(recipe called for cranberries - I used finely diced tart apple as J doesn't like them).

Lightly grease pan (I used a baking stone) and place dough on sheet, flattening into a round ~3/4 - 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges pieces and brush with milk and top with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds. Bake 25-35 minutes until scones are starting to brown on the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.. Longer = drier scones. I did mine about 28 minutes and they were awesome. Cool 5 minutes and devour the cakey spicey goodness. Yum.

I am now full of scones and coffee.

Life is good.

This one time, at bootcamp...

2011-08-27T16:53:00.005-06:00

Ever since I saw a short video inspiring me to do a boot camp at home I thought it would be a cool idea. I miss working out outside. Today, despite being grumpy, and perhaps because I was grumpy (different story...), I figured instead of having my own personal episode of Drunk Kitchen it would be better for me if I got off my ass and go outside and try it.
When I went out it was cloudy and about 20 with a breeze. I figured that would be OK weather...and it was for the 8 minutes of brisk walking I did getting to a nice grassy patch by the river where I planned to do my bootcampy stuff. By then the sun was out and shining and it was probably 25 in the shade (meh)...but I figured since I was out there with my 10Lb weight, water and my list of tortures I should get to it. And, I'm rather proud to say I did it all. I admit that by half way thru I was not particularly enjoying it and it was hot and sweaty and evil, but I was determined and I finished this set of exercises as required THREE TIMES thru. You were supposed to rest 30 seconds between each thing, and I did as needed...sometimes resting in the middle as needed too...cuz it turns out these exercises are WAY harder than they look to do, especially in the hot sun. Even with the patch of shade I found after a few minutes...it was a challenge. Nice to be outside, but still...whew.
Here was the torture...er... boot camp drill from the video I did thru 3 times after a requested 10 minute cardio warm up (counted the walk there and back as the warmup):

25X high knee jumps (both sides)
15X lunge twists (both legs)
25 lateral jumps (over and back)
15 X push ups*
15 X leap frogs
15X crawl push ups**
20X single leg hops
12X inchworm op-ops***
12X boulder burpees ****

Then I briskly walked the 6 minutes home. Yes I could have done more cardio at this point as you were supposed to do 10 at the start and I didn't. Originally that was the plan, but believe me...by this point I was hot and rather cranky at the heat so I just counted the brisk walk carrying a 10Lb weight there and back as cardio.
After a nice cold shower I am now drinking my workout reward super shake, which I must say...is bloody delicious. I'd do nearly anything for this shake. It is my own homemade healthy version of a frappacino that I blend up at home as a post workout treat:
~3/4 c 1% milk
~3/4 c cold coffee
3 iced cubes
1 frozen banana
1 t tahini (you could use peanut butter - I don't like it)
1 scoop mocha protein powder (vanilla or chocolate is OK too)
1/2 t sweetener (stevia powder)

MMMmmm. Seriously delicious. And now...well my shake is done, I'm less cranky and I'm ready for the rest of my day, altho palms are still sore from the workout. I think I'll look into some supper. It's Doctor Who back on again after a hiatus tonight, but J is working all evening, so I am just going to make sure it tapes on the DVR and we'll watch it together on his birthday this week.
I need to be good and work on my data tonight. My goal this weekend is to finish the initial collection and crunching of ALL of it (muahaha), so I can commence with the statistical analysis in september so I can start writing it up. And THAT honestly can't come soon enough for me :)
Later taters...

*Now the first 15 push ups were supposed to be clap ones...but it turns out the I should have worn gloves as my palms hurt from one...what with twigs and bits of pointy ground stuff on the ground...so I also did girly ones. Yeah I know...but there were other push ups and burpees to come and after a few full ones with sore palms I just went with that. Nyeah.
** the whole crawl push up thing? I could not for the life of me figure out HOW to do them After trying 5 or 6 times and ending up with some sort of mutant crawl thing that hurt my legs I just opted to do 15 spider push ups instead...I figure it was kinda the same...ish...
***These are evil. they look deceptively simple. After 5 or 6...not so much. EVIL.
**** In the video I got this from, after the crouch down, hop legs out, do push up, hop legs back in, for the stand up part of the burpee you were to hold a big rock in your hands and raise it up over your head and back down to the ground. I know this is dumb for me to try as I would likely hurt myself...so I used an old 10 Lb dumbbell I brought with me.

Know what's better than a bowl? A cone!

2011-08-26T10:02:00.005-06:00

I find this whole "My Drunk Kitchen" series of videos to be hilarious...this one in particular...and the baking episode. It's up there with Drunk History videos for sheer amusement of yours truly.

It's sort of like hanging out in my kitchen...only I don't drink and cook so much any more since I gave myself stitches whilst tipsily chopping banana peppers to make guacamole...and there's the whole gas stove thing too.
Yeah. I can hurt myself with a wet paper bag so sometimes...safety first and all that jazz.
It's my day off and I'm waiting for the dishwasher repair dude to come and fix the dishwasher (which hopefully is actually broken and not just dirty and noisy so I'm actually paying the dude to fix it...what do I know about dishwashers? Nothing that's what...). He is not here yet. I am bored. Not bored enough to work on my data...heh.
I feel inspired to pop a cork and make some lunch...
*hic*

It's an art you know

2011-08-23T08:14:00.004-06:00

I am perfecting the finely crafted art of procrastination.
Last night I *did* get 3 hours of work done on my data....after procrastinating for 2 doing everything including calling my dad and watering plants. It did help that an old friend came to visit on sunday, so J and I had cleaned the house up before she came so there wasn't too much to do to avoid work. On the other hand, it made my procrastination so much more difficult :) There aren't tasks that I can see to do now as I sit at my computer to work. Just work. Boooooooring.
Ah well. At least I got some work done. And today is time for more I think. I tend to do better with concrete deadlines. Gives my avoidance a focus...makes me work harder. Arbitrary ones don't work...I know they aren't real :). Yes...I'm demented that way...

To reboot my system a bit I got up and sweated out my anxiety at a boot camp class this morning and I feel well nigh invincible at the moment. I survived it...bwahaha!
Must snatch some breakfast and be off to the lab...
Later taters.

Memorials

2011-08-20T19:15:00.003-06:00

Went to Bill's funeral today. I have to say...I hope I'm so kindly remembered.
Bill and his family are not at all religious and it was more of a happy wake than a funeral. We gathered with his family and remembered what a great guy he was. People told their memories and there were a few tributes. A slide show of his life.
Then at the end, his wife got up to speak. She was both smiling and crying. She told us the following, and it will stick with me for a very long time. She said she was very glad to have spent her life with Bill happily and openly with no regrets. That their last words to each other were I love you. She told us all to live life fully and to love fully and tell the people we care about how we feel. To laugh. To live. Because you never know when it might end, and there is so much to do in this life.
It's a nice thing to think that someone left the world a better place.
What a great way to be remembered...

:)

Friday funk

2011-08-19T08:39:00.010-06:00

The thing about my MSc project is there's lots of data. Lots.
Sort of like saying the Sahara has a few grains of sand...
Last night whilst working on organizing and graphing my last (!!!) large set of data from my research I realised when my numbers looked ridiculous that I had in fact totally cocked up the organization of them and needed to reorder, sort and graph many of them.
And so, with a sigh, I did so. Good I caught it but I'd rather not have had to spend the time on it.
Slow and steady wins the cupcake and all that good stuff I suppose....

I'm feeling the fall approach...cooler mornings with the sun coming up later and later. It's just eeking over the horizon now when I get up at stupid o'clock to go to the gym. No more shorts to the gym...and soon it'll be dark again in the mornings. The leaves haven't turned yet - I'm looking forward to that a great deal. Although it will mean our front yard will look ridiculously scraggly, the colours along the riverbank *GLOW* in the sunrise in the mornings in the fall and walking thru the trees by the river is like stepping away from the city and into a daydream. Every evening I can step out for 10 minutes and just soak it all in before bed. It is the very dictionary definition of calm and serene with only the rustle of leaves to keep you company.
I love fall.
I know it was wise, for sanity's sake, to return to normality and ignore school for July (and a bit of August) but it is making the return to insanity really difficult. I'm getting back into the swing of things again...building discipline and starting to get things done. I know the end is in sight. It's just round the next bend.
Truth be told all I want is to have a beer and sit in the yard and read a book. It helps my discipline slightly knowing that the book I'm currently reading is dull as hell (The Woman with the Dragon Tattoo is just not going anywhere...I may give up on it) and I am trying to shed the few pounds I gained on holidays...so I am resigned to tea instead of beer (except on weekends, what do you take me for?) and hard work instead of reading it is then.
Harumph.

I shall most likely undo my week of hard work by heading out tonight to Folkfest with J tonight. He got us VIP passes for the evening so we get chauffeured around to all the pavilions and uncluttered, comfortable seating at the pavilions with food and drink from around the world. Yum. That should help cheer my spirits up a little.

And so - good day all. I'm going to have a cup of coffee and try and shake this funk and see what the day brings me. And I shall watch this again...it's a mash up...with video. I only wish I was so talented. :)

Now we're cooking

2011-08-18T11:19:00.004-06:00

I am so proud of J. I am biased, yes, but sometimes the rest of the world reminds him that he is indeed very talented too...:)

Along with many other good things he does at his job (like the awesome local coverage of the fringe...), he has planned and now shoots and edits a cooking show with another guy who hosts it. Together they made it happen. It's been going well - they are on episode 7 now and all have been well received. They've actually been put on the free on demand programming by Shaw for everyone to watch if they want to. It's that good :) I have watched them and enjoyed them. They came up with the idea and pitched it and shot it and brought it into being. They have every reason for being proud of it-it's just them with no budget. Just ideas and the desire to make something new...and it's good.

Yesterday he and his partner got an email forwarded to them by a lady in another province who just wanted them to know her 10 year old son had watched the show and then made them one of the recipes on it for them for supper and is going to try making another one of them on the weekend for them. How cool is that?
When J told me about it his face was just...so...happy. When you do original programming hearing responses like that from people who really enjoy what you do? It makes it all worth while.

I am, as ever, so very proud of him. I like it when he's happy :)

mole sauce...and a beaver...but not together silly

2011-08-17T10:33:00.005-06:00

Last night J and I went out with a friend for amazing mexican food. La Bamba del Norte opened near to our place a while back and we finally got out for a meal...I am so glad we did. I really didn't have time, but sometimes an evening off with friends is just as important as work, you know?
The place is small and tucked away in a strip mall on the north end, but don't let that fool you. Inside is cozy and the menu and staff are top notch. I had pulled chicken tortillas with mole sauce (mmm...), while J and our friend had beef enchiladas. Both came with sides of mexican spiced rice and appetizers of fresh tortilla chips with baked refried beans (mmm...). We shared dessert - fried iced cream - which was fabulous. Add to that an agave tequila margarita and I was pleased as could be about the whole meal. Yum. We will definitely be going again...

We went for a long walk by the river after to walk off the meal...and while out on the sand dune that's formed in the South Saskatchewan we saw the moon rise over the horizon and spill out onto the river. I live in a beautiful place :) Walking back through the trees we came across, of all things, a very large, very confused beaver. Apparently it had been injured by a vehicle and a few kind souls were keeping it safe until a wildlife officer and veterinarian could come and make sure it would be OK to release back into the wild. There are a number of beavers along the river here...as evidenced by the thick chain link around most of the mature trees. Without the mesh they fall rather quickly to their nibbly teeth...

All in all, it was a nice evening.
Today I shall be good and work extra hard :)

Weekend in words

2011-08-15T08:11:00.003-06:00

fondue
lychee martinis
sunny naps
Captain America
lemon crepes
mimosas
science
Bengal tea
yardwork
Grolsh
smiles

I am not amused

2011-08-14T09:02:00.006-06:00

Out of the blue on friday I learned my supervisor from Toronto was in town this weekend. I was a bit frustrated at the lack of info and warning, as it seems to be rather disrespectful to me, but whatever - we talked and agreed to meet this AM at 8:30. I refused to give up my anniversary celebrations and a day of relaxing with J. I did concede to not going out last night to the monthly midnight horror movie so I could be awake this morning...

Now, I am sitting in my lab and am trying not to fume at the fact that she is already 30 minutes late. I will wait a bit more before I call her. I do hope she hasn't forgotten and wants reschedule later today. I have other things to do than sit around, half awake in my lab on a sunday morning.

I am not amused.

Cheers

2011-08-13T17:01:00.006-06:00

In a quest for a new celebratory martini to go with a nibblefest/fondue, we tried these last night. J loves lychee, so I figured we'd try them out...if you like your martinis dry and strong you would find them more of a girly dessert drink but still - quite tasty. We give girly drinks equal opportunity around here :)
Definitely on our drink list now...

Lychee Martini

1.5 oz vodka
1 oz peach schnapps
1 oz white cranberry juice
1 oz lychee juice (or juice from a can of lychees)
1 lychee for garnish

Shake all over ice and serve in a glass, garnished with lychee.

Cheers!

11

2011-08-12T08:32:00.006-06:00

Today, 11 years ago, I told the world I loved one man more than any other. That he made my heart complete in ways I didn't understand.
That I wanted to be with him. Always.
I am very blessed...

Strange day really

2011-08-11T11:44:00.015-06:00

I really don't know what to say.
I just found out that my friend Bill died suddenly and randomly this morning. Bill was a happy and kindhearted guy...a sarcastic teddy bear. He and his wife Gwen had the kind of marriage I model mine after - best friends who loved to laugh and be together. He was an amazing person...always ready to listen...share a laugh. My heart aches for Gwen...

It's strange to have to say goodbye.
I just talked to him at work yesterday...
I'm too young for this sort of thing to happen.

And yet I also learned this morning that my friend Lisa and her husband had a beautiful baby girl - Anna. I am (was? are still?) so very happy for her...

What a day...

Catastrophe averted

2011-08-10T20:06:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my friend Trent and a fair amount of time wastage and hair pulling I seem to be OK again on my Mac...a little uninstalling and reversion and a lot of holding my breath was required.
I am saved...for now...
Whew.

To celebrate, here's a sweet little song I just ran across:

Dear Apple - you really suck right now.

2011-08-10T10:15:00.005-06:00

You know...I was a big Mac fan until last night.
I have an old Mac Powerbook...runs great...does all I want it to. And an even older G3...they have Office and an older OS but they do what I need them to and I can have my music and internet and all that...so I am pleased.
*WAS* pleased.
BUT now Apple is being a huge dick about their older stuff. And apparently only to people who already own their products.
They are upgrading their new tech and software...and making older things obsolete whether we want them to be or not. Prime exampele - New iPods and iPhones require the new iTunes to work. I didn't care as my older iPods are still OK...or so I thought.
You see NOW I need iTunes 10 in order to access the iTunes store and download new podcasts and buy tunes...BUT it won't run on my Mac because my OS is too old. And I'm not sure if I even shell out the odd $150 dollars to get the OS if it would even work on my laptop or our old G3...AND I am not sure I want the hassle of backing up ALL my MSc work and data, music and photos before I do the update so I don't lose them...all to get a podcast or two and buy some tunes. If I had set up my 500+ CDs and other music stuff on a PC it would be no big deal, as Apple for whatever reason still supports windows all the way back to XP...but as I am actually a supporter of their tech, I am stuck to fume and whine and generally get really grumpy over all this. Once you set up your iPod on a Mac you can't switch it to a PC. So I am, my good peeps, essentially unable to download anymore podcasts onto my iPod. Sure I can do so at work on my PC, but forget putting them on my iPod.
Grrr.
I like my music. It is with me all the time. At home. In the lab. In the gym.
I actually take the time to buy software and legitimate copies of music.
This is how I am rewarded?
Boo.
Gee... maybe I could get a new laptop? Yeah sure...perhaps I will go plant another money tree...

This, my good peeps, is corporate greedy moneygrubbing bullshit.
I just want to download a podcast or two.

WANT!

2011-08-08T12:57:00.002-06:00

Grapecat has made me aware of a few things I now absolutely need to order from Williams Sonoma...
especially the pancake molds...
and the spatulas...
and the cookie cutters...

mee hee.

Lemon fresh

2011-08-03T23:09:00.007-06:00

After hunting about since may, I finally obtained 21 organic lemons. J noticed them when we were getting groceries this week. And so...I have finally begun my Limoncello project. First attempt...and I am hoping it turns out.

Since you only use the yellow part of the lemon peel (not any of the pith as it is bitter) and soak it in alcohol for about a month I only wanted organic lemons...and they have been pretty sad and shrivelly up until this point. A potato peeler works remarkably well for this. You're supposed to use Everclear for the liquor in this to be traditional, but you can't get it up here in Canadaland, so I opted for a good clean tasting grain vodka instead- Stolichnaya Gold label. I couldn't get any 100 proof vodka...I did the best I could.

And after 20 minutes of peeling and grinning I now have 20 lemon peels and and 1.5 L of vodka steeping in a sealed glass jar in a cold dark place for a 2-4 weeks. Once the peels are colourless and crisp like potato chips I can strain them out and add slightly more than an equal amount of simple syrup...then age a month or so, chill it in the freezer and test it out. I may put a vanilla bean into one of the finished bottles - I've heard vanilla limoncello is rather tasty too...we shall see.

For now I am content to have lemony goodness steeping away in my cupboard. I'll let you know how it goes.

Giggedy

2011-07-28T16:10:00.005-06:00

I have just received the last 73 slides (i hope i hope) for my MSc. This weekend I can scan and analyze them...and THEN.

THEN...

Barring statistical anomalies and annoying new committee recommendations I will officially be done the research for my MSc.

Muahahahaha!!!!

Sure I have to export these # and then do stats on all of them but ...GIGGEDY AND HOT DAMN!!! I really am getting there :)

Meep.

image source

Back to it then I suppose

2011-07-26T20:25:00.009-06:00

Well...I'm back. I've had a lovely few weeks of relaxing, with very little resembling work in the middle of it all. J and I went to a few music festivals and caught up with some friends I never get the chance to see since I've been so busy. Saw a few of my favourite DJs from about the globe spin...got a most excellent tan...had a simply mad tea party...danced in my bear head...you know, the usual holiday stuff :)

After a day of work in the middle of holiday after festivals, J and I and his family went up to the lake and I got to spend some time with my Dad. J's family rented out the cabin next to where my Dad lives so we had a nice week of visiting and such, and best of all J and I could go "home" at night and stay with my Dad and escape our cute (but very loud and early rising) nieces at the end of it all. The weather was a bit rubbish, but the company was good. I do hope we can do the same next year...I see my Dad and someone else cooks for me while I sip cider, poke at a fire, toast marshmallows and read old National Geographics? What's not to love?

In the midst of it all Dad and I went to a family dinner - my Mum's brother is up visiting from Georgia where he teaches broadcasting...I find him to be the interesting uncle. Lots to talk about and he of all my relatives understands my work and MSc labours more than anyone except my Dad. I had a fantastic visit with Dad and together we stopped to see Mum's grave and also go to the old homestead where she grew up and I learned a bit about my relatives on my Mum's side. It was interesting to see where mum lived as a girl. There's only grandpa's old workshop left of all the buildings...the roof is caved in and whoever owns the land is now raising bees there (WTF??) so we could not really lounge about and see it without being muddy bee food, but it was so very interesting. Sometimes family history you never knew pops out...like I had a great uncle who went MIA in WW2 - *and* apparently my great grandma on my grandpa's side went all loonietoons and spent her life in an asylum. Well then. Excellent. It's good to have interesting family history don't you think? :)

I am now back after my first day of work and exercise and all that after a few weeks of gluttony and delicious wine consumption and I am just not in the mood to work on my MSc tonight. I have surfed da interwebs to my heart's content and made some curry. After being stuck on the freeway for over an hour coming home and then hailed upon during a torrential rain that popped up only for the duration of my walk home from the bus I am finding, now that I have dried up, that I am simply not ready for datamining. Yet.
Yes, this is lazy perhaps, but I honestly feel like myself for the first time in ages - all filled up inside for sleep, with a shiny brain and lots of colour and light twinkling about in my eyes. It's lovely. A few more hours of holidayishness remains I think.
Perhaps I will have my last dry cider and read a book for fun.
Joy.

Random Holiday pics (I *know*...I actually have some and I remembered to download/upload them. Noone is more surprised than me...):

Dad and I

Tea Party pics

Chill time

2011-07-12T16:41:00.001-06:00

I'm a gonna go relax for a bit. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll pop in eventually...
Later taters...

I love it when a plan comes together

2011-07-11T11:34:00.002-06:00

It rained a lot yesterday.
My roof did not leak a drop.

Damn I'm good :)

Weekends are delicious

2011-07-09T15:31:00.001-06:00

The perfect mojito:
5 mint leaves - crush in a tall glass with 1T lime juice and 1t sugar until the sugar is dissolved and leaves are bruised. Add 1 to 1 1/2 oz spiced rum and skoosh a bit more. Add 3 ice cubes and club soda to taste. Drink with a straw.
Oh.
Yes.

The supposed golden path

Apple spice malamel

Frosty morning

Grit your teeth...sleep is for quitters

I'm romantic, see?

Yum

the one about beverages

I love it when a plan comes together

There is no why. Only what is.

Think before you speak...come on

love that man

What's that spell?

Geeks for president

Um...OK???

:)

time's a wastin'

I'm falling a part I tells ya

Winter is Coming

It's the little things

Been in my head all day...

Did you get that thing I sent you?

WAKE UP ALL YOU APPLES!

First neat thing of 2012

the last of the holidays

Anti-Gravity

I know my chicken. You've got to know your chicken.

I'm digging this management thing

I for one welcome my new robot overlords

Stop! Hippy time!

Getting into the spirit of things...

WANT!!

Am I the only one who thinks eggnog lattes are gross?

better. yes.

boo

yoo hoo!

Ow

amen

And *that's* how we do it around here :)

The day I've been counting down to.

*Giggle*

The final Countdown

so close

The view from up here

I have made it this far. I have become king.

Today's disappointment is brought to you by the number 4 and the letter S

Data mining

overstaying your welcome

Holiday sneers

Busy Daze

Some onna my house, I'm gonna give you candy

Writer's Block

Zombies! Run!

"And just look at what you've won!!!"

rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock

Sister Awake

C is for cookie that's good enough for me

I Day

MEEP!

Ah. Customer Service...

Waiting....

Twinkle twinkle little...

Double the turkey...mmm...

Turkey time!

creaky me

Tucker and Dale VS Evil

Be careful what you wish for.

oops

Halloween is coming

Yes, it's the stars

Leaf Gnomes are cool

The very definition of lame

OMGGBBQ

What they get up to when we're not home

So Say We All

Some days

How did I get to have this life? :)

A little excursion is good for the soul

Dude. You can eat the bowl.

Go Gadget Go!

Pumpkin scones anyone?

And that's how we do it around here :)

Giggle