A meeting of like-minded people

Last night we had a NMUN social. We went out to the Sugar Bowl and sat around, had some drink, talked, laughed, made fun of each other, etc. It was good times I tell ya. Some of the more notable highlights of the night:
-Jeevan wore socks. The shock of this nearly knocked ours off.
-Sean (Nicola's man) has some very unfortunate taste in football teams and television programming
-Saarah brought a deck of cards about the US Administration (big hit)
-Donovon apparently has an evil twin who showed up last night in his place and made fun of Jeevan for crying when Matthew from 'Anne of Green Gables' dies.
-Everyone made fun of me for getting hit by a truck (you guys suck by the way)
-The girls all agreed that Fashion Avenue is on our targetted hitlist in New York

Of course there were other fun conversations and stuff, but the point was it was fun to kick back and enjoy each other's company. About half the team showed up though, and oddly enough, they were all people I already knew well enough, with the exception of Saarah.

Got home, watched some TV, went to bed. Dreamed that the NMUN conference was moved to Thailand and our delegation had to check into the mega-swank hotel where all we did was swim in the pool, eat, and ride on the elevators.

Today it's all about the work. Ethics presentation due tomorrow night, American History paper due Wednesday, Arctic History paper due Thursday, Ethics paper due next Monday, African Politics paper due next Tuesday, Ethics take-home exam due shortly after all of this. Then it's all about the NMUN guide.

The Friday that never was

I was up early to take a test for a potential job, and I've taken the test before, so I was like, okay, no problem. But then I forgot to leave my references when I left the room, so I'm dumb or whatever. I got home, intending to go out and start the demented x-mas shopping, but I was too cold and sluggish. So instead, I watched the Crossing Jordan marathon on A&E. But then Joe called and needed a ride out to buy a new computer, and a 1-hour, there-and-back errand turned into 2 1/2 hours, and it ended with a beaten, pregnant Native woman asking me to drive her to the police station. Then she changed her mind and wanted me to drive her to the West end. So instead I drove her to the #10 bus because she saw it and wanted to get on it instead. I have no idea now what the hell is going on.

Rod's at work right now. I think. He was supposed to be off 10 minutes ago. And all I want for supper is doughnuts. Old ladies dying and leaving cats behind has me sobbing, and there's nothing on tv. Now, you may be asking yourselves, doesn't this *cough*freak*cough* girl have lots of papers to write? Indeed, I have. But I am....an emotional rubik's cube. I'm not making any sense and the harder the attempt to make sense, the worse it goes. Crappy metaphor to be sure, but sorta paints the picture for you. Unless you are a rubik's cube genius, in which case, you are smart enough to understand what I'm saying and not snobbishly brag that you know the secret of the puzzle and it makes no sense to you to compare me to it. Or Whatever.

Unglued? Restless? Senseless? Who knows. Ready for a murderous rampage if I don't get doughnuts? Entirely possible.

Staring into the Void

It's like this: There comes a point when you are so inundated with work and assignments, that it's just easier to avoid thinking about it and run away like an irresponsible child. Thus, my academic career sits waiting for me to pull it out of the tailspin it's in and straighten up and fly right. But I don't wanna. It's just too overwhelming. That's bad.

Oy. Be Back Later, if I haven't drowned in a sea of too much information, not enough time.

It's not x-mas yet/Why I'm cranky

Okay, before you point the customary slanders and accusations at me for being a Grinch, realize that I'm just sodding cranky enough to rain on anyone's x-mas parade :p Each day that passes brings us another day closer to the dreaded holidays, and worse still, closer to deadlines for assignments I have no hope of starting yet, despite my need to. But I have other reasons for spreading my particularly cute brand of Bah Humbug around. I love to shop. I hate to shop for other people. And every year since I moved south, I've had to venture out and do almost all the shopping for my entire family...gifts from mom and dad to X child/grandchild, from sibling to sibling, from us to others...it's a weary, expensive cross I bear.

Anyways, for those of you glued ooey-blooey to your internet portals waiting for an update to Wednesday's saga, wait no further. I did not nap. Instead, there were phone calls, and I had to run that stupid paper to the University on time. Then it was off to pick up Rod, some stuff, and the kids before I had to run off to class. Tired, cranky, still ready to unabashedly murder the pissy devilbox. Then when I did get home at 10 pm, it was time to hurry the kids through their homework before putting them to bed.

Thursday morning, I woke up after clearly not getting enough sleep to make up for the disasters of the previous day. We got the kids off to school and I went back to bed. I needed to. School could wait. Then that evening, we went out to Futureshop to buy the much-needed USB memory stick, so that Rod may continue to live and breathe in a living manner, and so that my hatred for the devilbox may be lessened by having a fallback mechanism that won't corrupt itself. All is well again!

Not really. I have to do those papers and the presentation, plus get started on sifting through mountains of information for NMUN. Saturday night, and I'm at home, alone, and desparate to avoid school work. Yep...standard weekend.

The morning after the middle of the night

If this isn't completely coherent and spelling-mistake free, forgive me. It's been one bitch of a night.

I had about half of my African studies paper done yesterday before I came home from school and all was reasonably well. I started to work on it again around 10 and things were proceeding. Then the pissy devilbox rejected my floppy disk, and a minor panic arose. I worked on and off until about 1:30 am when I finished. It was great. Then things fell apart. I was about to go save it to the hard drive, when Microsoft Word shut down. No worries...I had it saved to the floppy. Except when I tried to re-open it, suddenly the file was corrupted. For 2 1/2 frantic hours, I tried everything Chris told me to try, and nothing worked.

At 4 am, I went in to the bedroom and told a very worried Rod that he was going to buy me a USB memory port keychain because I have 5 more papers and a presentation, and I do not need this aggravation over the next 3 weeks.

Went to bed around 4:30, woke up before 9:30...doctor's appointment at 10. Ouch. So hurried through the morning routine and went to the appointment. When I got home, Rod surprised me by telling me he'd actually salvaged almost all of the paper, and I just about fainted. With a little work and fixing up the bits that didn't survive the salvage, I have my paper back, printed and ready to go to the University. Except for one thing. I'm so dead tired and my head is killing me. I called to delay the job interview I had at 3, and sometime before 4, I need to get that paper to the university.

That's not all. Daryl called around 9:30 this morning to tell me that while he was at work last night, his jacket was stolen with his wallet and his keys in it. Talk about all hell breaking loose at 1:30 this morning. And it's his birthday today. Now he's got to get his locks changed, he needs to replace what little ID he had, and he's out $60 that our mother had given him to go out and celebrate his birthday before he goes to a concert tonight.

At 1:30 this morning, I wanted to burn the pissy devilbox at the stake and toss Rod off the balconey, but he came through for me in the biggest way possible, so he lives...but the devilbox still dies.

I need a nap.

It's that time again...

Papers papers all around me papers papers everywhere. In the next 3 weeks, I have a presentation and 5 papers due. Including one tomorrow, which I would finish if not for the fact that Rod's computer has headed for the hills. He decided to try the video card that Chris gave him, but Rod should know better. He doesn't own a computer. He owns a pissy devilbox. And the devil box hated the card, so Rod put the old one back in, but the pissy devilbox is mad that Rod did anything at all to it...and my African politics paper has been a casualty of all of this. It shuts down programs randomly, won't load things, and is generally a little pissbox. I already gave Rod a kind and gentle lecture about fucking with the devilbox days before I have a paper due.

Rod continues to battle a monster cold. This one's the real deal because both yesterday and today, he's stayed home in the mornings to rest. If you don't know Rod at all, you don't get it, but those of us who know him can best describe the situation in this manner: ROD'S LIFE FOR THE COMPANY. He's got this thing about going to work even if he's dead because he's poor and because he's so utterly devoted to being the go-to guy. He should be praised for such diligence, but really, showing up to work when you are so sick you can't move is a bad idea because you'll just spread your germs around the office. So this cold must be insanely real for him to stay home. His timing couldn't be better really because he'll mutate this virus, give it to me, and I'll be fucked for the end of semester term paper rush.

All else continues as per usual.

Disconnected Ramblings

Things have settled down now in terms of NMUN. I don't know what the situation is between those who were fighting, but no one has been asked to leave or anything, and hopefully things will calm down now so we can get to work on Fundraising and researching.

I dropped Philosophy on the advice of the adviser at the Arts Undergrad desk. I'll try again next semester, and should still be able to graduate on time. Just in case, I'm looking around at other colleges and distance learning institutions to pick up the "easier" philosophy course to pad myself.

Rod's in Vegreville right now. It was his mom's birthday yesterday, and he and Marie have gone out to celebrate. I didn't go because I have a lot of work to do. Lots of papers to start and lots of stuff to do for NMUN. It really is like taking a class, all the prep work and meetings.

Time to get a job. Bills are covered, but I have to renew my driver's licence, renew Costco, buy another suit for NMUN, pay for Mexico and New York, pay rent, pay for the class next semester, etc. Nevermind Grad school application fees.

Can you say "Diplomacy"?

Wow. Things sort of exploded at the NMUN meeting yesterday. We were dividing up the committees among our members and that sparked a huge fight between a few people, though not over the committees. This fight didn't involve most of us, but it sure put us in the middle. Things got very heated and very personal, to the point where I stepped in and harshly put an end to things. Two people just kept fighting after the meeting, and I guess I reached a limit, so I shut them both down. I haven't tried to get an update yet today, but I'm sure everyone involved has had a chance to cool down enough to be dealt with if this needs to go to Dr. Knight.

I hate to say it, but I foresaw what was coming. It's an intense group of competitors, and with that many egos jostling for their say, things are bound to get tense. I just hope that the group doesn't devolve.

In other news, I failed my philosophy midterm. I knew I would, but I really hoped I had gotten enough right to squeak by. I have to decide today whether to stay in the course or drop it and try again next semester. It won't delay graduation to take it next semester, but it's the absolute last chance to still convocate. I've signed myself up for the class next semester to cover my butt either way. I've also got to get over to Grant MacEwan to ask if they are offering Philosophy 325 in January because I've heard that was easier.

Everyone cross your fingers for my hopeless situation.

Cote d'Ivoire

We got our country assignment early for NMUN, and the U of A will be representing Cote d'Ivoire in New York. I am totally psyched. Most of the team wanted Iraq REALLY bad, but I didn't. Frankly, I'm so bloody sick of even hearing about Iraq in the news, it would drive me up the wall, around the bend and through the roof to then have to devote so much energy to studying it. Not to mention that I want the World Health Organization simulation, and really, as far as I know, Iraq and HIV/AIDS don't really have a whole lot to do with each other. Granted Iraq has an AIDS problem like any other country, but getting a country in disease-ravaged Africa gives me the chance to really be aggressive.

Not a whole lot of other news. I wrote a midterm yesterday, and I'm starting to work on a few papers now. I know it doesn't fit my MO of waiting to the last minute, but I have something like 6 papers/assignments due in the same week, so I have to sort of start working early.

The Apocalypse is nigh...

Yes, I'm being dramatic. As Jette said, Kerry is no friend to Canada, but Bush is no friend to peace. So, while I can learn to live with a protectionist President Kerry, I cannot stomach another 4 years of Bush's conflicts. I'm screwed. I vote those of us not happy with the state of hegemonic global affairs move to another planet and start our own independent colony. But of course, we can't. So instead, be prepared for another 4 years of bitching and moaning about Bush and his "moral values".

I like my birth control. I am strongly pro-choice. I believe in stem cell research. I believe in Separation of Church and State. I believe in Comprehensive Sex Education. I do not believe in completely free trade. I believe in National Health care programs. I believe strongly in Progressive Taxation. I am a raging Atheist.

I enjoy a good debate with people who believe otherwise, but I draw the line at prostelytizing. I'm sort of a "I do my thing and you do yours and we co-exist and be cool" kind of a person. Obviously with one major Bushy exception.

The agony...

Anyone who knows me at all knows that when I refer to "the Agony" it's got to do with Politics. Well, this time is definitely no different. I am watching the very early calls favouring Bush. The festering, black pit in my stomach grows with each state that goes Red. It's not that I approve of Kerry. In fact, I have some issues with him, though none surrounding "flip-flopping". But anything's better than Bush.

Today is Jette's Birfday (HAPPY BIRFDAY JETTE!) and we are going for supper at a nice little French restaurant. I will try my bestest to not turn the evening into an uproarious affair of arguing politics, particularly given that Rob and Lori will also be there and I don't want to cause any Right/Left splits that would make things uncomfortable.

I shall return to spew later.

I could just cry

I'm trying to get my passport papers in order, but I can't find a guarantor to sign the fucking papers. My doctor is on Maternity Leave, I have only seen my optometrist once and that was not even 2 years ago in a busy storefront office, and my one teacher who knows me from a hole in the wall is not a Canadian citizen. So my dentist is my last hope, but he's not in his office until 11:30 and I so wanted to avoid the noon-afternoon rush. I wanted to get an "in lieu of" document instead, but they wouldn't give me one. He said, "You have an optometrist." and I'm thinking, was I not supposed to get someone who knew me personally for the past two years? Is that not the point to a guarantor?

Of course, it wasn't until I left the passport office and pondered for a while before I realized I couldn't ask the eye doctor guy even if I wanted to because it hasn't been 2 years since the first time I say him. I'm about 3 or 4 months shy of that timeframe.

It was so much easier last time. We had a judge living across the hall from us, and she was kind enough to oblige me. No chasing people down all over town. And I certainly see why it's so important, but really, it was not out of line to just give me the piece of paper I requested. I know lots of Commissioners of Oaths, but they don't qualify as guarantors.

It's not easy being me.


Later Edit: My Dentist was extremely kind enough to oblige me in the middle of his first appointment. Note to everyone: get a hold of the list of guarantors and make friends with some folks on that list to avoid begging near-strangers.