More School Drama

I BROUGHT DOWN THAT LETTER FOR YOU SO THAT IT WOULDN'T GET LOST IN THE MAIL. DON'T FUCKING TELL ME THAT IT'S NOT ANYWHERE AROUND! DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU SENT ME A LETTER *IN JUNE* TELLING ME THAT YOU NEEDED ME TO CONFIRM THAT I WAS A CANADIAN CITIZEN! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!

*deep breath* Ok. I feel better.

Stolen from girlongames

You entered: 10/10/1979
You were born on a Wednesday under the astrological sign Libra.
Your Life path number is 1.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2444156.5.
The golden number for 1979 is 4.
The epact number for 1979 is 2.
The year 1979 was not a leap year.

As of 7/11/2005 3:01:09 PM CDT
You are 25 years old.
You are 309 months old.
You are 1,344 weeks old.
You are 9,406 days old.
You are 225,759 hours old.
You are 13,545,541 minutes old.
You are 812,732,469 seconds old.

There are 91 days till your next birthday on which your cake will have 26 candles on it.

Those 26 candles produce 26 BTU's,
or 6,552 calories of heat (that's only 6.5520 food Calories!) .
You can boil 2.97 US ounces of water with that many candles.

Your birthstone is Tourmaline
The Mystical properties of Tourmaline

Pink Tourmaline promotes female balance and protection. Green Toumaline promotes male balance.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewlers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Opal, Jasper

Your birth tree is

Rowan, the Sensitivity
Full of charm, cheerful, gifted, without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.



There are 167 days till Christmas 2005!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waning gibbous.

Good grief. I seem to collect birthstones like other people collect phone numbers. So far I've known of opal, rose quartz and rose zircon. Now apparently pink and green tourmaline and jasper can be added to that.

Only 91 days until my birthday and 167 days until Christmas. Yeesh.

Someone really wants to get ahold of this person.

• Yahoo! Canada Search Results for karin blog vancouver last name
• Yahoo! Canada Search Results for karin blog vancouver icq
• Yahoo! Canada Search Results for karin moved to bc in '89 picture of me
• Yahoo! Canada Search Results for karin moved to bc in '89

Pondering again.

It's amazing how simply stating a fact to someone can affect them so much. I would like to suggest that you tell a friend that you love them, because you never know how much it may mean to them, because even though you know it, they might not...and besides, it's always nice to hear.

Pondering...

Was it wrong of me to teach six children how to play Ultimate with a Pride disc that has the PumpJack icon on it (gay leather bar)? (it was a subtle icon)

Yeah, I didn't think so either.

TEACHING MOMENT.
Me: Descend means go down. What's another way of saying descend?
Kid: Go down.
Me: Good. Listen. The miners descended in the shaft. What's another way of saying that sentence?
Kid: The miners went down on the shaft.


Oh my God. I thought I'd throw up from trying so hard not to laugh. Honestly...what was the author THINKING with that sentence?!

Eleventy Billion Dozen Roses

Dave woke me up this morning (a Herculean task, if ever there was one) and dragged my protesting butt out of bed. And the rest of me too. He got me to quit complaining when he told me that we were going to a garden store. *GLEE* Seriously...kid/candyshop. :D So we went off and he took me directly towards the rose bushes. *DOUBLE GLEE* I love roses, but I hate getting bouquets of them because I don't like to watch them die.

So we wandered around for about an hour through the rose bushes and we came up with a choice of four gorgeous ones, but I couldn't make up my mind. I wanted to take a look at vegetable plants quickly, so I went there for a few minutes to think about which one I wanted. When I found Dave again, he'd put all FOUR of them on the trolley!! THANK YOU SWEETIE!!!! Pictures will follow when I take them.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!ONE!!111!!ELEVEN!!111!! *EEEEE!* *poing* They smell SO GOOD! I'm going to plant them in large containers so I can take them with me when I move. :D!!!

Top Notch, Double Delight, Perfect Moment, Glowing Peace are the four kinds. I'll link to them later as well, but for now we're off to a Canada Day BBQ and perhaps disc golf.

*waves a maple leaf*

Happy Canada Day!

Why I wish real life were like a computer.

When I'm confused as to where my $400 mp3 player has gone, I simply gooogle it, or ask Jeeves. Of course, this may lead to annoying problems. *Search string: "Where is my RIO?" "On a bus heading downtown."* Eep. I think it's in my room somewhere... which leads to another thing I'd like. "Clean desktop/room" and everything gets organized. If I don't want stuff around right then, I stick it all in a folder and it doesn't take up that much room.

I'd also like to be able to ignore people, especially in bars...just walk away from them while they're talking, then come back in twenty minutes. "Sorry...I crashed. Hey, I've got to go." Then hang a sign around your neck that says "Offline". *thumbs up* I could definitely use the "ignore" key. Either that or click that red X on their forehead, and they're completely out of the room.

I've been doing a lot of reading about herbs 'n' stuff lately, but it'd sure be nice to have a CTRL-F (find) function. Hit CTRL-F and the book you'd just read that bit in would light up, then open to the right page and highlight the relevant section.

It would also be great when I was knitting. Right now I'm making a freaking huge piece of fabric that will eventually turn into a cloak. How cool would it be to just "copy" "paste" each row, since they're all the same?!

And UNDO! My God...can you imagine the uses for the undo key in real life? You accidentally (or on purpose, but have second thoughts) back up into another car? CTRL-Z. Just cussed in front of your SO's parents on the first time you met them? CTRL-Z. Realized that you locked your keys in the car? CTRL-Z.

Save would be good too, for those mistakes that take more than a single "undo" to fix. Just jump back to the last save point, and that whole awful date is POOF. Or you could "Save As", then revisit that amazing sunset as many times as you'd like.

Favourites. You'd never get stuck in rush hour again. Just favourite your house, friend's houses, work and a couple places you like to hang ou. Instant jumping around the city.

Pop-up blockers. Can you imagine what it'd be like without all the ads that we have in the world? Poof, they all go.

Blah de blah.

Updated my blogroll. I think I've got all the blogs that I normally read on there now.

I'm writing some articles for SPIN, the BCDSS (British Columbia Disc Sport Society. Got that? Good.. I don't want to type it all out again.) newsletter.

I'm still not feeling 100%, but I'm finished with the evil antibiotics of ultimate DOOM.

I'm helping a friend move into his new apartment tomorrow. Tonight, he should be in town and there will be much some drinking perhaps. Or perhaps we will just frighten friends who didn't know that he's moving here. I love frightening people with good news. :D

I want to be out in my garden. :P It's nice out.

BREAK TIME!

Ironic

Someone just did a Yahoo Search and found my site based on the search string 'cheery thoughts'. Based on my posts the last few weeks...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Oh yeah...

With the ranting of the below post, I forgot to wish everyone a happy Midsummer. I celebrated by working in the garden...and with garlic and vinegar. (thanks Donna! it seems to be working!)

If I could smell myself, I think I'd be remincisent of salad dressing.

Whee! (sarcasm!)

Random Synapses: now with nesting footnotes.

Still sick. Feeling better...kinda.

Ooh! I have another side effect from the antibiotics! Bad taste in the mouth. Small side effect? Well, yes, compared to uncontrollable vomiting or diarrhea (neither of which I have. *knocks on wood*) but imagine please, the flavour of ear wax* in your mouth ALL THE TIME unless I've just eaten or drank something. Even chewing gum didn't help, since the gum began taking on the flavour. Gah! As you can imagine, this has wreaked some havoc with my eating habits(everyone who knows me commences laughing at the idea that I have eating habits.). Since the only refuge is eating, I'm finding that I'm snacking a lot more. :P Of course, it's not gonna be fruit or crackers or something healthy. Nope, nor will it be water or juice. That'd make FAR too much sense, and if you've read any of my archives, or know me, sense probably isn't what most people associate with me.

*If you must know how I know what ear wax tastes like**, allow me to give you two words. Nail. Biting. Since I was old enough to get a finger in my mouth without poking myself in the eye, I've had the dubious pleasure of learning what many substances taste like.

**Kind of like dandylion "sap" (milk?). REALLY FREAKING BITTER, if you don't know what THAT tastes like.

Dear Internet,

Once upon a time, there was a movie called Batman Begins.

Go see it.

The End.

My least favourite side effect of antibiotics.

Candida.

Gawdammit.

I don't think beauty is an emotion...but ok...

You are Beauty.

You are beautiful, whether it be on the inside, the
outside, or both. People are drawn to you as
strongly as you are drawn to the beauty in the
world around you.


What Emotion Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Update

Still feel "gah". I'm on a round of antibiotics which are making me dizzy and nauseated and don't seem to be doing anything for the cold yet.

Saw my little brother today. He's on the cruise ships for another month, then he gets a month off and then is off to Europe and the Mediterranian. Anyway, Monday is his 21st birthday.

Geez. I got nothing. I'm going back to bed.

More whining? GAH.

Man, if *I'm* sick of hearing myself, how must everyone around me feel? It's ten to eight and I've pretty much been awake since five...I went to sleep around...330 or so? something like that. Cripes. Has anyone else had one of those nights where you SWEAR you've been asleep for a couple hours, turn your head to check the clock and realize that it's only been about two and a half minutes? Yeah...that was me last night/this morning. Now if only I was rested in the same way...I would've had sixty seven hours of sleep. :D (how awesome would THAT have been?)

I guess I might as well go do laundry or something, since I need to get up in an hour for my doctor's appointment. AND since I finished my last Diana Gabaldon book last night. That would be five books. In just over a week. Over 800 pages EACH. I knew I read pretty fast, but I've never devoured a series like this. And now I have to wait until September for the next book to come out. :(

The amusing thing (to me at least) is that there's some serious Scottish dialect in them, so I'm fighting with myself not to talk like the characters (or write like them). My main interaction over the last week has been with a six foot four, red headed fictional Highlander, so I shouldn't really be surprised. :P After spending a month in Scotland a few years ago I had a little bit of an accent. Heck, after chatting with an Aussie or a Brit for more than ten minutes, I'll start picking up the accent. I think it might be easier to do that with writing though, because I'm a fairly visual person and...obviously...when reading, you're looking at the words.

I'm curious now though. I think I'll pick up the audio book from the library to see how they do the various dialects. The protagonist is English and of course there's the red headed Highlander, but there's also a bunch of other nations mixed in there too. Hmmmm..

Anyway, if I call you a "clot heid" anytime in the next couple days, you know where I got that from, aye? (Scottish for 'eh')

OK, FINE.

I'm STILL sick, and it seems to be getting worse, so I'm skipping kids karate, resting and I've got a doctor's appointment for tomorrow at 9:40. Ok? Ok. Bleah. I hate going to the doctors...not because of the doctor or anything...I just hate making appointments. :P

Mutant Mint!

(thanks Jason for the title)

I'm still/again sick. I started coughing yesterday and pretty much haven't stopped. I'm trying not to take too much medicine for it this time...overall I feel pretty good, and I did spend the last two weeks drugged (and cross drugged) so I'm going the more natural route... also known as "cough until it's time for bed, then drink Neocitran". I'm currently drinking some iced Mutant Mint tea...a special "blend" of mint leaves taken from my garden that have gone wild (MINT GONE WILD!!!) and I SWEAR they taste different than they did the first year I planted it.

Here's the recipe I used. You'll notice how very exact it is...
1) Pull several mint plants out of the ground, cursing because they're all over the place now. (Note to readers: if you plant them in the garden...even for two months...they WILL NEVER LEAVE.)
2) Decide not to chuck them back into the garden, because they're like zombie plants...you have to burn them to kill them. Oh. And it's a waste too. (I'm kidding...I didn't plan to throw them away.)
3) Strip the nice looking leaves off the stems and wash them. Stick them in an eight cup glass measuring cup and crush them a bit with a metal spoon (don't smash them too much or else the chlorifil gets out and makes it taste like grass). I suggest metal and glass because plastic and wood might take up the mint smell.
4) I had about a fistful of mint leaves. Fill up the measuring cup with boiling water, mix the leaves around a bit, cover, and leave for about ten minutes.
5) Strain the leaves and toss them, or put them in the compost...whatever. Drink some of it while it's hot and refrigerate the rest.

I'm not a political person...

I mean, I vote. I try to get other people to vote, etc, but I don't have a political blog. I don't even really mention much in the way of politics. However, here's a chance to vote on something important...the same sex marriage issue. I don't know how much good it will do, but I'm sure that it won't do any harm.

The site.

Me listen? Not likely.

This is from a comment I left on Donna's blog.

I've been sick for more than three weeks. Coughing et al. Have I seen a doctor, like people suggested? No. Have I taken Buckley's, like my dad suggested? HELL no. Have I sucked it up, dosed myself with multiple, sleep causing "don't drive heavy machinery" stuff and gone and lived my life mostly the way that I would've if I were well? Yep.

Would I have been better by now if I'd followed everyone else's advice?

Ummm...probably.

In other news, my favourite used bookstore is gone. Gone with 130 of my books that I traded in for credit. I've still got $70 in credit there. BAKA DENAI! (I don't know the spelling, but apparently that's Japanese for a very bad name.)

DAMN you Hawkins!

*shakes fist* I'm sitting here covered in orangy yellow cheez powder from my crunchie Cheezies. Yum, but yuck all at the same time.

Dave and our friend Walter and I went to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith last night. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Yum. Anyway, the premise (they're both spies for different companies who get married not knowing that the other is a spy as well) seems awfully weird, and it could've been done really poorly, but OH MY GOD. It was SO funny, especially since the script was written with cliche "couple" conversation which meant something totally different when referring to their spying lives.

One exchange:

Mr. Smith: So how many have you done? (he's referring to body count, not "body" count)
Mrs. Smith: *mumbles something about not wanting to go there* Um, how about you?
Mr. Smith: Oh, well you know. I don't really keep track, but I'd say more than fifty, less than sixty. So you see, sweetheart, I've been around the block a few...
Mrs. Smith: Three hundred and twelve.
Mr. Smith: *dead silence* How could you...
Mrs. Smith: Some were two at a time.

So, anyway, go and see it. Dave and I tried to see it on Friday, but it was sold out. Honestly, when does a 10:50 movie sell out? When it isn't Star Wars I mean...you can put your hands down now.

Pondering:

Why did La Vie En Rose send me an email entitled "Father's Day Specials"? Do they know something about my dad that I don't? Perhaps he is a cross dresser? Or is this for my mom? Or perhaps I'm supposed to buy something for the father of the children that I don't have? Hmmm...

Smashed up tree fibre.

As you may or may not know (and/or care) I also write in a paper journal which I keep beside my bed to taunt those unfortunate enough to venture into the evil disaster which is my room. Anyway, last night was the six month mark of when I started writing in it daily. I have only missed about three days in that time frame, so I'm pretty impressed with myself. :)

For Sale

2002 Saturn SL-1-My friend Bill's moving here from Edmonton and he's selling his car. It's a purdy car. I've ridden in it.

Inexpensive sex toys, lotions and potions. I'm getting out of the dildo schlepping business, and am selling off my stock. The lotions have only been touched by individual Q-tips, and the toys are clean (obviously...I mean otherwise...ew.). Let me know if you're interested.

Grrr.

I don't know what's wrong with me these days. It feels like pretty much everything and everyone irritates me. *snark* I'll watch the news and get irritated by something idiotic. I'll see a commercial, and want to put my fist through the TV. At the same time, I'll see a dog or a baby and start to tear up. ARGH.

I think it's to do with being sick for the last...13 days. Ye gods. I'm finally feeling better. I was a little worried yesterday...I was getting better, then I ran around in the rain for three hours playing Ultimate, and tried to cough up a lung on the sidelines. I woke up this morning afternoon and felt really good.

Being sick has also had the added detriment of not wanting to/being able to see most of my friends, or do anything active without being REALLY GRUMPY the whole time.

But, I'm finally feeling better, even if my voice is STILL husky.

Anger inducing letter and phone call.

To: Karin
From: Teacher Training

Dear Karin,
Thank you for your application...blah blah blah. You have applied to this and that...blah blah blah. Please send Final Official Transcript From Other University. *SCREECHING HALT* HUH?! We have received a transcript with grades to Fall 2004. No shit. That's when I last took courses. Please forward another official transcript AFTER you convocate as your degree and date conferral will not appear until then.

Please send missing items...blah blah blah.

Thank you,
Education Admissions.

So I made the phone call to the Admissions office. Basically, I need to have a degree to be in the program. I *HAVE* my degree, but I never did the cap 'n' gown thing, nor do I hold the piece of paper that says "Hey, you've got a BA in Pretentious English" (which is going to be the title of my shelf of English textbooks...but I digress). So I need to have that piece of paper, although I've already got WAY more than enough credits to have my BA. This pisses me off because I'm still kind of working towards getting a minor or three...meh.

So, I now need to get a note from a faculty advisor saying that yes, I have all the credits necessary, and yes, I'm convocating in October.

Oh. By the way. I'm convocating in October. Cap, gown and all. Ugh.

New Experience

Today I'm going out to look at an apartment. Not for me...for a friend of mine who's in Edmonton and can't be out here to look at it himself. So it's like a dry run for me. I've never gone out looking for an apartment to rent before. Weird.

*whisper*

I have almost no voice again. Two hours of yelling and directing children in a large echo-y gym will do that to you. Well...me, anyway. The meet was great though. I had a lot of fun, the kids did well, and stuff. The adults performed, but I didn't feel confident enough to do it, so I stayed sitting and helped keep kids quiet. I'm really glad I listened to my discomfort at performing and hope that it isn't a sign of stage fright (anyone who's ever heard me sing karaoke is going "YES! Please let her have stage fright!").

I tried to make it to the Ultimate Frisbee BBQ, but it was over by the time I got there. :( But I got to go out for dinner with Dave and some of our teammates, so that was nifty. We're going camping in a few weeks. :D No one knows where yet though...

So, I have Mars Bar ice cream, and the movie version of "Mists of Avalon", Elfwood is back up, and life is pretty darned good.

*snark*

Whist tutoring, I had a grumpy post in progress. However, my boss came in while I was typing it, so I closed the window and lost the post. I'm still tired, still sick-ish, still feeling blah, but I'm generally feeling better.

So, yay.

Oh, and MORE PEOPLE NEED TO POST! Seriously. Don't MAKE me expand my blogroll, yo.

Ok, that's it.

The website that hosts my gallery crashed again. Fuggedaboudit. I'm gonna try Deviant Art or something. *grumblesnark* I LIKED Elfwood, though. :P

So, over the last couple of hours I've been googling with search strings in order to answer such burning questions as "are there big yucky insects in trinidad" and "is it possible to find non-spicy food in tobago". Burning, I tell you. Burning.

I have learned when Carnivale is though. So that's nifty neato.

Star Wars Geekiness

I got this link from Rachel at milkbreath and me. If you haven't seen the newest Star Wars, don't click, because pretty much the whole thing is spoilers. (although you PROBABLY already know what's going to happen.)

Great Episode III synopsis/parody

I'm such a big freaking nerd.

*FANGIRL GASP* Dooce is coming to Vancouver!!! for Vidfest.

Heather, if you're reading this...please don't think I'm a big nerd. Although I am.

*fangirl squeal!*

I wasn't even this excited when I learned that Jennifer Garner had been in town filming Elektra (although if she hadn't been GONE when I learned about it...)

Still Ill

My voice is marginally better...I can now hold a brief conversation over a whisper. I have read SO MANY BOOKS over the last three days, mostly because my DVD player is unhooked and I spent half an hour yesterday trying to hook it back up again so I could watch "The Incredibles". *grumble*

The books I have read range from five fantasy books in a series, to the "auto"biography of Joanie Laurer (aka Chyna from the WWF-now the WWE), to two books on pottery and one on how to build one's own kiln, to a book of erotic horror short stories. Oh, and there was a book on watercolour pencils in there as well. Yeesh.

So many changes...people having job interviews, job offers, pregnancies (Congratulations Sarcastic Journalist)...*sigh*. And me? I'm eatin' some mango and getting ready to go to kid's karate...so I can blow out my voice on thirty screaming kids. *woot!* Actually it's a lot of fun. I'm just tired. :P I need some dayquil or something.

Ooh! I can complain HERE!

My voice is totally gone. I thought that it was gone yesterday, but I could actually make my vocal cords move slightly...enough to get a quiet rasp out of them. Now? Harsh whisper.

However, my fingers are not limited by my vocal cords! If only I had something to write about. :P This means that I can complain to all and sundry over ICQ and MSN...including my parents in the same room because they've got MSN and I type much faster than I handwrite/print. What a good solution. Now I just need to get them to sit at the computer and play games like they normally do. I've resorted to banging on my computer desk if I need something. It's like when I used to be sick. My mom used to leave a bell on my night table in case I needed anything.

***GLEEEEEEE***

After nearly two months, my gallery of science fiction and fantasy art is UP! WOO!

Link to follow. Please don't stalk me. :D

SO EXCITED!!! And I've even got comments!!!111!!!ONE!!!ELEVEN!!!EXCLAMATION POINT!!!!

(correction: three and a half hours of tutoring, but one cancelled, so I'm back to 2.5. Bummer. Oh, and my voice is GONE [like a freight train, gone like yesterday, gone like a soldier in the Civil War {BANG BANG} Gone like a '59 Cadillac, like all the good things, that ain't never coming back...it's gone.])

i said hi *cough*

I've almost completely lost my voice. I'm all croaky, and I'm leaving in five minutes to do two and a half hours of tutoring. Oh.....my. Apparently yelling at 40 grade 1/2's for two hours isn't a good way of conserving one's voice. Who knew?

Oh, and I'm going to be yelling at *90* kids on Saturday...no singing in the car for me for the rest of the week...not if I want to be able to speak above a whisper by Sunday.

And I'm almost out of cough syrup. Lots of lozenges though.

Challenge

Hokay... Dave has sent out a blog challenge. Post something every day in the month of June. I'm going to try it, although it will dilute my fabulous (HAHAHAHAHAAAAHHAHA!!!) writing.

Currently, I'm cross-drugged, so I feel great, although a bit sweaty. Mmmm...neo-citrin and benadryl. How I love thee. And thee. Thou? Meh.

Currently rereading the first four books of "The Guardians of the Flame" series by Joel Rosenberg. Good stuff. I bought the fifth one a month or so back, started reading it and realized I couldn't remember what happened in the first one. They're pretty short (compared to, say Robert Jordan) so I've already read nearly the first three. Keeping up the pace, I ought to finish the last one right about the time I'm awake for no particular reason at 0500. Again. Two days in a row, dammit.

I slept a lot today, but hopefully being up for no particular reason at 0500 will work in my favour.

Let's go test that theory now, shall we?

No Spoiler Central.

For those of you who haven't watched the season finale of Alias, there will be no spoilers. For those of you who have watched the season finale of Alias, you'll already know. For those of you who couldn't give a rat's behind about the season finale of Alias, well...too bad. :P This post isn't directed at you.

All I've got to say is "NGGGHA!!!! WHA?!!?!? BU..but...but...HEY!!!!!"

That is all.

*sniffle* *sneeze*

*closes eyes* *tries to swallow* *sore throat wakes me up again* *sniffle* *closes eyes* *tries to swallow and is again yanked out of sleep by the sore throat* *opens eyes* *checks the time* *mumbles something grumpy to self*

*repeat for the last FOUR HOURS*

So, it's quarter past five, and I haven't actually really slept yet. Cripes. Well, I just heard the water stop boiling for my lemon-flavoured liquid sleeping pill (mmm...Neo-Citrin, how I do love thee) so maybe that'll help.

Gahhhhh...

I'm feeling suprisingly awake and lucid, to the point where I'm actually considering going to the high school Ultimate championships for 0700. Totally not going to happen, but I'll probably mosey over there around 11 or 12 to help Dave with his candy booth.

I hate having a sore throat. Oh, and it's all lovely and swollen. Maybe I shouldn't be doing the candy thing...

If Donna jumped off a bridge...

(edit: I just realized that I must've been high on cough syrup when I wrote this. Fixing up now.)
( ) I've Never Been Drunk
(X) I've Never Smoked Pot (how bizarre is that?)
( ) I've Never Kissed A Member Of The Opposite Sex
( ) I've Never Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex
(X) I've Never Crashed A Friend's Car (never been in a car accident except when I was a passenger)
(X) I've Never Been To Japan (it's on THE LIST)
( ) I've Never Been In A Taxi
( ) I've Never Been In Love
( ) I've Never Had Sex In A Car
( ) I've Never Had Sex In Somebody Else's Car
(X) I've Never Been Dumped (I don't count grade eight)
(X) I've Never Done Cocaine
(X) I've Never Done Nitrous
(X) I've Never Smoked Hash
( ) I've Never Shoplifted (I was three or four...I grabbed some earrings from on the floor)
( ) I've Never Been Fired (1st year of university.)
(X) I've Never Been In A Fist Fight (sparring doesn't count)
(X) I've Never Snuck Out Of My Parent's House (unless you count going into the backyard, or just not saying "hey, I'm leaving")
( ) I've Never Been Tied Up
( ) I've never regretted Having Sex With Someone
(X) I've Never Been Arrested
( ) I've Never Made Out With A Stranger
( ) I've Never Stolen Something From My Job (stickers we put on bags...kind of like the ones MacDonalds puts on the takeout bags...from the job I got fired for [not the reason I got fired])
(X) I've Never Celebrated New Years In Time Square (also on THE LIST)
(X) I've Never Gone On A Blind Date
( ) I've Never Lied To A Friend
( ) I've Never Had A Crush On A Teacher
(X) I've Never Celebrated Mardi-Gras In New Orleans (ALSO on THE LIST)
( ) I've Never Been To Europe (the UK, twice)
( ) I've Never Skipped School (university only, or pretending to be sick, going to the medical room and taking a nap)
(X) I've Never Slept With A Co-Worker (the advantage of working with older, married, retired, Christian teachers)
( ) I've Never Cut Myself On Purpose (I don't do that anymore. :) )
( ) I've Never Been Married
( ) I've Never Been Divorced
( ) I've Never Posed Nude
(X) I've Never Killed Anyone (that rabbit I ran over doesn't count, right? Or my fish by accident?)
(X) I've Never Received Scars From My Sex Partner/Significant other
(X) I've Never Thrown Up In A Bar (I'm much classier than Donna. I save puking until I get home...or outside)
( ) I've Never Purposely Set A Part Of Myself On Fire. (locks of hair. Yeah, don't ask...I don't know why)
( ) I've Never Eaten Sushi (mmmmm...I loves the sushi. One of the first ones I ever ate was octopus)
(X) I've Never Been Snowboarding (once, but I suck the big suck. I only did it for like...20 minutes)
( ) I've Never Flashed Anyone
(X) I've Never Met Anyone From Online (anyone I've met has always been a friend of a friend, even if I hadn't actually met them first)
( ) I've Never Had Sex

nanaga...ugh....ghhhhhuh...

So, I've been sort of sniffly/sick ish for the last couple of months...but this morning I woke up DEFINITELY sick. I could barely swallow because my throat was so sore, and walking up a flight of stairs to get to the kitchen made me wheeze like crazy. Ugh.

I have to tutor 4-5, 530-630 and 730-830, then maybe go see friends tonight. I think I'll be skipping the friends thing, unfortunately. :( I don't want to spread germs all over the place.

Now to remember who it was that I was talking to that told me that s/he had a really bad sore throat cold, but wasn't contagious any more.

Whew.

Step one to getting goals met: get teacher training applications in. *CHECK!*

I stayed up until after three am last night getting my UBC application package together, but now I'm FINISHED. I just need to get one final letter of reference together for SFU, and then I sit back until June, July or August (maybe September) to find out if I'm getting into UBC or SFU, in September or January. I really hope I make it into the September intake. Starting four months earlier and (more importantly) FINISHING four months earlier. Um..yeah. Bring THAT on, TYVM.

I was going to go to a rock and gem meeting tonight, but I'm tired. Instead I will draw and sleep and so on. Yay. :)

I need to buy some film. And start carrying around a camera. I want to take pictures all the time now, and it's hard when I don't have a camera handy. Even if I've got my sketch book, I can't usually pause for half an hour to sketch something. Half a minute? That I can do.

*fear*

I'm playing Ultimate tonight. Last week I nearly quit because I was so angry with myself. Hopefully tonight will be better. *crosses fingers*

I've been tagged!

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
Karin
Lovergirl (Dave only)
Sweetie K (My dad's nickname for me)

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
Karin
LadyOasis
Krystal Band'h (Star Trek online RPG)

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
eyes
butt
height

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
lack of muscle
hair
fingernails (I bite 'em)

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
Austrian
Scottish
Canadian

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
Loved ones dying
big insects and arachnids
enclosed spaces

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
sleep
sweets
knowing I'm loved and wanted

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
new sleeveless "butchy" top
green gay man plaid pants
green g-string

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
love
respect
support

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order):
I have had the sniffles for the last six months
I was bridesmaid for my boyfriend's ex girlfriend
I refuse to eat Chinese food.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
long hair (neat and clean)
facial hair (ditto)
a nice butt

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
finish eating my mango
work on something artistic
watch Queer as Folk season 4

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:
teacher
writer
artist (hehe...once I'm done with the whole "sucking" part)

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
Scotland again
a cruise (I don't care where...I'm all about the food)
some sort of spiritual pilgrimage

THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
Rhiannon (I'd probably never saddle a poor kid with that)
James
Brenna

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
sell a piece of art (including a novel)
get my black belt in karate
reproduce

THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW:
Kit (REVENGE for all the quizzes you used to send me!!! MUHAHAHA!!!)
Bimkins (HAH. Now you have to post!)
LadyGwyn (when she gets back)

"Hello, pot? This is the kettle. You're black."

Two pervy hits...two disappointed perverts. No tits here, folks.

Whee!

Hello pervy googlers!! I got a hit for "porn" through Blog Search just now. I was number 9. *sniff* *wipes away a tear* I'm SO PROUD!!!

whyohwhyohwhy ohwhyohwhyohwhy ohwhyohwhyohwhy...

...do people think it's acceptable to talk in movies? Or YELL, like the guy behind us was doing during Star Wars III tonight. I mean, I can understand yelling at the exciting bits if you're in your living room, but for fuck's sake, stop wrecking it for the rest of us and yapping during the dialogue. GRAGH!

Must return to the basics...two rules that I haven't been living by the last few weeks.

1) Don't sweat the small stuff...
2) Everything is small.

*deep breath* *still grumbling*

Feeling better.

I'm even enjoying the grossness of my 3 in 1 internet stalker. I have had this person on MSN for the last couple weeks trying to get me to turn on my webcam...sending me porn of him...etc. He's now got two other accounts that he's using an awful lot of time to try and get me to show him my tits.

Today he was being a bigger asshole than usual, so I banned him and his two accounts, but I've turned them back on because I'm bored. Maybe I should go and work on some artsy stuff. :)

*sigh*

I'm tired.

I feel myself withdrawing from everyone. I don't want to do any of the group stuff I used to do (karate, Ultimate, hanging out with friends). When I go to sleep I am plagued by recurring nightmares of serial killers and rapists who try to cut me up and make it so I can't scream (aside: going to karate and "kiai"ing as loud as I can was REALLY good therapy for that one).

I sleep 11 or 12 hours a night, but still need a nap in the afternoon to make it through. I don't want to drive anywhere out of my way to visit anyone. I haven't checked my voicemail in weeks. I haven't worked on my UBC application (almost done...thank goodness).

I sit and read blogs. I look up art tutorials online. I sleep. I tutor. I put off volunteering for as long as I can, even though I enjoy it. I sleep some more. I eat food that doesn't interest me. I sleep.

I'm so tired.

Genius has turned to madness.

Anyone besides Kit who gets the quote above (without using Google...) gets...um...a cookie? A polite nod to their genius (sans madness perhaps?) BEFORE one reads the rest of the post.

I'll wait a second or two...

...

...

Ok, good enough.

(Jeez, I'm really geeky...sorry for anyone who doesn't know what the hell I'm talking about...ok, here goes.)

I've spent about the last three hours either painting or sketching, some of it while listening to Phantom of the Opera (2004 movie version...one of the best IMHO [if only because it includes about 80% of the music as well as the non music bits]). (yay, nested brackets) It's really bizarre to listen to this kind of music while drawing. I know I won't be able to completely tell what it's like...because it's like a dream, where people are like, "uh huh...yeah...I know what you mean" while they're desperately wishing that you'd just SHUT UP ABOUT THE DREAM (partly because I've had a glass of wine [or two{and you don't want to know how many typos I've had to backspace...seriously...I have NO head for alcohol any more }]).

It's weird how alcohol enhances one's ability to notice things...and totally destroys one's ability to notice things at the same time. (like roadblocks) For example, I noticed in the song "Masquerade/Why So Silent" that there are echoes of the final song, the new one..."Learn to be Lonely" when the Phantom is waiting for Christine to answer whether or not she would "swallow her pride" and come back to "her teacher". It almost make me CRY!!! I was all like FORESHADOWING the sadness and the need of the Phantom to learn how to be lonely! (shaddap. Just because I had to listen to the freaking thing six times before I figured it out...lousy English major I am.

Whilst I'm on my semi-intoxicated ramblings, I'd like to point out to all English geeks, of which I am proud to say I am one, that foreshadowing is generally a bunch of hooey. It's really a case of hindsight being twenty twenty. I mean, the first time that someone sees a play or...whatever...if you're anything like me, you aren't going to realize that the bird was indicative of the protagonist. It won't be until the end of the whatever-it-was-that-you-were-watching-or-reading that you realize that "Oh! That was all symbolic 'n' stuff!" But, please. Does anyone actually realize what the hell is going on in those things? Except in CSI. Sometimes. Ok, once in a while, but when I'm right, EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE KNOWS IT!

On a totally unrealated, but not quite, I managed to become an English major without actually taking a Shakespeare course...Shakespeare being the highly disputed master of foreshadowing (and he stole stuff from Chaucer, but that's ok, because there are only seven stories in the world). Jeez.. I don't even know if that was a run on sentence. *pretends to check the commas* Yeah, that looks about right.

So I hate Shakespeare...but only reading the plays. The sonnets, I don't have an opinion about because I haven't looked at them (ie: really cared enough). Morph, aka teenage angst from trollzor (not linking...too stream of consciousness right now) pointed out to me that reading a play is like reading a TV or movie script. Sure, you could do it, but why would you unless you're a total fan boy/girl. I am not a total Shakespearean fanboy/girl, therefore, I don't enjoy reading the plays.

Holy crap. I've written a lot for not planning to write a lot. I started writing around 1:30 or so, but I've been sporadically watching my dad play internet poker for the last hour and change.

G'nite. I need to drink some water so I'm moderately coherent when I attempt to volunteer at the elementary school tomorrow. That's ALL I need. "Miss Karin? Why does your breath smell like my mom's when she's been out with her friends?"

No, they don't call me Miss Karin, but they do call me Miss or Mrs. "lastname" which really freaked me out the first...thirty times I heard it. I was all like "Where's my mom, because that's here name...not mine."

g'nite for real.

Hmph.

Well, I can now say with complete confidence that I do NOT have lightning fast reflexes...you know...for that one of you who was possibly under the mistaken impression that I did. (The only reason I ducked that disc was because I tripped.)

I just spent twenty minutes trying to take a picture of the lightning that was happening, but to no avail. So I took a picture of my keyboard and my fish because they don't move nearly as quickly.

Ayup.

Time to go back to painting. Stuff inside my brain holds still better too.

*grumble snark*

I'm not sure why I'm grumpy. I just had two kinds of yummy yummy cheese, I took a nap this afternoon and I have a couple of paintings on the go.

Freaking PMS.

Links

A fun thing I was involved with today...Gwyn and I had a comment war.

From Bimkins: Excuse me while I claw my eyes out, metaphorically speaking.

Also from Bimkins, this makes up for the above link. Feeling bad about how little you've accomplished? This will...probably make you feel worse. Start at zero and work your way up.

Constant Cravings.

I've heard that when people really crave something (not just want it...but CRAVE it) it means that their body needs something in it. For the last several weeks, I've been craving cheese mainly, but lately I've started craving porridge with raisins in it. Seriously...I can't get enough of it. Raisins I can understand because I've got a mild iron deficiency...but what's with the oatmeal?

The cheese, I think that might just be me really, really liking cheese.

I have a book entitled "Why Women Need Chocolate". I'll release some of my findings later. :)

Checklist

Exercise? Check
Stuff done? Check
Eating well? Check
Happy?

...

...

I said... SHUSH! I heard you!!

Yeah. I had a spectacularly crappy meltdown tonight. Damn you hormones. I'm better now and I was better after a while, but holy crap it was totally dehibilitating. Thank goodness for friends, chocolate and beer, because seriously, I nearly quit something I really like tonight.

Yeesh. Time for anti-depressants almost. This is getting to the point where I'm sad WAY too often, and it affects me so much that I have trouble getting out of bed...or staying out of bed. (Mmm...afternoon naps are wunnerful.)

So yeah. That's my ARGH moment for the day.

"Uphill, both ways..."

I just walked to my polling station, then to Tim Hortons and home. This wouldn't be such a big deal (since my polling station is less than a kilometre away) but I live on one of the steepest hills in BC (probably a slight exaggeration, but meh). So I walked uphill about 1.5 kilometres to get home. And my toe is fine! Yay! Turns out I cracked the nail, but not the actual toe. This pleases me, since it means I'll be able to play Ultimate tonight. :)

GO VOTE!

That's about it. I'm not gonna tell you which way to vote, or what you should do on BC-STV, but dammit...vote or spoil your ballot.

VOTE!!!!

GAH!! Mudaheigaodkjhghghg...ghhdi!

I smashed my second and third toes into the couch this afternoon...three hours later, they're still throbbing. Ow.

I really wanted to kick the couch, but that was kind of what got me into this mess in the first place.

In other news: I got my SFU PDP (teacher training) application in today. I still have some supplemental documentation to give them, but I've got until the end of the month. I spent most of this morning panicking as I realized one after another of things that I didn't have done, or didn't have done properly. (incidentally, finding out that Douglas College's registrar's office is closed on Mondays when I needed FOUR copies of my transcripts...not a way to keep my heart beating regularly) However, it seems everything is ok.

Now for the UBC application.

Art is Hard.

A Rambling Post In Which The Author Begins By Pitying Herself, But Quickly Turns Into A Post About Art, Which Then Evolves Into A Monologue About Karate...Much Like A Real Life Conversation With The Author.

(This is a fairly long post. Feel free to skip to the last paragraph to get the gist of it.)

Seriously...it's hard. Art is, in many ways, like karate...(karate also being an art, but I'm talking about painting and drawing right now.) As soon as I think I'm pretty good at it, I look around and realize exactly how much I need to learn and how much farther I need to go.

(Author's note: no one has EVER told me that I wasn't ready to do something with karate. I have always been the one to tell myself that I needed to work harder at something else first.)

When I first started karate, I sort of knew the first kata (Pinan Nidan, if you're interested) from taking lessons previously. I made quick progress in "learning" the rest of it and then got impatient to learn the next one. In art terms, I had learned how to draw a stick figure of a human being. I knew where the head was in relation to the neck and the feet (Dr. Nick: "The arm bone's connected to the wrist bone. The wrist bone's connected to the... something. The something's connected to my....wrist watch. ... Uh oh.") but I didn't know how the joints work, or muscle structure, or even how to draw hair without it looking like it was gelled straight down.

Being me, however, I desperately wanted to show it off, so I bored various friends and family members with my stick figure rendition of Pinan Nidan. (ahem...sorry about that if you were one of them. Heh.) Soon, I realized that not only was I unready to begin learning the next kata, I REALLY didn't know this one. Slowly, instead of being corrected on the basic stick figure, I was being corrected on joint positioning and finer details. Instead of being corrected on which way to turn, or which foot was in front (or behind), I began to be corrected on more minute details of stances or hand positions.

Sweet! I've improved tremendously! Now, I figured I was ready to learn the next kata! Then I started watching some of the black belts doing theirs. Whoa. This was like looking through a museum while I was still drawing with crayons. Outside the lines. Mentally chastened, I kept working on my Pinan Nidan. Now, I'm certainly not museum quality, but hey...I can look at myself and think that I'm farther along than I was.

I need to put more time into both painting/drawing and karate. I also need to remember that there will always be someone better than I am, with a different style and more experience. Art (both karate and drawing) is not a contest, or a race except against myself. I need to remember not to get frustrated when it seems like I haven't made any progress, because I have...I just may not be able to see it.

Who knew it's this tough?

I'm trying to write a reference letter about me for someone to sign. How does one do this?! I'm so bad at it.

He knows me so well.

I'm currently procrastinating.

Even when Dave is out of the house, I'm STILL busted for goofing around.

Reason #2932953. :)

Reason #2593403 I love my boy

Exchange from this evening...
Me: "Arrr..."
He: "No...that's what pirates say."
Me: (testing it out) "Arrrrrr...?"
He: "No. Vampires don't say 'arrrr'. They say 'whoosh'."
Me: *uncontrollable hysterics* Move. I'm sitting down at your computer now.

Back from Victoria

Overall, it was a remarkably inexpensive trip for me. We caught the 0700 ferry out of Tsawassen and got to Schwartz Bay without incident. We arrived at the cruise ship dock around 0930 and waited around for my brother until around 11, then we went on a tour of the ship, got treated to lunch at the BBQ area of the ship and left, making the 1500 ferry by less than half a dozen cars. I slept in the car for the whole trip back, and that's about it. Unfortunately I didn't get to go shopping, but on the plus side, I wound up only spending $1.50 for a cup of coffee.

Gah.

I have to leave the house tomorrow at 0500 to catch a ferry to Victoria to see my brother. Why is it that I'm the one who has to get up obscenely early since he's been on the cruise ships?! Nuhgnhuhgh. If I got to bed right now and fall asleep right now, I'll get almost four hours of sleep.

Woo.

Tired...

Ok, why are all the local art classes either aimed at children or people who want to do this as a business? And EXPENSIVE!!!! Where's the beginner sketch for clueless adults?!

Redefining.

I've been contemplating things that are important to me lately, and trying to actually work on them and not waste time on silly things. It's working too. :) I'm being productive and going to bed at night feeling pleased about what I've accomplished throughout the day.

I was reading the newspaper today and found this quote by a Nobel Prize winning physicist that sums up a lot of the way I think.(random movie quote that isn't the actual quote: "You mean the disappearing nuclear physicist husband was simply a red herring?")

"I was born not knowing, and have only a little time to change that here and there."
--Richard Feynman

That's kind of how I am. I love knowing a little bit about lots of things. This may make me appear flighty to people as I jump from one interest to another (karate! Wicca! drawing and painting! guitar! knitting! guppy keeping! writing! gardening! Repeat!) but it's who I am.

For a long time (since I was a kid) I had thought that there was something wrong with me, that my attention couldn't be kept by any one passion long enough to make myself truly skilled at it, but then I realized something. I do have a major passion that has lasted me throughout my life. I am a very good reader and can completely lose myself in a novel or non-fiction work for hours. I can read ridiculously quickly as well, which means that I can absorb great amounts of information in a tiny fraction of the time that it takes others to.

Rather than berating myself for my lack of focus, I'm beginning to celebrate my eclectism and love of knowledge and learning. This is a bold shift for me, and I'm hoping to keep it going.

Chasing frisbees like a golden retriever.

Yup, it's Ultimate season again. I managed to successfully avoid injury, make a couple of nice plays and I even scored a point. Yay! Oh, and I had fun too. :D Yay! I hurt pretty badly now though. My shoulders are sore (although they were before), my calves are very very angry with me, my achilles tendons ache and the muscles in my arms seem to be kind of shocked...I'm having trouble not making typos.

All in all, a good time. :)

Nervous...

I'm going to have a one year old visitor at my house for six or seven hours today. Must childproof!! *runs away from the computer to do that*

blah de blah de blah.

Please Mr. Virus go away. I dislike sneezing and sore throats. I like feeling creative, but I don't like having the time to be creative thanks to me not wanting to move. Ok? Ok.

I've been working on my teacher training essay for my application. It's blah. Good, I think...but blah.

I've been drawing. That's not blah. I want to take some art lessons. I've been taking tutorials from online which is fun, but I'd like real time feedback. I did a painting in watercolours tonight...basically just slapped some yellow down to see what it looked like. It looked like a dragon, so I painted a dragon. It amused me for half an hour or so. When it's dry, I'll post a picture of it on Flickr. Unfortunately painting a dragon didn't mean that I slapped paint onto a real dragon becuase THAT would've been REALLY FREAKING COOL. (Dave via ICQ: until it woke up, got annoyed and ate you, and *I* had to find a new girlfriend) As it is, it's only slightly freaking cool. No caps.

What a weird disjointed post. Me stop with the typing stuff to the internet now. :)

Me. Me me me meme.

Anyone ever notice how "meme" is just two "me"s stuck together? And most memes are about the writer? Well, today I do a meme that would be more accurately described as a youyou. I got this from Lora's Journal, and I hadn't planned on doing it, but it made me smile so much when I got my response that I have to do it.

Leave me your name in the comments and I'll tell you something that I adore about you. Quel fromage, yes, but it made me smile and be happy. If I don't know you, make sure you leave me a blog or something so that I can check you out. :)

PS. Obviously I'm back from the States. Much fun was had and much sugar was consumned, and all of my clothes smell like burnt hot dogs now.

*peeks through the computer*

Hi. I'm still here. I just had a really bad panic attack a couple of days ago (it involved me crying under the covers for about two hours before finally falling asleep. Fun.) and have been dealing with that...part of this therapy was ignoring the computer and sleeping more. It seems to have worked and it was probably just brought on by exhaustion (I'd had about three hours of sleep in two days), emotional drain (my brother had just left to go on cruise ships for the next month), hormones (YAY! PMS!! :P) and general illness.

So, in recap. I'm here, I'm feeling pretty good.

I'll be in the States until Thursday. No email for four days!!! GAH! Updates on more stuff later...

blissssss...

I've been feeling really awesome over the last couple of days...more so than I have in the last several months. Unfortunately for my loyal readership *snickers at self-importance* this has translated into less entries because I'm actually out DOING STUFF and not sitting around on the computer. *glee!*

I've been painting and drawing...soon I will have a gallery on a fantasy/sf art website, which of course I will share the URL.

I've been writing. I have a short story in the works and another novel...neither of which have broken 1000 words yet, but they're being worked on, which is more than I can say about the last six months.

I've been volunteering. I've done some work at an elementary school (currently I'm covered with green paint residue) and I help with kid's karate.

I've been training. Every day I'll do some karate, and I've also been working out on an exercise bike. (Go figure...practice, and one gets better. Who knew?!)

So, yeah. All this is interesting to me, but it doesn't make for very interesting posts. Sorry about that.

Ooh!!

Unfortunately it falls under exotic, expensive and scented (perhaps unpleasantly) but HOW CAN YOU RESIST!?!?!?!

These only get a little bigger, from what I understand. Thanks to kissthis from flickr for letting me link to her photo.

A few things, then a big thing.

Leonard Nimoy's been busy taking photos. Nifty site, but I mostly wanted to let Kit know that it was there, since I didn't tell her about Wil Wheaton's blog.

I'm going down to the States on the 25th until the 28th. Any requests for duty free or Hot Topic? ;) Within reason...

So for the big thing. Some of you may or may not know about my career situation. Basically, I wanted to be a teacher ever since I was in kindergarten. This changed a couple years ago when I burned out really badly when I was tutoring and teaching Sunday School (more like crowd control, since I'm kind of a *fingers in air* godless heathen */fingers* although obviously they didn't know that.). I also went through a serious "I'm never having kids of my own...children are evil" phase. Suddenly I was an English major who didn't want to teach. OH! The humanity. I think pretty much everyone I told asked me if I wanted to be a teacher. ARGH!!! I still loved teaching, as anyone who's ever been caught by me at a party can attest, so I considered doing my masters degree, probably in English so that I could teach people who wanted to be at college (theoretically)

Last year I got back into tutoring, discovered I quite like it and today I finally got my butt into a classroom to see if I liked it. Turns out that for the three hours I was there I really really liked it. As in "I might be able to do this for thirty years". Um...yeah. So I'm volunteering twice a week or so to see what it's like. Holy crap.

Well, darn.

So I discovered today that the "send this gay marriage thing to people" was a hoax. I guess I shouldn't be surprised...but you know what? I'm not actually upset about falling for it. It was neat to see a list of over 100 people who were in favour of gay marriage.

In other news....I bought two bras a few days back. They were the first two bras I tried on in the first store I went to. I even pretty much stopped looking after finding those. This. Never. Happens. It always takes me several hours, starving half to death and maybe finding one that sort of fits. Then the tears start as I realize that I've wasted an entire afternoon and $60+ on a bra that squishes in bad ways and is loose in other ways because the anti-theft tag interfered with the changing room fit. This was actually a nice experience. I spent around $50 for both, and it took me about 10 minutes.

What were YOU doing exactly one year ago today?

At the moment I'm sitting in my parents living room, in a comfy chair in front of my computer chatting with no name yet. One year ago exactly...to the minute...I was sitting in my parents living room, in a comfy chair in front of my computer chatting with no name yet. The major difference is that 365 days ago, NNY was in labour...and now she's got a beautiful one year old daughter.

Happy Birthday Drew!! Well done NNY and Mr. NNY!!

*POING*

I feel SO much better!!! Mental note: exercise helps with depression.

I want peanut butter. And cheese. Maybe together. (it's really good... :D)

It looks like I'm going to be losing one of my students next week. Darn me for doing such a good job...he's improved his reading to the point where he is at grade level. Ah well...if I had to lose a kid, this reason is probably the best one I could think of. :)

(EDIT 7pm: I'M SO FREAKING HUNGRY RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tutoring so I can't go raid the fridge or anything but AUGH!!! SO HUNGRY!!!! This is what happens when I forget to pack some fruit or granola bars or something after kids karate. :P)

25/F craves fuzzy snuggles

I want a pet. I want something that doesn't stay in water 24/7 (got one. HI FISHIE!), or more than four legs (and yes, even if it's crippled and missing several legs, insects and arachnids are RIGHT OUT). Snakes are cool, but not ones that eat rodents. Rodents are fine, as long as they aren't the bite-y kind (like hamsters), or stinky ones. I'm allergic to cats, and don't like the idea of taking dogs for walks, or cleaning up after them. I also don't want something super exotic that is expensive and fragile (ie: chinchilla or hedgehog)

So far my short list appears like-a so.
-rabbit (there's an adorable one at Petcetera that I was petting last night)
-gerbil(s)
-rat(s)
-mouse(mices [sic])
-ferret (probably falls under expensive/stinky category)
-snake (fragile/exotic)
-lizard (not so good with the snuggling)
-guinea pig (I had one for a while...he was COOL)
-bird(s) (Awfully noisy, but really cool. And pretty. I think I'd like an owl, please.)

For birds and small animals, I've already got the cages...I'd just need supplies.

DAMN YOU KEEGAN FOR PLANNING ON GETTING A CAT!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

Blah

I haven't had too much to say...I haven't been doing much. I'm still sick, I'm still tutoring, I'm still going to karate. Pretty much that's it. I'm sleeping a LOT. I'm not really socializing and I read a really good book I borrowed from Dave. (Magician: Apprentice-by Raymond E. Feist)

*sniffle cough*

I wasn't going to do another list but...

Got this in my email...

Hello everyone. It will be interesting to see who responds! I told a guy that I could find 300 people who believe in gay marriage before he could find 300 people who do not believe in gay marriage. If you believe gay marriage should be legal, please copy and paste this onto a blank e-mail form (leaving off the headers). Add your name and send it to your friends and family. If you happen to be the 300th person signing this, please send it back to Andrew Nelson. His e-mail address is: Rnbowzrok4evr@aol.com

Thanks!


1)Taylor 2) Jeremy 3)DUSTIN OH YEAH BABY 4) Michael (equality baby)
5.)jennifer 6.) Jason *love has no boundries nor does it discriminate! if
another guy or ! girl makes you happy and you wanna be with them forever...i
say f*** it...why not! its your life...live it* 7)Jessy~ Totally for it.
Equality. 8)Brian~Love is Love. 9) Olivia 0) Christine 11)Jessie 12)Alex
13)matt 14) Sierra 15) Elz 16)Lizzy Bane 17) Nancy- i love my girlfriend
18)mia-yea!!! 19)ash- yesssssss 20) shannon 21) lyndsey..I LOVE MY BABY!!!
22) Lizbeth 23) Meaghan }i{ 24)Scot 25) Carrie 26) Daniel 27) stephen- i
have 2moms asshole 28) Regina 29) Kathy 30) Matt- Stevehas two moms,
asshole!! 31) Bryan 32.) Seth (sure,why not) 33.) Sherie D. Slobot
34.)KevinHurstell--because church and state go together like chocolate and
bologna 35.) James VanWay 36)Wendy 37)Jane Meredith 38)Kelly Myers 39) Kate
Connell 40) Kendra Connell 41) John Crow 42) Jeremy Greenup 43) Heather
Miller 44) Deb Christy 45) Emma Christy 46)Staci Gray 47)Sara Jane DelMonte
Dodd-because we live in country that built on and believes in "unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" 48)
Cristee Dickson 49) Sammi Miller 50) Mike Zippel 51)Oskar Hallig 52) Bobbie
Hallig 53) Jane Iredale 54) Megan Choquette 55) Marie Myers 56) Marisa V.
57) Katie Boino 58) Robyn 59) Molly Jackson-Watts 60) Amy Wilson 61) Melissa
Whalen 62) Gina Montenaro 63) Karen Vail 64)Amber Clough 65)Sarah
Breidenbach 66) Erin Greenwood 67) Emily Leary 68) Carrie Lewand 69) Sarah
Johnson 70) Barbara Michael 71) Barbara Fuchsman 72) Edith Fuchsman 73)
Susan Egan 74)Jane Miller 75) Phyllis Gorfain 76) David Walker 77) Drew
Krewer 78) Morgan Pitts 78) Carrie Noel-Nosbaum 79) Lindsay Olson 80)Alice
McNeill 81) Jennifer Bell 82) Barbara Kautz 83) Melinda Hodell 84) Gabriele
Goodman 85) Susan Babuka 86) Debbie JJJ 87) Julie McKnight 88) Cinde
McKnight 89) John Conduracki Jr 90) Lauren de Lucia 91) Katherine Skaggs
92) Phillip Skaggs 93) Alexis Decker 94) James Hall 95) Kristy Miller 96)
Samy Seyedi 97) Sandra Burnison 98) Laura Jackson 99) Anna Dunn 100) Tannis
Fleenor 101) Keith Harkness 102) Jenn Cech 103) Kelvin Cech 104) Ashley
Lake 105)Travis Bouchard 106) Paul Hart 107) Dana Reglin 108) Jeff Sloychuk
109) Raegen Olmstead 110) Matt Band 111) David Nagel 112) Michael Redenbach
113) Britt Redenbach 114) Talia Beltgens 115) Heidi Clouse 116) Briana
Peddle 117) Chelsea Peddle 118) Wil George 119)Adeline Huynh 120) Robert Newell 121) Negin Dahya 122) Marissa Liu 123) Zach Shore 124)Sonya Gill 125) Trish W 126) Jessie Dhaliwal 127)Nadine Chambers 128) Karin A.

Bwahahahaha!!!

Thanks to Kristina's comment in my last post, I realized that my last SIX POSTS are comprised of lists, and one of them has two lists. (Ok, so maybe the hair poll isn't exactly a list, but whatever. I figure it's my "List of things to potentially do to my hair")

So, in the spirit of continuing the list theme, and since it's on my To Do list for the week, here is a list of stuff that I want to buy at some point, and which I must save up for. (And there's even a list within a list!!)

-an apartment or a house
-a new computer (laptop with wireless plzkthx)
-a set of eight matching bookcases. (maybe twelve...note to self: calculate volume of remaining books)
-DVDs: Buffy S2-7, Angel S2-5?, Return of the King extended version, Phantom of the Opera (2005), Wagner's Ring Cycle, various 80's fantasy movies that I don't already own, Queer as Folk S1-5 (I know S5 isn't out yet. Oh well.), The L Word S1
-Magic Bullet Blender OR really really good blender
-80+ gallon fish tank and accompanying paraphenalia
-a cleaning service
-amazing, incredible, fully stocked bar (with hot bartenders!!)
-a craft room/shed/studio
-a crotch rocket style motorcycle (and assorted paraphenalia, and lessons)
-scuba lessons
-(OOH! ANOTHER LIST!) trips to: the United Kingdom, New Orleans during Mardi Gras, Australia, cross-Canada, Times Square on New Years Eve, Brazil for Carnivale, Austria, Greece, Italy, Hawaii, Mexico

blogger ate my post.

Quick recap:
-I'm sick and had to cancel plans today.
-I've got dyed hair and it's curly for some reason
-People are finding my photos on flickr and like them.
-I'm very narcissistic...most of my photos are of me. But since I only use my webcam, there's not much else to take pics of around my computer.
-I'm exercising...discovering that the exercise bike in my room is useful for things other than drying towels.
-I'm actually accomplishing stuff...go to do list!

Music Meme in My Pants.

From Donna and Rog... take the next twenty five songs on your playlist and add "in my pants" to the end of it...kind of like the "in bed" fortune cookie game. (Ask Dave about the fortune he got the night he met my parents...hoooooooooo)

But since I've been talking about the Rio, this is pretty appropriate.

1. Into Temptation in My Pants (Yep)
2. More in My Pants (The more the merrier?)
3. Don't Think Twice in My Pants
4. Time Machine in My Pants
5. The Beaches of Cheyenne in My Pants (obviously an inferior bathing suit while body surfing)
6. Sunday Morning After in My Pants
7. Tonight, Tonight in My Pants (Don't need to even comment on that one, that one.)
8. Swimming in Your Ocean in My Pants (related to the Beaches of Cheyenne?)
9. Don't Worry Baby in My Pants
10. Friends In Low Places in My Pants
11. Five Minutes in My Pants (better be longer than five minutes...)
12. Love without Mercy in My Pants
13. I Like To Move It in My Pants (What? Don't you?)
14. Colm Quigley in My Pants (Also various other 'name' songs...Gloria, Vincent, Adrian...not to mention all the CITIES in my pants...)
15. My List in My Pants
16. Kiss From a Rose in My Pants (sans thorns, I hope.)
17. A Kind of Magic in My Pants (Damned straight it's magic down there.)
18. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot in My Pants (I don't swing low, but maybe it's a sweet...um...never mind)
19. Until the End of Time in My Pants
20. Muzzle in My Pants (I'm not into the chastity belt thing, but whatever floats YOUR boat.)
21. Spoonboy in My Pants
22. Love and Affection in My Pants (awwwwww)
23. Nowadays in My Pants
24. A Boy Like That in My Pants (bwa ahahahaha!!!)
25. World Where You Live in My Pants

Honourable mentions: Smoke, Put Your Hand in the Hand, Stay Home, Strawberry Wine, Smells like Funk, Naked, Consequence Free, Summer of '69, Some Lovin', Celebration, Stranger in Paradise

List of Things.

Things that have annoyed me over the last couple days:
-there are sugar ants in my room...right beside my bed. Ee-yuck.
-this was discovered at 3 am, leading me to spend the next two and a half hours cleaning.
-my party on Saturday was cancelled.
-I forgot that I was invited to the lovely peechie's party, so I could have gone there.
-I'm very sore from karate, and I managed to bash my hand while *cough* breakingtrainingboards *cough*. (probably negating my right to complain about it)
-I still haven't gotten to the doctor.

Things that have pleased me over the last couple days:
-giant pretzel sticks
-there's a fair down at Coquitlam Centre that I might go to (I've been craving cotton candy the last couple days)
-my hair is not scary anymore
-my room is getting clean, thanks in part to the above mentioned sugar ants
-my Rio now has 1618 tracks on it, with 125 hours of music. (please don't die again. please don't die again)
-THE ONE WHICH PLEASES ME THE MOST!! I actually feel good. I'm tired from really fracked up sleeping patterns, but I feel as though things are under control. *knock on wood*

Incidentally, someone told me where that comes from...apparently pagan (Irish?) used to believe that spirits and so on lived inside trees, so by saying something then knocking on the wood they lived in, they hoped to get the luck from them. Although if someone started banging on my door, I probably wouldn't be giving them good luck. :)

How to Organize My Books.

OR...
How to Go Bloody Mad in Five Easy Steps

1. Separate fiction and non-fiction/reference

2. Organize the fiction according to genre: science fiction, fantasy, general, romance, historical, classic, kids, horror, humor, action/adventure, crime/detective/police, thriller/espionage, ethnic, family saga, gay and lesbian, inspirational/religious, mystery/suspense, poetry, psychic/supernatural, sports, western, erotica (http://www.blueskypie.com/secondlevelindex/fictioncategories.html)

2a?. Organize any categories with tertiary categories, ie: epic fantasy, space opera, short stories.

OR!!!!
2. Organize fiction purely by alphabetical: Anthology, short story collections, etc... alphabetical by author (sorted chronologically by publishing or written date, except when a portion of a series, then by series position), series not by same author [star trek, forgotten realms, etc...]

OR!!!!
2. Organize the fiction according to loose genre: speculative fiction, horror, children’s, thriller, general, erotica, then alphabetize by author's name.

3. Organize the non-fiction into the ten basic categories in the Dewey Decimal System
000 Generalities, 100 Philosophy and Psychology, 200 Religion, 300 Social Science, 400 Language, 500 Natural Science and Math, 600 Technology (applied sciences), 700 The Arts, 800 Literature and Rhetoric, 900 Geography and History.

4. Organize each of the ten categories into their respective secondary categories. (http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/fi_books_dd_list.htm)

5. Realize that I missed several boxes of books. Repeat.

I'm just trying to get an idea of what people think. Pictures of me are on flickr, down on the sidebar.

How geeky am I?

I'm THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS geeky! *holds arms out as wide as they can go, then jumps from side to side to extend the reach.*

The backstory: Dave gives me to do lists. This is because my to do lists look something like this...

TO DO TODAY
1) Make list
2) Eat some food. Preferably healthy. Or at least non-candy.
3) Clean my whole room. Try to reorganize books as well. (FYI..I have over 2000 books.)
4) Find a career.
4a) Retire with lots of money.
5) Get married and have babies. (4a and 5 are allowed to be switched)
6) Achieve black belt status in karate. Consider taking up fencing.
7) Fill up the car with gas.
8) Write another novel
9) Book ten parties.

His look more like this:
1) Something cute and fun (like cuddle with him)
2) Clean room for ten minutes
3) Do fifteen crunches
4) Read a book or knit and relax for at least half an hour.
5) Make five phone calls for Passion Parties.
6) Write 100 words for my teacher application essay
7) Go to a website and research information for a disc golf camping trip.
8) Figure out a plan for organizing your books.

Anyway, I'm currently doing #8 on his list. Since I have over 2000 books (I really should count them someday. Maybe while I'm organizing them.), this is necessary. As to the title of this post...I'm going to organize my non-fiction books loosely based on the Dewey Decimal System.

I am SUCH a geek.

(Edit: I just realized that I wrote for ten minutes to set the stage for a paragraph that lasted less than four lines. LAAAAME. Oh, and my Rio now has all the tracks back on it, I'm ripping more of my CDs and I STILL don't have my gorram tags properly aligned. [I'd forgotten that I'd fixed a bunch of the file names when I first put them on.])

Warning: F-bombs ahead

My goddamned fucking piece of shit $400 MP3 player bit it today. I needed to reformat the enitre fucking thing, after spending waaaaay too much time today fixing the music tags. I lost all my playlists, all the songs (luckily I had backups, except for one CD and the preloaded stuff) and ALL MY TAGS! Bloody flaming...argh! I need to go to bed. Currently it's sucking back the over 1000 tracks from my computer. This may take a few minutes.

I just turned on the light to go to bed, and the fucker just blew out on me. I'm leaving before I blow up my computer, the fish tank and the microwave. I think I'm making a command decision not to watch any Queer as Folk or knit to calm down, since I seem to be sending out a destructive wave of tachyons or something.

Seriously, people should pay me to walk through their competitor's R&D areas. I'd blow them all to pieces.

I'm not pretending that anyone broke my website anymore. It seems to be bad karma (pun NOT intended...my MP3 player is a Rio Karma.)

Oh, and I'm not thrilled with my hair right now either. I need a straightening iron or I look like Bozo the Clown. (Can't sleep, the clowns will eat me. *shiver* I hate clowns.) (Edit: I just noticed that the ad on my sidebar was for wigs. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!)

(I know. I know. My problems are tiny compared to everyone else's, but DAMMIT! They're MY problems and at almost 4 am, they're fricking huge)

Not an April Fools Joke.

I just saw gas at $101.9 per litre on my way home from Dave's. ARGH!

Oh, and we watched a movie. Within the movie, was an um, movie that I own. I was amused.

April Fools!

*love*

Hehehe.

Edit: to see the April Fools site click here.

Ooh, my tummy...

I must stop with the eating of the peanut butter chocolate eggs from Easter. Bad Easter bunny! No more peanut butter chocolate egg-y goodness! >:(

So, my hair has been cut, and it looks pretty darned good. I have captured the "day of getting the haircut" hair on "film" (check out the flickr stuff down on the sidebar), since I'll never be able to make it straight like that ever again. From what I could tell, it involved a hair straightening iron, defrizzing goop, virgin's blood and seven nude priestesses dancing around me chanting. I'm not sure exactly how I'll duplicate that, but I'm taking auditions for the part of the nude priestesses this weekend. *blinks innocently*

Actually, it wasn't that difficult, but I'm still not going to be able to duplicate it, I'm sure.

whoops

I forgot to make an appointment doctor's yesterday and it looks like I'm jampacked booked up for the rest of the week, so next week. :P

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!! I'm gonna get my hair cut now, I think. Nothing drastic (which is what I say EVERY time)

I wonder how irritated they'll be with my pink hair. :)

Purchases today

2 discs (frisbees) for disc golf
hair bleach and dye to normalize my hair colour
anti-frizz stuff for my hair
Buffy Season 1, Angel Season 1 (on sale for $30 each, and a coupon for $20 off another season was included in each)

Viewer Participation Time

Ok, I'm asking people who read this to help me out with some things. First, I was watching SpongeBob SquarePants (yeah, shut up. I was babysitting.) (or however the spelling is) and they were talking about really bad swear words. Apparently there are thirteen of them, or something. I've come up with about six...but that's it. Anyone wanna try to figure out some more?

Also, time for an internet diagnosis (a la someone whom I can't remember...Sarcastic Journalist, maybe...) . For the last couple of weeks, I've been nauseated, stomach ache, headache, dizzyness and light headed, absolutely exhausted, and completely unmotivated to do anything. Any guesses? I'll be going to the doctor's on Tuesday, so I'll probably be getting some bloodwork and stuff done so I might even find out what it is for sure. I'll give you all a gimme...I'm not pregnant. :P

So, my guess is catscratch fever. :)

To Do: Application Version 1.0

-1 or 2 reference letters
-Write PDP essay
-Fill out application form
-Figure out all of my jobs ever, and when I did them
-Talk to teachers for volunteering in their classrooms
-

Exercise today:

KNITHULU!!!

FEAR!!

Actual phone call.

Lady: Hi, is Taryn there?
Karin: mishearing her and thinking she's asking for Karin This is Karin.
L: Hi Taryn, this is name forgotten. My daughter took down your number yesterday when you called.
K: frantically trying to remember who I'd called Oh! Yes, of course. How are you? Who had I called yesterday?! Someone for Passion Parties? Tutoring? Job offer? WHAT ELSE?????
L: I'm fine. So, you had said that you would want to bring your girls in Tuesday between 10 and 12. Is that still ok with you?
K: now very confused I'm sorry, who did you say you were? wondering if I'd made an appointment with a mammogram or something...but why a doctor's office would call my breasts "the girls" is kind of escaping me at the moment.
L: This is first and last name forgotten.
K: I'm sorry, this is totally confusing me. What is this in regards to?
L: probably thinking I'm a total spaz I'm a tutor?
K: Oh, weird. You were looking for Karin?
L: No, Taryn.
K: I'm sorry. This is the wrong number. I don't have any kids...I'm a tutor too...now I'm babbling. Sorry.
L: DEFINITELY thinking I'm a total spaz Um. That's ok. Have a good day.
K: Uh, yeah. You too. hangs up

What a surreal experience. :P

*siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

I'm soooo tired. I want to stop feeling icky. I want to stop being tired all the time. I want to feel optimistic again. I want to look forward to things. I want to stop wanting things. I want to know what I'm doing with my life. I want to know what I'm doing next week! I want to want things enough to do something about them and stop whining about it on my blog and on the phone.


ARGH!