Two Black Dresses, originally uploaded by Random Synapses.

More pics up at Flickr.

The Other List

Every day I'm going to try and do a little bit in at least one of the following categories. I've come up with some priorities for what is important in my life. In no particular order...

1) Relationships: Chill out with Dave, Kit, Bimkins, Gwynabella, beverly_sutphin and/or other friends. Catch up on their lives. Help them catch up with mine.
2) Health and fitness: Do something active, eat healthy, get enough sleep.
3) Financial: Currently, this means "get a job"...filling out applications, etc.
4) Creative: Do some sewing, or painting, or writing, or play my guitar, or something along those lines.
5) Spiritual: Talk to a tree. Stare at the moon. KILL THOSE FSCKING CROWS THAT WON'T SHUT UP!!! er...this one I probably need to work on... Just chilling out also counts.
6) Personal space: Cleaning my room and organizing, and getting rid of stuff.

The first list is down there.
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Slowly moving down the list...

-Make to do list
-Apply for BCCT membership and TQS card
-apply to a multitude of school boards
-finish secret project #1
-finish hemming two skirts
-look for a Rufus stuffed animal (I found one online for about $15 USD, including shipping etc. I'm sorely tempted.)
-take a whack of film to be developed
-finish cleaning my #$#()#ing room
-prune my rose bushes
-look up when my doctor's appointment is for a physical (bleah) AUGUST 21st 9:30 AM
-help my mom put together our new kitchen (hopefully it will be finished by the end of next week...)
-help my mom organize our basement (I'm being bribed with the possibility of moving the sewing machine and serger into the room next to mine... GLEE!)
-burn DVDs of stuff my computer has recorded. (Two down, many to go.)
-get my hair trimmed and manicure my nails
-get rid of 50% of the stuff I own that isn't craft stuff. (Living in the same house for nearly 27 years means a hella lot of build up. :P)
-find school library book
-photocopy stuff that my sponsor teacher loaned me (for that purpose)
-find stuff that belongs to my sponsor teacher and sponsor school that I forgot to give back
-register for karate at the rec centre
-remember to post about karate at the rec centre
-look into gymnastics and hip hop lessons for sometime in the semi-distant future. (Club Omega in Coquitlam is probably the closest to what I want and there are hip hop classes at the community centre that sound really good.)

*irritable*

What the hell? I printed out application forms and wrote down instructions for ten or so school districts and left them on my desk where I'd be able to find them for when I wanted to fill them out. Well, I want to fill them out...and do YOU think I can find them?

You get two guesses, and the first one doesn't count.

OMG.

Phantom? Was awesome.

Can't talk...exhausted. Pics of Kit and I all sexy'd up will arrive shortly.

OMG, what an incredible show.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

In the interests of actually shaping my life and skills in the ways I want (OMG, thanks Gwynabella...) I have done the following...

-yesterday I fooled around on the sewing machine and serger, just playing around and learning how they work better.
-also yesterday, I worked out on the bike for a little while and used the resistance bands that Dave loaned me.
-today I got up early and am heading to a serger class so that I can learn how to use the serger even better! :)

Secret Project #1, originally uploaded by Random Synapses.

It's finally almost finished...Now that I've shown this baby quilt to the recepient, I can post a picture of it. :) It's for beverly_sutphin and her new baby boy.

Planning

My schedule for the next week...for me, and for others who are interested.

Monday: Hanging out with beverly_sutphin and family during the day.
Tuesday: maybe seeing my cousin, Kit sleeping over.
Wednesday: serger class in the AM, hanging out with Kit, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA in the evening.
Thursday: maybe seeing my cousin, karaoke night (WHEEEEEEE!!!)
Friday: Free?
Saturday: Saturdays in the Park, Grouse Grind with karate...I think I'll be taking the gondola, as I'm still not 100%
Sunday: Free?

List of things to do this week in between social things:
-Make to do list
-Apply for BCCT membership and TQS card
-apply to a multitude of school boards
-finish secret project #1
-finish hemming two skirts
-look for a Rufus stuffed animal (I found one online for about $15 USD, including shipping etc. I'm sorely tempted.)
-take a whack of film to be developed
-finish cleaning my #$#()#ing room
-prune my rose bushes
-look up when my doctor's appointment is for a physical (bleah) AUGUST 21st 9:30 AM
-help my mom put together our new kitchen (hopefully it will be finished by the end of next week...)
-help my mom organize our basement (I'm being bribed with the possibility of moving the sewing machine and serger into the room next to mine... GLEE!)
-burn DVDs of stuff my computer has recorded.
-get my hair trimmed and manicure my nails
-get rid of 50% of the stuff I own that isn't craft stuff. (Living in the same house for nearly 27 years means a hella lot of build up. :P)
-find school library book
-photocopy stuff that my sponsor teacher loaned me (for that purpose)
-find stuff that belongs to my sponsor teacher and sponsor school that I forgot to give back
-register for karate at the rec centre
-remember to post about karate at the rec centre
-look into gymnastics and hip hop lessons for sometime in the semi-distant future.

Some of that stuff obviously isn't crucial...but still. It's there for reference.

Insert interesting title over there. ---->

WARNING: This post contains some sycophantic self congratulations, and some blowing off of steam, and lots of introspection...but no dream descriptions. I'll spare you THAT. My dreams have been WHACKED OUT lately...I kid you not.

But if anyone's interested I'll transcribe some of them later from my paper journal.

This is a very odd entry...believe me, I'm ok. Just feeling odd and needing to spill my binary guts. Please bear with me. :P

I'm in a very weird headspace right now. Maybe I'm over-blank. Over-tired, over-stimulated, over-sugared, over-media'd, over-heated. Maybe I'm under-blank. Under-stimulated, under-exercised, under-fed, under-wear *.

A big change is happening, which isn't really big, I guess...but sure seems like it sometimes. More details forthcoming.

I feel like I'm saying that a lot these days.

I am SO SICK of feeling tired all the time. Today I went without a nap because I was at my cousin Kristy's bridal shower, and then went to visit Dave. The shower was really nice. :) I'm glad I went, but it's one of those odd things when someone you grew up with gets married. I haven't really had anyone I've grown up with get married, so this is kind of new to me.

Dave and I watched "Butterfly Effect" and it. Was. SO. Good. I'm really not an Ashton Kutcher fan, but he was amazing in it...just staggeringly good. The movie was unreal. We had the choice of the director's cut and the theatrical release and we watched the former. I want to watch the theatrical release in a couple of weeks. It was so intense that I couldn't watch it again sooner.

My brain hurts...not like, actual pain ** but sort of itching...like...restless. What should I do with this itch? Currently, I'm dealing with it by writing this post...but I don't know what I'm going to do after I finish it. I'm totally exhausted. I want to create. I want to sew or paint or draw or write...this hyperactive insane urge to create is very new to me and it's kind of freaking me out a little. I've always liked making stuff...jewellery, etc. but it feels like a switch has been turned on in my brain that is making me desperately need to spew creativity out *** onto something and it doesn't matter if it's a computer screen or paper, or a sketch pad or a yard of fabric.

*Just seeing if you're paying attention.
**Which, may I say, is a very nice change from the headache I've had for the last few days.
***Apparently just because I feel creative doesn't mean I actually write creative metaphors.

I feel like I should be further ahead in some things. I see people do things that they've obviously worked very hard at for many years and I want to be able to do them NOW. Examples: martial arts, sewing, painting, writing, gymnastics. Even lifting heavy objects...I don't like the limitations that my body currently has, especially with having been sick. I guess it's because my mind was so stretched out this year, and I've never really failed at anything mentally ** that I've tried to do. I keep meaning to take the Mensa test, because I'm crazy intelligent. Obnoxiously so at times...eg: this entire paragraph. I heard variations of "not living up to her potential" a LOT throughout elementary school. Sometimes I wonder if I'm cheating the world by not becoming a doctor or a physicist or something. Other times I really honestly wonder if I'm just such an egomaniac that I believe I've got some kind of gift that sets me apart from the rest of the world.

*which I've never really done...so I don't know why I expect this
**except Chem 11, but that doesn't really count because I didn't try because I hated it...and also certain logic arguments with Dave, but that also doesn't count because either Dave's a super freakishly smart guy with super logic training (true) or he is a big cheater head and clonks me on the head any time I start to win one of those arguments (I'm pretty sure that's not true...not entirely convinced though).

Discoveries...

I'm not sure which of the two I'm more pleased to discover.


Are my mom and I the only ones who remember the Butterscotch Mint lifesavers? I tried to find a picture of them online without success. I couldn't even find reference to them. It's like the company has disavowed all knowledge of them...spooooooooky.



The mystery of the headaches has been solved!! My parents and I both have had continual headaches since the paint and stain began being used in the kitchen renovations. SUCCESS!

Wait...does this mean I've got to stop self-medicating with caffiene?

Woo! Efficiency!

So far today I have gotten up at 5:30, worked out at the gym, had a healthy breakfast, watched some TV and done some crossword with my mom.

Yeesh. So much for getting to sleep in on my vacation!

Ok, I'm ready to go back to bed now. :P

Oh, and I've STILL got that headache from yesterday. *grumble*

Ugh

I've got a heaaaadache... :P

I dropped off the tickets today in Maple Ridge. Apparently the woman who's going to see Phantom tomorrow night is really excited. :) I'm so happy that the tickets were bought by someone who is going to enjoy them rather than a scalper, who was the first bid.

I started sewing a very cute skirt in this style but in a mint green fabric with pink flowers on it and it will have a black band along the top. The fabric sounds hideous, but it's really nice. It's very retro and it SWIRLS like a dancer's skirt! I love it so far. :D

HOLY CRAP I'M FINISHED SCHOOL!! I'M NOT A STUDENT ANY MORE! THIS IS A LABEL I'VE HAD FOR THE LAST 22 YEARS! I NEVER HAVE TO GO BACK TO UNIVERSITY AGAIN UNLESS I WANT TO OR ELSE I CAN'T GET A JOB!! OH MY GOD, I DON'T HAVE A JOB YET! OMG OMG OMG...

*hyperventilates and goes to sit in a corner*

I think I need some serious chocolate ice cream...or Half Baked. And chicken curry...or something like that. And alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

Whoa. I feel dizzy.

Hooray for Gravol!

Last night, I remembered I bought Gravol* in anticipation of going to Vancouver Island, the trip I didn't actually get to go on. :( However, I still have the Gravol! I take one and chat with Kit online for a few minutes, then it starts looking like this:

Karin said: maybe I should go back to bed and wait for sleepy making t o kcikin
Karin said: whops. htere it goes

And then I went to bed and passed right completely out, waking up at 8:30...half an hour before my last class of my career was to start. It's at least an hour's drive, plus I'd need to get ready still, I still had a vicious headache and I could feel cramps starting. I said, "forget it", emailed my prof and went back to bed.

Currently, at 1200, after sleeping for a while, while using too many commas, I still have the vicious headache, my cramps are worse and I'm really glad I stayed home. I also feel bad about it. :( I really really enjoyed the class I'm missing, and this would be only the third and a half day I've missed classes this entire year **. Now, telling you this is a scary bad thing, because every time that I brag about not missing any classes, I get so sick that within a week I've missed one. Maybe by bragging now, I'm taking up the slack for today. It's a nice thought...

*Actually no name brand "Travel Tabs". They were $1.85.
**Plus one day of practicum

Ohhhhh...my tummy.

I feel so sick, I think I might actually throw up. THIS SUCKS! Not only am I so overtired I can't sleep, but I'm so overtired that I'm nauseated. Unnngghhhhh...

Ooh!

I can see the moon through my basement window! This doesn't happen very often. Nifty.

I've already asked Gwynabella about this, but I'm going to put a shout out to all transit riders. I don't ride the bus a whole lot, since I'm supremely lucky to have a boyfriend who will go to work very early so that I can catch a ride with him. However, a few times in the last couple of weeks I've wanted to leave a little earlier, so I took the bus home.

Twice now, out of maybe five or six rides that I was alone on, in between stops, on a three quarters empty bus, a man has gotten up from his perfectly suitable seat (ie: I don't think sun was a factor, and there wasn't anyone near him) and come to sit next to me. Is this unusual? Because it kind of freaked me out...and they both kind of smelled bad. Man, I know I look good in them, but maybe I should stop wearing skirts...

It's That Day Again!

1200-fiddling around on the computer, very tired, debating whether or not I should go to bed.

145-finally go to bed, write in my paper journal and fall asleep.

1007-wake up, get up and check my email, chat with Dave on MSN about what we're going to do today. Realize that today is the sixth already, and that it's the Day in the Life.

1039-have my first pop of the day, caffiene free Diet Coke.

1118-start cleaning my room, fiddle with my settings for my computer to tape TV, make a list of all the Kim Possible episodes I currently have saved. Delete a bunch of stuff so that I can have room for new stuff.

1149-have lunch with my mom and dad (cheese, crackers, various spreads).

1252-go back to cleaning my room, watching Corner Gas on my computer

149-Dave comes over to play on my computer while I clean my room. This is a very good thing because a) I'm not on my computer, b) when someone else is here, I don't wander around upstairs or read a book and c) when I'm cleaning I need something slightly distracting, but not so much that I'm super distracted. Semi-watching someone play games is perfect. I drink my second pop of the day, Lime Diet Coke

507-I realize it's after five and I'm kind of hungry. Dinner is thought about, but since our kitchen is being renovated, there's not much to do. I sulk for a while, watch Dave play Bard's Tale (because I want to be left alone) and fall asleep.

655-I wake up. Whoops. I insist on cuddles with Dave before he needs to go.

712-Dave leaves and I wander around upstairs for a while.

739-I make dinner, which is suspiciously like lunch...crackers with melted cheese, but I also have some Raisin Bran Crunch cereal beforehand. With the crackers and cheese I have my THIRD pop of the day, plain Diet Coke. And I wonder why I have a bad stomach. I work on the crossword puzzle that my parents and I always work on as a team. I fill in ten or so words. Go me!

822-I show my mom the progress in my room. Yay! I swap my third load of laundry, and realize that the bag I put all of my fabric scraps in (so that they don't fall all over the place in the washer) opened up, leading them to fall all over the place in the washer. Bother. I untangle them from my clothes and put them all in the dryer. I'm so very sick of laundry.

852-I finish writing this post, up to this point.

More to come...

Test Update

So, I didn't take the test today after all...because my prof cancelled it! I would LOVE this class if it wasn't for all the uncertainty. :P

I mostly finished a skirt today. I should probably hem it, but the bottom is serged and it doesn't look too bad. I kinda like it that way. Pictures later.

I did a bunch of quizzes, so here are my results.

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 6/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Your Stress Level is: 55%

You are somewhat prone to stress, especially when life gets hard. When things are good, you resist stressing over little problems. But when things are difficult, you tend to freak out and find it hard to calm down.

How Stressed Are You?

Your 1950s Name is:

Phyllis Dorothy

What's your 1950s Name?

You Should Weigh 145

If you weigh less than this, you either have a fast metabolism or are about to gain weight. If you weigh more than this, you may be losing a few pounds soon!

How Much Do You Weigh?

Your Hair Should Be Red

Passionate, fiery, and sassy. You're a total smart aleck who's got the biggest personality around.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

You Have A Type B+ Personality

You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Your Geek Profile:

Academic Geekiness: Highest SciFi Geekiness: Highest Gamer Geekiness: Moderate Geekiness in Love: Moderate Music Geekiness: Moderate Fashion Geekiness: Low Internet Geekiness: Low Movie Geekiness: Low General Geekiness: None

How Geeky Are You?

A Big List of Stuff

(rant)
I'm in this class. We're regurgitating the textbook in presentations and that's all the class is. Grr...the prof hasn't taught us anything all term. Also, we haven't had any feedback on any of our assignments, we're losing out 14+ hours of teaching time (out of a possible 36) and we have a quiz tomorrow. ARGH! Now I have several choices. I can take this quiz tomorrow (Friday) and having a four day weekend and only needing to go to school on Wednesday, taking it next Tuesday and having a three day weekend only needing to go in Wednesday or taking it Friday and needing to go in Tuesday, Wednesday AND Friday. I need to go in tomorrow anyway, so I think I'll decide when I get there. I emailed my prof and hopefully she'll give me my feedback. I'll be a lot less stressed if I know that I had a high enough mark that I could just not take the test and I'd still pass the course. It's only worth 25% of my mark and I need 76% to pass. Yuck.
(/rant)

I followed a raven yesterday. It was pretty cool. :D I also ate vast quantities of huckleberries after picking them myself, walked through a Japanese garden and looked at some beautiful museum objects. I looked at all of these pieces of art that were all so different, but they all had one thing in common. Someone, somewhere had a vision of beauty, and they took materials...clay, paint, wood or wool...and made these incredible representations of their thoughts. This...THIS is what I want to do.

Today I went through a community centre near Chinatown and learned about the work that they do, including a breakfast program for the children in the area. It was awesome. I'd been worried about getting into an inner city school when I finally had my own classroom, but now I'm almost HOPING to be put in a poorer section of the Lower Mainland. I've got a bunch of ideas for how to help my students. We also toured Chinatown, including a Taoist temple. It was really neat! I burned some incense and said a prayer while there were seven or eight people (monks and nuns?) chanting and ringing chimes. It was truly amazing.

This has been a pretty spiritual week. Between ravens and museums and gardens and incense and picking my own food, I'm feeling awfully serene, despite the annoyance of this class. Could this be because I've only got two more class days??? I think it might be!

Also! I have an auction up on ebay via my friend...Phantom of the Opera tickets...fifth row, August 11th. If you're interested, please bid, or let other people know that they're there. Thank you!

Good Guesses!

I don't really want to post what I actually did to get my arms all scraped up...I like the guesses better! But, I did promise, and it is a day late.

Picture, if you will, one of the movie popcorn promo buckets. Now, picture me in short sleeves, toting said bucket. Now, after one hour, picture said bucket 3/4 filled with sweet, succulent blackberries, for my sweet boyfriend. Awwwww...

Incidentally, there's a correlation between the biggest clumps of the biggest, ripest blackberries and the greatest amount of thorns between the picker and the clump.

Today was awesome. I only have two (2!!!) days of classes left, due to field trips and other things. I have a field trip to Chinatown tomorrow (w00t!) to learn about the immigration headtax and a community centre that continues the local school's free breakfast and lunch program in the summer when the school is (obviously) closed. Friday I have a quiz. Monday is a stat holiday (BC day). Tuesday I'm supposed to go visit the Museum of Anthropology on my own, but I went yesterday, so I now have Tuesday off (whee! Four day weekend!). Wednesday I have class, but it's going to be fun. I love my Exceptionalities class. And I'm not just saying that because my prof probably has this address * or anything. ;) Thursday and Friday, my classes are finished for that day. Holy crap. I've only got two days left.

*Hi Raquel!

Today...today pretty much rocked.

The fast version: I got early morning snuggles when I went to Dave's to get my lift to school, I worked out the above calculations, had an interesting class, went swimming for free, had lunch for partly free, studied for my quiz which will be pretty easy, went home with Dave and had a good dinner.

Swimming: At lunch time, students at my university are allowed to swim for free, so I arranged to be there at that time. I started out swimming in the moderate lane (slow, moderate or fast were my options) but got passed with AUTHORITY before I'd gone half a length. This was somewhat demoralizing. I've never been a ridiculously fast swimmer, but I can usually keep up. I switched to the slow lane where it took me ten minutes to swim four lengths of the Olympic sized outdoor pool, since I needed to rest after every length. This was also very depressing, so I took my towel and headed into the complex. While there, I decided not to give up so quickly, so I started slowly doing laps of the shorter pool. My goal was to do ten minutes, to match my outside stuff. I reached the end of the ten minutes, but I was on the other side of the pool, so I swam back. When I reached the end, it was pretty close (ish) to 15 minutes, so I bullied myself into going for that amount of time. I did that a few more times, and wound up swimming for 35 minutes. That doesn't really sound like much, but it's the most activity I've done in a row since Pender Island...over a month ago. I was completely exhausted by the end of it. I was resting every so often still because I was having a bit of trouble breathing still (freaking pneumonia) but I did 35 minutes worth of swimming.

I am so incredibly proud of myself.

Oh, and I drank three lime Diet Cokes. I'll just sit here vibrating for a while, shall I?