I made it. Safe.

Hey guys, just letting you know I made it back safe and sound to Saskatoon, and I will post pictures and cartoons when I have a minute. It's so busy over the holidays, and I hope your holidays are as nice as mine! =)

Sigh. Merry Christmas.

Leaving in like, how many hours? 5 or 6? I need to sleep? What's that? Anyways, I am finally on my way, my special trip I have been planning ever since I left Belgium. Before I go to bed, I thought it best to pause for a second, and recap on a couple of things.

First, I was very sad to leave Belgium. So it will be interesting to see what I feel about it coming back, as a stranger. (Or 'een Butenlaander' I think it how you say it...) I have put a lot of time into contacting a lot of my friends in Belgium, and hopefully I will have a chance to see most of them. I probably will miss a few here and there, but I will try and see them all.

Second, travelling in a new country is always stressful. I am praying and hoping there are no plane crashes, no stolen anything, and no major stresses in Italy. Mixed language and grumpy foriegn people no problem. Lost passport or missing credit card, I will simply die. Up and hang myself from the nearest church belfry (which should be too hard considering we will be in Rome. Ha. ha.)

Third, this will be my first time in my life missing Christmas with my family. I don't know if I'll like it or dislike it, I imagine it has ups and downs attached. But I will be back to see them after the 25th, quite soon, and it has been good talking to my parents preparing for this trip. They've been really great about it.

Even though things here are falling apart around my ears here, (don't ask, and/or I'll tell you around Christmas) I am happy that I have so many good friends, abroad and even a few in Toronto, which are definitely of the strange and unique variety. (Minus Sarah D, who is probably the most normalizing individual I ever met.)

I wish you all the best in the season, and the best for the New Year. Happy Holidays, and I'll try and update photos as I go, but it'll be a challenge. I hope you all have safe holidays, and remember, everything in moderation except giving! =)

Can you believe this? Do I live under a rock?

I gotta be honest with you, I have no idea what TiVo really is, except that everyone will have something like it once tv goes completely digital.

But this article about people with PVR or TiVO guilt is too much. Seriously, people feel bad about not having enough time to watch entertainment they download? More importantly, who cares? Can I have this guy's job? Can someone please start writing slightly more interesting things about technology? Please?


More importantly, does this author not realize that TiVO is for adults in the way that Veoh, and MySpace TV and MegaUpload are for people in my generation who simply can't be bothered to pay for something when they can get it semi-legally off of their very generous high speed internet connection? I mean seriously, except for my friends earning generous salaries, who even watches tv on the tv anymore? I know I don't and why would I, when, for a hit in the video quality (Which I don't really care about, all you high-def tv nerds) I can avoid all commercials? You know how much of a bonus that is? Can I stop ending my sentences with a question mark? Can I?

Anyways, I leave for Europe on Sunday. Not much is going on here, except for the fact that where I work got broken into again, and this time they broke the lock on the door, and stole stuff from Mimi's (the director) office for the second time this year, stealing her laptop yet AGAIN. It's a real shame. Thankfully, I was nowhere near the office when any of this happened so I don't have to be involved in any of it. But it's still really sad people keep breaking into St. Mike's.

Winners!

Hi all!

Sorry about not posting yesterday, I've been a little sick all week. Anyways, the winner is:

*drum roll*

Graham!

*Wild applause*

I thank everyone who participated in the contest, special mention goes to Andrea, who threatened to beat me up if I didn't post the winners within the next few minutes!

For the answers, do any of you recognize this?

Punch Out! was a very popular back in the NES days, even if you didn't like sports games. It's right up there with Excitebike, which was also a fantastic game!

Graham will be receiving a VERY special prize which I will try and have ready by the time I visit him. Y'all know I'm visiting him in the U.K., right?

And shame on all of you who couldn't google the words 'boxing' and 'nes' in the same search box. Shame!

Will post the results of said prize on blog when I get a chance.

Happy weekend!

One of the best books I've ever read

I'm begging you. If you like academia at all, read this book.

But maybe don't read it when you have insomnia. Like me.

But still, I now have a new favourite book. Even though I'll never read it again, I really loved this big, big, BIG book.

And the ending was GREAT.

=D

Contest results later this evening.

Contest Closed!

I received all the enteries, and I will sort through them all and determine a winner. Thanks to everyone who participated this time around! I will hopefully be able to determine the winner by sometime this week, Wednesday or Thursday, I imagine.

Today is World AIDS Day

I know this isn't a pleasant subject, but it's something I have been more in contact with since moving to Toronto. Before living in Toronto, I couldn't name a single person I knew that had HIV or AIDS.

I now know at least ten.

According to Health Canada, about 56,000 people have HIV/AIDS, and almost 30% of those people are not aware that they have it.

While I don't necessarily promote condom usage (I would rather you would all just get married and have babies or abstain from sex if you can, for heaven sakes) I would say be safe and get yourself tested if you do have sex with someone before marriage.

Health Canada recommends these steps to prevent getting HIV/AIDS:

• Use latex condoms to make sexual activity safer.


• Postpone or abstain from sexual activities and reduce your number of partners.


• Discuss HIV with your partner and have sex only with a partner who agrees to use a latex condom.


• Never share needles or injection equipment.


• If you are getting a tattoo, body piercing or acupuncture, ensure that all equipment is sterile.


• If you are pregnant and concerned about HIV, talk with your doctor about being tested. Early treatment with medication can prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to baby before birth.


• If you have engaged in risky behavior, get tested.

And as far as the stats go, it's mostly white men that have it. (Make of that what you will.) Most importantly, just consider sexual health to be another important part of your life. Stay healthy.