Cartoon of September

Yes, yes, I've been meaning to put this up for ages. However, since it took so longer I decided to put it up in colour! Isn't that great! Of course, that means it took longer.


....


We'll have to see how we feel about this colouring business. Maybe it doesn't really make a difference. Maybe let me know. I have another cartoon I'm 1/4 finished, so maybe I'll put that up in the near future. I'm getting back into the swing of a 'routine' so it's making it easier to do these things again. Also, I have been dusting off my art skills, which I have left in the drawer for about, oh, 5 months, so I'm a little rusty. =/ Rats.

As for this cartoon, this is an event that may or may not have happened.

Augh

Hey guys, sorry, the cartoon will take longer than expected...I have ran into technical difficulties, but I'll update tomorrow, I think. Anyways, in other news, I just learned how to play Guitar Hero! Wow, I'm good at it! =D Anyways, more news later!

Art Stuff

I was currently being mezmerized by this. Man, this person can paint quite well, but I never realized how MANY drawing 5 minute tutorials there really are. Geez.

Cartoon should be up in a bit.

CUPE

Well, I have to say, I don't know what to say about this, but from what I can tell, no one really knows what is going on. The support workers of the U of S are striking, and no one seems to happy about it. There is a very interesting discussion that CUPE links to on the OffSound board on the Star Phoenix, the local newspaper, which gives a pretty good idea to how confused people are.

For those of you who don't want to read, here are the problems:

-The newspaper article written somewhat in favour of CUPE was badly, badly written. It basically made the union look bad because it mentioned the pay increases and talks about how much the President of the University gets, not how much the workers get.

-There is a lot of talk about performance reviews, and the fact that these performance reviews can't be challenged. This may be very, very bad for people who have disabilities, or for people with clear conflicts of interest with their managers, which is what always happens in a research environment. This links into the next issue, which is

-Employee shortage. The support staff say that they are looked down on because they ask for more employees or more wages, and never get them, and then everyone complains about how lazy the CUPE workers are.

-Of course, the next issue is that the public percieve (both students and private sector people) the CUPE workers as lazy, and that they don't deserve to strike for the wages they have, and how horribly inconvienced everyone is by this strike. My little brothers are angry that people are on strike, and they don't even know what it is about, but enjoy catcalling at everyone on strike as we drive by. Typical.

-There is also an issue that the person planning to put this in place, Barbara Daigle, was fired from the University of Calgary as VP of HR, and has decided to implent this issue of performance based pay increases (which are somewhere around 2% per year). This would, perhaps, be less of a problem if Daigle hadn't been fired, and most people see the U of S as picking up Albert's trash. Hm.

-Lastly, and probably most of the reason why there is a strike, is housing increases. Most of the employees do get paid alright (according to this) but definitely nowhere near the industry standard. This would probably be fine (since if you live in Saskatchewan you aren't here to make money anyway) except for the huge increase in housing costs for, well, everything. Perhaps the most telling thing about this strike from the housing angle is that most people are striking because they can't currently pay their rent, not their mortgage.


My thoughts, so far:

While I agree that some people complain about 'unskilled workers' and perhaps there is some truth to that, there also needs to something said for people who do it. Most people, probably myself included, are too much of snobs to clean toilets for a living. Given that these people who are support workers either get no respect, or rich kids who go to university have no idea these people even exist, they certainly deserve some credit. Considering that a Canadian campus is a havenly bubble of stupidity in regards to how the 'real world' works, this goes, I'd say, unilaterally for everyone in it. Most of this could probably be solved if the CUPE workers weren't already concerned that most of their jobs were on the line.

Second, I think the major issue that is also being raised is about employee benefits and consideration. There is a suddenly a housing crisis, and the university responds with some kind of performance review for the people who are probably paid the least in the university setting? (Minus sessional lecturers, of course, har har.) Clearly there was a bit of a misunderstanding from the HR point of view, which once again, can only point to the current VP of HR.

Well, there's a lot of nasty issues here, I just hope they get resolved soon.

Anyways, cartoon tomorrow or Wednesday.

Fall

Hey there guys and gals,


Well, I've been doing my own thing, which is why I have been away from the blogging lately. There is a cartoon coming soon, but it will have to wait because I'm pretty tired. Yawn. Lots of doing homework these days with my brothers which has been nice, and also difficult at times. Anyways, the weather here is beautiful for Saskatchewan, and only now is the weather changing. I forgot about all the leaves, especially all the leaves I have to rake! Anyways, it's nice being here. Hopefully a cartoon in a bit, I already know what it's going to be, I just have to make it. We'll see...lots to do before halfway through November. =/

Ok, later days!

WAY too cute

I hate linking sometimes, but Chris sent me this, and it's been a while since I've laughed out loud at stuff like this. =)

OH MY GOSH

Well, for once, it's NOT my fault I'm not updating. Blogger's photo thingy is down. It says it will be fixed eventually...hopefully this means eventually. I'll post something in the near future...eventually.

=)

For the people of academia

I thought this was really quite amusing, and a good reality check for the academically inclined. =)

Hope you're well, everybody. More news to follow soon.

Issues with Tissues?

My friend Liz sent me this link about children toilet training, anime style.

While I could see how most people would think this is funny, for me I thought this would be quite useful and helpful for parents.

I guess the real question is, does this mean that we find toilet training funny (when done in a strange yet inoffensive style) mean that a) it actually IS funny b) "potty humour" (no pun intended) is what is often found to be funny, no matter what the case or c) people are just so out of touch with children's issues that they would find this funny?

I am tempted to say c), since I don' t think the audience of Youtube mentality is anything greater than what a 15 year old can take in.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all those out in Canada land. Today is a Thanksgiving, a day where we eat lots of food. As you can see, this is a typical thanksgiving feast at our house. If there had been more people here, we would have cooked three turkeys instead of one. (I have no idea where we would have put them, but I digress.)









All I can say, is that I'm happy that my brother and his girlfriend came over (EARLY, if you can believe that) and that my grandmother on Al's side pictured above, came out. She's been really sick lately, and she has trouble understanding what you say sometimes, but she's still as sweet (and unwittingly cruel, when she doesn't realize what she's said is terribly mean, and yet funny at the same time, how very, very cruel) as she's always been. I'm really happy to see her, as she hasn't been in town for a while, and the visit was really nice. Once again, Brennan was in charge of 'family prayer' this year, and they keep getting shorter as the years go by (which makes me wonder whether I'm less thankful, less appreciative, or more sensitive to the heathen-esque quality of my family during 'family prayer') but it was a good one, and thankfully the meal this year did not involve crying, throwing of turkey legs, or screaming matches. (Somehow, they're sadly missed.) On the bright side, it's nice to know that my family is growing up, in some ways, or running out of good comebacks and snide remarks.

...


Either way, I won't say I'm not filled with joy by that fact.

=)

OK, more updates in the FUT-CHA. Cartoon eventually.

New Post? Not really.

So.

You know what I'm going to say.

...

I'm busy.

And I don't really have private space in my house where I can use my computer and not be disturbed. This SEVERELY hurts the blogging process. =P

Needless to say, I will announce when I get news. And I WILL cartoon soon. Um, relatively soon. Maybe. Um, a few weeks? Eh heh.

Sigh.

OK. Peace.

Thinking of Graduating?

My friend Chris in Calgary thought this would be more than a little funny to send to me. Har har, Chris...har har.

Home

Hey there,

I would just like everyone to know that I have finally made it back to Saskatoon, safe and, somewhat sound.


(My family is crazy.)


....


That aside, I have a lot of time on my hands (Brennan-esque-relatively-speaking) and I will try and keep posting regularly, now not for my friends and family in Canada, but for those in Belgium and otherwise. (How the table have turned.) I STILL haven't had time to check my e-mail either than lower the amount of spam I have or answer things extremely urgent, but I'll try and get on top of that this week. Heh.

I have been meaning to do a cartoon lately, so I'll see if I can't put something up in the next week and a bit.

Miss you guys in Belgium. You know who you are.

Flying back to Canada

Hey there,

Well, it's official...my thesis results are on Wednesday, I fly back on Thursday, get in at about 12:25pm, spend just less than a week in Calgary, and then I fly back to S'toon on Tuesday 18th of September. I arrive in Saskatoon at 10:19am Tuesday Sept 18th. I am really, really, really-really-really pensive about leaving.

Really.

And about how I did on my thesis, but I digress. Ack.

The Defence

It went alright. =)

Defend Me, Please

Really, this post is just for Kristin, but maybe the rest of you will enjoy what not to say at a thesis defence, mine which is friday at 11:00. I know that I laugh until I almost cry every time I read this, which is good because my stress level is really, really, really-really-really-really HIGH all of a sudden after reading half of my thesis and now deciding it's all crap and that there's no way I'll pass my defence or get a mark I want. I have been reading some web sites that give good tips for the defence, but still there is a large monster eating out my intestine, and thy name is vanity, the vanity that fears bad marks.

I am very, very worried; and I feel a bit sick.

And it's really, really late.

Big Changes

Well, I'm having my computer reformated by Ralph so I will update when that is finished. Typing from an azerty keyboard is a headache, so I'll update when my computer is alright. Other than that, everything is fine. =)

Back Again

Well, I'm back from my last bit of "tripping" with Tyler (pictures maybe) and the updating will start again (much unlike my friend Caitlin's blog, which seems to go on extreme hiatus over the summer) and I'll let you know about all the things I've been doing.

MSN Messenger Talk 3-Because I love Ginny

Ginny says:
Hi!
Brennan says:
Hi!
Brennan says:
Brennan is talking to four people right now, and may not respond to your messages unless you say something interesting
Brennan says:
This is an automatic message
Brennan says:
please do not be offended or alarmed.
Brennan says:
*Beep*
Ginny says:
I'll have to think up something good, then.
Ginny says:
I was just checking in to see if we are going to Brussels tomorrow.
Ginny says:
But we can talk about that later after you get done with, obviously, your much more important conversations.
Brennan says:
Oh, that was interesting
Brennan says:
Yes
Brennan says:
i have something to say about that
Brennan says:
*beep*

Paris, Puree

Hey there!

Well, we're back from Paris, and Tyler still isn't awake, so I guess we have some down time. =)

I thought I'd show you some pictures!

The first, and only important place we went, was Bistro D'Hubert! This is a place where you can spend A LOT OF MONEY, and I spent A LOT OF MONEY to eat here. YAY I FINALLY ATE FRENCH CUISINE! REALLY! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAAYAYAY!!!!

This is how I acted during the entire meal with Tyler. He asked me if I was going to be ok.

THEN I SAID NO. NEVER AGAIN WILL I BE SOMEWHAT OK.

Then he asked me if I was going to take my medication. Or if I was going to start having seizures.

......

Well, I maybe seizured a little bit. But YOU WOULD TOO. YOU WOULD.

This is the Bistro. It's small and french and all wooden, and french. You can see the open kitchen in the background with the chefs doing their thing. You knew it was a REAL french restaurant, because the chefs slowly stopped working around 3ish, when the meals were over, and were only coming back when they had reservations, late in the evening. PARIS IS SO COOL. I MADE AN E-MAIL RESERVATION IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH. WEEEEE.

....

OK, maybe I am a little mentally disable.

Courtesy of the House

A cold cucumber soup. This was SO NICE. It was LOTS of flavour, very simple ingredients, and they served the right kind of bread with it as well. Terrific. 5/5.

We also had an aperitif ( I KNOW. ME??? DRINKING??? IN PARIS??? YES!!!!) which Tyler couldn't stand (LIGHTWEIGHT) but I thought it was really nice and kind of fruity. Tyler also learned that 'aperitif" is a kind of before dinner drink. I thought it was nice. Tyler thought it was crap. I'll give it a 3/5.

Tyler's entree

Tyler had a kind of sushi/crab cakes, but I don't know what it was filled with. All I can say is that it looked amazing. Tyler was surprised at the quality of the food. "The actual crab cakes were actually amazing," says Tyler, "really strong flavours." However, the smoked salmon wrapped up there, he said, "Was a little too strong. It had too strong of a fish taste to it. But, it wasn't bad. The smokey flavour was good, but the sour fish taste overpowered it." There were also, "White things on my plate, definitely fish of some sort, really good. There weren't any spice or sauce to it really, but everything was really fresh and lots of tastiness." Thanks Tyler. So, other than that stinky salmon, he really like it, so we'll give it a 4/5.

My entree

This was my entree, ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL???? *SOB* I WANT IT BACK. I WANT TO EAT IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. *SOB*

...

As you can tell, I thought it was very, very, very, very-very-very-good. In fact, this was amazing. In fact, this may have been the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. This was a cous-cous pilaf thingy with a plate of mixed seafood of crevettes (small shrimp), swordfish (Which was amazing!) and calamari (which was the most intense calamari EVER...but it doesn't help that the only calamari I've eaten was deep-fried.). The flavours were really fresh, every bite you had the flavours were really strong, and they never stopped coming. It was an Energizer Bunny for my palatte. AMAZING. Each bite you could taste everything, nice accents. Whew. OK, this definitely gets top marks. Very, very impressed, especially since I did not think cous-cous could ever be high end food. 17/5.

Le Plat-Main course

Tyler and I both had cod, which was in a savoury green and red chili sauce, with various spices. I have to be honest, I've never tasted fish like this before. It literally melted in your mouth. I know I've heard people say that a million times about food, but it really did. It didn't even TASTE like fish, that's how well prepared this was, it took on other flavours perfectly. Tyler says: "Oh...it was good. I dunno [what to say about it] it was just good." If you like fish, you'd love this. I did. 5/5.

The side course?

Along with this, we also got a mini-plate of macaroni something or other with our food. It had plenty of flavour, but was a bit puzzling. Amongst the typical french food, suddenly I was eating comfort food, which didn't really pair very well with the fish itself. I had no idea how to eat it, since it was a separate little dish from the actual fish, and all I had was a fork and a fish knife. (This can be distressing when they always replace your forks and stuff.) The bread however, was a VERY nice light sourdough, and it looked like they cooked it at the restaurant, or locally, either way, EXCELLENT bread. No butter, though, although really, it didn't need any. =) The macaroni bit was definitely out of place. Tyler says, "The macaroni was good, but I don't know what it's purpose was *laughs*" Well put, Tyler, well put. Some day maybe you'll be a real friend of good food like Brennan is. Some day. 2/5.

Dessert and otherwise

This was Tyler's dessert. You can't really see how shiny it looked in the light, but it was very pretty. Tyler seemed to like it, he says it was "Very rich, but not overly sweet. Strong chocolate flavour, smooth texture." He seemed to like it quite a bit. 4/5

This was my dessert, THANKFULLY BETTER THAN A 4/5, sucker. I had something called 'cow's milk cheese' which I didn't really understand, but I wanted cheese of some kind for dessert so I took the cow, not the goat one. (Bit of a thing against goats and their cheese, really.) Anyways, I was surprised, since what I got was much better, and much stranger than I had planned. The main part was actually something like whipped cream, but with a cheese-y, fluffy flavour.

....

It was beautiful. It was the second time in the meal I wanted to cry with happiness.

....

I know. I'm stupid. But really. It was beautiful. The strawberries were clearly picked for ripeness, they were like candy, that's how sweet they were. Behind it, was a lemon sherbet infused with basil. I can't tell you how strange it is to eat spicy ice cream. I can't decide if I like it or didn't like it. But really, it was amazing. I would eat it again in an instant. 5/5

Service

The service here was sooooooooo Continental. You didn't pour your own water. They left the bottle on the table and refilled it when you drained your glass. They took everything away, and you didn't touch anything with your fingers. When I accidentally spilled a little macaroni on the table, the waitress cleaned it up in a very professional manner with a scraper thingy. It was a real meal experience, they were really friendly (and they took Mastercard! Yay!) so I was very, very happy. Tyler didn't mind it, even if it wasn't his scene, but he was a good person to bring along for the ride with this kind of thing. =D So, at 4/5, only because it wasn't instant, but really, it's as good as it gets, anywhere.

I really recommened you try this place if you ever go to Paris, make sure to reserve, they are great for serving English customers. =)

Anyways, more about Paris and otherwise later. =D Tyler would like to talk to all his friends on Facebook. (Honestly, TYLER, facebook is LAME. GET A REAL LIFE.)

Sorry, I'm really anti-Facebook.

Anyways, later friends!

AUGH

WHY AM I STILL AWAKE AND LOOKING FOR ADDRESSES AND REVIEWS OF FRENCH RESTARAUNTS AND PATASSIERIES???????


WHY??????????


*SOB*


WHY CAN'T I FIND A RESTAURANT THAT I COULD CHERISH???????

POURQUOI ? ? ? POURQUOI VOUS M'ALLECHEZ, MON BON PARIS D'AMI ? ? ?

POURQUOI ???

Parrrrrisssss

Well, I am going to Paris for the third time, and to be honest, I'm not sure how much fun I'll have. I'm just SO tired of going to Paris, I guess.


.....



That's a little stuck up, isn't it?

Hm.

Well, Tyler is off in Zottengem, training with a fight club, and I'm checking the last details of our trip here, and then I'll go have dinner later this eve with Ralph, and then we leave super early (10:45-we've been Sleeping Beauties here, Tyler especially, you can really tell neither he nor I have slept in weeks) for Paris, and I plan to sleep on the train. Although I'm sure I won't be able to, given that Tyler will be busy telling me how COOL people in Belgium are, especially in Zottengem. *Grin*

Geez

Well, Tyler's here.

Girls are already swooning and telling me how cute he is.


....


I think I may be ill.

It is FINISHED. REALLY. FOR REAL THIS TIME.

......


FINALLY.


I handed it in at 2:15 PM today.


Here are the results, which I feel is best done in photo form. =)

The research...not including about 10-15 more books and electronic sources, of which there were MANY. (And I don't want to tell you how many articles that ACTUALLY is in 10 font on my bed. Because it's a very, very large number.)

The result in electronic form, made fresh Thursday.

The finished product.

The smugness.

And, now, we wait.

Defence in less than 3 weeks.

The moving

This is all Patrick's and Montse's stuff...





This was how clean it was by Wednesday!!




But their rooms are empty. =( =( =(

Change is hard.

Thesis, thesis, thesis

.....


I just submitted my thesis to my promoter to see if he thinks it's defendable. The first REALLY complete draft is finished.

And by that, I mean the final draft. =)

Anyways, I don't know what he'll think, probably something devestating, but we'll see what happens. I can argue my way out of things as long as I didn't make any big mistakes again.

So.

Big deal, eh?

Back in Black

Hey there everyone, well, I just wanted to say I'm NOT dead, but I will update with pictures soon. I went to the UK for the week with Ralph, and we just got back yesterday, very late. Anyways, hope all is well with everyone out there, and I'll update tomorrow or the next day sometime.

What's wrong with MSN Live

If you want to be disgusted by windows Live Spaces, then go here: http://on10.net/Blogs/tina/windows-live-spaces/


Honestly, why anyone uses these things is beyond me. My computer nearly crashes IE trying to LOAD one of these stupid 'Spaces,' because they're so graphic intensive, and because so many of Micro's programs try and start when you load a SIMPLE WEB PAGE. If you look at Windows Live Writer, again, we can see the failure of products that should be simple and streamlined. Given this, along with MSN's new creepy robot Muse, it's enough to make anyone wish for the death of Windows Spaces.

My painting

More Ninja Madness!

While you can't get full episodes, most of you probably couldn't handle the awesome-ness of a full episode! This is my favourite kind of series, bad ninja tv! It's happy awesome power! =D

Not what we were expecting

Well, I am finished my intensive two week french course. I got a 75, so I'm really pleased with that. I don't think I could have done better, given how the course was organized, and the TERRIBLE material we were using. (Brennan, the language teacher, knows these things!) I put it on the course evaluation, so hopefully they change it. I doubt they will, but I hope they do. The first thing I learned the first day of my french course (it was beginner's level) was about french celebrities.





I'm not kidding.





Anyways, now that THAT is finished, I will high tail it on my thesis, because Ralph and I go to the UK the week after, and then APPARENTLY my older brother is coming to visit me, but the plans haven't been made yet, and I haven't heard from him, so I am doubting it. I'll be REALLY angry with him if he doesn't, and I haven't heard from him, so I'm wondering what is going on and clearly, this might be yet another travel debacle.





I'm still recovering from the family trip, which ended at 7:30 Monday morning two weeks ago, and my intensive french course started at 9:30 the same day two weeks ago, and ended yesterday around 3 'o'clock, and now I am ready to gauge just how tired I am.





Very. =/ =/ =/





So, until I recover, I might just crash a bit for the day, a couple days, whatever. I have a LOT of work to do on my thesis (Can we say, needs serious polish?) but my meeting with the grad student isn't until Tuesday, and I am still editing the first section he gave back to me, so it's a long process. Honestly, writing the thing for days on end was much more fun than editing it. Ugh. I just get exhausted thinking about how much editing there is to do. It's ridiculous. And I fear the books that loom as I tall as me that're stacked next to my desk.










A lot of things are changing here. Patrick and Montseratt are supposed to move into their new house pretty quick...I am now having to deal honestly and truly with the fact that I won't have an address in a month and deciding what exactly I want to do this year. I have made one decision already...I don't think I'm going to do the PhD or the MPhil here...my languages aren't good enough and my heart isn't quite in it for a variety of reasons, namely that if I don't do Augustine now for the rest of my life, I have to seriously consider what I'm going to do for my PhD, and there's so much prep to be done, and I'm not going to rush into it like I did my Master's...it's too much to do so, and the ride is rather bumpy and unpleasant otherwise, speaking from experience. I'm considering exactly what a 'year away from the regular plan' means, and I'm not sure exactly what it means just yet. (I'm assuming poverty, but I'm open to all offers! Really!)





I'm in an EXTREMELY contemplative mood now that I'm off my thesis/finals/family visit/9 hour intensive french course-a-day-high. I finally have WHOLE days to myself, and I can finally start to evaluate all the things that need to be evaluated since the rather large gamut of life experiences started about two months ago with no end. Honestly, I can't believe how busy I have been, now that I think of it, two months moving from one task to the next in extremely erratic order...what a mess. =) Belgium makes people lazy, and I feel very happily lazy currently. I'm listening to one of my favourite songs, "9 Million Bicycles" by Katie Melua, because it's helping me think and putting me in the mood for thinking about the future. I like all the flutes and unconventional instruments that contribute to the melody. It's extremely pleasant when thinking about the future. It's the sort of song you would want played at your wedding when you have a wedding dance. Well. Maybe it's just me. It makes me feel all sentimental and happy inside.

It's been very strange here. Summer is always weird in a place like Leuven, where most people leave, and never come back, and you know they never will...it's similar to Saskatoon in a lot of ways, but I guess the difference for me is that Saskatoon is where I grew up...it's the Canadian 'Leuven' that I left for some place like it on the other side of the earth. I still have some of my friends here, but it's quieter. I have an ankle injury so I can't do any running for a while, so I'm stuck here, but I'm alright with that. I have the new Harry Potter book, and it's a good summer read, and I'm going to finish it today, maybe do my laundry, or maybe just read the Rowling. I'm not a fan like some people are, (in fact near the start, when something 'bad' happened, I didn't feel a lot of remorse, which says how far away I am from the series.) but I like the writing and the thematizing keeps getting better, so hopefully I can really get into it.

As I sit here in my underwear, I think about all the things I need to do today, and for the rest of my life. It's a long list, and I wonder where I'll be in the next couple years. I used to worry that I could never see into my future like I used to be able to, but now I'm a little better with it, and I realize that you won't always have the plan that you planned and even you did, you might not be happy with it. So, I guess the only thing I have to say of real importance is, don't mail me anything after August 15th...I probably won't get it. *Grin*

OK, later! I'll post photos when my mom sends them to me!

AUGH

Hi guys,

Sorry, I've just been taking this intensive french course, and it's so tiring, I've hardly found the energy to do anything that it not comepletely mindless minus fulfilling my needs. I still need to get some pictures from my family, so until then, I won't have all the pictures. I'll ask my mom to put them up on a site, I think. I'm sure she'll have to buy some sort of account, since she took more than 6 GBs worth of pictures. =)

Anyways, I'll talk to you all later, I have to go to church. I will update, but I'm sickeningly busy before this french course finishes and such. And then the thesis finishing and the travelling and the brown paper bag I'll need for all of this. What happened to my summer of fun reading????

Not Dead, just nearly

Hi there,

Sorry, my family has been visiting and I have been a complete and 24 hr tourist guide for them while they are here. I will update with pictures, drawings, criminal records next week. =)

IT IS DONE

Finals has been finished. Maybe forever if I passed the Husserl exam. New haircut ushers in new era.

My peachy dessert.


One final left.

Good Grief

Please tell it's not true...did someone really get suspended for TALKING about cannabis??? Does anyone know about this? What the heck is happening in Saskatchewan???

Something nice

I love jumping on beds. So, whenever I feel bad about the world in general, or I feel like I really need a pick-me-up (literally) I go to this site, Hotel Bed Jumping HQ. I find the simple things in life are what matter, like jumping on your bed and making youself appear silly in mid-air.

I love these people, whoever they are. =)

This especially helps when you still have two finals left.

Finals are hard.

But Bed-jumping isn't. =D

The Bomb

I found this extremely funny. There is a good reason why this is a good idea, namely that in any notion of non-combative bombs that stop people from having the will to fight...biological determinism at its finest...is something that most governments would want to consider. Whether such a thing could be made...well, it's an interesting thought. Go homo or go home, eh? I think the main problem with this is mentioned in the article, namely that if people had new and conflicting states of desire that this would somehow completely make them incapable of acting. Not true, I say. Not true.

Father's Day

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Being a dad is hard. It's very hard. And I have two dads. Which normally means that I have to get two crappy gifts every year and disappoint two people on a single day. To compensate for this, I didn't buy them anything this year because that would have been crappy. (And postage-wise, expensive and uncalled for.) Part of what's hardest is being away from those people who matter most, especially on days like this. So take some time and appreciate your Dads, (Or Dad singular if you happen to be so unlucky) because they certainly deserve your time. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I got to talk to them both on F-Day, and that made me happy.

I owe both of them a lot, and I wouldn't be who I am (the good parts) without them.

Thanks to Dad 1 for making me a good listener, and a thinker.

Thanks to Dad 2 for giving me a sense of humour, and a strong work ethic.

Happy Father's Day.

Je Fini!

I am FINISHED!


You have no idea how happy (and, yet, sad) I am, but I am finished teaching english, for at least as long as it takes for me to find a career in a some other way! =D Well, regardless, I'm finished teaching English in Tienen, anyways. Marianne has already hired someone else. =)

Anyways, I thought I would just take you around where I work a bit, since I'm finished there and everything. (Therefore meaning that I can't get fired for anything I say here. Eh heh.)




This is Classroom 9, also known as the only nice classroom we had. It's all cushy, and has nice plants, and is the biggest, and this is where we keep

a) the cards with all the information about lessons on them
b) the stereos needed for the lessons
c) all the children's material which never gets used (Who wants children's lessons in Tienen???)
d) any new material for new students Marianne leaves in here and, most importantly,
e) Where Marianne keeps all the cookies and candy. Honestly, every Berlitz school I've been to seems to have cookies and candy. Strange, because it never gets eaten by the students, as far as I can tell. =/ Who eats this??? I only ever saw Marianne eat a cookie once, and the Forem people (unemployed language learners) just MASSACRE the stuff, but other than them, I have no idea who eats these things.





This is the poster of the 'levels' in Berlitz. Yes, Berlitz levels. We train people to learn how to tell what level someone is at. Level A is 'Absolute Beginner' and Level 11 is 'Native Speaker.' Naturally, I'm somewhere around a level 2. My English good. Real good.

I should also tell you that this poster, and any and every poster of Berlitz makes, is required by Berlitzian law to be included in every school. Therefore, you are, as a teacher (rather sadly, I would say) greeted by the same 4-5 posters every time you walk in a Berlitz school. Does no one else care that the teacher's are infected with the propoganda much better than the students are???







This here, is classroom 1. I don't really like classroom one. It's where I spent most of my time freezing because I forgot to TURN ON THE HEATERS EVERY TIME EXCEPT ONCE. One thing that I don't understand about Berlitz is why they always buy the kind of heaters that have to be turned on...it's cheaper to regulate the temperature, isn't it? Anyways, this classroom was memorable. And dank. And chilly. And the temperature would not bother me, but I spent most of my time in there on little to no sleep, so it HAD to be cold, OR I MIGHT FALL ASLEEP. AND THAT WOULD BE BAD.





Unfortunately, I couldn't find the poster of the Sesame Street Friends (All rights reserved) that I wanted to show you, but this will have to do. This is Tingo. Everyone who teaches kids lessons knows Tingo. Why? Because Tingo is a Muppet created specifically for Berlitz Kids Lessons, and the instructor is encouraged to use the Tingo hand puppet to help explain words to children.

....

Kids Teachers hate Tingo.


Tingo is the kind of Muppet that little children have nightmares about. His (Her's? Its????) eyes are just a little too big and lifeless, and the puppet would give me bedwetting tendencies for the rest of my life if I were the child approached with this thing. Maybe it's the green and orange and purple fur. Maybe it's the marsupial-like tail. I have no idea. Needless to say, most of the Berlitz kid's instructors feeling towards Tingo is that Tingo would be good for disciplining little children because it's SCARY, not because it's FUN. My good friend C said that she planned to tell kids that Tingo was going to come to their house and eat them if they were bad during an english lesson. We thought Tingo would be more effective if we attached large teeth to Tingo. Unfortunately, such a plan never saw the light of day. Sad.






This is classroom 15. Clasroom 15 has no carpet. When it gets hot, classroom 15 smells. Smells like a dentist's chair. Badly. There is almost nothing worse than being in classroom 15. It smells even worse than classroom 12. Ugh. Classroom 15, I will not miss thee.


And, that...is that. That is the last I will see of Berlitz in Tienen.

But I still have to send them claim forms for my expenses because Marianne said she didn't like the way I did them.

....

Some jobs never die.

The Big, big stupid long story that we've been waiting for since forvever and a day

Ahem.


Hello.

Sorry it's been a while.

I have been waiting to save my post 250th for whether I handed in my thesis on time, or whether I deferred until August.

I deferred to August.

I decided I would put the whole thing in cartoon form, since this would be more like a regular thing in my life, and not like a life-defeating incident. So, on with the story! Because I'm fine with it and nothing is wrong-like! Yay!











When I handed in 1/3 of the 2/3rds of my first draft that I was finished to my promoter, he told me to scrap it all. I will not go into reasons for why this is so. That's incriminating and blogs are public and that's all that needs to be said on the Internet. =) Needless to say, I was a little put off.






I talked to my mom about this, and she suggested that I put everything into it and try to finish on time, since they, my family, were coming over to see me graduate, which looked really-not-likely-going-to-happen-on-time, and she was very unimpressed with this idea. My mother...........encouraged me--strongly--to hand it in on time. When I thought about it, really, she was (is) right. There was no reason to stop working on it until 'after' final exams. It would just ruin the summer for me, and taking a break before exams is not necessary. Work hard now, not later. It was something I had forgotten. Sometime lazy Belgium makes you lazy.





So, I decided, what the heck. I didn't think I would get it in on time, but I would write it like I was planning to. Considering that I was back to square one (again, let's not talk about why) I had, really, nothing to lose. The worst that could happen is that I didn't hand it in on time, which, really, wasn't that bad. It was already looking like that.









So, I started writing my thesis the day that classes finished, on...um...15th of May? Maybe a little later, and it was due on the 29th of May. Anyways, something like that. Between working teaching English, classes finishing, and other small details, I was somewhat busy, but I managed to write for many, many, many hours a day. Many.





Surprisingly, somewhere around a week before it was due, I realized that I WAS going to be finished on time. My promoter offered me an extension of two days (if I wanted to rush it) when he had told me to scrap the 'other' draft, so I could hand it in on the 31st, if I wanted. I COULD actually hand in my thesis on time. Granted he wouldn't read it, but this bothers me less and less these days about whether he reads it or not. As long as 'I' think I can defend it, and I'm coherent, it's fine. I've read enough literature to kill about an acre of the rainforest, and I'm pretty sure my mark won't change that much if I had handed it in June or August, really...since there are 'secret' marks applied here...they're concerned about you making deadlines here...very um, continental. Best way to say it, I guess.




I was very happy, and I started to get really excited. I was going to be done my thesis on time! Life is good again! But naturally....






Something bad happened.





I worked on it almost non-stop for the next week. I sent drafts to Ginny and Patrick to read and wrote everything else up, little details, etc., checked a lot of small things, and when the first draft was ready, I went to a little cafe, and ate apple pie and drank European Nestea while I corrected it. It was terrific. I asked my promoter for an extension, and got one, even to June 1st, but I had to specifically ask the person in charge of 'accepting' theses, which I did. No problem, although I was a little scared because I was taking a big risk not having time away from my thesis like that. But...y'know. Can't live scared forever. Worth a shot, anyways.





Now, around 11am in the morning it was due, I just needed to dress up my conclusion to be finished, and then I would print it, and hand it in before 4pm at the institute. No problem, or relatively little. However, I really felt that something wasn't right.





And something wasn't.
I had screwed up part of my MAJOR argument and my conclusion.
...
.........
I realized that I had made a HUGE mistake, and assumed something in my conclusion that I thought was implicit in my entire thesis, and it wasn't there. I realized I was missing a whole strand of argument that needed to be in place for me to say what I wanted to say.

It was about 12pm, and I had 2 options. I needed to write an extra 10-15 pages that were actually worthwhile to 'fix' my problem, or...I could do it the easy way, which is simply take out the half-baked strand of argument that I had included in my conclusion, which was the extended and interesting argument where I thought my thesis was leading.





Naturally, I tried to do the more mature thing.



Anyways, the grand result of this was that, considering that I was going to a wedding at 5pm, and my thesis was due at 4pm, there was no way for me to get it in on time, and be sane. In fact, by 2pm, I realized there was no way I could possibly handed it in without having my head handed to me on my defence, which I just couldn't accept. That wouldn't be alright for me. So, I mentally faced the big scary fact that I got my hopes up for nil, and really, that it was very, very stupid, and that I needed to e-mail said thesis reader, and tell them I couldn't submit. Of course, I suppose I would have e-mailed the person in charge directly, but that was a little more than I could mentally handle at that point. I really just wanted to quietly slink my tail between my legs and walk away until I actually handed it in. I faced the fact that I wasn't going to hand it in on time, and that was that. No excuses, no regrets. I went to the wedding, I was half-baked, I'm pretty sure Ralph thought I was more than a LITTLE weird that day (until I finally told him that I hadn't slept in two days) but the food was nice, the company was great, and it was just like when somebody dies, you just need to be around people. And I was. Everything was fine. Really! Just fine! No worries!





..........

...................

Maybe I didn't handle it, ahem, QUITE that well, but that's how I handled it once I came down off the thesis high I had been on. Granted, it didn't get handed in on time, and while that means a lot of non-bonuses for me, I'd rather do something I'm proud of then hand in crap, since the reaction to it is going to be the same from my promoter and the reading committee, which is: "This is crap! I don't understand or agree with any of this!" However, the only way I'll possibly be able to walk away from that experience with any kind of feeling of non-regret is by doing the best that I can. And that doesn't mean doing anything but what I can do best, which is not much, but I'd rather put a little more effort into things. I think that would be best.

On the bright side, I realized that I SHOULD be proud of myself, because I wrote 94 pages (excluding references) in less than two weeks.

I don't know how I did that.

So, I'm keeping positive about it, and everything is 'more' fine than it was a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad that I had this experience. It sort of taught me that even hard work, the hardest kind of work sometimes doesn't win the day, and it kinda screws everything up when the 'big deadlines' get passed, and that's alright. I'm really happy I tried. It didn't work out, and I looked a bit foolish (Who asks for an extension and then says they can't hand it in because they made a big mistake? Who does that???) but I think it'll be alright. I am going to work hard for the next while, and hopefully with the help of a PhD student, I will be able to hand in something a little better than what I had orginally planned.


OK, I have to go to bed. I'll start posting more regularly now that life is happening again for me!

Working

Oh, I'm still alive, but I'm working on my thesis. I probably won't post anything significant until after May 29th, but maybe before that, I have no idea. It's all too random to tell these days. Later!