Typical

Well...

First of all, Happy New Year to everybody. So far, as with every New Year, I seem more tired this year. Strange, yet with a deja-vu-like quality.

Secondly, take a look at this. I have been becoming a major nerd lately because of my now 'new laptop needs' so it's becoming quite the struggle to choose what to buy. With things like that smashy awesome laptops coming out, it made me realize that laptops are becoming the feathered hats of the future. Just like 'coon-skinned caps' or tulips, lappys (as they are affectionally called) seem to be aimed more towards how they are designed rather than how they perform. (Although, thankfully, they are less about trendiness and asnd more about usability than, say, cell phones/mobiles). My guess is that in 10-15 years, laptop design will be much more important than laptop performance...

Since we're all eventually going to succumb to implanting computer chips in the side of our head/hands/ankles, etc. =)

HELP ME

I START WORK TOMORROW.

SOMEONE, please, ANYONE, save me from this terrible, terrible fate.


*WEEP*

Oh well. Tomorrow Ginny comes.

That makes me happy. =)

Breakfast

I had the flu recently and I have learned something:

That your co-workers do not expect you to bust your butt back to work when, really, you're just a potential threat. I could've easily taken off two days when I only took off one. If ONLY I had known that. *Weep*

Now, since I have been sick, I have given up eating cereal for breakfast, and I have rediscovered my long lost breakfast love, instant porridge. Low in fat, filling, and hot, it's the breakfast that feels good all the way through the cold morning. And you microwave it. Easy! =D

Typical

Canada
Canada is one of the largest consumers of trans fats in the world.[46] In November 2004, an opposition day motion seeking a ban similar to Denmark's was introduced by Jack Layton of the New Democratic Party, and passed through the House of Commons by an overwhelming 193-73 vote.[47]
Since December 2005, Health Canada has required that food labels list the amount of trans fat in the nutrition facts section for most foods. Products with less than 0.2 grams of trans fat per serving may be labeled as free of trans fats.[48] These labelling allowances are not widely known, but as an awareness of them develops, controversy over truthful labelling is growing. In Canada, trans fat quantities on labels include naturally occurring trans fats from animal sources.[49]
In June 2006, a task force co-chaired by Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada recommended a limit of 5% trans fat (of total fat) in all products sold to consumers in Canada (2% for tub margarines and spreads).[19] The amount was selected such that "most of the industrially produced trans fats would be removed from the Canadian diet, and about half of the remaining trans fat intake would be of naturally occurring trans fats". This recommendation has been endorsed by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association[50] and Food & Consumer Products of Canada has congratulated the task force on the report,[51] although it did not recommend delaying implementation to 2010 as they had previously advocated.[52]
Ten months after submitting their report the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Toronto Public Health issued a plea to the government of Canada: "to act immediately on the task force's recommendations and to eliminate harmful trans fat from Canada's food supply."[53]
On June 20, 2007, the federal government announced its intention to regulate trans fats to the June 2006 standard unless the food industry voluntarily complied with these limits within two years.[54][55]


--Taken from Wikipedia, article on "Trans Fat"

Friday

I got another paycheck today.

I had no idea how good it feels to get a paycheck on a regular basis that is large, and that has less than 50% taxes taken off. (Yay Belgium.)

I also realized that I love working at a place where I make enough money that I can feed myself later in the year. That makes me happy just knowing that.

Gingerbread MADNESS

Elizabeth and Amada start to make a gingerbread nuclear reactor.

Brennan pretends he's a famous actres and lights a cigarette.

Elizabeth finishes making the base of the buildings.

Brennan makes a stick puppet that looks like a cross between his grandma and Elvis.

One of the buildings in finished.

Brennan manages to get icing over both his shirt and his muscle shirt. He contemplates licking his shirt.

Amanda works hard, very hard!

Brennan festively hand a gingerbread man from a tree.

Elizabeth, Codename Stewart, puts some finishing touches on one of the windows.

Official picture to commerate the funness of the day.

Something even, er, MORE special

You should check out this website. It has interactive games where you play a psychatrist for stuffed animals with psychological illnesses. It is BEYOND cute and funny. Totally check it, it's moving and an interesting comment on psychoanalysis. Scary. =)

Something Special

My first paycheck from a salary. Arrived on Friday.

Oh. I'm working full-time. I forgot to say. Eh heh.

Cleaning up

Well, I finally put away and dispersed all my Belgium stuff that I just had laying around.


...

It was HARD.

=/


I didn't realize how emotional it would make me, but I felt like I was going to be physically ill. I didn't think that all that 'junk' (and, believe me, it's a lot of junk, Ralph can attest to that, he watched me pack) would mean so much to me, but it did. Even just to put it in a box, outta sight and mind, was harder than I expected, and certainly not fun. It felt more like I was a string being ripped into tiny little threads, one piece at a time.

I guess I just didn't want to face the idea that I was never going back. I know I don't have to think about it that way, but it's a chapter finished, maybe, so I guess the past becomes the past and I have to move on. It's ok for me that I'm not in Belgium, but it's sad for me that Belgium will never be the same again, in the same way for me.

Remember

I just wanted to say that November 11th was Remembrance Day, and that's it's a very special day for me.

I hope everyone takes time to remember people who've died for a cause they believed in. Especially in the interest of their homeland.

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