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!

Rock, Paper, Paper

Today I found an online rock, paper, scissors game.

I made it all the way to round 7 by choosing scissors all the time. Because, y'know, I'm sharp.

I should be picking paper, but that's assuming that paper is going to beat thesis defence.

It's a strange day, but very nice here. I need a nap. Maybe I'll sleep for a bit before I go to work. Yawn.

Today was a good day.

Patrick, King of BBQ

Someday, we'll all be cool enough to wear t-shirts like that. =)

Test Sail

Hey everybody, I'm just trying out a new blog editor...I'll tell you what I think of it later.  I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I thought I would give it a try now.

 

Nothing really exciting is happening currently, just the usual...theatre, my friends being crazy, and the like.  Overall, it's pretty fun.  Tonight we have a BBQ so that should be nice.  I'm still super tired but I'm making it ok. 

 

I also wrote my De Universa exam yesterday.  For the who aren't in the know, it's sort of like a comp exam, except they don't tell you what material to study, they just tell you they'll pick from three broad areas of philosophy for three very different questions, and then you have to write the exam at 9am on a Saturday morning.  The exam is four hours to write one question.  You then go home and type up two copies of your exam (they stamp and mark it up so you can't cheat in any way) and bring it back to the International Office for Philosophy the next school day.  Woo hoo. 

I did alright, I think, although I made some really embarassing errors while re-typing it...my conclusion was a little weak, and I spelled Wittgenstien as 'Wiggenstien,' mainly because I never know how to spell that dude's name, and also because I was thinking of David Wiggins the analytical philosopher through my whole exam.  I was also trying to think of the name of the philosopher who wrote the book "Intro to Metaphysics" that me and Kristin took waaaaaaaaaay back in undergrad...and I could only remember his first name, which was also David....I can't seem to find him on the net, but I think it's David Lewis??? I don't remember, I'm just kinda mad I that I could visualize the article he wrote and the exact sentence I wanted to use from that article and I had a perfect quote and couldn't remember the name of the guy on my exam.  

We'll see, I think it''s a passable grade, so that's all that really matters.  I invest less and less interest in my grades these days, I think because I know how futile the grading system is here.  And I also don't worry too much because if I want to do something, I'll do it...and I don't need grades to prove how smart I am. 

 

*Big heroic pose*

 

But geez, it helps with the funding.  =)

 

OK, Later friends. 

Easter Hi-jinks

I just thought I would post some Easter pictures for you people! =D







This season, I made easter gift bags for my friends that I live with and Ralph. They turned out rather nicely, I must say. This are the ones I made for my friends. This time I thought I would be very multi-cultural, and say "Happy Easter" in Spanish and Dutch. While Easter is not such a happy time as in the rest of the Western world, Montse really liked it that I put "Pascua feliz" on her card, and Willem and Patrick got "Gelukkige Pasen," or something similar on theirs. I put something different on Willem's card, but I don't remember the exact phrase anymore. Anyways, they turned out really nice, I thought. I'm definitely not Martha Stewart, but it's amazing what you can do with wrapping paper. ;)





Next, I hid everyone's chocolate bunnies around the house. It was fun.











Montse and Patrick are searching for their bunnies.












Oh! Montseratt found hers. It was behind the mircowave. (Too easy???)


















Patrick is still searching for his bunny.















Where could it be?

















Montseratt is laughing to herself because she knows where Patrick's bunny is!









Is it in here???







Yes it is!!






Victory tastes sweet!



Next, Ralph's present I had to do while he was 'not in the room, and I had to be super sneaky about it. I even had time to take a picture. I'm like a SPY, I AM. I didn't wrap this one because I was running out of time. Give a guy a break, eh?









Next, I recieved some AMAZINGLY NEAT STUFF FROM MY PARENTS WHO I LOVE TO DEATH. Honestly, I don't know how they know what I like sometimes.






This is my hippo friend. He doesn't have a name yet. ISN'T HE SO CUTE????? I go into eclectic fits of talking to it when I look at it. Not for the faint of heart to witness.






This is Willem looking like a Greek. He's trying to help me name my hippo friend. He suggested:

Gorbachev (Or maybe that was me)
Joss (Not sure of the spelling, just spelling it like it sounds, a Belgian name)
Mortimer
Vladimir
Vladimir Putin
Raoul (Since he does have a pink bow, after all)
Mao (Which I firmly rejected)
and several other good suggestions which I have since forgotten. (Am taking suggestions)






I also received a wealth of herbal remedies and...er, a fung shei energizing crystal??? OK Mom, I get the hint. I'll get more sleep. Sorry I got sick. Ay-yay-yay. Along with this, of course, I got tons and tons of candy, all of which...was shoved up the hippo's butt. HILARIOUS.


Now, for the coup de resistance which is...dun dun dun...







YES!!!!!! AN NES CONTROLLER BELT BUCKLE!!!!!!!! I did cartwheels when I saw this with the belt I got, also as a present. Wow, I just can't believe my parents FOUND this somewhere. Totally amazing...I really like this, and plan to wear it to all my fancy occasions, maybe I'll wear it to my thesis defence...everyone needs a conversation piece. If things are going badly, I could be like, "Hey, you know, I also think I made a fallicious argument, but hey, look at my belt buckle! Shiny AND kitschy!" (You know what they say, if you can't dazzle them figuratively, might as well do it literally.) Willem also learned a new term in english: belt buckle. Crazy, eh? It's so funny because I've been wanting one of these forever and a day, and I can't believe my parent's got one for me. You guys are great.


Well, that's all I have time for, but I just really want to thank my family for all the really great Easter gifts, it really made my week, especially now that I'm sick...again. Yeah. Sad, but true. But, still living it up. So, thanks to my family, I love you guys, happy easter to everyone, yet again. I just love saying that because easter is such a big time of the year for me. I'll update you when something interesting happens.

Terrible, I am

I am still very busy, even though it's a break.

If I take a break, I'll try and update you about Easter. I had a very nice Easter. =)

Something very nice

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™