Tonight I managed to turn a frozen pizza black. The last time I baked a frozen pizza I accidentally dropped it into my oven upside down. I'd say my karma might be trying to save me from junk food, except I'm still eating an obscene amount of chocolate.

Is it me, or are buildings more likely to catch on fire when I'm around?

I just got home from a long day at school and I wasn't even in my apartment for ten minutes when the fire alarm went off. I trooped outside with everyone else to stand in the cold, listening to people talk about how smoky it was on the seventh floor and crossing my fingers that nothing was actually burning. Turns out there was a kitchen fire on Floor 7 that was extinguished pretty quickly, but still set off the alarms. On the plus side now I know the smoke detectors in this building work...

Seriously though, that's two fires in Waterloo and now one in Halifax. I don't know how I feel about this trend. I know my mother won't like it.

All my assignments for the week have finally been submitted. I have mopped the kitchen floor and found the source of the funny smell in my kitchen. I am currently watching The Daily Show and eating my midnight bowl of Shreddies. I am ready to go home.

The next time I complain about how much work I have to do, someone please remind me of the past twenty-four hours.

With three assignments due this week, one each for Monday through Wednesday, I spent my weekend holed up in my apartment with the Black Baby. Things were going well: I sent in a research proposal, wrote a draft of a management paper, and almost finished my literature review.

Then, yesterday afternoon, Dee and I decided that maybe we should double-check our research question for the literature review with our prof. Unfortunately, during this meeting we realized we had approached our project from the absolutely, positively wrong angle. Unfortunately, this also meant that even though each of us had an almost completed 8 page paper, we were going to have to start all over again. From scratch. Two newly-researched papers were going to be due in twenty-four hours.

This was the scene at about 11pm.

I have never, ever cut it so close on an assignment before. We researched and wrote until I fell asleep at 4am. Dee was up until 5am. We skipped class Monday evening, but had to be at school at 8:30 this morning. After class we went back to my place and worked until our next class at 2:30. We handed in our papers on our break. Here's post-paper:


My hands are shaking and I feel like I'm drunk. I still have another paper to finish, but I just can't face doing any more work today. Time for some leftover pizza and nothingness.

Some random updates...

Dee came over the other week and made the best corn chowder I've ever tasted.

I finally realized why my contacts weren't working right - I was putting the left one in the right eye and vice versa.

Lynda was here for a very brief visit this weekend. It was lovely to see her (as it always is), but unfortunately she had to miss the Pirate Party at Fenwick on Saturday night.

This is as ferocious as I can look. In other words, not too ferocious at all. There was lots of dancing and eating of cupcakes and yohoho-ing and all the other things at which pirates excel.

And now back to homework.

Congratulations to Katie and Dave who announced last night they're getting married in August! There's nothing I love more than happy people, and they are definitely the happiest I've seen in a while.

Lynda and Rosey’s Fantabulous Skating Adventures: Day 1

Senior Women’s Short Program
Lynda: The women’s short program brought us the return of the lovely Cynthia Phaneuf to national skating. She has been working her way back from an injury, and word on the street was she was not quite at the top of her game. She put down a charming performance which featured gorgeous arm movements and lovely musical expression. It wasn’t technically brilliant, but it put her in good position for the free skate. We saw her sitting with her mom before skating and then we saw her warming up across the rink. FYI: she has Betty Boop skate guard covers
Rosey: The highlight of the women’s short was Lesley Hawker’s solid skate. It’s always great to see hard work rewarded, and Lesley was clearly delighted by the crowd’s response to her performance – she got the only standing ovation of the evening.

NOTE: Part way through the afternoon we realized we had the BEST SEATS EVER when both Victor Kraatz and Brian Orser sat in the section in front of us. The conversation went something like this:
Rosey nudges Lynda: “Holy crap, that’s Victor Kraatz!”

Ten minutes later Lynda nudges Rosey: “Oh my God, that’s Brian Orser!”

Ten minutes after that Rosey says to Lynda: “Is it just me, or is the BMO Bear flirting with us?”


Senior Pairs’ Short Program
Lynda: Hometown favourites Brodeur and Mattatall brought the crowd to their feet with their spirited short program, despite the fact that their death spiral slid away from them. They were pretty decent considering that this is their first year together, and she has never skated pairs before. Give them time, and they might be pretty good.
Rosey: Lynda told me I was going to love Dube and Davison, and was she ever right. Watching them skate is like eating Lindt chocolates (the really creamy ones that come in the red wrappers). As they entered their death spiral, Davison cradled Dube’s head in one hand and I fell in love. There are few things in skating I adore more than beautiful death spirals.
Lynda: So, we were slightly creeped out by the brother/sister Moscovitches. First of all, she’s only 13, but she looks like she’s 22. And I certainly would not want either of my brothers grabbing me in the places that he was grabbing her. That being said, they did have lovely unison in their side by side pair spins, which is something that all the other pairs failed to accomplish.
Rosey: And finally, we both noticed that 14 year old Rachel Kirkland bears an amazing resemblance to Dee, except she’s even smaller! (And we didn’t know that was possible!) She’s so teeny that her partner looked like he was scared he was going to break her.

Some very obnoxious younger skaters sat behind us for the pairs’ short program. At first we didn’t know who they were, we just knew they were opinionated. One of them was making fun of a pairs skater who was bigger than average, saying, “His arm’s the size of my leg!” An annoyed Lynda leaned into Rosey and commented, “Actually, his arm’s the size of that guy’s big mouth.”

For Day 2's adventures, including a run-in with a rain storm, see Lynda’s blog.

Lynda and I have been putting in some hardcore time at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships over the past two days. We've had some adventures - some good, some hilariously bad. There will definitely be a lengthy post from both of us after the men's and pairs' long programs today, but in the meantime, look how close we were to Brian freakin' Orser!!!

While doing some reading for my Research Methods class, I came across this exercise on the efficiency of language (ie. having one word that signifies an entire concept) in my textbook:

"Imagine, for a moment, that you are driving along a country road. To your left you see something with the following characteristics:
~Black and white in colour, in a splotchy pattern;
~Covered with a short, bristly substance;
~Appended at one end by an object similar in appearance to a paintbrush;
~Appended at the other end by a lumpy thing with four pointy objects sticking upward (two soft and floppy, two hard and curved around);
~Held up from the ground by four spindly sticks, two at each end."

That's so easy, I thought. Obviously it's a skunk that's been run over and has all four of its legs sticking up in the air! It's black and white and has a tail and you see dead skunks near the road all the time at home!

Needless to say, I felt pretty dumb when I read the next sentence: "Unless you were born yesterday, you would almost certainly identify the object as a cow." Then I read the list to Liam and he guessed that the animal being described was a zebra, and I felt better.

Some days I wonder how I managed to get into graduate school....

After a Christmas vacation with a rocky start and a happier end, I'm back in happening Halifax.

Classes started Wednesday, but I've only had two and a half so far. My class tonight was cut short when the power went out on campus. Oddly enough, when I got back to my apartment, only one block away, my building still had electricity. Dee and I took it as an omen we should eat the leftover ice cream cake in my freezer in case I did lose power later and the precious cake melted.

Liam came back to Halifax with me to ease the transition from home to away, and Lynda arrived Friday night for the Oliver! Extravaganza. After a Saturday spent at the Halifax Shopping Centre (I got the most gorgeous red cushions for my couch!), Dee, Lou, and I took in Oliver! at the Neptune Theatre. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The live version of this show is a million times better than the movie. Now I just need to find a way to work the phrases, "I'm reviewing the situation" and "Pip, pip, cheerio, be back soon" into my conversations.

Liam and Lynda left on Sunday, but now that I'm getting back into the swing of things I'll have plenty to occupy myself with. First YA class is tomorrow!!!

Christmas Eve - this is my favourite night of the entire year. My house smells like cookies and bread sticks. The Christmas tree is covered in shiny baubles and presents in red and green paper are oozing out from under its bottom branches. An elderly gentleman cat is snoring among the boxes; he loves Christmas too. Another cat, this one with a twitchy tail and perky whiskers, is curled up on the rocking chair. In half an hour they'll probably be chasing each other through the presents. Christmas carols are playing on the radio in the kitchen, and my dad is in such a good mood about finishing his shopping he hasn't told my mother to "turn down that awful, schmaltzy racket" or drowned out CBC with blues music. One brother is home and later on we'll all pile into the car to pick up the other brother. Then we'll drive around, looking at Christmas lights, "bickering" over who's taking up too much room in the back seat. Once we come home, we'll hang up our stockings by the chimney with care and nestle into our beds while visions of sugar plums dance in our heads. Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm home! The driving was touch-and-go yesterday, but we made it.

We did make a rest stop just outside Oxford. The Cobequid Pass was nasty - it was freezing raining and snowing and we couldn't see more than a few feet of the road ahead. After passing an SUV upside down in the ditch and nearly being pushed off the road by an eighteen-wheeler that whizzed past at twice the speed of all the other vehicles on the highway (most of which had their four-way flashers on), Mom decided she wanted to get off the highway until a snowplow had been by. What really made me laugh was that the eighteen-wheeler was an ice cream truck: Now, I'm an ice cream fan and all, but really, who needs ice cream that badly during a snow storm?

Anyway, I've been enjoying cuddling with my cats and playing Stephen's new Wii. Tomorrow my family is putting up our decorations. Time for Christmas!

Done! Done! DONE!!! My mom will be here in four hours and I'll be home tomorrow!!!!

This is how I feel today, except I'm beating my head, not a drum set. Stupid essay-writing. Only four more days until I can go home. Grumble.

This afternoon, instead of working on my essay, I went to see Happy Feet. I've really been looking forward to watching this movie -- I mean, does it get any better than singing and dancing penguins?! Although I thought the story could have been tightened up in some places, the visuals were absolutely stunning, especially the shots of Antarctic scenery and the part where Mumble goes swimming for the first time.

Speaking of penguins, today is my fellow peguin fan's 25th birthday! This lovely boy keeps me well stocked in hugs and all kinds of penguin paraphenalia. Happy birthday VIP! *HONK*

Ahhh procrastination, it's like we were never parted. And now, instead of only being able to use cleaning as an excuse to avoid writing my term paper, I can write stuff for my blog too!

Last Friday night was the SIM Christmas party. Dee and I got ready together, which involved a lot of singing, dancing, and sparkles. I discovered that my ineptitude for hair only applies to my own head and that I actually make someone else's hair look pretty. I got to wear my pretty red dress (you all know how I feel about pretty red things) and eat potatos, so I was happy with the evening. To your right is a picture of Dee, Emily, and me trying to be sassy.

Satuday evening some of us headed down to the Grand Parade to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree. We had candy from the Freak Lunchbox and got to sing Christmas carols. After the tree was lit there was a fireworks display! Then we all stopped at the Second Cup to get some delicious liquid gingerbread (that is, Gingerbread lattes) and headed over to Fenwick to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and Elf.

This week I've mostly been either working on assignments or studying for exams. Databases are finally over (they were the equivalent of theory class for me) and now I only have one paper and one exam left to go! This time next week I'll be home!!

Michelle just called me Library Lady and it made my day, so, like a good librarian, I decided to Google the phrase and found this:


According to an online description, Miss Library Lady, published in 1954 is a "career romance for young moderns" in which Jean, a new and idealistic children's librarian, meets Mr. Right on the bus by trying to see what book he's reading. Of course, he's engrossed in Rabelais, and she's only perusing a book of pictures from Spain, because it would never do to have our heroine appear too brainy, even though she may be a little "bookish."

I'm happy to report there seems to be a whole series of these books, including Nancy Runs the Bookmobile, Library Life for Deborah, Molly Qualifies as a Librarian, Librarian With Wings, and Loveliest Librarian.

It's enough to make me swear off buns and glasses for the rest of my life.

I have to say, I'm loving that there's something fun to do every weekend here. After an afternoon spent at the Halifax Shopping Centre, Dee and I took in the Christmas parade downtown. The streets were packed with excited parents and children, the majorettes' batons glowed in the dark, Santa Claus made an appearance, and a bunch of the seventy floats had penguins on them. Then it was time for some post-parade hot chocolate.

Last night a group from school went to a live taping of the CBC program This Hour Has 22 Minutes. I haven't watched that show much since Rick Mercer left, but I really enjoyed seeing how it gets put together. Plus it was a huge bonus to find out that Shaun Majumder is now a member of the cast because I think he's absolutely hilarious! Anyway, it was a fun evening, especially since the tickets were free.

Now it's time to settle down in front of the TV to see if I can find myself in any of the audience shots.

My brother Steve has been visiting me this weekend, so I've taken a bit of a break from freaking out about school for some quality sibling time. He got here at midnight on Friday and leaves tomorrow afternoon, but we've managed to pack a lot into two days.

Yesterday we went to the cenotaph, ate fries from Bud the Spud, were attacked by starlings, window-shopped, walked through the Public Gardens, and sang along to Joseph. Dee and Vinny came over last night and Vinny (who is half-Italian) fed us traditional Italian pasta. After we ate, we all sat around and groaned about how full we were and tried to convince Steve to become a librarian.

Today we were going to go to Point Pleasant Park, but, due to my poor sense of direction, we actually ended up just taking a very long walk because I couldn't find the park. (Remember, I was once in a car that drove to the wrong province by mistake.) We went out for dinner and stuffed ourselves silly, and then we watched V for Vendetta (an awesome movie!).

It's been interesting spending so much time with just my brother. Sometimes the six years between us can feel like a lot, but it's nice to talk with him and realize how grown-up he's become and how many things we do have in common. And just to prove his increasing maturity, tonight I saw him drink a fruit smoothie and eat salad - the most fruits and veggies than I've ever seen him willingly consume in a meal!

So, um, you know those days when you spring out of bed to greet the day with enthusiasm, only to wonder an hour later if it would have been better had you just rolled over and gone back to sleep? This was one of those days. I never spring out of bed, so when I did this morning, I just assumed it would be a productive day. After slogging to school through the pouring rain, spending forty-five minutes before class in the computer lab working hard, but accomplishing nothing, and sitting through class in cold, wet jeans, I was ready to rethink my earlier spring.

Other little things kept happening all day, but the grand finale was when I dropped the pizza I made for dinner upside down in my oven. Now there's pepperoni and cheese all over the oven door, all over the inside of the oven, in the cracks between the door and the oven, and even in the drawer underneath the oven. And because the oven was hot when I dropped the pizza, the cheese and pepperoni burnt onto it.

On the bright side, my brother Steve gets here for a visit tomorrow night. There's going to be some comic book shopping and lots and lots of eating. Yay!