| Wednesday, August 23, 2006 |
| The Light is Getting Closer |
The end of the tunnel is getting closer in more ways than one. Monday night I FINALLY completed my revisions. I sent them off to my committee member who approved the changes. Now I am waiting on my supervisor to do the last scan before I can send it off to Grad Studies. Since Monday night I've developed an almost obsessive compulsion to skim my pdf file for any formatting errors that I may have missed that would hold up my thesis from getting passed. I think I've flipped through my thesis about four times today! My emotions this week have been very up and down. There are times that I am so excited to be in Ghana that I wish I were on the plane NOW, and then there are moments where I get very sad about the prospect of leaving my family, friends and familiar comforts. It's made me wake up quite a few times during the night in a dead panic. All the time too I have this constant rerun in my head of what I still need to do before I go, and I can't make the voices stop, so to speak...... I am muting those voices this weekend, starting tomorrow night. I am going camping with my closest circle of friends this weekend at Blackstrap Lake, and it is something that I am really looking forward to. Other than my trip to England, and that small reprieve at my parents' cabin, I really haven't had an opportunity this summer to step away from my life. I am so pumped about having my own cocoon in my own little tent, burning marshmallows and drinking beer around the fire that I almost can't contain myself. I am sure that by the end of the weekend the waterworks will be pouring because it'll be the last time I'll see some of them before I leave. It is going to be very very hard to work tomorrow! |
posted by angelina @ 8:16 PM  |
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| Tuesday, August 22, 2006 |
| What the hell did Waldo do to anybody? |
I recently came across a list the top 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000. A challenge is 'an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group' (ALA, 2006). Looking at the list, it is obvious why some works would be challenged by the average American prude. Literary works like 'Sex' by Madonna, and 'The Anarchist's Cookbook' make this list. But the 'Where's Waldo' series???? This article sheds some light, but the reasoning is pretty ridiculous.
And in personal news, I got some pretty exciting emails today! My thesis revisions (which I FINALLY completed) last night, were accepted, and now I can begin the process of printing the goddamn thing out 5 times! Also, I found out from the current SEND intern that the Foundation is paying my rent and accomodations. Sweeeeeet. |
| posted by angelina @ 11:28 AM |
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| Sunday, August 20, 2006 |
| Why this time of year is my favorite! |
1) All good stuff in the garden is ready to eat
2) The mosquitoes are starting to slow down
3) Those white butterfies/moths are out in full force and they look so pretty!
4) Hearing and seeing combines and swathers going in the field at night
5) The smell of chaff
6) How the sunset looks with that layer of dust from harvest
7) The evenings are getting crisper |
| posted by angelina @ 10:12 PM |
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| Thursday, August 17, 2006 |
| Pity the gibble fisted |
Who shuns left-handedness? Ghanaians do! I've been reading a bit more on customs and traditions in Ghana and it is apparently very very bad to do ANYTHING with your left hand, like point at objects or people, give and recieve gifts, eat, wave...you name it, you can't do it with your left hand. Like other countries, the left hand is reserved for 'dirty' acts, like bathroom breaks, and to use that hand for other things is a sign of disrespect. It is so bad that local men will drape their kente cloth toward the left, and drape it over their left hand, as a reminder to not use that hand.
So that kind of leaves me in a tricky sitch....I'll have to write with my left hand, no getting around that, but that whole eating thing is gonna be difficult as I am not proficient at using a fork with my right hand. So the Ghanaian 'diet' just got better.....no sugar, no beer, and I'll forced to eat super super slow. |
| posted by angelina @ 8:38 PM |
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| Tuesday, August 15, 2006 |
| Who eats pudding at 11pm? I do! |
I just made butterscotch pudding and got it all over my kitchen, cause the bowl I was using wasn't big enough. My motto until I leave is: eat what I want, when I want!
Earlier this evening I met some peeps for belinis at Earl's, which were, I must note, quite orgasmic. So was the spinach and artichoke dip.
So the neighbour crisis has been resolved....it was the neighbour's wife on the OTHER side of the house that was givin Stevie grief about his wheels. He tracked the dude down and they had a little talk. The wife wouldn't even come talk to Stevie, which was again, very immature. But I think we won't have to worry about notes and such for a while.... |
| posted by angelina @ 10:00 PM |
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| Sunday, August 13, 2006 |
| Love thy neighbour |
My roommate owns a 1970's van that has been described by a friend as a molester van, haha. It's beige, rusting in places, has dice in the mirror, but still a sweet piece of machinery. He often takes it camping and on road trips, and when not in use, it is parked on our street.
Last month he took it camping and when he came back he parked it in front of our neighbour's house on the street. It was there for about a week, and then he went back up north for work. The day he left I returned home from work and noticed that it had a parking ticket on it- for being parked in one place for longer than 36 hours. Okay....Stevie had it parked in front of our old place for months, and we never got a ticket which led me to conclude that the neighbour was bent out of shape that it was parked in front of their house. The battery had died in it, so Stevie got his brother to pull it in front of our lot. It was fine there for about a month, and then on Tuesday after work (once again, Stevie was up north), there was a handwritten note on the windshield. It basically notified us that we had RV parking behind our house, and that we should show some consideration and move the 'camper' back there. It was unsigned.
Okay, whatever. So the rest of the week passes, and again, after work I notice another note on the van's windshield. This time, neighbour dearest printed out a copy of the parking by-laws of the city, with the bylaw that parking for over 36 hours is not allowed circled in pen. By this time I have concluded a few things about neighbour...he or she needs to:
a) Grow up
b) Get a life and/or hobby
Who leaves anonymous notes? We're all adults, if the van is such a big deal, talk to us directly! It's so stupid it makes me laugh....it'd be funny to see what would happen if, every 24 hours, the van was moved 15 feet up, then 15 feet back, across the street, in front of their house..... mmmahahahahahha (evil laugh)....... |
| posted by angelina @ 6:45 PM |
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| Thursday, August 10, 2006 |
| Grumpy day |
I think I am reacting to my flu shot. I feel tired, headachy, and generally lethargic. That is one factor in my all around bad mood today.
Last night I did my Costco trip with Nicky....one of the things I bought was the biggest bottle of multivitamins I've ever seen. I also picked up some bug spray, sunscreen, etc etc.
We also went for supper at E.E. Burritos- I had pupusas(?) and tamales, refried beans and rice, washed down with a sangria. Yum yum
I was also really excited to finally have my power cord back- I re-commenced downloading videos last night.
Over. and. out. |
| posted by angelina @ 10:50 AM |
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| Monday, August 07, 2006 |
| Crisis averted |
So yeah, the whole power cord thing kinda turned into a mini-fiasco.
I didn't get any work done this weekend- but whatever it was enjoyable. I basically hung out with my parents this weekend at the cabin, we watched some M*A*S*H episodes, and read. The cabin is like this time capsule, probably because we only get there every few weekends, so nobody feels compelled to organize papers, magazines, etc. I found some People magazines from 1996-1998 so I rediscovered the drama behind the Brad Pitt/Gwyneth Paltrow split, and the mania surrounding Beverly Hills 90210 at the end of it's run, among other celebrity tidbits. Did you also know that sparkly eyeliner was THE hot look for the summer of 1997?
I was also in redneck heaven yesterday when I went with Mom and Dad to the Mudbog tournament. For those with more discriminating tastes, Mudboggin' is a contest where old souped up 4x4 trucks attempt to plow through a 200 metre 'mud bog' in the fastest time, or failing that, get as close to the end as possible. There were about 20 trucks in the contest and I seriously lost my mind over it! There were some trucks that got so stuck in the bog that there was mud up to the hood. Lots made it through and that was very impressive, haha. There was also a contest for quad runners, but that wasn't as exciting to me. You basically watched a quad spin it's tires for about 10 minutes until it hit a solid spot and then it would push through. I got super sunburnt and have the always sexy sunglass line near my eyes. Yeah.
Last night we visited some old family friends from Viscount that moved away when I was still in school. They have a cabin up at the same lake and I haven't seen them in a while. They're such a genuinely nice couple that I always enjoy seeing them. Their (very cute) son, who is a pilot in the Maldives, was also there this weekend but unfortunately we missed seeing him by 15 minutes, as he wasn't feeling well and went back to his house- dang!
Anyway, the power cord....well I thought it was in Muenster at the college, so today I went right there after I left the cabin. No cord in my office. I drive back into Saskatoon, and this detour out to Muenster extended my trip by about 3 hours. I tear my bedroom apart and no cord. So I am starting to lose my mind because I really need my cord for thesis revisions, my computer battery is essentially dead. I called Compusmart for a replacement and they said they had a generic version available but that I should bring my computer in to make sure it was compatible. When I get there I speak to another salesman who tells me that he's 'very sorry but we don't carry power cords...you might have luck at Future Shop.' WTF?
I drive to future shop, stand in the computer department for about 10 minutes, finally track down a salesman who tells me he doesn't work in the computer department. I go to the computer repair desk, and the guy tells me that I don't want to buy a power cord from them because they're three times more expensive than what I could get from the manufacturer. Great.
I go to drown my anxieties in beer at my aunts', when they ask, 'Did you have it at home?' LIGHTBULB! I call my brother and sure enough, it's on the coffee table.
As for trip prep, today I took my malaria pill prescription in to get filled, but they didn't have enough on stock, so I have to go get it on Wednesday. I have to start taking it this upcoming weekend because I need to be on it for about three weeks before I leave. I'll be honest- I am a little worried about my reaction to it. Some of the side effects reported include vivid dreams, inability to sleep, and hallucinations. I am trying not to get myself worked up over it cause then it might cause me to overreact, but at the same time, I am not always the most mentally stable person, lol. Anyone want to have a sleepover on Sunday night? Who knows, maybe I'll see dead people, haha.
The other things on my list this week for the trip: more shots tomorrow (influenza and cholera), buy a suitcase, Costco run (pit stick, vitamins, advil/aspirin/pepto bismol, toothbrushes/toothpaste, shampoo), get my contract signed and sent off with my yellow fever cert., voided cheque and passport photo for visa app. Also, I have to get some more stuff sorted out, what am I selling and what I'm keeping.
Tonight I futilely attempted to get in touch with many friends that I haven't spoken to in a while. The summer sucks for reaching out and touching someone! It is an area of my life I have been really bad at keeping up on and I apologize to my friends for that, but at the same time, I am leaving in a month for a place where it's gonna be a lot harder to talk to me.....(this is where you are all supposed to feel guilty).....
And I really wanted to speak to my coffee bitch (you know who you are!). Frig man, I haven't heard your voice in over a month- I am suffering from withdrawls! If you are reading this, and I haven't talked to you yet, CALL ....ME....NOW. It's been too long and secondhand news ain't gonna cut it anymore! |
| posted by angelina @ 7:58 PM |
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| Friday, August 04, 2006 |
| Words can't even describe how frustrated I am.... |
| I forgot my power cord for my laptop out in Muenster. No using the computer for me this weekend. Straight paper for me revisions....BLOODY F*#KING HELL! |
| posted by angelina @ 9:03 PM |
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| Finally, gosh! |
Note to reader: For some reason I had difficulty getting this blog fully posted. The last half was cut off when I posted, then after editing it I accidentally erased everthing. Because I am now pissed off, and lazy, the quality of this post has deteriorated over the past 20 minutes. My apologies......
I am at work right now and can't really do anything except print off articles, which doesn't require a lot of brain power. I was coding capacity interviews on campus with a newer version of Atlas TI, and now I can't use the older version out at the CRSE.
Last night I finished reading a very good but bittersweet book called the 'Time Traveller's Wife.' It is essentially a love story- the main character has a genetic defect that causes him to time travel uncontrollably, like he was having seizures, and mostly travels to times and to people that have particular meaning to him. So most of the story is about him travelling to different stages of his wife's life. His wife meets him in her childhood and grows up with him visiting her at different points in her life, and his- even after he dies, he travels to her in old age. Anyway it was a story that tugged at the old heart strings, and had me snottin' up last night.
Voellmecke and her new beau have been in Saskatchewan for the last week, and I had a BBQ with them, NatBat, Ben and Neil on Tuesday. I had a blast- we did the Famous Leader Test, and I found out that I am similar to Adolf Hitler, which made me lose my mind. What the f? I think it has to do with anxiety, insecurity, difficulty trusting people, and the need for control in my life.
I am going up to the cabin this weekend, and although I need to take revisions with me, cause they REALLY need to get done, it should be a nice trip.
There, I've updated my post, for the person that was beaking me! |
| posted by angelina @ 8:14 AM |
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| Tuesday, August 01, 2006 |
| I have discovered the greatness that is Korn |
| I never really listened to Korn before- I always thought that they were this pretentious heavy metal band and I didn't listen on principle. Yesterday I was coding up a storm and I had Yahoo videos running in the background so I could get a music mix, but also change it to a song that I felt like hearing. Then this song came on, it was loud, it was angry, it had a good beat, it was heaven to my ears. Since then I've been listening to all the Korn videos on the Yahoo site. Me likeeeeee..... |
| posted by angelina @ 12:28 PM |
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| Me, Myself, and I |
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Alias: angelina
Where I'm at: Kpandai, Northern Region, Ghana
In 500 words or less: I am now done my schoolin' and you may all call me Master! I'm currently livin it up in a small town in Northern Ghana, and it's a blast being the only 'obruni' (white) in town!
Step into my mind, if you dare
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