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Time has gone by very quickly this year, and yet it hasn't. How can time pass both quickly and slowly? I feel, like most dimensions, it should be expressed in one form at a time. Something cannot be both big and small, sharp and dull, tall and short, etc. at the same moment. Where does time get off being all...different?
Anyway, my fifth year as an undergraduate is blessedly over. My whole life has been school, and finally, with Life Beyond being dangled in front of my nose I find myself quickly turning my back on academia. I have enjoyed my time as an undergraduate, but I am increasingly impatient with some of my peers. There are those that seem incapable of growing, those that seem wiser, those who think they are such mad geniuses, those who think that are Better Than Everyone Else, those that are hired already, those who will be masters students, etc. I find it fascinating to be able to recognise these different groups, and play games of guessing where we will all be in a couple years time.
Many of my friends have already graduated. I yearn to join them in the world beyond homework (fie homework! Fie!). It is a world of paid vacations, pensions, income...blessed, blessed income! I am in no way a material person, but the idea of being able to fully support myself, and actually contribute to my savings instead of slowly draining it seems like such a fantastic accomplishment.
And the real annoyance? Although I am glad I am going to be getting this Degree in Natural Resource Conservation, I know it isn't exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life. I don't want to be a researcher. I don't want to live out in the middle of the boreal forest. And I definitely don't want to work in a fishery. Sigh. I miss english literature. But I could no more see myself as a librarian as I do a forester. I must find some middle ground. I will go on the quest for the perfect job - a combination of working outdoors, and finding time to write about nature?
I am so excited about where I might be in a year, and what I might be doing! Somehow I have missed feelings of nervousness. Just excitement.
Look out world, here I come (in ten months, give or take...)!Current Mood:  curious Current Music: Jack Johnson |
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The new year is upon us, and I have some resolutions all lined up:
1) Floss
2)...erm...
Apparently my ambitions end with flossing. Jolly good.
Happy New Year All! |
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I really can't tell is this is totally off the mark or not. By far I don't live in a bubble, and yet, through all the incomprehensible horror that can be life and relationships I have managed to bounce back and still fall in love.
Life's a bit of tease...isn't she?
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And twice as much fun.
Oh, how posting allows me to wallow away a few extra minutes before I bring myself to read some dry report on Wildland management. I am sitting in the Beanery right now, drinking Sweet Wild Orange tea, and seeing how much battery life I can suck out of my laptop (I failed to bring the extension power cord...that extra 1/2 pound would have broken the camal's back).
So far I have managed to look up my three email accounts, facebook, and my friend's blogs. See me be productive.
The weather is grey, rainy, and typically Vancouverish...which means thoroughly depressing. Must I get out of bed? Must I venture forth into a day that will surly soak me down to my skivvies?
But enough of that- I must resign myself to my fate.
And what would be worth such a trek through rain? Nothing less than Wildland management and statistics. Ooooo. I am increasingly content to be in school, and increasingly more nonchalant about the whole business (but happy nonchalant, not angry nonchalant...a crutial difference compared to my feelings last year.)
Plus, I can now brag about my extra student state: I am now not only a student at UBC, but, *drum roll* a student of Vancouver Community College (or VCC as us cool kids call it). Woot. A university student and a college student at the same time! Double whammie! I shall be taking my calculus credits from the college. Hey, if you've got to go down in flames, at least do it in style. I begin by math in January. Please wish me luck.
On anther note:
Yesterday I ate jello for breakfast. Discuss.Current Mood:  complacent |
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Man, all I have managed to do for my undergrad thesis in these last two weeks is...wait for it...type up two citations. I should very much get my act together and write down appropriate summaries for each of the books so when it comes time to write a draft of my paper I won't be scrambling around trying to remember just where I got a certain idea.
I've read the relevant chapters of "The Quaternary History of Ireland", and "Prehistoric New Zealand", which only leaves "Island Biogeography" to skim through.
This is only the beginning folks.
(Something creepy? These books are all due back at the library on Hallowe'en! Mwahaha...)
My Mom's coming over to study statistics as we have a midterm tomorrow. Yes, I said "we."
Ta.Current Mood: bored Current Music: We Kings - The Tragically Hip |
| » Because I must... |
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Weird Al still cracks me up...
Check out: White and Nerdy A delectable take off of "Ridin' Dirty".
Oct. 19th, 2006 @ 09:17 pm
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| » Twenty-two tomorrow... |
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And what have I learned with 22 years of wisdom behind my belt...enough to feel competent, not enough to completely waylay feelings of idiocy at all times.
10 pieces of personal discovery in the last year or so:
-Guinea pigs bring me joy.
-I am much more reliant on love than I knew possible
-Bike riding brings freedom
-Never get too involved in tv, it will only leave you with a headache
-Always get too involved with the ones you love - usually unavoidable
-Higher education can kiss my ass (while I attend all lectures and write my essays)
-Drinking and clubbing has become, *shock and horror*, somewhat boring
-I love the outdoors, but don't necessarily want to work in the outdoors
-Everything works out in the end
-Not only are my friends beautiful inside and out, but so am I
I think the most harrowing of discoveries is that in my 'old' age, going out late, drinking, and basically causing a scene doesn't hold the same thrill as it used to. Perhaps i've just 'been there and done that' too many times?
Despite this, my birthday party at the Blarney Stone was a blast (an exception to the aforementioned rule). We started off well at the Old Spagetti Factory, where drinks and pasta was plentiful! I must thank my girls for the lovely gifts (I just put "Golden Fool" down to write this entry). Also, the sparkler in the ice cream and the waiters singing "Happy Birthday" was more lovely than embarrassing.
Dancing until the wee hours was wonderful! First time I have ever gone out with my sister - who I must say definitely brings the pazazz to the group! Something real fun about being with my sis' for a night on the town!
Scott was ever the gentleman and danced with me all night and then made sure everyone got home safe as he charioted many of us home. So gallant! (Even if he was driving the green minivan at the time. V. hot for sure.)
And tonight? Why it's meatloaf night at my Mom's for the family birthday dinner. Grandma is in town. Nuff said.
I'm going to go play with my hair, and worry about midterms tomorrow.
--Insert cute quote to end off with here--
Oct. 15th, 2006 @ 03:04 pm
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| » Tis the season... |
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Oh. I fear Christmas cheer is just around the corner for us unfortunates who live in the North American realm of commercialism (read: USA, and Canada). For you see, Thanksgiving and then Halloween is fast approaching, and you know that that means: Christmas shopping/songs/made for tv movies/decorations in the malls.
I don't know when people decided that Christmas started BEFORE Halloween, but I would like to have a word with them. When I worked at American Eagle, for all of three glorious months, I managed to hear the Grinch song ("he's a mean one") countless times, and I quit at the beginning of December!
Shocking.
However, what I really wanted to mention was how thrilled I am to have not one, but two turkey dinners to look forward to! First I am going to Scott's Grandma's place to enjoy first hand a massive Italian family crammed into a small east side Vancouver house (it's really sweet. Everyone finds a seat somehow and we sit around getting stuffed, playing cards, and I get to watch family dynamics in action. Plus they have this psycho dog that sort of adds to the hilarity and hominess).
Then it's to my Mom's on Monday for a much quieter Thanksgiving, to which I am bringing the aptly named "Carrot and Swede mash".
How I love the month of October (if only Decemeber festivies weren't trying to hog the lime light).
p.s. Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about when I say my undergraduate thesis has this as a proposed title: The Biodiversity of Anthropogenically Modified Islands: A comparison of New Zealand and Ireland. I certainly hope so.
"Here's lookin' at you, kid."
Oct. 8th, 2006 @ 11:42 am
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| » 14 hours later... |
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Oh yes. Fourteen hours of driving. That's how long it takes to get from Vancouver to Edmonton (with some detours...read: get shamelessly lost).
However the anticipation of seeing the Rocky Mountains kept me engaged and awake. Scott and I drove up into Jasper National Park and were delighted to see a Big Horn Sheep and elk (or rather the bums of elk as they all insisted on facing the other direction.) The scenery is beautiful : jagged, grey mountains against a huge blue sky, and yellow grasses and pine littering the valley. I do love the outdoors (i think I am just tired of studying it...).
Edmonton involved going to the HUGE West Edmonton Mall. There we partook in shopping, mini-golf, seal shows (I kid you not), the amusment park (and a fantastic rollercoaster), and Taco Bell for breakfast (classy).
Then it was off to Calgary - a city I found unnervingly silent. On Sunday there was no one about. Not a soul. The starbuck's even closed at 2pm, or some usually early hour. Where does everyone go? Where are they hiding? Eerie. However, the city was nice - like a small Vancouver with a street train, and a river instead of the ocean, and no mountains -- in fact in that sense it is very little like Vancouver and very much like Calgary. Yes.
Indeed.
Spent the first day just wandering around and then went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner where we both enjoyed a pint of Sangria ("it comes in pints!").
Next day we drove to Drummheller. Wow. You drive east of Calgary for about an hour and all you see is flat, flat, flat, covered in golden wheat and hay fields. And then more flat. It is broken up by the occasional telephone pole. No trees, no shade, just wheat. The sky is huge and blue. Amazing to see the horizon streched out before you, but it also becomes so uncomfortable - like agorphobia. Then suddenly you drive down into what was an prehistoric river bed (now the red deer river flows through) and you are surrounded by hills that were erroded out of the flat earth. These flat topped hills are beautiful with the visible layers of earth - all reds, and greys, and browns. A lovely purple flower dots the landscape growing amongst grasses and sage. Just beautiful. And surreal. Of course there is also funny horse sized dinosaurs littering the whole tourist town. And the worlds largest dinosaur peaks out from behind downtown as you drive through.
These are part of the badlands. Fantastic. And the Royal Tyrell Museum was amazing. We spent at least four hours there looking at all the wonderful dinosaur skeletons and fossil that they have on display! Took so many pictures!
Then it was another eleven hour drive back to Vancouver.
That is what I call a road trip. I don't want to see my bug-stained car again for a while.
Alas...classes have started. Statistics, Wildland recreation, and my undergraduate thesis project it is.
Could I just see more dinosaurs?
Sep. 6th, 2006 @ 09:14 pm
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| » I miss so many things... |
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It occurs to me that this is the longest I haven't been on an airplane in eight years. Now, this alone isn't a good enough reason to spend money and fly to Europe, but realising that I miss a couple of special girls should be an appropriate reason.
So as of now I am saving up to go back to Ireland. Furthermore, I fully plan on dropping in on folks who may be in either England or Poland next May.
Wouldn't that be lovely. And I'll be bringing the boy that you may all judge him and chat to him and hopefully give me your nod of approval.
So ladies, looks like I'll see you all in eight months and counting!
Aug. 27th, 2006 @ 09:01 pm
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| » Back in the saddle... |
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Or bike seat to be more exact.
No, I still haven't managed to get a new seat on my gorgeous bike, or replace the peddles, all of which was stolen upwards of four months ago. However, now I have access to Scott's parent's bikes - not quite the hardtail I know and love, but it's got two wheels.
Last week I got on the bike for the first time in at least three months and we rode to Crystal Falls in Coquitlam. Beautiful! Clear water rushing and swirling over grey bedrock with a canopy of alder and vine maple = heaven.
We ate our peanut butter sandwiches on a boulder in the middle of the creek and afterwards tried to catch steelhead fry and I spotted a tadpole!
Also got to practice my "mad skills" by going over some small log obstacles.
Just about to leave for a road biking adventure. So happy to be riding again! God I missed it!
p.s. I am settling happily into my summer job finally. Feeling accomplished and confident. Even flung myself into a muddy puddle on my stomach and elbows in an effort to catch a red legged frog. Me 1, Frog 0.
Have also hand caught tadpoles and a salamander hatchling - childhood adventures I'd never had before. Still hate bugs though.
Alas.
Aug. 12th, 2006 @ 02:54 pm
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| » Working... |
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You know, after seven hours out in the elements, waist deep in skanky pond water, cutting roe, and stuffing mesh and cage traps it can be incredibly irritating when your boss refers to the work we do as "easy".
Shit.
As a field assistant I am working harder than I ever have in my life. I get up at 6am. I start work at 7am. We drive to various flooded and excevated off-channel ponds where we do habitat surveys, invertebrate sweeps (glorified dragging a net through muck), and set traps. The next day we pull the traps and discouver all manner of things: roughskinned newts, salamanders, thousands of tadpoles, stickleback fish, trout, coho fry, frogs, and, of course, leeches. Glorious leeches (which, according to some of my profs, don't exist in lower mainland BC. Bull. Shit.) Oh, and there was the water bug that resembled an amazonian cockroach both in size and grossness. Frickin' huge! I didn't think that could exist in a temperate region.
Boy was I wrong.
After we pull all the traps (usually 50, and it takes 3 to 4 hours) we go and lay the traps at a new site (another few hours). We work blistering heat, and torrential rain (especially fun when your fingers are frozen and your note paper soaking wet).
And this, THIS JOB, is apparently 'slack field work', and me and the other assistant are lucky.
I am proud for working so hard, but if this is easy, "real" field work can eat my ass.
p.s. on my fridays I get to sort through the invertebrate samples a.k.a. looking at bugs through microscopes.
This job is teaching me a lot, and I am so grateful for the experience, but I'm pretty sure this isn't what I want to do with my life.
Outdoor work is why I went into forestry, and now I am thinking that outdoor work isn't necessarily what I want, at least not research outdoor work.
Jun. 12th, 2006 @ 07:15 pm
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| » And yet... |
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I still love Gilmore Girls...or more importantantly Jess.
Special delivery if you please! I please indeed!
I do, I do!
*sigh*
May. 21st, 2006 @ 04:31 pm
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| » To update or not to update? (clearly, that is a question) |
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I've moved out!!! But, more importantly, I've moved in somewhere! I have left my mother's apartment and highclass condo, on campus living, for a lovely, bright basement suite out in the good ol' burbs. And I am very pleased. This place is lovely...lots of windows, and my very own patio!
However, it is not all exclamation marks. Stalking this place up with the basic is a much more costly and time consuming process than anticipated.
Over the last three weeks I have set up the bathroom (toilet paper please), the kitchen (microwave, etc.), living room, and bedroom. I have become enthralled again with IKEA. I have decorated! I AM a decorator (in my own right). (I'm not all class though, I've got a show on Britney Spears and Kevin Federline on tv right now). My living room has pictures of poppies, and red foot stools, and wicker baskets (v. cute), and the bedroom is now in greens, and silvers with photos of Paris. I could ramble more, but the bottom line is I feel that I am nesting...really nesting! And despite the growing pains, I am enjoying it!
The guinea pig is doing well (a little stinky fat boy, well fed and well loved...so male.) The boyfriend is also doing well, thank you very much. 11 months and counting...if I fall it will be very hard, because I am beyond gone (but we all know that already).
Tossed around the baseball in a grassy field under the afternoon sunshine with Scott today as well. And after chasing the ball, and laughing, and making my arm ache from throwing so far, my boy bought me a fabulous popsicle! So summery!
Now I am in my loverly brown, flouncy skirt, waiting to hear from my girlfriend for a little coffee in West Vancouver.
Thank god for long weekends.
"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be..."
May. 21st, 2006 @ 03:58 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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I got a postcard from New York! Thanks girls!
I wish I could visit...Vancouver feels dreary right now with the grey clouds and an economics test just around the corner this afternoon. I have got Star Trek the Next Generation on in the background, but it is about that wuss Berkley, and it's just not doing it for me.
Going to a Giant's hockey game tonight...It's Date Night in Canada.
My guinea pig got sick, but after 5 days of squirting medicine down his throat he appears to be on the up and up.
I am feeling a little disjointed at the moment. Maybe studing Net Present Value and IRR equations will do that to a person (oh, capital budgeting, how I loath you!).
Fie!
Be gone!
Apr. 21st, 2006 @ 02:15 pm
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| » Cause I can... |
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I drove by myself for the first time yesterday. Nothing too exciting. I just drove about 3 minutes away to visit my friend Lindsay. However, this is the beginning of independance.
It is really exciting. And I just needed to gush about it again.
To Done List Update:
-found a place to live
-have a summer job (I'm going with the research field job)
-have a car, and can drive
Strange, everything I was worrying about worked out. Sometimes I am embarrassed when that happens.
Heh.
Mar. 30th, 2006 @ 11:10 am
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| » I PASSED! |
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Take that road test!
Now I'm going to be out on the roads causing havoc!
Yeehaw!
Mar. 28th, 2006 @ 02:44 pm
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| » Some advice please... |
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I have just been informed by one of my professors that I appear to be in very good standing to get an NSERC (the research grant I applied for). This is the unofficial news, and he is just going to find out when it will be official.
This would have been great news one week ago. But last week I found what I think would be the BEST job: working with an organisation called Trips for Kids Vancouver, I have applied to be the Program Coordinator. This would mean planning and accompanying mountain biking rides (both day and over night) with youth from low income families, as well as administerial work. I could totally do this job.
Now, of course I haven't been offered the job yet...but hypothetically, if all went well and I did get hired, what should I do? Should I turn down the grant that would pay twice as much and do a job I think I would love? Or should I think about my financial needs first? Plus, what about the embarrassment factor if I turned down a research grant...my prof wouldn't be impressed, and I have been talking to him and organising it since early February.
Plus I have my road test tomorrow. Second times the charm!
Wish me luck.
Mar. 27th, 2006 @ 11:31 am
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| » I won't be homeless... |
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Officially. I can toss out the big refrigerator box that I have been saving in case the worst happened because I shant be living under a bridge this summer! Instead I have found a lovely place in Burnaby (oh, the suburbs!). It is a basement suite of considerable size, and is very light because of so many windows and a patio! I have a patio! And a big glass sliding door! I will be moving in on May 1st, which is a little later than anticipated, but will do.
Turns out things are pretty intense in the housing market. The landlady had only put the advert online for one day. That was the day we called about it, and apparently after me, another three people called about it. It is in a great location: nice and quiet, but only a two minute walk to the skytrain station. Plus there is a carport where I can park my car. And the landlady is okay about me having a guinea pig!(that was my only concern).
Therefore, the updated to Do list reads as:
-pass driving test
-ensure summer job
On the To Done list:
-find summer/school housing
Mar. 20th, 2006 @ 11:41 am
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