February 2004 Archives

It has been a crazy last week. I can't believe that I am even taking time now to write this. For some reason or the other, I have had a chain of bad luck, especially with regards to classes here. Coupling that with a bad midterm in French and Chemistry leaves me wanting to run for the hills.

I have a midterm in organic chemistry on Tuesday which I am wholy unprepared for, even though I have done some studying this weekend. I have so much news that will have to wait for another night, as I have a ton of work yet to do tonight. More tomorrow.

So I am here in Victoria at the home of a good friend of mine from Peru. I am using his computer to quick make a brief posting. I had a long ride over here, so tomorrow I will do a little sight-seeing before taking off back to Vancouver. So far, I am quite impressed with Victoria. It has class, but is small and I think probably crime free... Anyway, it is late, so I am hitting the sack. Night.

PS. The movie "Dickie Roberts:Former Childhood Star" is surprisingly good.

I was woken up this morning to somebody asking me if I wanted to head up to Whistler. I was pretty groggy, but I said sure, why not? So my Dad and I and a guy he works with drove up to a bank in Whistler to take out some panels. That road is kind of neat, but that said, I wouldn't want to travel on that thing everyday. That road is really windy and up and down. Whistler, of course, was gorgeous. The snow started up as we were about to leave, and it was really snowing. Too bad I was working and not skiiing, but them's the breaks... That Burrard inlet is really something else. Absolutely pristine mountains coming up on both sides, and just a tugoat and barge out hauling some woodchips.

My father is quite the cook as I found out tonight. I am not much for Chinese food but he made an awesome seafood stirfry. The most depressing part? I have to go back to cafeteria food in less than a week. That, and tomorrow I have to get some work done as on Wednesday I am leaving for Victoria. Unfortunately, vacation's always go by way too fast.

Au revoir.

Actually, the title is somewhat meaningless as I haven;t seen a sunset yet here. It has been kind of socked in, I guess, true to the nature of Vancouver. I suppose it really doesn't bother me all that much, but I hope it clears up for tomorrow, so I can try out the SeaBus, which looks kind of neat. I am also planning on heading to some canyons which look kind of neat.

I made it here on Saturday morning completely exhuasted but otherwise in good spirits. We (my Dad and I) nosed around where he works, and then took a drive around the general area. We also went out to pick up some food, and I must say, I have never before seen a Real Canadian Superstore inside of a mall before, with special shopping carts for the escalators, that was just weird.

We stayed inside for the most part today, I worked a bit on the computer, vegged, and watched the Daytona 500. Not much to speak of there, but this is supposed to be a relaxing holiday.... Anyway, a lot to do tomorrow, so I should get going. Adios.

Well, the day has finally arrived, tomorrow I am officially off to Vancouver for a glorious spring vacation. Of course, it nothing like a Mexico, and a tan is out of the question, but hey, it's the warmest place in Canada, right? So I plan on doing quite a bit of studying, relaxing, and sleeping. Watching the whales in Vancouver should be priceless, if there are any, I guess.

The airport shuttle will be picking me up fairly early tomorrow (0615), so I think it is safe to say I need to go to bed earlier than usual tonight. I have big plans for this trip in British Columbia, that is if the obscenely high taxes don't get to me first. At 14.5% combined PST/GST, I am going to have a serious cramp in my style as far as finances are concerned.

My french midterm would have gone a whole lot better if I had had enough time to finish it. Hopefully I will do well on the parts I actually did complete. Still have to pack, gotta run.

The rush is finally over, almost, with my French midterm tomorrow, I still have to study, but the blind panic can be over. I have no idea how prepared I am for tomorrow hower, so I think I am going to be doing a bit more studying. I have a strong desire to do well on this exam. I am flying to Vancouver in just a little over a day too. C'est trop puissant.

I also have to quickly apply for the Summer LAnguage Bursary Program, before I lose my shot at that. The deadline is the 15th, I have to get going. I should hit the sack, busy day tomorrow with packing, laundry, and the midterm. Adios.

The last few days have been absurdly busy, as we go throught the usual university shenanigans right before the Reading Recess. Inveitably, I got sucked down the toilet bowl of midterms, papers, and lab reports, so I have been as busy as ever trying to accomplish everything that needs to be done. I haven't even been successful in that, as some projects just didn't get done on time, which is bound to be reflected in my mark....

Well, mistakes of the past can be improved upon, and in my case, they will have to be. I am desperate at this point to claw my way up to a decent GPA, so I guess whatever kind of studying it takes, I'll get there. I definitely need more sleep however. I only got 3 ½ hours last night, so it is imperative that I get some quality sleep this evening. Shouldn't be too hard. The Sandman is already knocking at my door.

I have been analyzing, in a very casual manner, the relationship of Christ with His church, leading to some interesting observations. I will write more about this later, as for me -- I hear the counting sheep are on their way...

When one must perform a task that they are loathe to do, one inevitably finds some other task that they do not like (potentially better) that they can substitute with. Accordingly, I found myself cleaning my room and going on the job hunt. Normally of course, I would eschew any one of these tasks, but with the fangs of a Biology lab report staring me in the face, well, let's say that I have been working on an updated résumé. I have been faced with the onerous task of both making enough money for the car that I have to buy to make money, and the need to pay my rising university costs.

Of course, résumé editing is the most fun I have had since I hit a deer the spring before last. Unfortunately, one must prepare an adequate C.V. if you expect to be hired by any employer for a decent wage. No, sadly, I am not including McDonald's in this group.

Much to do tomorrow, including church. I should hit the sack. Goodnight.

How many people are willing to pay almost everything they have, move to a country they have never been before, and then try to assimilate by learning the language and culture? I guess I have always wondered that, and I tend to believe it is a small percentage. The barriers are great, and while many times it turns out great, others turn out to be a disaster. My safewalk partner did a year in Japan as an exchange student, and I have often wondered what I missed by not trying to do that. Of course, there is still time for me to give it a try, albeit not in the same fashion. Perhaps I should lest I lose the opportunity forever.

The idea of taking off for another side of the world has always intrigued me, but I have always lacked the resources to give it a shot. I am now unsure of whether or not it was my inability, or whether I might have chickened out and gone for the path oft travelled. But wait you say, you made a huge move by moving to Edmonton. I think that I did, in some ways, but in others, I did not. They still speak English in Edmonton, and I can't really classify it as foreign, since I used to live here before...

I think I am going to call it a night. I have much to accomplish tomorrow, Not least of which is the biology paper staring me in the face. Goodnight.

I am pretty sure that the groundhog got it wrong. I expect to see at least 10 weeks more of winter, not a paltry six that that rodent predicted. Here in Canada, we like the winters similar to us: tough. The tests are tough too, but I won't go there. We now have more than 15 cm on the ground, which is fine by me. As long as the wind stays down and the temperatures above -30° C, I will be satisfied.

For some reason this evening I am quite tired, and unfortunately I have an organic midterm tomorrow coupled with my longest day of the week. I am thinking bad thoughts about tomorrow's midterm, but maybe it will go better than I am expecting. Time to hit the sack I think. Ĝis morgaŭ.

Even in Canada, the Super Bowl seems to inspire and piss off people from all walks of life. I am sitting in the lounge watching the game while typing this up. The game has been less than exciting for at least the fist half. With the only scoring done by New England.

I have spent a massive portion of the day studying Biology 108, and if I do any more, I think I will hurl the lunch I never ate. I think I will finish off my inorganic lab report that I started yesterday, and then do some inorganic. MY comprehension of that is significantly lower than in biology.

Yesterday was mainly a lot of studying and a little bit of playing games. I am starting to work on the summer car situation (i.e. how I am getting out of here) and getting a high paying summer job. Any suggestions on either I would be happy to receive. Just leave a comment.