AUGUST
We moved recently... Originally uploaded by Hexe75. Summer's always go by quickly, and while it's cliché now, this one was no exception. Right now the Fringe Festival is on here in Edmonton, nicely featured in the referenced photo. I stopped by there for a couple minutes tonight, but it was sprinkling and I had already gotten my stuff from the library, so I ducked out. One of these days I may spend a bit more time down there. New roommates moving in here, so I have been doing lots of cleaning and organizing... Tons of fun.
EWWW... WHAT'S THAT?
Indeed. I spent a good majority of the night cleaning out the apartment. It would seem that I am about to get a whole whackload of roommates while the old one moves out. As such, the university policy is that the apartment be clean whenever someone moves in oor out. Now, this wasn't the case when I moved in, nor was it the case when the last guy moved out. Theoretically, things should happen this way. In any case, the last guy to move out gave me no notice, so the university sent in cleaners, and I got a whopping big bill for it. I was eager to prevent for a second time in a row. Queue the spray bottle of Fantastik, two rolls of paper towels, and hours of scrubbing fun. I don't think anybody actually cleaned under the crispers in at least a year... Now of course, it's not finished, the oven still has to be done, as do the floors and a few other things, but I am gonna let the roomie grab those. Actually, I haven't worked since last Wednesday, and I won't until classes start. Looking at the date, that may seem a little weird, but I had a lot of overtime to burn off, hence I get a good solid break from the grind. I have been using it to do quite a bit of cleaning, laundry, groceries, and other chores that I have been putting off ofr the last six months. Plus, the weather has been great, so enjoying the time outdoors as well. My dad is flying out next week too, so I think that will eat up a good chunk of time. Tomorrow's agenda has everything on it from snag a Canadian passport to play a game to track down some course registration junk, so I should get my beauty sleep.
COOKING HOT
Brrrrrr Originally uploaded by lithiumfrost. It's American Independence Day today, but of course, I am in Lethbridge, and I have been here all day. Alberta has been amazingly hot over the last week or so. I have been sleeping with a fan on me or in a hotel with air conditioning. Mostly hotels. I also went to Jasper National Park over the weekend. That was a lot cooler than being in the city at night, but during the day it was about the same. I am semi-hoping for a cooldown, but that's tempered by my extreme dislike of rain while doing field work. I guess I'd prefer to cook than to freeze and soak. The heat also was nice for the park. it made for amazing photos, though it got more than a little uncomfortable at times. We had a genuinely good time out there: sleeping 4 people in a 2 -3 man tent, hiking the 9.6 km (with 700 m incline) to Sulfur Ridge, and swimming in glacier lakes. It was a good way to celebrate Canada Day, I think. Now that I am back in Lethbridge, I am wishing I was asleep. Hopefully more details to follow tomorrow.
SUMMER OF GAMING
Somehow, a friend of mine suckered me into picking up a copy of World of Warcraft. So in addition to my unbelievably hectic summer schedule, I have been playing quite a bit of WoW. It is a fun game, and so far I have a level 24 character and a level 8 character.It certainly is a great way to kill a couple of hours. Put on a headset so I can hangout on Teamspeak (a way to talk to other players without typing) and burn a few hours. Not terribly productive, but then leisure rarely is. Everybody needs a bit of dowtime ;-). Over the last few days my thoughts have increasingly turned towards camping and the fact that I haven' t done any of it for a couple years. I once again find myself itching to get out there for a few days with a sleeping bag, tent, and a package of hotdogs. I am thinking the Canada Day weekend would work out pretty well. Go out to Jasper and chill out for a days under the stars with a fishing pole. It's been a few years since I have done any of that really, too. Tiem for me to get to the grocery store, I think.
MOOSE
Spent the last two days in Fairview, Alberta. For those of you not living out here, that's about 6 hours northwest of Edmonton. Thus far, the trips up there have been relatively fruitless, but after a good 16 hours of searching, we came across two suitable sites for our collection of flea beetles. Nonetheless, getting back after midnight is exhausting. Once again, I hear little but the call of my sheets. Tomorrow morning will likely see us out to Vegreville for some more plantings. Still, at around 75 minutes, that trip is considerably shorter than yesterdays. The the title so eloquently suggests, finally ran across a moose while driving south on highway 43 today. Nothing particularly special about it, but rare enough. Always a concern near the highway. There really is nothing like hitting a moose. Really puts a damper on the rest of the week, especially since we have a rental Chevy van right now. Of course, there was quite the abundance of deer too. All in all, I am seeing a great deal of the province right now, though it's going to cost me many a set of crappy jeans and old t-shirts from all the mud and thistles.
WEEKENDS OFF
After a fairly busy week, I am spending a few days getting caught up on stuff here around the apartment. For instance, for the first time in ages, I actually have pedals on my bike. It was quite the scene. Two people holding the bike down and one person giving it everything he had to get the 20 year old rusted nut off. The thing was absolutely screaming. Drew quite the crowd. But at the end of the day, the bike is mostly ready to go again. However, I don' t much feel like repeating that little bit of fun. I spent last weekend and the beginning of the week travelling from one end of the province til the other. IT was mighty exhausting, but I think by this Saturday I managed to come back completely. Just in time to take off on Monday for Grand Prairie and Peace River again. And then down to Lethbridge I think by Wednesday. I think I am better prepared now though. I picked up a thermos for $20 so I can have my coffee in the truck. All in all, the summer is moving by pretty fast. The experiments are starting to kick in, and we actually might start collecting data in a couple weeks. The tickets, rental, and room are booked for a trip to San Francisco in July. By that time I think I am going to be in need of a decent little vacation. It'll be good to get out of the province for a little while if nothing else. And it' s been years since I was on a decent beach. For that reason alone, I am looking forward to this. In any case, more than time to get to bed. Tomorrow is another busy day.
HEIGHT OF FIELD SEASON
After a long relatively relaxing weekend, I came back today to hit work hard. We spent 11 hours prepping for my boss' actual PhD work. This involved cutting 700 pieces of cardboard, driving them to the other side of the university, and beginning work on painting them all. As you might guess, carboard absorbs paint fantastically well, so this involves several coasts of paint. Also on the docket this week, a trip up to Grand Prairie are to collect 10,000 Phyllotreta striolata (a type of beetle), a trip the opposite direction down to Lethbridge to prep the field for one of the trials, and potentially, a trip to Vegreville to begin planting 1500 vials of Canola for yet another trial. Needless to say, I am rarely bored at work lately. In addition, I tutor and am trying to find some time for the odd personal project. For instance, I have been here for three years, and I still do not have a Canadian amateur radio license. Taxes still should be submitted for the American governement, and at some point I desperately need to settle my health insurance for another year. And finally, my complaint for the evening. It's summer, and apparently I cannot barbeque on my own balcony. Pathetic. I think the closest I can get is a George Foreman grill, and you just don't get quite the same taste from that.
INSECT CAGES
As may come to no shock for some of you, I have been busy working in research and will continue to do so for the duration of the summer holiday. Of course, grants do not grow on trees, and the people that issue such things like there to be a possible benefit to said grant. This means that far more often than not, the research is done on insects that affect crops. Crops in Canada really only grow in the summer, and thus the associated insects can normally only be studied during this time. This results in the time honored tradition of "field season" which I now participate in. Of course, one may not just unassumingly waft into field season, but rather come prepared with protocols and equipment ready to engage the task at hand. Yet, we seem to be short some of our equipment: insect cages. It's a rather simple idea. If you wish to study a particular insects effects on plant, you need to limit the number of insects that have access to that plant and make sure that the insects are only working on the one plant -- thus, the cage. This diabolical contraption is wrought from cases of equipment jamming, messy silicone caulking, unevenly cut screen, and a host of other equally annoying items. And for the last several days, I have been tasked with building 50 of them. You'd have thought they would have made them far before now, but this would appear to not have been the case. Thankfully, this sordid tale is far from over, as I am happy to report that as of today, they decided that 50 more should be built. Job security.
LETTING GO
I think for the longest time now we have lived in a disposable world. We walk away from nearly everything. The proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the landfill. But it isn't just there, we leave in front of a judge what we began on an altar, we waltz away from our churches, and we abandon kith and kin. Life itself seems to be of limited use as we explore ways to be rid of it in a sanitary manner. But, for all of that, God help me, I can't let go.
THOUGHTS ON SEMESTERS PAST
It seems that I typically leave any period in my life with a profound and deep sense of regret. And it would seem that this is no time of year to break that habit. As I finish with a third year of university, I feel robbed of any sense of accomplishment or gain. Once again, I am left with only a hollow feeling of inadequacy. As I wait for the final grades to come back, I can only think about how I wish it were all different. Wish that perhaps somehow I could have seen the light and changed a bit. All I can do is watch the sands of time slip through my fingers... For those that have seen the Weatherman, I feel like Dave Spritz at times.He has a quote in the movie that's comes across as incredibly bleak, but apropos: I remember once imagining what my life would be like, what I'd be like. I pictured having all these qualities, strong positive qualities that people could pick up on from across the room. But as time passed, few ever became any qualities that I actually had. And all the possibilities I faced and the sorts of people I could be, all of them got reduced every year to fewer and fewer. Until finally they got reduced to one, to who I am. And for those that have seen the movie, that's not an amazingly positive statement either. It's late at night, a time I typically ponder mortality and my role in this world. In the end, I yearn to be able to say as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. But it seems like I never finish a heat.