STRESS CADET MEETS NUCLEAR REACTOR
I have been working furiously the past few days. I completely poured through all of my semiotics lectures while recording them to my computer, and then proceeded to read the rest of Barthes Mythologies, followed by most of Althusser and then McLuhan. I have finally finished a semi-rough draft tonight, a mere 12 hours before it is due. Somewhat pathetic I realize, but at least it went much better than the previous effort. I hope my grade reflects the change in my efforts. I went to see the U of A nuclear reactor today, which I have to say, was awesome. Of course, all you see is concrete, since the whole thing is encased, but the prof that walked us through was quite interesting, and gave us countless examples of what they do with the reactor; it is primarily a source of neutrons. The reactor does not generate any power for the university. They use it to irradiate samples to find atomic composition or make tracer moleules. I hope to post a picture soon of us standing on top of it. It is one of five in Canada. I am spending a lot of time studying lately. I have my four midterms next week, along with my events tomorrow, so I am hoping for a good experience.
THE START OF THE WEEK
Well, far from terrible, it was at best a mediocre start to the week. I didn't get as much completed as I really meant to. But it wasn't completely a waste, and if tomorrow is productive, then I should be on a solid track to passing my midterms at the end of this week and through the duration of next week. To do this, I am embarking on uncharted territory through the libraries of the University of Alberta. I plan on getting some serious usage out of my mp3 player as well. The snow is impeding my active lifestyle on a bike. The sidewalks have been quite icy, so I am reluctant to get out my bike for fear of a fall. It wouldn';t be my first this year. That being said, I am not used to having to walk to the other side of campus. By Thursday, I could be back on the bike, going rather slowly of course. As the following picture will show, taken with a 5 megapixel Sony, things aren't getting any better. And this picture was taken as we were leaving for Vernon, when the weather was actually pleasant. Notice how small the car is, we spent 20 hours in that...
SUNDAY HORRORS
I just had my worst meal at the caf ever. The pasta that they had evidently was from last night or something because it was actually crunchy. I hate Aramark. I wound up throwing away pretty much have the food. Rather disturbing as I had paid $6 for that meal. I am shortly leaving for the library. So far my weekend has been quite unproductive, despite my intentions otherwise. I have definitively proved what I already knew from last year. I usually cannot get any work done in my room. So, I am planning on heading down to the John Scott today to see what I can accomplish as far as studying goes. I have a paper I need to write, math to do, and some French memorization. It started snowing yesterday, so here's what my view is like here in Lister.
BACK TO THE GRIND
Thanksgiving went well, on the whole. We got back to Edmonton on Monday at around 6 PM. I tried out a new drug on the way back, as well. It is a patch with scopalamine on it. IT seemed to work alright with only minor irritation where it was attached (mostly psychological, I kept forgetting it was there at first). I never did get nauseous on that trip, but I did sleep for over half of it, so it is hard to say what its part in my drowsiness was because I didn't get a whole lot of sleep the night before. Looking ahead at my class schedule suggests that things are going to get rough rather soon. I have nearly all of my midterms in a four day period, so I am going to be working like crazy to prepare for them. I hate that kind of pressure because I am usually ready to fall apart at its finale, but I have precious little choice this time. I think I will try to get my homework out of the way now, so I don't have to worry about it later, during the midterms.
THE OKANAGAN
Believe it or not, I am actually in Vernon, British Columbia, sponging off of my friend's internet connection with my wireless card. We just got back from a pub here, where we met Paul for drinks. So far, I generally like Vernon, and the house I am staying at here is quite nice. We had steak tonight that was fantastic. So happy to be away from Lister food for awhile. The trip here was rather interesting. We went through Jasper because the route by calgary had construction, but from the moment we entered the mountains until we got by Kamloops, we were in a cloud. The weather was horrendous, and at times the visibility was down to 20 feet. Needless to say, that slowed us down a bit. Not only that, but the Dodge Neon we were in was a little small, so we were all quite happy to get out by the time we got to each gas station. Well, hopefully off to watch a movie before we hit the sack.
I HATE CALCULUS
Well, kind of. I completely recognize its value to society, and even why it could be useful to me. But I abhor the little mistakes in algebra which build up to a completely wrong answer. Those are the little annoyances in life that make me want to chuck my book out the window onto the hockey rink below. Doing the assignments for Math is increasingly annoying, but I want to ace this class, so I am going to make doubly sure I do them all in their entirety. I am off to Vernon, British Columbia for Thanksgiving this weekend. It should be an awesome experience as I have never been to the Okanagan before. It is supposed to be a 10 hour drive, so I have been charging up all the devices that make life a little easier, as in, the PDA, iPod, notebook, and batteries for a flashlight. I plan on doing quite a bit of studying in that 20 hours of useless entrapment. I'll probably be reduced to fits of rage by the end of the trip, but I will know exactly where the Sternocleidomastoid is and why it is important. If I am lucky, I will also completely understand my $18 copy of Barthes Mythologies. Well, I have a whole bunch of assignments due, and a quiz, so off to bed with me...
GETTING STUFF DONE
Today was actually somewhat productive. I can't argue that it was perfect, but I did manage to get to my small group, got to the morning service, spend a few hours studying anatomy, and then play a decent game of badminton with Upton. All in all, I can't complain too much. I will certainly have a busy week though. This coming Friday is the beginning of the Thanksgiving weekend, and hopefully I will be able to go to Vernon, BC with Upton. However, this does entail that I get a certain measure of my work completed before we leave. I also need to look for gainful employment. I am quite tired tonight, so I think it is off to bed a little eariler for me. I have class in the morning, and then a raft of objectives, so... Hopefull my cell phone arrives tomorrow. I have felt rather lost without one.
MANIPULATED?
As a society, to what extent are we manipulated by forces around us that we aren't aware of? Our televisions constantly proclaim the value of that double cheeseburger, or the latest technological marvel to make our lives better, quicker, and easier, but is this all there is to life? Must we stampede up the corporate ladder of success to make our existence worthwhile? It seems like too often we get trapped into a little world that we make for ourselves. Full of self-indulgence, we hurriedly seek to placate our "needs" and desires. Too often, I believe, we miss what is really important in life. Ten years from now, we will look back across this decade and wonder what we might have done to make it a better one. I can only suggest that the next time we go out to by another fabulous car or the latest, greatest fad, we think about what we might have done to ease the suffering of some person elsewhere on this rock. Advertising constantly seeks us to see what our world might be like if we had this or that, but perhaps, with our immense wealth, we should focus on different ideals. I think here in North America we have a culture of, "Here I am, come entertain me." I am as completely wrapped up in this mindset as anyone else that I know. Even today, I was trolling the forums, looking something cheap and fun and techy. But how much could I do if I ceased to care about material possessions? They do make my life better, in some ways, but I sometimes wonder how much easier a simpler life would be. When you are not totally engaged with your stuff, that leaves an awful lot of time to bond with family, friends, and do a good deed or two. This is the second day of October, and I would challenge everyone to take a good hard look at their next purchase, and consider the sacrifice of donating the cost of it to someone truly in need.
PRODUCTIVITY AND SMALL GROUPS
It's amazing to me that sometimes I can be amazingly effective in my room and accomplish almost everything that I intend to, and other times I struggle to do anything at all. I think I am just going to have to be more proficient and proactive at recognizing the times that I had just better head to the library. I got a bit done today. I did my French and most of my anatomy, but I didn't get started on my Semiotics paper, which is going to be a bear... We started small groups tonight at McKernan. It should be a positive experience, and if nothing else, it will get me out of the university a little more. The people in my small group are all in their early twenties, some in various schools, others graduated and working. I have a little bit of homework to do for it, but not much, so I am ok with it. Tired tonight.
A PHONE, FINALLY
I felt totally lost without a phone, as odd as that sounds. Unfortunately, even in a day of email and IM, a phone is absolutely crucial to being part of Canadian society (or American for that matter). Nobody could call me, and it was quite a hassle for me to call anyone, so until I talked to my grandparents this morning, it had almost been a month since I had sporken with them. There is still something about hearing someone's voice, even if you are 3000 km away. Tomorrow is going to be a nasty day. Church will be good, but then I have quite a bit of homework to do. I went through almost all of my psychology today, but tomorrow I must study for my French midterm, make my Anatomy notecards, and work on a Semiotics paper. I also need to finish organizing my room. I have it part of the way where I want it now, but it still needs work. My floormates just asked me where I planned to sleep, so... This site may now, for a few days anyway, be accessed at the address natevos.info .