Happy New Year

100_6662
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

Just wanted to wish all my friends, old and new, near or far, a wonderful and happy new year from Shell, Ginny Grace, and myself.

This has been an extraordinary year, full of ups and downs, but due in large part ot wonderful people in my life the ups were sweeter and the downs less painful.

If you're going out tonight, be safe. don't drink and drive and don't let others do so. tell someone you love them, give someone a hug, shine a little light and make someone feel needed. remember what your parents taught you, to treat others like you want to be treated (it's not the golden rule for nothin' you know). comfort somone who needs it, lend a hand, make the space around you better.

keep in mind the last line of the last Beatles song:

'the love you take is equal to the love you make"

cheers

Daddy Gets Your Ears

Daddy Gets Your Ears
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

Yes I went back on my word and am posting for the third time today...I just can't help it. It is my new desk configuration...it is so enticing.

Anyway, here's a picture I took just a few minutes ago.

How can anyone guess that the sweet little imp was really just happy because she was playing with the scotch tape and the DVDs on daddy's desk and I tickled her to give them up.

We're trying to learn please and thank you. She's gotten the 'thank you' thing down though it sounds like "dan-kun" also she's learned to say 'up' but it comes out 'ah'.

I have a headache tonight, that is centered on the very top of my head and eventually reaches around my right eye...I should take something for it but I'm so tired I'm afraid it will put me to sleep, and I've got to help Shell polish the house for our guests tomorrow.

I've added a little 'meebo' message widget now in the column to the right. This means that if I'm online and I have my meebo up and running you can message me in real time. I love meebo because a) I can bundle all my message programs into one and b) it's web-based so I can use it when I'm away from my home computer (especially when I'm at the library which won't allow you to download msg programs obviously). So anyway if you drop and want to say hi, you don't even need a msg program of your own you can simply use that to chat with me...

I'm listening to Guadalcanal Diary and thinking I should post a song on my Vox which I'm now using strictly for music posts, so if you want a song to listen to you just pop over there. I'll try to make a new post a day with a new song, but life is obviously a tad pressing at times.

OK this HAS to be the last post of the day...until I get another thing I have to say immediately before I forget.

Mainly for Zilla

Belt Sander
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

...who is trying to convince me to give her my wife...see what else she does for me??

I can't wield a power tool to save my life, so without Shell I'd be lost with no one to belt sand a door, or to re-drywall the corner of the basement (which is what she and her Dad were doing this morning)...

Why, in the name of all that is holy, would I ever consider letting her go...even to the highest bidder

Change For The Better

Reading Dr. Suess
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

I had a bit of a nutty tonight (well today, okay this whole week but cut me some slack...)
Basically I just freaked out about anything and everything and Shell had to call a time-out for me...calm down, have some dip. I've been just really feeling the stress of many things and it manifested itself in my being a complete melty-head and luckily Shell knows how to pull me back into a sustainable orbit- that's why she's perfect for me- she just handles me right- part psychologist, part lion-tamer.

One of the things that's been bugging me is our office at home. When we first bought the place I had the room to myself. It was plenty big enough for me, perfect amount of writing space, reading space, and desk enough for my usual stacks of books that I'm thumbing through- a historian needs to have volumes handy for just such an emergency.

When Gracie came along, Shell moved all her stuff out of the third room and into the office. As you can tell, Shell is a craft wizard and also an organizational Nurse Ratchet (but a nice one) and so when she moved in to share office space with me she brought a closet full of sewing, art supplies, and reams of file boxes into my office closet. Also she brought her big desk. Things were cramped but okay. Then she got her great-grandmother's antique desk AND antique Singer sewing machine....suddenly I was forced to use the desk for my new desk AND co-exist with a giant sewing machine, as well as the aforementioned gallery of bits and bobs.

Needless to say this put a dent in my feng shui and I didn't even know I had one.

She knew that the office was in part a sore point with me, but there was little we could do- we couldn't magically make another room appear- I know I said she's a craft wizard but that's going to extremes.

So when I had my little episode she decided 'that's it, we're changing the office and making you comfortable'

and that's what she did. We swapped desks and added a smaller side desk for me doubling my desk space and deepening it as well. Since we've been given a secondary computer by my father-in-law we needed some additional space anyway. When it was all put together I sat down and actually had room for my arms and am typing comfortably for the first time in almost 2 years. It's like night and day.

My side is all organized now, with just some minor tweaks needed when I get some additional cords and wires for the second computer (which is really just a second internet machine- it only has a 4GB hard drive- they don't even MAKE those anymore!).

Shell is currently working on her side so taking a new photo would not do it justice as of yet, but rest assured I will when it's all completed because it just feels GREAT.

We spend so much time in here in the evenings that it should be comfortable for the whole family. As you can see in the picture, while we were busy moving things around, GG finally made herself comfortable and enjoyed a book...she was so cute, if not a little put out by the mess at first. Now I've even got a spot for her to pull up another chair and play with her non-attached keyboard that Shell bought for her because she likes to play with the keys and 'type' like Dada.

I feel a bit more at peace tonight. (*thanks honey*)

New Blogger

I've changed over to the new blogger beta (well it's not in beta anymore) because I was just damned tired of the annoying reminders (I'm looking at you blogger)...so anyway I found a decent template too...if you're having trouble commenting or have other issues with reading this please let me know...I'm not shutting you out, it's just that I'm not sure whether the permissions are set to a default.

End of the Year Treat

Ange has apparently made me a co-group DJ, and taking that to heart I'm putting together a nice mix Cd for a number of you, at least those I have addresses for and will be sending them out shortly (since Ange's and Splash of Lime's went over well). To whet your appetite, check out my latest post on my Vox blog to hear one of the tracks that will be included, and it just happens to be from my cousin Mike's band, Prize Fighter. It's from their new CD which will be out in a few months.

Film 101

S-C-O-R-E

That's precisely what I did this afternoon. I got $100 from Shell's parents for Christmas and I was trying to decide on what DVDs to get with it because that's frankly what I spend money on...movies.
I went to Best Buy and I almost got a few things there but they've suddenly become pretty overpriced and they are specializing in TV box sets lately so their basic inventory tends to be pretty sparse beyond brand new releases.
So I came back to town with nothing...but then I decided to check in Rogers' Video and lo and behold they were having a 2-for-1 previously viewed sale and I struck gold...gold I says!!!
For my crisp C-note I was able to get:

United 93
The Interpreter
Syriana
Good Night and Good Luck
The Thin Red Line...what? yes apparently I have a man crush on George Clooney
Stay
Apocalypse Now
A History of Violence
Mars Attacks
Edward Scissorhands
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Munich....heh, Ange...I'm gonna watch Eric Bana tonight :P
Inside Man
The Abyss
Walk the Line
whew...I'll see you all in a few weeks....
this haul really made my day!!

here's wishing you all lived down the street and could come over and bring some popcorn...

Boxing Day

Glow
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

Whew what a crazy Boxing Day today...and we didn't even go shopping. (thank god) In the US it's the day after Thanksgiving that is Black Friday, here in Canada, Boxing Day is the equivalent- the biggest shopping day for Canucks. Everything is priced to go (but if you wait till January it's even priced to go further!)

I had a nap...oh sweet glorious nappage...and then it was off to the Amos Christmas party which always signals the end of stuffing ourselves till we can't even fit a wafer thin mint in our mouths holiday burptacular.

Gracie has discovered that she can say "No' now and is almost saying 'Up' as well. And we're pretty sure she's got a HUGE crush on cousin Mike who we saw when we went to pick up his new CD (PrizeFighter- "Come Hell Or High Water"...in stores soon!!). She sat on the stares at his house and couldn't take her eyes off him.

Tonight while I was loading music back on the hard drive and recompiling lost files, she patted me on my knee and then the chair next to me and so I puller up on the chair and she pointed at the computer (her signal that she wanted to hear some music)...so we just sat and sang and played...then we watched her movie that I made for her and Shell had to run into the room to watch too...because it makes us both weepy.

I got even more weepy when I saw the beautiful picture of Beckie's new baby, Sadie Rose...YAY!!!!! She wasn't due til tomorrow but apparently wanted to get here before Xmas...

2005 there was just bunches of babies in my circle of friends and it looks as though the end of '06 to '07 is going to see another spurt (as it were)...Sarah is due in a few months, as is Alison and Laura...jeepers.

One of my friends posted a list of the ranking of days for birthdays and GG's (September 15) is 8th overall and the next day the 16th is number 1...my first thought was...well sure September is the 9th month so that's all those babies conceived between Christmas parties and New Year's Eve parties....something about the silly season that get's people all frisky I 'spose.

Who knows...maybe Ginny Grace will get her a brother or a sister next September...suddenly I think I need to be somewhere else :P

Cheers

[Not So] Secret Santa

See you can't actually be all THAT secret when transporting goods across the border, as Splash of Lime has found out, because they want to know what exactly is coming across the 49th parallel. BUT, then again when you are sending a gift as good as Zilla sent me, being secretive doesn't earn you the sort of everlasting love that I now have for her...for you see...she sent me...Smallville Season 5!!! *dies*

I did not wait until Christmas to open it because HELLO....I'm a Smallville addict and Season 5 contains an episode where Chloe (Allison Mack, my TV-girlfriend...the only woman my wife allows in the bedroom with us at night) goes to a costume party dressed as a Catholic school-girl... *dies again*

Anyway, the short story is that I watched the entire season over um, 3 days...but but but that's what coming down from an arduous semester is FOR...3 day Smallvile binges!!!

And now since I'm Ange's good little sheep, I post pictures of Ginny Grace holding the little brown box and then the unwrapped picture where GG shows her love of Clark Kent and her hatred of Lex Luthor (see she's covering his face)...



So thanks again Zilla for the amazingly overboard giftage, and thanks to Ange for putting the Secret Santa Overlord cap on this year and herding us all...

My Girls

My Girls
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!

We are home again after a long weekend and a car trip that was just too long, especially when you stuffed yourself with turkey before getting behind the wheel. But I made it...whew.
As you can tell if you've been following along, we had our own little cyber Xmas miracle...the tech called me about 10 minutes before we left saying that our computer seemed to be okay after he ran some stuff and so I was able to pick it up before we headed out for the weekend...so yay!!! It seems okay thus far but I'm just keeping an eye on it...juuuuust in case.

We had a nice weekend at Tim and Lesley's new farm in Prince Edward Co. There's a lovely lake behind their place and we had full run of the basement while we were there.

All 3 kids had quite a haul from Santa this year. Gracie got soem wonderful toys and even a handmade baby doll cradle from her Gramps...it made Shelley cry...

I got Shell a number of things, but her big gift was a new shiny Bulova watch which she loved (*whew*)...

I scored big-time in my prize haul as I got a few books, including Andrew Sullivan's new book "The Conservative Soul", also I got the first Thin Man film on DVD, and in an amazing tour-de-force, Shell got me not 1 as per normal, but 4...FOUR...new Rudolph toys for my collection...joining Yukon Cornelius, Foreman Elf, and Charlie in the Box on the mantle next year will be Hermey, Santa, Sam the Snowman, and the red nosed leader of the band himself- Rudolph...essentially I now need only Clarice, Mrs. Claus, and Abominable to fill out the set...whooop whooop. She also got me a new Utah mug AND a Utah Utes football. She had gotten me Smallville Season 5 as well, but my not-so-secret Santa, Zilla, sent it to me all the way from Michigan *dies from overwhelmed*...so instead I've got $75 bucks to spend at Best Buy on some other stuff that I want...wheee....

But of course, despite the glee with all my gifts that I received, the best gift is really the one in the picture....my two girls. There is nothing anyone can ever give me to compare with the sheer bliss that envelops me when they smile, laugh, or hug me. I love them so much.

To all of you, near or far, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you find yourself in the embrace of friends and family. I wish I could scoop you all up and make your wishes come true, but in lieu of that, I just want to say, "thanks and I love ya".


If you want to browse some of the other pics from our little Xmas weekend...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ron_stamant/sets/72157594438649263/

Tidings Great and Small

*shakes off cobwebs*

Well hello there...

It's only 2 sleeps till Christmas, and here I am at the Georgetown Public Library early on Saturday morning...why??

Because our computer, my darling little Kal-El has died, or is at least on life support at the local computer repair shop, where he's been for the last few days and it probably right now sitting in a cold and empty office waiting for computer techs to return next week after Christmas and Boxing Day.
We aren't sure yet if he can be saved, but I never underestimate the last son of Krypton...so we shall see...

In the meantime forgive me if it gets a little quiet on my end. We're getting ready to head out as soon as I get home and pack the van, for our trip to Tim and Lesley's. We're coming back home Christmas night and presents and turkey, and then going to the Amos family Christmas on Boxing Day.
Since Shell is off next week, I'll likely make a pilgrimage or two back here to check email and stuff...I have to stay connected otherwise I'll perish.

It gets really lonely here not knowing anyone, and without the contact of the 'outside world' I tend to get sad.

Speaking of the outside world, I have a series of shout outs that I need to get too. Firstly, there are some of you that I wanted to send Xmas cards to, however when Ange sent me the address list I failed to print it out and it has now been eaten by the evil computer gremlins, so dearest Ange, if you could resend me that list in an email I'll try and get those out after the holiday and people can get their post-Xmas Xmas cards which are sitting on my desk in need of address and postage.

Also...um Zilla...you are too freakin' much. I think for the first time in a long time I was actually gobsmacked!

You are definitely way too kind and I can't wait for you to see the pictures of Ginny Grace holding my nice prezzie. (I'll have to wait to post pictures until I get my Kal-El or another computer because I can't d'load pics here at the library...I'm sure glad I have a 512MB card in my camera because I've already taken 200 snaps since Tuesday...sheesh...I miss my Flickr posting)

A huge congrats and shout out to my dear friend (and former boss) Jesse who is now Dr. Jesse Nelson, getting his PhD this week!!! There is now a very good chance that we'll be trying to make a road trip in the spring to Indiana (*hint hint*)

The spring will be kind of scary though as Shell's current project is set to end in March and there's nothing on the horizon at the moment...eep. But we shall see, things somehow seem to turn up.

Well I should likely get back and pack up all my lovely ladies and their bags and bags of stuff- a wife, a daughter and two dogs sure can find a lot to take along on a two day trip...I'm packed in one small bag! If we are lucky to have another baby soon and it's a girl I just don't know how I'll ever survive the XX chromosomes...I'll have to check with Jamoker for tips!

To each and every one of you, I wish nothing but the best for this holiday season and the new year. I hope that only wonderful adventures come your way and fortune crosses your path.

God bless you all.

ETA:[Just checked my grades...my Australia grade isn't up yet, but I got a B in my Imperial Russia class...not happy about that but I expected it...she just didn't like my writing]

126 Million Reasons To Say I Love You

I guess I should explain...Vernon Wells just signed a contract extension today with the Blue Jays..$126 million over 7 years. Those are human years, not dog years, so Vernon gets an average of $18 million a year between now and 2014. Technically he only gets $63 million over the first 4 years because the deal is backloaded with a 3 year player option for another $63 million, which means if he wants it, he'll make $21 million a year the final three years.

Of course who cares..you had me at "HELLO, I've just become the 6th richest player in baseball history"....

Now at $18 million a year, and considering the major league baseball players draw one check a month for the 6 months of the regular season, that means Vernon's average paycheck is $1 million. That's one check with a 1 and 6 zeros.

I don't begrudge a ball player making that kind of money because a) who wouldn't want to and b) he gets that money because of schmucks like me paying to see him play. If thousands of people paid $20 to $50 a night to watch you do whatever the hell it is you do, I'm sure you'd be bringing in the serious coin too.

Sure you can argue that its too much and that other career people deserve more money (and it is and they do) but it's a different industry and you're arguing apples and oranges, or in Vernon's case GOLDEN apples and DIAMOND oranges.

And Vernon's a really nice guy, and I'd rather a nice ball player get a big fat contract than a jerk ballplayer...but they get big checks too.

The funny thing was during the interview Vernon gave with the local sports radio station, he answered a question about choosing to stay in Toronto for less money that he probably could have gotten somewhere else when he became a free agent next year (like his home state the Texas Rangers were rumored to be offering a 10-year/$20 million deal...so essentially Vernon left $74 million on the table...I don't know about you, but I have a hard time pushing away from a table that has extra pie...on that has $74 million on it would REALLY be hard to leave)...anyway Vernon's response was that it's nice to be able to bring his sons to Toronto for the summer instead of them staying home in the Texas heat. But for $126 million he could by Greenland!! (Okay actually he couldn't buy Greenland...but he COULD almost buy Tonga (who's GNP is just over $150 million dollars)...Greenland's GNP is actually just over $1.18 billion, wedged in between Sierra Leone and Suriname which frankly doesn't say a lot for Greenland cuz that's not a happy sandwich...oh and in case you're interested Canada's is just over $1 trillion and the US is over $12 trillion...I pause while I parade around the bedroom jabbing my finger in the air at my wife, "we're number 1, we're number 1...you're number 9, you're number 9"...I don't think she was all that happy about what I just did there. Hey when you're an ex-pat you've got to take the glory when you can! It's astounding that the US economy is greater than the next 4 biggest economies COMBINED.

I'm done with finals now, btw! The exam this morning was eerily easy, too easy in fact...I started to have doubts the moment I walked out of class. I finished a full hour ahead of the time limit, but the three questions I wrote were pretty easy. I wrote about "terra nullius" which was the topic of my first paper so that was pretty easy, I wrote about the end of transportation- the word used to describe the policy of sending convicts to Australian, and the third topic I chose was The Whitlam Revolution which was the ultra-left progressive government that came to power in Australia in the early 1970s.

Sweet Christmas break, how I love thee. I don't go back till the 10th of January! And thanks to my friend James I've already got a head start on next semester's readings since he loaned me a bunch of the science fiction books we're reading for class. So I'm spending Christmas with aliens and the space time continuum.

Turning My Brain Off Now

I've spent the better part of the day reading through my notes and articles for final tomorrow morning (at the ungodly hour of 9am...cripes)...anyway, it's almost 6 now and I'm pretty much done. So I'm shutting my brain off and letting go of everything. It's the relaxation technique for me for exams. What I know, I know and cramming late night facts into my head would only serve to drive out other useful information.

That may sound counter-productive to test-taking, but for me it's worked over the years and so that's my gig basically.

Also I really enjoyed the second half of my readings today because they were mostly politics based. To compare Australian politics with Canadian, British and American politics is quite a wonderful indulgence.

I'm also done shopping! I picked up the last gift for Shelley yesterday, so once I'm done with my final tomorrow (and with Ginny Grace's 15 month doctor visit) I'm only responsible for whatever 'to-do-list' my wife is drawing up for me in the days leading up to Christmas. We're leaving next Saturday for her brother's new place for a few days, but we'll be back Christmas night- then Boxing Day it's the other side of the family Christmas party.

After that it's the rest of the week and weekend to do nothing but spend time with Gracie and Shell (who has off that whole week after Christmas). Apparently she will be repairing the basement- taking down the corner drywall and chasing a leak we've got- which means I get clean-up work...not happy about that, but happy that the three of us will have plenty of time together.

Maybe we can even sneak a movie in or two...that would be nice.

Well time to get out of this library...

Brain- Deactivated!

Holy Couch Potato, Batman!

Sunday Morning Lounging
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

As you can see, Ginny Grace decided to spend some time this morning lounging in her chair watching mommy's show...yes I'm sure the parenting police will be disturbed that a child is actually watching television but "pttthbt" to you says I.

We had a lovely time at the Snyder Christmas last night, though I spent the better part of it yawning for lack of sleep :(

Still it was fun to see everyone and since many of the extended family doesn't see Gracie all that much in person, it was nice to get to see them talk and interact with her. Plus she was wearing the outfit that I bought her for Christmas, and which I must admit was the HIT of the party...what can I say I have taste in women's clothing...




The picture doesn't do it justice...and the vest is really soft ;)

evil grin

evil grin
Originally uploaded by AmericaninCanada.

I am so very thankful that I have an amazing and mostly happy baby daughter. Especially when I see kids who aren't so happy, like the kid in the grocery store yesterday who was screaming because his once filled mouth of candy was no longer filled and his mother wouldn't let him have anymore. Sure Ginny Grace has her moments when she doesn't get her way and let's you know that she's not so thrilled with it, but to this point she doesn't have those types of tantrums (knock wood).
She loves to smile and laugh. She's a little jokester who loves to make us laugh as well.
Tonight having a bath, she decided it would be fun to dip her face in the water. This created gales of laughter as she sat up and realized the stunned expression on my face. My laughter are her then sent her to even more spasms of laughter and the face dunking then continued for about 12 minutes, each laugh bigger than before.
Her clingy tendencies can get tiresome when I'm trying to finish a paper, but then I just remind myself that she's just wanting to share.
So I make an effort to put aside my work and sit with her on the bed and watch hockey (okay so it's not THAT much of an effort).
We sing the 'monkey jumping on the bed' song and she likes to drop down on her bum when the doctor says 'no more monkeys jumpin on the bed'
She's also learned what the mistletoe is in the living room, though she hasn't yet grasped that it means lots of kisses...but then again she's never too unwilling for kisses anyway.
Today she wore this shirt with hearts and flowers...I know it's naive to think that her life will always be filled with hearts and flowers...but I can dream can't I?

One Down, One To Go

I finished my Imperial Russia final...I'm not sure that it was the best final I've ever written but I'm done and to me at the moment that's all I can hope for.

I've begun collating my notes for my Australia History final and luckily I think I'll just have enough time to read and review the selected materials before Sunday night.
My prof was light with hints for the final save the description of 3 parts with 4 or 5 questions per section. It is sometimes easy to piece together history finals...you take the major themes, look at the sub-themes and generally speaking you can glean a broad question or two.

Normally my "studying" for a final is actually quite light because I've usually embraced the material and have already decided in my head what a thesis for each section might be...but this course was a bit different. First I didn't find within the material a clear narrative, mostly because we spent as much time discussing the historiographical debate within Australian historical analysis as much as we did on the fundamentals.
From the initial course description I can pretty much outline what the major points of the course were and it is then a matter of piecing together the parts for a whole.
If I can shine a spotlight on one or two of those issues and maybe come up with a half dozen paragraphs to summarize, with bullet points to flesh them out, then I think I can do an adequate job...by the way the last few sentences were really meant for me, as a means of bucking up my spirit that I won't in all reality BOMB.

The other reason why I'm so worried is that I think I've thus far earned an A in this class and I don't want to screw it up- but with 50% of the overall grade coming from this final I'm a tad squeamish.

All I really know for sure is that come Noon on Monday I'm going to breathe a huge sigh of relief because I'll have done all I can do.


This weekend we've got the Snyder family Christmas which is, as usual, a HUGE deal since there are just so many of them. Since my father-in-law is one of 10 kids the festivities can get quiet large. Last year we had it in this church auditorium, and it was pretty cool- there was even some indoor hockey equipment there which, when you have that large of family of Canadians meant that an instant family street hockey game broke out.

This year will be cool because Gracie can walk and communicate so it will be interesting to see how she does...last year she was just 3 months old so she basically just sat there, drooling on me...

I bought her a new outfit for the occasion too!

Oh and one more thing:

Dear Santa,
If you could see your way clear to letting us win the 27 million dollar lottery tonight we'd be eternally grateful.
And if you don't handle the lottery end of wishes could you please pass this note on to the baby Jesus...maybe he can help out.

thanks in advance for the Smallvill Season 5...
Ron

I think I need a nap now.

Google Maps Gave Me Pink Eye

I was playing around with Google Maps tonight- I found my old house in Utah, plus the tree at the U golf course that was my nemesis. I mapped Toronto and I have to tell you the satellite image is at least 5 years old. If you see SkyDome and the CN tower there's nary a high rise around, in fact you can see in the image a crane being used to build the one condo that was being built when I first came here to Canada 5 years ago on my first visit. The old City Core golf course is in the picture (that's been gone now at least 2 years and has 2 condos being built on it as we speak.

Zooming in and out on the map made me feel as if I was falling through the clouds. My own bit of Vertigo...the dreams I'll have tonight as a result I worry about.

I've got to write my Russian History final tonight and tomorrow. It's only about 7-8 typed pagest so I'm really not sweating it, at least like I'm sweating my Australian final on Monday...that's got me bugged.

I cut my finger tonight making dinner...damn carrots!

Did I tell you I got a stupid and nonsensical parking ticket in the city the other day?? If you visit Toronto just remember that the parking Nazis will rip you off- I'm so glad I don't live IN the city anymore.

When I used to come to Toronto before Shell and I got married (which by the way I drove here every other weekend for a year from Virginia) I used to have to park in front of the house until midnight but then move my car onto Spadina until 8am when I'd have to get up and put $2 in the meter then move it back to the house at 10am. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever encountered in the world of parking.

Once I moved up we got a parking sticker so I could actually leave the car in front of the house for the whole night!

Anyway...I've got a cut finger, a nauseous tummy, and a parking ticket receipt for $30...if only I had a finished paper and well prepared exam.

Precious Moments and Blog Business

There's just no getting around it...today I've been an unbelievable grump. I'm really feeling the end of the semester stress, plus there's a few other things bugging me. I'm trying (really I am) to not be so damn miserable. Tonight we took Ginny Grace to get her picture with Santa. We had gone on Sunday but Santa had left for the day- if I wasn't afraid of getting put on the 'naughty' list I'd be tempted to question Santa's work ethic. Anyway, Gracie bawled when we put her on his lap- we knew she would- still it was sad. He gave her a candy cane and luckily (I think) the photographer was able to snap her in a non-sobbing moment (though with cane firmly in mouth). Ah well. I was telling Writer Mom last night about some of the overly cute things GG has been doing. So I'll share with you as well in case you haven't had your fill of 'my daughter is so cute' stories yet. Grace likes to get into the tupperware cupboard and Monday was no exception. She found the turkey baster in there and loved playing with it since it's sort of like her bath toys in that it blows air at her. Anyway after her bath Monday night, she's running around the house naked carrying a turkey baster...for what purpose I know not, but it was too damn funny. Then yesterday I took her to the corner store and she was sitting on the counter as I was paying for our purchase...she just leaned in and put her head on my chest and sat there for a few minutes quietly, sort of hugging me...I just wanted to cry it was so sweet. When I put her down for her nap, she had pretty much fallen asleep drinking her bottle, so I picked her up and put her in her bed and pulled her Tinkerbell blanket over her. I set her Mr. Minor Monkey next to her and without really opening her eyes she reached over and grabbed him and pulled him under her arm and snuggled with him and dozed off..ugh...I was overcome. Today, after her afternoon nap, we sat on the bed and watched PTI, our usual afternoon routine. She plays a game now where she likes to fling herself backward and flop on the bed. It sends her into whoops of laughter. After a while she just put her head down and leaned back against me and I patted her leg and we sat there watching TV. It was just perfect. I love these moments. They really help me deal with the other less perfect moments- when she's crying because you won't let her play with scissors or mama's crochet bag, when she's miserable because her teeth are hurting her, when she's upset because you won't let her grab all the forks out of the dirty dishwasher that you're trying to load. I try to make sure I keep the good times in the front of my head so I don't get as frustrated with the tough ones...it doesn't always work, but then again I'm as imperfect as God made me. Blame Him. I think I'm bailing on writing some of my paper tonight and instead will watch Smallville with Shelley. Maybe that will make me less grumpy. [and now some comment follow-ups and assorted other blog stuff] I wanted to commment on a couple of blogs but for various reasons was unable to, so I use this space to say: Jamoker- I have to say I too enjoyed and was suprised with "Lucky Number Slevin", and also as it pertains to types of people in school, I likely am the 47 year-old-student, except I'm only 38 and I don't feel the need to copy every word the prof says. But I have seen many of those other types in my matriculation. Sarah- I wanted to reply to your stained glass window post but the comments box was being fussy with me and after 5 tries I gave up...but I wanted to say PLEASE post a picture of the finished product because Shelley also makes Stained Glass windows and I know she'd love to see it! (oh and OUCH that looks painful) and as for various comments: Ange, no you may NOT clone me as the world has already been burdened with ONE copy of me and needs no others. This is why I made a baby with my wife so that the version of me could be refined and improved with her DNA. Plus if there's another 'ME' in the world how would we tell ME from Other Me...I saw Star Trek and it almost didn't work out for Capt. Kirk! Kim (and Sarah), yes I know that I could use water for the stamps and now that Ange is going all CSI on my envelopes I think I will in the future

Change Is Gonna Do You Good

Yeah I changed the look of the blog yet again...I'm not even sure this one will stay long. It's an old theme I had and the other one, while nice, was giving me some attitude. I'm just in search of a nice theme...where are you nice theme? We'll see how long this lasts anyway... I've got to take the computer in for some work next week...maybe when it comes back all properly working and stuff I'll actually sit down and find another theme... sitting on the edge of your seat aren't you?

Lists

Today was Christmas Cards... I had exactly 72 people on my list... I got a hand cramp around 40... I used to write very personalized Christmas cards... That was before I had to write 72 of them... Now they are terribly laconic... I suck... Also licking 72 envelopes is of the gross...

Gallipoli to the Somme: Australia's Search for Identity

The full text of my paper can now be found here... I still don't think I've recovered yet! One more paper due Friday and a final on Monday and I'm done till the middle of January...

Life's Rich Pageant

I want to write you all a really long post...one full of meaning, one that you won't actually be wasting your time reading...something...profound.

But the truth is I don't have profound in me.
I've got flashes of profound for me...in other words to me what is profound is likely not the same for you. I wish at times it were, that somehow we could all be connected in one conscious thought, even if for a moment so that we could know all there is to know about each other. Rid ourselves of fear, the ingredient that tears us apart.
I get terribly lonely at times- which is weird because there are few moments in the day when I'm ever alone physically, but there's that old saw about being alone in a crowded room. Sometimes that's me.

I don't mean to even sound melancholy about it because it's okay. I'm okay. And there are times when for me the world couldn't get small enough, just to fit me and Shell and Ginny Grace and the puppies.

This year (and this isn't my end of the year post by any means...those are always fun)...anyway this year I've met (at least blog-wise) some really great, amazing, fascinating people. Probably like yourself, in fact probably YOU!

It made me branch out a bit, and I learned that there are people going through much of the same frustrations in the life that I am...especially the young (though I'm by no means as young as some) parents who have helped me understand, helped me navigate, and shared with me.

My thoughts then ran to two lyrics, one which is a great phrase from a Hootie and the Blowfish song that mentions "life's grand ballroom"- a sometimes scary, but sometimes wondrous place, and there's plenty of space to dance.
Then there's one of my favorite R.E.M. songs from the wonderfully titled "Life's Rich Pageant". The song is "I Believe".
This year has been one for me about belief...trying to find out what I believe in. Not just spiritually, but 'meta-spiritually'...that very same interconnectedness I mentioned.

I don't have all the answers, but then again...I'm not sure I have as yet figured out all the questions either...

'trust in your calling, make sure that your calling's true...think of others and the others will think of you'...
that's a pretty good start though...

So it's time for bed now, and I really want a good night's sleep...so I listen to a great song, and I share with you the lyrics:

When I was young and full of grace
and spirited--a rattlesnake.
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor not to tell

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there's the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor

Trust in your calling, make sure your calling's true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change

I believe my humor's wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and full of grace
As spirited a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor
I believe in example
I believe my throat hurts
Example is the checker to the key

I believe my humor's wearing thin
And I believe the poles are shifting

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

Roll That Stone Over Me

Not to get too messianic on you, but in the words of Jesus, "It is finished".

Sure, I didn't die for your sins or anything, but finishing this paper sure felt like Crucifixion (eh, I'm going to hell anyway...)

I'll probably post a full-text at some point, when I actually have the nerve to (and when the feeling returns to my body)...but for now I tease you with a few passages...like you'll be hovered by your monitor for weeks awaiting for it...sheesh who do I think I am, J.K. Rowling?

Anyway...peep some of it...

In 1901 Australia gained its independence from Great Britain, yet its historical and cultural ties were still deeply entrenched. As Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, those same ties bound Australia to join the war effort. The Great War, as it would come to be known, was part obligation, part opportunity to many Australians. In defending the historical motherland, a new reality of a truly separate homeland was born. By war’s end, Australia’s new history melded myth and legend with blood and sacrifice. Through sacrifice on the battlefield, Australia gained a global identity- though that identity was confounded by Australia’s own colonial past, and a national self-identity- though that identity failed to embrace all Australians. In earlier years, Australians “had cheered the small number of adventurers who had embarked to participate in England’s minor imperial wars.” Just fewer than 1500 men had volunteered during the Maori Wars in 1863, and following the siege at Khartoum in the mid-1880s further military support was offered. Australian’s had participated alongside the British in both the Boer War in South Africa and in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Such willingness to rise to the defense of England made a “tremendous and deep impression” among the powers in Europe. As the 19th-century drew to a close “it was taken for granted that Britain’s far flung outposts should render military assistance to the mother country in time of conflict.”

There's a wonderful (and gruesome) story from a survivor of the Somme that I did not include in the paper, but I'll share with you. During one particularly savage bombardment, a German trench was blown up. For four days shells rained down on the battlefield before quiet settled on the area. As several ANZAC troops sat in their trenches having a meal, a young German soldier crawled up through the remnants of the destroyed German trench. He had apparently survived the initial shelling, pinned underground in a pocket with his dead fellow soldiers, unable to make his way out because the fires burned around him for days. He managed to have enough air it seemed to survive somehow, but was afraid to move until the silence made him feel it was safe to escape. The Aussies amazed at his survival, fed him and dressed his wounds and led him to the rear for further treatment (and of course to turn him in as a prisoner). Such was the nature of the war- survival, brutality and humanity.

Expletive Deleted

Sometimes I really hate myself...this is one of those times.
I have a page of notes for my Australia paper (due tomorrow at 5) with a couple of great quotes and information, but somehow I failed to write down the source information for citation.

Expletive Deleted So now I've spent a half and hour back-tracing through my Expletive Deleted notes, trying to figure out where the Expletive Deleted I found the original work.

I'm so distraught that I've just had a self-piteous bowl of Rice-Krispies, in which, I'm absolutely certain I heard, "Snap, Crackle, Expletive Deleted"

Even my cereal thinks I'm a Expletive Deleted!!! Well I guess I'd better get back to the paper otherwise I'll be good and truly Expletive Deleted.

My Cup Runneth Over (and Out)

*sigh*
Today is truly a sad day for me, because it is today that I have to officially retire my beloved University of Utah mug.
Sadly there will be no glorious after-life for my cup. There's no 'mug heaven' for it to go to, nor can I put my mug out to stud to spend its remaining days, frolicking in the grass and making little muglets.
This is not just you average run of the mill mugs either. This was a decorative display of my Ute pride, and it was refillable for a buck at the old student union in Baliff Hall.
It saw me through so many miserable mornings at the office, sending notices to students who got busted for various (sometimes amazingly creative) stupid things. It would sit there on my desk, gurgling with morning caffeine while RAs came by, exhausted from lack of sleep because they had the pager all night and it was THAT night that everybody was doing the incredibly stupid things.
I never let on that a lot of mornings there was Pepsi and not Coca-Cola in that mug (shh...it was a Coke campus)

Hey at least I didn't have a kitten in it...

Well anyway...
It has lasted over 6 years! That's 'mug years' too, so that's like 145 in human years.

Shelley hates the mug. I embarrassed her once when I had it at dinner...everyone else had wine in little pretty wine glasses with adorable pretty little wine charms oo la la (note: that sentence is much funnier when read with a sarcastic prissy Homer Simpson voice)

Anyway, I'm sure when she reads this tomorrow at work, she'll shout 'hosannahs' and do a happy dance.

That's why I *sighed* back up there at the top...somehow knowing she'll be happy about the death of my Ute mug just makes the pain more unbearable.

I guess to get past the pain I'll just do what I always do when life becomes too overwhelming...I'll take a deep breath...clear my mind of everything...blank page...blaaaaank page....then another deep breath to cleanse myself...focus my mind on my 5th (possibly my 6th) chakra...and then look at a picture of two guys making a beer run dressed as stormtroopers...



ahhhh....that's better....

Joy To The World, The Lord Has Gum

On the drive in to the city this afternoon, one of the news reports on the all news station had a survey of misheard Christmas carol lyrics...that was my favorite from some little girl they questioned. I can just see the commercial possibilities:

"Four out of Five deities prefers spearmint" Of course you know the ONE deity that didn't play ball with the others was probably Vishnu, for some reason I don't see Vishnu as a gum chewer.

So I'm 'stuck in the stacks' again this evening and am taking an 'extended break' so that my eyes don't fail me trying to read in one of the poorly lit cubicles in the stack area. It is at times like this that I really wish I had a lap top. There are few computers available in the upper floors of Robarts that have access to the outside world- I was lucky enough to grab a free one on the 11th floor. They'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands I tells ya!!

Why isn't one of you here to entertain me right now??

Can't you see I'm suffering??

I'm sure using a lot of contractions in this post...I don't usually use contractions in my posts...I'm not sure what I'm trying to say but I'd bet that some of you going back now and counting the number...made ya look.

So I've actually finished, I think, most of the research and I've got my outline done. Now comes the interesting part where I must piece the little scraps together to make the glorious quilt that will be this paper...I pause whilst we all observe a moment of hurling. I'm so pretentious when I'm using contractions!!! (oh I'm pretentious all the time whom am I kidding?)

Well as I sit here enjoying the soft 'titter-tatter' of this sweet Dell keyboard, it dawns on me that I have to give up my comfy perch, and better lighting, to brave the freaking cold ass Toronto night to put more money in the parking meter. My 'cold dead hand' bravado is now completely belittled.

Fear not gentle reader, I shall return to a computer again as soon as I've thawed out again and maybe had a piece of pizza and some caffeine (and hunted down another machine).

Oh and for the love of God message me if you see me please?? Just so I know I'm not alone and the world hasn't been irradiated while I've been buried in letters from Australian soldiers!!!

Iraq: Looking At An Ugly Pig (Part One)

I'm alerting you ahead of time...I'm droppin' some serious on you...I've got to throw some in every once in a while or I start to feel like I'm writing this month's issue of MAD and it's a sucky issue.

Anyway...I've been thinking about that thing no one likes to think about. No not that thing, the other thing. The War.

As an historian, you're always running into people giving you the cliched "forgetting the past, repeating it" canard. While it sounds good on the surface, the fact is that we don't repeat past mistakes, we just make all new and improved ones that look a lot like the old ones- sort of like Certs before it came with Retsin.

In truth, no situation is exactly the same. Therefore, no mistake is truly the same. Every ugly pig is unique, even if they are all ugly and you can't tell the difference. (This of course takes into account pre-cloning of pigs which is a separate issue entirely)

So what is repeated if not mistakes? Themes.

Themes reoccur with striking familiarity.

Mostly the theme with which we are dealing with is 'stupidity'.

As the Romanov dynasty was crumbling in the fires of the Great War, and Russian soldiers were being fed to the German and Austrian-Hungarian forces like so much hay, a centrist leader in the Russian Duma, Pavel Miliukov, famously asked, "Is this stupidity, or is this treason?"

The implication being that either Nicholas was an incompetent leader, or a faithless one.

Criticism of the current adventure in Iraq is generally dealt with either in hoarse-throated simplified sloganeering, or paternalistic patriotism. One extreme wonders "can't the rest of you see it's really we who are causing all the world's problems" without examining either who the 'us' is or what 'the problems' really are. The other extreme thinks we should be child-like in our understanding- "Mommy never does anything wrong, everything Daddy does is right".

Each argument has an elitism, and a omniscience in its calculations. Both assume the people to be children in need of hand-holding or spoon-feeding. Both tell us how the world is, and questioning either liberal or conservative orthodoxy is akin to talking back to your parents.

In reality, the construct should be flipped on its head. It is we who should be like the parent- after all we are the masters of the government, though sometimes I grant you it doesn't feel that way.

A parent looks at his or her child and says "what you did was wrong, but I still love you". We can hold the two thoughts simultaneously of disapproval AND love. The far-left wants to go heavy on the former and thinks the latter should be treated like a given. But isn't it wrong to never tell your child you love them- to assume they know it? The right wants us merely to love our country, without ever voicing our anger and disappointment- but don't the same people argue that what is wrong with society is children being rewarded even for failure?

I supported the war in its inception, in part because I believe that the biggest threat to global stability is totalitarian regimes, especially those with a history of brutality and hostility. Saddam was not the only dictator, but he was the most notorious, and it appeared the easiest to eliminate. In foreign policy I'm an old school Wilsonian- a true liberal. Wilson's goal- liberal capitalist internationalism- is to me still the most pragmatic policy, and soundest strategy for global stability. What I saw, in the haze of a post-9/11 shock, was a need to return to that pragmatic, and progressive, policy.

While I did believe the intelligence regarding Saddam's supposed WMD capacity, and that was based also Saddam's own actions to subvert international inspections which is something seemingly forgotten in the wake of the current failures of policy, it wasn't the ultimate selling point for me, or the Wilsonian in me.

My mistake was believing that the world would see the inherent 'liberalism' in toppling a brutal, destabilizing regime, but also that the conduct of the war would be in the best intentions of Wilsonianism, truly internationalistic.

Neither it turns out was the case.

Instead the Bush administration calculated a purely unilateral policy, with a veneer of appeals to internationalism that apparently no one bought. But the world failed to embrace the liberalism of the action as well. In short, neither side was acting in good faith.

The world body could not be bothered with tackling a menace it saw as only really menacing Israel (a country most of the world has no desire to embrace), and only a passing menace to the broader Middle East (a part of the world it has little understanding of, and little interest in other than its resources).

Ironically, the accusation hurled at the Bush administration, that the war was merely an aggressive push for control of oil reserves, was loudest from those nations with their own hands deepest in those same reserves.

But the Bush administration failed, accidentally or cynically, to make an honest, or liberal, (one might even add 'humanitarian' which seems to be the only word the world moves an inch toward) argument for the policy.

This then, is the world for the historians. The examination of 'all' the sides, with full knowledge, or as full as can be had, of the context in which actions occur.

At this point, I pause to consider what might be done in the future, and what lessons history might offer in those decisions...and while I formulate those thoughts, to be brought to you in a few days when I can better articulate them...I leave you with a savvy, Colbertian reading of war, debate, and the power of language all relevant to this essay- enjoy.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

a positive message
Originally uploaded by asmysunrise.

This was a photo posted on Flickr and Vox. Titled "a positive message'. And I'll agree the message is positive if the meaning of your life has a positive outlook. But I can't quite bring myself to fully embrace the love bead behind it because frankly not everyone's life has meaning. Think Charles Manson...clearly someone who's life has no meaning- he is- in my opinion, just sucking up useful oxgen that could be save for old people with those tanks, or well anyone who ISN'T him.
The other thing is what if I agree with you that my life has meaning...but it's written in Spanish. I don't read spanish and therefore my life's meaning would be lost on me- unless I could find someone willing to translate my life's meaning from Spanish to English.
But this brings another dillemma...what if don't want that person to know what my life's meaning is. What if my life's meaning involves me becoming fabulously wealthy? Don't you think my translator might change a word here or there juuuuuust so I cut them in on my future wealth, or WORSE, knowing all about me and the meaning of my life they might simply murder me and take my meaningful life for themselves...which is a grim scenario, but I've been watching lots of CSI and if it can happen on CSI it can happen anywhere.
The last thing I want to say about this photo is that clerly the words 'your life has meaning' has been slapped over another message. This worries me because I'm afraid the obscured message is likely warning me about falling victim to a 'your life has meaning' painted on a wall. So we'll never know what the message that was REALLY intended for me (I'm assuming it's for me since it's addressing MY LIFE...)
Maybe the message read: "Don't eat that cheeseburger on Tuesday, it has e coli" now see THAT's a message I'd want that would have GREAT meaning to me, not to mention my choice of food on Tuesday.
So what I'm getting to is that because this 'so-called' positive message, I'm worried that I'm actually being denied a specific warning to protect myself from contaminiated meat on Tuesday...and now my life is ruined because I'm filled with angst and neurotic fears of Burger King- which frankly had already had me freaked out by that guy in the giant King costume...

Yes ultimately my life is now meaning I'm hiding under my bed and I'm never coming out again, so THERE, are you happy now?!?!

oh and I'll need someone to translate that to Spanish for me just in case...

I {{heart}} the Internets

The internet is a wondrous thing. It can give you almost instantaneous gratification...and I don't mean the kind that requires a credit card number you pervs...

No I mean answers. Answers to almost anything you have a question about...even questions you didn't think about asking...it's all there.
For instance it can tell you when you lost out on a chance to win $40 on your football card because the Bears covered the spread- that sort of answer makes you want to cry though...and that's not fun-informative, but sad.

Then there's stuff that just makes you laugh...like this:



Now how can you not laugh at that unless you are a soulless creature with no future, huh?

The internets can also bring you the joy of meeting people and sharing in their happiness, like when it's the birthday of Pickles!!!!! Happy Birthday Pickles!!!!!!

The internets don't have to be a scary place. Yes there are plentt of scary people out there, the people stealing your credit card numbers, impersonating you in Cabo, and getting arrested for smuggling goats into Texas...but those people are few and far between...especially the goat smugglers.

The internets can also be a useful place to learn important things like, what are the real lyrics to Manfred Mann's "Blinded by the Light" or what episode Buffy find out Angel was a vampire...important stuff people.

The internets can even alert us to danger. Where would we be if the internets, via You Tube and Stephen Colbert, wasn't a constant source to remind us of the threat posed to us by Dutch monkeys and bears...


See if it wasn't for the internets, and you happen to miss that episode of The Colbert Report...you'd be completely oblivious the next time you visited the monkey cages at the Amsterdam Zoo...and you could have stumbled into a killing zone!

So what I'm saying people is...give the internets a break.
It's not the internets fault your mom found you Googling for porn now is it??

A Napoleon in Rags

Minor updates in bullet form:

* we got the van back yesterday...the insurance company wanted to write it off because it had more damage according to them than the value of the van. Apparently the thieves must have backed into something and bent the frame. however it has been driven by my father-in-law, Shelley, and the mechanics all who certify that it has no wobbles or anything, even on high speeds...so...the insurance company wrote it off, less our deductible, added the new carseat, and allowed us to retain the vehicle. The only catch is that we can't fully insure it with them, they will only allow for liability.

* 'the Cough' is intermittently better...I have some horrible moments still, but not as frequently so the aches in my body are not severe anymore. the doctor says I have asthma, and I've got a few more things to do (like a chest x-ray this week) but so far at least at night I'm getting some rest...

* Gracie has cut a third tooth, but it has come with some bad behavior, crankiness, and a lack of appetite...I was away today working on my paper and she gave Shell a pretty rough time. We'll see how she is tomorrow...

* Speaking of my paper...I finally got 'the hook' I was looking for and now it's just a matter of making it coherent and putting pieces together. I think I've got another night at the library and then a couple of days putting a draft together and I should be okay. I have to have it in by 5 on Friday so this week is kind of scary...

* After an afternoon and evening at the library I treated my brain to the movies. They were playing some "Rock Gold" before the commercials and stuff and you just can't beat "Like a Rolling Stone" or "Dream On" just cranked through a movie theater sound system...

* Shell decorated the house tonight while I was away. The tree is lit, the mantle trimmed, and now it's just a matter of snapping the Christmas Card photo so I can get that printed and distributed. (just another thing to add to the list)...

* Major props to The Jamoker for his photo publishing- he got a CD cover!!! That's pretty damn cool!!!...

* I'm halfway through Nixon in China and it occurs to me that I probably have enough material on Nixon in my personal library that I could write a decent Master's thesis without ever leaving the room. I think I have at least a dozen books directly on the subject, and another dozen probably with related material. As I told Dr. MacMillan, the author of Nixon in China, Nixon is likely such a fascination for me because I was born two days before he was elected. She remarked that as an American, a 'Nixon baby' as she called me, and a presidential historian, I probably knew more about Nixon than she did. I don't know if I'd go that far, but it was quite a compliment. If she wasn't leaving for Oxford this summer I think I'd take her up on a challenge of an independent study course on Nixon, but alas she is U.K. bound in June... * In a related note, more and more I'm coming to the conclusion that I should just find a long-term research topic and slowly build some material that I might publish (someday) whether it be for a dissertation or to submit for some journals. I'll need some material anyway when I start seeking out recommendation letters next fall anyway from some of my profs. I realize that I don't spend nearly enough time networking with some high profile professors, at least as some others do. It is partially that I'm probably lazy in that regard, but also that I don't have the opportunity to do so with family obligations and the like. My wife would probably say that that's just an excuse because after all I played softball 3 times during the summer nights, but that's time that basically *I* can schedule...dealing with professors and their wacky schedules is a whole 'nother magilla... * Finally I've been tagged by Zilla for a meme about 6 weird things about me. My first reaction is "what the hell ISN'T weird about me?" but then that's my first reaction to just about everything. But here goes:
1- I'm a spontaneous procrastinator- at the drop of the hat I can put stuff off for days (I think that's the first joke I ever wrote for myself...not a good one mind you but it's all mine
2- My feet are square (my wife gave me that one)
3- I don't like the beach (this was another of my wife's suggestions)...the thing is I grew up at the beach and thus its really not a big deal to me...I've done just about everything one can do at a beach (yes even 'that') and so what's left, really?
4- If left to my own devices I'd take 3 to 4 showers a day and live in the water. Yes I realize this is paradoxical when juxtaposed to the previous weird thing, but that's just what makes it weird.
5- I can't bring myself to eat Canadian manufactured Oreo cookies. This is perhaps not really in the 'weird' category per se but I felt like throwing it in (for lack of something else). Canadian Oreos taste funny, not funny ha-ha, more funny 'yuck these things suck' funny kind of way.
6- I don't read fiction (this was yet another 'wife answer'...she's so helpful (or just has to put up with my overall weirdness). This is not a hard and fast rule of course as I have been known to read some pieces of fiction (mostly because I have too however). The thing is I just find very little fiction enjoyable. I love the Harry Potter books, and I've read a few 'popular' works of modern day (like DaVinci Code...though now I can't think of anything else of recent popularity in the fiction world that I've read- see isn't that weird? My favorite fiction books are largely political (like Orwell's "Animal Farm") or historically tinged (like Mailer's "Harlot's Ghost") and I'm not big on 'the Classics' either though I've read a lot of them perhaps just for canonical reasons. But the point is I probably didn't like it. I just prefer to be chest deep in non-fiction if you please, that's where you'll find me in Chapters.

* A final post-script for the evening...I just had to, even though I was ready for bed, go out to the car to get my briefcase out of the trunk (because I had borrowed Shell's CD player for the library trip) and it is quite possible that I've frozen something vital on my person. It is currently -4C and I really couldn't be bothered to hunt down a pair of pants, so I went out in shorts...and now you probably aren't wondering why I have a wicked permanent cough right? *sigh*