dreams of a wonderful life

well I'm back. from one of the best trips i've had :)
So... highlights:
Paris: went to Notre Dame my first day, after having a nap, and checking into the hostel. the next day, I went on a free walking tour of Paris. Our guide was hilarious- a flamboyant british teen, and he took us around to see most of the big sights in Paris-Notre Dame, the Louvre, Tuileries, etc. after, myself and a brother and sister who were staying in my room at the hostel decided to take up the offer of lunch for 8 euro that the tour company offered. so we had our lunch at this place near montmartre, and our conversation somehow turned to the sex museums that Candace and Eric had gone to in Amsterdam, and our guide mentioned there was 1 in Montmartre, just down the street. We decided to go, and our guide came with us! It was pretty interesting- lots of historical stuff, including the strangest dildo i've ever seen (on the back of a sandal.. that would be the weirdest position to use a dildo, haha). anyways, after going through the museum, the 3 of us decided we wanted to go on the tour of montmartre- it wasn't free, but you did get a glass of wine at the end, haha. our guide for that was pretty awesome too, and we saw places like the last windmill, were van gogh lived, sacre coeur, etc.
next day, I was going to go to the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the Petit Palais, but by the time I got there, it was a 2 hour wait to get inside.. needless to say, I decided to not stand in a line on my own for 2 hours, haha. So, I decided to revisit some of the sights we had touched on the day before on the tour. I went to the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel tower, and walked down the Champs Elysees. that night, i felt very french, when I made my supper... baguette, camembert cheese, and a bottle of wine.

Nimes: was a total 180 activity-wise. I stayed in a hotel there, because there's apparently no hostels in Nimes. made my couple days there a little  lonely, but anyway... I went to the arena, which is Roman, and still standing/used today. I did a lot of shopping, and also went to this beautiful garden, with a HUGE Roman fountain, which was really cool. I also went to a building that kinda looks like the Parthenon in Greece, but smaller, but it was a disappointment, because they were restoring it, and you could only go in to watch a 3d movie about Nimes... Also went to the Roman Watch tower. Had to climb a small mountain to do it, which was a mildly bad idea on my part because I hadn't eaten breakfast that day...

Barcelona: weather was kinda crappy the whole time i was there, but didn't stop me from doing a lot. I went to a bunch of the places that Gaudi designed... they are some weird looking buildings! I also went to the Sagrada Familia- the giant cathedral, that if you see pics of barcelona is almost always in it.. it's still under construction, but is absolutely massive. And I went to the Picasso museum- they don't have any of his really famous works, but most of the stuff was donated by him or his close friends, so it shows how he evolved from a fairly conventional artist to the cubism he's known for. My last full day, I was going to go to a flea market, but because of the pouring rain, most of the stalls weren't open. So I went to the shopping centre nearby and did some shopping, then went to the chocolate museum, and just to wander around the gothic quarter.. Probably the highlight of my stay in Barcelona though, was just hanging out in the hostel. The bar had really cheap sangria, and on 1 night, I hung out with an Aussie couple, and a guy from texas who were staying in my room, and we were up until almost 2:30, just talking, and playing wii. The next night, I hung out with a dutch couple from my room, and a random british guy, just drinking, talking, and occasionally going outside for a smoke.

Valencia: This was when the weather started turning really nice, and when I really started to tan, haha. I wandered around, and went into the central market my first day there, and a random ceramics museum, mostly because it was open during siesta, and there wasn't anything else to do. I did a walking tour the next day, and our guide was awesome. Afterwards, myself and 2 people from my hostel decided to do the tapas tour. So awesome. At the first place, we got 2 tapas and 2 drinks. Of course, as I was becoming a sangria addict, I had sangria. The next place, I had sangria again, this time just a bigger glass, and we had a couple more tapas. We all  decided to continue hanging out afterwards- guide included. So we ordered another round of drinks. This time I got the restaurant's actual glass of sangria, which was massive. It was in one of those big red wine glasses, and filled almost to the top, with a little ice. And then, just as we were paying, and getting ready to leave, the owner brought out another round of drinks for us on the house. Luckily, this glass of sangria was smaller, haha. By the end of this, we were all pretty hammered.. After, we went to the bus station, so that Tyler could by his ticket for granada that night, and then walked to the train station, so I could get my ticket for cordoba the next day. When we got back to the hostel, I just kinda decided to stay.. too much sangria and sun, and I was exhausted... So I hung out in the hostel for the rest of the night, and just chilled.

Cordoba: Holy hell was it hot. I think it was like mid 30's while I was there. I didn't get there til late, and when I attempted to take the bus, the bus didn't stop where I was supposed to get off.. the stop didn't even come up. So i did a loop around the city, and ended up back at the train station. When I asked the bus driver, he said something about no busses stopping there, but I didn't entirely understand him, so didnt know why. So I decided to take a cab. He was only able to get me partway there, because there was some sort of protest going on in the square near my hostel, and police had blocked off the road. Which explains why the busses weren't going down there. Anyways, I finally got to the hostel. The next day, I did some sightseeing. I went to the Mezquita, which is a huge mosque that's been converted to a church and back a couple times, but is now a church. It's quite beautiful. I also went to the royal palace, where Queen Isabel lived, and where decisions like conquering america were made. Pretty cool, but I wish I had gotten an audioguide, so I'd have gotten more of the history. I also went to a Hammam, which was an awesome experience. btw, a hammam is a turkish bath. There was 3 different "baths" which were more like pools... a cold, warm and hot, plus a steam room. We rotated between them all until you were called for your massage. I didn't get the authentic turkish massage, because it was a lot more expensive, but i did get a relaxing massage, which was awesome.

Madrid: the day I got there, I went to a park near the palacio real, and wandered around for a bit. It was really nice, and relaxing. As I was leaving, I found an enclosure with peacocks too! Then I went to the Palacio Real itself. However, what I didn't realize was that it's at the top of a big hill from the entrance to that park... and at about 3pm it was around 30 degrees. I finished all my water really quickly, and was dying by the time I actually got to the palace. Somehow I managed to get in for free.. Not really sure how, but I think the guy must have misheard me when he asked where I was from, because EU residents get free entrance. but whatever. It was really cool in there. They have a royal armoury, which had a million suits of armour, etc. And the official rooms, which were were allowed to tour were amazing. There was a lot of security around, but I think it was partially because I'm fairly certain the king and queen live in another part of the Palace. The next day, I got my culture. I went to a wax museum, which was overpriced, and corny, but kinda fun. I was sufficiently creeped out by some of the statues tho, because they were really good. There was one in particular of Antonio Banderas, which was standing randomly in the centre of a room full of historical scenes.. Not really sure why he was there, but I though about getting apicture, but got too creeped out by him. The museum also had a "train of terror" so ridiculously corny, you have no idea. It had different 'scary' animals, and aliens, etc. and an entire chunk dedicated to the bar scene from star wars... not sure how that's supposed to be scary, lol. After the wax museum, I went to the del Prado museum, which has a ridiculous amount of renaissance art. I spent a good 3 and a half hours there, and could have stayed longer, but was starting to get sick of different variations of 'mary with child', 'st. geronimo', ' st. catherine' etc. So I moved onto the Reina Sofia museum, which has a lot of contemporary art. The highlight of this museum was Picasso's Guernica. That night, I went to a Flamenco show, which was really cool. The dancers were amazing, particularly the guy... Flamenco is a dance that has a lot of stomping and clapping. At one point the guy was stomping his heels so quickly his legs were actually vibrating. I had no idea someone could move that quickly, haha. The next day was my last partial day in Spain. I went to the Museo del Traje, which is a fashion museum, pretty cool. They had lots of different examples of clothing from about the 17th century on.. all original. I also went to the Templo Debod, which is I think the only egyptian temple that's still standing, outside of Egypt.

After all that, I started my ridiculously long journey home. I left at a good time too, because Madrid is hosting the UEFA final, which was yesterday, and there were a lot of rabid football fans showing up in Madrid. I have a feeling it would have been absolutely nuts.

And that was my trip :) pictures will be up on facebook soon :)

exhaustion is starting to set in.. haha. after a full day of driving wednesday, packing/moving shit ALL day yesterday, and helping a couple people move shit today, i'm burnt out.. i also managed to hurt my back while moving the tv from the top of my wardrobe to the dresser in my room yesterday. It's not bad. it's just sore.

I've gotten most of my stuff into the basement of my building. All ready for moving in next saturday!! And furniture wise, i've got a bed, dresser, pulloutcouch, and tv stand, so really the most important basics.. still don't have a dining/kitchen table, but i'm sure that when my family comes up and we go to the trading treasures sale (where everyone who's moving out donates their stuff... it's like a giant garage sale, with the proceeds going to lions club), i'll find everything else i need.

and on the note of my family coming up, apparently someone else is coming to grad, and my mom won't tell me who! I'm annoyed for a couple reasons. one, because I wanna know who, and 2, because we only get 5 tickets for the ceremony, so i need to find 2 more tickets from people so that they can all come.....arghhhh. one more thing added to the list of what i need to do this week...

in other news, i've moved into my friend's house for the week. and i'm going to start actually planning shit for my trip probably tomorrow, since i'm meeting someone for coffee today, then i have to work.

i think that's about it.. although my brain is a little addled because i'm so tired, so i have no idea...

finally, people update! haha

so for me.. life has been having some really big ups, and some significant downs, i suppose.. mostly ups tho, thankfully

last couple weeks have been insanely stressful. i had 4 papers to write in 2 weeks, and one took me a good week on it's own, because of all the reading for it.. i'm pretty sure it's a shit paper, but so long as i pass it, i'll be happy.

my cell broke a few weeks ago.. it still works, so long as it's plugged in. however it's a pain in the ass not having a cell phone. I'm trying to buy one off ebay, but i'm not having a whole lot of luck getting it for the price i want. hopefully i can get it in the next couple days so that i can have it delivered either home, so that mom and dad can bring it to me when they come for grad, or to my campus box before the campus post office closes for the summer. hopefully my best offer gets accepted ><

i finally booked my flights to europe. i'm so excited, and yet incredibly freaked out at the same time. i mean, this has been my dream for so long, and to have it actually happening, AAAHHH. I'm also a little nervous about the whole going on my own. I know it'll be fine, and i'll have a lot of fun. I have a feeling that the first couple days might be an excercise in me coming out of my little shell, just because i know i'll get really lonely if i don't try to talk to people wherever I am. which is another thing. i've got the flights booked, but i have no idea what i'm doing in between. gotta get on that and start trying to book beds in hostels and budgeting the money i have left.

apartment. I've signed my lease, and move in may 1st. in between then i'm going to be living at my friend's house for a week since i get kicked out of rez on the 22nd (and i have to pay for 5 nights because i'm technically supposed to be out by the 17th, because my exams are over) believe me, i'm not impressed with rez office... there's a lot of grads who are homeless for at least a week because of them. at least i managed to score my friend's bed since she leaves on the 21st. and i'm friends with her roomates, which is handy, hahaha. anywho.. my apartment. I've officially got a dresser, likely a couch, and a bed.. just gonna take a look at them this weekend to make sure they're not really uncomfortable/dirty, etc before i commit to buying them. everything else i think i'll wait til i move in, and half my family is here for grad (parents, dad's parents and mom's parents) then they can buy the rest of it ;) heheh

boywise.. eh. i'm indifferent at this point. and i really think i mean it this time. there's alot of things that have been pissing me off lately, besides the lack of communication thing, so whatever. since there'll be no school, and fewer people around this summer, i'm sure i'll see more of him, but if anything happens, fantastic. if not, that's cool too.

CP banquet/party was on saturday. oh my god, it was a good night. there was some pretty awful/funny awards. I got the LOL award because of my laugh, haha. and the pic they used for the slide of it was that one of the smiley pancake from camping this summer... the creepers stalking my FB, hahaha. then the party after. oh lord. so much beer. i think i drank a 12 pack, but to be honest i lost count after about 5, through about 10 rounds of flip cup, so i really have no idea. for whatever reason, a bunch of the guys decided to spray each other with beer (such a waste...) and just about everyone got soaked.. i know the entire left side of me did. there were some moments with a boy, which in hindsight, i'm kinda glad didn't go anywhere, because in sober thoughts, he's a bit of a manwhore, much as i like him as a person, and the fact that he's really cute, haha. went to the after after party at eamonn's, most of which i don't remember, except for there being couches outside, and FREEZING/cuddling with about 6 people on one, and hotdogs. omg the hotdogs were amazing. granted this was at like 3 in the morning, when i had finally stopped drinking.. i think. anywho, finally left there around 4:45, because i was too tired, and needed to sleep so that i could get a little bit of studying done th next day.. haha. that didn't happen

what else... i'm currently procrastinating from the mother of all exams tomorrow.. i really need to get some stuff done tonight... at the very least, get my notes organized, os i know what i'm gonna write in my textbook to bring to the exam. also it'll be warmer in the lounge, so i won't have to freeze in here, hahaha. only 2 more exams til i'm done my undergrad... holy crap. i really need to pass these last 2 too, and i get the feeling that when it comes time to study for my last one (english) i'm gonna get the worst case of senioritis ever... not good.
i should get on that... i originally told myself i'd start an hour ago... and then i watched more episodes of HIMYM... FML

such an awful night... i almost always have fun, or can at least pretend to have fun. tonight i could do neither. i don't even know... we didn't go at all to the `1 bar i wanted to at least make an appearance at. i didn't get to see the boy, and i shaved in vain. then again, going out with cheryl i should have known that whether we had gotten to the bar i wanted to go to or not.

fuck this shit, i'm going to bed

lease signed - check
job lined up for summer- check
potentially have a bed - check
written papers - 0/4
exams- 0/4
reply from rez office saying whether or not i can stay in rez an extra 4 nights - nope


on another note, had a hilarious patrol shift last night, which may have been more funny because i was there, and half asleep, but in anycase... at some point in the night, i said "jesus!"because something had startled me... my partner replied "yes?" and we ended up having this conversation about him being jesus... which concluded with him saying that he was the only jesus, and then him tripping spectacularly. most hilarious timing ever. plus saw the evian commercial with the rollerskating babies. and near the end of the night, for whatever reason, a couple times, our radio started playing music from the radio... i'm thinking that someone accidentally turned on the one in the drive home van, which broadcast music to the rest of us, haha.

shit.. need to go to class

ahhhhh.... life is starting to fall into place now :)

I just got a call from a landlord saying that i can have the apartment i was looking at :D i'm so pumped!!

I'm in the process of contacting people about furniture, and waiting on my dad's friend to reply to me about flights to france and spain!

now if my 8 hour st. patty's day patrol goes well life will just be amazing :D

strangely enough, quite a few things have happened in the past week or so...

friday night was jager night (as i said in my last post) I was ok. drank a pint of gin, shot of jager, and some tequila jello, so i don't really remember a whole lot of thenight, but tress and I left together, got pizza, then went our separate ways and passed out. the next day was officially the longest hangover i've ever had... i didn't feel right until about midnight, halfway through my patrol shift... didn't help that I got stuck with a pompous bastard of a partner, but anyways...

didn't really do much the rest of the break... had a couple shifts, and slept lots. that is until thursday, when Tress and I headed to Fredericton! on jager night, she had said something about wanting to go there and meet Bradford (a boy she's been talking to on msn a lot, etc) and i had said that we should go. on sunday, she reminded me, and since i really had nothing better to do, we decided to actually go to fredericton/hartland (to stay with her parents). the drive there was... interesting. It was snowing when we left, although not bad enough to be worried, however by the time we got to Amerst, we were in a full-blown snow storm. We slowed down to about 60km on the highway, turned on the 4wheel drive, and just hoped we didn't go off the road. about 30 minutes before we got to moncton, in the space of about 2 minutes, we saw one truck off the road (across the ditch and facing the wrong way... still don't know how that happened) and then had to stop and wait for crews to put down salt up ahead because there was a tractor trailer that had gotten stuck on a hill. thankfully after a stop at mcdonalds in moncton, and almost losing maggie (tressa's dog) the weather cleared up and it wasn't so bad for the rest of the drive. granted, what is normally a 5 hour drive took us about 7.... we got to tress's place at about midnight, and pretty much just crashed.

friday, we went into freddy. we went to value village, to check out some stuff. i bought a crinoline (for a costume) and then we attempted to find UNB to meet Brad. He'sa little strange, but cute, and obviously really likes Tress, haha. he was trying a lot of PDA, which was a little awkward for me, but anyway... we all ended up going to Regent mall, and wandered around shopping for a couple hours. i bought a couple shirts and some underwear. then we went back to Tressa's place, and ate pizza and drank with her parents, and eventually grandparents. This might seem a little weird, but her parents are actually really cool, and hilarious. Anyway, we left the next morning, and on our way back stopped at a couple places, to check out the world's largest axe, and a giant blueberry statue, mainly for the hell of it and because we didn't have to rush home, haha. the one bad part of the trip back was that a giant rock hit my windshield, and there's now some really big cracks in it/almost a hole... I have to go into an autoglass place to see if i needs to be replaced right away, or if i can wait a bit.. i showed dad a picture, and he seems to think it could wait, although i was checking it out from the inside yesterday and managed to get a glass sliver in my finger, so i'm not so sure it'll be ok if it rains or something... i guess i'll find out soon enough

also, it's official! I'm going to be attending STFX for education! I got an email on monday saying that I was accepted "unofficially" and to check my mail for the "official" acceptance letter. I got it this morning :D I started checking out apartments yesterday. Found one, that, in my dad's words looks like a "jehovah's witness building" from the outside (oh google street view), but is actually quite nice on the inside, newly renovated, etc. I think i'm gonna have to act fast tho, because I know it got shown to someone else earlier in the day, so I'm hoping that I can get it, or that the other landlord I'm tryting to contact gets a hold of me and their apartments are still available. I'm giving him a couple more hours to answer my message before I try calling again...

I hope I make it through this weekend tho... I ambitiously decided to volunteer for 6 shifts this week... 1 on tuesday, 1 tonight, 2 tomorrow and 2 saturday. The CIS women's hockey tournament is being hosted here, so there's a bunch of games going on (2 of my shifts are for the games) plus no one wanted patrol for whatever, and I need the money, so i figured I could work 12 hours 2 days in a row... we'll see how that goes, hahaha. I'm going to be sleepingi n lots, and having naps before i start my first shifts at 3 on friday and saturday.. and i plan on doing absolutely nothing on sunday

ok, since it's gotten to the point that when i check ij, i don't even get the last post by someone cuz it's been so long, I'm going to start what I hope will be a trend of everyone updating... I wanna know what's going on in your lives!!!

So... I had an interview for the education program here. I think it went well.. I just have to continue waiting, and in the mean time hope that I get a reply from Acadia, so that I know for sure that I'm staying in the Maritimes.... being in this state of limbo really sucks.... I can't do anything about finding an apartment/job/get on with the rest of my life until i get a reply from someone and find out whether I got into an education program.... I also don't want to book my flights for my trip, because I want to be able to get myself settled, wherever that may be, in an apartment before I fly off to europe for 3 weeks...

what else... midterms, etc. are over. I'm now on spring break :) exciting, but a little sad, considering I think i have about $60 until thursday (payday) that I have to make last somehow... so hopefully I don't find something exciting to do before then... I'm staying in the 'nish, and will hopefully get some work done, and just relax... I've worked 3 nights in a row, so i'm looking forward to some R&R and then some more work next week (with no one here, there's the potential to pick up a lot of shifts)

went out last friday for the CP "social" (read:pub crawl) which was a ton of fun. Played so much flip cup, at one point I wasn't sure i'd make it to the bar.... but when you're playing for like an hour and a half straight, it gets addictive! only made it to one bar, but it was still a ton of fun, and ended up having a heart to heart with one of the girls when we went to get pizza after, haha. gotta love those drunk talks :)

that's really all that's going on right now.... still stressed about money, but with 4 shifts this week (i work tomorrow night too) my next paycheck should be pretty big... thank god, cuz i just got notification about my VISA bill, which is scary.... I'm slowly trying to chip away at that, and haven't used it in over a month because of how much is on it right now...
boy-wise... i think i'm over it, but I'm going to a party he's holding tonight, so we'll see... atm, i'm determined to not do anything stupid, but considering the last jager night, in which i don't remember a good 70% of the night, and hooked up with him, we'll see.... i don't particularly want to because of the grief and annoyance of the last month or so, but with alcohol, who knows..

anywho, i think that's about all.... UPDATE ME ABOUT YOUR LIVES!!!!!

blargh... midterm season is coming upon us... i have a paper due monday, midterm tuesday, then next week i have 2 midterms and a presentation. added to the fact that there's a very good chance that the profs here will go on strike in a couple weeks. unfortunately it can't happen until after all my shit is due... >< there's been negotiations going on for over a month, and despite both sides saying that "progress has been made" there's obviously stuff still not resolved. my guess is the pay increase that the profs want, which is completely justified. our profs are the lowest paid faculty in the maritimes, and they want a 20% increase to reach parity with the rest of the maritimes, which clearly the university doesn't want to do because that's kind of a big increase. hopefully it gets resolved quickly tho, since if it goes on long enough, they could either cancel the semester or push everything back, which would fuck up everything.

on brighter notes... CP party on tuesday was a ton of fun! lots of booze. i talked to 1 of the seniors before the party and she said they bought like 25 2-4's, a texas mickey of crown royal, and a couple 60's of rum and vodka. even then, we ran out of beer by midnight, and couldn't drink the hard liquor by about 11 unless you wanted to shoot it or drink it with water (ran out of mix). there was a lot of flip cup going on, and dancing, etc. was about 1 beer short of hooking up with a guy i kept dancing with, but hang-ups about adam (will update that in a sec) and my common sense (which came out even in the drunk haze) of not wanting to make any work relationships awkward pulled through. 

but anyway... so i hung out with adam a couple weeks ago, thinking that it would be platonic, etc. cuz we hadn't really talked or anything and i had decided i was over him. we were watching stuff on youtube, and ended up kind of cuddling on his bed (only place to sit, since his roomates were in the living room) and at some point he kissed me. which caught me off guard, but got me to thinking that maybe he actually does like me. however, that was a couple weeks ago, and he's hardly talked to me since (despite me trying to talk to him on msn, granted he's terrible at answering any form of messaging). i don't know what is going on in this boy's head. the only thing i can think of apart from the fact that maybe it was just a fluke, is that since I don't know where i'll be in 4 months, he doesn't want to start a relationship and have it end because i have to move away. although chances are i'll be staying in the province (hopefully!) i hope you guys don't think i'm pathetic for yo-yoing back and forth about this one guy for over a year, but i honestly don't know what i'm doing myself.

other stuff... finally got all my applications in last friday. now is just the uber stressful waiting period. I got letters from 2 of the schools i applied to, yesterday, and got ridiculously excited, but then found out it was just letters saying  "we've received your application, please wait several weeks until it has been reviewed, etc." i just wanna find out, for one, so that i can maybe resolve whatever the hell is going on with adam, for another so i can start planning for my trip, and for another, so that i can find an apartment to be living in! not knowing until so late really sucks, because most people have either signed their lease or are about to sign leases, so when i finally get to find my place, there won't be much selection. thankfully i'll be looking for a 1 bedroom, or bachelor, which aren't as popular in this town (where half the population is students). and hopefully i won't have to get a really expensive one.. average around here is about $500/month some with, some without utilities, but i know one person who's paying $750/month, which i think is a little ridiculous. granted, i've got a car, so if i have to get a place sorta far away, it's not a huge deal.

but anyways, that's my life atm... what's going on with the rest of you???

kinda hating life atm.... trying to fill out applications for education, however, for one of them you have to submit a common application, then after it's processed you get access to the rest, which is the essay part. I've been waiting almost a week for it to be processed, and it's due next friday... just slightly stressed about it... but at least i've given out my reference forms (except for 1, because for whatever reason my prof wants hard copies of everything... but i'll give it to him tomorrow)

other than that, it's been bloody cold the past couple days. we got some snow, and i finally got a chance to actually test out my winter tires, haha. only had 1 shift this week, and it's not looking too good for the rest of the month.. and i haven't heard back from the places i applied to last week... which makes me somewhat nervous, cuz i'd rather have SOME money when i leave for europe as a cushion, which isn't part of the savings i have for the trip..

what else... i roasted a chicken tonight. turned out pretty good, although i accidentally roasted it upside down, so the back got nice and crispy, but the breasts notsomuch. oh well, lol. it was still tasty, and i still got yummy crispy skin to snack on, haha. i also did ridiculous amounts of laundry tonight. my room now looks like a dry cleaners or something... i've got clothes hanging on every surface possible because they're not supposed to go in the dryer, and i don't have a drying rack (which i need to invest in at some point)

went out on saturday, realized i was a lot drunker on the walk home (almost had to stop walking to be able to text someone, was almost stumbling...) but had a lot of fun.

i really should have done a bunch of reading tonight... i've got to have a short story read for spanish tomorrow, and a bunch of stuff for our discussion class in european fascism... i may just skim the story, and try to get as much of the other done, since i know i'll have to say something in euro-fasc, or i'll lose participation marks...

bah... maybe i'll just go to bed

gahh!!! exams start on tuesday! kinda sorta stressed about it!!! and i took a patrol shift for tonight... i'm officially crazy, but in desperate need of money, so the hour or so of studying i'd lose is worth it... i'll just get up a little earlier tomorrow... also, it's supposed to continue snowing tonight, and probably feel like -6.... it may be a night for the ear flap lumberjack hat my dad gave me for christmas 2 years ago, hahahaha. and warm snow boots, obvi.

oh. and there is pretty much no way at all i'm going to have a car at any point over christmas, except MAYBE the week after christmas.... dad left his car at the mechanic's when they left for here on tuesday to get something fixed, however, when they came to pick it up yesterday, it was gone. and the mechanic didn't know it had even been there. so it went missing tuesday night. and since it's not the sort of car that you joyride around in without being noticed, we figure it's either chopped or on a boat somewhere. somewhat good tho... dad's been trying to get rid of it. but for now it means that he has to drive the convertible (which i would have driven over the break) while he waits for the police report/insurance settlement, which will take a while. so ya... i'm gonna get to figure out the new transit system! yay!!.............

anywho... i need to put some pants on and get down to the lounge and study my ass off for the day...

oh, and good thing i don't study in my room... my neighbour already has his bass goin... i'd probably strangle him

tomorrow!!! holy crap... can't believe that the day i've been waiting for for 4 years is tomorrow... crazy, eh?

my parents landed half an hour ago... they'll be here in a few hours probably. i'm so excited to see them :) i think i've been unconsciously making myself a little homesick...

anyway, before they get here, i need to:
clean my bathroom
do my dishes
hand in my athabasca transcript so i get the transfer credits
go to the admissions office to get some pamphlets etc. for someone at home who's thinking of applying here
go to the dollar store for a wine glass (drinking sparkling wine tomorrow, i'm being classy ;) )
oh, and eat

well... 4 more days of classes, i'd say 3 if it weren't for the fact that i'm likely going to have to go to my class on thursday, because my prof will continue lecturing, even though 90% of the class is getting their x-ring and will want to be getting ready. i'm so excited :) i'm gonna have some big gold bling at christmas ;) i realize that none of you really understand how significant the x-ring is... it's more than a class ring... really... it's also the 3rd most recognized ring in the world, behind the pope's and the superbowl ring, haha. in any case, i get it on thursday, and it's gonna be a shit show of a night.... after my parents leave, haha. i'll be behaved while i'm at dinner with them. afterwards however... i'll have a bottle of wine, and who knows what and there'll be a gajillion pictures, haha.

i'm currently writing a paper (or was this morning/early afternoon... had to stop for a meeting and work, i'll get bak to it tomorrow) for english, and have another due "the day before you leave for the holidays" considering i leave 3 days after exams start, that ain't happening... which reminds me, i need to ask my friend when she leaves to see if she could hand it in for me. the first couple days back are gonna hvave to be devoted to that paper.... i have to read a book and summarize/point out the historical content of it. it's only 10-12 pages, buti have to read a 750 page novel in order to write it... i've read about 30 pages.......

exams start on next tuesday for me... and end on thursday....gonna be a freakin' stressful 3 days!

oh! tonight, i was working at the international society dinner, and while we were standing there, a man (in his early 50s)came stumbling into the bathroom (directly behind the doors we were at) a couple of students had brought him in because he had fallen. he proceeded to fall a couple other times, and was hammered. so our uneventful society dinner shift became interesting. we were talking with him, making sure he was ok, and asked if he wanted a ride anywhere (the school has a drive-home van for students, that could ahve taken him) and he said that he didn't have anywheres to go and just wanted to walk to the heights (probably an hour walk) and "walk into oblivion" we ended up having to call the cops to pick him up and take him to the drunk tank, because he was just way too drunk and couldn't even stand really... so ya.. that was my night.....

anywho, i think now i'm gonna put on a movie and clean my room.... what with the parents coming here on wednesday, my room has to be spotless... they don't need to know i live in a hole most of the time, hahahaha!

life is.. floating along
there's some really good things goin on and some really stressful things

winter's starting to creep up on us here. although it being antigonish, the weather's a little schizophrenic, haha. we had a bit of snow last week. and then it warmed up, then got cold again. it's currently like 13 degrees and raining, but i wouldn't be surprised if it snowed this upcoming weekend. it's actually kinda strange how warm it's been lately, considering how cold it was in october. but meh.. it's good... gives me more time to get snow tires on my car.... however, i'm sure you don't really care about the weather here, haha.

i've lost all motivation to do anything lately, haha. being stuck in my room for a week because of swine flu made me appreciate my friends all that much more.. not being able to see anyone because you're officially in quarantine (or "self isolation" as the rez office called it) makes you go a little batty, and very grateful for any human contact afterwards. i'vegone out/been getting out of my room every day/night since i was released, haha. friday i went to new glasgow with tressa because we both needed winter boots and the selection in this town is severely lacking. it was a fun date. although forgetting my parents creditcard on my desk was a disappointment. i spent my paycheque on new boots, when i really REALLY need to be saving some money so i can start paying off the giant balance i have on my credit card. more on that later tho. then friday night was a 90's video dance party at the inn (campus bar) so of course we had to go. SO. MUCH. FUN. people were encouraged to dress up 90's, but considering all my clothes from the 90's have either gone to the thrift store or are in my closet at home, that wasn't really possible. so i just wore my old hoop earrings, and an off-the-shoulder shirt that i have that was sorta 80's/90's ish. spent pretty much the whole time on the dance floor dancing to and singing along with all the songs that came up. i knew every word to every song... kinda sad i know, haha. had a heart to heart with a friend in the bathroom, and found out some things about a guy that i didn't know, which at the time kinda surprised me. although thinking back, makes sense. anyways, went back, and danced/sang the night away, and then when i got home, passed out til like 11 the next morning haha.
yesterday went christmas decoration shopping with lyssa. it's officially started for me ;) the christmas music will now be on pretty much non-stop til christmas, and my room is full of lights, snowflakes and tinsel. the last night, i was on patrol. it was a VERY quiet saturday night. my partner ended up being a guy i knew from R@X a couple years ago, and we had a lot of fun walking around and talking/joking. i was actually surprised at how quiet it was. considering bishop's ball was going on. the only excitement we had was walking through the halls of macisaac (residence) and finding some kids cleaning the floor. of course we asked what was up, and they were like "there's blood all over the floor, so we're cleaning" we asked why, and they said that a guy had broken a beer mug, and cut his hand open. having talked to a guy  outside not even 15 minutes before, who had a VERY large beer mug, we asked how big of a beer mug, and they said "pretty big" turns out he had managed to break it and cut his hand open. an RA had already sent him to the hospital since he wouldn't let her touch his hand, but that was fun. we also had some fun chirping some drunks walking around (at 2am when you wanna go to bed, you gotta do something to entertain yourself)

and today, i'm handing in my resume at staples. my job as a CP isn't cutting it for money. my last paycheque was $70 for 2 weeks, and i spent more than that on my snowboots. not to mention gas and groceries for the past 3 months. my VISA balance is getting a little out of control, and i really need another job so that i can start cutting that down and actually be able to afford doing things/ the food i need. i do have money i could pay off the VISA with. it's just that it's money i've either been saving for my trip in may, or money i'm saving for next summer when i potentially move out. therefore you can understand why i wouldn't want to touch it. i'm willing to be really worried about money for a couple months, just so that i know i'll have that money in the long run. I don't want to be super stressed about it next summer when i'm looking for a job/starting a new program/living on my own.

and then i'm going skating! i'm so ridiculously excited you have no idea, haha. it'll be fun. i'm going with a friend who plays hockey, so she'll be skating circles around me while i try not to fall on my ass. but meh.

anyways. i should probably shower and get off to staples so i can hand in my resume/ buy some necessities at walmart before skating

*oink oink*
 pretty sure i have the swine.

 i'm fine now... it just feels like a bad cold, with an added sore back (although that could just be my mattress and the fact i've been laying in bed for 2 days, haha) thurday night and friday were pretty bad tho... thursday night i was on patrol (thinking i only had a cold) and i got partnered with probably the most energetic person, haha. he's a ton of fun, but kept wanting to run everywhere... my lungs hated me. by 1:30 when my meds wore off i was fading fast... thank god by that time we got to take the drivehome van (i was on senior patrol, meaning once drive home ended we could use the van) and we drove around in that for the last hour or so. i got home at about 2:45 and was in bed by 10 to 3... and didn't get out of bed til noon, only then to pee and make some tea and get back in bed with my laptop... i only left my bed to pee and get some food... and even that was a struggle... physical exhaustion, cough, headache, aches, and that night i got the chills, which was fun... i was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets shivering, while my face and neck were burning up... then i woke up at 11 yesterday and felt 10 times better... i've just got a cough and the sniffles now. i hope this goes away by tuesday tho... first CP party, with ridiculous amounts of free beer, and then the next night is the girl talk concert, which means probably anyone who wants to can work (meaning me, since i had to give up m y shift on friday)

what else... it snowed a bit friday and yesterday... it's too warm for it to have stuck, but it reminded me hardcore that i need to get my car undercoated and get snow tires ASAP... also that i need snow boots... which i can't afford.... guess i'll be wearing my rain boots and like 3 pairs of socks for the next little while....
i got an email from Birks, saying that the Xrings are ready to be shipped, which makes me unbelievably excited :D less than a month and i'll have my Xring!!! i'm gonna have to hide it during exams, haha. or else i'll be staring at it while i should be studying or writing. i know none of you really understand the importance of this ring to me... it's more than a class ring.. it's kind of a symbol of everything we've accomplished the last 4 years at X and it's about 10 times more important than graduation. it's also a symbol of the community of xaverians... literally you can go anywhere and people will recognize the ring and know you went to X... hell the GM of beach grove golf course has one... and i only found that out in 1st year when my dad mentioned to him where i was going to university. its a big deal, lol.

well, since everyone's updating about halloween, i guess i will too, haha.

my halloween was really a whole weekend thing... friday, adam had a "rogues gallery ball" at his place. we all had to dress up as villains, so i chose lady deathstrike from X-men 2 (she has claws kinda like wolverine) which turned out to be a pain in the ass costume... i ended up ripping the claws off part way through the night because the only thing i could do was hold my drink... others had to mix them for me (not so bad) and i had to get someone to unwrap a tootsie roll for me at some point, haha. it was a pretty awesome night/morning, and drank more than i had planned that night, but oh well.
saturday i worked at the hockey game in the afternoon which was ok. the game was pretty good. U de M was playing pretty dirty, so there was some good fights,etc. once i got back from work i had a much needed nap (hadn't slept much, haha) and then got ready for halloween. i was a 50's girl (if you haven't seen the pics on fb) and actually ended up stealing the glasses from a friend because she randomly decided to wear them (she was static cling). went to a party at a friend's for a while, and watched people bob for apples, and just hung out etc. then went to the inn and had some more fun/drinking. it was a pretty fun time, although i gotta say, people were much more creative with their costumes last year, except for sean, who was identity theft and had people write names on nametags and stick them to him. it was pretty funny, and there was some hilarious names on there.
there was a couple annoying things about halloween, like adam being a party pooper and not coming out, and the inn closing at 1, instead of staying open the extra hour for daylight savings, but overall it was a really good night. i got some practice wearing heels while drunk (always afraid of that one, haha) and managed to control myself saturday at the end of the night ;)

sunday was just a hang out in my pjs and watch movies day... i kinda needed it... i did not sleep much at all and i'm not used to going out anymore, let along 2 nights in a row, haha. and now i'm likely going out tomorrow night (one month to X-ring, big deal) and maybe wednesday, then i work thursday til 3am... oy...

today i'm just working on my resume so i can apply to some places in town, sinc ei'm not getting enough work with CP... and i might for a walk in a little bit... it's beautiful today, and i feel like i need some excercise/fresh air.. plus i'm not used to all this free time and i don't really know waht to do with myself, haha

i finally booked my flights home.. i arrive dec. 12 and leave late jan 1 (saved $100 this way) so... ya.. plan things if you want! keep in mind i won't have a car, except maybe on weekends.

only 3 more days.... and i'll be finished with geography forever!! one exam tomorrow, and the other on wednesday... i can't decide if i'm gonna go out on wednesday to celebrate, or just sleep.... i'll figure that out later, i suppose... sad thing is... i'm getting so close to the end that i don't even care any more... except i know i need to devote like a full day of studying to each of them, because i never actually read the textbooks or anything, and have no idea what i need to know really..., especially for my exam tomorrow since my tutor never emailed me back witht the format of the exam... i know the format for my exam on wednesday... and it's gonna be a bitch...
so excited for halloween! if only for the possibility of pot and a hookup (which i know sounds terrible, but i've been locked in my room/lounge/library for the past 3 weeks, and i'm beginning to go mad!) i've hardly seen anyone, except for last night when i gave up around 9:30 and went to watch a movie at a friend's place.  saw adam for the first time in like a month the other day... and realized how much i miss him... not in that way... i've given up on any chance of that sort of relationship... he's just a really fun friend, and we occasionally hookup while drunk, haha.
anywho... i should really stop procrastinating and get down to the lounge so i can finish my english paper and get studying for my exam tomorrow!

I'm screwd... I'm screwed i'm screwed i'm screwed...... I just took a look at one of my correspondence courses and there's another assignment i didn't know about... that's worth 20% of my mark... I write the exam in a week and a half, and i also have to do assignments for the classes here at X.  i think i just had a mini panic-attack, i was hyperventilating and in tears. i've never been this stressed in the space of a few moments before... as fun as the weekend was, i really should't have gone... i missed out on 3 days to get work done... and now i have a week and a half to write 4 papers, a response to a spanish reading i don't understand, a take home midterm and 2 final exams. i was fine with my whole plan up until i found that other assignment

and there's someone in this fucking building with a fucking LOUD BASS AND IT'S FUCKING DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!! i'm going to live in th library for the next week and a half. i'm only going to leave to sleep and go to class, maybe. if this fucking bass continues i might slit someone's throat. no matter how loud i put my own classical, before it starts to give me a headache, i can't drown out the bass. it's never really bothered me before, until last night when it was going at like midnight and i wanted to sleep. never before have i wished so hard that i could just live in isolation, without any noise other than my own.  the only respite i've gotten has been in the moments between songs that this person is playing....

back to paper writing....