The Foot of the Walnut Tree

2007-10-19T10:21:00.000-04:00

Oh so self indulgent... here is my Christmas list so far...

Shawl from Artists for Afghanistan Foundation

Aeropress coffee maker

Flames jersey - this has been a long time coming... it's finally time. I will have to edit for size and customization details later.

Fun exciting yarn for knitting things like socks and mittens.

2007-08-09T13:46:00.000-04:00

Vanity

I just googled images of myself and am sad to report my web sightings are down. My only mention lives on the 5th page of results and isn't even a proper picture.

2007-05-24T21:13:00.000-04:00

So I was tagged by my friend Jer.... and am thoroughly embarrassed to be listing these as the list contains nothing new or exciting and is mostly full of cheesy sad songs (who am I kidding, I'm always listening to cheesy sad songs)... but here it is. My 7 songs are as follows:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what they are. They must be songs you are presently enjoying. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to...

1. Red Dirt Girl - Emilylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl
This has been on my ipod since I got my ipod, was on my iriver before that, and has been on every computer I have been able to rip music to since buying the disc in 2000. I don't really know what it is about this song, but I love it. It might be the reminder that you always have choices, it might be the reference to the blue tick coon hound. All I know is that it makes me want to drive/run/cry/drink/call my best friend/just plain go home again, and I love it.

2. Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
I'm a sucker for an acoustic love song, and lately I've been trying to remind myself what long distance is like... And this cheesy love song reminds me of the good kind of longing about the whole thing. I turn up the radio every time I hear it.

3. Someday Some Morning Sometime - Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue Volume 2
Clearly feeling melancholy or nostalgic of late... I'm sure it's because I'm thinking of going back to school...Anyway, this song is sweet and underrated, and for some reason it makes me feel spring-like and blossomy.

4. I love the rain the most - Joe Purdy - (it pains me to write this) Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack, Season 1
Toby was kind when I was sad that my music didn't fill up half my fabulous ipod that my crazy friends bought me for Christmas (the mp3 player I have been using for the past 3 years is only 256mb) and promptly filled it up with the soundtrack for Grey's Anatomy Seasons 1 and 2. While these are mostly full of crap that I skip through, there are some outstanding little gems such as this sweet little ditty. See comments above about being a sucker for acoustic love songs...

5. A Case of You - KD Lang - Hymns of the 49th Parallel
This Joni Mitchell song was beautifully recorded by KD Lang a couple of years ago, for a compilation of wonderful songs by Canadian icons. The entire disc is gold, but this song and #6 below are standouts...both the KD Lang versions and the originals.

6. Helpless - Neil Young - Decade
This is just one of those classic summer songs for me. Listened to it this past long weekend on my way to Algonquin Park for the first camping/hiking adventure of the year. Gotta love Neil Young.

7. Holiday in Spain - Counting Crows - Hard Candy
Man am I ever in a wine and sad song place... I have unabashedly loved the Counting Crows for the past 10 years. This is one of my favourite songs. It is also sad, sad, sad - but could really only be here because Rob and Nina are soon off to Spain... hmmmm.....

I tag: Toby, Nico, Matt Cameron, Graham, Robbie, Steve (even though he's going to think less of me when he sees my list), and Joanna.

2007-05-07T13:59:00.001-04:00

Oh the funny....

www.ecofraud.ca

2007-04-03T16:06:00.000-04:00

Flames vs. Avs

This could be it folks! I'm pumped. We could clinch tonight. There are 8 points left up for grabs, we sit 7 points ahead of Colorado. One more win will do it for us. Here's hoping it happens tonight!

2007-02-15T09:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Flag Day!

2007-02-12T09:22:00.000-05:00

I'm concerned that Mr. Sutter doesn't have enough to do these days... I actually cried when Toby gave me the news about the latest trade. Why Ference??? And seriously, Stuart becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. We gave away Ference and Kobisew for someone who will potentially only be with us for 1/2 a season? Hopefully things will go better than they did on Sunday and someone can make me eat these words during the playoffs, but right now it feels like we got the short end of the stick on this one...

2007-02-09T10:20:00.001-05:00

My office is freezing and I don't have a sweater.

2007-01-24T12:40:00.000-05:00

Just came back from NYC for the second time in 4 months. I'm madly trying to devise a strategy for moving there...

Here are 3 of our group of 5 girls on a carriage ride following a fabulous lunch at Jean Georges. The one on the left is Meagan, middle is Paula (our trip was in celebration of her birthday), and I am the puffy coat hiding in my sailer's cap on the right. I think our horse was called Jefferson...

2007-01-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

This NYC photo is actually pre-lunch at Rockefeller Center on Friday. I found myself with an excess of time to wander around this spot waiting for my friends to meet me, but that afforded me an opportunity to grab a Dean and Deluca coffee and Balthazar pain au chocolat. Unfortunately neither Felicity nor Ben were working...

When I was at the "Rock" in October there was a giant mirror looking up at the tower which was quite noticeably absent on this trip. Not really sure what it's function was, but it must have been artistic rather than function if it is now gone. Meagan kindly took the photo of Barb, Paula, Trish, and Susie as punishment for getting the girls lost and taking 40 minutes to get from our hotel in Time Square to Rockefeller. I was spared the aimless wandering as I left early in order to shop - Imagine, my map reading skills being the best in the group... We basically had to speed walk the 14 blocks to lunch in fear of losing our reservation...

2006-12-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Dude, I'm still cool!

2006-10-24T18:44:00.000-04:00

Is it at all concerning that the favourite part of my day is fast becoming the part where the puppy snoozes after supper? Did I mention this is also the five minutes during which my glass of red wine is poured?

I witnessed an incidence of what can only in Ottawa be classified as police intimidation today. Had it happened in Calgary, however, it would have been a lucky, lenient break, but here in the town where street signs and lights are mere suggestions to pedestrians, it more than bordered on bullying.

It stopped raining sometime around 11 a.m. today, and I was lucky enough to even sort of see the sun come out as I was walking home to let little Echo for her noon-time crate-break. It was an entirely uneventful journey (consisting mostly of delusional coming-into-riches-allowing-the-quitting-of-the-job fantasies) until I hit Dalhousie and St. Patrick where a girl just outside of Alex Munter's campaign office decided to venture across St. Patrick against the light. It didn't seem overly dangerous to me, but that black Chrysler was driving too fast for my Western Canadian Sensibilities to entertain the notion of a jay-walk at that particular moment. The girl didn't even seem to notice, thinking it was more than half a block away, a perfectly safe distance for an Ottawan to saunter through an intersection. As I stood on the corner, watching, the black Chrysler in question accelerated rapidly and started blowing its horn. Now there's no way the girl was unaware of the car approaching, she just had the prevailing attitude that no harm would come to her as no driver would actually hit a person on purpose...after all, she was plainly in the intersection...the driver wouldn't dare...would he?

By the time she saw it was an unmarked car driven by an angry-chunkey cop whose screeching halt to his point forced the spill of his tim hortons coffee (not even stereotyping here - there is a timmyhoho's two blocks down and he clearly had a full steaming cup, part of which was dripping down his fist), it was too late for her to feign a behavioral anomaly. The cop, window rolled down, shaking coffee off a scalded hand, berated her in a way I would have thought officers around here incapable of (at least not without having six additional squad cars present as seems to be the norm round these parts...). He actually asked her whether she was trying to get hurt or if she was too stupid to be walking alone. Or maybe she just wanted a ticket? Right on the corner I was standing on. The girl was scared, embarrassed, and utterly intimidated. She just stood there, unable to speak, with the officer yelling at her through his open window. Really excessively abusive, but as a native Calgarian, and a driver who deals with similar pedestrians every time I try to leave the market, I was a little torn in my outrage. Is it so bad to have some attempt at law enforcement? I really don't know how I feel about the whole incident...at least not beyond the knowledge that jay-walkers really ought to keep an eye out for those mean looking Chrysler 300's...

2006-07-28T10:02:00.000-04:00

Interesting results...

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 20% Conservative, 80% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

2006-07-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

I've spent the past few days reacquaniting myself with my somewhat forgotten love for live music at Ottawa's bluesfest. It took 3 days but i finally saw some real live blues today. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, as I'm having a wonderfully terrific time at all of the shows. Here's a brief rundown on my lineups thus far:

July 7 - Brock something or other, Corb Lund, 5ish lackluster songs by Great Big Sea (I thought they would be much more fun live...), Final 25 minutes of Broken Social Scene (why did they have to be playing at the same time as Calexico who I very much wanted to experience???)

Highlight of the evening was definately Corb Lund, who put on a terrific show. I also got to meet him afterwards thanks to a colleague who knew him. The disappointment with Great Big Sea has caused me to make the following decision: when given the choice between a fairly big name Canadian group/artist who is likely to play the other major festivals at some point in my summer/next year, and an interesting sounding artist with whom I find myself unfamiliar and is likely from far away thus less accessable, I will henceforth be choosing the stranger. I so very much regret missing Calexico. Sigh.

July 8 - Elvis Perkins, Matt Costa, Jason Collett, Feist

Matt Costa was my favourite - I bought a cd and he signed it. He's my new boyfriend. Elvis Perkins was also awesome. Jason Collett and Feist should have been swapped for Bonnie Raitt and anyone a little different. It was a lot of rockabilly/alt country/pretty poems by boys with guitars through the afternoon and early evening. Fun times though, big smile on my face all night.

July 9 - Ani DiFranco (just 4 or 5 songs), Maraca with Elmer Ferrer, Solomon Burke

Ani DiFranco was unnervingly happy. I seem to remember her having some more whine to her words last time I saw her play... Maraca and Elmer Ferrer were much power rocking blues. Solomon Burke was by far the highlight of the night. He was great Soul/r &b/blues fun and very interactive. Can't really say much to describe his banter, other than it was unreal. Oh, and we ran into Simon (rather I approached a bald guy that I thought was Simon and it was Simon, but he completely didn't remember me) and danced with him throughout the set. Much fun was had by all.

2006-06-16T11:39:00.000-04:00

Not really sure what to feel about Saturday night's upcoming game. On the one hand, Edmonton loses. On the other hand, hockey goes one more game. What's a good-hearted gal from Calgary to hope for?

2006-04-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

Is it surpising that the words Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't sink in until today?

2006-03-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

I have fallen off the wagon already. I only just got on yesterday, and already I have failed.

Inspired by dear friend Tasha, I decided to go back to the way of the Catholic and give something up for lent. I thought for a while about giving up chocolate, which is what was given up by her in the story she told that got me thinking about going down this road at all, but decided that would lead to too great a decrease in my overall happiness quotient to seriously consider it. Then I thought about beer, as it would be a good way for me to lead into a lower calorie alcoholic beverage and cut down on uneccessary expenses, but then I realized that St. Patrick's day falls mid-deprivation, so it wasn't really realistic. I then thought about cheese, but why would I do that to myself, really? I did not even for one moment consider popcorn. Let's leave it at that.

I decided to tackle a family-wide 'problem' and give up bread. No bread of any kind during lent. That's 40 days without sandwiches, toast, bagels, pitas - aaack, no schwarma!!!! - etc. I'm pretty sure tortillas are ok, but we'll see how this goes. Tasha says you fast every day except for Sundays during lent, which means that I get to have some bread once a week, but I was thinking I would go all out and institute a hands down not-a-crust-till-April-16 ban on bread.

I did well on day 1. That was yesterday. Had a whole breadless day. Had a whole breadless night. But the night also included the first Wonderful Wednesday since the election, which meant, as it often does, an overindulgence in libations. Thus, when I rolled into work this morning rather significantly later than I ought to have, all I wanted in the world was toast. Some good, whole wheat toast to soak up the remnants of my drink/d'arcy's binge last night.

I pondered my problem as I trundled my way up the hill. We moved last week, so my office is now in an exciting new building with a very exciting new cafeteria. Knowing this exciting new cafeteria had the capability to make divine hangover treatments such as BELT sandwiches, scrambled eggs, omelets, bacon and sausage, and knowing that I needed to feed the hangover before it took over the whole day, I knew I was staring at a difficult decision. I considered going the muffin route, quite seriously thought about redefining bagel as a non-bread substance, and wished that today was Fat Tuesday the rest of the way to work, since my mind would go no place other than that whole wheat toast that accompanies the healthy breakfast for $3.20.

So I cheated. I went down to the cafeteria, ordered my healthy breakfast special of egg white green and red pepper omelet, grilled tomatoes, fruit and scoop of cottage cheese, added a V8, and let the nice lunch lady know that my preference was butter-not margarine-to top those promise-to-the-Higher-Power-breaking pieces of toast. And then I ate them. And they were good. My hang over is now under control. My guilt however, is another story. It is, after all, the Catholic kind....

So I made a kind of deal. I will follow the Tasha model of lent - being allowed to have whatever it is that you have given up on Sundays only - with the exception of this week. This week, this first week and this week only, Sunday came on Thursday.

So this means I get to have subway for lunch, right?

2006-03-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

When I put in Barb, my Japanese name is

Your Japanese Name Is...

Dai Konoe

What's your Japanese Name?

When I put in Barbara it becomes

Your Japanese Name Is...

Yumiko Nakamura

What's your Japanese Name?

Most importantly, however, is what I get with babzerz. Undoubtedly the best one.

Your Japanese Name Is...

Mutsuko Kaoin

What's your Japanese Name?

Now I should really get back to work.

2006-02-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

Well my picks were off, to say the least! No shortage of surprises this morning from Mr. Harper.

1. House leader - Rob Nicholson

2. International Trade and Pacific Gateway - David Emmerson - Crossed the Floor this morning! Was the Liberal Minister of Industry, brought on board personaly by Paul Martin. Can't wait to hear the story behind this one!

3. Minister of Labour and Housing - Jean-Pierre Blackburn

4. Minister of Veterans Affairs - Greg Thompson

5. Leader of Government in the Senate - Marjorie Lebreton

6. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration - Monte Solberg

7. Minister of Agriculture - Chuck Strahl

8. Minister of Natural Resources - Gary Lunn - I thought they would roll this portfolio in with Environment.

9. Minister of Foreign Affairs - Peter MacKay

10. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - Loyola Hearn - Woo Hoo! I got one right!

11. Minister of Public Safety - Stockwell Day - Sadly, I was right on this one too.

12. Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification - Carol Skelton

13. Minister of Justice - Vic Toews

14. Minister of Environment - Rona Ambrose

15. Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Sport - Michael Chong

16. Minister of Human Resources - Diane Finley

17. Minister of National Defence - Gordon O'Connor

18. Minister of Heritage and Status of Women - Bev Oda - Number 4 on my 'only got the obvious ones' list.

19. Minister of Indian Affairs - Jim Prentice

20. Treasury Board - John Baird

21. Minister of Industry - Maxime Bernier

22. Minister of Transport - Lawrence Cannon

23. Minister of Health - Tony Clement *shudder*

24. Minister of Finance - Jim Flaherty - Who would have thunk that these Conservatives would re-brand themselves Mike Harris' Conservatives with wounds to both the fiscal state and health care systems in Canada's most populous province still unhealed... *double shudder*

25. Minister of International Cooperation and official Languages - Josee Verner

26. Minister of Public Works and Government Services - Michael Fortier - Unelected Campaign Co-chair for the Conservatives. Didn't Harper say he would not have unelected members in his cabinet? Huh. According to CBC he is going into the Senate. Shocking.

and of course, the Prime Minister makes Twenty-Seven.

Never a dull moment here on the Hill...

2006-02-03T11:24:00.000-05:00

CBC Newsworld just did a spot on the expected estimated loss of productivity to Canada's workforce this coming Monday in the wake of Superbowl overindulgence and excitement. This story, while reminding that I still need to figure who is playing and whether or not we have any exciting plans for Sunday, served to highlight the fact that I somehow missed hearing who won the Greycup this year. Sigh. And I call myself a sports fan...

2006-02-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, now that the election is over and my boss won her seat I am settling back into life in Ottawa. That means adjusting to the slow sinking realization that we are no longer in government. Such a realization leads to an endless list of yet to be answered questions such as will we have to move offices, will Karen continue to serve as whip, and is there an OLO swichboard? It also means that political hacks the country over are speculating about who will be taking leadership roles in Mr. Harper's new government. Which leads me to the purpose of this long overdue post - Conservative Cabinet Predictions from Babzerz:

My overarching prediction is that Alberta's representation at the table will not be as limited as the pundits predict. That province is still the backbone of the Conservative Party, holds many experienced party-founding MP’s that carry with them Harper’s trust. He will not be afraid to reward these people, and I don’t see him being bullied into over-representing Central Canada for the sake of staying consistent with previous Cabinets (spoken like a true Albertan I’m sure)… I also think Harper will shrink the cabinet size, and combine (or recombine) several ministries as his minority allows.

I needed to get these up before the announcements are made late this week or early next, but will try to add more rationale and maybe make some changes as time allows bfore real decisions are made.

1. Finance - Monte Solberg (AB). He's smart, he's capable, proven effective in the house and in committee, and he's got Harper's trust. Who care's that he's also from Alberta (remember that Alberta is still the backbone of this party)- Harper will want someone he can count on in this post.

2. Health - IF Diane Ablonczy does not get Immigration, she will get this. I can't pick anyone, I don’t like anyone in Harper's caucus for this role. In fact, I would really like to suggest he make Carolyn Bennett Health Minister, but I'm not thinking he's going to be taking my advice. These upper positions are hard to fill... I think that Health will actually have to be someone from Ontario. Diane Finley is probably as good a choice as any... and guaranteed to hold a position of some sway.

3. Foreign Affairs and Deputy PM - Lawrence Cannon (QC) - not that it makes much sense to have your Foreign Affairs Minister be your DPM, but I think this is the post that suits Cannon best. Harper may just make him Deputy PM and not have a department attached to it. In which case there is more hand wringing about who would be Foreign Affairs.

4. Defense - Jean Pierre Blackburn (QC)

5. Public Safety/anti terrorism etc. Stockwell Day (BC) - had to put him somewhere...

6. Justice - Peter Mackay (NS) I agree witht he pundits on this one.

7. Intergovernmental Affairs/Privy Council - Rona Ambrose (AB) And this one. She is probably their brightest star.

8. Immigration - Diane Ablonczy (AB)

9. Fisheries and Oceans - Loyola Hearn (NL)

10. Heritage - Bev Oda (ON)

11. Agriculture - David L. Anderson (SK)

12. Treasury Board - Jim Flaherty (ON)

13. Accountability, Gommery implementation or some incarnation thereof - Scot Reid (ON)

14. Environment - Bob Mills (AB)

15. PWGS - Rob Nicholson (ON)

16. Francophonie (or some incarnation thereof) - Josee Verner (QC)

17. Infrastructure - Garth Turner (ON)

18. House Leader and all things procedural - Jay Hill (BC)

19. Human Resources/Labour - Norman Doyle (NL)

20. Industry - Gary Goodyear (ON)

21. Transport - Stephen Fletcher (MB)

22. Revenue Canada - Jason Kenny (AB)

23. Atlantic Opportunities/development - Greg Thompson (NB)

24. Aboriginal Affairs - Jim Prentice (AB)

25. Veterans Affairs - Gordon O'Connor (ON)

26. International Trade - Gerald Keddy (NS)

27. Sport - James Moore (BC)

28. Some incarnation of Economic Development and Northern Development - Gerry Ritz (SK)

29. CIDA - Helena Guergis (ON)

30. Social Development - ??? Peter Van Loan (ON)

Speaker - Chuck Strahl (BC)

Whip - Dick Harris or John Baird

Also slated for some increased parliamentary responsibility - Rahim Jaffr, James Rajotte, and Vic Toews, but it's hard to say in what capacity.

2005-12-04T15:58:00.000-05:00

Shopping for Sorrels in Southwestern Ontario

As many of you know, I started working for a federal Member of Parliament last December. Following this week's vote of non-confidence and subsequent disolution of Parliament, I have been in Kitchener, Ontario, preparing for the campaign. My boss and candidate, Karen Redman, is the Liberal Government Whip, and has been the MP for Kitchener Centre since 1997. She is a great representative, tireless worker, and one of the most honest people I know. For those of you who watched Jon Stewart on Tuesday night (November 30), she was the lady in red, standing behind the Prime Minister in the pictures used to introduce the Daily Show's Canadian confidence segment.

In spite of the expectation of a long (56 days), cold (first winter campaign in my lifetime), and negative campaign, I'm very much looking forward to the experience of being on the front lines of a federal election campaign. It is the stuff that political science graduates and federalist geeks dream of, and I can't wait to get this fight off the ground! Sad though I am to be missing out on holiday parties in Ottawa, this is exactly where I need to be.

So now to the purpose of this little note - while I may have been somehow jumpy and distracted for oh, the past month, I'm now MIA, and basically out of commission until January 23.

For those of you in Calgary, I'll still be coming home for my planned Christmas trip - December 23 until January 2, so count on a holiday invitation or two to the ship... For anyone in and around Waterloo region - visits, restaurant recommendations, and the occasional care package of earmuffs and warm socks are most welcome!

2005-09-29T17:19:00.000-04:00

For the second time since graduating from university I am homeless. There was a small electrical fire in my apartment building on Monday, and since then I have been at one friend's house, Toby at another, and Gemini in a kennel. This small fire, I found out today, is leading to a complete re-wiring of the electrical system within the building, which means we are out until October 31, at the EARLIEST. The only thing that could possibly make this worse would be for us to head into an election right now. On second thought, I would probably be able get a room of my own in K-towne...
I'm going with 2005 not having been a banner year in the life of Babzerz.

2005-08-15T10:05:00.000-04:00

So hockey's coming back, but possibly without play by play commentary? Here's hoping this get settled before October!

2005-07-15T02:13:00.000-04:00

This is it for the Harry Potter binge this evening, but look how cool my wand is:

11", Ash, Phoenix
You scored 31 wisdom, 44 bravery, 15 emotional, and 22 martyrdom!

An ash wand signifies growth, balance, and protection. The phoenix tail feather as your core means that you have the capability to be an extremely powerful wizard or witch and that you will defend those you love at all costs.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

%20alt="free%20online%20dating"%20src="Ok Cupid

2005-07-15T02:06:00.000-04:00

Aforementioned test found at: http://quizilla.com/users/FaitheRydia147/quizzes/An%20Intelligent%20Harry%20Potter%20House%20Sorting%20Quiz/

2005-06-23T16:50:00.000-04:00

Rick Mercer has a blog. How cool is that? And funny too. And he also mocks Jason Kenny.

2005-05-19T13:31:00.000-04:00

If ever I have, and there must have been a time or two, I vow to never again refer to another woman as a bitch. I will not describe her behaviors by comparing them to animals (domesticated or otherwise). Her relationship with her father is just that, and if it brought her opportunities in life then she's lucky, but not necessarily dependent, lazy or incapable.

2005-03-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Why does Josh always have to be the nay-sayer these days? Use the chicken commercial... Bow out, you can't win... Accept his offer, you can't win... Maybe THIS is the time he means it when he says he's proud. Maybe THIS time he'll start believing in 'his' candiate.

2005-03-24T21:42:00.000-05:00

Americans have ruined The Office.

2005-03-03T08:51:00.000-05:00

The CBC science guy Bob McDonald was on this morning, talking about the non-stop-round-the-world flight underway. It doesn't really matter what my favourite CBC tv personality talks about (although I like it best when he gets really excited about physics that sounds like nonsense to my liberal arts ears), just that he's smiling and makes into the Newsworld loop for the morning.

2004-11-02T10:49:00.000-05:00

EMPLOYED!!!

Well it took two and a half months, but I finally landed myself a job. You're looking at the new administrative assistant for the Canadian Boreal Initiative. I also slough burgers a couple of times a week at a funky Ottawa restaurant called the Works. So now that I'm not spending all day every day looking for work, I'll hopefully have more time to post!

2004-09-15T10:29:00.000-04:00

Fire Girl

FireYou scored scored a 49%!
You resemble Fire. Fire people exhibit righteousness. These people conform to the standard of moral law. They do what is right and are known for their sense of fair play. They are truthful, straight-forward, just, upright and virtuous in their dealings with others. They demonstrate courage, fortitude, zeal and pugnacity. They have the mental and moral strength that enables them to venture into unknown waters and to persevere and withstand danger. They seldom show fear and are confident in their actions. They have mettle, resolution, and tenacity. They can face danger or difficulty without flinching or retreating. They will fight for their principles and have a stubborn persistence that is unwilling to recognize defeat. They have grit, back bone, guts, and are willing to keep fighting under all odds. They are aggressive and thrive on challenge. They have a nature that gives them physical energy, strength and vital powers. Their essential characteristic qualities are liveliness, energy, ardor, enthusiasm, courage and action. They have a firm, courageous and assertive disposition which is their most characteristic qualitiy. These people like to win or be the best in anything they pursue. Their aggressive nature makes them just one big ego. There is nothing more stimulating to them than to win, and there is nothing more depressing to their ego than to lose. They strive to be the center of attention and are at home when showing-off. They are determined, spiteful and revengeful. When angered, they will go to almost any extreme necessary to get revenge, and that revenge will more often be at the moment of the anger. When they're mad they want everyone around them to be mad. They are spiteful and will deliberately and openly do things which irritate someone to the point of anger. They are very short-tempered and anger easily. They are straight-forward and have no reservations about hurting the feelings of others, and they are prone to inflict physical pain as well as mental pain. Just as the main virtue of this sign is being just and right, its main fault is deceit.

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=7056991957307027883

fire, c'est moi. As many good qualities as bad - makes a girl wonder whether she wants to be good or whether she wants to be bad...

2004-09-14T03:06:00.000-04:00

Inter-nutso

I am now officially computer crazy.

2004-09-13T22:12:00.000-04:00

Had my first yoga class tonight. Got something of my own. Mine all mine.

2004-09-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

Labouring for Labour

I got my first job offer yesterday. Though, it wasn't exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Last week I put a few resumes out to businesses on Bank Street. Mostly just to little mom and pop shops with help wanted signs in the windows - an Indian restaurant with a cheap but good lunch buffet, a tiny greasy spoon diner, a grocery store...

Yesterday the owner of the diner called and asked me to come in for an interview. So in I went, arriving a few minutes early, ready with customer services stories and examples of superior waitressing moments from my Chrysler Club days. We go sit at the table at the front of the restaurant where he asks me about my current employment situation. Sometime last week I decided it would be easier to get some sort of part time job if I told perspective employers that I was working on a project like my previous contract and just needed some extra money for my student debt. So I describe my fictional research contract, and reassure him that I'm pretty flexible with my availability. Other than the French class I want to take from 9-12 on weekdays, I can work anytime. Knowing that the restaurant industry often prefers employees to be available during meal times, I told him I could look into taking an evening class instead, provided the hours and pay would be sufficient. That's when he told me that he pays his girls $5 an hour.

Now, I know servers don't usually make a lot in wages. When I have had serving jobs before, the hourly wage was really just a wee bonus compared to the amount you get in tips - something somewhat unplanned for that goes into your account every two weeks - off which you live. But $5 an hour? Come on. As I see it, and only I need see it as it's my labour to market, there are two major problems with this proposed wage.

First of all, it's illegal. General minimum wage in the great province of Ontario is $7.15 an hour. The last service job I had in Alberta, I was making minimum wage there - a grand $5.90 an hour. Ninety cents more an hour than he offered, and that was over 3 years ago! And I'm a pretty big believer in minimum wage and in workers' rights (in spite of my Alberta upbringing and some of my feelings about labour disputes between management and white collar employees), so there is no way that I will be made settle for a job paying less than that which I am statutorily entitled.

Now, there is a different minimum wage for servers of liquor in Ontario. They must be paid at least $6.20 an hour. This leads me to my second issue with this offer. Most menu items at this particular diner are priced between $3 and $7, meaning that the total bills aren't going to be very high, in turn meaning that the 10% tip one can count on in a place like that isn't going to amount to much either. Were there liquor service, which there isn't, it may be a bit better in the tip department. So with the ups and downs of the service industry, and the likelihood of the new kid getting the slowest shifts and smallest sections, I decided that it wasn't worth my shuffling around of my desired French class to accommodate the available shifts - 6:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. I told the manager that I needed at least minimum wage as politely as I could, and told him that I wouldn't change my schedule around for less than that, thanked him for his time, and wandered off down Bank Street in search of help wanted signs.

I had seen one near the Rideau Centre on my way into the interview. At Starbucks. Now I'm not the biggest fan of Starbucks Coffee in the world, nor their marketing practices, nor their global domination, nor their lack of use of fair trade coffee... but they pay. More than minimum wage. Something every unilingual poli sci grad should keep in mind...

2004-09-03T14:01:00.000-04:00

Well, the interview went well. It was two weeks ago today. As the position wasn't decided upon by the date my plane ticket was booked for, I moved to Ottawa last Friday. Been here for a week, looking for work. Wondering if I would be staying here. Got a call this morning telling me the Calgary job is not for me, but my application and stellar interview performance were appreciated. Call from the VPA himself. I feel good about applying, good about my skills, and good that I will be making Ottawa home. Now if only that Senator would call...

2004-08-20T10:35:00.000-04:00

Job interview for the one Calgary job today. Figures that just when I've decided to move on, I find something that may keep me here... I'm nervous but I'll be fine. Just have to remember not to interrupt for a change...

2004-08-11T10:25:00.000-04:00

As time goes by...

Hello Blog. It's been a bit... I've been busy. Working. Spending some time trying out new golf clubs and bikes. Obsessing over my bike. Thinking every bike I see is my bike. I got of the train downtown this moving because I saw a Kona locked up in a bike parking garage and had to make sure it wasn't mine. My dad now thinks I'm nuts. I went camping. Working. Applying for jobs in Ottawa. I'm moving to Ottawa. I booked my plane ticket. August 27. Unless of course I get the one job I applied for in Calgary. Then I'm only going to Ottawa for a few weeks. Lisha had a party. She has a great new job. I need a great new job. Said goodbye to David Rassin yesterday. He's heading back to Tulane on Thursday. Drinking too much coffee. Not going for sushi enough. Working. Back to work. Only 8 work days to finish my project. Working.

2004-08-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

Survey

Toby sent me a survey today. I needed a break from my cover letters/website work, so here it is:

1. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES?
Beige with brownish flowers

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Don't roll your eyes. It's really cool. So was his Biography of Cod - the fish that changed the world. I'm also reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Beautiful language.

3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Nothing. I don't have one.

4. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Scrabble. Followed by Trivial Pursuit. Then Cranium.

5. FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
The Economist. Or Entertainment Weekly. Tough choice.

6. FAVOURITE SMELL?
The pine and cedar smell right outside the doors on the departures level of the Vancouver Airport. Nothing beats that. Especially after 8 months in Seoul.

7. LEAST FAVOURITE SMELL?
The bathrooms at LG Philips LCD in Gumi South Korea. Also known as Kimchi poop.

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKEUP
IN THE MORNING?
How much longer I can get away with snoozing for.

9. LEAST FAVOURITE COLOR?
Let's go with pink.

10. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
um, i answer it when i get to it.

11. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
Come on, ask me the future dog's name. I've got a list of those picked out. But really, who's thinking about kids yet?

12. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE?
Being you, and being happy with you.

13. FAVOURITE SOUND?
Gemini's purrr.

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Chocolate

15. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Nope

16. STORMS: COOL OR SCARY?
Cool and Scary. Did I ever tell you about the time I went chasing tornados in Minneapolis?

17. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
1991 Buick Lesabre. What a great car. Stupid Canadian import laws forced us to sell it in the US.

18. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE? WHO?
Bobby Kennedy

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?
June 6, 1978

20. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
only if they're short.

21. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB WHAT WOULD IT BE?
LPGA tour star.

22. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR OF HAIR, WHAT WOULD IT
BE?
I can have any colour of hair. I like my colour. Ok, maybe a little redder than my colour...

23. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
Yes.

24. IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?
I can't even see the glass right now.

25. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES?
You've got mail. Casablanca. Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2. Good, Will Hunting.

26. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS?
Yes

27. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
LSAT study books

28. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE NUMBER?
6

29. WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR?
Losing my ability to feel.

30. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS
TO YOU.
Toby has the most amazing, contagious laugh I've ever heard. Oh, and he's dangerous.

31. PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO
RESPOND?
umm... I'll say elly cause she gets bored at work.

32. PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO
RESPOND?
Mon frere

33. FAVOURITE CD?
Simon and Garfunkle's greatest hits.

34. FAVOURITE TV SHOWS?
The West Wing. CSI.

35. HAMBURGERS OR HOTDOGS?
I gave up hotdogs on the weekend and ground beef months ago. Let's go with veggie dogs.

36. FAVOURITE SOFT DRINK?
Diet Coke

37. THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN?
Twillingate, NFLD Have to agree with Robbie on that one. Beijing was pretty cool though.

38. SCREEN SAVER ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW?
None

39. CATS OR DOGS?Cats. And dogs. But only the dogs that don't have slobber like Artemis. Sorry robbie, but it's yucky.

40. WHITE HOLIDAY LIGHTS OR MULTI COLORED?
multi.

2004-07-22T13:01:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my dear friend Lisha I saw Catwoman last night. I had very low expectations going in, thinking it would probably be cheesier than entertaining. But I'm pleased to say I enjoyed the movie very much. Sure there were some corny lines and times where it felt more like a music video than a superhero movie, but overall, it was a fun, entertaining summer flick. Especially the part with the aquarium... I think people who own or have owned cats will appreciate some of the humour a little more than others - I for one was wishing my little Gemmers could have watched it with me - but it's definately worth your $10.95 - 5 tuna treats!

2004-07-21T10:07:00.000-04:00

heartbreaking

A kind police officer came to my house around 2:00 p.m. yesterday to take my statement and have a look around the "crime scene". She was helpful, talked to some neighbours, wrote a report, and told me to look for suspicious activity in the area. After she left I took a trip down 17th Ave. SE to visit the many pawn shops around. I figured if the thief was desperate for money and not too bright that I may find my stuff at the nearest vendor. Many had golf clubs and bikes. None had my golf clubs or my bike.

My mom is going to call the insurance company today. I dread the news, but I'm sure the deductible will be around $500. They'll probably take it out of the compensation amount. The remaining question for me is whether or not the insurance will provide us with the full value of the items taken.

Kona Cindercone - $1050

Venus helmet - $54.99

Specialized saddle - $84.99

Ping hoofer golf bag - $120

Ping Beryllium golf clubs - $1200

Mom's bike - $160

Total - $2669.98

I don't want a new bike. I want my bike. I love my bike. The seat had never even been used. I put it on the night the bike was taken. It's probably the reason the garage door was left open. I was careless. I'll forever regret not borrowing an allen key from the salesperson at Bow Cycle. The golf bag was a Christmas gift one year. The golf clubs my 18th birthday present. I had a hole in one with that 9 - iron on #2 at Inglewood. They are irreplaceable. So are the Alreds woods I had in my bag. There was a time I could do anything with that 7 wood... which was also a Christmas gift.

Every person riding a bike is riding my bike. At least until I get up close enough to see it's just some crappy Norco. It's heartbreaking. I'm going to start stalking the kids in my neighbourhood. I'm already have delusional fantasies about them riding around after dark, laughing at the dumb girl whose stuff they got. Sigh. The only thing to do is make up my "stolen bike" posters and visit some stores in Calgary to see if anyone's trying to sell my stuff.

2004-07-20T10:12:00.000-04:00

Violated

When I got home last night I changed my bicycle seat. After two years of riding on an uncomfortable seat, I bought a women's seat, looking for more comfort. Finding a comfortable seat that didn't weigh too much was difficult, and cost me $90. But I put it on and adjusted it all by myself, taking my bike for a little test ride, then locking up the garage. Or so I thought...

This morning the garage door was wide open, and my bike was gone. So was my mom's bike. And my golf clubs. And my helmet. And my elbow pads, wrist guards, and one knee pad (who only needs one kneew pad, I ask???). I'm sure that I shut the door, but maybe it didn't close properly and was laying wide open in dover all night. Sigh. Here's hoping the house insurance has a low deductible.

2004-07-05T10:39:00.000-04:00

How can it be 25 degrees in my office when it's only 7 degrees outside??? So much for my red wool sweater...

2004-06-30T14:50:00.000-04:00

Post CBC, I went over to Mr. Porco's to help prepare for tonight's splendiforous celebration of his 25th year. Mrs. Penner and I helped craft the famous porcological lasagna.

Nico, Mrs. Penner, and Babz with the world's greatest lasagna.

It shall be a wonderful eve, I'm sure. I missed the fete last year, due to my Asian travels (I think I may have actually been in Osaka, but there's really now way to know), so I believe I get to drink twice as much wine to make up for it...

2004-06-30T14:17:00.000-04:00

So I was on CBC Newsorld last night for my last installment of the youth election panel for Canada Votes. The panel consisted of all of myself and one other girl, being interviewed through an ear piece and staring into a camera, but it was fun. We did 4 segments throughout the campaign, discussing the impact of the election on youth voters (18-30). I discovered last night just how appallingly low voter turnout was, with Elections Canada unofficial numbers at 60.5% of eligible voters. I was hoping for at least 65%, a rather low standard, but one that I thought could be met, given how close the election was predicted to be. Hopefully the coalition building that's bound to occur throughout the next two months will be enough to start to repair some faith in our leaders' abilities to work together. I didn't actually get to watch most of the election results, due to my late decision to become a scrutineer for Justin Thompson, the Liberal candidate who ran against Rob Anders in Calgary West. Due to a less than qualified DRO, I didn't leave the polling station until 10:15 p.m. (polls closed at 7:30). There was a miscount that they couldn't seem to solve, and I finally reached an adequate level of frustration (I was missing out on free beer, after all) indicate to the vote counters that their addition on the vote tally sheet was incorrect. Imagine, the fate of the Calgary West left in the hands of mathematics wizard Barb Wright... ;)

I managed to make it to the "Victory" party in time to snatch up one drink ticket, and watch Paul Martin's speech. Watching the ballots being counted was an interesting experience, but next time I think I'll make sure I'm in a place where I can watch the results. That way I can see who Ontario chose for our winner at the same time as everyone else...

2004-06-25T12:05:00.000-04:00

Test. My entries don't seem to be publishing from this computer.

2004-06-25T10:40:00.000-04:00

Since I made an election prediction on Toby's blog, I should put it up here as well.

Election Seat Prediction by Babz:

Liberals 111
Conservatives 107
BQ 60
NDP 28
Greens 1
Independent 1

2004-06-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

Got myself a new cell phone. Got a good deal too. Even if I did need to sign a contract... I've been a loyal Fido customer for over 5 years now, and they keep doing things to make me happy. The phone will arrive via purolater either today, tomorrow morning, or (sigh) Monday. Let's hope it comes this afternoon...

2004-06-24T12:35:00.000-04:00

Joe's is the only place for Steve

I went to see Dodgeball last night. Inadvertently of course, as I don't think I would have chosen to take my deflated bank account to Chinook were I lured by prospects of a free movie thanks to Lisha's press pass. Sadly, the film we went watch a preview of "sold out" within 8 minutes, so we opted to pay for Dodgeball instead. It was hilarious.

A big part of why I wanted to see it was to determine whether or not the trailer wrecked one of the funniest-looking parts of the movie. It often seems that comedy trailers give away too many of the jokes to make seeing the movie in theatres at $10.95 a pop worthwhile. I'm happy to report that this was not the case with Dodgeball. I nearly died laughing at the part of the trailer when Patches O'Houlihan says "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!" Then hucks one at the scrawny teenager. And I'm happy to say that the scene is even better in the movie. We were also coincidentally joined by Sean, one of Lisha's friends who has been popping up everywhere lately. We're all going to see Fahrenheit 9/11 on Friday afternoon which is bound to be one of the most interesting movies of the year.

In other news, I seem to have killed Trevor and Madeline, along with their legion of budding unnamed brethren. I guess my office is not the good place for plants I thought it was. I'm considering going to visit Miranda and picking up something else that isn't so tropical and easy to underwater and undersun, but I'll probably have to give it a pass, as every green thing I touch seems to get shrivelly within a few days. Which is a shame, really. I can see myself gardening, all wide-brim hated with my spade in the back yard, dog chasing the cat chasing bird in the background, wiping summer sweat from my brow with a dirt-darkened gloved hand. Not as picturesque when the poesies are drooping and wilted and the chives won't grow. I don't have a picture of poor Trever and Madeline (little Madeline spoke only French) as the caretakers seem to have recognized that they were past any possible rescuscitation and done away with them in the night. Rest in peace, mes petites fleures. I hope you become part of the nutrient-rich mulch you were meant to be.

2004-06-23T15:09:00.000-04:00

The story is completed below. I'll add photos of the bruises if the cell phone imprint becomes a little more distinct...

2004-06-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Not because I was called boring, but because I have a little story to tell and have finally caught up on my work do I decide to add to my blog today.

Thanks to two+ months of playoffs with their chicken wings, their beer, their nachos and late night pizza, thanks to a month of eating in restaurants and MSC's food court, thanks to shortness of breath from a one-block jog to catch the c-train I've decided to get back on my fitness plan. In April I set a goal to ride my bike to work 3 times a week. I accomplished that goal for 3 and a half weeks. Then it was May and I found myself with car. Now it is late June and my favourite green pants are looking a little snug, so I've re-established my 3-day-a-week-bike-to-work-rule and joined the Fitness Centre at the U of C.

It's going well so far. I biked to work in the a.m, to my 5-minute CBC gig, and home on Monday night. Felt great. So great, in fact, that on Tuesday morning at 7:15 when I got up, I decided that I needed a burst of morning exercise to get me started again. Not wanting to punish my bottom with the much less than comfortable bicycle seat my Kona is currently sporting, I opted for a walk/rollerblade combo at least as far as Sunnyside station. Twas another beautiful start to the day, with arriving an hour later than intended counteracted by the focus and lack of caffeine dependance throughout the morning.

After the day was done, Nic picked me up for a movie. We were meeting Michelle at the Uptown for the 7:20 showing of Supersize me. Due to the content/topic of the movie and the fact that I had my rollerblades in my backpack, I decided to forego the ride home and use my wheels to get back up to Dover. Putting my skates on in the back of Nic's car and skating through downtown to Princess Island Park was my big acheivement for the day. I've always been a bit afraid of the curbs, with their required hopping, and timing, and stopping for lights. But I handled them and the 7th Ave. C-train tracks like a pro last night. Before long, I was cruising down the bike path, zigging and zagging around the slow walkers, squinting my eyes against the bugs. I saw a couple on their bicycles who had been sitting near us in the theatre - we gave each other knowing smiles, silently vowing we would not be the tuquoise encased dimply rumped Big Mac Attackers we spent the last hour and half watching.

As it neared 9:30, I was through most of downtown, coming upon the zoo. I had my first skin-less moment since coming back to Canada in March. You know that part of the day where the cooling air meets the heat coming off the ground and reaches up, grabbing hold of your senses, making you feel the air underneath your skin... maybe you don't know, but it's my favourite part of the day, and it happens here only on summer evenings in the valley. I also heard the monkeys chattering across the river and began to wonder about how the orangutangs would feel about my red.... but that's another story.

Fast forward 20 minutes and I'm along the canal, running parallel with Deerfoot, passing the clubhouse at Inglewood. Having just ended a call to my mom, I put my little fido phone back in my pocket, and rollerbladed my way around the cracks in the pavement, picking my way past swarms of mosquitos in the near-dark. The end of the path was approaching. I could see the low-clearance bridge up ahead, cordonned off by the bright blue semi-barrier parks and rec safety folks put in place to keep people from having too much fun with speed.

These little blue posts are the devil. And why are they always at the bottom of hills? Someone in Parks and Rec has a sick sense of humor!

It was then I realized that I was going too fast. And the path was going down. Which made me go faster. Now stopping is certainly, for me, the hardest part of rollerblading. I have a decent sense of balance, and I'm relatively coordinated, but I'm still not very good at it. So as I lifted my right toes and pressed down on my heel-stop, I began to feel that feeling - logic erasing, anxiety inducing, sense numbing panic.

Panic. As it set in I could feel my ability to reason fade away. I began to think, in that moment before I realized all hope of keeping my balance was lost, that I could use the bright blue bars to help slow me down in time to keep from tumbling into the canal. That's when I remembered the gravel I had nearly fallen prey to on my way to work in the morning. Heel stop dragging, arms outstretched, my left skate slid out from beneath me as the wheels skidded across the finely-ground gravel on the path. Falling to my right side, feet out before me, in one last moment of lucidity, I threw my arms to the sides of my head as I slid through the gravel on my right hip. When the slide stopped I was wedged under the lowest of the bright blue bars, gravel on my elbow, dirt on my pants, purple bruises beginning from where my left thigh slammed into metal and my right thigh skidded on the ground. My cell phone, having been in my right cargo pocket, handled all of my weight and most of the impact by imprinting a fine outline of itself on my leg. It now looks like this, rendering text messaging useless.

Note the inky black spot in the upper left corner. There should be 3 lines of text above the one showing. Looks like I'll be shopping for phones this weekend.

What's a girl to do but dust herself off, look around to make sure no one saw, and skate the rest of the way home. It was my first real rollerblading wipe-out, and made me thankful to be wearing my wrist guards at least. Next time I think I'll try to remember the helmet!

2004-06-03T02:56:00.000-04:00

Off I go to Ontari-ari-ari-o. My brother is graduating from law school on Friday. I'm flying into Toronto tomorrow, spending the day wandering the streets or going to the hockey hall of fame, hanging out watching the Flames game with dear babyj, staying chez lui, then heading down to Windsor with my bro's friend Jen on Friday morning. I'll spend the next two nights in Windsor with my fam, then I'll somehow end up back in Toronto on Sunday, perhaps being picked up by Tobestar, perhaps renting a car to drive to Ottawa. I'll be back in Cowtown on Tuesday eve, where I expect to find a whiney cat and lots of birthday presents...

2004-05-17T02:22:00.000-04:00

Vancouver, I love you. You're lush, you're green, you're warm, and most importantly, you're filled with beaches. Ah the beach. Haven't seen it yet, but I know it's there, right outside the window, just down the hill. Perhaps I'll get up early and go for a stroll...

Noteable events so far have included introducing Toby to the best vegetarian restaurant in the country, consuming 247 peices of sushi, and Mike and Greg breaking the murphy bed. Oh what will tomorrow bring?

2004-04-29T12:09:00.000-04:00

CBC, I love you, but stop doing stupid things! Love him or hate him (and I often feel both emotions towards him), Don Cherry is a Canadian Icon and still belongs behind that desk in those crazy clothes. Kelly's not quite ready yet.

2004-04-28T17:57:00.000-04:00

Just picked up my ticket to game 4. Happy days. Going with Elly, meeting her at 4:15 tomorrow. We're going to put red goop in our hair. And cheer lots and not sit down ever.

Today is a big day in the life of two of my favourite U of C boys: Graham and Kevin are writing their final final exams of their undergraduate careers as we speak. Ah, remember the days of 4th and 5th year (for me), wiling away summers on patios and at the drum. Making fun of Matt. Ok, making fun of Kevin. Ok, listening to Matt make fun of Kevin. While hot-box-Steve touched Inferious in ways we shan't speak of. Can't speak of. Ok, have drank away the memories of.... sigh. Congratulations you two kids, and I'll see you at the Den (sadly not the same Den where we met thanks to someone or other, a Den that is less, but is still a Den) this eve!

2004-04-28T13:41:00.000-04:00

Having serious safety pin problems!

2004-04-27T15:10:00.000-04:00

It pains me to admit it, but I've somewhat secretly and carefully been considering volunteering for one of the Conservative candidates in the upcoming election. There, I said it. I was going along with the notion that you can elect good people and not just play towards the parties all the time. Wrong. Not in Canada. It's about the parties. The people always, in one way or another, are forced to follow the party. Which means they are subject to the social whims of the leader. For me, that means the Conservatives continue to be a non-option. I hate to disagree with Joe Clark's advice, but when the facts about the people begin to come out, things get much clearer. To save the impatient the trouble of scrolling, here's where the decision was made:

He was joined in his criticisms by Conservative MP Rick Borotsik, who said the criticisms show the party lacks generosity, and that Mr. Clark's supporters are the type of conservatives the party needs to attract.

"I don't think anybody should refer to Mr. Clark as a tired old man or as a traitor. They're all wrong," said Mr. Borotsik, who, like Mr. Clark, was an opponent of the deal to merge the Tories and the Canadian Alliance. "You don't slag a man of integrity. That just doesn't make political sense."

Others were less charitable about Mr. Clark, saying he went too far.

A spokesman for former party leadership contestant Jim Prentice rejected Mr. Clark's offer to campaign for Mr. Prentice in his Calgary riding.

Mr. Clark hadn't yet made such an offer in person and "if and when he does, he will be told that it would be inappropriate because Jim does not share his assessment of the leader and the party," Jason Hatcher said yesterday.

A startling day of revelations it has been for me, as over my lunch hour news reads, I've found myself agreeing with John.

2004-04-26T12:37:00.000-04:00

So it begins. Today is the first day of my new budget. Everything unpleasant always seems to start on Mondays... I will attempt to live on $50 a week for the summer. That will even include events like movies and surprise birthday parties from now on. Yup, $50 a week. It shouldn't actually be all that hard given the fact that I live in my parents' basement and the pantry is usually pretty well stocked, thus minimizing the need to spend money on food at work. Provided I create lunches ahead of time. Really, who wants to make something nutritious at 7:00 a.m. when they can easily buy kobe beef? I've decided to leave the costs of my cell phone and Flames playoff tickets out of the budget for now. But beer at the game is in, as are all other entertainment options. I've even made myself a nifty little budget spreadsheet with formulas and everything. It's very exciting. Ok, it's not exciting at all, but good on me for actually figuring out how to do it (it's been a number of years since I last tried to do anything in a spreadsheet). So if I manage to spend less than $50 in any week, that excess will "carry over" to the weeks when I plan to be away from Calgary this summer, hopefully allowing me to maintain my budget even while I'm on vacation. All this is in an attempt (another in a string of unsuccessful runs) to pay off some of my debt. So here goes. As long as certain friends stop guilting me about going home instead of going out, and certain people stop calling me boring, it should all work out this time.

2004-04-22T15:06:00.000-04:00

Not exactly a litter you want to be part of...

2004-04-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

22 - officially the most books I've ever signed out of the library at one time.

2004-04-22T11:03:00.000-04:00

Nice to be a Flames fan living in the west. I get to watch the game that counts, not that Toronto game... although, if I had to choose between the Toronto - Philadelphia series and the San Jose - Colorado one, I would be going for those Leafs. Won't tell you who I'd pick if I was choosing between the Toronto and Montreal ones though (that might start a rift). I think CBC needs another channel - one that can be dedicated to news, political and sports coverage year round. One that has reverse regional coverage during all important sporting events. And never, and I mean never, shows Pit Pony reruns.

2004-04-21T13:38:00.000-04:00

Going to law school with a low gpa like mine, eh? Going to have to look into that idea...

2004-04-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

Biggest salad ever...

Not that I'm on the Atkins diet, I just wanted a salad for lunch. Thinking it's going to last me till Wednesday. It had better last me until Wednesday with 21g of fat without the dressing! Yikes!

2004-04-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

Don't know about that national average age for first time mothers. 27.7.... Can tell you right now that I'll be working to help bring that number up a few points.

2004-04-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

One of the worst ideas ever to come out of Ontario!

2004-04-16T13:11:00.000-04:00

Got my ticket. Could only get one ticket. But hey, I got mine.

Now, on to more immediate things: the countdown is over. Kill Bill Volume 2 is in theatres today. Who's up for a matinee tomorrow?

2004-04-13T12:11:00.000-04:00

Ah, plant lady. How long it has been since I've seen you tending the foliage on this great campus...

2004-04-12T18:34:00.000-04:00

Oh the beauty of the unseasonable Calgary weather.... It's 20 degrees out. Screw this 8 hours of work thing. I did 7.5, I'm going rollerblading!

2004-04-06T20:16:00.000-04:00

My inner child is sixteen years old!

Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.

How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

I think my inner child is angry!

2004-04-06T14:26:00.000-04:00

And it really is a birthday day today. Happy Birthday to James Kusie too! He's now well established in his mid-twenties, also a very good place to be.

2004-04-06T14:04:00.000-04:00

Two things today:

Happy Birthday Natasha! One of my great friends, I would like to welcome Tasha into the prime of her mid-twenties today. Tis a fabulous place to be, regardless of your current list of "achievements". Be thankful there are people in your life who love you, and that you have exciting changes coming this spring. That whole employment/future academic thing will work itself out one of these days. We've got lots of time for real jobs in a few years.

And what was the other one? hmmm. Must reflect. Finished CASA minutes, but that wasn't' it. Read about corruption in my country, racial hatred, election predictions, bisexual and lesbian smoking rates among American teens.... Ah yes. Now I remember: 10 days, baby! The countdown begins today! Interesting train of thought I had there...

2004-04-06T01:33:00.000-04:00

Everyone except for Michelle Mccann sucks! She's the only one who signed when I emailed today. The CBC is cancelling Counterspin, one of the best programs it airs. Back in my pre-too-busy-for-tv days, this program was a mainstay of mine. Try to save it.

2004-03-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

It's 7:00 pm on Tuesday night. I'm wondering if I've been slandered yet...

2004-03-19T17:43:00.000-05:00

It's my little quiz-fest break from moving.

You're Cuba!

How bad can you really be? So many people have said so many
bad things about you, but you know they can't all be true. Not even most of them.
You went a little crazy for a while, but now you're just getting older and tired
of all the nasty stuff people think about you. You could use a little more money
and you really wish people wouldn't keep leaving you for richer people, but other than
that, things aren't so bad. You really like used military clothing.
size="2" face="Times New Roman">Take the href="http://bluepyramid.org/ia/cquiz.htm">Country Quiz at the href="http://bluepyramid.org">Blue Pyramid

2004-03-19T17:40:00.000-05:00

Perhaps my book quiz result is more interesting. And from only 6 questions...

You're The Guns of August!

by Barbara Tuchman

Though you're interested in war, what you really want to know is what
causes war. You're out to expose imperialism, militarism, and nationalism for what they
really are. Nevertheless, you're always living in the past and have a hard time dealing
with what's going on today. You're also far more focused on Europe than anywhere else in
the world. A fitting motto for you might be "Guns do kill, but so can
diplomats."

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

2004-03-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

Diversions, on the other hand, are good.

:: how jedi are you? ::

2004-03-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

Moving sucks ass.

2004-03-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

I just made scrambled eggs for breakfast without first checking for the presence of ketchup in the fridge. Scrambled eggs being primarily a delivery mechanism for the ketchup, this girl is distressed. Luckily there is still cheddar cheese and salsa to save the day. Mmmmmm, cheesy salsa eggs.

2004-03-07T16:04:00.000-05:00

Am back. Am very happy. Am now in Ottawa. Very happy. Air is clean. Boyfriend is grand. Food is good. Beer is expensive. Am still very happy.

2004-02-23T10:48:00.000-05:00

Writing report cards sucks. Writing report cards whilst finding fun music and drinking beer sucks a little less. But it still sucks.

2004-02-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

I got my Christmas present today. Got it myself. Went to Yongsan electronics market all on my own, and I was neither haggled nor lost. I've wanted one for more than 15 months, and for some reason, today was the day. I've even made my first playlist.

2004-02-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

Watching "Lost in Translation" a day and half after deciding not to go to Tokyo and two weeks before going home was probably not the smartest thing I ever did. I'll be locked in my room in my underwear looking out the window if you need me.

2004-02-18T22:33:00.000-05:00

Top score is now 70%. My questions are so very tricksey...

Well, I'm not going to Japan this weekend. I had to make my decision yesterday, and I wasn't comfortable with the idea of having no money at all when I return to Canada... so it's another disappointment directly related to working here. Sigh.

2004-02-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

I am an enigma. Or am I?

Think you know everything about me? Take the "How Well Do You Know Barb?" quiz I created on Tickle and see how you score.

Top score so far is 55% (and three of you should have known better). Ok, so the favourite author question is a little difficult... but the rest. Come on, where have you guys been?

2004-02-17T09:45:00.000-05:00

Talk about a bad day. Apart from a nice msn conversation this afternoon, it's been nothing but negative.

The first email I opened today told me that in spite of my repeat business to his company, my travel agent will not give me a better deal on my trip to Tokyo. I imagine that there's only so much he can do in any circumstance, but I was hoping he would break with his usual air/hotel policy, and let me use the cheaper hostel options I know to be available.

Let's not even talk about the second email I opened and responded to in the cheeriest manner possible.

Then I managed to annoy the person I least like to annoy in my life.

Then I had some self doubt. That's been happening too much lately.

Anyway, I went back to work a little early this afternoon, as I had some homework to correct, hoping that the bright shiney faces of my kids would cheer me up. Instead I found a barely legible note on my desk, demanding that I confirm the speaking abilities of my students for their placement in classes next term by 4:00 p.m. It was 4:40, and the information about the students (apart from their names, miraculously) and the classes was written in Korean. The teacher I'm supposed to use as a translator between myself and the almost entirely useless administrator responsible for the foreign teacher classes was no where to be found, and the useless administrator was in a meeting. So I ignored it and went to my first class, which was interrupted by useless at half past 5, who came to in to say "give" and thrust a stack of papers into my hands. Nest, I got to do my favourite thing - distribute papers to my students and then explain to them that they can't ask me any questions because I can't read Korean, and their parents will have to call the school instead. And they wonder why the numbers of students fluctuates so much!

The same process was repeated in my next two classes, with only the middle school one being slightly bearable. My kids keep asking who will be teaching them, and I have to tell them I don't know. Today, my favourite student in my youngest class asked me if I would be teaching any of the possible classes she would be going into. I told her I would not be, but I didn't tell her why. I'm trying to wait until Monday... but may end up coming clean tomorrow. The head teacher told me not to tell anyone until the last day, but I only have 3 more classes with one group of middle school kids, and if I wait until their last day to tell them, they won't have time to give me any messages or write down their addresses or anything. And it's just plain rude not to give them notice.

The lowliness of my day continued after my last class finished. I decided to correct a stack of homework before I went home tonight, something I think I've done only once or twice this semester. After I had been sitting at my desk for a few minutes, the head teacher came to me and told me he had something to talk to me about. Apparently, even though the director said he would two weeks ago, he has decided not to pay me before my afternoon shift starts on my last day of work. He has decided to pay me at 10 p.m. after I've taught my last classes. He doesn't care that I wanted to transfer the money home before the banks closed. And he doesn't care that I won't have time to take care of any of my personal business that requires money in advance (i.e. posting any of my personal belongings home, buying last minute souvenirs). Well then why, I asked, did he agree to it before?????? The head teacher could tell me nothing more than that the director is unable to pay me before the end of my teaching. To which I inquired as to whether or not the director was actually going to pay me on the 2nd, and asked what recourse I would have if he didn't. What if he doesn't pay me until the 10th? What if he doesn't pay me at all? There were, of course, no answers.

Now I have to make a difficult decision. I can only just barely afford to go to Japan. I can get there fine, and I can even sleep somewhere comfortable, and I can afford a sushi meal and a cheesy souvenir or two. There are lots of free things to do in Tokyo, and some of them are even in walking distance of other attractions, so I can save on the subway fare. But I can't afford to go to Japan if I'm not going to get my last paycheque from my school. And having been screwed over the last time I trusted an employer to keep his or her word in this country, I'm not sure I'm willing to risk being broke for 10 days in Ottawa and 30 days in Calgary for a weekend of fun in Japan. It would have to be pretty fun to be worth all of this worry.

Thoughts? Advice?

2004-02-16T20:57:00.000-05:00

Work days remaining: 8.5

Days until flight to Canada: 15

Days until trip to Tokyo: 3

I had a pretty interesting weekend. Twas one of those bittersweet moments in life- my last real partying weekend in Seoul. I say this assuming I'm going to spend all of my money in Japan next weekend, so my very last days in Korea will likely be spent packing, wishing I could afford one last club night. But most of this past weekend was money well spent with good friends.

Two of my favourite people left Korea on Sunday. Rhoni headed to Thailand and ought to be in Cambodia by now, and Al should be happily settling back into his life in England. One of the hard parts about the expat life is seeing your friends leave, wondering when/if you'll ever run into them again. But we had a pretty good last weekend together, and so very many laughs over the last few months.

Al came into Seoul on Friday night, and somehow managed to get me to go to Limelight with him. When I arrived it became clear that there was some sort of Miss Limelight talent/raunchy dancing contest going on, which was tolerable if only because the winner was a friend of a friend. I did happen to meet the three most beautiful women I've ever seen there - models from Brazil. Stunningly beautiful ladies (I believe a friend who shall remain nameless attempted to make a go for one of them and was brutally rebuffed, but that's just hearsay). After a while I headed over to Bricx for a few drinks, chatted with some interesting people, and promised a few would-be suitors that I would bring my single friends back the next night. I may or may not have made drunken phone calls to a Canadian boy who was hung over at work...

On Saturday I met up with Ryan and Stella for about an hour and a half. I emptied most of the contents of my cupboards into Ryan's backpack, as I shan't be needing 10s of packets of instant sauces, taco mixes and gravies over the course of the next two weeks. After that I took myself for a Valentines Day coffee and bagel at my favourite western cafe. I had some time to kill before I was meant to meet Rhoni at the train station, so I picked up a copy of "The Great Gatsby", somehow having missed reading it up until now (classics are incredibly cheap to buy in Korea), and was a good third of the way through it when Al decided to come meet me for a bite to eat, and then accompanied to meet Rhoni. We had to wait for 2 other friends to arrive (there had been a time-telling mishap which had resulted in a missed train), so Al left us there with an intention to meet up at Bricx later in the evening. After a quick creepy-less stop at my apartment, my three Valentines and I were out for Rhoni's last night in Korea.

We went to Bricx where a "lock and key party" was in the works. When women arrived at the bar, they were presented with a lock. Men had to buy a set of keys, and then wander around the bar, trying to find the corresponding lock. None of us wanted to participate very badly, but the owner Soo Jin insisted that we take locks. We had a few unsuccessful Americans come to try out their keys, before the gentlemen at the table next to us came over to try (three Americans, all in the airforce, all computer guys, not pilots). Rhoni's lock was the first one to open, and then mine. It was lame, but kind of funny, especially since the guys weren't really trying to pick us up (a refreshing change from the usual behavior of men in Itaewan). Mind you they did try to convince us to go to a club with them, so maybe I've become naive...

We stayed at Bricx for quite a while, but Al didn't appear. Around 2 a.m. (I think) we met up with a Korean friend from Gumi, and went for some street food. After a few more beers with my new ajuma friend in one of the cheap food restaurants, we went back to my apartment for an hour and a half of sleep before Rhoni had to make her way to the airport. We managed to fit all 4 of us girls in my bed, and would have been comfortable too if it weren't for Toby's crazy cat pouncing on us every 2 minutes. We were awoken around 6 a.m. by a rather grumpy boyfriend of mine who wondered why I didn't have someone in this hemisphere to act as a wake up call. We wandered out of my apartment and found a cab, and set off for the airport limousine bus stop. As we neared our destination, I noticed the airport bus in front of us, so we got the cabbie to speed up. We overtook the bus about a block in front of the stop, jumped out, grabbed Rhoni's things, flagged down the bus, and hardly had time to give her one last hug before she got on. None of us like long good byes, but that one happened too fast. We were all in tears (especially Rebecca) as we watched the bus drive away.

Us three remaining ladies went back to my place where we slept in a more sprawled out fashion for a few more hours. The other two girls had to be up by 11 ish to make it to their Sumo date with the boys from Gumi. They got conned into taking two extra tickets by crazy Nick the night before. When they called to find out exactly where they were meeting, however, they were informed of another extra ticket, which I was pressured into taking. 30,000 won and 2 hours later, I found myself in the midst of an arena in East Seoul for my first ever Sumo tournament. The surroundings weren't too exciting, and neither was the first hour of ceremony, warm ups, and demonstrations (except for the first 5 of the 30 minutes that child sumo wrestlers went for adult sumo wrestlers in groups of two), but it got better once the real fighting began. It's amazing how agile a 200kg man can be.

After sumo, Amanda, Rebecca and I left the Gumi boys and headed out for dinner. We decided to go to this great little Indian/Nepalese restaurant that Toby and I found by accident one day. Only when we go there, we discovered it was under renovation. We were unbelievably disappointed, but the owner recommended that we go to a place called Himalaya down the street instead, which was a little more expensive, but about as good. It was just missing the sweet Nepalese lady who works at the other one. After dinner, I accompanied the girls to Insadong, where I bought my first ever mixture of incense and a burner. I've never had cause to use incense before, but it was only 2000 won, so I figured I would try it out. I also bought something for Toby's birthday, but I can't tell you what it is on here. He's going to think he knows what it is, but he won't.

I said a sad goodbye to the girls around 8:30 and headed home. I don't imagine I'll see them again for quite some time as they both want to travel for a while, but at least they are fellow Canadians and will someday end up back home. And that sums up the weekend.

2004-02-12T09:56:00.000-05:00

Success! The other teachers are going to take my shift next Friday. I'm going to Japan.

2004-02-12T00:05:00.000-05:00

Sweet. My travel agent just emailed me to confirm that he got me off the waitinglist and onto a return flight from Seoul to Tokyo. Now I just need to get him to give me a better deal on the hotel, and I'm going to Japan! That is if I can negotiate a switch of Friday work days with my colleagues.

If you recall, I had decided any travel outside of Korea was out of the question due to financial uncertainties upon my return to Canada. However, after receiving my exciting new proposal the other day, I decided to cost out a weekend in Tokyo again. And even though I can't really afford to, I decided to go for it. So I'm going for it.

Tokyo will be my second city in Japan, and my fourth big city in Asia that I've been to in the past year. Fifth if you include Seoul. The others were Bangkok in April, Osaka in June and July, and Beijing at Christmas. I was seriously considering going back to Beijing as stuff is cheap in China, but there's just something about Japan. It must have been Kill Bill or something.

2004-02-11T23:18:00.000-05:00

If I have to hear ONE more stubby, short, greasy Korean guy say that a woman's role is the pursuit of beauty I'm going to scream!

Normally, I try to subtly turn the idea of women as objects or second class citizens here around on my students, but today I was entirely without tact. The student is named David, and he's a fairly smart guy. He studied economics in university, and he actually seems to understand what he learned (unlike the vast majority of Korean students who only memorize and regurgitate). He's trying to get into graduate school in the US, and I've helped him with his applications a little. So anyway, today in one breath he told us, a classroom filled with 7 women, that our role is the pursuit of beauty. He then turned around, and in the next breath told us that women who are trained and educated are doing a disservice to their nation by not using their skills in the workforce. So I wrote his two comments on the board and tried to point out his hypocrisy in words that all the other ladies would understand. Not a good teaching moment for me, but at least he thought about his attitudes for a few minutes.

I once had a student named John tell me that when he gets married he wants his wife to work. Most Korean women gradually become housewives after marriage. Some wait until they have kids, but it's very uncommon for women to stay in careers after their weddings. As my student is studying to become an accountant, I thought he would have some rational financial viewpoint about two incomes, less pressure on the man to be the breadwinner, self worth and satisfaction from having her own goals. Nope. Why does he want her to work? So that she'll do her hair and wear makeup every day. 11 work days left... 10 adult classes to go.

It must be said that neither John nor David have girlfriends. Surprised?

2004-02-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

McDonald's coffee again this morning. I feel dirty. Cat kept me up until after 4 a.m. I don't think I ever want to care for a kitten again. Bring on the lazy 8 year old cats with nothing but love and affection, please.

Got a job offer yesterday. Well, a job proposal. Got the salary proposal today. Not going to say no to flexible hours, independent self-directed work, the best boss ever, and $18 an hour. Pending the details, it looks like I'll be in Calgary for a few months after all.

2004-02-09T20:35:00.000-05:00

I did one of those things I try not to do this morning. For the first time this year, I went to McDonald's. Terrible, really, but it's the only place with reasonably priced regular coffee around here. For 1100 won I get a 10 ounce cup of the stuff, whereas everywhere else charges more than 3000 (1100 won is $1.26 CAD and 3000 is $3.43 - prices in Canada are going to kill me after this, I know). I needed a bigger caffeine jolt than my regular 100 won shots of instant coffee from the machine at work today, as I was up half the night with an unruly cat while lewd acts occurred in the living room.

2004-02-09T12:44:00.000-05:00

Creepy just hit the all time high on the creep-o-meter.

2004-02-09T02:25:00.000-05:00

Just talked to Thomas. No extra cash for me. But he did say the director will pay me on the last day of work. Mind you they said they would pay Toby before he left too. I guess I just won't teach my classes till my money is in my account. Too bad about the lack of extra pay or airfare. i wasn't expecting it, but I had just begun considering popping over to Beijing to go shopping one more time... sigh.

2004-02-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

I brought up the aforementioned plan with head-teacher-Thomas yesterday. It was brief, it was concise. He said he would take it to the boss. Today, I asked him if he had any news for me, and he said he would tell me tomorrow. After more than a year in Korea I have yet to learn if that's a good sign, a bad sign, or if it has absolutely no significance whatsoever. I guess I'll wait and see. I'm not exactly stressing about the outcome, as I don't think I have much chance of getting any extra money from the school, and even if they say they'll pay my salary early they're sure to be later than I'll need them to be... anyway. The disturbing part about the conversation with good old Thomas was that he told me that I should wait until the last day of classes to tell my students that I'm leaving. I'm not exactly comfortable with that. I think they deserve more notice than that. Some of the parents will be angry that the school didn't tell them ahead of time, and some of the students may only be staying at this institute because they like their teacher (not to sound full of myself or anything), so it's really not fair for them to wait until the last day. I think I'm going to tell them early... or find a way for them to find out. I care more about the kids than the phone calls the school is going to get.

Tonight they were also interviewing a couple of foreign teachers, and funnily enough, one was a guy from Calgary. I'm surprised to see that they're looking for a man. I was certain they would try to find a woman to replace me, but Thomas told me yesterday that they are looking for a man.

Nothing much else to say, other than I've developed a nice little sore throat in time for the weekend.

2004-02-03T02:37:00.000-05:00

So here's the plan. I have yet to suss out the details of my leaving the school early with the head teacher. It's Tuesday, and I should talk to him before Thursday if I have any hope of an answer by Monday. I need to find out what the details of my salary will be, when I will be paid, and whether or not the school will give me anything for my bonus (supposed to be given to a teacher who completes a year contract) or my airfare (one way due to the teacher after each six months of teaching).

When Toby left, they kind of kept a chunk of his cash for "taxes". There is some (I think bogus) tax that this collects every year, even though we pay 5% of our salary into it every month. 5% is the maximum tax rate on foreigners working in Korea. So I want the school to deduct the extra taxes off this month's pay instead of my last pay so that I'm here to argue if I think it's unfair. I also want to ask if they will pay me any portion of my bonus or my airfare, even though it's pretty clear in my contract that I'm not eligible. The last (and most important) thing that I'm looking for, is to have my date of payment moved up from March 10th (by which time I will be in Ottawa celebrating Toby's birthday - no I didn't get the date wrong, I'm working with time zones) to March 1st.

So here's my strategy. I ask for the tax thing to happen directly. It shouldn't be too much of a big deal, especially since they just calculated Toby's a few weeks ago. Then, I will ask to be paid early. Then I will tell the head teacher that I would like to talk about receiving half of my bonus. If not my bonus, then my airfare. I fully expect the response to be that they will do the taxes off the last cheque, that they won't give me any part of my bonus or airfare (which I guess I don't technically qualify for), but that since they're saying no to the other two, they'll pay me early. Not on March 1st, but before the banks close on March 2 (the 1st is a holiday). So lets see how close I come. The head teacher doesn't look too too busy now...

In other news, great work to the folks at CASA. They've been working for years on getting some movement on more than just student loan reform, and the Prime Minister seems to be delivering. Congratulations! I can't wait to see those parental contributions details. How many years of student leaders have been asking about that?????

2004-01-28T09:38:00.000-05:00

When I went back into work this afternoon, one of the teachers I work with told me that the director wanted to meet with me after my last class. I spent the day dealing with some nerves, and the anxiety of not-knowing whether or not I was about to thrust myself into a conflict I was creating. It turns out that there was little need for my worries. The director simply asked me to reconsider my decision 4 times, asked me to stay for an additional semester once, but finally accepted my decision to leave. He also told me that he didn't want me to regret the part of my life that I've spent in Korea, gave me his blessing, and told me to work out the details with Thomas (the head teacher).

So with a deep sigh of relief, I am free to enjoy my remaining 20 days of work, my last 34 days in Korea.

2004-01-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

All research into making a stop-over in Tokyo en route home to Calgary suggests it is not worth the extra $400 for one day. I can get a one day stop in Tokyo for $1200 CAD. I can get a flight with two hour stop in Tokyo for $780. I have begun investigating the possibility of a weekend trip to Tokyo instead. Sadly, I am beginning to realize that if I want to delay finding full-time paid employment in Canada until after the federal election, I will likely have to forgo any travel plans outside of Korea.

Still no word from the boss on my resignation.

2004-01-27T11:08:00.000-05:00

Procrastination...or fear?

So the head teacher (Thomas from here on out) did not tell the director today at work. He waited until I got in at 1:50 p.m. (AFTER HIS MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR) to see if Hennie (the aforementioned other foreign teacher) had been able to change my mind. Then he told me at 4:30 that he hadn't told him yet. Frustration began to creep into my face as Thomas asked me again if I was sure. I told him I had written a letter and that I could give it to him if he wanted it. He told me he would talk to the director. At 7:55 he told me he would be talking to the director in 15 or so minutes. When I left my last class of the day at 8:52, Thomas was sitting at a table in the lobby having a conversation with the administrator (Julia) who is "responsible" for me. At 9:02 I went over to him and asked if he had anything to tell me before I went home. He told me that the director wasn't around, so Thomas couldn't tell him. But he did tell Julia, and was planning to tell the director ON THE PHONE later tonight. I got to reaffirm my decision to leave to Julia before heading home.

Things are rather quiet around here this evening. Apart from an attempt to put my experiences with the SU into written words, it's been a normal evening. Talking about the SU occasionally makes me want to go back to old vices. So far it's just gotten to the point of listening to SU era music and remembering conversations Tash and I had in the early days. I try not to think too much about being asked to resign on a weekly basis by a couple of vocal council members. Bastards.

In other news, Miss Puddles is being uncharacteristically quiet tonight. She must be sick. She's done nothing but howl since her owner abandoned her with me... She still doesn't respond to Miss Puddles....

2004-01-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

Denial
Apparently the other foreign teacher wasn't listening to me last night after all. He asked me again this morning if I had slept on it. Things often seem different in the morning, at night all is dark, with the light of the new day comes new hope yada yada. Told him I was certain. He suggested I put my intentions in writing so that the school will take me seriously. Perhaps I'll give him a copy so that he takes it seriously too...