Oh Noes.. I've Been MEMED!

Well, I'm amongst the last in this particular chain, I think - but I 'owe' it to a few people. My thanks to Brent and Fi (a.k.a. Mini-Blue), and in Fi's case, sorry for it taking nearly two months to post. For everyone else... will the posting madness continue? Stay tuned!

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, it would be appreciated if you posted this on yours.

Whaaa....?

What's this you say? Two updates in one week?

That's right, my friend, it's Christmas! Or, at least, Friday afternoon, and I have found that I miraculously have a little bit of free time for some update-y goodness. So now, what to write?

Well, to begin with, the ever-present force in my life: school!! A scant three and a half weeks in, and I've had two papers and a midterm already; term is officially in full swing and won't be slowing down till mid-December. So, good-bye social life. In all fairness, it's ridiculously hard to have a social life at all when one A)works thirty hours a week B) is a full-time student and C) must rely on public transit (grrrrrr.....) it's really hard to have any kind of a social life at all, much less a varied and fulfilling one. I'm kind of bummed out, actually; I had been hoping to rejoin UAMC this year, but due to class commitments (a night class on Wednesday, and yes that was the only time it was offered) I couldn't do it. So, I did the next best thing; I returned to the Catholic Church.

*slams on brakes* What? Where the heck did THAT come from?

Ok, ok, I'll explain; however, evangelizing not being one of my greatest talents (or even something I particularly like) it won't be in any kind of excruciating detail. I've been thinking about returning to the Church since my grandfather passed away in January, and considering that I'm taking some courses through St. Joe's this term, now seemed like a particularly opportune time. And, it also has granted me the opportunity to get involved with the liturgical music with a really fantastic group of people at St. Joe's. So, while I am saddened at being unable to return to UAMC, I am at least getting to sing SOMEWHERE.

In other news, I just started a new job! I am stil working at Conrad's (on 124th street just north of the Roxy Theatre, on Saturdays and Sundays from 11-6; since there have been such an overwhelming number of visitors *cough cough* I thought I'd repost where my first job is at) but as of yesterday I'm also an employee at the Royal Glenora Club. It's going to be a great job, and I'm going to get some new experience. Not that there's anything wrong with customer service, mind you... *cough cough*

Anyways, that's about it for now.... in a startling turn of events, I actually have a vehicle for the evening, so I'm going to get some of that precious socializing in. But stay tuned for (hopefully) more regular updates!

Christmas in September!

I've only got a scant handful of minutes to blurb about something that deserves a much, MUCH longer blurb, but I shall do my best.

Yesterday was Sunday, September 24th. So what, you ask. I had much the same opinion about it on my way to work at the coffee shop myself; another day of work, hopefully interspersed with getting some of my readings done for class, to be followed by evening mass at St. Joe's. (More on that in another post!) I had no reason to believe that anything out of the ordinary as going to happen at work yesterday. But, the reason I was under this impression was that my boss had neglected to mention that a film crew, shooting "The Carol Project", was going to be using the coffee shop as a staging area between takes. I had absolutely no idea, and no warning, that there would be forty people in my restaurant ALL DAY LONG.

That sounds like a bad thing, and I'll admit I had my reservations when less than a minute into my shift (and significantly before having poured, much less tasted, my first cup of coffee for the day) I got an order for eight meals. But, as the day progressed, despite being extraordinarily busy all day long (and kudos to Shauna, who showed up to visit and ended up helping out for the last 90 minutes of my shift despite the fact that she wasn't on the schedule and hence not being paid)I managed fairly well to keep up, largely because of the phenomenal patience and understanding of the movie crew, who were incredibly wonderful people.

Now, I don't actually know any of these people personally; I'm hopeing that somebody out there who is a little more familiar with the Arts scene around town knows somebody who was involved, and can pass on my gratitude. A different attitude from them would have resulted in all of us having a very, very bad day; but, because of their consideration of the relative smallness of the coffee shop (and the single-person staff) we all managed really well, and I actually had a great time at work. So, thank you, people of "The Carol Project". You guys are AWESOME.

I'm Baaa-aaack....

Well, 76 bruises, 39 abrasions, 17 lacerations, 4 sunburns, and more monkey-bar-blisters than I can count later, and it's over. Summer at the playground, that is. I'm done with the park, and they've already hired me back on for next summer - the jury's still out on whether I'll take it or not, I suppose it depends on if I secure a teaching position for next September, but I just might. We'll see, I guess.

The camping trip was great, and in retrospect I'm glad that I ended up going out on my own; it was a much needed respite from involving anyone besides myself in my day-to-day decision making. Despite the weather, which didn't entirely cooperate, I had a fantastic time - so much so, in fact, that I think I might make it an annual occurence.

In other news, September has accomplished its inexorable return, and I find myself once again ensconced in my studies. This term I'm taking everything from Physics to Catholic Catechism, with (of course) a healthy dose of English mixed in. I'm even auditing a course which has as one of its textbooks "Where the Wild Things Are", Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book. Taking Children's Lit is a great way to prevent any student from taking their own University career too seriously. Try writing a five-page critical paper comparing two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood; you'll see what I mean.

At any rate, I fully expect updates to come on a more regular basis from now till December, since I'll be frequently sitting at computers pretending to do homework, and such will need some way to look as though I'm being productive.