Is June Here Yet?

Today consisted of completing a few things that I had in mind. Yet again, the amount of cleaning done: zero. Somehow I think the next two days are going to be particularly busy.

Made dinner around 8am this morning (Lasagne Meatloaf), made my brother's lunch, and then went out to do some grocery shopping with my dad. Afterwards we stopped by Canadian Tire's garden section and picked up some fresh potted herbs (Thyme, Chives, Basil, Sage), some dirt, and a planting box. When we got home again, I had just enough time to put together a 3-bean salad before we were off again. This time we had to drive a client to the airport.

By the time we finally made it home, I ate and felt exhausted, so I took a nap. I woke up a few hours ago, did some dishes and my brother and I transplanted those herbs purchased. That's all for my mediocre day...

P.S. How I could neglect to mention my dental appointment for tomorrow. Joy and rapture for me!

6 Days and Counting

One day closer to my mother's return. Number of chores completed: Zero. Well, there are still a few more days left to go, so the cleaning will start tomorrow.

Woke up this morning at 10am, when I should have been up at 7am to send my brother off to school. However, he managed this on his own this morning.

Traveled down to York with Dave, it took us nearly 2 hours for a signature from an official in Stong and to put the form in the drop box. Finally we are both on our way to Specialised Honours. Funny anecdote of the day: male student entering into his second year came in to the English Office to change his major. He was surprised that a) he actually had to fill in the form on his own and b) that he could not get an appointment today. What fun.

After all that, came home, Dave hung around a bit and then he was on his way. I put together a salad with vinagrette and cooked some burgers for dinner. My mother called and I briefly spoke with her as well.

In other news, I have signed up for my bartending course. It is every Friday, starting this Friday until the 24th of this month. Additionally, that essay on Alexander Graham Bell has been returned to my brother. 100% for 2.5 hours' work is not too shabby.

Sunday's Child

Less than one week left now until my mother returns. That means the cleaning spree begins this week. My brother began on some of the smaller tasks today, and further ones will be tackled during the week. Other than that my father and I took a trip up to Welland to visit with our accountant. Tonight's dinner: Greek Pizza.

C'est tout pour maintenant!

In the Early Morning Hours

My father has now been at home nearly two whole days and is not feeling that badly. He is a bit tired and feels sluggish, but other than that, he seems almost his normal self. As I mentioned previously, he is on 4 medications, which do not seem to be affecting him at all (or at least so far).

Before going to bed tonight, I did some preparation work for dinner. The menu for the day is as follows:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, apricots
Lunch: Fajita leftovers
Dinner: Basil and Sundried Tomato Pesto with Penne and Meatloaf Stroganoff

Other than that, we are taking the car for an oil change and my dad is visiting the family doctor as well.

Goodnight all.

Updates

We visited my father last night in the hospital and he had had an angiogram and an ensuing angioplasty. Apparently one of his arteries around his heart was blocked. Since that is all done, they should be releasing him from hospital either today or tomorrow.

Addendum: We brought my father home from the hospital today around 5pm. He is doing pretty well for now, and he has been put on 4 different medications. Thank God that his condition was not any more serious.

Watching and Waiting

Today my father is undergoing his angiogram to see what possible damage ensued as a result of his heart attack last Thursday. I have not heard anything yet, but I am sure I will hear something shortly. Hopefully there will be nothing serious to report and he will be home in the next few days. Thanks to all for your concern.

All's Quiet on the Western Front

Happy Victoria Day to everyone reading this blog, although I am a little late.

Updates on my father's condition: he is doing well, walking around in his room. Tomorrow he will have an angiogram done and if all goes well, he should be out of the hospital before the end of the week. I do hope everyone had a better weekend than I had.

Doubt and Worries

Yesterday afternoon my dad checked himself into the hospital with pretty severe chest pains. Turns out he had a mild heart attack. Around 1:30pm today I was informed that they were transferring him to the Coronary Care Unit at St. Michael's Hospital. So we went down to see him. He says he is feeling ok, but he was quite dopey too. They will be conducting an angiogram sometime over the next few days and hopefully he will be home soon.

Results

Cynical Cupid You Consider Love To Be 71% Idealistic, 42% Positive, and 71% Important.

You are the Cynical Cupid! You view love as idealistic, yet your attitude towards it is also rather cynical. You tend to consider love to be something more than just a physical emotion. You also probably feel that sex without love is rather disgusting. Of course, despite your idealism of love, you are also very cynical, seeing love as composed of misery and suffering that far outweighs anything positive that stems from it. Most likely, you have been hurt before in a relationship. Your cynical attitude is in stark contrast to your other views of love. For instance, you consider love to be one of the most important things in the world. You would give almost anything to feel genuine love, but you also feel very cynical about ever finding such a love, knowing how painful love can be from your experiences. * To sum up: You think love is more IDEALISTIC, NEGATIVE, and IMPORTANT than others. Please note that your percentage scores for each variable (found at the top) are a much more accurate reflection of your love attitude than this category description, which is highly speculative. * The other categories: Anti-Cupid Jilted Cynic Realist Loving Realist Cynical Idealist Idealist Cupid

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 60% on Idealism You scored higher than 16% on Optimism You scored higher than 42% on Importance

Link: The Love Personality Test written by saint_gasoline on Ok Cupid

Thursday's Pensive Mood

Well, here I am sitting in front of my computer again realizing that I have not posted much more than gibberish in the past little while. To set the record straight, I will (attempt) to post something meaningful.

Last night I finished *helping* my brother with his essay on Alexander Graham Bell. It went better than originally anticipated because it was finished around 12:20am. Not too bad for one night's worth of work.

In other news, I am sitting down today wondering what to read next, as I have just finished reading The Order of the Phoenix. I still have not finished Orlando or NO LOGO, so perhaps I will proceed back to one of those. On the other hand, I may just start reading Don Quixote instead.

Still waiting for my grades to be released and feeling a bit apprehensive about my meeting to get into my Specialised Honours B.A.. Once that is done, I have to book my classes, pay out the $450 to York, and apply for my Fall OSAP. Other than that, I have booked my G2 driving test for June 14 and have been practicing the usual stuff. My dentist's office called me yesterday afternoon to confirm my appointment in two weeks' time. *Sheesh* talk about checking ahead of time. I am also in the market for a summer job, does anyone want to hire me? I have a book making effective resumes at my disposal, so I am reworking my current resume in the hopes of a job in *sigh* RETAIL. Otherwise, I am thinking of applying for bartending school and start working in that profession. Too many decisions to be made!

So now that I have made a pot of spaghetti sauce for dinner and done a bit of cleaning, I can relax for the afternoon. Then again, maybe not. I am waiting to see if my infamous ex-bf will stop by today or tomorrow with some of the cash he owes me. I am still trying to finish that cross-stitch wedding gift, which I doubt will be ready in time.

Anyhow, I do believe that this post has become rather long-winded, but now I have expelled all my current anxieties. Definitely feel (somewhat/much) better.

Those Liberals are at it again...

My Version of Paul Martin's Campaign

I am sure there are some people who would like to create their own sign. Follow this link.

Ring Ring

Tonight's post features Alexander Graham Bell front and centre. I am currently helping my brother write a history essay on him. Since the 1000-word essay is due this Thursday, it means that there is still quite a bit to put together. Here is a quote from the pioneer of the telephone:

"Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something you have never seen before."

So off I go to help my brother finish this essay...

The New Burger King?

Since when do people really get what they want? Apparently the new Burger King is doing just that...

A view of the Caribbean Sea 

Not So Sunny

Today has just been one of those days. I have been busy over this weekend, yesterday with going to Wonderland, and today with working on some cross-stitch projects. Other than that, I have been reading The Order of the Phoenix. I particularly enjoy books like these when I have things to think about. There is virtually no need to pay close attention to the book, and it lets my mind sort out the vast confusion of my thoughts.

Finally Friday

Here we are with two weeks down and three weeks to go. So far, so good. Nothing has blown up, self-destructed or broken. I suppose that means I am doing a fair enough job of keeping everything under control.

Tomorrow, weather permitting of course, we are heading out to Wonderland for the day. However, with the way the weather looks now, that might not be happening. After I talk to my aunt later today, we will determine which weekend will be the best to go and visit with her, my uncle and cousins.

At any rate, I made a mixture of pasta, meat and vegetables for dinner tonight. We will also be having the coleslaw I had put together earlier this week.

Still playing phone tag with English Advising over in Stong. Three phone calls from my end, zero from York's end. Surprise, surprise. Apparently I will just have to go in to resolve my issues. I have started to think about what I want to do once I complete this degree. So far, my conclusion is: no matter what it is, it will NOT be happening at York.

That is all my griping for now, perhaps I will put up another post later tonight.

Addendum: Finally heard back from Stong around 5pm this afternoon. I have an advising appointment for the 30th of May to discuss entering a Specialised Honours B.A.

My Biggest Fan

Finally our celing fan has been installed. For most people, this would be a rather trivial affair, however for us it is quite good news. We have lived in this 8th floor apartment for nearly 23 years now with no air-conditioning. So our new fan is great for circulation.Other than that, the second week of playing 'mother' is winding up.

We had soft tacos for dinner tonight and tomorrow's dinner will be a leftover surprise. Tomorrow's chore: laundry. Only three more weeks to go...

On the Bright Side...

After calling in to Arts advising earlier today, I was informed that I will be able to continue in my Honours B.A. program as soon as my 2004-2005 grades are released. All I have to do is re-apply into the Honours program through the people over at Stong.

Of course I called and left a message, but no response yet. I will call again tomorrow to see what steps I have left to finish my Honours B.A. one year late. *Sigh* The JOYS OF YORK!

The Greatest Canadian

Who is the Greatest Canadian in your books? Apparently I am helping my younger brother write a paper on Alexander Graham Bell for his grade 10 history class.

Here is the assignment for perusal:

The purpose of this assignment is for each student to make their own selection as to "Who is the greatest Canadian of all time?" Students may use any of the top ten from the CBC poll or may choose any Canadian figure that they feel is worthy of this title. They will research their selection and produce a 1000 word essay on their choice for Greatest Canadian. This essay should be more than a simple biography of the person. It should be an opinion paper, written in their own words, not copied from a biography, supported by facts, and outlining three qualities and achievements of the individual to prove that indeed their selection deserves the title as the Greatest Canadian.

Somehow I believe that my participation in this paper writing will be more than just proof-reading...

A Venture Out of Doors

Considering it has now been about five days without a real posting from me, I should fix that problem. This morning, after preparing dinner for my father and brother, I left with Dave to head out to Hamilton.

The trip out of town had a dual purpose: to see Dave's sister and kids, and also to meet up with Jeremy. We spent a few hours eating and drinking at Chester's, took a brief tour of downtown Hamilton, and then headed over to Jeremy's place for a bit. We got to meet his two cats and marvel over his extensive book collection. Thanks again Jeremy for the books you passed on to us. Afterwards we headed over to Dave's sister's house to see her and the kids. Unfortunately we could not see the oldest child as she was out at a class. We did get to see the two baby boys, who are getting very big and active. Apparently my dilligent work paid off, because Dave's sister liked the gift I had made for her youngest boy.

At any rate, it was an eventful and enjoyable day. Good conversation, drinks, and fairly decent weather for our outing.

Coat of Arms 

Bonsoir...

Tonight I got National Treasure from Rogers Video, and here is a warning to all, Blockbuster is better. Yes, I got free popcorn and a drink, but the DVD was defective: pixelised and volume loss. The most annoying part of my day was not being able to talk to Dave. My sweetie was working dilligently all day at his two jobs. Anyhow, Goodnight all.

Caribbean Lecture Complete

After extensive hours of research and preparation, today was the day that we presented on the Caribbean region from 1492-1804. Following some minor technological difficulties, we presented in about 50 minutes' time. Of course our lecture was concise and excluded much material, but overall it was quite a success.

Apparently I should become a teacher, or so I was told at least. However, I am still not sure what I want to do with my degree once I am finished with my Honours B.A. Perhaps teaching in South Asia, going into editing, or pursuing graduate studies? I am not too sure at this point. I also ran into some of my former teachers and chatted briefly with them. Seeing my name up on the honour roll and my graduation picture was something rather interesting too. I have not really thought about it in a while, but it has been 4 years since I graduated from high school. Apparently I look "mature and sophisticated" and I was deemed "a world traveller" *sigh* odd now to think about all that. My concluding thought for tonight, "I'll think about that tomorrow, for tomorrow is another day."

The Caribbean

Humble Beginnings of a Presentation

Preparing to Lecture

Somehow we have gotten ourselves into the predicament of teaching a Modern Western Civilizations course for a day. At this point, it seems an insurmountable task, and the pressure is on. However, I do believe that it will all go well.
Our title thus far: The Colonial Experiment: Power and Race in the Caribbean. The main focus will be from Columbus' "discovery" of the 'New World' until the Haitian Revolution. That gives us roughly an hour to cover 300 years of history. Oy vey, what have we done?? Anyhow, by tomorrow the PowerPoint presentation will be ready, as well as the handout and I will try to link them up here.

Day 2

After hauling myself out of bed at 7am, preparing breakfast and sending my brother off to school, I crashed for another 3 hours. In the meanwhile my mother called, and my dad decided to holler at me just as I woke up.

I make spaghetti and sauce, and it was pronounced quite a success. I suppose that has been the highlight of my day. Other than that, I have been working to finish the various Mother's Day gifts I have planned. They are coming along quite nicely at this point. At any rate, I will have something new to post tomorrow.

My Birthday Info

Your Birthdate: September 20

Your birth on the 20th day of the month adds a degree of emotion, sensitivity, and intuition to your reading. The 2 energy provided here is very social, allowing you to make friends easily and quickly. Yet you are apt to have a rather nervous air in the company of a large group. You have a warmhearted nature and emotional understanding that constantly seeks affection. You are very prone to become depressed and moody, as emotions can turn inward and cause anxiety and mental turmoil. It can be hard for you to bounce back to reality when depression sets in. When things are going well, you can go just as far the other way and become extremely affectionate.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Halfway

Today has been a semi-productive day, as I have been reading Orlando and beginning some research for the lecture for this Thursday in our former high school. Hopefully all will go well and somehow we will come up with a concise and informative lecture.

Good Morning America

Rise and shine all you sleepy heads, it is a beautiful Sunday morning!