strange days. i'm in a rather bizarre mood right now, feeling as i'd imagine a person with ADHD on valium might feel. i'm feeling a bit sour and kind of stressed out, but my body is inexplicably relaxed. i'm so overwhelmed with work i can't bring myself to do anything. i'm more or less in a state where i realize that i'm going to be hit with a load of work in three weeks and that i'm going to wig out, but i can't do anything about it right now.
helpless...
listless...
but i shouldn't be. i have a 20-page history paper that i have essentially yet to start, but i keep deleting what i write. if i get that out of the way, things won't be so bad. why can't i write it?
why do i feel so lethargic?
***
thursday, in our history course, a book restorer came to talk to us and show us her work. i never realized how economics-driven the book restoration business was; they do to the book what the client asks, even if it may not do anything to preserve the book. it was more about raising the resale value of an old book rather than preserving the content of it. i appreciated what she did quite a bit, and her work is quite extraordinary; but it disappointed me somewhat to have my naïve notions of book restorers as being the conservationists of human knowledge unceremoniously dashed.
friday, we trekked up to special collections on the main campus; i've heard that sfu can be quite beautiful when it's sunny out, but it was grey and misty and altogether depressing, especially in the campus's dystopic concrete landscape. as i was making my way on my 45-minute bus trip after having woken up an hour earlier than usual, i thought, 'if i decided to do a phd in communications, i'll have to make this commute every fucking day. i'm not sure i can make that commitment.
this week, we head out to victoria for a field trip. should be fun, and could be exhausting. we're to visit trafford's print-on-demand facility, as well as the abebooks offices.
presentation tomorrow, midterm wednesday, should be concurrently writing my history paper, two weeks behind on my editing...
why can't i get a move on it?
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
fucking jetsgo!
roar!
this is what i get for being on the ball and booking tix for my parents three months in advance.
bugger.
i might be able to get my money back, but it's a long convoluted process of faxing the credit card company and have them file a complaint on my behalf. it may take until mid-july for me to get my money back.
well, at least i'm better than those poor stranded fuckers out there.
and now i have to book with westjet, which has probably jacked up its prices in response to this whole jetsgo fiasco.
roar!
this is what i get for being on the ball and booking tix for my parents three months in advance.
bugger.
i might be able to get my money back, but it's a long convoluted process of faxing the credit card company and have them file a complaint on my behalf. it may take until mid-july for me to get my money back.
well, at least i'm better than those poor stranded fuckers out there.
and now i have to book with westjet, which has probably jacked up its prices in response to this whole jetsgo fiasco.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
yay! i have an internship!
this summer, i will be working for douglas & mcintyre publishing group and studying how they can streamline their acquisitions process. i'll even be paid! modestly, but it's better than what i'm getting now.
i'm excited. i've got all of these grand plans to bike to work, but we'll see what happens come the end of april.
it's such a relief to have this settled; i felt like i was one of the only people left who didn't have an internship.
in other news, i experimented with my new oil fondue set yesterday to see (a) how long it would take to get the oil hot enough to fry things if i relied on just the flame, and (b) how successful i could be at making vegetable tempura using the fondue set. this is all part of my presentation plan for my history course, but i'm not sure it's going to work out. i think i've decided to make hush puppies rather than veggie tempura (just couldn't get the batter right), but that excludes those non-dairy folk in my class from being able to partake. how is this relevant to the history of ink, you may ask? well, it really is only peripherally so, but at least it makes class interesting. see, old-timey printers used to go beyond the city walls once or twice a year to boil linseed oil and make their own ink. for the germans, it was pretty much the equivalent of their wayzgoose, a day when everyone in the printing house got together for 'merrymaking' (two of the books i read used that very term) and a meal: they'd fry food in the boiling oil and eat it.
tonight, i try my hand at making berry-juice ink and prepare my presentation.
this summer, i will be working for douglas & mcintyre publishing group and studying how they can streamline their acquisitions process. i'll even be paid! modestly, but it's better than what i'm getting now.
i'm excited. i've got all of these grand plans to bike to work, but we'll see what happens come the end of april.
it's such a relief to have this settled; i felt like i was one of the only people left who didn't have an internship.
in other news, i experimented with my new oil fondue set yesterday to see (a) how long it would take to get the oil hot enough to fry things if i relied on just the flame, and (b) how successful i could be at making vegetable tempura using the fondue set. this is all part of my presentation plan for my history course, but i'm not sure it's going to work out. i think i've decided to make hush puppies rather than veggie tempura (just couldn't get the batter right), but that excludes those non-dairy folk in my class from being able to partake. how is this relevant to the history of ink, you may ask? well, it really is only peripherally so, but at least it makes class interesting. see, old-timey printers used to go beyond the city walls once or twice a year to boil linseed oil and make their own ink. for the germans, it was pretty much the equivalent of their wayzgoose, a day when everyone in the printing house got together for 'merrymaking' (two of the books i read used that very term) and a meal: they'd fry food in the boiling oil and eat it.
tonight, i try my hand at making berry-juice ink and prepare my presentation.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
basic pez etiquette:
if someone offers you a pez, check to see if the dispenser's been pulled back, revealing the candy. if it has, you are obliged to take the candy. do so graciously, even if it's one of the gross yellow ones or if you just plain don't like pez candies. if the latter's the case, you say, 'just one, thanks.' if the dispenser hasn't yet been pulled back, and you don't want a pez candy, it's safe to refuse. just don't make the pez offerer have to push the candy back into the dispenser. that's just rude. the best response is, 'why, i'd love a pez.' i mean, seriously. unless you're actually diabetic, a single pez candy isn't gonna kill you.
if someone offers you a pez, check to see if the dispenser's been pulled back, revealing the candy. if it has, you are obliged to take the candy. do so graciously, even if it's one of the gross yellow ones or if you just plain don't like pez candies. if the latter's the case, you say, 'just one, thanks.' if the dispenser hasn't yet been pulled back, and you don't want a pez candy, it's safe to refuse. just don't make the pez offerer have to push the candy back into the dispenser. that's just rude. the best response is, 'why, i'd love a pez.' i mean, seriously. unless you're actually diabetic, a single pez candy isn't gonna kill you.
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