Realisation

You know you need a vacation, or at the very least a good long night's sleep, when you try to open the elevator door with the "Unlock" button on your car remote, and then can't figure out for about three seconds why on earth it didn't work...

A Much Delayed Update

Being a point-form list of all the important news:

-I have not given up on blogging. :)

-Mike moved in March 25.

-My class is finished.

-Spring cleaning is time-consuming, but so satisfying.

-My wrists are bad. I'm not happy.

And now, an expansion on the above:

I'm back! Sort of... You would think that once two of my commitments ended or took a break, I'd have time for other things, but sadly no. Other things come up to fill the gap. But I haven't given up on blogging, and I have many exciting things to report.

First report is that I no longer live alone. As of this Friday, Mike will have been living with me for a month. Granted, he was on nights for half of that time, so it only feels like a week and a half, really, but, as he says, he officially moved in when his computer made the trip over and found itself a permanent home. I thought it would take more getting used to than it has. But I find that I don't really fall asleep until he's come to bed, that I'm starting to remember that all my clothes are on the top bar in the closet instead of both, and that I'm not cooking and overeating now, because it's much easier to size recipes for two than for one. The only thing I'm having trouble with is remembering that it's not "my place" anymore, but "ours." Old habits die hard.

Second report is that I just got my final marks for my theory class. My lowest grade over the course, barring the dismal first quiz that I rewrote, was an A-, and the highest (for class participation, not surprisingly) was an A+, so it looks like I aced it! It was wonderful, and I had so much fun taking it, even if I did start to burn out at the end there. I'm really looking forward to August, when I can figure out what course I can take next! Sometime this summer, though, I'm going to try to get an appointment with the undergrad advisor (on the advice of my prof), and talk to her about what courses I need to be a viable Masters candidate. Hopefully she can meet outside of work hours...

Third report, spring cleaning. I admit it; I let the housekeeping slide a little while I was in school, working, fencing, and trying to have a life. And I also admit that parts of the apartment need a good deep cleaning, and a good purge of material as well. And, with Mike moved in, I can really see the crunch on space, and the need to be efficient. And Dad built some shelves for the storage room, which are wonderful, because now I can actually start storing stuff down there. All of this together meant that it was time for spring cleaning. So far, I've done the kitchen, under the bed, and the bathroom. That's the majority of it, though it still leaves the closet, which is... scary. But I am determined. Getting the kitchen done was so satisfying, because now it's just clean and there's room in it! I do so love the feeling of clean, and I'll be ecstatic once it's all done.

However, I have to take it slow because of the fourth report. I haven't actually been fencing for about two months because my wrists have been bothering me. A lot. And it's been getting progressively worse. I now have two numb points on my palms, just below my thumbs, the second joint on both pinkies constantly hurts, and at the end of the day, I have to really concentrate on fine motor control. I just got two splints, and if a hand is really bad, I sleep with that one on at night. I'm hoping through a combination of general fitness, stretching, and massage, I can at least stop it from getting worse. But I'm going to ask my doctor for an assessment for carpal tunnel anyway. If that's what it is, I need to catch it early, or I won't be able to work, play, or do anything after a while. Needless to say, I'm not pleased, but I'm doing what I can about it.

So, a post! It was more a news report than a discussion of anything important, but what can you do when you've been bad about posting... I promise to be more reflective at a later date.

I guess it's not just the Queen of Swords... :)

Would I survive a Zombie film? Hmmm... Apparently! That's good to know...

Armed and Dangerous Congratulations! You scored 84%!

You made it out, alive and well supplied. You probably even kept most of your party alive too. You know what to look for, what to take, and when to just run. You even feel a strange inkling to go back. If you did, you'd probably do just fine.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 98% on survivalpoints

Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid

Calgary Pretends It’s Spring

Early March. I know, know mind you, that it is not spring in Calgary. Winter waits in the mountains for its last three or four kicks at us; experience tells me this. And yet, life is doing a damn fine imitation of spring. Why? The weather is gorgeous, the sky is lightening in the mornings, and staying light longer at night, I’m seeing more roadkill on the drive to and from work, and I have my nasty evil spring cold, which keeps me from enjoying all the above. Well, except the roadkill. I don’t particularly enjoy that, so the illness is not keeping me from it…

Class is gearing up for the last rush towards the final, and though this cold has put me very behind schedule on my term paper, everyone around me is sure I’ll get it done just fine. Of course, I’ll likely get it back on the last day of class, reread it, and think, “My God, what was I on when I wrote this?” and then remember that I was sick, but it won’t be the first time! I must say, in presumptuous retrospective, that I’ve really enjoyed this class, the whole going back to school thing, though I am/was a little concerned about the lack of spare time. I have a feeling it’ll only get worse when I finally do get accepted into the Master’s program, but that’s just something to accept and deal with.

Plans roll ahead for the summer. I’m making a list of things I want to do, and I’ll try to squeeze hopefully most of them in around work (which is really, really busy), and our two-week trip to Denmark in August. I’m also hoping to update here a little more often, once I can actually think about other things again. This, along with the birthday and anniversary cards I haven’t sent yet, makes me feel guilty. I hope you all know that, in those few minutes between consciousness and unconsciousness in the depths of night, you are all in my thoughts!

**yawn**

Mom told me today that weekends are supposed to be for relaxing. I had just finished telling her about my weekend last, and saying that I was pretty sure that I slept, but it sure didn't feel like it. I suppose I should think about getting to bed early tonight, but the dishes still have to be done, and I haven't done any research for journal articles yet. Maybe they can both wait until tomorrow when I get home from work...

I have next weekend "off," though. While I do have to work on my term paper, I have a feeling that I won't know what to do with myself, as there are very few appointments to keep, and nothing to do but spend time with Mike, and his grandfather Abe, trying to write down recipes as they come out of Abe's head. It should be interesting.

I was described as a "computer geek" at work today. This is a compliment, but odd. It's an office full of engineers, and yet the onsite IT guy told Mike this. I don't pretend to be versed in computers. Yeah, I know something about them, and I've built three, but that doesn't make me an expert. I know where my limitations are. And yet... such a comment pleases me in a strange way. Hmmm...

Mike plans to pimp out my computer when I can afford it. That should prove interesting!

A review... There might be a post later...

If I hadn't had to watch it for class, I probably never would have picked up Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. Even if I'd known it existed, flipping over to the back and seeing the running time (224 minutes) would have probably made me put it back. After all, running time is the biggest reason I haven't seen Sunshine yet. But it was assigned, and so I watched it, and since I liked it, I thought I would review it.

Lagaan is by no means original or surprising. It's an underdog sports movie, with a cultural love triangle, discernable familial and cultural conflicts, and a very strong nationalist sentiment. Does the fact that it reminds me a little of Canadian films mean that the post-colonial experience is Empire-wide? I have no idea. But although there were parts of the culture that flew by me, I identified very strongly with the Indian characters and their struggle with identity and power.

I was, of course, watching it from a post-colonial theoretical standpoint. But whatever else it might be, Lagaan is an easy-to-watch sports movie, where the sport is cricket, and something more important than bragging rights are on the line. And in the same way as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can make people believe they speak Chinese, this one almost made me believe I could speak Hindi. It's well acted, well conceived, and even the musical numbers (yes, there are some) are believable in context.

That said, it's FOUR HOURS LONG! There are some scenes that are repetitive and could have been cut or rewritten to introduce something novel to the story. But it could have been a lot worse. I've seen two-hour movies that are a lot worse, actually...

I do recommend it, if you have the time and inclination. It really is an enjoyable watch.

I was right...

...sleep is definitely low man on the pole. I'd best get used to it, I suppose. But no reading tonight, Ness, no matter when that book is due back at the library!