elanya

I am here! i got in yesteday, a good 3+ hours later than I intended! After rushing across the terminal at Chicago to make my connectin jst as it was boarding, we proceeded to sit on the plane for two hours because of maintentence, and then because the maintenance delay made us miss our spot in line, and then because we had ice on the wings, and missed our spot again. whee! i was oblivious to most of this as I had a Good Book, in this case, Terry Pratchett's A hat Full of Sky, which has been sitting sad and unread on my shelf. I have since remedied the problem, but alas, now I have nothing to read on the flight back!

I had decided that since I am a Big Girl, I could navigate my way to the hotel via TTC on my own. Although I was evenutlaly successful in this, I will admit a small foolish error on my part, being that although I remembered that the Royal York had its own Subway stop (or connected to one), I thought that it was, in fact the Royal York station, and not Union, but when I got off at that stop and recovered enough sense to ask the TTC guy, I just hopped back on the Kipling and transfered at Yonge and all was well :) I even had a token saved from my last trip here!

Coincidentally, I arrives at *exactly the precise moment* as my roommate, so we were able to check in together. We then began the Saga of the Internets. Wherein, they were not working in our room. We stopped at part I, where we needed to try a new cable, and instead embarked on Random Wanderings in Toronto part I instead. We quested for food, which we eventually found in a little Asian bistro on King, the name of which I forget. I had a Thai curry. my plan is to have a different ethnic food for every meal while I am here! Because I can! I may make exceptions for some things, like Schwarma (which, incidentally, I had for lunch. With lentil rice. From Ghazal. Nyom). We got lost on the way back because we somehow overshot york. By, like a lot. We were talking, and the I saw we had crossed yonge street and got Concerned. We were chilled, but made it back fine.

To begin the Saga of the Internets part III! Wherein the ethernet cord did us no good, and though we really should have been able to connect to the internet fine, still couldn't on either computer. The (different) help desk guy gave us all manual settings and still, nothing. I asked to have someone come up and change the modem, which they did but under some duress, but that didn't work either! It remains a mystery. I then went to try the wireless downstairs, but although it worked when I checked, it cost $14/hour and I said pants to that! It was late, so after a little bit of swearing, I took a nice long hot shower and went to bed too late.

Only....

As I was going to bed, I saw something Out of Place. There was..... a sock! A pink and white little girls ankle sock with some kind of pink print on it. WTF was there a *sock* on the floor in the fricking FAIRMONT! It's madness, madness I say! So I called and complained, and today they changed us to this room. Where the internet magically works FOR FREE and I'm not saying anything.

And since it is now much later I am going to skip over other exciting details before I go to bed (such as: new purse, ankle blisters, seeing rob, Korean Grill House, really running in to everyone in Tim Hortons, the fact that i am going to al all night LARP before I leave and will also get to see Shan) to tell you all that in the new room, THE SINK IS NOT DRAINING!

Fairmont Royal York, you get a big fat fail. You might be really pretty and plush but holy crappy this is the crappiest hotel stay at the nicest hotel I have ever had :p

Perhaps I will have a chance to elaborate on the nice bits later. Right now someone is coming to fix the sink :p

I has some people over last night - John brought some Turkish meatballs with yogurt-cucumber soup/sauce that I forget the name of, and some pasta that I ate and found inoffensive (A big step for me! It was fuselli :o). There was wine, and I had some gin, and, there were too many snacks, and some of us watched Pan's Labyrinth and after everyone else went home I utterly failed to teach john and Lilia to play crib. Woe.

I was sick a bit yesterday afternoon, which put me in a foul mood before I started preparing for people to come over in earnest.... so things were not quite as ready as I'd have liked, but it all went well. I had a bath and read some, also, which helped immensely! I finished my SHA powerpoint (mostly) in the morning as well, so bonus there. I'm going in to the department this afternoon, (well, maybe), so I can scan the few other things I want to include, and put in a few extra hours.

How was my 2008 overall? Pretty good, I think! Academically, things are continuing along well - I finished up the last of my actually classes this past term, leaving me with three directed studies and my prelims to get out of the way by the spring, before it is nothing but Dissertation. I had a very successful trip to the Bahamas in June, and as long as I can find, oh, another $10000 somewhere I should be well set to get on with my actual excavation this summer I'm excited and also terrified. I need to find people, and money - that's my big goal right now. The whole economy being shit thing is not a great help, however -_- I also got to work on a neat Paleoindian site over the summer, and brush up on my field techniques.

Personally, things have continued much the same. I did a little bit of traveling - to Albuquerque for SHA, NOLA for Mardi Gras, the Bahamas, home to NB (all over the province) for Hazel and Ian's wedding, and up to Virginia before Christmas. I saw a lot of my friends in person, which was super nice, as I miss them all a lot! My dad and stepmom came down to visit me over Christmas, as are still tooling around Corpus Christi at the moment. I have some good friends locally, and am lucky in that regard as well. One of the biggest and best changes, though was that I got a dog back in March. Although she is a big responsibility and requires a lot of my attention, I utterly adore her and can't imagine not having her. I really lucked out, and I'm sure anyone who has met Jola will agree ^-^ I am currently catsitting a very sweet kitten named Pepe (after the skunk, yes...), who is trying very hard to make me get a kitty of my own, I think :V

Creatively, I did a little bit more writing over the summer and in August, but haven't managed to get anything published, despite having, I think, a few good stories. I wish I'd done *more* writing, and had more time to prepare and send out stories. Back in August I was doing well, but I find it hard to maintain the momentum when I'm actually in school. I played in some good games, this year also, some of which are still going (Diablotin 2, Gateway), some of which concluded nicely (Legacy of the Ancients), and some of which either fizzled out all too soon (Faust) or are sort of hanging in a liminal state of abandonded-to-be-theoretically-resumed-eventually-but-probably-not (Five Kingdoms). I've also started dabbling a bit more in steampunk but that's a very recent trend and who can say if it will ever amount to much more than lusting over impractical footwear ;)

I'm probably missing out some big things in here, since I'm really just writing from memory without aids, and I don't trust my memory so much. Still, if 2009 decides to follow the same trends as 2008, I don't think I'll have too much to complain about.

*loves* to all of you :)

My dad and Jennifer got in a little earlier than expected on the 24th, but luckily I was at least dressed after getting out of the shower minutes earlier :V i took them to Rudy's for lunch, which seemed to go over pretty well! I hadn't been in a while, so it was nice for me too. Afterwards, they wanted to see if they could find some cooler clothes (shorts!!!) because it is supposed to be warmer (it was 20 today - supposed to be ~25 tomorrow) for the rest of their trip. After a Christmas eve excursion to Walmart (D:), we came home, and chilled out. We were all pretty full from a big lunch, so we chilled out for most of the evening. I baked some gingerbread cookies that I'd made that morning, and we decorated that later that evening, afetr we watched Love Actually (A movie I've owned forever and never seen before). It was cute, but I'm not sure what dad and Jenifer thought of the couple who met because they were lighting models on a porn set ;) I think I'd need to watch it again to catch all the connections between the story lines. Oh, we also went to the 6 pm Christmas eve service at the church around the office. There was fire, and a lot of Christmas ties. We had a snack during cookie decorating of pita and carrot sticks with hummus and Greek yogurt (mmmm, fage...). And I think that is all! belryan may be in danger of losing his kitten to Jennifer though :o! Oh also, walking Jola a couple of times to show peeps around the neighbourhood and look at birds. No bunnies though :/

Today was Christmas! I walked Jola and opened presents! Jennifer and dad had a few little things here - a card from me, and some fruitcake from Hazel, mostly. I got a Playmobile set from B, a hodgepodge of things from C, including some amazingly awesome cookie cutters that I can hardly wait to try out :D A ring from tethys123 and a steampunk bee pendant from longpig (both from Cognitive Creations etsy store <3). Also a tea pot (yay!) with a pirate tea cozy :D And some cookies and other assorted stocking bits. It was a nice morning! After we got our butts (okay yes it was mostly me) moving, we went up to campus to look around the empty department and see the empty empty campus. Oh, yes, fellow NAP-ers, guess who *was* in on Christmas day :p Oh, you know. I can hear you sighing from here, earis! We came home and it was time to start preparing for duuuuuck! Only we didn't so that. I had a nap, other peeps made lunch, which we ate around 2, meaning that we didn't have duck until super later. After lunch, I made the pie (choc. pecan), and cards were played while the duck was cooking. I called a bunch of peeps - family, plus rob, and J&S earlier in the morning, and chatted to Hazel <3 over the internets.

Dinner was late, but soooo delicious! I made crispy duck (slow roasting for the win, thank you Joy!), with an improvised orange ginger sauce, a rice mix, and dad made a salad. It turned out very well - we quartered the duck for facility of serving, and ate most of it. What's left is stewing in a pot now with some veggies, to make soup :) The pie was also delicious.... and now we are digesting. It seems like there was more to the day, but I don't think I am actually forgetting anything, hmmm... now I'm chilling out on the couch watching STTNG :D

Good times, in any case! I think tomorrow will be more shopping :x

I know a lot of people who are traveling today (including dad and Jennifer!)

I hope it all goes smooth! But even if it doesn't, just remember the mantra: "At least I didn't get deported...."

Well, unless you do. In which case, sorry :x

*loves to all*

First off, I've been lack in hailing the Parade of October birthdays this year! Shame on me!

Belated birthday wishes to:
fionasidhe
najapalida
chiv

in something resembling that order.

Today it is skjaere's turn! Happy Birthday Mary!

In other news, I am sick - I have been getting sick all week and my efforts to stave t off by doing responsible things like trying to eat decently and go to bed early have completely failed. Bah.

Also,( last night I had some really weird dreams )

...and then on our walk this morning, Jola, in one of her crazy 'run around at the end of the leash and try and rip my arm off' hyper moments, jumped up on me, ripped my earphones out of my ears, and stomped on them >_<

yaaay. I still have 20 pages of mauss to read befoe I can write my cultural review, which i was hoping to get done yesterday but didn't for several reasons. And *then* I can start studying for my Tuesday exam :p

I find I am in a weird headspace after coming back from the field tonight. Last week was different, as I was kind of unexpectedly thrust into fun social things, whereas tonight i collected my puppy, came home, and have been a vegetable since. I haven't had dinner because I really have no fod here but can't be arsed to go nd get anything and don't want anything I could get through take out. I skimmed LJ, as I did last week, and saw a number of things of interest that I'd really like to respond to.

This weekend is going to be really different as I am already slotted to do a ton of gaming (err, different from last weekend, that is, not different form *usual* :p). If I had my druthers I'd like to see Hellboy II at some point as well, but I suspect it will have to wait until later. Wow, in retrospect, i think I am supposed to game pretty much all weekend. well, good thing I didn't have any other plans :p

...I don't feel like I am really up to communicating the state of my brain right now - maybe I ought to just go to bed and worry about it tomorrow.

Stop havng life changing accidents and what not, seriously!

My friend Will from school punctured his ear drum - he finds out tomorrow from a specialist whether or not he'll ever be able to dive again. Considering that he is a nautical archaeologist, it is kind of an important thing for him to be able to do. Also I assume there is some kind of permanent hearing loss associated? D:

Meanwhile, my friend Tony has some kind of horrible infection in his leg/foot and might need to get it amputated. D:

I hope things turn out for the best for both of them. it sounds like Tony is on the mend at least, so hurrah!

In any case, i am trying to poke through my Bahamas stuff, and get ready for Buttermilk, which i go to this weekend, in theory. So, here is a list:

Set up and spray tent
Print maps
Call katherine to make sure I still have a ride
Call cheez_ball to set up Jola arangements
Laundry
Order other inhaler
Pick up inhalers

I'm sure there is more but I keep getting distracted! Off to set up my tent...

Tonight i decided to go to the Bahamian Kitchen for dinner. A late dinner, I'll note. I never did get to the beach. It cooled off and was supposed to thunderstorm, so I napped instead. Alas I napped just long enough that I missed the bookstore. Things close down *early* here, man. 5:30! Madness! Or else I'm spoiled. To be honest it has been a while since I've lived anywhere with shops, as opposed to malls, box stores, and supermarkets. Actually I like shops better, despite the hours.

Anyway, I napped, went to the (just closed) bookstore, came back, typed up a section of one of my long running but long neglected serial stories, then went out to dinner at the Bahamian Kitchen. I found the place last year after it had just opened, and remembered them having good food. They havea restaurant and a bar, but I recalled that hey did take out so i wasn't worried about the restaurant being closed. I apparently shouldn't have worried at all! I was waved in to the bar, then over through the entrance to the restaurant, where I was given a dinner menu and basically had the whole place to myself, with the realy nice waiter named Brandon. I had grouper fingers, peas and rice, fried plantain, and coleslaw, which is pretty much what I had the first time I was there, according to entries from last year's trip. Yum!

But then a strange thing hapened! last year, there was a guy that I would see aroundf a lot in the evening and chat to a bit, a nice older local guy whi was in realestate, I think? I saw him a number of times last year, in any case, and he was nice. I was sure I'd mentioned him in one of my entries, but if I did I couldn't find it. (ETA: ahhh, here we go!) Anyway, he was in the bar part of the Kitchen when I passed through, but I didn't see him playing dominoes. But he came in to the kitchen while I was there, I think just to see who I was, as he is a friendly type. he wanted to know how I'd known to come here. I recognized him, but I wasn't sure he recognized me. He asked where I was from, etc, and I could see the question in his face, and he asked how I knew to come to that restaurant, and I told him I'd been there last year. Then he knew he remembered me, wooh! I think the tattoo helps though ;) We talked for a bit - apparently he and his cousin and his cousin's sons have oppened a restaturant since I was here last. I actually saw it yesterday as I was wandering out towards the fish fry, and he said I had to stop by. It's called 'Coconuts' or something along those lines. Has coconuts in the name, at least! And serves Bahamian cuisine, so cool with me. I promised I'd stop by when I come back to Nassau.

He asked me my travel plans, too, and then he offered to drive me to the ferry tomorrow morning! So if that works out it will be hella convenient! Still I think I'm going to stop by one of the bank machines later just to make sure I have money for a taxi if I need it. If I miss the ferry *out* I think I'll cry ;_;

I'm gonna be in a meeting, but Rob said he'd be around IRC Monday around 12 his time if anyone wanted to chat about the D&D release. But I'm sure you could talk to him about *other* things too. :)

So I may eventually coagulate some real summer plans. I'm hoping so, in any case! I will try and organize this thematically, though, so as to project some semblance of organization on my part.

Work:
I am finished work, mostly. My boss is gone, in any case, until July and I'm not supposed to start working for him again until August.... and I'll be gone most of August (but hey maybe I will work some in Sept to make up for it, it's only fair.) I am working for the same guy next year. What I actually have left to do is re-draw a couple if images, scan some stuff, photocopy a book, and return a book to inter Library Loan. The drawings could take me a while, but I can work on them super leisurely. It will give me something to get out o the house for, which I am certain I will need. Other than than, no job for the summer, which is both scary and relaxing at the same time.

School:
School is officially over, and I have all my marks back, so, yay! I don't have my papers back, though and I still need to sit down with Wayne and show him some of the photos I've taken. I am going to e-mail Dr. Hatfield about getting back my course from her, and i have been harassing Kevin to get my paper from him already. I sent a copy to another guy in the program who is working along similar theoretical lines, and I might send a copy to Dr. Stewart at ECU as well, just for thoughts - I want this to be part of my dissertation, but I also want to put together something useful, theoretically, for our little corner of academia. I know there is some stuff I need to beef up, and though Kevin thought it was good, he doesn't necessarily have all the info he needs to really judge how well I'm consulting all the material. On the other hand, I don't know who would at this point. To the best of my knowledge, no one has tried to pull all this stuff together yet. I do know there is a big hole in my paper though. I am trying to figure out how to deal with that. I'll spend some time on it next term for my research hours, I suppose.
Bahamas:
This is school related, but not completely, so I'm giving it its own section ;) I am going from the 8th to the 18th. I get in in the evening to Nassau, and am staying in the same place as last year. this time, however, I have all the right dates booked, I hope :p I am going to Harbour Island, where I hope to work, on the 11th and coming back the 14th - that gives me about 4 days, as the ferry comes in the AM and leaves in the late afternoon. On the 9th, I have a meeting with Bahamas Guy's boss, which I'm hoping will be productive. What I need to do between now and then is to make a list of the information that I will need to get while I'm there. I know a few things that are on the list already - finding out what government land there is there, and who I need to talk to about digging there, look in to equipment costs, see about lodging for a crew (I'm thinking to try the school). The other big thing I need to do in preparation is to start reading about different survey techniques so that i can start thinking about what exactly I want to do, so that when i talk to Dr. Tinker I can sound like I'm not just talking out of my ass ;p Oh, also, my boss is giving me a little bit of money, which is awesome because a: it shows he really does think I'm all that (the cats ass, as they might say in Alberta, which is so hilarious an expression I will never get over it) and b: because hey, I need it! Anyway, it's all good.

Social:
My social life has exploded with the end of term, though i think that will stop pretty soon. Lots of people have already left, nd a lot of others will be gone in a week or less. I have local friends who I've been meaning to get ahold of, but haven't had time. Yesterday was the first night *in* I've spent in a long time. I watched the fist ep of the John Adams miniseries with Buck. I think they're doing some similar things as they did with Rome - condensing time a little, and so forth, but I'm not completely sure. I am no so familiar with revolutionary history details, more with general trends n the way things were going in America just before the revolution. It is still interesting though, to see how they are characterizing different attitudes and such. Hem. I've been seeing lots of different peeps, in any case, and it has been nice. Last week though, I wasn't getting enough sleep and I kind of hit a wall where I had to go to bed super early after turning down an invite. Felt bad, but the next day was pretty awesome!

On the gaming front, we just finished up D2 mini campaign which was amazingly awesome Julie did a really good job pulling stuff together for a short game in a complex world with so many players. I really hope she has time to run in the fall, but I hope we can keep stuff going a bit more informally over the summer! That leaves me with three games, one of which is really infrequent (5K). the others are gateway - Mutants and Masterminds, and Faust. I think I'll cut back in the fall when school starts. 5K may be over or on longterm hiatus by then anyway, but I don't think I'll be joining anything new, unless it is local. Local is different. But really my priority games will be Faust and D2 if it runs.

I have a bunch of Anime (the rest of Utena) I need to watch with Claire before she leaves... I see a lot of tv binging i my future, possibly while baking for her going away do...

House:
Well, apartment, but whatever. I think I mentioned that I got a new couch. I also got a new floorlamp from my boss. My living room needs all the light it can get - the colours are so dark! I also got Jola a new crate, which is pretty big and I hope will be good once she is done growing, but my living room is a little crowded now. It is packed, but there is still room to move about, and more seating, so I think it is good. I need to tidy my study, and I need to clean the bathroom. otherwise, things are in good shape. i also would like to get my curtains made. I have the rods and all, but I don't currently have any way of putting them up. However I'm hopeful that i could borrow a drill from M&A. I also have some more art I want to put up! I suppose I could rearrange my toy displays as well - we'll see. Bathroom, filing and curtains top my list atm.

Health:
My allergies have been hellish lately, which is pr for the course in CS. I was on singulaire, but I have communication issues with my doctor, and it doesn't help that I was really kind of down and out f it when I talked to him last, so now I am just on my steroid inhaler and regular allergy drugs. if anyone in Canada wants to send me some allegra, that would be awesome. Just the 12 hour stuff - I can pay you back! I skipped out o a lot of gyming at the end of term, so I am going to try to make up for it now. Which is actually what i am going to do now - go to the gym for swimming! So I probably have more stuff to cover, but will get to it later. Have a good day :)