elanya

A very timely question today from chairman_mat! The full version is: If you had to (decided to) leave where you live now (for whatever reason), where would you like to move to and why?

My visa actually runs out at the... beginning of may? June? I need to double check that. My employers here are not planning to renew it - unless I find some miraculous local job, I *am* going to have to leave where I'm living currently, and I have given a lot of thought as to where I would like to go.

The most basic answer is: wherever I can get a job. Ideally somewhere in Canada, but my visa is transferable is someone else were to renew it, up to 6 weeks before it expires, so that's still a possibility.

If Canada, I would like to wind up somewhere I already have some kind of social network, or someplace where I have an attachment of some kind: Windsor where naryrising lives, or London (Ontario) near longpig and wererogue. I have clusters of friend in Edmonton and could be quite happy there, an a quite large cluster in Ottawa as well. The other day I found a job posting for a job that is in Oromocto, which is right near my hometown, and I would love to go back there if I could as well. Tomorrow, in fact, is for writing cover letters!

( Miramichi is only home because that's where nmy dad is, but that will do! )

But for all y'all, have my photogenic Canadian eagle ^-^



And in other Adulting news, this week I applied for a job in Edmonton and also submitted a book review to Historical Archaeology

From the opposite of the arctic ground though - I am hoping it will be much nicer in New Brunswick than it is here!

( Pics of dad's place from last summer )

Those are a couple of pictures dad sent me last summer, though I think there is a bigger garden this year - the second one is looking off the porch.they have I forget how many kayaks now, plus a canoe. My sister will be there, and my adorable nephews who are 2 and 3. there may be fishing.

I should be able to keep up with most of my other stuff - wrangling stings and tag staff things (though I may miss the next meeting), gaming things if they happen. Maybe do some writing. Maybe some job applications? I probably should start at least looking at this point... Anyway - I'm looking forward to getting away. I'm definitely going to miss my pets though :3

I suppose I should probably get on that whole 'packing' thing tonight then >.> We'll see how things go I suppose. Expect a list at some point :p

I have today off! My whole work schedule is completely messed up because of Christmas (making up a 40-hour over 2 week pay period that started on the 27th when we only started back on ther 2nd), work training (I have 2 8-hour museums database training days next week), MLK day (I get paid hourly, so stat holidays just mean re-organizing my hours), and some other work-related irregularities (I have to help move some giant paintings tomorrow, but don't usually work Fridays *or afternoons, plus we have installations to get ready for opening on the 17th..). Anyway. I don't work today and not until 1 tomorrow.

This irregular schedule makes it hard fore me to get other things done, like dissertation work (though I have been plugging away at things) or house cleaning. My house is a tip and I haven't vaccuumed since before Christmas, and it is driving me (and my allergies!) nuts!. So I am hoping to get a lot of that stuff straightened out today. I've already run the dishwasher, so that's so hope for the kitche, but honestly that is the least scary room. My bedroom is particularly distressing, and I have a lot of picking up to do in the living room as well. It coudl eb a lot worse, but still - it needs doing. I also have a knitting project i really want to finish today. I can hopefully use that as a cleaning break :)

Once my room is more together, I can put away the pile of clean laundry that has accumulated in the reading room...

Better get on all this, I guess! I also need to thaw some meat for dinner... meant to do that yesterday :/

Off I go :)

It is a lovely Sunday morning here - the temperature is nice, my allergies aren't going haywire for once even after I slept with the windows open... it was 75 F in here when I woke up, and I had the best sleep that I've had in weeks, hooray!

Since it was so nice, I took Jola for a niiiice long walk, stopping at the local BBQ joint (Rudy's) for delicious breakfast tacos. I took her all through the bigger park and looped partway through the smaller branch, then tied her up out back while I zipped in for tacos. You can tell it's a game weekend though - lots of out-of-towners in for breakfast :) All told I was gone about an hour and 20 min, and it was lovely :)

Came back home, put my stock back on the stove to cook down some more, and did a little knitting... I'm going to try my first pair of socks! Probably I should finish my in-progress funky art yarn arm warmers first but, we'll see.

Other plans for the day include - fixing dissertation tables (I can't count -_-), making chili for the coming week, kitchen tidying, daily push-ups for the push-up challenge I'm doing, work on my silly fan_flashworks story, more knitting, and game tonight.

Better get going on that I guess :)

I'm back - got in late last night.

Should get my dog back tonight/this afternoon. Have been scratched to pieces/loved to death by kitty in turns, so all is normal there.

Travel went smooth, mostly.

I'm at school, feeling meh - post travel blues. Hopefully once I start actually working some of that will pass.

I have the most awesome friends, and I'm lucky to have so many, scattered though they may be.

I still have no power cord for the laptop, ergo no internet at home. This also means that unless I'm at school I can only be reached "reliably" at my 979-696 number, and that I can only call people who have 979 area code numbers.

While I am not here under the best circumstances, I am trying to take advantage of it as much as I can.

I got to see a bunch of my relatives yesterday, including my one aunt on my dad's side, and some second(I think) cousins I haven't seen in an age and a half. Also my sister!!! <3 <3 <3 *more hugs*

I am at my dad's now, spending some time with him and his wife (I like her, but it just seems weird to consider her my stepmother, since they got married after I'd left home!). I just ate a canadial maple donought, and am drinking a chocolate iced cap, and have some timbits downstairs. Tonight we are having salmond and scallops and fiddleheads!!!

Tomorrow, we are going canoeing somewhere, and Satruday I am going to the Fredericton Farmer's Market, after which I hope to spend the day hanging out with friends I haven't seen in aaaages! Hopefully, anyway :o I'm still looking to get a drive back to Monkeytown on Sunday moring, but I am confident something will work out.

Now, if only I hadn't left my powerbar at the Moncton hotel. Bah, I blame the Dutch.

Also, during my ridiculously long layover in To, I am going to get to see Rob, and possibly my cousin Melissa, who I also haven't seen in forever :)

Miscommunication with the mattress people yesterday - it was raining too hard for deliveries yesterday, but I didn't realize that they don't do them until after 5. So I waited all day at home until 3:30.... I couldn't call them because I didn't have a number for them -_-

I did work! And had solos! And all was well.

Then Claire called! And all was even better :V Although we had interruptions because that's when the mattress came, of course >_< But it was good to hear that she has not, in fact, fallen off the face of the planet. Hooray! She left me to take in the Supernatural premiere, then called me 20 min in to let me know that the show had fangirls writing Wincest slash as part of the plot. That fandom is *insane* and someday, someone is goign to get shot by a crazy person. That is my prediction.

Anyway! Bed Drama! I actually have an antique frame, which is 3/4 size. I thought that was the same as a fiull, but apparently not! Or, also possible, memory foam mattrsses do not conform to old bed standards. Point being - the new mattress was too big! Fortunately i am a clever girl and quickly devise a solution. I will finally get around to aking slats for the frame, and the bed can rest on top of this. Genius! It actually stabilizes the frame more too - I have been meaning to do it for like 3 moves :p. So I begged a favour from Brad (as he has a big-ish SUV) to help me get lumber, and then cut down some 2x4's, and lay them across the frame. Success!

My bed is GIANT. the top of it is 3 feet off the floor. This is due in part to the slats, and in part due to the fact that the mattress and box (I don't wanna call it a box spring because I don't think there are any springs :V) are thicker (!). And also because I want to be extra indulgent in my princess-and-the-pea way, so I put the memory foam topper I got last year on top of the memory foam mattress. Mwa ha ha ha ha!

I hope to sleap like a dream tonight - i even found a *good* allergy pill (yay allegra) stashed away. The best would be no allergies, but that isn't in the card, I don't think.

What is in the cards is an early bed, hopefully :) My back is sore from all the sawying ;p

I'm trying to book stuff to go home in August, but I ran into that whole 'Air Canada only allows pets on flights for like 2 months a year because they are cunts' problem that Jodie encountered last year. Continental still takes 'em though! Still, I have to make sure that it is okay if I fly in to Moncton. Shouldn't be a problem, I hope! I just need to figure out the best plan - fly in to Moncton, see people there for a bit, and then head up north? I e-mailed my family there last night, so we'll see what they say!

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 :)