Day Six, No Observable Change in Behaviour

I've been hermiting. I think the last time I left the house was... last Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, as I've said before, I do enjoy being at home, but I do sometimes enjoy, y'know... other things.

I did have a lot of fun last Tuesday. Sort of. I went to Trinidad on the Ferry, which wasn't fun, so that I could go to the dentist, which was even less fun, but then I spent the afternoon with my Mom which was very fun indeed. We went down to the Port and hit up the Hyatt and I got a Mojito that was just delightful. Minty minty goodness.

We even got to watch Dad come in on the boat! Boats really aren't that exciting.

And so yeah, since then I've... pretty much just sat here. I read 1984, pondered that for a few days, completed the main story for Arkham Origins, cleaned some stuff. It's certainly been relaxing. Too relaxing?

My brother also surprised me with The Amazing Spiderman on steam, which is surprisingly really good! I think the last Spiderman game I played was Spiderman 2 for the gamecube, or possibly PS2- rest assured that you can still attach web to clouds and swing through central park! But I should be fair, that does happen far less frequently and most of the time there is an effort to attach the webbing to buildings, which actually makes you swing at a weird angle that kind of makes it really easy to get turned around and confused. My theory is that maybe that's more realistic, because when you think about it, from Spiderman's perspective he is just constantly flipping and going upside down and what have you. Either way I'm quite liking the game. The fighting mechanics are enjoyable, but repetitive, and I am comparing the game to the Arkham series in that regard. Spiderman always seems to use the same move to slam enemies heads into the pavement, 'knocking them out'. The other thing I noticed is the weird difficulty settings. I set my game mode in the beginning to "superhero" which is their version of hard mode, because I'm hardcore like that and they presented it like a challenge. But instead of the enemies being more skilled or tougher to take down, it feels like Spiderman is just incredibly weak. He takes a few hits and bam, he's dead. There is a kind of silly health regeneration to balance that out, but I can't help wondering if this is their version of higher difficulty. But, on the plus side, the game looks great, feels very expansive and the story seems cool so far. There also seems to be a lot of different ways that you can go about using Spiderman's powers, which I really like.  The most impressive thing to me is that it really doesn't feel like a video game based on a movie. The story actually takes place I think a few months after the movie and many of the characters are in very different situations than before. Overall I'm enjoying what I've seen so far, which is I think around two hours of gameplay.Impromptu first impressions review!

YOW to YYZ to POZ to TAB - An Experience

I'm in Tobago! Still sort of trying to figure things out here. My parents moved (again), but not out of the same area just to a different condo...thing. Basically we're on the second floor now, but the floorplan is basically the same. It's kind of weird because it feels like the same place... but it's slightly different. The best part is that the ceiling fans in this place work really well so we don't really need to use the AC! This is preferable not only for power consumption, but also because air conditioners make me sneeze. I don't know if this is an allergy thing or if we've just had poor AC units for the past five and a half years (what is time??), but where air is conditioned, I will sneeze drastically more than usual. Truth. I'm pretty sure everyone in my high school must have thought me incredibly diseased. Maybe that's why I had no friends! Ha... Ha...

We did find a comfy spot in YOW. Plus coffee.

The flight down was pretty alright. I actually really like travelling and flying. Something about going up into the sky using nothing but the POWER OF HUMAN INVENTION always seems magical. Although for the six hour overnight leg of our flight I did have an empty seat next to me. Bonus! Although being short, I actually don't really have a problem with leg-room. Oh! A secret comfort tip I have for long plane rides is to lay on the foldy tray thing in front of you. It seems weird, but it really helps, especially if your back is getting stiff and you need to be in some sort of a position that isn't sitting in an airplane seat. And if you usually sleep on your stomach then it's kinda nice laying your head down in your arms. The only problem is that it can sometimes be kind of a tight squeeze depending on the type of airplane, and obviously having a smaller torso helps, I guess. Try it out! Don't worry about the fact that it kind of looks weird to those around you.

I didn't really sleep on the plane for more than an hour maybe? That was unusual, but I got caught up reading Animal Farm, and then they were showing The Desolation of Smaug. Who would sleep? It did leave me pretty dead on Wednesday, though. Ah, overnight flights...

So now I'm just relaxing for a bit before getting into the heavy work ethic mode where things are actually accomplished. I've been loving just sitting outside and reading or playing video games. I guess I haven't really been doing very much, but that was sort of the plan, at least for a few days. Overall I'm feeling good, and things are going pretty darn swell.

Summer Vacation Begins with a BANG!

Finished, friends! My third year of University is now complete.

I never know when to consider myself belonging to another year of studies. Certainly by September, I shall be "FOURTH YEAR". But for now, what am I? Third Year still? Entering Fourth Year? Just straight up Fourth Year? These are the questions.

So I'm back in Ottawa and headed down to Tobago on Tuesday. Hurrah! I'm excited to see what the future of this summer will bring, and I'm extra-excited to share it with you, internet. It's gonna be a great one, I can feel it!

So not too much has happened. Apart from moving out of Guelph and moving into Ottawa (which I'm still not entirely finished doing...) Easter is really the only thing that happened. It was a lot of fun! I'm happy that Easter was so late this year, because I got to spend it with my family, I think for the first time since I started uni. Dad wasn't here, but everyone else was. Big dinner, big stomach aches... big happiness.

At one point Colin started shooting me with a Nerf gun and I may have taken it and gotten carried away. It was actually super fun and my aim was pretty good. I decided to make things a little more Terminator and brought out the aviators. Clearly, we look pretty badass. And I have no selfie shame, unfortunately. Future Ronnie, please, develop some selfie shame.

So now I think I had better get back to that "moving back in" thing. The clothes are taken care of, but I still have a suitcase full of crap to find a place for...

On that note, I really wish that I could live with fewer things. That modern minimalist lifestyle, y'know? Clean cut, with everything fitting into one bag. Magic. In saying that, Mom and I went to a few thrift stores today and had the best time ever. I just love digging through piles of clothing. I love it so much. I found so many wonderful things! Today's theme was apparently loud tropical print shirts and slightly worn 90s GOLD. Not literal gold. Not even gold-colored fabric. Just golden finds. Golden finds.

And now I have to pack. And also finish un-packing.

Privileged Girl Rants About Stuff and Possibly Sounds Insensitive (and Slightly Flighty).

Guys, the summer is coming and I want to go shopping.

Once this week of final essays and exams is over, I only have four days in Ottawa before I'm hitting up the Caribbean. I never buy anything down there. Maybe because Tobago doesn't have a ton of clothing stores, maybe because I'm cheap, and mostly because I really, really don't like sequins/gems on my clothing. Truth.

So I have four days in which to find the time to get a pair of high-waisted denim shorts. It's a stable that I do not have. Must fix. I was actually thinking that I might head on down to the thrift store and maybe just cut a pair of high-waisted jeans, but typically frayed ends drive me mad, so I'm not sure I could handle it. But we'll see how much the real stores want for them.

In that four days I also have plans to go see the new Captain America movie with my brother, renew my German passport, and organize/store all of my stuff that I'm bringing up from Guelph. Plus packing. I'm not sure how long we'll be in Tobago before coming back to Ottawa so I'll just have to pack wisely. Ooooh maybe I'll do a blog post about that!

Side note: apparently some people, perhaps even most people (not quite sure), don't always have a valid passport? As in, if they aren't planning to travel at all they just let them expire. This is extremely weird to me, obviously because of my family's vagabond-esque style of living but also because it seems crazy to let your passport expire and take away your ability to leave a country. Most of the time travelling trips are planned well in advance but what about spontaneity? The freedom to know that at any time you could hit the road (or the airport) when the opportunity strikes is huge! This is sounding slightly fugitive-like, but there are plenty of reasons to travel unexpectedly apart from avoiding the Fuzz. What about a family emergency that calls you yonder? The only reason I could possibly see for letting your passport expire is if you can't afford the extra expense. I get that. I hate how much passports cost to keep updated. The ability to travel shouldn't be restricted by how much cash you've got in your pocket. It's like there's a monopoly on adventure and personal growth. But if you have the money, keep your damn passport up to date!

And another thing- if you have the ability to get dual citizenship- then do so! That paperwork takes time and effort, don't leave it until you actually need it! Part of my life's philosophy is to be ready for anything. What if you get a sudden job offer in Budapest for the summer? Wouldn't you like to go? Then make it so, number one! Don't twaddle with visas if you don't have to. We live in an incredibly inter-connected world, don't leave yourself out of it.

Another thing I have to do in Ottawa is organize my Dad's socks. He specifically asked me to do this because he says he can tell that they're different, but his eyesight isn't good enough to match them up properly. Apparently he would have asked Mom to help, but she wouldn't have cared. Evidently, he assumed that I would be sympathetic to his non-matching sock plight. I am. No one should have to live with two different socks on their feet. No one. I'm coming to help you, Dad!

How-To: Write a Balling Essay For Sure

Say "hello" to 14 pages of GREATNESS.

Finishing off my third year of university, I like to think that I know what's what when it comes to writing essays, and I've always wanted to start doing some 'Guide to Life' type of posts on this blog, so I thought now would be a great time!

Here are a few of my best tips for how to write an essay that you're proud of. These are just a few things that work for me personally, but who knows- maybe they'll work for you, too! I'm leaving out most of the obvious tricks, like reading it out loud to make sure it flows, and framing your quotations properly.  These are some things that I either know a lot of people don't do, or that I think should be appreciated more.

TIP #1: ON PICKING A TOPIC...
This is the only one of my tips that really depends on your situation. You don't always get to pick your topic, and the worst essays are always going to be the one's that give you no freedom to create. Even a strict outline can be killer when it comes to figuring out what you want to write about.

But, sometimes you get a wonderful class, and all you have to do is write an essay. Cherish these moments, and don't squander them! Don't just pick any old topic, really think about it! I usually sit myself down and have a serious brainstorming session. Generally I've found the perfect topic to be something that you know just enough about to know that you're interested in learning more. Avoid topics that you've done before. It may seem easier but it's going to feel like you're writing the same essay as the last time, and unless that's what you're going for, the repetition is going to kill you creatively. It's the discovery of new information and new points of view inspiring your own ideas that make essay writing fun. No, I'm serious. Essays can be fun. Say it with me. They can!

And obviously, don't worry about specificity. General topics are the best topics. Start with one theme of one book and see what small aspect you want to focus on later. Even when classes make you hand in a proposal, remember that those aren't contracts, things will change once you start writing.

TIP #2: ON TAKING NOTES...
The more you read, the better your essay will be. Again, this goes without saying. But I do have a few tips on how to make the transition from research to fabulous essay as smooth and possible.

Make sure that whatever you read- you're taking notes on it. Not only does this help when it comes time to referencing and figuring out where these ideas came from, but your essay is going to be born from your research notes. When I say that, I mean two things. First, if you write six pages of research, then that's effectively six pages of your essay already written, and you haven't even started it yet. Second, and my most important trick, is to write down and explain everything. Don't just take notes about what the author is saying in the article, write down what you think. Interpret. Criticize. Relate it to the work your studying right there in the notes. This is where your notes become your essay, and this is where those interesting ideas are forming in your head. Write down every thought process exactly where it happened, and under what article.

If you're feeling brave, multi-task with Elementary! I'm sure you'll get TONS of work done! I know I did!

TIP #3: ON 'DAT THESIS...
Is a continuation of TIP #2, because that's where it happens. When you're reading an article and the author says something that sparks an idea that you fall in love with. That's the golden moment, my friends. You've found your essay. Try not to worry too much about how everything is going to fit into your thesis. If you're worried about going off track then continue and adjust your thesis to match the new direction you've taken. Like the proposal, a thesis is not a promise, it's an idea. Ain't nobody holding you to it. Once you've got all your research in front of you arrange it until it looks like that great idea you had in your head, then boom. Essay.



TIP #4: ON STYLIN'...
Never underestimate the importance of style! Writing style, that is. Not only do a lot of professors (yes, outside of English) include some aspect of writing style or clarity (not to mention grammar) in their marking scheme, but bullshit inherently looks more valuable when you add a little flair. Now, I said I was going to leave out the most obvious tips, but one of the more off-kilter ways I ensure a certain quality of writing is by always making full use of the 'Ctrl + F' function. One of the easiest ways (aside from grammar) to distract from an otherwise great essay is repetition. If you know you've been using a word or a term way too much then use Ctrl + F to find out exactly where and rephrase a few of your sentences.

Also use Ctrl + F as an instant fix for your bad writing habits. We all have them. If you always use the wrong form of 'there', then use  Ctrl + F to find every single 'there', 'their' and 'they're' and make sure that they are used correctly! I use this for contractions. I'm inescapably informal in my writing, especially when it comes to contractions. It makes it easier for me to get my thoughts out and that makes my writing much clearer. But, obviously contractions are not appropriate for an academic essay, so before I hand anything in I do a quick 'Ctrl + F' for apostrophes just in case. For science reports I'll sometimes use that to find any uses of 'we' or 'our' as well. The little things count!

TIP #5: ON CUTTING-IT-CLOSE...
Always finish your essays early and give yourself at least a day to read things over and make the final edits that will take your writing from good to remarkably clear. Hello, 90. Up until this exact moment in front of your computer screen, you have not had the time or the willpower to do a single fucking thing on your essay. It might be due tomorrow. It might be due in a few hours. Either way, despite following all of my above tips, you've reached crunch time, your writing method needs to change a little.

First things first, format your entire essay (whatever you may have written) so that it is good to hand in. Make your title pages, format your text, add in those page numbers. Also make your 'Works Cited' page and put in all of your references, even the ones that you haven't used yet. If you haven't done this already it gives you a huge confidence boost to be looking at something that actually looks like a final product, even if it's only three pages of rough notes. It also makes the essay "ready to hand in" even if its still shit on a page. So if you're literally working with two hours left before the deadline, you can keep writing for as long as possible and know that at least you won't be losing any marks for incorrect formatting. It sounds kinda desperate, but at this point that is exactly what you are, so... deal.

So there you have it! Hopefully this helps someone write an amazing essay that not only gets them a good mark, but a feeling of contentedness as well. And hopefully my first How-To post went alright!

This is how confident I am in all of you! Yeah!

Now, I better get back to writing my essay...

I wish I were cool enough to say "werk", but... I'm just not there... yet.

I finished classes today! I'm just a few final projects/essays shy of finishing off my third year. I remember writing a blog post after finishing second year pretty damn clearly, so this post is kind of incredible to me. But, as with all time-flying situations, while it seems like it's been no time at all, when I think back to the beginning of the year, it was a long time ago. I'm a different person now! Third-year me is somehow very distinctive from second-year me and certainly (thankfully) we are all very different from first-year me. Sorry first year me.

Guys, I feel like I finally got my groove back. I've been working hard, handing in some quality essays, and in general I have been in de Zone. We're not counting writing this blog post as procrastinating. But I shouldn't say that, because it's not that I haven't been procrastinating, but that I've gotten a real handle on it. I think at least part of it is that I've been doing work that I genuinely want to do. I've been doing some really cool work lately, some really ballin' essays that are entirely up my alley. From how Wells handled concepts of race in The Time Machine to what we can learn about communicating environmental issues from analyzing John Evelyn's Sylva. Sci-Fi and 17th Century forestry writings! Two of my most favorite things! That wasn't sarcasm, just... nerdgasm (I'm so sorry).I think that a combination of that, and the knowledge that I am so close to finishing this semester off that's really given me a worker-bee kinda mojo.

I can't wait to go home! I keep thinking back to last summer. I mean things weren't perfect, things never are (darn things), but man they were hella tight. I just liked the vibe of last summer. I liked the way I lived last summer. I mean yes, it would have been good to have gotten a job and made some money over the break, but that just didn't happen. So I'm embracing another summer of freeloading with my parents and having some hardcore down time with ye olde self. And like last summer I won't have nothing going on. I've still got work with my student organization, and some training for a job in September. And again, I've got some personal work lined up like researching grad schools, prepping my applications, and I've been starting to develop a summer reading list for my undergraduate research course.

No, I'm serious.

All I have to do is keep at it! Keep going! Home stretch! So c'mon guys- let's GO GO GO!

Routine Booking Procedure. Move Along.

I either started at the beginning of this year or the end of the last, but I've been reading before bed every night and it's honestly one of the smartest decisions I've ever made; for a couple of reasons:

First of all, as an English student, but also as an adult, I struggle on a daily basis to find the time to read 'for fun' and I know I'm not alone in that annoying guilty feeling you get when you know you haven't been reading as much as you want to and you feel bad for doing yourself such a disservice.

Second of all, it's been going around the internet for a long while that you should avoid screens, specifically LED light, before going to bed. Supposedly this light suppresses some chemical or something that makes you tired, so you it's harder to get to sleep coming straight off of a computer screen and/or you don't get the best rest that you could. But no! Stop right there! This is hearsay! Don't trust what's going around on the internet! Be a responsible individual! That's right, guys- let's hit the literature.

*Funky 80's Montage Music*

The literature agrees! I read a few studies and they all seemed to concur that blue light suppresses the production of melatonin, which makes you tired. I'll reference a couple of the articles I read at the bottom of the post if you want to check them out. So there you have it! My second reason was sound. The blue light coming off of your computer, phone, and I would imagine handheld gaming devices is bad news for sleep cycles.

I don't think reading before bed will make a huge difference, but I think I enjoy it even if it isn't helping me sleep. I just like spending time with these cool cats-

I like to have a couple of options when I snuggle under the covers. Mostly I'm reading Don Quixote, but for those nights when all you want is Shakespeare, I have William Shakespeare's Star Wars to provide my fix. Occasionally I'm in a weird mood and I just want to read something really simple, so I like to keep a kind of 'dumb' book ready. Right now my stupid book is shockingly not Star Wars but A Princess of Mars on my Kobo. Oh, Edgar Rice Boroughs. Finally, because it's the end of the semester and sometimes I go to bed panicking about how much work I have to do, I keep a 'work book' next to my bed so that I can go to sleep researching if I need to. Right now I'm working on an essay about The Time Machine, so I'm reading the critical essays in this edition I borrowed off of a friend. Normally I wouldn't read things for classes before bed (the idea is not to think about school) but sometimes it can't be helped.

I also keep a mechanical pencil by my bed because academia has ruined me and I can't read without making notes in the margins anymore...

The moral of the story is, if you're not reading as much as you'd like to be, try giving it a go before bed! Some nights I can barely make it through one page before I'm off to snooze-land, but others I'm up for ages just reading. I even found, once I get really into a book, that I've started to go to bed sooner and earlier so that I can read longer before going to sleep. I don't know if its helping me get to sleep faster or get a better sleep than if I jumped off the computer and under the covers, but I do know that I'm finally finding the time for books I have been waiting years to pick off the shelf.

REFERENCES:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2005.00463.x/full

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v497/n7450_supp/full/497S13a.html?goback=.gde_3084791_member_244253435

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945711001651

I miss you, babe. Like Pig in the City.

I broke my favorite mug, and a part of my soul chipped away with it.

R.I.P Beauty and the Beast Mug, 2003 - 2014

Everyone has a mug that is their mug, and this one was mine. It was perfect! Everything from the size to the thickness to the curvature of the rim... And then I dropped it.

I guess it just never occurred to me that I would ever be in a situation without that mug. It's one of the reminders of my past that I really thought would always be there. Only now it isn't. It was like drinking out of memories. I like my other mugs but they aren't steeped in the memories of my past the way that this one is. Not yet, anyway. It may seem silly, and in fact it may be silly to feel so strongly about the loss of a mug, but it really meant a lot to me. When I dropped it I sat on the floor and cried for a while. This blog is quickly turning into TMI with seasonings of regret for Older Ronnie. But isn't that what blogs are for? Yeah!

I decided that I couldn't throw away my mug. So I didn't.

YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL. NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY.

I would give you a life update, but breaking my beloved Disney mug is a pretty good representation of what it's been like lately. Very hard, lots of work, but unlike my mug, I'm getting through it alright. One thing that did happen was that my organization ran an event about one of the upper year ASCI courses at Guelph, and it was fantastic! More than ever, I know I can't wait to take that course. It's called the Honours Research Seminar and you essentially make this huge 40+ page paper about a research topic that combines your minors. It's meant to be like a lead-up to graduate school, which is of course, perfect! We'll see how this changes in the next year, but right now I want to write about how the environment has impacted the work of science fiction authors. Specifically I'd like to look at how their portrayal of the environment has changed over time to suit societal perceptions. Obviously that's just a rough idea right now, and I'm sure it'll get more specific and/or change entirely by the time winter 2015 rolls around (like maybe the environment on alien worlds vs. our own or something? Or how it's specifically handled by women writers, or those from a scientific background?), but for now I just can't wait!

Loser Tries to Explain Herself, Comes Across Even Sadder

This winter (and last fall) I've been wearing the heck out of my Stark toque, and while I've worn it I've been asked a lot of questions about Game of Thrones. Now, I don't mean like once or twice, I mean like all of the time. Sometimes the people asking me are friends, sometimes complete strangers in line at the grocery store. The most common question is "when's the new season starting?", but I've also had gems like "Is Tyrion (or the funny dwarf guy) still on there?", "What's the name of that cool chick with the dragons?", "How many seasons are there so far?", and "Didn't all those guys die (lol)?".

Kind of an old picture from last September but I didn't want to take a new one. Focus on the hat. The hat. Ignore awkward pose. I was studying. Ignore it. The hat. The hat. 

When I bought the hat, I never would have imagined this result. It's not that weird, but it's unexpected. I thought the hat would be no different from the likes of a STARWARS t-shirt, which seems to go through society without bringing up any questions, but it's not. Maybe just the fact that the word 'Stark' is written across my forehead rather than my chest is enough to call more attention to it, and maybe this speaks to the universal acknowledgement of Game of Thrones that everyone knows about it, and, apparently, has questions. To my credit, I've accepted my role as a compendium of knowledge about the show, and I answer questions about the new season like a walking advertisement, but I still think it's really fucking weird.

Anyway, back to blogging!

Oh, I miss blog time. Did you guys know that I blogged more in 2013 than I have all of the years since I started this blog? I was wondering why that was the case, and I don't think it's just because I was particularly interested in blogging last year, I think it's because my life is more exciting these days. No wait, that makes me sound like a loser. My life just has more happenings. I'm doing more things. This isn't helping, is it?

Reading week has gone away, and I miss it terribly. It's not so much the free time that I miss, but (loser time again) having people around.  Being back in Guelph I keep wanting to tell people arbitrary things about my day, like the other night I swear I felt the ground shake in my kitchen. I know it didn't, but I felt it. It was weird, but not at all important or significant. If I lived with friends/family I would have told them about it. But I don't. It would have made for a really odd and hard to understand text. So I didn't say anything. To anybody. And I miss banal conversations with people around me!

Doughnuts and Buffy. Man, it was a good week.

We also found a T-Rex in the living room. I'm telling you, it was a fucking exciting week.

(Loser time) I'm just  not around people that much anymore... Which sounds... bad? I see people in class, and I talk to them, but... that's it? Kind of. Sometimes. This semester has been reminding me a lot of first year, actually. I guess the main change is that one of my closest friends is away on exchange this semester (it's so cool- she's in England- she's so cool- it sounds amazing). She was my go-to pal for... actually pretty much everything so her absence has impacted my life quite a bit. She also reads this blog. I MISS YOU, MAN.

I'm making this sound really sad and awful, but it's not that bad. I have a lot of experience as a hermit and that is at least partially because I don't mind the lifestyle. I'm not huge on socializing, especially unexpectedly. Not unexpectedly in the "oh no, surprise encounter!" sense but more of a if I'm not in the mood to talk to people and I come across people I'm not very good at people. I am a homebody and I do appreciate time spent by myself, but over the holidays I spoil myself with a constant availability of companionship that I miss when I'm in Guelph. Hopefully that explains my situation a little bit better. I'm not drowning in the loneliness, a lot of the time I'm pretty fond of lone-ness, but I miss my best pal and my fam, which wouldn't be bad if they weren't all gone at the same time. Make sense?

Reading it over I still sound like I'm either crying myself to sleep every night or am in fact a weird sociopath that hates people. I guess I can't express this morning. I'm happy, internet! I swear!

I swear!

Oh, I just remembered that I sat down to write this to update you on my job search. I got one job (for next school year) and didn't get the other. So overall I'm thinking yay! Employment!

This is where I currently sit in the banquet hall of life.

Guys. Guys. I CAN MAKE FRIED RICE. I'm serious. It's so easy. First, cook some rice. Easy. Next, or possibly during, chop up some veggies. Toss them in a pan with some oil. Shove that shit around until it feels right. Toss in the rice. Continue to shove. Add eggs. Pat yourself on the back- at this point, you're balling. Finish it off with some soy sauce and when your starving stomach can't take the smell any longer, dump it onto a plate. Cram it into your face hole. Fried rice. I'm serious. At this point I'm basically Wonder Chef.

And I realize that I haven't blogged in a while. I wanted to, but nothing was really happening. This semester hasn't been very easy, and I've also been doing a lot of extra stuff that's making time management sort of insane. To give a general overview of the semester thus far, there's been the usual barrage of assignments, readings, midterms, events, and planning, but also conferences, some interviews for jobs (real life jobs! Sort of. ), first aid qualifications and that's all that I can think of off the top of my head. I am busy. But I don't mean to complain. Being busy is just another way of saying that I've had a lot of really cool opportunities this year. And kudos to me, I have not let them pass me by!

For the interviews, which I feel I should mention, I'm playing the awkward waiting game. Or it would be awkward if I weren't so busy with other stuff that I've mostly been forgetting that I'm still waiting to hear back from them. I don't typically worry over the future. I'm really good at focusing on what's happening now, for the most part. I dream about the future, but it doesn't stress me out. I trust that the future will turn out swell. I don't mean that in terms of fate or destiny, but I trust that no matter what happens I'll be able to deal with it and make the best. As John Connor so wisely put it," there's no fate but what we make for ourselves".  In conclusion, I might be employed soon!

So cross your fingers, internet!

How to Spend All of New Years Day on the Computer

I have a weird New Years tradition that I thought I'd share with you all! 

Every year since 2009, I've done a kind of year-reflection to keep track of how my life is going, specifically how it's changed, and my goals for the future. I do this reflection using a serious of questions that I answer each year. I keep the questions in a onenote notebook (because back in 2009, I used onenote), and I don't look at any of the questions or any of the answers at all during the year, except at New Years. This makes it so that I don't remember any of the questions or any of the answers I gave before it's time to fill it all out again. 

There are four categories of questions, and I add at least one question to each category each year, which is part of the reason why I have no idea how many questions there are and part of the reason why answering them all takes me a very long time - we're talking hours. Though to be fair I do tend to be a bit long-winded in my answers.

The four categories are:

Life, or General - These have to do with the current state of things. Age. Currently reading. That sort of thing.

Favorites - Self explanatory. Favorite books, video games, youtubers, etc.

Dreams - My hopes and dreams regarding university, love, life, etc. This is also a place to reflect on my literal dreaming, and try desperately to remember some of the dreams I've had that year.

Questions - These are specific questions I want my future self to answer every year, next year, in twenty years, etc. Did I ever post that fanfic? Are people still going on about 2012? Did you get into University? Did The Hobbit come out like it's supposed to, how was it, how did you see it, what was it like? Ordinary stuff.

There's also a section for what playthrough of Tales of Symphonia I'm currently on. When I started in 2009 I was at 3. I'm now at 6. Balling.

After I fill everything out and make new questions, I go back and read over the previous years. I love reading how I've changed over the years, with what I thought was important and what I wanted in my life. I always find it's a really great way to start a year, because you have to look back on your whole life (since 2009, anyway) and that inevitably gets you thinking about the future, and the changes and opportunities that await. I also really like seeing things come to fruition through this. In 2009 a lot of my focus was on what university would be like, because it was still just a dream. Now it's a reality! You can see your dreams come true or change as time goes by. Since 2010 I started asking frantic questions about The Hobbit movies and last year I finally got to answer them. This reflection reminds me that the things I'm excited for now will happen one day, and that anything can happen. One day I'll be using this to reflect on graduate school, getting a job, and starting a family. The future is bright!

X-MAS 2013 - A LOW DOWN.

BOOM. Christmas 2013! It happened. I made cookies. In response to my last post, I think I rose to the challenge pretty darn well and have officially regained my mojo.

THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL. Bonus points if you can name them all. I got carried away once I mastered the Star fleet uniform.

Overall Christmas was a success! Like last year we ended up hosting the Christmas party thing for my Dad's work. That's always kinda fun and kinda boring. It was better than last year in that there were fewer people and it was less party hardy and more relaxed in atmosphere. I actually quite enjoy entertaining because I like preparing for things and I can (rarely and when the occasion requires it) cook, so it's always fun helping out Mom with this sort of thing. The fact that Mom really loves doing it is also a huge plus. Whatever makes my mother happy inevitably makes the rest of us happy as well, even just to see her enjoying herself. WE LOVE YOU MOM.

I also spent most of Christmas playing Batman: Arkham Origins, which was a truly fantastic early Christmas present. Those games are just so wonderful. From start to finish- pure joy. This is the first game in the series where I've been taking my time with completion of the story, mainly because whenever I'm home I always worry that I'm not spending enough time with the family, and while I don't mind playing games in the living room with everyone, sometimes it can be a little distracting. It affects my immersion, man! Escapism! Anyway I might talk more about the game once I've completed the main story, until then I'm officially reserving judgement (unlike the Knight... badum-tiss).

So after all that Mom and I flew out on Boxing Day and headed up to Ottawa to break-in the new year with the boys. Here are some shots of the skies over Ottawa and two very sleepy travelers about 16 hours into their journey.

Blurry because I haven't mastered the focus on my phone camera yet. Lolz! It was very cold when we arrived. I kept warm via selfies.

The boys actually had lots of presents waiting for me under the tree, which was a lovely surprise! I'd been utterly content with Origins, but I feel that Yoshi slippers are always a plus. And more selfies!

Hilariously a lot of those presents are actually wrapped up empty boxes because Colin likes to fill up the tree with presents. But that's cool, right? If it works for the stores it works for the home! We've also started the tradition of wrapping everything. Everything. If you ask someone to pick up some coffee that's on sale it'll go under the tree for Christmas. Unwrapping things is fun!

It's been nice seeing my brothers again. Kevin's actually moving out soon, so he's been busy getting ready for that. It's strange. Until now I feel like every change that's happened has done so because it had to. We all moved out to go to university, and when both of my brothers came to Ottawa they got an apartment. It's different this time. Tensions are high. Adult life is odd.

I got my marks back from last semester! My best yet, I'm very very very pleased to say. One thing that's always fun about Dad's work gatherings is that I get to hear how he talks about me to his coworkers, and a little parental gushing is always a nice treat. All evidence indicates pride in their daughter, so it would appear that I'm doing my job there. And I finished a short story! Wild, I know. I finished my most recently started story, too. But don't get too excited, it's not really done done, just technically done in that all of the bits are written, but I'm not nearly convinced that they're written WELL yet. You'll never guess what it's about. It may involve androids, space travel, genetic engineering and discussion on the concept of humanity. Like I said, it's really rough around the edges right now but if I can finagle it into saying what I want it to say then I think it'll be something for me to be proud of. Accomplishment!

Overall: a successful Christmas.

As for New Years I have no photos and not really any stories to tell? Not a bad thing! I had a night in with the fam (or most of it). We played Catan, ate lots of food, played Animal Crossing and watched Ace Ventura. It was great! It's possible I'll have more to say about New Year's Day as it continues, but I'm hoping it'll shape up to be just as blissfully uneventful.