Posts (page 2)

Once again, I'm sick.  A large proportion of the *people* I work with and work for are also sick. 

I've been saying "It's definitely not the (insert dreaded disease)! My sister who is a pharmacist and therefore has the medical knowledge and intelligence to diagnose me from 800km on the phone said so!  I don't feel like I've been run over by a truck, merely knocked over on the playground."

So maybe the 159 other people that are absent from my work place have the (insert dreaded disease) as the news this evening may have suggested, but I don't.  I have some sort of illness that I'm sure is unique and special and has not had any sort of international recognition whatsoever in the past few months.

I'm sure of it.

Pray for me!

Phew!  It's over!

May is a beautiful month.  The beginning of summer.  The cold of winter is gone.  It's the end of the school year but the pressure has not started to build.  It is a time to make plans and see friends.  Thanks to a long weekend, it's even a chance to travel.

Despite the positives of May, I've often had a hard time with this month.  It is my personal month of sadness.  Of spiraling into an abyss of darkness and anxiety.  Don't think I dive into this pool, oh no.  I put the brakes on while screaming.

In the past, there have been big changes on the horizon, for which I accredited my dark moods.  This year is nothing but happiness.  No big changes, just exciting events to look forward to.

So why the darkness?  I do not know.  I have no idea whatsoever.  I hate the anxiety, the tension and the insecurity.  I searched for a reason and there was none.  There was absolutely nothing wrong in any aspect of my life to suggest that I should be anxious or worried.  Yet I was.

But I made it through and I'm still a happy person.  I pray that with the beginning of June begins a busy, BUSY time. My brain will not be left to it's own devices.

So far, so good.

I'm cramming in a poetry unit in the last days of April, which is poetry month.  I taught my class about analyzing poetry, metaphors, onomatopoeia and making hypothesis.  One child exclaimed "Madame, stop.  Your big words are scaring me."  Fair enough, they are only 8 and 9 years old.

We read one poem, analyzed the structure, the rhyme and the repetition as well as the meaning of the poem.  (You're impressed, right? I mean these kids are only 8 and 9!)  When I say we, I mean I told them to count the number of times a word is written, what words rhymed and I explained what I thought the poem meant. 

Then I passed out some poems, gave them a few minutes and told them to do the same thing.  Cue the look of fear.  Except for one girl, she loves to talk, and was ready to give her opinion.

This is the poem:

Toc toc toc!                   

Toc toc toc!
Il pleut dur la terre.
Toc toc toc!
Il fait noir et clair.
Toc toc toc!
Tu bats des paupières.
Toc toc toc!
Tu fais des éclairs.
Toc toc toc!
Voici le tonnerre.

Here's some vocabulary for the anglophunny people.  (That is what one of the students called himself today, cracked me up!)

toc toc toc - doesn't mean anything.  It's just a sound.

Il pleut - rain

éclairs - lightening

tonnerre - thunder

Do you see the theme?

So she said that this poem represented the dark side of humanity and that it was really sad.  Uh, okay.  I guess it could be about all the pain in the world.  I just thought it was about rain. 

Lent is over.  The first six weeks on the 'kill my will to live' diet are over.  A visit to the Naturopath taught me that it's not over.  When is it over?  Who knows.  I told her that I CANNOT GO ON!  It's too tough.

She said okay. 

Wow, I didn't expect that.

I'm supposed to do what I can.  Which means making the right choices on my own.  I'm allowed to eat like a human when I'm with others.  I am going to be the most surrounded by people, social butterfly, chatty cathy the world has ever seen if it means I can eat sweets.

I don't think that's what she meant.

In any case, I declared the weekend diet free.  Bring on the sugar.  Bring on everything.  Hello sugar crashes.  Hello fatigue.  Hello craziness. 

Who knew the diet was actually making me a better and healthier person?  Sugar really is not good.  I know, I'm making ingenious statements.

But I love it. 

I have to quit it.  It's all or nothing.  I can't just limit it.   I'm a weak, weak person.  A little bit is never just a little bit.

Starting tomorrow:  the dreaded food diary.  It's tedious, but I'm less likely to eat icing sweets if I have to write them down.

It's for the greater good of me being a healthy, happy person.  Eventually, this won't even be a diet.  It will just be a way of life. Sigh.   

Is that how you write that?   For all of you who don't like to comment, just send me an e-mail so I can fix it and look a little less neanderthalesque.

Tomorrow I am hosting for my book club's meeting.  Generally, I am one to stress about these things.  However, I'm not putting the pressure on myself to be perfect.  I think we will have nachos and cupcakes.  A little salty, a little sweet.  (I find out tonight if I can go back to sugar.)  And some wine, that I will not be consuming. (I'm driving to the ecological centre of the province immediately after.  Please note, I am not with child.) 

The living room is clean, the kitchen will be without a problem.  No worries.

Except that my house isn't really designed for a fight.

You know how women are.  Someone says something and then someone is offended and then there is tension and then things just aren't fun anymore?  That's the gist of the situation. 

Thank goodness my post book-club plans are good.  If it's bad, I'll pack my back, throw them the keys and leave!

On the weekend I accomplished 19 tasks.  Yay me.  One of these tasks involved going through old cards and letters.  (I didn't throw any of them out, I merely found a better place.)  I found a post card that Michelle sent me in about 2003 when she lived in Japan.  She joked that I should go to Japan to visit (why didn't I?) and that there would surely be a lovely Japanese boy to adore me for the duration of my visit.

I used to have quite the reputation for loving the international boys.  Give me an accent and I was IN LOVE! 

Ah, so long ago.  Who knew that true love was in my origins?  In fact, my grandma was a teacher for Jason's aunts and uncles, way back in the day.

Enough about boys!  It seems I'm a magnet for the internationals once again.  This time, it is in my search for a roommate.  I have gone from "Gee, I like me space" to "Gee, I like money".

I have had 5 inquiries on my room to rent.  3 have been serious. 

#1:  Mr. Congo.  I was hesitant.  He was nice.  I accepted.  He found a cheaper place.  Fair enough.

#2:  Child from Afganistan.  He's not a child, just younger than me.  By a few years ;)  Nice kid and his references checked out.  In the end, he's not moving to the Queen City after all.  I still like him.

#3:  Ms.  Nigeria.  I'm totally crossing my fingers that when she asks a friend about my neighbourhood that she gets a good response.   I think it's possibly bad luck that I'm blogging about it.  May 1 is coming up!

Jason asked, with interest and curiousity, "What's up with you and the international community?*"  It's just the way I am!

* Those were not his exact words.  I don't recall his exact words.  They were probably more a propos than my words.

Edit:  Blogging is bad luck!  She backed out!  I have 7 days before I am screwed!

Hey!  Guess what?  I'm on Day 18 of my stupid cold!  It's really wonderful, especially since my friend THE COLD, has found a new home in my nose.  My most detested of all cold symptoms. 

Enough about that, though I will gladly accept comments of sympathy in the comments. 

I went to Alberta for the weekend.  Good time for sleeping!  And skiing.

We went to Sunshine and it was great.  It is so amazing to ski when I'm not freezing my toes!  I loved it.  Easter skiing is the way to go. 

As well, I read.  I finished two books!

The Birth House by Ami McKay

It was great.  It made me think about women's rights, how they have evolved over the past century, as well as how they haven't.  It was so interesting to read about birth!  Interesting, not terrifying.  As well, it was good to read a Canadian book.  Often, books that I read are British or American.  I recommend it, as does just about everyone else.

Brand New Friend  by Mike Gayle.

This book doesn't have it's own (easy to find) website.  That's because it's just not that good.  Not very good at all.  I was mildly entertained.

As a family, we watched a movie.

Milk

Obviously, this Academy Award winning film is good. It was interesting and compelling.  Obviously. 
I may or may not have gotten over watching kissing scenes with my parents last week.  I don't think we were ready for the sexual content of Milk.  Not that it's all about sex, or that it's graffic or anything, it's just that I'm only 12. 

So, go skiing in April, read Birth House and watch Milk.

Happy Vacation to me!

From Africa to the Middle East, the roommate search continues.

So, last time I wrote about this, I was getting eery  feelings about Albert from the Congo.

I did some research (aka I talked to my boyfriend and the school's office manager).

They both said people from the Congo are wonderful.  Alright, that's good.  I expected both of them to either tell me I was crazy or be hesitant.  Neither.  Both suggested that the Congolese move in immediately. 

So, in a feverish state, I met Albert for coffee on Monday night.  All doubt on my part was erased.  He was very calm, polite and nice.  He also encouraged me to start having children soon.  All in good time Albert. 

Unfortunately, Albert thinks that I charge too much. 

Good-bye Albert.

Hello U of S.  You may remember Jaret, roommate of the summer of 2008?  Well he left me with a good feeling about U of S Engineers.  I had my siblings post an ad on a U of S website.  Low and behold, my next possibility.  He seems willing to comply with all of my rules and is also quite polite.  He gave me some references, which I will check out, but I feel pretty good about this kid.  His name was a little different, but I didn't realize that he was not born in Saskatchewan until I heard his accent.  I asked where he was from.  He asked me if I had heard of Afghanistan.  No kid, we don't get the news in the Queen City.

So that's the latest.  I have to e-mail some photos and check a reference or two, but it looks like I have a roommate from May to August, which was exactly what I wanted.

It has been so strange to know that when I come home, there will for sure be no one there.  It's neither a good or bad feeling, just a different feeling. 

I don't plan on having a roommate in the fall, but who knows.  I'm kind of addicted to the easy money.

I think it's been about 5 weeks without sugar.  Who would have ever believed that I could do it?  I would say that the last two weeks have been the easiest.  However, I didn't title this post cheater because it is going well.  It is going well, but I have fallen off the sugar-free wagon a few times.