You are headed for a land of sunshine

That's what was under the cap on my Jones soda tonight. I've spent the day cleaning out cupboards in the kitchen, tossing stuff and... painting! I have a 2-week window of opportunity to get my poop in a group before a four-day-per-week school schedule kicks in on top of my full time work.

I'm not sure if you get Jones soda in your area, but apparently they're out of Seattle, Washington. (see sidebar for our own lovable and completely unpredictable Jeremiah... he's from Seattle.) Their claim to fame is not only the great soda they brew... (Do you actually brew soda? Don't think so, but it sounded neat.) but they ask you to send photos to put on their bottles; that, and they put little fortunes under the caps.

So... a land of sunshine, hey?

Is that a subtle hint that I should take a vacation?

A little love... and a few things I do

I spent yesterday evening in the company of the folks at the pottery studio. I haven't been out in a couple weeks, and there were a few 'new to me' faces. Quite a number of people, too - an unusually busy place.

I've been at this since August, and it never ceases to amaze me how wonderfully comfortable I am in that space - regardless of how incredibly bad I was at "art" in school.

I'm not sure how many of you live in a "big city", but I've noticed the incredible amount of stress in people, and often wonder why more of us don't "snap". I've taken up massage and chiropractic for that very reason - they're a drug-free approach to dealing with the stresses on my body and mind. As for my spirit, I believe that pottery addresses the stress in that realm, too.

To call people who do pottery "earthy" seems a bit, I dunno, obvious, but it fits. It doesn't even strike me as an art prone to "cliquishness", although it may be in other venues. Last night we all seemed to be quite social, and helped each other with our projects. It seems I've found a space full of really genuine and friendly people.

There's a class party scheduled in the next couple weeks, so I'm looking forward to socializing with these "earthy" types and sharing some good food, drink and music - music being another of my passions.

When I got home, I spent some time listening to music, and came across this tune on my recently purchased DVD, "Bryan Adams - Unplugged". As I ponder what life will be like as a student of poetry in the next term, these words were particularly attrative to hear, and really quite... human.

Some people walk the straight and narrow,
Some walk the rocky road;
Some get the silver spoon,
And some get the heavy load;
There's a man in a paper box,
Smiles whenever we walk by
We just walk a little faster and say,
"There before the grace of God go I"
Just a little love,
A little love,
A little love can change it all.

Well I've been up and down this highway,
I ain't seen a road sign yet;
It's a cold hard world,
you've got to hang on to what you get;
Well I don't believe in miracles,
that don't mean they don't come true;
But I may not get to heaven,
but I get a little closer when I've with you.
Just a little love,
A little love,
A little love can change it all.



Well I get a little tired walking down the street
people on my side, everyone I meet
They don't know what's on my mind,
they don't know that they might find
A little love,
A little love,
A little love can change it all.

Right when you think you don't need love
Is when you need it most;
Even if you've got
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost;
There's a lot of truth
in what we know is true
We wander around in the darkness,
but Every now and again a little light shines through
With a little love,
A little love,
A little love can change it all.

My First University Course - Handled!

Today I submitted my final essay in 240. Last Friday was the 3-hour Registrar-office-scheduled exam, and everything else is done. Classes - done. I'd say we have this one pretty much handled.

The exam was long, and I used each and every minute. As I was leaving the exam room, M. asked me how it went.

"My hand is sore.", I said in a very mono-tone voice.

"That's a sign that you've written a good exam!", she exclaimed. "Oh, and I'll see you on the 14th.!"

...Oh yah, the 14th. English 354 - An Introduction to Poetry. At the time of the exam in 240, I was thinking to myself, "What was I THINKING???!!"

I spent all of today, and most of the last couple days, working on my essay due today at 4:30. Today was nuts. Admittedly, I rushed it. I shouldn't have. I know it's not up to par, but it's in, and I likely won't fail.

There it is. My first University course - handled.

I looked back on a couple posts I wrote just before beginning this course, and I can't, today, think of any reason why I was so pumped.

I needed a drink.

So I went for one tonight... two, actually.

I'm home now, and ready for bed.

I'll check in tomorrow.

Turtle, over and out.

Instead of being in class...

Today's Tuesday. Normally I'd be gearing up for class tonight, but there are no more classes. Exam on Friday, and I'm feeling the need for a break from essay writing.

I stole this from Susie's blog, hope you don't mind, girl, but it was far too funny to let slide.

Do you know anyone like this?

Fingers in many pies

...or so the saying goes.

I woke up at 9:00 last night after having simply fallen asleep around 5:00 after a nice hot shower. I had spent the better part of Sunday in my robe, contemplating many things, but mostly school, the upcoming assignment due on Friday as well as the final exam.

The weekend was nuts - I didn't know which end was up from Friday morning till Sunday afternoon. L. was on time for work in the office at 8AM on Friday, and I think we said all of ten words to each other as I was on my way out the door. I hit the chiropractor at 8:15, the barber at 9:00 and back to the office with coffee in hand (for L., not me. I seriously think coffee and I are parting ways) I had a contract for sound at a political rally downtown to be set up at 11, finished by 1:00. Then it was across town to pick up our new lighting rig. This makes me happy. We're now proud owners of a stage lighting kit. The deal was far too good to pass up. Back in the Christmas season of '05 I had made a new alliance with a lighting company and our professional bond has increased significantly to the point I got a really great deal on some par cans, dimming packs and a lighting desk. I think this will warrant another blog post for the techie types who drop by here. Keep an eye out for "Boys and Their Toys" coming soon to an Armchair near you. It was then home for a shower, a quick change and off to massage therapy: better than drugs, man!

Friday ended with a Tazo Chai at Starbucks, which was a really, really bad idea at 8:30 at night. By 1:30AM I was wide awake, still dog-tired, and super-frustrated. This translated to my dragging my feet on Saturday ALL DAY! I did get to use the new lighting rig, so there was some pleasure in the end.

This entire week is blocked off for essay and final exam prep. For the following three weeks I'll be focused on business until the new semester starts on May 15th. In that time, too, I have been promised a sneak-preview of the reading list for the term (it helps when you take booze to class, but that's a whole other story...) so likely I will be up to my what's-it in rhyme.

Did I mention I went back to the theatre for a second glimpse of "Reign Over Me"? I was in a really weird space after the flu last Monday and just felt like being entertained. Films - especially those I've already seen - are great for that. No effort required. What a fantastic film.

That's it for now. I'll be back in a few days with an update on Wordsworth, death and the finalexam.

Crunch, crunch, crunch... hear that? 10 days and counting...

Last class today, with a tutorial scheduled from 5-6 for the essay due and the final exam. On April 20th., we indeed write our final exam, worth 30% of our final grade.

What's that I hear? "Crunch"?

Uh huh.

Anon.

Way cool, kitty!

I was cruising the blogosphere this morning and discovered this really cool pic next to one of the comments on Mollie's blog. Check out the animation!




It belongs to Photocat, and OK, maybe I'm just way too "Old Skool", but that's just plain neat.

Some well chosen words

Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.
-Sigmund Freud

Over at Anvilcloud's page (link on my sidebar because I'm too lazy to put it in just now...) the quote of the day today was this.

I've been giving a lot of thought (gee, really??) to both love and work. I'm having trouble this week getting into both, actually. My mind has been on mortality, not so strangely.

A couple weeks back I took a last-minute trip to Ontario to attend Henry's funeral. It was a case of someone who left far too early, and it hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I got scared.

I hadn't thought about the fact that I, too, could simply be here today and not, tomorrow. I went into a panic of sorts, suddenly wanting to contact everyone I know to remind them they're still on my radar. For good or bad, this seemed like a hugely ominous task because -- I know so very many people!

Yesterday I received a phone call from L., who was Henry's fiance when he lived here in Calgary. Talk about the last person on the planet I was expecting to hear from! I had struggled with whether or not to contact her to inform her of Henry's passing. Their engagement was over 15 years ago, and I wasn't all that clear in my own mind if it was the "right" thing to do. My sister had asked me about it, and I had told her where I stood. She took it upon herself to contact L., and as it turned out, it was the right move. L. and I had a lengthy conversation and she seemed thankful to have been kept in the loop.

Now, with respect to love and work and how they both may relate to mortality, I guess I simply don't want to let either slip by without giving them both my best shot.

From essay mode to the theatre

Short post. I took my head out of essay mode last night to take in Reign Over Me. I'm generally not an Adam Sandler fan, but he's definitely redeemed himself in my eyes.

When you watch it, pay particular attention to the close-up monologue in the final third of the movie. I was touched, and quite surprised at the delivery.

Quite truly a story of the pain of loss and the endurance of love.

Four out of five stars.

Am I ambitious, or just plain stupid?

The semester is rolling to a close with one more class next week, two essays due and a final exam on the 20th.

Perfect time, don't you think, to consider my next course?

Absolutely.

So, off to the Registrar's office I trundled this morning. As I sat at the desk waiting for the fellow to process my payment, there was some confusion as to whether or not I'd met the prerequisites for the course.
The course: English 354 - an introduction to poetry
The Prof: Dear M.H. (a woman to whom I will soon dedicate a blog post)

The Registrar attendant ran away, only to return with a puzzled look on his face. I had met the requirements, but something didn't add up.

"The fees don't seem to jibe.", he said.

Tap, tap, tap...

"Did you know this is a 6-credit course?", he asked.

"Sorry?", I said...

"I thought the fee was awfully high, but it makes sense. English 354 is a full 6-credit course."

"Oh... OK... that means it's like two half-courses, right?", I confirmed.

"Yes.", he said.

"Oh boy...", I said sort of under my breath.

You see, I felt pretty ambitious taking on a whole semester in the Spring, six-week session. It appears I'm, in reality, taking on a full-year course in six weeks.

I had to let this sink in.

Let's see... working full time, high season, and now twice the course I was banking on.

Oh boy.

"Do you still want to register?", asks my attendant, after we've run the payment...

My mind raced to a scene in one of my favourite movies, "Die Hard III - With A Vengeance" in which a well-meaning explosives expert sits in the basement of a school facing a cooler-turned-bomb, snipping away at wires to disarm the beast. As the counter heads ferociously toward zero, his partners are on the radio SCREAMING at him to "Get the hell out of there!" He quietly replies as I did,

"No guts, no glory!"

So, it is clear that six weeks of my life will be, out of necessity, ferociously focused on school. I've sent an email to my prof. BEGGING an early heads up on the reading list for the term. I, at least, have a three-week grace period between terms to pre-read like a daemon.

What have I done!?