There are few things at a university that irk me more than slow walkers. I understand you don't have a class right now, but I do. GTFO of my way. Here's my handy little guide to travelling from place to place.
1. Don't walk so fucking slow. I don't care where you're going or how much time you have to get there, please quicken your pace to more than 20 BPM. (beats per minute) Andante, the musical term for walking speed is 76 - 108 BPM. Speed up.
2. If you are going to walk slowly talking to your friends in a crowded hallway, go two and two. not all four abreast. Why? Because I'm moving faster than you, and when you walk four abreast I can't pass you. Nor can the people going in the opposite direction even walk by you. You're retarded and everyone hates you. This is negated if you and I are the only people walking through the hallway - I will likely have enough space to go around.
3. For those of you who are walking alone somewhere (no judging, I do this a lot) through an empty hallway, don't move around so that the person trying to pass can't. Basically, don't block people. (I had someone do this to me today - he somehow managed to take up the whole hallway all by himself. It was quite a feat.)
4. DON'T CUT CORNERS. You look like an idiot when you run into me while I have the right of way. When I am turning right around a corner, I will hug the corner. When I am turning left, I make a wide turn so I don't head on collide with someone.
5. Walk on the right. I realize that in England, Australia and many Asian countries the left has right of way. Not in Canada. Walk on the right and I won't give you a pissy look. especially on stairs. Why the hell do you need to walk on the complete opposite side of the stairs anyways? I look like a bitch and I WILL run you down if you're on the wrong side.
Am I getting worked up over nothing? Maybe, but it REALLY pisses me off, and if someone is willing to give me the space to complain, I will do just that.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Do your job... Or I'll do it for you.
I understand that waiters and waitresses have difficult jobs. I consider myself lucky not to work in food service and have a really good job elsewhere. Usually I can sympathize. However, last night there was no reason in the world that our waitress should have acted like she did.
Here's the story.
It was Charming's brother's birthday last night, he turned 18 and can legally drink in Alberta. To celebrate, he and a bunch of friends went to Schanks, a sports bar. I offered to DD him and Charming and a couple other friends. No problems, I was fine not drinking. I have to make an extra trip, so I wasn't there when they first arrived at the bar, so the first part of this story is secondhand from Charming. In this bar, you seat yourself. They were a large group, so trying to find a big non-reserved table wasn't easy. They flagged down a waitress to ask if they would be able to sit at a table that had a sign saying "Reserved at 7:30" (by this time it was 9, almost 10) No one was sitting there, but you can't be too careful. The waitress they asked said it would be fine. So they sit down and wait. Eventually another waitress comes up and doesn't greet them kindly, doesn't ask politely, instead yells "Who said you could sit here!" What a fantastic start, because now everyone's going to really want to stay. Anyways, Charming explains what happened, and her response was that she would have to check with a manager if they could sit there. So they wait some more. Being mostly 18 year old boys, they got thirsty and went to the bar for drinks, and paid at the bar. Not usually a problem... unless your waitress is Miss Psycho. She came back and saw they had drinks and screamed at them again and insisted that everything else had to go through her. Well fine, but you have to be around to be ordered from to justify your hissy fits. Anyways, they agree, and Charming pays for the first round and some food.
At this point I arrive and I'm thirsty as well as a little hungry, but i didn't particularily want what had been ordered, I just wanted honey garlic wings. So I waited nearly fifteen minutes after arriving to order a Sprite and chicken wings. I can understand that it was a Saturday night and it was busy. But even Charming could see who our waitress was, and we weren't exactly hidden in a corner, we were with quite a few other tables that I would think would be part of her section. Anyways, she finally comes over and we tell her some more people have arrived and we'd like to order more. She kind of huffs and says that Charming has to pay her right away (which is fine, he doesn't really care.) Eventually we get everything and Charming then tells me that he's been trying to tip her really well the whole night in the hopes that good tips will encourage her to come back. It took a little while, but she eventually warmed up to us. Some guys wanted more to drink that she was coming around to take orders for, so they ended up parking at the bar for a little while. I waited until I saw her punching in an order and just walked up and said "When you have a minute, I'd like to put an order in." She told me that I could wait right there and she'd take it in a minute. Eventually we saw her more and more. As the night was winding down, she came by and asked if anyone wanted more food. She was standing by the girls who were airheadly chatting to her, while the guys decided that they wanted food. Unfortunately, these girls had already sent her away because THEY didn't want food. Ugh. My Bro then decided he wanted food, so I pointed out our waitress to him, but he somehow manages to flag down someone who isn't a waitress, she just runs the games... and our waitress came up and made a bit of a scene. Why? Who the hell knows! I'd already chastised my Bro for calling hte wrong girl in front of her, so I really didn't see the need to do that. Anyways, we probably left a couple hundred dollars that night, consistiently tipping 20% and often more as encouragement for her to come back.
I can see a couple reasons why she might have avoided our table a little. One, a bunch of 18 year old boys who likely aren't going to tip well and will just get really drunk. However, Charming is 20, I'm 19 and I was sober and could have handled anything. Charming, even when drunk is still pretty sober. So she didn't have to worry if we were taking care of the money. Two, she was really freaking busy. This one only flies if we had seen her running around, which we hadn't at all. Three, she was about to get evicted, her boyfriend cheated on her and her parents just told her she was adopted. I can understand if you're having a bad day. I've had days where I have absolutely no desire to go to work, let alone smile when I'm there. But I do it anyways because that's good customer service. Whatever her reasons, I'm sure she walked away with some healthy coin in her pocket from us, even after having to share it around the staff.
Here's the story.
It was Charming's brother's birthday last night, he turned 18 and can legally drink in Alberta. To celebrate, he and a bunch of friends went to Schanks, a sports bar. I offered to DD him and Charming and a couple other friends. No problems, I was fine not drinking. I have to make an extra trip, so I wasn't there when they first arrived at the bar, so the first part of this story is secondhand from Charming. In this bar, you seat yourself. They were a large group, so trying to find a big non-reserved table wasn't easy. They flagged down a waitress to ask if they would be able to sit at a table that had a sign saying "Reserved at 7:30" (by this time it was 9, almost 10) No one was sitting there, but you can't be too careful. The waitress they asked said it would be fine. So they sit down and wait. Eventually another waitress comes up and doesn't greet them kindly, doesn't ask politely, instead yells "Who said you could sit here!" What a fantastic start, because now everyone's going to really want to stay. Anyways, Charming explains what happened, and her response was that she would have to check with a manager if they could sit there. So they wait some more. Being mostly 18 year old boys, they got thirsty and went to the bar for drinks, and paid at the bar. Not usually a problem... unless your waitress is Miss Psycho. She came back and saw they had drinks and screamed at them again and insisted that everything else had to go through her. Well fine, but you have to be around to be ordered from to justify your hissy fits. Anyways, they agree, and Charming pays for the first round and some food.
At this point I arrive and I'm thirsty as well as a little hungry, but i didn't particularily want what had been ordered, I just wanted honey garlic wings. So I waited nearly fifteen minutes after arriving to order a Sprite and chicken wings. I can understand that it was a Saturday night and it was busy. But even Charming could see who our waitress was, and we weren't exactly hidden in a corner, we were with quite a few other tables that I would think would be part of her section. Anyways, she finally comes over and we tell her some more people have arrived and we'd like to order more. She kind of huffs and says that Charming has to pay her right away (which is fine, he doesn't really care.) Eventually we get everything and Charming then tells me that he's been trying to tip her really well the whole night in the hopes that good tips will encourage her to come back. It took a little while, but she eventually warmed up to us. Some guys wanted more to drink that she was coming around to take orders for, so they ended up parking at the bar for a little while. I waited until I saw her punching in an order and just walked up and said "When you have a minute, I'd like to put an order in." She told me that I could wait right there and she'd take it in a minute. Eventually we saw her more and more. As the night was winding down, she came by and asked if anyone wanted more food. She was standing by the girls who were airheadly chatting to her, while the guys decided that they wanted food. Unfortunately, these girls had already sent her away because THEY didn't want food. Ugh. My Bro then decided he wanted food, so I pointed out our waitress to him, but he somehow manages to flag down someone who isn't a waitress, she just runs the games... and our waitress came up and made a bit of a scene. Why? Who the hell knows! I'd already chastised my Bro for calling hte wrong girl in front of her, so I really didn't see the need to do that. Anyways, we probably left a couple hundred dollars that night, consistiently tipping 20% and often more as encouragement for her to come back.
I can see a couple reasons why she might have avoided our table a little. One, a bunch of 18 year old boys who likely aren't going to tip well and will just get really drunk. However, Charming is 20, I'm 19 and I was sober and could have handled anything. Charming, even when drunk is still pretty sober. So she didn't have to worry if we were taking care of the money. Two, she was really freaking busy. This one only flies if we had seen her running around, which we hadn't at all. Three, she was about to get evicted, her boyfriend cheated on her and her parents just told her she was adopted. I can understand if you're having a bad day. I've had days where I have absolutely no desire to go to work, let alone smile when I'm there. But I do it anyways because that's good customer service. Whatever her reasons, I'm sure she walked away with some healthy coin in her pocket from us, even after having to share it around the staff.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard Lombardi!
I am so happy at this moment. Why? Because my glorious team is going to the Super Bowl!! Yes ladies, but mostly gentlemen, I am a die hard Packers fan. (My boyfriend can attest...) When I visited Wisconsin a few years ago, I made my dad stop and buy me a Brett Favre jersey, which is a size L and practically a dress on me. It, in addition to my Packers belt buckle (which my bro' gave to me.) are my favourite things to wear during football season. What makes this even better is that my dad is a Chicago Bears fan. You read that right. My father is a Bears fan, as are my older brother and my little sister, and I, the proud rebel, am a Packers fan. I'm not usually allowed to watch games with my dad when we play each other. I was lucky that today was such a big game.
Speaking of the game, I'll give my little highlights.
Opening drive: Hell yea, Pack score. Rodgers, as usual, passes like a champ, Sparks on the ground can't be stopped, and Aaron has feet faster than office workers on Friday.
The Field: I make endless comments on how crappy Soldier Field is. I mean really, it's shit. When Urlacher "supposedly" slipped on a tackle, I turned to my dad and said "wanna know why he slipped?" Dad just rolled his eyes. (I say supposedly because Aikman said he slipped, but on replay he clearly hadn't - it was just a fantastic deke!)
Bears D: What the hell happened? There is NO WAY we should have been able to walk all over them like that...
QBs: Oh Cutler... You spend more time on the ground than above it. Apparently he injured his knee early, which is why he didn't play the second half. Lord only knows why the Bears wanted Collins as their 2nd string - he was terrible!! Heinie (sp?) was the only Bears QB who did anything all game. And because he was inactive as the 3rd stringer, neither Cutler or Collins could have come back into the game.
All in all, it was a good game. Not too close to be a nail biter, but not so far that I got bored. my dad's even agreed to take me to the bar for the Bowl, and commented that he'd wear my Favre jersey. I told him the only way he was wearing this jersey was if he bought me an Aaron Rodgers. Which I really really want, but don't have the money for.
Also, for those of you that don't know or didn't get it, the Super Bowl trophy is called the Vince Lombardi trophy. Lombardi was a Packer coach in the 1960s - he was so good that they named the Super Bowl trophy after him. Not bad eh?
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In other news, I've been reading a blog, Hooters According to Sauce. She's an employee of a Hooters in Montana, and I think it's pretty cool! I applaud women who feel confident enough in themselves to wear those shorts and tank tops and deal with creepers all day. I personally don't have that confidence - it's slowly building, but I'm not there yet. I also realized that I've never been to a Hooters, probably because my mom was a bit of a feminist. She always insisted that I pay for at least half the date, don't let a man control me, etc. I took a lot of those values she had, but I am a rebel. I would like to go to Hooters sometime (boyfriend, do not read that as an acceptable V-Day dinner) just to get the experience. I'm also bisexual, which means I do like to appreciate girls with my boys. (For all those against homosexuality and such, I'm sorry. It's just who I am, and if you don't like it, you are more than welcome to stop reading. Please no nasty comments.) I went to Virgin Music Festival with my ex one year (we were exes at the time, but we're still on good terms.) and we spent half the day girl watching. Of course, I wouldn't do anything callous at Hooters. I understand that the girls working there are doing just that - working. I very easily could have ended up in a similar situation as them, I'm just lucky that my tech program fell into my lap. (That's a story for another post.) Still, eventually I would like to go there. Part of me would even like to visit Sauce's Hooters, just for fun. Not for stalking. I'm not creepy. I think...
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Work was one of those days that you just get completely run off your feet and you just want to drop dead when you get home. I live really close, so I'm usually able to take a half hour to go home and each lunch, but not yesterday. My PM was working with me, and he's a really nice guy, although he kind of hates Saturdays too. it seemed like everyone who rented anything in the last couple weeks decided they needed to return it. It's a bit of a hassle, but we provide a service that many people greatly appreciate.
One return in particular stands out to me. Not that it was a strange request or anything, but the cashier (who has worked at the store for at least 6 months, and knows how to do this) just had no flipping clue what was going on. And she was fucking training someone!! The way rentals work at my store are that you pay a deposit (because otherwise how do we know you'll bring it back?) then when you return it, we take the rental fee out of the deposit, and refund you the rest of the deposit. Fairly simple, right? I don't know what was up with Old Skinny Chick (new nickname) but she kept trying to charge him the deposit, then refund the charge. I had half a mind to walk behind the counter and do it for her because I've seen it so many damn times. Finally she gets it right, he leaves we move on. Until about 20 minutes later when she comes back and shows me the receipt, saying "We refunded a guy on a rental made in March??" Whoa whoa whoa. I KNOW it wasn't March, it was November. What had appeared on the receipt was the original date of rental and the cashier who was signed in: MAR 11/28/2010. What part of that looks like it was March? Yes MAR, but she's worked here long enough to know that our system prints numerical dates. Here she is, about to get me in trouble in front of my PM when I call her out on her utter stupidity. Normally I really like OSC, but I was MAD. I can do my job, she's the one not able to do hers.
I also watched Mr and Mrs Smith last night. It was awesome. And I played Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do?" on Guitar Hero and nearly cried I was so happy.
Speaking of the game, I'll give my little highlights.
Opening drive: Hell yea, Pack score. Rodgers, as usual, passes like a champ, Sparks on the ground can't be stopped, and Aaron has feet faster than office workers on Friday.
The Field: I make endless comments on how crappy Soldier Field is. I mean really, it's shit. When Urlacher "supposedly" slipped on a tackle, I turned to my dad and said "wanna know why he slipped?" Dad just rolled his eyes. (I say supposedly because Aikman said he slipped, but on replay he clearly hadn't - it was just a fantastic deke!)
Bears D: What the hell happened? There is NO WAY we should have been able to walk all over them like that...
QBs: Oh Cutler... You spend more time on the ground than above it. Apparently he injured his knee early, which is why he didn't play the second half. Lord only knows why the Bears wanted Collins as their 2nd string - he was terrible!! Heinie (sp?) was the only Bears QB who did anything all game. And because he was inactive as the 3rd stringer, neither Cutler or Collins could have come back into the game.
All in all, it was a good game. Not too close to be a nail biter, but not so far that I got bored. my dad's even agreed to take me to the bar for the Bowl, and commented that he'd wear my Favre jersey. I told him the only way he was wearing this jersey was if he bought me an Aaron Rodgers. Which I really really want, but don't have the money for.
Also, for those of you that don't know or didn't get it, the Super Bowl trophy is called the Vince Lombardi trophy. Lombardi was a Packer coach in the 1960s - he was so good that they named the Super Bowl trophy after him. Not bad eh?
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In other news, I've been reading a blog, Hooters According to Sauce. She's an employee of a Hooters in Montana, and I think it's pretty cool! I applaud women who feel confident enough in themselves to wear those shorts and tank tops and deal with creepers all day. I personally don't have that confidence - it's slowly building, but I'm not there yet. I also realized that I've never been to a Hooters, probably because my mom was a bit of a feminist. She always insisted that I pay for at least half the date, don't let a man control me, etc. I took a lot of those values she had, but I am a rebel. I would like to go to Hooters sometime (boyfriend, do not read that as an acceptable V-Day dinner) just to get the experience. I'm also bisexual, which means I do like to appreciate girls with my boys. (For all those against homosexuality and such, I'm sorry. It's just who I am, and if you don't like it, you are more than welcome to stop reading. Please no nasty comments.) I went to Virgin Music Festival with my ex one year (we were exes at the time, but we're still on good terms.) and we spent half the day girl watching. Of course, I wouldn't do anything callous at Hooters. I understand that the girls working there are doing just that - working. I very easily could have ended up in a similar situation as them, I'm just lucky that my tech program fell into my lap. (That's a story for another post.) Still, eventually I would like to go there. Part of me would even like to visit Sauce's Hooters, just for fun. Not for stalking. I'm not creepy. I think...
-
Work was one of those days that you just get completely run off your feet and you just want to drop dead when you get home. I live really close, so I'm usually able to take a half hour to go home and each lunch, but not yesterday. My PM was working with me, and he's a really nice guy, although he kind of hates Saturdays too. it seemed like everyone who rented anything in the last couple weeks decided they needed to return it. It's a bit of a hassle, but we provide a service that many people greatly appreciate.
One return in particular stands out to me. Not that it was a strange request or anything, but the cashier (who has worked at the store for at least 6 months, and knows how to do this) just had no flipping clue what was going on. And she was fucking training someone!! The way rentals work at my store are that you pay a deposit (because otherwise how do we know you'll bring it back?) then when you return it, we take the rental fee out of the deposit, and refund you the rest of the deposit. Fairly simple, right? I don't know what was up with Old Skinny Chick (new nickname) but she kept trying to charge him the deposit, then refund the charge. I had half a mind to walk behind the counter and do it for her because I've seen it so many damn times. Finally she gets it right, he leaves we move on. Until about 20 minutes later when she comes back and shows me the receipt, saying "We refunded a guy on a rental made in March??" Whoa whoa whoa. I KNOW it wasn't March, it was November. What had appeared on the receipt was the original date of rental and the cashier who was signed in: MAR 11/28/2010. What part of that looks like it was March? Yes MAR, but she's worked here long enough to know that our system prints numerical dates. Here she is, about to get me in trouble in front of my PM when I call her out on her utter stupidity. Normally I really like OSC, but I was MAD. I can do my job, she's the one not able to do hers.
I also watched Mr and Mrs Smith last night. It was awesome. And I played Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do?" on Guitar Hero and nearly cried I was so happy.
Friday, January 21, 2011
North by Northwest
Sorry it's been a few days - there's been a massive weather change in Calgary and it's been giving me awful migraines. I definitely have had some stories to tell and things to rant about, but I've forgotten a few, so I'll do my best.
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*rant*
I'm in a film studies class, and we spend one half of our class time watching movies. Some woman yesterday decided that instead of watching the movie she's paying 800$ for, she would instead pull out her phone and text/check Facebook for over two hours. My best friend was sitting next to me, between me and her, otherwise I would have flipped on her. Honestly, why are you paying for this class if you're not going to bother to pay attention during it?! Once we finished the movie, we had our lecture section where we analysed the movie in context of our new chapter. This same woman decided that instead of taking notes, she would fill out her application for a University of Calgary Mastercard. So, no big deal, she'll just waste her time, take up a spot for someone who might actually WANT to be in class...
Speaking of Film class, my prof really understand how to speak... She will be continuing on her sentence, rambling about *takes drink of water* fireplaces are warm. I don't understand her trains of thought...
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Speaking of rants...
Justin Bieber. I don't like Biebs. At all. Whatsoever. I just watched a Proactiv commercial where he says, "There's a few things you can't change as a teenager. Your feet get bigger, can't change that, your hormones go crazy, I don't wanna stop that!" I think my ears burst into flame. I just have no words for how awful that sounded... Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.
/rants
In Film we watched Hitchcock's North by Northwest, which I fell completely in love with. So far I've really enjoyed the movies we've been watching, both of them. :P Run Lola Run or in the original German, Lola Rennt. It's a very interesting film if anyone likes foreign films. North by Northwest is really fantastic. Lots of great plot twists and just a whole lot of fantastic all around. I'm sure I'll eventually get bored of the movies, but right now I'm enjoying them.
I might find other topics to discuss later today. We shall see!
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*rant*
I'm in a film studies class, and we spend one half of our class time watching movies. Some woman yesterday decided that instead of watching the movie she's paying 800$ for, she would instead pull out her phone and text/check Facebook for over two hours. My best friend was sitting next to me, between me and her, otherwise I would have flipped on her. Honestly, why are you paying for this class if you're not going to bother to pay attention during it?! Once we finished the movie, we had our lecture section where we analysed the movie in context of our new chapter. This same woman decided that instead of taking notes, she would fill out her application for a University of Calgary Mastercard. So, no big deal, she'll just waste her time, take up a spot for someone who might actually WANT to be in class...
Speaking of Film class, my prof really understand how to speak... She will be continuing on her sentence, rambling about *takes drink of water* fireplaces are warm. I don't understand her trains of thought...
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Speaking of rants...
Justin Bieber. I don't like Biebs. At all. Whatsoever. I just watched a Proactiv commercial where he says, "There's a few things you can't change as a teenager. Your feet get bigger, can't change that, your hormones go crazy, I don't wanna stop that!" I think my ears burst into flame. I just have no words for how awful that sounded... Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.
/rants
In Film we watched Hitchcock's North by Northwest, which I fell completely in love with. So far I've really enjoyed the movies we've been watching, both of them. :P Run Lola Run or in the original German, Lola Rennt. It's a very interesting film if anyone likes foreign films. North by Northwest is really fantastic. Lots of great plot twists and just a whole lot of fantastic all around. I'm sure I'll eventually get bored of the movies, but right now I'm enjoying them.
I might find other topics to discuss later today. We shall see!
Monday, January 17, 2011
TV shows, Music and Marzipan.
Today I watched more primetime TV than I'm normally used to. I often work evenings at the pharmacy, but House and Lie To Me are both on after I get home. So tonight i watched House, the new one where he meets Cuddy's mother. Pretty hilarious, honestly. And the patient was interesting, I do find that sometimes the writers get really bored and don't have as complicated diseases. After House was Lie To Me. One of my favourite shows, honestly, I just don't always have the time to watch it. Again, one of the more fascinating episodes I've ever seen. I would love to be a behavourial whatever those guys are, except that I don't really like psychology.
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On to music! I was enjoying some good Canadian classics in The Tragically Hip this morning, starting with Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park, which suddenly became the Daft Punk Tron: Legacy soundtrack. I was never aware of Daft Punk any more that the singles that came on the radio. I realized with TRON: Legacy that I really do enjoy electronica music. I wasn't sure - I've listened to my friends' Deadmau5, and I just don't like it... Maybe it's just the one artist. In any case, I'm going to give electronica and house music more oppourtunities - if anyone knows a good album/band/artist please let me know.
I absolutely adore music, I just don't have the drive to study it, although I used to. (I took piano lessons for almost ten years and was in school bands for six.) I'm always keen to try listening to a new style or artist, but I'm also opinionated, so sometimes I just shut it down. Like Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber. I understand that many people really enjoy their music, and that it's a good style for the masses, I just prefer music that has real instruments and/or is a little different. THe canned stuff going on the radio all the time drives me crazy. Some of it I do enjoy, but much of it sounds the same. I honestly could not tell the difference between Bruno Mars and Justin Beiber for a couple singles. I'm a little bit of a snob that way.
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I found the last marzipan potatoe in the house today. I was so happy. If you don't know what marzipan is, it's essentially an almond paste that is sugared and shaped or covered in chocolate. I really really really love marzipan. I think it's fantastic. If you haven't experienced it, suggest finding your local German food shop (in Calgary the best place to go is Edelweiss Deli) and looking in the candy section.
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I really love all my classes at school, but sometimes I get so bored... for example, my Greek and Roman Studies class. The class is called "Classical Mythology and Literature." I know a lot of people would find that really boring, but it's a very interesting subject. My prof is just very very dull. I nearly fell asleep twice. It's always so sad when a fascinating subject is spoken about by a poor speaker...
My history class is currently discussing the Mongol Empire. I never thought I'd be as interested as I am! My concentration for my degree is European history, as much as I can from 1850 to 1950; imagine my surprise at being almost too interested to write notes today. The prof really does make a difference. If the prof likes what they're talking about, it makes a huge difference for the class.
In other school-related news, I'm officially going to be Stage Managing a show for the "taking flight" shows, which are directed entirely by students who are graduating either this year or next, i'm not sure which... Anyways, I'm really excited. I used to act, and even studied it for a little while, but I couldn't handle some of the work expected of me. I eventually tried my hand at stage management, and i really like it. I may get back into acting in the near future, but right now I"m happy calling the shots backstage. For those of you that don't know, the stage manager is basically second only to the director in regards to a specific show. They dictate when breaks are taken, how long they are, who needs to be where at what time, the deadlines that need to be met and basically organize everything. When the show goes up (begins) they "call" the show meaning they tell the technicians when to change to which lighting or sound cue at which point. It's a really really enjoyable job, more so than I thought it would be.
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On to music! I was enjoying some good Canadian classics in The Tragically Hip this morning, starting with Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park, which suddenly became the Daft Punk Tron: Legacy soundtrack. I was never aware of Daft Punk any more that the singles that came on the radio. I realized with TRON: Legacy that I really do enjoy electronica music. I wasn't sure - I've listened to my friends' Deadmau5, and I just don't like it... Maybe it's just the one artist. In any case, I'm going to give electronica and house music more oppourtunities - if anyone knows a good album/band/artist please let me know.
I absolutely adore music, I just don't have the drive to study it, although I used to. (I took piano lessons for almost ten years and was in school bands for six.) I'm always keen to try listening to a new style or artist, but I'm also opinionated, so sometimes I just shut it down. Like Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber. I understand that many people really enjoy their music, and that it's a good style for the masses, I just prefer music that has real instruments and/or is a little different. THe canned stuff going on the radio all the time drives me crazy. Some of it I do enjoy, but much of it sounds the same. I honestly could not tell the difference between Bruno Mars and Justin Beiber for a couple singles. I'm a little bit of a snob that way.
-
I found the last marzipan potatoe in the house today. I was so happy. If you don't know what marzipan is, it's essentially an almond paste that is sugared and shaped or covered in chocolate. I really really really love marzipan. I think it's fantastic. If you haven't experienced it, suggest finding your local German food shop (in Calgary the best place to go is Edelweiss Deli) and looking in the candy section.
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I really love all my classes at school, but sometimes I get so bored... for example, my Greek and Roman Studies class. The class is called "Classical Mythology and Literature." I know a lot of people would find that really boring, but it's a very interesting subject. My prof is just very very dull. I nearly fell asleep twice. It's always so sad when a fascinating subject is spoken about by a poor speaker...
My history class is currently discussing the Mongol Empire. I never thought I'd be as interested as I am! My concentration for my degree is European history, as much as I can from 1850 to 1950; imagine my surprise at being almost too interested to write notes today. The prof really does make a difference. If the prof likes what they're talking about, it makes a huge difference for the class.
In other school-related news, I'm officially going to be Stage Managing a show for the "taking flight" shows, which are directed entirely by students who are graduating either this year or next, i'm not sure which... Anyways, I'm really excited. I used to act, and even studied it for a little while, but I couldn't handle some of the work expected of me. I eventually tried my hand at stage management, and i really like it. I may get back into acting in the near future, but right now I"m happy calling the shots backstage. For those of you that don't know, the stage manager is basically second only to the director in regards to a specific show. They dictate when breaks are taken, how long they are, who needs to be where at what time, the deadlines that need to be met and basically organize everything. When the show goes up (begins) they "call" the show meaning they tell the technicians when to change to which lighting or sound cue at which point. It's a really really enjoyable job, more so than I thought it would be.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Cooking in the family.
So today my family participated in a cooking class that my older sister bought us for Christmas. It was titled "French Farmhouse Cooking" and was a lot of fun. We essentially had 30 people at two tables working on two recipes that the entire class ate at the end. When you put my family in a kitchen, we are awesome. Dad got the cooking genes from his mother and bar-be-queing from his father. (Oma & Opa) Mom also loves to cook, and bakes quite a bit. My little sister and I love to bake, and my older sister has learned to like cooking since she lives on her own. (My older brother would have joined us, but he's currently living in Berlin.)
We had a fantastic time cooking, and met some really nice people. Half our group made Coquiles Saint Jacques and Chicken Bouillbaisse. Our half of the group made Salmon wrapped in puff pastry (I forget it's real name) and Apple tart with Creme Anglaise. I took over on the tart because that's what I do. I bake. Our instructor told us that cooking is inexact and baking is exact. I heartily disagree. Baking is exactish. When I'm baking at the Park, I follow the measurements when I can. Only one of the houses has exact measuring cups, so in the Livingston house I have to guesstimate, which is actually really fun. So today I ended up accidentally grabbing the wrong-sized measuring cups and faked it from there. It actually came out really nicely all the same.
All the food was incredibly delicious. It's worth getting a cooking class with friends, or going as a couple as a fun day out. I guess they can get expensive, but I think they're worth the money.
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In other news, I'm watching the Golden Globes and Jim Parsons just won for best actor in a comedy. The Big Bang Theory is my favourite show in the world and I'm so happy he won!!!
We had a fantastic time cooking, and met some really nice people. Half our group made Coquiles Saint Jacques and Chicken Bouillbaisse. Our half of the group made Salmon wrapped in puff pastry (I forget it's real name) and Apple tart with Creme Anglaise. I took over on the tart because that's what I do. I bake. Our instructor told us that cooking is inexact and baking is exact. I heartily disagree. Baking is exactish. When I'm baking at the Park, I follow the measurements when I can. Only one of the houses has exact measuring cups, so in the Livingston house I have to guesstimate, which is actually really fun. So today I ended up accidentally grabbing the wrong-sized measuring cups and faked it from there. It actually came out really nicely all the same.
All the food was incredibly delicious. It's worth getting a cooking class with friends, or going as a couple as a fun day out. I guess they can get expensive, but I think they're worth the money.
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In other news, I'm watching the Golden Globes and Jim Parsons just won for best actor in a comedy. The Big Bang Theory is my favourite show in the world and I'm so happy he won!!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Superman, Super Awesome.
Although I am a self proclaimed geek, I am rather ashamed to admit that until tonight I have never watched Superman. Shocking, I know. I've watched the more recent geeky movies, all the Star Trek movies and all the Star Wars, albeit I block out memories of a few episodes of the latter.
In any case, my boyfriend decided tonight that he would show me the original Superman movies and my god, how have I gone through life never watching them?? When I used to watch movies with my family (Friday or Saturday ritual; the opposite night was family game night) I had to generally watch things we would all agree on. My mother and sister tend to like romantic movies, where my dad and I liked action. Sis, Dad and I like sports movies, where Mom likes... more alternative styles. Example, The Bicycle. Essentially, two Chinese men are fighting over ownership of a bicycle. One ends up killing a third man over it. That's all I remember, because the rest was so damn boring and confusing. Or, The Hanging Garden. It sounds like something interesting, maybe the main character is disabled, but finds solace in tending their hanging garden. Nope. Dude hangs himself in the garden. Pleasant.
Anyways, Superman. I have fallen completely in love with him. And with Clark Kent. But mostly Clark Kent. He's like an adorable little lost puppy, and he just makes me giggle. Superman is awesome too, because he Superman mo' fo. (can I save grace and say I was using that ironically? I'm going with that.) My boyfriend is a fan of Batman, but I think I'm a firm Superman lover. Sorry dear. That's just the way it is.
In any case, my boyfriend decided tonight that he would show me the original Superman movies and my god, how have I gone through life never watching them?? When I used to watch movies with my family (Friday or Saturday ritual; the opposite night was family game night) I had to generally watch things we would all agree on. My mother and sister tend to like romantic movies, where my dad and I liked action. Sis, Dad and I like sports movies, where Mom likes... more alternative styles. Example, The Bicycle. Essentially, two Chinese men are fighting over ownership of a bicycle. One ends up killing a third man over it. That's all I remember, because the rest was so damn boring and confusing. Or, The Hanging Garden. It sounds like something interesting, maybe the main character is disabled, but finds solace in tending their hanging garden. Nope. Dude hangs himself in the garden. Pleasant.
Anyways, Superman. I have fallen completely in love with him. And with Clark Kent. But mostly Clark Kent. He's like an adorable little lost puppy, and he just makes me giggle. Superman is awesome too, because he Superman mo' fo. (can I save grace and say I was using that ironically? I'm going with that.) My boyfriend is a fan of Batman, but I think I'm a firm Superman lover. Sorry dear. That's just the way it is.
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