Skirting the Mundane

Sorry for the lollybloggery. I try to update, I do, but sometimes I just don't have anything interesting to say! And this weekend I was gone, so I couldn't update. It was quite pleasant -- the Easter trip to Toronto with Katherine. I met her fambly and all, they were quite awesome. We left Thursday with Emily and Nathanael, and made a record slow time, stopping at regular intervals for chips. Emily and Nathanael dropped us off at about 11 p.m. We missed the chance to visit her dad at the Toronto Island ferry, where he works, but I said hi to Mrs. Millard and Becca, Katherine's little sister, and her dad got home soon after our arrival. Her little brother Ben produced a copy of The Wall and we watched it and were thoroughly freaked out ("Oh! Bob's going into the room... there's someone there! Who is it? Who? It's... It's... It's... It's BOB!"). It was weird enough that I'm really glad we weren't high, although apparently if we had wanted to be, Ben could have hooked us up with a potato bong.

Friday we went for a little tour of the city. We saw a lot of really nice neighbourhoods and drove through Yorkville and Church Street, funky little areas both. We parked at the Distillery district and took a slightly chilly stroll around the new ceramics workshops and fabric looms and such that are being installed there. Mum would have loved to be there, although she probably would have come away with several hundred dollars worth of hand-woven fabric. Katherine and I took a walk on Yonge Street and then in the park in the afternoon and met some of her grown-up friends. We stopped in at HMV and I bought the album The Wall. It is so, so, so great. That evening we went out to a movie with them (Bride and Prejudice -- Awesome!). They are a highly amusing group. Jackie reminds me of my cousin Colleen in some ways. She told a story about her family's trip to Austria -- there they were, with two little kids, walking up a mountainside, and some Austrian teenagers heard them speaking English and decided to show off their English skills. Sadly, this meant that they yelled "Fuck you! I love you! Bull-Shit!" over the ledge, down onto the anglo tourists. "Fuck you! I love you! Bull-Shit!" has become our motto.

Saturday was Shopping Day. First, though, we went to make tiramisu with Josie, a very nice woman and our hostess for dinner that night. After mascarpone-and-frangelico deliciousness we took the subway to H&M, at which point I almost died because there were cool things there. The store was insanely crowded, seeing as it was Saturday. We fled the mob by going to Chinatown and Kensington Market. Irony of ironies. Anyway, after a walk past some pungent Asian grocery stores and about a dozen places selling furs (why?) we arrived at the abundance of funky vintage stores that is the Market. Most enjoyable. I came within a whisker of getting an authentic sea captain's cloak dealie, but then remembered that I don't actually, you know, wear stuff like that. No matter how awesome it is, I always feel like I'm playing dressup. Katherine bought a very nice corduroy blazer for about $20 and, thank heavens, it fits me too. I picked up three pashmina thingees. I figure one for me, one for Mum, and one for Elise. After that it was back to Josie and Mark's place for a raucous and awesome dinner party for ten. There were two dogs and a baby, so I was happy.

Easter Sunday we attended Anglican church, and it was a bit different (d'oh, different denominations of Christianity) but very nice. The church had an ORGAN and was clearly determined to use it as much as possible. The Anglican way of doing Communion is a gong show, though. You go all the way to the altar and kneel at the little railing in front of it, all in a row, and get the bread and wine from the clergy stationed behind the railing. Doesn't sound complicated until you realize that people don't seem to get served or kneel in any particular order. In Katherine's words, "man, there's just bread and wine flying everywhere!" The upshot of all this is that, if the deacon is not paying attention, it is possible to kneel for ten minutes unnoticed. It would be fine if people would just kneel one by one. It is time to draft a policy about this, methinks. Anyway, the service was really nice and the church is gorgeous. After church we went to a little family brunch, where I discovered that, due to the merger of the St. James and Bond Street Anglican churches, there is now a church called St. James Bond Anglican. Awesome.

Katherine and I shipped out shortly after that, saving Ben from the brunch by insisting that he escort us on the walk home. We said goodbye to the Millards as Nathanael and Emily pulled into the driveway. The jolly caravan drove on, stopping for dinner in Napanee. We paid tribute to its cultural heritage by shouting Complicated as we pulled off the highway. I'm sure that photos will be posted soon, because some of them are too retarded not to put up here. Although there are fewer than there could be, on account of me leaving my camera in Nate's car Thursday night. So really it's just four dumb kids running around a Napanee parking lot. Good fun anyway, no?

Since the weekend it's been pretty quiet. The weather has been gorgeous the past few days. Yesterday afternoon Katherine and I took a walk up to Bank Street and came back along the canal, meeting and actually conversing with Hobo Ian, who has just bought the new Beck CD and thus was as psyched as Hobo Ian ever gets. Last night I went running and then over to Jacob's for dinner. We improvised an alfredo sauce and made some garlic bread -- yummy! I'm currently in the first half-hour of my 30 Hour Famine, and I have a public affairs assignment to do for tomorrow, my second-last. I cannot believe the year is almost over. I'm starting to get nervous about apartment-hunting, but I'm sure something will turn up. It's starting to feel like time to go home. Katie came on MSN last night and I talked to her, which I hadn't done for a really long time, and now I'm all ready to go back.

Time for lollygagging and procrastination! Here is a tale for you: Hot Professor was being adorable in class today. He apologized for not having our stuff ready to hand back today. Iti's not like I minded that it was supposedly late. I mean, the date won't change our mark. But he felt so bad that unless he hands them back Monday he will "take a bite of this chalk". And do so with an awesome accent, while telling stories about how this one Iron Maiden song, "Two Minutes to Midnight", is actually about the Cold War and the Doomsday Clock. He is revealing himself as something of a rock aficionado nowadays, with our brief discussion of the role of the new spirit of liberation on various anti-communist rebellions in Eastern Europe. Oh, stop it, Hot Professor. You're making me weak in the knees.
Curiously, Katherine returned from a conversation with him bearing exactly the same report as Indra did: "He's so tall! And he has green eyes, and he looks you right in the eeeeeye and he answers e-mails with "Cheers! M.Z.M."!" It's hilarious.

Life is pretty good. I have vast amounts of work and don't know when I'm going to do my laundry, but other than that I am am fairly happy. Last night was Fried Food Night (mmm, fried tofu with French fries!) and I feel slightly gross. Excuse me while I go in search of coffee in preparation for class. Not that I actually fall asleep in history, though. It's most to get ready for French class. Although, look at me go, I actually got a full night's sleep last night and therefore feel fabulous despite the greasy food.

This just in: I am a jeenyus! I managed to schedule a cross-country practice for a time when Jacob is in history class and I myself will be on the way to Toronto in the Planter (for that is Nathanael's car's name. Hey, it used to be his grandma's and his grandma liked gardening and vanity plates). Phool that I am. I mean, I'm not usually good about dates, but I can usually remember whether I'll actually be in town or not. Oh well. This week should be hellish again anyway because once again I frittered away my weekend on socialization. Now I have assignments due for econ and public affairs and an essay for French. And I'm still behind in typing up my notes.

There is a decided lack of Emo Boy-osity going on outside. Booh! Overall, though, today has been good. In choir we worked on the Magnificat, which is, basically, the rockinest Latin Mass ever written. Everybody loves it, and I am right up at the head of the cheerleaders for it because it's so darn catchy and awesome. Even the Emo Boys would appreciate it, although I understand they prefer to express their pain note by note.

Your element is Earth: Stubborn and loyal, you tend
to want to nurture others and you are the
person friends always come to for advice or
just someone to listen. You do not easily show
your emotions in most settings, but you try to
help. Often thought of as stable and practical
you can have trouble with non-tangible ideas.
You are skilled with/like using your hands and
I hate to say it because of the pun, but you
are down to earth. Without you and others like
you, people would be flying off the edge. A
sure voice of sanity in this crazy world, you
are strong in your silence and if you set your
mind on something, you will often pursue it to
the end. Sometimes though; you just want to
get away, but no matter what happens, the earth
keeps turning.


What's your Element?
brought to you by Quizilla

Sorry about that blank post/link, folks. It may have been a profound statement about the circular nature of human behaviour and how we always seem to come back to the same place, but it was most likely just a cock-up. Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all, and I remind you all to stay away from the green beer, it is not your friend. It has been a relatively good Saint Patrick's Day, I suppose, despite the fact that I have eaten almost no protein (mmm, dinners composed of bread and pasta!). The only bad thing was this: there is a pair of hazel eyes. One glance from them puts my chest in a vise, I suddenly feel like my hands and feet and front teeth are bigger than they should be, I can't speak properly. The owner of that pair of eyes asked someone else out. He doesn't know me well. He probably never will. Talk about coming back to the same place.

Long time, no update. The past two weeks have been madness itself, and now I am looking forward to one lovely weekend of typing up notes, going out to the Bayou, running a 10k, and snowboarding. Last night was fun: I watched Empire Records (the special extended edition!) with Indra and Katherine, and then went and watched some of Jon Stewart interspersed with The O.C. because that's what everybody else in the TV lounge wanted to watch. Last week some of the boys in the lounge wanted to watch this thing called... I don't know. UFC: The Ultimate Fighter or UFC: Asskickingly Homoerotic or something, so we had to switch to that during the commercials. I tell ya, The Daily Show suffers when you intersperse the political satire with burly men pounding each other to smithereens.

And now, for an utterly pleasant breakfast/lunch/food thing, most likely by myself, in my pajamas, with a good book. I have yet to decide between The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Dancing Backwards: A Social History of Canadian Women in Politics. Either way, it should be a good time. Yesterday I managed to go without eating even one meal at the cafeteria, and I was a happy girl because the caf is deteriorating rapidly into utter grossness.

And now, more from guest writer Katherine M!

The Continuing Adventures of Katherine and Jessica (Or How University Makes One's Life Become Sad and Pitiful, Alternatively, What Happened to What I Used to Be?, in Other Words, The Diary of Lameness...Just Kidding...Kinda...) Part III

The continuing adventures of Jessica and Katherine, now coming to you from MS Word (yo) because the margins on wordpad are aggravating Katherine’s OCD. When we last left our conquering heroes, they were in the midst of battling an overwheming onslaught of the male species. Not actually so much they as Jessica, but as aforemetioned, if you read this diary closely, Jessica is nice and makes everyone feel welcome, and Katherine hates most people and is prickly (in a social sense, for you with the dirty minds). It is important to note at this jucture that an “overwhelming onslaught” of the male species is not necessarily a bad thing, except in this case where Jessica seems to attract a large amount of, oh, how should we put it – less than desirables. This was despite Katherine’s continued attempts to be mean and snarky to them. For some reason this did not deter them, yet it appears patience has paid off. Men seem to be fleeing from Jessica whenever Katherine makes her “I will make sure you never have children” face (believe me, it scares even the most bravest among us, it is really one of the great mysteries of the world how someone so ravishingly beautiful as Katherine can make others flee in terror). And so, our protagonists would appear to be temporarily between missions. But do not fear good reader, as the most loyal of you know, our champions are always occupied with a bevy of secret missions, the contents of which are not safe to divulge to even the most trustworthy among you. However, rest assured that when Katherine and Jessica have been debriefed and can tell of their adventures without worrying about the safety of their loved ones, you will hear it here first, or possibly in a Billboard Hot 100 song. The copyright is being worked out among the lawyers. Alas, I digress. So, what are our favourite bombshells up to now? Well, I must be brief as I am running out of room, on the one pitiful page I am allocated to record these events which are changing humanity as we speak. Yet, don’t despair - more to come in the next edition. Yet for now I will say this: not a hell of a lot. Unless you count everyday things of little importance such as school and showering and tormenting men. Wait. What’s that I hear?! You will never believe this: Katherine and Jessica have just… I apologize profusely I must leave you now, this is something terribly important and the fate of the free world is now in my hands, but stay strong, dear reader, I will return soon and your curiousity will be satisfied. End Part III.

A Very Special Day
We have now seen the Emo Boys seven days in a row! What rockingness. And my New York Times online subscription has once more been useful for school. It has informed me that the White House wants a bunch of hyperconservative, anti-environment nutbars for the Supreme Court. The Democrats would filibuster to block these appointments, because they don't have the votes to get the appointments turned down. The White House is, therefore, considering changing Senate rules to prohibit filibustering for Supreme Court appointments, thereby enraging the Democratic minority and certain select Republican senators (John McCain, Olympia Snowe, and Lincoln Chafee, for instance, and good on them). The Bushies also want to make the nominations confirmable with only 51 senators' votes instead of, I believe, the traditional two-thirds majority. Skeezy! Also, when there is (God willing) a Democratic majority again, can you imagine the pissing and moaning those same Rethuglicans are going to be doing about Democrats violating that same tradition? I can imagine it quite easily, and just threw up a bit in my mouth thinking about it. Anyway, I'm using that in my essay as an example of how parliamentary involvement in the appointments can turn everything into a big crazy partisan sideshow, and that this is bad for the judiciary because it makes it political rather than attempting to maintain even the pretense of evenhandedness and reason.

I suppose I don't really need to post my whole damn' essay on the Internet, though. Go about your business.

I feel like myself again. How dispiriting. All the little things about myself that I didn't like at home are happening again here, because I left my home behind, not myself. I guess that means I brought the good characteristics, too. It's just that I thought Grownup University Jessica would be different than the one on the Prairie.

Last night was another Keener Squad adventure. The Squad (Emily, Katherine, Yuna, and I) went out to the Bayou with Nathanael and Notl. We had a fabulous time, with much crazy dancing and other joy. Nathanael's nice friends Ben and Corinne from the music department came out, too. Ben and Corinne are most excellent. Ben is the one who flirts with all the girls, thereby making us feel special. We appreciate his efforts. He also showed off his mad opera singin' skillz. And Corinne and I did some rockin' line dancing with Notl. Oh, those music faculty folks. We made the band's night. From home, I have brought my enthusiasm and some dance moves of ultimate coolness.

Before the Bayou was a three-and-a-half-hour Hull run with Jacob, after which res security caught me with six bottles of beer and made me take them off-campus or pour them out. That will teach me to try to be a cool roomie by getting some Stella Artois as a surprise for Indra's upcoming birthday. I am trying to persuade myself that I forgot we're not allowed to have beer bottles in res. Apparently coolers and peach schnapps are okay, though. But the incident has served to remind me that one of the things I brought from home was an incredible propensity to get caught. Anytime I so much as toe the line, it seems, I get busted.

And today I have (once again) flaked out on Jacob and will likely flake out on Mike and/or Jacob next weekend, because I am a big, big flake. I brought that from home, too, the flakiness.

Today is a banner day because we have seen the Emo Boys six days in a row, trouncing our previous streak of three days. And today The Poser smiled at Katherine and said hello to me! Senor Bowtie continues to make death faces at us.

Just a moment ago, as I was trying to yank a little more leeway out of my ethernet cable, I found a page of his eulogy between my desk and the wall. I'd had to take it down from the wall because I couldn't get anything done with it up, I'd just sit and read it. But I guess one escaped. This week, I'd forgotten that they were ever solid, talking people. I'd just been drifting around in a fog of sleep deprivation and feeling my life turning into fairy stories that happened to someone else. But a good night's sleep and a piece of paper have made everything feel real again. I'm glad it's real again, I think. Without having a grain of sadness in us, we don't know when we're feeling good.

I feel heavy and dense and my head is lolling.

Please prove the following equation:
A late political science essay = The end of the world
You can't, can you? It's only going to lose 5% this week, so I'm just going to hand it in next week. Because if I hand it in in its current condition, I will fail out hardcore from poli sci.

The second of two concerts for choir was today. Now we don't have any more performances until April 24, when we will be doing some of my favourite parts of our repertoire. Joy. The audience for this show was adorable. It was mostly little kids on school trips. The maestro started doing the old "getting to know the orchestra" bit where he introduces the different instruments and their sounds. The kids were receiving the information, but I'm not sure if they were spellbound or anything. Then he had the two bassoonists stand and show their instruments to the audience, and as one, all the kids went "oooooh!". So now the bassoonists feel like super-stallions and the coolest instruments in the orchestra, even cooler than the double bass, mmmhmm. I felt happy for them.

The rest of today has been pretty good. A call from Mikey B. has prevented my and Indra's mutual nap from lasting until morning (we schedule our naptimes, like good obsessive-compulsives). Now I have an econ project to do, so maybe I should do that.

Indra is still not back. She left with Johnson like three hours ago. And I think that's a ground rule that most people acknowledge freely. Also, they were good enough to eventually leave the room in order to mack it up, a fact for which I am eternally grateful. As I said to Katherine, "I don't care who's friends with benefits, as long as no-one benefits on my bed." And so, to bed.

Aaaand it is officially time to turn the music up louder. Louder still. I am so scared to turn around just now. Louder still.

In other news, I have broken my Lenten resolution but good -- Katherine's evil mother made evil oatmeal chocolate chip cookies... of SATAN. But they were really good (thanks, Katherine's mum!).

AGH there is so much work to do and French projects and poli sci papers and choir concerts and econ assignments and sleep is bad and I am going to be doing the next three days on a total of twelve hours of sleep if I am lucky and AGH. Just AGH.