Third Day

It's better now! :-) The initial overwhelment has gone down a little bit, and I am feeling somewhat more confident. Nipissing is a tiny university, but it has one of the most confusing building layouts I've ever seen. It's literally like a labrinth here! And yet, I could probably find my way to the Tim Hortons even if you blindfolded me, haha. In fact, Timmis the only place where I actually don't mind standing in line to get my regular 'double-milk-one-sugar' energy rush every morning. For that I will stand in line...voluntarily. Because to me, coffee is key.

I spent the last 2 days sitting through laptop workshops. Nothing special nor interesting. Kind of boring even. I'm still waiting for a placement for my Practicum, and it's quite frustrating not to know where I'm going to spend next week, as well as 3.5 months of the program..

Tomorrow I plan to search around for a nearby laundry facility. After that I'll probably jump on a bus and explore the city a little bit. There's a NoFrills not too far away that I'd like to check out.

No classes tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll find lots of stuff to keep me busy.

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P.S. This e-mail has been typed from my very own and very new laptop computer. :-)

First Day

First day in North Bay...and what a day it's been!! :-) Before I talk about it though, I think I'll go back and write a bit about my arrival, my first impressions, and my new lodging.

So here goes...

I left London with my parents on Sunday around 11 am. All in all, it took us 7 hours to get here!! That's mainly due to the many stops that we took (Costco, gas, Tim Hortons) because normally, it should "only" take 6 hours. :-) The drive up here was very scenic, and for the most part even fun (okay, fun is not something that I usually associate with my parents, but this time they really rocked!). :-)

Once at Marlene's (my landlady), I was shown to my room. Was it what I had expected it to be? Well, that's hard to say now, because having seen it already, I no longer remember what my expectation actually was. But let me describe: Marlene, a single, divorced woman of about 55, lives in a 2 story cottage-looking house in a pretty cottage-looking area. The house is situated on a tiny, dead-end street in the northern outskirt of the city. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere...but close to campus, which is a big plus. The street itself has only 3 houses on it is surrounded by a forest/bush. It's feels a bit like living out in the wilderness. :-) Right on that first day, I was warned to put all "edible garbage" into the locked-up trash container to keep...*gasp*...BEARS (!) away. That's scary.. Marlene's reminder that bears usually hibernate in the wintertime was only a small comfort.

The room itself is alright -- about 12x12 feet and furnished. The furniture is antique and it has that "old" smell to it, which is why I decided not to organise my clothes in the drawers, opting instead to keep them in my suitcase (I figure that walking around campus smelling like old 'moth-bally' furniture will probably not score me many friends). What surprised me a little was that the room was FULL of photographs of Marlene's children -- her daughter, her son, her son-in-law.. You know, I think that if I was renting out a room to a student (or anyone, for that matter), I'd be kind enough to remove all traces of my personal photographs from his/her room so that he/she can add some personal intimacy to their new space, and not feel like they're intruding on someone else's private terrain. Because after all, I'm paying her my hard-earned money for that room, and so I think it's common sense that I want to feel more-or-less at home in it. Having her daughter's wedding photo on my counter does not exactly make me feel very "welcome". Not wanting to hurt my landlady's feelings, I casually moved all the photographs to the far-end corner of the room (instead of stashing them away). This must have gotten the point across to her, because she then hid them in a drawer. I was very glad. :-)

Overall, the room is full of kitchy, flea market-style things like stuffed animals, old-fashioned brushes & mirrors, antique porcelain figurines, etc. Not really in my taste, but I can live with it I guess. The other slightly bothersome thing about that room is is that my windows do not have curtains. Although Marlene tried to assure me that nobody comes there to peek, I feel uncomfortable with bare windows in a foresty, wild area. So I've already decided to cover them up with a large sheet & empty pillow-case in the evenings.

My bathroom is very nice and clean, and my kitchen is still under construction, although it should be ready to use in about 2 weeks (so I'm told). Overall impression of the house -- Good. Overall impression of the landlady -- picky & controlling (especially when it comes to my living space -- she has already told me how much she dislikes an "unmade bed" and disorder...personally, I feel that since I'm paying her, I should have a right to a messy room because after all, it's my private space now, isn't it?...not that I want a messy room, but still.). Somehow I sense that she's not as kind-hearted as she seems on the surface...and I'm very sorry to write that. Of course, having just met her, I could be totally wrong. This is just my first impression. I very much hope I'm wrong! I will spend a total of 18 weeks living in her house so it would help if we could get along and not get on each other's nerves. :-)

Contrary to Bell's promise, I did not get my phone activated today. I was very disappointed.. *sniff* I called their Customer Service from a pay phone and was told that someone may stop by the house tomorrow and have a look at the system...but only if they are still having difficulty activating the phone from their networks. I hope all goes smoothly because I really want to talk to Holger, my family, and my friends.. I'm already missing everyone and it's only been a DAY!!

And as to my first day of Orientation at Nipissing...ahh, let me just say that it was a looong day with lots of running around, line-ups and boring assemblies. I think I'll leave the details for another time. I'm very tired now and I think I'll head home soon.

I'm sorry that this entry has a somewhat negative feel to it. Hopefully I'll have some brighter news to report tomorrow. :-)

kidney & bladder cake

First of all -- tomorrow's the Day! I'm finally moving to North Bay!!! :-)

Let's see: Blood pressure's slightly up. Heart beat's faster. Mind's a little uneasy. Yep, I'm feeling it now...reality is definitely kicking in. :-) Mom and Dad offered to drop me off with all my baggage -- thankfully!! I've so much stuff..mainly clothes and kitchen "essentials". The hardest part was deciding which clothes to pack -- typical woman-behaviour, I suppose. Well, the warm weather is likely not going to stick around for much longer so I mainly packed fall/winter stuff. Lots of pants, tops & sweaters, 4 pairs of shoes, 2 coats (1 for fall, 1 for winter)...nothing fancy really. I figure North Bay is not exactly the town for getting dressed up and going out in style (I was there briefly in July and the people there seem quite..um, 'casual' about their dress code, not to mention a little 'outdated'). Coming from UWO (ie. the Milan/Paris/New York of University fashion), such a simple and 'down-to-earth' atmosphere may actually be a welcome change. Because let's face it -- I like 'casual'. :-) It's not only easier & faster, but also cheaper!And fact is, I need to watch my money a little closer from now on. Of course, that's not to say that I'll suddenly start dressing like a cave-woman, or something like that! No, no. Just a bit more "comfy" than I was used to at Western. ;-)

As usually happens while packing, I'm tormented by nagging thoughts that I may be forgetting something "important"...like, oh I don't know, my eyelash curler or yoga ball for example? Heh, just kidding. :-) But no, I really do worry that I'll leave behind something essential.. Well, I suppose that even if I did, it wouldn't be the end of the world, since I'll be coming back to London quite frequently anyways (for Practicums). And besides, there's nothing that's truly essential except for maybe medication and money. So stop worrying...right now...just STOP!!

A few days ago I was struggling with indecision as to whether or not I should install a phone connection in my room. After weighing out the pros & cons, I finally decided that yes, I do need (and want) a phone. If all goes according to Bell's promises, I should have my phone connection activated by 10 am on Monday. *cross fingers* I promised Holger that he'll be the first one that I'll call. ;-)

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Oh, and the kidney & bladder cake? Here it is below. Compliments to Sapna & Kara -- two of the coolest gals I've ever worked with. So sad I wasn't there taste it! ;-)

nice eyebrows!

As women, we put so much effort into looking attractive, feminine and youthful. We color/cut our hair regularly, get our nails done, cleanse, moisturize, exfoliate and tone our skin, wax/shave our legs...& other body parts too, occasionally bleach our teeth, tan, do our makeup, style our hair, shop-till-we-drop for clothes that make us look good, exercise from dusk till dawn, kill our feel with stilettos and 5-inch heels...listgoesonandon! :-) It's a lot of work, and yet we do it -- daily, weekly, monthly, yearly...in one word, REGULARLY. It's my hope that for most women, these efforts are mainly done to please themselves, rather than someone else (like their partners/mothers/bosses..). Of course, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look attractive for our men (we all want that), but if we go through all of the above exclusively for someone else, then we're simply cheating ourselves. Nonetheless, I think most ladies would agree with me that pampering ourselves is part of what makes us feel feminine, and to a certain extent, it's actually kind of fun. Especially the shopping & makeup part! ;-)

So yeah, I like to change my haircolor every 3-4 months, even though Holger thinks my natural haircolor is just fine... I also cut my hair short a few months ago, even though Holger prefers it longer... I still wear my old, baggy, comfy pants in front of Holger, even though I know he'd much prefer seeing me dressed in a tutu (and yeah, once in a while I DO dress up for him too :-). But overall, I do what I do because it makes me feel good.

Today, I decided it was time to give myself a "Beauty Treat" -- i.e. the eyebrow thread!! :-) Every 3-4 weeks I go to an Indian lady who uses a silk thread to give my brows a nice shape -- it takes her only about 10 minutes, and the effect is well worth the slight pain. My brows look perfect...like on those models in Cosmo. After the session, we got talking about the topic of body waxing, more precisely...the "Brazilian". Although I still haven't mustered up the courage to go for it, the conversation I had with Sukh helped calm some of my insecurities. Hmm, I think I may just do it..not yet, but just before my next get-together with Holger (i.e. in about 4 months). So okay, yeah, there are some things we do only for men. The "Brazilian" counts as one of them. ;-)

decision

It's done! I made up my mind and I'm taking the Teaching route. :-) Genetics can wait..at least for a year. And who knows, maybe I won't even want it then? Glad I got this off my chest now. :-)

unexpected news

Just when I thought I had everything under control, down comes a bomb and throws all my plans into chaos. Yesterday I found out that I had moved to the very front of the waitlist for the Genetics Technology program, and that a place will likely open up for me, should I still be interested. Ha! My very first reaction was "no way, I'm not interested". So not even a minute goes back when, , I e-mail the lady back with 'no thanks'. Then, about half an hour later I drop the news on my mom...and voila, the chaos begins! :) Mom seems just as confused as I when it comes to deciding what to do. On the one hand, I have already "partially" committed myself to Teacher's College in North Bay...paid all my deposits, found a place to live, brought future plans into perspective, tried to reset my mind to "teacher mode", etc. On the other hand, an admission to Gen Tech is not something that one should refuse so easily. Twenty minutes later, , I e-mail the lady again with 'I need time to think'.

So why do I care so much? Well, for starters, this is actually my 2nd attempt at getting admitted to Gen Tech. Last year was the first time that I applied there. Also got put on a waitlist, but as opposed to this year, never made it in. Gen Tech is truly a rather lucrative program to get into as only 2 institutes in Canada offer this program, and each institute only accepts 16 applicants per year. The reason for the fierce competition is ready availablility of jobs, very good salaries, relatively appealing working conditions, and standard 9-5 working hours. I am not driven my money, but I do like the fact that students from this program are offered employment even before they graduate. :-)

So what to do, what to do? I realise that I need to think in terms of "which career would make me happier/would be more suitable for me", but thinking like that is really not that helpful at all! Consider Teaching --> yeah, it has its rewards..like 2 months off each summer, gives room for creative growth, clean/safe work environment (for the most part), not-too-bad salary... on the other hand, job prospects are not the greatest, and it's not so easy to find full-time employment right after graduation. Consider Gen Tech --> plenty of employment, great salary, comfortable working environment...then again, work is routine, may get boring and monotone, contact with biohazardous material,..

Hmmmm..... :-)

Right now I am leaning slightly towards Teaching, but I fear that it may just be "committment bias" that's driving me that way. I have until tomorrow to make up my mind. Feel very torn right now and my mind is in overdrive...have to talk this over with Holger.

update

Yesterday...
Went to hear "Jacksoul" with Asia & Ewa at the Grand Theatre. Fantastic stuff! The two African singers were nothing less than amazing...deep, throaty voices to soothe the mind, and lively rhythm to satisfy any body. Soul & blues, but not only. Could not help but dance in my chair and clap. The catchy (yet familiar) songs got me singing...and smiling...all the way home. Overall, great music & great atmosphere -- the perfect way to spend a hot summer night. Thanks Asia! :-)

Today...
Last day of work. Whooohoo!! :-) This has been one of my busiest weeks in months. Sadly, I did not get my last (ever!) 'Westerns' to work. Oh well, never liked them anyways. I spent a year working as a Laboratory Assistant and I must say that it's not exactly fun. Experiments just don't work out very often, and the frustration can be great. The experience was invaluable though-- I realised that (a) I lack the patience required for scientific discovery, (b) I'm not "curious" enough about that kind of stuff, and (c) I'm uberclumsy. All of that brings me to my final conclusion -- I'm SO glad I didn't go into Grad school! :-) Will miss the people though..

Tomororw...
Weekend! No plans, except -- 1) clean my room, 2) catch up on sleep, 3) hit the gym, and 4) talk to Holger...mmmiss him a lot! :-)

gotta go digital

I want it..I need it!!

Yep, never before has my urge to photograph beautiful faces, things, and places been as great as it is now. This all-new desire seems to be tightly connected to my moving away to North Bay at the end of this month. And hence, with a new city, new school, and new classmates, comes a new hobby. :-) I have such high hopes for this move, that it's actually starting to worry me a little. :-) I mean, what if it turns out to be nothing as I expected (which it usually does -- says Intuition)? But regardless of what's to come -- I want to photograph it, and show it to the world. Words may be powerful, but a picture's worth 1000 of them, and you can't beat that. :-)

Plus - the digital camera has the advantage of allowing me to upload and/or e-mail my pictures on to those who may care (or not, as the case may be, but what do I care? ;-) without going through the old-fashioned way of developing them from film, picking out the 1 or 2 decent photos from a stack of otherwise pitiful 24, and then sending them off via CanadaPost. O yes, digital cameras offer a cheaper, faster, and much more convenient alternative. Plus, they're mighty cute... and I want one!

There's only one problem: I currently have hole in my wallet. :-( The type I want (Canon, 5 mp w/ movie option and huge memory) now stands at about $400, and that's way beyond what I can afford at the moment. I know the prices are going to drop within the next few months, so it may be wise to wait it out a little bit. I really don't need more than 5 mp, but I've already seen some 8mp marvels the size of my thumb (well, almost)! The 4 mp Canon that my brother bought himself a year ago now stands at $100 less than what he paid, which further confirms my decision to wait.

In the meantime, I'll see if I can get my dad to lend me his very-old-fashioned-looking Minolta for a few months. It really does take nice pictures -- provided I figure out how to properly use Focus button (I've got enough pictures of perfectly focused strangers standing amid my blurry friends, thank-you-very-much). Film manufacurers will love me. The post offices will love me. My wallet will love me. I cannot lose. As the polish saying goes, "it's not buring yet". :-)

Summer

What a humid summer this is! As far as I remember, last summer seemed a lot drier than this one, and there were only a few days that could compete with the 'sauna' that we now experience almost every day. The humidity-wave that started in June is still going strong, although the temperatures seem to have dropped a little bit (we had a few days with over 40 Celsius in July -- crazy!). I'm thankful that my parents decided to invest in central-air two years ago -- it was expensive, but worth every penny! :-)
And yet, I still stand by the opinion that summer is the best season of the year, no matter how sticky, icky, and gross it gets. ;-) I love the warmth, the sunshine, the long days, the chance to wear light clothing, and the endless opportunities for outdoor fun that only summer can afford. So here's to Summer -- let's hope it's a long one! ;-)

Asia's apartment

Last night I visited Asia at her new apartment in downtown London. It has not even been a week since she moved there, but there was absolutely no trace of the 'chaos' that is usually associated with moving to a new place. Yes, Asia is orderly, and orderliness is something that I need to aspire to. ;)

About the apartment: it has 1 fairly large bedroom, a 3-piece bathroom, a big living room with an opening onto the balcony, a dining area, and a tiny kitchen. The location of the place within the building can hardly get any better -- she's squeezed between the elevator and the storage room so she has no neighbours on either side. How cool is that?! :) What is also nice are the cappucino-coloured tiles in the hallway, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom -- these add a nice hint of 'freshness' and modernity to the place (the buiding itself is quite old). Slowly now, Asia is making it her personal haven, and the first touches of her taste for clean & uncluttered modernity are already in view. I look forward to seeing her apartment again in a few weeks. :)

At present, I can only imagine how cool it must be to have one's own living space. A place where one does not need to worry about the loss of privacy and personal freedom, and can thus fully reap the benefits of what it means to be fully independent. I'm not sure when I will get to this stage, but I hope that I will get a taste of it in North Bay.

crazy biker..

I had a bike accident last Saturday! :-/ I was speeding down a small hill on my way to work when suddently, the wind blew off my hat! So what does a silly person like me do? I pressed the brakes right away, not thinking about anything, just worrying about my poor little hat.. and oops, I pressed the wrong brake (or perhaps, I pressed both at once?) and my bike did a front-wheel headstand! It must have looked really cool, but all I could think about as I descended onto the pavement was..."o-oh, this is NOT good...this is going to hurt.." And yes, it did hurt. I scraped some skin off my knuckels, bruised my knees, and scratched my left cheek. Ha, I remember feeling really embarassed, but also a little disappointed that there was no one there to give me a hand and offer the usual, "r u ok?" (Hello? I'm bleeding here!!). Anyways, I'm proud to confess that I got up really quickly and biked home at an astounding speed for someone with a swollen face, bruised knees, and bleeding knuckles. ;-) At home, my folks finally gave me the much-needed pamering and fussing-over that I so desired. Ahh..nothing better than a caring family to heal a broken bone (not in my case though -- I was very lucky). :-))

So here I am now -- almost 6 days later -- feeling quite well again. The wounds, bruises and scratches are healing really well. I can't wait to get back on my bike -- it beats using the bus any day. I've even thought about visiting the gym today, but you know what, I think I'll pass on that and opt for another day of sweet, do-nothing, recovery. Ahhh..post-accidental bliss. Hey, I deserve it! :-)

North Bay here I come!

I found a place to live! Wow, what a relief...I was already getting images of my sleeping somewhere on a park bench. Brr! :) After giving up on the Rez-Wait-List, I have decided to do my own search and found the following:

*house with 1 occupant (landlady herself)
*close to campus - 10-15 minute walk
*bedroom + private bath & kitchen (ideal! finally a chance to learn how to cook, haha :))
*TV
*need to activate own phone
*no laundry facility, but can do it on campus
*said to be "clean" and "appealing"
*yellow bedroom walls (just hope it's not "screaming" yellow..."mellow" yellow would be nice though)

And...I haven't even seen it yet!! :) All the above info comes from the phone conversations that I had with the landlady. She seemed very nice, and I had no reason to think that she would lie to me, mistreat me, or try to cheat me in any way, so I took the offer. Partly out of desperation -- yep, I gotta be honest. ;) I am one who likes to "trust her instincts" and I got a pretty nice vibe from this lady. So I took it, and now I will probably have to wait until August 29th to see it with my own 2 eyes. We'll see then what I have gotten myself into, hehe! :)

But overall, it can't be so bad. I mean, I'm only going to live there a total of 4.5 months, and that's not so long. Ahh..the bliss of living away from home, on my own. Finally! I am very excited, but I try not to think/imagine too much so as to avoid disappointment. If there's one lesson that I have learned in the past few days it's that "Man makes plans, and God laughs". How very true. :)

I've got a blog :-)

This is not my first blog and it may well not be my last. :) I have no clue as to the whereabouts of my last blog, but I would think that it is still hanging somewhere in the www. So let's just wait and see how long I can manage this one before I forget my username, password, and blogger address! :) No, I'm not really good at these "online" things, but who knows, maybe this one will actually grow on me a little bit. :)