TB - September 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

SEPTEMBER 2007

Settling into a full-time job, at GeoConnections, and going to school in the evenings (I am going to meet Erin AH and Jenn soon ... pretty sure they are both in the class I mention attending.) Looks like I signed up to help Kristen at The Charlatan and that I quit Subway, did I end up going back to Subway later? I have a hard time leaving that chain.

There is a quote from my dad! I don't exactly remember where or when or the context in which he was saying it but totally sounds like something he would say. Probably was on the phone. Sadly, I can no longer hear how his voice sounds in my head, it left quickly and I hate that it is gone. 

Noted Post: The I Can See!! post describes one of my favourite personal anecdotes, I remember it happening and I still laugh about it to this day.

TB - August 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

AUGUST 2007

This month saw some considerable shifts, I made the decision not to go back to Carleton full-time and instead took a contract extension with The Department of Natural Resources. I do detail my plan to take two night courses, which I think is where I meet/met Jenn and Erin. (I also feature an adorable photo of the other ERin at the start of the month.) The other change is that Anna and Wes moved out, which I remember being sad about.

Also, I mention Brian and Tina going to Japan, but I can't remember who these people are. Did I meet them at school, or work, if so which work? Were they friends through another friend? The link that I reference in the post is long gone.

When doing these Throwback posts I like to edit them and provide updates, mainly adding in more tags or fixing spelling. Grammar and editing wise I had to do a lot with paragraphs and spacing, what was I thinking? Did I believe that I was writing stream-of-consciousness, and if so that it didn't need to be put into paragraphs?

Noted Post: I don't think the writing is very interesting, but I love the photo of my smile in the Humour post.

Our Latin Mottos, Only One In Latin

Talking with my GeoConnect girls a little while ago and they were talking about the motto's are undergraduate universities had.

The conversation started because ERin was encouraging Anne to Surgit!, latin for 'Push On,' which she knew because it was Brock's motto. Anne then mentioned that the University of Calgary motto was in Gaelic. I made a mental note to check out what Carleton's was, anticipating that it would probably disappoint me.

I wasn't wrong, the Carleton University motto is Ours the Task Eternal, in English. I don't even know what that means! Also sadly they didn't bother with using a different language. The main thing I like about Carleton is the great colours, I don't like Calgary's red, gold and black. Basically University of Calgary has the best mascot/nickname and Brock is all around cool. Besides good colours, Carleton is, as usual, a bit of a disappointment.

ERin
Undergrad at Brock University (in St. Catherine's)
Colours: Red, grey, and black
Motto: Surgit!which means Push On! in Latin
Mascot: (The Badgers) Boomer the Badger

Anne
Undergrad at University of Calgary
Colours: Red, gold, and black
Motto: Mo Shùile Togam Suas meaning "I will lift up my eyes" in Gaelic
Mascot: (The Dinos) Rex

Me
Undergrad at Carleton University (in St. Catherine's)
Colours: Black and Red
Motto: Ours the Task Eternal
Mascot: (The Ravens) Rodney the Raven

My trip to Calgary for this year was originally planned for July so I could go to Stampede but it was postponed and now I am going from August 23 - 27. I can't wait to see them!

The Cost Of Stamps

This is such a grouchy senior citizen post, but I can't believe the price of stamps now! If you just buy one stamp it is a dollar, when you get them in rolls or booklets it is $0.85. It is nice that they have the little P that means 'current domestic postage rate' so if it goes up you can still use it to mail a normal letter within Canada. But still, when did it get so expensive? How is this not a commodity market item?

I actually remember when it was $0.45 to mail a letter. I found a website that maps out all the postage increases from 1943 to now. It turns out the price I am remembering is from 1995, and for my entire elementary and high school life it was under $0.50. That milestone increase happened in 2005 so I was in university at the time and I guess I didn't notice. I am shocked at the cost now, it is just such a big jump.

It is the same story with gas prices too, I started driving when it was in the mid-sixties. However, I can remember it being in the forties when I was younger. Now it is regularly well over a dollar. (I am such a grouchy old person.)

The Lost Summer

I ran across a video on Facebook called 25 Years of Summer Songs and all of them brought brief flashes of life back to me, except one. It was so strange to recognize each one, remember the song, reflect on my time during that year and then be confronted by a blank. It was jarring but I assumed it was probably an American list and that song wasn't popular here.

Then I thought about the year - 2004. I don't know if I would say it was the worst summer that I have had but it was a rough one: staying in Ottawa after my first year at Carleton in Engineering, to take summer courses. Working at a minimum wage job across the city that took over an hour and half on transit to get to. Dealing with a long distance serious relationship. Not many friends around because so many people return to their hometowns during that first university summer. However, that minimum wage job was at Extreme Pita, so that is full-time radio listening and I am surprised that the song didn't stick in my mind from that.

The song, Burn by Usher, seems to be pretty universally agreed to be the main song for the summer of 2004. While I recognize other songs from that same album, that one just isn't in my memory. I don't totally agree with all the picks each year, in 2001 I can remember Drops of Jupiter being a major summer song, but that might have just been personal experience. I might not be big on music but songs are still often a serious memory link.

Propelled To Learn

I have mentioned way too many times on Always Standing that I love to learn, so much that a single link to a post exemplifying this wouldn't be enough - I say it all the time, because I mean it. I just read an article that ties this to my ADHD, and I totally agree:

"We need to be careful about what we label as a disorder. When it comes to ADHD, for instance, there is growing evidence that ADHD individuals achieve very good outcomes by normal social standards. The popular-culture stereotype is of an ADHD (often "ADD") person superficially clicking from one channel or Web site to the next. An alternative vision is that many ADHD individuals adapt and end up using their cognitive profile to propel themselves from learning one piece of information to the next, and in fact end up better educated and maybe better situated to deal with the social world as well."

--- from Autism as Academic Paradigm by Tyler Cowen in The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 13, 2009.

TB - June 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

JUNE 2007

This is such an interesting mouth to read. Also, I did 35 posts, my god! I made my first Found It post after losing something and finding it somewhere strange. It seems that I was into writing on Always Standing multiple times a day and making the posts very small. I guess I have gotten more long winded. Last Throwback Thursday I was wondering if  2007 was when I started at GeoConnections. When I read about starting an 'office job' it made me really wonder but I still wasn't sure. I was able to confirm it from the last post of the month where I quoted someone that I know was a co-worker there. So yes, 2007 was the summer that I started at GeoConnections, and I met ERin! (Anne joined us later on.) Then in September I made the decision to only do school part-time and stay working full-time. I am excited to read about all these big life choices that I made almost 10 years ago.

Noted Post: The quote from my brother about telling the truth. I remember being really close to him during this time in our lives. I miss that.

TB - May 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

MAY 2007

I figured it out, the new roommate was Jake! I still don't know if this was the summer that I started at GeoConnections though. May 2007 was the month that I went to France to visit Anna, which was an incredible trip at the tail end of a very difficult time in my life. I had been to Paris briefly in Grade 8 when I went to France over March Break to visit my grandparents, but had only stayed in the city for a few hours. This trip during university really solidified my love and I returned again with my mom and Jason a couple of years ago for another two week stay. Yes, in just Paris, I have spent two separate two-week vacations exploring the city. However, when I visited with Anna we did head out to Chantilly for a day and in 2014 we went to visit Versailles.

Noted Post: The moment that I fell in love with The Eiffel Tower.

Finally Saw The Bean

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

For a long time I didn't know where Stonehenge was. This was because I visited England between Grades 5 and 6 for over month with my family, and we never saw it. We saw so many sites in England the idea that my parents didn't take us to this Wonder of the World was unfathomable to me, so I spent all of high school and most of university thinking that was somewhere else. When Steph finished at Carlton, we celebrated by going on a trip to London and she wanted to see Stonehenge, we actually fraught a bit about it being in the country (and Steph is obsessed with Stonehenge so I have no idea why I argued.) We ended up seeing it and now I obviously know what country it is in.

I had been having a similar experience with The Bean. It can't be in Chicago, cause if it was, why hadn't my dad and I visited it when we came in 1994?

As I mentioned before, the only other time that I had visited Chicago was when I came with my parents over 20 years ago. My mom had a conference to attend, which meant that my dad and I hung out together during the day. We stayed at the Blackstone Hotel (some of The Untouchables was filmed there), which is next to the Hilton where my mom's conference was. These hotels are on South Michigan Avenue, just across from the big park area on Chicago's waterfront, we walked along the lake when it wasn't too cold or windy.

The only major attraction we visited here was the big aquarium, besides that we just went to all the free art galleries. Dad loved this because they were free and he has a certain cursory interest in art. Also, because I was young, we probably were moving through them in at a good pace. So, with this emphasis on art, visits to the waterfront parkland, and desire to see things that didn't cost anything, how come I never saw The Bean (which I hear K is pretty obsessed with and likes to visit it multiple times when she visits the city.)?

Turns out it wasn't even there! The planning for Millennium Park didn't start until 1997, and Cloud Gate (The Bean) wasn't added until 2006.

University Is A Fight

---------- from Facebook

A very accurate three-part comic about life in university, grad school, and the workplace. I like the idea that post-secondary education is a daunting battle/fight - I totally felt that, especially in Engineering and during my Masters.

CHECK OUT the "Truth About College and Getting a Job" by Oliver Coakley from Insert Life Here

TB - February 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

FEBRUARY 2007

I had been worried that the coming Throwback months were going to be upsetting. In fact I avoided doing this feature last week because I didn't want to read about that time in my life. It looks like the February was a calm before the storm. I really loved the classes I was taking, it was one of my better semesters, in terms of enjoyment of the material.

Noted Post: Birth Order - I remember pieces of the night I am describing in this post. I definitely remember Anna talking about videos of her and her sister as kids. A councilor Jason and I have been seeing mentioned birth order a couple of weeks ago, as it relates to relationships. It is an interesting concept to consider, but it really is only one factor in the context of a million others. (The fact that I am an oldest and Jason is a youngest is supposedly good.)

TB - December 2006

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

DECEMBER 2006

This is fun and quick read - just an onslaught of small little posts, mainly about exams and studying. I remember at some point I used to have a mental rule for Always Standing that there always needed to be a picture of me showing on the home page - which means having one every 10 to 15 posts. There was a random post of pictures in this month, so many I had already started that rule. There is also an amusing comment on one of the posts where Teri is trying to get a hold of me again.

Noted Post: I liked the Carleton Karma post, I had forgotten about "viewing rooms" for watching lectures - I can't even really picture what they look like. I do remember always being behind when I took a class that taped the lectures because I always thought I could just catch up by watching them later - then procrastinated until right before the exam, leaving no time to get through them all.

TB - November 2006

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

NOVEMBER 2006

It was a different time - almost 10 years ago. There are hints at the changes a decade has given us. (Not in my life, those changes are very obvious when reading these posts - I was newly single,, writing a lot of poems, working on university essays, and living the student life with roommates at Le Manoir). I mean changes in technology over the last 10 years: There was a comment from Teri in one of the posts that said, "I tried calling u earlier this week but nobody was home." A land line! There was also something about missing the start of a TV show because I didn't make it home in time, no such thing as PVR yet.

There are quite a few mentions of my dad too! A post about him saying I had a "million dollar smile" and another about him editing movies when I was a kid. Also, a comment from Mom about me renting a scooter in Portugal and Dad riding it.

Noted Post: I really like my post of questions about Leisure Time. I work now for a company that designs 'leisure environments' so spend all day connected to the industry of entertainment. Separate from my work life and on more of a personal level, I think that the thoughts I wrote back in 2006 are still relevant.

Stacked Sheets

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

My dad always changed my sheets when I was growing up. (And when I say 'growing up' I mean up to the age of 19 when I went to university. Then when he visited, I would often ask for his help with my bed.) He has amazing tucking talent! I don't think it is 'nurse style' corners but the bed ends up being very tight and neat.

I really loved when this happened when we lived in Paris, because it would make the room so messy. I prefer to sleep with lots of blankets (instead of just a single big duvet) and they would get thrown all over the floor in my room. My dad would turn or flip my mattress most of the time too.

Some of the time, Dad would ask which way I would like my sheets. Sheets have a 'pretty side,' this is especially true with ones with patterns, the pattern is darker on the good side. Plain sheets just have a good/bad side based on the hems and stuff at the ends.

I don't like the envelope style. My dad was always explaining that if you make the bed that way, your body is surrounded by the good parts of the sheets. (Obviously the fitted/bottom sheet it always put on the same way, so mainly this is about the top sheet.) In an envelope, you can lift up the sheets and blankets and see the pretty pattern, etc. But I always wanted (and still do) 'stacked sheets' where the top sheet faces up. The good part faces the ceiling, which means I am lying under the 'bad' side and the pretty pattern is covered by the blankets, I prefer that though. Stacked sheets are the only way for me. Which way is your bed made, or do you not notice a good/bad side with your top sheet?

The Other Picture Up

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

In the spring I posted one of my favourite pictures of Dad and mentioned that it is in a frame with one of my mom and hangs in my room. Well, this is the only other photo I have up right now that has my dad in it:

It sits on a shelf near my desk in a red Carleton University branded frame (I cut the frame out of this picture). It was taken on the day of my graduation, at the portrait studio on campus. My Aunt Laura (left) and my mom are also in it. It is a bit cheesy, and the frame is really quite cheesy, but I like it a lot.

Jenn & Jon's Wedding

So, this post has been a long, and I mean long, time coming; I wanted to add photos and I am glad I did, because Steph (and Dave's) photography was an amazing part of the event. When Jenn and Jon sat down to plan their low-key wedding, having photos was an important part for Jenn - as a couple they don't have many pictures, it is a perfect time to capture a beautiful time in a relationship, wedding photos also mean photos of friends and family, and the reasons go on. I think calling and booking Steph was one of the first planning steps Jenn and Jon made. The wedding was on July 14, 2014...

This is my

smart,

beautiful,

hilarious,

and loving

friend:

Jenn

I am not great with dates, but I think JennD and I met in early 2008 at an evening Mass Communications course at Carleton. (It was the same course that I first met Erin AH in.) Jenn met Jon very shortly after meeting me, so I feel like I have been there through the highs and lows; to see them reach this amazing point in their relationship is very exciting. Their future is looking so bright and joyful.

The weekend of her wedding, Jason and I drove up to Ottawa on the Friday evening and stayed with Steph and Dave (pretty much a given for a visit to Ottawa - I have my own room there, which is tulip picture free.) Early Saturday morning I had to be at Jenn's place to help her get ready - I was so honoured to have been asked! I dropped Jason off at the park that was the site for the wedding, since I had volunteered him to help set up. Before going to Jenn's, I picked up her flowers. The bouquet was beautiful, I choked up at the shop when I saw it. (I choked up a lot throughout the day, and was quite emotional - she look so beautiful and it was such a special event.) I got to her house just as the stylist was putting last minute touches on her hair. After make-up and some last minute wedding logistics, I helped her into her dress and tied the back (Left), which took way longer than the 5 minutes we had scheduled to do so.

I drove Jenn to the Ornamental Gardens, where her and Jon were doing a 'first look.' Normally this is a very private event (and it still was) but I stayed around a bit to hang out with the happy couple. The way a 'first look' works, is that before the wedding (or in Jenn and Jon's case, before their party; they got legally married at Ottawa City Hall earlier in the week) the bride and groom meet up to see each other - often this event is captured by the photographer, and sometimes they are the only other person there. The first time I have ever heard of it was for Steph and Dave's wedding; the photo I chose to post on Always Standing to announce their marriage was from their first look. I am a huge believer of this concept, it is a much better idea to have the first look and do a majority of the photos earlier in the day before the event starts.

Anyway, Jon waited for Jenn (Right) at the bottom of these beautiful stairs, and she walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. It was magic. I had to hurry back to the park though, so as to be there when the couple arrived, and also I had to get changed.

All morning I had been wearing sweatpants so as to be comfortable when helping the bride, who at one point ask, "I'm not judging, and it is casual, but is this what you are wearing to my wedding?" I finished doing my hair, changed into my dress, and did my make-up in the park's washroom, all of which took about 10 minutes. I hung out with Jason, Erin AH, her boyfriend, and some awesome co-workers from Justice. Soon, the couple arrived, walking across the grass towards us (Left) while the crowd blew bubbles. There was some more photos with guests and then the food started. Jenn and Jon really wanted to serve a great meal and so much of the lunch they had prepared themselves; salads, barbecue, treats, etc. It was such a fun summer afternoon, spent with great friends.

All of my love and best wishes

to the happy couple,

Jenn and Jon!

Photos by Stephanie Beach Photography

Copyright 2014

Book List Challenge

-------- from Facebook, tagged by Anna and Heather C

List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and do not think hard. They do not have to be the 'right' books or great works of literature, just ones that have stuck with you.

- If on a Winter's Night A Traveler (Italo Calvino)
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Barbara Robinson)
- The Princess Bride (William Goldman)
- Moranthology (Caitlin Moran)
- Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)
- The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
- Franklin In The Dark (Paulette Bourgeois)
- The Portrait Of A Lady (Henry James)
- Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think (D. Greenberger and C. A. Padesky)
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (William Shakespeare) Plays: Comedy and Tragedy

Extras
- Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
- Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)

Note: I wrote down all the titles first, and then looked them up to add links, fix spelling, and include the authors.

Steph's Back From The UK

In 2008, Steph and I went to London (with a side trip for a couple of days to Salisbury to see Stonehenge.) It was mid-January, which is not the ideal time to tour that area of Europe except that the prices are good. We went for 10 days and were celebrating Steph finishing university.

You can read the trip highlights or look at a few pictures I took during the trip - Photo Post 1 - Photo Post 2. Compared to other trips I have taken, I didn't post that much on Always Standing about it. However, I remember it being an amazing trip. Steph and I travel well together (and stay under budget!)

A couple of years later, I ended up back in London for a few hours early one morning in February of 2010. I missed a flight out of Heathrow on my way home from Spain. Even though the airport is fairly far away from downtown, I used the opportunity to head into London for a super quick bus ride around the main parts of the city.

Most recently, Steph went with Dave to Ireland and the UK and has just returned. Keep checking her blog (LINK is also always on the left column of Always Standing) to see photos and read stories from her trip.

Younger Then

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

An old picture of my dad (centre) with some work friends, Sears in Brantford. This must have been taken in the early 80's, probably before I was born. He always looked like this though - except for the hair. He maintained the youthful demeanor and smile, glowing skin, bright eyes, his beard stayed red well into my time in university, and his hair didn't really go grey. But his hair thinned. I don't remember it ever being as long or as thick as in this picture and for pretty much that reason alone (well, and the outfits, room decor, and how young his friends look) is how I can date this as a photo as being from at least 30 years ago.

Where Is His Stuff?

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

My dad was known for not throwing much away. For a long time we had the original box that our Atari computer came in, actually we had the box longer than we had the actual computer. (Dad liked to save boxes.) It would seem then that over the past few months our family would have to spend hours putting away all his stuff cluttering up the house, or be surrounded and reminded constantly that he is gone.

However, The Cottage remains pretty much the same - it turns out none of the things kept out around the place were really his. My dad's stuff is all hidden away. The basement storage room and garage is filled with items from his family that he wouldn't use but also wouldn't get rid of and other bits and pieces of memories, furniture, tools, and other miscellaneous things. So before I continue, I would like to clarify that we still have tons of crap of his around, but it isn't out in the open living areas.

The crowded coffee table is filled and covered in books and magazines, because my mom and guests like to read. The corner of the living room has piles of rug hooking supplies - my mom's hobby. My dad's hobbies didn't really require items, he was more of a people person and like to play squash, bridge, and race sailboats - these pursuits don't tend to leave clutter. The only items that feel are truly Dad's are some nick-nacks on various shelves, in among other things collected/saved by my mom, the family, heirlooms etc. My dad also kept Daily Bridge Calenders scattered around the house to read, and I think those have been cleared out and thrown away (especially because many of them were from the 1990s).

What I think this proves is that for all her complaining, it is my mother that is the more cluttered and messy one. I remember coming back for Christmas after my first semester away at Carleton and my mom saying that she thought with me out of the house there were be a big change especially in the amount of junk lying around. She was disappointed that it hadn't seem to change (in fact the only real difference identified is that they ate more sausages once I left, since I never liked them.) Now, with me out of the house for the past 10 years, Mike in Edmonton, and Dad gone - it really is only mom, and her stuff.