Lost

For the first time in what I think has been years and years, I lost the Oscars pool!! I never play in particularly big one just whomever is around watching it with me, sometimes it is a party's worth of people. This year though Kristen kicked my ass - had to pay her $5.

Time In Texas

Here is a brief point-form summary of my week in Texas.
So in no particular order...

Location: Southcentral Texas
Dates: February 18th to 25th, 2011

-saw lots of birds: whopping cranes which are endangered with only 500 or so in the world; a roseate spoonbill that was pink and weird looking; pelicans; little things I call 'peeps' running along the sand; herons fishing; and a whole bunch of ducks
-I find it confusing that gas is measured in gallons and that the weather channel only uses Fahrenheit
-tried to eat healthy but ended up having ice cream pretty much every day
-it was so great to spend time with my parents, I had really missed them and the trip was very relaxing
-bought a bunch of clothes including white pants and capris that look like they should be worn by a 75 year old at a Tampa trailer park, I am going to try to rock this look which I am calling 'Florida Chic'
-took a ferry and saw dolphins playing in the bow-wave of an ocean liner passing in front of us
-ran 5km each day
-wore sunscreen but was still able to get a little bit of colour
-stayed at a place right on the water and fish were jumping all the time to the point that it was sometimes freaky
-got a Guess bikini for a wicked sale price
-spent some time in San Antonio; walked, ate, and took a boat ride along the Riverwalk which was mesmerizing beautiful, I can understand why it is the top attraction in Texas
-ate fresh shrimp every night with dinner
-visited The Alamo, and was surprised by a number of details in the story that I was not aware of
-got nearly attacked by seagulls who were trying to get the ice cream sandwich that I was eating while walking on the beach
-went to a BBQ restaurant in the middle of no where (Van's BBQ) that had the most amazing warm biscuits, melted in your mouth
-spent some time in flip flops and am now very much looking forward to spring/summer
-got my parents to take me to the San Antonio Zoo even though they were not keen on the idea, but it ended being a really good zoo and we had a great time
-watched the second half of the first season of Glee on DVD in the evenings
-ate a lot of tex-mex
-bought some cheap vodka to help stock the open bar at Taylor's wedding
-was surprised how warm Washington, D.C. was during the flight connection on the way down
-got to visit a bit with my grandparents to took me to and picked me up from the Buffalo airport
-caught a strange Canada vs. USA old-timers baseball game at a park were we went for a walk
-did marking every day but was still unable to finish it all

I Found A Friend

Aransas County Public Library

I true taste of Texas, there is a sign on the door for the library that firearms are not allowed inside. (The picture is of a handgun too.) I'm glad that you can't bring weapons into the public library, remember the pen is mightier than the sword, so the book must be stronger than a gun.

Another thing, that actually made me sad, was that I overheard the librarian having a conversation with an old retired man who was using one of the computers. He told her that he wanted to add her to Facebook and she said in order to "keep marital peace" she wouldn't accept it since she doesn't have any men as Facebook friends. Later on I overheard her talking to someone else and she mentioned that she had her Masters, which she got at the Texas Women's Collage. God forbid there be any mixing of the genders here.

It Is Warm

I'm hoping for a tan. I woke up a few hours ago and this is the view standing in the front door of the house we have rented...

Near Rockport, Texas

I'm Going To Texas

So the morning has rolled around. JennB kindly woke up early to help me edit the paper I stayed up all night writing. I now get to hand it in and head on down to my grandparents in Fort Erie. They are going to take me across the border as I am flying to San Antonio out of Buffalo airport. I miss my parents and am excited to see them. I'm looking forward to the break!!

I'm Going To Glee

Glee Live is coming to Toronto! Last year's live tour was very short and only in the States. This year Toronto got added to the list and they are doing three shows here. The tickets don't even go on sale until tomorrow but I was able to get a promotion code for advance access from a girl in my program. The Saturday night was already sold out of the cheaper seats for the evening show, so Kristen and I are going to the the Sunday one. I'm very excited, the whole cast will be there.

Sleep

"Dawn: When men of reason go to bed."
- Ambrose Bierce

Have Car - Will Drive - Episode Six

A VERY SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY EPISODE

The one with the snow bank...

I am down at the cottage again, checking it out for my parents, watering the plants, etc. I haven't been down in a while and there has been a lot of snow. It is now rather warm and everything is melting a little; the result is thigh deep wet packing snow.

I have gotten used to driving into the small parking spot behind Rrunuv Bayit, which sometimes takes a bit of effort. The driveway looked pretty covered, about a foot or so of snow and a two foot bank from the plow across the end. I got out and walked around to assess the situation. For some reason, since it was packing snow and as soon as you step on it everything sinks down, I thought that I could simply drive the car in and the snow would just pack down as it drove. This is not the case - not with a 1997 Toyota Corrola at least.

Needless to say, I got royally stuck in the snow bank. So stuck in fact that I had gummed up the whole bottom of the car with packing snow. The wheels weren't even turning - not as in they were spinning and the car wasn't moving - the car's wheels did not even move, I had blocked everything up so much with snow! I then spent the next two hours digging out the car from the front and sides. Still couldn't get it out! I decided to call a tow truck and someone came and very nicely pulled me out for $40. I drove the car around a bit and it is fine. I too am fine, except that I feel like an idiot.

Did you?

Lets think about some things...
(Think about yesterday or pretend it is the end of the day.)
-Did you floss?
-Did you say 'I love you' to someone today?
-Did you finish 6 to 8 glasses of water?
-Did you spend time alone?
-Did you do some form of exercise or moderate physical activity?
-Did you read anything: newspaper, book, magazine?
-Did you get outside at all?
-Did you spend time with someone you care about?
-Did you eat to the suggested serving of 8 vegetables/fruit?
-Did you laugh?
-Did you comment on Always Standing?

Fun Fact

The number of leisure hours the average North American has per week: 35
The number of hours the average North American spends watching television per week: 28
-Unsure of the source. This was a friend's Facebook status, however it was a friend who would be reporting on this because it was in a study or something. I watch between 5 - 8 hours a week, it depends on how many days I catch Jeopardy or The Daily Show.

Texas Timeout

In a week I am going on a little trip to Texas. I'm spending Reading Week with my parents, who have rented a house for just over a month near the small town of Rockport. It is very close to the Gulf of Mexico though not super warm. I'm looking forward to another trip, but because school is so crazy I don't have time to write a bunch of posts to schedule for the time I am away. So, I need guest writers again!!! It worked out so well this summer I was hoping I could do it again but on a much smaller scale. I need people to write one or two small posts for Always Standing. You can have your choice of topic and multiple people writing on the same thing is fine.

Reading Week Writers!!
-What was your best Reading Week?
-How productive were you on Reading Weeks?
-What would you be doing if you had a Reading Week this year?
-Do you think universities should have a Reading Week in the Fall semester?
Please email or send me a message on Facebook to let me know if you are up for writing a little something, I would need the posts by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Thanks!!

Crazy Ads

The crazy AdSense ads are back. Normally they aren't particularly noticeable but every now and then they get interesting. This time the funny part is the strange combination. Here are the three that are showing for me at the moment:

A Full Colour Female
- IMVU - This is for a strange avatar based chat website where you get to "Choose your look." It is a full colour animated ad. I have had ads for this website before, no idea what it is that I write about that makes them appear. However, in the past it was just a picture of a slightly slutty looking female animated character. This ad is a more extreme version, it features a revolving female figure that keeps changing in look and dress, though she is always dressed a bit like a porn star. The best part is that they are dancing in a circle - very provocatively!

Ads by Google - The other two ads on the page are the smaller texted based ones, where each banner features four ads. The collection of these eight is really strange. Some highlights include:

Parking Based Ads
- Airport Hotel & Parking - This makes sense as I always talk about travel and flying and lately the car. This ad is for leaving your car at a hotel at the airport.
- Valet Parking iPhone Aps - I don't have an iPhone, nor really a car. Also, I could never afford valet parking. However, this just sounds super cool.
- Printed Parking Permits - A company that apparently prints permits to hang in your car, this feels like it might be illegal, a bit like fraud. It is obviously there because I was talking about my parking ticket.

Just Gross
- Treatment For Mucus In Throat - The ad goes into detail in the smaller print "Naturally reduce phlegm, mucus, and throat congestion guaranteed." This is there because I was talking about being sick but really it just sounds disgusting.

Have Car - Will Drive - Episode Five

The one with the ice and snow...

I got the car stuck in our parking spot out behind Rrunuv Bayit. Every time I went to go use it I was alone and had no one to help me push it out. There is a shovel in the trunk which I used to clear the snow and ice from around the wheels. I would try but then give up, it just kept spinning the wheels. Eventually I got it going but it took collectively over two days a total of about 45 minutes.

Cell Phone Humour

If you are looking for a quick laugh, check out the following sites:

Damn You Auto Correct!

Some phones, mainly the iPhone, have a feature that automatically corrects your words. However, sometimes it changes words into something that makes absolutely no sense and if you hit “send” too quickly, it can really lead to some funny results. I find that the humour of this site builds over a bit of time. After reading for a few minutes and scrolling through a couple of pages something will hit me as hilarious and I will be laughing to the point of tears.

When Parents Text

This site is just funny from the get-go. I find myself giggling right away. I don't know if parents are just innately more humorous or if the site is careful to only put up really good posts. The following is by far my favourite (click to enlarge):

Have Car - Will Drive - Episode Four

The one with the parking ticket...

Since I have decided to stop drinking for a while, last weekend when a bunch of us wanted to go out dancing I said I would drive. Parking had to be cheaper than a taking a taxi both ways! I found a spot but it turned out it wasn't really a spot. We emerged from the club at the end of the night and found that I had been given a parking ticket. In Ottawa parking tickets were insanely expensive, they are much more reasonably priced in Toronto. This evening I paid it online. I think even with the ticket it might have been cheaper than taking a cab but I am going to watch where I park from now on.

Have Car - Will Drive - Episode Three

The one with the carpool...
I went to Winterlicious this week with some of Teri's friends who live in Toronto. It is a two week event where Toronto restaurants offer a set menu and everyone goes out to eat at these fancy places for a little cheaper than they normally would be. I have always wanted to do it, Teri talks about it every year and I'm always very jealous. Anyway, I went with her friends and the food was incredible. But, connected to the car, the following conversation transpired:
M: Yeah, so I'm going to Ottawa this weekend.
Me: Oh my god, I'M going to Ottawa this weekend!
M: We should go together!!
Me: Yes, we totally should carpool!!!
K: Umm, except neither of you have cars...
I explained that while I don't normally, I did in fact have a car for the month. Over the week I have arranged the details with M and we are leaving together for Ottawa this evening. It is going to be great to see all the Ottawa people and so nice to have company and someone to share gas costs with on the drive.

III

I am ill and injured. (I also love that in the title 'ill' looks like the roman numeral for 3.) As I was heading to bed last (Wednesday) night I could feel a tickle in my throat and thought, "Oh, this is not going to end well." Sure enough, I woke up with a killer sore throat, coupled with a cold/cough which meant sneezing and coughing that hurt the throat even more. Even though the sore throat was the worst one I've had in a while, I still would normally take some cold medicine and carry on my way.

However, there was an added issue. I somehow injured myself. I would love to blame my personal trainer who made me do all kinds of new leg exercises on Tuesday, but the day after, on Wednesday morning, I was sore but not horribly so. Since I was feeling a little sore, I decided that on Wednesday I would do a hot yoga class. I have taken a few of these in Ottawa and a few more at the gym here in Toronto. The warm room is great for the muscles and yoga is both a nice work out challenge and a good stretch. I figured it would be perfect for my sore legs, arms, and core. It was a different teacher than I had before and the class was much more challenging than I'm used to. It was awesome and an amazing workout, but I must have done some serious damage to my legs because I woke up the next morning and couldn't straighten them. I was in excruciating pain. It was bad!

So ill and injured, I stayed home today. Hoping to heal I slept a lot and drank a ton of water. I feel like my legs are loosening up, but I still can't fully straighten them and have been wandering around Rrunuv Bayit like an old man. The cold is passing through and I will just take a pile of pills tomorrow to get me by.

I Love This Song

Since having the car I have been listening to a lot of Virgin Radio (99.9 in Toronto). This is a pop station, I guess is how I would describe it. Sometimes it is too much and I have to switch to another station that plays real music. However, since driving around for the week, I have learned the 10 hot songs right now, since Virgin plays them over and over again. I feel very hip and knowledgeable, this week anyway.

Kristen found this clip, about two Canadians making a pop song in 8 hours. I know it is a little lengthy but it is funny and the song is really good! (The guys are also pretty cute.)

Needing To Photocopy

I try to avoid doing this but today I found myself comparing Carleton to Ryerson. I hate judging the two universities against each other. It is like comparing x-boyfriends; of course I do it, but I always feel bad about it afterwards since I loved them all once and our time together should probably be viewed as special or unique or something. It is the same with school; different universities have different values, administrative styles, campuses, and provide different experiences.

Today I needed to do some photocopying for class. I can tell you without even thinking twice about it that Carleton was way way way way better in terms of copy facilities for students. They were everywhere, they were manned by people who could help you, they were good quality machines, they were open all the time, and they weren't that expensive. This seems like an insignificant thing to start judging universities on, but sometimes the small things count too - it all adds up to the general experience.

I pretty much only spend time on my department's floor at Ryerson. While it has what appears to be a good photocopier it won't accept student cards, as it is reserved for staff and faculty. I went looking everywhere for places to do photocopying at Ryerson. There aren't many. They just group a few machines together in random locations. The entire library only has about 8 machines total and only one of them has the feeder at the top, which I needed, and this single machine was broken. All of the ones at Carleton had feeders. Printing and photocopying were things I did on campus without a second thought, never having an issue or worry. Today was a headache and stressful two hours running around trying to get stuff together for my class. I ended up paying for the actual printing shop to do it for me, thankfully it wasn't expensive but it did take a while, is situated across campus, and was just in general annoying to do.

Carleton - 1. Ryerson - 0.