I Am Bored and Boring...

What a title to inspire people to read your post. LOL I'm not bored because I have nothing to do. That never happens here. LOL I have mountains of things to do. I'm just feeling tired and uninspired today. Hopefully, that will turn around quickly since I've been in a good mood recently. Well, besides feeling tired, which has been a descriptor I've been abusing of late. LOL

Thank you for the nice empathetic comments to the previous posts. :) Unfortunately, the roommate is here to stay since the lease is her name. I will have to move if I wish to get away from here. Most of the time, things are fine but she has been whiny and over-reactive to everything recently. Today she was playing the cello for at least one hour and a half, which was slightly painful, as well as generally being in my way. A few minutes ago, she popped her head in my door and said: "Did you know you have chicken on the stove?" (I heard her playing with the pot where my chicken is cooling down at least 2 or 3 times in the last half-hour.) "Ummm...yes." "Oh, okay." (said with dismayed face.) Okay, she is not looking to cook at almost 10:00 pm so why does she care? I never ever leave food lying around; this has just been cooling down for the last hour or so, and I'll make a salad with it in a bit for lunch tomorrow. All my other dishes are washed and put away. Why can't she mind her own business? Ugh.

Anyway, I have to try to stay zen and ignore this. It is not worth any of my energy.

Just A Quick Word...

I have had a long weekend, and I am dead. I just had some good news to share... I found a keeper for the cat for the Holidays. A very nice girl in the lab besides mine said she'd be happy to take her. I was so pleased that I said to the cat when I got home "I found you a nice home while I am gone with someone who will love you very much", and my roommate got all offended. God. I was not attacking her. She didn't want to keep her, which is fine; I didn't say a damn thing to her about it. NOT A WORD. I was just SO happy to have finally found someone to care for her, and who will enjoy and care for her so that I won't have to worry about going away. It's much better than having to send her to a pension where I wasn't sure she'd be treated well. I hate having my roommate rain on my parade.

The Holidays Are At Our Doors...Wha????

I thought I had the duty to inform you that Second Cup has started serving us delicious coffee in Holidays cups. I must say I was a bit stunned. It's still October. Then, I reminded myself that it means the Gingerbread Latte is coming back soon, and I was all happy. LOL I'm a bit pathetic.

It also reminded me I need to figure out what to do with the cat over the Holidays. I guess I'll have to put her in pension, even if that costs 14$/day minimum (plus 25$ surchange on Xmas day and on New Year's Day). Oh well. Such is life.

I'm marking exams, and ugh. Never my favourite thing to do... At least, I have the new CD by a Toronto collective called Broken Social Scene to entertain me. The only person I knew in that group was Feist but this CD is a really interesting sound experience. I'm enjoying it.

Anyway, back to work.

Why Do I Slave In School...

when a fake diploma is so close at hand? LOL

I had this spam in my school inbox this afternoon... I find them bold emailing university students working away. LOL I'm in a very good and goofy mood today so I had to post what I'd like to reply to this person. My comments in green. ;)

"sick of making minimum wage [Yes!]
A Genuine College Degree in 2 Weeks [Wow, and here I thought it required to sit in class for more than 2 weeks to acquire what is it called again... Ah yes, knowledge!]
Have you ever thought that the only thing stopping you from a
a great job and better pay was a few letters behind your name? [Indeed because you can't spell "registered psychologist" without P, H, and D. ;)]
Well now you can get them.
BA-BSc-MA-MSc-MBA-PHD [Damn! If I had only known I wouldn't have spent 10 years in university to get the alphabet soup that follows my last name!]
-Within 2 weeks-
-No Study Required- [Knowledge by osmosis!]
-1oo% Verifiable-[Of course. Nothing like a diploma of the University of Nowheretown to inspire trust.]
These are real, genuine degrees that include Bachelors, Masters
and Doctorate degrees. They are verifiable and student records and
transcripts are also available. [You get a transcript for what exactly? You didn't go to school anywhere! You get 10 credits for slaving away for 5 years at McDs? It is a tough job but not exactly diploma-worthy.] This little known secret has been kept quiet for years. The opportunity exists due to a legal loophole allowing some established colleges to award degrees at their discretion.[I'm sure it does wonders for their reputation.] With all of the attention that this news has been generating, I wouldn't be surprised to see this loophole closed very soon. [Hopefully!]
You'll thank me later... Start making money TODAY [You'll probably be making money too, overcharging students without providing them anything but a meaningless piece of paper!] ...not years from now.
Call 1-206-350-7390 Now For More Information
Have a Good Day [Oh, I will. I'm actually happy to have to work for my diploma since I'll be competent when I finish. Imagine that!] "

A Woman's Worth

Well, it is more than I thought. LOL

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

I've had a really busy day but within 30 minutes of browsing the news on the computer, I have concluded that the last few days have not been great for women dabbling in political issues. The Eye Weekly blog linked me to a Macleans' (Canada's Newsweek) article about Michaelle Jean, the new Governor General, all about how she dresses and eats. I was also linked to a story at Crooks and Liars about Judith Miller, the jailed journalist for the Plame/failing to want to reveal her sources who told her the name of a covert CIA agent, getting her ass handed to her by Maureen Dowd, fellow reporter for the NY Times. I don't know if Miller is indeed a big liar and a terrible journalist; I haven't followed this situation closely enough. But it can't feel good to see your own newspaper put an article basically asking for your resignation on the editoral page. Ouch.

To come back to the case of Jean, what kind of dumbass fluff piece is this? I can't decide whether this is a case of sexism that strikes again against women involved in politics or if it's just the culture of infotainment that leads the pervasiveness of lazy journalism. Ugh.

Mmmm, Perfect Bagel.

I know it's a silly title but I had the perfect toasted bagel this morning, which deserves to be celebrated. See, my roommate's toaster is possessed, and hence tends to charbroil all bread, even at the lowest setting. Thus, whenever you toast bread at my place, you need to sit by the toaster, and watch out for your poor slices of bread. Every so often, you eat black toasts. This morning, however, was sheer perfection. Just golden enough that it's crunchy everywhere without being black. Hee, my life is so sad.

I've been neglecting my blog in the last week. Part busy, part lazy. So I thought I had to update today... My brother came to visit last Wednesday. He couldn't stay long but it was still so nice to see him. We went out for dinner, and had some very yummy Thai. My brother even brought me a very fancy toothbrush. It is just awesome to use. That is the perk of having a dentist in the family. :) That makes me think, here is a picture of my brother, my mom, and me:

Hahaha, this was a little joke for my friend Eve, who I hope will read this entry. I should explain to everyone else that this is a picture from the most popular kid show while my brother and I were growing up. It was called Passe-Partout, and had such an impact in Quebec that my generation is often called the Passe-Partout generation. It was an educational show but without being cloying. It was very much what Sesame Street was to the US. The show had a mix of real humans and puppets. Oh, and it had THE best songs! They even made records out of them, and my brother and I had them all. I still know all these songs by heart. LOL Anyway, I was looking around, and stumbled upon pictures of this show. I shall now make Cannelle (which means Cinnamon in French; her brother is named Pruneau, which means Prune! LOL), the little blonde girl in the picture above, my picture in my profile! LOL I also found a link to someone who has made DVDs of all the popular shows when I was growing up.

Thinking about all these shows I used to love just brightened my day. It diverted me from the finger that got caught in a heavy door. Such a stupid thing to do! Thank God the finger isn't broken.

Back to work, lovelies!

Brothers & Cats, Oh My.

My brother is passing through Toronto on his way to London so we are having dinner tonight. It will be so nice to see him. I really miss hanging out with him. He'll finally get to see my current apartment, and my cat (although briefly on the cat since he's allergic...).

Talking of the cat, she has been driving my roommate crazy. Apparently, when I was away overnight last weekend, the cat was a pest early in the morning. So now, my roommate has said I need to take the cat with me or send it somewhere else while I'm away for Xmas vacations. She doesn't want to deal with the cat. I really don't know what I'm going to do. I can't take the kitty with me to Montreal because of my brother's allergies. Plus, I am not too keen on taking the cat out of her usual environment by dumping her on someone else or, worse, having to put her in a kennel-type place for 2 weeks. Not only is that expensive but 2 weeks in a cage will really be a last resort. I would cut short my vacations before doing that.

Anyway, hopefully, the roommie will simmer down, and change her mind. She's been so bitchy and whiny these last few days. She keeps on saying she is overworked. Yes, she is very busy but basically she works 3 days/week teaching (certainly there is a lot of prep and marking beyond those 3 days but still...) and she does some research writing. It's not exactly an unreasonable workload or more than what I have to put up with. She says she worked all weekend but she was out for a good chunk of it going to dinners and stuff. I'm having a little difficulty for empathy. Plus, the first words out of her mouth when I got up this morning were to complain about the fact I had left a bag of trash by the door last night, and forgotten to take it downstairs. And yes, good morning to you too, bitch. Actually, instead of taking it out, she even put it in my bedroom! How juvenile. I apologized because, yes, I should have taken care of it since the apt door is close to her room and it can disrupt her. But I came home at midnight and fell asleep on the couch. Hence, I forgot to take it out. It's not like I leave trash bags by the apt door on a regular basis. She was bitching it was all smelly, which honestly, it really wasn't. Anyway, I could do without this bitchy behaviour. Ugh.

Fangirlish Squee!

The very lovely Gina sent me the link to a NPR interview with George Clooney. She knows my fangirlish tendencies. ;) This is a wonderful interview so I thought I'd share it! I swear I'm not obsessed with him or anything; it is not the 90s anymore. ;) Hee. Clooney is as down-to-earth as a famous guy like him could be, and I can't help but enjoy hearing him talk politics & movies. :)

I Am Woman.

A Tuesday mishmash. I am sitting in my office, looking at the beautiful golden-, orange-, and red-leaved trees. Too bad the clouds are so grey and menacing because, otherwise, it would be a spectacular autumn day.

The Boy is travelling on the West Coast this week so I promised I'd try to keep up the blog so he can drop by to see what I'm up to, if we don't have a chance to chat on the phone. That gives me an excuse to post more. :p

I was listening to the radio while working this morning, and the show was discussing the return of La vie en rose, a Quebecois feminist magazine. The magazine closed its doors in 1987 but they are publishing one special issue to celebrate what would have been their 25th anniversary. I'm certainly going to get it since the articles sound very interesting. There are not many interesting feminist magazines out there. Anyway, I wanted to share the photo on the cover because I thought it was genius.

A picture says so much. It's about the duality of women having to hide in certain parts of the world while others are hypersexualized. It has a 50s recall to Marilyn Monroe's famous scene in The Seven-Year Itch. I guess you could also say that it means that even under their burkas, women are flesh & blood and free. I think this picture can mean a thousand different things, which is why it is so interesting.

On a totally different topic, I must say I laughed my butt off reading a piece by Sars called Office Space. I don't really work in a traditional "office environment" these days but I must say I recognized a lot of the behaviours she was talking about. And the anxiety about bathroom use? Hee. It's a good read.

Sure, I Play with Minesweeper but You Want Me to Do What?

What a Monday. This is to be said with a multitude of different tones. LOL Today, I spent my day at the hospital where my practicum takes place because we had a mandatory hospital orientation. It was so smurfy! A way for HR to justify their jobs. Anyway, most of the day was a total waste of time but I did learn a few things... If there is a code black (i.e., a bomb threat) called into the hospital, the staff has to go look for the bomb! We even have a plan of how to swipe our floor to look for it; rooms are either numbered 1s or 2s, depending on their level of priority. This whole mumbo jumbo totally reminded me of the game Minesweeper, with which I had an unhealthy obsession during the summer of 1994. My mom and I were having competitions. It was all very intense. LOL That does not exactly mean I want to be looking for real-life bombs though. I'm just sayin'.

My day started even more crappy though. I was reading articles in bed last night, and somehow I fell asleep with my highlighter in my hands... Can you see where I am going with this? Oh yes, I woke up all startled at 5:30 this morning to find that my flat sheet and my thick cotton blanket had 2 bright orange stains the size of...Navel oranges (LOL) on them! Lovely! So I had the luck of doing laundry at 5:45. I used Shout to try to get the stains off, which did the best it could, and I washed the sheets twice. I partly succeeded since it is not bright orange anymore. (Silver lining!) Sadly, I am now the owner of a flat sheet & a blanket with each a pink spot. Over the years, I've ruined sweaters, comforters, PJs with markers/highlighters/pens. This is just another chapter in the saga of "Highlighters are surrounding us, and they stain."

I went to the movies with the Boy this weekend, and we went to see an awesome Quebecois movie called C.R.A.Z.Y., which is an acronym standing for the names of the 5 brothers in the story. I really enjoyed the movie because it is a great coming-of-age story about a young guy struggling with his sexual orientation. I also loved the movie because it just reminded me of the Quebec I grew up in, with boisterous family reunions and kids wanting to go unwrap presents instead of sitting at Midnight Mass. Finally, the music in it is AWESOME! A mix of American, British, French & Quebecois musics, which is exactly how I love my music. You have David Bowie, Charles Aznavour, Patsy Cline, and Robert Charlebois all rolled into one, which is a rare treat. I've always loved Patsy Cline's Crazy. I'm listening to it right now as a matter of fact.

I'm spending my night with my computer and Patsy... LOL Have a good night, everyone!

T-Shirt Wisdom

Behold Shut Up, Rory. She kind of deserves this t-shirt. She quit Yale over a guy telling her she's not all that, and she also had to "steal" a boat? Huh?!? I miss S1-early S5 Rory. This season is not uninteresting although I've only seen 2 and a half episodes out of the 5 episodes broadcasted so far. There are new conflicts and situations arising and the writing is still pretty good but I miss Lorelai and Rory together. Plus, I think that Logan, Rory's boyfriend, is not all that interesting. In fact, he's spoiled and kind of a tool. CuteDean, come back.

Questionnaire or How To Pace My Workday

I am still working on many writing endeavours (ethics submission, paper writing, internship applications, clinical readings), and there are totally kicking my butt. Thus, as an incentive, I write/read a section, I get to fill out a bit of a long, odd, and totally useless questionnaire passed on by Jamie. Check out that post if only for the picture of the 24-pound cat! I'll see you the fat cat, and raise you a crazy one.

Anyway, on with the show...

Piercings: I have had pierced ears since I was one.
Height: 5'2"
Shoe size: 7 1/2
Hair color: Medium brown
Hair length: Shoulder-length
Siblings: 1 younger brother

LAST...
movie you rented: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 4, disc one a few weeks ago. Real movie? I think Team America: World Police, which I surprisingly didn't find very funny.
movie you bought: Moulin Rouge. I was given Gilmore Girls, season 4 more recently though.
song you listened to: Spark, Tori Amos
song that was stuck in your head: Wake Me Up When September Ends, Green Day
CD you listened to: Hang On Little Tomato, Pink Martini
Person you've called: My mom
Person that's called you: The Boy
TV show you've watched: Gilmore Girls from the aforementioned DVDs.
person you were thinking of: My diss supervisor (& no, ewww, it wasn't anything romantic or nice, for that matter. LOL)

DO...
you have a bf or gf: I'm dating the aforementioned Boy, yes. But I also always have my harmless TV/movie boyfriends, which are currently Jon Stewart, George Clooney, and Jason Bateman. ;) LOL
you have a crush on someone: Well, the Boy and I are beyond the crush thing, I guess.
you wish you could live somewhere else: Depends on the day. I sure miss living in my hometown though.
you think about suicide: Well, there are days where I wish I could disappear from the face of the Earth but that has more to do with magical powers than suicide!
you believe in on-line dating: Yep. :)
others find you attractive: It's not my main quality but I don't think I'm repulsive or butt ugly. LOL
you want more piercings: Not really.
you drink: Well, of course. Some good wine/beer/liquor. It's the good life, all in moderation, of course.
you do drugs: Nothing beyond caffeine.
you smoke: Nope. Seeing how my parents struggled with that, I had no interest in smoking.
you like cleaning: As my mom says: "Does anyone like cleaning?" Depends on my mood, I guess. I like living in a clean space though so it begs to be done. I'm particularly obsessive about a clean kitchen, and clean clothes.
you like roller coasters: Yes, but not the ones that flip you upside down a lot. This is where my stomach draws the line.
you write in cursive or print: Mostly cursive, I guess.
you carry a donor card: I usually do but that reminds me I forgot to deal with that when I switched health plan. Here is number 5802 thing to do.

FOR OR AGAINST...
using someone: Who can be for using others unless you have psychopathic tendencies? Against.
suicide: Again, with the weird questions! Against! Choosing death is rarely the answer to one's often temporary problems.
killing people: I'm against murder and capital punishment. Well, capital punishment would be okay only for serial murderers/offenders.
teenage smoking: Not a good idea.
driving drunk: These are so strange. Yes, I am for people risking everyone's lives on the road because they couldn't be bothered to take a cab. NOT.

FAVORITE...
food: basil chicken (mmm...Thai food!), quesadilla (mmm...Mexican food!), chocolate cake (mmm...mom's food!), this awesome Wonton/tofu vegetarian soup-like meal from the Vegetarian restaurant where the Boy and I went the other day. Yum.
song: Right now, it is Carole King's Where You Lead.
thing to do: These days, sleeping is my favourite activity because I just don't seem to get enough of it.
thing to talk about: I'm pretty flexible. Food, TV shows, silly and/or obscure facts. I talk a lot about my stress these days.
sport: To watch? Tennis. To do? Weights and Pilates.
drinks: Non-alcoholic? Coffee, water, iced tea. Alcoholic? A glass of red wine, a Cosmopolitan or a Long Island Iced Tea.
clothes: Jeans, a light sweater, and my black blazer.
movies: Too many to name!
holiday: Christmas.
new nerdy saying: "WHAT-Ever." Not new but I've been saying that a lot lately.

HAVE YOU...
ever cried over a guy/girl: Yes, although not as much as I have cried over school, which probably says something. LOL
ever lied to someone: Of course. Sometimes, lies are inevitable. I don't think I've ever lied about important things though.
ever been in a fist fight: No.
ever been arrested: No. Although wouldn't I look snazzy in handcuffs? LOL

NUMBER...
of times you have had your heart broken? I don't think I've ever had my heart truly broken. I've been rejected at least twice where it did sting and hurt for a while.
of hearts you have broken? Two hearts for sure, two hearts I'm not quite sure. LOL
of people you would classify as true, could-trust-with-your-life type friends? Probably about 8.
of people you consider your enemies? Since I'm no James Bond, I don't have a nemesis. ;)
of times your name has appeared in the newspaper? It has appeared a few times in the school paper in high school, and in the local paper. But I'm not famous or anything.
of scars on your body? Two are visible to other people than me. I have other tiny scars that are pretty invisible but I remember what they are from the accidents I have had (a sharp knife that got away and a science class test tube accident!)
of things in your past that you regret: I would certainly have done some things differently but I can't think of many things that were truly traumatic in my life.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE...
funny: I'm no Ms. One-Liners but I certainly laugh a lot, and I'm funny in a goofy kind of way. Plus, I live on sarcasm.
friendly: Yes. I'm a bit reserved but people do tend to talk to me.
loveable: I have my days. LOL
pessimistic: It is usually a fleeting attitude.
optimistic: I'm usually more optimistic than not even if I'm no Mary Sunshine.
caring: Yes, I'm always concerned about making sure everyone is alright.
sweet: I can be but sweetness is not what my friends would describe me as being. I'm a bit too edgy for that.
dorky: Yes. Big time.

Spell your first name backwards: sufood. :b
The story behind your user name: My graduate school research is all about the brain, hence the first part of the name. I came up with diva as a sarcastic way to describe my fairly drama-free existence. Plus, I'm pretty pragmatic and low-maintenance so diva, I ain't.
Where do you live? Toronto.

DESCRIBE YOUR...
Wallet: Black leather with lots of pockets to put all my cards and knick knacks.
Hairbrush: Wooden handle with flat oval top with short flexible bristles.
Toothbrush: One of those Gum toothbrushes with a big handle. I'm getting an electric toothbrush though next week, compliments of my brother.
Jewelry worn daily: 3 rings: 2 paua rings in the left hand, and my high school graduation ring on the right hand. My silver watch. Silver rosebuds earrings I bought in Italy in 1997. I usually also wear one of my many necklaces.
Blanket: Pale green cotton-knitted blanket. Very warm.
Sunglasses: I have those clips-on (well, with a spring as opposed to clips) to go over my prescription glasses.
Shoes: Today? Brown leather with rounded toes and with a chunky heel. Looks good with my light brown corduroys. My favourite shoes though are my Skecher blue running shoes (for comfort) and my sexy red high heels (for feeling like a woman. ;)).
Handbag: I have many handbags I love but the one I currently use is a long black purse.
Favorite shirt: I have a lot of shirts and sweaters I love. My t-shirt with the most attitude is the one that says "All I Need Is The Fake News".
Hair: I like tying the front strands at the back with a hair clip. Keeps my hair all curly but keeps it out of my face. I can't stand having my hair in my face.
Make up: Most days: moisturizer, eyebrows' pencil, lip gloss. When I'm feeling fancy: foundation, eyeshadow, mascara, blush, eyebrows' pencil, and lipstick.

WHO or WHAT...
In my mouth: Nothing. Just drinking from my water bottle every so often.
In my head: Work and intermittently, the Boy.
Wishing: I wish I could spend a day vegging in front of the TV without having to articulate any intelligent thought.
Talking to: Myself? LOL Everyone has left the office.
Eating: Nothing. I had a quesadilla and a salad earlier for lunch.
Person you wish you could see right now: My parents.
Is next to you: My desk. LOL A stack of papers.
Something you're looking forward to in this upcoming month: My brother's visit to TO.
Something that you are deathly afraid of? I'm not too keen on fire.
Do you like candles: Not so much. See previous answer. Plus, they burn out the oxygen and release CO2 in the room, which is not excellent for air quality.
Do you like incense: Not really since it is too overpowering. I do like that it reminds me of going to church as a child with my grandmother though.
Do you believe in love: Yes. I don't know how I couldn't.
Do you believe in soul mates: Not really. Although I do believe some people are better suited for us than others.
Do you believe in love at first sight: Nope.
Do you believe in forgiveness: Yes, very much.
What do you want done with your body when you die: I'm donating it to science or if I die really young and in good health, someone can have my organs.
Who is your worst enemy? Sugar? LOL
If you could have any animal for a pet: I lurve my cat as is.
What is the latest you've ever stayed up: Almost 48 hours up in a row.
Ever been to England? Not yet
Can you eat with chopsticks: Yep, and I love it
What are some of your favorite pig out foods? Chocolate and ice cream.

Life Update

I spent a nice weekend with the Boy; we went to a party Saturday night and ran lots of errands on Sunday. I have a new shiny office chair, and the Boy got a very snazzy watch. :) I also got a very pretty wintercoat to replace my former coat that was starting to be a bit ratty. The Boy and I were also looking for Trivial Pursuit, but holy moly was it ever expensive. I may have to scour the Net to find one a bit cheaper. :)

I'm stressed out because of the piles of work I have but then, I went teaching this morning and it all seemed worthwhile. I forget sometimes that my work can be rewarding. LOL I had a double helping of students today (about 50 kids) since one TA was out sick. I thought it might be a tricky balancing act but I had students thanking me for helping them master a tricky concept at the end of the hour so it was all worth it.

The long weekend had not started so great. On Friday, I had an ultrasound (routine checkup), and as in a lot of ultrasound clinics, there were a lot of pregnant women in the waiting room. One of those women had this crazed boyfriend/husband with her. It takes me a lot to feel like I want to tell someone off but wow. This guy was acting so abusive. He appeared to hit her in the face at one point, although it wasn't clear if it was accidental or not. He was trying to put her wedding (?) ring on, and she didn't want to. She probably got stuck with this guy because she got pregnant. She looked at me at some point, and the sadness and fear in her eyes were overwhelming. Her boyfriend/husband kept shouting in his cellphone and was typing furiously on his Blackberry. At times, I couldn't really tell if he was talking to her or not since he only spoke Chinese, and I had no clue what he was saying. Another patient in the waiting room also noticed their behaviour, and saw I had noticed too. Once the couple left, that patient and I talked a bit, and she couldn't believe he was being so crazy in front of everyone. I felt so powerless in front of such a situation. I was really wishing I could have helped her. A pregnancy is hard enough without having the deal with a volatile partner.

How To Ruin the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada, the day to give thanks for all the blessings. I must say, I've really messed up my Thanksgiving this year. I spent most of the day cursing things as opposed to appreciating what I have. I have just been feeling so tired and stressed out recently, despite taking time off on weekends to appreciate all the finer points of life that do not involve work. Clearly, I'm not as used to that as I thought; "laidback" is not my middle name. LOL I spent the day cursing a sore shoulder and plugged-up ears (You'd think I was in my sixties, not my twenties), feeling the weight of all the work but wanting to spend the day sleeping, feeling cranky and sad about life for no good reason,... Ah, the joys of PMS.

I shall write down 10 things I am thankful to help me remember the things I am usually grateful for...

1) My parents and my brother, for always supporting me.

2) My friends, for listening to me.

3) The Boy, for being sweet and putting up with me even when I'm not at my best.

4) My cat, for being a loving little pest.

5) My bed, for keeping warm and comfy all these nights.

6) My laptop, for never giving up on me and keeping up the good work of not getting infected by viruses! LOL

7) Coffee, for making mornings a little easier.

8) Sun, for creating wonderful sunrises and sunsets and making me all warm and fuzzy.

9) Work, for having found a field where I feel useful on good days, and not too bad on not-so-good days.

10) Books, for allowing me to learn and mentally travel everywhere through time and space.

Celebrity News!

I must say, there is nothing like coming home late after a long day, and having a cat puke her dinner all over the kitchen floor at midnight. That made for a gross end of day yesterday. At least, she doesn't appear sick, which means no trip to the vet. There is always a silver lining.

I'm tired these days, and I'm trying to get back into working out regularly like I used to because I feel all doughy otherwise. Boy, is it tough. I just don't have the energy... I wish days had more than 24 hours in them!

Okay, I like to spread celebrity gossip (well, substantiated one). Did you see that Nic Cage named his new son Kal-el? You know, like Superman's name on Krypton... Seriously, I think the English translation for this name will be "He who gets beaten up on the playground by others who think he should have superpowers". *shakes head*

Oh, there is a Cruise-Holmes spawn in the works. That means little Joey Potter is actually stuck with freaky Tommy. And we shall be inundated with publicity about the wonderous spawn. Oh, the humanity.

Ode To Sleep

This morning was one of those mornings when I just wanted to stay all bundled up in my bed. Sadly, it was not meant to be. I was actually composing an ode to sleep in my head while riding the subway. LOL As I was thinking of rhymes, I dozed off (LOL), so I can't really remember it all now! Anyway, my poem was free form rather than following the structure of an ode but the word "ode" sounds more dramatic!

This is what I remember of it:
Sleep so sweet
Nestled under a sheet
Enveloped in peaceful slumber
Made of dream and wonder

I'll need to work on this poem since my whole semester will be a worship at the altar of the hours of sleep I do get. Despite my lack of sleep, I shall have to stay up (or at least program my VCR) this Thursday night, because Late Night with Conan O'Brien has a full hour with U2!!! Mmmm...good music!

I'll leave you with a smart quote I heard this morning on my favourite French radio show. "Parfois, l'envers de la vérité n'est pas le mensonge mais la bêtise." This can be translated to: "Sometimes, the opposite of the truth is not lie but stupidity." Deep, huh?

If Everything Were Easy...

life would be boring. I must remind myself of that; otherwise, I'd go crazy sometimes. All my dissertation stuff is stressing me out tremendously. I don't really feel like discussing the particulars, which are not interesting anyway, but let's just say, I have a big ball of stress in my stomach today. Thank God for the relaxing weekend I had; it makes all of this easier to bear.

Some days, I wonder if my head will explode from the stress. You know, like cartoons where a cranium explodes and sends bits and pieces everywhere. LOL

I'm at my old practicum today testing a patient I had previously seen for a follow-up. It was not an overly stressful day but just the weight of everything on my metaphorical plate is enough to send me running for the hills... Anyway, I need to go take a walk in the halls, and get myself a cup of coffee. That always makes the day seem a little better. :)