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[02 Dec 2003|08:55pm] |
Back to school
Woke up painfully
Got to school, lab groups were switched around, which I wasn't impressed with.
My lab group is now Cassandra and Jandrew, which should work out okay, but it didn't today.
Jandrew is always complaining about me talking down to him, and he's right, I do, a bit, but I'm trying to work on it. This semester is a fresh start.
The problem between us is that, we're stubborn, but beyond that, when he hits a snag in practical work he runs off and asks for help, without making an earnest attempt to figure things out on his own, and that doesn't fit with my philosophy for learning at all. Cassandra does things the same way. It's easy to end up talking down to someone who has no confidence in their abilities, even if you don't mean too and it's obviously not changing his attitude on things so I'll try make an attempt to hold my tongue, and besides, it's not worth taking things too seriously, and above all that, he's my friend and I feel bad about mistreating him.
It's all still excellent though, I never expected I'd be getting up in the mornings with such eagerness to learn, everyday really is an adventure there.
Got my new textbook, after school, but the textbook store refused to buy back my text from last semester because it was a previous edition. That is crap, and I'm walking into school tomorrow prepared to make a gigantic fuss about it because the school promised we'd be able to sell the books back for 50% of the purchases price, although I've already got myself set, I'm switching books with Chris because he has a new edition and isn't planning on selling.
Then I went to the Value Village with Travis at Dufferin and Steeles, I got a No Use For a Name t-shirt. On the front it says "NO USE", written over top of a Star Trek arrowhead, then on the back it says "Dammit Jim, I'm a Punker!". I also saw a t-shirt that had a Queens U logo on the front but was followed by "Queens University- Fucking Sheep since 1841", on the back it had "The Top Ten Reasons Why McGill is Better Than Queens". I'm sure Catriona would appreciate it, but it's doubtful I'd ever get to see her again to give it to her. Besides the No Use shirt, there wasn't much else good there, but the fact that I got that shirt for $2 balances out the lack of nice sweaters or cords. I think a trip to the Bloor/Lansdowne location is in order, as well as a return visit to the large Goodwill location somewhere around Queen-ish east and Sherbourne-ish (I think?), I've only visited there once, last March, and Megan was leading the way. All I know for sure is that it's definitely in the east end.
After I left the store, we waited for the bus and I noticed impractical backpack (it's made out of mesh!) girl was there, with her boyfriend, I guess, they looked really cute together, and he had a Desaparecidos pin on his bag.
I also stopped by North York Central and got Bowling for Soup, the Eels, and an Appalachian folk music compilation with Yo-Yo Ma doing the violin on a couple tracks on CD. Also I got Catcher in Rye, because, I had to read it sooner or later. I'm 66th in the queue for a Johnny Cash CD, so apparently I should be getting it in oh.. a year. Perks of Being a Wallflower which I'm going to be reading under recommendation from Kate is 'in transit' so I should be getting it soon. I'm in love with the Toronto Public Library's integrated computer system.
I stopped and put my disposable camera in to be developed, but too late I realized my error, the place is obviously a high class 'convenience' location, because of it's location in North York Centre, but it's too late now, I'm going to have to pay way more than what I'm used to at Dominion. I should have gotten the hint when she said it was $0.20 a picture for doubles.
The location though, is convenient, because it's on my way home-ish, but definitely on my way when I'm going to North York Central, which I do at least once a week, although, I'm sure I'll exhaust their CD collection very quickly, and searching the web page and ordering holds just isn't the same as physically flipping through a stack of discs.
Books though, there, seems to be in infinite supply, and every book I read, the bibliography leads me to more I want to read. I finished the book I borrowed on complexity science and artificial life while I was there and returned it with the Rheostatics cds which are now burned on my computer, as well as the Woody Guthrie tribute CD, and a book by Niles Eldridge on Evolution vs Creationism which I found to be extremely biased, although for a change, on the side that I agree with, and after getting myself further acclimated with the state of modern evolutionary theory, I've decided it's Eldrigde's and Gould's camp I'm siding with for the time being, when it comes to the internal debate going on within the field, although like it's been claimed, there's not much of a difference either way, it's still all natural selection.
That last sentence was probably irrelevant to 100% of the people reading my journal, but oh well. I'm going to delve back into evolutionary theory again soon, but I've got a few books here I need to finish first, on thermodynamics and cosmology like I'm sure I've mentioned before.
Kazza downloaded like 75 songs while I was out, mostly Ben Kweller and the Flaming Lips.
Right in the middle of writing this entry my bestest plutonic female friend from high school, Christine called me from the lobby of the hotel she's at in Yorkville. So now after school tomorrow I'm going to go see her before she goes off on to Sri Lanka on Friday. She was accepted into the Canada World Youth program and spent the last half of this year with a Sri Lankan family in Orillia, now she's going to Sri Lanka for the next 6 months to do volunteer work. It sounds really amazing, no worries about money or school or the future.
Last night I watched the OC, it's my only guilty television pleasure, they played a Bright Eyes song at the end, which was awesome, and during the course of it I ate entire $2.99 Raspberry Danish Twist Cake. Btw to anyone in the know, Anna is soo the obvious choice, what is wrong with that guy?
I also neglected to write much about my trip to Queen West last night except for a few sentences. I went to 'Rotate This' and got tickets for the Hey Mercedes show me and Kate are going to on Friday (I'm really excited, it's going to be so much fun). I think after listening to them for quite a bit over the past few days, I'm really starting to get into them, the songs, they have some good lyrics, and bite. The store was amazing, they had 3 Bright Eyes CDs in stock and the EP, along with I think all the Death Cab for Cutie Cds, Piebald, Promise Ring, and I'm sure most of whatever else I was looking for. Not only that, but the prices we're reasonable, $19.95 for a new CD, amazing. I was so impressed I even took the time to mention that I was impressed to the clerk, who was very friendly.
I then went west up the street to Neurotica, where I was greeted with an equally impressive musical (although used) stock. Among what I saw, included, Ultimate Fakebook, Spring Heeled Jack, Buck o Nine, old AFI, Fountains of Wayne, Bowling For Soup, Less than Jake, the Something Corporate Audioboxer EP, the Matchbox Romance EP, and two very other impressive titles that would make your jaw drop if you found them at a used CD store, although I can't mention them for a reason of 'holiday secrecy'. All these CDs were there for around $10 (EPs were less obviously), amazing as well.
After the CD store I went to grocery store and got standard stuff, 2 bags of perogies, burgers and buns and cheese slices, the previously mentioned and now devoured Danish twist cake, frozen pasta dishes for lunches, cans of OJ, and 6 boxes of Pizza Pockets because they were on sale.
My finances are fairly in order for the month, my phone and visa bill are paid, my metropass is bought, Christmas is within another $40 of being under control for gifts, I still have to decide and possibly purchase the toys I'm receiving from my parents (digicam and palm pilot, spending about $250 for the two), the book return fiasco will be rectified one way or another, my grocery shopping for the month is done because I shall be spending the last week at home with my parents (free food, nothing better) until new years eve (or the day before) when I shall return (my own apartment=party?), I think for sure me and Kate are going to Nathan Phillips Square for midnight and the rest though and Ryan is supposed to be in town by then.
My rent cheque is made out, I just have to track down my landlady, and also bother her about a lock for the side entrance to the building, and to fix my leaking roof (it's not a huge issue for me, I can keep it under control, and I'm only living here for a year or so more, it's her roof that's going to be destroyed, not mine). Tuition needs to be paid too. Again because Megan is such a great bud, she took some of my laundry to give it a cleaning, and I really appreciate it, she's been super cool about things since we broke up, and we're having a fairly easy time remaining friends, it really helps me out, laundry could be a budget buster otherwise.
More about Ryan, he's my best friend from high school, who kind of tossed his life out the window the last couple years, but now he's back at home, gotten his Grade 12 and has hooked himself up with a place to stay up here (his uncle's). So sometime soon, he'll be here, with his uncle, getting a job, and making the attempt to get into RCC. I think he may just make it after all.
I am really digging this Appalachian Folk Music, it's mostly instrumentals, modern recordings, guitars and violins, amazing stuff, I'm going to be spending more and more time with this kind of music, I think. It's honest.
Life is great, these days, it has a lot to do with Kate, but everything else seems to be working out good as well.
Everything seems so much brighter with Kate around, to know there's someone I can see when I want to do something, and wants to see me just as much. Things are really building nicely with us and that's okay with me because I think she's adorable and amazing and all together everything I need in my life to make it awesome every single second that I have to live of it (which incidentally is always).
That is all, I'm really going to try to make this semester of school a more productive one, and try to bring everyone closer together, we're a team after all, we should act like it.
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