PhD Classes, day one

well... there really is not much to say about today - nothing out of the extraordinary, which in and of itself is pretty cool! Things that are noteworthy to mark the day include:

1) having a prof who, I have decided, is the official doppleganger of Jay Mohr - jokes, awkward pauses for effect, blond, receding hairline, and midwestern accent all-inclusive! haha

2) a classmate offering to give me a lift home after the last class ended at 8pm, only to arrive at class and find out that her car had broken down. (which turned out okay, because I took a taxi home and if I had found out about her car before I left for school, I would have tried to bring my bicycle and it started thunderstorming right as class ended... so, although I was inconvenienced, I wasn't miserably drenched and all is well.) - that is so not grammatically correct. sue me.

3) seeing an overwhelming amount of apparel announcing the word "cock". GOOOOOOOO GAMECOCKS! whatever. The shirts, hats, gym shorts, etc all shortened it to COCKS or COCK*. and not "GO..." one-word advertising is all this school needs, apparently. ugh.

4) having the world's most annoying classmate in EVERY SINGLE CLASS. And by annoying, I more-than-likely mean "just like me 10 yrs younger". Except thinner and with straighter teeth. Very outspoken, VERY flirtatious (I've got nothing on her remark to the only cute guy in the class: "What can I do to get your help with theory??? I have learned that the easiest way to get a guy to do something for me is to feed him or seduce him..." WHA???**), interested in Magic Realism and Southern Lit, and very critical... did I mention outspoken? How about flirtatious?

5) being introduced to a very influential prof in the following terms: "I recommend that you keep an eye out for this young lady... she is very impressive and I see her going places...***" HOW COOL IS THAT? :)

6) meeting another prof who is a younger, thinner, American-accented version of Sayid on LOST. dreamy!

Okay. so maybe this day was worth blogging about. Some pretty cool things happened! :)


* I tried to link to photos online, but they don't exist... now I will make it my mission to take a pic of this annoying trend amongst campus fashion.

** the "T" is intentionally omitted here for emphasis on my shock and horror/jealousy at her talent/bravery

*** said by a prof I'd just met the day before in a pre-semester Q&A panel session for 1st-yr grad students (new to UofSC)... of course I asked questions! I know that after I left the 'influential' prof's office, my advocate went over and explained what I did to impress him, but I left them alone to discuss how (apparently) awesome I am. haha!

FIRST DAY in SC

okay*, so it's my 2nd day here... but yesterday all I did was unpack about a billion boxes and CLEAN. And that is just no fun to blog about... because this place was disgGUSting. my feet were black at the end of the day... ewww... but (Bron), the last tenants did leave TP, which was very useful at one point.

I don't know how this blog is going to turn out, but I don't want to take this time for granted, even if I'm not in some exotic place like Ireland or SASKATCHEWAN! :) I am hoping to play tourist in my backyard and we'll see how this turns out.

So today was my first day of work. I didn't tell you about my job? oh. okay, let's start there: I went to UofSC as soon as I arrived in the Carolinas to talk to financial aid about the fact that the $$ they were allowing me to have was not enough to live on. A couple weeks prior, I had run across a possible work-study (where the govt funds student employment - cheap(ish) labour for the Uni & tax-free paycheques for the students)... anyway! While I was on campus, I decided to stop by & meet the lady (Carla) and see if she could tell me where financial aid was. By the time I left her office, I had a job - and she offered me $2 more an hour than was posted online... Praise the LORD!

SO.

Today was the first day of that job. I am one of 3 admin assistants in the department of languages, literatures & cultures, which happens to be MY department, woot! My schedule has me working Tue/Wed/Thurs for 14.5hrs/week and, in conjunction with my course schedule, I now officially have 4-day weekends, double-woot**! :)

Today, I met about 40 people and started to learn about 80 names. I answered phones and was asked questions that I had no clue how to answer for the 1st half of the day... I learned the copying system... I networked... and I ran up and down stairs for HOURS (delivering mail). And I was happy! I was able to meet the Comp Lit program director face-to-face, have a sit-down meeting with the graduate studies director, be introduced to the dean of the department, and meet a fellow classmate (who got a teaching assistantship, but I won't hold it against her...)!

Things I found out today are:

1) one of the instructors in the German department (to whom I was introduced and ended up talking with for a while) is from Dublin -- and it turns out that one of her good friends is one of my lecturers at UL! WHAT? Pretty cool, eh? And she also sent me to a couple dudes who may be interested in supervising my dissertation (when the time comes) - yay for networking!!! and

2) I cannot take graduate-level spanish lit courses in Latin America like I'd hoped... BUT, UofSC offers 2 graduate-level summer courses and, assuming I do well in them, the director of graduate studies wants to consider me for a teaching assistantship next year in Spanish! (okay... we'll see how that goes, but it is an incentive to get on the ball with the spanish speaking-phobia I've recently developed, right?)

In addition to all of that excitement, I rode my bicycle 1/3 of the way to school (at 7:30am, what?) and all the way back from school - a total of just under 5miles. And got lost without a map on the way to get bloodwork done (I have to prove that I won't catch measles or rubella... sigh) and wandered campus for about 30mins. Can we say "workout"***???

And in addition to all of THAT excitement: I met a cute boy. His name is Rob, he lived in Ireland for 3.5months, he doesn't wear a wedding band, he is new to campus (too), and his mailbox # is 286. That is all I got after running into him at least five times today... NOT BECAUSE I'M A STALKER, either!!!!... because he kept talking to ME! (just so we're clear.) If I had been smart, or at all socially adept, I could have swung a "we'll have to get together for lunch or coffee sometime" during our 10-min conversation that started out with "where's a good place to eat around here?" and quickly (d?)evolved into "Limerick is the murder-capital of the EU (me)" to "the Burren is amazing! (both of us)" to "yeah, I'll probably live at the Colloquium (aka nearby coffee shop) most of the time (me)"... to the elevator doors closing... but we still chatted (about NOTHING) 3 more times after that catastrophe, so I didn't scare him off... yet.

In other news, all I have eaten today is half a bagel & 2stalks of celery. Now I'm off to bed!

* sorry, no cool pics this time to distract you from the lengthy-ness of this email.
**I love that blogging automatically grants me the right to make up words, yay!
***to be honest, I do not recall why I starred this. I think in my head, I wanted everyone to cheer "WORKOUT!" with me... haha :)

PS
There may be more Rob stories to come, mostly because I enjoy telling boy-stories (Ian, close your eyes, haha!)... until I find out he's married or gay. or MY PROF. Optimism: ain't it grand?

take care world ~

Mr. A-Z

I'm just sayin'...


yeah, yeah - I have a few things to apologise for:
1) taking a billion years to post a new blog...
2) not sending out self-inquiry questions to a few friends who were nice enough to request them from my last post (still no telling when they'll happen!), and
3) stealing Jason Mraz' creativity to title tonight's episode of my world!

Please forgive me.

And now on to last night's adventure... I know that writing this out is not nearly as cool as actually telling the story, but my throat still hurts from last night, so this may be for the best anyway... this will be a long one, so get comfortable...:

OKAY!

Sooooo... as most of you know, I was psyched to attend the Jason Mraz concert last night!!! I mean, seriously, I planned my move from Calgary to the Carolinas 3 weeks earlier than I needed to for this show. I bought my tickets to the concert BEFORE I bought my flight home. The only thing most important than going to the show (with a tiny hope of meeting & potentially making out with Jason - 'cause he & I are tight and we're on a first name basis, apparently) was sharing the experience with my sister. It had been 6yrs since she and I had taken time out of our busy schedules (and international boundaries) to spend sister-time together. To be fair, Jen does not care one whit about Jason, but she knew this concert was important to me, so she agreed to go...

she seriously did not know what she was getting into.

It began as a normal concert experience - the venue just opened a couple months ago, so we were unfamiliar with the directions, parking, regulations, etc... but the biggest stressor for me was the storm clouds I could see gathering later in the afternoon. I kept trying to explain Stephanie's Law to my sister, and she was trying to counter my negative thoughts with positive ones all afternoon... the Law won.

We arrive safely, Jen bought a $5 poncho from a vendor on the sidewalk as we were parking - just in case - and parking was a breeze. Then we walked the 1/4mile to the amphitheatre.

Did I mention that this venue is outdoors, and there is no covered seating? Or that the tickets said "rain or shine"? How about the fact that they did not allow umbrellas, chairs or blankets into the venue? no? okay, well, now you know.

So we get to the line, they search our bags, we have to take the lids off our water bottles and take the open containers into the seating (huh?), have our tickets scanned, pass by the "gratitude cafe tent", and find our seats. It's a pretty neat space - we were 24th row, but it didn't seem to be too far away from the stage. I was okay - I mean, we weren't on the lawn and we did have reserved seats.

The concert had already begun with the opening act (K'naan, I think?) I was not impressed, but my sis liked him okay, so I was happy! We found our seats, put our water bottles in the holders*, I handed my sister her poncho and opened my anorak as we sat down. And before we had the protective coverings on, the sky opened into TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR. I am not joking. Between putting one arm in my sleeve while completely dry and putting the other arm in its sleeve, my entire body was drenched. It was like I stepped into the shower. I figure, at least this is warm rain - not that crazy frigid-cold stuff that fell from the sky in Ireland... right?!

So Jen got her poncho on and I zipped my coat and we stood up for a minute and did a "rain dance" (we were encouraged by the singer on the stage, fyi)... and then he cut off mid-song and said something like "umm... so I have been told that lightning has been sighted, so we're going to have to cut off the power here on the stage..." and Jen & I sat down and waited. In the rain.

The place was starting to empty out, except for a few rows of fans who had crowded under the eave of the stage, so we set out to join them (in hopes of getting a decent seat once the show resumed, of course). And about the time we arrived, they make an announcement telling everyone that we have to leave the amphitheatre and return to our cars until the electrical storm passes - that we will be informed when the concert resumes. RIGHT.

Well, our little crowd were the only ones left (or so it appeared), and everyone was turning to leave, when the HAIL rained upon us. WHAT??? The hailstones weren't giant, but man, could they sting! I got hit right by my eye and thought "well, if I start bleeding, at least I'll have a scar to remind me of this night..." and Jen was in front of me doing what looking like a fire-walk, jumping around trying to avoid the stings of flying iceballs. We're making our way down the stairs when some guy walks toward us yelling "EVERYBODY OUT!!!!" at the top of his lungs... because, obviously, walking toward the exit wasn't enough indication of us leaving...

Jen started walking barefoot because she was sliding in her flipflops, and we took cover under the eave of the will call/ticket office with about 20 other people to ride out the storm. I didn't want to go to the car and risk missing the concert because of slacker event staff, so we stood. In the rain. In an electrical storm. In more than an inch of water. Barefoot (well, one of us at this point). For 45mins. With more and more people arriving - I'd say hundreds more cars.
The storm moved on and the rain slowed from a downpour to just plain rainfall. So we left the shelter and returned to the entrance of the amphitheatre in order to be at the front of the throng. Remember Stephanie's Law**? Anyway! We waited and waited. I started to sing "I'm Yours" and a couple people hummed along. Then all of a sudden, Martha Chinnis shows up with her boyfriend (Erick) and we talked for another 20-30mins or so.
And then THEY showed up. The DRY PEOPLE. They would come out from inside the amphitheatre and would wave down from the other side of the fence at us lowly wet folk. At first, it was a couple people at a time.

Then, at around 9:30 (the concert began at 7pm), event staff returned... only to start breaking down tables and removing garbage cans. And when we asked them what was happening, they only answered "I don't know". So I sang some more songs. This time Erick and Martha joined me.

I knew Jason had done midnight shows before, so I was hopeful, but more as an obsessive fan than a realistic citizen. I had decided that I didn't want to leave until someone (from the event staff) told me I had to. My sister supported me.

I think Jen was okay with the drama*** until the DRY PEOPLE started coming down the stairs without saying a word. Beer-in-hand, stone-faced DRY PEOPLE walked out of the amphitheatre - by the HUNDREDS. I stopped one lady and asked where she had been and her reply was something like, "well, I was in the amphitheatre!" and I was like, but the place was empty when I left and she answered, "no, it was nearly full!" WHAT??? (again).

And I was still okay... and Jen was still supportive... and then all the other people in line in front of us U-turned and walked away... without a word. So I made my way to an event staff member and asked her the story and here's what I got (with a sad look on her face):

"Jason has agreed to play an accoustic show next door in the Fillmore. But it only seats 2000 people and the seating is first-come-first serve."

I asked directions to the Fillmore, turned around, took MY shoes off, whispered to Jen, Martha and Erick to follow me and BOLTED. Through mud, grass, bushes... I drilled my way through the throngs, with Jen hanging onto my anorak for dear life, Martha tugging on Jen's poncho and Erick clinching Martha's raincoat... and I haven't told them a word yet. Then I hit a wall of people. I whispered to the other 3 the new information and Martha yells out "WHAT'S THE FILLMORE?" (Martha, Martha, Martha!) And then I take our train on a loop around the ticket office. And then I realise...

I only have one ticket in my hand.

I had been holding onto mine & Jen's tix at the front gate. When I noticed the missing ticket, Jen offered to sit in the car if they don't let her into the Fillmore... please. Like I was going to let that happen!

So I leave the other 3 in the middle of thousands of people with instructions to keep pushing forward and I turn around and skip hundreds of people in line at the ticket office to plead my case: I explain how I moved to Charlotte from Canada 3 weeks early just for this concert and how I wanted to share it with my sister and how, in the rain and the chaos, one of my tickets was gone... and asked if they would possibly be able to reprint my 2nd ticket... and they said I'd need ID, the original credit card and the one ticket I had - which was in Jennifer's hand. So I yelled across, like, 50ppl and she passed the ticket back to me... and eventually I wound my way through the crowd back to my sister with 2 tickets for the concert in my hand! WHEW!

At this point, I notice that there was an empty space of ground right in front of us and ask Jen, Martha & Erick why they hadn't filled it in and I had about 10 people tell me that the tree in the clearing had fire ants.

(notice fire-ant tree on left and Fillmore sign in background)

By this time, I was running on pure adrenaline. We had been told that the DRY PEOPLE had bought VIP tix and had already been safely shuffled into the Fillmore, leaving only about 1700 spaces left and 3000+people waiting outside. I risked the fire ants.

I had also decided that, if I didn't make it to this concert, I was driving (or busing or whatever) to Jason's concert in Cary, NC (about 3hrs away) the next night. Jen decided she was going with me.

Then the announcements started:
1) the Fillmore is only licensed for people ages 21+
2) they are letting people with reserved seating in first
3)and my favourite 3-in-1 (announced to a SILENT crowd of thousands): YOU HAVE A CHOICE: #1- you can attend tonight's accoustic concert, but Jason won't be singing, #2- Jason is planning to return to Charlotte at a later date this summer or #3- you can opt for a refund of your ticket.

Between these three announcements, Martha & Erick decided to turn back while Jen & I made it to the front, say, 600ppl.

Then the rain fell down. AGAIN! The crowd morphed into a throng - it literally pulsed. Jen & I were expecting a riot or at the very least a mosh pit. We couldn't turn around in our spots - she was holding onto my anorak again, but this time, there were 2 bodies between us. Another torrential downpour!!! It rained and flooded. Jen & I are still barefoot. My claustrophobia had kicked in about 30mins prior. And the doors opened.

HALLELUJAH! (can I say that? a little blasphemous, I know...)

There were 4 security guards posted across the sidewalk and LITERALLY just as Jen & I passed by them, the hands came down to cut the crowd off. I yanked Jen in because I saw the arm raise above me...

as I handed my tickets to the attendant, I made sure Jason would be playing (#1 of that 3rd announcement was just to weed out people, apparently - it had been passed down by word of mouth) - and actually, my exact words were "if he doesn't sing, I will come back and find you." I was promised that he would sing.

We walked in to find a bunch of DRY PEOPLE (now drunk dry people) seated around the outside of the room. And we found ourselves in a standing-only room.

And we stood approximately TEN FEET from the stage! Honestly, there were maybe 4 rows of people between me and Jason!!!!!!!!!

The rest of the story is just a letdown, I am sure. But it involved DRY DRUNK PEOPLE trying to squeeze in to the crowd, looking all perfect & pretty and my sister and I starting a barricade. There were about 10 people around us who joined in a vendetta against the DRY PEOPLE. (that's what they were called by everyone, fyi) One older man in the back would yell "elbows out!" and everyone would stand their ground while Jen & I were like "no." or "you can take another way to find your mom/child/husband/whatever." or "I guess you love going to the bathroom more than you love being close to the stage, then." or "I'm pretty sure this isn't reserved seating." I honestly had determined that I was wet enough to where, if I had to pee, I would probably have just peed standing up rather than give up my spot. Seriously. The girl in front of us offered her black-belt services, if need be. And the guy beside her was like "I'm with her!" (even though he wasn't really with her) - just to keep everyone happy... we pretty-much bonded! Glad I didn't pee and ruin the good vibes.

And yes, the concert was PHENOMENAL. It was better than I could have imagined, considering the overall outcome. And eventually (about 3/4 through Jason's set), Jen & I did give up our spots to go sit down on the floor stage left. When I wanted to stand and join the crowd, I was in the 2nd row, but with a partial view - still AWESOME! We had been standing for a solid 5.5hrs by then (the concert ended at 1am), and Jennifer had worked on her feet from 7:30am till 2:30pm. Did I mention my sister ROCKS???

We both decided we like Bushwalla, too...
she more than I, but I am grateful that Jen enjoyed the concert after that unbelievable experience... what a great sport, eh? :)

*the water bottles remained in their holders at our seats, in case you were curious.
** Stephanie's Law: whatever Stephanie wants, the opposite must occur. (but only with the little things... mostly)
***you know, the drama that follows me EVERYWHERE??? :)

PS
here's a peak at the audience warmup with Jason... not much, but my internet sucks, so you only get a blip.

Introspection

I have been thinking of the word, introspection since I commented on MayB's blog requesting an interview. That's just sad. But I had fun during my inward search for Stephanie and I hope this sheds some light into my world:


1. If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would you wear?

pajamas. specifically, an oversized t-shirt and printed bottoms. if I were living in Canada/Ireland, the bottoms would be my pink flannel plaid pants & if I lived in the Carolinas, they would be striped shorts. sad, but true.


2. What old school Nintendo game did you rock at?

it was a tie between Metroid & Legend of Zelda. I guess I would have to say I rocked at Metroid, since I could actually beat the game. (Once!) I only made it to the next-to-top level in Zelda, but I had so much fun playing :)

3. Where did you see your life going by the time you hit this age? Are you where you thought you'd be?

It depends on when in my life I was imagining my 33-yr-old self... I guess I always assumed I would be married by now... and done school... and still in North Carolina... WRONG on all counts, wow! When I was 17, I had a Senior Book that allowed me to predict my future. I remember saying that I hoped to be married by the time I was 27 and that I wanted to be a pediatric oncologist. 33 never really entered the picture. And apparently, neither did kids. hmmm... and I am definitely not where I thought I would be! I never imagined that I would have lived in 3 countries by now, nor did I see myself ever making (some) $$ from my photos... and I had given up my dream of being a teacher between the ages of 6 & 26, so it was definitely not part of 'the plan' - overall, I'd say I am happy with the changes in direction my life took. Proverbs 16:9, baby: Man may make his plans, but GOD will direct his paths!


4. Name your favourite comfort food and the best reason to eat it.

Soup - of most kinds. I love making enough homemade vegetable-beef soup to last for a week. I usually make it when I am poor & tired of making decisions. I also love Chef-Boy-Ardee (sp?) - specifically, ravioli & spaghetti/meatballs. Those are for the days when I've been at work all day & I'm feeling nostalgic for my childhood.


5. What temperature do you keep your residence set at? Sub question: Are you purposely trying to kill the environment?

When I have control over my residence temperature, I usually like to keep it at 67F/19C during the day and 62F/16C at night. If it helps, my thinking is not necessarily, "I really hope I am doing my part to kill the environment today!" so much as, "I will do what I can to keep my bills consistent... please not another $300 gas bill in January or another $150 electric bill in July!!!" So if the bill increases, I tend to adjust my air conditioning/heating to compensate, if I can survive the resulting temp. And there are always fans & hot water bottles, when necessary.



So here's the catch: I won't stalk you with questions, but if you like this kind of stuff and want to be quizzed, drop me a comment to let me know. But just so you know, I did this for me, so if no one is interested, it won't hurt my feelings, haha!

Here's what you're supposed to do:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (please make sure I have your email cause that helps when trying to actually email someone)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. Be sure you link back to the original post.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

My first conference!

So over New Years, I was busy working on my very first proposal for a call for papers. I had no clue what I was doing, but my very good friend, Ky, helped me. We didn't have internet and I kept procrastinating on walking up to the office on the North Battleford grounds in the FRIGID COLD WEATHER, so I nearly missed the deadline.

At 11:30pm, Calgary time, Erica let me drive her car up to the street in front of the office in the hopes that the wireless would reach that far -- and it did -- so I got the proposal turned in with 10 minutes to spare, woot!

I just found out today that my proposal was accepted! I have been in attendance at several conferences/workshops, and I am not sure just how competitive these things actually are, but it sure feels good to have my idea accepted by complete strangers...

I am still in the "WOOHOO!" phase, but I am sure the "ohmygoodnesswhathaveidone?" phase will arrive soon enough :) I will worry about that when it happens. For now, I am going to bask in the idea that someone wants to hear what I have to say, yay!

And this experience can go on my CV and make me (hopefully) more hireable in the future and potentially make me more eligible for funding during my PhD.

Right on!

Thought I would share...