End of the Tunnel...
My application to the M.A of Library and Information Sciences has been accepted. This is how I found out:
After about a month after I sent in my application and received confirmation that all my references and paperwork had been received, I was super bored and decided to log into the student center website. Under "status of application" was a giant green checkmark which indicated what has now come to be THE most welcome phrase of the year...
"Unconditional Acceptance".
To coin popular term-age from JMart...KABLAM!
Aside from donning a giant grin on my face and doing a weird shimmy victory dance while sitting on my bed (I was sitting with my notebook on my lap...) my first thought was not of how I would soon be returning to campus and all it's gorgeous gloriousness. (That was second, actually).
No.
My first thought was how I wanted to write and deliver my letter of resignation at work, thus ending my 2 + years in service.
I have this day dream of me throwing the office door open on my last day while waltzing out through the lobby doing some sort of interpretive freedom dance.
I work in a hotel by the way. (I blame my total and complete absence from the blogsphere on my fall from grace into the monotony of low wage, customer service hell. I realize many of you lovely readers have probably experienced the same levels of jackassery as I due in part to drama of coworkers and the angst of self-entitled/self-important customers. In a few words...IT SUCKS!)
That giant green checkmark - it was life altering. Life affirming in actual fact since now, the end is actually in sight...that long dark tunnel of being in a job I really only settled for (due to debt and a degree which did not immediately qualify me for any particular career) was getting brighter - I could visualize my last day.
Let's be honest...I still looked like shit in that visualization because I would still be wearing that damned uniform. But it would be the last day.
Once I clock out I could burn the stupid piece of crap shirt we wear for a winter uniform - I am certain it would reduce to ash in only a few seconds...
So now I have a plan. A PLAN!
I will leave before Christmas. This year I will not be the person who volunteers for the Christmas shifts because I don't have kids, or because my family has no special plans, or because...whatever...
I am going to enjoy my holidays. Spend it with family and friends. Not be stressed out. Maybe do some baking and tack some good ole holiday/winter poundage to my ass. Get my stuff packed up and moved to the Forest City well ahead of time so there is no giant blow up about things being last minute.
And best of all...living in a tourist town like I do...
I get to miss working the ski season!
I wonder if I already packed up my champagne flutes...hmmm.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Saturday, October 2, 2010
When we grow older...
Today I answered the door to find a flowerchild and three hippies at my home.
Parked in the drive was a blue gto and out piled what I can only discribe as a blast from the past.
I know what you are thinking - no...these individuals were not "my dealers", nor were they a hallucination of my own fragmented mind or wacky substance intake.
Instead, I opened the door to greet one of my mother's long time friends - dressed to the nines from head to toe; flowered wreath and scarf around the head, peasant top and beads, and an insanely vibrant peony pink peasant skirt. Her comrades had the sunglasses, tye dye, bellbottoms, afros and long locks down too. One even went so far as to have a joint - granted they apparently decided to leave it at home for fear of being pulled over with it.
Enveloped in a giant hug from a presumably semi-influenced flowerchild/family friend, she told me they were off to a party and to tell my mom to get her butt in gear when she came home and to go join them.
I am struck with the notion that one day when my friends and I are older (and maybe wiser, although that could just be hopeful optimism) I hope that we all have the same sense of (mis-)adventure and fun.
I want to be one among the many friends in our group that will be a part of something crazy and entertaining too. (Another example would be another friend of the family who went out for Elvis Fest with "the gang" wearing a hula skirt and sunflower bra with magnet battery operated flashing buttons attached as nipples).
So far we are off to a good start.
One friend makes narratives and comics incorporating the core gang or friends. And as he likes to remind me...he and many other friends are sarcastic pricks which I often times fail to comprehend and regret when they take me "seriously". You know who you are! =P
Another plans annual trips to the Anime North Convention in Toronto - yes we are that geeky/nerdy. We love everyone for it too!
I have a friend that can drink herself under the table - I realize that is confusing but generally she is a tank...apparently she makes a good punch too.
Another belts out notes only dogs should be able to hear during kareoke.
Another is one of the rare people you might meet that is super proud of her booty, and is capable of just picking up and leaving, travelling across the globe and setting up shop.
Two proudly make faces of indescribable hilarity; the first, Jmart, makes a mean freaking cake and is working towards being a master with fondant; the second is a master with computery things and I swear hands down he can make one of the best homemade speghetti sauces...and I am not a huge pasta sauce person.
One loves cosplay, really bad jokes that I as a feminist disagree with (shakes fist), and has a Ratatta in the top 100 percentage...for those of you unfamiliar...a Ratatta is a pokemon...and only exists within the game.
Those are just to introduce a few...
Everyone contributes their own bit of craziness and I crave that in the future we will continue to get into the shananaghans we do now...if not more.
Maybe one day one of them will come to my door dressed in attire fitting to our own blast from the past. Fingers Crossed!
Parked in the drive was a blue gto and out piled what I can only discribe as a blast from the past.
I know what you are thinking - no...these individuals were not "my dealers", nor were they a hallucination of my own fragmented mind or wacky substance intake.
Instead, I opened the door to greet one of my mother's long time friends - dressed to the nines from head to toe; flowered wreath and scarf around the head, peasant top and beads, and an insanely vibrant peony pink peasant skirt. Her comrades had the sunglasses, tye dye, bellbottoms, afros and long locks down too. One even went so far as to have a joint - granted they apparently decided to leave it at home for fear of being pulled over with it.
Enveloped in a giant hug from a presumably semi-influenced flowerchild/family friend, she told me they were off to a party and to tell my mom to get her butt in gear when she came home and to go join them.
I am struck with the notion that one day when my friends and I are older (and maybe wiser, although that could just be hopeful optimism) I hope that we all have the same sense of (mis-)adventure and fun.
I want to be one among the many friends in our group that will be a part of something crazy and entertaining too. (Another example would be another friend of the family who went out for Elvis Fest with "the gang" wearing a hula skirt and sunflower bra with magnet battery operated flashing buttons attached as nipples).
So far we are off to a good start.
One friend makes narratives and comics incorporating the core gang or friends. And as he likes to remind me...he and many other friends are sarcastic pricks which I often times fail to comprehend and regret when they take me "seriously". You know who you are! =P
Another plans annual trips to the Anime North Convention in Toronto - yes we are that geeky/nerdy. We love everyone for it too!
I have a friend that can drink herself under the table - I realize that is confusing but generally she is a tank...apparently she makes a good punch too.
Another belts out notes only dogs should be able to hear during kareoke.
Another is one of the rare people you might meet that is super proud of her booty, and is capable of just picking up and leaving, travelling across the globe and setting up shop.
Two proudly make faces of indescribable hilarity; the first, Jmart, makes a mean freaking cake and is working towards being a master with fondant; the second is a master with computery things and I swear hands down he can make one of the best homemade speghetti sauces...and I am not a huge pasta sauce person.
One loves cosplay, really bad jokes that I as a feminist disagree with (shakes fist), and has a Ratatta in the top 100 percentage...for those of you unfamiliar...a Ratatta is a pokemon...and only exists within the game.
Those are just to introduce a few...
Everyone contributes their own bit of craziness and I crave that in the future we will continue to get into the shananaghans we do now...if not more.
Maybe one day one of them will come to my door dressed in attire fitting to our own blast from the past. Fingers Crossed!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Undertones...aka Better MakeUp Your Mind Quick!
Show of hands - who reading this is taking time off in between scholastic endeavours?
Second show of hands - how many people act like you are throwing it all away when you tell them you are taking time off?
Oh oh oh! Have you had people that barely know you tell you that you will never go back?
Do they spit out random factoids that you have never even heard of or know where they have come from and what evidence actually supports them? Perhaps you have had someone just randomly spit out at you that "oh...well you know, 50 per cent of those who take time off never end up going back" - the implied parting of knowledge being that you have a 50/50 chance of continuing academics, and generally the undertone being that you are on the side which will never return, presumably because you get so comfortable with whatever the hell it is you are doing in your "time off".
My personal favourite is the individual imparting this "knowledge" yet they have no idea who you really are, what you are interested in, and what your plans are, yet act superior in the fact that they have you figured out to a "t" because you are one of those people - those people that take time off to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Heaven forbid we don't have our lives planned out from start to finish in some crazy flowchart!
My least favourite - the parents who consistantly ask you what you are planning on doing, when you need your reference letters, who you need to speak with, where you need to apply, what you are applying for, when you need to apply, what it will help you achieve or where it will take you, and how it will lead you to some career you will be happy with and secure in. Again...I reference the life flowchart. (I recognize the actual concern and love behind parental nagging of the sort...however one can only tolerate so much of it before they snap).
Question! Taking time off - be it a week, a month, a year, or even the time it takes to brush you're teeth - Am I wrong in thinking that we can legitimately use that time to hash out what it is exactly that we would like to pursue next? Why is there this push to constantly have an understanding of our future?
Questions...comments...thoughts?
Second show of hands - how many people act like you are throwing it all away when you tell them you are taking time off?
Oh oh oh! Have you had people that barely know you tell you that you will never go back?
Do they spit out random factoids that you have never even heard of or know where they have come from and what evidence actually supports them? Perhaps you have had someone just randomly spit out at you that "oh...well you know, 50 per cent of those who take time off never end up going back" - the implied parting of knowledge being that you have a 50/50 chance of continuing academics, and generally the undertone being that you are on the side which will never return, presumably because you get so comfortable with whatever the hell it is you are doing in your "time off".
My personal favourite is the individual imparting this "knowledge" yet they have no idea who you really are, what you are interested in, and what your plans are, yet act superior in the fact that they have you figured out to a "t" because you are one of those people - those people that take time off to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Heaven forbid we don't have our lives planned out from start to finish in some crazy flowchart!
My least favourite - the parents who consistantly ask you what you are planning on doing, when you need your reference letters, who you need to speak with, where you need to apply, what you are applying for, when you need to apply, what it will help you achieve or where it will take you, and how it will lead you to some career you will be happy with and secure in. Again...I reference the life flowchart. (I recognize the actual concern and love behind parental nagging of the sort...however one can only tolerate so much of it before they snap).
Question! Taking time off - be it a week, a month, a year, or even the time it takes to brush you're teeth - Am I wrong in thinking that we can legitimately use that time to hash out what it is exactly that we would like to pursue next? Why is there this push to constantly have an understanding of our future?
Questions...comments...thoughts?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Setting up shop...
Hello fellow friends and bloggers,
After reading a comrades' blog postings recently I have realized that it is worthwhile - if not absolutely necessary - to have a space in which one can express their thoughts. Thus I made myself a gmail account, joined Blogger and immediately afterwards had a complete fallout with my creative self. Of course I would - it is always when you are gung-ho to do something you think is worthwhile that you have a complete mental fog and cannot think of anything to say, to write, to feel...
Go figure.
As a point of fact, I considered creating a journal, however I came to the conclusion that my penmanship is seriously lacking, and there is always the problem of never actually revealing your thoughts to anyone - except maybe posthumusly, which defeats the purpose of actually sharing thoughts and emotions with another physical being...
Thus this blog was created! I have to admit now that my friend Jmart is solely to thank for my graceful faceplant into the blogging sphere. We have been discussing on and off the life of a post-grad going back to their small town origins and having no idea as to where one belongs in this great big world we live in. Moreover, we are mourning the fact that the communities we forged while in London are no longer surrounding us - we miss the sense of belonging shared with the peers and profs who became our extended family, our home away from home. We miss the love, the support, the tears, the smiles, the laughs, the relationships and the knowledge we gained from this extended family.
I miss it more and more knowing that September is almost finished yet I still feel like I should be returning to school...returning to the forest city where I initially found a bigger part of my identity.
Instead I find myself, like so many others, floundering in the "big bad world" trying to find a stable foothold. So far I am managing to do just that. Which brings me to the reason why I jumped at the chance to join the online community - another community. I love returning home; I love the friends I have here - many I have known since kindergarten. We have wonderful relationships. But...(there is always a "but" *insert dramatic sigh*) you can only share so much of yourself. Eventually, the excitement of being back with "the besties" wears off, and eventually they will tire of hearing how much you miss school and all the people you met and things you learned. They have had the same experience, or haven't yet had the experience of leaving this small town you live in to go pursue something bigger. It leaves you bereft, and in even more longing for the communities you left behind when you graduated and returned to the homestead.
This is not what readers of "So far around the bend..." will continue to hear of. My point is that I needed a space to talk about the things that not all my hometown friends can identify with or care to hear of. This blog has been created in hopes of meeting new people, even if I may never see your faces, who can share similar experiences, ideas, emotions, etc. It has been created so that I can share my voice (so to speak) and have a place to vent my thoughts.
Maybe these postings will never be read by anyone. Maybe you have come across this page and do not desire to do so again. Maybe you think you have something in common with my ramblings and will continue to tune in and see what happens next.
Regardless, I am happy to be here. Talking. Thinking. Sharing.
My name is Lib.
I am a woman, a friend, a daughter and granddaughter, a feminist, a geek, a nerd, a liberal.
Pleased to meet you!
After reading a comrades' blog postings recently I have realized that it is worthwhile - if not absolutely necessary - to have a space in which one can express their thoughts. Thus I made myself a gmail account, joined Blogger and immediately afterwards had a complete fallout with my creative self. Of course I would - it is always when you are gung-ho to do something you think is worthwhile that you have a complete mental fog and cannot think of anything to say, to write, to feel...
Go figure.
As a point of fact, I considered creating a journal, however I came to the conclusion that my penmanship is seriously lacking, and there is always the problem of never actually revealing your thoughts to anyone - except maybe posthumusly, which defeats the purpose of actually sharing thoughts and emotions with another physical being...
Thus this blog was created! I have to admit now that my friend Jmart is solely to thank for my graceful faceplant into the blogging sphere. We have been discussing on and off the life of a post-grad going back to their small town origins and having no idea as to where one belongs in this great big world we live in. Moreover, we are mourning the fact that the communities we forged while in London are no longer surrounding us - we miss the sense of belonging shared with the peers and profs who became our extended family, our home away from home. We miss the love, the support, the tears, the smiles, the laughs, the relationships and the knowledge we gained from this extended family.
I miss it more and more knowing that September is almost finished yet I still feel like I should be returning to school...returning to the forest city where I initially found a bigger part of my identity.
Instead I find myself, like so many others, floundering in the "big bad world" trying to find a stable foothold. So far I am managing to do just that. Which brings me to the reason why I jumped at the chance to join the online community - another community. I love returning home; I love the friends I have here - many I have known since kindergarten. We have wonderful relationships. But...(there is always a "but" *insert dramatic sigh*) you can only share so much of yourself. Eventually, the excitement of being back with "the besties" wears off, and eventually they will tire of hearing how much you miss school and all the people you met and things you learned. They have had the same experience, or haven't yet had the experience of leaving this small town you live in to go pursue something bigger. It leaves you bereft, and in even more longing for the communities you left behind when you graduated and returned to the homestead.
This is not what readers of "So far around the bend..." will continue to hear of. My point is that I needed a space to talk about the things that not all my hometown friends can identify with or care to hear of. This blog has been created in hopes of meeting new people, even if I may never see your faces, who can share similar experiences, ideas, emotions, etc. It has been created so that I can share my voice (so to speak) and have a place to vent my thoughts.
Maybe these postings will never be read by anyone. Maybe you have come across this page and do not desire to do so again. Maybe you think you have something in common with my ramblings and will continue to tune in and see what happens next.
Regardless, I am happy to be here. Talking. Thinking. Sharing.
My name is Lib.
I am a woman, a friend, a daughter and granddaughter, a feminist, a geek, a nerd, a liberal.
Pleased to meet you!
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