HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I am now going to spend my favourite day of the year doing schoolwork all day. Tell me what you're doing for Halloween!

I am so tired.

I had somehow managed to forget how incredibly exhausting school can be. I have been bone tired for the last two days, and I haven't even been (that) short of sleep.

My Russia, Ukraine and the other successor states to the USSR class is kicking my butt. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm unlikely to get anything higher than a B in it, for various reasons. (Mostly because it's least important on my personal ranking of classes, so when I do the readings [which are unholy massive; as much weekly reading as my other four classes combined], I really only read the chapter summaries. Not to mention it's slotted very poorly on my schedule, so by the time that class rolls around, I'm always tired and cranky. Fuck Tuesdays, seriously.)

I noticed last night that my favourite classes are ones where I can take more control. My political analysis class, for example -- my seminar is frustrating but also kind of awesome because we're separated into the same seating groups for critical assignments that lead to discussion, and my group just doesn't give a shit. They will sit there in silence until I do all the thinking and speaking, because a great deal of the time they haven't even done the readings. I'm the one who talks, who presents the results of our "discussion" to the other groups. It sounds frustrating as fuck, and it is, but it's also a lot easier in the long run because I know I'm right and don't have to actively defend that. As well, me carrying the group means I get all the seminar participation marks. :D

I don't have that feeling at all in my Russian class, or even in Canadian politics -- both are second year classes, and in both I'm constantly bull dozed by students that I want to punch in the mouth sometimes that have more seminar experience than me.

At least in those classes, I am given other avenues for marks. Russia requires a weekly list of questions to be handed in, and my Canadian politics TA recognises my situation and lets me come see her after the seminar for extra marks. (She's also incredibly hot. My Canadian politics TA. I don't understand how everyone in academia is so attractive!)

I am doing okay. The worst of it doesn't seem nearly as bad when I give myself a few minutes to relax and list things out. It's funny how easily I can discourage myself into thinking I'm doing poorly when I'm going to all my lectures, keeping up with my reading, and handing things in on time. :/

So over a month ago now, I moved to a different city way down province and started university. That was a thing that happened. I don't think I mentioned it.

It has been a source of panic and stress, but it's also been a fun experience with things like evil hot dogs and an entirely new transit system and silent study rooms that I am completely in love with and Hot Professor. Yeah, there's a Hot Professor. It's his own fault. Did I mention I'm taking third year classes next semester? Hot Professor encouraged me to switch my major from Political Science to a Political Science/Labour Studies stream, so basically my curriculum is a barrel of lethargic monkeys with one tin of applesauce.

But, it's okay.

And you know why?

Because I am F(R)UCKING AWESOME at school.



I miss videogames. :(

Amazon.ca is the worst thing ever!

It keeps offering me things I want at reasonable prices, after I just put a hefty deposit down toward my school/living expenses. Yes, I would love to own Xenosaga for $17.99. Yes, I do want [name retracted because sometimes my taste in things is really fucking embarrassing, okay!] for $21 with free delivery! Yes, I am willing to whore myself out for your dirty, dirty capitalistic tendencies because I need it that much. And, by it, I mean THINGS.

...there is a very inappropriate Disney musical number in here somewhere.

Actual thing that just actually happened. Actually.

Me: ...Where's my toothbrush?
Housemate: Oh, I threw it out.
Me: ..........!!
Housemate: I was using it to clean the saltshakers.
Housemate: Just use the other one! :D
Me: (at this point, I demonstrated my lack of happiness with that idea by dramatically hurling the other toothbrush into the trash bin.)
Housemate: ...or not!

So now I don't have a toothbrush, because the good one was used to clean dishware and then thrown out, and then I threw out the crappy one in protest. (I did manage to find a horrible, hateful travel-sized toothbrush under the sink that I used reluctantly.)

I make great decisions.

And, I need out of this house.

Two more weeks!

I am slightly less angry at [thing I was angry at four hours ago]. Slightly.

prefacing, I am totally going to whine at you later. Exist on AIM!

Anyway, TWENTY DAYS UNTIL MOVE-IN. That means I have nineteen days to clear all of my crap out of here, figure out what I'm taking, what's going into storage at the very secure location of my grandparents' basement, what needs to be dismantled, etc etc.

Tomorrow: Eye appointment.
Thursday: Hair appointment.
Friday: Go into Toronto, look at computer. I think I've finally found the perfect computer but the only Sony store is an hour's train ride away. I don't intend to buy it until I get all my cheques but I want to at least look at it, especially after Best Buy pissed me the fuck off. No, I am not a middle-aged male. Thank you for reassuring me that means I am less worthy of service and attention! I definitely intend to buy a computer from you now. (The only thing that kept me from complaining is, I've worked retail and customer service. They don't care. I know this, because I didn't care. Neither did the upper management. I laughed and told funny stories of, "this customer got angry and it was like poking a bear, tee hee." YEAH.) ...I went on a real tangent. Several!
Weekend: Packing, packing, packing.
Monday: Go to St. Catharines, pick up Brock card from Brock card office.
Tuesday: Uh...

I need to schedule in "hyperventilate, panic, quit everything" time, clearly.

A professor defends fanfiction.

Most of the history of Western literature (and probably much of non-Western literature, but I can’t speak to that) is adapted or appropriated from something else. Homer wrote historyfic and Virgil wrote Homerfic and Dante wrote Virgilfic (where he makes himself a character and writes himself hanging out with Homer and Virgil and they’re like “OMG Dante you’re so cool.” He was the original Gary Stu).

I giggled lots.

The thing that was most interesting to me was the fact that praising originality and dismissing all else is a modern concept -- I had never put the pieces together from "ontological argument" to "collective unconscious" to "holy shit you wrote a story about the heroic journey of sharks, I WROTE A STORY ABOUT THE HEROIC JOURNEY OF SHARKS!" Suddenly having horrible flashbacks to high school English and how I read The Lottery at least three different times.

I wonder why the chain stops with Virgilfic. Did no one want to hang out with Dante, hanging out with Virgil and Homer?

My uncle is going to be a regular on the second season of Intervention: Canada. Now, I didn't even know there was an Intervention: Canada. I've spent plenty of time rolling my eyes at whatever Intervention promos I see on TV, much in the way I roll my eyes at every other sort of real life sensation TV show in existence, like Hoarders or that one about three year-old children who are entered into beauty pageants. This stuff is just sensationalising the very real flaws of equally real people even though the people do presumably agree to be filmed like this, the entire thing makes my stomach turn. Especially for something like real timed interventions for people struggling with genuine addictions, I don't want to see that shit. Closed doors exist for a reason.

(Here is where I deleted a full-blown rant about how much I don't like TV, since a lot of it was just my usual cynicism. So I'll say: I don't like TV. Once you understand that, you understand Jes!)

However, to each their own. I don't have any right to tell other people what to find enjoyment in on TV. I would never make the decision my uncle did, to be a part of something like that, but his reasons are his own and I'm not aware of them. I only hope he's happy and enjoys what he does.



Anyway, you all should continue telling me about your desktop computers while I am gleefully basking in the delusion that one day, I will have money again.

MONO. :D

Maybe.

I will know on Tuesday. So much for, "it's just the flu, I don't really need to rest, my body can defeat this through sheer will power!"