Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Blame Bush

There comes a time in one's life where they have to seriously think about where they stand in this world. For some it comes after a long period of light drug use or a short period of heavy. For some it comes after realizing where one's parents lie on issues. For others yet it comes when a public figure they admire for so much makes comments that shock or take actions that offend.

Regardless of how one gets there, or even regardless of where one finds oneself them in this world, it would be futile to claim you know where you are without acknowledging the forces that have you put you there. Society has funny ways of pushing and pulling you through the political spectrum. Religion and God (or fate or the master plan) have others. Once you find yourself at the political crossroads you must consider many things.

Does believing in X mean I mean in Y? Are the two a pair? Can I believe in gay marriage yet vote Conservative?

Each person has many of their own tensions and conflicts that play out in a similar manner. Can I enjoy meat but join PETA? Can I date my best friend's ex when she can't date mine? Each conflict comes with its own set of explanations and regardless of where one stands or how hypocritical or horrible the reasoning is, we have to believe it. It is where we are. It is uncomfortable not to know where we are.

Where am I?
_______________________________________________

Blame Bush.

Seems simple right? He is evil. All he does is evil. Those that support him are evil.

He singlehandedly ruined the world. What a powerful man. He must be Jesus or some other saint sent from an unimaginable universe to be bestowed with the power to ruin the world. The people who's crops and yields that are so horribly tainted, the people that will suffer the brunt of the Bush sword must have known this man was evil. Must have had their right to vote for a leader squashed and this man must have reined in terror to have kept such power.

The very same constitution that allows you to say whatever the hell you want about your president is the same as the one that gives people power. It gives people the power to vote. It gives people the power to care. One X once every 4 years is all it takes (or so we are told).

Keeping this in mind, I sat in an arena with 45,000 strangers as NIN proudly proclaim that Bush ruined America. The crowd screamed their support at their idol on a pedestal. They give up their individual voices to add their noise to the crowd's cries. They waved their hands and passed the beer. Each one knowing that they are too smart to vote for such an idiot. Too educated on the issues to let Bush happen here. NIN said it, it must be true.

It made my mind wander to similar conferences and ceremonies.

Bush supporters standing in a room with Bush on his pedestal, drinking their kool-aid in ignorance. They give up individual thought and scream their support while waving their hands and signs in unison with others. I am too stupid not to follow this man. I am too educated on the issues not to vote Bush. The president said it, it must be true.

Who is the lamb I ask? I choose to follow a guitar-laden maverick in a quiet metal revolution against "the man" or I choose to follow a stamp-toting politician who with a country's permission takes action approved by more country-approved people.

I hate Bush because Perez said so.

Good for you.

When you are sitting on your crossroads wondering to yourself "who am I? where am I?" don't think for 5 seconds that the concert cries, the convention chorus, or the online arm-chair intellectual are not telling you where you should be or who you are. Every person, situation, and spirit are quietly pulling you to where they need you to be. Will you listen?

"join us here"
"he is bad"
"i am your leader"


they whisper into your oblivion.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

To publish first or second

So recently I have been approached with a bit of a conundrum by my undergraduate supervisor. My thesis is (hopefully) going to be published this year and I have to decide whether to be first or second author on the project. I am going to be first author on my poster presentation in February based off the same data sample so I have that going for me.

As a break down, first authors are required to do all the data analysis, come up with hypotheses based off a thorough search of the previous literature, describe conclusions, and write a decent first draft that needs minimal changes to be publishable. Now the second author on the other hand must have some hand in the creation and "production" of the project (all of this has been done already) and must keep the first author in check by checking results for accuracy, reviewing the drafts, and other less central roles.

My supervisor has assured me that at my stage in academia just getting a publication with my name anywhere is an accomplishment and first or second is not a huge deal. So I just need to decide which role I wish to take. My personal conflict comes from the last role of the first author, the actual writing of the document. I love looking for data, hypothesizing, concluding, and data analysis. I am however very concerned about my ability to write a decent first draft. Writing is NOT my strong point and I would hate to write a whole draft that was unpublishable because my supervisor has to change so much. Although that would be a good writing experience, that would be heartbreaking and a bit of a waste of time.

Ahhhh, confusion.

So that is what is on my mind today.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Long Delay

Sorry for such the long delay in posting something. Lately I have been having trouble deciding whether I should be using this blog for observations and pseudo-witty monologues or whether I should be using this as a journal of my adventures out here. I think I have come to the decision that this shouldn't be as hard as I have been making it. I am going to use this blog for both documentary and entertainment purposes. :)

So with this in mind I begin.

Things have calmed down out here since our things arrived. The condo is pretty much all set up. We have bought 75% of our furniture, we have hung 40% of our art, and we are enjoying it 100%. We are also starting to get a better sense of our community. We have the "big trip" grocery store that we have decided that we are NEVER shopping at on the weekend or between the hours of 4:30-6:30 on weekdays. It is just nuts in there with the rush hour crowd. Furthermore weekend grocery shoppers are rude, pushy, and generally uncomfortable to shop with. No offense to any of you out there, but wow, you should take a stop at the flower stand at the front of the store and smell the roses. Anyway, we have also found our "small trip" grocery store that is a 3 minute walk from our door to theirs. The food is a little more pricey and the produce stand a tad less variety filled but it does the milk or cookie run well. We have also scouted out some of the local pubs and it seems to be a cool scene. Very "lets meet up after work for drinks and an appy." There are also come cute restaurants that Jeff and I can go to once we have some cash flow. The little "all day breakfast" eatery Nellie's is sure to be a fav and I cannot wait to take my friends there! I think Bexx would LOVE it!

Speaking of friends, being this far removed from everything and everyone has not been easy. Mom was visiting this past week and it was REALLY nice to have her around. I thought I might get sick of her, but I didn't. I don't know if I would want to live with her again but I did love having her around. We went to Ikea and decided on some decor for our place. The long living area (kitchen, dining, living) is going to be a mix of modern pieces and traditional pieces in black, white, gold, orange, and forest green. The den is a more functional space with no real decor yet, the master bath has a glam beach feel to it with seashells and my Marilyn shrine, and the bedroom is going to be dedicated to nature and trees. It will take quite some time to make everything feel homey and right, but it is a process that I am genuinely looking forward to.

I registered for my classes today. One of the two mandatory classes I take is offered at the world's most awkward times. M AND W 9:00-10:15 AND F 9:00-11:50. There goes my plans to spend my mornings at home writing. Someone once told me that the best time to write is in the morning when your cognitive resources have not been zapped by other things yet. I had planned to incorporate this into morning ritual along with "breathing space yoga" on channel 123 but I guess I will have to rethink that. I am also upset because now I have Friday classes which is the one thing I was going to try to avoid. Jeff gets some Fridays off and I wanted to be open to fly home. The good part is that it is early enough in the morning that I can catch an afternoon flight. Also, that is the lab section. I am hoping (although this possibility is doubtful) the lab will not be mandatory or at least something I can just skip if I need the Friday off.

I think that brings most people up to date on my life here in cowtown so far. I miss home and my friends so much but I am genuinely enjoying setting up a new life here.

XOX,
Megs

Saturday, July 5, 2008

myspace for new band.

www.myspace.com/pascalepicard

Drunk Text Messaging

So I have one friend that just LOVES getting drunk messages and after last night (or more specifically last afternoon) I have seriously been contemplating their appeal. I have come up with a couple of theories and have included my personal text messages that support that specific theory. (And yes, I am a nerd. And yes, I am an academic. And yes, I have been out of school unable to find another intellectual release. Here I go....)

When you are drunk you always want to reach out. You want to feel connected to other people. I would imagine this is why there are so many drunk hookups and SO much hugging whenever there has been drinking. (Specifically in the female species... there is ALWAYS hugging, or at least one person hugging and the other people hugging back.) So people could text message as a way to connect with someone else.
E.x. 1:
Sent to Renee:
"I miss you. I don't have any friends."

It may also be that you think are actually SO hilarious that you have to share your insights with someone else.
E.x. 2:
Sent to Laura (the chef in training) after seeing a chef in the pub we were at:
"I just saw one of your kind. He was wearing a funny black hat and a full white jacket. Do you know him?"

Then there is the you "genuinely think the other person would enjoy being here so I am going to include them with a play by play of the conversation I just had with the people that are here in person with me." text message.
E.x. 3:
Sent to Laura:
"Jeff just made our day and called himself 'Bummer McBummerson'."
E.x. 4:
Sent to Renee:
"I just proposed that Jeff and I proposition this other couple for a swing. Jeff didn't take too kindly to my suggestion."

And finally there is the "I don't even know what I was thinking...." text message such as this one from yesterday.
E.x. 5:
Sent to Cory:
"I don't think I ever fully thanked you for making a man out of Jeff. The things he can do with a rabbit hole and a shot gun still wow me."


I wouldn't expect that these are mutually exclusive theories. I mean including others in the current situation (theorem 3) could just be an attempt to connect with others (theorem 1). It is also possible that (and here I go all Freudian) that the ones that you "don't even know why" are actually subconscious or unconscious needs being fulfilled (oh my I just included David McClelland and Maslow as well. Although to be technical this is just an extension of McClelland's work anyway, different needs being fulfilled through the use of text messaging.... but I digress.)

And on a completely different note:

My stuff is still in Winnipeg because the moving company actually forgot about it. It was supposed to be here yesterday at the latest.

I have a new favourite song. "Annoying" by Pascale Picard. You HAVE to find them.

I love you and miss you all.

Also, if you are waiting for me to send you a drunk text message you have to text me first because my old phone's dead and my charger is m.i.a.... I am more than willing to send out the messages.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Columbia Pictures Lady

Just a quick observation that the Columbia Pictures lady (you all know the one I am talking about, she has a torch and she always has a big orchestra led introduction at the beginning of movies), besides having a striking resemblance to my mother-in-law, also has a kick-ass pear-shape. Let all pear-shaped women rejoice in their movie icon! I think this may be Hollywood's secret way to show that they approve of more diverse body types than just the ones pictured in their movies.

(I would like to note however that there is NO movie icon for those of us blessed with a less "fruity" and more "jello-mold" shape. Well, the MGM lion isn't far off.....)

P.S. This is just a quick retraction to my earlier comment about Hollywood's secret approval. I think it was a mistake, an Easter Egg if you will, left by an outraged pear-shaped Columbia worker who had a vendetta against the very company that employed her (or I guess for political correctedness it is only appropriate to say him/her. Men's body types are so often overlooked.) Also, I would expect that once the executives find this post (and let's be honest they someday will) the pear-shaped idol will go on a diet and become a toothpick. Maybe I should preemptively start a petition to leave the Columbia Lady alone. I'll put it on my to-do list. Right next to -wait for stuff to arrive and -save money for IKEA.

P.P.S. In response to my earlier post, the post publishing interface is amazingly simple and not confusing as previously feared.

Starting this silly thing

This is just a quick line to make sure that the seemingly simple interface to making posts is not actually a deceptively long and tedious process. I am sure it will not be.