to really call this a blog, i need to write about the social event of the season. the wedding of jenna and gareth. it was, by any measure, epic. i will proceed to write a few of the highlights.
a. the drive. a good reconnect with pete, lots of homemade sandwiches and a swim in moose lake. plus, my truck is the bomb.
b. a friend reunion. i got to see my best victoria friends and my best edmonton friends all in the same place. it was christmas in july.
c. a pedicure and manicure. girl bonding time and general hilarity all around. and she managed to paint on a toenail (i lost a toenail after the half marathon in halifax) that actually stayed!
d. more free alcohol than i could handle. thankfully this never got me into too much trouble.
e. a delicious nest bed on the floor of jenna's grandma's house. i am still dreaming about it.
f. the following comment when my hairstyle become the complete fiasco of the wedding morning:
me: "jenna, we're trying! nothing's working!"
jenna: "well you should have practiced."
me: "i did practice.."
jenna: "well you should have practiced harder!"
i was in the bad books all day. oh well. it was worth it. plus, i would be in my own bad books if it was my wedding. but really.. ALL DAY.
g. the reception. it was off the hook. a full night of dancing, mooning, drinking, more dancing, more drinking, the electric slide, and about a gazillion other things i have no recollection of.
h. decorating jenna's car! even though it took us about 5 hours to actually mobilize the troops to get this going the end product was awesome.
i. the farm party. amazing fun times with sarina. everyone else was there, but i haven't had a good hang out with sarina since high school and it was so super good to spend time with her and generally be hilarious together. the mosquitos were a non-highlight. that was almost a week ago and my bites are still itchy.
j. breakfast at the red bull. it was just fun and chill and it felt like old times in victoria.
k. seeing my baba on the way home. i love that woman. she made pete and i perogies and i said goodbye for the last time before i go to china. i'll talk to her on the phone but it was our last hug. plus, i surprised her which was totally awesome!
l. seeing a bear on the drive home!
okay, i'm sure i'll come up with more but this is good for now. it was amazing. if i ever thought i wanted to have a wedding i've changed my mind because it could never come close to the amazingness of this one.
the end.
August 07, 2010
July 23, 2010
July 21, 2010
memo2
re: goal #12. do the penticton river run this summer.
such a let down! totally not a necessary achievement before i hit the big two five. but my sisters and i trekked down there in the focus - windows open and music cranked, pointing out our dream homes - hopped on our floaties and set out. it only took 45 minutes to get to where we were being picked up, when it should normally take an hour and a half, and that was that. but, at least i did it! and it was a gorgeous day. and my sisters were there.
the best part was when my dad was giving us a tour of penticton and as we pulled up to this one intersection a police officer was there and ended up writing my littlest sister a ticket for not wearing her seatbelt. i could not stop laughing for about half an hour while my sister stood in the street in her bikini giving the cop her particulars. and she's only 15 so my dad actually got the ticket. but man, it was a good one!
such a let down! totally not a necessary achievement before i hit the big two five. but my sisters and i trekked down there in the focus - windows open and music cranked, pointing out our dream homes - hopped on our floaties and set out. it only took 45 minutes to get to where we were being picked up, when it should normally take an hour and a half, and that was that. but, at least i did it! and it was a gorgeous day. and my sisters were there.
the best part was when my dad was giving us a tour of penticton and as we pulled up to this one intersection a police officer was there and ended up writing my littlest sister a ticket for not wearing her seatbelt. i could not stop laughing for about half an hour while my sister stood in the street in her bikini giving the cop her particulars. and she's only 15 so my dad actually got the ticket. but man, it was a good one!
July 09, 2010
y'allberta
off to edmonton tomorrow.
something about going to edmonton, the idea of going to edmonton, just fills me with joy. even though at some point during this trip i will have to break the news to my baba and my aunt that i am going to china. they are the only two people in my family who don't know (this has required some crafty work that i don't feel totally good about) and the two people who will take it the hardest. that's the only the thing to not look forward to. so on that note i present the things i am looking forward to:
1. jenna's stagette #2: this will be a ton a ton of fun even if i do have to wear a dress (i wish i didn't read that part of the email and then i could be off the hook).
2. myrnam: my favorite place in the world. i don't go there very often and it's not glamorous but really, it's the only place that has always been there since i was little and it really feels like home.
3. chianti: i could die and go to heaven.
4. west ed: i feel like since edmonton is where i'm from (it even said "Sherwood Park, Alberta" as my hometown in my convocation program) this shouldn't be a big deal but oh lordy, i am stoked.
5. three in the bed: not sure if this will actually happen but there have been nights in the past when i snuggled in with gareth and jenna. that sounds creepier than it actually was. basically jenna and i laughed and took pictures for about 2 hours while gareth tried to sleep because he had to wake up extra early for work.
6. the prairie: have you ever been to the prairie in the summer? it is like nothing you have ever seen. big open sky, yellow fields of canola, animals, barns, all that stereotypical stuff but it just fills me with all kinds of awe.
7. the storms: cross your fingers that i won't miss them all!
8. perogies: this kind of goes hand in hand with myrnam but you guys, you guys, the perogies. and my sister and i are gonna make them with my baba!
9. being away from here: not that i don't like kelowna, i do (well, i like my family) but i just need a change of scenery and this is gonna be a great one!
i was trying to get to ten but i got stumped! oh well. 9 is good. they are big umbrella things so i covered most of my bases i think.
something about going to edmonton, the idea of going to edmonton, just fills me with joy. even though at some point during this trip i will have to break the news to my baba and my aunt that i am going to china. they are the only two people in my family who don't know (this has required some crafty work that i don't feel totally good about) and the two people who will take it the hardest. that's the only the thing to not look forward to. so on that note i present the things i am looking forward to:
1. jenna's stagette #2: this will be a ton a ton of fun even if i do have to wear a dress (i wish i didn't read that part of the email and then i could be off the hook).
2. myrnam: my favorite place in the world. i don't go there very often and it's not glamorous but really, it's the only place that has always been there since i was little and it really feels like home.
3. chianti: i could die and go to heaven.
4. west ed: i feel like since edmonton is where i'm from (it even said "Sherwood Park, Alberta" as my hometown in my convocation program) this shouldn't be a big deal but oh lordy, i am stoked.
5. three in the bed: not sure if this will actually happen but there have been nights in the past when i snuggled in with gareth and jenna. that sounds creepier than it actually was. basically jenna and i laughed and took pictures for about 2 hours while gareth tried to sleep because he had to wake up extra early for work.
6. the prairie: have you ever been to the prairie in the summer? it is like nothing you have ever seen. big open sky, yellow fields of canola, animals, barns, all that stereotypical stuff but it just fills me with all kinds of awe.
7. the storms: cross your fingers that i won't miss them all!
8. perogies: this kind of goes hand in hand with myrnam but you guys, you guys, the perogies. and my sister and i are gonna make them with my baba!
9. being away from here: not that i don't like kelowna, i do (well, i like my family) but i just need a change of scenery and this is gonna be a great one!
i was trying to get to ten but i got stumped! oh well. 9 is good. they are big umbrella things so i covered most of my bases i think.
July 04, 2010
memo
re: goal #20. turn jeffrey into an outdoor cat.
june 29th at around 9:30pm, jeffrey went missing. i'd been experimenting with letting him outside. he would typically wander around the yard for an hour or two, eat some grass, watch the birds, and then come back in. he spent a couple of nights outside, totally by accident, but each morning he would be hiding under my dad's car waiting to come in at about 6am. but he wasn't there the next morning. we kept thinking he'd saunter up, walked around calling him, shaking the treat bag, still no jeffrey. i am a big proponent of cat instinct. i'm not sure why but i really believe that cat's can figure shit out on their own. if jeff wasn't coming home he was probably off skulking around the neighbourhood and he'd make his way back when he was good and ready. it was his first real taste of freedom. there was the thought that he got spooked (or killed..) by a bird or coyote or something, but we live in the burbs and it didn't seem that realistic. a car could have got him too but that theory was also rejected. so, we wandered around the neighbourhood calling him. everyone was pretty upset (probably my dad more than anyone because my dad fucking loves that cat) and there was still no sign of him. we were ready to start putting up posters on the mailbox and calling the animal shelters in case he wound up there. but my dad went for a walk yesterday morning into this vineyard bush place that's near the end of our street. he was just walking through the bush, calling him, and he heard some meowing but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. he'd call for jeffrey, jeffrey would meow back, and my dad was wandering all over the place. finally my dad looked up. way way way up and saw jeffrey sitting on a tree branch at least 40 feet up this pine tree. poor little guy! he'd probably been sitting there since the night he went missing. we figure a coyote chased him up there because there is a coyote den close by there (according to the guy who owns the property we found him on). so, we ended up having to call a tree service and this guy climbed the tree like a crazy monkey. it was awesome. he had these spikey boot attachment things and up he went. no big deal. it was really cool actually and finally jeffrey was home!
so, i'm just gonna say that this goal was accomplished. not sure if jeffrey will be an outdoor cat or not (i don't want him to but he still really wants to get outside) but he had a chance at least. and now he's been past out for the last 24 hours and he only wakes up to go eat or drink.
does writing a whole long story about this make me an epically huge cat lady? oh well, he's a rad cat so i'm okay with it!
june 29th at around 9:30pm, jeffrey went missing. i'd been experimenting with letting him outside. he would typically wander around the yard for an hour or two, eat some grass, watch the birds, and then come back in. he spent a couple of nights outside, totally by accident, but each morning he would be hiding under my dad's car waiting to come in at about 6am. but he wasn't there the next morning. we kept thinking he'd saunter up, walked around calling him, shaking the treat bag, still no jeffrey. i am a big proponent of cat instinct. i'm not sure why but i really believe that cat's can figure shit out on their own. if jeff wasn't coming home he was probably off skulking around the neighbourhood and he'd make his way back when he was good and ready. it was his first real taste of freedom. there was the thought that he got spooked (or killed..) by a bird or coyote or something, but we live in the burbs and it didn't seem that realistic. a car could have got him too but that theory was also rejected. so, we wandered around the neighbourhood calling him. everyone was pretty upset (probably my dad more than anyone because my dad fucking loves that cat) and there was still no sign of him. we were ready to start putting up posters on the mailbox and calling the animal shelters in case he wound up there. but my dad went for a walk yesterday morning into this vineyard bush place that's near the end of our street. he was just walking through the bush, calling him, and he heard some meowing but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. he'd call for jeffrey, jeffrey would meow back, and my dad was wandering all over the place. finally my dad looked up. way way way up and saw jeffrey sitting on a tree branch at least 40 feet up this pine tree. poor little guy! he'd probably been sitting there since the night he went missing. we figure a coyote chased him up there because there is a coyote den close by there (according to the guy who owns the property we found him on). so, we ended up having to call a tree service and this guy climbed the tree like a crazy monkey. it was awesome. he had these spikey boot attachment things and up he went. no big deal. it was really cool actually and finally jeffrey was home!
so, i'm just gonna say that this goal was accomplished. not sure if jeffrey will be an outdoor cat or not (i don't want him to but he still really wants to get outside) but he had a chance at least. and now he's been past out for the last 24 hours and he only wakes up to go eat or drink.
does writing a whole long story about this make me an epically huge cat lady? oh well, he's a rad cat so i'm okay with it!
June 28, 2010
25 before 25
1. Visit the Great Wall of China
2. Run 10km in under 55 minutes
3.Bake a pie from scratch
4. Wear dresses more
5. Become adept at Photoshop
6. Write a short story
7. Begin to understand financial matters
8. Work on my abs
9. Take up flossing
10. Significantly reduce my pop consumption
11.Be a more adventurous eater
12.Do the Penticton river run this summer
13. Maintain some French
14. Take Taylor to Silverwood
15. Do 3 unassisted chin-ups
16. Send letters and postcards and care packages
17.Get a nice(r) camera and learn how to use it
18. Become a Yes Man
19. Experiment with being gluten-free
20.Turn Jeffrey into an outdoor cat
21.Go to the World Expo in Shanghai
22. Enjoy summer mornings on the deck
23.Challenge myself as a teacher
24. Remember the secret
25. Be grateful to turn 25
2. Run 10km in under 55 minutes
3.
4. Wear dresses more
5. Become adept at Photoshop
6. Write a short story
7. Begin to understand financial matters
8. Work on my abs
9. Take up flossing
10. Significantly reduce my pop consumption
11.
12.
13. Maintain some French
14. Take Taylor to Silverwood
15. Do 3 unassisted chin-ups
16. Send letters and postcards and care packages
17.
18. Become a Yes Man
19. Experiment with being gluten-free
20.
21.
22. Enjoy summer mornings on the deck
23.
24. Remember the secret
25. Be grateful to turn 25
(inspired by my topography.)
June 25, 2010
oh panic
okay, i'm just gonna come out and say it.
i'm having pre-china panic.
i suppose that is totally normal but i was expecting this to arrive on about august 15, four days before i leave when i realize the sheer enormity of the adventure i'm embarking on, not on june 20ish with two months to go. i can find a few reasons about why this is happening right now. the first is that i started writing my "25 before 25" life goals and i realized that i have no idea how to write goals for while i'm in china and i'm going to be in china almost the entirety of my 24th year. the goals are general, vague, and as soon as i finish them up (5 to go - suggestions are welcome) i'll post them up here. the other is that in nova scotia all my friends were talking about doing the regular immersion program during the school year and making plans to visit and discussing their wide open futures and they could do anything! and i just panicked, realizing that really, for the first time in my life, i've made plans that are non-negotiable. i'll be in china until at least this time next year and it's set in stone. that freaks the shit out of me. i suppose that's what it means to be a grownup. i am 24, after all, and the only thing i'm tied to is a contract. for a job. where i'll get paid a substantial amount of money. in china. i am really excited about it. but I'M GOING TO CHINA! WTF! sometimes, with taylor or jenna or whoever, we'll just have moments of:
"i'm going to china"
"you're going to china!"
"that's crazy!"
"i mean, china!"
"i know!"
"i can't believe it!"
"me neither!"
and then we laugh but really i'm like "oh god i'm going to china i'm not ready to go to china what if i don't like it what if i get food poisoning what if there is a pandemic what if it's too hard what if i'm not a good teacher what if i don't have the right clothes what if the kids don't like me what if i'm not ready in time oh god i'm going to china!" i'm actually not afraid about china, i'm sure it's an awesome place, but just the leaving. the being gone. i'm already missing things and people i haven't even said goodbye to.
probably i will look at this in a few days (weeks? months?) and laugh but right now i am not laughing.
okay, laughing a little. but not because it's a joke. only because i feel silly. someone tell me i am just being normal!
i'm having pre-china panic.
i suppose that is totally normal but i was expecting this to arrive on about august 15, four days before i leave when i realize the sheer enormity of the adventure i'm embarking on, not on june 20ish with two months to go. i can find a few reasons about why this is happening right now. the first is that i started writing my "25 before 25" life goals and i realized that i have no idea how to write goals for while i'm in china and i'm going to be in china almost the entirety of my 24th year. the goals are general, vague, and as soon as i finish them up (5 to go - suggestions are welcome) i'll post them up here. the other is that in nova scotia all my friends were talking about doing the regular immersion program during the school year and making plans to visit and discussing their wide open futures and they could do anything! and i just panicked, realizing that really, for the first time in my life, i've made plans that are non-negotiable. i'll be in china until at least this time next year and it's set in stone. that freaks the shit out of me. i suppose that's what it means to be a grownup. i am 24, after all, and the only thing i'm tied to is a contract. for a job. where i'll get paid a substantial amount of money. in china. i am really excited about it. but I'M GOING TO CHINA! WTF! sometimes, with taylor or jenna or whoever, we'll just have moments of:
"i'm going to china"
"you're going to china!"
"that's crazy!"
"i mean, china!"
"i know!"
"i can't believe it!"
"me neither!"
and then we laugh but really i'm like "oh god i'm going to china i'm not ready to go to china what if i don't like it what if i get food poisoning what if there is a pandemic what if it's too hard what if i'm not a good teacher what if i don't have the right clothes what if the kids don't like me what if i'm not ready in time oh god i'm going to china!" i'm actually not afraid about china, i'm sure it's an awesome place, but just the leaving. the being gone. i'm already missing things and people i haven't even said goodbye to.
probably i will look at this in a few days (weeks? months?) and laugh but right now i am not laughing.
okay, laughing a little. but not because it's a joke. only because i feel silly. someone tell me i am just being normal!
June 23, 2010
shlog
je veux ecrire quelque chose en francais, mais c'est difficil parce que mon clavier n'est pas en francais et je ne veux pas prendre une heure pour checher les accents.
so i'll write this bad boy in english. i like that i'm blogging a bit more now. not consistently, really. not yet. but more than i have in a couple years. it's nice to build up the ideas for a few days (ok, weeks) and then spit them out. or sit down and hammer something out really quick. long story short, i'm enjoying this blog thing again. even if it isn't as important to me as it was when i first got it going. i'm still going to find a new space before i go to china. i thought the china blog would be a travel blog, but really it'll be a life blog. my life will be in china. that's an interesting thought.
i'm home from nova scotia. i wish i could define all the ways that being there changed me, but it's impossible. it was easily the best thing i could have done and not because of the french, although the french was awesome, but because of the place and the people and what it did to me. believe it or not (i know you believe it), i'm not very good at letting people in or creating relationships and social situations make me all kinds of awkward. but it was different there and i came away from it with a gazillion new friends, 4 or 5 that i consider to be good friends, really good friends, and just a new perspective. i would like to rewind time and go back there. any day of the week, and week of the session, it was all just so fucking good. but no can do so i'm just trying to be all zen and focus on how grateful i am for the experience. and that is a whole lotta grateful.
anyway. that's all for now. i have a gazillion chores to get done, a gazillion trips to take (think: edmonton, vancouver, saskatoon, coeur d'alene, china), and a serious sleep debt i need to repay. this will be the first wednesday in six weeks that i won't be totally annihilated drunk, my body is thankful but my mind is not.
so i'll write this bad boy in english. i like that i'm blogging a bit more now. not consistently, really. not yet. but more than i have in a couple years. it's nice to build up the ideas for a few days (ok, weeks) and then spit them out. or sit down and hammer something out really quick. long story short, i'm enjoying this blog thing again. even if it isn't as important to me as it was when i first got it going. i'm still going to find a new space before i go to china. i thought the china blog would be a travel blog, but really it'll be a life blog. my life will be in china. that's an interesting thought.
i'm home from nova scotia. i wish i could define all the ways that being there changed me, but it's impossible. it was easily the best thing i could have done and not because of the french, although the french was awesome, but because of the place and the people and what it did to me. believe it or not (i know you believe it), i'm not very good at letting people in or creating relationships and social situations make me all kinds of awkward. but it was different there and i came away from it with a gazillion new friends, 4 or 5 that i consider to be good friends, really good friends, and just a new perspective. i would like to rewind time and go back there. any day of the week, and week of the session, it was all just so fucking good. but no can do so i'm just trying to be all zen and focus on how grateful i am for the experience. and that is a whole lotta grateful.
anyway. that's all for now. i have a gazillion chores to get done, a gazillion trips to take (think: edmonton, vancouver, saskatoon, coeur d'alene, china), and a serious sleep debt i need to repay. this will be the first wednesday in six weeks that i won't be totally annihilated drunk, my body is thankful but my mind is not.
June 11, 2010
franglais
i want to write something about being here but i don't know how. i'm a different person here, that's for dang sure. i don't think i'm any more or less different than myself, it's just a strange environment. like cramming all of first year res into five weeks. think: drinking, last minute homework, frisbee, drinking and generally goofiness. but i'm 24 now and a little bit more mature (ha! joke!). i get drunk at least 3 nights a week and we have an ongoing promise to have at least one beer a night. i live in the best residence on campus, in my opinion, and we call ourselves a family and say cheesy stuff like "toujours tout le monde" and "on a gagne dans nos coeurs". tonight our residence is hosting a keg party and i'm dressing up like a 1950s housewife. but i actually really love the dress i'll be wearing, even though i can't really do kegstands in it. the director of the program bought me a beer on wednesday night and we spent about ten minutes talking about when i would come back to the university and working on my pronunciation of the word "but". that one definitely gets me. i have an awesome roommate but when i'm drunk i sleepover with my friend down the hall. sleepover isn't a euphemism for anything, by the way. i listen to french music, watch french tv shows, read french books (sorta) and when i get drunk i go from intermediare 3 to advance 1. and sometimes i sneak into my room and listen to abba with my headphones in. i can drink almost anyone here under the table yet i've only been hungover once. and when i start feeling trapped there is always someone willing to walk down to the kwikway, to the beach or to play tennis/frisbee/soccer/basketball/etc. with. i feel like this is probably the best thing i could have ever done with my life right now. a full on let loose fun time before i jump into a "career". what the fuck, eh? me? career? those words do not belong in the same sentence. but alas, here i am. i'll start thinking about that when i get back. but really. i have one week left here. which is actually a fairly substantial amount of time but it'll fly by and then it'll be time to say seeya later. in english!
anyway, that's the news. i'm loving it. but really, as each day goes by i start thinking more and more about the things i need to do to get ready for china and i'm ready to get that started too. plus, my car and my cat miss me. i know they do!
anyway, that's the news. i'm loving it. but really, as each day goes by i start thinking more and more about the things i need to do to get ready for china and i'm ready to get that started too. plus, my car and my cat miss me. i know they do!
June 01, 2010
May 31, 2010
lurning
i feel like i have finally learned how to learn. i don't really have a better way to explain it. i feel like in high school and university i never really learned anything. that's not the best thing to say but really, i learned enough to pass an exam or do a project or write an essay and then it was gone. but something happened during my practicum and into this french program. all of a sudden i can just be like "hmm, i better learn that" or "hmm, i'd like to learn that" and there it is. i taught romeo and juliet like i'd been studying it all my life. i just taught myself conditionnel passe because i missed that day in class and had to puzzle it out. no big deal. anyway. it feels good.
and french is awesome, ps.
writing in english is a super weird experience. none of this makes sense to me.
and french is awesome, ps.
writing in english is a super weird experience. none of this makes sense to me.
May 23, 2010
run run
as we speak jenna and i are in our hotel room in halifax. jenna is texting and watching miss congeniality 2. i am eating a mcflurry (i had my one bite so i am pretty satisfied) and catching up on baseball news. yeah blue jays.
this morning we ran the blue nose marathon. well, jenna ran the blue nose marathon and i ran/walked the half marathon. i actually finished this time so that's an accomplishment in itself. and my knee feels great! but i have this cold and i was coughing so hard i kept puking in my mouth. yum yum. the first ten km were awesome. the last eleven were the death of me. not literally. figuratively.
today we ventured a bit around nova scotia. to peggy's cove, lunenberg, mahone bay, and some other random places. everything is like you'd except, or maybe nice. the houses are oldish and lovely, painted a huge assortment of lovely colours. we trekked around, ate lobster dinner, discussed our post race emotions (jenna = relief, happiness at having a wicked time / taryn = indifference), and ate a few random treats that we felt okay about since we did a pretty good amount of exercise. read: mcdonald's. nova scotia is an absolutely gorgeous place. if i ever do a master's program or anything like that i would really think about heading this way. it might just be the place for me. and i might say that about every place i've ever traveled.
and the french! oh man. i got a weekend pass out of the program but it took a good two days before i could understand what people were saying because i kept listening for french and i could not understand english. imagine what i'll be like in 4 more weeks. but yes, it's going really well. it's super hardcore but i'm in intermediate 3, which is pretty good, and it's all french all the time. except maybe in my room with my roommate or the odd english word you just can't find a way to explain through 15 minutes of charades. i really love it though. extra love. everyone is sooo nice and i love french and i'm learning poi and it's just a great time. i'm gonna be a french pro, maybe. and then i'll go to china.
okay that's all for now.
i have a feeling that tomorrow i will not even be able to walk. that's a very real possibility.
also. at this hotel they have cucumber water. just water with a bunch of cucumbers in it. it is my new beverage of choice. oh yes.
okay that's really all.
this morning we ran the blue nose marathon. well, jenna ran the blue nose marathon and i ran/walked the half marathon. i actually finished this time so that's an accomplishment in itself. and my knee feels great! but i have this cold and i was coughing so hard i kept puking in my mouth. yum yum. the first ten km were awesome. the last eleven were the death of me. not literally. figuratively.
today we ventured a bit around nova scotia. to peggy's cove, lunenberg, mahone bay, and some other random places. everything is like you'd except, or maybe nice. the houses are oldish and lovely, painted a huge assortment of lovely colours. we trekked around, ate lobster dinner, discussed our post race emotions (jenna = relief, happiness at having a wicked time / taryn = indifference), and ate a few random treats that we felt okay about since we did a pretty good amount of exercise. read: mcdonald's. nova scotia is an absolutely gorgeous place. if i ever do a master's program or anything like that i would really think about heading this way. it might just be the place for me. and i might say that about every place i've ever traveled.
and the french! oh man. i got a weekend pass out of the program but it took a good two days before i could understand what people were saying because i kept listening for french and i could not understand english. imagine what i'll be like in 4 more weeks. but yes, it's going really well. it's super hardcore but i'm in intermediate 3, which is pretty good, and it's all french all the time. except maybe in my room with my roommate or the odd english word you just can't find a way to explain through 15 minutes of charades. i really love it though. extra love. everyone is sooo nice and i love french and i'm learning poi and it's just a great time. i'm gonna be a french pro, maybe. and then i'll go to china.
okay that's all for now.
i have a feeling that tomorrow i will not even be able to walk. that's a very real possibility.
also. at this hotel they have cucumber water. just water with a bunch of cucumbers in it. it is my new beverage of choice. oh yes.
okay that's really all.
May 14, 2010
immersion
i'm leaving tomorrow, in the wee hours of the morning, for nova scotia. apparently i won't be able to speak a word of english for the five weeks i'm there - minus the time i sneak away to halifax to adventure with jenna and "run" a half marathon. i'm in it for the t-shirt. i have no idea what to expect. i'm sure there are people out there who could enlighten me but i kinda like it this way. my basement floor is totally covered with the "bare essentials". i always liked the idea of being a light packer but i've never been able to master it. and i always envy the people who can travel with what looks like a really small bag but seem to have an endless supply of outfits. i'm just doomed to be an overpacker. or, occasionally, an extreme underpacker - something that has led to disappointments in the past. long story short, i am turning this packing into a much bigger deal than it probably needs to be BUT i am going for five weeks which is quite a while. or it at least seems to be when i'm on this end of it.
i've spent the last week poolside and my whole body has a case of prickly heat. i hate the prickly heat. even the pool can't cure it. but it was a cooker here today. i do love that about kelowna. a lot. i have also begun to use it as an excuse to not go for runs! that is so bad. but it is so hot i can't even handle it. i went for a run the other day and came back all red faced and wrongly assumed that it was just from exertion (i get red when i exercise like no one you've ever seen) but nope, it was a sunburn. but i got a nike plus thing. one of those little things that goes in your shoe and records all sorts of info about your runs. and i really like it. it's neat to see how it's going. i haven't logged too many miles on it yet (like i said, poolside) but i'm excited to put it through the paces in nova scotia. and i am excited for the ocean!
oh god am i excited for the ocean!
before moving to kelowna i spent 6 years living on island, many of those years living a few short blocks from the water, and i'm really missing it. i didn't realize it until i was in vancouver and the sight of the sea just got me. it has a power. i don't know what it is, but there is something about it. i've seen the atlantic before, but it was in florida and something about that just doesn't count for me. i want to see the north atlantic. the titanic atlantic. i cannot wait.
i'll keep you posted on my adventures.
maybe in french, maybe not.
i've spent the last week poolside and my whole body has a case of prickly heat. i hate the prickly heat. even the pool can't cure it. but it was a cooker here today. i do love that about kelowna. a lot. i have also begun to use it as an excuse to not go for runs! that is so bad. but it is so hot i can't even handle it. i went for a run the other day and came back all red faced and wrongly assumed that it was just from exertion (i get red when i exercise like no one you've ever seen) but nope, it was a sunburn. but i got a nike plus thing. one of those little things that goes in your shoe and records all sorts of info about your runs. and i really like it. it's neat to see how it's going. i haven't logged too many miles on it yet (like i said, poolside) but i'm excited to put it through the paces in nova scotia. and i am excited for the ocean!
oh god am i excited for the ocean!
before moving to kelowna i spent 6 years living on island, many of those years living a few short blocks from the water, and i'm really missing it. i didn't realize it until i was in vancouver and the sight of the sea just got me. it has a power. i don't know what it is, but there is something about it. i've seen the atlantic before, but it was in florida and something about that just doesn't count for me. i want to see the north atlantic. the titanic atlantic. i cannot wait.
i'll keep you posted on my adventures.
maybe in french, maybe not.
May 04, 2010
tmax
i'm facing this dilemma between starting a new blog as i start a new chapter of my life or keeping this blog as a way to document all the growth that has occurred since i set out at 18. it is a tough call. i think i'll mix it up. i feel that this blog, as great as it has been in the past, has come to limit me. it's purely psychological, of course, but the idea of a refresh is appealing. the blog posts here won't disappear, i have them all and looking back at them is continually enlightening. i'll let you know if there is ever a new link to add to your favorites. it will probably still be called taryntothemax, i don't think i can part with that.
in other news, i went for a run today (less than 3 weeks until i am scheduled to run a half marathon in halifax, i'd really hate to go 0 for 2). it felt really good, despite a weird attack of asthma breathing. my knee feels good, i just need to log some miles and get my head in the game. seriously, my head is not in the game at all and i am realizing that this is 90% to blame for my running failure (the other 10% i am attributing to my knee). that's exciting. i leave for nova scotia in less that two weeks. for five whole glorious weeks. i can't wait. there was a time in my life when five weeks would have felt like an ETERNITY but now it just feels like a weekend. it would probably feel more substantial except i am going to china for TWO WHOLE YEARS. now that is an ETERNITY. and i can't wait!
in other news, i went for a run today (less than 3 weeks until i am scheduled to run a half marathon in halifax, i'd really hate to go 0 for 2). it felt really good, despite a weird attack of asthma breathing. my knee feels good, i just need to log some miles and get my head in the game. seriously, my head is not in the game at all and i am realizing that this is 90% to blame for my running failure (the other 10% i am attributing to my knee). that's exciting. i leave for nova scotia in less that two weeks. for five whole glorious weeks. i can't wait. there was a time in my life when five weeks would have felt like an ETERNITY but now it just feels like a weekend. it would probably feel more substantial except i am going to china for TWO WHOLE YEARS. now that is an ETERNITY. and i can't wait!
May 03, 2010
b.ed.
as i drove out of the parking lot of the school on friday i had this intense feeling of disbelief and exhilaration. it just seems so unreal that everything i've worked towards for the last 6 years was over, and it ended in the exact same way that every other school day has ended since january. i cleaned up my desk, packed up my bag, hopped in my car, and cruised up the hill home. but that was it. it was done. i still can't quite believe it. i feel like there will never be the words i need to fully express this feeling. it's part relief, part disbelief, part mind-boggle, part sadness, part jubilation, part this and part that. it's done. i just can't believe that it's done. i'm done.
April 25, 2010
hero's journey update!
it's funny the mixed reviews i get when people find out that i am going to china.
reaction #1: that is so AWESOME!
(approximately 85% of all reactions)
reaction #2: that's great but, umm, have you been to china before?
(approximately 10% of all reactions)
reaction #3: what are you thinking?
(approximately 5% of all reactions)
so, mostly positive. somewhere in reaction type three is the reaction i got from my dad. he tried to be positive but his exact words were "if there is ever a pandemic, china is the worst place you could positively be." i love that guy.
but i am going. everyday it sinks in a little bit more as being real but i'm still waiting for the full impact of this decision. two years in china. two years!! this is my step one for me becoming an international citizen. i think it'll start really sinking in when i get all the info about my school, my subject, my flight information. it's less than four months away! that is totally bonkers. that is no time. a few weeks in kelowna, a few weeks in nova scotia, a few days in saskatoon, a visit with my baba, and i'm gone.
i am actually so excited i can't even stand it!
remember how i wrote a while ago about the hero's journey? i got stuck around step 5, crossing the threshold. but i think here it is. i'm leaving my ordinary world and entering a new one! and i shall return one day (in 2+ years!) with the elixir. that's the read i'm getting on it right now. i'll keep you posted.
love, once again,
your hero
reaction #1: that is so AWESOME!
(approximately 85% of all reactions)
reaction #2: that's great but, umm, have you been to china before?
(approximately 10% of all reactions)
reaction #3: what are you thinking?
(approximately 5% of all reactions)
so, mostly positive. somewhere in reaction type three is the reaction i got from my dad. he tried to be positive but his exact words were "if there is ever a pandemic, china is the worst place you could positively be." i love that guy.
but i am going. everyday it sinks in a little bit more as being real but i'm still waiting for the full impact of this decision. two years in china. two years!! this is my step one for me becoming an international citizen. i think it'll start really sinking in when i get all the info about my school, my subject, my flight information. it's less than four months away! that is totally bonkers. that is no time. a few weeks in kelowna, a few weeks in nova scotia, a few days in saskatoon, a visit with my baba, and i'm gone.
i am actually so excited i can't even stand it!
remember how i wrote a while ago about the hero's journey? i got stuck around step 5, crossing the threshold. but i think here it is. i'm leaving my ordinary world and entering a new one! and i shall return one day (in 2+ years!) with the elixir. that's the read i'm getting on it right now. i'll keep you posted.
love, once again,
your hero
April 21, 2010
meet me in chongqing
i got the contract!
of the people i know who interviewed four out of six got contracts. i'm not exactly how they made the choices they did (meaning: certain picks were not ones i would have made) but overall, i'm glad to be going with people i know.
so yes,
i signed it. i really signed it. today! and i faxed it in! and all my applications are in the mail! and things are happening for me!
i'm off to chongqing. supposedly the biggest city in china, maybe the biggest city in the world.
and you know what that means.
travel blog!!
of the people i know who interviewed four out of six got contracts. i'm not exactly how they made the choices they did (meaning: certain picks were not ones i would have made) but overall, i'm glad to be going with people i know.
so yes,
i signed it. i really signed it. today! and i faxed it in! and all my applications are in the mail! and things are happening for me!
i'm off to chongqing. supposedly the biggest city in china, maybe the biggest city in the world.
and you know what that means.
travel blog!!
April 17, 2010
teacher
so, the interview.
i'm not really sure how it went. he said i look like a partier. but i think he meant it as a good thing because right after that he said he was looking to put together a group of 5 social young people to go to a school that it is in a more rural area. haha. but yeah. i should find out in a week or two. fingers crossed. but sort of not. the nice thing about not getting it is that then i don't have the decision to make. but, then again, i want it. i at least want the choice to be mine.
two more week of my practicum! two more weeks of teacher clothes and classroom management and photocopier mishaps. i'll miss it, i really will. but it'll be nice to be free. to be a university graduate. a teacher.
a teacher!
last class a girl, who is not the keenest of kids, said that i explain things really well. i don't know why but that stuck with me as a really huge compliment. she just said it kind of offhand, there may have been an f word that slipped out, but she meant it.
sometimes (all the time) i don't know how to react to kids who say fuck. i mean, i say it all the time. but there's a difference between when i overhear it and when it is shouted across the field/room at someone. i usually just give it a "not in my class" and let it slide. it's interesting though. those little things.
i will miss this. hopefully i won't spend too long without it, though.
i'm not really sure how it went. he said i look like a partier. but i think he meant it as a good thing because right after that he said he was looking to put together a group of 5 social young people to go to a school that it is in a more rural area. haha. but yeah. i should find out in a week or two. fingers crossed. but sort of not. the nice thing about not getting it is that then i don't have the decision to make. but, then again, i want it. i at least want the choice to be mine.
two more week of my practicum! two more weeks of teacher clothes and classroom management and photocopier mishaps. i'll miss it, i really will. but it'll be nice to be free. to be a university graduate. a teacher.
a teacher!
last class a girl, who is not the keenest of kids, said that i explain things really well. i don't know why but that stuck with me as a really huge compliment. she just said it kind of offhand, there may have been an f word that slipped out, but she meant it.
sometimes (all the time) i don't know how to react to kids who say fuck. i mean, i say it all the time. but there's a difference between when i overhear it and when it is shouted across the field/room at someone. i usually just give it a "not in my class" and let it slide. it's interesting though. those little things.
i will miss this. hopefully i won't spend too long without it, though.
April 15, 2010
life choices
i am getting an excellent on my practicum report. not a good or a satisfactory. an excellent! i didn't realize it was that big of a deal but apparently it will make all the difference if i ever want to get on the toc list in the district, or in any popular district for that matter. i honestly don't feel like i'm doing an excellent job. 90% of the time i feel like i am just flying by the seat of my pants. but i have fun. i am enthusiastic. it feels natural. and so i am getting an excellent. i'm glad it hasn't worn off, my initial love of teaching. i thought it might. i thought i might get into it and realize that it wasn't for me. it hasn't happened yet.
but.
i am nervous about this china thing. my interview is tomorrow and i just don't know. i would love to go, i mean come on, but it's a long time. it's far away. i like what i'm doing here. i like my life right now. i actually love my life right now. this isn't like me. i'm usually focused on the next best thing. so it's tricky to think about leaving it behind. but then again, once this practicum is done there isn't a lot to keep me here. my family, of course. the lake. the way it stays warm, in the summer, even after the sun sets. but there are no jobs here. i don't have a place. i do have a cat, the sweetest cat ever, but he has a home waiting for him. so. what to do. i just have the sense of urgency. i may not even get a job, but if i do, it'll be a quick decision. yes or no. and if i don't get it, where do i go? everyone says i should get on the list here, put in my time, there will be work for me, and see what happens in terms of getting a contract. but i've always said that's the last thing i want. but maybe it's not? i don't know. oh man. dilemmas.
thankfully, this is an exciting decision. oh do i want to go to china and make money and have crazy adventures or do i want to stay here, in one of the most beautiful places in the world? oh woe is me.
i'll keep you posted.
but.
i am nervous about this china thing. my interview is tomorrow and i just don't know. i would love to go, i mean come on, but it's a long time. it's far away. i like what i'm doing here. i like my life right now. i actually love my life right now. this isn't like me. i'm usually focused on the next best thing. so it's tricky to think about leaving it behind. but then again, once this practicum is done there isn't a lot to keep me here. my family, of course. the lake. the way it stays warm, in the summer, even after the sun sets. but there are no jobs here. i don't have a place. i do have a cat, the sweetest cat ever, but he has a home waiting for him. so. what to do. i just have the sense of urgency. i may not even get a job, but if i do, it'll be a quick decision. yes or no. and if i don't get it, where do i go? everyone says i should get on the list here, put in my time, there will be work for me, and see what happens in terms of getting a contract. but i've always said that's the last thing i want. but maybe it's not? i don't know. oh man. dilemmas.
thankfully, this is an exciting decision. oh do i want to go to china and make money and have crazy adventures or do i want to stay here, in one of the most beautiful places in the world? oh woe is me.
i'll keep you posted.
April 06, 2010
+/-
+ the grade eight volleyball team i help coach won the zone championships last thursday.
+ i got an unreal reference letter from one of my sponsor teachers.
+ i have a job interview with maple leaf schools on april 17th-ish. that would mean committing to at least a year in china, but probably two. i was so so so gung-ho about this plan but now i have to give it a good think. these are exciting decisions though!
+ only 18 more teaching days left! this is actually a +/- because i'll be so glad to be done but i'll be sad to leave my school and my students. i've grown pretty attached.
+ i started playing the stock market (actually my dad plays it on my behalf) and i'm making money.
+ i went to edmonton and got to eat at chianti, see lots of my friends, visit my baba, and inspire jenna with my love of nailpolish and this one type of starbucks travel mug (alie knows about this mug, i think).
+ i took a risk with some facebook stalkery and it looks like it may have paid off.
+ i got into the explore program so i get to spend 5 weeks in nova scotia in may/june.
- i am meant to be running another half marathon in halifax but i have not trained even slightly and still haven't seen a physio yet about my knee. i feel like this will be a recurring pattern in my life. oh wait, it already is.
- marking. oh my gosh the marking. so much marking to do.
+ i got an unreal reference letter from one of my sponsor teachers.
+ i have a job interview with maple leaf schools on april 17th-ish. that would mean committing to at least a year in china, but probably two. i was so so so gung-ho about this plan but now i have to give it a good think. these are exciting decisions though!
+ only 18 more teaching days left! this is actually a +/- because i'll be so glad to be done but i'll be sad to leave my school and my students. i've grown pretty attached.
+ i started playing the stock market (actually my dad plays it on my behalf) and i'm making money.
+ i went to edmonton and got to eat at chianti, see lots of my friends, visit my baba, and inspire jenna with my love of nailpolish and this one type of starbucks travel mug (alie knows about this mug, i think).
+ i took a risk with some facebook stalkery and it looks like it may have paid off.
+ i got into the explore program so i get to spend 5 weeks in nova scotia in may/june.
- i am meant to be running another half marathon in halifax but i have not trained even slightly and still haven't seen a physio yet about my knee. i feel like this will be a recurring pattern in my life. oh wait, it already is.
- marking. oh my gosh the marking. so much marking to do.
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