University: Bad For Shirley's Body

Due to my double-whammy economics and business midterms this weekend, I've been living in the library, sleeping little and stocking up on vitamin C. Weird things are happening to me because I'm studying so much.

-I'm drinking coffee. Coffee. Last night I had what was probably my fourth cup of coffee in my entire life. Ugh.
-I've become a sound nazi. I usually go to places that are dead silent to study and whenever someone makes the slightest noise (ie: turning a page, pushing back their chair), I either give them the evil eye or clear my throat in that you-aren't-the-only-person-here-so-please-be-quiet way.
-I'm growing more knots in my back. The other day, I was so upset by the noise level in the Solarium (usually a very quiet place), that I got up to leave in such an angry way that I strained a muscle in my lower back. I'm serious.
-In addition to the knots, I'm becoming a hunchback from leaning over and keeping my nose in a book. Every time I straighten up, my spine cracks.
-I'm wearing my glasses again. Last fall, I had nearly perfect vision, not 20/20 but 20/30. Close enough. Now, I sit in the front row of class and need my glasses to read the whiteboard or see the professor's face. Terrible.

What a weird night and morning I've been having. I decided to stop studying at around 1:30am and went to bed, but I was so hungry that I couldn't sleep. I kept dreaming about food...especially eggs. I was remembering the eggs benedict we had at the Delft Haus in Kentville, and I could taste them in my sleepy reverie. Then I moved onto scrambeled, sunny side up...mmm, with tomatoes. Potatoes! Baked, mashed, hashed...*drool*.

By this time it was 2:00am and I wasn't going to fall sleep anytime soon, so I got up. To snack. I can't remember the last time I ate something at 2 in the morning. I had some cheese and crackers and slept soundly after that. Heart attack, here I come. Even weirder is that I got up at 8:30 this morning only after 5 or so hours of sleep. I haven't been up that early since Frosh Week. I feel strangely awake and quite accomplished for this hour. All my little chores, tasks, errands and things to do are done so I can spend the rest of the day studying my bum off.

10:56 am

Monday, October 27, 2003

Off To Study Live At The Library

I was sitting somewhere today reading again when suddenly, I remembered something with surprising clarity.

Memory: Sitting on a windowsill by a teller machine in a bank. In Halifax. Waiting for Jason waiting for the machine to spit out money. Two woman, one eating candy out of a plastic baggie. The one with the candy smiles at me and I smile back. I'm surprised again at how nice strangers can be. She says hello and I respond with something equally pleasant and polite. We chat...and then she offers me some candy out of her bag. I decline, saying that I'm alright and that it's hers anyway. She tells me that I'm missing out on the best strawberry gummy she's ever had. I smile. She offers again. This time, before I can say no, she walks over and gives me her last piece. I take it, slightly reluctantly because I've never, ever taken candy from a stranger before. I never really thought I would be faced with such a situation. I mean, really, who in Toronto would suddenly just give you candy? And expect nothing in return? This woman even gave me directions to the candy store where she bought the delectable little gelatin treats. Anyway, it really was a damn good piece of strawberry gummy. Best stranger ever.

5:46 pm

Saturday, October 25, 2003

Let Me Dirty Up Your Mind

Interested in becoming a 29 year old virgin?
Here's how.

The Ten Commandments of Simon

Hilarious stuff.

via Jess

...

Jason has been ranting constantly about this AOIR Conference he went to last week. Not so much about the conference itself, but more about the people that were there. All I have to say is that if he's going to run off to New York to meet and marry these Internet research women (see this picture), then I'm running off to Omaha to meet and marry Dave. The list of awesome posts that I think everyone should read is quite long, but my first taste of Dave was this heart-string tugging post, and I was hooked. So suffice to say...He rocks my bloggin' world.

Update: Omygod ohmygod ohymygod! I just popped over to visit said Dave, and guess who his celebrity crush is for this month?! Meeeeeee! Let's not say it was a coincidence, for it's clear that I'm totally pyschic. In all seriousness, I'm quite honoured.

1:47 pm

Thursday, October 23, 2003

Bookworm Lover

I am filled with strawberry cheesecake and hot chocolate. I just got back from a relaxing outing at Williams with some friends from high school.

Going out is something that I don't do very often here. I only noticed a few days ago that there really is no stopping at university. I had just gotten back from writing my Classics midterm and felt so relieved that all I wanted to do was sit there and feel the weight of the world being taken off my shoulders. But as I sat there, I realized that I could be reading this, studying that and doing the other thing which were all much better uses of my time rather than just sitting there and feeling good. It's almost as if I feel guilty for having a good time because that good time could be working time. I know, I know, balancebalancebalance. This doesn't mean that I deprive myself of fun here, because I'm having great fun. I'm just lucky that I like everything that I do (with the exception of business and economics).

Even reading has a slight enjoyment factor to it. There's something...Romantic about sitting in the Concourse at a table with a hot drink and sipping it as you turn pages. Or curling up on a comfy chair in the Torque Room with your shoes off and Goethe in your hands. There's...something, a certain je ne sais quoi, that is so attractive about people who read.

11:41 pm

Monday, October 20, 2003

*buries head in hands*

I have my Ancient Greece midterm tomorrow evening. I was just studying and typing up a comprehensive chronological chart that would help me better understand the history of Greece, when Microsoft Works experienced some sort of error.
And needed to close the program.
Before I had saved anything.
They tried to make me feel better by sending an error report or something. Look Microsoft, the only thing that will make me feel better is if you GIVE ME BACK MY STUDY NOTES!!!
I am so mad. Angry. Upset. Frustrated.
No, just tired.
I'm this close to just saying screwit.
I don't even know if I should bother making a new chart.
Damn you Microsoft. Damn you.

8:31 pm

Sunday, October 19, 2003

Let's Just Say I Learned My Lesson

Oh Friday nights. A cup of White Russian, 4 shots of tequila and 4 shots of JD whiskey. Oh my.

I. Will. Never. Drink that much again.
Because I don't want to have 3 people walk me home while I stumble in the cold without my jacket. That's actually something I'm surprised at because I didn't feel cold, but I know it was DAMN cold last night. I really want to remember how I managed to make it up three flights of stairs, but my memory cuts out in the middle of the parking lot. I wonder if I tripped.
Because I don't want to blabber on about everything and nothing at all to boys I don't even know. Apparently I was trying to convince everyone I was sober by using the word 'entourage'. I then proceeded to spell and define the word. No one believed me.
Because I don't want to stay up until quarter to 5 throwing up. I think I threw up more last night than I have in the last ten years.
Because I don't want to say sleeping in the bathroom with my head over the toliet is a good idea. I did it anyway for a little bit in between barfings.
Because I don't want to have people undress me while I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. Well, not in the state I was in last night. It was the first time that I was in a room that spun.
And because I don't want to wake up feeling like I did this morning ever again.

First hangover ever. Worst hangover ever. Just thinking about alcohol made me want to throw up all over again. But I slept in until 4:30 pm and felt much better. The girls on my floor are awesome for taking care of me and for spreading it around because everyone knew about it today. There goes my bookworm image.

2:20 am

Friday, October 17, 2003

Calculus Friday

I had a thought this morning in calc class. For years I thought I wanted to marry a musician, somebody with musical talent to make up for my lacking in that department. That way our house would be filled with music all the time. But this morning, I realized that I might like to marry a mathematician. I don't like math, but I love the geekiness they exude. I love geeks. And mathematicians are as geeky as you get. My Grade 10 and 12 math teacher in high school, Mr. Mitchell who looked like Waldo, was the best math geek because he loved math. I mean, he really loved math. He told us that he thought about it in the shower and he dreamed about math and our class all the time. While some shuddered, I thought it was cute. My calc prof told us this morning that he had a favourite function. The Gamma function. I giggled.

I think I'd like to marry a mathematician. Or a musical mathematician. Oh man, that would ROCK.

The midterm was fine. That's all I'm going to say about that.

And the bathroom walk-in incident wasn't all that exciting. I didn't lock the stall because I thought that people would check under the door for feet before opening a bathroom stall door. I mean, the door closed tightly enough that I didn't think it needed locking. It closed very tightly. Well, I was wrong because I didn't lock it and someone opened it. We stared at each other, I said, "Oh, sorry." like it was my fault for wanting to pee there and then she says "Sorry." and closes the door. She ends up peeing in the stall next to me and I leave before she comes out. All is well in the end.

1:17 pm

Thursday, October 16, 2003

Midterm Madness

I should be nervous. I really, really should be nervous because I have a calculus midterm in about 20 minutes. Jess and Brittany are sitting on my bed right now fretting over related rates and their economic applications. Oy. I've studied my bum off for many moons and I'm taking a blogging break. I've milked that last entry for every last comment. Heh.

I got walked in on while in the bathroom yesterday. It might've been more embarrassing for her because it didn't bother me a bit. What I thought was funny was the fact that I apologized. I actually said "Sorry." More on that later because we should go now.

Boo calc.

5:14 pm

Monday, October 13, 2003

Thanks To

...my family for letting me move away

...my friends for putting up with my terrible correspondence and for still liking me

...my boy who makes me feel ooey-gooey-mushy inside

...anyone who gave me a chance

...books, music, art and theater for feeding my soul

...the sun for making the world look like a better place and putting me a in good mood

...the stars for putting me in my place

...Vietnamese and Indian food for making my tongue happy

...strangers who taught me to trust

...children for reminding me

...blogs for connecting me to people around the world

I don't really celebrate this holiday, but Happy Thanksgiving to all. May you devour that turkey good.

I didn't think that people gave Thanksgiving presents, but I just received the best Thanksgiving gift ever. Trish from Spirit of Place has linked me! Excitement abounds. This is one of those blogs that I hope I will be able to have one day. Simple, beautiful design and there's just a certain je ne sais quoi quality that keeps drawing me back. I once was a lurker but one day I finally worked up the courage to comment. I hold her site in very high regard and the fact that I'm good enough to be linked is something to be proud of. Wow.

1:20 pm

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Home Is Where Your Feet/Heart/Computer Is

Things I miss about home:
- the ROM
- my double bed with a nice, clean, firm, bedbug-free mattress
- a shower that drains
- being able to walk around barefoot without having to worry about getting your feet dirty
- tubs of ice cream in the freezer
- TV

I have fully taken advantage of the above since I've been back for the weekend. Especially the ice cream and TV. If anyone was watching me last night through some mysterious peephole, you would've thought I just broke up with my boyfriend or something. No, nothing bad has happened, I just like to plop myself down on the couch in front of the TV for hours with a tub of ice cream and spoon for fun. Besides, it was Trading Spaces $100 Grand! I made myself stay up until 2am to watch the final reuslts. Pathetic? Perhaps...not! It was Trading Spaces! And they had $50,000 to spend on ONE room. It was a magnificent two hours, I tell you, and totally worth the sleep deprivation.

Dinner with the boy's family tonight. I'm scared.

4:13 pm

Friday, October 10, 2003

Puddles Of Hair

It may be bad when it's 20-something degrees outside and you're running around like a chicken with her head cut off and no deodorant on. It may be bad when you haven't shaved for weeks and all you want to do is put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, but you can't. It may be bad when you watch the Lion King and you cry when Mufasa dies and your mascara runs in front of everyone. But nothing, NOTHING is worse than sharing a bathroom with 24 other girls.

I woke up this morning to find myself covered in a nice layer of perspiration due to the strangely warm weather we've been having recently, and decided to have a nice shower. The only problem is that all of our shower drains have been clogged and thus, they all flood (with the exception of the first stall which I have claimed to be mine). However, it seems that Heather has also claimed this shower to be hers, and was therefore using it this morning when I went in.

So I waited. And waited some more. And finally felt stupid enough sitting in the bathroom in my towel to go and use another shower. Big mistake. Not even two minutes after I turn the taps on, the water is already puddling on the floor. I manage to wash my hair, but by the time I'm done rinsing it out, the water level has risen enough to threaten to take my sandals off. I couldn't take it anymore. So I left. That's right, for the first time in my entire life, I stopped my shower and moved. Strange.

The first shower stall may have crappy water pressure, and it may be so crappy that I barely feel like the soap is washing off me, but dammit, it drains.

12:50 am

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Falling Behind

When I procrastinate, I do a plethora of different things to waste my time. These include, but are not limited to: surfing the web, staring, doodling, changing my clothes, staring, eating, more staring, doing laps in my room, rearranging things, and possibly staring into space.

Tonight, I decided to flip through my old agenda from last year just to spice things up a little. The entries for October 7, 2002 were as follows:
-Karen Wong's B-day
-English Prose Test
-English ISP: 1st Interview
-Get Kristin to sign memo
-Photocopy acetate
-Study calc!
-Beothuk presentation
-Calc: p.64 #4-7, 12-14
-Sit in on Miss Miyauchi's Classs Per.10

I can't decide if life were simpler one year ago or not. It seems as though I'm as busy as I've always been, but here at WLU, I think I finally need to limit myself. School's no longer something I can ignore and come back later to (even though I do), and I can't possibly do all the extra-curricular things that I'm interested in or else I'd explode. I'd like to say that I'm finally growing a spine and learning to say no to all the people that hawk their wares around campus, but...well, I haven't exploded yet.

I can tell that I'm losing time for myself. I may be falling behind in business readings and calc work, but I'm falling behind on my life too. I haven't talked to my family in weeks. I cut my nails two days ago for the first time in about two weeks. I did laundry today simply because I'd have no socks to wear tomorrow if I didn't. I need to call my friends and tell them that I still like them. My room needs dusting and my phone bill needs paying. I need de-stressing. And a good sleep.

The good part is that although I sound like I'm more stressed out, I think I might be happier. Really.

12:05 am

Sunday, October 05, 2003

Friends

Nikole walked into my room today and saw that I had filled my fishbowl with potpourri.

"Shirley!!! It's like you're spitting on his grave!"
"Well, what was I going to do with it? Empty fishbowls are boring. See, now it looks pretty. And, it smells pretty."

She went on to tell me that the day after my fish had died, she and Lauren (her roommate), had walked all the way to the pet store to buy me a new fish. However, they arrived to find out that the store didn't sell any fish. Only pet supplies. Suffice to say, my fishbowl is still filled with potpourri. But the thought was there and that's what really counts. I thought it was incredibly sweet of them to go to the pet store to buy me a new fish, even though it never worked out. It's times like these that make me feel really good about being here. Making good friends was a bit difficult in the beginning, but now that it's happened, things are wonderful.

8:59 pm

Saturday, October 04, 2003

Reasons To Smile

1. Dear Shirley Manh,

On behalf of the 2003-2004 hiring panel for The President's Department, thank you for your application for the position of First Year Council...After careful consideration of the qualifications of the applicants I am happy to extend and offer to you for this positon!

First Year Council, here I come! AND. Dan Herman, the President of the Students' Union and school, knows my name.
The. President. Knows. My. Name.

2. There was no fancy letter for LSFL, but I got that position too! Yay to reading to kids on Saturday mornings!

3. Baking banana bread with my boy, and then having dinner (also with my boy) at The Lotus Tea House last night.

4. Going to Element for a foam party late Friday night. Unfortunately, it was all ages so there were little prostitots dancing around, and I wasn't drunk enough to make it seem entertaining. Plus, said "foam party" was lacking in the foam so we left early, only to find out later that night that the foam came right after we left.

5. Staying up until 2am watching Dirty Dancing. "I've had the time of my life...."

6. Going shopping at Conestoga Mall (for 5 hours!) with the girls today. The day included a $10 shirt, New York Fries, 4 new CDs and my 7th reason to smile.

7. My new cowgirl shirt.

6:31 pm

Thursday, October 02, 2003

I'm Procrastinating

I should be studying like a biznatch right now considering I have my MicroEcon test (worth a whopping 18%) tomorrow afternoon.
But. I'm not. Instead, I've been surfing around, doing the blog thing, and then decided to:

a) share the fact that I voted for the winning team
b) tell you to look out for a Fray Day near you
b) add a link to fifty word fiction under etc.
c) remove my pictures

I don't know why I did it. Maybe I got bored with them, me in that same silly-smiling-tilted-head pose, or...I felt like doing something other than reading. Maybe I'll bring them back, hopefully I'll introduce new photos, or maybe no photos at all.

Does this look boring? Was this really a good idea?
Kinda.

But really, in a blogging world, does it really matter what we all look like?
That's what I thought.

9:53 pm