Last weekend was a busy one for yours truly.
Thursday night involved a lot of meetings and work, per usual.
Friday I spent baking an apple pie and pumpkin muffins for the holiday (Thanksgiving) season. I went to dinner with another American in Canada, a friend of mine with whom I celebrated last year. We had yummy yummy food, chicken, and stuffing, and green bean casserole, and gravy... and then apple pie. I wish I had more apple pie.
After dinner, my friend and I went to see the Hart House performance of Macbeth, which was pretty amazing. It's been ages (high school) since I read or watched Shakespeare, so the language took some getting used to, but the play is a powerful one, and was well acted and very well staged at Hart House. My favorite part might have been the way the witches were displayed behind black cheesecloth/mesh screens, and light would shine above them at strategic times so they were hidden and then foggily revealed. Lady Macbeth was fun to hate, and Macbeth was played very convincingly. We dressed up to see it, which just adds to the fun.
Saturday night I went to the St Andrews Anniversary Ball, which was great. Great food, really fun dancing, lots of kilts and sgian dhus, and bagpipes.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Ceilidh Practice, and Wine and Cheese: A Scottish Week
Whew. I have been drowning in schoolwork, supervisor duties, and stress.
Last night I took a brief break from all the craziness, and went to a practice ceilidh dance to prepare for the St Andrews Anniversary Ball that I'm going to on Saturday night (I'm really looking forward to it!!).
I was late due to the schoolwork craziness, but managed to practice four dances, and remembered how fun it is! I also saw some friends I've made in the St Andrews Alumni Club of Toronto, who are some of the most kind people I know.
Last Saturday night the aforementioned Club held a wine and cheese. This was kind of the anniversary for me, since the first event I ever attended was last year's wine and cheese. And I had a great time both nights. This year, one of the men I worked with on the St Andrews Dinner in Honour of the President and Vice-Chancellor, etc. gave me a lot of good advice about networking and getting a job. Getting a career. I really enjoyed listening, and that conversation motivated me to actually start asking people for informational interviews and the like. Anyway, I also had a great time talking to other people, some new, some I remembered from the year before.
It's definitely been fun getting away from the work and stress, but it sure didn't lessen the overall amount of either. Which means I should probably get started on the next thing...
November Resolutions Update:
I just remembered I posted about my November resolutions, and in going back through them I discovered that I have, indeed, managed to follow at least three of them (grad school does not equal life; I will get out more; I will spend less time in front of my computer). Unfortunately, I have hardly eaten five meals at home this month.
Last night I took a brief break from all the craziness, and went to a practice ceilidh dance to prepare for the St Andrews Anniversary Ball that I'm going to on Saturday night (I'm really looking forward to it!!).
I was late due to the schoolwork craziness, but managed to practice four dances, and remembered how fun it is! I also saw some friends I've made in the St Andrews Alumni Club of Toronto, who are some of the most kind people I know.
Last Saturday night the aforementioned Club held a wine and cheese. This was kind of the anniversary for me, since the first event I ever attended was last year's wine and cheese. And I had a great time both nights. This year, one of the men I worked with on the St Andrews Dinner in Honour of the President and Vice-Chancellor, etc. gave me a lot of good advice about networking and getting a job. Getting a career. I really enjoyed listening, and that conversation motivated me to actually start asking people for informational interviews and the like. Anyway, I also had a great time talking to other people, some new, some I remembered from the year before.
It's definitely been fun getting away from the work and stress, but it sure didn't lessen the overall amount of either. Which means I should probably get started on the next thing...
November Resolutions Update:
I just remembered I posted about my November resolutions, and in going back through them I discovered that I have, indeed, managed to follow at least three of them (grad school does not equal life; I will get out more; I will spend less time in front of my computer). Unfortunately, I have hardly eaten five meals at home this month.
Monday, November 14, 2011
C.J. Cherryh's Invader: A Book Review
Invader by C.J. CherryhMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a really good "savour" book. The author brings attention to issues such as cultural/biological differences, attitudes, diplomacy, and loneliness. The plot moves at a comfortable pace, not fast, not too slow in most places. The characters are intriguing, especially the protagonist, who is an intelligent man in a complicated and sometimes desperate situation.
The second in the series, this book covers the narrator's post as translator/negotiator/intermediary between two biologically incompatible species, as a human starship returns to the planet they colonized and left 200 years previously. Tensions between the two species escalate as positions of power are negotiated around the growing probability of space travel.
The reason I couldn't put it down: Not for any fault of the book's, but my own - the loneliness and estrangement felt by the narrator as the only human on a continent of this other species got to be too much. I may pick it back up again at another time, to finish it.
View all my reviews
Sunday, November 6, 2011
November Resolutions.
I've been neglecting this blog. I feel vaguely guilty, but only vaguely, because I don't actually have time for concentrated guilt. If you've been waiting for a post, my sincerest apologies.
I know most people write down their resolutions on New Year's Eve (or Day), but as I've never really felt a connection with that "holiday", I decided a couple of years back that resolutions were better made during periods of change in my life. So, I made resolutions in February, after I quit my job and applied to grad school. And I made new resolutions when I got to grad school. And now, I'm going to re-do them again, because I'm burning out, and I need a new perspective like tuna need deep water.
I'm not alone, either - a lot of my fellow second years are also struggling with motivation, workload, expectations, and the bleak career future. Lots of us are also struggling to juggle the other brightly colored balls labeled "student jobs" and "volunteering." So. Here are my resolutions, which should last throughout the rest of the academic year, and maybe beyond, but I sort of expect to be making new ones as I furiously hunt for a career-related job after graduation.
1. Grad school does not equal life. This also falls under Keeping Perspective. I will work toward an even work-life balance that includes twice-weekly exercise (soccer and swimming, for now), solitude, recreation with friends, eight hours of sleep, time outside, and household chores, in addition to schoolwork and volunteering responsibilities.
2. I will eat healthily, and at home. For many reasons, most importantly a shortage of disposable funds, and health and comfort.
3. I will get out more. I have a habit of staying home, but that never leads to adventures. I require time outdoors and in the company of others in order to be happy.
4. I used to work only when I could focus 100% on the work I was doing. Meaning, if I was hopping on and off Facebook, Gmail, and Google Reader, I wasn't working efficiently, and I might as well take a break and come back to the work later. This works when I don't have more work than I do focus, which is sometimes the case, but does wonders when I have time for focused work and relaxed breaks.
5. Do you find that music alters your mood? I do. Sometimes, I think it makes focusing more challenging. Thus, I will try to listen only to productivity-enhancing music, such as classical music, when I am working. The latest Florence + the Machine album is reserved for strictly non-working hours.
6. I will prioritize my responsibilities to other people, over responsibilities to classes and assignments.
7. I will spend less time in front of my computer.
The underlying foundation for all these resolutions? I only have this one life to live.
I know most people write down their resolutions on New Year's Eve (or Day), but as I've never really felt a connection with that "holiday", I decided a couple of years back that resolutions were better made during periods of change in my life. So, I made resolutions in February, after I quit my job and applied to grad school. And I made new resolutions when I got to grad school. And now, I'm going to re-do them again, because I'm burning out, and I need a new perspective like tuna need deep water.
I'm not alone, either - a lot of my fellow second years are also struggling with motivation, workload, expectations, and the bleak career future. Lots of us are also struggling to juggle the other brightly colored balls labeled "student jobs" and "volunteering." So. Here are my resolutions, which should last throughout the rest of the academic year, and maybe beyond, but I sort of expect to be making new ones as I furiously hunt for a career-related job after graduation.
1. Grad school does not equal life. This also falls under Keeping Perspective. I will work toward an even work-life balance that includes twice-weekly exercise (soccer and swimming, for now), solitude, recreation with friends, eight hours of sleep, time outside, and household chores, in addition to schoolwork and volunteering responsibilities.
2. I will eat healthily, and at home. For many reasons, most importantly a shortage of disposable funds, and health and comfort.
3. I will get out more. I have a habit of staying home, but that never leads to adventures. I require time outdoors and in the company of others in order to be happy.
4. I used to work only when I could focus 100% on the work I was doing. Meaning, if I was hopping on and off Facebook, Gmail, and Google Reader, I wasn't working efficiently, and I might as well take a break and come back to the work later. This works when I don't have more work than I do focus, which is sometimes the case, but does wonders when I have time for focused work and relaxed breaks.
5. Do you find that music alters your mood? I do. Sometimes, I think it makes focusing more challenging. Thus, I will try to listen only to productivity-enhancing music, such as classical music, when I am working. The latest Florence + the Machine album is reserved for strictly non-working hours.
6. I will prioritize my responsibilities to other people, over responsibilities to classes and assignments.
7. I will spend less time in front of my computer.
The underlying foundation for all these resolutions? I only have this one life to live.
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