Christmas Blessings

Mini mandarins oranges

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Lovely music

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Freshly fallen snow

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It’s such a wonderful day.  I just had my third exam which means I’m over half way there to the holidays.  Brandon is in the spare room wrapping my presents (came home a wee bit early hehe), and he’s going on about how lovely they and how excited he is for me to open them.  I almost cried at this thoughtfulness especially when he brought me mandarin oranges as an “early” present.  It’s been a wonderful day and I don’t think I could ask for a better one.  I’m immensely blessed with a wonderful boyfriend who loves me as much as he does.  Parents who have provided for me and love me, a cheeky brother who is adorable and fun.  I’m also blessed to be able to get an education that very few in the world are able to.  I complain about it, but I love every moment of it (well minus writing essays XD).  I have a roof over my head and I have lovely things around me.  I think that this year has been lovely and just full to the brim of blessings.

What are you thankful for this year?

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Racy days, help me through this hopeless haze….

I really should be studying.  I am doing a good job thus far.  But all that enlightenment and Hegellian Dialectics just bore me (well that’s a lie, I do love me some Hegel).  However, I’m just not in the mood to study.  I know I know, how horrible.  But I’m enjoying the time alone this afternoon.  I’ve got some wonderful music on in the background and it’s snowing outside.  I’ll have some tea on soon and enjoy its warmth when I return to my textbooks and the history of Expansionist Europe.

Time has been going by so fast lately.  It’s actually kind of scary because I increasingly feel like I can’t catch up to it.  Yet, at the same time, it’s not so bad, because I’m done with my essays already and soon I’ll be done with exams, hence the title of this blog.  Christmas is slowly creeping up and with that lovely turkey dinners and christmas smells.  I almost want to get a candle just to make my apartment smell like christmas when i’m not cooking christmas related goodies.  Mmmm.

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Christmas Is Officially In the Air

Winter coats.  I FINALLY got a nice fashionable wonderfully warm winter coat.  It’s blue, and felt and has a double row of buttons and i love it.  I took so pictures tonight so in the next couple days I’ll try to get them up.  But I absolutely love it.  I’ve worn it every day so far.  Haha.

Also, in other celebratory news, I’m done my classes for school.  I have a wonderful two – three weeks ahead where once I’m done exams I can relax and enjoy life and it shall be swell.  I cannot wait for christmas and I have such lovely plans laid for the boy.  Mmm.  I love the season.  I love the meaning it holds, the feeling of it all.  Everyone just SEEMS happier and it’s just a nicer place to live in.  The best part though is getting presents for people and wrapping them up.  I’ve put two under our tree and I just love looking at them and looking forward to when they’ll be opened by the people they’re intended for.  It shall be grand.

What are your christmas plans?  Is it a big deal for you?  Or do you treat it like any other day?

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Almost There

So I can tell that I’m way too excited to go home (not that one can be too excited to go home).  But I’m not watching how I talk and I’ve been mixing up sentences left right and centre.  I’ve also NOT been paying as astute attention as one should to facebook and totally replied to a message as if i was the only one that got it.  Yeah I felt lame haha.

It’s really weird these last few days at work.  I’m still giving it my best, but my managers don’t seem to care if I do manage to hear codes and other such items that previously were blocked from my hearing.  And i really don’t feel like getting close to people who are new now.  I’m leaving in a couple days and will never see most of them again so I’m not going to invest time into friendships.  Rather selfish, I know, however is rather logical from the point of usefulness.  I’m seriously gonna miss my work though.  It’s been rather fun this summer and I learned a lot both of myself and about customer service and officey things that are HOPEFULLLY going to prove useful ONE day.  I’m still holding my fingers crossed on that point ;).

But i’m almost ready to go home.  All my books and left over cans of food and electronics are nicely packed away in boxes waiting for the day that my dad will bring them home to me.  I can only bring two suitcases so my xbox and monitor and other such things will have to wait.  Twill prolly be a good thing what with school starting and all XD.  It’s not like I need MORE distraction than I already possess.

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Dementors in the Underpass

So.  Ft.  McMurray.  I’m here now, and sadly already miss home and everything there.  Mostly my bed and a certain boy.  Alas I need to make money though.

Anyway, I’ve been here for two days though it feels like 8.  I started work right away, which was good in the sense that I wasn’t given a lot of time to brood over being away from home and that I was away from Brandon.  It also helped me stay away from thinking about how horrible I was going to be at my job.  Haha.  I always seem to do that for some reason.

My to do list is still a mile long.  I have to edit my website some more add paypal buttons and fix spelling errors.  I’ve just been exhausted from traveling etc.  And honestly, I just want to chill when I get home.  Today I played on the Wii and sat on an internet board all evening.  I did catch up on my google reader though.  I think I had something like 198 blog posts unread.  People need to stop writing interesting things (so as to quote the esteemable Dr. Dickson).  Little by little I’m killing my eyes.  Seriously, I think my optometrist must hate hearing of such things. Heh.

This post is rather all over the place and a means of letting you know (if you’re one of the few who reads this and doesn’t know me in real life.  If so, congratulations and thankyou for sticking it out with me :)) that I’m NOT dead.  I made it to Alberta after a frakking long travelling experience.  10 hours on the bus, then a day spent in Edmonton.  We didn’t get in till 730.  Marina was one sad panda.

I’m going to go crash though.  Have a wonderful night ladies and gents.  If you have any plans for the weekend, let me know in the comments 🙂

Rina

(PS.  What reference (book movie song what have you) is the title?)

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Are You Ready?

Summer.  I am so ready for you

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Indoor Herb Garden

Spring is on its way.  I mayn’t have access to a yard for a garden.  But I can least plant my herbs.  From left to right: Basil, Oregano, Parsley, and Rosemary

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Private Education?

Private Christian schools.  Today I was on the bus going back up to the University for my evening class.  After getting on I started to talk to an acquaintance and the High School I attended came up.  I was posed with the question as to why my brother was “grumpy” to partake in actions that had gotten him expelled.  My simple answer: he had no friends.  My acquaintance seemed surprised to hear my quick reply.  It was true though about my High School.  I have very few positive memories from my time at Cedars Christian.  I had few true friends.  I remember when in elementary I begged and begged my mother for years to let me go to the public school.  She thought it would have a better influence on me to keep me at Cedars though.  I don’t know if my experience would have indeed been better as I had envisioned when younger.  But I guess change was better than what I was experiencing so logic told me that it would be better there.

I hate that at my school there was such a harsh divide between those with money and those without money.  If your family had monetary influence you were popular not only amongst your fellow classmates but also with the teachers.  After all the school runs on donations and tuition.  It’s not like the public sector which receives money from the government.  I was the odd child.  I had an imagination and I used it.  I thought outside the box, and my parents were your run of the mill middle-class adults.  They worked hard to provide for us as they did and they did an outstanding job.  They volunteered continually at the school helping with the first expansion and again when they built the cabins to make room for more students.  They came on class feildtrips and went to every student-teacher meeting to make sure that we were recieving the best education available.  All that doesn’t matter in the eyes of a spoiled 8 year old who KNOWS that their family has it.  And that they do get to have what they want.  Maybe I’m being a bit judgmental, I’ll readily admit that.  But my 8 year old self clearly saw the divide between the desired and the undesired.  I wasn’t invited to play at lunch with my classmates, I was relegated to either my own entertainment or to play with the boys.  That didn’t turn out half bad given that it opened my eyes to some of the passions I have today: classical history and literature.

I don’t know where I’m going with this.  I suppose I was surprised by my aquaintences implication that the school I went to seemed to have no problems.  I’d posit that is quite untrue.  There are many students that weren’t/aren’t happy within the confines of its walls.  That is not to say that the teachers were exceptional.  My memories are of the teachers who invested much of their lives into my education.  Mrs. VanCalsteren, Mr. Costley, Mrs. Nemitz, Mrs. Bluemink and so forth.  They CARED about their students and strove to see that they excelled in all they took on.  I would say that I don’t think that I would have excelled as much as I have and neither would have I overcome life’s challenges nearly as well if it wasn’t for their hard work.  They are the memories that I carry with me from my primary and secondary school experiences.  And when I’m personally a teacher I hope and strive to be able to emulate even just one of them.

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New Header: March

So today I decided that for every month I’m going to upload a new header in favour of that month.

I know that in the Southern States many people have been getting snow upon snow upon more snow.  Ironically up here in Northern Canada, it’s been in above freezing for the past few weeks and most of the snow has disappeared.  Students are wearing capris and flipflops again as they anticipate the summer temperatures.  Though it’s still wet and there are no leaves or green lawns yet, I chose this photo that I took last spring.  It’s of my cat, Chester (obviously) as he stretches out in the sun and relaxes all the while dirtying himself.  Here’s to wishing for a sunny and warm March!  Welcome Spring.

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Childhood Utopia: Summer

Sorry for the length between updates! Uni has pretty much taken over my life. I’ve just finished my midterms and paper proposals (pesky as they are). February has worn me down and I’m looking forward to March beginning. The saying goes that it comes in like a lamb and out like a lion. Some years it’s sunny and warm for the first two weeks and then sadly the snow and ice returns for another month before spring returns in full. I’m ready for green and colour. Though yesterday as I was walking from the bus into my Uni I saw all the frost on the blades of dead grass and tree branches and it looked like needles were clinging to it. They were all pointing in the same direction. I wished that I had had my camera on me, it was a beautiful sight. We need to stop more often and look down at the world we live in. Slow down a bit.

One of my favourite parts of summer is to walk down my parents street to the river and see what’s available. One can be surprised by the wonders hidden for you alone. As a child my favourite activity was to walk around and imagine myself into different environments. Sometimes that meant rescuing someone, or being the princess of an imaginary country or going back in time to live the life in one of my favourite time periods. Most prominent were Tudor England and Ancient Egypt. Sometimes I was the daughter of Aslan and lived in Narnia. I would play with the naiads and dryads and have some jolly fun. Sometimes I had to fight the white witch and save Narnia alongside that of Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter. I loved to read but I didn’t need books to escape. My mind ran around in twirls and spirals as I entertained myself. I can’t wait for summer again so I can resume my walks. Sometimes I still have my little imagination games. Though they’re slightly “grown up” and I imagine myself as the Empress of a far away country or I discover Atlantis.

What is your favourite part of spring/summer?

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