The people in your neighbourhood

For the third night in a row, there were some strange noises outside keeping me awake at night. Finally figured out that the neighbour has been doing construction work in the middle of the night. I've been hearing hammering and the table saw all night. Blah. I wish I was brave enough to go over and tell them to stop.

I realise I finished 3 sentences in a row with the word night but I'm too tired to care about variety in my writing.

There's No Rest for You Here (a haiku)

Saw dust in the air
Jackhammers beneath my feet
When will they be done?

Student Logic

Yesterday I had to deal with two students who handed in the exact same lab report. The department has a very clear policy on the matter which they are informed about during the first lab.

The first argument was "I didn't know I couldn't copy off of him".

The second argument was "I did all the work so I should get full marks".

The third argument was "We live together and copying saved me a lot of time".

The argument degraded to "C'mon, you should give us a break".

I'm not sure how anyone of those arguments is supposed to help them. They fully admitted what happen but tried to justify it.

Things that don't help red, puffy, itchy eyes

How about crying for hours? That certainly doesn't help. Big surprise, lack of sleep seems to be a determent as well.

I woke at 3:30 AM with my eyes were so itchy and sore that I couldn't sleep anymore. I tried working on homework but the itchiness just got worse then the lack of sleep and frustration caught up to me and I haven't been able to stop crying since. On the plus side (?!?!) the constant crying seems to help the part of the skin nearest from eyes from being itchy.

People keep on tell me that it "isn't that bad". I know that I look at it more critically than others but it is bad. It is itchy and painful and it looks it. Last night I went to the casino show lounge to watch the CFL Western Final. I caught a friend of a friend staring at me more than once -- I felt like such a freak.

It is most likely contact dermatitis but since the skin around the eyes is so sensitive it really could be anything that comes in contact with my hair, face or hands. My papa jokes that I might be allergic to him.

Oh Yes, I Still Got It!: Eleven Years Later

Please forgive, I started this post 2 weeks ago and finally got around to finishing it.


You'd think I'd know better by now to catch the bus downtown on the block with the bus station and the police station.

After working late at the university, I missed my bus transfer downtown. My bag was heavy, a bit chilly and would be more than a half hour until the next bus came so I decided to sit in the bus shelter. A couple minutes before my bus was supposed to arrive, two very rough looking drunk natives came and joined me in the shelter. One with a broken and bruised lip came and sat beside me[will refer to him as Drunk Dude]. I apologized that my bag was in the way and I moved it so moved it to my lap.

Drunk Dude' Friend: Haha, maybe that's your hope purse.
Drunk dude: [Rolls eyes]
Drunk dude: What's your name?
Me: Janice
Drunk dude: My name is Darling, nice to meet you. [Shakes hand]
Drunk Drunk Dude' Friend: How old are you?
Me: 32
Drunk Drunk Dude' Friend: Aww, you're just a youngin'. I'm 40 and never thought I'd live this long [then nonsensical rambling about rough life]
Drunk dude: [Puts hand on my arm] You are a very pretty lady
Me: Umm, thank you
Drunk dude: Can I have your number?
Me: No thank you
Drunk dude: Why?
Me: I don't know you and I don't give out my number to strangers.
Drunk dude: But how can I not be a stranger if you don't give me a chance to get to know you? Give me you number.
Me: No thank you, I'm too busy with school for dating.
Drunk Drunk Dude' Friend: Hey, want buy a 40[oz] of Crown Royal for $20? [Proceeds to pull a large bottle out of his pants]
Me: no thank you, I'm just a poor student.
Drunk dude: C'mon
Drunk Drunk Dude' Friend: Leave her allow, she's poor like us.

Drunk dude's friend pulls another bottle out of his pants, he opens it and drinks from it. The two start fighting over the fact that Drunk dude's friend started drinking from a bottle they were suppose to sell. They were ready to start fighting in the bus shelter and they were blocking the entrance. They finally settle that they can drink one and sell one.


Drunk dude: I should push you under a bus because you won't give me your number
Me: You don't want to do that
Drunk dude: I'm just jokin'
Me: What bus are you waiting for? [At this point I was ready to catch the next bus that came along just to get away from them as long it wasn't the one they were getting on]
Drunk dude's friend starts telling a long rambling story about where they are headed but never reveals which bus they are waiting for. Fortunately my bus arrives and I can get away.

May-B and I had been texting plans to get together. Immediately when I got on the bus, I texted her to tell what happened. She didn't know how I could turn down "Pants Crown Royal" for $20.*

Read about the time May-B and I were hit on by drunk construction workers at a pool hall 11 years ago.

*For serious, how could he keep 2 40oz bottles of Crown Royal in his pants? How could someone walk like that? How are his pants not falling down?

My cerebral cortex brings all the boys to the yard (a haiku)

attracting the wrong type
need to decrease nerd bait ways
I’m out of your league

Irritation for the Body and Mind (a Haiku)

red, slight bump appears
feeling it pulse on my chin
I’m too old for zits

Unruly Tuft of Hair (a Haiku)

cow lick in my hair
taunting me behind my back
more stubborn than I

Sometimes Facebook Recommendations Scare Me A Lot

Mistaken Identity?

Something weird is going on with my Twitter account. I'm getting bizarre messages from people I don't know. Maybe someone is tweeting the wrong person? I need to coin a term to describe such a thing.

Am I the key to tween love?

At least according to Twitter I am:


(Picture is a link to the tweet)
I'm not even sure what this means.

I feel think I've gone mad

Early rave reviews for the movie Inception. I feel like the rest of the world has collectively gone insane.

Inception Trailer 2 Transcript
Leonardo DiCaprio: There is one thing you should know about me: I specialize in a very specific type of security...subconscious security.
Cillian Murphy: You’re talking about dreams?

Michael Caine: Mr Karl has a job offer he’d like to discuss with you
Ellen Page: Like a work placement?
Leonardo DiCaprio: Not exactly. We create the world of the dream. We bring the subject into that dream and they fill it with their secrets
Ellen Page: Then you break in and steal it
Leonardo DiCaprio: Well, it is not strictly speaking legal. It’s called inception.

Leonardo DiCaprio: I’m ready. I think I found a way home. This last job is how I get there. Dreams feel real when we’re in them, it is only when we wake up that we realize that something is strange.

Title: Your mind

Leonardo DiCaprio: This is your responsibility. You are not prepared to

Title: is the scene of the crime

Unknown Dude: The dream is collapsing

Leonardo DiCaprio: I have it under control
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: I hate to see it out of control

Can't understand the dude: You mustn’t be afraid to jimmy the vegit* down


*I have no idea what he said

Freaking out over snakes

Is it bad I find this hilarious? I'm not scared of snakes but I shouldn't judge since I actually did see how big this snake was.

Error of her ways

By no means do I condone adultery but I do see the merit in this woman's lawsuit:

In documents filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ms. Nagy seeks $600,000 for alleged invasion of privacy and breach of contract...Ms. Nagy's bill was being sent in her name until her husband signed up for Rogers Internet and home phone. Those services, along with Ms. Nagy's cellphone, were bundled into one bill, and that new invoice was addressed to her husband, the suit alleges. The invoice mailed to her then-husband contained details of her outgoing cellphone calls, the suit, filed in January, 2009, says. Ms. Nagy's husband figured out from the phone bill that she was having an affair. He left her and the children in August, 2007.
Woman sues Rogers over cellphone bill, says it ruined her marriage - The Globe & Mail

Ms Nagy fully admits that she had an extra-marital affair that lead to the termination of her marriage. Rogers had no right to bundle her cell phone plan with the other Rogers services and change the billing name without her permission. It could have been a business phone and that needed to be in her name, Rogers just doesn't know these things. The fact is that despite what the customer did, Rogers did break privacy laws.
I actually had to deal with a similar situation years ago that I blogged about:

I spent most of today calling customers to let them know when they can upgrade their cell phone. From as much as I remember, this is a VERY revealing conversation I had today. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent (and not so innocent).

Teacherlady: Hi, is [Bob] there?
Wife: No, he's at work. Can I take a message?
TL: [Company preamble] Can you let [Bob] know that the cell phone he purchased from us about two years ago is eligible for an upgrade [later this month]?
W: You must have the wrong [Bob], we don't have a cell phone.
TL: Is this the [Bob Smith**] residence?
W: Yes, what address do you have?
TL: [Cherrytree Lane]
W: That's our house. When was the phone purchased?
TL: Two years ago.
W: Hmmm, When was the last call made?
TL: Sorry, I don't have access to that information. Only if [Bob] called directly could he find that out. If there has been some sort of mistake, tell [Bob] to call us directly so we can get this fixed.
W: Umm, [long pause] well thank you for telling me. [long pause]
TL: Well, [awkward pause] thank you for your time and hope you have a good day.

A couple minutes later I was on the phone when a co-worker told me there was a very angry woman on the phone who would talk to no one but me. By the time he tried transferring the call, she had hung up.

I explained to my co-workers and supervisor what had happened. Then I told them what I wanted to say the customer if he called in mad. "Number one: It's not my fault that you two have trust issues. Number two: It is not my fault that you are dumb enough to use your house number as your customer contact number for your secret cell phone."

** The real name is actually uncommon so it was no mistaking that I had the right house.

Inconsolable

I'm tired and I'm discouraged. Part of it is frustration from school. Part of it is feeling very unattractive. Part of it is feeling left behind and left out. Part of it is being frustrated that I'm sick so often. The worst of it is sometimes my best efforts aren't good enough. I need a good sleep. I don't know if it is all the anti-histamines I've been taking but I've had nightmares 3 nights in a row:

The first night, I dreamt I woke up and there was a child standing by my bed watching me sleep. In my dream I didn't believe it was actually happening so I forced myself awake.

The next night, I dreamt there was a dragon attacking my house. I was a hobbit and I ran down to my cellar to hide. There were all these other hobbits in my cellar and they appointed me king. As king, it was my job to get rid of the dragon. Just as I was going up the stairs of the cellar, the dragon came crashing into my house. His head got a little stuck in the cellar door so I cut off his hand and slashed his throat before he could get free. I then stabbed him in the heart to make sure he was dead. The cellar was filling up with his blood and we all ran towards the small window to escape. Then I woke up.

Last night I hiked to the top of a really steep hill. I was taking pictures and the hill started shaking. The hill was an active volcano that was starting to erupt. I ran down the hill as fast as I could. As I reached the bottom I turned around to watch lava start pouring down the sides. I wasn't watching where I was going and I tripped. Then I woke up.

Even though I woke up terrified, thinking about me being the dragon slaying king of the hobbits is making me laugh. You see this ridiculous brain I'm dealing with? If only I could get it to figure out how fast water is flowing between concentric pipes (AKA fluid mechanics question that made me cry).

Mixed feelings to strong opinions about a new stadium

At first I was all for improvements to Mosaic Stadium in Regina. I was a little apprehensive about the building of a new covered stadium but I was going to wait until the feasibility study. For months we hear about the strength of the Saskatchewan economy and how this is something we could afford. Suddenly farmers all over the world refused to pay ridiculous prices for fertilizer and the government gets way less royalties from the potash industry than expected.

Before the provincial budget came out this week, we knew there would be cuts. A couple months ago, the government cut some coverage of chiropractic services but never did I expect it to be completely delisted. This is completely moronic -- people who can't afford pro-active services are going to cost the system more in re-active services (i.e., drugs and surgery). If we can't afford partial coverage of chiropractic services then we can't afford a stadium. If the people want a stadium get public money to fund it.

Something You Should Learn in Kindergarten

I organized a documentary screening back in January at the university. A lady who works for the Faculty of Science helped a lot but was unable to make it to the event. Last month she borrowed the DVD and I haven't seen it since. We are donating the DVD to the public library and I said I'd drop it off weeks ago. I've been sending the lady who borrowed the DVD emails for weeks asking when I can pick it up from her with no reply. Finally today she admitted that she does not have the DVD anymore because she lent it to a friend. WHAT? THAT IS RIDICULOUS! You don't lend out something that isn't yours. I look like a jerk to the library because I'm waiting on someone I do not know to return the DVD.

Pet Peeve: Addendum

I thought of another one:
Nondescript subject headings for important emails.

The Physics Admin Assistant uses great subject headings:
Regional Science Fair Request
Seminar - March 19 3PM

The Math Ed Program Advisor uses the same subject heading every time:
Of Interest?????
Whether it is a You Tube video, news article, lesson plan, it is always the same. Being super busy with school right now, checking his emails are not a priority. Yesterday I found out he sent me information for a temporary teaching job* with the subject "Of Interest???" By the time I contacted the school, the position had been filled. Ack!




*not quitting school, it was for May-June.

Notes in Church

LynnieC: My stomach hurts from the ghost of poopies future.
Janny: My stomach is feeling great from the ghost of poopies past.

Pet Peeves

I’m a little grumpy. After 2 migraine free days, I, well, umm, have a migraine.*

1. water in my ears


2. people who touch the controls in my car. Tell me if you’re cold, don’t adjust it yourself.


3. People who complain but do nothing about it. Example: People who ride the bus in Regina complain about smoking in shelters but say nothing when they see it happen. Same goes for people who don’t vote.


4. Sniffling during class. Blow your nose!


5. People who don’t put CDs or DVDs back where they belong


6. Strangers who try to have a conversation with me while I’m going to the bathroom.**


7. eternal optimists

*I also like redundancy
** Lady janitor in the lab building is a notorious offender