Swiss Day BBQ

Kristin and I got invited over to Bernie and Martine's place for a Swiss Day BBQ on Thursday! If there's raclette, I'll be one happy bunny.

Class Registration

This afternoon I had a bit of calm, so I tried to register for classes. I wasn't feeling too optimistic about it, but I was surprised to find myself getting through on the third attempt of the day. I don't have a great deal of choice for courses this term, unfortunately -- either the times are prohibitive (4:30 starts) or they conflict with other classes. Lots of Linguistics classes at Harbour Centre, and I did manage to get the one class I wanted very badly -- LING 110 (this I had to withdraw from this term -- long saga), and except one instructor I was warned to avoid, and the third instructor is the Acting Chair for the Department of Linguistics, which is part of that long aforementioned saga... which I may post one rainy, rainy day in the winter. Maybe. Suffice to say that it was not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.

The other courses are not full yet, except of course the class I wanted the most after LING 110, and that's a Philosophy course called "The Meaning of Life." No wonder it's full -- we're all searching for the meaning of life!! When and if I do take that course, I wonder kind of mark I would get?

There is a Humanities course I really really wanted to take, about the *Future*, but it is at exactly the same time as the LING 110 class. Drat. I hope it's offered again next term.

I just talked to my mother. I haven't seen her since Mother's Day. She says Madeleine is prettier than Melissa, more exotic. Yikes -- how can you say that? I think all three kids are really, really cute, in their own way. They look like siblings, but each has his or her own distinct features. Besides, babies change constantly -- how they look now is only going to last a matter of days ... and how can you compare a 9-month old baby to a 3-yr old child?? Sheesh. My mother's had 4 kids, so you'd think she'd be less biased about such things. Doesn't having more kids (and seeing how much they change over time) make you more neutral? Guess not.

Handed in my Latin American Studies paper on the film "Strawberry and Chocolate", so now I've just got two exams and that's it until... September! A few weeks respite. I am currently running on one whole hour of sleep. Yep, that's right, one single hour. But it was a quality hour.

Self-fulfilling prophecy -- I pulled an all-nighter. The kicker was not being able to get into SFU's telephone registration this morning. After half an hour, I just gave up and tried to get some sleep.

My start date for class registration is tomorrow morning at 7:30am. Hopefully tonight won't be an all-nighter.

What a day. I spent most of today at the office just trying to fix computer problems, and less than 2 hours to do my job. Result? A long, tough day with little to show for it. Even right now I'm on the phone with Kevin to reinstall software that I wasn't able to set up properly before I ran out the door to catch the ferry.

I have barely a skeleton of a paper and it's already 7:30. Panic is setting in... and I'm still on the phone with Kevin -- my Windows XP at the office has a corrupt file and he's trying to repair it... I just want to go to sleep...!

It's Official -- I'm a Geek

I made it to the office without falling asleep...

I remember only last week explaining to Ross what blogging was, and saying that most people who blog don't have lives and if they did, they wouldn't have the time to blog.... I guess I am now in that category of geek who substitutes a social life with posting journal entries for total strangers to read (of course that doesn't include those of you who are here because I sent you my URL!!!). Except I don't think that's 100% true about me -- I fall into some subcategory of geek who procrastinates from coursework by pretending to work at the computer and instead organizing photo albums and PhotoJams and surfing for travel deals...

Anyway, I'd better get back to work!!!

What is Entertainment?

Ah, familiar territory. Almost half past one in the morning and I've got as far as the Works Cited section and figuring out what I'm trying to write about. Maybe my creative juices just don't flow under normal circumstances. Maybe I need to be half-delirious first.

I've read some articles on "Strawberry and Chocolate" and find them differing wildly between those written by Latin Americans and those written by Americans. It brings to mind that universal concept I always seem to bring up in conversations -- "what is entertainment??" Mainstream American productions are flashier and avoid politics and heavier content, and that seems to entertain American audiences just fine. It is clear most American audiences will find this film insignificant, less-polished and possibly even downright boring when compared to any other movie marketed as a "romantic comedy". In the context of Cuban politics, however, this film is groundbreaking, addressing issues of sexuality, revolutionary ideology, and society. Now, if I can just get some of this stuff down on paper I can go to bed.

infodesk

Back from a morning shift at the HI-Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel infodesk, which went later than usual. I think trying to organize things are easier when there are two people on, because I was answering questions and all the brochures were piled up on the desk, on top of the stuff I needed to answer questions! What a mess!

I'm happy to be back at the infodesk, because I like the challenge... it's a part I miss from the days of working in the youth hostel system. It reminds me of travelling, and while I'm not travelling, at least I can do it vicariously.

The photo albums can be found here, the most recent album is Friday's HI-Vancouver fam trip: Catherine's Chinatown Tour + the CN IMAX film "Kilimanjaro: From the Roof of Africa".

First Post!

Oh my. My first entry. It's the dead of night, and I have decided to set up a blog site because I have been a terrible e-mailer and I have lost track of what I've told what to who about what I am doing these days. Obviously I should be doing something a lot more constructive, like writing my paper on the Cuban film "Strawberry and Chocolate". I liked the film, I'm just an incurable procrastinator. I can't seem to write unless I'm suffering from severe sleep deprivation or it's within 24 hours of when the paper is due. I need therapy!