Sunday, September 23, 2007

you'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best . . .

I keep thinking about doing a blog update, but couldn't seem to find the time, until now. I'm recovering from my first cold in over a year which has really flattened me more than I thought it would. The last two nights I went to bed at 7:30 and 9pm respectively, and I think one more night of solid sleep may get me back on my feet.

So, what's been going on? Well . . .

I've started classes at UBC. It's such a different experience than the last three years I've been taking classes at Langara. I feel generally much more relaxed. It's very serene to finish work and then leisurely stroll to classes in buildings I can literally see from work - much different than the mad dash across town, eating while driving, parking then running to class and maybe getting there on time. I don't think I realized how hard that was on me until I stopped doing it. I have, however, developed a bad habit of just working right up until 5 min before my class starts, which means I'm putting in close to an hour of overtime each day. I need to stop doing that. I also need to stop walking back to my office after class, where I inevitably get stopped and asked questions and end up working for another 1/2 hour or so.

The department I'm in is small, only about 1,200 including undergrad and graduate students. It is close knit, and a lot of work is put in to fostering a sense of community - weekly dinners where you hang out with fellow students and professors being just one example. I feel awesome about being in this department, it feels like the right fit, like coming home.

Sitting in lecture halls with 200 - 350 other students, rather than in small classrooms with 40 students max still feels bizarre to me. And I'm paying twice as much for this? Mmmmkay.



So what else?

I got a haircut which I hate. I think there were two problems; my hairdresser and I had our wires crossed when we were discussing the cut, and she was in a rush to get out of there. I was her last appointment of the day, and the person who went before me changed her mind about what she wanted half way through her cut, meaning I was sitting with dripping wet hair waiting for my turn for nearly an hour. Also meaning that my hairdresser, who just returned from mat leave, ended up working much later than she was supposed to and wanted to get the hell out of there and get home to her baby. Anyways, the result is hideous to me. A week has gone by and I still hate it. To me it looks like I had short hair which grew out badly. Anyways, it'll grow and I'll get over it. Pictures will NOT be posted.


And also?

Paul and I celebrated our fourth anniversary together! We did it up proper and went out for a fancy dinner, which thanks to a generous gift certificate from my old calculus tutor, Muna, didn't really break the bank at all. Afterwards we went out dancing and had an awesome time. Good times had by all.

That's pretty much it. Back to studying I go. Chemistry.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heh. Interesting title.

You have your chemistry, I have my microeconomics, which yesterday took an intervention by my resident math whiz following some sighing and nearly some tears.

Congrats on the 4th anniversary.

And I think your hair looks just fine. An excellent length for either the pool or school.

Christa Giles said...

Glad to hear school is going so well.. and good recognition of the need for firmer boundaries at work, and that perhaps packing your car at 1pm and using the SUB washrooms will be easier than trying to tell people 'I'm not here!'.. when really you're prob like me in that you want to be helpful and not leave them stranded...

Hooray for the anniversary!

I like your hair, but I also understand how you see it.. too bad about the circumstances, now go back and ask for a re-do, either comped or deeply discounted!

Anonymous said...

Email me a picture of the haircut? It will have grown out by the time I'm back for Christmas!

Emily

Katie said...

Picture will not be emailed.

I don't hate it quite as much as I originally did, but I still don't like it at all. It's fine, but it's not what I asked for. I have a clear idea now of what I really want and how to ask for it, and I need to go back once it's grown out a bit and chat with my HD about it. I'll probably have an entirely different haircut by the time you get back at Christmas time.