A very eventful morning =)

1) I dropped out of Queens
2) I confirmed my U of A acceptance into Faculty of MEDICINE!!!
3) I got absolutely no work done but that's ok because it's my last day (well, officially anyways)

To all the amazing, wonderful Queens people that I've met over the last 3 years:

I am beyond disappointed that I won't get to say a proper goodbye to all of you.  There was a lot that I wanted to do at Queen's this year.  For the first time EVER I was enrolled in courses I actually wanted to take.  Oh you guys should have seen my schedule =)  8 hours in fall and Thursdays off.  10 hours in winter and Wednesdays off.  No labs.  It couldn't have been better =)

I was looking forward to serving in KCCF and getting to know the young'ins better.  I was really excited about seeing some of the people I had first met as frosh rising up and becoming leaders for KCCF.  I was really looking forward to yet another generation of KCCF Life Sci kids and their endless questions about course choices =)  (PS: Phgy 350 is definitely the way to go.  I'm guaranteeing at least an 80)

And I have other personal reasons for wanting to stay out East.  But you guys aren't gonna get to hear about that 'cuz it would be gossiping =) 

It's strange when you've worked so hard and so long for something.  You've spent countless hours studying, memorizing, writing and re-writing notes, getting references, filling out forms, writing application essays, preparing for interviews and then even more hours waiting and waiting and waiting and praying and waiting some more.  And then finally after months and months, it pays off, but it's so bittersweet that you're not sure if the sacrifice you have to make is worth the opportunity you're receiving.

I'm done whining.  Really I am =)  I am very grateful.

I'll most likely be making a trip out East to move furniture and pack boxes and somehow ship them across the country.  If and when I do, I'll be sure to try and see as many of you as I can to say my goodbyes.  Sniffles...this blog makes it sound as if I were dying or something when really, the exact opposite is true =) 
   

       

I want to have my cake and eat it too.
 
I'm being cryptic, I know, but I'll clarify when all the proper parties have been notified.

A few random blog notes:
 
Only 3 more days of work left!  Not that this job has been particularly awful.  It's left me lots of time to update my blog, catch up on my soap, and write novella-length emails.  As an added bonus, I learnt a fair bit about cardiovascular care in Canada along the way.
 
Only 3 more days until Australia!  And while some people may be fairly upset at my leaving, the glare off my snowy white legs is absolutely blinding and I'm in desperate need of a tan.  I'll bring you all back some freeze-dried 'roo meat =)
 
Expect less blogging for the next 2 weeks.  
 
Blogger has made some funky changes.  Now I can write in different fonts and different colors.   But seeing as all that makes for difficult reading, I'll try and control my multi-tonal urges. 
 
I saw Farenheit 9/11 over the weekend.  It's fairly long, but didn't really feel that way.  I know a lot of people have criticized Moore's obvious bias in making this movie, but I like the fact that through this film, he's fighting for the right to make films just like it.  And don't us North Americans love getting all riled up over our freedom of speech?  If you don't like it, just don't listen.  Or better yet, let the man have his say, listen, and then decide whether you like it or not.   

I wonder when exactly it is that a person grows up.  About 3 months ago I was in a situation that made me want to run away from the world and hide in my bed.  And it honestly took me a full 48 hrs. to be able to deal with the emotional mess inside my head, paste a smile on my face, stuff my pride back down into my gut, and go out in public. 
 
Right now, it isn't that things are bad.  If anything they're very good.  But tonight the need to be alone was absolutely overwhelming.  I've been going out every night this week, seeing people, spending quality time, good times - but tonight I needed to just be.  To get into fat clothes, not wear makeup, not answer the phone, not be witty or smart or entertaining or morally and politically correct.  Not make idle conversation, not force myself to dig deep, not be anything in particular, just BE. 
 
 

I've decided that the Stampede is one gigantic heart attack.

You walk around the fairgrounds and all you see is cotton candy and popcorn and snocones and beef on a bun and elephant ears (they're a lot like beavertails in ottawa - gigantic pieces of fried dough) and mini-doughnuts and fish and chips and hot dogs and burgers and pop and corndogs and churros (more fried dough, but mexican fried dough) and ugh...you feel so ridiculously fat afterwards.

That is the longest run-on sentence you will ever see on this blog.

(ps: Keef, this blog is one of those cut-and-paste affairs I told you about. But shh! Don't tell!)

It's friday! And I'm taking a half day to go eat sushi and just hang out =) mmm...

It's because it's the beginning of the Stampede. Everyone in Calgary gets a half day on the first day of Stampede so that we can all go down and watch the parade. The fuss that this city makes over Stampede is ridiculous =) Really, it's just a rodeo, some rides, a fairground where a bunch of carnies will try and cheat you out of your money, disgustingly greasy food, and an expo with the world's strangest kitchen gadgets and food samples =) But it's so much fun =)

It's an excuse to get together with old high school friends again. An excuse to get drunk and party and line dance every night for 10 days =) An excuse to skip work to attend free pancake breakfasts (and I don't even like pancakes!) =) And an excuse to indulge in mini-doughnuts and beef on a bun to your heart's content =) The rides look like they're going to fall apart and everyone's dressed up like clowns =) My personal favorites are the teeny, tiny asian women wearing huge hats and big leather boots with bright pink shirts and the world's tightest jeans. I absolutely love it =)

Yeehaw!

Taking a much-needed break from data entry =) A combination of not enough caffeine, absolutely no sunlight, and the glare off of my screen have turned my brain into a pile of mush. 2 more weeks of work...just two more weeks...

With the exception of my brief turn at anime voicing, I think I've yet to find a job that I've enjoyed for longer than 6 months. Let's hope this little trend doesn't continue for too much longer...

Paradoxically, the more eventful my life gets, the less I blog.

The girls came back for the wkend and we got in some much-needed "four" time. Though not enough, not nearly enough =) Crepes, fruit, coffee, two visits to the video store, a change of location, four hours of SATC, four entrees, one dessert, baby-faced waiters, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.

The letter from U of A has finally come. Well, not really. It sort of went to my Kingston address, sending me into a mad scramble on Friday morning. Having the letter faxed to my house, that didn't work out, so having the letter faxed to my mother's office, driving to my mother's office, signing a form, faxing it back, begging them to accept it 2 weeks late. All this for a spot on the waitlist, which only means that my life, my REAL life, is going back on hold for another two months. The U of A is now officially ruining my life, but there isn't much I can do.

One good thing to come out of this though, is that it's forced me to absolutely, completely relinquish control over my life. I just don't know anymore. I don't where I'll be and what I'll be doing and what I can commit to. I can't plan, I can't make numbered lists, I can't schedule, I can't organize. I can only trust in God and his plan. A very basic concept, but one that I'm constantly having to work on.

In terms of my faith, this summer has been about going back to the basics. I've been spending a lot of time with my grandmother lately. Our conversations are comical, my Chinese is sketchy so gestures are usually necessary to get my point across. She became a Christian 3 years ago, an amazing event considering that before that, she'd been a Bhuddist since WWII. And because she has very little education, her faith is so simple and so basic. She doesn't debate theology. She isn't concerned with differently schools of thought. She lectures me on the importance of prayer EVERY morning over breakfast. Sometimes I hear the same lecture over dinner. She doesn't even change the wording =) But curiously enough, I don't mind. Living according to Christ becomes easier when you can start your day with a char siew bao and a mini-sermon (albeit, the same mini-sermon =)