RRu - Day Fifteen - The End.

This is my last post from this residency. All I can say is that I survived and had a hoot. Here's my top ten for RRU:

1. Peacocks "brrrrrr" at 5 in the morning

2. Canada geese honk at 4:30 in the morning

3. Night owls (of the student kind) scream at 2:00 in the morning

4. Meeting over 60 people in various stages of undress accidentally on-purpose is eye-opening

5. Meeting a person in the buff is traumatizing. We've both decided to suppress and bury the encounter

6. Microwave cooking is limiting. Next time bring a rice cooker and oriental frozen foods

7. Not drinking beer or coffee is a socially limiting move. Must train up for next year

8. A room having with your own bathroom is totally worth it. Next time ante up the extra 20/night and get one. Note to self: avoid rm 444 (too hot) and rm 441 (too haunted)

9. Sunrises are beautiful

10. Thinking kicks ass. Schedule a thought vacation every year!

Can't wait until next year. Hope I survive until residency two!

RRU - Day Fourteen - Communications Challenge

Sorry missed a day. It got lost somewhere in the mad rush leading up to tomorrow, C-Day. That's when our major communications project is due. The halls of my dorm have been filled with jittery, frustrated, over-tired coffee addicts trying to burn the midnight oil to finish this project.

I can't wait until it's all over. Hallelujah Amen.

RRU - Day Twelve - So Tired

I've hit my wall. Nothing more will fit into my pea sized brain. Lord help me, I've still got three days and 6 assignments to go.

Gah!

RRU - Day 11 - Espitemology and Rugby

I will never think of rugby without thinking of epistemology. Strange bedfellows I know. But having spent just over 5 hours yesterday and 9 hours today working on a supporting epistimological approach for a communication plan for a rugby-wear company they will be forever intertwined in my mind.

While this is crazy (and driving me crazy), it's still not as weird as realizing mid-movie that "Moneyball" is all about postitivist/post-postitivist vs interpretive/constructivist paradigm clash in baseball. BTW the post-postitivist quantitatative approach won. Boo hoo to scouting by intuition. Yeah to the power of statistics!

I don't want to think of the world in terms of research paradigms. I may need to rethink this ed-u-ma-cation thing.

RRU - Day Eleven - TGIF

I think I'm running out of steam. The newness of school is waning and exhaustion is setting in. Don't get me wrong the lectures (by and large) are excellent, fellow students wonderful, andI am learning lots. But I think I really need to go home and squish the cat.

I will miss this place when I leave. The time to think. The space to question. The quiet stillness of the campus. But before I go, there are assignments to finish, readings to do, and lots lots more to learn.

Only one more week to go :-)

Only one more week to go :-(

RRU - Day Ten - Lost in the Ether

"Yvonne where is your case study assignment?" said Dr. Guilar's email that I received this afternoon...four days after the assignment was due. Not words you want to hear. Needless to say I panicked. Who wouldn't when you get 10% per taken off for every day you are late. After a lot of hand-wringing, hair-pulling, and one email filled with abject apologies... it turned out that I had uploaded it to the wrong assignment folder.

I think it's punishment for me being smug and handing in my assignment a day early. Next time, I'm going to run true to form and hand it in at the last possible moment.

Bah humbug!

RRU - Day Nine - Elevated Fear

I have always been concerned about the "health" of the elevator in C Building. Compared to the rest of the building it seems a bit outdated and frankly freaky creaky. However, now that I've been at RRU for a while, I have to admit that the elevator in C is just short of awesome, because there is an elevator in the Nixon building that is the most decrepit that I have ever ridden in.

It creaks, it jerks, it smells like feet. The paint is chipped and floor is stained... The only thing new is the buttons. I don't think who they're fooling -- it is a vertical free fall accident waiting to happen.

I just shows how much I value my life in that I take it every chance I get instead of walking up two flights of stairs.

:-)

RRU - Day Eight - No Judgement Please

I am a disgrace to my Japanese heritage. There is no recourse but to hang my head in shame. There are some actions for which there is no excuse or redemption. I, in my desperation, have crossed that boundary.

I willingly, with purpose and foreknowledge, purchased and consumed Uncle Ben's Converted Rice.

Further judgement is not required. I fully understand and accept the shame that I have brought upon my family and descendants. Let the shunning begin.

RRU - Day Four - Shoe Drop

Call me a pessimist but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Compared to my regularly scheduled life this "graduate" school thing is going along waaaayyy to smoothly. Even with being behind in readings and feeling a bit like a fish out of water... the stress level is submarine when compared to the topsy-turvy world of swooping and pooping that I normally exist in.

I must be missing something?

PS - I'm really starting to hate big words. I really really think that if a word needs less syllables to explain the concept than actually make up the word... it should be outlawed on principle!

RRU - Day Three - Cougar Sighting Info

What does it say about an institution that "Cougar Sighting" is part of their emergency procedure along with the usual what to do in case of fire, earthquake, and medical emergency instructions. In fact, it is not even an afterthought....it is listed between Active Threat (Lockdown) and Hazardous Materials.

In case you're interested, if you encounter a cougar here are the instructions:

- Pick up children

- Back away slowly

- Speaking calmly

• Give it an escape route

• Enlarge your image, eg wave sticks, open umbrella

• Report sightings or signs of a cougar food kills to security.

While succinct, here are my concerns with the instructions:

• What if you don't have small children? And is it ethical even to offer up your children to save yourself?
• I am an arm-waving loud-mouthed harpy. What if I don't have a calm setting.
• I trip walking forward. So going backward...so not going to happen.
• Why would a cougar need a an "escape route". I am a slow moving, gimpy, moist, plump object, no matter how large I make myself it's not going to be scared, it's going simply think "buffet"!
• And finally, if I'm dead...reporting the encounter seems redundant. Besides, where was everyone when I needed saving from the middle-aged woman looking for a good time.

:-)

RRU - Day Two - The Settling Inn

So uhmm day two. Survived my first day of "class". There seems to be two groups of people in this programs. Those angst-ing and fretting over the fact that they are behind and having trouble "getting" the material and.... quite frankly liars. Big fat envy inducing LIARS! Okay so I sound bitter. But who wouldn't want to kill people who continuously brag about being two assignments ahead. The second assignment is not even due until October 24. COME ON!

And now for my foodie friends.... the Habitat Cafe is not bad. It's got some great fresh made-as-you-go dishes. Yummy. However, it's only got 10 items on the menu and 3 of them have fish in them and 4 are salads. AND the cafe is only open until 6:30. Who eats dinner at 6:30? I'm old but I'm not a pensioner yet! Today maybe I'll brave the 20 minute walk and go up the road to get some dinner at a reasonable hour with some reasonable choices.

PS - I miss ramen and bubble tea at 2am :-(

QUESTION: Does the "if a trees fall in the forest does anybody hear" idea hold true for social media. aka If it's not broadcast via the Tweet....did it actually happen? Thoughts?

RRU - Day One - The Beginning of the End

Managed not to sweat to death last night. A near thing though. On the bright side, it may help counter act the "college diet" and keep the "freshman 20" at bay. Not holding my breath on that outcome though.

Struggled with the shower. Had to ask the nice naked lady in the next stall to help me. A bit awkward since it was our first meeting. Not sure nude is the best way to make an good impression - but what can you do - needs must. I'm now off to breakfast and my first meet and greet. Bring it on!

RRU Day - T Minus One

Okay I made it to campus. So far so good. Everyone is super nice. The food on campus is adequate (if expensive). Found the nearest grocery store (which BTW is 20 minutes uphill from the campus...in both directions:-)).

To cap my first day experience, I locked myself out of my room and discovered that the radiator in my room is permanently set to "sauna". I'm pretty sure that you can cook an egg on the thing because I burned myself trying to turn it off. So, I am gonna have to sleep naked with both windows open...there better not be a fire....cause people it's gonna be ugly.

Anyways, I'm still actively avoiding homework...so here's to an early night with a bit of Top Gear....maybe a couple of rounds of text twist. It's almost like being at home except with out the cat :-(

Eric's going Thai

Eric's just started working at a Thai restaurant. Way cool. His first day seems to have gone as well as can be expected. He's knackered but in good spirits. I am already scheming to see when I can get free Pad Kee Meow. Yummmmm...oh the benefits of having a relative in the food industry.

Stop sleeping around and do something

Okay. Lately all I've been doing is sleeping. It seems that Coco has brainwashed me to her nap-ful lifestyle. I have found that I am very good at it. It is a bit worrisome. Between the naps and the early nights and late morning, I'm really not getting much done in between.

For now I'll blame it on work related exhaustion. But at some point I'll have to be truthful and call it what it is - avoidance. What I'm avoiding I'm not sure.

On the bright side, I've got 7-days to go before I start at RRU. Very terrified-excited about it. It's all a bit overwhelming. My classmates (via forum) seem really nice. We had a nice "OMG - I can't do this" session the other day. It's really nice to know that I'm not the only one having second thoughts and feeling like a failure. Ohhhh grad school. Scary but cool.

Day3: Burnt to a crisp

Another brilliantly beautiful day in Mazatlan. I over did it in the sun yesterday. My face and chest are a horrible pink colour. I look like a medium pork roast or a drunk racoon. I was only in direct sunlight for the 20 minutes it took to walk to/from the nearest Taco stand. My skin sucks.

Today, we admitted defeat and went to the mall. Not so much to shop but in an effort to stay out of the sun and take advantage of the air conditioning. It was great. Mall was completely dead and pretty lame. But hey, Eric found me a kick-ass computer bag.

Lunch was adventurous was fish stew and fish tacos by the side of the road. Yummy.

So far, so good. No tummy trouble.

Mazatlan Day#1: Mega Superstore

Okay. We made it to Mazatlan. The weather is awesome. Humid but a mild 31 degrees. Finally some summer sun after a cold miserable spring back home.

Aside from the fatal shooting a couple of days ago (June 18) about 10 blocks from the hotel, it's perfect. E and I walked to Mega (the Mazatlan equivalent of Superstore). I think we might have been the only ones walking outside today....weird. People don't seem to do a lot of walking around here. Not sure if that's because tourists are inherently lazy or it's just plain crazy to be walking around in the midday sun.

I bought Crocs today, something I told myself I'd never do. All because the flip-flops I brought from Vancouver failed and started to disintegrate due to the heat on our way to Mega. Now I'm the proud owner of the ugliest pair of rubber shoes known to man. Oh well at least they're comfortable. And surprisingly airy.

Fingers-crossed that day 2 will be just as safe and wonderful.

Go Mexico Go. Congratulations on winning the Gold Cup in Soccer over the US!

What do you mean it's the end of June?

It's June and almost 5 months since my last post. I'd like to blame it on a busy life but then I'd just be lying to myself. It's more a case of out of sight, out of mind.... and a lack of anything interesting in my life.

Gym life is going slowly. I've lost my trainer (a good thing for he cost the earth) and have enrolled in a bootcamp. So far, so "not trying to hurl on the others in my class" good. Sit-rep: I'm fitter but my ass is getting bigger and I'm exactly the same weight. Not sure how I feel about that.

This Saturday, Eric and I are headed for Mazatlan, Mexico. Got a great deal. Or so I thought. In hindsight I should have done some research. Since booking our non-refundable trip, I have found out that the west coast of Mexico was just hit by a hurricane... and that Mazatlan ranks above Iraq as the "most dangerous place in the world to travel". Look at me all "Miss Travel Danger."

We're going to have to keep our eyes peeled and nose clean. Apparently, pasty-white Asians make prime kidnap victims. I'm sure we'll be fine. After all, we're over-cautious old farts with a tendency to dress like fashion challenged homeless people. Plus once they find out we're from East Van, they'll know we don't have any money.

Oh the joys of being part of the working poor.

Me-heee-cooo here I come.

Sit-rep: the gym woes

I've survived two week of gym and acquired a trainer. He's Brazilian and built like a taut tall barrel. He'd be a good guy to call if you needed something really heavy moved.

First thing he told me was that I'll never be thin. I'm not sure how to take that. On one hand, I'm not disappointed because "thinness" has never been my goal. On the other hand, WTF... what kind of thing is that to say to a person just starting their weight loss journey. I'm trying not to hold it against him. I mean all that muscle must take precious oxygen away from the brain :-P

So sit-rep? Overall, I'm good. Weight loss? check 2lbs. Energy levels? Great in the morning... dead by 8:30 pm. Just 15 more days to go to make it a habit.

It's 2011. Now fat be gone.

I've been fat for about 20 years. It's comfortable and safe. It explains my poor wardrobe choices, lack of boyfriend, and my hermit lifestyle. Being fat has allowed me to not care or try. It's been great.

Unfortunately, my age is catching up to me and my body is rebelling against the extra weight by starting a guerilla war against me. I am victim to insomnia, joint pain, heartburn, diarrhea, cramps, and a never ending litany of other annoyances. I am throwing in the white towel. It's time to give in before I give out.

So my resolution for 2011 is to lose 30 pounds. May lord of mercy on my soul!