Just a quick one because I am exhausted (from not being able to sleep last night, and having pigs texting me at midnight did not help!)
I looked at one more place today, which was super nice (still a basement suite, but enormous windows and loads of light) but far away from uni and expensive, relatively speaking. It was not that big but had loads of storage. But no furniture. And no taps in the bathroom, but apparently that was being fixed as we spoke!
On the way back I miscalculated the bus and stood in the freezing wind for half an hour, and 20 min more when I had to change busses at the university. This did not help convince me that moving way up there was a good idea.
Also today I met the wonderful Graduate Secretary, got a mailbox and an office and keys for both, found out my TA assignments, found out I didn't KNOW about my TA assignments because there is yet another mysterious email address that has been set up for me that I'm supposed to have a password for but was never given, went to visit IT about this and made friends with them, explored a tiny bit of campus, and got my student card and bus pass.
Tomorrow I meet my supervisor. But the grad secretary said you can tell when he's in because music is playing, which seems like a good sign.
And finally, I think I will just take the first place I looked at. I bargained him down to an 8-month lease, which will take me to Sept when there should be a lot available. I hope this is a good idea. I just want to have somewhere to put my stuff, and the thought of having a mattress already is an alluring one. A mattress that I then do not have to move!
whether this is a good call or a rash move remains to be seen.
In other hilarious news, the girls who are staying in this house invited me for a (secret) glass of wine (the landlady doesn't let them take glasses upstairs, apparenty). Anastasia the Russian girl told me she was going to move out four months ago, and had a place set up in a bachelor suite with an older woman in the rest of the house. This woman was really bossy and kept trying to dictate her every move, and then got really upset when Anastasia said she did not want to hand over the money order for the rent until she could move her stuff in. The lady told Anastasia that she should give her (the lady) more respect because she was a retired professor, and kicked her out of the car (the lady had insisted on giving her a lift). This was all starting to sound oddly familiar...
I asked the lady's name, and it was indeed my friend from yesterday's kidnapping and tea adventures. Good lord. Anastasia thought it was hilarious that she apparently has still not let her "apartment" (apparently it didn't even have a stove). Narrow escape!
Oh, and I agreed to go to Toronto with the girls on the weekend. Couch-surfing. What the heck, it's not like I was doing much else... or know anyone else in town!
I have to say, I am finding it strange not being the international student of the bunch. When Anastasia asked where I was from, I automatically said "Canada", until she patiently asked me which province.
Monday, 5 January 2009
Sunday, 4 January 2009
kidnapped by a helpful lady
Well, I feel like I've explored Guelph fairly thoroughly! I waited till noon to call about houses, which was probably silly but I don't want to piss off potential landlords. So I called the overly friendly lady that I spoke to last week and she said she would come pick me up. And she did, and had a chat with the overly friendly lady I am staying with temporarily, which let me off the hook for once. Once I was in the car, the lady said that she didn't have the one-bedroom available any more... but she decided to take me on a driving tour of the university anyway. !!
By then it was too late to escape (plus it was a nice thought, if strange not to tell me the place wasn't available BEFORE she picked me up). She then added that her friend Jocelyn had a room and she was taking me to see her. !!! So off we drove to Jocelyn's. I actually really liked Jocelyn - she reminded me of Auntie Barb, which can only be a good thing - but rather than a self-contained suite like I was looking for, she had a room with a pull-out bed. We had tea with Jocelyn, which I found quite surreal since I had basically just been adopted by this lady out of the blue! Good tea, though.
Then Lady 1 had to go to the mall, so I caught a ride out there and thanked her profusely for her "help", and scampered off. So a bit of a strange experience, but clearly well meant and anyway, I did get to see a good portion of Guelph.
At the mall I bought a mobile (email me for the number!) and, after going round the mall three times because people cannot seem to give good directions, found the bus stop. However, I misread the signs and ended up on the right bus going the entirely wrong direction. (Steph, sound familiar? but the 9 and not the 6 this time). I was on my way to see another house, but took 45 minutes to get there in the end because of going along the ENTIRE bus round. Hi Guelph! You're looking awfully familiar by now!
The house was actually a basement suite. So here's the deal:
Cons:
- dingy, kinda ugly
- not a whole ton of light
-shower but no bath
- landlord doesn't speak English so much
- separate entrance, but steep and narrow/scary stairs
Pros:
- big for a basement suite
- quite liked the landlord, although he barely speaks English so communication was difficult
- landlord says I can paint away the dinginess if I want
- laundry and utils included in rent (which isn't bad, $675)
- biggest pro is it come more-or-less furnished - couple of couches and chairs and a BED! That would save a lot of trouble in the mattress department.
So? What do you think? I have one more to look at tomorrow or Tues, but really need to decide fast because I can only stay here till Tuesday morning...
I will be so glad, by the way, when I have my own place. Two days of being uber-polite at all times is starting to wear! Every time I go downstairs it's a half-hour chat, which is fine, but bring on a solitary lair...
By then it was too late to escape (plus it was a nice thought, if strange not to tell me the place wasn't available BEFORE she picked me up). She then added that her friend Jocelyn had a room and she was taking me to see her. !!! So off we drove to Jocelyn's. I actually really liked Jocelyn - she reminded me of Auntie Barb, which can only be a good thing - but rather than a self-contained suite like I was looking for, she had a room with a pull-out bed. We had tea with Jocelyn, which I found quite surreal since I had basically just been adopted by this lady out of the blue! Good tea, though.
Then Lady 1 had to go to the mall, so I caught a ride out there and thanked her profusely for her "help", and scampered off. So a bit of a strange experience, but clearly well meant and anyway, I did get to see a good portion of Guelph.
At the mall I bought a mobile (email me for the number!) and, after going round the mall three times because people cannot seem to give good directions, found the bus stop. However, I misread the signs and ended up on the right bus going the entirely wrong direction. (Steph, sound familiar? but the 9 and not the 6 this time). I was on my way to see another house, but took 45 minutes to get there in the end because of going along the ENTIRE bus round. Hi Guelph! You're looking awfully familiar by now!
The house was actually a basement suite. So here's the deal:
Cons:
- dingy, kinda ugly
- not a whole ton of light
-shower but no bath
- landlord doesn't speak English so much
- separate entrance, but steep and narrow/scary stairs
Pros:
- big for a basement suite
- quite liked the landlord, although he barely speaks English so communication was difficult
- landlord says I can paint away the dinginess if I want
- laundry and utils included in rent (which isn't bad, $675)
- biggest pro is it come more-or-less furnished - couple of couches and chairs and a BED! That would save a lot of trouble in the mattress department.
So? What do you think? I have one more to look at tomorrow or Tues, but really need to decide fast because I can only stay here till Tuesday morning...
I will be so glad, by the way, when I have my own place. Two days of being uber-polite at all times is starting to wear! Every time I go downstairs it's a half-hour chat, which is fine, but bring on a solitary lair...
Thursday, 1 January 2009
2009!
Happy new year! I am stressed. How come two weeks in Alberta seemed like such a long time when I planned it? Now it is nearly gone and by this time next week, everything will have changed.
However, I have a flight booked, a ride to Guelph, a B&B to stay at for the first few days, and a few houses to look at on Sunday and Monday. And the promise of a TA-ship that only involves marking - hoorah! Marking, I don't mind. (Teaching = scary). So really I'm as sorted as I can be, considering. Except that there's a lot more work to do before I'm really properly sorted (as in, have a home and an internet connection).
Oh well, I have had a great time at home. Lots of sitting around reading (yay!), some skating, some cooking, lots of sorting boxes (less yay). Lots of family. Lots of Corner Gas. It was fun.
So I don't really do resolutions, but I do try to reflect on things I've learned/new places I've been in the past year, because it makes me feel less pathetic. So:
New places:
- Prague
- New bit of Germany
- Cornwall (definitely have to go back)
- the Cotswolds
- Liverpool
- ermmmmm... Banbury? Okay fine, not too much travelling this year...
BUT I did get my masters, learn how to fence epee and sabre (kinda), learn some E-Prime (useful for programming experiments), try kick-aerobics, crash a lot of parties and convince some hapless university to let me into their PhD program. I've had worse years.
I'd say bring on 2009, but that would work better if I weren't dreading the next week. Hmmmm. Well, it can't fail to be interesting!
Happy New Year, everyone.
However, I have a flight booked, a ride to Guelph, a B&B to stay at for the first few days, and a few houses to look at on Sunday and Monday. And the promise of a TA-ship that only involves marking - hoorah! Marking, I don't mind. (Teaching = scary). So really I'm as sorted as I can be, considering. Except that there's a lot more work to do before I'm really properly sorted (as in, have a home and an internet connection).
Oh well, I have had a great time at home. Lots of sitting around reading (yay!), some skating, some cooking, lots of sorting boxes (less yay). Lots of family. Lots of Corner Gas. It was fun.
So I don't really do resolutions, but I do try to reflect on things I've learned/new places I've been in the past year, because it makes me feel less pathetic. So:
New places:
- Prague
- New bit of Germany
- Cornwall (definitely have to go back)
- the Cotswolds
- Liverpool
- ermmmmm... Banbury? Okay fine, not too much travelling this year...
BUT I did get my masters, learn how to fence epee and sabre (kinda), learn some E-Prime (useful for programming experiments), try kick-aerobics, crash a lot of parties and convince some hapless university to let me into their PhD program. I've had worse years.
I'd say bring on 2009, but that would work better if I weren't dreading the next week. Hmmmm. Well, it can't fail to be interesting!
Happy New Year, everyone.
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Friday, 5 December 2008
slip sliding away
Eeeeek! Somehow time (as it is wont to do) has flown by and suddenly I have less than two weeks left before I leave. There is WAY too much to do... and this time no Steph around to help me do it! However, the local charities have been very helpful. Every week or so a different one seems to leave an empty bag in our mailbox asking for donations. In this manner, I have got rid of several bags of stuff without having to move it anywhere. It even beats putting up a freebie ad on Craigslist.
Work continues apace. My supervisor came back, still deathly ill, and had two solid days of meetings during which I managed to see her once or twice. Then she asked me if I would mind running down to London to pick up some important documents for her. I found out for sure I was going on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm. Caught the 4pm train to Banbury - it's about a 4.5 hour train ride. Stayed that night, got up early, went into London, picked up the stuff, shopped for 45 minutes, and got back on the train to Bangor. Talk about your whirlwind trips. Unfortunately, the train back was 20 minutes late leaving and decided to go insanely slowly on the journey, so I missed my connection at Crewe (since we were 45 minutes late by that point) and ended up spending an extra hour hanging around Crewe station. YUCK. Oh well. All part of the job, I suppose. Supervisor is now in India, and by the time she returns I will be nearly out the door.
Also the train was full of chatty people. One guy who couldn't believe I was old enough to do my PhD ("You must be older than you look!") - I didn't have the heart to tell him I also spent five years bumming around and am even older than he thinks. Then he left, and a Singaporean businessman got on and started asking me detailed cultural questions about Britain. No matter how many times I explained I'm not from here, either, he didn't seem to get it. "What is the age of marriage in Britain? Is the nightlife better in Manchester or Liverpool? What should I get my British business associate as a gift?" good lord.
In other news, saw Lily Allen in the paper wearing this dress, the day after I wore it to Club de Fromage in London. Clearly, Lily is taking style tips from me. Also, thanks for the dress, mom!
Work continues apace. My supervisor came back, still deathly ill, and had two solid days of meetings during which I managed to see her once or twice. Then she asked me if I would mind running down to London to pick up some important documents for her. I found out for sure I was going on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm. Caught the 4pm train to Banbury - it's about a 4.5 hour train ride. Stayed that night, got up early, went into London, picked up the stuff, shopped for 45 minutes, and got back on the train to Bangor. Talk about your whirlwind trips. Unfortunately, the train back was 20 minutes late leaving and decided to go insanely slowly on the journey, so I missed my connection at Crewe (since we were 45 minutes late by that point) and ended up spending an extra hour hanging around Crewe station. YUCK. Oh well. All part of the job, I suppose. Supervisor is now in India, and by the time she returns I will be nearly out the door.
Also the train was full of chatty people. One guy who couldn't believe I was old enough to do my PhD ("You must be older than you look!") - I didn't have the heart to tell him I also spent five years bumming around and am even older than he thinks. Then he left, and a Singaporean businessman got on and started asking me detailed cultural questions about Britain. No matter how many times I explained I'm not from here, either, he didn't seem to get it. "What is the age of marriage in Britain? Is the nightlife better in Manchester or Liverpool? What should I get my British business associate as a gift?" good lord.
In other news, saw Lily Allen in the paper wearing this dress, the day after I wore it to Club de Fromage in London. Clearly, Lily is taking style tips from me. Also, thanks for the dress, mom!
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
CREEPY BRAIN
Was just speaking to my supervisor (who is deathly ill, has an ear infection, and is climbing on a plane tomorrow to go give a talk a huge conference, then flying to Argentina - while concurrently attempting to direct the renovation of her bathroom and supervise a PhD student who's finishing next week). She's got her talk nearly written and gave me some advice about talking in front of people.
She says she always makes sure she has the first and last sentences written, and delivers them exactly. She ad-libs the middle, but this way the beginning (when you're nervous) is always okay, and the end (when you're running late) is concise. Sounds like good advice to me.
She also said that when you're speaking in front of scary people, you have to remember what really matters (aka the "Apple Pie Trick"). She's been told she makes the best apple pie in the world, which is what she remembers whenever she's up there at the podium: people might heckle, but they probably can't make apple pie nearly as well - so who cares what they think? :P
Sounds dumb but have a feeling it might work for me! Will road-test this next time. Anything that will help me convince myself it's not important seems to automatically make me do better at anything nerve-wracking, like public speaking or interviews.
in other news: Madge has sent me some brain pictures with boggly eyes! Thanks Madge! Creepy, eh? The section has been taken right through the eyeball! SO COOL.
She says she always makes sure she has the first and last sentences written, and delivers them exactly. She ad-libs the middle, but this way the beginning (when you're nervous) is always okay, and the end (when you're running late) is concise. Sounds like good advice to me.
She also said that when you're speaking in front of scary people, you have to remember what really matters (aka the "Apple Pie Trick"). She's been told she makes the best apple pie in the world, which is what she remembers whenever she's up there at the podium: people might heckle, but they probably can't make apple pie nearly as well - so who cares what they think? :P
Sounds dumb but have a feeling it might work for me! Will road-test this next time. Anything that will help me convince myself it's not important seems to automatically make me do better at anything nerve-wracking, like public speaking or interviews.
in other news: Madge has sent me some brain pictures with boggly eyes! Thanks Madge! Creepy, eh? The section has been taken right through the eyeball! SO COOL.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Anne has a Brain
How freaking cool is this??! Almost makes all the time stuck down there scanning OTHER peoples' brains worthwhile.
Happy Remembrance Day. I was probably silent at 11.00, but sadly it's because I was stuck in the scanner running yet another subject. 19 down, one to go... and that one is proving impossible to find.
Happy Remembrance Day. I was probably silent at 11.00, but sadly it's because I was stuck in the scanner running yet another subject. 19 down, one to go... and that one is proving impossible to find.
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