I had my first midterms for both Human Sexuality & Health Psychology (just this week’s Monday and Tuesday). I’ve also been working on my ‘upgrade’ courses for Biology 12 and Chemistry 11, so yay for that. Animal Ethics is heavily involved with class discussions, we also get assignments right after class for the next class, so there’s quite a bit to do for that course. I’m not a fan of needing to speak in class, I will if I have something that I feel that I need to say, but it sucks when you’re being graded on participation and therefore end up feeling like you need to say something.

I’ve been working on knitting a lot lately, it’s what I do when I procrastinate (at least I’ll be stressed and warm? I don’t know how that’s suppose to work). I booked my appointment for getting my grad portrait done, which is kind of exciting. It means that I’m nearly done (!) and I’ll have both the degree paper and a photograph of me in a cap and gown to show for it. It almost doesn’t seem as big of a deal as graduating high school was. In high school, everyone was getting cap and gown photos, trading the wallet-size photos and there was just this huge sense of excitement in the air. For university, there is no time to pause and really go “Yeah, we are graduating this year” because not everyone in my classes is graduating. Even though I’m taking upper-level courses, not everyone is in the same year level as me (there’s even a 2nd year student in one of my courses).

Maybe I just don’t find it as exciting because I’m taking courses that involve so much more work, hah. That and I’ve been applying for programs for the upcoming school year so there’s no definite “ending” to it. It’s not like when I was graduating high school because I knew from January on that I had already been offered  spots in my top 3 schools with my interim grades so I didn’t really need to worry. Plus I had been offered entrance scholarships right off the bat (it wasn’t a huge scholarship, mind you, but it was better than nothing). This time around, it’s all nerves for me because I won’t be hearing back for final enrolment decisions for August/September until about April-June and that’s still going to be a while.

And… yeah, that’s all for now. How have you been?

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Dad: Why are you getting mail from [insert name of local community college]?
Me: I applied there.
D: long pause. What program?
M: Their 4 year nursing program.
D: longer pause, I can practically see the wheels churning inside of his head. Is it the same program as at [insert name of big university/the one that I attend]?
M: Yes.
D: hands over the envelope, finally. Okay.

Because even nearly 5 years after I graduated from high school and even after he even admitted that trades was an “appropriate” career choice, he still has a problem with smaller schools, or not internationally recognized institutions, even if they’re public, government funded & approved schools.

My sister J started school this week. She graduated from said Big University in either 2006 and is just going back to school now for a trades program. Granted, it’s a medical-relate program, so it’s not like she’s becoming a mechanic. But J is the Golden Child™ and can never do anything wrong. So because she applied (and was accepted into) a trades program, suddenly trades is the Best Thing Ever.

And my father had the nerve to ask me:

D: Why didn’t you go into trades as well?

Well, dad, maybe it’s because you spent the first 17 years of my life telling me that I need to go to university and get a degree because it’s what I’m fucking supposed to do. That and I get to live rent-free at home provided I stay in school, so it was kind of no brainer. But I have friends who graduated on time (unlike me) and are woefully unemployed. A friend of my sister’s has been out of university since 2006 and just got a full-time job in her field (she has an education degree and spent 5 years being a substitute teacher, filling in when people were sick or on maternity leave and having very uncertain employment). Having a Bachelors, regardless of what it is in doesn’t mean a whole lot these days. Mostly because a lot of people have a Bachelors degree. Which is really depressing to think about, considering I’ll be graduating with one at the end of May. And it’s going to be fantastic. The word “Science” will be mentioned on that piece of paper 4 times in my degree title. Not because I wanted them to emphasize how much I love science, but because of what my program was. (A lot of science.)

But really. Having my dad tell me when I’m 9 credits away from finishing my BSc that I should have gone into some sort of trades instead? Like a knife through the heart. Maybe he should have been pushing that for the first 17 years of my life instead. Or maybe he should just keep his opinions to himself.

In other news, my application for graduation means that this is my last term for my degree. And I only have classes on Tuesday and Thursday – which means I get four day weekends all the time. Yes, I’m quite happy about that. Maybe not with the sheer amount of work for 3 credits in some of my classes, but still, quite happy with my long weekends all the time (yes, I’m rubbing that in now). I’m going to be retaking three high school courses though, because it’s been more than 5 years since I took them and I need them to apply for one of the schools that I was hoping to apply to. Other applications are going well, just waiting for transcripts to be mailed from my current school to the other ones and to hand in high school transcripts. So I think I’ll be working on those three classes (Math 11, Chem 11, Biology 12) when I can, along with other course work and volunteering and other commitments.

Other than school, that’s all that is currently going on in my life (yay…). School, school and… more school.

Since the 10th, I had: completed all of my finals (I’ve received final grades for 3 of 4 courses so far), baked (a lot: a dozen dozen cookies!), slept in (mmm) and I did something absolutely horrid to my left foot. From the moment I woke up Friday morning until today (and still continuing), my foot hurts whenever I put weight on it. Which means that walking more than five steps is pretty much out of the question. It has gotten better (so I can walk more than five steps!) and it’s gone from a sharp pain of my foot trying to go “WTF are you doing, woman? SIT DOWN NOW before I make you sit down!” to a dull ache. I got new shoes during Boxing Day sales (the only day since last Thursday/22nd) that I had left my house and those have actually really helped. I was overdue for a new pair of shoes and having new shoes with very cushy arch support has helped a lot. But I was home from the 23rd-25th and did absolutely nothing beyond leaving my room to go and sit at the dinner table and such things like that. I also laid on the couch a lot, because my foot hated me immensely. I don’t know what I did to my foot to make it hate me so, but not putting weight on it has helped. Whatever happened, it has gotten a little bit better.

I’ve been doing a lot of sitting, laying down and just resting in general. The unfortunate thing is that the nerves decide at times that it doesn’t like all the rest and I get the feeling of pins and needles on the bottom of my foot. I can’t win, I swear.

Christmas was lovely with my family. My sisters and I got my mom a designer handbag that she was wistful over in the store but then set aside when she saw how much money it cost (my sister went back later to buy it, we went in 3-ways on it because it was so pricey). For sister J, I got her Sock Innovation by Cookie A and a skein of deliciously squishy alpaca sock-weight yarn. For sister D, J and I got her a floor lamp for her condo along with a box of energy saving lightbulbs (no sense in buying her a lamp without them as the box said, in big bold letters, No Lightbulbs Included. My dad finally told me two days before Christmas what he wanted, but I hadn’t been able to go shopping, so he got a fancy I.O.U. (and a tin of cookies that was just for him that he didn’t have to share with anyone in the family!) for 2 photo frames that he wanted for these odd-sized photos of his parents (I never met them, both of them died by the time he was in his early teens). I had never seen larger photos of my paternal grandmother (most of the photos my dad has of her are fairly small or not that clear) and she looks just like one of my aunts, and I have the same cheekbones as her! It’s kind of cool to see that in a photo, just the family resemblance and what of me I can see that I got from her.

I got some fun gifts this year. My parents got me (another) Blythe doll, she’s #9. Has fantastic blue hair and I’ve named her Mollie (short for Molybdenum, which is element #42 on the periodic table).  I also got chocolates! My favourite: hazelnut hedgehogs. Noms. One sister crocheted a doll hat for me and also gave me a lot of knee-high socks (store bought, not hand knit). I’d been lamenting the fact that I hadn’t gotten around to shopping for socks, so it’s nice that she did that for me! She got all argyle patterns because most of my knee highs are in argyle. My other sister got me a gift certificate to a spa, which I’ve never been to before. It’s a certificate for a pedicure session, which I’ve never gotten one before. So fancy. I need to book my appointment!

In other news, I’ve been working on applications for nursing programs. I’ve also been doing a lot of knitting. Pictured above – I finally finished my first pair of handknit socks! Unfortunately they were a little bit too short in the heel for me but they fit my mom perfectly, so she got another present for Christmas and she loves them!

Plans in the near future include finishing application essays and whatnot, getting things ready to hand into the schools in January. I’ve also got a few textbooks to buy (least number of classes ever for a term for me but yet this may be my most expensive term yet when it comes to books!). I’m also working on being a lot more positive about things in my life, and that will be including the removal of the negative people, because I really don’t need that. Like that quote from Eleanor Roosevelt says, no one can make me feel inferior without my consent. (I mostly wish I could cut my aunt out of my life, but I really can’t, seeing as how she’s married to my uncle and my parents wouldn’t go with it.)

Happy holidays!

And now I’m all rambling…

So I’ve been working on study notes for the last week. I actually got up early enough to head out to school on Tuesday to study in the library. All the other days I either woke up around 8am (when I wanted to be at school already) so I just stayed at home to study. Which worked well, because I love the fact that I can just stay in my room in my pjs and comfy fleecy robe (which is warm!) and just work away on my laptop. I’ve also been watching podcasts during my study breaks (and listening to them as well). Mostly knitting related, because I’ve suddenly fallen back into knitting (I did take a loooong break without knitting a darn thing). I haven’t been able to find any crocheting podcasts that I like. I’m a big fan of the ones with video, not just audio, because I like getting to see the projects. I also caught up on the Savage Love podcast. Because who doesn’t like to listen to Dan Savage answer his caller’s questions about sex? (The answer: prudes.)

I’m actually ahead of my studying schedule. I finished all my study notes for zoogeography & paleogeology. I’m almost done going through learning goals for my climate change class (whoot). I finished the notes for my parasitology take-home final, which is another essay. I did a little bit of outline for that paper, not as much as I would have liked to have done, but I did most of it. I’m hoping to finish the climate change study notes & parasitology paper outlining Saturday morning, because I’ll be going out for lunch with the family and then listening to my sister’s choir sing Christmas carols in the mall (horrible acoustics there, just got to say…).

I got an email from an offlinefriend asking me why I never blog about Clay anymore… Not sure if she was more concerned or if she was just being nosy. I’m going to go with concerned, because being nosy is never cool. There’s not really a whole lot to report on the boyfriend front. We are still together, we had our third anniversary in September of this year. He works a stupid amount of hours (like seriously stupid amount of hours) and I spend a lot of time studying. Well, I always have an abundance of free time to spend with him, but he works what feels like 24/7. It’s probably closer to like 12-16/7, but that’s still a lot of hours in a week and he does need to sleep. I’ve also been using my sadly boyfriend-free time to work on his Christmas present. It’s going to be awesome. And he’s going to love it. Mostly because I say that he will… I’m really trying to put together something thoughtful and practical and useful and all those things. But I always end up coming up with something impractical, but still super awesome. So we’ll see how that goes… Wow, rambling. We also don’t live in the same city (maybe ~30-45min drive, depending on the the traffic, so it does make things difficult at times. But I don’t know, I haven’t been all gushy about the time that we do spend together, because if I did, my blog posts would be like “So, I saw the boyfriend and we did A and he made me B for dinner.” and I would also have to totally censor my blog posts from some of the activities that occur, for obvious reasons… And with that… Change of topics!

This didn’t really get mentioned on the blog, but my dad went away on vacation/trip/whatever for three months. He went to visit relatives and whatnot. Came back with a lot of gifts, which is always appreciated. He was away during my birthday so he brought me back this:

Yes, it is another Blythe doll. (He also got me another one, but she’s under the tree for Christmas.) The doll’s stock name is Simply Bubble Boom. She’s a limited edition doll, at 1500 dolls in this model. She was actually part of a trio of crime-fighting skaters. Yes, I said skaters. She came with some super cute orange skates, not pictured. The other doll that my dad got me for my Christmas present was Simply Sparkly Spark (who has blue hair!) and the last of the trio (that I’m not getting) is Simply Thumpty Thump (who has a bright purple hair colour). I’m really happy with her. Her hair is a neon reddish-orange, so it looks rather pink in some lights and rather orange in others. Which is kind of really awesome. I decided name her Moxie, and she is my 8th Blythe doll and first in the FBL mold.

(For those who don’t really like Blythes or just dolls in general; sorry about the photo and the blurb… But I like ‘em! And I do try to restrict dolly talk to the designated blog when I can. But I was just super pleased at getting a new doll for my birthday… and there will probably be photos of my Christmas doll too.)

My 3 topics of choice for my papers:

1. Ursus maritimus (polar bear) and Ursus arctos (brown bear) and their sister species relationship (evolution, phylogeography) – 25% of my grade.
2. Schistosoma mansoni and influences on a mollusc intermediate host – potentially 27.5% of my grade.
3. Trophically transmitted parasites and the methods of transmission – potentially 27.5% of my grade.

I have a week off between end of lectures and the beginning of finals. Whoot… I’m so incredibly excited for studying, haha. I’m spending all next week (at least, Monday to Friday) at school. Got a whole study schedule planned. I have a paper to write as a final for parasitology. More writing about all the gross things that you can get from drinking water and cuisine?! Yay! I didn’t really how much I’d like parasitology until after having taking the course. It’s fascinating what’s in our food and we don’t even realize. Or what kind of normal ‘hosts’ that the nastier parasites have. So cool to learn about the world still.

And with that, I’ll be online minimally (sort of) until I’m done with finals… Until then, have a lovely December!

So I’m going to be doing a lot of studying… Starting soon. I need to get that last paper written (and then editing the other two) before I feel like I can “really” study (except for my lab final – I need to study for my lab final because that is important as well, even if it’s not worth a whole lot).

I feel like it’s important to note that today was Election Day in British Columbia. All of the municipal elections in the province happen on the same day – we elect for the mayors, city councillors, school trustees and whatnot. I did not head out to the polls today (although my other family members did). I feel bad about this because I almost always go to vote when there’s an election. I had to go out a little bit after lunch to the bank and when I was walking up my driveway to get back into the house, I slipped and fell flat on my back. My driveway is black and there was ice on the driveway that hadn’t melted yet (it was in the shadows casted by the bushes). So I slipped and fell. I’m sure if there were witnesses, they would have told me that my fall was spectacular (it sure felt that way, anyways). But that really isn’t the point. I managed to get back up on my feet and stiffly walked up the steps to get back into the house. I’ve remained indoors for the rest of the day because my lower back is sore. I’ve also been limiting my walking around, because movement is bad (heh). I normally bruise very easily but no (visible) bruising as of yet. There’s also no swelling, I just hurt.

Life happens, I guess.  Here’s to the next four weeks! My last final is on December 16th (Friday), meep.

In middle school, I learned that some people feel that there are more important things than friendship (such as popularity, or clothing labels). I learned how to sing (choir, I was a soprano), play the clarinet. I learned about cliques and getting to classes on time. I learned about bullies the hard way. I learned how easy it was hide an eating disorder because when you make yourself invisible – no one really notices you at all. I developed hobbies during this time that still stick with me (blogging, writing, jewellery making). I figured out some things that I hated about myself.

And then there was high school, where I learned some time management skills. I learned how horrible I am at math. I developed a love for science, mostly biology. I learned how to voice my opinion to people in positions of authority (teachers, primarily). I developed friendships with teachers, at least one of which is still ongoing. I developed better friendships than I ever did in elementary school, ones that even lasted after graduation. I learned what real friends were like and I got most of my hormones in check before doing stupid things.

And now, with university, I learned a lot of things. I learned what it was like to fail. I learned what it was like to pass with flying colours. I learned what love was and how to let myself be loved. I learned how to make mistakes and how to fix them. I learned much better study habits than I ever had before. I learned how to form study groups, make useful notes and how to talk to professors without sounding like I know absolutely nothing. I learned how lasting friendships don’t always last and that some friendships just don’t last after high school. I learned how to laugh and how to let myself cry. I learned what it was like to have another living thing dependent on me for survival (my pets). I learned what I really love to study and I really don’t like. I learned more about myself since graduating high school than I ever did in the years before. I learned how to be happier with myself, and with others. I learned to take things with a grain of salt.

But most importantly, I learned to love myself and those that I hold closest to my heart. ♥

In other news, I bought candy on November 1st because that’s when it’s cheap. I bought Tootsie Roll pops, mini Hershey chocolate bars, mini Kit-Kat bars, little boxes of Smarties, a bag of mini lollis, Halloween-themed Lindt chocolate balls, Halloween-themed Kinder Surprise Eggs and a box of 120 mini chocolate bars. Nom nom nom. I knew I always loved November. And it’s not just for the sugar rush either.

I was told by my friend’s mom that I’m a (and I quote) “horrible influence” on her daughter this week. Why? Because I told her daughter to do what makes her happy and that it’s okay to kiss a boy that she’s dating. Zomg. You would have thought I told my friend that it’s perfectly okay to shoot up drugs and get wasted during a midterm or something. Public enemy no. 1, that’s me. Then again, I may have said to her face that she was crazy. Because I honestly do believe that she is. Which also did not help her perception of me as being a horrible influence. But really, who tells their daughter that they have to marry a guy first and then date him? And that if you hold hands, you’d better be married first? Crack pots, that’s who. Even my own mother thinks that it’s really weird and completely backwards (I found someone with parents more traditional/strict than mine, with an extra helping of crazy-pants added in there).

Now I’m going back to studying because I have lots of things to do! I also get invited to my sister’s birthday party, which was very generous of her considering she’s having it at the house that I live in and I plan to be in the house at the time of the party anyways. I’m only going for the food though. And if her friends start singing karaoke again, my ears may bleed. (There is very few things worse than listening to grown men trying to sing soprano when they really should never ever ever try to hit those notes because their range is not that high. Also, they sing 90′s pop songs, because what’s what we have in terms of karaoke discs.)