Near Death and a Cough
Yup ... you read it straight - had a near death experience yesterday (well ... perhaps I'm adding a bit of drama, but I'll give you the story anyway), but it isn't related to the cough - keep reading.
I was so excited to be leaving Saskatoon yesterday, after class, with a classmate. She was driving home to Calgary, and offered a ride. I ecstatically accepted, as I haven't seen my Husband in a couple of weeks.
We started out right after class, and were leaving the city of Saskatoon by about 12:30 or so. The roads were pretty icy, but there was other traffic out there, so we felt secure in my friend's Blazer. Right before we got to Delisle (45 KM away from Saskatoon), we had our "incident".
We were in a line-up of cars, all heading the same direction, all going no more than the speed limit. For some reason, our truck started fish-tailing (I'm still not sure why, I can't tell what was different between when we weren't sliding and when we were). We started drifting into the other lane (i.e. on-coming traffic), spun around, and wound up in the ditch on the opposite side of the highway. HOW we got lucky enough to avoid any oncoming traffic at that moment, I'll never know.
My classmate kept her cool, and eventually got us out of the ditch (took some fancy maneuvering to get out of the powdery snow ... how we wished we had our snowboards and a hill), and we kept going.
When we got to Delisle, we stopped at a gas station to recheck the windshield washer fluid, and as we were getting ready to hit the highway again, we actually talked about whether we should keep going or not.
My vote was to go back, and my friend agreed (I can't tell if it was the other way around though). So ... here I am in Saskatoon, writing about the harrowing highways that are holding me prisoner here (all the flights sold out between me getting home from the Delisle trip, and phoning the airline to book one - no joke).
My Husband is on the road right now, and will be here by supper time, so all is not lost, and I still get to see him this weekend.
As for the cough - I woke myself up last night (a few times) with a cough, cold, and congestion (just kidding, just saw a cough syrup commercial, really just a cough). I think I'm getting sick again, and now my weird craving for orange juice last week seems to make sense.
I'm going to try and rent some cross-country skis for my Hubby and I, and we'll see if we can head out tomorrow. As long as the weather follows the Weathernetwork forecast ... because if it stays around -20 C, I'm staying inside!
One of my roomies and I now have a pact that we're moving to California, because we can't handle the snow. I know, we'll get used to it, but we're enjoying being wimpy right now. I think we're supposed to get even more snow tonight. YIKES.
Another really funny thing is that it's kind of a Stat holiday here in Canada (i.e. the U of S is closed, most Government offices are closed, etc. BUT ... some offices are taking Monday as the holiday instead, so not everybody is off) in lieu of Remembrance Day tomorrow. Today's the day that the condo maintenance crew where I live decide that they need all the cars moved from the parking lot from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. So ... on a day when a lot of people probably aren't working, when there is so much snow that (for me, anyway) parking on the street would mean that I wouldn't get my car out without a push, they want us to move our for 9 hours. Hmmmmm .... doesn't seem to add up, to me. I actually started my car this morning, and drove around looking for somewhere that I could park, but all I encountered were huge banks that my car CLEARLY wouldn't CLEAR. So ... I'm back in my stall, and they'll have to plow around me. I did try, though. Oh well.
I bought a pomegranate at Co-Op yesterday (mmmm ... pomegranates), and there was a sign there illustrating (with pictures) how to dice one up. I've always taken the brute force method, and resulted with tiny sprays of pomegranate juice staining my clothes (usually white t-shits, which I always seem to be wearing for some reason when I attempt the feat of seeding a pomegranate). The pictures showed filling a bowl with water, seeding the pomegranate under the water (I'm guessing, so stifle the juice spray), and then straining the resulting seeds. GENIUS! I'm going to try it today.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
What a Gong Show
So ... I decided to take the bus yesterday, on account of the icy roads NOT disappearing before 9:30. I called the bus lines to confirm that my route was on schedule, and then hoofed it out to the bus stop (walking mostly on the grass, since I'd bail for sure if I actually walked on the icy, icy sidewalks). The bus was 15 minutes late, and then halfway through the bus trip to school, we were all ushered OFF of the bus, and told to wait for the next one. While we waited outside for 10 more minutes, we watched trucks and cars slide through the 4-way stop right next to us. Marvelous.
I finally got to school, and the bus ride home was much more uneventful, which was great.
This morning, I woke up to the following pictures:
Out My Front Door, and then Looking to the Left and Right
So ... I decided to take the bus yesterday, on account of the icy roads NOT disappearing before 9:30. I called the bus lines to confirm that my route was on schedule, and then hoofed it out to the bus stop (walking mostly on the grass, since I'd bail for sure if I actually walked on the icy, icy sidewalks). The bus was 15 minutes late, and then halfway through the bus trip to school, we were all ushered OFF of the bus, and told to wait for the next one. While we waited outside for 10 more minutes, we watched trucks and cars slide through the 4-way stop right next to us. Marvelous.
I finally got to school, and the bus ride home was much more uneventful, which was great.
This morning, I woke up to the following pictures:
2 Views From My Bedroom - Notice the Falling Snow:
Out My Front Door, and then Looking to the Left and Right
So ... needless to say, it looks like I'm going to be taking the bus again today. On the radio, all they could talk about was how horrific all the roads are, and to stay home if you can. Crazy, really, when it doesn't have to be that way. If they'd just freakin gravel the main roads, it'd all be dandy ... but I suppose it's more complex than just waving a magic wand.
Sigh.
BIG sigh.
Sigh.
BIG sigh.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
I'm Stiff Today, and I Love It
I hit the gym again yesterday, for the first time since before Thanksgiving. I know, I'm lazy. But at least I'm back into it now. I also went to yoga at Yoga Central. This place is great, the first class was free (woo hoo), and they were very welcoming, and went at a good pace. Now my poor muscles are crying, but I'm proud, since it meant that I was doing more than just reading.
I forgot to mention, last post, about the Under the Paper Moon Pro Bono fundraiser that I went to last Friday night. We listened to the U of S Law Jazz ensemble, and were privy to the chocolate buffet at the Saskatoon Inn. It was heavenly. They had an art auction, and I was tempted to bid on a water colour of the law building, but it quickly moved out of my price range (yeah ... I didn't think I'd get it for $30 or under).
The first guest lecturer that we had yesterday, John Whyte, was great to listen to. Good ol' Alan Blakeney was there too, and got to add his two cents, which is always a riot. The focus of the talk was on November 5, 1981, the 25th anniversary of the confederation pact which was the precursor to drafting our constitution. John Whyte spoke about how regarding merely the constitutional text isn't sufficient in moving forward with our country, but that looking into the constitutional narrative that surrounds the development of our constitution is an essential element. Pretty interesting stuff.
The second guest lecturer yesterday, Madam Justice Beverly Brown, told us about her time in Nunavut, and what the criminal justice system there is doing to improve the delivery to the Inuit people; they've initiated youth panels to sit on young offenders cases, and they've integrated Elders into the criminal proceedings. Pretty neat stuff.
It was raining here early this morning, and I was ready to take off to go to school, but when I walked outside I almost did a feet reversal with my butt. It could have been pretty embarrassing. I decided to wait the ice out, since it's warming up here pretty quick. Hopefully by 9:30 it looks ok to drive, since I have no confidence in the city of Saskatoon to gravel any kind of important roadways.
I hit the gym again yesterday, for the first time since before Thanksgiving. I know, I'm lazy. But at least I'm back into it now. I also went to yoga at Yoga Central. This place is great, the first class was free (woo hoo), and they were very welcoming, and went at a good pace. Now my poor muscles are crying, but I'm proud, since it meant that I was doing more than just reading.
I forgot to mention, last post, about the Under the Paper Moon Pro Bono fundraiser that I went to last Friday night. We listened to the U of S Law Jazz ensemble, and were privy to the chocolate buffet at the Saskatoon Inn. It was heavenly. They had an art auction, and I was tempted to bid on a water colour of the law building, but it quickly moved out of my price range (yeah ... I didn't think I'd get it for $30 or under).
The first guest lecturer that we had yesterday, John Whyte, was great to listen to. Good ol' Alan Blakeney was there too, and got to add his two cents, which is always a riot. The focus of the talk was on November 5, 1981, the 25th anniversary of the confederation pact which was the precursor to drafting our constitution. John Whyte spoke about how regarding merely the constitutional text isn't sufficient in moving forward with our country, but that looking into the constitutional narrative that surrounds the development of our constitution is an essential element. Pretty interesting stuff.
The second guest lecturer yesterday, Madam Justice Beverly Brown, told us about her time in Nunavut, and what the criminal justice system there is doing to improve the delivery to the Inuit people; they've initiated youth panels to sit on young offenders cases, and they've integrated Elders into the criminal proceedings. Pretty neat stuff.
It was raining here early this morning, and I was ready to take off to go to school, but when I walked outside I almost did a feet reversal with my butt. It could have been pretty embarrassing. I decided to wait the ice out, since it's warming up here pretty quick. Hopefully by 9:30 it looks ok to drive, since I have no confidence in the city of Saskatoon to gravel any kind of important roadways.
Monday, November 06, 2006
So Hard To Get Going this Morning
I had a great weekend, kept busy with catching up on everything that I've been putting off lately. Didn't get to see Jason (sad), but did get a lot done (happy). Still VERY behind on my e-mail, though, which makes me sad as well. Hopefully I'll clear that up by the end of the day, though, since I brought my laptop to school with me today.
I got my closed memo back, and didn't fare too badly ... right on the class average, which is OK (not stellar), but OK. I got really great feedback on my memo (I think I was approaching the analysis from an exam perspective i.e. spit out everything possible, as opposed to a refined, clarified perspective, as we were supposed to). Two of the things that I was worried about, writing and citations, were two of my strengths (go figure), which leaves my mind at peace over the open memo.
I've gotten my passwords for Westlaw, and for Quicklaw, so I'm going to practice doing some research before the open memo is assigned (I have some stuff that I can look up for my Pro Bono project).
When I walked into school this morning, I saw a banner for a public lecture called "The Novelist as Physicist", where Alan Lightman will be giving a talk. Alan Lightman wrote Einstein's Dreams, and will be comparing the way that scientists and artists approach the world. I think the alternate title for this lecture could be "Exactly What Lisa is Interested In".
The lecture is Wednesday evening, so I'm going to have to check it out. I may have to put Einstein's Dreams on my reading list too ... we'll see how the lecture turns out.
We have a guest lecturer in Constitutional law this morning, Dr. John D. Whyte, a Senior Policy Fellow at the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy (which made me think of my friend Chris, who's in Montreal doing a Masters in Environmental Policy). Should be interesting.
We also have a special lecture today in Criminal law, with one of the judges that travels on the circuit through the territories, with emphasis on native law issues (I think talking about sentencing circles, etc.). Should be very interesting.
Looks like an enlightening week. And a busy one.
I can't believe it's November already. Time is going a little too fast (and a little bit - not fast enough - I miss my Hubby)!
I had a great weekend, kept busy with catching up on everything that I've been putting off lately. Didn't get to see Jason (sad), but did get a lot done (happy). Still VERY behind on my e-mail, though, which makes me sad as well. Hopefully I'll clear that up by the end of the day, though, since I brought my laptop to school with me today.
I got my closed memo back, and didn't fare too badly ... right on the class average, which is OK (not stellar), but OK. I got really great feedback on my memo (I think I was approaching the analysis from an exam perspective i.e. spit out everything possible, as opposed to a refined, clarified perspective, as we were supposed to). Two of the things that I was worried about, writing and citations, were two of my strengths (go figure), which leaves my mind at peace over the open memo.
I've gotten my passwords for Westlaw, and for Quicklaw, so I'm going to practice doing some research before the open memo is assigned (I have some stuff that I can look up for my Pro Bono project).
When I walked into school this morning, I saw a banner for a public lecture called "The Novelist as Physicist", where Alan Lightman will be giving a talk. Alan Lightman wrote Einstein's Dreams, and will be comparing the way that scientists and artists approach the world. I think the alternate title for this lecture could be "Exactly What Lisa is Interested In".
The lecture is Wednesday evening, so I'm going to have to check it out. I may have to put Einstein's Dreams on my reading list too ... we'll see how the lecture turns out.
We have a guest lecturer in Constitutional law this morning, Dr. John D. Whyte, a Senior Policy Fellow at the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy (which made me think of my friend Chris, who's in Montreal doing a Masters in Environmental Policy). Should be interesting.
We also have a special lecture today in Criminal law, with one of the judges that travels on the circuit through the territories, with emphasis on native law issues (I think talking about sentencing circles, etc.). Should be very interesting.
Looks like an enlightening week. And a busy one.
I can't believe it's November already. Time is going a little too fast (and a little bit - not fast enough - I miss my Hubby)!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Oh You Closed Memos
I found out we get them back on Friday at 2:30. It'll be a mad dash to the general office to pick them up ... I kind of feel sorry for the nice ladies that work there.
I'm taking it easy this morning, just finished eggs and toast, since I only have 3 hours worth of school today, starting at 11:30, and ending at 3:30. Shouldn't be too bad.
Had a meeting with the law school newspaper people yesterday, which went swimmingly. I'll be working on the next issue quite extensively, so I'm pretty happy about that. I've got to dust off my cynical wit and get it back in shape (or find it at all in the first place ... hmmmm).
ANTM is on tonight - I'm looking forward to that, as I am looking forward to the Night Under the Paper Moon fundraiser that Pro Bono is throwing on Friday. A chocolate buffet and an evening of jazz. Who could as for anything more?
Had the pleasure of chatting with some 2nd/3rd year law students, who confirmed my suspicions about law school in general. In the illustrious words of Graham Lang ... "THE ANSWER IS IN THE TEXTBOOK." Words to live by.
I found out we get them back on Friday at 2:30. It'll be a mad dash to the general office to pick them up ... I kind of feel sorry for the nice ladies that work there.
I'm taking it easy this morning, just finished eggs and toast, since I only have 3 hours worth of school today, starting at 11:30, and ending at 3:30. Shouldn't be too bad.
Had a meeting with the law school newspaper people yesterday, which went swimmingly. I'll be working on the next issue quite extensively, so I'm pretty happy about that. I've got to dust off my cynical wit and get it back in shape (or find it at all in the first place ... hmmmm).
ANTM is on tonight - I'm looking forward to that, as I am looking forward to the Night Under the Paper Moon fundraiser that Pro Bono is throwing on Friday. A chocolate buffet and an evening of jazz. Who could as for anything more?
Had the pleasure of chatting with some 2nd/3rd year law students, who confirmed my suspicions about law school in general. In the illustrious words of Graham Lang ... "THE ANSWER IS IN THE TEXTBOOK." Words to live by.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Let it Snow?
I had a wonderful weekend in Calgary. I flew in early Saturday morning, then went back to bed and napped until noon (oh the luxury). I got up, ran some errands with Jason, and then we cooked dinner for some friends of ours, heard some excellent news, and played my sister's backpacker card game from the UK (oh so
very fun).
We went to bed late on Saturday, and when we woke up on Sunday, it was to a whole new winter wonderland of white fluffy stuff. It snowed like crazy, the snow plows were out in full force, and Jason and I didn't want to leave our cozy abode.
We did finally leave our lair, and had dinner at my parents place, where I got to see the family, and then I flew home early this morning. The plane landed at 9:45, and I was in class by 10:08. It was perfect.
Now, I'm debating whether I should do some reading for tomorrow, or have a catnap. Mmm ... catnap might win. Tough to say. I have one more class today at 3:30, and then some reading to do tonight (on account of doing no school at all this weekend).
Interesting notion ... I commented last week, to a group of people, that I would die without my siblings ... and another person in the group commented that that was wierd, since he would have stated that he would die for his brothers. "Without" vs. "for"; is it a boy/girl thing? A brother/sister thing? Or a selfish/sacrificial thing? What do you think?
I had a wonderful weekend in Calgary. I flew in early Saturday morning, then went back to bed and napped until noon (oh the luxury). I got up, ran some errands with Jason, and then we cooked dinner for some friends of ours, heard some excellent news, and played my sister's backpacker card game from the UK (oh so
very fun).We went to bed late on Saturday, and when we woke up on Sunday, it was to a whole new winter wonderland of white fluffy stuff. It snowed like crazy, the snow plows were out in full force, and Jason and I didn't want to leave our cozy abode.
We did finally leave our lair, and had dinner at my parents place, where I got to see the family, and then I flew home early this morning. The plane landed at 9:45, and I was in class by 10:08. It was perfect.
Now, I'm debating whether I should do some reading for tomorrow, or have a catnap. Mmm ... catnap might win. Tough to say. I have one more class today at 3:30, and then some reading to do tonight (on account of doing no school at all this weekend).
Interesting notion ... I commented last week, to a group of people, that I would die without my siblings ... and another person in the group commented that that was wierd, since he would have stated that he would die for his brothers. "Without" vs. "for"; is it a boy/girl thing? A brother/sister thing? Or a selfish/sacrificial thing? What do you think?
Friday, October 27, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
I'm So Spoiled
Firstly, because I get to fly home this weekend instead of driving. Yup ... colour me a spoiled brat.
Secondly, because I got an e-mail from my friend Leah, from London. What a nice surprise in the inbox ... not in the least because I get to peruse through their new (I think new ... maybe newer?) website, which I've put on my sidebar under blogs.
Now I'm just studying away for my Constitutional mock midterm on Friday, and waiting in anticipation for America's Next Top Model to come on tonight. Who will be the next Lovely to leave? Oh ... the anticipation!
Firstly, because I get to fly home this weekend instead of driving. Yup ... colour me a spoiled brat.
Secondly, because I got an e-mail from my friend Leah, from London. What a nice surprise in the inbox ... not in the least because I get to peruse through their new (I think new ... maybe newer?) website, which I've put on my sidebar under blogs.
Now I'm just studying away for my Constitutional mock midterm on Friday, and waiting in anticipation for America's Next Top Model to come on tonight. Who will be the next Lovely to leave? Oh ... the anticipation!
I Love Rice Pudding
I made some last night ... after my long, long day.
I was at school early to do my usual reading etc., hit all of my classes, and then did some running around after school. By the time I got home, it was about 7:00, and I was famished. The rice pudding was my treat for getting through a long day.
I wrote a piece for the student newspaper, the Caveat Lector. Their editor dude said that he liked it, and that I'd be invited to their next meeting. I'm excited.
I have to go now, and prepare for my tutorials, and get ready to do some serious studying tonight for my mock-midterm on Friday. I'm excited (really), since I bought some cue cards and fine-tip felts for the studying (yeah, I know, I'm an incredibly crazy nerd ... it's true, but I embrace it).
I made some last night ... after my long, long day.
I was at school early to do my usual reading etc., hit all of my classes, and then did some running around after school. By the time I got home, it was about 7:00, and I was famished. The rice pudding was my treat for getting through a long day.
I wrote a piece for the student newspaper, the Caveat Lector. Their editor dude said that he liked it, and that I'd be invited to their next meeting. I'm excited.
I have to go now, and prepare for my tutorials, and get ready to do some serious studying tonight for my mock-midterm on Friday. I'm excited (really), since I bought some cue cards and fine-tip felts for the studying (yeah, I know, I'm an incredibly crazy nerd ... it's true, but I embrace it).
Monday, October 23, 2006
So, through some kind of bone-head move on my part, I wiped out a bunch of material from my sidebar (including my new books that I want to read/have read lists), and wiped out my footer completely. I'll slowly reconstruct it over the next few days, but it did give me the opportunity to switch counters. I decided to start over, and keep track of my site visits with statcounter.com, as I saw how Yorick was using it on his blog, and it all looked pretty snazzy.
I know that I could have just tracked down the code from my original counter, but I didn't want to. I hated it, wanted to start over, so don't even try to convince me.
I know that I could have just tracked down the code from my original counter, but I didn't want to. I hated it, wanted to start over, so don't even try to convince me.
Serendipity Shines on Me
One of my classmates, today, offered me a printer. He had bought a new one, which also has a scanner, and just GAVE me his old one. It's an HP Photosmart 1115. I downloaded the driver from the HP website, and it works like a dream. I'm so lucky, and so thankful. He didn't want any cash for it, so I'm going to have to think of a sneaky good deed to bestow upon him. A case of beer won't do it, he's a non-drinker. Hmmm ... perhaps some of my baking ... a few times throughout the year ... I'm not sure yet.
Anyway, I also installed the driver for my scanner ... and so my computer is almost entirely set-up. I want to back-it up to a CD, as well, but I'll have to buy some CDs first.
I joined the Canadian Bar Association today, as a student member. I've been thinking about it for awhile, and while I was cleaning out my shelves (so that I could fit my new printer in them), I found the sign-up form. It was easy to do online. I'm pretty excited about it, because I think we get some great resources for a crazy-cheap student membership rate. They have some events, as well, which look like they'd be interesting to attend.
We only had one class this morning, so I really have got a lot done (including making beef on a bun in my crockpot, which is smelling up my house with a heavenly aroma that's making my tummy grumble).
I've even worked on my Pro Bono stuff a bit, which is fun.
Now, I'm going to go get some studying done for the practice mid-term that we have in Constitutional law on Friday. It isn't worth any marks, but I want to prepare as if it were, just to get the most out of the experience as possible. Our Prof is going to mark it as if it were the final (which is in December and is worth 100%), so it should be enlightening.
One of my classmates, today, offered me a printer. He had bought a new one, which also has a scanner, and just GAVE me his old one. It's an HP Photosmart 1115. I downloaded the driver from the HP website, and it works like a dream. I'm so lucky, and so thankful. He didn't want any cash for it, so I'm going to have to think of a sneaky good deed to bestow upon him. A case of beer won't do it, he's a non-drinker. Hmmm ... perhaps some of my baking ... a few times throughout the year ... I'm not sure yet.
Anyway, I also installed the driver for my scanner ... and so my computer is almost entirely set-up. I want to back-it up to a CD, as well, but I'll have to buy some CDs first.
I joined the Canadian Bar Association today, as a student member. I've been thinking about it for awhile, and while I was cleaning out my shelves (so that I could fit my new printer in them), I found the sign-up form. It was easy to do online. I'm pretty excited about it, because I think we get some great resources for a crazy-cheap student membership rate. They have some events, as well, which look like they'd be interesting to attend.
We only had one class this morning, so I really have got a lot done (including making beef on a bun in my crockpot, which is smelling up my house with a heavenly aroma that's making my tummy grumble).
I've even worked on my Pro Bono stuff a bit, which is fun.
Now, I'm going to go get some studying done for the practice mid-term that we have in Constitutional law on Friday. It isn't worth any marks, but I want to prepare as if it were, just to get the most out of the experience as possible. Our Prof is going to mark it as if it were the final (which is in December and is worth 100%), so it should be enlightening.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Everything is Bleak, It's the Middle of the Night
I'm listening to Music @ Work by the Tragically Hip ... my title is a lyric (in case anyone is worried about whether everything is REALLY bleak etc.).
I finally put my i-pod software onto my laptop, and put some more music onto my i-pod (and took off the Amanda Marshall songs that have been driving me nuts). As I was updating my software, I started browsing through podcasts for the first time. I'd love to subscribe to a few, but how does one know if the podcast is worth listening to? I googled up a couple of podcast review sites, but they didn't seem to be that helpful to me.
I am still sick, but I think I'm on the upswing (although my cough doesn't sound like it). Jason visited this weekend, which was blissful. Due to my lack of energy, we mostly couched about. It was heavenly. We watched a crazy movie: "The Squid and The Whale", directed by Noah Baumbach (the same dude that authored "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", along with Wes Anderson who's work I LOVE).
The movie was kind of (good) weird, and now after having read a little bit about it, I think I understand it a little bit better. If you're interested, you can follow the link on the movie's title.
Tomorrow I only have one class, so I plan on doing a bunch of reading, and doing more research for my Pro Bono project.
Nothing else is too exciting, although I already moved one of the books from my "Want to Read" list to my "Just Read" list, which are new features on my sidebar, at the bottom. Yay me.
I'm starving right now, going to go get food.
I'm listening to Music @ Work by the Tragically Hip ... my title is a lyric (in case anyone is worried about whether everything is REALLY bleak etc.).
I finally put my i-pod software onto my laptop, and put some more music onto my i-pod (and took off the Amanda Marshall songs that have been driving me nuts). As I was updating my software, I started browsing through podcasts for the first time. I'd love to subscribe to a few, but how does one know if the podcast is worth listening to? I googled up a couple of podcast review sites, but they didn't seem to be that helpful to me.
I am still sick, but I think I'm on the upswing (although my cough doesn't sound like it). Jason visited this weekend, which was blissful. Due to my lack of energy, we mostly couched about. It was heavenly. We watched a crazy movie: "The Squid and The Whale", directed by Noah Baumbach (the same dude that authored "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", along with Wes Anderson who's work I LOVE).
The movie was kind of (good) weird, and now after having read a little bit about it, I think I understand it a little bit better. If you're interested, you can follow the link on the movie's title.
Tomorrow I only have one class, so I plan on doing a bunch of reading, and doing more research for my Pro Bono project.
Nothing else is too exciting, although I already moved one of the books from my "Want to Read" list to my "Just Read" list, which are new features on my sidebar, at the bottom. Yay me.
I'm starving right now, going to go get food.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Closed Memo has Been Handed In
Now that the memo is in, the sun seems to be shining brighter (which, if you check the weather, is literally true), the birds are singing (yeah, they might just be in my head, but blame it on my crazy), and I've seen people frolicking in the streets (pure fabrication, on my part).
I went to school early this AM, finished editing it up, then handed it in, an hour early. Wow.
A few things about my closed memo writing experience.
Citations are still a little fuzzy for me. Knowing how and when to cite appropriately is something that I'll still have to look into. Hopefully, I'll get some constructive feedback in this regard when I get my closed memo returned to me.
Writing the outline took longer than I thought it would. I usually tackle assignments, such as this, by drafting a concise and complete outline. My outlines organize the material that I'm going to discuss, and include all of the points and supporting arguments that I want to make. I fiddled with my outline for quite awhile to make the organization as effective and non-redundant as possible, and I kept thinking of new points to include from the cases. Next time, for the open memo, I'm going to try and get working on my outline as soon as possible.
I think I should have referenced more specific examples in my application of the law. I organized my memo by first outlining what the law said about my topic, and then applying the law to the problem that I was assigned. When I outlined the law, I made many references to what the cases said about the law. BUT ... when it came to applying the law to my problem, I think I should have used comparable examples to situational outcomes from the cases. I thought about this yesterday, but didn't really have enough time to effectively work that idea into my paper. Especially since I had a hard time in keeping my paper under 2000 words (I clocked in at 1996 when I handed it in).
I'm Worried that I Don't Know a Thing About Grammar. I think this point comes a little bit from the law student paranoia that I seem to have developed, but part of this point may be valid. It's been a long time since I've been assessed on my grammar skills - a LONG time. While I've always confidently helped friends and family with editing their papers, I find that now, even as I write my blog, I'm second guessing myself (which is especially weird in the blog writing, since I've made a conscious effort not to care about grammar in order for the DRAMA of my actual thinking to come through in the way that I actually think it).
Oh well. I'm satisfied that I did the best that I could in the time that I had to do it in. I just hope that I had the right idea about it all, as I chose not to look at any example memos. Since this assignment isn't worth SO much in the marks department, I wanted to see if my instinct on reasoning it all out was on the right track. If I find that it isn't ... then I'll go take a look at the sample memos and see where I went wrong.
Now, I'm going to focus some on my Pro Bono project, which should include doing some research and formulating another outline. AND ... I really need to get back into the gym swing of things. I realize, now, why I haven't had the energy to do it, and as long as I take care of myself over the next few days, I should be good to go with hitting it hard.
My philosophy on the sick thing is always that if your body tells you to slow down - listen to it. I don't believe in pumping myself full of cold medication so that I can go about my daily grind, since I think that leads to a longer illness, and possibly a worse one. I've seen more than one person push themselves too hard just to be able to go to work, and end up off a week with a sinus infection, or something else comparable. If they had just taken one or two days right at the beginning of their illness, and actually rested, and allowed their body to combat whatever it was fighting, then maybe they would have nipped it in the bud.
In any case, I rested a lot yesterday, and I'm already feeling better today (although, still not 100%). Since we basically don't have any more classes today, I'm going to try and rest up some more, take my vitamins, and maybe go for a walk later to get the blood pumping, and get me some orange juice (which is what I always crave when I'm sick).
I'd also really love to finish my scarf. Almost there! All ... most ... there ...!
Now that the memo is in, the sun seems to be shining brighter (which, if you check the weather, is literally true), the birds are singing (yeah, they might just be in my head, but blame it on my crazy), and I've seen people frolicking in the streets (pure fabrication, on my part).
I went to school early this AM, finished editing it up, then handed it in, an hour early. Wow.
A few things about my closed memo writing experience.
Citations are still a little fuzzy for me. Knowing how and when to cite appropriately is something that I'll still have to look into. Hopefully, I'll get some constructive feedback in this regard when I get my closed memo returned to me.
Writing the outline took longer than I thought it would. I usually tackle assignments, such as this, by drafting a concise and complete outline. My outlines organize the material that I'm going to discuss, and include all of the points and supporting arguments that I want to make. I fiddled with my outline for quite awhile to make the organization as effective and non-redundant as possible, and I kept thinking of new points to include from the cases. Next time, for the open memo, I'm going to try and get working on my outline as soon as possible.
I think I should have referenced more specific examples in my application of the law. I organized my memo by first outlining what the law said about my topic, and then applying the law to the problem that I was assigned. When I outlined the law, I made many references to what the cases said about the law. BUT ... when it came to applying the law to my problem, I think I should have used comparable examples to situational outcomes from the cases. I thought about this yesterday, but didn't really have enough time to effectively work that idea into my paper. Especially since I had a hard time in keeping my paper under 2000 words (I clocked in at 1996 when I handed it in).
I'm Worried that I Don't Know a Thing About Grammar. I think this point comes a little bit from the law student paranoia that I seem to have developed, but part of this point may be valid. It's been a long time since I've been assessed on my grammar skills - a LONG time. While I've always confidently helped friends and family with editing their papers, I find that now, even as I write my blog, I'm second guessing myself (which is especially weird in the blog writing, since I've made a conscious effort not to care about grammar in order for the DRAMA of my actual thinking to come through in the way that I actually think it).
Oh well. I'm satisfied that I did the best that I could in the time that I had to do it in. I just hope that I had the right idea about it all, as I chose not to look at any example memos. Since this assignment isn't worth SO much in the marks department, I wanted to see if my instinct on reasoning it all out was on the right track. If I find that it isn't ... then I'll go take a look at the sample memos and see where I went wrong.
Now, I'm going to focus some on my Pro Bono project, which should include doing some research and formulating another outline. AND ... I really need to get back into the gym swing of things. I realize, now, why I haven't had the energy to do it, and as long as I take care of myself over the next few days, I should be good to go with hitting it hard.
My philosophy on the sick thing is always that if your body tells you to slow down - listen to it. I don't believe in pumping myself full of cold medication so that I can go about my daily grind, since I think that leads to a longer illness, and possibly a worse one. I've seen more than one person push themselves too hard just to be able to go to work, and end up off a week with a sinus infection, or something else comparable. If they had just taken one or two days right at the beginning of their illness, and actually rested, and allowed their body to combat whatever it was fighting, then maybe they would have nipped it in the bud.
In any case, I rested a lot yesterday, and I'm already feeling better today (although, still not 100%). Since we basically don't have any more classes today, I'm going to try and rest up some more, take my vitamins, and maybe go for a walk later to get the blood pumping, and get me some orange juice (which is what I always crave when I'm sick).
I'd also really love to finish my scarf. Almost there! All ... most ... there ...!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
So - the Lecture was Pretty Neat
And ... what made it even neater was the presence of Allan Blakeney, former Premier of Saskatchewan, who delivered (in answer to a question from our Dean) his opinion on the intentions of the drafters of the Charter of Rights as pertaining to "Judicial Activism", which from the point of view of a Legislator; I'm sure you can imagine.
There were a few other dignitary-types there, as well, including Roy Romanow, another former Premier of Saskatchewan.
CTV was there - so maybe there will be something on the news about it tonight.
That's two things to watch for now ... news on the freakin' awful roads, and news on the Law Review Lecture. Now - how to get home? Take the bus, or attempt the awful roads?
And ... what made it even neater was the presence of Allan Blakeney, former Premier of Saskatchewan, who delivered (in answer to a question from our Dean) his opinion on the intentions of the drafters of the Charter of Rights as pertaining to "Judicial Activism", which from the point of view of a Legislator; I'm sure you can imagine.
There were a few other dignitary-types there, as well, including Roy Romanow, another former Premier of Saskatchewan.
CTV was there - so maybe there will be something on the news about it tonight.
That's two things to watch for now ... news on the freakin' awful roads, and news on the Law Review Lecture. Now - how to get home? Take the bus, or attempt the awful roads?
Adrenaline Beats Caffeine Hands-Down
Although, today, I opted for both. At Starbucks, I asked if they'd add a shot of whiskey to my Pumpkin Spice Latte, which they didn't take very seriously. Little did they know, I wasn't kidding.
So ... Saskatoon and the snow. Interesting combination. It snowed lightly last night, but I guess that because of the specific temperatures, there was a crazy ice factor that happened. My car had about 3 cm. of snow on it to clear off, but it was the heavy snow that was iced to the car. My roomate Kathryn could barely get her driver's door open, and no other door for sure.
Once I got onto the road, things weren't bad in the residential areas, they were slippery, but moving quite well. As soon as I got onto Attridge (a main road in my books, it feeds into multiple neighbourhoods, and the speed limit is 70 km/h), I came to a standstill - for a reason. We were bumper to bumper traffic, and we were driving on a skating rink.
Now, I'm no stranger to winter driving. I did grow up in Calgary, and while tempered with the thaw of chinooks, winter driving and I have an intimate relationship. I hate it most of the time, but there's the resolve that comes with something that you know to be a permanent fixture in your life. I've seen slippery, but I've also come to depend upon the gravel and salt trucks that make sure that Calgarians don't lose their LIVES out there on the slippery, slippery roads.
On the main road that I referred to above, there was no gravel. That's right. NO GRAVEL at all. I was on that road from 8:00 - 9:30, which I consider to be rush hour. I've never seen an icy road like the one that I was on this morning. People were fishtailing like crazy, and braking was dicey at best. I kept a slow but steady pace (much to the chagrin of the black SUV that was RIGHT on my bumper most of the time). I was OK, but could do without the adrenaline that accompanies watching neighbouring drivers almost swerve into the lanes beside them (lanes filled with other cars).
It took me an hour and a half to drive a distance that normally takes me 15 minutes tops. Yup. Crazy. AND ... in that hour and a half that I SLOWLY and painfully progressed through some main thoroughfares, I didn't see ONE gravel truck or plow. I don't think plows could have done anything, but gravel trucks were beyond necessary.
When I got onto College Drive by the U of S, it was apparent that a gravel truck had been by, and it was smooth sailing ... driving like it was spring time in 1999.
I've heard various things about Saskatoon's infrastructure, most of them not very positive, which makes me want to contact the city and get a schedule of their gravel route, just so that I can plan accordingly and avoid the ridiculousness that I went through this morning. If I ever get one, I'll post it.
Sigh. Maybe I'll take the bus home - if they haven't gravelled I have no desire to go on those roads again. It is supposed to be 10 degrees on Wednesday, so it should all melt ... maybe that's why those cheap infrastructure buggers haven't hit the roads yet. Hmmm ... we'll see what they say about it on the news tonight.
I went to Costco yesterday, got lots of basics, and found for the first time the Kashi's TLC Chewy Granola Bars. I don't know if anyone will recall my previous post about Kashi, but I freakin' love the cereal and crackers that they make, and have been scouting out their granola bars. I've looked in Calgary Saskatoon at the grocery stores, and haven't found them. HOORAY for Costco, I got the peanut butter kind, and the Honey Almond Flax kind. I'll let everyone know what I think when I actually try one.
At 12:30 today (less than half an hour), I'm going to attend the 9th Annual Saskatchewan Law Review Lecture here in the U of S law library. The Hon. Chief Justice Bayda will be giving a talk on "Judicial Activism", and I'm super excited since this subject seems to be a theme that threads it's way into most of our classes.
The memo is coming along. I really don't feel panicked ... I think I'll finish writing it tonight, finish editing it tomorrow, and possibly hand it in tomorrow night so that I don't have nightmares about getting stuck in traffic and missing the 10:00 AM deadline on Wednesday morning.
Oh yeah - and I'm almost done the book Dating Amy: 50 True Confessions of a Serial Dater, by Amy DeZellar ... but I'm not going to finish it. I thought it would be a fun and spicy read, but (in my opinion) it falls a little short of the tone that it seems to be reaching for. I don't really feel like I'm missing out by not finishing it (which rarely happens with me and books), and I don't really feel any richer for having read the bit that I did. Kind of a disappointment.
I'm going to the library today, though. Hopefully for a couple more books that will actually be worth my time to read (is that too harsh?).
Any suggestions from all those out there in cyberland?
Although, today, I opted for both. At Starbucks, I asked if they'd add a shot of whiskey to my Pumpkin Spice Latte, which they didn't take very seriously. Little did they know, I wasn't kidding.
So ... Saskatoon and the snow. Interesting combination. It snowed lightly last night, but I guess that because of the specific temperatures, there was a crazy ice factor that happened. My car had about 3 cm. of snow on it to clear off, but it was the heavy snow that was iced to the car. My roomate Kathryn could barely get her driver's door open, and no other door for sure.
Once I got onto the road, things weren't bad in the residential areas, they were slippery, but moving quite well. As soon as I got onto Attridge (a main road in my books, it feeds into multiple neighbourhoods, and the speed limit is 70 km/h), I came to a standstill - for a reason. We were bumper to bumper traffic, and we were driving on a skating rink.
Now, I'm no stranger to winter driving. I did grow up in Calgary, and while tempered with the thaw of chinooks, winter driving and I have an intimate relationship. I hate it most of the time, but there's the resolve that comes with something that you know to be a permanent fixture in your life. I've seen slippery, but I've also come to depend upon the gravel and salt trucks that make sure that Calgarians don't lose their LIVES out there on the slippery, slippery roads.
On the main road that I referred to above, there was no gravel. That's right. NO GRAVEL at all. I was on that road from 8:00 - 9:30, which I consider to be rush hour. I've never seen an icy road like the one that I was on this morning. People were fishtailing like crazy, and braking was dicey at best. I kept a slow but steady pace (much to the chagrin of the black SUV that was RIGHT on my bumper most of the time). I was OK, but could do without the adrenaline that accompanies watching neighbouring drivers almost swerve into the lanes beside them (lanes filled with other cars).
It took me an hour and a half to drive a distance that normally takes me 15 minutes tops. Yup. Crazy. AND ... in that hour and a half that I SLOWLY and painfully progressed through some main thoroughfares, I didn't see ONE gravel truck or plow. I don't think plows could have done anything, but gravel trucks were beyond necessary.
When I got onto College Drive by the U of S, it was apparent that a gravel truck had been by, and it was smooth sailing ... driving like it was spring time in 1999.
I've heard various things about Saskatoon's infrastructure, most of them not very positive, which makes me want to contact the city and get a schedule of their gravel route, just so that I can plan accordingly and avoid the ridiculousness that I went through this morning. If I ever get one, I'll post it.
Sigh. Maybe I'll take the bus home - if they haven't gravelled I have no desire to go on those roads again. It is supposed to be 10 degrees on Wednesday, so it should all melt ... maybe that's why those cheap infrastructure buggers haven't hit the roads yet. Hmmm ... we'll see what they say about it on the news tonight.
I went to Costco yesterday, got lots of basics, and found for the first time the Kashi's TLC Chewy Granola Bars. I don't know if anyone will recall my previous post about Kashi, but I freakin' love the cereal and crackers that they make, and have been scouting out their granola bars. I've looked in Calgary Saskatoon at the grocery stores, and haven't found them. HOORAY for Costco, I got the peanut butter kind, and the Honey Almond Flax kind. I'll let everyone know what I think when I actually try one.
At 12:30 today (less than half an hour), I'm going to attend the 9th Annual Saskatchewan Law Review Lecture here in the U of S law library. The Hon. Chief Justice Bayda will be giving a talk on "Judicial Activism", and I'm super excited since this subject seems to be a theme that threads it's way into most of our classes.
The memo is coming along. I really don't feel panicked ... I think I'll finish writing it tonight, finish editing it tomorrow, and possibly hand it in tomorrow night so that I don't have nightmares about getting stuck in traffic and missing the 10:00 AM deadline on Wednesday morning.
Oh yeah - and I'm almost done the book Dating Amy: 50 True Confessions of a Serial Dater, by Amy DeZellar ... but I'm not going to finish it. I thought it would be a fun and spicy read, but (in my opinion) it falls a little short of the tone that it seems to be reaching for. I don't really feel like I'm missing out by not finishing it (which rarely happens with me and books), and I don't really feel any richer for having read the bit that I did. Kind of a disappointment.
I'm going to the library today, though. Hopefully for a couple more books that will actually be worth my time to read (is that too harsh?).
Any suggestions from all those out there in cyberland?
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Plugging Away ...
... On both my closed memo, and a scarf that I'm knitting.
I feel like I've got some great progress on the memo ... and all while sitting comfortably in the kitchen on my laptop, leisurely attending to my beef/bean soup concoction in the slow cooker, and taking breaks to bake garlic biscuits to go with my soup.
I've hewn out a rough outline, which I'm now filling in with more detail, then filling in with more detail. I'm still at point-form, but soon ... soon ... I'll be at the stage where full (and hopefully, grammatically correct) sentences will start to show their ugly little faces.
I'm not too worried about this. Should I be? The ultimate paranoia of a law student, as described in Allan C. Hutchinson's book "The Law School Book: Succeeding at Law School" where it describes that feeling of "missing something". Very unproductive feeling - I'll have to stop that right now.
As for the scarf ... it's a mellow yellow kind of colour (even more subtle than a butter colour), and it's got some cables in it. It's probably about halfway done, and now it feels like it's taking forever. I should take a picture when it's done and post it.
I was recalling, last night, while watching Batman Begins (mmmm ... Christian Bale) and knitting, how my Granny (Dad's Mom) taught me to knit, and how it seemed SOOOOO much harder back then. There's certainly something to be said for the development of motor skills over time.
... On both my closed memo, and a scarf that I'm knitting.
I feel like I've got some great progress on the memo ... and all while sitting comfortably in the kitchen on my laptop, leisurely attending to my beef/bean soup concoction in the slow cooker, and taking breaks to bake garlic biscuits to go with my soup.
I've hewn out a rough outline, which I'm now filling in with more detail, then filling in with more detail. I'm still at point-form, but soon ... soon ... I'll be at the stage where full (and hopefully, grammatically correct) sentences will start to show their ugly little faces.
I'm not too worried about this. Should I be? The ultimate paranoia of a law student, as described in Allan C. Hutchinson's book "The Law School Book: Succeeding at Law School" where it describes that feeling of "missing something". Very unproductive feeling - I'll have to stop that right now.
As for the scarf ... it's a mellow yellow kind of colour (even more subtle than a butter colour), and it's got some cables in it. It's probably about halfway done, and now it feels like it's taking forever. I should take a picture when it's done and post it.
I was recalling, last night, while watching Batman Begins (mmmm ... Christian Bale) and knitting, how my Granny (Dad's Mom) taught me to knit, and how it seemed SOOOOO much harder back then. There's certainly something to be said for the development of motor skills over time.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
And Then the Stars Came Out to Play
So, there was a bit of drama at school today. When isn't there, I know you're asking. But ... this was real drama. With our big MEMO assignment (of which there is a frantic frenzy over ... but more about that later), it appears that some students got ahold of one that was placed on reserve that was actually an answer to our assignment. This was a perfectly innocent exercise, as we were told to take advantage of resources that the profs had placed on reserve. So ... once the profs found out about it, students were asked to talk to the profs in question if they had seen the GUILTY MEMO, as I call it, so that they could be assigned a new problem.
This really isn't a big deal, as our memo is really only worth minimal marks, and acts as a learning exercise for us to figure out the whole memo thing in general before we have to do our REAL memo, or OPEN memo.
The effect that all of this had on me was slight, as I hadn't seen the "guilty memo", but touched me with a whisper of disappointment. Not about anything that had actually happened, but at what could have happened. It was a breath away from an actual academic compromise, and that alone was enough to give me goosebumps of sadness over even the possibility of academic dishonesty.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Wake up and welcome to the real world, everyone cheats (even Ralph Klein ... cough, just kidding ... also - I'm not alleging that anyone cheated in this instance, it's just that it brought the CONCEPT to the forefront of my mind, of which I now comment). While I realize that there is a lot of "knowledge sharing" that goes on in academic institutions, and pretty much everywhere in general, it still makes me sad to think about.
I was feeling rather melancholy as I trudged home from school in the crisp autumn air. Feeling the need to hibernate, I took a nice long bath when I got home, and when 8:00 rolled around, I picked myself up and took myself to the Mystic Java coffee place (great atmosphere - good coffee - stellar prices) here in Saskatoon. I met my cousins Kaitlyn and Kali, and some of their friends, and one of my classmates, and watched Kaitlyn's friend from Outlook perform some cover songs, and some of her own songs.
Julie was the performer (I'll find out her last name), and she was just stellar. Her voice was ... I struggle to capture it ... uniquely haunting and resonating with beauty. Is that overly dramatic? I feel like drama is the theme for this post, why not run with it? Either way, I really enjoyed her performance. The girl oozes talent, and makes me feel small in comparison. I joked with her that I'd need her autograph (and a picture with her), so that when she's famous I can claim that she's my friend.
I'd love to see her perform again (or ... buy a CD of hers, or a T-shirt ... I do love T-shirts).
Oh - and my cousin Kali just got her tonsils out - what a trooper ... she was out supporting Julie with a freakin' tonsillectomy on her plate.
On related music news - did everyone hear that CBGB's last show at it's home on Bowery in NYC is on Sunday? How sad. Their lease wasn't renewed. If you aren't all UP on CBGB and what's going on, it's a rock club where many icons (the Ramones, Blondie) have all played/started out ... etc. There's an actual history listing on their website, which is worth checking out. Jason and I had the opportunity to go to CBGB and see a few bands while we were in New York (below are some of our pictures, and a scan of my wristband from that night).
There was a huge movement to "save CBGB", which I guess didn't come to the fruition they were looking for. I remember even seeing "SAVE CBGB" chocolates from the Chocolate Bar in NYC.
CBGB will open again, but it will be somewhere else that doesn't echo the rich history that sticks to the floor of the current bar. How sad.
Anyway - back to my actual post.
I saw the crazy talent of this girl, and had some good conversation at the Mystic Java, and was surrounded with optimism, and hope. I didn't find it naive, or cheesy. Only uplifting.
When I got home, as I walked from my car up to the door of my house, I looked up, and saw hundreds of stars lighting up the sky. And just like that - I feel revitalization. The pessimism and frenzy that were dragging me down earlier were erased, and it was replaced with the humility and humble feeling of smallness and infinity at the same time that always comes to me when I look up at our universe.
Then I watched the Grudge with my roomates, in honour of Friday the 13th. Yikes.
As to the frenzy that I mentioned above ... my classmates are all freaking out about our first assignment. The tangible oppression that surrounds the frenzy almost gave me a headache today. I can't wait until the frenzy is over. The thing I hate most about the frenzy is that it makes me feel like I SHOULD be more excited about the whole ordeal, stay home all weekend, lock myself to my laptop and write like a madwoman - and then I remember that I'd rather hit coffee houses and have my soul restored.
So, there was a bit of drama at school today. When isn't there, I know you're asking. But ... this was real drama. With our big MEMO assignment (of which there is a frantic frenzy over ... but more about that later), it appears that some students got ahold of one that was placed on reserve that was actually an answer to our assignment. This was a perfectly innocent exercise, as we were told to take advantage of resources that the profs had placed on reserve. So ... once the profs found out about it, students were asked to talk to the profs in question if they had seen the GUILTY MEMO, as I call it, so that they could be assigned a new problem.
This really isn't a big deal, as our memo is really only worth minimal marks, and acts as a learning exercise for us to figure out the whole memo thing in general before we have to do our REAL memo, or OPEN memo.
The effect that all of this had on me was slight, as I hadn't seen the "guilty memo", but touched me with a whisper of disappointment. Not about anything that had actually happened, but at what could have happened. It was a breath away from an actual academic compromise, and that alone was enough to give me goosebumps of sadness over even the possibility of academic dishonesty.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Wake up and welcome to the real world, everyone cheats (even Ralph Klein ... cough, just kidding ... also - I'm not alleging that anyone cheated in this instance, it's just that it brought the CONCEPT to the forefront of my mind, of which I now comment). While I realize that there is a lot of "knowledge sharing" that goes on in academic institutions, and pretty much everywhere in general, it still makes me sad to think about.
I was feeling rather melancholy as I trudged home from school in the crisp autumn air. Feeling the need to hibernate, I took a nice long bath when I got home, and when 8:00 rolled around, I picked myself up and took myself to the Mystic Java coffee place (great atmosphere - good coffee - stellar prices) here in Saskatoon. I met my cousins Kaitlyn and Kali, and some of their friends, and one of my classmates, and watched Kaitlyn's friend from Outlook perform some cover songs, and some of her own songs.
Julie was the performer (I'll find out her last name), and she was just stellar. Her voice was ... I struggle to capture it ... uniquely haunting and resonating with beauty. Is that overly dramatic? I feel like drama is the theme for this post, why not run with it? Either way, I really enjoyed her performance. The girl oozes talent, and makes me feel small in comparison. I joked with her that I'd need her autograph (and a picture with her), so that when she's famous I can claim that she's my friend.
I'd love to see her perform again (or ... buy a CD of hers, or a T-shirt ... I do love T-shirts).
Oh - and my cousin Kali just got her tonsils out - what a trooper ... she was out supporting Julie with a freakin' tonsillectomy on her plate.
On related music news - did everyone hear that CBGB's last show at it's home on Bowery in NYC is on Sunday? How sad. Their lease wasn't renewed. If you aren't all UP on CBGB and what's going on, it's a rock club where many icons (the Ramones, Blondie) have all played/started out ... etc. There's an actual history listing on their website, which is worth checking out. Jason and I had the opportunity to go to CBGB and see a few bands while we were in New York (below are some of our pictures, and a scan of my wristband from that night).
There was a huge movement to "save CBGB", which I guess didn't come to the fruition they were looking for. I remember even seeing "SAVE CBGB" chocolates from the Chocolate Bar in NYC.
CBGB will open again, but it will be somewhere else that doesn't echo the rich history that sticks to the floor of the current bar. How sad.Anyway - back to my actual post.
I saw the crazy talent of this girl, and had some good conversation at the Mystic Java, and was surrounded with optimism, and hope. I didn't find it naive, or cheesy. Only uplifting.
When I got home, as I walked from my car up to the door of my house, I looked up, and saw hundreds of stars lighting up the sky. And just like that - I feel revitalization. The pessimism and frenzy that were dragging me down earlier were erased, and it was replaced with the humility and humble feeling of smallness and infinity at the same time that always comes to me when I look up at our universe.
Then I watched the Grudge with my roomates, in honour of Friday the 13th. Yikes.
As to the frenzy that I mentioned above ... my classmates are all freaking out about our first assignment. The tangible oppression that surrounds the frenzy almost gave me a headache today. I can't wait until the frenzy is over. The thing I hate most about the frenzy is that it makes me feel like I SHOULD be more excited about the whole ordeal, stay home all weekend, lock myself to my laptop and write like a madwoman - and then I remember that I'd rather hit coffee houses and have my soul restored.
Friday, October 13, 2006
I Spent Two Hours on the Phone Last Night
... with Sasktel over the continuing saga of internet/digital TV problems that we've been having.
Needless to say, I haven't had the internet, and I haven't been happy about it.
Looks like there is a KNOWN PROBLEM that they try to have their tech support fix by fudging the configuration. They're testing a patch right now to fix the problem. I can't believe that it has taken close to 20 phone calls and about 4 home visits (today will be #5) to fix this.
Unbelieveable.
OR - we could switch to Shaw, which is booking into December for installation.
BRUTAL.
Class was good today, the memo fever is in full swing.
BUT - I'm going to take advantage of this library time and get some work done - hopefully when I get home there's actually an internet connections, and I can elaborate on some VERY interesting happenings here at the U of S Faculty of Law.
... with Sasktel over the continuing saga of internet/digital TV problems that we've been having.
Needless to say, I haven't had the internet, and I haven't been happy about it.
Looks like there is a KNOWN PROBLEM that they try to have their tech support fix by fudging the configuration. They're testing a patch right now to fix the problem. I can't believe that it has taken close to 20 phone calls and about 4 home visits (today will be #5) to fix this.
Unbelieveable.
OR - we could switch to Shaw, which is booking into December for installation.
BRUTAL.
Class was good today, the memo fever is in full swing.
BUT - I'm going to take advantage of this library time and get some work done - hopefully when I get home there's actually an internet connections, and I can elaborate on some VERY interesting happenings here at the U of S Faculty of Law.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
I Know, It's Been Almost a Week
But ... what a week it's been.
On Thursday, I went to class, then drove back to Calgary for the long (LONG) weekend. I got to have dinner with Jason's Aunt & Uncle, have lunch with my sister, Mom, and Dad, go shopping with Mom, go for a beautiful drive through the surrounding Calgary area with Jason, have Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and of course, play some World of Warcraft. There was a Chernobyl incident, but really, when is
there not?
I also got to see my in-laws, where we celebrated my BIL's 30th B-Day with an awesome scavenger hunt put together by my MIL. It was super fun, and had us driving all over town. I got another Thanksgiving dinner (I'm so spoiled), got to play with my cute nephews, and carve pumpkins, Jason got to fly a plane - a paper airplane that is (see the pic).
It was GLORIOUS (again, picture a Will Farrell "glorious").
I got back into town on Monday, was at school all day on Tuesday, and was lucky enough to illicit a personal invitation to my Auntie Dona/Cousin Brenda's place for dinner. I got to see my FAR TOO CUTE cousin Thomas, and see my fellow U of S academic cousin Kaitlyn (PS. Sorry if I spelled your name wrong).
It was a nice visit, and the food was spectacular. Auntie Dona can cook up some fierce ribs, I even had sweet'n'sour dreams about them afterwards. We had pumpkin pie that was made by my Cuz Susan, which had me wish that Thanksgiving was every weekend.
I found out about my cousin Mike getting to go to Japan for 6 weeks or so, and am oh-so jealous. What an incredible experience. A good friend of mine visited Japan earlier this year, and loved every minute of it. She got some incredible pictures from there, so Mike - remember to take your camera ... I'll hook you up with a flickr account (if you don't already have one).
School went fairly well today. We got our first assignment. The infamous closed memo. It's due a week from today, so I'm going to have to buckle down and get through the 80 pages (or so) of case reading that I have to do for it before I even begin. POOR ME (yeah right).
I don't think it will be too bad, as long as I stay on top of it all. Time management is the key - I think.
I also just finished reading "The Rescue" by Nicholas Sparks. Wasn't really what I was expecting, I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks book before (author of "the Notebook", " A Walk to Remember"), but it was good. I just started "The Wedding", which includes some of the characters from "The Notebook" which I haven't read, but the movie turns me into a weeper.
It's a good, short read ... but not your normal fluffy kind of book - hard to explain ... worth a read.
But ... what a week it's been.
On Thursday, I went to class, then drove back to Calgary for the long (LONG) weekend. I got to have dinner with Jason's Aunt & Uncle, have lunch with my sister, Mom, and Dad, go shopping with Mom, go for a beautiful drive through the surrounding Calgary area with Jason, have Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and of course, play some World of Warcraft. There was a Chernobyl incident, but really, when is
there not?I also got to see my in-laws, where we celebrated my BIL's 30th B-Day with an awesome scavenger hunt put together by my MIL. It was super fun, and had us driving all over town. I got another Thanksgiving dinner (I'm so spoiled), got to play with my cute nephews, and carve pumpkins, Jason got to fly a plane - a paper airplane that is (see the pic).
It was GLORIOUS (again, picture a Will Farrell "glorious").
I got back into town on Monday, was at school all day on Tuesday, and was lucky enough to illicit a personal invitation to my Auntie Dona/Cousin Brenda's place for dinner. I got to see my FAR TOO CUTE cousin Thomas, and see my fellow U of S academic cousin Kaitlyn (PS. Sorry if I spelled your name wrong).
It was a nice visit, and the food was spectacular. Auntie Dona can cook up some fierce ribs, I even had sweet'n'sour dreams about them afterwards. We had pumpkin pie that was made by my Cuz Susan, which had me wish that Thanksgiving was every weekend.
I found out about my cousin Mike getting to go to Japan for 6 weeks or so, and am oh-so jealous. What an incredible experience. A good friend of mine visited Japan earlier this year, and loved every minute of it. She got some incredible pictures from there, so Mike - remember to take your camera ... I'll hook you up with a flickr account (if you don't already have one).
School went fairly well today. We got our first assignment. The infamous closed memo. It's due a week from today, so I'm going to have to buckle down and get through the 80 pages (or so) of case reading that I have to do for it before I even begin. POOR ME (yeah right).
I don't think it will be too bad, as long as I stay on top of it all. Time management is the key - I think.
I also just finished reading "The Rescue" by Nicholas Sparks. Wasn't really what I was expecting, I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks book before (author of "the Notebook", " A Walk to Remember"), but it was good. I just started "The Wedding", which includes some of the characters from "The Notebook" which I haven't read, but the movie turns me into a weeper.
It's a good, short read ... but not your normal fluffy kind of book - hard to explain ... worth a read.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
The Gym Kicked my Butt This AM
But I am soo proud that I went. It is getting harder and harder to get out of bed, the further that I slip into this "student" lifestyle.
Law school so far is much easier than my work life was. Keep in mind, though, that I have barely any distractions here in Saskatoon (i.e. if I were at home in Calgary, would it be harder to get my work done with opportunities to do fun things with friends anytime that I want?). The schedule is forgiving, there is lots of time during the day to do work to keep up, and so far, we haven't had any assignments or tests.
The assignments are coming soon, we have our Closed memo coming out next week. This is where we are given a problem and specific cases, and we have a week to write up a memo on it. I know that my memo will be in Torts, which is nice, and we've done a few library tutorials to learn how to find cases, etc. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. There are a lot of resources about writing memos ... I think that the time management aspect of the assignment will be key here.
There's no on-call work with law school (which, I must admit, is a freakin' nightmare). There hasn't been crazy deadlines yet ... and most deadlines you pretty much know about as far in advance as you care to look them up (not like work, where things would get dropped on you and the expectation was that they'd be done in a week - regardless of your other duties).
Anyhow - the purpose of this rant is to convey how appreciative I am for where I'm at right now. I'm truly grateful that I get to be here, I'm loving the subject matter, I'm challenged intellectually, I'm stimulated culturally, and my stress levels are operating lower than they have in a long, LONG while. Sigh. Utter contentment (but ... keep reading in a couple weeks when my closed memo due date is looming - we'll see if I'm still smiling then).
But I am soo proud that I went. It is getting harder and harder to get out of bed, the further that I slip into this "student" lifestyle.
Law school so far is much easier than my work life was. Keep in mind, though, that I have barely any distractions here in Saskatoon (i.e. if I were at home in Calgary, would it be harder to get my work done with opportunities to do fun things with friends anytime that I want?). The schedule is forgiving, there is lots of time during the day to do work to keep up, and so far, we haven't had any assignments or tests.
The assignments are coming soon, we have our Closed memo coming out next week. This is where we are given a problem and specific cases, and we have a week to write up a memo on it. I know that my memo will be in Torts, which is nice, and we've done a few library tutorials to learn how to find cases, etc. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. There are a lot of resources about writing memos ... I think that the time management aspect of the assignment will be key here.
There's no on-call work with law school (which, I must admit, is a freakin' nightmare). There hasn't been crazy deadlines yet ... and most deadlines you pretty much know about as far in advance as you care to look them up (not like work, where things would get dropped on you and the expectation was that they'd be done in a week - regardless of your other duties).
Anyhow - the purpose of this rant is to convey how appreciative I am for where I'm at right now. I'm truly grateful that I get to be here, I'm loving the subject matter, I'm challenged intellectually, I'm stimulated culturally, and my stress levels are operating lower than they have in a long, LONG while. Sigh. Utter contentment (but ... keep reading in a couple weeks when my closed memo due date is looming - we'll see if I'm still smiling then).
Monday, October 02, 2006
Gobble, Gobble, Here I Come!
I am so excited. I just found out today that this Thursday, I have only one class (yup, it seems like we law students are barely in school). My class on Thursday ends at 11:30, so if I skip the formal, I could be home in Calgary by suppertime.
A dilemma, for a second or two, and then my decision is made. Calgary ... here I come. I am so excited.
As for missing the formal, I am disappointed, as it is supposed to be an absolute blast, and all about first years. It's a shame to miss out on, but I REALLY miss my family, and my home. I figure that it will be awhile before I get (essentially) a five day weekend, but there will be more social events to partake in.
It will be a super spesh (as my Dad would say, as in special) weekend as it's my parent's 29th wedding anniversary on Sunday October 8th (yikes), and my Brother-in-Law's b-day on Monday, the 9th. Lots to celebrate in addition to the Gobble Gobble.
Also - I got a Christmas present already for my little sister. She'll love it. I can barely keep it a secret. OR ... maybe it will be a b-day gift. Hard to tell. Here in Saskatoon it will wait until the day when she gets to open it. OH MAN is it ever the best. MOO HA HA HA HA (that's my evil laugh, in case anyone was wondering).
I am so excited. I just found out today that this Thursday, I have only one class (yup, it seems like we law students are barely in school). My class on Thursday ends at 11:30, so if I skip the formal, I could be home in Calgary by suppertime.
A dilemma, for a second or two, and then my decision is made. Calgary ... here I come. I am so excited.
As for missing the formal, I am disappointed, as it is supposed to be an absolute blast, and all about first years. It's a shame to miss out on, but I REALLY miss my family, and my home. I figure that it will be awhile before I get (essentially) a five day weekend, but there will be more social events to partake in.
It will be a super spesh (as my Dad would say, as in special) weekend as it's my parent's 29th wedding anniversary on Sunday October 8th (yikes), and my Brother-in-Law's b-day on Monday, the 9th. Lots to celebrate in addition to the Gobble Gobble.
Also - I got a Christmas present already for my little sister. She'll love it. I can barely keep it a secret. OR ... maybe it will be a b-day gift. Hard to tell. Here in Saskatoon it will wait until the day when she gets to open it. OH MAN is it ever the best. MOO HA HA HA HA (that's my evil laugh, in case anyone was wondering).
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Oh How Hard it Is!
Jason came to Saskatoon this weekend, and we had tons of fun for the short amount of time that he was here.
We went to the Yard and Flagon pub on Broadway for wings and beer (pretty darn good wings, might I add), we had sushi at Sushiro (had good ambience for a sushi place, but apparently we're sushi snobs, and feel like we'll have to try another sushi place in Saskatoon before we dub it "the one"). We went to the new Galaxy movie theatres downtown, and saw the Jet Li movie Fearless. I usually love Jet Li movies -
and this one fell short of the standard as I see it.
The movie theatre was packed in a way that I haven't seen in forever. When we got into the actual theatre, and saw how AWESOME the seats were, we kind of understood. This new theatre definitely has all the bells and whistles.
We also walked along the railway bridge, and up and down the river, enjoying the golden sun on what I HOPE isn't one of the last beautiful days of fall. That's a picture of Jason on the bridge, and a picture, from the bridge, of downtown Saskatoon. That's when that batteries in my camera died. Unfortunate, since it was absolutely gorgeous. Stunning. Breathtaking. All that jazz.
I got a library card today, and got a few books out. I'm surprised at how easy it was, and FREE! HELLO! Free library cards, what a novel concept. I'm super impressed.
Now, I just have four days of school left before I get to go home again. I CAN'T wait.
My sisters should be moving today, into their new place. They'll be rooming with our cousin in Calgary. I'm so excited for them to have a girly pad to call their own.
In terms of law school, on Friday I went out to the LSA Softball tournament to support our team (each section and year has a team). I cheered them on while they rocked out on the ball field. Definitely a fun event, and something that I would recommend going to. There was a walking pub crawl afterwards, which I didn't partake in, but I can't wait to hear the stories tomorrow.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my butt out of bed to hit the gym early.
OH - and I've decided that I LOVE the Three Days Grace song Animal I Have Become. LOVE IT! Love it to the point where it gets stuck in my head - without my having listened to it. That's true love, I think.
Jason came to Saskatoon this weekend, and we had tons of fun for the short amount of time that he was here.
We went to the Yard and Flagon pub on Broadway for wings and beer (pretty darn good wings, might I add), we had sushi at Sushiro (had good ambience for a sushi place, but apparently we're sushi snobs, and feel like we'll have to try another sushi place in Saskatoon before we dub it "the one"). We went to the new Galaxy movie theatres downtown, and saw the Jet Li movie Fearless. I usually love Jet Li movies -
and this one fell short of the standard as I see it.The movie theatre was packed in a way that I haven't seen in forever. When we got into the actual theatre, and saw how AWESOME the seats were, we kind of understood. This new theatre definitely has all the bells and whistles.
We also walked along the railway bridge, and up and down the river, enjoying the golden sun on what I HOPE isn't one of the last beautiful days of fall. That's a picture of Jason on the bridge, and a picture, from the bridge, of downtown Saskatoon. That's when that batteries in my camera died. Unfortunate, since it was absolutely gorgeous. Stunning. Breathtaking. All that jazz.
I got a library card today, and got a few books out. I'm surprised at how easy it was, and FREE! HELLO! Free library cards, what a novel concept. I'm super impressed.
Now, I just have four days of school left before I get to go home again. I CAN'T wait.
My sisters should be moving today, into their new place. They'll be rooming with our cousin in Calgary. I'm so excited for them to have a girly pad to call their own.
In terms of law school, on Friday I went out to the LSA Softball tournament to support our team (each section and year has a team). I cheered them on while they rocked out on the ball field. Definitely a fun event, and something that I would recommend going to. There was a walking pub crawl afterwards, which I didn't partake in, but I can't wait to hear the stories tomorrow.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my butt out of bed to hit the gym early.
OH - and I've decided that I LOVE the Three Days Grace song Animal I Have Become. LOVE IT! Love it to the point where it gets stuck in my head - without my having listened to it. That's true love, I think.
Friday, September 29, 2006
I Love Caramel Sundaes
As was evident last night when I joined my roomies for a caramel sundae from McDonalds. Mmmmm ... caramel.
Well, this week has been pretty uneventful, although in one tutorial I think I more or less learned how to write a law exam (in the context of my contracts class, anyway).
It seems like when you have a question asked, you don't actually answer it. Actually, what you do, is answer all facets of it ... you work through all the sides ... it's like a big if then algorithm, for those who have programmed before. This has cleared away another veil in the fogginess of first year law.
I bought a ticket for the first year formal. I'm sitting with a bunch of people that are also going to be going solo (since Jason isn't going to come out for one day, just to turn around again and go home for Thanksgiving with me). Should be fun. I already have that fancy shirt from the wedding, so I should be set.
This afternoon is the LSA softball tourney, which I think I'm going to watch (not play ... I will drink and make a fool of myself infront of classmates, but playing softball infront of them is just crossing a line in dignity).
I've got some reading to do, though (surprise, surprise).
As was evident last night when I joined my roomies for a caramel sundae from McDonalds. Mmmmm ... caramel.
Well, this week has been pretty uneventful, although in one tutorial I think I more or less learned how to write a law exam (in the context of my contracts class, anyway).
It seems like when you have a question asked, you don't actually answer it. Actually, what you do, is answer all facets of it ... you work through all the sides ... it's like a big if then algorithm, for those who have programmed before. This has cleared away another veil in the fogginess of first year law.
I bought a ticket for the first year formal. I'm sitting with a bunch of people that are also going to be going solo (since Jason isn't going to come out for one day, just to turn around again and go home for Thanksgiving with me). Should be fun. I already have that fancy shirt from the wedding, so I should be set.
This afternoon is the LSA softball tourney, which I think I'm going to watch (not play ... I will drink and make a fool of myself infront of classmates, but playing softball infront of them is just crossing a line in dignity).
I've got some reading to do, though (surprise, surprise).
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Oh Boy
So, yesterday was a good day all in all. Went to class, hit the gym, got lots done ... and then .... AND THEN ... I went to the Caveat Lector's (law student newspaper) fundraiser at Winston's Pub. This is where it all unraveled.
It was called a fireside chat, and was designed to be a forum for upper year students to tell us first year students how it is. It definitely was that, but unfortunately, there was an unlimited flow of beer for a few hours. YIKES.
Suffice it to say that I saw some interesting sides to many people. Some fun, some scary, some creepy, some annoying. It was all entertaining.
Oh law students, how we love ourselves sooooo much. It really does become endearing after awhile. I think.
So, yesterday was a good day all in all. Went to class, hit the gym, got lots done ... and then .... AND THEN ... I went to the Caveat Lector's (law student newspaper) fundraiser at Winston's Pub. This is where it all unraveled.
It was called a fireside chat, and was designed to be a forum for upper year students to tell us first year students how it is. It definitely was that, but unfortunately, there was an unlimited flow of beer for a few hours. YIKES.
Suffice it to say that I saw some interesting sides to many people. Some fun, some scary, some creepy, some annoying. It was all entertaining.
Oh law students, how we love ourselves sooooo much. It really does become endearing after awhile. I think.
Monday, September 25, 2006
So Much to Say, So Little Patience for Typing
My laptop doesn't let me type with the same ferocity as my desktop at home. But ... I'll grin and bear it ... for the public good. Speaking of the public good - I got the news today that I'll officially be volunteering with Pro Bono Students Canada, at the U of S branch (obviously). I've been assigned to a project with another student, and a lawyer, and will be helping the Student's Union Women's Centre at the U of S with some of their legal information needs. I'm am so excited about this, I could spit (but I won't).
We had a FABULOUS weekend. I drove home on Friday with one of my roomies, got to hang with my Sister and Brother-in-Law, got to have breakfast, on Saturday, with my Parents and my Brother, then drove to Banff with my Hubby
and BIL, attended the AWESOMELY romantic wedding of some friends of ours (that's us at the wedding to the right, and a picture of the STUNNING location where the wedding itself took place - to the left), came back to Calgary on Sunday, hung out with my family a bit, then hit the road again, back to Saskatoon, with my roomie. Don't even THINK about lecturing me on run-on sentences. Don't even whisper a thought about it.
In Banff we stayed at the same resort that the wedding and reception occurred at, and boy were we both impressed. The rooms were quite nice, and the entire wedding was intimate, and ran quite smoothly. The food was really good, and the dessert was KILLER! We'd rate the Buffalo Mountain Lodge a 4.5 out of 5 for sure.
On the trip back to Saskatoon, my Roomie and I stopped in Hanna for some pizza, where we were propositioned (i.e. asked to dance, asked if we like rodeos/cowboys/things I refuse to mention on the internet, and generally assaulted with distasteful remarks) by a car full of (what I can only assume were) locals. It was awful, and we scurried to get out of there as fast as we could. Also, near Kindersley, we almost hit (what we took the liberty of assuming, in a stroke of creative genius) a REINDEER! I had to slam and swerve, and my roomie could have kissed him if her window was down, or at least given him a pat on the head to ensure our spot on the "NICE" list with Santa and the boyz.
Tonight, I'm hitting the books, and getting ahead on my reading a little bit, so that I don't have to get up early tomorrow and hit the gym ... I can work it into my lunch hour instead.
OH - and just for the record, I was wearing a strapless shirt in the picture above, even though it looks like I'm possibly only wearing jewelry. The last time I tried to wear only jewelry to a wedding, I was threatened with section 174 of the criminal code. Yup ... I'm paying attention in my criminal law class so far.
My laptop doesn't let me type with the same ferocity as my desktop at home. But ... I'll grin and bear it ... for the public good. Speaking of the public good - I got the news today that I'll officially be volunteering with Pro Bono Students Canada, at the U of S branch (obviously). I've been assigned to a project with another student, and a lawyer, and will be helping the Student's Union Women's Centre at the U of S with some of their legal information needs. I'm am so excited about this, I could spit (but I won't).
We had a FABULOUS weekend. I drove home on Friday with one of my roomies, got to hang with my Sister and Brother-in-Law, got to have breakfast, on Saturday, with my Parents and my Brother, then drove to Banff with my Hubby
and BIL, attended the AWESOMELY romantic wedding of some friends of ours (that's us at the wedding to the right, and a picture of the STUNNING location where the wedding itself took place - to the left), came back to Calgary on Sunday, hung out with my family a bit, then hit the road again, back to Saskatoon, with my roomie. Don't even THINK about lecturing me on run-on sentences. Don't even whisper a thought about it.In Banff we stayed at the same resort that the wedding and reception occurred at, and boy were we both impressed. The rooms were quite nice, and the entire wedding was intimate, and ran quite smoothly. The food was really good, and the dessert was KILLER! We'd rate the Buffalo Mountain Lodge a 4.5 out of 5 for sure.
On the trip back to Saskatoon, my Roomie and I stopped in Hanna for some pizza, where we were propositioned (i.e. asked to dance, asked if we like rodeos/cowboys/things I refuse to mention on the internet, and generally assaulted with distasteful remarks) by a car full of (what I can only assume were) locals. It was awful, and we scurried to get out of there as fast as we could. Also, near Kindersley, we almost hit (what we took the liberty of assuming, in a stroke of creative genius) a REINDEER! I had to slam and swerve, and my roomie could have kissed him if her window was down, or at least given him a pat on the head to ensure our spot on the "NICE" list with Santa and the boyz.
Tonight, I'm hitting the books, and getting ahead on my reading a little bit, so that I don't have to get up early tomorrow and hit the gym ... I can work it into my lunch hour instead.
OH - and just for the record, I was wearing a strapless shirt in the picture above, even though it looks like I'm possibly only wearing jewelry. The last time I tried to wear only jewelry to a wedding, I was threatened with section 174 of the criminal code. Yup ... I'm paying attention in my criminal law class so far.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
What To Say About Today?
Well, so far today I used my new parking pass (yay), hit the gym (sweaty), read some Constitutional Law, went to my first Library Tutorial, Went to Constitutional Law class, ate lunch (I bought an egg salad sandwich, and my Diet Coke now sits beside me, waiting to be cracked), and now I'm reading until 2:30, when I have two more classes.
I can't wait to get home and sleep, I'm bagged.
Fun thing - I found out how to get from the Law building to Kirk Hall without going outside. It's a bit of a labyrinth, but since it's kind of raining today, I was thrilled with it.
I got to watch the season opener for America's Next Top Model last night, ahhh ... ANTM ... how I've missed you. It won't be quite the same here in Saskatoon, as my ANTM watching posse are all so far away from me - three in Calgary, one in Montreal. BUT - as you can see from my sidebar below, we're all watching it together - in spirit.
I'm super excited about the plans for this weekend. Jason and I get to go to the wedding of some friends of ours, in Banff. Should be awesome.
Tomorrow, our Torts class is cancelled - so we only have one class at 1:00. Yup - that means a serious sleep-in. I can't wait.
OH! One more thing. I've been meaning to write about this. Yesterday (while in the horrific cold parking line-up) I finished reading a book. This book was probably one of the best books that I've read in the last 2 years (which is saying a lot, because I read a LOT of books in 2 years). The writing itself is stellar, the story is stellar, I'm just enamoured with this author - and this was her first work! Do yourself a flavour (heh heh), and check this book out. It is long, but it only took me 2 weeks to get through (and I'm in law school for goodness sakes).
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by: Susanna Clarke
It's magical, witty, smart, mysterious, enchanting, amazing, dreamy, and dark. SUCH a good read. GO. RIGHT NOW. BUY IT. And tell me what you think afterwards.
You can read more about it at: http://www.jonathanstrange.com/
Well, so far today I used my new parking pass (yay), hit the gym (sweaty), read some Constitutional Law, went to my first Library Tutorial, Went to Constitutional Law class, ate lunch (I bought an egg salad sandwich, and my Diet Coke now sits beside me, waiting to be cracked), and now I'm reading until 2:30, when I have two more classes.
I can't wait to get home and sleep, I'm bagged.
Fun thing - I found out how to get from the Law building to Kirk Hall without going outside. It's a bit of a labyrinth, but since it's kind of raining today, I was thrilled with it.
I got to watch the season opener for America's Next Top Model last night, ahhh ... ANTM ... how I've missed you. It won't be quite the same here in Saskatoon, as my ANTM watching posse are all so far away from me - three in Calgary, one in Montreal. BUT - as you can see from my sidebar below, we're all watching it together - in spirit.
I'm super excited about the plans for this weekend. Jason and I get to go to the wedding of some friends of ours, in Banff. Should be awesome.
Tomorrow, our Torts class is cancelled - so we only have one class at 1:00. Yup - that means a serious sleep-in. I can't wait.
OH! One more thing. I've been meaning to write about this. Yesterday (while in the horrific cold parking line-up) I finished reading a book. This book was probably one of the best books that I've read in the last 2 years (which is saying a lot, because I read a LOT of books in 2 years). The writing itself is stellar, the story is stellar, I'm just enamoured with this author - and this was her first work! Do yourself a flavour (heh heh), and check this book out. It is long, but it only took me 2 weeks to get through (and I'm in law school for goodness sakes).
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by: Susanna Clarke
It's magical, witty, smart, mysterious, enchanting, amazing, dreamy, and dark. SUCH a good read. GO. RIGHT NOW. BUY IT. And tell me what you think afterwards.
You can read more about it at: http://www.jonathanstrange.com/
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I'm Sick of Lines
I'm so tired of waiting in mass line-ups, but hopefully, I've just finished my last one for the year. I thought that the locker line-up was bad - it was a vacation in Mexico compared to the parking pass line-up this morning.
I panicked after my classes last night, as I did a drive-by of the parking office to make sure that I knew where it was. People were already setting up tents etc. to spend the night waiting in line for the first-come-first-serve parking pass sale that was to happen this morning at 8:00.
I decided to come and see what I could get, regardless of feeling the futility.
I got to the parking office this morning at about 6:15, and parked my layered-up keister on the cold, cold cement to begin the wait. Waiting for 3 hours outside at this time of year was a cold, cold endeavor. I was freezing, regardless of my mittens and big boots.
In order to ensure the most comfort possible, the U of S did provide a few creature comforts. A port-a-potty was situated close at hand - for those souls that braved the night long wait. Also, at 7:30, donuts and coffee were delivered to the front doors of the Maintenance building, where all those in line were free to partake - this was a move that I was super impressed with.
I was through the line by 9:15, and had in hand my Stadium Parking pass (yay). Made me very happy. The lot Y passes went first, then lot P and the Stadium parking passes were going after that. I believe that pretty much everyone that went should get a pass (as to whether it was their first choice for a lot or not, I'm not sure).
Moral of the story: If you REALLY have a lot preference, rock on and wait in line overnight ... if you're not so partial to one in particular, you could probably show up at 7:00 AM on parking pass morning, and get a spot without having to freeze your butt off to the extent that I did.
Now - I should be set up. I've got two lockers, all my books, tuition is paid, dental and health benefits have been waived, I've got a parking pass, and I more or less know my way around campus. Should be smooth sailing from now on. Only took three weeks.
All that's left is to find the perfect time to hit the grocery store, so that with my basket of 20 things (when the express lanes are closed for some reason) I don't get stuck behind a cart full of supplies that someone is clearly hoarding in case of natural disaster, no reasonable person (or housefull of reasonable people) would ever go through that much food in a lifetime. Let me know if you have any advice/tips on beating the grocery store madness.
I'm so tired of waiting in mass line-ups, but hopefully, I've just finished my last one for the year. I thought that the locker line-up was bad - it was a vacation in Mexico compared to the parking pass line-up this morning.
I panicked after my classes last night, as I did a drive-by of the parking office to make sure that I knew where it was. People were already setting up tents etc. to spend the night waiting in line for the first-come-first-serve parking pass sale that was to happen this morning at 8:00.
I decided to come and see what I could get, regardless of feeling the futility.
I got to the parking office this morning at about 6:15, and parked my layered-up keister on the cold, cold cement to begin the wait. Waiting for 3 hours outside at this time of year was a cold, cold endeavor. I was freezing, regardless of my mittens and big boots.
In order to ensure the most comfort possible, the U of S did provide a few creature comforts. A port-a-potty was situated close at hand - for those souls that braved the night long wait. Also, at 7:30, donuts and coffee were delivered to the front doors of the Maintenance building, where all those in line were free to partake - this was a move that I was super impressed with.
I was through the line by 9:15, and had in hand my Stadium Parking pass (yay). Made me very happy. The lot Y passes went first, then lot P and the Stadium parking passes were going after that. I believe that pretty much everyone that went should get a pass (as to whether it was their first choice for a lot or not, I'm not sure).
Moral of the story: If you REALLY have a lot preference, rock on and wait in line overnight ... if you're not so partial to one in particular, you could probably show up at 7:00 AM on parking pass morning, and get a spot without having to freeze your butt off to the extent that I did.
Now - I should be set up. I've got two lockers, all my books, tuition is paid, dental and health benefits have been waived, I've got a parking pass, and I more or less know my way around campus. Should be smooth sailing from now on. Only took three weeks.
All that's left is to find the perfect time to hit the grocery store, so that with my basket of 20 things (when the express lanes are closed for some reason) I don't get stuck behind a cart full of supplies that someone is clearly hoarding in case of natural disaster, no reasonable person (or housefull of reasonable people) would ever go through that much food in a lifetime. Let me know if you have any advice/tips on beating the grocery store madness.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A Few Interesting Things
A couple of things that are interesting (to me, in any case) that came up in class today.
First, in my Torts class, the Prof was explaining how different perspectives may lead to proceeding on the same incident in different ways. He offhandedly remarked "...if you're a fault kind of person ..." in which he meant, whether or not you're the kind of person that likes to find fault somewhere, or the kind of person that needs to find fault somewhere.
It got me to thinking - am I a fault person? I really don't know. I think that finding a cause can be helpful, and not only provide some peace in some situations, but can certainly help explain how to prevent them in the future - but sometimes when you find a cause, you find that nobody is really at fault at all. I think I'm okay with that - with nobody being held accountable if nobody is accountable. I guess that I wouldn't be a fault person.
I suppose that as the year goes on and I analyze more tort cases, I'll see more which way I really lean ...
Secondly, in our Property class today, we went over a case today, which involved the issue of whether an Advanced Degree obtained over the course of marriage constitutes matrimonial property when the marriage ends (i.e. does the non-degree earning partner deserve half the value of the degree?).
So ... in the case we discussed, it was found that the wife would receive half the value of the law degree that her husband had earned while she supported him (although, it wasn't actually called "property").
Heh heh heh - but ... in Canada, as per our Prof, advanced degrees are generally NOT found to be property. How funny and personally relatable.
Lastly, today in our Criminal class, the Prof did a lot of talking, and in the lulls in his lecture, I was struck by the sound of the feverish typing on the laptops in class. It wasn't that people were typing - but the sound of the soft and gentle clicking. It reminded me of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. Yeah, that's right, I'm a nerdy Trekker (which, if you know anything about Star Trek means that I'm a TNG girl, as opposed to the Trekkies, which are into the original series).
After a bit of googling and Wikipedia surfing, I found it. It's "Schisms", and it's about some crew members waking up every morning as though they'd never slept, and having crazy recollections about wierd things ... like a clicking sound. When it all gets put together - they've been abducted by aliens and had experiments conducted on them. Yup ... that's what criminal law class will now always remind me of - alien abductions.
Yikes.
A couple of things that are interesting (to me, in any case) that came up in class today.
First, in my Torts class, the Prof was explaining how different perspectives may lead to proceeding on the same incident in different ways. He offhandedly remarked "...if you're a fault kind of person ..." in which he meant, whether or not you're the kind of person that likes to find fault somewhere, or the kind of person that needs to find fault somewhere.
It got me to thinking - am I a fault person? I really don't know. I think that finding a cause can be helpful, and not only provide some peace in some situations, but can certainly help explain how to prevent them in the future - but sometimes when you find a cause, you find that nobody is really at fault at all. I think I'm okay with that - with nobody being held accountable if nobody is accountable. I guess that I wouldn't be a fault person.
I suppose that as the year goes on and I analyze more tort cases, I'll see more which way I really lean ...
Secondly, in our Property class today, we went over a case today, which involved the issue of whether an Advanced Degree obtained over the course of marriage constitutes matrimonial property when the marriage ends (i.e. does the non-degree earning partner deserve half the value of the degree?).
So ... in the case we discussed, it was found that the wife would receive half the value of the law degree that her husband had earned while she supported him (although, it wasn't actually called "property").
Heh heh heh - but ... in Canada, as per our Prof, advanced degrees are generally NOT found to be property. How funny and personally relatable.
Lastly, today in our Criminal class, the Prof did a lot of talking, and in the lulls in his lecture, I was struck by the sound of the feverish typing on the laptops in class. It wasn't that people were typing - but the sound of the soft and gentle clicking. It reminded me of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. Yeah, that's right, I'm a nerdy Trekker (which, if you know anything about Star Trek means that I'm a TNG girl, as opposed to the Trekkies, which are into the original series).
After a bit of googling and Wikipedia surfing, I found it. It's "Schisms", and it's about some crew members waking up every morning as though they'd never slept, and having crazy recollections about wierd things ... like a clicking sound. When it all gets put together - they've been abducted by aliens and had experiments conducted on them. Yup ... that's what criminal law class will now always remind me of - alien abductions.
Yikes.
Light Drizzle
Does anyone else think that the Weather Network's graphic for "light drizzle" looks hilarious, and more like rain hammering down to flood the world like nothing since Noah's days with the ark?
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Poor Calgary.
Also, I thought I'd explain a few things about my first few weeks of law school that have cleared up (a little bit).
The first little bit of law school has been incredibly vague. Personally, I haven't had a problem with this, since I prescribe to the "go-with-the-flow" mentality. Some people, though, have struggled with it a bit more, and rightly so.
On our schedules, each Wednesday morning is blocked off with "Tutorials" written into the timeslot. What does this mean, when are our tutorials, what are they for, are the compulsory, when do we get the schedule?
Well ... tutorials are offered in each of our classes: Torts, Criminal, Property, Contracts, and Constitutional. Each class has three tutorials a semester, and each tutorial is an hour in length. In the tutorial, we have been split up into groups of 20, and with the Prof, take a look at problems that have been assigned, and learn how to apply those proper principles and theory in order to solve them. For each tutorial that we have in a particular class, the Prof cancels one of our regularly scheduled lectures.
Whew.
So ... we got our tutorial schedule yesterday, and our first two tutorials are on Wednesday. This was pretty foggy when we first started, but we'll jump right in, now that we know.
Also, when it comes to school, the expectations are still a little big unknown. I've spoken to a few classmates of mine, and everyone seems to feel the same way (generally).
We all go to class, read what we're supposed to be reading, and answer the questions that we can, when the Prof asks them. BUT ... it feels (in the words of one of my classmates) as though we're only "going through the motions" so far.
The Associate Dean has ensured us that we should have a better idea about what to focus on once we've completed a few tutorials, as these are problem solving classes, so we'll see.
Basically, the first few days of law school, you'll find out quickly that law school classes are unlike those that you would have had in your undergrad. There isn't the same type of lecture format. Some of the Profs will outline various principles, but basically, you'll be assigned some reading beforehand, you'll come to class prepared, and the Profs will ask questions about the reading material, which the class will discuss.
The first case brief that you do will also be fairly vague (and frankly, briefing is still kind of out there for me). You'll be told about case briefing (we were given a seminar on this in our Orientation), you'll be given a case, and you'll be told to have at'er. It took me awhile to understand, not only the content of the cases, but to understand the format. Why is there a separate Concur statement, what is a Dissent? It gets clearer as you go along, so don't panic if you feel like a fish out of water ... I think that this is how they want you to feel off the start (I can hear their maniacal laughs now ... wafting through the law library). Just remember that, in class, when they're asking questions, the Profs don't expect you to know it all - they just want you to take your best stab at it.
Whew. Better get to reading ... I still have a bunch to do, and I opted for Starbucks this morning as opposed to the gym (I know, I know), so I still have to work my work-out into my day (heh heh).
Does anyone else think that the Weather Network's graphic for "light drizzle" looks hilarious, and more like rain hammering down to flood the world like nothing since Noah's days with the ark?
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Poor Calgary.
Also, I thought I'd explain a few things about my first few weeks of law school that have cleared up (a little bit).
The first little bit of law school has been incredibly vague. Personally, I haven't had a problem with this, since I prescribe to the "go-with-the-flow" mentality. Some people, though, have struggled with it a bit more, and rightly so.
On our schedules, each Wednesday morning is blocked off with "Tutorials" written into the timeslot. What does this mean, when are our tutorials, what are they for, are the compulsory, when do we get the schedule?
Well ... tutorials are offered in each of our classes: Torts, Criminal, Property, Contracts, and Constitutional. Each class has three tutorials a semester, and each tutorial is an hour in length. In the tutorial, we have been split up into groups of 20, and with the Prof, take a look at problems that have been assigned, and learn how to apply those proper principles and theory in order to solve them. For each tutorial that we have in a particular class, the Prof cancels one of our regularly scheduled lectures.
Whew.
So ... we got our tutorial schedule yesterday, and our first two tutorials are on Wednesday. This was pretty foggy when we first started, but we'll jump right in, now that we know.
Also, when it comes to school, the expectations are still a little big unknown. I've spoken to a few classmates of mine, and everyone seems to feel the same way (generally).
We all go to class, read what we're supposed to be reading, and answer the questions that we can, when the Prof asks them. BUT ... it feels (in the words of one of my classmates) as though we're only "going through the motions" so far.
The Associate Dean has ensured us that we should have a better idea about what to focus on once we've completed a few tutorials, as these are problem solving classes, so we'll see.
Basically, the first few days of law school, you'll find out quickly that law school classes are unlike those that you would have had in your undergrad. There isn't the same type of lecture format. Some of the Profs will outline various principles, but basically, you'll be assigned some reading beforehand, you'll come to class prepared, and the Profs will ask questions about the reading material, which the class will discuss.
The first case brief that you do will also be fairly vague (and frankly, briefing is still kind of out there for me). You'll be told about case briefing (we were given a seminar on this in our Orientation), you'll be given a case, and you'll be told to have at'er. It took me awhile to understand, not only the content of the cases, but to understand the format. Why is there a separate Concur statement, what is a Dissent? It gets clearer as you go along, so don't panic if you feel like a fish out of water ... I think that this is how they want you to feel off the start (I can hear their maniacal laughs now ... wafting through the law library). Just remember that, in class, when they're asking questions, the Profs don't expect you to know it all - they just want you to take your best stab at it.
Whew. Better get to reading ... I still have a bunch to do, and I opted for Starbucks this morning as opposed to the gym (I know, I know), so I still have to work my work-out into my day (heh heh).
Monday, September 18, 2006
Home Sweet Home
It's amazing how just a few days at home can recharge me like nothing else. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, and being in your own home ... I got time to meet some friends for drinks, go for breakkie with my family, chill with Jason at home (which made him remark that he now knows where all his time goes when I'm home - chillin' on the couch), shopping with Mom, and dinner at the Parent's house. It was fabulous, and I was so happy to be there, and now I'm ready for another week of law school.
I've been thinking for awhile about a compare and contrast between the University of Calgary, where I did my undergrad degree, and what I've seen of the University of Saskatchewan so far. Here's my list, as has been compiled in my head over the last few days (I want to add more, as I think of things ... if anyone else has anything to add - let me know through the comments):
U of C:
- Included in tuition, all students get transit passes (which consists of a special sticker being put on your student ID card, your student ID card then becomes a transit pass for the school year). This is such a huge PLUS ... since here in Saskatoon a student bus pass for one semester is $200. I understand that Saskatoon is smaller, etc. but I'm finding the decision to buy a full semester long bus pass to be too big a commitment to make.
- Student's Centre is way bigger, with way more options for FOOD! I'm finding the food court options lacking at U of S, and while they do have a Tim Horton's, which U of C does not, they don't have anywhere near the many cuisine choices.
- The Information Commons at the U of C rocks. It's a floor in the library that has piles of computers available for student use. It's open 24 hours some days of the week, and it is super convenient. Perhaps U of S has something similar, but I haven't come across it yet. I've just seen smaller computer labs which are great, but often booked. There's also some PCs in the hallways of the student centre, but you have to stand at them, it's not somewhere you'd go to write a paper.
U of S:
- Getting a student ID card, and standing in line at the book store on the first few days was a DREAM compared to these things at the U of C. The staff at U of S are organized, and quick. They're well oiled machines that get lines moving fast. This was HUGELY appreciated.
- There is SCHOOL SPIRIT, which isn't limited to campus. EVERYONE loves the Huskies; they wear Huskies clothing, they attend Huskies functions, they talk about the Huskies on the radio, they talk about student functions in general on the radio, and everyone goes to Huskies games. This was something that I didn't notice in Calgary - that tangible and elusive feeling of community and togetherness, and common goals and objectives. It's here - in droves.
- Campus is gorgeous. It's hard to resist wanting to be here. The buildings are regal, and the landscaping is luscious. U of S wins hands down in this area.
- Lowest tuition for law school in Canada. Nuff said. (Besides McGill, apparently ... I've been mislead! How embarassing - thank you to the anonymous commenter that corrected me)
It's amazing how just a few days at home can recharge me like nothing else. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, and being in your own home ... I got time to meet some friends for drinks, go for breakkie with my family, chill with Jason at home (which made him remark that he now knows where all his time goes when I'm home - chillin' on the couch), shopping with Mom, and dinner at the Parent's house. It was fabulous, and I was so happy to be there, and now I'm ready for another week of law school.
I've been thinking for awhile about a compare and contrast between the University of Calgary, where I did my undergrad degree, and what I've seen of the University of Saskatchewan so far. Here's my list, as has been compiled in my head over the last few days (I want to add more, as I think of things ... if anyone else has anything to add - let me know through the comments):
U of C:
- Included in tuition, all students get transit passes (which consists of a special sticker being put on your student ID card, your student ID card then becomes a transit pass for the school year). This is such a huge PLUS ... since here in Saskatoon a student bus pass for one semester is $200. I understand that Saskatoon is smaller, etc. but I'm finding the decision to buy a full semester long bus pass to be too big a commitment to make.
- Student's Centre is way bigger, with way more options for FOOD! I'm finding the food court options lacking at U of S, and while they do have a Tim Horton's, which U of C does not, they don't have anywhere near the many cuisine choices.
- The Information Commons at the U of C rocks. It's a floor in the library that has piles of computers available for student use. It's open 24 hours some days of the week, and it is super convenient. Perhaps U of S has something similar, but I haven't come across it yet. I've just seen smaller computer labs which are great, but often booked. There's also some PCs in the hallways of the student centre, but you have to stand at them, it's not somewhere you'd go to write a paper.
U of S:
- Getting a student ID card, and standing in line at the book store on the first few days was a DREAM compared to these things at the U of C. The staff at U of S are organized, and quick. They're well oiled machines that get lines moving fast. This was HUGELY appreciated.
- There is SCHOOL SPIRIT, which isn't limited to campus. EVERYONE loves the Huskies; they wear Huskies clothing, they attend Huskies functions, they talk about the Huskies on the radio, they talk about student functions in general on the radio, and everyone goes to Huskies games. This was something that I didn't notice in Calgary - that tangible and elusive feeling of community and togetherness, and common goals and objectives. It's here - in droves.
- Campus is gorgeous. It's hard to resist wanting to be here. The buildings are regal, and the landscaping is luscious. U of S wins hands down in this area.
- Lowest tuition for law school in Canada. Nuff said. (Besides McGill, apparently ... I've been mislead! How embarassing - thank you to the anonymous commenter that corrected me)
Thursday, September 14, 2006
I Got a Gym Locker!
Yay! I left the house at 7:00 this morning, hit my Law locker, and then headed over to the PAC (Physical Activity Centre, I think), and got in line for a gym locker. The office opened at 8:30, and when I got into line at just before 7:30, the line wrapped around the running track 3/4 of the way. Crazy. I did get a locker though, and was only 5 minutes late for my Constitutional Law class. I'm so very excited.
I didn't get ANY reading done at home last night (testament to the fact that reading at school is a way better route for me to take). It didn't matter in Constitutional Law, I skimmed that reading while in line for my locker, and I even raised my hand and spoke up today (I'm still thinking of the comments that I got here, and stick to the formula of speaking up every three classes - he he he, still haven't id'd any GUNNER's in my class yet, though).
Ah ... the rain. How I love it (or hate it, I really flip-flop on that one, it really depends on whether I have organized sports on the go, or no).
Anyhoo - back to the reading! I only have one case to read before 2:30, and then one more case to read for tomorrow - yay for keeping on top of reading!
Yay! I left the house at 7:00 this morning, hit my Law locker, and then headed over to the PAC (Physical Activity Centre, I think), and got in line for a gym locker. The office opened at 8:30, and when I got into line at just before 7:30, the line wrapped around the running track 3/4 of the way. Crazy. I did get a locker though, and was only 5 minutes late for my Constitutional Law class. I'm so very excited.
I didn't get ANY reading done at home last night (testament to the fact that reading at school is a way better route for me to take). It didn't matter in Constitutional Law, I skimmed that reading while in line for my locker, and I even raised my hand and spoke up today (I'm still thinking of the comments that I got here, and stick to the formula of speaking up every three classes - he he he, still haven't id'd any GUNNER's in my class yet, though).
Ah ... the rain. How I love it (or hate it, I really flip-flop on that one, it really depends on whether I have organized sports on the go, or no).
Anyhoo - back to the reading! I only have one case to read before 2:30, and then one more case to read for tomorrow - yay for keeping on top of reading!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I Bought This Book Today:
Understanding Property - A Guide to Canada's Property Law by: Marjorie L Benson, Marie-Ann Bowden.
I can't find a picture of the cover, but it's navy and yellow.
Marie-Ann Bowden is actually a prof here at the U of S, I have her for the first time today for Legal Reading/Writing.
According to upper year law students, this book is GOLDEN for understanding the first year property course. I figured I'd take any help that I can get. It's rather expensive (cough, I almost choked when I bought it), but I think it'll be worth it, especially since I'd like to (maybe) get into Intellectual Property eventually.
Understanding Property - A Guide to Canada's Property Law by: Marjorie L Benson, Marie-Ann Bowden.
I can't find a picture of the cover, but it's navy and yellow.
Marie-Ann Bowden is actually a prof here at the U of S, I have her for the first time today for Legal Reading/Writing.
According to upper year law students, this book is GOLDEN for understanding the first year property course. I figured I'd take any help that I can get. It's rather expensive (cough, I almost choked when I bought it), but I think it'll be worth it, especially since I'd like to (maybe) get into Intellectual Property eventually.
Ooooh - I Found Another One
Law Students/Potential Law Students - BOOKMARK THIS PAGE:
http://dictionary.law.com/
This is like Dictionary.com, but you can put in either legal words, or LEGAL PHRASES.
How sharp is that? I love it! Looks like I won't need a legal dictionary until, perhaps, exam time! As long as I've got internet, I'm hooked up.
Another tip: For Criminal Law and Tort Law we had to buy packages from the bookstore of materials prepared by our Profs. These came in printed version, wrapped in plastic, triple hole punched, but not bound. Most people put them into duotangs or binders, but I took mine to Staples and had them spiral bound and had a clear plastic cover put on the front and back. People in my class have so far remarked that they're going to do it as well, as it makes for super easy handling of these notes, and they should stand up better than in a binder. It was $10.00 for the two to be done at Staples.
Law Students/Potential Law Students - BOOKMARK THIS PAGE:
http://dictionary.law.com/
This is like Dictionary.com, but you can put in either legal words, or LEGAL PHRASES.
How sharp is that? I love it! Looks like I won't need a legal dictionary until, perhaps, exam time! As long as I've got internet, I'm hooked up.
Another tip: For Criminal Law and Tort Law we had to buy packages from the bookstore of materials prepared by our Profs. These came in printed version, wrapped in plastic, triple hole punched, but not bound. Most people put them into duotangs or binders, but I took mine to Staples and had them spiral bound and had a clear plastic cover put on the front and back. People in my class have so far remarked that they're going to do it as well, as it makes for super easy handling of these notes, and they should stand up better than in a binder. It was $10.00 for the two to be done at Staples.
An Interesting Morning AlreadyThis morning, in Saskatoon (as you can see by my Weather Network Button), it is thunderstorming like crazy. After I had showered and was getting dressed in my room, there was a huge crack of thunder, then all the power went out. How lucky am I that I wasn't still in the shower? I know it's silly, but those Bloody Mary stories that I heard about as a kid still haunt me when I'm in dark bathrooms with big mirrors. No other mirrors will do it to me, but bathroom mirrors .... shudder. So ... I'm thinking that I'll have to buy a lottery ticket this morning, since I'm so lucky.
The power was still out as I drove to school, all the traffic lights in our area were out, luckily people were handling it just fine.
Also, I'm one spoiled girl. My Parents bought me a plane ticket home this weekend. YAY! No driving, and I get to see my Hubby, Family, and my cute little house! I'm pretty excited, and take full notice of how spoiled I am.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Yay, I Have Internet at Home!!
You should all see an increase in my net frequency from now on, and I finally have the ability to surf for pleasure guilt free (and while that statement may sound rather suspect, I stand by it). While at school, I felt, due to the limited internet time that I had, that I had better make the most of it - and actually stick to something school related.
YAY! Now I can surf more systematically through all my blogger favourites (and catch up on my gossip ... GOSH I've fallen behind on all that).
School was pretty good today. There are still some books that aren't in the bookstore yet (specifically, our pocket criminal code book), which is frustrating. I have yet to find a really great lunch to buy on campus. I had pasta today, which wasn't BAD, but it took FOREVER to order, as they make it to order. Won't be standing in that line again, it's deceptive, because even if it's short, it takes far too much of my life away from me.
With the arrival of our internet come that arrival, also, of cable TV (WOO HOO). I'm watching the season finale of Big Brother tonight, and am oh so content, curled up in my sweats with my laptop.
Sigh.
Utter contentment (not total, since I'd need J here for that , wink wink).
You should all see an increase in my net frequency from now on, and I finally have the ability to surf for pleasure guilt free (and while that statement may sound rather suspect, I stand by it). While at school, I felt, due to the limited internet time that I had, that I had better make the most of it - and actually stick to something school related.
YAY! Now I can surf more systematically through all my blogger favourites (and catch up on my gossip ... GOSH I've fallen behind on all that).
School was pretty good today. There are still some books that aren't in the bookstore yet (specifically, our pocket criminal code book), which is frustrating. I have yet to find a really great lunch to buy on campus. I had pasta today, which wasn't BAD, but it took FOREVER to order, as they make it to order. Won't be standing in that line again, it's deceptive, because even if it's short, it takes far too much of my life away from me.
With the arrival of our internet come that arrival, also, of cable TV (WOO HOO). I'm watching the season finale of Big Brother tonight, and am oh so content, curled up in my sweats with my laptop.
Sigh.
Utter contentment (not total, since I'd need J here for that , wink wink).
Thank Goodness for Dictionary.com
Seriously. While many people have suggested purchasing a legal dictionary (there are even CANADIAN ones out there - imagine that), I have opted to cheap out and rely on my old friend, www.dictionary.com. So far (check out my sidebar), she hasn't let me down.
As I go through all the legal readings so far, I'm feeling that my vocabulary is lacking ... but really ... I think it's just the legal context and culture that I haven't been exposed to.
I'm going to try and tackle anything foreign that comes my way, so that (hopefully) it will get easier, and I'll be able to sling about phrases and verbiage like a master hurler (and no, I don't mean that this makes me want to puke - yet).
Seriously. While many people have suggested purchasing a legal dictionary (there are even CANADIAN ones out there - imagine that), I have opted to cheap out and rely on my old friend, www.dictionary.com. So far (check out my sidebar), she hasn't let me down.
As I go through all the legal readings so far, I'm feeling that my vocabulary is lacking ... but really ... I think it's just the legal context and culture that I haven't been exposed to.
I'm going to try and tackle anything foreign that comes my way, so that (hopefully) it will get easier, and I'll be able to sling about phrases and verbiage like a master hurler (and no, I don't mean that this makes me want to puke - yet).
Monday, September 11, 2006
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
On a whim, I decided to jet to Drayton Valley this weekend to watch Jason partake in an annual family Slo-Pitch tournament. We still don't have cable or internet at home (in Saskatoon), and I didn't have as much reading as I thought I might for school, so the decision to drive to Alberta was an easy one.
The weather was gorgeous, and it was great to see the In-Laws, and of course, my Hubby. My nephews are still the cutest, and my Mother-In-Law (heh heh) takes good care of us.
Now that I'm back in Saskatoon, sitting in the Law Library (with internet access ... yay), I thought I'd summarize my thoughts and findings on the first week of law school.
1 - When you send your acceptance of an offer to attend a law school, they have you send in a passport photo of yourself. WHY? Because they make class lists for all the profs with your name and picture. There will be no hiding out from questions made to the class. I'm not sure if there's any other reason, but this one I've seen with my own eyes!
2 - While there is a lot of reading in law school, there is also a lot of downtime, and if you're diligent, there should be time enough to do it all. Of course, due to the load, I see the snowball effect being entirely too dangerous. I, therefore, will attempt to stay on top of my reading. I have stuck with my philosophy of treating law school like a job (so far), and have been at school at 8:00 everyday (even though my classes start at 10:00), and I have had more than enough time to do all my reading at school. While, I understand, that the readings will increase in volume etc. etc. etc. ... I also have had time to surf the internet at write long blog entries ... so ... I think I'll be OK. Frustrated, and perhaps stressed ... but OK.
3 - There are lots of people that use laptops in class for notetaking, and lots that don't. I'm one of the latter, as I find that when I actually handwrite, my retention is better.
4 - Having a locker in the law building rocks. I'm so tired of feeling like a pack mule, hauling all of my stuff around, and as I develop my routine, it is so great to have a place to drop off the computer and the textbooks. I am in love with my locker.
5 - The first few weeks of school seem key for signing up for various things. Not only are there tons of administration type things that need to be done, tuition, books, opting out of health and dental coverage, etc ... but signing up for clubs, signing up for campus rec classes, these all happen quickly, and I can see how easy it would be to miss a deadline.
6 - While the first day of school was scary, it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Everyone was really nice and chatty, and within a few minutes you'll have met enough people that you have a good group of "friends".
And now ... I better get back to reading so that my pompous claims above (about easily keeping up) don't prove to be false.
On a whim, I decided to jet to Drayton Valley this weekend to watch Jason partake in an annual family Slo-Pitch tournament. We still don't have cable or internet at home (in Saskatoon), and I didn't have as much reading as I thought I might for school, so the decision to drive to Alberta was an easy one.
The weather was gorgeous, and it was great to see the In-Laws, and of course, my Hubby. My nephews are still the cutest, and my Mother-In-Law (heh heh) takes good care of us.
Now that I'm back in Saskatoon, sitting in the Law Library (with internet access ... yay), I thought I'd summarize my thoughts and findings on the first week of law school.
1 - When you send your acceptance of an offer to attend a law school, they have you send in a passport photo of yourself. WHY? Because they make class lists for all the profs with your name and picture. There will be no hiding out from questions made to the class. I'm not sure if there's any other reason, but this one I've seen with my own eyes!
2 - While there is a lot of reading in law school, there is also a lot of downtime, and if you're diligent, there should be time enough to do it all. Of course, due to the load, I see the snowball effect being entirely too dangerous. I, therefore, will attempt to stay on top of my reading. I have stuck with my philosophy of treating law school like a job (so far), and have been at school at 8:00 everyday (even though my classes start at 10:00), and I have had more than enough time to do all my reading at school. While, I understand, that the readings will increase in volume etc. etc. etc. ... I also have had time to surf the internet at write long blog entries ... so ... I think I'll be OK. Frustrated, and perhaps stressed ... but OK.
3 - There are lots of people that use laptops in class for notetaking, and lots that don't. I'm one of the latter, as I find that when I actually handwrite, my retention is better.
4 - Having a locker in the law building rocks. I'm so tired of feeling like a pack mule, hauling all of my stuff around, and as I develop my routine, it is so great to have a place to drop off the computer and the textbooks. I am in love with my locker.
5 - The first few weeks of school seem key for signing up for various things. Not only are there tons of administration type things that need to be done, tuition, books, opting out of health and dental coverage, etc ... but signing up for clubs, signing up for campus rec classes, these all happen quickly, and I can see how easy it would be to miss a deadline.
6 - While the first day of school was scary, it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Everyone was really nice and chatty, and within a few minutes you'll have met enough people that you have a good group of "friends".
And now ... I better get back to reading so that my pompous claims above (about easily keeping up) don't prove to be false.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Ladybugs and Wasps
Saskatoon is full of them. I've never seen more ladybugs or wasps in my life.
An another note - with the help of Jason over the phone - I've got my wireless working on campus (yay) ... and I am reminded how disabled I feel with no internet connection at home. Things that would be easy, usually, are difficult. Where is a car wash, what time is the library open, how much are the various student parking lots? These are a few of the questions that I wish I had the all knowing deity Google to answer for me.
So ... to catch everyone up on what's up with me, yesterday was the final of two days of Orientation at U of S law. Rather than tell you all EXACTLY what we did, here are the highlites, as I see them:
- There is a lot of reading in law school - prepare for this.
- Barristers and Solicitors are not the same thing.
- Paying for parking daily really sucks.
These points are kind of jokes, but in all I would say that the Orientation is worth going to. I did not attend the Keg party and pub night that have been LSA events so far, but there's some fun stuff coming up that I hope to participate in.
I did buy an LSA membership, which got me a locker in the law building (which has actually been handy so far). The LSA sets up camp all week in the law building, so you do have time to make your choice. Membership is $25, but they offer a lot of activities and such.
I've already hit the gym here (yay), and the facilities are super nice. I really want to get a phys.ed locker, though, so I don't have to haul my shower stuff all over campus with me.
I've had my first Constitutional law class, which looks to be interesting, yet perhaps dry at times. There was no reading that we were expected to have done today, but starting Monday, we're to be on the reading train.
I bought all of my books yesterday, new, at the U of S bookstore. I spent $400 (keep in mind that I already had my contracts book), and I still have to get 2 more which were out of stock. Much better than I was expecting. I warned the security guard there that he better know CPR, because when I heard the total for my books, I may just have a coronary. Luckily, we didn't have to bring out any First Aid action, I survived.
Anyhow, I have much internet surfing to catch up on, and some serious studying to do (I am a serious academic, you know).
Saskatoon is full of them. I've never seen more ladybugs or wasps in my life.
An another note - with the help of Jason over the phone - I've got my wireless working on campus (yay) ... and I am reminded how disabled I feel with no internet connection at home. Things that would be easy, usually, are difficult. Where is a car wash, what time is the library open, how much are the various student parking lots? These are a few of the questions that I wish I had the all knowing deity Google to answer for me.
So ... to catch everyone up on what's up with me, yesterday was the final of two days of Orientation at U of S law. Rather than tell you all EXACTLY what we did, here are the highlites, as I see them:
- There is a lot of reading in law school - prepare for this.
- Barristers and Solicitors are not the same thing.
- Paying for parking daily really sucks.
These points are kind of jokes, but in all I would say that the Orientation is worth going to. I did not attend the Keg party and pub night that have been LSA events so far, but there's some fun stuff coming up that I hope to participate in.
I did buy an LSA membership, which got me a locker in the law building (which has actually been handy so far). The LSA sets up camp all week in the law building, so you do have time to make your choice. Membership is $25, but they offer a lot of activities and such.
I've already hit the gym here (yay), and the facilities are super nice. I really want to get a phys.ed locker, though, so I don't have to haul my shower stuff all over campus with me.
I've had my first Constitutional law class, which looks to be interesting, yet perhaps dry at times. There was no reading that we were expected to have done today, but starting Monday, we're to be on the reading train.
I bought all of my books yesterday, new, at the U of S bookstore. I spent $400 (keep in mind that I already had my contracts book), and I still have to get 2 more which were out of stock. Much better than I was expecting. I warned the security guard there that he better know CPR, because when I heard the total for my books, I may just have a coronary. Luckily, we didn't have to bring out any First Aid action, I survived.
Anyhow, I have much internet surfing to catch up on, and some serious studying to do (I am a serious academic, you know).
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Orientation - Day 1
Ahhh ... Orientation Day. With the crisp sent of fall hanging in the air, I marched my flip-flops through dewy grass covered campus and found my way over to the Law Building at U of S.
I arrived in good time at 8:00, prompt - as requested in our orientation instructions - to take 20 minutes to register, and then wait for about an hour and a half. My advice to anyone starting Law at U of S next year - don't arrive until 9:30 (although, there was coffee and doughnuts up for grabs ... mmmm ... doughnuts). Upon registering, you do get to grab loads of free stuff. There was a (pleather?) folder from Osler, a canvas laundry bag from Thomson Carswell, lip gloss from Borden Ladner Gervais, and post-it flags from Gowlings, which I grabbed.
The Dean gave us first years an introduction to the faculty, and gave us a brief introduction to law school. He seems very funny and smart, and has a very calm demeanor. Not at all oppresive or unapproachable. We then broke down into groups of 20, and with 2 profs and a senior law student, we introduced ourselves and had a chance to ask any questions that may have come up for us so far.
Next, the provided us with lunch, pizza and fruit, and I skittered off to get my U of S ID card, which I need to get access to the gym. Ya'll know how good I've been with my gym streak - I must keep it up!
We came back to some brief talks from the librarian, and a couple of others (I must admit, I was nodding off, not to hack on anyone that talked at us, but it was right after lunch, and boy was I drowsy). Next, we got a briefing on "Life after Law", from a Lawyer's vantage. This speaker was eloquent, and entertaining. I was held in rapture. Definitely something I enjoyed. It was at this point that I really started getting excited about the journey that begins today.
We got paired up with siblings from the upper years, watched the ground-breaking ceremony for the new law extension that is supposed to be finished by fall of next year, and attended a BBQ.
I met some fabulous people, am easing into the "sitting through a lecture" mode, and got loads of free stuff. What's not to love? Heh heh.
This cr@p post will have to do, since I'm technically STEALING this internet signal right now (yikes - don't tell on me ... and ... if you have a wireless router, put a damn password on it so that people can't steal it), as my internet isn't getting hooked up until a week from today.
Ahhh ... Orientation Day. With the crisp sent of fall hanging in the air, I marched my flip-flops through dewy grass covered campus and found my way over to the Law Building at U of S.
I arrived in good time at 8:00, prompt - as requested in our orientation instructions - to take 20 minutes to register, and then wait for about an hour and a half. My advice to anyone starting Law at U of S next year - don't arrive until 9:30 (although, there was coffee and doughnuts up for grabs ... mmmm ... doughnuts). Upon registering, you do get to grab loads of free stuff. There was a (pleather?) folder from Osler, a canvas laundry bag from Thomson Carswell, lip gloss from Borden Ladner Gervais, and post-it flags from Gowlings, which I grabbed.
The Dean gave us first years an introduction to the faculty, and gave us a brief introduction to law school. He seems very funny and smart, and has a very calm demeanor. Not at all oppresive or unapproachable. We then broke down into groups of 20, and with 2 profs and a senior law student, we introduced ourselves and had a chance to ask any questions that may have come up for us so far.
Next, the provided us with lunch, pizza and fruit, and I skittered off to get my U of S ID card, which I need to get access to the gym. Ya'll know how good I've been with my gym streak - I must keep it up!
We came back to some brief talks from the librarian, and a couple of others (I must admit, I was nodding off, not to hack on anyone that talked at us, but it was right after lunch, and boy was I drowsy). Next, we got a briefing on "Life after Law", from a Lawyer's vantage. This speaker was eloquent, and entertaining. I was held in rapture. Definitely something I enjoyed. It was at this point that I really started getting excited about the journey that begins today.
We got paired up with siblings from the upper years, watched the ground-breaking ceremony for the new law extension that is supposed to be finished by fall of next year, and attended a BBQ.
I met some fabulous people, am easing into the "sitting through a lecture" mode, and got loads of free stuff. What's not to love? Heh heh.
This cr@p post will have to do, since I'm technically STEALING this internet signal right now (yikes - don't tell on me ... and ... if you have a wireless router, put a damn password on it so that people can't steal it), as my internet isn't getting hooked up until a week from today.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Lisa Has Arrived
Well ... I'm here in Saskatoon. First impressions of the city itself are pretty positive. It really is a beautiful spot, lots of green, pretty clean looking, and a definite youthful vibe. You can tell already what a college spot this is, since support of the Huskies is in evidence everywhere. Jason and I drove out yesterday, had dinner at Beily's on 8th St, drove up Broadway, had drinks at the Hose and Hydrant, and finished off our night watching the Hot Rod Hullabaloo at Bud's on Broadway, a Blues bar.
All in all, it was a pretty fantastic introduction to Saskatoon, and a mighty fine date.
Today we unpacked some of my stuff, toured around the downtown area, drove along the river, and of course, toured around the U of S campus. I found where I have to go for my student orientation, and got a glimpse of campus. It's true, what people say, the campus is gorgeous. The buildings are regal, and there is tons of green space. Hopefully I'll enjoy my time there, and not grow to hate it (heh heh).
I dropped Jason off at the airport earlier this evening, and it hit me that it will be three weeks until I see him again. Sigh. This long distance thing is going to kill me. Maybe I'll make him quit his job and move out here sometime soon. The thought will keep me going for awhile, anyway. It's my first night alone (and by alone, I mean with my two roomies), and if this is the hardest one, I think I'm in good shape for the school year.
Well ... I'm here in Saskatoon. First impressions of the city itself are pretty positive. It really is a beautiful spot, lots of green, pretty clean looking, and a definite youthful vibe. You can tell already what a college spot this is, since support of the Huskies is in evidence everywhere. Jason and I drove out yesterday, had dinner at Beily's on 8th St, drove up Broadway, had drinks at the Hose and Hydrant, and finished off our night watching the Hot Rod Hullabaloo at Bud's on Broadway, a Blues bar.
All in all, it was a pretty fantastic introduction to Saskatoon, and a mighty fine date.
Today we unpacked some of my stuff, toured around the downtown area, drove along the river, and of course, toured around the U of S campus. I found where I have to go for my student orientation, and got a glimpse of campus. It's true, what people say, the campus is gorgeous. The buildings are regal, and there is tons of green space. Hopefully I'll enjoy my time there, and not grow to hate it (heh heh).
I dropped Jason off at the airport earlier this evening, and it hit me that it will be three weeks until I see him again. Sigh. This long distance thing is going to kill me. Maybe I'll make him quit his job and move out here sometime soon. The thought will keep me going for awhile, anyway. It's my first night alone (and by alone, I mean with my two roomies), and if this is the hardest one, I think I'm in good shape for the school year.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Moving Day
So ... today is the big day that I move some of my stuff from Calgary to Saskatoon. My Husband is coming with me, and flying back tomorrow, so I'll have some help with the hauling.
Last night I saw some pics of the place that I'll be staying, and it looks so much nicer than I could have imagined. I'm excited.
Next time I write - it will be from the big bad Saskatoon!
So ... today is the big day that I move some of my stuff from Calgary to Saskatoon. My Husband is coming with me, and flying back tomorrow, so I'll have some help with the hauling.
Last night I saw some pics of the place that I'll be staying, and it looks so much nicer than I could have imagined. I'm excited.
Next time I write - it will be from the big bad Saskatoon!
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