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March 31.04 Today was Jeffries' last day. No complaints here, aside from loss of impression material. (Goodbye, shalinity and k-EYE-netic energy) Bring on the Locke Rowe, Part 2! --------------- Mar 30.04 Wore my Leafs jersey today. Go team! After some intense studying down in the Gerstein boiler room, I went to write my physics test. I should have realized there was something wrong the minute I saw the crowd outside the room. I didn't see any of my test-writing regulars, and instead there was my lab partner, and a few other relative unknowns. Where was everyone? The first face I saw entering the room was Harrison's ... that was an omen for sure. I scowled and took my seat, which is when I notice my TA wasn't around. It was halfway through the multiple choice that I realized with that dreaded sinking gut feeling: I was writing in the wrong test room. Flashback to: the previous night, me on the PHY138 website reading "students must take care to find their room before the time of the test. Tests written in the wrong room will be given a mark of ZERO." Flashback to: the same night, 5 minutes earlier, me on the Faculty of Arts and Science website, copying down the dates and rooms for the final exams, three weeks away. And back to the test, the watery insides and rubber bones, and the Harrison coming around with the attendance list. He stood there while I pretended I was deep in thought about the solution to the question I was staring at. Eventually I felt inclined to glance inquiringly up at Harrison, who kept on checking my student card. "I can't find your name on the attendance." He showed me the list, where I saw the codes for tutorial groups beside each person's name. Didn't see any that looked like mine. I tried to display a combination of shock but also irritation that my test time was being interrupted by no fault of my own. "Are you sure you're in the right room?" "Woodsworth one-eleven?" Nervous and confused, this time. "Yup, that's here." He seemed satisfied. That's okay, keep writing. I'll add your name." Which he did, to which I signed. I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, but that's my story. I hope you found it as amusing as I did. --------------- Mar 29.04 Today was a beautiful sunny, warm day. I got to my very last chemistry lab early, and was delighted to find that my TA wasn't there. True, there was another one who couldn't speak English that well in his place, but hey, who's complaining. I got another opportunity to handle lead again, but on the bright side I also got to touch pure silver. And platinum. We were warned that losing the $160 twig of metal would result in a mark of zero for the lab. Upon returning the platinum I realized I could have just unravelled a paperclip (because I always have paperclips in my wallet, just in case) and kept the platinum and no one would have been the wiser. Well until it was too late anyway. And I'm not sure what I would do with a paperclip length of platinum but oh well. By the end of the day I couldn't stop smiling, although Jeffries boring night lecture dampened it slightly. Everything is winding down! (nevermind the physics test tomorrow, of course) --------------- Mar 28.04 Went downtown to the Hothouse Cafe for Sunday brunch buffet for my mom's birthday. It was great! Live jazz, really good food (the make-your-own omelette was cool, even if over-filling, and amazing desert), nice atmosphere (nice weather helps). I'd never been around that Front St. West area but I think I'll check it out again sometime. Also saw the *other* Spring Rolls, next to the St.Lawrence market, which was closed. But we wandered around an antique flea market, which was full of funky stuff. Checked out a relative's new home, which was totally revamped after adding a second floor. Got that new-house smell that I'm all too familiar with. We shamelessly exploited the dumpster used for the construction workers and tossed our garbage there. --------------- Mar 27.04 Sketched a self portrait from one of the previous night's head shots. For some reason, it looked a little like Jet Li, which was unpleasant. The Battle of Ontario continued in hockey today. Boo on Alfredsson and his wild flaming hair. Went out to watch MadTV. Sadly, it was a rerun. And not of the good kind. --------------- Mar 26.04 Had a group meeting for the big bioethics presentation on the last biology lab, so I got downtown early. Apparently, one hour early. The presentation went OK, mostly thanks to the other groups not showing each other up with flashy stuff. I appreciated the "1 minute left" signs that our TA used, but I was struggling to stretch it out that long in the first place. Once again, I ditched my hastily written cue cards in favour of rambling, directionless, halting babble, proving that I am hopeless when I haven't written myself a witty and meticulously scripted show. Did a photo shoot using desk lamps for lighting and the bathroom shower as a backdrop. Why? I don't even know. But the end result was a bunch of disturbingly good pictures. Incidentally, the best ones were slightly out of focus. Moral of the story: under the right conditions, anyone can look good. --------------- Mar 25.04 blank. --------------- Mar 24.04 Some girl with a shaky, mousy voice did an ad for a choral concert before class and no one paid attention, until she started singing Killing me Softly, which, while not wholly horrible, did as its title suggested, smacking of Convocation Hall idol. Discovered that our Bayview row in con hall had for the whole year been sitting with the Mississauga row. Taking advantage of the introduction from our fellow Mississaugan, I braved the chance to talk hockey, which resulted in the discovery that I was among a Canadiens fan. Quel horreur! So ends that potential friendship. --------------- Mar 23.04 Ordered a whole pizza with chemistry study buddies at my local 2-4-1, which was thoroughly enjoyable. We tried to get seats for the dinner and a show but there wasn't much to comment on in that part of Yonge St. Went back to the big, dark, humid East Hall in University college to study for the chemistry test, which I wrote in good old Canadiana Gallery. It went reasonably well. But the highlight came after test, when I saw a guy decked out in Leafs paraphenalia. When he turned around, I saw he was wearing a Mogilny jersey! The subway ride back was a bit uncomfortable, since we were as usual making commentary on other transit patrons. The tables were turned later and we felt rather uneasy. Does this mean we will stop objectifying strangers? Nah -- what else is there to do in between classes? --------------- Mar 22.04 Hung around a lot today since it would be the first time in a while that I'd have a six hour break in the day. Highlights include sleeping up in the rafters in the musty UC hall; eating lunch for the first time since last semester in the UC quad of Eden; wandering down Chinatown, and going so far west that it was pushing the outskirts of the downtown core. Got kind of trashy and scary so we headed back along Queen St. --------------- Mar 21.04 Today was the first day of spring. Or so they claimed. It was blisteringly cold, and so windy that it was hard to walk straight. I was taking the bus to York to see a friend's music concert. I wasn't really sure of how to get there but I heard some guy talking to the bus driver and it seemed he was going more or less the same way. I followed him off at the stop which I (for the record) knew was the one, and headed to the transferring bus stop. They didn't follow. So I got out my phone and called up a friend for help. The wind was rattling the bus shelter as if there was an earthquake so I had to lean against the pane of glass to stop the noise. Even then when I got through I had to scream into the phone, and it was pointless since I definitely couldn't hear what the informant was saying anyway. With some level of courage I said I was fine and hung up. At that point, the guy materialized with his small kid, who was all decked out in Maple Leafs blue and white, complete with face paint, and offered some help. But I gathered he knew about as much as I did, albeit from the bus driver's own mouth. Waiting for the bus, we chatted a bit. I was headed to York for a concert at the Faculty of Music, he was a music teacher at Langstaff (though headed for dinner with relatives). It always seems if there's a teacher you randomly meet somewhere, it's going to be a music teacher. Aside from that focal point of life we also discussed hockey (which I brought up with the son), and the previous night's baseball chop to the head (provided by thug Wade Belak). After some time, a brief false alarm on the first bus that came by, we got on the correct bus. We were the only ones riding it. I was offered a banana and some candy but, as my face was thawing, I declined. The man and his son got off the bus, I waved, and continued riding alone until I got to the campus stop. There, I was at a bit of a loss for what to do next. I knew my way around from a few visits, but I wasn't sure where to go and meet everyone. So I just tried to remember the directions that I'd been told. They sort of went along the lines of "go past the cafe, toward Winters road, you'll pass this residence building with some windows, and you'll see a sign that says Tiki Hut. There'll be some stairs on one side, and go around them and etc ..." This I tried to recollect from memory. Surprisingly, the directions were gold, and I smirked with every sighted landmark. It was my memory that failed at the end of the game and I got lost, but mostly wind-whipped and bitten, so after a while of guessing the next turn I called my friend (why hadn't I done this before?) to find out where to go next. Apparently she'd been waiting at the bus stop. So I headed back (good thing I somehow remembered there was a wild blue car near the stop), met up with my friend, as I was unprepared for, her family. We got to the location of the concert, and to my delight, I realized I'd only 'forgotten' the directions at that point because there weren't any more, and had passed it by. There we waited, and I discovered that not only would I be watching the concert with my friend's family, but also her boyfriend's family. And his grandfather. Which was a bit unexpected. And she had to go get ready, so would I remember these directions to the concert room and lead everyone there. This was amusing more than anything. I said sure but needed to use the bathroom first. An unfortunate zipper incident brought tears to my eyes so I was determined to remember the way back (I'm unsure of the causal logic but there it is). Seeing as how I'd been successful with the previous directions, I noted lots of weird visual landmarks to guide me (an election campaign poster, some clay figures, the smell of food, etc.). Or was that only so that I could get my mind off how awkward the situation was. Either way the cues served me well and I was the saviour of the group. We stood in line for a good while and then found some seats near the back. I sat with my friend's younger sisters, in the hopes that it would be less weird. It was worth a try. The concert itself was fantastic. The band played some really interesting pieces. Of note was the programmatic WWII piece with the thunderous aleatoric section, the Japanese American march, and the cute Cloudburst song involving snapping fingers to make rain sounds with handbells from above (the only pleasing sound to come from the flute ensemble, which was painfully out of tune and out of sync. You know you're crap when you play Ode to Joy and can't even get it right). A first day of spring, with wind symphony accompaniment. --------------- Mar 20.04 Played mallrats starting at Pacific mall, then moving on to Promenade, and ending at Hillcrest. Then we headed back to watch people get married on television and witness Stephen Harper take the new conservative party leadership, of all things. --------------- Mar 19.04 Awoke to a very chilly morning today, to find the curtain blowing and the window open. Why? Apparently some time ago last summer my sister opened my window, which is broken and doesn't close properly, and shut it as best as she could. Well, it explains why this winter has been and exceptionally cold one in the locality of my room. Had a family get together at our house. The occasion: unknown. --------------- Mar 18.04 Evelyn and her friends were heading downtown for a concert at the UT faculty of music. After spending much time planning the whithertos and the whyfors for meeting up the previous night, we all just gave up. However, I got caught waiting at a bus stop for which there was no bus in the foreseeable future, and in the end we ended up taking the bus together and generally ignoring each other. I hopped on the subway as soon as the bus let off to avoid further awkwardness. Hair got a much needed cut. --------------- Mar 17.04 Went up the wrong escalator at a transit on the subway and ended up at Dupont, which was a bit weird. After getting on the train in the right direction, I found myself one stop past my destination, so I had to backtrack again, making for a wasted early wakeup call but an interesting morning transit. Saw Matchstick Men. It wasn't really a heist movie, but it was still very cool (especially the soundtrack). Talked to a friend of a friend which almost resulted in an emotional breakdown. Okay, it did. --------------- |