Death by nostalgia

Halifax kills me. Kills me.

Still committed to moving to Toronto in September. Nevertheless. The Maritimes. They're like an old crush I can't get over.

Tick-tock of a Guelph summer day

7:35 - stumble out of bed
7:50: start making the 45-minute walk to campus to meet with advisor. I think the walk will wake me up. It doesn't, but Guelph morning is rather lovely.
8:35: meet with advisor. We agree on my paper outline, we hack out a timetable, he explains to me why the Toronto Island airport is unethical. Efficiency central.
9:00: Breakfast in the UC food court combined with catching up on some emails. Accidentally send an email meant for Zara to a charitable society resulting in some confusion and major embarrassment, but I am able to see the humour. Resubmit research ethics forms, get bus sticker, check some Barthes out of the empty, empty library. Bus home.
11:00: Arrive home. Drink tea and finish reading Josh MacDonald's Whereverville (a play about Newfoundland ten times better than those damn Mercer plays) on the porch.
12:00: Begin reading Josh MacDonald's Halo. Interrupted by arrival of roommates, and roomate's annoying girlfriend. Call Bell to activate our phone line while roommates loudly discuss stuff and holler things at me. An epic 45-minute phone odyssey of annoyance.
1:00: roommates clear out of house. Curb Your Enthusiasm and grilled cheese with bacon. Larry David buys a lot of sponge cakes.
2:00: leave for gym (now a half-hour bus ride from my new home, but I've got the time). Elliptical 30 minutes, treadmill 20 minutes. All while watching Desparate Housewives.
4:30: get home to roommate strumming on guitar with Flight of the Conchords in the background. Sit on couch and talk about how I should shower.
5:00: actually get up and shower.
5:45: leave for McCabe's. Leisurely dinner and drinks with roommates and Zara. Loud argument about the alleged necessity of actually buying drinks while in bars. Theme park analogies abound.
9:00: leave McCabe's for the Albion. A couple games of pool.
10:15: home. realize I am going to be in Halifax in a few days - maybe I should be getting my ducks in a row?
10:20: meh. That is tomorrow's challenge task.

Random

All of a sudden I really wish I was in Disneyland. No apparent reason. Just in the mood for some good old-fashioned American corporate-controlled family fun. And a Mickey-shaped ice cream bar.

Sometimes it takes the night to fall

Found a summer sublet and whole life outlook has improved immensely. It's got a total student vibe, which maybe I should have outgrown but after so many months living in a place with a retirement home vibe, I'm ready for more youthfulness. I'm going to be living with three of my classmates. Two of the guys are the official badasses of our program, sassy as hell but smart as hell too. We are all going to make an awesome posse. The place is close to downtown, on a shady tree-lined street. It has a back porch with a barbecue and three chickens who hang out in the yard. I am already in love with the idea of summer nights porching. We're making all sorts of grandiose plans, for house shows and guitar lessons and jam nights and movie nights and family dinners. Most of it will probably never happen, but it's so nice to have some sun on the horizon.

Serious case of the blahs going on one week. Watching a lot of 6th and 7th season West Wing, wishing I could either be CJ or marry CJ. Is that strange? Yes I think it is. Meanwhile, I am watching my deadlines as they whiz by. Motivation has gone down the tubes. Plus my roommate is having continual crying fits today and the walls are thin. There's really something to be said for pulling a Tobias Funke and crying in your nevernude shorts in the shower, with a facecloth in your mouth so nobody will hear you. Plus the conditioner will help your self-esteem.

I am actually a terrible person.

Nonetheless, the end is in sight. There is a summer sublet with potential. And Marley and Me was better than expected. So that's something.

So the spring has sprung, and with it my desire to go everywhere I ever have been in sunny times. I want to read Virginia Woolf on the beaches of St. Malo; meander along Dawson's boardwalks; ride Stanley Park's complimentary shuttle through all the greenery; play cards at Silver Lake and then make the long walk back downtown to collapse on B-Street's patio. Not gonna lie, mostly I just want to do the last one. Still, Guelph in the summer has potential. For now though, I've got a week to write a paper on CBC Radio3 and Canadian regionalism. Which also has potential. I suppose.

Below is an example of why I stopped blogging in the first place. Wayyyyyy too much angst. All went well, I feel supported. Not entirely convinced that anything worthwhile actually goes on at such conferences, but nevertheless. Soooo much free juice and cookies.