Hmm ...

So there is a definite flaw in this system. And it lies in the fact that I put off updating time and time again until it's been three-ish weeks and I can no longer contain my entire life in one post. And then stories (such as the 5 tonne truck one) go unfinished and no one (I always think that should be one word) is satisfied. So perhaps I'll just start posting every Thursday. It would add a pattern and such. Might be nice. Though I'll likely forget. But it could be like a weekly postcard to all y'all ... hmm ... somethine worth pondering. Anyways, since it's been so long since I'm just going to start with this past weekend ...

So the weekend started off really quite well. On Friday night we held an impromptu Christian Fellowship in the Spiritual Centre. We had a plan, but it got thrown out the window when we plugged the iPods into the speakers and just started worshipping. It was good. There were only a few of us and we were singing and dancing and laughing and having fun. It was really really relaxing and much needed. Anyways, after that I headed to Calgary Dayroom where there was a Tamil movie showing, so I caught the tail end of it ... which means I didn't really miss anything because these Indian filmmakers try to fit multiple plots into one movie, but not nicely integratedor anything. No, of course not. Rather they come in rapid succession. Anyways, so I watched that then went to bed.

Now when we first returned to campus, Siyu, Sarah and I had decided to have a camping trip on the weekend of the 19th. But life started up again adn stuff got busy and they ended up plannign a trip without me. Which was fine. And then someone ended up cancelling on them. So I decided to go along afterall. So on Saturday morning I went to sign out for overnight with my housefellows. They asked where I was going, etc. When I told them campign a concern rose. I guess there are no legal camping locations near the college. So I found Estlin, Sarah and Siyu (who comprised the rest of the group) and they explained to Sean and Laura that teh camping spot was Mark Wheen's secret location. Meaning that it was absolutely illegal. Woohoo! Anyways, Mark said he would take responsibility for us and so I got signed out and we set off. We had foru large camping backpacks with a tent, sleeping bags and mats, a camp stove, tarps, water, food stolen from the caf, etc. So we basically hiked up this lovely rainforest trail. Ended up on top of a gorgeous mountain, set up tent. Then it got dark so we went inside, ate, and fell asleep. Then we woke in the morning, packed up and booked it back to campus in time to catch the bus to chuch. It wasn't necessarily a long trip, but it was good. We proved we can do it at least, so when we try to take a longer trip it won't be hard to get permission (hopefully).

Anways, from then onwards my life had been more or less uneventful (at least in terms of reporting back to y'all) until today. Today was special topics day. Which means there are no classes, no activities and we spend the whole day either discussing or taking action on a specific issue. The issue of today: SUSTAINABILITY. Now this is an overdone topic on campus. But the day turned out not too bad at all. I was in a group that went out to Race Rocks (our island which is an ecological reserve) and had a two hour tour. It was interesting. Basically what we focused on was their experimentation in the areas of renewable energy, which interests me quite a bit. Anyways, after that I was in a discussion about sustainability developing undeveloped countries. I thought it would be a lot abotu Africa, but the group basically turned into a Latino conversation, though I suppose the general principles are applicable to every developing country.

And then comes the interesting part. And basically the only reason I'm updating today. See I really only get the bother up to update when something really interesting happens. Anyways, its Rhubini's birthday on Friday. But the second year theatre performance is coming up on Saturday and since she's the assistant director (that's right ... my roommate is the assistant director!) she's rehearsing AAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the time. Like four/five hours a night every night. And because her official national day is the weekend after that there is absolutely no time to have a room dinner or anything. Excpet tonight. Tonight's dinner would have been special anyways, because of special topics day, a bunch of students had gone out to farms and brought back fresh veggies, there were fresh lamb sausages and free range chickens. All in the name of sustainability. So we decided to take this food to our room and just hang out as a room. We usually do this every Sunday anyways. But David, the director was eating in the caf tonight since it was such a "special occasion". So we were walking out of the cafeteria with our trays and he stopped us (being Ashley and I, Rhubini had gone ahead and Joss had fallen behind somewhere).

David: You're taking that food to an invalid right?
Ashley and I: What?!?!
David: You're taking that food to the infirm, since we don't take dishes out of the caf.
Ashley: Well actually we were just going to our room to have a room dinner, it's our roommates birthday.

The conversation progressed from there, with Joss showing up. We decided pretty quickly that it was just not worth arguing with David, in fact we never even tried. So we headed into the main corp of the caf and tried to figure otu how to have out dinner. We were going to just eat at a more quiet table, but because of all the guests tonight there was no such thing. Btu we still had to go get Rhubini from the room. Then she arrived around the corner, turned out David hadn't let her out either. So we decided to sneak out the back door. So we did, and we ran through the dark to our room laughing and trying to be stealthy lest David should appear. Anyways, we made it safely to our room and ate and had a party. Then it came time to return our dishes to the caf. So we were going to sneak in the back way and deposit them in teh "dirty dishes corner" type thinger. But when Ashley scouted it out, David was sitting right there. So we went in the front way, with me carrying the dishes and two people on the one side blocking the fact that I was carrying dishes in from outside. We got them put away without a hitch. Then we were standing by the door, jsut abotu to leave the caf and revelling in our rebellness (is that a word?) and giddy from the adventure and our room dinner in general (we always get slightly giddy after those) and we decided as a celebration of having accomplished our mission we would count to three and yell sucker. So we did. Loudly. And then booked it out of the caf laughing as hard as we could. Good times. And now I"m here. And now I'm gone.

I'm Back!

So ... I'm here, in the Pearson College computer lab. However, getting here was definitely no easy task. Let me enlighten you to the hazards of booking your plane tickets five months before your take off ...

So I flew to Winnipeg on Friday afternoon, got picked up by Mrs. Goodspeed. Went to her PentHouse Suite (not sure what that means, but the button on the elevator said PH ... I assume its not the measurement for acids and bases). Then I went over to Ruth and Peter's for wonderful conversation, a thorough discussion of dreadlock maintenance and teh best meal I could have wished for before heading back to cafeteria food! Anyways, so I awoke early in the morning at Mrs. Goodspeed's and headed to the airport (early being before 8:00). I tried to check in but the woman at the counter told me I was too late to check-in. I explained that my flight didn't leave till 9:00 and it was slightly prior to 8 o'clock. She then explained to me that on July 23rd (yes ... July 23rd) my flight had been moved forward an hour, thereby leaving as I stood at that counter. So I got redirected to the booking table where a terribly kind gentleman rebooked me on flights that actually got me to Victoria earlier than afore planned. He also neglected to charge me for my 13 pounds overweight! So overall, I must say that my first experience in missing a flight was actually not all that bad!

Anyways, I met up with Michelle in Calgary airport ... she was surprisingly the only one on my flight though. So we chatted. It was crazy, as we sat in the airport waiting at gate 17A, four supplementary televeisions had been rolled into the room so that the masses of travelling peopel could watch the finals of the world junior hockey championship thinger. We were called to board just as it was announced that the game would move into an overtime period. It was the first time in my life that I ever saw people striving to not be the first at the check-in booth.

Anyways, I was overjoyed to land in Victoria and get rained on as I walked into the terminal, however there sitting dejectedly at the gate were Naomi, Omar and the lovely Nova Scotian, Sarah MacVicar! So we hung about for a bit before Papa Jim came and picked us up in the van. That night was a whirlwind of hugs and screams and greetings and such. It was depressing to be in our room though, since only Ashley and I had returned to campus so far.

Then around came Sunday. The day started off with church and then moved into a lovely hike through the woods which ended in a tree climbing session and a pact to build a tree house before we leave Pearson. Then on Monday classes and activities started. As well as opera rehearsals. Oh opera. Such a lot of work. Seems that our plan to reduce the production didn't get communicated clearly to Anne Bateman so since Saturday (I didn't make the Saturday or Sunday rehearsals ... they were three hours long each and I had people to catch up with and trees to climb!!!) we've been blocking and choreographing and memorizing and finding costumes and such. It's quite a lot of work really. But on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 it comes to an end. We put up the show and then forget about it. It will be a god experience, just right now its a lot of long and seemingly unproductive rehearsals.

Anyways, on Monday night the long lost roommates showed up! It was good, though the jetlag was definitely a problem. Anyways ... further updates to come but right now I'm late for a dance rehearsal. I get to relive my days of beign a peacock in the Dai (chinese ethnic group) Peacock Dance ... for those of you ex-NBA-ers you haven't forgotten the glorious peacock dance yet have you !?!?!