"I'm just telling it how I see it-" "You need to get your eyes checked."

After stepping into a puddle up to my ankles, I realized that what I had forgotten to bring was my new work shoes. 

True story. 

However, the day decided to disregard that omen, and be a good one. 

The reason I stepped in the puddle was that I had just had an epiphany- of sorts. I've been feeling rather out-of-sorts lately. Wound too tight, if that makes any sense. At any rate, I realized that a big reason I was in that state is that I've just come up for air after working all summer, and slowed down as everyone else sped up. Most of my friends are getting ready for school, or getting new jobs, or going off to camp, etc, etc, ad nauseam.  Meanwhile, I'm not really doing anything. "I got 13 hours of sleep last night. Does that count?" *cough* Once I know where an emotion's coming from I can usually get my head around dealing with it, or ignoring it, which ever works. I therefore apologize, (once again,) if I've been weird to anyone. I do that, but nothing is meant. Anyhow, I had one of those lovely moments when a whole host of thoughts just click into place, and didn't tread the edge of the puddle carefully enough. *tsk* 

(For those who might have been worried by my previous post, I have no actual plan to shave my head. "I was being facetious. There was no call for it." )

"Something's fishy here. Do you smell anthrax?"

I was just going to write "I am officially done with the library," but I realized that I still have to drop of my key and pick up the tea pots. So it still lingers in the queue of my responsibilities. But I'm almost done! I tell you, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's blinding, the light is! *nods*

The ending party went well, I think. Nine kids showed up, and given the fact that my family was missing, that was a good turnout. It's true! My family skews attendance numbers both ways! It's nice to have power... *cough* But we had a cake, and hot chocolate and juice served from teapots, and I read Alice. That was a stomach roiling moment, I will admit. When the oldest attendee is 6, the humor in the Mad Hatter's Tea Party tends to be missed. *cringes* But they were all good and sat quietly, and then we decorated tea cups, and it was agreed to be a good evening. Now that it's over, of course, I'm boiling over with ideas of how to improve the program next year, up to and including dragging children off the streets. Not that I would do that, no. *shakes head* I'm not fanatical at all.

After clean up, Ms. B, who was helping out, stared at me for a couple of minutes. I said, "yes?" She said, "Are you doing anything this evening?" I said, "I have some cleaning to do, and I'm taking the teapots home-" She said, "No, you're coming to a youth group movie night. You're going to take part in a social activity, if you like it or not."

So I went and watched a movie.

It was fun, and there was pizza, of which I ate much too much. The movie was Evan Almighty, which was chosen chiefly because it was clean. It lived up to that qualification, and furnished a few funny moments in addition to a lack of socially objectionable material. The theology, however, is probably best left untouched. Really, don't look to hard. I told you- oh well. 

When the guys went off to get the pizza the girls were left in the house to talk drama. And they did. I listened, of course. For a passel of 16 year olds, they sure manage to cram a lot of double-dealing and otherwise hazardous behavior into life. I mean, golly! I think I was the oldest person in the room, and those kids are way ahead of me. We'll leave that subject alone, yes. 

After the movie night finished up Ms B and I went for a walk to discuss theology, and the walking tragedies many of her friends have made of themselves. It is very sad how easily people can justify their actions, and then it just grows until they don't even need to justify themselves. They just do whatever they want. 

On another note, I have the house to myself this weekend, as the family is away at Camp Delight. The remaining non-campers have gone in for Family Day. Hmmm, the house to myself. Maybe I should shave my head?

"Canadians and your obsession with Britain..." "Well, Americans and your obsession with- YOURSELVES!"

As you might have noticed, I did some research into Post-Secondary Distance Education this morning. It was not a stellar success. But I shall draw a veil over that, and continue on. 

The drive on Sunday was fun. We went out to K and C's cabin, and threw rocks and such. :D Then Grammy left for her home in Colorado on Monday while I was at work. That was a rather interesting work day, since I was the most senior non-management person on shift for much of it. In two weeks, I'll be the most senior non-management person on staff, period. I started in MAY. Talk about a high staff turnover rate! 

Side note; I watched The Queen last night, which was good. Very quiet and fun, though there were some scenes obviously put in for American audiences. Just things which don't need saying in Britain, or even much of the Commonwealth, such as the fact that the Queen was a mechanic during the War. I think my favorite scene had to be when it was being explained to the Queen Mother that they were going to use the funeral-plan code named Tay Bridge for Diana's funeral. 

"But that's my funeral!"

"Yes ma'am. But it is the only one that has been, *pauses* rehearsed. It is the only one we could have ready in time." *awkward pause*

Hmmm, I thought I had a bunch of news to talk about, but I have forgotten it. No wait! It comes back to me now. 

Today I stopped by the bank, and I'm back on the list for a possible job. They'll call me on Friday or Monday. Fingers crossed, eh? I also this evening went over to Ms. B's house, and helped her to buy a school computer. Hers had died, and her dad wanted to buy a $400 toshiba. I said NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Only, I actually put on my professional demeanor and explained, "that will break in three months, and cause you to tear out your hair in pain and frustration when it's not broken." Then I waxed slightly poetic on the virtues of Macs, and the crisis was averted. This is where being able to keep a straight face wins the day! Augustine, you come in useful yet again... So, we bought, with her dad's money, a shiny new MacBook. 

*is gleeful*

Moreover, she wants to show me how to get around in Mac. This MEANS that I get to play around with a brand new computer in two weeks or so. No, I'm not looking forward to it at all. /lies :D Maybe I'll get to name it too.

And now my memory is shutting down, so I can truly no longer think of anything to write. Must go to bed now....

We Don't Need No Thought Control.

I. Hate. Organized education.

It sucks the will to live right out of me. Three hours looking at classes and I'm ready to walk off the end of the wharf. Why is this? Because nothing I do is good enough. This is the stuff which I'm supposed to aspire to, and not only do I not, they won't even let me in to try.

I don't have the prerequisites, so I can't take the classes which sounds even vaguely interesting. The only things I can take are fantastic drivel such as History of WW2, where the professor wrote the textbook, and "substantially more than half the class is is devoted to the social aftereffects of the military blunders of the war." Or "reading heavy" classes, with no listed textbooks. Or, and this is good- Ealy Shakespeare. Either they miss-spelled the COURSE NAME, or it's literary theory, which I love with all my heart. (that was sarcasm, in case my mood is not being transferred adequately.)

And then I look at the actual classes which look slightly fun, (which are all third or fourth year only, and need four soul-destroying classes to approach,) and the entire grade is based on three essays. That might be fine, but of the essays, one is a thousand words and the other two are only 1500 words. This is a third year course? I was writing 1000 word essays every day when I was 15. 

For this I worked two jobs? 

*later* 

All right, I did organized education a disservice. If you are actually on campus, there are all kinds of interesting courses! It's just the distance classes which are boring, expensive, inaccessible, and/or moronic. 

Also, (of course), any immersion language program that I can find is a thousand dollars a week, while I also have to get there. 

Hah, one of the good things about having no money is having to reconsider your objectives. For example, an "immersion program?" For less money, I can buy a ticket to France and live there for my immersion. :D

 I'm not lazy, I know I'm not. I like learning things, and thinking. I just can't manage to swing a normal education. I really am never going to be able to do the typical thing, am I?

"That was just the highlight of my evening."

I"M DONE!

*maniacal laughter*

DONE WITH THE LIBRARY!

Well, except for next week's ending party, but that hardly counts, now does it?

Yes, I have clocked in my hours at the library. It look a lot of time reading blogs, and watching Youtube, and, oh yes, working, but I put in the hours in the end. YAY! I almost don't know what to do with myself! The same thing happened in April, after exam week was over. (No latin to study! What do I do with my time!) But I got over it pretty fast. :D

I finished up on Thursday night, and then on Friday after work I walked up to the house of a friend of the family, for a BBQ. I got there early, (a beautiful luxury) so I sat on a rock and watched the wind for a while. I had forgotten how lovely it can be to do that- to watch the world go by. At the BBQ its self there was an age difference of approximately ten years on either side of me, but I got to listen to some rather interesting conversations. And the food was also very good.

THEN, (Oh yes, I've had a busy life lately. :P) I went to a concert! Ms. B had organized a christian concert as part of the town's summer festival, the Mussel Bed Soiree. We missed the opening act, but I was just in time to see the tail end of the next set, which was a lone man on guitar, playing a sort of jazzy instrumental piece. My lack of musical knowledge becomes apparent in that description, but it was fun, and reminded me of what Daddy plays sometimes. (Daddy plays better though.)

Then Dan Bursey did a set. Regrettably, he was better than his band. I've heard the cd, and I could hear where the song was supposed to rock out, but the band wasn't quite keeping up. He's a youth pastor, and he recruited two guys from the youth group to play for him. They were good- but they were 16- and hadn't, perhaps, practiced enough with a professional outfit? And they were Pentecostal! Think that doesn't matter? Think again. Allright, I'm done making excuses for the band. :D But Dan was good. Create In Me was the best song. It's available on Itunes! :) And yes, the song is lovely because my Dad produced it, and gently eased Dan into making it rock. You should buy it. Here.

Next was the "headliner," The Silent. They were very good. By that time much of the crowd had left, and those that were left were, how shall I say, not enthusiastic. You need a certain critical mass of people for a rock concert, and a rock band they certainly were, but the crowd was cold, tired, and small. Despite this, it was a very fun set. I think Fraulein was rather surprised that I did anything approaching rocking out though. :D It doesn't go with my persona. And no, I wasn't head-banging or anything, just dancing a little, but the rest of the crowd was so static that I might as well have lit myself on fire in enthusiasm. They were the last act, so afterwards we headed for home, stopping to buy a cd on the way out. And The Silent recognized me! They had stopped at McWork that morning and asked directions. I gave, and then when I asked for a cd, three-quarters of the band chimed up "Hey, it's McDonalds!" *shy* I feel famous.

Then we went home, and I slept for 13 hours. It was lovely. And before you get all het up about it, let me inform you that I've been attempting to run on 6 or so for the past three weeks. And I function to full capacity on 9 hours. So it was just a leetle time grab to regrow some vital portions of my brain.

By the by, Mommy and Daddy's 25th anniversary happened when we were in Florida. Due to the hectic schedule, we didn't really do anything on the actual day. They went out for dessert, I mean, but us children did nothing to mark the day. Grammy and Fraulein aimed to remedy that. Therefore, they headed out to the grocery story on Friday morning. They bought an Oreo cake, and three rolls of tinfoil. Then on Friday after lunch, while the parents were safely down in the studio, with Grammy making sure that they didn't come upstairs too soon, Fraulein and I set the table and wrapped the small ones in tinfoil. It was the silver anniversary, see? *grins* Regrettably, by the time they got to me there wasn't a great deal of foil left, so I just fashioned a necklace. I know, spoil sport I am. 

Then it was off to work, which was unremarkable, except for two things. 

1. One, I had my first honest-to-goodness drunk customer. It was a passenger who was ordering, and he was OUT of it. However, the whole car was, *cough* not in their right minds. The other passengers were hard-core swearing at me for not double-cupping the cokes, and then for giving them extra cups. Whereas the guy who was ordering referred to me as "princess," tried to pay for a thirty dollar order with a twenty dollar bill, and demanded a kiss from the manager. Charming. However, I suppose he could have demanded a kiss from me, whereupon I would have been forced to brain him with the debit machine. Small mercies. :P 
   
2. Two in the list of mildly remarkable things; why on earth do passengers insist on ordering in the drive-thru? Then half of them have the audacity to complain that they couldn't hear me. They can't hear me. I'm so sorry for you. Do you think I can hear YOU perfectly, and I'm just whispering to annoy you? Do you think I enjoy tormenting you? Good grief, do you think I get any sort of pleasure out of talking to you? On the contrary, I get pleasure out of seeing your tail lights leaving the parking lot. I AM NOT TRYING TO MAKE YOUR LIFE HARDER. Next time, to keep everyone's stress to a minimum, why don't you just get your driver to relay your order? Yes, MEN, I'm talking to YOU. Just relay your gf/wife's order, and we can cut your wait time in half. It's been proven! And don't even get me started on men who have their wives order for them. Talk about spineless. *deep breath* :D I had to bottle up that rant last night. :P But I'm good now!
   

This morning four of my siblings left for Camp Delight, which is "a camp for children whose lives have been affected by pediatric cancer." With PT living in St. John's, and the Walrus at Cadet Camp, the house is very empty. Only four children! The remainder of the house is going on a drive this afternoon with Grammy, which should be fun.

It's like sitting next to a can of soda! *pop!*

[NOTE: This post was written with no plan of attack, and is rather stream-of-conciousness. I lie; it is comepletely stream-of-conciousness. Read at your own risk.]

A discovery! Two Tetley tea bags in an average mug, allowed to steep for 15+ minutes, produces a drink which is so strong it actually feels like it's etching the inside of your mouth. You can smell the caffeine.

Right.

...

I'm sure you're all delighted to know that piece of information. Immeasurably enriched, I know. Or perhaps, un-etched? *ducks*

Due to all the work, this summer has gone VERY fast. I think because I haven't had to plan out things to do, or look forward to them. I've only had to figure out at which place I was working, and at what hour I would transfer to the other job- every day. Does wonders for your time sense, that. :D But I see the light at the end of the tunnel! (No, I'm pretty sure that's not a train. Pretty sure.)

However, I'm on the home stretch of the library Grant. The last week! w00t! I've only got 15 hours left, and then I'll actually have free time! That is not to say that this job is not very self directed. I have had an incredible amount of leeway, and lack of official duties. This has led to a lot of time reading and on the computer. (It's a hard life, working for the government.) However, come next week, I'll be able to go on a walk for fun! And maybe even go into Gander for people watching, or shopping. *dances*

Interestingly, the substitute librarian seems to regard me as the first line IT person. Yesterday I fixed the Internet twice, and tried to fix someone's laptop which wasn't seeing the wi-fi. I was unable to heal it, though. However, he came back today in the hope that it had pulled its self together in the night, and I was able to ascertain that the antennae was not turned on. Makes a difference, that. The fact that it was a windows machine, however, drained off most of the fun of working with a computer. For one thing, I am NOT familiar with it. I have a basic understanding of Mac- enough that I can figure out when I need to call for help, and when it's something that can be puzzled out. Windows, I have no clue. If it was a food product, I would be wearing protective apron, mask and gloves before touching it, and that with a long sharp stick. "Did it move? I think it just moved! Grab the colander! Trap it!"
*goes off into reverie about chasing deformed Widows-food around the kitchen*

*cough*
Right. Also, I don't really like Windows. The only joy it brings is the vengeful triumph of having bested an obtuse and malicious foe.

This was not intended to be a rant about Windows, so I will cut it off there before I bring out more absurd analogies.

I just looked at the calender, and I will be twenty in exactly a month. TWO DECADES. I still will not be legal to drink in the states, which puts it in perspective a bit, but Twenty! The mind boggles. Particularly so since I'm reading All Quiet On The Western Front right now. It's about the Great War, from the view of a German Infantryman. (How much history does it say I've read that I can think of WWI as the Great War without trouble? :P) Anyhow, I was reminded again of the average age of the soldiers in that conflict; 19 year olds were veterans. It makes one feel rather old and ungainly in comparison. It also puts the frantic push to have a degree at age 23, "otherwise you're wasting your life," in a new light.

Life is so much more interesting when you think about what "everyone does" instead of just doing it! Compare, weigh the options, think about the causes, run the odds, ask questions... *sigh* Tis fun. :D

In other news, my Grandmother has come to stay with us for the week, which is lovely. :D Also, I have an appointment with Ms. B for a "computer buying party" next week, where in I coach her through the perils of the Apple Store Online. ;)

"Your brother is pretty cute." "Oh?" "Yeah. I'd marry him tomorrow."

After Seaworld we were doing a lot of traveling, and then I was back to work, so I wasn't writing daily journals. Hence, this post brings me up to the present. :D

The trip back was uneventful, barring a 45 minute taxi onto the runway in Toronto. No one was especially pleased about that, including the pilots. But we did get off the ground eventually, and arrived in St. John's after midnight. I watched The Bank Job in-flight, which was a stressful movie. Not scary in the gut reaction sense, but I definitely spent a good portion of the movie with my hand over my mouth- mentally shouting at the characters. "GET OUT NOW! IT"S A TRAP! GAH!!!!" *cough* I still enjoyed it, mind! However, due to the fact that it was based on real events, it was a little different than most bank-bust flicks. This includes the death toll. For example, most movies focus on the robbery. In this one they were into the vault a half hour into the movie, and the rest was dealing with the significant outfall of the job. Very enjoyable. And thankfully I was tired enough to fall asleep with absolutely no repercussions! :D

Next morning, we visited the Janeway, and got home in the afternoon. I picked up my schedule for McDonald's and keys to the library that evening, and since then I haven't been home much, unfortunately. I'm trying to cram 140 hours into 10 days, after which I will be done with my grant at the library! w00t!

And my title was an actual conversation between a co-worker and I. It was one of those moments which stretch the bonds of the surreal till they creak.
*thinks* "I really wish I had drunk that coffee this morning."
*says* Nothing, while smiling weakly.
AND switching trains of thought completely, The Arrival by Shaun Tan, is a lovely book. It's a graphic novel, so much so that there is no text- just incredibly detailed and incredibly beautiful drawings. Surreally thought provoking. For instance, I had never before thought about the challenge of a new alphabet on immigrating to a new place.

Oh, related to books, I had a how-is-your-job-going interview today at the library. Thankfully Lizzy woke me up a half hour before I was supposed to be at work; because I had turned off my alarm, tripped over a book, fallen into bed, and fallen back asleep an hour previous. Oops. But it was all good! And the interview seemed to go well! I even skated blithely past the dreaded "Career Goals" question. That's just a trick question, see, when you don't have normal Career Goals. "Travel, learn languages, and write" somehow doesn't have quite the same cachet as saying that you plan to be a social worker. Funny, that. :D But my verbal skating was so successful that the interviewer said I was very well spoken! *preens* Fancy that!

Also, another grant-related worry was killed off. I was slightly nervous that the voucher, (which makes up the majority of my pay for this job,) would be limited to this fall. "Use it or lose it" on the part of the government. But it arrived today, and it's good until May 2010! This leaves a little room for life to happen, which is always good.

And I just had a thought, yeah? (yesterday, really, but still.) It's beautifully easy to get a work Visa for the EU. You just need a return ticket to home, or enough money for one, and you're good to work. SO, next summer, maybe I can do summer work in the UK. Might even be able to convince some people to come with me, and we can split the rent on a flat. Eh?