I had to take my weekly online quiz for Psychology today, but last night, the keypad on my laptop stopped working. I panicked and thought that I would have to buy a new laptop. Then, I came to the realization that, if only the keypad wasn't working, then I didn't need a new computer, just a new mouse.
So I went to the store. Turns out buses only come on hourly intervals on Sunday. In my head, I was planning my trip and trying to time it so that I would still have time to do my test. I figured that, if it took me an hour to get there, then I missed one bus and came back on the next, then in a worst-case scenario the mouse doesn't work and I do need a new computer, then I could go back to the store and still have an hour to do the test.
See, I didn't trust my technical knowledge to be assured that the mouse was the actual problem. If it was some kind of internal issue with detecting movement, then it wouldn't be the keypad that stopped working, but the mouse-detection function. So I wanted to set enough time aside that I was sure to be able to do two trips.
But when I got there, I didn't know which mouse I wanted: a corded or non-corded one? I didn't know if my computer was only compatible with certain mouses (mice? I think it's mice because the French translation translated the word "mouse", which means it is based on the animal, not just a homonym).
There was only one corded option. I wondered if non-cord mice were so commonplace now that new computers only accounted for them. But then I worried that my computer was so old, it wouldn't be able to handle technology as new as a non-cord mouse.
I called home and asked my mom all kinds of questions about mice, and she told me to just get the corded mouse. When I bought it, I found out that, not only was it the cheapest, it was also more than half-off! (It said $22, but it was actually $10)
But when I got back it worked fine, and I was able to do my quiz.
We're doing biology in Psych and I don't get it at all. It's an open-book test, though, so what I did was, I went through the chapter and wrote a definition for each bolded word, then went into it with my little quick-access research sheets handy.
It half-worked. I got 70% Better than you should for a subject you don't understand at all.
I think I bombed a math quiz last Friday, though. It was the first really humbling moment for me in college so far.
I accidentally did a project ahead of schedule. Last Friday I handed in a paper that's due next Wednesday. I got my dates mixed up, somehow. Now I feel like such an apple-polisher.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
My Aunt Passed Away
I don't want to over-dramatize this by pretending that I had a closer relationship with her than I did. I know that a lot of my readers knew her on a more personal level than I did, and I think it would be disrespectful of me to feign emotions that I don't have a right to claim. But it is true that times like this cause you to think about the aspect of mortality and to reflect on the moments you shared with the deceased, and that brings about a weird little emotion from knowing that they are no longer here.
The memory I have of her which returns to me more than the other's is when I was reacquainted with her at another Aunt's (the deceased is actually my Great Aunt, but I don't refer to her as such because, for some reason, it's not a commonly recognized term) handfasting (Wiccan wedding).
I was a teenager at that time, and she hadn't seen me since I was a child. When she came up to me, she hugged me and said "Gryphon, is that you? You look completely different, and at the same time, exactly the same!"
And that's it. That memory keeps coming back, and I keep thinking "The woman who said that is not on the same planet as me anymore". It feels surreal.
I don't think it would be respectful of me to move onto another topic right now, so I'm going to leave this post the way it is.
The memory I have of her which returns to me more than the other's is when I was reacquainted with her at another Aunt's (the deceased is actually my Great Aunt, but I don't refer to her as such because, for some reason, it's not a commonly recognized term) handfasting (Wiccan wedding).
I was a teenager at that time, and she hadn't seen me since I was a child. When she came up to me, she hugged me and said "Gryphon, is that you? You look completely different, and at the same time, exactly the same!"
And that's it. That memory keeps coming back, and I keep thinking "The woman who said that is not on the same planet as me anymore". It feels surreal.
I don't think it would be respectful of me to move onto another topic right now, so I'm going to leave this post the way it is.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
My Aunt Had a Stroke
My great aunt recently suffered from a stroke. It appears that the damage is serious and she will likely pass away. Recovery is possible, but not a full one.
She isn't someone that I know well. She lives in the States and I only ever spoke to her at a handful of family gatherings. Still, this could be one of the few deaths of someone I had a preexisting relationship with. Other deaths were my great-grandfather, one of my great-grandmothers, my grandfather on my dad's side, and a close friend in high school. I was pretty young when my great grandparents moved on, and I was not close to the grandfather that passed away. My high school friend, who committed suicide, is probably the death that has impacted me the most.
I was around for the death of my father's biological mother, but I only met her as she was dying. So it wasn't a preexisting relationship.
She isn't someone that I know well. She lives in the States and I only ever spoke to her at a handful of family gatherings. Still, this could be one of the few deaths of someone I had a preexisting relationship with. Other deaths were my great-grandfather, one of my great-grandmothers, my grandfather on my dad's side, and a close friend in high school. I was pretty young when my great grandparents moved on, and I was not close to the grandfather that passed away. My high school friend, who committed suicide, is probably the death that has impacted me the most.
I was around for the death of my father's biological mother, but I only met her as she was dying. So it wasn't a preexisting relationship.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Birthday
Well, my birthday was alright. With my student discount, it only cost $10 to take the bus to Guelph. Unfortunately, it cost $30 to take a cab to the Greyhound bus station!
I made the most of my opportunity in Guelph and bought a hole punch, milk pitcher, and an umbrella. Right now, I'm living in the most cost-effective way I can find, while trying to balance my diet. I recently looked at the Canada food guide and found that the food category that I hadn't covered was dairy. I wonder what the consequences of not eating dairy is?
I'm incorporating milk into my diet, now, because even if it's not necessary for survival, it's still fairly cost effective and it will balance my diet.
I brought back some clothes for interviewing in. Remember how I said that, when I went into CWY, I couldn't wear the dress pants I'd gotten post-Katimavik, but that, after CWY, I could fit into them again? Yeah, well, I can still fit comfortably into them. That means that, I kept off some of the weight that I lost while I was in Africa.
I couldn't find a three hole punch, so I'm just using a one hole...
The umbrella was a good move. I've been trapped in the school, or hampered to do something because of the rain time and time again, and when I've decided to brave the rain without protection, I've just looked like the saddest thing.
There's a guy in class that was wearing the Malian colours, red, yellow, green. He was wearing them on some necklaces and a tag. I was excited, but didn't speak up, cautioning myself that there are a number of flags that have those colours. So I went home, researched national flags with those colour components and found that the most similar flag to Mali's was Guinea's, which was the same except had the colours in reverse. My classmate's were in the Malian order. There was also the Senegal flag, which was the same as the Malian's, except with a black star in the yellow band, and the Congo flag, which had the same order but with diagonal stripes instead of vertical. I figured that the beads of his necklace couldn't convey diagonal stripes or a black star easily, but then, he had that tag, with three vertical striped of plain green, yellow, red, in that order and from left to right.
I told myself that there wouldn't be a Malian in Ontario, because the Malians believe that Canada was a French-speaking nation due to their frequent interaction with Quebec due to their common language. But then, there was that Malian doctor I'd met at the hospital, who'd studied at the University of Toronto...
I thought that his hair, the shape of his eye, his skin tone, and his body structure were all very un-Mali, but... he was wearing the flag! So I went up and asked him if he had any association with Mali.
I'm glad I didn't try to initiate conversation in Bambara, as I'd considered. Turns out, he's from Jamaica. The green and yellow symbolize Jamaica, and the red is Rasta. Then another woman heard the conversation and came to introduce herself, as she was also Jamaican. Fsst... I can't believe I never noticed that those Rasta hats are Mali colours...
Remember how I said that my calling card changed it's policy and no longer covered Mali? And that there are no calling cards that cover anywhere in Africa? Well, I was walking along and saw a giant poster at a local bargain store, which was titled AFRICA. On closer inspection, it turned out to be for Africa-brand calling cards that specialize in calling the African nations. Next to that poster was one for African Beat brand calling cards. Curiously, though, African Beat covered all the major nations across the globe and left out Mali. Basically, it covered only what the standard calling card does. The Africa brand cards, though, cover all the African nations, including Mali.
I made the most of my opportunity in Guelph and bought a hole punch, milk pitcher, and an umbrella. Right now, I'm living in the most cost-effective way I can find, while trying to balance my diet. I recently looked at the Canada food guide and found that the food category that I hadn't covered was dairy. I wonder what the consequences of not eating dairy is?
I'm incorporating milk into my diet, now, because even if it's not necessary for survival, it's still fairly cost effective and it will balance my diet.
I brought back some clothes for interviewing in. Remember how I said that, when I went into CWY, I couldn't wear the dress pants I'd gotten post-Katimavik, but that, after CWY, I could fit into them again? Yeah, well, I can still fit comfortably into them. That means that, I kept off some of the weight that I lost while I was in Africa.
I couldn't find a three hole punch, so I'm just using a one hole...
The umbrella was a good move. I've been trapped in the school, or hampered to do something because of the rain time and time again, and when I've decided to brave the rain without protection, I've just looked like the saddest thing.
There's a guy in class that was wearing the Malian colours, red, yellow, green. He was wearing them on some necklaces and a tag. I was excited, but didn't speak up, cautioning myself that there are a number of flags that have those colours. So I went home, researched national flags with those colour components and found that the most similar flag to Mali's was Guinea's, which was the same except had the colours in reverse. My classmate's were in the Malian order. There was also the Senegal flag, which was the same as the Malian's, except with a black star in the yellow band, and the Congo flag, which had the same order but with diagonal stripes instead of vertical. I figured that the beads of his necklace couldn't convey diagonal stripes or a black star easily, but then, he had that tag, with three vertical striped of plain green, yellow, red, in that order and from left to right.
I told myself that there wouldn't be a Malian in Ontario, because the Malians believe that Canada was a French-speaking nation due to their frequent interaction with Quebec due to their common language. But then, there was that Malian doctor I'd met at the hospital, who'd studied at the University of Toronto...
I thought that his hair, the shape of his eye, his skin tone, and his body structure were all very un-Mali, but... he was wearing the flag! So I went up and asked him if he had any association with Mali.
I'm glad I didn't try to initiate conversation in Bambara, as I'd considered. Turns out, he's from Jamaica. The green and yellow symbolize Jamaica, and the red is Rasta. Then another woman heard the conversation and came to introduce herself, as she was also Jamaican. Fsst... I can't believe I never noticed that those Rasta hats are Mali colours...
Remember how I said that my calling card changed it's policy and no longer covered Mali? And that there are no calling cards that cover anywhere in Africa? Well, I was walking along and saw a giant poster at a local bargain store, which was titled AFRICA. On closer inspection, it turned out to be for Africa-brand calling cards that specialize in calling the African nations. Next to that poster was one for African Beat brand calling cards. Curiously, though, African Beat covered all the major nations across the globe and left out Mali. Basically, it covered only what the standard calling card does. The Africa brand cards, though, cover all the African nations, including Mali.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Actually 85%
Yeah, so I actually got 85% on my Psychology quiz. The automatic grading thing screwed up and gave the wrong answer for one of the questions, so we're being regraded, and since I was one of the people who got the actual right answer, I get an extra point.
They stopped selling large sandwiches at Tim Hortons. Not that it matters, though. After witnessing two people getting trained at making sandwiches, I saw that, for the regular size chicken salad, they're trained to put two scoops, whereas for a large (double-size bun), they're trained to put three scoops. It should be four scoops!!! So that extra few cents you save by getting large goes to that missing scoop, and I don't think it was worth it.
Tomorrow's my birthday. I get to celebrate it with my first math quiz. This one should be okay, I never had difficulty with the introductory stuff. I'm a little bit worried next week's fractions test, though. I'm going home for the weekend, though, so I'll get Mom to help me figure it out. That's kind of her field.
Hey, so if you've been to my gallery blog, you may have seen these critters.
Only just today did I figure out exactly what they are. They're called Guinea fowl. I knew that they served a similar function to chickens, but I wasn't sure what the advantage was to having both chickens and these guys.
Well, turns out, they fight off snakes and predatory birds, effectively protecting the other animals, and they somehow kill ticks. Weird to think of them as guard animals. They were so skittish, I could never so much as reach for my camera without them running away. My family thought it was hilarious how badly I wanted a photo of them. I had to get really lucky with this shot. My camera was already on and poised to take the shot when they coincidentally came by. Took me basically the entire trip. But apparently they fight off hawks and giant snakes, to the point where they're considered valuable as guard animals, and it's worth putting up with their obnoxious hooting and general stupidity.
Oh, by the way, do you remember me talking about a spooky kid that I apprenticed, who held my hand as I cried when I left the village? One of the people I complained I didn't get a photo of. Well, I found one!
He's the one in the back, with his tongue half stuck out.
If I'm going home, I have the opportunity to buy a hole punch and a milk jug. I think I saw both those things at the dollar store. Our malls have a greater diversity of goods than the malls around here. I think those are the last two things I need to be fully equipped.
They stopped selling large sandwiches at Tim Hortons. Not that it matters, though. After witnessing two people getting trained at making sandwiches, I saw that, for the regular size chicken salad, they're trained to put two scoops, whereas for a large (double-size bun), they're trained to put three scoops. It should be four scoops!!! So that extra few cents you save by getting large goes to that missing scoop, and I don't think it was worth it.
Tomorrow's my birthday. I get to celebrate it with my first math quiz. This one should be okay, I never had difficulty with the introductory stuff. I'm a little bit worried next week's fractions test, though. I'm going home for the weekend, though, so I'll get Mom to help me figure it out. That's kind of her field.
Hey, so if you've been to my gallery blog, you may have seen these critters.
Well, turns out, they fight off snakes and predatory birds, effectively protecting the other animals, and they somehow kill ticks. Weird to think of them as guard animals. They were so skittish, I could never so much as reach for my camera without them running away. My family thought it was hilarious how badly I wanted a photo of them. I had to get really lucky with this shot. My camera was already on and poised to take the shot when they coincidentally came by. Took me basically the entire trip. But apparently they fight off hawks and giant snakes, to the point where they're considered valuable as guard animals, and it's worth putting up with their obnoxious hooting and general stupidity.
Oh, by the way, do you remember me talking about a spooky kid that I apprenticed, who held my hand as I cried when I left the village? One of the people I complained I didn't get a photo of. Well, I found one!
He's the one in the back, with his tongue half stuck out.
If I'm going home, I have the opportunity to buy a hole punch and a milk jug. I think I saw both those things at the dollar store. Our malls have a greater diversity of goods than the malls around here. I think those are the last two things I need to be fully equipped.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Cleaning Person
Yeah, so my AMA flopped. I only got one on-topic question (which I answered BRILLIANTLY). Even the guy who went to Ghana for one month and who didn't respond to anything got four questions!
What the fuck. Just the other day, there were people commenting on photos that I'd posted, saying things like "Why did you go to Mali? What were you doing? Did you keep a journal? What was the religious makeup of the community? Did the Muslims perform a jumma prayer? Sorry I keep asking so many questions, this is just so interesting. I'm going through your post history to see your other submissions."
And two people said they were gonna show and they didn't.
Apparently it's my birthday this Friday. I'm planning on going back home to Guelph for it.
Some cleaning person came into our apartment today. Our room gets cleaned every two weeks, but it's a pretty brief and not very thorough job. According to the Residence handbook, they don't move any objects, they don't clean the floors, and they don't go in your room. We don't get notified before they come over, either, and the service is not optional.
Sounds like all they do is come in and wipe down any open space on the table or counter. I figure this "service" is just a way of checking up on us to makesure we haven't wrecked the place too bad.
I found out that the reason I have a full size fridge and a separate room is because I'm living in the Private Suite. I didn't make the connection that this place matched up to the description of the better room perfectly. Thing is, on the application form, I said that I was not interested in a Private Suite, and when I paid for my dorm room, I only paid the price of the Traditional (like $2000 less). Huh. I hope they're not planning on me paying them for Private Suite down the road...
What the fuck. Just the other day, there were people commenting on photos that I'd posted, saying things like "Why did you go to Mali? What were you doing? Did you keep a journal? What was the religious makeup of the community? Did the Muslims perform a jumma prayer? Sorry I keep asking so many questions, this is just so interesting. I'm going through your post history to see your other submissions."
And two people said they were gonna show and they didn't.
Apparently it's my birthday this Friday. I'm planning on going back home to Guelph for it.
Some cleaning person came into our apartment today. Our room gets cleaned every two weeks, but it's a pretty brief and not very thorough job. According to the Residence handbook, they don't move any objects, they don't clean the floors, and they don't go in your room. We don't get notified before they come over, either, and the service is not optional.
Sounds like all they do is come in and wipe down any open space on the table or counter. I figure this "service" is just a way of checking up on us to makesure we haven't wrecked the place too bad.
I found out that the reason I have a full size fridge and a separate room is because I'm living in the Private Suite. I didn't make the connection that this place matched up to the description of the better room perfectly. Thing is, on the application form, I said that I was not interested in a Private Suite, and when I paid for my dorm room, I only paid the price of the Traditional (like $2000 less). Huh. I hope they're not planning on me paying them for Private Suite down the road...
Monday, September 17, 2012
Casual Ask Me Anything!
Remember how I said I would never do an Ask Me Anything? I was wrong! I'm doing one on my Mali experience right now. HOP ON OVER!
http://www.reddit.com/r/casualiama/comments/101fqp/iama_guy_who_lived_in_rural_west_africa_for_3/
http://www.reddit.com/r/casualiama/comments/101fqp/iama_guy_who_lived_in_rural_west_africa_for_3/
Sunday, September 16, 2012
First Graded Assignments
I put in my first graded assignment and did my first graded quiz. Both were for my Psychology class. Because of new technology, it's possible to make things due and hold quizzes on weekends. I don't know what my grade for the assignment was, since the prof will have to grade that herself, but the quiz was graded automatically. I got 80%. Don't know if that's a good mark or not.
Sure would be easy to cheat, if you knew someone better-versed, or you knew someone who'd already done the quiz and got the answers. You could just hand the controls over to them and none would be the wiser. I don't have a resource like that, though.
The assignment was worth 5% of the final grade. It was just a contract that me and the group I'm working in wrote out. Hard to imagine we screwed up.
Now I have to finish chapters 2 and 9 of my Preparing for College textbook and answer the questions at the end. I'm already done chapter 2. Assignment's due tomorrow. Things are speeding up! Next day, I think I've got a math quiz, and I have to buy a calculator for that which can do fractions. The scientific calculator I bought doesn't do fractions, and Walmart was sold out of scientific calculators. Hopefully they have some at the college bookstore.
Finally got out on the local transit. Went down to the Fairview Park area. Finally found an LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario, only place you can buy booze that's not a Beer Store). I can't believe there isn't an LCBO in my neighbourhood. In Guelph, it's a 15-30 minute walk at any given place to reach one. In Thunder Bay, I wanted to find one but didn't know which direction to take, so I walked in a random direction until I crossed one. I followed my "Three Tim Hortons' for every LCBO" rule. You can usually depend on finding an LCBO every third Tim Hortons.
I feel like I need alcohol to successfully integrate into this specific community, but it didn't matter because I spent the whole night studying! I had no choice. It was either that or bomb the test. Because of mechanical exactitude, your ability to take the quiz stops after 5:00. I was studying up to the hour of the quiz, and that was exactly enough time to get through the reading material.
I got a blanket! A nice warm one to bury myself in during these frigid, air conditioned nights. They finally stopped blasting the air conditioner non-stop, but it still vomits out a gust every once in a while. It's more distracting this way, too. Before, I could tune the sound out as background noise, but it actually draws more attention when it's always starting and stopping.
Jeez, if anything, it should be heated in here. I've got a bad head cold, and I'm wondering if it's the fault of the air conditioner. Can you actually catch a cold from the cold? I feel like I did.
The only blanket I'd brought with me was a sleeping bag that I used as a comforter. It's the same one I brought to CWY, the one that cost $8. I found out why it only cost $8! I only used it in the Canadian phase at a couple of camps, and then here for a couple of weeks. I didn't do anything rough with it, but it's already bursting it's seems! And it's plasticky material really doesn't keep the warm in. This new blankets on a whole different level.
Sorry I haven't updated the past few days. This time, it's not that I have nothing to say, it's that I'm too busy!
I managed to talk to the chief's son the other day. It was a really confused conversation over a bad connection, same as with my counterpart. But at least I know he managed to identify me. I asked him if my family was well and if my photos arrived. He said they were and they had, but I wasn't confident he understood my question. I called on a payphone. Any eavesdroppers (or people within screaming distance, since I had to speak up to be heard) must have been confused.
"Est le Elephant! ELEPHANT! ELEPHANT!"
The guy I called, Mozo, was the one who gave me the "Elephant" nickname, and I wasn't confident he remembered me by any other name.
But yeah, I was screaming into a pay phone in a combination of French, English and Bambara. Might've weirded someone out.
Sure would be easy to cheat, if you knew someone better-versed, or you knew someone who'd already done the quiz and got the answers. You could just hand the controls over to them and none would be the wiser. I don't have a resource like that, though.
The assignment was worth 5% of the final grade. It was just a contract that me and the group I'm working in wrote out. Hard to imagine we screwed up.
Now I have to finish chapters 2 and 9 of my Preparing for College textbook and answer the questions at the end. I'm already done chapter 2. Assignment's due tomorrow. Things are speeding up! Next day, I think I've got a math quiz, and I have to buy a calculator for that which can do fractions. The scientific calculator I bought doesn't do fractions, and Walmart was sold out of scientific calculators. Hopefully they have some at the college bookstore.
Finally got out on the local transit. Went down to the Fairview Park area. Finally found an LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario, only place you can buy booze that's not a Beer Store). I can't believe there isn't an LCBO in my neighbourhood. In Guelph, it's a 15-30 minute walk at any given place to reach one. In Thunder Bay, I wanted to find one but didn't know which direction to take, so I walked in a random direction until I crossed one. I followed my "Three Tim Hortons' for every LCBO" rule. You can usually depend on finding an LCBO every third Tim Hortons.
I feel like I need alcohol to successfully integrate into this specific community, but it didn't matter because I spent the whole night studying! I had no choice. It was either that or bomb the test. Because of mechanical exactitude, your ability to take the quiz stops after 5:00. I was studying up to the hour of the quiz, and that was exactly enough time to get through the reading material.
I got a blanket! A nice warm one to bury myself in during these frigid, air conditioned nights. They finally stopped blasting the air conditioner non-stop, but it still vomits out a gust every once in a while. It's more distracting this way, too. Before, I could tune the sound out as background noise, but it actually draws more attention when it's always starting and stopping.
Jeez, if anything, it should be heated in here. I've got a bad head cold, and I'm wondering if it's the fault of the air conditioner. Can you actually catch a cold from the cold? I feel like I did.
The only blanket I'd brought with me was a sleeping bag that I used as a comforter. It's the same one I brought to CWY, the one that cost $8. I found out why it only cost $8! I only used it in the Canadian phase at a couple of camps, and then here for a couple of weeks. I didn't do anything rough with it, but it's already bursting it's seems! And it's plasticky material really doesn't keep the warm in. This new blankets on a whole different level.
Sorry I haven't updated the past few days. This time, it's not that I have nothing to say, it's that I'm too busy!
I managed to talk to the chief's son the other day. It was a really confused conversation over a bad connection, same as with my counterpart. But at least I know he managed to identify me. I asked him if my family was well and if my photos arrived. He said they were and they had, but I wasn't confident he understood my question. I called on a payphone. Any eavesdroppers (or people within screaming distance, since I had to speak up to be heard) must have been confused.
"Est le Elephant! ELEPHANT! ELEPHANT!"
The guy I called, Mozo, was the one who gave me the "Elephant" nickname, and I wasn't confident he remembered me by any other name.
But yeah, I was screaming into a pay phone in a combination of French, English and Bambara. Might've weirded someone out.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Bus Routes
I think that everything I need is at a place called Fairview Park Mall, the biggest mall in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. According to these bus route maps, it's a fairly simple trip. It looks like there's a loop that has Conestoga on one end and Fairview Park on the other. You can discern which bus stop to use because the route number is printed directly on the bus sign, along with arrival times.
Jeez, this is different. In Guelph, we don't have this series of small individual loops, and we don't have the route number or arrival times printed on the bus signs. Our bus routes and arrival times change too frequently to make such a committed posting. Also, we have bus routes that overlap each other. Having more than one bus go by a given sign discourages posting a singular route number.
But I think that different buses do go by bus stops that aren't there's... They just don't stop at them. In Guelph, any bus stops at any bus stop. I guess these buses would move faster, since they don't make as many stops. Also, there aren't as many bus stops in general, out here. And while Guelph has only one terminal, this place seems to have dozens of mini-terminals
The buses come at roughly 30 minute intervals. The bus stop at Residence only operates after 6:00 PM, and according to my bus map, it also goes there all day on weekends. The one directly at the college goes all day, looks like.
These bus route maps are weird, too. I was expecting, like, a full map, with all the bus routes and a legend, but instead I got a bunch of different maps, each detailing their own individual route and covering only the part of the city that they travel. It's like each is a piece in a much larger puzzle. It's actually not even as straightforward as that, because they overlap each other.
Oh well, the route I'm planning looks straigthforward enough. If I survive this journey, my next goal will be to locate the Greyhound. I wonder if you take a transfer to go from loop to loop, or if you have to pay each time. That has the potential to be a real ripoff.
When I went to the bookstore to buy a bus map, they said they didn't have them (The bus website said that they sold them at the bookstore, and none of the local stores I checked had them) but they directed me to a place where they hang up free pamphlets, and that's where I got my maps. I notice they have them hanging in the same format here in Residence, too. I guess I glossed over them, because that type of thing oesn't usually have information that interests me. I should inform some of the people around here that were looking for maps.
Did I tell you guys that my calling card changed it's policy on overseas charges? It used to charge as much for an overseas phone call as it did for a local one. I discovered this by sheer coincidence, most calling cards will severely reduce the amount of time you get if it's an overseas call. And even though every calling card company sells international phone cards, not a single one of them covers anywhere in Africa.
I learned about the usefulness of my card when I let my counterpart use it to call home, and he got 600 minutes vs everyone else's 20 minutes. That was on a $20 and since then, I've bought and used a card in the same format, with the same results. After that, I bought a $5 card, which you would think would be like, 150-200 minutes, but it was 15 minutes. Made a local call with the same card, 200 minutes.
So you'd think their policy changed. It still seems to be the best deal, sadly, so I bought a $10 card for a half-hour call with the chief's son, and that's what I got. Then I tried calling another Malian. It was something like 400 minutes! Why is there such a fluctuation of in-Mali calling? Reflecting on it, only phone calls to the village have a reduced time. All the city Malians have local charges.
Anyway, weirdest thing happened when I called the chief's son. African music started playing. It was pretty good, so I listened to it for four minutes. I was wondering if it was a weird ring tone or something, but really, it should only ring like that on his side, right? If he changed his ringtone, from my side, shouldn't it still sound like a uniform ringtone?
Well, it charged me for the four minutes, which it doesn't do unless someone picks up the phone or I get put through to the machine. I wondered if maybe it was his machine message, but it isn't supposed to charge me until it starts recording my message.
For it to charge me, and so me to have heard sound from the other side, the only available scenario I can see is that somebody picked up the phone. It's like he picked it up and stuck it next to the Karadie boombox.
Mali remains as mysterious and surprising as ever. Can't even phone there without a mystery like this unfolding, causing one to question one's own sanity.
Jeez, this is different. In Guelph, we don't have this series of small individual loops, and we don't have the route number or arrival times printed on the bus signs. Our bus routes and arrival times change too frequently to make such a committed posting. Also, we have bus routes that overlap each other. Having more than one bus go by a given sign discourages posting a singular route number.
But I think that different buses do go by bus stops that aren't there's... They just don't stop at them. In Guelph, any bus stops at any bus stop. I guess these buses would move faster, since they don't make as many stops. Also, there aren't as many bus stops in general, out here. And while Guelph has only one terminal, this place seems to have dozens of mini-terminals
The buses come at roughly 30 minute intervals. The bus stop at Residence only operates after 6:00 PM, and according to my bus map, it also goes there all day on weekends. The one directly at the college goes all day, looks like.
These bus route maps are weird, too. I was expecting, like, a full map, with all the bus routes and a legend, but instead I got a bunch of different maps, each detailing their own individual route and covering only the part of the city that they travel. It's like each is a piece in a much larger puzzle. It's actually not even as straightforward as that, because they overlap each other.
Oh well, the route I'm planning looks straigthforward enough. If I survive this journey, my next goal will be to locate the Greyhound. I wonder if you take a transfer to go from loop to loop, or if you have to pay each time. That has the potential to be a real ripoff.
When I went to the bookstore to buy a bus map, they said they didn't have them (The bus website said that they sold them at the bookstore, and none of the local stores I checked had them) but they directed me to a place where they hang up free pamphlets, and that's where I got my maps. I notice they have them hanging in the same format here in Residence, too. I guess I glossed over them, because that type of thing oesn't usually have information that interests me. I should inform some of the people around here that were looking for maps.
Did I tell you guys that my calling card changed it's policy on overseas charges? It used to charge as much for an overseas phone call as it did for a local one. I discovered this by sheer coincidence, most calling cards will severely reduce the amount of time you get if it's an overseas call. And even though every calling card company sells international phone cards, not a single one of them covers anywhere in Africa.
I learned about the usefulness of my card when I let my counterpart use it to call home, and he got 600 minutes vs everyone else's 20 minutes. That was on a $20 and since then, I've bought and used a card in the same format, with the same results. After that, I bought a $5 card, which you would think would be like, 150-200 minutes, but it was 15 minutes. Made a local call with the same card, 200 minutes.
So you'd think their policy changed. It still seems to be the best deal, sadly, so I bought a $10 card for a half-hour call with the chief's son, and that's what I got. Then I tried calling another Malian. It was something like 400 minutes! Why is there such a fluctuation of in-Mali calling? Reflecting on it, only phone calls to the village have a reduced time. All the city Malians have local charges.
Anyway, weirdest thing happened when I called the chief's son. African music started playing. It was pretty good, so I listened to it for four minutes. I was wondering if it was a weird ring tone or something, but really, it should only ring like that on his side, right? If he changed his ringtone, from my side, shouldn't it still sound like a uniform ringtone?
Well, it charged me for the four minutes, which it doesn't do unless someone picks up the phone or I get put through to the machine. I wondered if maybe it was his machine message, but it isn't supposed to charge me until it starts recording my message.
For it to charge me, and so me to have heard sound from the other side, the only available scenario I can see is that somebody picked up the phone. It's like he picked it up and stuck it next to the Karadie boombox.
Mali remains as mysterious and surprising as ever. Can't even phone there without a mystery like this unfolding, causing one to question one's own sanity.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Three Highlights
Today's a good day. I found out that another one of my old friends from high school is going to my college, I found free bus maps, and I got the phone number to the chief of Karadie!
Me and my two old friends are going to be getting together sometime soon to catch up on what we've been doing since high school.
The new Karadie phone # is proven to work, both by a past participant, and by one that took the program with me.
Today, when I was walking with a classmate, I got mistaken for a bodyguard. Apparently, our school offers bodyguarding services. If you feel vulnerable, you can request one to walk with you, and they're usually students. To be fair, I was considering signing up for a position like that. I wonder why there's such a demand for bodyguards at the college. Doesn't feel like there should be.
Me and my two old friends are going to be getting together sometime soon to catch up on what we've been doing since high school.
The new Karadie phone # is proven to work, both by a past participant, and by one that took the program with me.
Today, when I was walking with a classmate, I got mistaken for a bodyguard. Apparently, our school offers bodyguarding services. If you feel vulnerable, you can request one to walk with you, and they're usually students. To be fair, I was considering signing up for a position like that. I wonder why there's such a demand for bodyguards at the college. Doesn't feel like there should be.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Left-Handed Fridge
Today I found out that an old friend from high school, one that I used to hang out with every day, is going to the same college as me. We ran into each other at the Tim Hortons. He must've thought I was soooo bald.
As of today, I have done a day of school for every day of the week. I'm actually looking forward to doing an assignment. I won't feel like a college student until I've written a paper. after my first one, though, I'll probably lose my enthusiasm.
Even having gone to my first day of college, my credentials have risen. I can now write on a job application that I've done "Some college" and on the job bank, I'm on a new level in terms of educational requirements. Their advertisements are generally separated into "No education required", "High school", "Some college or university" or "College diploma or university degree". Of course, there are certain jobs that require a specific certification, diploma or degree. I've officially moved from "High school" to "Some college".
I got my student card's library function activated, so now I can use the library and it's resources. I was thinking that I would use it to print out my stuff, but now I'm realizing that my computer doesn't make things in the standard .pdf format. I used to email my resume to my grandfather and have him convert it to .pdf, but I don't want to make him do that for every paper I write moving forward.
Our refrigerator is a left-handed refrigerator, I think. It's handle is on the right. I think with a normal refrigerator, the handle is on the left, so that when you open it, it opens out in front of you. Since this
refrigerator's handle is on the right, if you stand in front of it and grab the handle, you either twist your arm or hit yourself, depending on how close you are to it. It's not rocket science to open it, it's maybe the equivalent of a door that has a push bar that you pull to open. Maybe rich left-handed people can afford to specify what type of room they rent out, and this deluxe apartment was constructed for the rich left-handed. Yeah, I'm going with that.
This refrigerator keeps tripping me up, but with a little luck, I'll be ambidextrous by the end of the term (at least to the extent of opening left-handed fridge doors).
As of today, I have done a day of school for every day of the week. I'm actually looking forward to doing an assignment. I won't feel like a college student until I've written a paper. after my first one, though, I'll probably lose my enthusiasm.
Even having gone to my first day of college, my credentials have risen. I can now write on a job application that I've done "Some college" and on the job bank, I'm on a new level in terms of educational requirements. Their advertisements are generally separated into "No education required", "High school", "Some college or university" or "College diploma or university degree". Of course, there are certain jobs that require a specific certification, diploma or degree. I've officially moved from "High school" to "Some college".
I got my student card's library function activated, so now I can use the library and it's resources. I was thinking that I would use it to print out my stuff, but now I'm realizing that my computer doesn't make things in the standard .pdf format. I used to email my resume to my grandfather and have him convert it to .pdf, but I don't want to make him do that for every paper I write moving forward.
Our refrigerator is a left-handed refrigerator, I think. It's handle is on the right. I think with a normal refrigerator, the handle is on the left, so that when you open it, it opens out in front of you. Since this
refrigerator's handle is on the right, if you stand in front of it and grab the handle, you either twist your arm or hit yourself, depending on how close you are to it. It's not rocket science to open it, it's maybe the equivalent of a door that has a push bar that you pull to open. Maybe rich left-handed people can afford to specify what type of room they rent out, and this deluxe apartment was constructed for the rich left-handed. Yeah, I'm going with that.
This refrigerator keeps tripping me up, but with a little luck, I'll be ambidextrous by the end of the term (at least to the extent of opening left-handed fridge doors).
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Roommate Didn't Get Kicked Out
Well, my roommate didn't get kicked out. The pylon was gone today. I asked him about it, and he said that you get pyloned if you forget something. I forget what it was that you have to forget to get put with the pylon. I guess front desk was just screwing with me when they said he got kicked out...?
I did my laundry today. Went okay. Now I just have to take out my garbage and I'll have done everything necessary for survival under these conditions.
I can't get my phone to make calls outside of Kitchener. I tried to make a collect call, and it said that the household doesn't accept collect calls, which I know is wrong. I tried using a calling card, but it kept saying the phone number was invalid. I wound up using a pay phone, and my card worked fine. Silly Residence phone.
It's always raining around here. In Guelph, we usually have droughts during the summer. Guelph used to be a lake, and I always found that fact ominous. I mean, what caused the lake to dry up, and has it stopped? At any rate, there's no such curse going on in Kitchener, and it can get annoying when your only transportation is walking.
I need to figure out the bus route. Nowhere in the area sells maps with the bus route, and when I looked it up online, my computer refused to load it. Apparently they sell them in the book store at the college, but if the line is as insane this week as last week, even if I had enough time to wait two hours in line, I'd feel bad for wasting everyone's time who was waiting to get their textbooks.
Nobody around here can pronounce my name. They always say "Grai-fun". Wasn't a problem in Guelph, because the University of Guelph's team is the "Guelph Gryphons".
I'm learning a lot of philosophical type stuff. Stuff like "There's no use in buying canned food if you don't have a can opener" and "There's no use in buying milk if you don't have milk jug".
That wouldn't make sense to any non-Canadians reading this. In Canada, we have our milk in bags. Getting it in cartons is twice as expensive, but apparently that's all you guys have.
I got a can opener. I've been collecting all these little things that I didn't think of, like dish soap, sponges, coat hangers, a hand towel for the bathroom etc. The only things left on my list are a stapler, a hole puncher, and a milk jug.
I felt bad yesterday, because I didn't manage to do a shopping trip that would last me a full week. I was so into only doing my shopping on Tuesdays, when I would get a 10% discount. I thought I might use what little food I had left to scrape me by, buffing it out by eating at Tim Hortons until Tuesday, but then I realized that that's more expensive than just shopping without the discount. So I did a little shopping trip to tide me over until Tuesday. If I bought to much, I'm gonna feel bad.
I did my laundry today. Went okay. Now I just have to take out my garbage and I'll have done everything necessary for survival under these conditions.
I can't get my phone to make calls outside of Kitchener. I tried to make a collect call, and it said that the household doesn't accept collect calls, which I know is wrong. I tried using a calling card, but it kept saying the phone number was invalid. I wound up using a pay phone, and my card worked fine. Silly Residence phone.
It's always raining around here. In Guelph, we usually have droughts during the summer. Guelph used to be a lake, and I always found that fact ominous. I mean, what caused the lake to dry up, and has it stopped? At any rate, there's no such curse going on in Kitchener, and it can get annoying when your only transportation is walking.
I need to figure out the bus route. Nowhere in the area sells maps with the bus route, and when I looked it up online, my computer refused to load it. Apparently they sell them in the book store at the college, but if the line is as insane this week as last week, even if I had enough time to wait two hours in line, I'd feel bad for wasting everyone's time who was waiting to get their textbooks.
Nobody around here can pronounce my name. They always say "Grai-fun". Wasn't a problem in Guelph, because the University of Guelph's team is the "Guelph Gryphons".
I'm learning a lot of philosophical type stuff. Stuff like "There's no use in buying canned food if you don't have a can opener" and "There's no use in buying milk if you don't have milk jug".
That wouldn't make sense to any non-Canadians reading this. In Canada, we have our milk in bags. Getting it in cartons is twice as expensive, but apparently that's all you guys have.
I got a can opener. I've been collecting all these little things that I didn't think of, like dish soap, sponges, coat hangers, a hand towel for the bathroom etc. The only things left on my list are a stapler, a hole puncher, and a milk jug.
I felt bad yesterday, because I didn't manage to do a shopping trip that would last me a full week. I was so into only doing my shopping on Tuesdays, when I would get a 10% discount. I thought I might use what little food I had left to scrape me by, buffing it out by eating at Tim Hortons until Tuesday, but then I realized that that's more expensive than just shopping without the discount. So I did a little shopping trip to tide me over until Tuesday. If I bought to much, I'm gonna feel bad.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Roommate Got Kicked Out
I think my roommate got kicked out. I went into the apartment, and on the kitchen table there was this little pylon with a little loop of rope attached to it. Attached to the rope was a key card, like what we use to get in and out, and on that key card were the words "lock out" written in marker. I went down to front desk and asked if my roommate was kicked out. I described the pylon and they were all "Yeah, that's the Key of Shame." Then they asked me what room I was staying in. They looked it up, asked me my name. I told them, and they were all "Yeah, you were right. Your roommate got kicked out." They told me he still has a working keycard and that he's around somewhere.
I don't know what he could have done to get kicked out. Today I opened our room door and my name had been taken off the door. A chill ran down my spine, as I felt the implication of that was that I no longer lived there, but my roommate still did. Then I looked around and saw that almost everyone's names had been taken down, except my roommate. So it's more like he's the one with something unique happening to him.
He came back last night, and I haven't been able to catch sight of him since. I can hear him in his room, but if he's avoiding me, maybe I should give him space.
Turns out that textbook I didn't get is really pretty important. I asked someone in my class, and she said "It's for English, and kind of for everything else." English is the most important grade for my course. Stupid senior students, telling us to not to get our textbooks right off the bat, probably just so they could get to them first.
Last night was my first Friday night in Residence and I felt bad about not going out to enjoy the college scene, but I didn't know anyone and wouldn't know where to go, so I just stayed in. At first I was like "I'll stay in my room with the lights off, and everyone will think I'm out partying." Then there was some announcement that there was a Residence party in the basement. I was like "An officially recognized party, organized by staff can't be all that great. If it's anything like the activities, it'll be a bunch of people standing around and awkwardly making small talk." And then I was like "Ooh, look at mister big shot 'I have standards' when he's hiding in his room. Just check it out." Yeah, I didn't get as far as the basement before somebody pulled me into a private party. Turns out it's pretty easy to find someplace to go. Wasn't all that exciting, but now people in the building will run up and high five me or smile at me instead of flinching and looking scared like they used to. It's amazing the amount of difference standing around in a room will do.
I don't know what he could have done to get kicked out. Today I opened our room door and my name had been taken off the door. A chill ran down my spine, as I felt the implication of that was that I no longer lived there, but my roommate still did. Then I looked around and saw that almost everyone's names had been taken down, except my roommate. So it's more like he's the one with something unique happening to him.
He came back last night, and I haven't been able to catch sight of him since. I can hear him in his room, but if he's avoiding me, maybe I should give him space.
Turns out that textbook I didn't get is really pretty important. I asked someone in my class, and she said "It's for English, and kind of for everything else." English is the most important grade for my course. Stupid senior students, telling us to not to get our textbooks right off the bat, probably just so they could get to them first.
Last night was my first Friday night in Residence and I felt bad about not going out to enjoy the college scene, but I didn't know anyone and wouldn't know where to go, so I just stayed in. At first I was like "I'll stay in my room with the lights off, and everyone will think I'm out partying." Then there was some announcement that there was a Residence party in the basement. I was like "An officially recognized party, organized by staff can't be all that great. If it's anything like the activities, it'll be a bunch of people standing around and awkwardly making small talk." And then I was like "Ooh, look at mister big shot 'I have standards' when he's hiding in his room. Just check it out." Yeah, I didn't get as far as the basement before somebody pulled me into a private party. Turns out it's pretty easy to find someplace to go. Wasn't all that exciting, but now people in the building will run up and high five me or smile at me instead of flinching and looking scared like they used to. It's amazing the amount of difference standing around in a room will do.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Bought my Books
I bit the bullet and bought my books. It was weird to me, going into class unprepared, but at orientation, the senior students were saying that we shouldn't buy all our text books at once, because we wouldn't necessarily need all of them, and there might be cheaper alternatives even if we did. Even the teachers said that we wouldn't need them in the first week.
Well, it's true that we didn't need our textbooks in the first week, but each teacher made it out like their textbook was pretty freakin' necessary, and I wasn't finding any other cheaper alternatives. So I just bought them.
The lineup was insane. I've checked the lineup every day and it always stretches completely down the hall. And that's only for the opportunity to get in the store and look for your books.
Once inside it wasn't bad, though. There were signs with the names of each course and the titles of the books necessary posted throughout the store, and there was staff running around asking people if they needed help. When one girl asked me if I needed help and I told her the name of the book I was looking for, she looked at the list for my course, asked which ones I'd found, and then she went and got all three of the ones I hadn't yet found.
One of my textbooks was sold out, though. Don't really know what to do about that.
My family had one of those cell phones that you buy phone cards for, and just top up at your leisure. Last time we'd used it, I'd brought it along with me to CWY and used it to call back home a few times. We weren't using it for communication, so we didn't top it up for a long time. Well, I brought it with me to college, and I just bought a top-up card, and it doesn't work. A little research online tells me that your phone number gets deactivated if you don't top it up for 180 days. Kind of a bummer, since I thought the point of these things was that you didn't have to make any kind of payment plan. Now I feel like a cripple. Everyone has a cell phone. Even that homeless guy who was complaining about some guy stealing his weed and who threw a "testing punch" my way received a text message during the course of our interaction.
Well, I can still use this old phone as a timepiece, since I forgot my watch, and also as an alarm clock.
Yesterday, we had a meeting. It was a repeat of a meeting that happened during move-in day, but I'd missed it. I don't know how I would not have missed it, since I didn't see any effort made to notify anyone about it. My roommate missed it, too. A lot of people missed it. It was just going over the basic rules of Residence, and apparently we have a monthly meeting.
I've got a plastic wristband on that I have to wear for two weeks. During those two weeks, I cannot enter or leave residence without my wristband. If I lose it, it's a $20 fine, and if I had missed the meeting that second time, it would have been a $50 fine.
And with the motivator of that fine, it kind of troubles me how sloppy their attendance system was. I managed to get on the list, but I could imagine them easily having missed me.
Well, it's true that we didn't need our textbooks in the first week, but each teacher made it out like their textbook was pretty freakin' necessary, and I wasn't finding any other cheaper alternatives. So I just bought them.
The lineup was insane. I've checked the lineup every day and it always stretches completely down the hall. And that's only for the opportunity to get in the store and look for your books.
Once inside it wasn't bad, though. There were signs with the names of each course and the titles of the books necessary posted throughout the store, and there was staff running around asking people if they needed help. When one girl asked me if I needed help and I told her the name of the book I was looking for, she looked at the list for my course, asked which ones I'd found, and then she went and got all three of the ones I hadn't yet found.
One of my textbooks was sold out, though. Don't really know what to do about that.
My family had one of those cell phones that you buy phone cards for, and just top up at your leisure. Last time we'd used it, I'd brought it along with me to CWY and used it to call back home a few times. We weren't using it for communication, so we didn't top it up for a long time. Well, I brought it with me to college, and I just bought a top-up card, and it doesn't work. A little research online tells me that your phone number gets deactivated if you don't top it up for 180 days. Kind of a bummer, since I thought the point of these things was that you didn't have to make any kind of payment plan. Now I feel like a cripple. Everyone has a cell phone. Even that homeless guy who was complaining about some guy stealing his weed and who threw a "testing punch" my way received a text message during the course of our interaction.
Well, I can still use this old phone as a timepiece, since I forgot my watch, and also as an alarm clock.
Yesterday, we had a meeting. It was a repeat of a meeting that happened during move-in day, but I'd missed it. I don't know how I would not have missed it, since I didn't see any effort made to notify anyone about it. My roommate missed it, too. A lot of people missed it. It was just going over the basic rules of Residence, and apparently we have a monthly meeting.
I've got a plastic wristband on that I have to wear for two weeks. During those two weeks, I cannot enter or leave residence without my wristband. If I lose it, it's a $20 fine, and if I had missed the meeting that second time, it would have been a $50 fine.
And with the motivator of that fine, it kind of troubles me how sloppy their attendance system was. I managed to get on the list, but I could imagine them easily having missed me.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Raining
When I went to my first class the other day, it was raining. Guess what I hadn't prepared for? It was raining after class too, but I walked to the grocery store in the rain because I was sick of not having any groceries. Doesn't come out very exciting in writing, but it FELT important enough to write about.
I finished writing about my unpublishable Mali stories. It's an extra 13 pages. I finished them the day before my first day of classes. Kind of a nice time to put all that stuff behind me and move forward.
Three classes today, each of them two hours long. Still not as long as a day of work. My weekly class pattern goes like this: Monday, 3 classes. Tuesday, 1. Wednesday, 3. Thursday, 1. Friday, 3. Kind of scanty in comparison to high school's four classes per day. Each class is two hours long, so that's six hours of classes with a two hour break on my worst day. Better than eight hours of work with one ten minute break and one twenty minute break placed throughout.
I finished writing about my unpublishable Mali stories. It's an extra 13 pages. I finished them the day before my first day of classes. Kind of a nice time to put all that stuff behind me and move forward.
Three classes today, each of them two hours long. Still not as long as a day of work. My weekly class pattern goes like this: Monday, 3 classes. Tuesday, 1. Wednesday, 3. Thursday, 1. Friday, 3. Kind of scanty in comparison to high school's four classes per day. Each class is two hours long, so that's six hours of classes with a two hour break on my worst day. Better than eight hours of work with one ten minute break and one twenty minute break placed throughout.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
First Class
Had my first day of classes today, although it was only comprised of one class, right at the end of the day. Nice way of weaning me into this way of life, I guess. I went three hours early and found my class, and then found all my classes for the next day. Wasn't as hard as I'd thought it would be. The school's layout was kind of baffling at orientation,and I couldn't find any of my classes. This time around, I found them all inside an hour, ran into someone I met at orientation, and spent the rest of the day chatting until it was time for class.
My class was math. Apparently having a math class for this program is a new thing, and it's getting people nervous. Those in our field are not known for being good at math. What was presented to us today was clownishly easy, though. We also don't get any fieldwork, which used to be a part of this program. Since having a letter of recommendation from someone in the social services is a requirement for the SSW program, a lot of people were hoping to get that through fieldwork during the program I'm doing now. I guess this program used to be better than it is now, huh?
Did my first shopping trip. Found out that I get a 10% discount at the local Zehrs every Tuesday if I show my student card. I guess organizing the move so that your first available shopping trip would be on a Tuesday wasn't such a dumb move on behalf of the Residence after all.
I found out why it's so cold in my room. There's a vent blowing in cold air. Is it supposed to be air conditioning? For some reason, that angers me more than if it was just a natural occurence.
My class was math. Apparently having a math class for this program is a new thing, and it's getting people nervous. Those in our field are not known for being good at math. What was presented to us today was clownishly easy, though. We also don't get any fieldwork, which used to be a part of this program. Since having a letter of recommendation from someone in the social services is a requirement for the SSW program, a lot of people were hoping to get that through fieldwork during the program I'm doing now. I guess this program used to be better than it is now, huh?
Did my first shopping trip. Found out that I get a 10% discount at the local Zehrs every Tuesday if I show my student card. I guess organizing the move so that your first available shopping trip would be on a Tuesday wasn't such a dumb move on behalf of the Residence after all.
I found out why it's so cold in my room. There's a vent blowing in cold air. Is it supposed to be air conditioning? For some reason, that angers me more than if it was just a natural occurence.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Grocery Store
I found a grocery store today! But it's labour day, so it was closed. Kind of bad organization to have the move be on a Sunday, when everything closes early, followed by labour day, when everything is closed. Since I wasn't using a vehicle during my move, I only brought what I could carry on my back, which included enough food to survive for a bit, but my kitchen is still not very diverse. My roommate brought in a lot more stuff than I did, so I'm feeling a little humbled.
Now I need to find a Zellers or a Wal Mart or something. Dan said he'd bring the shower curtain, but this new guy didn't bring one. Well, maybe I'll do a Mali-style bucket shower tonight,
My roommate is older than I am! I was worried that I would be the oldest in residence (and I must still be up there) but they matched me with someone of a comparable age. He's actually only two weeks older than me.
They had that celebration today, which I thought was supposed to be yesterday. The bouncy castle was underwhelming, and the staff had difficulty drumming up enthusiasm. I scored some free food, though.
There are a lot of really nice nature trails in the area, and some scenery that will look amazing this coming Fall, when the colour changes really become prominent..
The building is pink. Did you know that sometimes prisons will be painted pink to calm down the inmates? Yeah, little nervous that this place might feel a similar need for such measures.
Also, turns out I lucked out with the room. Lots of people have the room they advertised... mini fridge and one room with two beds. This Residence building used to be a hotel, apparently, but they transformed it. I must have gotten one of the better rooms, at no extra cost. Maybe it's an age thing? My roommate got the same type of room last year, too. Nah, that wouldn't make any sense.
It's cold in my room, though. No idea why. Outside it's really hot, and the kitchen area isn't bad. But my room is frigid.
I'm catching phone signals in Mali now. Not good ones, but they're still there! Usually it stops ringing after two or three goes, but one time it reached nine rings. Nobody answered, but it's still a full signal.
Now I need to find a Zellers or a Wal Mart or something. Dan said he'd bring the shower curtain, but this new guy didn't bring one. Well, maybe I'll do a Mali-style bucket shower tonight,
My roommate is older than I am! I was worried that I would be the oldest in residence (and I must still be up there) but they matched me with someone of a comparable age. He's actually only two weeks older than me.
They had that celebration today, which I thought was supposed to be yesterday. The bouncy castle was underwhelming, and the staff had difficulty drumming up enthusiasm. I scored some free food, though.
There are a lot of really nice nature trails in the area, and some scenery that will look amazing this coming Fall, when the colour changes really become prominent..
The building is pink. Did you know that sometimes prisons will be painted pink to calm down the inmates? Yeah, little nervous that this place might feel a similar need for such measures.
Also, turns out I lucked out with the room. Lots of people have the room they advertised... mini fridge and one room with two beds. This Residence building used to be a hotel, apparently, but they transformed it. I must have gotten one of the better rooms, at no extra cost. Maybe it's an age thing? My roommate got the same type of room last year, too. Nah, that wouldn't make any sense.
It's cold in my room, though. No idea why. Outside it's really hot, and the kitchen area isn't bad. But my room is frigid.
I'm catching phone signals in Mali now. Not good ones, but they're still there! Usually it stops ringing after two or three goes, but one time it reached nine rings. Nobody answered, but it's still a full signal.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Residence
Well here I am, in Residence. The accommodations are actually pretty swell. I have a TV with like, fifty channels on it. I've got the Internet working. I've called home with my calling card, so the phone line works. We got a full-size refrigerator instead of the mini one I'd heard I was going to get. We have separate bedrooms, which I wasn't expecting.
There was no celebration, unless you count somebody putting a boombox outside and a sign that says "Welcome to residence" with balloons attached. I didn't see anything that I thought could even be interpreted as a bouncy castle. There were a couple of stations set up to help people get to their rooms, though.
My roommate isn't that Dan guy. The guy I got says he never even got a roommate notification.
I got an orientation pack. It includes:
-A water bottle
-A pack of Skittles
-A caffeinated chocolate bar
-Axe shower gel
-A map of Kitchener
-A visitor's guide to Kitchener
-A calendar magnet
-Instant coffee
-Shampoo and conditioner
-Dish soap
-Mac& cheese
-Sour cream & dill flavour potato chips
-Lip balm
-15 sticks of gum
-Face gel
-Aloe body lotion
-Regular body lotion
-Peach tea
-Frank's Red Hot Sauce
-Deodorizing body wash
From a quick walk around the general area, I don't see any grocery stores, but there's a number of inexpensive restaurants. There's a Tim Hortons, a McDonalds, a Thai/Vietnamese place, and a pizza place. Otherwise, there's just a couple of gas stations and a hardware store.
There was no celebration, unless you count somebody putting a boombox outside and a sign that says "Welcome to residence" with balloons attached. I didn't see anything that I thought could even be interpreted as a bouncy castle. There were a couple of stations set up to help people get to their rooms, though.
My roommate isn't that Dan guy. The guy I got says he never even got a roommate notification.
I got an orientation pack. It includes:
-A water bottle
-A pack of Skittles
-A caffeinated chocolate bar
-Axe shower gel
-A map of Kitchener
-A visitor's guide to Kitchener
-A calendar magnet
-Instant coffee
-Shampoo and conditioner
-Dish soap
-Mac& cheese
-Sour cream & dill flavour potato chips
-Lip balm
-15 sticks of gum
-Face gel
-Aloe body lotion
-Regular body lotion
-Peach tea
-Frank's Red Hot Sauce
-Deodorizing body wash
From a quick walk around the general area, I don't see any grocery stores, but there's a number of inexpensive restaurants. There's a Tim Hortons, a McDonalds, a Thai/Vietnamese place, and a pizza place. Otherwise, there's just a couple of gas stations and a hardware store.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Moving Tomorrow....
I'm moving into residence tomorrow. I wound up messaging them to find out which day was move-in day, not realizing that that information was in my acceptance package, or that I had received an acceptance package. When I'd learned that I was supposed to have received one, I assumed that I'd failed to get one because I was someone who had been waitlisted, and it wasn't in my roommate notification, as it was supposed to be. Turns out, my "Acceptance package" was inside that group of papers I had to fill out, which was included in the notification they sent when they asked if I wanted a spot to begin with.
I still don't know what my room number is. I asked, and they said that I will only learn on the day that I move in. They kind of said it like they were advertising it as part of the excitement. Yeah, I'm not perceiving that as a positive thing.
I contacted the driver that brought me to orientation. She's actually not sketchy at all. She's in an actual business, and I only thought she was sketchy because I'd... kind of found her through a sketchy method.
She said that she could pick me up at 9:00 AM or 5:30 PM. I thought that I'd do 5:30 because... Well, first day of residence is O-day, and there's going to be celebratory events. Honestly, I've had enough anxiety that I'll just want to settle in and avoid the obligation of partying all day. Oh, I am so old.
But I contacted them and they said that the moving in times take place between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, so it looks like I'm going to have to get up bright and early, grit my teeth, go in and party. Apparently there's going to be a bouncy castle constructed for adult use...
I don't really know what their move-in format is going to be like, but I keep reminding myself that I know my survival skills are better than most people's my age, and a lot of these guys won't even have had time to hone their survival capacity. If they can do it, I can do it. It doesn't matter if there's someone better than me. If I can beat the lowest common denominator of people just graduated from high school, I'm solid.
I still don't know what my room number is. I asked, and they said that I will only learn on the day that I move in. They kind of said it like they were advertising it as part of the excitement. Yeah, I'm not perceiving that as a positive thing.
I contacted the driver that brought me to orientation. She's actually not sketchy at all. She's in an actual business, and I only thought she was sketchy because I'd... kind of found her through a sketchy method.
She said that she could pick me up at 9:00 AM or 5:30 PM. I thought that I'd do 5:30 because... Well, first day of residence is O-day, and there's going to be celebratory events. Honestly, I've had enough anxiety that I'll just want to settle in and avoid the obligation of partying all day. Oh, I am so old.
But I contacted them and they said that the moving in times take place between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, so it looks like I'm going to have to get up bright and early, grit my teeth, go in and party. Apparently there's going to be a bouncy castle constructed for adult use...
I don't really know what their move-in format is going to be like, but I keep reminding myself that I know my survival skills are better than most people's my age, and a lot of these guys won't even have had time to hone their survival capacity. If they can do it, I can do it. It doesn't matter if there's someone better than me. If I can beat the lowest common denominator of people just graduated from high school, I'm solid.
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