Fuck me standing

UGH
So I'm sorry to disappoint my 6 followers, but I am in fact alive. Barely. Ish.

Mostly I was finishing up my degree. Like actually finished. The last 2 weeks though damn near killed me. I'm not sure actually when the last time I posted was, I have a feeling that it was at the beginning of april.

Anyway, the last two weeks of school I had a midterm, 2 group presentations and 2 group reports to write. The midterm I went to 'business drunk' (had about 4/5ths a bottle of wine) and didn't study, but got 91% on, that's 10% higher than the other midterm I took in the same course.

The real difficulty was from the group projects... Usually in group projects I have this awful habit of asserting myself as some sort of authority figure and end up doing the majority of the work. This time I felt that I had saved enough people from their own work habits to let them sort it out... This was a mistake and I should have realised it sooner.

I spent about 40-50 hours the last week writing reports. This would've been fine if certain members of my group didn't criticize me about it later. One person who doesn't speak english as a first language, had the extreme lack of awareness to say "I think your grammar is broken"... I couldn't believe it... Anyway, I won't bore with too many other details because I'm closing that chapter of my life and graduating!

As for other shit, last I mentioned that I wasn't doing so hot. B and I talked about it, and while I tried going back on medication, I realised that there are some underlying problems which need to be sorted. Plus I was already self-medicating with alcohol so the two weren't a very healthy combination. So I'm beginning to fix these things, in so far that they can be fixed (usually because the biggest obstacle is knowing what these things are)

Oh, and last weekend I went to Victoria with my dear friend... (we'll call her Drama-Rama). She's a good time, we have some pretty insane memories together (car crashes, near drownings, a broken nose) all within the first 6 months of knowing each other. Since then she's moved off the mainland to persue an academic career. Which is good for her, I jsut miss her terribly. Anyway, victoria was fantastic, really very peaceful, especially the ferry ride, the hour long bus rides on each end, and just sitting still for awhile. I even managed to pick up a new book (Little Brother) by Cory something or other, which was fantastic. Managed through that one in all of 2 days, it was glorious.

Opening ceremonies

Olympics, w00t...

Despite the tragedy this morning with the Georgian Slider, Nodar Kumaritashvili, passing away in an awful Luge accident, the games would go on.

Well, actually I don't particularly care for them, but from the safety of Cloverdale I got to watch the Opening Ceremony with B and his family. Which I think will be my favourite part of the next 17 days.

I think they did a great job, mostly. Compared to the sad display at the end of Turin (all about the Ice fishing and igloos) this was great. Integrating a lot of First Nations art and dance set the stage for the introduction of Canada to the world. Then the athletes came out and I think everyone was very respectful towards the Georgian athletes. Again it was a tremendous shame.

Despite a tacky rendition of 'O Canada' which bothered me a lot, (I was hoping that the anthem would be sung by the crowd). The various songs and stage set-ups showcasing Canadian talent, the landscape, and culture were wonderful. From Ashley MacIssac to kd Lang (lurve my lesbians) complemented by an Alberta ballet company, some flying acrobats, and Whales, the whole thing was really very touching. I enjoyed the way it actually integrated our history and spirit with a smattering from all walks of life from all parts of this great big loveable country. I really liked the the slam poet with the fat beard explaining how our nation is a experiment in choice and opportunity. Then having Betty Fox and Donald Sutherland and co carrying in the Olympic flag was quite touching.

The lighting of the inside torch was botched everso slightly by some faulty hydraulics. But continued after an awkward moment (it's a good thing we're so humble) then the Great One himself rode to the waterfront (amongst drunken revelers more than protesters) where he lit the final torch.

So, O Canada Fail, Hydraulic Fail, and Stephen Harper... shouldn't you be back east, in say Parliament or someth... oh no wait. But like I said, I enjoyed it, a lot.

In anycase, back home with V and B, having some tea... Hope those people who want to enjoy the games do, and those that protest them have an excellent and peaceful campaign.

Frustration

So Outweek/Clusterfrak week is in full swing, the wine and cheese went well-ish, and the concrete didn't happen. I am out $95 for the consultation with the dentist and because insurance won't be able to respond in time I'm on the hook for $1300. I'm okay with these things though. 2 major pieces of art have been installed at Canada Line stations (and I still need to get the plaques for these pieces done). The last one won't get done until after the Olympics start. nbd

No, the big deal is when people say they're going to do something then don't. I'm guilty of this too, but at least I'm aware of my deadline and know I still have x number of days/weeks to deal with things.

Currently I'm waiting to hear back from about 3 different people about some major components of the Semi-formal dinner/dance on Thursday and no one seems to be capable of answering their phone/checking their voicemail/responding to emails. I understand that people are busy, especially with this olympic thing starting on Friday, but if you're getting paid to do a job, DO YOUR JOB!
[/rant]

In other news the wine and cheese was a good time, it wasn't super well attended (<30 people) but everyone seemed to have fun/mingle. Afterwards the keynote speaker, Dr. Chris Shelley, gave a brief, academic speach about the importance of queer (while imploring us to take more women studies courses).

I had Dr. Shelley as a prof two years ago for my introduction to gender relations and I won't lie it was my favourite course out of the ~45 or so that I've taken thus far.

I was pleasantly surprised that not only did it have some very interesting content, but also that it was so relevant.

WHAT? Women's studies and relevant being used in the same sentence? Yes I'm afraid so. I won't spend too much time today raving about it because books can be written (and have been in fact) about the importance of feminism and how it relates to queer theory... and the homosexual agenda

I love that term, homosexual agenda. It's all part of a larger master plan. This marriage thing? It's really just normalising us (we don't care about the collateral damage it does). From there we can infiltrate the public schools and teach the young children about our lecherous and immoral lifestyle choices. Once those are in place I know I'm personally going to be working towards marrying my desk and lamp...

As I told a dear friend a few weeks ago, being queer is either caught or taught.
[/fodder for religious persecution]

Speaking of gay marriage...
The National Organisation for Marriage (NOM) is calling foul on the tremendously important (and likely appealed) court case for repealing Prop 8. They're alleging that the Judge Vaughn Walker is letting his bias affect his reasoning. They call into question his homosexuality which is an "open secret."

Just so we're queer clear, a straight man ruling on gay marriage is okay, whereas a gay man ruling on gay marriage is a farce and mockery of the courts.

I won't get too much more into it, but I recommend my (nonexistant) readers to read up on it at 365gay or some other reliable source, then contrast this with the coverage from Fox news/Focus on the Family for some levity.

Carry on...