~ ANNE! ~

Well, I'm feeling uninspired. Strange, because the weather has decidedly turned and it's been gorgeous out for the past week. All this sunshine had the effect of making me feel as if I was filled with the energy of spring for a day or so, but now I feel more as if filled with cement.

However, the weather has had the unsurprising effect of making me go out and buy an expensive pair of sandals. But after paying a hundred quid (two years running!) for waterproof, comfortable Ecco hiking boots that I can also wear to work... Canadian prices seem cheap, relatively speaking. Anyway, in the immortal words of Allison: "I don't have a car, and I walk everywhere. What you pay to buy new tires for your vehicle, I spend on expensive footwear." Makes perfect sense to me. I did own a pair of expensive sandals prior to fleeing the country the first time, but I have no idea where they ended up. If it's somewhere in Alberta, I have a shot at seeing them again sometime. If not, as I suspect may be the case, I'm probably out of luck.

I'm not saying anyone at my workplace would ever endorse any illegal form of program milestone celebration, but here are some nice photos of rockets in the river valley.

In other news, I want a rocket to fire off for my birthday and other milestone celebrations! So cool.

And as of last Wednesday, I came to appreciate what could be called the "workplace culture" a lot more.

There was no Feast last Friday, for the very good reason that it was the UADC's Top Hat and Tails ball. I had been offered another volunteering-in-return-for-free-entry gig, but turned it down because I was under the impression that the girls from work were getting together that night, and I figured it would behoove me to attend. However, it was cancelled at the second-to-last moment, and I then received a call from Lana at the last moment informing me that they hadn't found anyone else to work the door and the spot was still available if I wanted it.

I certainly did... I am indeed my father's daughter, and a $50 ticket in return for two hours of taking tickets seemed like a pretty good deal. The meal was included (though I had to eat it outside the ball looking in like Cinderella) and it was delicious. And since events dictated that I got the company of the lovely Lana for the dinner part - who could ask for more? (Also, they served wasabi potatoes, which although a bizarre idea were incredibly delicious. I ate mine, half of Lana's and the majority of Steph's. Yum!)

The dance itself was a masquerade. I was happy to note that our table was among the most be-masqued, though there were some other very impressive efforts. I managed to more or less stay in my dress (was glued into it with double-sided tape due to some last-minute and somewhat unorthodox alterations with the scissors the night before) which was an acheivement in itself. Steph wore her wedding dress (also hastily altered) and looked great. And Lana was the belle of the ball, as part of a wonderful TA formation dance and recipient of a TA award. Yay!

Since Ben and Remkes were in attendance we did manage to fulfil our minimum quota of math grad students, but apparently Malcolm felt we were a few grad students short. He turned up, resplendent in a kilt and Venetian mask, at 11pm.

I managed to stick it out till the last waltz, despite being pretty exhausted from working, volunteering and dancing my tail off. However, this also meant that I missed the last train back across the river. Malcolm kindly offered to give me a ride... on the back of his bike. So we set out across the river: Malcolm in a florescent vest with kilt flapping, and me in jeans clinging on to the back for dear life, trundling down the street at 1.30 am. All the drunk people thought it was great.

Ooh, and file this one under "good news but too late" - the International Centre called me. I interviewed with them for a job I REALLYREALLY wanted and didn't get (because I'd never been an international student myself). They just called and offered me a full-time position... really wish I could take it, as they seemed really good and it would be on campus (which I miss). However, I can't ditch out on my current job, obviously. This is twice now that I've lost out on a job the first time, only to have them actually keep my resume and call me on the rebound. Work is such an all-or-nothing thing with me.