Reading Break

Reading break has a way of flying by, much like this semester has. A week ago there were feelings of freedom, excitement of a week to go in the Olympics, with the sense that Canada was just starting to get going. There was the anticipation of a week’s rest and fun. Now it’s the weekend, and there’s that bittersweet feeling that the games are coming to a close, as is reading break.

As the athletes make their final push for gold, the final push to the end of the school year is in the back of my mind. The assignments are coming fast, and the reading seems endless (my stack of remaining readings comes in at about 18cm high—probably on the low end in comparison to others) and the fatigue is setting in.

School is a lot like long track speed skating! Each assignment is a lap that gets harder, as each week there’s a little less sleep to be had, until those final days leading to exams where it’s all adrenaline just fighting to cross the finish line. Writing my name on the top of the exam, or handing in that final assignment—whatever the outcome of the grade—is an accomplishment. Finishing the work feels golden.

But isn’t that getting ahead of things? In a race it’s important to be in the moment. Don’t look too far ahead. The same could be said for school. There’s still a month and a half to go. That’s a lot of laps.

In the mean time, go Canada.

Kaitlyn

Sick Day

I didn’t realize how widely the current common cold at VIU had spread until sitting in my genre fiction writing class on Tuesday. There were seats to spare in the usually cramped classroom, and who would willingly forgo a three hour discussion on writing science fiction? (though I could be biased on that one) Germs must have been the culprit!

I tend to think that I’m going to be immune to these things. I get colds, but I never miss classes for such silly little things! I was definitely sick on Monday, but plowed through. I had a paper due and I had to go to work. It’s February, which is basically the poorest month of the year for many students, such as myself. (I’ve just handed over my bank account to pay tuition, so missing work is not an option!) I was also sick on Tuesday, but I was certainly better than on Monday, and there was absolutely no chance that I would miss the science fiction class. Restraints would have been required.

I woke up on Wednesday feeling pretty crap, the cold had inevitably caught up and overtaken me, so I had to call it a sick day from school. I don’t do sick days, the last time I missed a class was November 2008, though I’ve been lucky this year. This week has been the first real cold I’ve had since last summer- which I figure is a pretty awesome run!

We’re told to stay home and get healthy when we feel like crap, but easier said then done. At least for me. Taking a day off school seems criminal! I have this eternal fear that on the one day I’m sick, I’ll miss some piece of information instrumental for one of my final exams, causing me to eventually crash and burn on the page, my exam booklet exploding, a metaphorical fireball....

I also don’t like to miss out.

But it was nice, to get my rest and recover, lie back on the couch and watch fifteen hours of Olympics and Dexter (alright, possibly a bit excessive). Snack on oranges and raisin toast in between the coughs, sneezes, and sniffles, and eventually face an impending assignment. (admittedly, in front of a hockey game) The important thing is that I slowed down, and got my rest.

Perhaps taking a sick day isn’t such a crime after all, and hopefully my exams won’t explode.

Happy Reading Break
Kaitlyn

The Sound of Deadlines

I, Kaitlyn Till, am an amazingly talented individual. I swear it, cross my heart and all that. You see, I have a Very Special Talent. I have this amazing ability to procrastinate! I have been honing this remarkable talent from a very young age, and feel that it has reached its glorious peak.

However, I am worried. I have an english paper due on Monday, and I have already chosen a topic, and have a commitment to have the draft completed by Saturday. Granted, I haven’t finished the readings, but somehow my reading may end up focused on the chosen topic. Egads! What? This is a travesty! My thorough procrastination skill development may possibly have been wasted!

I have come up with many fabulous procrastination aids over the years. One time that I had a paper due, I craftily decided to add cover art to all 4500+ songs in my itunes! Brilliant, right? Inventive? Definitely! And it’s incredibly useful because now I can flip through my ipod touch and see all the albums whizz across the screen, instead of the anonymous music note placeholder image that makes cover flow unexciting. My ipod is damn pretty, and that’s all thanks to procrastination.

If it weren’t for procrastination, I’d never vacuum or do other chores that only procrastination can inspire me to take on! Procrastination gets my laundry done. That can only be a good thing. Last semester I catalogued my entire book collection.

I have spoken to several other master procrastinators, and they have provided a wonderful list of further procrastination activities that you may like to try: walking the dog, riding the bus, YouTube, soak in the hot tub, sleep, reading ahead for other classes, reading every story in the anthology but the required one, sorting Facebook friends, reading fan fiction, baking five hundred cookies, drinking, taking a bunch of pictures and photoshopping them, making plans with friends, trying on clothes, reading in the bath, renovations, hiking, watching entire seasons of tv shows on DVD, knitting, catching up on procrastinated readings for other classes, taking extra shifts at work, sorting through stuff, and hatching plots to gain assignment extensions.

The thing is, I have to face the fact that there are so many fabulous things that can be accomplished by not procrastinating. Like having a paper copyedited, or taking it to the writing center or my prof for further suggestions. Even just having time to read it over before printing off the final copy! So I understand that there are upsides to being disciplined and ahead of the game and such, but then where’s the drama of last minute paper-production? It’s a truly organic, creative experience, dashing off that paper the night before it’s due, powering on, fueled by caffeine and adrenaline past three, four am, however long it takes to get the job done.

But then, I’m not sure I want to end up like famous procrastinator Douglas Adams, who once had to be shut up in a hotel room under the watch of his editor in order to finish a book. I wonder how many more books Douglas Adams could have produced in his (albeit, sadly short) lifetime if he hadn’t procrastinated.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to further contemplate when to start my essay. I may possibly attempt an outline.

On a completely unrelated note, when ordering from subway—no matter your spicy food tolerance—make sure that the hot peppers don’t get stacked up at the end of the sub. The result is unpleasant.

Til after the paper is done,
Kaitlyn

Thirteen Hours of Excellence

At VIU there are certain courses that complete nerds like me go crazy for. This semester, it's Fantasy Literature. The main work that we study is The Lord of the Rings, but why just read the book when there are those awesome movies available? That's what our class did on Saturday. We marathoned the trilogy (the extended editions, of course). It was thirteen hours of excellence, and here is the picture story.

Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Second breakfast (pre-Fellowship of the Ring munching, mainly on donuts) The lecture theater that we had for watching was fabulously beautiful (much newer than any classroom that English students normally see!). It would be pretty much perfect, for the purpose of classes—amazing chairs, perfect view of the front from every seat. But chairs that are amazing for a classroom setting do not translate well for thirteen hours of parked bums (are there any chairs that do?).


Luncheon, between Fellowship and Two Towers.

Bring on The Two Towers.

After The Two Towers ended, we had our dinner break. The call of cheesy-delicious pizza was so alluring, that the camera was promptly forgotten, and there is no pictorial evidence of the pizza carnage.

Return of the King intermission. Popcorn bowls require re-filling.

There comes a point in such a marathon where the fatigue starts to set in, but it’s not so much tiredness as restlessness. As someone who finds it near impossible to sit still for a single class, this was the ultimate challenge, especially given the chairs! The restlessness really dug in its claws about an hour into Return of the King. However, a fabulous solution was found: a written commentary. There are two kinds of movies that are worth making snarky comments on: the very awesome, and the very awful. I don't think I need to state which category LOTR falls under. So began the passing around of a battered notebook. Here's a small sample:

K: The Orcs could do the triathlon. Run. Boat. Ride those monstery things from the last movie.
G: Gimli can do long jump!
K: Legolas can do high jump. Merry and Pippin can do shot-put (Pippin can also light the torch at opening ceremonies)
G: Sauron can watch and be the judge. Tom Bombadil can too, but he won’t care enough to give scores.
K: That’s okay- wouldn’t want Merry and Pippin to be disqualified for drug use!
B: Pretty sure everyone is on drugs. Gandalf smokes a lot.


Post-movie clean up! Once the movies are over, the tiredness just fades away, segueing into post-marathon hyperactivity. It gets us through the food-tidying.


The nerds head for home...

...or not. Of course the day can't conclude without a little extra adventure, in this case, while carrying supplies out to the car, the building locked us out. We got our exercise running the perimeter trying all the doors. After twenty minutes and the prof calling security, we got back in the building. I retrieved such vital items as my wallet, and sweater (apparently it was more important to keep the camera with me than such essential things as ID, and money) and things ended Happily Ever After.

The moral of the story? Don't let the door shut behind you. Always prop it open.

Also, it's a good idea to question the origin of golden rings, should one come into your possession. Especially it it has magical disappearing properties.


Until next week,
Kaitlyn Till