Seismic Twitch

I don’t quite know what to do with myself. I dont have any homework to avoid doing. There’s no reading to feel guilty about not doing. Can it be? Am I bored?

Naw.

Since I don’t feel up to talking about anything here are some photos I took today.

Let’s hit up the fossils that I took pictures of today.

First up is Uperocrinus spiniferus, a smallish marine type thing on loan from the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta.

Next is the view down to the horse family fossils. The first, a modern horse skeleton, is not a fossil (duh!) and behind it you can see one of its ancestors. You will also see a part of the mosaic of the cell division that I’d posted earlier. This part used to be the exterior of the Biology building. When my olest brother was at university it was the exterior wall.

Then comes a plaque fossil of an archyopteryx. The archyopteryx was the first dinosaur found to have fossilized impressions of feathers. You can’t see it well, but to the side of the left forelimb, you can see the impressions of feathers.

Then I snapped a picture of some fossil coral.

The last fossil is a copy of a plaque fossil of two amonites.

This next photo was taken at the bottom of the elevated walkway joining the Chemestry building and the Geology building. Now, I don’t know if a crime did happen here. I suspect a janitor got hold of some police tape. But there’s nothing to block save a door. So who knows? Maybe something happened behind the door. Or maybe it’s just a prank.

This last photo is of the stairwell in the Thorvaldson building. I saw the ironwork the other day and tried to get a photo of it, but instead of standing up on the landing and taking a photo downward away from the window and its light, I took it into the light. Needless to say, it didn’t work. So here’s the one I took today. The metalwork is something that you would never see in a university building today. Well, you might if it was the building that housed the President and the Board of Governors, not mere professors and certainly not lowly students.

That’s today’s photo adventure. Not too bad for a little phone camera.

I don’t feel like writing. The exams are done.

It appears that we may be moving at the end of July. Though we will make an appeal to our landlord’s action (which he says he’s going to do) we will probably end up moving. This means, sorry VUBOQ, your package will have to wait for a while. We need to keep our money close.

Rhonda, you have a wicked sense of humour. Really. You’re funny. You’re also not going to get any other answer.

Now it’s on to the reading I need to do for tomorrow’s exam.

Ta-Ra

Last night was spent sleeping until 11 pm and then studying until 4 am. Then I napped until 7 and got up to grog over a quick review of my notes. Grace phoned Bran asking him to help her finish up the final packing and cleaning of her apartment so we headed off to the university a bit early.

My breakfast consisted of pumpkin pie and ice cream and some Coke Zero. I waited in the Chemestry building foyer for a while and talked to a classmate. Then we went off to the classroom where the exam was held. Our prof isn’t one of those fuss budgets who insists that the room remain empty until it’s the very minute of the exam. We all sat around and then he handed out the exam questions (which were pretty much as he said in the review) and answer booklets.

The exam itself was easy. We were to pick 4 of the 8 questions. I picked the question about the advantages and disadvantages of gambling as a source of government revenue, what the normative family used to be, the deterioration of the nuclear (nucular?) family unit and the rising issue of child care, the two forms of policing (reactive and proactive) and how the media influences public opnion and policy, and finally, …something, I can’t remember what it is. Oh well, that’s life. If I remember, I’ll let you know, not that it’s important.

I got my shit essay back. You remember the one? I started the research the day I wrote it. The one I wrote in one evening? The one that was only 7 pages long? Yeah, that one. I got 82% on it. So I walked into the exam with a nice average.

Last night I emailed the Academic VP on the student’s union in an attempt to find out about whether I’ve been accepted into the Honours program and to see if I can get into seeing an advisor. Hopefully with her intervention I’ll be able to get in and see someone. However, just in case, I’ve registered for some classes for next year. I’ll drop the ones that conflict with the Honors seminars if I get into that.

Now I’m awaiting Bran to think on lunch. I have no idea what to have/make and I’m tired and very brain dead. After my nap I’m going to begin studying for the Youth Justice final that I have tomorrow afternoon.

Ta-Ra

Today was the last day of the spring session, or second quarter of the spring session, depending on your point of view. For me, it’s both. I took one full class (6 credits) that started at the beginning of the Spring session, and one half class (3 credits) that started at the beginning of June. Tomorrow is my first final exam and Friday is the second one. Then I have a long weekend before the beginning of Summer Session and a new class (for 3 whole weeks).

I’m greatly relieved to have this over with at last. The full credit class was more or less (more than less) a rerun of my class from last summer “Critical Issues in Canada”, so I shall forever be grateful to VUBOQ for being there when I needed someone to keep my face off my keyboard. I tend to drool when I sleep. Adding the second class onto the class, even if it was a repeat of last term, was a bit much for my coping abilities.

I have more photos for you today. I got a few more good pictures of the dinosaur stuff in the Geology building on my way to class this morning. I also went out to the Biology building and got some photos of the mosaic of mitosis and miosis. Sometime when I remember I’m going to try the other side of the building for photos. The bushes were a little too high to get a full shot of the side of the building.

First the rest of the ichtheosaur (ick-theo-soar) skeleton. This is the actual fossil encased in rock:

Next we have the pteranodon(ter-an-o-don), a flying reptile.

Now here’s a picture of a ramphorhynchus (ram-for-rin-cus), another flying reptile type. This one had crooked teeth that were specifically adapted to capturing and holding fish while they skim over the surface of the water.

This is a photo of a model of the Tyranosaurus Rex hind foot. Notice how freaking big it is. That’s my pudgy reflection in the glass.

Here’s a pic of the T-Rex skeletal model. I snapped this one while I was up on the mezzanine overlooking the foyer. See the little person on the right lower portion? She’s about a meter or so tall (a little over 3 feet). Nice comparison, yes? I’m going to try for a close up of the head from another angle.

Now we head outside to the exterior of the Biology building and the mosaics of cell division.

and

Now, you’ve been entertained enough.

Ta-Ra

I went to class, did the presentation with my co-presenter (we went 1/2 hour over time), picked up a pasta salad and a slice of some kind of sweet loaf thing, went to the next class, handed in my shit, too short essay and then was bored to tears (Thanks for keeping me awake through most of it VUBOQ), then went to meet Bran to go home.

While I waited for him, while he was chatting with a friend, and while he waited patiently, I snapped some pictures. Click on the picture below and you can see the set of photos I took today. I just learned how to do sets. You know, flickr kind of rocks.

We went to A&W to pick up some supper for Boy and I (Bran overate at lunch and didn’t want anything) and then picked up the window we had repaired. After I finished my supper I went and laid down for a nap. I don’t know what time Bran got up, but I slept until 11 pm. I’m now set for the day…err…night. Anyway, eventually I’ll get into a text book and start studying for the final I have on Thursday. I have to get a good mark to make up for that stupidly short and crappy essay.

That’s it. Go look at the photos.

I’ve been having nothing but trouble trying to access my voicemail on my cell phone. I reset it I don’t know how many times on the internet, and it still didn’t work. So being the thoroughly modern Milly that I am, I emailed a request to get help at changing my password on line. After two days of frustration, they gave me the phone number to call and actually speak to a person.

So that’s what I did. I dialed the number and after getting through a voice activated interactive menu, I got to speak to a very charming man (who had a French accent) and he reset my password for me. I was done in a matter of a couple of minutes. I’m going to put that number into my phone’s list of numbers to call. Besides, it’s the same number I call to put more time on my phone.

Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to be up to date.

One of my co-presenters has dropped the class. Today was the last day to be able to without academic penalty. I have neither the time nor energy to cover her portion, or even part of her portion of the presention. All I want to do is hide away and cry.

I know I can. I’m a capable woman. I’ve managed to maintain marks over and above the average necessary to get into the Honours program. I know all this.

As everyone who reads my blog knows (or maybe you don’t) I cope with life through the thick, muddied lenses of depression. I take antidepressants and thyroid medication. As with most people, I deal with the ups and downs that life hands out. Added to that is my screwed up body chemestry.

Life isn’t bad right now. Objectively looking, I can see that. I’m in school. Bran’s in school. We’re passing our classes. Boy’s doing well. We have shelter, we have adequate food, we can pay our bills. That’s good, right?

Something keeps me from doing what I need to do. I have asked for another extension on my essay and will be trying to get the part of the PowerPoint presentation that I’m responsible for done tonight. I’ll also be trying to work on my essay, that I haven’t started.

*sigh*

Sometimes depression sucks. It’s as sneaky as sneaky can be.