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Saturday, December 31, 2005New template, New Year, New classes, ohh the excitement! 2005 was a very interesting year, I accomplished a lot and am looking forward to seeing what 2006 has to offer me. Here are some of the things I deem noteworthy about 2005: January 2005 - Paid off car loan - Volunteering at the Animal Shelter (Maverick FINALLY got adopted) February 2005 - Valentines day – The Notebook & a special slide show of pictures from Charles - Foods & Nutrition Pub Crawl - Short bout of food poisoning (Damn OJ) March 2005 - Bought Ellie – Blue Point Siamese April 2005 - Sick Simon & a huge vet bill! - Watching Hotel Rwanda and being genuinely moved to tears May 2005 - Marks back – Passed Microbio! June 2005 - Stupid head gasket went on my car, 1200$! - Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants - PEI Humane Society Dog Jog! - Ellie got spayed! - PEAKES! July 2005 - Karaoke at VU- "Chucky. B"- "Lets Dance" & Gilly- "Ice Cream" by Sarah McLachlan, and "Strong Enough" by Sheryl Crow - Canada Day rocked my socks – Staind & Three Doors Down - Jewell's Country Market ice cream & Blooming point beach excursions - Even more Peakes! August 2005 - Toga Party 2005 ! - Road trip- Magnetic Hill Zoo & EVOLVE - John Kyle left for Regina! September 2005 - Ran for and was elected Fans 3rd year rep - Offered a Lab TA position– Can’t wait to do it again next year! October 2005 - Halloween Fairy Fun @ Gill’s! - Helen Herring Scholarship November 2005 - Road trip- Jules, Court & I went to visit Angie in Moncton! What a trip :) December 2005 - Biochemistry didn’t kick my ass! - Vacation and Relaxation! (+ shopping) - Engagement.. *gushes* I am not big on making New Years resolutions but there are a few things that I want to work on this year, namely…. 1. De-Cluttering my apartment 2. Training my cats 3. Maintain 80+ average 4. Go to the gym 3-4 days a week – My lulu workout pants should be incentive to complete that goal! 5. Spend more time with Heidi, Taylor and Nicholas 6. Spend more time with my mom and dad I guess that’s about it, It’s not a huge list or detailed by any means, but none the less it’s written down and recorded so I’ll have to chip away at each goal... Happy New Years Eve everyone!
Monday, December 26, 2005Winter Moonlight The snow, so peaceful and serene, caressed by the soft moonlight, gave magical feelings to the night. The soft blue glow, the lovers' words that then did flow, their lips closer and closer until, locked in the throes of a passionate embrace, he decided to express his feelings, to keep her safe. He whispered softly, his words like music to her ears, "I Love You," and her response the same, heard like the gentle breeze, "And I, love you, forever." That was the night they promised to be together through everything, each to care for the other when old and gray A lovers' pact the most likely to last. - Anonymous
Saturday, December 24, 2005Two posts in one day, wow, it's a miracle! Actually I forgot to include the anonymous eloquently written commentary listed below in my last post. I was utterly disturbed by an article I read on CNN, it detailed a story about a baby Jackass penguin named Toga that was stolen from a British Zoo just a few weeks ago.
By the time you read this, Toga the penguin - kidnapped on Saturday from a zoo on the Isle of Wight - will almost certainly be dead. Trenched with tears, carved with cares, hope will be 12 hours gone. And a small, fish-whiffing abductee only shin-high to a wellington boot will be casting a long, sad shadow over the nation's Christmas celebrations. As civilians die in Iraq, the homeless curl in freezing doorways and the lonely face their traditional festival of depression and suicide - as the grave, indeed, of the late Alistair Cooke is desecrated by bodysnatchers - why, you might reasonably ask, should we so immoderately mourn a dumb animal? Why should we have set up a special penguin hotline, offered a £10,000 reward for his safe return, put up missing posters and made tearful TV appeals to his abductors? Aren't we being disgustingly sentimental? On one level, of course, yes we are. Could that £10,000 not be better spent on rough sleepers; or that sympathy be better spent on human beings who have been abducted and allowed to die? Hard to argue otherwise. But to take stern and angry offence at the sentimentalisation of Toga is also to miss the point, to see things too much in black and white - like a penguin. It isn't an either/or choice. You can feel for human beings and feel for penguins: an indulgence, perhaps, but one that's little different than allowing yourself to shed a tear for an imaginary character in a film. We allow Toga to become a symbol. He is what we have made of him imaginatively: a Christmas story - a little drama with a sad ending. By anthropomorphizing him, we respond to his story as we respond to art. George Eliot wrote: "If art does not enlarge men's sympathies, it does nothing morally." Who could say in what complicated ways Toga's fate might serve to enlarge our sympathies? It being Christmas, after all, we are on the lookout for a paradigm of innocence: be it the Little Baby Jesus or Little Penguin Toga. The film March of the Penguins is thought to have spurred Toga's kidnappers to their adventure; and what a cruel and idiotic adventure that was. They scaled two 6ft walls and an 8ft fence to p-p-p-pick up their penguin: a prize that could no more be sold on than a two-ton Henry Moore; that could, in fact, do no more than pine to death as their hostage. Little percentage for them in risking capture by returning him. And, unlike a Henry Moore, he has no value as scrap. Yet these are unusually easy creatures on which to project ourselves. (Reports more often describe Toga as "kidnapped" than "stolen".) They are at once inherently comical, waddling about in their odd little suits, yet they also appear inquisitive, bright, and affectionate. Nothing in Central Park Zoo, not even the clinically depressed polar bears, was quite so entrancing to me when I lived in New York as the penguin enclosure. You could watch them zipping into the water, twisting around at great speed and then rocketing out like little torpedoes to return to a rock, where they'd shake, flap, and look immensely pleased with themselves. One of the most cheering news stories I ever wrote was set in that penguin enclosure: the story of Wendell and Cass, a pair of gay penguins who had coupled up in the zoo and bagged - naturally - a spacious penthouse nesting site. These are fastidious creatures, and gregarious ones. They look after their children, like us, and gay or straight, penguins form strong and nurturing bondsToga's parents, Kyala and Oscar, have been ceaselessly circling the nest, wondering where he is. Deprived of the pre-chewed fishy vittles that only they can provide, his strength will have failed, and his bodyweight dwindled. Experts tell us that, at the last - deprived of the nourishment of penguin company - his spirit, too, will have broken: "He would shiver, and hunch, and be dejected." The jackass penguin, of which Toga is, or was, an example, does not greet its public with a cheerful "quack", as you might imagine. It says "hee-haw", like a donkey. For some reason, the faint absurdity of this makes his death the more poignant. Toga has likely hee-hawed his last. Solemn little creature. It will be a bleak Christmas for Toga's parents, for Toga's keepers, for Toga's admirers worldwide. The congregation of New York's Pentecostal Uprise Church, which has been praying for Toga's safe return, will bow its head, perhaps, in silent remembrance. In Canada, they will mourn. In Russia, they will light a candle. And yet in the deep permanent winter of the Antarctic, Toga's emperor penguin cousins, unmourning, will continue to circle the wagons and, in their endless white Christmas, will still gather and tend the children. Silly things, penguins. But we can still make them a symbol of hope; or, at least, of perseverance. -------- Yes, I am an avid animal lover but more so I am a human being and this story just broke my heart.
  This is Ellie on drugs hahah!    This next comic is just too funny, Simon is ALWAYS trying to sit on the back of the toilet.. very strange..  Again, this is exactly what Simon does every night before bed, BUT--instead of kneading the bed he kneads my back or belly which is nice-- IF the claws aren't out ;)     Studying at home is always a challenge, 2 siamese cats in the house = always having a lap cat!  I always call Simon my cinnamon roll because he's always curled up!       Simon & Elle have their very own squirrel friend...  Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas, xoxo Jane and family 
Friday, December 23, 2005Getting up @ 7am for work @ 8 was tough this morning to say the least. Ugh, I hate mornings after having a vacation they’re just brutal.
Marks back yesterday, 80 average, could have been better - could have been worse. Nutrition courses are always my strong marks, nothing below 80 yet and after 10 core nutrition courses I guess that means I am in the right program haha! This semester it was 84, 85 & 89 for nutrition courses. Biochemistry also went unexpectedly well (68%) and I am praying the second half goes just as well, I have my doubts though! On Wednesday night I got my hair done with Jules. Here are a few pics! I went super blonde with a darker light brown base. The hairdo was one of my Christmas presents from Charles along with a very expensive (but essential) ceramic salon hair straightener. Muahahahah!
Later that night Charles and I went to China Garden (our usual spot) for a huge meal. It totaled about 38$ and I planned on leaving a large tip because the man that owns the place is such a hard worker and is very polite and sweet, he always calls us by name yet we have never told him our names….anyways we went to pay and he told us it was on him and to have a Merry Christmas! At first I refused but he insisted we not pay! What a nice man, seriously, in this day and age that NEVER happens. So, please if you’re going out for Chinese try the China Garden, excellent food and even better service. Last night I went to my sister’s place for a Turkey dinner made by Terry, it was yummy. Turkey, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, turnip, cranberry sauce, fresh rolls, unreal gravy, carrots… it was delish! Dessert was a strawberry cream cake brought by moi and it was a hit. Martini’s and turkey dinner, I couldn’t have asked for a better evening. I am unfortunately coming down with a bad cold, I think my immune system was weakened from the wisdom teeth surgery and now my throat is scratchy and I can’t stop blowing my nose, ugh! I HAVE to get better. Way too much visiting and food needs to be done/consumed. On a brighter note I only work today and tomorrow and then I am off until the 29th! Who’s coming boxing day shopping with me?! Anywho, tonight was supposed to bring about dinner with Steve et al. @ the pilot house but I feel so horrible that I had to back out. I am going to curl up with some chicken noodle soup and a smeeze. Annnd, speaking of cats - here are more kittie pics outside in the snow! Ellie's paws sinking in the snow bank =)  Simon scoping out the area for birds!  Ellie trying to warm up her toes!
Simon looking dashing ;)
Click here for a special Christmas Greeting from the cats and I! Make sure to listen all the way through, it's cute (Thanks Gilly)!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005After a three month hiatus I have returned.. better late then never! Wow. this semester FLEW by, I still can't believe it's over haha! Marks are in tomorrow which is exciting and scary at the same time. So, it's that time of year again, 4 days until Christmas! I prefer Christmas Eve myself, on the 25th you know it's all over for another year.. but Christmas Eve is magical you just never know what's going to happen, I love the anticipation. I am slowwwllly recovering from getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted, fun eh? It was a very painful process and they didn't give me enough drugs! So now I have to recover without the help of Mr. Tylenol. ugh. I have all my Christmas shopping finished and only a few presents left to wrap. For one of my Christmas presents Charles is paying for a new hair doo that I will be getting tonight with Jules. I was originally thinking of going darker, but blondes have more fun! haha Any third year or fourth year UPEI students that were born and raised on PEI should be aware that we get a 600 dollar grant from the government, one in third and another in fourth year. I was out of the loop on that information so when I got the letter yesterday I thought I'd won the lottery. Nice surprise though, it will help with tuition. Simon & Elle are as cute as ever, Ellie's turned into a SNUGGLER! Below are some Christmas pics of my two rug rats! Ellie & "The Candycane"  Simon guarding the Candycane dangling on the string below...
Ellie munching on the candycane!  What a handsome boy!  More pics on their pictures page soon! Happy Holidays!
Saturday, September 17, 2005This past week was one of the busiest weeks of my life! Talk about hectic. Okay, so the Monday foods lab went smoothly, I love being a TA it’s fun teaching the first years. I also ran for a position on the FANS executive this week, after a lot of stress and giving a speech in a cramped room with 20+ people I am now 3rd year representative. I have also signed up for peer mentoring (headed by Mandy & Bria) which is basically a buddy system to help the first years feel welcome in the department and encourage them to come to our FANS events. My resume is looking better and better each year. Biochem lab on Thursday was long as hell, over 3 hours to be exact. Thankfully I have a really nice lab partner, which makes things much better then expected. This year is shaping up to be busy, this is what I have on my plate so far: - Working 1-2 shifts a week (8-16 hours/week). - Volunteering on Wednesdays at the Humane Soc. starting up again ASAP. - Fans 3rd year rep, includes weekly meetings and one monthly meeting. - Peer mentoring (assisting 1-2 students). - 5 classes, assessment lab and TA'n Foods 111 weekly + BioChem lab every 2 weeks. - Volunteering with the Healthy Eating Alliance. - Trying to think up an honours project? Any ideas? So. That’s that. I like the rush and excitement, makes the year go by quicker. In cat related news Elle is growing! I will post some new pictures when I get the chance. Simon woke me up this morning by throwing teddy bears off the shelves above my bed onto my head in hopes I would get up and feed him, smart kitty. So I think it’s time to get a coffee, my eyes are getting sleepy and work is really slow. FANS Pub Crawl this Friday (23rd) Come one come all, 15$ a shirt, 5 bars, drink specials and free pool! If you bring a non-perishable food item when you pick up your shirt you can enter a draw to win prizes! Support the food bank, they are really short on food this season. Leave a comment if you’re interested!
Saturday, September 10, 2005Okay, well, I haven’t had any time to update, and really I shouldn’t be updating right now I should be reading but I am taking a break! University started up again and is just as hectic as ever, for anyone interested here’s a little overview of my third year courses this semester! Nutritional Assessment – looks to be challenging but both my girls are in the class so it should be fun. We had a pop quizzy on Friday to test our knowledge before the course even started and as usual Bria and I got the same mark 12/15! Human Development & The Family – Flash back to Psych 101-102, thankfully I have both of those courses under my belt so this shouldn’t be too hard. Nutrition & Dietary Behaviour – Dr. Jennifer Taylor is the prof (she rocks my socks)! This is going to be my favorite course I already know it. It’s all about why people eat the way they do, and what motivates people to eat healthy or unhealthy foods. Seriously how can we be Dietitians without taking this course? I think it should be required. Research Methods – Hermm, I don’t think it will be my favorite course because it has a lot to do with statistics, and we all know how much I love stats. NOT. Ahh well, it’s with Jenn Taylor so I should be fine. Biochemistry - Mr. Barry Linkletter… we meet again! It seems like a very interesting course but it’s also the hardest course at UPEI so I guess I will stay on top of things and see how it goes. So, that’s the course summary. In other school related news Miss Bria and I got offered a Lab Assistant positions for the Intro 111 Foods course (I got the Monday lab and B got the Wednesday lab)! I was honored and accepted the offer even though I will be super busy. I couldn’t turn it down when she asked, I am thinking about doing my honours with this professor so I figured it was a great opportunity. She also told us it looks great on a resume for grad school! If you asked me three years ago if I ever though I would be a lab TA I would have said no, but these past few years have built my confidence and I am excelling in school and love it. I am also running for a spot on the FANS exec. 3rd year nutrition rep to be exact. It looks like I am almost assured the position, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I am going to be super busy with 3 labs, Fans, humane society and working but I know that each are valuable and I can't leave any out! I also got my hair cut short and highlighted! I feel like a new person, which is great, that hair was weighing me down and I needed a change. Here are some pictures!  Peakes with Megan!!  Gilly and Moi Bria and Gill Well that's all for now, I do like this blog so check for more updates and leave comments people!
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