last day

Today is (finally) the last day of school stuff for spring semester. My Christian eco-feminism paper is due today - just "today", so I'm assuming 11:30 pm still counts. Truth be told, I'm trying to get it done by the time Tyler gets home at around 4. Yes, that's right, Tyler's working the long weekend (no surprises there). He refuses to work Sunday, so we'll get that day together but Monday he'll be working. That will be my first real day off in around 6 weeks. That's not good. The Saturday school thing really threw me for a loop and my normal day off just went out the window. So, I'll enjoy my Monday. Thankfully, summer semester does not include Saturday classes so I'll get that day back.

I've already read 15 articles for this eco-feminism paper, so that's good. I'll bibliography it up, and then I guess I'll get writing ... writing is usually the easy part.

RK

all sorted

Well, I spent an hour at the U of C "service stop" yesterday, but not all my courses are sorted out. In the home stretch! After Saturday I have 9 courses to go. Pretty crazy.

A day in the life...

Do you ever wonder how other people spend their days? Do you ever sit around, just obsessing about me, wondering what I'm doing at every living moment? No? Oh.

Well I'm still going to blog my day. I MAY even take pictures but I will not guarantee you anything!

6:00 am - the alarm goes off. The alarm always goes off at 6 am. We never get up at 6 am.
6:20 am - Tyler mentions to me that it's 6:20. I grunt something in return.
6:30 am - Tyler asks me if I'm going to get up and have a shower with him (sorry for that image). I grunt something in return.
6:40 am - the alarm goes off, yet again (brutal). What kind of alarm, you ask? The loud beeping type, not talk radio or anything nice. Loud beeping. Tyler sleeps through anything else.
6:50 am - Tyler gets out of bed. I vaguely think about how the world is so cruel to have any time before 8:30 am. He's in the bathroom. I wait until he gets the shower going. I drag myself out of bed.
7:07 am - we leave the house. Impressive! We had planned 7:00 am, so only 7 minutes late, considering a 6:30 get-up time would have been preferred, was a victory.
7:30 am - Between 7:07 and 7:30 we managed to go to this great place called Gabz - Tyler goes there every morning for his coffee and muffin. The reason we had to leave before 7:15 was because I wanted a breakfast bagel, and that takes them a little longer to make. The breakfast bagel was delicious. It's so nice (and unusual) to get food out that is fresh and made with real egg and not like some weird egg concoction from a milk carton, you know? This place is owned by some French guy, and they bake everything fresh in there - croissants, breads of all different kinds, pretzels, everything. They're AMAZING. They make great cookies too. I got my coffee (in my mug from home - DON'T USE PAPER CUPS! IT'S A WASTE OF EARTH'S RESOURCES! *SCOWL*), my breakfast bagel; Tyler got his coffee and a breakfast english muffin. I dropped him off at work at 7:30. "Why did you drop him off?" you ask. Well, because he didn't work Friday because we had Scott's wedding, but people at work needed "his" van.
7:50 am - that's my guess at the time. I got home. I put away some dishes that Tyler washed yesterday evening. I got a big glass of water, I checked my 3 email accounts (one for work, one that I use all the time, and my old one because the university sends me mail there), and I checked my blogs. Then I wrote this post, and now it's 8. I'll let you know how things progress.

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8:00-8:40 am Upon the realization that today is registration day for fall and winter courses, I search online and choose my courses. I can't register until 12:00 pm (that's my "online appointment") but at least I know what I'm doing. It should be ok.
8:40-9:00 am Put on a load of laundry, made the bed, decided what was for dinner, made a short grocery list, took out some frozen chicken for dinner, got a snack (cherries). Got settled in on the couch to start reading articles for my research paper on Christian eco-feminism (it's due tomorrow - bah - thought about how tired I am!)

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9:00-9:45 am Read an article entitled "Ecology of Religion", and ate lots of cherries. Mmm, cherries. Tyler picked them up at a fruit stand on his way home from working in Kelowna last week.
9:45-11:00 am Napped - I had that eye-sting-ing feeling that happens when you've had too little sleep, and I realized that I was reading every paragraph multiple times to understand, so it was nap time. I only intended it to be 45 minutes, but as usual I slept through my alarm. Felt much better upon awakening.
11:00-11:50 am Got started on an article entitled "Women's Studies in Religion"
11:50-12:00 pm Checked work email, corresponded with my "boss" regarding some weeks I'll be away and worked on setting up a meeting. Made coffee. Mmmm.... coffee. Contemplated lunch.
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12:00-12:15 The incompetence of U of C continues. As my delicious Kicking Horse organic, shade-grown, fairly traded & delicious coffee brewed, I applied for my Fall and Winter courses.

-Initiate Rant-
I got into all of my religious studies courses, but the two music courses (for my MUSIC degree) rejected me saying I didn't have the prerequisites. My foot! Of course I have the pre-requisites. I need these two stupid courses to graduate. I sent an email to my advisor, but of course she's on mat leave, so then I forwarded it to the email her out of office message recommended. This email address doesn't have a name attached to it, because of course that would involve some level of accountability. BAH! I have never not had a problem with getting into music courses. This is my 5th (or 6th? eek) year of this. At least it's my last one. It just seems that all of the sub-par admin workers have been sent to the music department to work.
-End Rant-

So, Fall:
my music history course when they let me in - Classical and Romantic music
"New Religious Movements" with Irving Hexham
"Recent Religious Thought" with somebody Joy. I haven't had her or Hexham before but I suspect I'll like Hexham very much from reports from others. My music course will be painful because it's with DeLong and he's unbearable.

Winter:
more music history - Late Romantic and Modern Music, with some guy I've never studied with
"Council/Canon/Creed" with Anne Moore - that'l l be a great time
"Advanced Studies in New Religious Movements" with Irving Hexham
"Intro to Women's Studies" with someone I don't know. I needed a 200 level non-music course, so there you are.

I'm still contemplating lunch...
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12:15-12:52 - Ranted to Tyler about the U of C stuff, decided on a hot dog for lunch (mm mmm nutrition!), started reading an article entitled "Women's Studies in Religion"
12:52 - the power went out! Great. I silenced the stupid carbon monoxide detector that goes all nuts whenever there's a change in power and lit some candles, including the 5 "emergency candles" that was one of Lyden's gift to us for Christmas. We knew they'd come in handly! Continued reading my "Women's Studies in Religion" article.
1:42 - After almost an hour in the dark, the power came back on! Brilliant. Finished reading the "Women's Studies in Religion" article, (it was loooong), checked work email - just more spam. Boo to spam!
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1:42-4:00 - Research, research, research! I had given in to the fact that I was not going to get my F3 homework done for tonight and would have to go from memory, but I still decided to email my prof and ask for an extension on my paper. I could hand something in tomorrow, but even with an extra day it could be oh so much BETTER. Well, I got my email in reply - extension until Saturday! Yay!!! I've narrowed my focus to "Rosemary Radford Ruether & Christian eco-feminism", rather than just Christian eco-feminism on its own. I am VERY enjoying this research.

My friend Marilyn called so we ended up talking for a while - 20 minutes perhaps? That was good because I was waiting for some documents to print anyway, and was planning on a short break. After collecting and printing the last of the articles found online, I'm now off to Safeway for groceries. It's pretty rainy...should I wear my rain jacket or drive? Hmmmmmmm.
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run time

It seems all I post about is running and school, and occasionally work. But oh well. It's my blog, I can write about whatever I want. :)

Today I ran 7 km in 53 minutes, but that included a stop at McDonald's to go to the washroom. Man, what would I do without that McDonald's? Last week I ran 15 km total for the week, and my minimum run amount was 5.5 km. That meant, no matter what, I was travelling 5.5 km, it didn't matter if I had to walk part of it, the distance was getting done. This week is a minimum 7 km week, except for the runs I do with Christine - since we're doing a sprint tri, we only need to run 5 for that. I may have to have a few minimum 7 weeks before I up it to 9.5, but we'll see. The most exciting thing about this run was that I managed it in 20 degree weather, and it was only partly cloudy. Yay! Seeing as heat and sun are the things that are going to kill me on my races, the fact that I ran all 7 in those conditions are a good move forward as far as I'm concerned.

I've started getting articles for my Christian eco-feminism essay. Yay! Look at me, getting articles a whole 6 days in advance. I have like 30 books on the topic too, but these articles give me a good overview so that I have some idea what I'm talking about.

Tyler's been working out of town this week. You know how I feel about that? NOT HAPPY.

>:(

Oh well, at least he comes home tomorrow. :) We get to hang out all day Friday too b/c it's Scott's wedding that day! Yay Scott!

I am shooting to run another 7 (maybe 9 if I feel good) first thing tomorrow morning - as in 6 or 6:30. At least it will be cool and I'll beat the traffic (I run on sidewalks but there's a couple of streets I have to cross that have lights). Plus there won't be anyone out and about - today there were tons of 12-14 year olds out on the streets. Maybe they have a day off? They can't ALL be skipping. I wouldn't mind, but they're all pretty rude. (Now, to clarify: not all 12-14 year olds are rude, it just seems all the 12-14 year olds in my neighborhood are rude).

Anyway, I should probably read those articles - I suppose finding them isn't good enough. ;)
RK

Yesterday Christine and I biked 20 km and then struggled our way through a 2.5 km run. She's a much better biker than me, but I'll get it! It was so much fun - we went and got helmets first and then off we went. On Saturday after my art history final exam we're going out again. It should be fun.

Tonight is the LRT Prayer Experience that I've been planning for the last little while. I've really enjoyed putting this together and I hope it goes well tonight. I trust it will.

My final exam for Religious Studies is next Friday - and you know, that kinda sucks. I wish it were sooner, because now I only get Sat/Sun/Mon off before school starts again. I was thinking I'd have closer to a week. :( That is followed by the 3 weeks from Hades - 16 hours of school a week for 3 weeks. But then that class is over and I'll have another sweet, nearly stress-free weeks of "Women and Religion" with my new very favorite prof, Anne White. Before you know it, it'll be September and I'll be entering my second last semester at U of C! WOO!

RK

I sit at 89.5% in Art History now - I did considerably better than I expected on the slide exam - 75%, getting 4.5 out of the 6 points. Yay, Jesus!

The paper I wrote on Byzantine representations of Jesus actually turned out better than I expected as well. I handed it in today - so I'll probably get it back next Saturday, just in time for the final exam. Gag!

Unfortunately I miss Tuesday evening's class, so that kind of sucks - it's no good to miss the last class before the final. I'll have to email my prof.

So, all I have left is the Art History final (next Saturday), research paper for Religious Studies due Tuesday the 26th, and the religious studies final, which I still don't know the date of (silly registrar).

Christine and I are taking a triathlon training course - it's 5 monday nights, 2 hours a night. It should be TONS of fun. I anticipate looking very silly. I'll definitely be cataloguing the embarassments here.

Alright, back to Greek architecture...
RK

LOOOOONG day

Today was my double test day - midterm in religious studies, slide test in art history.

I started studying at 6:30 this morning and finally finished my 2nd test at 6:30 pm. Go 12 hour day! The midterm (worth 15%) went well enough, the slide exam (6%) was sketchy but whatever. This class doesn't end til 8 pm, but I'm out of here on the break - probably at 7:30. I deem a 13 hour day long enough.

...Plus, we have no groceries in the house and Ty is helping his uncle move tonight so he can't get us some. Pretty much all we have in the house right now is cereal and frozen fruit. Not much to build meals (other than breakfast) around.

This Saturday I've got my art research paper due... then the following saturday I have my art final, then the following Tuesday I have the religious paper due, and then after that the registrar scheduled final. Despite the momentary stress, I still prefer the shorter 6 week format.

All my talks went well on Sunday, but it was a long day. I still don't think I've recovered. I had such an insane headache yesterday that all I wanted to do was sleep but of course I can't sleep. It seems the only time I'm able to sleep is during the day - Tyler insists I'm nocturnal :) It's not like I'm not trying to sleep at night, I am!!!, it's just I plain don't sleep well during the night. Oh well. Despite my tiredness and general unwell-ness yesterday, I studied 4 hours.

Tomorrow I need to do all of my week's worth of GBC work in one day, and then possibly go and do some research for my paper. That sounds do-able. Well, maybe not. :)

Go team survival!

Ooh, Ty and I are going to the FIFA under twenty group A quarter final in Edmonton. We got good tix and they were only like $20. The tix started at $10. I'm looking forward to it (not NEAR as much as him though). It'll be a nice day trip - it's in July sometime.

Alright, time to pack up and go home. ... I mean, the grocery store. Blah! :P
RK

school school school

So, I got my art history midterm back - B. Not bad for being unable to study 3 days before cause I was at camp (although I tried valiantly!). This means I sit at 91%, meaning I have about 5% breathing room if I want to get an A. *sigh*

As for religious studies, I got 100% on my video analysis paper - my first 100% on a paper. That was good.

Things heat up for the next week or so - Tuesday I have 2 tests, one in art history, one in religious studies; then on Saturday my research paper on Byzantine depictions of Christ is due. On the 23rd is my Art History final (and so ends that course), on the 26th my research paper for religious studies is due (and so ends that course). Whirlwind!

In the meantime, I'm just trying to be ready for tomorrow morning and my bazillion presentations - Focus 3 presentation in the service, "The World This Week" in the service, luncheon and a presentation for Focus 3 after the service, and a short presentation at the congregational meeting in the evening. BLAH!

RK

I didn't get fired

I had my performance review today and ... *drum roll* ... I didn't get fired! Hooray! In fact, I "met or exceeded expectations" in all areas. I'm even getting a "small raise". I'm not sure what that means - probably 50 cents, $1.50 at most. Then my wage will be a couple of dollars higher than the average Tim Horton's employee. ;) I'm actually fine with what I make, I just find it amusing that I could make marginally less or more working at Starbucks or Tim Hortons or something like that with a lot less stress - a lot less joy and meaning, but a lot less stress as well.

So Tyler and I are going to do up his resume hopefully tonight and upgrade mine as well. Then I can go to career services here at U of C and they'll basically rip it apart and reassemble it in a (hopefully) nicer form. It should be good. Career services does that every Wednesday from 11am-1pm - good deal, eh? Thank you, U. We'll then be sending them off to various people who work in the NAB (north american baptist) Conference - Harry (our senior pastor) was talking to people about me and Ty so they're expecting to hear from us. I don't know if anything will come of it, but we may as well put our names out there. We're still moving forward with the Regent stuff, so we'll just see what God sorts out for us.

Today we're talking about "Evil & Suffering" in religious studies - should be fun :)
RK

Apparently I'm THAT hot.

I just got back from running 7 km in 49:44. That's basically 7 min/km. I'm pretty pleased with that. If I could keep that pace, I'd run 21 km in 150 minutes, which is 2.5 hours. It's not FAST, but it would get the job done. Take into account the weather though: 11 degrees, windy, humid, wet. Of course, the wind was against me for over half the run, but whatever. The biggest accomplisment of today was not giving up when I really, really wanted to. I have to win those mental games or I'll never make it through the 1/2 marathon.

Just to compare my accomplishments, on Monday, I ran 5.5 km in 58 minutes. It was TERRRRRRRRRIBLE. I ran past the McDonalds and thought "oh man I should go to the bathroom", ran about half a block more, and turned around and walked to the McDonald's to use their washroom. Suffice it to say it was an emergency. It was 23 degrees and the sun was beating down on me the WHOLE TIME, and I had dirty Ogden Pizza for dinner the night before and lunch that day. It was ugly. I walked a lot. I'm praying for nice overcast days for my summer races.

A few mini rants:

---Commence Rant---
GET OFF THE SIDEWALKS, PEOPLE! Seriously. I'm not prowling quietly and slowly like a baby kitten behind you. You can hear me coming - I'm the one huffing and puffing and swearing under my breath. Is it THAT much to ask that you move from the center of the sidewalk to the side of the sidewalk so I can pass you?

RING YOUR BELL, MORONS! Again, SERIOUSLY. If you're on a bike YOU'RE NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE SIDEWALK. If you're going to whip past me at a hundred miles an hour, just out of courtesy, could you give me a warning bell?

Men, please explain this to me. Why do cars filled with teenage boys insist on honking loudly and hanging out their window yelling indecipherably at women running? SERIOUSLY! What are you trying to accomplish? It's not like I was out there in my mini running shorts and sports bra - (sorry for that mental image) - I was wearing capri running pants and a long sleeved shirt. Apparently I'm SO hot that you just have to hang out your window and yell and make gestures at me. Please, that SO turns me on. Could you stop at the end of the block so I can hop in the car with you? Give me a break.

---End of Rant---

So, I have my first performance review tomorrow. Well, my first one at GBC. I was telling Tyler the other night that I was nervous about it. Here's how that conversation went:

Ty: What are you worried about?
Rachel: I dunno, I guess I'm afraid of getting fired. :(
Ty: But then you could work at Starbucks!
Rachel: I COULD work at Starbucks! Maybe I'm getting fired! :)

No, I don't think I'll get fired. But I am nervous about the review. Maybe it's because I had a not-so-encouraging one at Rideau when I was there. But of course, working at Rideau was not-so-encouraging on the whole.

ANYWAY, that's enough for now. Yay, rain!
RK

a special Rachel moment

Today I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything done - going to meetings, driving across town for other meetings, trying to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. Well I did forget something.

I got to my religious studies class a little early - perfect, because all the good laptop spots near the outlets always go early. I get myself all set up - get my snacks out, get online, get ready to take notes, and then someone comes in and says "where is everybody?". Well, now that he mentions it, the class is strangely empty - now that he's arrived there's only 4 of us. It turns out it's reading day. FANTASTIC!

Strangely, I still have art history tonight, so I guess I'm just 4 hours early for that. It's actually a blessing because I have been trying to figure out all week how I'm going to get to the library and do some research for my 2 research papers. Looks like I can seize the moment.

RK

blogging at school? never!

I'm in art history. I had a midterm at 8:00 this morning (8:00 on a Saturday? deadly!), so Tyler picked me up at camp in Sundre at around 7 pm yesterday evening, and when this class is over (noon), it's back to camp for me. Camp has been going well so far.

I am currently sitting at a 97% in Art History - a miracle of God. We'll see after my midterm what I'm down to. I wrote a 4.5 page essay for the last question, worth 45 marks. Hopefully it will do. I'd be surprised if I got less than 40 on it - it was pretty solid.

I'm now going to try to sign up for the triathlon with Christine - she's probably getting impatient with me (sorry Christine! ... if you read this!!!)

You lurkers should leave me comments. :)

Mmmmm, Iranian art....
RK