update on moi

Hey y'all.

No pictures from the birthday - sorry Rhianne. For some reason I just didn't take too many pictures. Just picture lots of people in togas (aka bed sheets), some with wreaths of vegetation made by hand. Ended the night with a beach fire which is pretty awesome.

I've just found out that I'll be working in the arctic for 2 months this summer (Baffin Island). Super excited about that, though once again I'll miss the warm summer here.

Trying to finish a thesis....it will happen eventually, though never as quick as I think it will.

And....we've been evicted from our house. Evicted! Apparently we live in an illegal secondary suite - suites that exist everywhere and in every city. But in this town they seeem to care a bit more. So with a bylaw infraction notice...we have a month to leave. I could stay, but without a stove and sink - and that's just silly. Now we have to find somewhere to live, for indefinite amounts of time, with a good location and cheap rent...and I have to move all my stuff :-( Sorry folks, little ranting there but it's just such a silly situation.

West Coast Wanderings

Do it the right way...okay?

There comes a time in the life of every authority figure when they notice someone doing something wrong. For me today, it was one of my students copying another lab instead of doing his own. Now I know that there are lots of old copies hanging around out there, and that people copy all the time - but its still wrong and certainly not going to help you learn. But if you must do it...at least do it the smart way - not like my student today. So follows is a note to all my students, and any other students aspiring to someone else's best - DO IT RIGHT. I'll still know you're cheating, because I know that you're not that smart, but at least I'll admire your skill rather than laugh at you behind your back.

-If you have a lab from the year before - copy it before you come into the lab...don't bring it with you and copy it right in front of me.
-Change some words around - the answer key isn't how any student would ever answer...so don't try.
-Don't let everyone around you copy it too. It makes your actions all the more apparent, and after marking 6 of the same response - I know something's up.
-And most important...copy off someone who actually did well. Is there any point in copying off a lab that only got 70% ? You can probably do better anyway and if you can't, then maybe you shouldn't be in my lab anyway - cause good luck with third year.

Slogan of the day

Have you ever wandered what entices people to the place where you live? Is tourism a big industry?

In tourist central of the west coast here, our official slogan is "Always in Season" That's right folks, no matter what time of year you can come to Victoria....Either that or Garden City.

However, some people here have proposed their own slogans. *Note: these people might not actually want the tourists here.

-Thank god you're just visiting because you can't afford to live here.
-Closed when you need us (ahh yes, the 6 pm and 11 am weekend mornings)
-Home for the homeless
-The town that time forgot (we are home to double decker busses, at least 6 tea houses that serve afternoon tea, and probably 20 used book stores and possibly even more antique stores).
-Victoria, your final resting place ('home of the newly wed and neraly dead')

So it's a simple town we live in. Small, full of coffee shops and tourist attractions. Crime is very low, though since we pump our sewage into the ocean, maybe that makes up for it. Our only real problem is the city arena aka Save on Foods, with a very large, overly bright flashly sign. No one's really sure who was responsible for putting the sign up, or who advertises on it...all we know is that it's bright and unwanted in pretty little Victoria. Though, a local newspaper recently put forth a poll with a promising future for the sign - "would you attend a lawnchair film fest shown on the arena's jumbo screen"...ah yes, I can see it now.

Anyone have a better city than that? Oh, and another side note. Apparently: Edmonton. It's cooler here. ( like thats going to attract anyone)