PSA

PEOPLE:

Please start watching Parks and Recreation, because it is the best show on television.  The first season is not the best so you can skip it if you want, but after that it gets amazing.

Please stop watching The Big Bang Theory, because it is the worst show on television.  One time I tried watching it and forcing myself to laugh along with the laugh track, which actually made it even less funny, if that is even possible.  I lasted about 2 minutes and then had to turn it off because it was so terrible.

REMEMBER:

Parks and Recreation = awesome, The Big Bang Theory = awful

Physics Fraud Friends

I don't know if I should put this up on the internet since it's slightly academically incriminating, but considering that the only people known to read this blog are my friends/family and people I don't know at all, it's probably okay.

I had a text conversation with a fellow physics degree friend the other day who is doing her Master's in engineering.  She mentioned that a prof had said that sound waves were part of the EM spectrum but decided against correcting him.  I said that it was an honest mistake and I probably would not have noticed his mistake at all, and then went further to say that I have always maintained that I'm pretty sure I basically just "mathed" my way through a physics degree without really learning any physics at all.

Usually when I tell people this, they say that it's not possible and I must have learned something but I just don't realize it (although I do have a super genius friend who claims she doesn't know any physics either).  And maybe that's true, maybe I learned a few basic concepts, but to be honest all I remember is the math involved.  In my job now, I'm "re-learning" some really basic physics concepts and finally realizing what they mean, because they're not being explained in a complicated context.  So seriously, I'm embarrassed to be like "oh THAT'S what Compton scattering is" when I clearly have a degree in it and should already be an expert on these topics.

So anyway, I fully expected the same reaction from this friend, but I was delighted when she responded "me too, I didn't learn any physics."  Hooray!  She went on to say that she doesn't care or have an opinion on about the faster than light neutrino controversy, which I had been just about to mention that I didn't know enough to form an opinion on it either.

I've always felt like the fact I have a physics degree is slightly fraudulent - no, I didn't "copy" my way through my degree, but I most certainly feel as though I faked my way through by being really good at math and memorization.  It's always nice to meet someone else who feels the same way - I may be a physics fraud, but it's good to know I have a few physics fraud friends.

Excellent observation skills

Today my sister mentioned something about her glasses, which made me realize I'd seen her wearing glasses a lot lately.

Me:  Did you stop wearing contacts?
Megan:  Yeah.
Me:  Oh I didn't really even notice.  When did you stop?
Megan:  January.

Spoons and Forks... and Shoes?

Further evidence of my childhood desire to put random objects in strange places:

Filling my aunt's shoe with cutlery??

Classmates.com please die okay

One of my biggest social networking regrets is joining Classmates.com after I graduated high school.  Why did I ever think I'd feel the need to contact people through that site, especially only months after I graduated?  (Why did I ever think I'd feel the need to contact people I graduated with, is the better question...)

Because now there is NO WAY OUT.  I am stuck on Classmates.com for life, and in turn my name gets generated onto a bunch of copycat sites as well, so when you try to Google me I show up on all these LAMESAUCE social networking sites from the early 2000s with Comic Sans font, only one of which I ever made an account for, which I have been trying to delete since 2003, probably the day after I made it.

Overall, my online presence/profile is pretty excellent.  If you Google me I look really smart because pretty much everything about me online is from cool things I was written up for in university, or stuff about me with the company I work for now.  Then there are a couple dumb Facebook public posts from old groups I used to be in before groups were publicly searchable (and when groups still existed), and friggin' Classmates.com.

Classmates - please get it through your head that no one wants to use your site anymore.  No one wants to pay for social networking.  So how about delete your site and your database and stop cluttering up my online presence.

Celery

I grew celery this summer to see what would happen.  I don't particularly love celery but I wanted to see if it would work.  I believe the picture will tell you whether or not it worked out for me:

I'm not really sure what that is, but it doesn't appear to be celery stalks.

The internet tells me that I probably planted them too close together, didn't water them enough, and many other things.  I don't think I'll try growing celery again.  At very least these stalkless leaves are good for flavouring soups, and if I had a food dehydrator I'd probably dry them out for homemade celery salt or something.

Discovery Channel

Mom:  Discovery channel im iceld now
Mom:  I mean ice land if im the geothermal pools

 

Mission Accomplished

To the people who placed an absolutely terrifying Halloween decoration behind a tree on University Drive in order to scare innocent passers-by...

...well done.

Wedding Crafts

Before we got engaged, I was really excited to plan a wedding.  All the little fun details, crafts, the whole works.  I remember saying to people "I've planned a two-day conference for 100 13-year-old girls and have overseen the planning of 8 different science camps for kids of all ages which included keeping track of 90+ different projects, surely a simple wedding will be a piece of cake."  But then when we actually got engaged, I realized that there is a lot more that goes into planning a wedding than just making a schedule and booking stuff.  There's a whole emotional side to things too which is ultimately more important than the crafts, so suddenly all that stuff seemed superficial and I didn't care about it anymore.  Like instead I might need the next 10 months to come to terms with having to say my vows in front of 100+ people - does anyone actually realize what a big deal that is?  To be that vulnerable and honest in front of everyone?  I feel like I need to focus my energy on figuring out how to cope with that, rather than crafts.  I digress.

However I still kind of want some sort of crafty homemade things, and I also think my sister was very disappointed the day I told her I didn't feel like doing any details, so when I came across this post on my favourite wedding blog, I thought, wax paper lanterns for tea lights?  That looks too easy.  Easy enough to not take over my life and kind of fun too.  And CHEAP, this is what I like to see.

I decided to make a few changes, as the comments on that post suggested incorporating the kindergarten "stained glass" craft where you iron crayon shavings between two pieces of wax paper, and decided to put stickers on the outside instead of pressed flowers on the inside (sorry but that sounds like wayyyy too much work).  I set to work for about 2 hours this morning, creating about 5 sheets of crayon shaving wax paper and some cardboard tracers that were the size of the sides of the lanterns I want.  I made one "test" lantern.  At the end of it all I was wondering whether I should bother making 40 or so of them anymore.  Easy, yes, but still time consuming.  Maybe I can have a few girls' nights and round up friends and sisters to assemble them.  Otherwise I might go crazy.

But they are kind of pretty so I probably should do them, for my one token craft.  Who wants to help? :D

Taken on the bathroom floor in the dark.

The Tomato Saga Continues

Yes, it is the second half of October, why am I still talking about my tomato plants?  Shouldn't they all be dead by now?

WELL, I had a brilliant idea that the internet confirmed would work.  Since they are all in pots, and had many unripe tomatoes still on the plants when it started freezing pretty consistently a couple weeks ago, I just moved them into the garage to ripen!  They don't need light because I'm not trying to grow the plants, but they'll ripen properly on the vine in the dark.  Last week before I headed out for my work shift I moved them into the garage, and when I came home yesterday there were probably 30 or 40 ripening tomatoes to pick!

This is a good gardening tip so I hope you are taking notes.

Another one for my grandpa

I wanted to share a few more pictures of memories with my grandpa - lots were already described in my last post.

Covered in leaves, on the tree swing he made for me.

Looking for crayfish.

Most likely eating some fresh peas from the garden - possibly where I inherited my passion for growing things.  My mom said that my grandpa was always so proud of his tomatoes.

Holding a bunny at the Forestry Farm, not supposed to be in there...

Yes, he let a baby drool all over a whole watermelon.  There's another picture that I couldn't find of my grandma in the corner looking less than impressed.

Climbing me up into the crabapple tree.

Big snow people.

What a fun grandpa!

Pails and Shovels

My grandma mentioned that it will be 20 years ago this weekend that my grandpa passed away.  He was a super fun grandpa and I'm lucky that my memory of a lot of great times with him is still relatively clear. 

I was the first grandchild and he definitely spoiled me rotten, but more than that we did the coolest stuff together.  We'd go out on the river in a dinghy and catch crayfish, which I would take home as pets until seagulls came and ate them out of my paddling pool.  We'd build giant snowpeople and dress them in old clothes.  One time we went fishing at Waskesiu and he dropped his favourite fishing rod in the lake, and then about an hour later he caught the rod back.  He'd rake up all the leaves in his yard for me to jump in and mess up.  We'd go to the Forestry Farm and he'd always lift me over the fence into the pen with all the bunnies and chickens, even though people weren't actually allowed to go in there.  Even though I was very little, he'd always lift me up into trees and set me down on a branch so I could feel like I'd climbed a tree.

I've got pictures of all of these memories and then some, including this set I stumbled upon again today.  I have no idea how this came to be, but for whatever reason one day my grandpa and I decided to hang all of my pails and shovels out on the clothesline.

I don't know why we did it, but it looks fun. 

Sweet Vandalism

There is this sign on Highway 5 between Saskatoon and Humboldt, just outside of Saskatoon.  Whatever is on the sign is facing the people coming into Saskatoon, and on the back of the sign someone once spray-painted "JEN WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

The thing I like about this graffiti, not that I condone vandalism, is that it's been there for probably at least 10 years.  No one, including the province or the city or whoever has actual ownership of the sign, has taken it upon themselves to paint over it.  I think that's so nice.  Obviously no one has complained enough or hated that graffiti enough that anyone's felt the need to remove it.  And like I said, not that I condone vandalism but I like that this sweet bit of vandalism has stuck around for so long.

I hope that Jen said yes, and that Jen and her partner are still together.  I hope that every time she drives past that sign she remembers the first time she saw it and smiles, remembering the excitement of being newly engaged, maybe a little bit shocked that someone would deface public property for her.  Whoever Jen is, I bet she'll be a little bit sad someday when the sign finally gets painted over or replaced.  I think I will be too.

New Sephora Store

Can you figure this one out? 

Allyson:  Mom.  What does this mean??
Allyson:  Unfortunately public school system off and they seen to be at s e for a me im line to get im Haha

ally yummy cookies

Mom (Monday):  allyson made yummy cookies have pumpkin seeds im them
Mom (Tuesday [my work shift ends Wednesdays]): One more day them you can have some ally yummy cookies Haha you can

Plans for next summer already

This summer is pretty much officially over as the colder weather gets more consistent, but I am already so excited for next summer because hopefully I will have a yard to grow things in!  But even if not, I'm still excited to grow things again.

Obviously I had great luck with tomatoes this year, but I found an awesome variety that I must try next summer:  spoon tomatoes!  Apparently these are delicious little tomatoes the size of peas!  AWW so cute.  How neat would they look in a colourful tomato salad?

Secondly, and this one is a little/lot more ambitious, but BAMBOO!  You can grow bamboo in Saskatchewan I think.  There are several varieties that can survive to -32, which with mulching I'm sure could survive a Saskatchewan winter!  You can buy it from a place in BC that sells tons of different varieties.  How awesome would that be to have a few patches of bamboo in your back yard?  It would seem like you're in Florida during the summer!

Having a garden will be the most fun, because then I can actually go to the store and look through seeds and find neat things like snake squash, I can actually try it out instead of being limited to little pots.

So... stay tuned for next summer!

THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

GUESS WHAT I FOUND AT THE STORE TODAY!!!!

LIME YOGURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Lime yogurt to my knowledge has not existed in Canada for the last 7 or 8 years, and it is my favourite thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Pregnancy Rumours

Someone at work:  Are you pregnant?

Me:  No!  Why would you ask that?

Person:  Well someone asked me if you were pregnant and I said I didn't know but I'd ask.



Is it weird that this happened more than once this week?  (For the record I am definitely not pregnant.)  What a flattering rumour to have going around.  Probably due to my beautiful glowing skin.