Tl;dr. Shut up Yuu.
Oct. 13th, 2009 02:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoSo. I should probably be in bed right now, but the warm bath I took woke me up a bit, and I wanted to write an entry, so -- yes.
The trip went pretty well. Flying down was no big deal; no delays, and the flight itself was short. My uncle Jamie picked me up at the Edmonton airport and we headed to Sherwood Park (a town just outside of Edmonton) where we had lunch and I proceeded to babble about various school-related things. I ended up talking about medieval literature and informed him that, er, no, King Arthur was not a real king. Then we headed out to his acreage in Ardrossan. My parents arrived later that evening, and my brother the morning after that.
It was naive of me to think that we'd spend any time in Edmonton proper. I forgot that my mother's idea of "shopping" is going to Costco and Winners. :| So that's what we ended up doing on Saturday afternoon. However, I got a new pair of shoes out of it, as well as some coffee beans and my Christmas cards, so I'm not going to complain.
After returning, I made the cranberry sauce. I'm not sure why people think home-made cranberry sauce is so fancy; it really isn't. It does, however, taste much better than stuff in the can. How you do it: 1 cup water + 1 cup sugar. Heat it in a medium-sized soup pot until the sugar is dissolved and the water is boiling. Pour in 1 small bag of fresh cranberries. Keep stirring until the water is boiling again and the berries are starting to split and pop. Reduce heat to low/medium and cook, constantly stirring, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit before transferring to a bowl for serving.
Over the course of the day, people kept coming in, until the house was full to the brim with people. Unfortunately for me, I only knew about half of them. The people I didn't know (relatives of my aunt? I'm still not sure) kept trying to talk to me, and it was all very awkward. The fact that I was utterly and completely exhausted didn't help. I don't know if it was because of the stress of the situation or what, but throughout this entire "vacation" I felt as if I could fall asleep at any moment. Sigh. Anyway, even though Thanksgiving was not until Monday, we had our dinner the Saturday night, because everyone had to go home on Sunday.
That evening, after I went to bed on the couch in the living room, I was just about to fall asleep when my relatives came up to have drinks. The living room is connected to the kitchen, so there was no avoiding it - when the lights were turned on, they woke me up. Because it would be awkward for them to stay there with me trying to sleep, they invited me to join them for booze. When I turned down wine, they offered me Baileys and ice, which I accepted quite readily. Mmmmmdelicious. Unfortunately, they kept me up until 2 AM, and then after returning to bed I didn't sleep but instead talked with a friend on my itouch for a while, so the next morning I was utterly, completely exhausted. Again.
Returning to Saskatoon was an adventure of the worst kind. To begin with, they had me on a milk-run flight, so instead of going directly from Saskatoon, I had to fly to Calgary first, then change aeroplanes and fly from there to Saskatoon. Lovely. Then my first flight was delayed, and also the second, and I entered into the whole thing annoyed because I forgot to pack my sewing scissors in my checked baggage rather than carryon so of course I had to give them up at security, and when de-planing people were trying to push past me and rush even though the line was not moving and I could not move to let them by, as there was no room and 20 people ahead of me. Sigh. Keep your pants on, lady. We're all in a hurry here. In short, the flight sucked, and I didn't get back home until 10 PM or so.
I got in late, and I stayed up too late, but at least I was home. I spoke with a friend before going to bed. So, that is that. I returned with $250, a pair of new shoes, and a few other things. Part of that money will go toward bills and so on, but part of it is going to go in my travel fund. It's been a while since I last added something to it. This comes with not having a job, but... well, can't be helped, at this point in time. At any rate, I'll take it all down tomorrow and put it in the account and see how much is there. It's been a while since I last checked, and I can't remember. Not enough, certainly - both speaking in general, and regarding the travel money. I try to avoid thinking about it. On the one hand, I don't care that the trip will be expensive, because this is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, and it will give me the opportunity to see a place that, at one point, I only dreamed about seeing... and also, I'll be able to visit a dear friend. So there we are. On the other hand, this will cost me more than rent for three months, and my guts twist a bit thinking about it.
Anyway. While Saturday was awkward and Sunday sucked, today was a very good day. I slept very well, and I spent quite a bit of time talking with a friend. My entire afternoon (not morning, as I woke up very late) was quite relaxed. I had a nice supper, and headed to the cafe in the evening, where I spent time reading some excellent fic by some of my favourite writers (Picnicbird's Bring Me Sweet Dreams Tonight and Kainoliero's most recent addition to Ultima Thule, as well as something by Noon). I also received a letter from Coffee - I've taken to thinking of our exchanges that way, because the comments full of tl;dr have become more than just comments exchanged, in a way. Anyway, as I said, I received a letter, and started typing up a response. Going to do some more of that tomorrow, possibly between classes.
I had intended to do some writing over the break, but obviously that didn't happen. I don't feel too guilty. On the other hand, there is something I want to write very much, and I have a deadline for it, so I need to get it done. Thankfully, the story will be short, and the deadline is a couple of months away. Aside from that, I wanted to write a fic for Remembrance Day, but I can't think of anything and unless I get an idea for some short prose-poetry between now and early November, it won't be happening. I have a handful of projects that need to be edited, but I really can't get into them, because they all seem the same. For this reason, I'm going to move them to my "unfinished" folder, and might pick them up again in a few months.
While in the bath this evening I began reading Odd's End by Tim Wynne-Jones. I'm more familiar with his young adult novels, especially The Maestro - which is a favourite novel of mine, and I really should obtain a copy of it again one of these days, because it's one of those stories that I could read over and over (not to mention that it's partly what inspired my failed novel, Sunlight and Shadows, so there is some personal attachment there). Though I've only read partway into it, it's starting to suck me in. Thankfully it's short, so I should have no problem finishing it this week. When I do, I'll mention whether it's worth reading - I think it will be, though. However, I do admit to a bias in favour of this author. Aside from that, some of my reading this week for school will be Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, which I've been meaning to read for ages. I haven't started it yet, but I'm very excited to do so. Professor Wyile recommended it to me, and we tend to have similar tastes.
Anyway. I'm tired, and should go to sleep soon. But I'm so happy because of a small thing that someone said, I suspect it will be hard to get to sleep... but, because I have school, I'll try. <3
The trip went pretty well. Flying down was no big deal; no delays, and the flight itself was short. My uncle Jamie picked me up at the Edmonton airport and we headed to Sherwood Park (a town just outside of Edmonton) where we had lunch and I proceeded to babble about various school-related things. I ended up talking about medieval literature and informed him that, er, no, King Arthur was not a real king. Then we headed out to his acreage in Ardrossan. My parents arrived later that evening, and my brother the morning after that.
It was naive of me to think that we'd spend any time in Edmonton proper. I forgot that my mother's idea of "shopping" is going to Costco and Winners. :| So that's what we ended up doing on Saturday afternoon. However, I got a new pair of shoes out of it, as well as some coffee beans and my Christmas cards, so I'm not going to complain.
After returning, I made the cranberry sauce. I'm not sure why people think home-made cranberry sauce is so fancy; it really isn't. It does, however, taste much better than stuff in the can. How you do it: 1 cup water + 1 cup sugar. Heat it in a medium-sized soup pot until the sugar is dissolved and the water is boiling. Pour in 1 small bag of fresh cranberries. Keep stirring until the water is boiling again and the berries are starting to split and pop. Reduce heat to low/medium and cook, constantly stirring, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit before transferring to a bowl for serving.
Over the course of the day, people kept coming in, until the house was full to the brim with people. Unfortunately for me, I only knew about half of them. The people I didn't know (relatives of my aunt? I'm still not sure) kept trying to talk to me, and it was all very awkward. The fact that I was utterly and completely exhausted didn't help. I don't know if it was because of the stress of the situation or what, but throughout this entire "vacation" I felt as if I could fall asleep at any moment. Sigh. Anyway, even though Thanksgiving was not until Monday, we had our dinner the Saturday night, because everyone had to go home on Sunday.
That evening, after I went to bed on the couch in the living room, I was just about to fall asleep when my relatives came up to have drinks. The living room is connected to the kitchen, so there was no avoiding it - when the lights were turned on, they woke me up. Because it would be awkward for them to stay there with me trying to sleep, they invited me to join them for booze. When I turned down wine, they offered me Baileys and ice, which I accepted quite readily. Mmmmmdelicious. Unfortunately, they kept me up until 2 AM, and then after returning to bed I didn't sleep but instead talked with a friend on my itouch for a while, so the next morning I was utterly, completely exhausted. Again.
Returning to Saskatoon was an adventure of the worst kind. To begin with, they had me on a milk-run flight, so instead of going directly from Saskatoon, I had to fly to Calgary first, then change aeroplanes and fly from there to Saskatoon. Lovely. Then my first flight was delayed, and also the second, and I entered into the whole thing annoyed because I forgot to pack my sewing scissors in my checked baggage rather than carryon so of course I had to give them up at security, and when de-planing people were trying to push past me and rush even though the line was not moving and I could not move to let them by, as there was no room and 20 people ahead of me. Sigh. Keep your pants on, lady. We're all in a hurry here. In short, the flight sucked, and I didn't get back home until 10 PM or so.
I got in late, and I stayed up too late, but at least I was home. I spoke with a friend before going to bed. So, that is that. I returned with $250, a pair of new shoes, and a few other things. Part of that money will go toward bills and so on, but part of it is going to go in my travel fund. It's been a while since I last added something to it. This comes with not having a job, but... well, can't be helped, at this point in time. At any rate, I'll take it all down tomorrow and put it in the account and see how much is there. It's been a while since I last checked, and I can't remember. Not enough, certainly - both speaking in general, and regarding the travel money. I try to avoid thinking about it. On the one hand, I don't care that the trip will be expensive, because this is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, and it will give me the opportunity to see a place that, at one point, I only dreamed about seeing... and also, I'll be able to visit a dear friend. So there we are. On the other hand, this will cost me more than rent for three months, and my guts twist a bit thinking about it.
Anyway. While Saturday was awkward and Sunday sucked, today was a very good day. I slept very well, and I spent quite a bit of time talking with a friend. My entire afternoon (not morning, as I woke up very late) was quite relaxed. I had a nice supper, and headed to the cafe in the evening, where I spent time reading some excellent fic by some of my favourite writers (Picnicbird's Bring Me Sweet Dreams Tonight and Kainoliero's most recent addition to Ultima Thule, as well as something by Noon). I also received a letter from Coffee - I've taken to thinking of our exchanges that way, because the comments full of tl;dr have become more than just comments exchanged, in a way. Anyway, as I said, I received a letter, and started typing up a response. Going to do some more of that tomorrow, possibly between classes.
I had intended to do some writing over the break, but obviously that didn't happen. I don't feel too guilty. On the other hand, there is something I want to write very much, and I have a deadline for it, so I need to get it done. Thankfully, the story will be short, and the deadline is a couple of months away. Aside from that, I wanted to write a fic for Remembrance Day, but I can't think of anything and unless I get an idea for some short prose-poetry between now and early November, it won't be happening. I have a handful of projects that need to be edited, but I really can't get into them, because they all seem the same. For this reason, I'm going to move them to my "unfinished" folder, and might pick them up again in a few months.
While in the bath this evening I began reading Odd's End by Tim Wynne-Jones. I'm more familiar with his young adult novels, especially The Maestro - which is a favourite novel of mine, and I really should obtain a copy of it again one of these days, because it's one of those stories that I could read over and over (not to mention that it's partly what inspired my failed novel, Sunlight and Shadows, so there is some personal attachment there). Though I've only read partway into it, it's starting to suck me in. Thankfully it's short, so I should have no problem finishing it this week. When I do, I'll mention whether it's worth reading - I think it will be, though. However, I do admit to a bias in favour of this author. Aside from that, some of my reading this week for school will be Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, which I've been meaning to read for ages. I haven't started it yet, but I'm very excited to do so. Professor Wyile recommended it to me, and we tend to have similar tastes.
Anyway. I'm tired, and should go to sleep soon. But I'm so happy because of a small thing that someone said, I suspect it will be hard to get to sleep... but, because I have school, I'll try. <3
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 01:24 pm (UTC)It was something she was working on, that she isn't quite happy with, and she only let me read it because I
threatened to kick her ass if she didn'tasked very nicely. But it was quite enjoyable and I have no idea what she was wailing and gnashing her teeth about.no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 01:50 pm (UTC)I laughed.
|D
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 01:54 pm (UTC)If it was an isolated incident, I wouldn't think much of it, but you'd be surprised how often people ask me things like "So when did this Arthur guy live, anyway?" alksdjf
And I try to tell them that okay, some people think the story might have been based on some guy who was involved in Anglo-Saxon and Roman-British conflict during the time of the Roman occupation, but... well, that doesn't sound quite so interesting, apparently.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:04 pm (UTC)"Wait, so it was all just made up?"
Dude. It's a story with wizards and giants and Arthur invading Rome (wat) and chicks walking on
riverslakes to give random dudes magic swords. OF COURSE IT'S ALL JUST MADE UP. (wtf, why did I write river, LADY OF THE LAKE, wake up Yuu)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:03 pm (UTC)Fine. I guess you now know that if you want me to be dumb and affectionate just give me an endless supply of Baileys on ice. :|
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:10 pm (UTC)i can live with that
i could also live with
HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE MMMMMMMMM
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:29 pm (UTC)also this was not me and i did go to bed
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:30 pm (UTC)IDK MAN
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:32 pm (UTC)SO CURIOUS NOW
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 05:38 pm (UTC)Saw your comment on the meme about the guy at the cafe, somehow that's just so cute <3 And what on earth is a London Fog?
Also, I haven't talked to you for awhile (the timezone difference is worse now :( ) so hi, I hope today was a good day for you.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:42 pm (UTC)And alksdfj it is not cute. :| But anyway, a London Fog is a hot drink. It's made with earl grey tea, hot milk, and vanilla. Basically it tastes like sweet, thick, creamy tea. Mmm~
HI HI HI I was wondering how you were <3 Booo, time zones. And today went all right, though I'm very tired. Sigh.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:58 pm (UTC)It is too. Ah, I see, I've never seen a drink named that around here. But I'm not a tea drinker so what can I say.
AAAAHHH I'm feeling intimidated by my course but I'm hanging out with my coursemates more so it kinda makes me happy.
Also, I finally succumbed and got AIM. It feels weird cos I've not used any IMs for years but it was sort of... fun?
Hmmm take a nap?
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 07:07 pm (UTC)Anyway. School is a pain in the ass but I hope you'll feel less intimidated by it soon. And I wish I could take a nap but I have to go to class again soonish. ;~;
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 07:30 pm (UTC)I don't think I'm going to feel any less intimidated by it since it's only going to get harder. I just hope I can pull through somehow. Somehow... aahh I wish I was a firstie again.
Try not to fall asleep in class~
no subject
Date: 2009-10-14 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-14 04:02 pm (UTC)I'm glad someone likes the little recipes, at any rate.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-14 08:31 pm (UTC)Today I'm canning salsa!!