It's Tuesday night, but it so does not feel like it. It feels more like a Monday.
So, this weekend was insane, in a good sort of way. Curt and Laura got out to visit me for four days, which was good fun. We were--I was--so busy. Between being with them and working my regular shifts, I am spent! But I wouldn't have traded a moment otherwise.
The two got out here on Thursday evening and we feasted on all things unhealthy while watching "Nightmare Before Christmas"; bright and early Friday morning we headed out for Granville Island in Vancouver. That place is something else! I liked it; Granville Island is not actually an island, but an artisan based community underneath the Granville Street bridge overlooking False Creek and English Bay in Vancouver. We toured various art galleries that showcased mediums of wood, pottery, paint, paper, glass, silk...everything. We went through the fresh market, which smelled so good, and went to the brewery and bought some Granville Island Beer. Yum-my! It's defiantly worth a stop if you're in Vancouver.
I didn't have to work again until Sunday afternoon, so first thing Saturday morning we drove down to Seattle and did the tourist thing there. We stopped, of course, at Pike Place, went up the Space Needle, to the Aquarium, and to the Experience Music Project Museum of Modern Music. All very good fun. Seattle is yet another, amazingly artistic community. I loved walking around and seeing and hearing all of the buskers, but the hotel we stayed in...golly was I on the verge of going postal. It was alright in the daylight, but at 2am, the drunks started coming back for their mid-night snack and were slamming doors and yelling; the walls in that place were thin to begin with, and when they were slamming the doors, it sounded like the whole wall was about to fall over. I think Laura and I managed a 5-6 hour sleep that night, after hoofing around the city all day and me needing to work a full 8 hours at Starbucks the following day. Phew. I was rather testy. Oh, and the attractive male ratio is much better in Seattle, which really made our trip there worth while.
Monday morning came really fast; I had to work until midnight on Sunday, and fortunately, Curt was kind enough to come and pick me up. At 7am, I was up again, we went for a quick coffee with friend, and found ourselves on the the road to whirlwind trip to Whistler. The drive was spectacular, but in truth, we were in Whistler for maybe a half hour (it is a 2.5 hour drive from Abby, barring all traffic problems) for lunch, and then turned right around to get me back to Abby in time for work. It was amazing: we made it through construction and Vancouver, both ways, with no traffic. I was even a half hour early for work.
They left this morning, and it was sad again. But not too bad. This time I had to throw myself back into my neglected homework. I just prefer being the one who does the leaving.
So I went to my only class today, and the first thing I hear about is how 2 of my "friends"/classmates have recently gotten engaged. They are my age. They were looking at dress magazines and talking about weddings and their hubby-to-be's, and boy, was that ever a new experience.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Fij Numbo eg Shembok Twrily
No two people ever say the same thing. I mean, I guess that shouldn't be too surprising, especially being that we are in a world of innumerable languages. But really, think about it. No two people ever say the same thing. Ever. Ever! Every single human being on this planet has his own language. We each have a unique dialect. And yet, we are able to communicate with each other. A-mazing!
I downloaded an audiobook by Stephen Pinker called "The Stuff of Thought." I had to get an audiobook because otherwise I would have given up on it before I picked it up. I mean, I understand the language now that I am in Linguistics, but holy crow, it is a mind workout!
Anyway, he basically goes through how language can change everything, and, most fascinating to me, how we obtain it. When you really think about it, to concept of a baby--something that drools so much and is unable to fend for itself or control its bodily functions--a baby has this enormous task of learning how to speak. It sits there for a while, always listening to the random sounds that its parents use to communicate, and breaks it down grammatically. A baby is conscious of all of the fundamentals of language that I have been laboriously learning for the past month and a bit. And you know that the kicker is? The baby knows this stuff better than me! Bette than any linguistian!
It has been proposed that we are born with an innate grammar set. We already know the rules when we come out kicking and screaming (probably because we just really don't want to have to use that grammar). This has to be so, or else the quest for a mother tongue acquisition would be fruitless! Think about that! Did you think about it? Talk about a God-thing. I mean, even if a child were isolated and never in contact with a form of language, it would naturally create its own. His language, if dissected and studied, would even show use of adjectives, nouns, verbs, pronouns, articles, adverbs, and would follow syntactic and semantic rules! Why? Because it is upon these grammatical rules that all languages, no matter how strange, is created! I love it.
Another thing, a child, at 5 years old, is the smartest it will ever be. That kind of sucks huh? I mean, I now live with a 5 year old and basically, if all the things I am learning were put into terms that even I could understand, she learn this stuff faster and more solidly than I ever will. No fair!
The book is good so far, though if you want to read it, you might need to do it in small portions because your concept of pretty much everything is challenged. Even more fascinating is Pinker's bit on verbs, but I'm not that smart so I'll leave that discussion to him.
Oh, and by the way, if you look closely at my title, although non-sense, it is entirely grammatically correct! Dear lord, pray for me.
I downloaded an audiobook by Stephen Pinker called "The Stuff of Thought." I had to get an audiobook because otherwise I would have given up on it before I picked it up. I mean, I understand the language now that I am in Linguistics, but holy crow, it is a mind workout!
Anyway, he basically goes through how language can change everything, and, most fascinating to me, how we obtain it. When you really think about it, to concept of a baby--something that drools so much and is unable to fend for itself or control its bodily functions--a baby has this enormous task of learning how to speak. It sits there for a while, always listening to the random sounds that its parents use to communicate, and breaks it down grammatically. A baby is conscious of all of the fundamentals of language that I have been laboriously learning for the past month and a bit. And you know that the kicker is? The baby knows this stuff better than me! Bette than any linguistian!
It has been proposed that we are born with an innate grammar set. We already know the rules when we come out kicking and screaming (probably because we just really don't want to have to use that grammar). This has to be so, or else the quest for a mother tongue acquisition would be fruitless! Think about that! Did you think about it? Talk about a God-thing. I mean, even if a child were isolated and never in contact with a form of language, it would naturally create its own. His language, if dissected and studied, would even show use of adjectives, nouns, verbs, pronouns, articles, adverbs, and would follow syntactic and semantic rules! Why? Because it is upon these grammatical rules that all languages, no matter how strange, is created! I love it.
Another thing, a child, at 5 years old, is the smartest it will ever be. That kind of sucks huh? I mean, I now live with a 5 year old and basically, if all the things I am learning were put into terms that even I could understand, she learn this stuff faster and more solidly than I ever will. No fair!
The book is good so far, though if you want to read it, you might need to do it in small portions because your concept of pretty much everything is challenged. Even more fascinating is Pinker's bit on verbs, but I'm not that smart so I'll leave that discussion to him.
Oh, and by the way, if you look closely at my title, although non-sense, it is entirely grammatically correct! Dear lord, pray for me.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A Tale of Two Cities
This past week has been...a tale of two cities. My trip home was absolutely fabulous, and totally refreshing. It really felt good being back home and seeing everyone (and seeing people I knew); I never realized how many people read my blog!
So, a tale of two cities. Right. First of all, an update on how my 1st month at university has gone. I've already written 2 midterms, the first one being for Spanish and the second for Linguistics. The Spanish one was easy for me in the first place, but even to my surprise, I wrote it and obtained the highest mark in my class. Between that and the hand-in assignments which I've also been getting top marks at, I am at the top of my class! Woo-hoo! The second, for linguistics, I wrote mere hours before my flight home for the holiday. My head was fairly focused on the test, but lets face it, I was distracted. I was sitting behind the hottest guy in all of my classes too, which didn't affect me too much, but notably some. Anyway, I was one of the first people done the exam, but left so discouraged. I was convinced I bombed. I mean, I thought as logically as I could and really put an effort into it, but boy, I honestly thought I failed. So much so that my whole flight home was frustrating as I could not stop thinking about it. I couldn't even sleep that night because my brain would not shut off the linguistics. Nor did it for my whole weekend. I was seriously worried about it; I have only failed one test in my life and that was in Physics 30. I could not stand the thought of failing something, let alone in an institution as expensive as university! By the time I flew back out here, I was okay with failing, knowing that I would just have to push myself even harder and make up for the one failed midterm on the next 2 quizzes and the next midterm. Alas, in class on Tuesday, I realized that my weekend was merely a reality check and that in truth, I had pulled off a solid A with a 90.5% on the exam.
That was the good, and now, for the...I don't say want to say "bad," because that may not be so. It seems as if I have underestimated the costs of going to school. I am needing some serious prayers as it seems I am seriously lacking funding. I didn't take out as big of a loan as i could have because lets face it, loans suck. But I also was not expecting to be so long getting a job, or for the costs of goods to be so flipping expensive! I mean, I certainly have not been squandering my money since moving here. I've had to buy some clothes because my wardrobe was not entirely suitable for the climate, I don't eat out or go partying or out to movies, I have paid 2 months rent and damage deposit and for food, cell bill, tuition, books (which was twice as expensive as perceived), and then clothing for work at Starbucks (which was a seriously unexpected and un-budgeted expense), and now, with the end of the month looming, only a half month of work, rent coming up and some unpaid bills, and now registration for next semester and those fees (already!), I'm in the hole. So please, be praying that somehow the money turns up. I thank you all for all your prayers, and I have such confidence that God has me here for a reason and He didn't just bring me here to drown in unfamiliar waters, but I am at a loss. I'm not worried about it this time.
Back on the upside, I think I get to go back to Vintage this weekend as a carpool has been organized! After going back home and getting back to the church, I really realized how good it was to be taught again. I took it for granted for so long, or so it seems, that now, I've really realized how good it is to worship with other people and have my beliefs challenged and to be taught and to be having a relationship with God again. How easily I forgot! I've really been thinking about my relationship with God and my relationship with my job or studies, and in the past couple weeks I've really realized that God's usually getting the shaft. My courses have really been challenging my concepts of what is real socially and how it relates to me morally and spiritually, and how intricately we've been designed, even just our capacity create random sounds, give them meaning, communicate and most amazing is our acquisition of language! I mean, all I can really say is: "How?"
So that is that, for now. Hope I've helped fill in some blanks. Thanks for your continued prayer and love!
So, a tale of two cities. Right. First of all, an update on how my 1st month at university has gone. I've already written 2 midterms, the first one being for Spanish and the second for Linguistics. The Spanish one was easy for me in the first place, but even to my surprise, I wrote it and obtained the highest mark in my class. Between that and the hand-in assignments which I've also been getting top marks at, I am at the top of my class! Woo-hoo! The second, for linguistics, I wrote mere hours before my flight home for the holiday. My head was fairly focused on the test, but lets face it, I was distracted. I was sitting behind the hottest guy in all of my classes too, which didn't affect me too much, but notably some. Anyway, I was one of the first people done the exam, but left so discouraged. I was convinced I bombed. I mean, I thought as logically as I could and really put an effort into it, but boy, I honestly thought I failed. So much so that my whole flight home was frustrating as I could not stop thinking about it. I couldn't even sleep that night because my brain would not shut off the linguistics. Nor did it for my whole weekend. I was seriously worried about it; I have only failed one test in my life and that was in Physics 30. I could not stand the thought of failing something, let alone in an institution as expensive as university! By the time I flew back out here, I was okay with failing, knowing that I would just have to push myself even harder and make up for the one failed midterm on the next 2 quizzes and the next midterm. Alas, in class on Tuesday, I realized that my weekend was merely a reality check and that in truth, I had pulled off a solid A with a 90.5% on the exam.
That was the good, and now, for the...I don't say want to say "bad," because that may not be so. It seems as if I have underestimated the costs of going to school. I am needing some serious prayers as it seems I am seriously lacking funding. I didn't take out as big of a loan as i could have because lets face it, loans suck. But I also was not expecting to be so long getting a job, or for the costs of goods to be so flipping expensive! I mean, I certainly have not been squandering my money since moving here. I've had to buy some clothes because my wardrobe was not entirely suitable for the climate, I don't eat out or go partying or out to movies, I have paid 2 months rent and damage deposit and for food, cell bill, tuition, books (which was twice as expensive as perceived), and then clothing for work at Starbucks (which was a seriously unexpected and un-budgeted expense), and now, with the end of the month looming, only a half month of work, rent coming up and some unpaid bills, and now registration for next semester and those fees (already!), I'm in the hole. So please, be praying that somehow the money turns up. I thank you all for all your prayers, and I have such confidence that God has me here for a reason and He didn't just bring me here to drown in unfamiliar waters, but I am at a loss. I'm not worried about it this time.
Back on the upside, I think I get to go back to Vintage this weekend as a carpool has been organized! After going back home and getting back to the church, I really realized how good it was to be taught again. I took it for granted for so long, or so it seems, that now, I've really realized how good it is to worship with other people and have my beliefs challenged and to be taught and to be having a relationship with God again. How easily I forgot! I've really been thinking about my relationship with God and my relationship with my job or studies, and in the past couple weeks I've really realized that God's usually getting the shaft. My courses have really been challenging my concepts of what is real socially and how it relates to me morally and spiritually, and how intricately we've been designed, even just our capacity create random sounds, give them meaning, communicate and most amazing is our acquisition of language! I mean, all I can really say is: "How?"
So that is that, for now. Hope I've helped fill in some blanks. Thanks for your continued prayer and love!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Mmmm. Mashed Potatoes
So, unbeknownst to most, I flew home this weekend to surprise most of my loved ones. I really wanted to be home for the weekend, and, it feels so good to see the familiar faces again.
So far, it has been good; I have seen so many of the folks I wanted to see, hugged a bunch of people, and been smiling and laughing for a few days straight. Like I said, it feels good to be here. Even though it seems so much more flat than I remember.
I've been thinking a lot about the past month and how my life has changed since I was last on the 806. It is...more than I thought it would be. Linden has not changed too much, but there are a couple things that have, or are in the process, and those are the things that I never really wanted to change. And they are small things too, so seemingly insignificant, but the few things that I call my very own.
Anyway, being back here has also realize how my definition of "home" has changed too. Linden feels good. I love so many people here, and I enjoy the prairies. I'm staying in my old house too and have been venturing to my usual haunts (I mean, I've only been gone a month!), but they are just not the same. This house, is not my house anymore, and I think that is the weirdest part. Sometime, even in the course of a month, without my consciousness knowledge, my home transitioned to Abbotsford. My stuff is all there, my room, my new job at Starbucks, my school, my bus route, trees, dogs, landlords...everything that demands my attention is in a whole other place now. All I have for Linden now are a town full of people I love and memories. It is so weird! I guess I am still working on finding my place in this world! I keep reminding myself, if it is this strange for me now, I can not imagine what it will be when I move to Latin America!
So far, it has been good; I have seen so many of the folks I wanted to see, hugged a bunch of people, and been smiling and laughing for a few days straight. Like I said, it feels good to be here. Even though it seems so much more flat than I remember.
I've been thinking a lot about the past month and how my life has changed since I was last on the 806. It is...more than I thought it would be. Linden has not changed too much, but there are a couple things that have, or are in the process, and those are the things that I never really wanted to change. And they are small things too, so seemingly insignificant, but the few things that I call my very own.
Anyway, being back here has also realize how my definition of "home" has changed too. Linden feels good. I love so many people here, and I enjoy the prairies. I'm staying in my old house too and have been venturing to my usual haunts (I mean, I've only been gone a month!), but they are just not the same. This house, is not my house anymore, and I think that is the weirdest part. Sometime, even in the course of a month, without my consciousness knowledge, my home transitioned to Abbotsford. My stuff is all there, my room, my new job at Starbucks, my school, my bus route, trees, dogs, landlords...everything that demands my attention is in a whole other place now. All I have for Linden now are a town full of people I love and memories. It is so weird! I guess I am still working on finding my place in this world! I keep reminding myself, if it is this strange for me now, I can not imagine what it will be when I move to Latin America!
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