Children's Lit. Post #1

As I mentioned in a previous post for my Children's Lit. class we're going to be doing weekly blog posts which I will share on here. This weeks topic was "a book that has influenced you". Here is my post:

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A book that has influenced my life is The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Anne Brashares. The first story of a five book series is about four best friends who find a pair of jeans at the thrift store that magically fit each of them, despite their varying body shapes and sizes. The plot follows each of the girls through their summer vacations as they embark on different adventures, and soon realize they need the pants to help give them the confidence to face a struggle.

This was the first book I can remember being totally consumed by. I can remember lying out in the sun, reading that book and being so wrapped up in the story that it felt as though these girls were real and were my friends. The fact that three of my closest friends had also read this book made the Travelling Pants girls an even bigger reality because we would chat about the stories as if they were girls who lived just down the road.

Leisure reading is one of my favourite activities, and generally I do get into the story and think about the characters and consider their options in the plot, but The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants provided such a positive reading experience that I feel I should give credit to Anne Brashares for my love of leisure reading.

Learn more about The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

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What I didn't mention in my post for Children's Lit. was exactly how real the Sisterhood became to me and my friends. Although we couldn't find the same pair of jeans to fit us each, we had the personalities of the four girls in the story. Our bond (for a while) was inseparable, our first year away from home we rented a house together and had some of the most fun of our lives. As we grew into adults and explored our different paths, we found we were headed in different directions and although these memories are a little bitter-sweet, they will forever be fond and vivid.

To the Sisterhood!

(Although we called ourselves the "Fab Four")

Summer 2006 (L-R): Meghan (Bridget), Emma (Tibby), Emily (Carmen), Katrina (Lena)

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Into the Thick of Things

Not even two full weeks into the Winter semester and I already feel bogged down and behind on my schoolwork. It's quite a depressing feeling, once you expect to start fresh for the new year, all determined to keep on task and be prepared for every class.

The plan has quickly become a fleeting image, a mission so impossible that I have (for a brief moment) considered deserting my dream/goal of becoming a teacher and just relying on some dead-end job just so I can reclaim my life. Not that I'd expect to have a life with a dead-end job -- having to work countless hours to make ends meet...

But technically that is what I'll be doing for the next twelve weeks, working countless hours to make ends meet. This involves reading until my eyes roll to the back of my head, avoiding catastrophic fights with group-mates, cringing while my instructor emails me saying she "missed [me] in class today", when I was in fact there and she actually thanked me for coming to class and called me by name as I handed her my name card on my way out the door.

Have I reached the end of my rope? I should be able to handle the course load, we're each expected to do the same five courses and pull through it... But it's just SO much! I've had a semester a couple of years ago, full course load, expected to read a combined 17 novels, plus text books for two additional courses. I managed to get through 13 of the novels, reading every spare minute. But all of that seems more tolerable, after all, who doesn't love a good read?

The real stick in the mud about this semester is that at least four of my five courses expect us to have read at least one chapter of the text, possibly two, plus extra articles, write journal reflections, blog posts (which I may share once we get into it), and other written assignments FOR EVERY CLASS.

It just seems so impossible, especially if you're a slow reader as I am. And what about a life? I don't even do much... I don't party like a rockstar, I go to bed early(ish), I watch movies, read books, and hang out with Tim. That's my normal life, and it has been re-written with readings by Nancy Maynes & Jennifer Straub, some Palmer dude, and a Clark guy... (that's just one course).

I'm sure these folks are fine writers, but golly, we're not even two weeks in yet! How will I survive twelve more?

Tim Horton's Hoedown-Lowdown

SURPRISE!

That's what I thought when I checked the mailbox and saw my charge cord for my laptop! Yaaaayy!

Anyway, last night while shopping with Tim I had the joy of being served by a clueless high school-aged girl. It was quite a funny situation, so I thought I'd share. It's not funny in a "ha-ha" kind of way, more or less a "what is the world coming to" kind of way...

Tim and I had been shopping for some time and both of us had become rather thirsty, we decided to stop at the Tim Horton's in the food court for a quick beverage and then continue shopping. I immediately decided I wanted to get a frozen lemonade, which I would highly recommend. (It's basically a lemonade slushie, delicious.)

As we approached the cash area, the high school-aged girl barked "HI" at us before she was finished a transaction with another customer. Once I was able to walk up to the cash, she then barked at us again. (NOTE: I'm using the word "bark" to describe how she sounded when she spoke. Usually a person barking creates an image of an angry person, this girl wasn't angry, she just spoke harshly. Still barking, in my opinion.)

I placed my order for a medium frozen lemonade, I quickly asked Tim if he would like anything, he said "I'll have the same" so I told the girl "make that two" and held up two fingers as a visual. (Not intentionally because I thought she was dumb, just out of habit.)

The girl told me my total was $2.02, I gave her the money and waited for our beverages. I thought to myself $2.02 isn't much, perhaps there's a promotion on. Within a minute, a frozen lemonade was produced for our enjoyment. I waited a few seconds and confirmed with Tim that I did order two lemonades, then once she was within earshot asked her if she rang in two lemonades to which she responded "No, just the one, my love".

With this I told her to punch in another medium lemonade and she informed me this time that my total was $1.57. I produced correct change and received the beverage, thanked her and walked away.

A safe distance from Tim Horton's, I discussed with Tim the fact that not only did she charge me more for the first medium lemonade, she did indeed give us two small lemonades... A total of (initial order - one, drink size - two, price - three, second drink size - four) four mistakes. I know she's a high school-aged girl, trying to make some sort of income, and hey - perhaps she was new, but seriously, there was no one in line behind us and she didn't appear to be under any pressure. I felt to bad for the poor kid that I couldn't possibly go back and point out all of her mistakes.

This all makes me wonder, what kind of people are we going to have in our service industries in the next few decades? Is this young girl an accurate representation of the generation up and coming? Are we going to get barked at by a professional (sadly, that's what she is) and the barker feel that it is an appropriate way to speak to customers? Are employers allowing employees to make these many mistakes per order, or even per hour, or per day? Should I begin to worry about what kind of education and training this girl is receiving in her workplace? What about the education she is receiving in our own provincial school system, should educators be held partially accountable for the way our future leaders are turning out?

In reference to my last question, by this time next year I will be finished my Education degree and be teaching children considerably younger than this particular girl. I do feel that as a teacher who spends five-plus hours with students five days a week, we are making a huge impression on these children. I believe it is important to demonstrate behaviors that are acceptable in public relations. And I'm not blaming this girl's teachers for her communication habits or her inaccuracy in serving me, I'm sure much of a person's behaviors are influenced by several different things such as their home life, social life, school life, etc. I guess I'm just beginning to see the world differently, and this specific incident really sparked my thinking on how people become who they are and how they interact with others.

If you have a minute to sit and think about this, a lot of time is sure to pass you by.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kat

AWOL

My most sincere apologies to those of you who look forward to a fresh post more often than not. I have been AWOL for the past week and a bit, with good reason, I promise!

It seems as though my computer charge cable took a turn for the worst on Christmas day, the cord frayed and sparked and sizzled and it is far to dangerous to embark on any more journeys with it at this time.

I have, however, managed to order a replacement due to arrive late January/early February, slightly incovenient with Winter semester approaching quickly, but I will manage, I'm sure.

On a brighter note, I would like to wish each and every one of you a

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FLANNEL BED SHEETS: The Beef

My original thoughts of flannel bed sheets has always been of a positive nature... Soft, fluffy, possibly like sleeping on a cloud... Last night I had the opportunity to try out this type of bed sheet and my opinion of flannel sheets quickly turned negative.

I was sleeping at a friend's house and we had decided to share her parents' bed as they were out of town. Being sleepy and cold after watching The Holiday, a lovely movie, we climbed the stairs to sink into bed for a good nights' rest. When we pulled back the covers we quickly rejoiced saying "Oh, flannel sheets! We'll be cozy tonight!" We arranged our pillows and got into bed for a quick chat before sleep.

After discussing several topics with several attempts to actually sleep, Emily and I found ourselves tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable between the flannel sheets. The sheets made our feet too hot (I had to remove my socks), they stuck to our pajama pants, pulling the blankets off each other as we turned to find a good medium between the warm sheets and cool night air.

Unable to sleep, we kept chatting until the wee hours of the morning. It was well past 4:30 am when we finally got to sleep for a few hours. Emily dropped me off at my house around 10:30am where I crawled into my bed to recover from the night. I slept like a baby until 3pm, in a bed with cotton sheets. :)

Spoiled Milk

What's worse than spoiled milk? Milk that spoiled TWO MONTHS AGO.

In the world of roommates, life is never perfect. It can get pretty darn close, but it's never entirely one hundred percent perfect. I have many interesting and dramatic roommate-related legends I can share, but I prefer to keep my posts from ranting about a specific person. Until now, haha!

I will begin in the beginning: Last April I left my apartment to go on an "adventure" for four months. During the same time as I was searching for someone to sublet my small, modest bedroom, one of my roommates (we shall call her Kathy) decided that the shit had hit the fan and she was packing up and leaving for good. Now, trying to sublet my cozy bedroom was no easy task, who would want a dorm-sized room in a full-sized house especially when the master bedroom with the en suite was up for grabs? Anyway, I managed to get through that ordeal and finally sublet my room. The problem was that Kathy had picked out a girl who had no idea what our plans were and had decided she would live with us happily ever after.

Over the summer while I was away there were a few issues such as bedroom mix-ups, (upon Kathy's forfeit of the lease, I was supposed to inherit her room, leaving the new girl to mine, however the new girl had giant furniture that she claimed would never fit in my room. Don't forget I was away and couldn't see for myself), but nothing major until we mentioned to New Girl that we were planning on downsizing to a two bedroom apartment. She got pretty upset because Kathy had told her that she could stay indefinitely, which was incorrect because technically, she was subletting Kathy's room until September when the option to sign the lease for another year was available. Another issue originating from misinformation on Kathy's part.

Anyhow, to cut to the good stuff, Jessie and I decided to stay in the house with New Girl. Things were relatively good, considering this New Girl came out of nowhere. But since the fall, things started to happen. Jessie and I went back to a full university course-load, New Girl continued to work her 20hour/week job and that was all a-okay until New Girl got a new job. New Girl had been complaining about finances since she was supposed to marry New Girl's Fiance in July, also buy a house, and live day to day off her 20hours/week job. Not so easy. New Girl scored an awesome new full-time job not too far from the house! Go, New Girl!

After the first bit of training, New Girl's job re-located her to the adjacent town, which is good since that's where her and New Girl's Fiance is planning to buy their house. But for now, it means she has to take the bus for more than an hour to get to the new office to start her job in the mornings. Poor New Girl. But, to her advantage, New Girl's Fiance's parents live about a five minute walk from the new office! So sometimes to avoid riding the bus for more than two hours a day, New Girl stays at New Girl's Fiance's parents' house.

I'm not complaining about this at all. I actually like when New Girl stays there, it makes our current house feel more like it's just me and Jessie. Exactly what we had wanted, but with more space. Anyhow, the issue with New Girl staying in the adjacent town is that she's not around long enough to realize that time passes here as well. What I mean by this is that in the past four months I have never seen her dust anything, sweep or mop anything, contribute to the house in any other way but decorate (which is another story for another time). Honestly, the most she has done around here is her dishes... Sometimes.

The issue at hand is with her continuance to buy groceries and leave them here. Of course, I don't mind that she buys groceries, she does pay rent and still technically "lives" here. But what I'm talking about specifically is that she bought a two liter carton of milk and didn't get a chance to drink it all before the expiry date and didn't throw it out. I have trouble finishing a two liter carton before it expires and I eat cereal and drink coffee with milk nearly everyday, so it certainly happens. But what really gets me frustrated is that she let the milk sit in the refrigerator for so long that opening the door to the refrigerator brought a waft of sour air that made nostrils flare.

I don't mind tossing out spoiled food, I do it quite frequently, even if I don't own it. I just let the owner know that it's going or it's gone. But after doing this for four months, you kind of think it's time for other people to step up to the responsibility and throw out their own food. Also, the thing was, New Girl had been spending more time around the house, so you know, she should notice that she didn't have any fresh milk left, and her's, the only purple carton in the fridge, was the one she bought ages ago. Anyhow, today after being reluctant to open the refrigerator to get the ingredients for my salad, I decided that today is the day the milk goes.

I had pondered how to do it for about fifteen minutes, thinking which would be a more effective disposal system, the sink? The toilet? Just putting the carton in her room? I decided the toilet was the way to go. When I reached into the refrigerator and grabbed the carton, I took notice of the date... October 13th. Oh God, this was going to be worse than I thought. Also, how is that this milk sat in the fridge for over two months?!

I was sick of the smell, and it was disgusting, so it had to go. I put up both seats on the toilet and began to pour. My first (and hopefully only) experience with milk this far past it's prime. As I was pouring I couldn't smell anything and noticed that the milk seemed rather watery. But then again, most of the weight was still in the carton. Here it goes, plop, plop, plop, the thick, white, disgusting clumpiness that is spoiled milk landed into the toilet bowl as I began to urge.

And urge, I did. I have never been that disgusted by food. Record breaking. And I'm not one to vomit, haven't been that sick since seventh grade. (With the exception of the terrible mistake of McDonald's after a workout at the gym, my bad.) Oh boy this was bad, can you imagine simultaneously vommiting into the toilet as your poured spoiled milk out? No, it was not going to happen today. I held in my stomach contents and tried to recover. Shaking and watery-eyed, runny-nosed, I disposed of the carton and sat down before attempting to make my lunch.

I sent a message to New Girl saying "Just tossed out your milk that expired two months ago... Maybe you can do it next time". She read it, she didn't respond but I know she rend it since I sent it over BBM. Here's to hoping no milk has to sit in any refrigerator for two months beyond it's expiry date.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kat

Recent Hobbies

Here is a photo-list of my most recent hobbies, perhaps it'll encourage a few viewers to mix it up!

Watching the Gilmore Girls series with my roommate!

I currently own the first three seasons on DVD and am hoping for more for Christmas.

I am still in the process of learning how to knit.

I can do a fair bit on my own, but haven't created anything photo-worthy yet.

Online jigsaw puzzles are great; no missing pieces!

www.jigidi.com

Yahoo! Pool, an old high school hobby.

A good read: a must

Baking, so much fun during holiday season!

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The Chef

I have always had an interest in the blogging world, however I have never successful followed through with one. Perhaps the issue hasn't been my inability to write about things happening around me but more so that I continue to find myself in a niche, only allowing myself to post about quotes or something. This blog is my attempt to remove any form of niche: Blog Salad - pretty much everything in the cupboards and refrigerator..

Children's Lit. Post #1

Into the Thick of Things

Tim Horton's Hoedown-Lowdown

AWOL

FLANNEL BED SHEETS: The Beef

Spoiled Milk

Recent Hobbies

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The Chef

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