Flaming lamborghini...

...was the last shot. The alcohol containin beverage kind of shot. And then She went home.

I gave the manuscript draft to the other prof yesterday. I have a feeling though that there will be many comments, but nevertheless it was a big step. Yesterday was also the last night of TAing. Lisa and I were the last ones to finish:) And then me, her and one of my student went to the Cafe Nostalgica for a drink/drinks. First we had one pitcher of beer (Blanche de Chambly - my favorite) for three. Then we decided to have one more. And then we had the third one. One pitcher contains 1.4 litres of beer. Then Lisa had to leave. She had to meet her supervisor this morning.
The rest of us continued. We had one more pitcher. And then we had shots. First one, and then Ela brought us another round. It was tasty!
And then she brought us the flaming lamborghini (she was testing it, so it was the treat). It consists of two shots in whiskey glasses. One of them is in flames. Using the straw I consumed the flaming on first, and just before the end Ela topped it with the other shot. Very interesting. Tasty too:)

So this is how I celebrated Kaidi's ja Monika's birthdays:) Palju onne:)

...and the snow has made it to Ottawa

I just wanted to quench my thirst and happened to peek out - and - it's all white!!!!!!!!! There's about 5-10 cm of snow. This nice, soft, REAL snow. And it seems so peaceful and quiet out there... I feel like going for a walk... But I HAVE to get some sleep in...

As the note- there has been lots of snow (and storm) in Estonia and Europe since Friday. And apparently Sudbury got the "permanent' snow two weeks ago.
And now - us. How smart I was, taking out my winterboots on Saturday:)

becoming nocturnal?

So, my schedule today (or should I say yesterday? Since I mean Monday) was as follows:
7.30 am - going to bed
9 am - phone call (wake up, talk, go back to sleep)
11.30 - wake up and get up
12-1.30 - work on the paper
2 pm - arrive at the lab
2-3 pm - wait for the Supervisor, chat, fire alarm
3-7 pm - work on the paper with the Supervisor
7.40 - home (dinner, e-mails, open the paper file)
9 - midnight - nap
midnight - 4 am - work on the paper...
4.05 - hopefully bed and sleep

...
9.30 am TA meeting for the next semester

... I want to get out!!

***
It's Kadripaev (St. Catherine day).
Ja on Reelika synnipaev. Palju, palju onne, Reelika:)
Ja on Katrini nimepaev. Ilusat ja head nimepaeva, Katrin:)

even the gmail dude sleeps already

Gmail has these backgrounds that I like. I chose the Opossumionu (perhaps it's the squirrel instead, I'm not sure). And - I just noticed - he actually sleeps....

It's 6.27.... am.
No, I'm not up yet. I'm up still.
Since 7 pm or before last night I have been working on my paper - just to make two figures (but beutiful figures) and fix references. I'm more less done now:)
Hopefully I can give it to my co-authors today and so soon I could get rid of it.

I also learned that "hein" means "eh" in French. In Estonian it means "hay" (for horses, you know).

Yesterday was Jan-Erik's birthday! HUGE 1 year. Soooooo COOL! And I still haven't seen him:( But I feel that 2009 will be the lucky year:) I so wanna see this little cool dude:) But until then - I can just think of him and his parents and send them imaginary hugs and play imaginary games with them...

I also went to yoga yesterday. It was good. I didn't feel even slightly tired afterwards. But I feel sore now... But it could from the sitting syndrome.

On Saturday Paul paid a surprise visit. He was visiting Ottawa, cos Davids moving away party. It was such a nice suprise. So we chatted and caught up a bit:) He's just such a happy and relaxed character... and so active... He's sitting on gazillion student committees, and keeps travelling with them. Exactly what I would do. Oh, oops, this IS what I'm doing. Just my committees don't make me travel that much.

Ohh, and the opossumionu has waken up... gotta get to bed.
Happy Monday, everyone!

moving on

It has been a good week.
Monday: we won our first set in volleyball! There are only two games left, so it was about time. We almost would have won the first set too, but I think we got nervous, when the numbers were 24:24. At least I did. And we could get the ball over. But we were so close!

After we went to the Honest Lawyer to celebrate Elias' birthday. He got 23. First there were all his accounting colleagues. And then they all left early (working people, you know), and then it started to pour in guys. Alex among them, which was really odd, because he was working at the chem lab counter last year, and we chatted all the time. He's a really nice guy. And then it turned out they all belong to the fraternity. I found it SO interesting! First I was trying to find out some stuff about sororities from one girl next to me. But she was slightly too drunk to make sense. And the boys too, weren't in their soberest state. But I found one dude, Kyle, who was not drinking. And we ended up chatting until 2.30 am. Their fraternity (Omega Theta Alpha) was just founded in 2002. Talking about young, eh. And they also have pledge period and rush period (nagu siis testimise periood ja rebaseaeg). The pledge period is just a few weeks though, and ends with the crazy party when they are accepted as full members. And this is one of the nights. Apparently the sorority and fraternity did it the same night, and then they had common after drinking. And so on. Very interesting.

Tuesday: one before last TAing. It was the galvanic cells and electroplating lab. I'm not a fan of this lab. First I don't understand these electrons going everywhere idea, and second part is flammable. They take a penny (1 cent), which is made of copper, and then they stick it to the boiling Zn-NaCl mixture. And the Zn covers the penny, so it is silver and looks like a nickel (10 cents). Cool, yes. But it gets messed up often. One year one dude melted their penny on the hot plate. And also Zn is flammable. So if the students are not careful and get Zn somewhere, then it can start a fire later on. The first time I TAed, we had a fire between my section and Jennys section after the lab. The flames started at 2 am, and there was lots of damage... Crazy.
Anyway - we have survived this week.

Wednesday: we made the BMI Christmas party tickets. That is - Mike designed, printed and cut them, and I wrote the numbers and distributed to sellers. Exciting times!
Then I got home and felt tired and bored... I had a nap.
At 9 I decided to get something done. So I started on the promoter study thingy and ... next thing it was 7.30 am. Where did they night go, I don't know. But - I finished the figure! And made a table.

Thursday: I had 2 hours of nap and then we had the Faculty grad studies council meeting. It was great, because after I presented BMI Chrismtas party idea, they were jealous. That wow, what does BMI have, and why isn't there one big faculty party. They wanted to extend the invite to everyone, but thankfully I got out of this. It would have been too much money spent and too much organizing. And then I presented our up-coming Career Day idea, and they were also impressed. It all felt GOOD!

At 9 I went to the movies with Adam. To see Taarka (Estonian movie within the European film festival). It was a great movie. I was especially impressed with the technical part of it. The angles, the details, the sets... Often it looks very "home-knitted" with Estonian movies. But this one was awesome. But the topic - it was very heavy. I didn't know it's that heavy. It's a story about one woman in Estonian Setu community/kin. The story happened 100 years ago. It's about woman-run society, where women do everything (take care of homes, food, kids, field work, plus singing) and where men mostly drink and use women (and rape them). And how it's always the woman who is guilty when a guy should be the one to judge. Once you are fallen, it's hard to stay yourself, but you have to. Taarkas life starts from the rough point, because her dad uses up her dowry (special silver jewellary) for drinking. So she is not marryable. Then she gets pregnant. And the village does not take her as one of them. But Taarka finds her ways. She is a strong woman. She sings, so she can bring up her kids. Her singing will get her the silver eventually. And all she wants, is one guy. The guy she has been wanting since young age. And he did want her. And then, he says no. Why, I'm not sure... I didn't understand this part of the story...
Eventually she gets a real house (as opposed to living in the smoke sauna), but also the lifes cruelness doesn't leave her, and gets her through her daughter.

So it's not a happy movie... But life is not happy always either...

Friday: I worked on my paper and got lots done... And we had a symposia at work, with some real nice sandwiches. And Corona:)
And I think I found the new "victim" to take over my presidency role.

I also had a very successful chat with my supervisor - we covered the new figure and table and the discussion. So I hope on Monday I can pass it on to my co-authors. And then I can move on to the Chapter nr 3.

do I know you?

Akeeb, He says.
And this is Adeeb, He introduces His brother.
I'm Evelin, She says.
Nice to meet you!
She thinks: Akeeb, Akeeb.... funny, I have a guy in MSN list with this name...
But She can't recall how She knows this MSN-Akeeb, so She doesn't say anything.
He does look familiar, but not too alarmingly. And She doesn't know the people at this party, so She doesn't want to embarass herself with dumb questions. Besides, all these people are from accounting and when has She ever had a chance to meet any accountant.

A bit later.
He asks, where are you from.
She says, "Guess":)
He says "Estonia?"
She is impressed! Yes! How did you know?
He says: I met one Estonian girl once, and She had the same accent. She also asked 'guess" the same way. That's how.
She thinks: wow... I wonder who that girl was... But I always ask, I'm like collecting Estonians, so I shouldn't ask now. Otherwise He thinks I'm crazy. I'm sure this girl is long gone from here anyway.
Soon Akeeb and Adeeb leave.
She stays for a bit more.

Next day:
She's working and suddenly MSN-Akeeb logs in. She decides to open the chat window and refresh her memory about this dude. She sees the picture and gasps: NO WAY!!! It's the same guy!
And then She remembers. Way back when Germany was still around, She had a party. And this is where She met Akeeb. And they talked on MSN a lot, and then He went back home to Bangladesh for a while, and the chats never picked up.

So She messaged Him, and said that they did already know each other. He hadn't recognized Her either. Even though, to think back, the same accent, the same way of speaking, and how many Estonians are there in Ottawa anyway.

World is small and has its interesting ways...

Buffalooooo....

... , He said, and looked at Her. She looked at him, and ignored him. That was after they cheered with beer. She took a sip and put down the glass. He was still saying Buffaloooo...oooo.... and kept staring at Her. Weird, She thought. But Buffalo was playing with Cleverland or someone, so She sort of ignored it. But... they all kept looking at Her... Awkward, She thought.
Well, it was His birthday party. He is from Her volleyball team. And He got 23 years old. So overall - lots of "young" people around. Then they (the people in the table) made Her to chug Her beer, using the left hand.

So - turns out - that there is this rule - Buffalo rule - that you can only use the left hand to handle alcohol and if you use the right one, and someone sees you doing it, then they call "buffalo" and you need to chug your beer (using the "correct" hand).
Different. So, better be ready for it :)
It could be a fraternity rule though, since all the boys in the crowd were from the fraternity. Who knows. But the night was interesting.

food and store strategies

I was getting groceries yesterday, and I thankfully I was in the thinking mode. And what did I see? A crazy rip off. So I was looking for my usual cereal (not that I have one really. I usually take the one that is on sale or anything NoName). I couldn't find it, but I found some other cereal products. They are all PC-brand (Presidents Choice - local grocery store brand). I grabbed the first box that seemed to have ok content and started to leave, when the "thinking-elf" woke up and I decided to compare three similar products: one simple, one with added almonds and raisins, and one with 30% extra fruit. Since all were the same price, $4.29, I thought, wait, I should take the extra fruit one, perhaps it's more healthy. And I grabbed the other box, thinking, why would anyone take the regular one, if they could get the third more healthy options for the same price? And - of COURSE, there's a trick. All cost the same, and the box has the same measurements. But - the weight of the content is different. So - regular - 750 g, extra almonds/raisins - 800 g, extra fruit - 600 g. Wow. I opted back to the almond/raisin box. But I bet most people (me included most days) doesn't notice it, and take the fruit one, thinking they are getting a deal.
Crazy, eh?
But it's actually true, that the cheapest contents of products are: air and sugar. So the producers add these as much as possible, and make you pay for it too.

And just for interest (Kullionu recently posted something similar):
4 L milk (2%) - $5.67
700 g black rye bread - $3.10 (white spongy Wonderbread that I don't eat is about $2)
Eesti mõistes saia siin nagu ei olegi.
312 g boneless chicken thighs - $4.65
2 oranges (630 g) - $1.10
6 eggs - $2.49
Astro Balkan Style yogurt (500 mL) $2.50 (on sale)

feeling better

Ok, seriously, I think I have a thesis writing blues. I just gotta get out. ASAP. Before anybody gets hurt.
But - today I feel better. I worked on my WIP (Work in Progress talk) and it's almost ready. Of course, my actual work in progress is "writing papers", but I decided to whip up a story about wheat and the gene I'm studying within. That's the paper I'm currently concocting, and the talk helps me to think about it under a new angle. It's called: Whole Wheat - Friend or Foe?
Nice, eh?
I wan't to raise some awarness that whole wheat might not be as "goddly" as people talk about it. No doubt it seems to sound good, but HOW good? And does it apply to everybody?
No need to freak out though. For most adults it should be (based on current minimal studies) beneficial due to it's fiber and phytochemical (that is antioxidant) content. The controversy might lay in use in kids menus. It MIGHT be that whole wheat is not THAT good for kids who are genetically predisposed to type 1 diabetes. And that due to the fact that whole wheat contains some extra proteins on top of the fiber and micronutrients that might not go well with everyones gut. Just my hypothesis though. It will take years to prove it. And it won't be me to do this work.

Also - I love working with the new Office (2007). My presenation has such a beautiful colorscheme and stuff. I like!

I also got a very positive e-mail from Germany (her and I had some GOOD times together when she was here a few years back), which helped a lot with the improvement of my mood. It came with the song:) I like it! The candle, good music, almost done WIP and me are just hanging out. Soooo relaxing.

Also - on the different note. Currently my door is obstructed by a big fridge (from outside. Thank god the door opens into the apartment, not the other way). Yesterday it was still lurking 2 meters away (in the wider part of the hallway), but by today it has crawled around the corner and too close to my door. What's up with it? I can get out (and in), if I don't carry anything big (nor any extra pounds around my waist), but still - food nor bike can fit in nor the recycling out. I could push it to block my neighbours door, but this sounds too temporary. I called my landlord. And if he doesn't remove it by tomorrow noon (or whenever I get home), I will call the city bylaw or firemarssal. The craziest thing is, that when I had a vase behind my door, in a corner, in no-ones way, then they threw it out and said it was the fire hazard. And now there's the huge fridge on the way, and no-one cares. If there were to be a fire, the chances are high that I won't get by the fridge in panick or maybe knock myself unconcious. So...

And to finish, a little funny 2 min-fragment from my life:
On Thursday we (BMIGSA) organized and had a Games and Poker night. It was at the Brig upstairs, and it was beautiful! If you ever need to organize something in Ottawa for less than 40 people, you should go there.
Anyway. We were playing cranium. I was a little tired, and I think it showed. So Elmira and I had a following dialouge:
El: you look bored.
Ev: no, no, it's ok.
El: do you want to play strip-poker?
Ev: (absentmindedly) sure, we could try.
El: (freaking out) I was just kidding. I was just kidding.
Ev: (looks confused) what did you say?
El: that do you want to play strip-poker, but I was just kidding. really. just kidding.
Ev: ohhh!!! no, thank you.

Poor Elmira - she was actually worried, that strip-poker is what I truly want to play and since she suggested it, she needs to participate. I guess you never know these Eastern European women.

small world

Annike was in town this weekend. Annike is my multitalented super active estonian friend. When she was here, we put up the folkdance show at the International week. So yesterday we went for a drink. Her, Andrea, Kristian, his girlfriend Liz, and I. All Estonians, except Liz. I hadn't met Andrea (even though we belong to the same sorority) or Kristian before. The funny thing was that on our way Annike told me, that Liz knows me. First I thought that perhaps I have TAed her, but when I met her, it turned out that she's also doing her grad studies in biochemistry, and she knows me as the BMIGSA person. So people do pay attention to our council. That was cool to know.

So we chatted and had a drink and went to the club called Standard. I felt again, that I'm too old for this kind of activities, because I don't like too loud music and too crowded places. But it was nice too - to have a drink in a good company:)

a midsommernighte dreame

Since my supervisor is away, I got an opportunity to go to the theater with his family (they had an extra ticket). We saw the Midsummer Night's Dream.
It was an interesting show. Different. In a good way.
It was performed by an Indian/Sri Lankan group, and it was part English and part in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Sinhalese and Marathi. Needless to say, that I only comprehended English. Thankfully I was hinted beforehand to read the plot carefully. So I did a good wikipedia check and read the prelude given in the theater.
At first it was difficult to orient myself in this non-english environment. Soon I got the hang of it and realized that even though only part of it was in English, it did give all the necessary details and hints I needed to figure out what is going on and where has the plot reached. I admit the first part felt like it lasted forever. When it ended I was hoping it was entirely done, but it was just a break (my supervisors' wife left with the kids then, 'cos they couldn't take it. Understandably so - they are about 6 and 10 and 17 years old.). The second part went much more smoothly. It was more clear in a plot which helped. And it ended with a wonderful group song. I wish I knew which song it was. So all and all I think it was a good show.

I especially liked the non-conventional elements in it: they had an interesting musical instrument (a stone that made a sound when touched with water), the floor was sand (which flew everywhere), the ladders were covered with rippable fabric (it was so impressive when the gang of fairies "jumped" in through ripping the fabric), ropes and crazy climbing tricks and upside down dangling people, hanging ribbons acting like hammocks, live music on the stage. Also some very good looking indian-looking actors/actresses.
In the end of the first part there was another neat element (that Leslie liked too). Two couples (Hermia and Lysandria; Helena and Demetrius) were arguing (mostly because Puck made the mistake when putting special flower elixir into Lysandrias eyes, so he falls in love with Helena instead of Demetrius, and thus the crazy love misunderstanding). While the arguing and fighting is going on, Puck is knitting a spider web around all of them (out of some expandable ropes). So the fight has to go over and under the web parts, and it's really, really neat.
Actually, the fact that Puck is always around, mostly playing tricks on others, smiling evilly, or just hanging out, adds a lot to the play flowingness.
Also - as the play progressed, and I got used to the fact that I can't comprehend all the words, I started to play attention to other things: details here or there, and also implying my own story/understanding to the plot. And I think that was one of the ideas of this play, that theatre offers so many other means of conveying the story than just words. And it also helps people to wake up their imagination, as they need to apply it to the details they see and understand, to make the entire story to flow.
So I think the main reason why it was great, was the fact that it was untraditional. It wasn't served to people on the plate - all ready for consuming. People needed to do some work to make the experience the fullest. And I like it. Most of canadian shows I have seen are like soap-operas - simple relationship story, played out on the stage. I expect more from the theater. I expect it to provide something that movies and other canned culture products can't give you. And I expect them to wake up my mind and make me think.
A Midsummer Night's Dream did it.

walking on the edge

I had another off-week. It started ok, but then my energy levels got very low, and I got collided by high energies. And off to the cliff I was. It wasn't even anything big. Just someone bumping into me a little too hard and saying a few satirical jokes that offended me at that moment. But they were in the happy la-la-land and never noticed. Add a failed meeting (that was not even really needed) to it, and I needed to get away. From everything.
It's literally like a cup that keeps filling up until there is nowhere to fill but flowing over the brim, when going through the everyday life. People are mostly useless (doesn't matter whether they are undergrad or grad or higher up). Things won't get done. Every day I feel more and more like in a kinder garten. Usually I can handle this. I can be nice and care and fix things and overlook everything. But then I get tired. And then I feel so alone and insignificant.
I actually think that I live in a bubble. I imagine that I am needed and that what I do is necessary and needed by someone. Some days I also think that I can do a decent job. But I think the truth is that it's not. Not needed and not a good job. I don't think anything would actually change if I would be removed from this equation. I don't think anyone would even notice.
I don't think I belong here...

mine is better than yours

Kullionu mentioned in her post last week the university ranking topic. And today they still cover it in Postimees. It's crazy, but somewhat expected, that Tartu University, my alma mater, is not among the first 600 universities in the world. The newspiece in Postimees discusses, that it's due to being not well known (no-one knows who we are). And it's due to: being far on the East edge of Europe; our education is only in estonian (how can you be wellknow, if the others don't understand anything); there are not enough famous scientist yet (!) etc.
Vilnius university made it in though. Right below 600, but still in. And Postimees claimed, it's due to being closer to Europe and having more people going to the world.

I try to spread the word about Tartu University here. And just last week I met the new professor on our floor, whose wife studied in Tartu. And he's not Estonian. And there have been other cases, when people do know Tartu University. But it is small and far far away. So this could contribute to not well knowness.

University of Ottawa is on a beautful position nr 222. Not too shabby. Of course, McGill (20), U of British Columbia (34), Toronto (41), U of Alberta (74), U of Montreal (91) are among first 100. The last two of them are not that well known (that means I don't hear about them).

The entire list is here:
www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/
Top 200 universities with all the employee and citation stats:
www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/hybrid.asp?typeCode=243&pubCode=1
They also have a stats page for each university, where you can see the numbers of students, and tuitions, and how many PhD degrees have been awarded within the last 12 month. Ottawa has 138...

little things

Happiness is often in little things. Which is not news.
I went to visit Burnstown today. It's this little village near Ottawa that was once named after Scottish poet Robbie Burns. Once a year, in the beginning of November, they have a Magic of Candlelight weekend. Then all the little boutiques (lots of beautiful jewellary) and art galleries are open and all the roads/streets are hemmed with candles. It looks so fairytaly.
I took some pictures, that didn't come out as great and they don't convey the magic. But still, it gives you a little idea. If you ever happen to be in the neighbourhood around November, then you should visit them. Earlier that day I had lunch with Marta (tädi Marta). She is the one who had the eye surgery. It was really nice. We had a glass of wine and good food and we chatted. It's quite interesting to chat with people who are significantly older. Often they have totally different look on things. And their daily pace is soooo different. Later I helped her to read a letter and write a card. I guess in a few weeks of time I will be going back - it will be time to write Christmas cards. It actually might be good for me to step off the crazy rush-train sometimes.

A few weeks ago I visited Veera (tädi Veera), who is close to 90 years old and very active considering her age. She comes out to the Estonian events and takes care of her house and grows plants and flowers and stuff. And she made this amazing meal for me. And we chatted. I find it really interesting to to find out how people's lives have gone, and what decisions they had to take, and where did they took them.
Both, Marta and Veera, really, really appreciated my little visits. And this makes me happy:)

But it made me think about the old age. I wonder how I will spend my old age. And would I be the whiny pensionar who demands the special treatment whereever possible or lonely pensionar at home or will I be calm and wise like Marta or active and happy like Veera?
But even Veera, she said, that it's not fun (starost ne radost). Her husband passed away a few years ago. Also there is fewer and fewer of friends (same age) with every year, because they pass away too. I suggested that she could get new and young friends, and she said (really well, I think), that she remebers her young age, and she didn't want to hang out with old people then. Also there is not that much to do, when you are in your nineties. Also, not doing too much and shorter sleep pattern that comes with old age make the days longer. I often wish that the days would be longer. And I think now all these wishes are counted and given to me once I pass 80.
As much as I complain that I have too much to do, I do like having rather many things going on and having to choose, than not having any. Also - I love procrastination, and as a proper procrastinator, I do other less-important things to avoid doing more-important things until the deadline is "biting my ass" (as they say here). Eventually all gets done, and the list will have new things in it. I can't imagine life without procrastination though.

Of course, first I should grow up and get out of school. And then, yearssssss later, I can start worrying about elderness. But still...

Monty Python's Spamalot

"Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, Monty Python's Spamalot is the outrageous new musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the film classic "Monty Python and The Holy Grail.""
This Spamolot , Broadway musical, was simply amazing!! I honestly think it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. The props and tricks were amazing! And the actors and singing was amazing. It was VERY funny and joyful. 2.5 hours passed so quickly that I was truly sad when it was over.

And again, I was lucky to get to see it. Adam and his family had planned to go to see it and bought their tickets in September already. Currently all four shows in Ottawa are sold out. I even didn't know until Adam's phone call that something like this exists and that they are in Ottawa. And it so happened that one of Adams sisters couldn't go, so he called me. And I agreed. I'm glad I did. Alternatively I would have gone to the Opera concert given by two opera singers from Estonia, which would have been great too, but I think Spamolot was slightly better. It's Broadway after all!

If you ever have a chance to go, then I recommend highly.
You could check their website too - they have some short videoclips to get some taste.

And so, that you could have a good dose of good humour you can read (maybe. or maybe not, if the resolution is too low. then I can send you the original pics, if you so wish:)) the first 2 pages from the program:

day that goes to history - Obama as the president

And that is it - Obama is the first African-American USA president, as CNN and CBC just announced. He has 297 electoral votes against 139 that McCain has. Congrats to Obama!
There is a big big party in Chicago (where Obama is from) right now. Just a few minutes ago I heard from the updates that there's about 1 million people, who have come out to celebrate. That's a LOT. It's just a bit less than an entire Estonia. It would be very interesting to be there right now.
I do miss having a TV right now....
At least I have the radio - people are calling in to this radio show and are SO happy and emotional. One woman cried. People are excited. It's SO different compared to Canadian elections, when no-one really cared (well, only about 54 % of population went to vote).

I'm curios to see, whether the world will be any different tomorrow.

One interesting note:
The richest man in states: Tiger Woods
The richest woman in states: Oprah Winrey
The most powerful man in the world: Obama
What is common among them? They are all non-white.

(and what did I do today? had naps, listened to election updates and TAed)

and weekend I was exhausted

After all the craziness this week, I was totally "küps" (done/kaput) by Saturday. I slept until 1 pm. The weather was so beautiful that I wanted to go for a walk. No one seemed to be around, so I went on my own. On my way I passed by the frou frou store, and noticed the sign "30% off handbags". Hmmm....
30 min later I left the store with the ravin (jahisaak): I celebrated the new item with a proper nap. And At 8.30 I went to the talk given by Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein. Natalie told me about it. I didn't know what to expect. So I nicely showed up at 8.30, and I was one of the first people to arrive. Also - overall it was a quite a small event (maybe max. 30 people). And Natalie and Mike were late. But it was ok. I made some friends.
The talk itself was interesting. He is a great speaker. He talked about not forgetting who you are and how to make yourself a better person by a bit (and how you don't need to survive a plane crash to realize how lucky you are). He also explained the sabbath, which was interesting. So for jews, Saturday is the sabbath, and then you don't have to do anything. And so on. It was good! Plus there was food:)
Later we went to Manx for a pint of beer. I had St. Ambrois Apricot beer, which I had been craving for. On our way out I ran into Dan. And he convinced me to join them. We went and had another drink at the Fox and Feather. At 2 pm they had the last call, but since it was the time when the time is being turned back by an hour, we tried another places to have another drink. But Ottawa places are boring - even though technically it was 1 pm, they were closed. Booooring.
So we went to Dan's (me, him, and his buddy from California), and he made some nachos and we had another beer. Good times. But I got home a bit late.

On Sunday morning I was invited to my neighbours place for the brunch. I love having good neighbours. So I just rolled out of bed, put on my flip-flops, and headed upstairs. It was a beautiful morning and great company and delicious food!!!

The rest of Sunday passed under the "nap" headline.
And at 7 I had tea with Yaseen. I hadn't seen him for a loooooong time. So it was so wonderful to see him and catch up! We started together in our lab (way back when).

then there was Halloween

I had an interesting (or should I say "interesting") Halloween. My supervisor volunteered me to take care of one old lady (she's estonian and a friend of his mother). She had an eye surgery (cataract surgery) and she needed someone to take her to the hospital and then home, and make sure she is ok. There didn't seem to be anyone else, so I didn't really have a choice. I can't leave a human in trouble.
So at 7 am we were already at the hospital (and I usually wake up at 10 am). She woke up at 9.30, and we headed back to her house. I made some brunch (I had to boil eggs, and I screwed it up:( But she said it's ok). And then we sat there and watched/listened to TV. I had planned to leave around 2 or 3, if she's ok. I had to go to the lab to finish some stuff. And then my supervisor calls. And tells the lady that I will provide some dinner too. Whaaat??? I was not impressed. But the lady was very happy to hear that and totally agreed. So then I left for the lab (I had missed all the pumpkins and costumes and candy), finished my stuff, scavenged the floors to get materials for my costume (in case I can make it out to the party later), and then headed back to the lady's house. I picked up some Chinese food (my supervisor suggested one particular place. Sort of pricey though. But he said, oh, the lady will pay.) and we had dinner. The crazy part was that I didn't know how to ask for money... So it was my treat...
Finally I got at home at 8.30.

Then I wrapped the materials found around myself and got into my role (as a Paperbag princess, in case you don't recognize), and we headed to Miss B's place for the party. It was impressive. Great costumes and AWESOME decorations.
Me and my dragon (By Craig):
Me in Doroti (?)'s shoes (by Jenn):
A few more: We got home at 1.30. I had an invitation to my neighbor's party as well. I wasn't too tired, so I decided to head up and say hi. I was treated with a delicious lychee "eyeball" cosmopolitan. It was sooo good. And we listened to music and chatted. There wasn't too many people left, but it was quiet and nice. At 2 or 2.30 there was a knock on a door and 2 more (random) people came. It turned out that they were our neighbours too. And it also turned out that one of them is the crazy person, who plays bass at 1 am in the apartment above me. I knew the guy already before, but I thought he is just a random dude visiting. But no, he is the culprit of all the noise. I wanted to see his place, to understand why is there so much noise all the time. Very often it sounds like he is rearranging his place. The weird thing was, that it was fairly empty furniture wise, just full of crap. And he has his mattress on the ground, which explains, why I can hear so well, when he turns his side during the night. Anyway - I told him, that I don't appreaciate the noise, and he said, that he will try to be better, and that I can come anytime to tell him, if he's annoying me. So that's good. And then he wanted to get too close to me, so I ran away. He has a very cute kitty Willy though:)
After that I decided to take some more pictures of my new hair and outfit. I wanted to do it on the old stairs in the hallway. It was 3 am, but the traffic was too heavy in my building, so I got scared and ran back to my apartment. And so I took a few inside:

first there was snow

As it was predicted on Monday, we got snow on Tuesday (Oct 28). When I went to TA, then there were a few flakes flying around. 3 hours later there was a proper white layer down:

Tuesday was not a good day. I was supposed to meet with my supervisor at 11 am. He was bust at 11, then somebody else cut the line and kept him busy until 2, and then we had the worlds most useless lab meeting for 2 hours and then, only 5 hours late, we sat down. We discussed nothing relevant or useful. At 5 I wanted to leave, and then he decided to give me crap for everything. Essentially telling me that I'm too slow, and shouldn't be even doing my program. And yada yada yada... It got me off balance. I said nothing and just left. And then I needed to TA my students. Thankfully they behaved... But still - it took me an entire night to calm down. I'm so glad I have good friends who can show me the perspective, when I lose it.

Later I also had a visitor. I think he really wants my bike.. I took a few more pictures of the snow the next day. It was interesting to have all this snow on Oct. 29. Way too early. The grass is still green and the trees have leaves...The upper left picture is the view from my kitchen. The upper right is the shot of my porch along with the pumpkin.