There is too much.
There is so much to read that there is nothing to write.
There are too many assignments.
There are too many distractions.
There is so little sleeping.
I am worried.
There is doom, on the horizon… looming.
There is too much.
So much to do.

01/22/08: Things not to do when you have just had your nails coated with acrylic to prevent them from breaking – peeling an orange in the middle of Italian class.

01/23/08: When i woke up this morning, i was not expecting to spend two hours of my afternoon talking to a bona fide symphony conductor… but i did. And now i have ANOTHER date for Sunday.

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
two handfuls of frozen berries
1 cup 18% cream

Sift together dry ingredients. Add berries and cream and mix until JUST moist. Plop into an ungreased, unlined muffin tin. Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes (or until turning golden brown on top). To remove, rotate spoon around the edges to loosen and the scoop out.

Another very exciting event was meeting, for the first time ever, another student who works on the LATIN works of Boccaccio. Now, she doesn’t work on the same work as me, the De Casibus Virorum Illustrium (and, frankly, it would not be a good thing if she did), but she does work on the Genealogy of the Gentile Gods. She is in comparative literature and i look forward to some interesting discussions in the future as she too seemed to realize that she had found a similar soul.

I finished His Dark Materials and am mourning its passing. I now have no excuse to not do the insane amount of readings (and writing) i need to complete. I am still on the look-out for a part-time job, but worried that there is no time. Luckily, i did a bit of number crunching and realized that i don’t NEED a job if i can live frugally. Perhaps i will take this avenue.

Lastly, my new home is also exciting. Greg and Veronica were darlings for helping me move in. Prof. Cochelin appears to be a really great landlord and her 19-month-old, Emily, is adorable.

Posts will be a tad sporadic over the next couple of weeks until we figure out how to hook me up to the internet network at the new place. Please feel free to drop me an email or, i know this is revolutionary, call and leave a message if i am not there. I’ve never owned a phone at a place all my own before – and though i hate when people call my cellphone (because inevitably if i am out and about, i am busy), i do love talking! LOL.

Veronica and i, the latter adorned with stunning fake eyelashes that aren’t worn nearly enough, took much time and effort preparing and debating for dinner. We decided to go to EAST on Queen St. near John. The wait wasn’t too long for a table, the decor was nice, the service was timely (except for Veronica’s water refill) and the food scrumptuous. The wonton soup was GREAT. I loved the broth and there were many wontons filled with meatie goodness floating in the bowl. It was an appetizer that could have been shared.

I had unique satay pad thai, which was tasty. To get the “house” version, with 3 shrimp added to the chicken, was an extra dollar. I’m not sure it was worth it. I don’t really consider prawns with their tails on to be chopstick food and earlier in the evening i had cut two fingers open… so the satay pad thai sauce on my bandaids was not fun. I enjoyed the meal very much, but think i would try something else next time.

Veronica ordered a mango tango chicken plate – breaded chicken, mango strips and a sweet sauce with other mixed veggies. It was very tasty and she said that she would like go for that order again.

I ordered a coconut milkshake for dessert (yummy) and we have decided that their dessert menu merits a visit in and of itself.

After that, we had a little time to kill, so we wandered into Chapters to purchase books 2 and 3 of the His Dark Materials trilogy. I controlled by bookbuying tendencies for once – the move is expensive and, well, the books are taking up the vast majority of the van (and Veronica dissuaded me – thanks DOLL!). I WANT, NEED, Can’t live without the book on the revitilization of Sade studies and erotica by Roger Shattuck, my favourite author who writes on Proust, and a collection of the interviews given by Primo Levi that was on sale for all of $6. Sniff! I left them behind.

We met up with Harley, Skrud and their two other teammates from an engineering conference, Eric and Alexei, at Smokeless Joes – a pub on John. The pub is pretty small, but a lot of the crowd filtered out after we had been there about 30 minutes. It’s in the basement, but the decor is nice and pubbie and they have over 250 beers available. There were three i liked! I ordered a Kronenburg (all-time fave and classic), Veronica ordered a Mort Subite – which was EXCELLENT, and there was a German cherry beer that Harley ordered and didn’t like so gave to me. Yummy. Beer with codeine = craziness.

Skrud, Harley and Alexei regaled us (and the rest of the club district) with drinking songs. Very raunchy drinking songs. It was fun. Thanks for taking us out boys!

We missed the last train South bound from Osgoode, but decided it would be more economical to take the last train North to Downsview and then take a cab East to the Diamond Shack – it was. I paid $16 with tip in for a cab home instead of the usual $30-something. I pointed out to Veronica that this is the last time we will be stuck needing an expensive cab home – i think the ride from my new house to the downtown core is about $15 (but it’s also totally walkable on a nice night).

I have TONS of work to do, on top of the packing, and two bad knees, so i am going to get on that. Five posts left before the big move to another domain- i know you are excited.

This is a 100% original recipe – be warned. I really liked it though!

Ingredients:
1 lb mild italian sausage
1/2 cup dried lentils, cooked as per package directions
1 can V8 juice (any veggie blend will do)
1/2 small onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp curry powder
1 cup slow-cooking rice
Parmesan cheese

1. Fry italian sausage in a large pan over medium heat, removing the meat from the casings and breaking into small bits with your spatula/wooden sppon. Cook right through and them remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl lined with paper towels (to absorb nasty grease).
2. Meanwhile, cook rice as per package directions substituting a tomato juice for water. Add enough water to follow the directions, but no more.
3. Drain pan of grease and return sausage to pan adding onion, carrots, garlic and curry powder over a medium heat until onion is translucent.
4. Add lentils and rice to pan. Mix quickly.
5. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

Mount-Royal funeral services opened the wrong grave on Friday and then the funeral director proceeded to argue with my father that he didn’t know where the plot was. Of course, both my grandparents’ remains are located in my great-great grandfather’s plot (in the old section of the cemetery) and they had taken us to the new section. 3 hours and much upset later, we returned to discover that the funeral director was no longer going to be providing her services. Hence, yours truly ended up saying a few words as her family balled.

I spent yesterday, my last full day in Montreal, shopping with my mother (who kindly paid the bill) and going out to dinner and a movie with the complete household. We saw The Golden Compass which i thoroughly enjoyed and now wish that i had purchased to read instead of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Alas.

Today i am trying to figure out what to carry back from these two weeks at the homestead and what to put in the magic Fed Ex box which will follow me in a couple days time. Christmas loot must be prioritized.

The semester begins again tomorrow… i am both gladdened and saddened by this event. The recent change in my future plans encourages me to complete this master’s degree ASAP and with vim and vigour, yet, i haven’t done nearly enough work over the break and am worried about finding time to do it all while i am still apartment hunting.

I do not foresee frequent posting in the future, at least until said apartment and a job have been procured. Right now i need to devote some time to loving my Booey and sorting through piles of jewellery.

My mother was particularly interested in a hematite, turquoise and coral pendant which i promptly told her to keep. My grandfather gave it to my grandmother on one of their only trips off the continent – to Jamaica. My Grammy was particularly fond of this sort of arrangement and i demonstrated the point by showing my Mom the number of items my grandmother had given her over the years that resembled it in cut and setting.

Sitting on my mother’s bed pouring over her collection of both inexpensive and expensive accumulated pieces from different relatives and friends i realize the true value of items like jewellery… the stories they represent.

Only my inexpensive jewellery is still at my home in Blainville. That and the collection of earrings to which i only have one of the pair and that i am ever saying i will convert into pendants.

My New Year’s Resolution is to not be cheap this month and get these items appraised, rings re-sized and earrings converted so that i can wear these memories on my person in the same way i showcase the photographs of voyages and big events.

My favourite almost-forgotten story of the week revolves around a gold, enamel inlay timepiece my Grammy wore around her neck when i was a little girl. I would sit on her lap, before i could read an analog clock, and like any small child was fascinated with lockets, boxes and any items with hinges. i would ask over and over again what time it was… and the answer was always conferred to me after much pensive deliberation: “Half-past kissing time, time to kiss again!” amongst a flurry of kisses. My Mom says that her own grandmother (fifteen years the senior of mine) would do the same to her when she was a little girl.