Ladies and Gentlemen, she's made a decision

I've done it, I've made a decision!

After hours spent on the internet, looking at maps and reading books I've decided on where I want to go for my graduation trip.

My graduation trip is my "Hey! You got a degree!" present to myself. I've been thinking about this trip for years. I've toyed with the ideas of going to Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua and on and on.
Most recently I've been thinking about backpacking through Central America, starting in Mexico City and traveling down ending in Panama. While it would be handy because I have basic Spanish, it's just a little too dangerous and barren of tourism for a first-time traveler.

So after finally ruling out South and Central America, India and Nepal I decided to go to a part of the world that combines my interests of Buddhism, history and foreign languages.

Drum roll please....

South East Asia!

I'm thinking of going for around 3 months and traveling through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. Which seems a little ambitious, but I will research it some more. I'm also planning on learning at least a few phrases in Khmer and Thai.

I'm excited because I finally know where to focus my hours of internet surfing. I can start planning, reading and rambling on about it for hours on end. Which will have to satisfy that pain I get in my stomach whenever I even think about traveling for the time being.

And I know what you're thinking (I'm looking at you Jenne) and yes, it can be a dangerous place. But the way I see it, so can Vancouver. And I think that it would be sad if everyone stayed home to avoid possible sticky situations abroad. You would miss so much if you didn't take a few risks. But I will definitely be smart about it, lots of research, monitor political situations etc.

So cast your worries aside and prepare yourselves for endless chatter about temples and museums!

PostSecret

No real reason for this post, I just really liked this.

http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com///

Ol' Smokey

At last! My own car.

I breathed in the smell of dust and old hockey gear. Yup, definitely going to want to get it cleaned, but still my own car!

I've loved Ty's Jeep Cherokee for years, so finally after much harassing and out of the goodness of his family's collective heart I bought it.

I was so excited to drive it to school this morning. I got up early and gazed at it as it sat all shiny with dew in the driveway. I started it up and drove it in to the city from Chestemere.

Things went down hill from there.

Somewhere on 16th Ave something went horribly wrong with the engine.

I first noticed the distinctive smell of burnt oil, which I immediately assumed was the Honda in front of me. Then came the smoke...Oh the smoke...the white smoke billowed out from under the hood of my beautiful Cherokee. I mouthed the words "oh crap" and pulled into a parking lot. There I sat, in a cloud of carcinogenic fumes with my mouth hanging open is dismay.

As some of you may know, I'm not a real car enthusiast, and therefore had absolutely no idea what to do. My first thought was "Oh Buddha, please don't let my beautiful Cherokee explode into a million charred pieces."

Then began a series of panicked calls to everyone in my phone book. Apparently people have better things to be doing at 8 o'clock in the morning than answer my calls. I finally got a hold of my Dad, who said he'd find me and take a look. He popped the hood (which I hadn't done as I was terrified of seeing a burnt up cat or smoldering fire inside) but wasn't able to find anything wrong with it. He said we'd take a look at it tonight, so I drove the rest of the way to school.

I said a few silent prayers during the day "Please...Please don't let me see a giant cloud of black smoke coming from the parking lot, only to find nothing but a smoldering crater in the ground" As it turned out, my poor injured Cherokee was still intact.

Next came the quietest, coldest drive of my life. I didn't dare turn on the heat or radio so as to not upset the delicate balance of smokelessness, all the while chanting...just a little further...just a little further...

My big white Cherokee is sitting out front right now. I'm inside, pacing back and forth, kneading my hands, waiting for the diagnosis. I will keep you all posted of the verdict and recovery of my new car.

As a side note, if you ever want to attract unwanted attention and stares, try going to class smelling like a burnt tire. Wow.

Advice for the first day

Rules for surviving the first day of class:

The most important decision you have to make in any class is where you sit. That will determine whom you become friends with and whose notes you borrow.

1. Never sit next to the guy with the mustache in the plaid jacket. He also may be wearing a beret. He will probably ask annoying questions (loudly) that will not pertain to what the prof is actually talking about. This will attract negative attention to you.

2. Do not sit next to the guy who is leaning waaay back on his chair with his eyes half-closed. He will not have brought any supplies to class whatsoever. He will not have notes for you to borrow.

3. You will want to look for the girl sitting in the first couple of rows. She will be the one with her notebook opened to a fresh page, date written across the top. She will have two or three pencils (in case of lead breakage) out, perhaps even have one poised over her paper, ready to learn. Sit next to her, she'll probably even highlight all the important parts when she copies out her notes for you. (If you are in nursing, this girl is Katie)

4. Be courteous. Don't sit in the left-handed seats unless you are actually left-handed. We learned how to use your right-handed scissors, now let us have our seats.

5. Avoid the person with the runny nose at all costs. They will more than likely be in a perpetual state of sickness for the whole semester and you won't want to have to sit in their cloud of disease everyday amid a growing pile of snotty kleenexes.

6. If you spot someone with nice clothes and the expensive kind of notebooks listening to their video ipod, it might be a good idea to sit next to them. You may be able to score some good loot if they ever need your notes (the best I done is a gift certificate for Starbucks for 3 days worth of Latin American notes.)

Here are some helpful hints for dealing with Profs

1. If you are in Political Science be prepared for long delays in class due to the profs inability to turn the lights off (or on), get the projectors focused, move the white screen down (or up) and so on. Without exception they seem to be technology-impaired. Get used to chalk and handouts.

2. If your professor is a woman move closer to the front. They generally talk very, very quietly and have microscopic writing. The closer you are to the front the less you will wish you had binoculars and a hearing aid.

3. If within the first few minutes of class on the first day your prof uses this phrase drop the class immediately

"In this class you are all pregnant, and I am the midwife, helping you to bring your newborn ideas into the world"

This is not okay and not a good sign.

4. If you find that your professor of Middle Eastern politics is a huge racist, stick around. It will make for some entertaining class discussions.

5. Don't try to stick it out if your professor has a very thick accent. It will not get easier to understand unless you are also studying Mandarin or whatever the case may be.

Well I hope that these simple suggestions help you survive the first day of school and go on to become successful students.

Up in smoke

Just before our flight home after a five day pairing I was eating lunch with my captain, first officer and a flight attendant. We got to talking about Iran and I happened to mention that Bush scares me just as much as Mahmoud Aberdianshamindaderson...

"You don't support Bush?" The captain asked me

"No, you do?"

"I don't just love Bush, I emulate him"

The first officer and flight attendant quickly agreed with him.

"You probably believe in global warming too don't you?" he asked

"Global warming? Do I believe in it? What?"

"Yeah, you probably fell for all that left-wing propaganda telling you that we are destroying our environment right?"

"I don't know if I understand, we're not talking about whether I believe in ghosts or aliens, but whether I believe in global warming?" I asked

"You're only 22, so you're still impressionable. I've been following weather patterns for years and things aren't changing, its arrogant for you to believe that we have that much effect on the earth."

I couldn't understand why they would looking at me like I had just said that I sew my own clothes from yak hair. Why am I the crazy extremist for believing in things such as pollution and the ice caps melting? Why was I the only one at the table who thought that maybe Bush has made some questionable decisions during his reign as president? What sort of upside-down universe had I just entered?

Thats what I love about this job, where else would you so often feel like the strangest person on the planet for believing things like car fumes...

DINGbats

DING

“Hi ma’am, is there something I can do for you?”

“Yes, please take this garbage.”

You really couldn’t wait until we went through with a garbage bag? Oh well, fair enough…

“No problem”

DING

Hmm, same lady, I wonder what else she needs…

“Hello again ma’am, what can I help you with?”

“I would like a blanket”

“Sure, I’ll grab one for you.”

DING

Sigh,

“Was there something else?”

“Yes, could I get a half a glass of water so I can take my medication”

“Sure, I’ll be right back with that”

DING

You’ve got to be kidding me

“Please take this cup, its garbage”

You know that everyone gets three dings of the call button right? And once you’ve gone past that it becomes an eject button and will launch you into space?

“Sure, I’ll get that out of your way”

DING

Oh sweet Jesus, what else could she want?

“Could I get a couple of pillows for my feet please?”

Oh I’ll bring you a couple pillows but I can’t guarantee that they won’t be used to smother you first. Who needs pillows for their feet anyway? If she dings me again for some ice for her finger, which hurts from pushing the button so often I will lose it. I will run up the aisle howling like a banshee, whipping bags of pretzels at people.

"Sure can"

New Rule: Unless you are a currently having a medical emergency and require my help, or are a few minutes away from perishing from thirst you probably don't have a good reason to be pushing the call button. Things such as garbage collection and the request for foot pillows are not a good reasons.

For as long as space endures...

"For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world"

-H.H The XIV Dalai Lama's favorite prayer

He is exactly like you'd expect him to be. Very humble and unassuming. He walked onto the stage to a standing ovation, took off his shoes and sat cross-legged in a chair. It was right about that time when I realized that I was actually seeing the Dalai Lama. The same Dalai Lama that I have been reading about, talking about, learning about since I was fourteen. Not many people get to meet their heroes, I feel pretty lucky to have been in the same room as mine.

He was in Vancouver for the inauguration of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. He came to engage in a dialogue with scholars, teachers and students about encouraging compassion in children. I wasn't sure if he would be everything that I've come to think of him as being, but I wasn't disappointed. He bowed with his hands folded to the people on stage. He held their hands thanked each one individually.

I was surprised to see that he also was a bit of a goofball. One of the high school students said that she knew that he liked hats, so she brought a Canada hat for him in honor of his new Canadian Citizenship. He put it on right away and wore it for the whole day. He cracked jokes and poked fun at the scholars. You could see that he doesn't take himself too seriously.

Its going to take a few days before that fact that I saw the Dalai Lama in person sinks in, but for right now i'm just thinking up something new to take its place on my Things To Do life list.