Hiatus

So I realized this morning that I haven't blogged since Monday, and that was quite the irrelevant post as well.

It's been a pretty hectic week this week. We only had class Monday and Friday, because we all went to the Gairdner Lecture on Wednesday, being given by Robert Roeder (discoverer of RNA Pol I, II and III). That was an interesting talk, and it was great to actually be present at a seminar being given by such a prominent figure in the scientific community.

Wednesday night was also Grad Trivia night again at the Grad Lounge. The host Devin remembered us from last time as well, and proceeded to make jokes at us for the rest of the night. Our team didn't end up winning (even though Jon showed up for the second round), but Mark and Eric's group on our table ended up winning with a measly score of 11/20. It was a rather brutal round...

We also managed to go skating a couple times this week as well. I'm slowly getting better, but I found on Thursday that the skates were really hurting my legs and I actually started bruising all up the front of my legs as well. Stupid skates. I think it's time to break out the warm fuzzy thick socks while going for our noon hour skates.

I also started all my lab work Thursday. My foil containers finally made their way to the department and I managed to get 36 samples done that afternoon. Vanessa and Joe showed up after coming back from Elora to see how my mess was going. It was a definite mess, which ended up taking me over an hour and a half to clean up. I left the lab at a ridiculous 615pm that night only to need to go home, spend even MORE time in a kitchen making dinner, and reading the paper for class the next day. Needless to say I skipped out on the Aggie Pub that happened that night, which was unfortunate, as I hear there were some pretty awesome stories. Such is the price I pay as a graduate student.

Friday I finished up the rest of my samples that I didn't get around to the day before. Each plot site has 47 samples, so I only did a relaxing 11 samples. That meant the kitchen stayed a whole lot cleaner than Thursday, which was a plus for me because it meant less time cleaning up.

Friday night being the start of the Halloween party weekend, means that that will all be in subsequent posts in the days to come. =)

Enjoy Halloween!

Colbie Caillat - Fallin' For You

Colbie's sophomore album was released August 21, 2009. Fallin' For You has been out for a while but it's such an addictive song.

The video featured here is Mia Rose's acoustic version, which I absolutely love. Check her out, she is awesomely fantastic.



I don't know
But I think I may be fallin' for you
Dropping so quickly
Maybe I should keep this to myself
Waiting 'til I know you better

I am trying not to tell you
But I want to, I'm scared of what you'll say
And so I'm hiding what I'm feeling
But I'm tired of holding this inside my head

I've been spending all my time
Just thinking about ya
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you
I've been waiting all my life
And now I found ya
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you
I'm fallin' for you

As I'm standing here
And you hold my hand
Pull me towards you
And we start to dance
All around us
I see nobody
Here in silence
It's just you and me

I'm trying not to tell you
But I want to, I'm scared of what you'll say
And so I'm hiding what I'm feeling
But I'm tired of holding this inside my head

I've been spending all my time
Just thinking about ya
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you
I've been waiting all my life
And now I found ya
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you
I'm fallin' for you

Oh, I just can't take it
My heart is racing
The emotions keep spinning out

I've been spending all my time
Just thinking about ya
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you
I've been waiting all my life
And now I found ya
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you
I'm fallin' for you
I think I'm fallin' for you

I can't stop thinking about it
I want you all around me
And now I just can't hide it
I think I'm fallin' for you

I can't stop thinking about it
I want you all around me
And now I just can't hide it
I think I'm fallin' for you

I'm fallin' for you
Ooohhh
Oh no no
Oooooohhh
Oh, I'm fallin' for you

eBar

Saturday was a gloomily rainy day, which spoiled our plans to go to the Halloween Haunt at Wonderland. Rather than wasting the night, we decided to head out downtown instead.

The plan was to pre-drink at Ann and Wilson's place, which is a ~10 minute walk from the clubs.

I got to Rob's around 820, and we left shortly thereafter to go to Ann's. Since we had to walk to campus, then catch a bus downtown, it ended up taking us almost an hour to get there. We show up somewhere around the vicinity of 930, and Wilson cracked open the CC and banana liquer.

Kendra got back into town around 11ish, and we finished up our drinks so we could head out to eBar.

I had a bit of trouble getting into the club. The bouncer asked me if I had an additional piece of ID, like a driver's license, even though what I initially handed him WAS my driver's license. He wasn't impressed when I showed him my student card, but semi-reluctantly let me in anyways.

The place wasn't packed, but it wasn't empty either. We found a chair to throw all our coats on, and headed to the bar for a round of drinks then to dance. There was the perfect amount of people in the club to be approached by guys, but also be able to find your group of friends by just glancing over the crowd once. It was also the perfect amount of people to get drink spilled on yourself by other intoxicated ladies in the club. Good thing her cranberry vodka didn't stain my shirt.

I have to say that I don't usually have a ton of fun at the bars because I'm either the DD, or anxious about when I need to get home. Living on my own makes it so much easier to have fun at the clubs. Never have I had enough to drink, and enjoyed myself enough, that I would spill my drink and lose the straw in my glass.

I didn't even notice the time fly by, until the DJ announced last call at the bar, and the final song being spun. Kendra and I met a guy at the bar who tried to buy us drinks, but was never successful at it. And now that I think about it, I actually ordered 2 drinks in front of him and when I fumbled for my wallet he didn't even offer to pay. Odd? I think not. He came with us to the dance floor but left soon enough as he saw us return to Wilson and Rob in the crowd. Eventually he came back to talk to me nearing the end of the night, and we danced for a bit until he decided he was going to leave again. The strangest thing about him, is that for a guy trying to pick up some girls, he was very adamant about not letting me know his name and didn't try very hard to hang around us.

After the club was shutting down, we headed out to walk home. We walked Kendra home, since she was the closest, and then Rob and I made the long trek back home. We walked along Gordon hoping to catch one of the late night buses but they were all full. The walk from downtown to campus is about 30 minutes long, as we have to cross the river. And when we got to campus, we didn't even bother heading to the bus loop to catch a late night bus, we just kept on waling until we got home - another 20 minutes. It's funny how when you've had a bunch to drink, you don't notice how long and how far things actually are. By the time we arrived indoors, it was 320am, and we had left the club after it closed (at 2am). Where did the 80 minutes go?

It was another silly night out, and it was even more fun this time around because Ann came out and actually drank! If Saturday night is any indication of times to come, the next 2 years are only going to get better.

City Sirens

Last night, City Sirens were playing live at the Brass Taps.

City Sirens are a local band from Hamilton, Ontario, a group of fresh high school graduates who draw their unique sound from bands like RHCP, Incubus and The Beatles.

Kendra, Chris and Rob met up at my place for some pre-drinking before the concert. We sat around drinking watching SYTYCD Canada on TV passing time until the concert. It was chilly out so the walk to campus has quite the sobering effect.

Seeing as it was a Thursday, the Taps was rather empty. It wasn't difficult to get a decent table there, so we quickly grabbed that and our drink orders.

City Sirens live at the Brass Taps

Having already had two drinks prior, Rob stressed several times how he would only have one more drink. Right. Three rye & cokes and four rounds of shots later, he was still insisting he would only have one more drink.

It was definitely a nice full of silliness. The band was playing a slew of cover songs but there was no one on the dance floor. Kendra and I had enough to drink to want to go out and dance, but Rob wasn't quite there yet. We eventually got enough in him to get him out, and Chris followed suit.

Following our lead, people from the other tables came out to dance, and after the first set, the drummer and guitarist/vocalist in the band, Jake and Eric, actually came up to our table to thank us for getting people out of their seats. We continued to dance for their 2nd and 3rd sets and finally realized that we were the last group left in the bar. Hrm, that doesn't happen very often now does it.

The band was great. I was hoping they would play more of their original songs rather than cover songs, but it was apparently at the request of the bar manager. Probably to get more people to come out to it, to dance, and to buy drinks.

Not to mention the fact that they are super nice guys and actually liked talking to me in between their sets. Although we were all under very high suspicions that most of them were still in high school (I checked, they have all graduated, but Jake the drummer only graduated high school earlier this year).

Rounds:

• Tequila shot
• B-52
• Rocky Mountain Bear Fucker
• Liquid Cocaine

Highlights of the evening:

• Rob wearing the same shirt as the guitarist
• "I'm pretty sure that drummer wanted to BONE you and Kendra. Hardcore." -Rob

Thanks Rob. Thanks. ♥

Debt much?

Ontario deficit billions more than expected

Largest-ever deficit in province - $24.7B - means difficult choices ahead, says Finance Minister Duncan

Published in the last hour on thestar.com, our fantastic Financial Minister Dwight Duncan has graciously informed us the shortfall has increased to $24.7 billion. TWENTY-FOUR BILLION! How does something like that even happen?

The largest shortfall in Ontario history (aside from just now) was in 1992 when the shortfall was $12 billion. We've more than doubled that, absolutely shattering the record.

These are my favourite parts of the article:

"Despite the gloomy picture, Duncan emphasized that the Liberals would continue their focus on the big-ticket priorities of health-care and education."

"While he was vague Thursday, in a speech on Tuesday, the finance minister said a sweeping review of government programs would be coming in the next few months to determine where cuts can be made."

"They're heading for a $20 billion deficit and it doesn't look like they're ready to raise taxes and it's pretty clear that the economy is not going to grow so there's not going to generate extra money there," said Samuelson."

Awesome.

I can't say much else since I haven't really been keeping up with Ontario politics. But at a simple glance, this article is a real downer on the Ontario political system.