It's so damn hot here! God damn Bush and his "not global warming". I'm so vilely angry b/c I'm exhaused and need to sleep but can't b/c Canada doesn't have air conditioning or opening windows. I simply can't sleep in the heat. So I'm sitting in the poorly cooled student union trying to internet myself into exhaustion so the heat don't affect me.

So I'm chillin at the U of York at the Canadian Association for Teachers of Technical Writing or (CATTW) I thought it'd be "See-eh-tee-tee-doulble-u" but apparently it's "cat-double-u" Ya know FYI. So it's a pretty good confernece for the most part. It's small and friendly. But there've been some quite good presentations. Not now though. Right now my choices are ESL or aacademic administration. I don't care for ESL and I'm yet a little new in my career to be worried about how to set up a new academic department.

So I presented yesterday morning. A gripping read entitled "The Rhetoric of Discovery: The Abductive Inference and the Kairos of Paradigm Shifts." I think it went over fairly well. There weren't many questions, but I'm not suprised for so obtuse an essay. I got some nice complements from a MA student from the U of MN. Nice to hear since U of Mn is good in the Rhet or Science.

Two especially flatering notes: I was asked to submit my essay to a Canadian Tech Writing journal who's publishing the conference proceedings. Also a very well regarded scholar from London in Lingusitics cited one presentation from the previous day by name in his talk and it was mine. :)

On a sad note: I wanted to go to a big Toronto musem today, but city-wide public transit is on strike. I could take a cab, but once I got to the city...there'd be a 2 hr + wait to catch a cab back. Since it may get worse: I don/t want to get marooned in downtown Toronto.


The bottom line: So far, pretty productive professionally if a bit boreing socially/ culturally.

Helloooo from Canada. It's very early for my internal clock, and computer clock as well who both say it's 7:36, yet I've been up for over 90 min. Woe is me. Canadian customs--I'd rather be at the DOT. Will explain in a futre post...however I can't wait to tell you all about the satanic canadian squirrels. They start out looking just like normal squirrls, but their black...pitch black. With firey red eyes that glow with evil. Ok not really, but they are disturbingly black. I'm not sure but I have a vagure recollection of Amanda mentioning them from her trip to Wisconsin. Am I right? Ok back to confrensing. More to come.

So, It's been absurdly long since I last posted. There's absolutly no way to recap it all. So I'll just prattle a bit about recent events. Classes started on Monday. The one I'm taking is going to be a peice of cake. We read about 10 pages a day. The one I'm teaching on the other hand's a bit more challenging. Most of my students are 5th year seniors who've eithered failed the class once already or forgot to take it before. They've all but graduated and they've just one stinking english class in their way. (They're so very motivated....to get a c-).


I started hapkido again. For those of you who don't know this is a sport that invovles throwing yourself repeaditly at the ground for an hour on end. I'm very sore and can feel muscles I'd forgotten I owned.

In other news...I'm going on a bikeride now. I know that's not too thrilling of news either, but I had to close this entry out somehow.

I defended my thesis today....and won! I'm a rhetoric master!

I got my black belt in Taekwondo today. I'm amazing...who wouldn't want to be me?!

I'm gonna get drunk.

While reading Modest_witness@new.mellinium_oncoMouse_meets_femaleman by Donna Harroway (PS. I shit you not that's how the title is spelled), I read a comic that got me thinking about God. According to Genesis...where did Eve come from? Adam's rib...right? right. So as the text got me thinking...what's in a rib? Marrow. Ok what's in Marrow...Ah ha! Stem Cells. All hail God...the great cloner!

Please offer your comments and suggestions on this latestes deposity in my great repository of useless rantings.

OK so now it's time for a little requested and soon to be little read life-update. yay, I know your excited. So I FINALLY got back from CCCCs in Chicago Monday night at 10 pm. I'm too tired to work dilligently on the PILES of work I have before. It's a good thing my theis isn't due until Friday, that's like 4 whole days right. Cake. (I'm screwed.)

In other news, Rob, if you read this, call me. You've apparently been ignoring my phone messages. I feel defriended. .

Life's not all bad though. Though I'm trying to find a sweet new place to live. I'm gonna be in Iowa for another 5 years and I'd like a nice place that's a bit less of a shit-hole than UV.

All for now. Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll update again in a month.

I'm excited to anounce that Qwest High Speed online now comes with FREE SELF-Installation! That's right part of their new ad campaign means that you don't have to pay them to install it yourself!


I hate people

Ok so I haven't updated in awhile. Sorry. Also I'm only updating to bitch about the weather and how much work I have to do. So I'll save you the trouble of having to read my rant, and just ask you to use your imagination.

For the two of you who take the time to read this, I thought I'd make sure to let you know that as of Feb 08, 2006, 12:14, I still exist. Beyond this I can promise nothing, for tomorrow I travel.

I hate caffine, though I'm currently drinking it.

So this probably isn't new to any of my readers, but nevertheless, I had to comment on my crazy student. The first assignment due in my class was a personal web page. Many students put personal pictures on their site. I can understand this; I have personal pictures on my own site. What I didn't expect was someone to display a picture of her getting a tatoo on her left breast! Oh the youth of today.

On Saturday (Yesterday for those reading this the day I posted) There was a fun ISU Karate Club outing to the tiny little Earth-pimple of a ski hill in Boone. It was actually quite entertaining. The sad part: Alicia got sick right before we left and was unable to go. :(

So, I, in my foolish attempt to make her feel better, promised that we'd get the Engl gang together to go skiing next Saturday. So don't you all go and make a liar out of me. Here's the details

Saturday
Leave Ames around 3:30 (Earlier costs more)
Costs a wee $26 for lift ticket and ski rental
There are free lessons for beginners (From the real people, not just me.)
Snowboarding also available. (I want to see Rob tackle the freestyle area.)

I had an absolutely thrilling trip to the MU for dinner just now. You better believe it was exciting. The first fun adventure had to do with my burrito server's inability to make a burrito. I asked him for one and he simply told me. "I can't fold burritos well so I'm just gonna make you a big soft shell taco" Ok so folding a giant burrito may not be that easy, but come on! You work at a burrito stand, isn't there some one who can train you? If not, won't you MAYBe learn by practicing?? Maybe? I'm not really that upset. He made up for his folding incompetence with measuring incompetance. I got way more stuff in the burrito than I ought to have.

You know someone is either perfectly comfortable with their geekdom or totally unaware when:

So I was at the bus stop today and this guy I hardly know and have only met a couple of times comes up to me. We exchange the standard "Hello--How's the semester?" To which he responds, "One of my professors is Emporer Palpitine" At this point I know it would be a great bus ride. Truely it was, I was regaled the entire way with gripping tales of Star Wars like professors, AeroE frustrations, and those-evil-professors-who-don't-curve. Oh it was joyful.

In other news
I'm almost done with Grad School apps!! Yay. I just have one more thing to mail and I'm set. Fantastic!
The semester's begun and I haven't been to any classes yet, 'cept the two I teach. I think Karma is going to bite me in the ass. I had such a good class last semester, I'm gonna get royally cornholed this semester.

Ok Bye now.

Happy ChristmaHannaKwanzaka! I hope very much that everyone enjoys thier anti winter depression holiday of choice. And to all you atheists out there: Have a good day!

I had an exciting new experience the other night: a road side sobriety text. It was especially well timed since I had just finished chastizing Rob for his drinking and driving behavior. As you can see, I am still able to update my blog, so I'm clearly not in jail. YAY! I was a bit concerned at the time---not b/c I thought I might be drunk, but b/c I was cold as shit. I was shaking all over the place while trying to stand on one foot on a patch of ice. (Not all that fair if you ask me.) Thankfully another officer showed up and he had a breathylizer. Can't argue with science: I was scott-free. (Sorry, bad pun.)


Unrelated Story

Today my father, aunt and I went on our nearly annual X-mas hike. Seems more years the weathers good enough that we get to enjoy the great outdoors. Went don't to Sailorville lake and threw rocks at the ice. Good Times.

Ok I'm done filling you in on my life. You may already know too much.

You taste like baked alaska. Your sweetness is
only matched by your smooth and creamy texture.
You are sure to set fire to anyone's taste
buds.


How do you taste?
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Announcing the recent launch of My Multiverse version 4.0. Please all go visit my website and let me know what you think of the new design and content. I've very interested in your comments

[profane rant]
I know it's only been a week but I'm fing sick of this frozen water shit! I don't know why in the fing hell I ever even thought about moving north of oh I don't know ATLANTA. And yes I know I grew up in this shit, so one'd think that once i'd gotten out, I'd've known better than to return. God fucking damn I'm sick of being cold and my body's subsequent demands for more insulation...just what I need another fing layer of fat! I'm only applying to PhD progams in the south. I can handel all the racsim as loing as I'm not cold. I miss a world where the only ice i have to worry about is for filling by beer cooler! [/profane rant]

That aside, anyone one to write a paper for me? How bout this instead? I need help finding an example for one of my essays. Does anybody have a website, film or someting vaguely new media that shows images and text argueing with one another. It could be blog like or something, but it's got to have a substantial visual component and be argumentative--but not overly profane. Any ideas?

Hey you out there with the nice boots and don't forget my promised pictures ;).

ps: I hope you're not hungover.