There's irony built into the weather

Dear Atlantic provinces,

Let me just start off this letter by reaffirming that I still love you. You could probably hurl a tornado at me, and after that a hurricane, and possibly a typhoon, and I would still love you. But I have a small bone to pick with you.

When I said yesterday, standing underneath a sunny, blue sky on a balmy spring day that "It's probably going to ice storm tomorrow," I was kidding. You weren't actually supposed to listen to me.

Either you have no sense of humour, or you have a profound sense of irony. I'm not sure which.

Sincerely,
Rachel

SUCH a good song...

By Kate Nash. Give it a listen...it's a fantastic song, and the lyrics are very straightforward. Unfortunately, it's not the sort of song you can quote anywhere ("Thirty-five people couldn't count on two hands the number of times you've made me stop...stop and think why are you being such a dickhead for...") even though they're rather well-written...without people thinking you're really angry at someone.

But really. This is not a passive aggressive "OH MY GOD I HATE YOU" post because those are just annoying. I just like the song. I mean, sure, there are people who definitely need to listen to it from time to time, but I'm one of those people, so...anyway. Give it a listen.

Springtime bliss...in the Maritimes (and a touch of springtime sadness)

It's going to be 7 degrees and sunny today...I was outside in a fleece sweater and jeans, and a bike ride is being planned for this afternoon. Both of my windows are open and my heat is off. I never thought I'd see the day when I would consider the low 40's as warm. (When I was little and living in Phoenix, I distinctly remember thinking that it was going to be cold one day when the high was 58 degrees (14 C). My sister and I wore coats to school.)

Apparently it's been a rough winter for New Brunswick...more snow than usual and a giant ice storm that coated EVERYTHING in a glittery layer of frozen-ness. So now that we're coming out of it, I'm seeing more and more people out in the town, taking off mittens as they walk down the street...and you can't turn your head without hearing somebody talk about how nice the weather is.

I've always liked the springtime, but here, people (and I include myself in this) really appreciate it. And "appreciation" isn't a strong enough word..."rejoicing" might be more fitting. I was in Bridge Street Cafe a couple of weeks ago, and there was a note folded up on one of my friend's tables that said "Read me!" on the outside. On the inside, there was an excited "Spring is here!" with a butterfly drawn next to the words. I asked her about it, and she said, "Oh yeah, you're just supposed to take that and put it on a table for people to find."

It's hard not to be happy, and I can't stop smiling whenever I walk between campus and the downtown area--and I find excuses to go outside (like this morning, to the Sackville Farmers' Market to get some deliciously greasy veggie samosas--Ali Shott, if you're here on a weekend, you're coming with me). The other week, I stopped to watch a robin hop around, and I was thrilled when I saw a patch of grass on campus that didn't have a speck of snow on it. Then proceeded to stand in the grass for a second just to feel it underneath my sneakers--I realized that I'd been walking on nothing but ice, snow, and cement for the past 3 1/2 months (with the exception of last weekend, when I was in Phoenix, but I also wanted to die the first day I was there--it was 80/30ish).

The only problem is...when the warm weather comes, I'm gone. We were at the pub last night, and one of my fellow Killamer friends just randomly looks at me and said, "You can't leave."

Another friend told me that it makes her sick how "Canadian I am" (I asked for clarification on that one, and she meant that it's so clear to her that I fit here so well, and yet I can't stay). And to quote an invitation that's sitting in front of me, "Cool Americans are sometimes hard to find, so I'm so happy to have met you--and that you're cool!"--which makes my little star-spangled heart feel all fuzzy and warm.

So while I will be happy to go back to DC and the people and friends I love and that I'm missing there, leaving Sackville is going to be incredibly, incredibly difficult.

But again...it's going to be an awesome few weeks.

Ponderings...but not really

Wow. 3 more weeks here? And it actually feels like it's going to end now, because I got 3 of my 4 term papers out of the way.

I'm not really sure how to feel about this. I'm going to go with "sad but excited."

But dwelling on reasons behind emotions and navel-gazing never helped anyone. With that whole brain/heart dichotomy that exists in the realm of emotions, sometimes it's just worth it to dispense of the brain (though obviously not in all cases). So it's going to be a fun, well-lived three weeks.

And I thought, hey diddle diddle
now isn't this a riddle, it's a proof of love
when the cakes hit the griddle
we'll dance a little jiggle by the stars above

and call this world our own

And all I want is to be a little part of the things that I love
And all I want, to make a little start at the things that I love

Seems there's lots of things that I could love

Healthy lifestyle choices, by numbers

Late night snack:

2 Mars bars

1 can of Full Throttle

Coffee consumed today:

28 ounces, black.

Number of books surrounding me:

Too many.

Number of pages to write:

Let's not think about that.

Hours of sleep gotten in the last 24 hours:

Roughly 4.5. The .5 was on a plane.

Hours of jet lag to get over:

I've been in four different time zones in the last two days and spent three consecutive nights in different ones. You figure it out.

Sanity level:

Approaching 0.

In better news, I've finally owned up the fact that I am hopelessly addicted to caffeine. That probably won't change, but at least I'm now being honest with myself.

Dear all 33,594,000 citizens of Canada,

I'd like to apologize on behalf of our idiotic newscasters. I realize that Fox has a reputation for being moronic, and the only reason most people I know watch it is because they're curious what the "other side" is thinking...and I know that there are idiots everywhere...but I apologize that we've put them on national television. I also apologize for their extreme arrogance, especially during an economic time like this, when karma is going to turn around and bite us in the ass (some call it a free market, I call it karma--well, not seriously, but you get what I mean).

(Along similar lines, flying out of Moncton, they didn't make me take off my shoes at security. They did at US Customs in Toronto. They did at regular security in Phoenix AND Newark. They didn't flying back into Montreal.)

I love and respect you as a nation, Canada, and I know very few people who would be so crass as to attack another nation's armed services.

Sincerely,
Rachel

The warmest congratulations...

To my sister Rebecca and her husband Robert. I'd say more, but then I'd start getting gushy.