Boredom Strikes

It’s 7:10 am, Tuesday morning and I am patiently waiting to board my plane to Toronto. To pass time, I yawn sitting on a rusty orange boarding-area chair, while watching people walk by. It’s comical to watch Edmontonians (and other people visiting and/or leaving) stroll by with ease, while some frantically dart by while talking on their cells or looking at there watches. I noticed that some people will look at their watch and then approximately 5 seconds later, look at it again. I guess they’re either late for their plane (hence the quick glance at their watch to see how late they are) or bored out of their mind (just like me). This cracks me up so I put myself in their shoes to try and figure out why people always look at their watches. Maybe this act gives them a false hope that there is a small chance that time will stop and they will not be late for their plane! In reality, after looking at your watch for the second and third time in the last minute, still means that you’re still late! Or maybe it’s because when your as bored as I am, the only thing to do is look at your watch every couple minutes or so.

As I continue to watch Edmontonians walk by, I realized that I am beyond bored and ponder what I will do to pass the time for the next hour and half. I should be reading a book that I started months ago (Little Women) but this morning I got up a little late and found myself rushing to get out the door. Usually I am well organized, allowing me to diddle-dawdle in the mornings. I must have diddle-dawdled more this morning than usual because I recognized that I should be out the door if I wanted to catch the Sky Shuttle at 6:00 am. As a result, I forgot my book, thus suffering for my morning diddle-dawdling ritual.

The worst thing was that I thought I had more time this morning because I planned to take a cab to Varscona (a hotel where the Sky Shuttle picks people up and takes them to the airport, and vice-versa). I called the cab company at 5:2 5 am, thinking that was plenty of time to get to the hotel for 6:00am. Boy was I wrong! Every cab company in this city assured me that I would be waiting >45 minutes for a ride. Who would have thought that at 5:30 am it would take so long to get a cab; not I! It soon became evident that I would have to walk approximately 5 blocks with two large suitcases and a stuffed backpack. Once I began walking, it was so nice out I forgot how heavy my bags were. However, less then a block later my arms felt like they were going to be torn off, and I had four and a half more blocks to walk. Because of this unexpected exercise, for the remainder of the walk, my muscles were suddenly woken up from a long slumberous sleep to torturous pain. When I arrived at the hotel, I was hot (due to all the number of clothes I was wearing because I thought it was going to be cold out), tired, out of breathe, and hurting from my lower back to my shoulders and down my arms. Never again will I underestimate the time it takes for cab to get to my place. The funny thing was, once I got to the hotel, there parked in front of me was a cab from a cab company that I called. This particular cab stayed there for about 5 minutes, doing absolutely nothing. The driver was probably laughing at me! I sure hope that he was there to pickup a passenger that didn’t show. Because if that isn’t the reason, I am not a happy camper since I had to walk with my entire luggage, when a cab was indeed available! GRRRRR!!

As I sit here, bored out of my mind (with the number of times I have said “bored”, truly shows you how bored I am), I find myself staring at this screen thinking about friends and family in and around my home town. So far I have plans to spend some time with my parents and little brother (for the next couple days), then I am off to London with Crystal for the weekend, and then on Monday I jump on a bus to Niagara Falls to visit my sister for the week. This Christmas is going to be a blast. However, as I think about what I will be doing for the next four weeks, I also find myself thinking about my friends in Edmonton and how I am going to miss them. I hope their Christmas is as great as I believe mine will be.
Darn-it, why did I have to leave my book at home? Why or Why?! I’m so BORED!

So Cute!

Here are my two nephews (Junior and Colby) and my oldest niece (Payge). Right now I am so excited because I am heading home to see my friends and family (including these three munchkins) tomorrow for my Christmas vacation. Since being away, I have missed these guys so much. Unfortunately, I am missing a picture of my youngest niece, Elizabeth (1 1/4 years old). Troy, my youngest brother, hasn't provided me with a digital picture yet. Once I get it I will put it up to show the world how cute she is.

Payge -- This is not a recent picture of her, but it is the only one I have on my computer. She is a smart, driven girl and will be going places. I believe she wants to be a Veterinarian.

Colby (left) and Junior (right) -- These two trouble makers can be a handful, I cannot wait to baby-sit them!

Live with it!

If I have to live in a city blanketed by snow with temperatures exceeding – 40 degrees Celsius, I might as well make the best of it. Who knows, I may even go tobogganing or skiing this year.

Crystal, I am going to bring this weather to Ontario, so be prepared to experience truly cold weather :)

Tick Tock, Tick Tock!

Sometimes I wonder how time flies when a day can seem so long. Like always, this semester went by fast, yet I cannot remember what I did to pass the time or recall my accomplishments. When I look back on the last couple months, the only thing I did was re-write some grants, analyze data, and prepare a poster and presentation (for two separate outings), and read various articles. While doing so little in terms of work, I utilized over 90 days of my life. I am either a slow (perfectionist) worker or the the worlds largest procrastinator. It’s surreal!

When I look back on my past, I want to smile and tell people what I have done. However, unfortunately I am 25 years old and have no real accomplishments, equity, or even a relationship that illustrates how I have lived my life. Wait a minute, I am in a relationship, a long-term relationship with my education; encompassing 19 years. At least when I talk about things linked to biology, I light up. Right now the only thing I have to show is an undergraduate degree in Wildlife and habitat ecology and a half accomplished masters’ degree in Environmental Biology and Ecology. But what does this show in terms of accomplishments after 25 years, in my eyes, nothing! The worst thing is that I don’t know what I want to do after my masters. Well, in an education perspective, getting an undergraduatge degree in Biology and then persueing a masters degree is something to smile about. One has to love school to stay in it as long as I have; which I do!

Like everyone else, I will have to wait and see where life takes me. With this, do I rely on faith to control my life, or do I make it happen? I would say it takes a little faith and self-direction. Personal faith in myself has driven me this far, while knowing that if I don’t push myself everyday to do what I love, while making various decisions on the way, I wouldn’t be here. I guess it has taken me a little longer to get where I am, at the same time, understand that there is still mystery in my future. So when you look back on your past you see that time has in fact flown by, yet stands still when you live in the present.