Oh My God, Who Said I Could?

There must be a mistake. Someone, somewhere, indicated that I'm some sort of adult authority figure or something, and now students are coming to me, asking for help on their essays. Two of them so far. And they TRUST me. They think the answers I give them are RIGHT...

I Am Making Friends!

You guys would be so proud of me. Honestly, I have no idea how I ended up with any friends at all. Meeting people seems like such a big, scary chore. My impulse is to turtle--I figure, hey, I've got a cat and some books--that should keep me busy. Yesterday, a girl named Kim invited me to a party, and I didn't want to go on account of I'm afraid of strangers. But I went. And it was really fun. And I got to know some people in my program, and I really like them. Then today, I went to a meet-and-greet in my department, and talked to some people that I like, and I might go for a drink with Kim, Hayley and Nikki tomorrow, and I might watch Secretary with Megan, and I might watch Emma with some other students in my Jane Austen class.
Aren't you guys proud of me?
I miss you all.

My Blog is Lonely.

I was just checking out Toni's and Roz's marathon sites, and holy comments, batman! My blog is lonely. Sometimes Mom and Toni add comments, but I'm starting to feel like that kid in school who has to list her mom as one of her friends on a class assignment so that the booger-eating kid in the back of the room isn't her only firend. Not that Toni is a booger-eater. Well, she might be--I don't know. In fact, they says that booger eating boosts your immune system, so that kid in the back of the classroom will probably outlive us all. Not the point. Anyhow, I know I'm not training for a trans-continental marathon to combat a life-threatening illness, but is ANYBODY reading my Blog, other than Brad and Toni?
Okay. I'm indulging in a little minor self-pity here. I'll stop now. I miss you guys. Email me or something.

Stink Follows Me

Yep, it's true. From what I can see, Halifax is a fairly normally-scented town... except wherever I must spend much of my time. First, the apartment which, when I moved in, smelled like Grandma's basement (but thanks to the good folks at Glade and whoever invented the screened window, it now smells like flowers. Seriously. The phone hook-up guy had to comment on how nice my apartment smells). After that, I encountered your ordinary gambit of ordinary scents... until today, when I was assigned my office. Just a little background: my office is an a converted Victorian mansion on LeMarchant Street, which unfortunately has an army-bunker-like section of offices appended to it. Guess where my office is. Yup--the bunker section. And it smells like stale playdough and--ta-da! Grandama's basement! Bring on the Glade, baby. The good news is: it could be worse. Some poor saps have offices in the basement. Of a Victorian house. Blech.
Do you know what it is that they call the house where my office is? Bleak House. Kind of figures, doesn't it?

Canada Post Has Decided My Future

Yeah.
Last month, I mailed my application to the University of Queensland. The guy at the post office (U of A SUB, if you're wondering) seemed a bit hung-over, but he weighed and mesured the envelope, charged me to mail it, then took it from me, so I figured all was good. Then Trent came home to Edmonton this week to find the envelope, "Returned to Sender" in the mailbox. Insufficient postage. (A $2 stamp, though I paid nearly 6 bucks.) So Trent made a bunch of frantic phone calls, I emailed the English department... and I heard back today, that, while they will consider me for entry into the PhD program, they will not consider me for scholarships until 2007.
So, in an effort to cheer myself up, here is a list of things that I love about Halifax:

• Victorian houses, often painted vibrant, lovely colours
• Trees and green spaces--lots of them. Big trees, too--not just scrubby-looking poplars
• Point Pleasant Park
• The Public Gardens
• Pretty cemetaries (zombie-free from what I can tell). I know it sounds weird, but they're nice to pass by
• Everything is close together--I can get pretty much anywhere by bus in under half an hour
• Dalhousie University--very pretty campus, and they actually put humanities departments in nice, new buildings!
• The Historic Properties on the waterfront
• The waterfront
• Close enought to make weekend trips to cool places like Montreal, New York, Maine or Boston
• Lots of yummy seafood!
• Close enough for friends and family to come and visit every now and then...
• The "Halifax Squiggle." This is a term that Trent and I made up for roads that don't quite match up as they go through intersections...

I'm kind of sad right now. Not that I necessarily wanted to go to Australia over staying here... it was just nice to feel that I had the option...

It's no Edmonton...

My mom emailed yesterday to tell me that they got over a foot and a half of snow on the weekend, and Phil says that Sunday was the nicest day they've had in Edmonton for two weeks: 8 degrees C. I just thought all you Albertans should know that it's sunny and hot here in Halifax. I am wearing a tank top.
Something frustrating happened. My Austalia application came back in the mail. It seems that the U of A campus post office put the wrong postage on it. (Charged me for the right postage, then stuck the wrong stamp on.) So now I'm pretty stressed that UQ won't accept it. Lucky for me, my Trent is all over the problem. It's just so frustrating, being split like this--I want to be at home so that I can take the letter back to the post office and make them send it express with a written apology for messing up. Alternately, I want Trent and my house and my mail to be here so that I can deal with these things when they happen, and not hear about them second-hand.
Don't have time to say much more... I want to go for a walk before I go to class.
(My first class as a PhD student--YAY! Have I mentioned lately how happy I am that I'm not a secretary any more?)

Sad Day

I sent my Trent home on the airplane today, and my apartment suddenly feels very, very quiet. I wish my classes had already started so that I could be busy reading.
Trent got to do a news interview at the airport about flying on the anniversary of September 11th. I'm ashamed to admit that we were both so absorbed in our own stuff, we didn't even realize it was the anniversary. So look for him on Global tonight. I can't. I still don't have cable.
Enkidu misses Ozzy. I tell her not to be sad--we'll see him soon. I don't think she's listening to me. Maybe it would make her feel better if someone were to call or email us...

I am settled in

I am! Please everyone come and visit me! (except the October 7th weekend. I'm going home so that Trent and I don't have to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary in separate cities...)
I am feeling very much in awe of Toni and Roz who are training for a marathon in Rome. Good jeorb, guys! (As always, for a comprehensive definition if jeorb please see http://www.homestarrunner.com/cantsayjob.html).

I TAed Today!

I had my first clas as a TA today! Thank god, I'm not the primary instructor for a class--TAs at Dal are "tutor-markers" (I've got to say, CUPE is better at enforcing the maximum-number-of-TA-hours-per-week than the UofA GSA) so I attend classes, hold office hours and mark papers. I'm seriously considering Dan Preece's suggestion that I just write letter grades on stairs and throw them down...
The students seem... young. Very young. One discussed at length the way her high school teacher liked to have his essay assignments handed in.
I've also started to try and get caught up on the GSAC stuff. Can anybody please remind me why in the hell I ran for this position? I've got to say, I feel completely out of my depth. Seriously, help. I need some rah-rahs here.
Carrie Dawson is my academic advisor, and, coincidentally, my TAship supervisor. I have a class with her next term, and I think I'd like her to be my supervisor. Yay me, I'm a PhD student! Finally.

Becca Arrives Safely in Halifax!

I am in Halifax, I am not homeless, and the English department at Dalhousie knows who I am! So far, all major crises averted. I am in a basement apartment, which is clean and a nice size, though I've had to fill the place with air fresheners (think: "sloth" scene in _Seven_) to keep the place from smelling like an old lady's basement... whatever. My landlady seems cool--she's a Bio Sci undergrad at Dal, and she and her boyfriend live upsairs. Rent's cheap, and I'm only 20 minutes (by bus) away from school. Apparently, people lied to me when they said that people in Halifax don't take the bus. There is a stop right around the corner, and the bus to Dal seems to be well-travelled.
Haliax is gorgeous. (And Spryfield is not that bad, Jodes--we had to go and look. But it is far away, so I'm gad I'm not there.) Trent says I'm not allowed to fall in love with the city until I know we're staying. I told him that he should try and not be to in love with me this fall so that he'ss miss me less.
I miss you all. The weather is gorgeous, and I understand that fall in the Maritimes is supposed to be amazing, so please come and visit me! I have a comfy futon in my living room (my place is a one-bedroom).
Hugs,
Becca