Follow the Mome Raths

Monday, January 31, 2005

Quick post here, I finished the essay, and I got to school yesterday in an effort to get some lab work done, but no dice. There was a class in my lab room. An unfortunate side effect of a small University.

Right now I am finishing up hand-painting my yarn.

Pictures to follow.

Karlie@11:39 p.m.

Saturday, January 29, 2005

While attempting to come up with something for dinner, I just inevented (well, combined recipes and changed seasonings) a very awesome recipe.

Potato Wedges with Aioli

Wedges:
4 Baking Potatoes
Vegetable Oil
Salt
Paprika
Basil
Steak Spice

Heat oven to 400F. Slice each potato into 8 wedges, toss in a bowl with some oil, salt, paprika, and basil. Bake about 40 minutes, until golden and crispy. After taking them out, sprinkle with some steak spice.

Aioli:
2 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 med Garlic Clove
Lemon Juice

Mix the mayonnaise with minced garlic, and about a teaspoon or so of lemon juice.

Soooooo good. And really not all that bad for you!

Karlie@4:41 p.m.

Here's the random picture, for yesterday. This is a drilling truck, to drill very narrow and deep holes for seismic charges, when running seismic lines (it's actually from the same trip as last Friday's picture). If you're curious, to get my random picture I open up the picture folder, put my cursor on the scroll bar, and close my eyes while I move the scroll bar up and down, until I stop somewhere and move over and double click. So it really is random!

Karlie@3:54 p.m.

Recognize the line above? It's from an old Scottish folk song, Loch Lomond. Why am I quoting it? Because last night I went tubing at Thunder Bay's ski hill, Loch Lomond. It was soooooooo much fun, I can't describe how much fun it was. You travel up to the top of the bunny hill in the chair lifts, and down one side of the bunny hill they've created two very wide chutes. You grab an inner tube (from a transport/semi tire), and barrel down the hill down one of the chutes. It's safer than I envisioned, because they only allow one person per tube, and only up to three hooked together (by arms, legs, heads), and they only allow one tube/group at a time. However, the speed with which you rocket down the hill more than makes up for that!

Next week Laura and Allison and I are going back, but this time we'll probably ski or snowboard.

Karlie@10:43 a.m.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

I took this test awhile ago, in my 2nd year of University. It tests your epathy quotient (EQ) and systemising quotient (SQ). It's interesting to see where you lie against the population, and it gives you some insite into yourself. I scored 24 on the EQ, which is quite low. Women typically score in the 40's. I also scored 49 on SQ, which is quite high, especially for a woman, they typically score in the 20's. End result? I am an extreme S-type, which is a thought pattern typical for people with Asperger's Syndrome, or high-functioning autisum. Obviously I am neither, but it was still interesting!

Karlie@9:27 p.m.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

I have this essay to write. It's 3000 words on Mass Differentiation. I also have a chance to go out tubing (going down the icy slopes of Northern Ontario in inflated tubes). As per my friend Elizabeth's suggestion, I shall try to write some of the essay, until I find out if I am going tubing tonight or not.

*Sigh*

If any of my readers are geologists or astronomers, any tips on writing a paper on the theory of Mass Differentiation and the formation of the earth and solar system?

Karlie@6:44 p.m.

Monday, January 24, 2005

Here's a wonderful cocktail that my bestest-friend Elizabeth and I came up with one night. And we got totally smashed. But they're bright pink, girly, and sweet. Perfect for a girl's-night-out, or a treat-yourself-right spa night.

Pink Elizabeths

1 bottle of peach-flavoured sparkling water (Clearly Canadian or other)
Grenadine
Maraschino Cherries
Vodka (Skyy is really nice, or if you want to be really Canadian about it choose Iceberg)

Fill a glass almost full of the peach water. Add a shot (or two, depending on tastes) of vodka, as well as a dash of grenadine. Toss in a cherry and you're set!

Karlie@5:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

This is for "Friday's are for Random Pictures" for Jan 21. This is a helicopter used while doing seismic surveys for petroleum exploration. While working for EnCana this summer, I had the opportunity to spend the day with a seismic crew, and watched them do all the stuff they do. We even felt them set off a charge, which was pretty cool. You could hear a "thump" sound, and the ground moved a few centimeters beneath your feet. Anyway, this particular helicopter was used in a movie, which for the life of me I can't remember the name of, (Payday? Paycheque? something like that). Anyway Ben Affleck was filmed in this helicopter. No I didn't sit in his seat. But this helicopter was seriously sweet, and very very quiet.

Karlie@8:36 p.m.

Here's what has happened to me on the MWF I've missed.

Monday Jan 17: I'd started the doll (see below) over the weekend, but I needed to get elastic to finish her clothes, and stuffing for her. I was going to go to the mall or Wal-Mart after class, but since it was very, very cold (-35C, unknown windchill) I decided against it.

Wednesday Jan 19: I went to school very early so I could get some errands done. I went to academic advising, where I found out that I'd get my degree a year earlier if I did it in English, not Geology. So that's what I'm doing. I also got to check my e-mail for the first time in almost a week, and I did't have a geophysics class so I tried to do some Igenous lab. No go, due to no concentration. I headed over to Arts (I keep wanting to call it Education, because the Faculty of Music at U of A was in the Education building) and played piano for awhile, and had my voice lesson with Tellie, the world's nicest and best voice teacher or professor. I love Tellie. She makes my Wednesdays worthwhile. I also soared through my exercises with her, so that helped. Arriving home I found out that I'd missed getting my computer from Purloator by 5 minutes that morning, so I had to wait until the next day. Also, on Tuesday I went to the mall and basically finished up my doll, and got a couple of sweaters cheap-cheap at American Eagle.

Friday Jan 21: Well, I got my computer from Purolator Thursday morning. It still did the stupid "won't turn on, until 20 minutes after first time power button was pushed", but I finally got it back on. Then, no more than 20 minutes into using it, it had catastrophic failure. I'm talking Titanic sinking. I'm talking Mt. Vesuvius eliminating Pompeii. It just died. So I called tech support, spent 40 minutes on the phone with a very nice tech guy who helped me systematically remove and replace every part, and when nothing worked we found it was the motherboard. So I have to send it back to Dell. Again. (PS Dell, if you need summer help, I can now remove, replace, and repair every component on your Inspiron Notebook Series. Call me.).

So how am I typing now you say? Well, my Grandparents came up this weekend and brought up my old computer with them. So I will have a computer until Dell sends me back my new one again (which, at this point, will have no original components barring the LCD screen and hard drive).

Karlie@8:20 p.m.

Here's a little rag doll I made for my cousin Olivia, she's just turned 3. It's 15" tall and made from Simplicity's Raggedy Ann pattern, with a few minor alterations in how I did the hair and face. She has more clothes than this, she has jeans, dress pants, a little shirt with her name stitched on it, a purple knitted sweater, green polar fleece jammies, and polar fleece slippers.

Karlie@8:19 p.m.

Here she is with the doll, I tell you that was no sooner out of the bag than she started dressing it in lots of different outfits. I'm glad she loves it so much!

Karlie@8:15 p.m.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

I didn't post yesterday, sorry. I won't be able to post until next Friday again anyway, because my dumbass computer still has stuff wrong with it so I have to send it in to Dell to get it repaired. So here's my "Fridays are for random pictures" picture. This is me and the rest of my geology group from U of A the day we arrived in Hawai'i this past February. I couldn't believe how green the place was, and it just got greener and greener. Unbelievable! I can't wait to go back someday, I loved it.

Karlie@11:42 a.m.

Monday, January 10, 2005

I had my first day back at class today, and it's quite exhausting actually. My Igneous Prof speaks so quickly and flips through slides so fast I can hardly take any notes before I miss what he's saying, and the labs are long and difficult. The Geophysics class requires three 3000 word essays, along with two midterms and the final. And I still have tonsillitis or something so I can bet voice will be less than easy as well.

I hope I can get through it all. I would start on the essays now but we haven't received our topics yet.

Karlie@9:30 p.m.

Friday, January 07, 2005

"Fridays are for random pictures". Here's my random picture for Friday, it's a sunset over Calgary this summer, from the 20th floor of our building.

Karlie@10:27 p.m.

All right. I'm thinking of amalgamating my two blogs (I have one knitting one, and one 'other' one). Now the question is, do I have enough non-knitting readers on this site that I would bore them if I amalgamated? Cause if not, my life will be easier if I join them together. Besides, I'm afraid my knitting readers (I SWEAR there are some! I swear!) will get bored because I don't usually have enough new knitting news to post every couple days, and then I could intersperse with regular life.

Any thoughts? Leave a comment! Otherwise I probably will just do it. (Hey, 1990 Nike flashback)

Karlie@10:12 p.m.

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

A random photo of me, in Hawai'i this past February. Hey, there's an idea. If I remember, every Friday along with my post I'll also put up a random picture from my computer.

Karlie@6:20 p.m.

I'm getting better from the cold/flu/some-sort-of-horrendous-bug that got me yesterday, and stopped me from going back to TBay. I think it's turning into tonsillitis, which is something I can handle. As long as it doesn't move it's scratchy little fingers into my lungs I'm happy.

Nothing much is new here, and I don't have anything to post except that it's been FREAKING COLD HERE!!!!! I mean, I know I'm Canadian and I can handle it and all, but really, it's been in the -30C (-40 Windchill) range for 3 out of the last 4 weeks! The last time I was in weather this bad was in Grade 12, when I was at SJR and Winnipeg had it's coldest December on record!

I hope it warms up. Sliding and snowboarding don't happen unless it's at least -22C or warmer, with a less than -28C windchill. That's my rule. I will go outside if it's colder, just not doing something that causes quick movement (thus increasing windchill). If you are from anywhere that doesn't have a windchill factor (or if you know darned well from personal experience what it is and just want more info), here is an explanation.

Karlie@4:48 p.m.

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

And last but not least, here's my Mom, Dad, and I playing "The A-Maze-Ing Labyrinth" on New Year's Eve. We played the game, and not long after we finished we had people come over and visit. If you're curious, I lost. Big time.

Karlie@12:27 p.m.

Here I am, digging out a foxhole. Our fort became a World War II kind of thing, with Allan's cave a ways down and to the left, and my foxhole in the top of the pile. There's a tunnel leading from the cave to the foxhole for "secret escape", so now we just need a telegraph in the cave. Very cool.

Karlie@12:26 p.m.

Here's Allan digging out the cave in our snow fort that we made yesterday. It's a very cool fort, that we made in the snow piled up from what was scraped off the driveway. This snow pile is almost taller than I am.

Karlie@12:24 p.m.

Monday, January 03, 2005

I am supposed to post today, but I must go pack so I will post tomorrow instead.

See you then!

Karlie@8:25 p.m.

Saturday, January 01, 2005

OK, so it's Saturday not Friday. So sue me! Technically the New Year starts today so my resolutions haven't been broken yet. And here they are:

1) Write in blog Monday, Wednesday, Friday
2) Take my vitamins/eat healthy every day
3) Excercise more
4) Lose 5 lbs - what this actually means is lose 5 lbs of fat, I don't care if I end up weighing more due to muscle mass later on
5) Knit more
6) Snowboarding as soon as I'm allowed to again

Hopefully these things working together will make my year a more healthy one than the past year. I have three words for you: appendicticis, pneumonia, and mononucleosis. And that's just a start. Mom thinks I'll be a good teacher, because I've already had almost every childhood disease known in Western countries. Excluding mumps *knock on wood*

Some accomplishments this year:
I learned how to knit cables
I learned how to drive a boat
I got an A+ in a University class
I hiked over 10km in one day
I went to the Calgary Stampede
I worked for a multi-national corporation (and made a discovery, that if it pans out, will make them millions of dollars)
I saw a funnel cloud
I learned to ballroom dance
I went to Hawai'i

Despite being ravaged by disease all in all a good year. :) Excepting the war in Iraq and the Indian Ocean earthquakes, of course. And 'Dubya' being elected again.

Karlie@1:48 p.m.