be the one who takes this picture
(credit to lakejane.com)
Camels are cute and they have thin necks. Morocco is high on my to-go destination after Greece, Italy, and Japan. Then maybe India and Dubai.. oh and Peru! Quickly saw a short clip on the food network earlier this morning of this guy who traveled to Peru to catch fish the way they had done for thousands of years. SO COOL. He had to straddle this wood-weaved kayak-shaped boat and go out into the freezing waters (even though it was July, it was their Winter) and face the waves, somehow surfer-like except crouching on top of the boat.. and about an hour away from shore, they throw a simple line out and these fish that look like trout, tug.. and soon enough, they have a ton of fish to throw into the basket in the back of the kayak-boat! And then on shore, they cut it up like sashimi except with bones and all (supposed to spit them out while you eat) and squeeze lime juice on it which "cooks" it naturally because of its acidity (I thought that was amazing). They also add this traditional Peruvian drink and some salt.. and then tada, it's ready to eat and there was no heat required! So inspired to travel to places that haven't been touched by the tourist touch, if you know what I mean. I got to watch this great video last Friday in my 383 class on this guy named Wade Davis who is a National Geographic Explorer (isn't that like the most amazing job in the world?!)... and he was holding a talk. It's so interesting and inspiring listening to his adventures. There is just SO much going on outside our tiny Western world, in the lives of the indigenous. What is kinda neat is how I learned quite a few of these facts throughout my university career and it's suddenly compiled into one lecture. 23 minutes is a lot, but if you can, I highly recommend and encourage you to watch the first 10 minutes and then again at 19:00 to 21:45 for a fascinating short story. If anything, I know the whole class enjoyed 19:00 - 21:45!
I think I ate too much today. Had Korean BBQ set for lunch w/ M at our fav. K-restaurant: Dae Bak Bon Ga downtown (read they have a new location in Kits!). It was delicious as usual and service was great. Got half honey milk bbt.. then my newly discovered Starbucks drink: skinny vanilla latte (a tall is only 90 cal and it tastes just as good as the regular.. who is counting calories, not me, but if it tastes the same, why not?).. I also bought a basic French Connection black crewneck cardigan made out of bamboo (yay my first bamboo piece - somewhat trying to be more eco-conscious).. and returned that HandM trench.. Then went to Mandy's bday dinner @ Koon Bo on Fraser and had this 7-course meal w/ peking duck + lettuce wrap and a bunch of other typical Asian goodness. That restaurant is good - I've only been there once with extended family for my Gma's bday. I think my picky Gpa (mom's side.. yes, love him, but he has strong opinions) would approve. Service was a bit lacking, though. Wonder if it's 'cause we look young haha.
Now, I'm ready to finish my readings for GEOG 321 (Contemporary Capitalism) on the chapter of money, the money market, and the creation of credit-money. Kinda interesting, actually, to finally understand how the whole bank system works in the creation of money, debts, and lending.
For GEOG383, Regional Development and Planning, I have to somehow do a 15 min presentation after the 2-week Olympic break on one of Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy goals: to create a compact urban core... concentrated in compact communities, with access to a range of housing choices close to employment amenities and services. Transit-oriented development focused in centres and along corridors helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution and support an efficient transportation network and I have to propose ways to create such an area by using ideas from how other cities came about doing so. I guess I'm a bit worried because I haven't researched anything yet. I plan to do so tomorrow. I also have a midterm worth 20% for that class on the last Friday and it's going to be interesting because he chose journal articles for us to read instead of having a text book.. so the concepts are much less clear than a textbook. Gotta sort of pick out the important bits from what he says in lecture and study myself instead of having sections outlined for ya. So yea - the outline of my presentation which includes 5 academic sources is due the week before break.
I also have to write a research proposal on my topic for 362, Urban Development, for the Wed before break... something about proposing a research project about some aspect of urbanization or urban life in Vancouver and then analyzing that aspect by discussing how it is influenced by or how it influences political, economic, social, cultural, or environmental processes. It also includes an annotated bibiliography and a narrative explaining my research questions, rationale, and proposed methods. JOY. I'm looking forward to this the least by FAR.
My 420 class, Cultural Geography, has a required "reaction" paper due either this week or the week after to these ultra abstract Cultural Geography ideas such as Superorganicism, which basically says that, instead of environmental determinism, which is when the environment determines culture which thus determine's people's behaviour (a natural concept), superorganicism is when culture takes the superior position over individuals, it is not a natural concept - it is learned both consciously and nonconsciously, and it is culture that determines people's behaviours which in turn, when internalized, contributes back into culture as a whole so it's pretty much a cycle. Got it? Sorry, long and ugly sentence. So the reaction paper is about critically engaging with questions about the readings. Doable, but man it takes a lot of thinking! I got another one due after the Olympic break, too.
On top of this, I have my 6+ journal articles over 15 pg each to read each week. Oh and there may be a small quiz for my 321 class.. and a film quiz for my 383 class... but it'll be a surprise one so yippeeeee!!
So anyway, the official moving date is the 6th of Feb, but my parents have been recruiting my brother's friends and my extended family to help move boxes and such. My dad had a bit over 200 file boxes he needs to keep for work in our crawlspace we had to move. WHEW. Our house is kinda skeleton-like now.. bare walls - no pictures. I was looking for cinnamon powder earlier this morning only to find that it is already at the other house! Only my room is pretty much the same except 3/4 of the items on my bookshelf are boxed and gone as are my clothes from one of my outside-closet hanger racks... and 2 tubs of summer clothes. I feel I can breathe a lot better.. my room was kind of really cluttered.. not enough storage space. A lot still has to be done. Moving is a lot of work.
Might sound a bit gross, but I got this canker sore on the inside of my bottom lip and it's obnoxiously large and annoying. I can't drink out of cups properly or sip out of spoons, well. I can't even brush my teeth without being in pain - I gotta be super careful not to touch it... and rinsing hurts. Quickly Googled how I could even get such a nuisance. Doctors don't know - could be hereditary, they say. My dad gets it sometimes. I get it maybe once every 1-3 years. Other possible causes are stress (most probably the main contributor), nutritional imbalance (I think I'm fine, nutrition-wise), and some minor reason. Contrary to what I've always been told, they aren't contagious!
Anyway, so this is pretty much what I've been up to. I won't lie - I'm stressed on the inside. Surprised that I haven't broken out (yet) or that my eyebrows haven't become catepillars since it's been 2 weeks since I've got them done. Weekends keep me sane with social outings... I really need them...especially in such a busy semester. I feel guilty that I'm not able to spend time on much packing and work right now. It's really not a priority and my bank account will suffer maybe by the end of next month if I keep this up. Speaking of bank accounts, I'm very much lusting over a few things right now (I blame it on procrastination.. :P): a black, spaghetti strapped maxi dress to the floor (I like the Michael Stars one from last year but can't find it anywhere), a cropped tweed Chanel-esque jacket (or the real thing, especially the iridescent ones from this year's RTW would be so divine), transparent jewelry, sheer tops, black ankle pants, little white dresses, sunhats, and rings. Plus, I'm thinking of how I'm going to be able to afford the materials to do what I want to do with my room! Very much awaiting the 2 week Olympic break. I'm going to be working 3 days at Posh. Never before had I ever experienced a break during a semester. If this school routine went on longer without a break, I would have probably just take a week off on my own! lol UBC always gets a 1 week reading break, anyway... where is SFU's?? 2 weeks is almost like winter break all over again except I have a presentation and 2 papers due the week I get back... I've got quite a few plans for the first week so far. Looking forward to those plans is what is keeping me going right now. Hope you guys are taking it easy. Get enough rest so you don't catch that cold that's going around. I cannot wait to be done school. Seriously.
