$36.40 an hour to TA.
Not bad.

Only downside is I’m TAing in the winter. Hopefully prof doesn’t want me to run tutorials or seminars. But judging from a previous class I had with him, he really likes the sound of his own voice.

w00t.

But I am listless.

Summer coming to a close. Bittersweet, I suppose.

Close my eyes and hope for the best.

Work.

Get ready for school.

Aaah!

Textbook list has already arrived for one of my courses this fall. Nine books to read for 12 weeks of class. Plus various articles and printouts. Luckily I’ve already read and own two of them.

Pah.

Lots of $$ about to go down the campus bookstore drain.

Time to get reading..

(That’s almost 110 Fahrenheit).

WTF mate, I thought this was Canada.

It’s been a busy couple of months, with no letting up in sight. A few things have happened since, including the end of my ‘summer camp’ job, graduation and a 15-day trip to Asia. Now I’m back home and working some shifts here and there at my good ol’ cashier job again.

What can I say about graduation? It was short and sweet. Kind of like how undergrad felt. It’s amazing that four years have passed me, with not much to mark the march of time except for a few blog posts and a slew of pictures on Facebook. There’ve been ups and downs, and a lot of changes in my life since first year, and it’s hard to believe that I can no longer say I’m an undergraduate student. In some ways it’s the end of a chapter, but in others the story still continues in the same vein. Fall will see a return to the same school, same subject matter, and same extracurriculars. It’ll just be a different title and degree. I do like to move on after a few years at one school–I’ve never in my life stayed longer than four years in one, but now I’ll be breaking that pattern.
Some people will stay the same, others are moving on. Thanks so much to everyone who has made my undergrad memorable or touched my life in some way, either negatively or positively. Classes, residence, badminton of course.. it’s all been great and I hope to continue the wonderful streak next year =).

Asia was sort of new for me, in that I’d never really been outside the Hong Kong airport before, except for one day ten years ago. Taiwan was familiar, not much has changed–the only downside was the weather. It rained nonstop for the whole week we were there. Hong Kong was definitely an eye-opener. Very urban and modern in most parts, brutally hot as tropical countries tend to be, and tons and tons of people everywhere. I’m not sure what it is but it was a bit TOO modern for my taste. There are skyscrapers, billboards, flashing lights and shopping malls around every corner. You can’t sleep at night with the curtains open because of all the lights. It’s such a fast-paced, materialistic lifestyle I’m not sure I really adjusted for the short time I was there. Maybe it had to do with the language barrier, but I found that Taiwan (or the parts I’ve seen) retains a lot more of its own unique charm. As much as I’m a city girl, I do enjoy the peacefulness of green spaces and picturesque horizons every so often.

On another note, I watched both Alice in Wonderland and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on the flights coming and going. I meant to see both of them in theatres, but as usual, I was too slow. So. Tim Burton. What did I think? Well, it was definitely him. Signature weirdness, signature actors. I definitely enjoyed it and it was a completely different take on Alice, although I’m not sure I liked the lead actress. Still debating. I also find it completely unbelievable that her suitor’s father, after a rejection to be his daughter-in-law, is suddenly very open to the idea of being business partners with Alice. ?! In the Victorian era? NEVER. Historically impossible.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was incredibly intense–probably one of the most extreme movies I’ve ever seen. It deals with a LOT of issues, including rape, murder, libel, etc. It is definitely a movie that sticks in your head, although I’m not sure I’d recommend it for everyone. The second movie, The Girl who Played with Fire is coming out soon, and according to Wiki it’s all about sex trafficking. I’m not sure I want to watch it although it’s an extremely compelling series/story. If you’re up for something dark and controversial though, I would definitely recommend it.

What?

I feel like they are making sizes bigger and bigger these days just to up the self-esteem of larger people. Or even normal-sized people like me. Strangely, in the same store, I tried on a pair of size 4 shorts that were tighter than the 0s. Why? I don’t know. But consistency is seriously lacking. I guess that as a person with a closet full of stuff from size 2, oh wait.. now size 0 to size 8 and everything from XS to XL I shouldn’t be all that surprised.

But it’s all good.

Found a convocation dress.
Which is surprisingly versatile. I can use it for formal-ish occasions, clubbing, going out in general. I love basics.

Oh.
There is also something wrong with the world when theweathernetwork.com says it feels like 31 degrees but people are walking around in sweaters and long pants.

I’m done work. At least for now. It’s been an interesting experience, to say the least. I’ve acquired a few things:
1) new respect for grade 7 + 8 teachers. How they choose to do that for 20 years of their lives I’m not quite sure.
2) a love-hate feeling toward 12-14 year olds. Some of them them are sooooo cute. And some of them are soooo annoying.
3) I definitely lack the proper personality for dealing with kids.
4) need to be more outgoing, period.

In a way, I felt like I really just didn’t fit in with my coworkers–they were all so different and definitely not the crowd I’m used to. I’m glad for the experience, but equally glad that I won’t be going back to that job next year. I’ll leave it for a braver soul than me.

Onward, life.

To convocation we go.