Time For Tea

Today I made a fantastic purchase. I went to Value Village, that emporium of wonderful goods, and found something so onderful, I wish I could include a picture. Only I don't know how.
Picture a teapot. It's bright green, with a short little spout and a curvy handle. It's a retro kind of shape, very round. Six bucks!
Suddenly I have these desires to have a tea party. With crumpets and marmalade, scones and clotted cream, and little cakes.
The last time I had a tea party party was with my five-year old niece. She brought her doll, I dug my old one out of the basement, and we used a tiny tea set that we got from Thailand. We baked tiny cookies and a tiny cake and made little tea sandwiches. We drank lemon tea and discussed all sorts of important subjects like kindergarten. Best Sunday afternoon in a long time.

Productivity

I've noticed from a few factors that people are reading my blog when they should be otherwise engaged on productive activities. I fully support this, as I am currently at work. One the one hand, those of you who are reading at work are getting a good deal. Your employers are paying for this. On the other hand, those of you who read this while in class are getting shafted. Your tuition dollars are paying for this.
Not that I don't play on my computer in a boring class (last semester's micro theory was a wash). There are so many wonderful diversions available on the computer.
Does anyone know where I can start a fantasy baseball team?

Crazy Eye Doctor

The optometrist stuck pieces of paper in my eyes and made me try to keep them open, with the paper in, for 30 seconds, each eye. I suppose that's what you get when your optometrist is nearing retirement.

So Many Stupid People

Professor X hates dumb people. He also hates people who don't listen or pay attention. He hates people who are late. He's made all of this perfectly clear.
So why, when he explains the assignment answers, do about 20 people all ask the same dumb question? A negative surplus is a deficit. A negative deficit is a surplus. You had the wrong answer. Just let it go.

How Does One Become a Conspiracy Theorist?

That phrase was uttered by a very wise (and funny) friend of mine some years ago, during a discussion involving assorted conspiracy theories, including:
- The video of Neil Armstrong on the moon was actually filmed in Arizona
- No one has actually made it to Everest without oxygen
and my personal favorite,
- The band Prozac is actually just Fat Boy Slim, animated
Previous to aforementioned discussion, I had watched a documentary about the moon landing, and I mentioned one 'conspiracy theorist' who was on the show. After several possibilities (including a master's degree offered by and institute similar to the CMSS at the U of C) we concluded that there must be some sort of certificate at SAIT.
You see, I was sick on the weekend. Just before midnight on Saturday, I got what appeared to be a flu bug, with much vomiting, etc. Not too pleasant, but I got better soon. Upon returning to school yesterday, I heard of a few other people who were sick over the weekend. I figured that there must have been some sort of bug going around.
Today, I arrived at school, and learned from a friend that there were more than 20 individuals who attended a certain event, ate food, and were all sick on Saturday night at around 11:30. Individuals who attended but did not eat food remained in good health.
Food poisoning, you say? Well, there were a number of us who noticed members of our families/housholds with similar symptoms a day or so after we had them. Epidemic your current guess?
So now there are a few theories (perhaps conspiracy ones):
- The government is testing a new hypervirus
- The Calgary Institute was the victim of a terrorist attack using biological weapons
or the most likely,
- Dale finally got sick of us all.

Hiding Behind the Mask of Email

This afternoon I received an email that had been mass sent to my entire econ class. One of the students was dissatisfied with the instructor's performance and was trying to gain support for a mass dropout in protest. This email, which is automatically sent out to everyone in the class, including the instructor, through our online class forum, contained many rude and hurtful comments about the instructor. Seriously, the class isn't that hard. The teacher is great.
Since when is it okay to say things in a email that are inappropriate to say in person?

I Hate the IRS

I know what you're all thinking. She lives in Canada. Shouldn't it be Revenue Canada that she hates, not the IRS? Well, I recently got a job for a week in the summer as an EFY counsellor. I'm pretty excited- it should be a blast. However, since the Church Education System (my week-long employer) is an American company, they sent me 2 forms to fill out: the W4 and the I9.
I have become accustomed to filling out the Canadian forms. I know exactly what numbers to put where, how much tuition I can claim as a deductible, and all those wonderful inside tricks you learn from filling in the stupid things every time you get a new job.
I don't have a clue how to do the I9.
Am I a) A citizen or national of the United States, b) A Lawful Permanent Resident (Alien #) A, or c) An alien authorized to work until (insert date here)? As far as I know, none of the above.
Is a Social Security Number the same as a Social Insurance Number?
Are there any international accountants in the house?