Week in Review...

Okay, I'm going to try to give a brief summary of the week, because as far as notable achievements/milestones, there aren't as many, and I'm trying to catch up.  We'll see how this works.

SUNDAY:  Was cold and windy.  I had my cute outfit all planned out - black skirt, blue shirt with the black flowers, silver shoes - and ended up grabbing a shawl to take with me, because it was COLD outside.  Then I spent most of church fighting tears because I was homesick, and during Relief Society the two girls who'd left to go do something else at Saturday's activity, essentially abandoning me mid-conversation, were talking about how much they love all the R.S. sisters, and they're here for anyone who needs them, etc., and all I could think was, "Show, don't tell, and then I'll believe it."  And then I got mad at myself for being too much of a coward to say something.  Later that evening, I went to the CES Fireside by myself, because I was staying for Messiah rehearsals.  I tried to find someone I knew to sit with, but I didn't see anyone, so I sat by myself at the back of the chapel.  The fireside was really good, Elder and Sister Oaks, and I was able to enjoy it.  Messiah rehearsals were AWESOME! I'm excited for that, and I got to see Auntie Li, and Uncle Walter sent me a homemade biscuit that was DIVINE.

Then, I got to go home and Skype with my family, which was sorely needed at that point.  Bless you, Skype people, for making it free.

MONDAY:  I entered the ninth circle of Bureaucratic Hell.  So, I thought I had my study-permit issue all worked out.  I had the name and number of someone in the registrar's office to call, so I could go in and show my paperwork and get my designation changed to Canadian, and get my fees reduced.  Well, I called that person, and was told, "Oh, we don't deal with grad students, you'll have to go to FGSR.  Bye!"  After hanging up, I engaged in a little primal scream therapy, then headed up to campus to talk to FGSR.  I got the same woman as before, who took my paperwork and disappeared for 20 minutes, then came back and told me I needed to go to the International Office (UAI) to work on getting a temporary study permit, as they didn't know for sure I'd be granted citizenship and wanted to make sure I didn't get booted from the country.  So I went BACK to UAI, made an appointment to see an advisor, and had a little vent-fest with the receptionist, who remembered my saga and laughed when I told her I'd entered the ninth circle of bureaucratic hell, but agreed that circular non-answers seem to be all I'm getting.

I then had a break and had lunch, then had a meeting with Dr. N., my supervisor, and bless her heart!  She told me to drop the 508: Media and Popular Culture in the Curriculum class I'd signed up for, because it didn't fit with what I'm focusing on (Technology Integration in the Science Curriculum), and set up an independent study course for me!  I'd already wanted to drop the class - when the professor e-mails the whole class and tells everyone it's gonna be really hard, and even those who stay in it won't really understand it at the end, it doesn't pique my curiosity, or make me want to stick with it, it makes me say, "Ftt, fine, I'll go do something else".  So, nifty, I get to do independent study.

After that I headed home, and spent the rest of the night catching up on reading for my Tuesday and Wednesday classes, but next week - FHE, baby!

TUESDAY: I had my meeting with the UAI counselor, and was once again told, "Um, not so much if Border services let you in" about the whole study-permit thing.  Turns out, the FGSR advisor is just really worried that I'll be deported, and was getting on UAI's case to try and get me some sort of proof I can be there.  So I'm going to talk to my bishop, who works for Border Services, and see if he can't write me a letter stating that no, they won't boot me out and it's okay for me to go to school, too.  I had class later that evening - Curriculum Theory - and while it seems like it'll be pretty good, there's already a lot I disagree with, or agree with reservations, so we'll see how it all works out.  I met some nice people, though, and made a new friend, Mandy.  I also almost died of exposure, because it was COLD in that room.  Like, it was already cold outside, and then the AC was cranked up to Arctic - and I wasn't the only one complaining, everyone else was freezing, too.  At one point, we were going around the room talking about a curriculum object we used a lot, and when it was my turn, I sounded like I was going to cry the whole time because I was shivering so badly.  Even putting my jacket on didn't help.  So, Tuesday nights, blanket, beanie, hoodie, mittens, scarf, I might make it through this semester.  I felt really bad for the guy sitting next to me, he had shorts on.  Silly boy.

WEDNESDAY:  Nothing of note, until class - learned how to use the university library journal and article search engine, and made a Ref Works account, which is REALLY nifty, because you just put all the articles, books, etc. you use for a research paper in one file, select your desired biblio format, and voila

THURSDAY:  Institute, and I decided to go to two classes:  Old Testament, because that's what I'm reading on my own right now, and I REALLY don't get a lot of it, and The Gospel and the Productive Life, which seems like it will be really useful.  I met some nice people, most of whom are not in my ward, but I did meet a newly acquired member (they changed ward boundaries on Sunday), Raquel, who also has a deep and abiding love for Harry Potter, as well as Pride and Prejudice (and Zombies).  Neat! 

FRIDAY:  I was a bum.  Stayed in my sweats, did my nails while watching A-Team, read my assignments for Tuesday night (Dewey and Pinar - yeah, you've got some good points, but stop blaming people and tell me how we're supposed to fix it), "blogged" >shudder< and watched "The Story of Stuff: The Critique" for kicks and grins.  (I'm weird, I know.)

And now it's Saturday, and late night tummy upsets have made me a cranky girl.  Of course, this cranky girl had no pantyhose for church (can't put it off any longer, not in this weather), so I headed over to Shopper's Drug Mart for a pair, and, excuse me?  Ex-CUSE ME?  You want me to pay HOW MUCH for those nylons?  Oh, really?  And what, pray tell, makes them worth $25?  Are they magical, and will give me a perfect figure while on?  Were they hand made by nuns in a remote convent in the Alps?  Are they stitched with pure gold?  Then no, I don't want them.  I eventually found the cheaper pairs, but the ONE pair that was in my size was Taupe.  Now, I don't know what that color means to you guys, but to me it does not mean Dark Brown/Black, which is what their Taupe was.  So I went to Wal-Mart.  Just...let that sink in....I went to Wal-Mart....on a Saturday....in a city with about a million people in it.  I also got lost going there, because it was the closer Wal-Mart, not the nicer one, and I've only been there once.  It took me a good half hour to find it, and it was a zoo.  I think Heavenly Father decided I needed a break, though, because I managed to find a parking spot close to the door, and didn't even have to cut anyone off to get to it.

Once inside - ow, Halloween exploded everywhere, and the searing neon orange they used to decorate the boxes made my eyes hurt.  Made it over to the nylons area, and was dismayed to find that my reliable L'Eggs 5 pack for $5 was no more.  Man, I used to get those at the Orem Wally World all the time and they were great.  Sure, they weren't control top, or sheer, or silky, but they looked fine, and you could get three to four wearings a pair if you were careful.  Why did they stop making/selling them?  Or is it just this Wal-Mart that sucks?  So, I found a pair in "Natural" which hopefully won't make my legs look awful tomorrow, sprinted to the express checkout, knocked aside an old man to get to the open register, paid, and made my escape.  Oh, I did not, but there was an older gentleman who wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, so I tried to walk around him and ended up getting run into while he was unloading his cart.

And now I'm here.