Thursday, June 30, 2005

My entire Introductions is finished and I have already started the Methods and Materials. I have a total of 45 pages right now. If only I could hear back from Pharmacy, then things would really be rollin'. Right on! I just have to toot my own horn a little here. I am ahead of schedule and can easily enjoy a nice long weekend up at the lake, mind you, we are sleeping in a bear proof cabin this time.

written by angela at 3:07 PM [+] |

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

If a picture is a thousand words, then this one would have quite an interesting story. This picture is of the rip a bear made in our new tent while we were sleeping, or rather Marc was sleeping. What an awful and exciting experience that I do not wish to have the pleasure of repeating...Ever...

This weekend we went to Prince Albert National Park and canoed the trip shown in red and pink on the map. In total I figure we canoed around 40km in three days. It was a trip with extreme ups and downs. The bear encounter was definitely a major down. The original plan was to go to Grey Owl's Cabin, but the bear encounter was the first night. After that we decided we would skip the cabin and head back. We took another canoe trip back, called the Bagwa canoe route, which goes through several smaller lakes near Kingsmere lake. It was so beautiful. We came across what appeared to be a field of lilies in one of the lakes. Everywhere you looked there were water lilies. Then we saw a lake full of different kinds of birds and nests. We saw a swans nest with two eggs and were almost attack by a bunch of Terns.

Navigating the trip was definitely the most frustrating part. Sometimes, there were no signs or directions anywhere and where there was, it was often overgrown with trees or half fallen down. We wasted several hours just trying to find the next little river or lake. I was quite disappointed for the state of the National park. Maybe the Wardens know where to go, but the canoers visiting the parks for the first time don't. The trip was so beautiful, I was actually glad we didn't go to Grey Owl's cabin, being that I have been there before, this trip was a new experience. After the Bear encounter the first night, we took the Bagwa canoe route back down to the South Beach site and camped there. At that campsite, for the first time, we saw other campers.

On the third day we finally had a chance to relax and enjoy the sandy clear water. After some well deserved lounging we got in our canoes for the final trip back to where we started from. On that day, we saw over a dozen deer both on the canoe trip and the drive home. The wildlife on this trip was utterly amazing as well as the scenery. The downs of the trip include the bear encounter and the frustrating navigation throughout the canoe routes.

I learnt a lot about myself this weekend. The bear encounter took me to some sort of breaking point that I never wish to cross again. For two nights, I couldn't sleep. I suffered serious convulsions during the night and quite often would gag and heave because my stomach was so upset over the constant shaking. It was from the shock of the bear, as well as being overworked and under fed. I guess I am human after all.

Even considering the downs of the trip, it was well worth it and I hope (maybe after some time has gone by) I can go again sometime in the not too distant future. I will be posting the pictures from the trip shortly.

EDIT: Pictures are now posted... Check them out here.

Oh yeah, and to top the whole trip off with a cherry. At some point during the weekend, our car was broken into. What a nice welcome back to the city. I guess there are bears here too.

written by angela at 12:47 PM [+] |

What a weekend!!!!!!!!!!!! More later. First I need to shower and wash out three days worth of campfire, bugspray, sun screen and sweat.

written by angela at 9:13 AM [+] |

Friday, June 24, 2005

37 pages down, 63 more to go. See you guys, it isn't that hard. Slow and steady wins the race.

written by angela at 1:50 PM [+] |

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

What an exciting storm last night. If you want to see the pictures I took, click here. I was up to 3AM taking photos. It was very exciting, yet scary at the same time.



written by angela at 2:40 PM [+] |

Monday, June 20, 2005

I have been thinking so much on getting this thesis done, that I am afraid my camera has been collecting dust for a couple of weeks. Last night Marc and I went out to take some pictures. It was a great night to be outside and I loved every minute of it. I will be posting the pictures on my daily photo website, but for now, here is one of them.



written by angela at 12:36 PM [+] |

This post has been a long time coming:

This post is in response to the bit of the documentary The Corporation that I did see. I didn't see the whole thing, but the hour or so that I did see, certainly made me think.

The way I see it, a corporation's objective is to maximize profits, any way possible, in the environment in which it operates.

The biggest argument I've heard is that corporations end up taking immoral steps in order to maximize profits, including operating sweatshops, thwarting unionizing attempts, causing harm to the environment, etc.

My thoughts are that this is not a corporation's problem. It is ours, as a society. We have two choices when we believe we encounter a corporation who is profiting at the expense of others. We can choose to not support them, or we can change the environment in which the corporations operate.

To me, the second option is the most key, as one person's spending will only affect a corporation so much, but if the environment the corporation operates in is changed, it will create change.

This all hinges on our government, in my opinion. As a society, we've elected governments that allow corporations to act the way they are now. The government could make it mandatory that every company have an environmental audit done and pay for any costs are attributable to them; require any company over X number of employees be unionized; require a maximum number of stores per 100,000 residents; require all goods sold to be manufactured in the country; etc.

By changing the regulations in the environment, you could make the Wal-Marts and the Old Navys think twice about whether or not they want to open up here.

In conclusion, by looking at the number of people in the Wal-Marts and the Old Navys, and seeing the absence of regulations like these, I've determined that as a society, we really don't care about these issues. It's our fault, not the corporations or the executives of these corporations.

written by Marc at 11:37 AM [+] |

Friday, June 17, 2005

So, apparently this was broadcast on Edmonton's 100.3 The Bear radio station. This woman, "Louise", called in to the radio station as she had an opinion on the content of the morning show, who happened to be discussing the morning after pill.

The crew decided to air the conversation, after which, Louise made a second phone call to the radio station with her reaction to being broadcast.

Who would've guessed that if you phone a radio station, you may end up hearing yourself on air?

written by Marc at 4:04 PM [+] |

Thursday, June 16, 2005

What a beautiful day. I spent the morning playing squash and then the afternoon playing frisbee at the university staff appreciation BBQ. How am I supposed to get back to work indoors when it is so damn nice outside?

written by angela at 2:57 PM [+] |

Monday, June 13, 2005

I really like this photo, so even though I have it on my daily photo website, I just wanted to post it here too. It seems so peaceful and nice. Besides that, if anyone is getting any bad ideas from the picture bellow, then this can be a reminder to use a condom..... ;)

written by angela at 11:08 PM [+] |

Friday, June 10, 2005

Remember when I was getting photos from you guys for a little interactive art project. Well, this is an image I created a while ago, but no matter what, I just couldn't think of a caption for it. Well, at least not one I could put on my website. Maybe someone can help me here. The original photo was donated by Todd. I don't even know if you check my website anymore Todd, but if you do, Sorry this took my so long to post.



written by angela at 7:24 PM [+] |

Thanks Estelle and Jayson, I had a really great time last night. Even the poker wasn't that bad ;)

written by angela at 6:52 PM [+] |

Speaking of great music, I have some great band news on CD releases, in case you didn't already know...

-Hawksley Workman is just putting the finishing touches on his latest album. Apparently should be out within a few months.
-Wide Mouth Mason has announced that their new album, Shot Down Satellites will be released in August.
-The Philosopher Kings have posted on their newsboard that they're back together and working on a new album!

I can't wait! Summer is the best season for music, with all of the touring and the album releases!

See you all at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival this summer!

written by Marc at 12:23 PM [+] |

Speaking of concert reviews, I found a great site that has a bunch of Stupid Little Concert Reviews. The writer has great taste in artists and concerts. I was amazed to see that I had been to a lot of the same shows he has been to, and I really appreciated reading the reviews of these great shows, from somebody else's perspective, and allowing me to re-live the experience.

written by Marc at 12:20 PM [+] |

Wow! On Wednesday night, Ang and I went to go see Michael Buble in concert at the Centennial Auditorium. When I bought the tickets a couple of months ago, I wasn't really sold on the idea that it would be that good. I'm much more of a small venue show (like Lydia's or The Roxy. So, I got the best tickets available at the lowest price, which ended up being on the very top level of the Auditorium. It provided a unique view of everything, and I quite enjoyed being up there, but I think I would stick to second level or lower in the future.

Back to my point, though -- Michael Buble rocked! He was incredibly entertaining and talented. The big band was incredible and his act was so polished. He was so in tune the whole time it sounded like it was an Ashlee Simpson concert, but he was actually singing! My only minor complaint was that he stayed away from the top registry of his vocal range. I do realize that it would probably be impossible to do a whole performance while straining your voice every song, but in my opinion, that's the best part of his music. I would have thought he could have sang all of the notes in his last song, even to go out with a bang. Oh well, all in all, a 9.25/10 performance.

Incredible.

written by Marc at 12:06 PM [+] |

Thursday, June 09, 2005

I put some of the photos from Switzerland and Paris in my online photo album if you are interested. Most of them have been on my daily photo website, but not all of them.

written by angela at 6:05 PM [+] |

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Who wants a website? I just don't feel like blogging anymore.

written by angela at 12:43 PM [+] |

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

It looks like Marc's ball game tonight will be cancelled. It always seems to rain on Wednesday. What a good day to stay home and start the ever daunting project of writing my thesis. I have done some reading and made a plan. I have even finished a table of contents. The next step is to actually start writing and that is what I will do today. My goal is to have the whole thing written before the end of August. Who thinks I can do it? Well my goal is to prove all the disbelievers out there wrong. I know there are a few of you out there. Okay, that is enough blogging for me, time to get back to work. I'll let you know how it goes.

EDIT: I am now done the introduction to the introduction...Two pages down and ~98 more to go.
EDIT: Add a couple figures and now I have four pages. ~96 to go.

written by angela at 11:41 AM [+] |