Into the Wild

I’m having trouble starting this last entry and I can’t be to sure why. I’m actually a little glad the blog will be over simply because it has stolen my stories away from me. Moments that I would have shared with friends face to face became public and seemed to take away those funny moments that friends share and help create that bond. So in saying that, it has been quite a year.

I will miss my class mates and friends most of all this summer. My year started out being thrown into a cabin with Derrick and together we battled the great Kidney Lake mouse invasion that brought twelve mice (twelve that we caught anyway) into our cabin. Neither of us came down with a case of hantavirus so in the end, it was pretty cool that we had a mouse invasion and one day I will share the story with my grand children about how Derrick and I defended our home for six weeks. There were the late nights around the camp fire telling scary stories with whom ever seemed to make it up that late. Kirsten and the bearbanger incident, and although I never fired it, sorry Brian it was mine. The numerous treks through the bush with Danielle, I appreciate how we were never in a hurry to get anything done and just seemed to enjoy what the day had to offer. Late night crib games with Stacey and Sammy while eating whatever scraps of food we could muster together. Rayanne and her strange cooking concoctions running around the camp with a big pot of rice pudding and a big trail of guys following her with bowls and spoons. My goddaughter does the same thing with food and I hope neither stop experimenting with ingredients as I believe that it is a bigger metaphor for how they look at life. The fire guys, especially Rob, Dan (who still has yet to beat me at tap-tap even though I let him say he wins all the time), Brent, and Jerret, who organized a fitness test for some of us to take at camp. It was during that fitness test, when the water bag had leaked over over me and my pants were down dragged down to my crotch that I looked around and thought ‘what am I doing here’ and, of course, that is when Dan drove by in the NAIT truck and said ‘good job, hurry up’ to Josh and I. So, as told, we hurried up. Phil, who with great Rocky stories, encouraged me to go for Rocky Mountain House and always seems to have a great passion for food. It makes me wonder if one day he will end up being a chef in a five star restaurant. Which leads me to Lars, and although we differ in musical tastes, some of my best memories this year are driving the truck while Lars DJ’ed from the passenger seat. The campfires at the house where Rob and I are staying were always good fun, and next year I hope more people just stop on by for a fire. I like having and open house where people feel comfortable to stop by out of the blue. I’ll also miss partnering with Prem on some of the field labs. Somehow we always end up having a philosophical discussion about love and life, and with him being buddhist his advise is always quite sound and if I were to boil it down it would sound like this ‘be good in every thought and action and goodness will come back to you’. Sound advise for anyone really. Then there isHanna, who taught me how to rock climb (or wall climb) which I then used those skills to shared with my goddaughter, thanks Hanna.The nicknames that were thrown around; Plant Boy because Rob wants to be a superhero, Mountain Girl because she climbs mountains, Bombay Sapphire because that is what she drinks and Prairie, who people think has that name because she comes from a farm, but actually has it for a different reason all together. Maybe one day I’ll tell her why.

NAIT’s Forest Technology Class of 2010.

Family is also important when one decided to go back to school. My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins have all been there to help support me and help me through those moments when I wasn’t sure what was going on. Without them, well, without them I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Friends are also important in life as well, Lana, James and Tracy, Jen and Ken, Dennis, Chandra (who took me on my first plant walk), are all people that encourage me in one way or another to go back to school and follow the little dream. Of course I couldn’t have done this with out my dog either, she really is my best friend and I feel comforted knowing that she is now taking care of my dad.

We lost a couple of people this year and they will be missed. I won’t mention their names but class truly isn’t the same without them.

What else happened this year? Well I decided that I wasn’t going to date anyone for the first year of school. In the past I went from relationship to relationship and never gave any of those relationships the chance they deserved. I believe I was truly loved once and I broke her heart, I believe that I loved once and she broke my heart. So rather then running into a relationship and ruining something that could be good I decided to take some time to let my heart heal and figure out what I want. And although I got over it a long time ago I did say that I wasn’t going to date the first year of school, and so I am looking forward to Wednesday, not because I have a date, but because I can again. I’ve also learned that I will not go to Starbucks for a date.

Fight club also happened and although it was fun learning numerous ways to hurt someone, I think next year I am going to take dance lessons or go to painting classes. I miss being able to tap into my creative side and next year will let that happen.

So what about school itself? Well, I’m not sure. School is school and it is the instructors that make it what it is and we have a pretty good crop of instructors. Each is unique in their own way and challenges us in different ways. It is easy to pass off quick remarks or simply dismiss them as teachers but the reality is they are more then that. Each once cares about all of us and want us to do the best we can. The lend an ear when needed and offer advice when suited. So far all their advice has been pretty solid and that could be because they are all solid characters. They, not their assignments, will be missed as well.

So until next year (maybe). Have a great summer!

The first thing that you notice about Victoria in the spring is all the pansies walking around with umbrellas. The rain is soft, in-fact it is almost like damp air more then rain at all. A sharp contrast to rain in Alberta, which comes at you fast, hard and soaks everything in it path. It is hard to imagine why all these people would be walking around trying to shield themselves form the elements that were almost nonexistent. So laughing in the face of all the pansies with umbrellas with as much defiance as I could muster, I began my walk around downtown by the seawall. It was a nice little walk with all the unique shops that are in that particular area and the street performers that are out and about. On one particular street I moved a melody blues on one corner, to country in the middle and folksy rock on the other corner, each song seamlessly blending into each other as though the three buskers had planned it that way. About this time I noticed that I was getting a bit chilly,I felt a lot better after I had picked up an umbrella.

The second thing you notice about Victoria is the hybrid cars everywhere including all of the taxis. This is also a sharp contrast to Alberta where the bigger your truck is the better you are. In fact, membership to the ‘big boy pants club’ starts when you get something the size of a Fort F-350 complete with a size 10 Stetson and Wranglers. After all how else are you going to haul around all those animals that you kill. Apparently on the coast, you only need to haul around some fish, which doesn’t take up much space in a hybrid at all. I did sit for a moment near the yacht club in-front of the Empress Hotel and wondered what would happen if a big Ford F-350 drove down in-front of the hotel with it’s muffler ripped off, gun rack on the back, deer sprawled out on the hood right in-front of all the ladies during the official tea time that the hotel offers. I imagine they would think they were being invaded, which actually brings up the question, why don’t we invade Victoria? At least just during the spring.

So why were you in Victoria you ask? Well, because I went to look at some trees. I also just finished two months of 70 hour (plus more with home work) school weeks and I wanted to just get away from it all. If I still had my place at Island Lake that I sold when I decided to go back to school I would have had went there but since I have no home right now to go when I am feeling like going home, I travel. The ecosystem is completely different then anything I had seen even though I have been there before, simply because I have never looked at the ecosystem before when I was there. I still don’t know as much about ecosystems as I could but one quick trip to the Royal Museum helped with that. I’ll spare you all the boring details but it is worth the trip even just to see their forest fire exhibit, let alone giant pine beetle that you can play with.

Anyway, now that I am back in Alberta I have to go do my thing, which is catch up on some homework and walk through the brown streets. It’s a shame that we can’t have a greener spring here.

Seriously, someone got paid money to think that up. Hey wait, I miss my old job sometimes.

The lovely Empress hotel where all the old ladies drink tea in the afternoon. I tried to crash a tea time time but they wouldn’t let me in on account of my ripped jeans.

And of course Darth, the ostracized member of the Rankin Family

After the reaction I received from Brian Adams vs Bryan Adams I knew that I had to continue the theme and that none of our instructors should escape the wonders of the comparative analysis. The next subject, of course, should be our Silviculture teacher Alan Pollock. The challenge was in finding someone that was equally passionate about their craft as Alan is about his. So after searching through a few different possibilities I knew that I had to be one of my favorite artists, Jackson Pollock.

Lets begin shall we.

Greater influence?This is hard to say. Jackson Pollock was one of the defining artist in American history and although many have copied his style, they are doing so without the substance and torment that Jackson had. Alan is one of the defining teachers at NAIT and although many students have passed through his doors it s hard to say if they left school with the substance (not really a tormented soul our Alan) that Alan had. This is a tie.

Bigger bad a$$?Well, Alan made a video about how to sharpen an axe and then a second on how to chop wood. The second video did not do so well but the first video, on how to sharpen an axe, is the number one watched video on NAIT’s YouTube channel and not by a little bit, an average of 10:1 more then any other video including the video about the super fat cat, which is my personal favorite. Jackson is more bad a$$ overall but if there was one defining act that could be used for comparison sake it could be the moment when Jackson urinated into Peggy Guggenheim’s (yes her last name is the same as the world famous art museum, coincidence?) fireplace at a party. Now, it is actually more rude then bad a$$ but there has to be points thrown Jackson’s way for thumbing his nose at one of the most influential people in the art with careless disregard, a bit outlaw. Winner, Jackson.

Better understanding of the ‘circle of life’?Well, Jackson seemed to live in his own little world and not surprisingly so. Most artists, good ones, become quite self absorbed at some point because they have to. I’m sure Jackson had a great understanding of the ‘circle of life’ but it was only his ‘circle of life’. Alan on the other hand could let you know in no time at all how the disappearing ‘whatever’ is going to affect the greater ‘whatever’ and how all things need to be kept in a state of balance to preserve the natural state. The only thing is that life is never a balanced state, and the history of the earth shows this. Life is always a state of flux and change and consequence (perhaps Jackson did have a better understanding of this). Either was the winner of this is Alan.

Who would I rather have over for dinner?There is a saying that although people would love to have a Pollock in their home, the wouldn’t actually want Pollock in their home, the artist not the teacher. That saying is there for a reason. Therefore, Alan, you are welcome anytime to come over for dinner.

Been the subject of many discussions?I’m sure that Alan, has been the subject of a few discussions but in reality, Jackson is in every art history class that covers general art history, has books written about him, and had a great movie made about him. Thanks Ed Harris. Winner Jackson.

Who would I rather hang on my wall?That is obvious I think. Mr. Pollock of course.

Who has a greater influence on my life.At one time I would have said, like any other aspiring artist, Jackson. But now knowing that one bad grade from Alan could send me reeling, I know that Alan not only has influence over my life he has control over it.

Well, there you go, another tie. Boy these teachers are good at standing up to some big names out there. Stay tuned for the next comparison. Heath Schnieder vs Schnieders hot dogs.

Number 31 by Jackson Pollock. Sort of looks like an angry wolverine chewed something bad.

There are not many good self discovery movies out there. Most end up with a contrived happy ending that only hollywood can do. A character who feels a need to change, spends all this time deciding they actually don’t want to change and then go back to the lives they left. It almost defeats the purpose of a good self discovery movie where the character is trying to change. If I were to count the good movies I would only need one hand and three fingers, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Into The Wild and now One Week.

While One Week starts off a bit odd like a toddler trying to find ground, it soon hits a point were you realizes that the main character (Canadian Joshua Jackson) is actually going to die no matter far how he may travel. It is at that point where every picture he takes at a roadside attraction or every small conversation he has becomes that much more meaningful not only to the story line, but to you as well.

The film is uniquely Canadian, not only in it’s content, but in it’s idealism. There is a small ongoing back story about how he is looking for a fictional creature called Grumps, which actually represents a much bigger ideology about how we give up our imagination for everyday life. It brought a smile to my face because one of my friends goes ‘Snipe’ hunting. I’ll leave it to you to figure out what a snipe is but after now seeing this film I hope she never gives up hunting those snipes.

The movie reaches an ending that is both good and bad. Good in the sense that the character really has changed and learned more about himself, bad in the sense that you believe for one minute that if he keeps driving on his bike, he actually might out chase death, because how can death come for someone that is so fully living life.

Anyway, I’m off to buy some paper and charcoal because that is what life is about.

These past few weeks have been quite a whirl. NAIT is pumping strong and coming relentlessly and non-stop. We had to do an annual operating plan for Alpac based on one section within a leasehold. Reports, labs, midterms, labs, and then the day to day grind of sitting through some of the classes. The class I think I could really enjoy is Forest Sciences, the problem is that it is a tough class to love. Within one month we have had four different instructors, and the subjects jump all over the board providing no type of continuity. Not only that, by my count we have had three midterms so far for that one course. Huh, how can there really be three midterms for one course?

With all that is going on and the impending finals I though I should do a little post on how to deal with stress. LOL, I actually don’t know. But I can google something up for you….

….ahh here we go, from Dr. Oz himself. It’s for women but whatever, it all makes sense.

http://www.sfwmag.com/healthier-you/dr-oz-take-control-of-stress/

I do know that people deal with stress differently, some people withdraw and need alone time, some people need to break out and release all of there energy, and some need to get away from it all. I seem to have actually become ‘stupider’ with the workload and have moments where I will just stare off in to space as though my brain has actually went on a 60 second holiday.

I had to laugh when the second year forestry students had to do their annual operating plan, which was much more intense then ours. They seemed to change personalities hey went from being smiley happy people to angry focused individuals ready to loose it at a moments notice. There were however the oddballs that didn’t seem to panic at all. They seemed well prepared, well paced, and well balanced. Weirdos, why on earth would they do that?

; )

If Oprah can trust this guy then you can to. After all Oprah knows what is best.

Fire at NAIT? Nope, just a good excuse for a coffee break and some swapping of test answers in the parking lot. Please note that no one from our class pulled the alarm.

Phil’s ‘mom mittens’. I know they are actually gloves but ‘mom gloves’ sounds like your mom’s gloves.

The night of one minute fights. It would have been nice to see any make it to the second round. If I was being choked though I would tap out as well.

Who knew that beavers could lunge? Excuse me while I go and get my second rabies shot.

What? Whatever….

Do NOT try to start a fire using a bear banger. (Please note there are safety glasses being worn)

Lunging animal part II. This one hurt a bit more then the beaver.

Walter Reamer awoke that morning knowing that if he didn’t find food for his family soon they would most likely not survive through the winter. It had been five days since they had eaten any real food and even then, it was small helpings and not enough for any real nourishment. The winter had been particularly hard that year, especially for a young family that was just starting out, a young family that didn’t have time to gather supplies.

Autumn seemed full of promise and Walter had just finished putting in the last window on their cabin when the storm hit. It was fast and brutal. The temperature dropped over 30 degrees in one night to -25 and then dropped another 10 degrees over the following week. It had been like that now for over a month, sometimes colder, but never warmer then -30. With cold that brutal Walter spent most of his days just gathering enough wood to keep them warm.

Olive, his wife, never questioned why Walter wanted to move north to Island Lake. She fell in love with him the moment they met, and although it took a while for him to properly court her, she knew that they would one day be married and she knew that he also loved her for who she was. So they swore vows to each other and said the ‘I do’s’ that turned them into husband and wife for better or worse. Olive never knew how worse it was going to get though.

She knew that her husband was planning on leaving. He had been up most of the night cutting wood in the dark by oil lamp just so she and their newborn would have enough wood while he was gone. So that morning, when she awoke, she kissed her husband and watched him walk away with the rifle over his shoulder.

Walter didn’t want to leave. He knew it was cold and he knew that the wood he had spent cutting all night wouldn’t last that long unless Olive wrapped her and the baby in blankets and rationed it. He also wasn’t sure where he was going. After all, he had been waiting for something, deer, moose, anything, to come by all winter, and with a clear view right across the lake he never saw anything. He knew of a bay on the other side of the lake, about five miles away, where the landscape lent itself more hospitable to wildlife. He heard tell that there was a warm spring in the bay that kept the lake from freezing up and so he thought, if it were true, that there would have to be animals that would visit to drink.

His movement across the lake was slow, the snow had also been bad that year, and each step sunk Walter down to his mid thigh. The steps were slow and he would often lose balance while trying to get his leg out for the next step. It didn’t take long before his legs were wet, and then numb, which made the walking even more difficult. He continued on though knowing that if he didn’t, they would all most likely die.

After attending the Bryan Adams concert a few weeks ago I was pretty impressed with how down to earth he was and particularly how funny he was. This got me thinking about our programs vice-chair Brian Adams, also down to earth and a little bit funny. So I thought I would do a traditional comparison to see how the two stack up against each other.

Better vocalist?Well, easily Bryan Adams here. He can sing like no one’s business even when it is just an acoustic guitar. Brian Adams on the other hand, well I won’t go there.

Looks better in plaid?This could be a tossup considering both of them come from BC and one could say that anyone from BC looks good in plaid. But the honest truth is that only lumberjacks look good in plaid and so that means that it is Brian Adams, not Bryan Adams.

Bigger environmentalist?I don’t even have to look this up to see what Bryan Adams does do help support environmental causes because even if he just takes a picture of a tree it will still be a bit more the Brian Adams who considers David Suzuki his nemesis.

If stuck in the woods can survive like Rambo?While I have never heard any stories of our vice chair performing any Rambo type feats I have to imagine that he would survive better the Bryan Adams simply because Bryan’s money and opulent lifestyle would have made him a little soft.

Smoother with the women?Well, hands down this has to be Bryan Adams. Almost every song is about how you should love the woman. Our Brian Adams talks about David Suzuki allot hmmmm.

Who’s got their first real six-string?Obviously Mr. Adams.

Better with students?I imagine that students flock around Bryan Adams and listen very intently. If he was placed in a situation where he had to teach and no one knew who he was then it might be a bit more challenging. Sort of like Arnold in Kindergarten Cop. The clear winner here is of course the teacher, Brian Adams.

Better at estimating tree heights?Well I would have to go with Brian Adams here. He has been figuring out tree heights for years and has them down. I’m not sure if Bryan has ever done anything with trees except use them to package his albums (keep in mind that even then, he is still the bigger environmentalist. Please see above.)

Okay well if we tally that up we get four points for Bryan Adams and four points for our Brian Adams. Well it looks like they are pretty even. I imagine that if we put them in the ring together to battle it out then they would both just beat on each other with no clear winner. Until next time.

I’m not actually sure how to choose a motorcycle helmet so I thought I would just point you in the right direction. There were a few little tidbits that I learned while looking for one that you may be interested in. 40% of all fatalities involving a motorcycle come from a chin hit which may inspire you to get a full faced helmet. I know it did for me.

There are also certain rules. The first is that you have to wear your helmet for a bit to get used to it and allow for a break in period. The second that you have to go through, what I am told, is a traditional good luck ritual where you put on your helmet and only your helmet and run around the house. It is important to do while no one else is around for obvious reasons.

Breaking in the new helmet while cooking. I will wait until my roommate is gone before performing the good luck ritual.

Seriously though, if you are looking for a good article on how to find a helmet. You can find one here. Now, if you will excuse me, I just heard my roommate leave.

How to Buy a Motorcycle Helmet

I have to admit that the city makes me a little edgy. If my grandparents still owned the farm it would be an easy fix as I would just go spend the odd weekend with them on the farm and reconnect with the nature I seem to be missing when relentlessly nailed by school. However, in their old age they have downsized and have a much more relaxed lifestyle that incorporates a lot of traveling instead of a lot of farm upkeep.

So, this weekend while feeling that edgy feeling I decided to pull a bit of a nomad and head out of the city. This time I ended up in Jasper. My original plan was just to through on some headphones and a great itunes playlist and hit the slopes at Marmot. A couple of things prevented me from doing this. One was leaving a bit later then I had wanted and the other, much to my embarrassment, was losing the keys to my Jeep while in Hinton. I’ve misplaced things before but never between the front door and the four pace walk to my drivers side door. After a good 45 minute search I eventually found my keys right where I put them when I decided to take off my jacket and put on my sweater, on the roof of my Jeep. Thanks to the guy that was watching me look for my keys and then said ‘Hey man, I found your keys’ and then pointed to the top of my Jeep while snickering.

So, my day trip to go skiing turned into a hiking day instead. I left the headphones behind and ran up to the Jasper Park Lodge, where I trekked across the small lake avoiding the people skating around.

It was a great little hike and just what I needed. In-fact I wish I could get away for a few days more. Another pleasant surprise was running into some art by local artist Tristan Overy, who is one of the more interesting artists I have seen in awhile. He mergers a sense of visual from the 60′s pop artists with a current graphic feel that creates an image that is both interesting and full of emotion. Each piece by itself is good but when you are able to see the wall of his art you can see the bigger picture that he seems to be working on inside. It is also a pleasant reminder that no matter how big and wonderful nature is, people are also capable of that big wonder when they allow themselves to create.

The painting by Jasper artist Tristen Overy I bought. It makes me smile, my roommate hates it.

Well, this has been quite the week. First a strange twangy pain was shooting up from my ankle, Then I had 8 exams, which was great because I thought had nine. Then There were two 13 hour school days, A Bryan Adams concert, and a sever lack of sleep as I wrestled with Silviculture II.

NAIT is great in that it has a physiotherapist on site ready to help. Most of his time is spent with the sports teams but on occasion, if you ask, he will spend some time with you. Why is this great? Cause I was in a world of friggin pain is why this is great. I thought I had a torn ligament and I wasn’t entirely wrong, however I was entirely wrong on where it was at. After putting me through some strange stretchy exercises that made me feel a little vulnerable and humble, he told me some stuff in Med Speak that I didn’t understand. All I know is that he flipped me over and started digging his elbows into some very sensitive spots on my body. Once I remembered to breath everything seemed to be okay and then he said ‘Five more.’ Then things were not okay again.

Anyway Bryan Adams is pretty funny, who would have thought? I was fortunate enough to see his concert last week where he treated everyone to a concert with just a good old acoustic guitar. The songs were great and the stories behind the songs were even better. What seemed to stir the crowd, or the women in the crowd, was how much Bryan thinks a ‘man should love a woman’. This seemed to rouse the women into continually smacking their boyfriends. I assume because they are not loved ‘like a woman’.

So with all this going on and two late nights of Chemistry, I had a severe lack of sleep all week and was pretty dazed. This week was the big exam week for all of us and there were some doozies. The biggest doozie was, of course, Silviculture II. Seriously can there not be a better name for this course then a cheap movie sequel name like ‘Silviculture II: Attack of The Photosynthesis’ or ‘Silviculture II: Cells Can Be Your Friends’, anything other then Silviculture II. But, I digress. The test was something and most people did pretty good, and if you take your time to do a little bit each day it is possible to do well on this test. A very important lesson for (me) people that put off studying to the last minute.

Anyway I am working on a much more exciting blog post entitled Bryan Adams (singer) vs Brian Adams (our instructor) so I am out of here. Have a good night.

What do you do when you think you have failed Silviculture II? You hit the road and become an outlaw of course.

Well, tonight there is no one dating at the local Starbucks but there is two girls sitting around talking very loudly about boy troubles and what they should do. The answer to this is easy. Talk to the boy, the boy can’t read your mind. A real blog post will be coming later. Stay tuned.

Best friends are best friends for a reason. They help us get back up when we are down and they take us out at the knees when we are starting to talk stupid. So, no sooner then I posted the last post about how I should start a dating blog where people could send in questions and I would do my best to answer them, I received a question. And yeash, it’s a doozy. Fortunately for me it is from my best friend, who, gave me a big dose of reality.

First off, in no way am I qualified to answer these questions. Second, I should be talking about the environment and how the Alberta Government just gave notice to the Oilsands producers to clean up their tailings ponds, one of the most toxic places in Canada and I will do that tomorrow because they should also be handed a hung fine for not reclaiming enough of that land that is part of their original mining agreement.

Anyway because some of you might be wondering, here is the question.

So I was looking at some stats from the site to see what people are reading about. Are the interested in the riveting world of Forestry? Are they attacked to the adventure of wildland firefighting? What about land management or silviculture? How about dating? What? Yup, how about that dating? I’ve had two posts with the phrase dating in the title and they have had more views then any other that I have had. A close second was the post about sharpening an axe, but that has been up since Halloween and so dating, what ever subject it may be about, seems to draw the clicks.Now, since I am not in any relationship and by extension can not write about any particular drama I may be involved in (I wouldn’t anyway) I was thinking, what if I answered questions about other peoples relationships. Sort of an ‘Ask Dr. NAIT’ relationship advice column. I’m pretty frank and to the point, I think I could tell you if you should make that move or ditch that loser. Of course other people could also write in their comments about what could happen.It could be fun. If you have any questions please email them toDrNAIT@me.com. If you would like to remain anonymous just make a comment at the bottom of the post asking a question.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post about Starbucks and the first date. What is funny is that here I am again at Starbucks working away on some Silviculture notes and at the table beside is a couple, talking very loud (just to make it clear that I am not eves-dropping), and they are in the process of breaking up. Who would of though.

Dating is a funny game. I’ll admit that I was never good at it. There seemed to be rules that dictated certain things, first dates, first kisses, first hand holds, flirting that I was never able to pick up on. I’m a little dumb when it come to these things. I preferred things to happen slower and more gradually and I suppose it never hurt when my hand was grabbed because I was to clueless that I should be reaching out to hold that hand even when I wanted to. However, despite all my shortcoming, I know that you should not meet someone at Starbucks to break up with them. I’m not sure the best way to break up with someone, never really thought about it but there has to be better ways then dragging them to a public place to tell them that you no longer want to see them

Anyway, this girl should be happy this guy is leaving. He’s a loser.

And as always, back to studying about Silviculture. As a side note, someone found my blog by searching for ‘free hairy bear’. If anyone can tell me what that is about I will send them a Starbucks gift card.

That’s actually it. There isn’t much of a post or a story here. Well nothing that wouldn’t get me in trouble from the people I was with that were spilling and spitting bubble tea all over the table (me included). All I can say is that when I first took a sip of the bubble tea it tasted pretty good. It was nice and cold and tasted like peppermint flavored milk. Then the bubble part hit and that was the end of that. Clogged straws, spitting up, snot remarks, spilt tea. You get the picture.

This photo demonstrates how ice floats and snot bubbles sink.

I received a Starbucks gift card for Christmas and as such, it has now become my study haunt. I crawl in, throw my books all over a table and then try to make sense of my silviculture course while sucking back some green tea and fat free chocolate cake.

One of the things I love is the fact that so many people seem to pick Starbucks as a ‘first date’ spot. Whether the met in class or online or from work, people generally like to hit up a coffee shop because it is seemingly less formal. ‘Would you like to go for coffee?’ can almost be passed off as two people just hanging out instead of a date. The difference between hanging out and a date, of course, is the kiss. So tonight, while my nose was deep in to rooting habits of plants, the couple beside me, or more specifically, the guy beside me bumped his chair against my table, and leaned in and gave his date sometype of grandma kiss. There is a lot that can be said about this, but here is what should be said about this. If you are going to kiss someone, kiss them, for real, with passion. No grandma kisses aloud, especially if you are so eager that you start bumping furniture around the coffee shop.

Anyway, in saying that I must now get back to studying for tomorrows test. The sexual reproduction of plants.

A friend of mine whom I have a lot of respect for recently sent me an email. Her tale is something similar to mine although hers proceeds mine by a couple of years. She was a bank manager (and a great financial advisor) and decided to leave to pursue something was a passion for her and became a member of the RCMP.

At the time things were a bit different in the world. Stephen Harper was attempting to form government and promised to hire over 1000 new RCMP officers nationwide to help curb the rising crime rates. Promises of stiffer penalties for reoccurring criminals were thrown around as well as better plans for rehabilitation for those that wanted to start fresh.

However since those time Canada’s cash cow, oil, dropped in price. Now the government is rolling back the wages of those that are sent to protect us in times of need. Yes, you and I may get the occasional speeding ticket, but the amount of danger and workplace hazards that this group of people has to put up with is not like anything you or I can really imagine. Just to give you an idea my friend once said ‘I don’t think I will ever get used to people spitting on me all the time.’

So what can you do? The same thing I am doing right now, share the info. If you want more information and to sign the petition please visit the website at www.callforbackup.ca.