I LOVE being done!

I got a lot accomplished on this, my first day of nearly a month of holidays :-D

This morning I trekked to the gym, in the lovely rain that lasted all day, and discovered that although it is uncomfortable to run or walk, the elliptical and bike work just fine. This was fairly relieving & I feel *so* good having finally done some more focused exercising that isn't speed walking from one place to the next.

After the gym I finally got my anti-virus software problem sorted out. Just like I have for the last three years, I purchased the university-endorsed anti-virus programme this summer to use for the school year. This year however, my subscription expired on Dec. 1.... so yes, up until today, I was going firewall [my Windows Firewall was off too, I discovered today :S] & virus protection-free. Turns out the company gave out the wrong verification codes to the university causing many others like myself to have this problem. After reinstalling it with the new code, updating my protection, and then scanning through all my files, I only had 32 cookies and 0 viruses. Yay :P

Speaking of cookies, I went on a bit of a baking splurge this afternoon. I made some biscuit dough so I could make a pizza (finishing of veggies in the fridge), shortbread cookies (SO good & I didn't burn any :D), & green dessert. Green dessert is something that my grandmother used to make, particularly for holidays, that has become the pinnacle Christmas dessert for all Hurrell's. It involves a crushed chocolate wafer + butter bottom topped with lime jello, extra sugar, and condensed milk. I'm really excited to see if it works out properly (it takes about a whole day to set) but I will have to wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll be starting my Christmas shopping & getting my hair done for the first time since August (at least I think it was August).

DONE!!!!!

DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!!

Oh the relief!
I am sooooooooooo happy to have some non-studying, non-cramming time :D

Tonight I'm going to see the Salvation Army Band at Centennial Hall. Should be fun! My first brass band concert in at least 5 years!

All full up!

I don't think I can cram anything more into my brain.

101 reasons why I went into music.

I think I'm going to go procrastinate some more.

Study Study Study

That's all I'm really doing right now. Tuesday I spent 16.5hrs on campus on six hours of sleep. That was fun. I feel like I'm on vacation but only in the sense that I'm eating out a lot :S On the plus side, my finance exam went pretty well on Friday, considering I covered well over 1000 pages for it in the 72hrs prior. My jury went OK as well too although it was probably only at 85% of my best - I blame lack of sleep, zero humidity (reeds don't like that at all), & worrying about passing my finance exam 45min later. I did notice that I am becoming more at home on the stage though; definitely growing in my confidence levels.

Tomorrow will be my last big study day as my final exam, accounting, is Monday at 2. Theoretically I should be back to daily posts then!

This is what I'm walking to school in...

This picture does not do the current snow storm justice; Brrr!!!

And seeing as I should be studying anyways... this poem is courtesy of mumsy:

'Twas the night before finals,
And all through the college,
The students were praying
For last-minute knowledge.

Most were quite sleepy,
But none touched their beds,
While visions of essays
Danced in their heads.

Out in the taverns,
A few were still drinking,
And hoping that liquor
Would loosen their thinking.

In my own room,
I had been pacing,
And dreading exams
I soon would be facing.

My roommate was speechless,
His nose in his book,
And my comments to him
Drew unfriendly looks.

I drained all the coffee,
And brewed a new pot,
No longer caring
That my nerves were shot.

I stared at my notes,
But my thoughts were all muddy;
My eyes went a blur,
And I just couldn't study.

"Some pizza might help,"
I said with a shiver,
But each place I called
Refused to deliver.

I'd nearly concluded
That life was too cruel,
With futures depending
On grades earned in school.

When all of a sudden
Our door opened wide
And Patron Saint "Pro-crast-in-ate"
Ambled inside.

His spirit was careless,
His manner was mellow,
But summoning effort
He started to bellow:

"What kind of student
Would make such a fuss
To toss back at teachers
What they toss at us?

On Cliff Notes! On Crib Notes!
On Last Year's Exams!
On Wingit and Slingit,
And Last-Minute Crams!"

His message delivered,
He vanished from sight,
But we heard him laughing
Outside in the night:

"Your teachers have pegged you,
So just do our best...
Happy Finals to All,
And to All, a good test!"

Yippeeeeee!

:D :D :D :D Heather went on a real DATE last night! Yippee!!!! :D :D :D :D We've been entertaining the idea of dating for a few months but I think we're both on the same page now :D. In my own (and his) best interests, I think I'll be refraining from divulging info on here for quite a while.

Yesterday I spent close to six hours at Weldon with my Finance textbook, so there's not too much by way of interesting news that way.

Today Fil & I journeyed to Burlington for a Christmas Concert with Symphony Hamilton at the Royal Botannical Gardens. Despite the poor weather, we made excellent time and managed to not drive off the road or into any oncoming vehicles.

I took a bit of time to do some exploring between the "sound check" and the concert and the RBG really is quite a beautiful place -- and I'm not really all that much of a nature lover. There was this one room with a nifty arrangment of 125-ish pointsettias in the formation of a Christmas tree (vertically stacked on each other somehow). It also had the biggest Christmas cacti I've ever seen. I found this kinda cool as my family has a Christmas cactus that has been passed down through the generations (from what I understand-- mom, you made need to correct me on this) and I often think about my family when I'm performing. This is what a Christmas cactus looks like for those of you who don't know:

So pretty!

In keeping with this week's theme of finding the peace of Christ in busy situations, watch this video if you have the time. Andrew (from the house fellowship; Joia's brother -- there's a link to her blog on the right hand side) sent this to me and really reaffirms some of my more recent perceptions on busy-ness.

Ok... early to bed, early to rise! Nighty night!

...It's been a while...

So another fun week on the crazy stress front. New discoveries in life include:

• a potential job with RIM for my upcoming internship
• a great lesson / actually feeling quite prepared for my jury a week from today
• discovering that my jury was originally scheduled from 1:15-1:30 (convenient seeing as I have a Finance exam at 2)... now it is scheduled from 1-1:15...
• finding peace through the early chapters of Deut.
• exciting chats & thoughts about a general global, cross-denominational church-wide movement towards "returning to roots"... (even though that concept is interpreted different ways)
• a possible stress fracture in my left foot... whoever told me that if your foot is broken, you shouldn't be able to walk on it was lying (according to my doctor). I should have x-ray results by this time next week to see if that's what I really did [in September and have been resisting going to see a doctor since...].
• how important it is to have fellow Christians, actively listening to the Lord, helping you find Christ in every action & situation... also extrapolated to how important a Christian partner for life is.
• finding enjoyment in my journey, even though it is full of busyness
• it is a very good idea to read the bios of people you're performing with... today I discovered that the tenor for the Hamilton Concert performed at La Scala & in NYC for a while a ways back. Coolios!

Praise God -- only NINE MORE DAYS TO GO!