Wednesday 7 July 2004

Last entry of 2004...and yet it's only July

Well, well…it’s been a long time. Sorry about that folks. But I’ve been rather busy with school, work, moving and all that jazz.



Yep, I’ve now moved into the city, and am happily co-existing with my roommates, Les and Nick. Anya and Gillian to follow in the fall! The house we live in is GORGEOUS!! I loves it! It’s very close to the downtown area, only a 2 min. walk to the bus and grocery stores, and it’s just a lovely house. I’ve got my room all done up pretty, and it really feels like home. We still need a wee bit of work done, that it appears our lazy landlord is going to drag his heels about, but other than that we seem to be moving into a well-oiled machine. We have a dishwasher, washer and dryer, built in microwave, and lots of space. Yah!



Our only complaint as a household so far…WORMS!!



We are infested, as is much of downtown St.John’s, with the nastiest creatures alive—inchworms. These disgusting things start out as small, green inchy things. However, as they multiply, they eat the trees to literally nothing. Many trees look like its winter as they have only skeletal leaves. Then the worms grow…they get a bit bigger and turn brownish-black. Icky! They hang out of the trees on long, spider-like strands and wave around in the breeze. I think this is how they move from place to place. It’s the most hideous thing in the world to be walking along, minding your own business, and then suddenly have a worm—appearing to hover in midair—right in the middle of your face!! Shocking!! Now that the tree outside our house is eaten, they have descended on the house. They crawl and inch their way up, looking for food. I say they’re looking for a good ass kicking!! You can get them sprayed, but it costs a goodly penny, and there’s no way we can afford it, or our landlord will do it, so we just deal with them. Gross.



School is going really well, and I seem to be putting in one of my best semesters. I’ve been trying to not miss classes, and actually studying seems to reap some form of benefits. Who knew??



In other school news, my wunderbar of a little bro did a cool trick by getting onto the Dean’s List at UCC! He then followed up this little feat by running around during a major hail and rainstorm. I guess his mind was on loftier things than the weather! Ha!! This is a super thing though, and I have to admit that I’ve been bursting with sisterly pride and bragging about him here. He will have a mighty name on the Eastern Seaboard!



Went out with my lovely friends Ginny and Blair this weekend. They took me to a lovely spot called Fort Amherst. It overlooked the Atlantic, and we were trying (and failing) to spot whales. No whales, but I was thoroughly impressed with the water and view. It’s actually the first time I’ve ventured to any place near the water, or any touristy spot since I’ve been in house arrest in Kilbride for so long. Now I actually have more access to lots of interesting places. The Atlantic is a very different animal from the Pacific. It’s much bluer, colder, doesn’t have that same ocean-y smell. But gads, it’s beautiful!



We then went up to Signal Hill. There is a tower on the top: Cabot Tower, and the view from there is also magnificent, although it was hampered by fog. I plan to go again when it’s clear. Later on we are going to go to Cape Spear, the most easterly spot in North America (or at least Canada…), and take a few more little trips around and about. Very cool, and pictures will follow.

Right, I’m off to get more homework done. Only 3 more weeks to the semester, and then I only have 2 more semesters to go to complete my B.A. Then it’s off to Grad school to get my M.A., and I’m hoping to do a double concentration in English and Folklore to keep myself a marketable wench!



So, make sure you have my new email:chitotoro@hotmail.com



This will be in effect until I get a home email, which probably won’t be until the fall sometime. Until then, I’m stuck using the on-campus computers.



Will try to get another entry out in a week or so…V.F.—the ocean-watching beeeee—atch!