Small Business

So, this is just going to be a rather brief and newsy kind of entry. I have much homework, and not much time, so…



Lots of folklore stuff coming up. First there’s just all the regular schoolwork junk. I’m, of course, realizing that I should have started on a lot of assignments a long time ago. I’ve joked before about my steady diet of “procrastination and panic,” and there are times where that really works. But, I think it might be okay to actually add some variety to the menu. I wonder what “early finishing and free time” might taste like? Or how about that tasty treat, the “well thought out, thoroughly researched and well-crafted” assignment. I’ve heard that some students actually load their plates with “more than one draft,” but that might be pushing my tolerance for new things.



Other than the work stuff, we have a Folklore Society (we’ve started to refer to it as “FS” but this sounds too much like “SS” to me, especially when you say it fast…) meeting coming up, and our big social event of the year, the Mary Griffiths Night is on the 25th of the month. I’m working the door, and it’s a night full of music and stuff, so it should be cool. We’re planning a Koffee Klatch kind of thing, and also an undergrad collection assignment. The collection assignment is not attached to any classes, and is really cool. It’s like we’re actual attempting some real folklore collection in our own time, which is very cool. I believe we are going to collect tattoo’s-pictures of people’s tats, stories about getting them, question sheets, etc. I think we could get quite a large collection, and it’s something that seems quite culturally relevant, especially now. Looking forward to it.



We’re also looking to plan some stuff for those of us in the department staying for summer semester.



I’m half planning to move in May. I’m broke as two broke things, and really can’t live in this expensive apartment by myself. Plus, I really need to get my ass into a more populated area of town. I’m really not experiencing the place because of location. And if have learned anything from living in a Hollywood-North kind of town, I’ve learned that it’s all about location! There are some really good people I’ve met at school, and they are planning a big move in the fall, with a large house to be procured for all of us. I think that may be a good situation, so I’m exploring that option as well. Regardless, I needs to move b’y!



Last night I had my first dream in Newfy. I actually had a dream that I was talking to someone in a lot of the vernacular, so I suppose it’s only a matter of time before I actually acquire an accent of sorts.



Anyway, I know this was kind of a boring and rambling entry, but then again they all are so you poor saps must be used to it by now! It’s over now, so you can all go about your business, and I can get back to work.



Meh. V.F.

Mixin' It

Oops, getting a little behind again. It’s reading week now, so even though I still have to go to work at my meagre library job, I get a few days with no class. (Although, I’m always lacking a little “class”-heh heh.) (Sorry.) I suppose I should actually get some homework and writing done?? Well…after all the sleeping and pissing around.



Well, Friday the 13th I attended my first Folklore Department Mixer. It was actually ok. I played bartender for a while, which was fun. Serving drinks also allowed me to size everyone up and wait for them to have a few belts before I actually had to mingle. Soften them up, so to speak. We had an anti-Valentines day theme, which I whole-heartedly approved of, and I made cookies. I took several pictures, and will post them as soon as I get them developed. So…say…Christmas 2007??



There were quite a few interesting people and undergrads, grads and prof’s mingled freely. The only thing that made me a bit sad was that several graduates thought that I was also a grad student, due to my advanced age. It was nice that my conversation didn’t give me away at the onset, but it was crappy to think that I really should be further along in the old education department. As the evening wore on there did tend to be more separation in the ranks: the prof’s took off, the grad students huddled discussing the upcoming comprehensive exams, and the undergrads just huddled. But all in all, I had a good time and made a few contacts.



The Folklore Department also has a logo and T-shirts coming out. Yes, in just a month or so I will be proudly sporting a T-shirt with the words: FOLK-U on it. Ah, it’s nice to know our department has dignity, class and true collegiate grit. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I’m thankful that I’m part of a department that has a sense of humour and remains grounded within itself. Folklore is such a useless degree. That’s why I love it so much! And yet, it deals with subjects and study that are so completely universal and important. It’s about finding the extraordinary in the mundane. Brilliant.



I’ve managed to keep from falling, and I’ve received good grades on an assortment of assignments and tests, so I suppose all is going well. I swear to all that is holy and sacred-if, by the time I’m done here, I never see another snowflake as long as I live I will be happy. While there are still times when the snow falling actually looks kind of pretty, I really have had enough. I miss rain, grey skies, warmer temperatures. Ah, by the summer I’m sure it will be fine again, but winter here really does suck a very large, phallic looking object!



Alright kiddies, I’m off to go and study! (Or, as it’s also know, watch TV, mess around on my computer, and read books that have nothing at all to do with school!)



V.F.

Good God Y'All!!

Okay, this day warrants an entry. And plus it gets me writing something sooner than next month! And I haven’t heard too much about my last entry, so I’ll assume everyone was ok with it…



Well, the day started off with me hitting the snooze button a few too many times, and thus forced me into a blind panic/non-showering/eating breakfast cereal out of the box with a milk-out-of-the-carton chaser/almost forgot to wear a bra/running kind of day. Last night we had that wonderful stuff—Freezing Rain!! Weeeha! Can you see where this is going?



So, I leap out the door, take the stairs two-at-a-time, and begin to rush across the parking lot as I see my bus waaaay up the road. And then, “who-ha, stop me now, woo yah,” James Brown takes me over. I go into one of those weird split moves where my front leg is sticking straight out, and my back leg is bent at an unnatural angle. And, furthering the James Brown channelling experience, I pop up almost as fast as I went down and continued running for the bus. I was scraped and battered, and my thigh muscles were pulled to hell, but I realized that to anyone watching from the windows of my building, it really could have looked like I busted a soul move on the way to the bus. I’m just sooo happy to be going to school at 7am, that I felt the need to take my joy “Downtown.”



As I sat on the bus, my heart started to pound from the shear “falling” exhilaration. And let me tell everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve done the splits!



At school, I work from 8am to 1:30pm at my eye-drying, mind-numbing data entry job in the library. A huge part of my job is to search for books in the library computer system. You have to implement all kinds of tips and tricks to find what you’re looking for, and it’s actually helped me to understand the library system. But lo and behold! What did we get to do in my Folk Research course today? Why, we took a field trip to the library to learn how to search for books!



Wunderbar! By this point I was so exhausted from lack of sleep and my early morning adrenalin rush, and I began to nod off. At which point my friend Steve thinks it’s amusing to write “Wake Up” on the back of my hand in blue pen. Very funny, Steve.



After class, I half walk, half limp (as my leg is now starting to stiffen considerably) to the cafeteria to meet a fellow Deutsch Student. Half way through our study session/bitch fest, I had to pee like a race horse (Why the hell do race horses have to pee so much I wonder?). In the stall next to me, I can hear some poor soul getting sick as a dog! (Yep, I also wonder why dogs are so sick all the time.) After some puking and moaning, we both end up coming out of our stalls (ah, a race horse metaphor??) and the sickie next to me was my Folklore prof. Hmmm, Hello sick prof. Don’t worry, this is embarrassing for both of us.



After studying, I scamper (as much as one can scamper with a limp and full school bag) to the bus loop to catch my beloved #25. What’s so beloved about this particular lorry?? Well, only once in the afternoon, this bus drives me all the way home and deposits me directly opposite my front door! So, as I’m about to clamber on, I notice that my usual driver isn’t there. No worries…that is until the new dude tells me that he won’t let me on the bus till I sing something. He says all the other people did it, all three of them. I look, stricken to the quick, at the girl in the seat at the front, and she nods and laughs. What the hell is going on here?? Haven’t I suffered enough??



Will this day never end??



So instead of laughing it off and just grabbing a seat, (I mean, what’s he going to do-actually kick me off? Highly unlikely) I bust out with a cracked:“Hey there Little Red Riding Hood, You sure are looking good. You're everything a big bad wolf could want.” Yep. My face now hotter than the veriest fires of hell, I sure didn’t remember that my leg was hurting. Everyone cracked up, and the bus driver said “not bad” and off we went.



What can I say, I’ve got music, and I’ve got rhythm. I mean, who could ask for anything more.



V.F.

Cab-In Fever

And now a word about cab drivers.



I’ve spoken ad nauseum about bus drivers and the wonderful world of the Metrobus system here, but what about the wily and elusive Taxi Driver?



Well, right of the bat, I can tell you that they are neither wily, nor elusive, as there are more cab companies servicing the St.John’s area than I have ever seen in all my life! Let’s see, we have Avalon Taxi, Bugden’s Taxi, Co-Op Taxi, Cy’s Taxi, Goulds Taxi, Gullivers City Wide Taxi, Jiffy Cabs, King’s Bridge Cabs, Molloy Clarence Taxi, Newfoundcabs, North West Taxi (the one I usually use), Thoms Taxi, Tickle Taxi, Town Cabs, Valley Cabs, and then there are a plethora of other cab and transportation companies that will drive you “around the bay” to smaller communities. Now, this is not to say that in the Lower Mainland, a major urban sprawl, we do not have our share of cab companies. But there in comparison, there seems to be only a couple of companies per service area, and that’s that. Then again, the Lower Mainland, as said major urban sprawl, boasts a more elaborate bus and transit system, making it easier for those without cars, or those who chose to not use their cars, to get around. In St.John’s, the Metrobus definitely gets me where I need to go, but is not as convenient for out of way places. The hours are also much shortened for bus riders here, and cabs are an essential part of a “night on the town.” And though, like all of St.John’s driving experiences, the ride is one of knuckle-whitening intensity, I feel generally safe and comfortable putting my life into the back of a pine-scented taxi-cab.



And a second word about cab drivers. Now, I know many (though not all) will expect me to mention the general Race/Ethnicity of cab drivers at large. Okay, this is a rather harsh stereotype, and a part of me cringes as I write this, but it is somewhat essential in offering a glimpse into the multicultural aspects of St.John’s. I have yet to have a non-white cab driver personnel take me, and my once-a-month bundle of grocery bags, home. In New Westminster, I had a grand total of two white cab drivers. Now is this interesting or relevant? Well, one of my cabbies here told me that he had moved to St.John’s from Toronto because Toronto was “too ethnic” for him. While he enjoyed the variety of food and culture on one level in the big city, he did not feel comfortable as the minority in “his own country” on another. Now, I can hear the moans and squeaks and squawks as the Venus depicts St.John’s as a racist, bigoted, one-dimensional place. THIS IS NOT SO! St.John’s is, of course, the ultimate port city (being nothin’ but island!) and many people here pride themselves on their multicultural heritage. But it is still a predominately white Irish/English/French based community. There are many people here from the Caribbean, Portugal, many African countries, China, Japan, India and Islam, as well as people from Inuit, Native and Métis communities. However, you can add up all of these groups, and not touch the number of whiteys in the province, including my own Germanic/Ukrainian untanned hide. There are even a large number of people in my building who did not even know that St.John’s has the only Mosque and Hindu temple in Newfoundland, and were unaware of two (tasty looking!) Indian restaurants in the downtown area.



So, what does this say about the original question of cab drivers…well, admittedly, not a hell of a lot. I was always impressed with my taxi riding experiences at home, and I am equally impressed with my taxi riding experiences in St.John’s. I have been lucky enough to only have one or two “bad” taxi experiences in my life. This may have something to do with the fact that I turn a blind eye to running yellow lights, don’t sweat any cabbie cursing fellow drivers, and regardless of the International Guide to Tipping always tip my driver. I have had wonderful conversations with many drivers, and have learned a great deal about the place I was in because of their experiences. I have had almost every cab driver give me his personal card. All cab drivers here carry your groceries to the door, and most of my cab drivers back home did the same thing for me (though not all, as it is not typically the norm there). And let me tell you-when it is below zero, the wind is whipping frozen pieces of ice (tiny knives?) into your face, and your hands are slightly frost-bitten from holding onto grocery bags, the devil himself could come smoking up in a red, flame-painted Cab/Hearse and I’d get in and snuggle into the warm ashes on the back seat!



As an end note, one of the funniest things I’ve heard since I’ve been here was an elderly women calling out to a man walking towards the Sobey’s grocery store as she was boarding a Metrobus at the bus loop:“Don’t forgets to buy milk, and don’t you go spending money on a cab home, you lazy bastard!”



V.F.

New Year, New Year, New Yar...oops, Year

Well, Happy New Year one and all! Yes, as per usual, I am very late and remiss in my keeping up of this thang. You're all going to get bored and tired of me, and just stop looking after a while. But maybe I'm just testing out who's truly interested in my little life, and who's not! So there.

New Years was as boring as ever, as I didn't do much. In Newfoundland, if you don't have a car, and if you can't winter drive, then you might as well declare that you're a shut-in and maybe get some government money! Everything closed at about 6pm on New Years Eve, and that included the buses. So, no going downtown or anything here unless you drive or taxi around. Don't have a car, don't have money, don't have a life!



Then again, when I lived in Vancouver with it's plethora of transit, I still didn't have much of a life so-WHATEVER!!



Instead, I went to on of my neighbours and had a glass of champagne, and watched fireworks from the window, and watched the cat get high on catnip (the cat was busted later and the “herb” was removed from the room), and watched it snow. Thrill-o-rama.

But it was alright. I was so dog tired from the semester that I really only wanted to sleep and read fun books anyway.



I did go and see the final Lord of the Rings movie! Whoopee!! Never as good as the book, and they did some weird things with a few things, but wonderfully satisfying after all was said and done. Mmmmm Aragorn.



My second semester at MUN has begun, and it seems like it will be alright. I only have 3 courses, so that kind of sucks, but I picked up more hours of work in the school library. Vive la livre! (Not one person better question my French…)

And now the weather:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!



Yep, it has decided to be Newfoundland and not Newfoundvancouver after all. My wonderful green Christmas and warmth and lovely rain are gone. It has been replaced with extreme snow, freezing rain, ice, WIND like you've never felt before. It normally takes me about an hour to get home from school, and for two days it took me about 4 hours. The bus drivers have finally been quelled, and they actually droves-l-o-w-l-y. Miraculous. School was closed today, although I didn't find this out until I was playing on my computer after I had already slept through my classes. What, me skip? Of course not. I just telepathically knew (after hearing the wind whipping ice and snow onto my window in a roar and reburying my head under my covers) that the school would be closed. And you see…I was right! Aaaahh, the sweet taste of being right. So good.



And of course I used my time productively. I played on my computer, I ate a few cookies, I drank a little tea, I watched a movie, I took a shower (eventually), and I tested some new sleeping positions that I've been meaning to try out. It's wonderful to finally have time to do those big projects that always seem to get put off.



Oh, and be sure to check out the images section…I finally got some pics developed. Not very stellar thus far, but they might be a tad interesting to a couple of you. I promise to take some more interesting pictures as time, and film, allow.



And I've heard my first two Folklorist jokes. They seem to relate to the fact that folktales, ballads, fairytales, jokes, folk remedies, and other bits of folklore are heavily categorized. I'm not sure if it's funny, but here they are:



Q: How many folklorists does it take to change a lightbulb ? A: Ten. One to change it and nine to document it.



A Folklorist takes his friend to a big Folklore Conference, and on their first day they attend a number of speeches and lectures. One of the guest speakers gets up and says, “419A,” and everyone in the room starts laughing. Later during his speech, the speaker says, “256,” and the whole room is reverberating with laughter. The friend looks around and is amazed. Finally, he pokes the Folklorist and asks him what gives. The Folklorist replies, “Since all the jokes are categorized and numbered, and since we all know the numbers, it isn't necessary to actually tell the jokes anymore.” A while later, the speaker finishes off and another lecturer is introduced. At the beginning of his speech, the new speaker says, “394,” and the except for a few faint chuckles, the room is silent. The friend leans over to the Folklorist and says, “What happened?” “Well,” replies the Folklorist, “You know how it is, some people can tell ‘em, and some can't.”

Hmmmmm. Maybe I should have decided to be a lawyer.



Alright, I'm off to actually do some reading and German homework. Keep watching the weather channel, and then everyone can have a good laugh at my expense! Bastards!



Happy New Year! I hope it's going to be filled with lots of good crap for everyone!



Venus Fangs.

Happy Christmas!

Well, well, well boys and girls…was Santa good to you all this year??



It was definitely a quiet Christmas for me here on the Rock. And not quiet as inclement as I was expecting. In fact, the weather was downright warm and we had rain on Christmas Day, so I felt very much at home.



Had dinner at one of the neighbours for Xmas, and it was actually very pleasant. Ended up watching The Beatles Hard Days Night and I was surprised how much I loved it. The boisterous Brit. banter between the Fab Four was fantastic! Boo yeah alliteration!!! And then I had several days of the most wonderful holiday insomnia ever! I'm not even sure what time it is anymore, or what the outside world looks like. Everything shuts down here from 6pm Christmas Eve till the 27 th of December. So, if you have no wheels-or more specifically, no wheels attached to a vehicle-you're pretty much trapped for three days. Needless to say, I found I needed various packages of gum and bottles of water at the gas station down the block as it is the only place to go around here. I really might have to think about this whole “living in the sticks of St.John's” thing I've got going on. I've been slowly going mad. And the buses were running yesterday, but by then I had lost track of what day it was and was wondering why all my Christmas presents had been opened early and didn't actually go anywhere.



Besides, my Christmas isn't really over anyway. Thank the stars for those wily Orthodox Eastern Europeans and their Jan.6 th Christmas. My Ukrainian heritage has saved me from Christmas mishap, and I can actually send my prezzies to those poor suckers back home who actually call themselves my friends and family by “Christmas.” Heh heh.



And I bet you're all wondering about grades. Well, after one of the crappiest semesters I've ever put in, I actually managed to pull three A's and one B out of my asinine study habits. I must be the biggest keener in the world, because I'm positive that a large portion of those grades were pity marks by harassed profs tired of seeing my red head bob into their offices with yet more excuses for why something is not done on time. Phew. But I'll take it. I'm actually seriously thinking that grad school is more of an option all the time. Then again, without a master's degree, there would have been no point in coming here…so I guess it's not so much an option as a necessity. Damn!



I've been watching Monster Garage-uberguy show about tough biker-type men who make ‘monster machines' out of perfectly normal cars-and I suddenly have such an urge to smoke a cigar, get a tattoo and hit the local strip club on my Chopper. I must remember to balance Monster Garage with Home and Garden television in future.



What a strange holiday. I've done the usual crying and being depressed because I'm not with the family, as opposed to the other way around. I was actually forced to start a fight with myself on Boxing Day. It had something to do with how I think I know myself, but I really don't, and if I did know myself I would freak out, so I should really back off of myself before I found out something really awful and disappointing about myself, and that I shouldn't worry about myself so much, and get out there and live my own life. I don't remember too much after we started drinking, but I do know one of us woke up naked under the Christmas tree with a candy cane in a rather uncomfortable place.



I'm still not going anywhere till Monday. Even after all the cooped-up-ed-ness (sound it out people) I really have no desire to brave the dreaded Sunday Bus Schedule. I've already spent one Sunday taking the bus-or as I call it: exploring how many hours a Westerner can stand in the most frigid weather imaginable.



Alright. Well, I'm off to eat a turkey sandwich, as long as I can just BACK OFF MYSELF FOR A WHILE.



But I will get another update out for New Years.



Merry Christmas, y'all!

V.F.

The 12 month of 2003...

Okay, erm , yeah, alright.



Back off people, I know it's been almost a month since my last entry!!! Don't you know some of us have lives!!!



Yes, I know my having a "life" can be argued...but I really have been busy-major papers worth large parts of grade, studying for finals this upcoming week, and moping around. It takes a lot out of a girl.



Speaking of taking a lot out of a girl-props to ma BC livin', Newfy born, wonderful woman who just had a bun pop out of the oven!!



Congratulations ma darlin', and all the best.



Ok, so, what's up in Newfy town?



Well, I survived my first Newfoundland snowstorm! It was crazy-the snow was pouring down, and the wind was whipping the snow cross-eyed! Most of the day, the snow looked like it was flying horizontally. So, while many Newfoundlanders actually stay in, Fair Venus decides to get the heck out the clamshell and head to work. Not understanding the concept of those little beebly-bobs that drawstring your hood to your face, I had a few issues with snow filling my hood. At many points during my trek to the bus stop, I was wishing that I had packed rum and flares into my backpack. The snow was blowing directly into my face, and I had to stop frequently and wipe the ol'specs clean so I could see where the fish-tailing cars were coming from. Crazy man.



When I finally made it to the bus stop and could turn my back to the wind, it was fine. The snow hit my back so hard it felt like a nice massage through my jacket. Note to self: buy wind pants. They have these wind-breaker pants that you put over your jeans or whatever, and I need to get some. All was warm and toasty, except my jeans were soaked. Mmmm, wet jeans. Comfy-time!



But, I did not let the weather defeat me! I feel that it will be my greatest and most deadly adversary...but it will find itself hard-pressed to keep me down! At least until I actually have to go out in it...then there may be some sniveling and quiet weeping on my part.

Apparently the bus drivers also feel the weather should not defeat their mad driving skills. Taking the #1 to the university, we ended up fish-tailing half the way. A woman got on at one stop, and the back end of the bus was half-way up the curb, and she patted the bus driver on the arm and said "Got your winter tires on?" Bus McDriver shouts out, "Winter tires?? Who needs 'em?" and peels out with the tires squealing in the snow. I was frantically looking for a pen in my bag so I could scramble a make-shift will onto my arm.



Must admit, it is pretty though. When I'm in my apartment, which due to health violations I have recently scrubbed and sorted, and can see the snow outside, it is kind of nice and cozy. Then you realize that you're trapped and if you want to go anywhere you have to face cold and ice and it might snow enough to block your window and you don't have snow pants and you only have half a bottle of port...I mean, half a liter of milk...yeah...milk..



Okay, not a lot, but just enough to tide you all for a week. I know how hard it is to get through your miserable lives with out a little ME to help you along!



Wow, my head is suddenly so heavy...neck straining...nose touching keyboard...AAAAGH!!

I'VE BARELY STUDIED FOR MY EXAMS AND I'M ACTUALLY RE-READING HARRY POTTER INSTEAD OF STUDYING AND I LICKED MARGERINE OFF A KNIFE YESTERDAY!!!



Head shrinking...neck looser...nose facing monitor again. Phew, that was a close one...

Okay...off to study-for real-now.



V.F.