I'm still a bit mad about a situation Andrea was put in today. She's okay but she feels even farther away when I can't be there to look out for her when she needs it.

Bibliography went down in the PIMS (Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies) library this morning. As usual, a bunch of material was passed around for examination. I asked Professor Robins about what he considers to be the Holy Grail of undiscovered material, and he said it was signature copies of Chaucer and Shakespeare texts. The most rare book he's ever gone in search of is a notebook belonging to Leonardo da Vinci, which he discovered is locked in a vault in a French bank four stories underground and has only ever been removed twice - once to be put on display as part of an exhibit, and once to make facsimile copies for research. Needless to say, he couldn't get at it, but it gives you an idea of how far research can take you depending on what you study.

After class I signed out a copy of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage for an assignment along with a couple of DVD's from the Kelly library (the fourth library to which I now owe a return of material). I went around the campus and took some pictures. When I got home I watched Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light, a film about a pastor who loses his faith in God. It has this AMAZING scene in which Ingrid Thulin delivers this nearly 5-minute single-take monologue about loving a religious man in spite of her own atheism. Here's a still:


Great stuff. Bergman has to be my favorite filmmaker.

I also signed out Blade Runner, which I've never seen. I took a nap and then popped it in but the DVD was too damaged to play, so I watched episode five of The War instead. Tomorrow is the dress rehearsal for my Death in Venice presentation. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures and finally post some visual proof of my actual everyday life in Toronto (shots of me vegging out on the couch aside).

Holly was in a car accident, but she's okay. She is, however, a bit pissed that the Examiner reported it as damage done to the bridge on which she spun out. Can't say I blame her.

Today I wrote a poem about my mother.

I went through some of the boxes I had stowed away in my parents' basement. They were already well on their way to being impossible to get to amid the stuff my dad is clearing out of the garage; forty years of history adds up. I did rescue a few choice texts. More than I had anticipated, in fact, so I'll have to pack them in a separate suitcase for the return trip. It was hard to narrow down under the orders echoing through my head. "You should have a copy of The Canterbury Tales, just in case." Right. Well, whatever helps me sleep better (the inflatable mattress is barely covering it).

My brother-in-law Mike celebrated his birthday with a party at my sister's place. It was good to see Sarah again. She's stressed about her job as an education assistant looking after up to 15 kids a day during her week. My other sister Holly, the one who just got engaged, works as a receptionist in a methadone clinic, so both of my sisters are experiencing pretty high stress environments. Sarah is having panic attacks and she's just started back after the summer. One of the kids she looks after even made her a card telling her she hoped everything would be under "controll" for her. "It's pretty bad when even the kids can pick up on it," my sister says. They won't give her an assistant unless she's looking after at least 16 kids. Needless to say she's fighting just to get to the weekend. The party was fine, but I need to be more folksy with the people in Mike's family (I'm shy).

I picked up a Conair shaving kit so that I can keep my facial hair under "controll." It has 30 pieces to it including a how-to DVD. I can't WAIT to see that. Imagine being asked to compose the music for the Conair shaving kit how-to DVD. Imagine being asked to ACT in it. You'd be feeling as if you had the most perfect beard on the planet afterward. The best example of appropriately-shaven Conair can find. I'm going to screencap it and post it later.

The night wrapped up with watching The Man Who Never Was with my parents, a great flick about Operation Mincemeat from WWII. Gloria Grahame from It's A Wonderful Life co-starred in the melodramatic bits, and the thriller elements were crisply directed, exciting without too much bravado.

Today I went with Holly and Steve to Wendy's, and promptly left when Holly noticed someone in the restaurant she didn't want to talk to. It's a shame when your appetite is spoiled like that.

I added a fancy new userpic, taken by the fancy Andrea, featuring my fancy new haircut. Effin' fancy.

Jason's gone for the weekend, so we stayed up late watching Ocean's 12, which was good but felt long (that's what she said! Sorry, too many Office episodes)...

First off, my sister Holly just got engaged to her boyfriend Steve. They've been dating for about 7 years, so it was a while coming. My parents just had their 38th wedding anniversary a couple of days ago, and I think the announcement coincided, so that's nice.

I started off the day marching over to the license bureau and shelling out $75 to renew my driver's license, which expired ten months ago (I don't drive). I was having my picture taken when some guy walked right past me in the line of the shot, so I was momentarily taken aback. The woman at the counter smiled as if thinking "these are the kind of douchebags I'm going to have to deal with on a Friday? Faaaaaaaaantastic." She assured me he didn't end up in the final shot, but I'm expecting a photo of me in mid-WTF glance. If your license photo is supposed to be bad, at least mine will come with a story.

We made our way to the U of T campus to pick up my student card and tour around a little. We checked out the old buildings that looked like something out of Harry Potter. Apparently there had been a fire in the regular location of the English Department offices, so everything is moving to the far north of the campus. I still have yet to find out where exactly my classes will be taking place.

After visiting the University bookstore, we made for the Eaton's Centre. We stopped at a Tim Horton's and I tried tipping the cashier but she told me they don't accept tips. That's BALLS. I worked there for four and a half years and those people DESERVE tips. Way too cockamamie. I picked up records by The New Pornographers and Rilo Kiley, plus Whylah Falls by George Elliot Clarke to prepare myself for what this guy is capable of. Andrea showed me the spot where she picked up the fake Maine ID she used back when I first met her. Sam The Record Man has closed its doors, on a sad note. Maegen used to work there and I myself have fond memories of browsing its racks.

After additional shopping and one hilarious photo op we headed home, watched some TV, ate a good meal, and said goodbye to August. Not a bad day on the whole.