After some 21 months without a traditional reason to get up and out of the house in the morning (i.e. a job... since we also don't have kids, the other traditional reason to get up was also lacking)... I am now, officially, once more gainfully employed!
In the end, it was quite a whirlwind, right-place-at-the-right-time kind of event. An unofficial "we're going to be looking for someone for this position" email went out and found it's way through a few other people eventually to me. I applied. The next day I was invited for an interview. 2 business days later I went for said interview (11 - 12)... the same afternoon I was invited to come in for a 'trial run' (because it's a very small office, personality mesh is critical to functionality), which happened on Thursday... and at the end of that trial run, the job was mine (once some paperwork was out of the way). Paperwork to make it all official happened yesterday morning and my first day is Monday. So... all told, less than 2 weeks from application to starting! *boggle* After nearly 2 years of a mind numbing number of applications sent out... in a work environment where second and third interviews before contemplating an offer are commonplace... where a month or more can elapse between a position being 'posted' and it being filled.
Just proves, you never know what can heppen.
So... a bit about what I'll be doing (for at least 3 months... hopefully longer!). My official title is Administrative Assistant. My Employer is the Edmonton-Toronto province of the Redemptorists at Redeemer House. I will be working with their Coordinator of Youth and Vocation Ministries and the Director of the Canadian Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies, working on 4 different websites and the database for the certificate courses, as well as general office admin duties. The office is downtown in the Dundas & University area, which has a great, young vibe thanks to being so close to both UofT and OCAD. It's close to the subway, close to Queen, close to both the financial & entertainment districts and Yorkville. It's also conveniently close to pretty much every doctor I could ever need, but most importantly my GP, Dentist, and the most recent specialist (Rheumatologist).
Now I just need to figure out the best way (balancing cost & time) to get there. GO would be fastest, but then I'd have to pay to two different transit organizations, which means double-ish the price. But TTC bus service in Outer Scarberia kinda sux, to put it bluntly.
Anyway... there is it... I AM EMPLOYED!!!!!!!!!! *happy dance*
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Women in Sport
Have you ever noticed that women and women's sport generally (and I know... generalizations are dangerous) don't get much attention? They don't get a whole lot of TV coverage. They don't get the big professional leagues with the big media attention.
I'd just like to point something out about Canada's Medal Standings at the olympics at the moment.
Currently, Canada has 7 Gold, 6 Silver and 2 Bronze. Taking the pairs Ice Dance gold out of the equation for the time being.... 4 out of 6 Gold, 5 out of 6 Silver, and Both Bronze medals have been won by women (individually, or teams of women). That's 73.33% of our medals (excluding ice dance. Throw Ice Dance back in...11.5/15.... 76.67% of them... women.
Canadian women are guaranteed 2 more medals, too... since we've made the Gold Medal Match in both Women's Curling and Women's Hockey.
In a nutshell... Canadian Women Rock!
A man may have won the first Gold on Home Soil, but with 3.5 days left, I think it's safe to say that for Canada, the Women are the Heros of the Olympics.
And you know what's sad? If the Men's Hockey team make it to the gold medal match, no-one will give a flying rat's ass that we're as high as we are in the medal standings for the 21st Winter Games because of the Women.
I'd just like to point something out about Canada's Medal Standings at the olympics at the moment.
Currently, Canada has 7 Gold, 6 Silver and 2 Bronze. Taking the pairs Ice Dance gold out of the equation for the time being.... 4 out of 6 Gold, 5 out of 6 Silver, and Both Bronze medals have been won by women (individually, or teams of women). That's 73.33% of our medals (excluding ice dance. Throw Ice Dance back in...11.5/15.... 76.67% of them... women.
Canadian women are guaranteed 2 more medals, too... since we've made the Gold Medal Match in both Women's Curling and Women's Hockey.
In a nutshell... Canadian Women Rock!
A man may have won the first Gold on Home Soil, but with 3.5 days left, I think it's safe to say that for Canada, the Women are the Heros of the Olympics.
And you know what's sad? If the Men's Hockey team make it to the gold medal match, no-one will give a flying rat's ass that we're as high as we are in the medal standings for the 21st Winter Games because of the Women.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
This will probably ruffle some feathers
Disclaimer: This entry is perhaps more... inflammatory than strictly necessary, or indeed than I necessarily feel (if you know me, you know I tend to take things to extremes to provoke honest thought), but I hope it gives the reader pause to think.
Let me start by saying that I feel very deeply for the people of Haiti in the wake of this most recent disaster. I am heartbroken to think of the lives altered utterly and irrevocably by the loss of parents, children, siblings, spouses, homes, limbs and livelihoods.
I think it's wonderful that the world in general, and Canadians in particular have responded so generously.
But I can't help but wonder... what about the needy in our own back yards? What about the people who have found themselves homeless and hungry in the past year? What about the people who were homeless and hungry even before the recent economic downturn? What about the people here who can't afford medications? Who can't afford the associated costs of significant medical treatments (after-care, for example... or physio... or crutches or prosthetics or... the list is not insignificant).
Charitable donations are down. Have been down for 2 years running, now. Demand on Food Banks is up and climbing at a startling rate.
I don't begrudge the Haitians the donations pouring in for them... they so obviously need any help they can get. I honestly wish there was more I could do (but, with me being unemployed for the past 20+ months, we're not in great shape here, either). Maybe it's our own precarious position that makes me a little irked at the outpouring of funds and star-studded appeals for the latest 'fashionable' cause... but I doubt it. I wondered the same thing after the Tsunami of 2004.
The government of Canada is generously matching civilian donations to Haiti. Let's not forget about the needy at home in our race to be charitable... donations at home aren't being matched. A dollar here is a dollar. A dollar for the latest cause would go further on it's own already, and the government are doubling it.
While Mohammed Ali appealed last night on George Clooney's telethon saying that "Charity begins at home... but it shouldn't end there", let's also not forget that it SHOULD begin at home. We have poor, disadvantaged, and starving people here, too... we have a climate with its own harsh realities of temperature and people living without shelter... we have children who have been bereft of family support here, too. Let's not forget them. The increase in need here isn't quite as sudden and dramatic... but the increase is possibly all the more devastating in it's creeping advance because nobody seems to notice it. Like a band of guerrillas creeping up on a village so quietly that they do not notice until they are surrounded and in mortal danger with no hope of escape.
So give... give generously... give as much as you can... but don't take from another worthy cause to which you usually contribute (but were thinking you might not get around to this year) to do so. There will be people in the world who will need the support of 'stronger' communities in the years to come (Haiti will be in recovery for a long time, just as there are still places in South Asia striving to recover from the Tsunami... just as the deep south is still recovering from Katrina)... don't ignore the need at home in the rush to help them now... or we might not be in a position to still help them later.
Let me start by saying that I feel very deeply for the people of Haiti in the wake of this most recent disaster. I am heartbroken to think of the lives altered utterly and irrevocably by the loss of parents, children, siblings, spouses, homes, limbs and livelihoods.
I think it's wonderful that the world in general, and Canadians in particular have responded so generously.
But I can't help but wonder... what about the needy in our own back yards? What about the people who have found themselves homeless and hungry in the past year? What about the people who were homeless and hungry even before the recent economic downturn? What about the people here who can't afford medications? Who can't afford the associated costs of significant medical treatments (after-care, for example... or physio... or crutches or prosthetics or... the list is not insignificant).
Charitable donations are down. Have been down for 2 years running, now. Demand on Food Banks is up and climbing at a startling rate.
I don't begrudge the Haitians the donations pouring in for them... they so obviously need any help they can get. I honestly wish there was more I could do (but, with me being unemployed for the past 20+ months, we're not in great shape here, either). Maybe it's our own precarious position that makes me a little irked at the outpouring of funds and star-studded appeals for the latest 'fashionable' cause... but I doubt it. I wondered the same thing after the Tsunami of 2004.
The government of Canada is generously matching civilian donations to Haiti. Let's not forget about the needy at home in our race to be charitable... donations at home aren't being matched. A dollar here is a dollar. A dollar for the latest cause would go further on it's own already, and the government are doubling it.
While Mohammed Ali appealed last night on George Clooney's telethon saying that "Charity begins at home... but it shouldn't end there", let's also not forget that it SHOULD begin at home. We have poor, disadvantaged, and starving people here, too... we have a climate with its own harsh realities of temperature and people living without shelter... we have children who have been bereft of family support here, too. Let's not forget them. The increase in need here isn't quite as sudden and dramatic... but the increase is possibly all the more devastating in it's creeping advance because nobody seems to notice it. Like a band of guerrillas creeping up on a village so quietly that they do not notice until they are surrounded and in mortal danger with no hope of escape.
So give... give generously... give as much as you can... but don't take from another worthy cause to which you usually contribute (but were thinking you might not get around to this year) to do so. There will be people in the world who will need the support of 'stronger' communities in the years to come (Haiti will be in recovery for a long time, just as there are still places in South Asia striving to recover from the Tsunami... just as the deep south is still recovering from Katrina)... don't ignore the need at home in the rush to help them now... or we might not be in a position to still help them later.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Tragic Losses... and the insensitivity of Trolls
I wasn't sure how to write this. I wanted to remember an old acquaintance (I wouldn't presume to call him 'friend'... I wasn't privileged to know him that well, but we attended the same school for 2 years... a small and close-knit school). But, not being a close friend, I wasn't sure how best to accomplish it.
Last week, this old acquaintance made the news. Was it for his brilliant mind? No. For his tremendous accomplishments? Sadly, no. He made the news for plunging 16 floors to his death in New York. He became merely another event to support "the NYU Curse". Nobody's really sure what happened... I won't speculate. He deserves better than speculation and gossip. As do his widow and now father-less infant daughters.
Sam Roweis was, like many of his fellow UTS Alumni, a brilliant mind. He was the sort of person (when I knew him, and by all accounts right up 'til last Tuesday) who had a smile for everyone... and a contagious one, at that. a PhD from Cal-Tech under his belt, he became employed by U of T in 2001, and with the exception of a year as visiting faculty at MIT in the middle of the last decade, he was at U of T until accepting a position at NYU in 2009. He was 37 when he died. Think about that for a minute. 37 and he had already been a researcher/lecturer/professor for nearly a decade. 37 and considered "an expert" in the field of machine learning... "artificial intelligence"... a leader in cutting-edge research.
More than his academic accomplishments, though, he was a good person. A person who will be sorely missed by the people in whose lives he featured prominantly, who will be missed by past students and research colleagues, who will be missed by anyone who shared conversation with him, by his family, and most dearly by his wife and through her memories, by the daughters who never had a chance to know him.
And yet, complete strangers feel justified in bashing him in the comments section of various media & blog sites on the 'net. They feel no qualms about posting such comments as "nice jump Einstein" on articles which would be read by his friends and family. To them, obviously, he wasn't the man we knew. To them, he wasn't a man at all... he was just a new item... a statistic. To them I say... this was a man... a man with family and friends who loved him... an man with tremendous accomplishments to his name... and sadly, a man who apparently had problems to which he saw no solution. Apparently. Because, nobody really knows what happened or what lead to his death, except Sam.
Regardless of their personal views on suicide in general as an action, could they not take 2 minutes to consider that there might be people seeking articles about his death in a quest for answers in their grief? :(
This article, though, was linked in the comments to a story at Huffington Post about Sam's death, and in a strange way, inspired me to write a tribute of sorts to this man with whom I shared friends and a school for 2 years in my youth.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/14/825132/-Grieving-via-Google
So I have a request for anyone who might read this... before you post a comment on a public site, consider your possible audience. Whether that means the family and friends of the dead, the family of people whose actions you may find abhorrent, or people whose personal tragedies you simply don't understand... regardless of how you may see the 'news items', for someone, the situation may be tragic... and they might be hurting quite enough without reading your inane and frankly insulting comments.
Last week, this old acquaintance made the news. Was it for his brilliant mind? No. For his tremendous accomplishments? Sadly, no. He made the news for plunging 16 floors to his death in New York. He became merely another event to support "the NYU Curse". Nobody's really sure what happened... I won't speculate. He deserves better than speculation and gossip. As do his widow and now father-less infant daughters.
Sam Roweis was, like many of his fellow UTS Alumni, a brilliant mind. He was the sort of person (when I knew him, and by all accounts right up 'til last Tuesday) who had a smile for everyone... and a contagious one, at that. a PhD from Cal-Tech under his belt, he became employed by U of T in 2001, and with the exception of a year as visiting faculty at MIT in the middle of the last decade, he was at U of T until accepting a position at NYU in 2009. He was 37 when he died. Think about that for a minute. 37 and he had already been a researcher/lecturer/professor for nearly a decade. 37 and considered "an expert" in the field of machine learning... "artificial intelligence"... a leader in cutting-edge research.
More than his academic accomplishments, though, he was a good person. A person who will be sorely missed by the people in whose lives he featured prominantly, who will be missed by past students and research colleagues, who will be missed by anyone who shared conversation with him, by his family, and most dearly by his wife and through her memories, by the daughters who never had a chance to know him.
And yet, complete strangers feel justified in bashing him in the comments section of various media & blog sites on the 'net. They feel no qualms about posting such comments as "nice jump Einstein" on articles which would be read by his friends and family. To them, obviously, he wasn't the man we knew. To them, he wasn't a man at all... he was just a new item... a statistic. To them I say... this was a man... a man with family and friends who loved him... an man with tremendous accomplishments to his name... and sadly, a man who apparently had problems to which he saw no solution. Apparently. Because, nobody really knows what happened or what lead to his death, except Sam.
Regardless of their personal views on suicide in general as an action, could they not take 2 minutes to consider that there might be people seeking articles about his death in a quest for answers in their grief? :(
This article, though, was linked in the comments to a story at Huffington Post about Sam's death, and in a strange way, inspired me to write a tribute of sorts to this man with whom I shared friends and a school for 2 years in my youth.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/14/825132/-Grieving-via-Google
So I have a request for anyone who might read this... before you post a comment on a public site, consider your possible audience. Whether that means the family and friends of the dead, the family of people whose actions you may find abhorrent, or people whose personal tragedies you simply don't understand... regardless of how you may see the 'news items', for someone, the situation may be tragic... and they might be hurting quite enough without reading your inane and frankly insulting comments.
Monday, December 7, 2009
"Montreal Massacre"
disclaimer: this is likely to be fairly random, poorly written, possibly even incoherent. This is 'stream of consciousness", triggered both by the anniversary, and by reading some others' responses to that anniversary.
Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the murder of 14 (and injury of 14 more) at École Polytechnique in Montreal. All 14 of the dead, and 10 of the wounded were women. Not an accidental statistic... Marc Lepine, the shooter, himself blamed "feminists" for all his troubles.
This disturbed man accomplished his goal... he got his revenge before turning the gun on himself (whether out of guilt, or fear of retribution or the judicial system we'll never know). But his actions that day, and the results, had another result he likely never expected and would not have wanted. The shock and outrage spurred a movement to draw attention to violence against women and make such actions less socially acceptable... in Canada, at least.
I say LESS socially acceptable, because sadly there are thousands of violent acts perpetrated against women on a daily basis purely because they are women and because someone feels that the only way they can feel better about themselves is to grind someone else down.
I was in highschool, at an all girls' school when the massacre took place. For obvious reasons, it was a 'hot topic' there, but in the midst of the Scarborough Rapist's reign of terror it was, to some extent, a background issue to a teen girl in Toronto/Scarborough. It was overwhelming to contemplate... so it simply wasn't.
Then I hit University... to study Engineering, originally. Suddenly, it took on a new significance. Women in Engineering were a minority. We were outnumbered. We were seen differently (well, we were seen differently by those outside the faculty, more than inside). We were 'sisters' of the victims. The reactions of men of a more misogynistic bent to women in a traditionally male field became more than just theoretical. It bound us together and made us stronger.
Memories of events like this gave me strength when I was stalked... strength to take action; to seek assistance instead of just accepting that "these things happen to girls".
Memories of events like this helped (eventually) give me strength to leave a relationship with a man who was systematically abusive... in his words and actions, in isolating me from friends and family, in routinely belittling and insulting me, in pursuing actions he knew damn well were unwelcome and unwanted.
Marc Lepine may have taken these lives, but his actions that day helped ensure that a generation of women (and men) would fight against the fear and, partly out of anger and outrage, become the very people he would have despised for their self-assurance and strength.
But Marc Lepine was not automatically and whole-heartedly some kind of demon. He was a man with problems. A man who had a warped view of the world and the cause of his personal problems. A man of questionable mental health with a mother who loved him, who loves him still, and who deals daily with the struggle of equating her son with the man who perpetrated this violence. A mother who had herself been victimized by a man she at some point trusted. He is someone to be pitied, not blindly condemned. But a man who created a situation that could not be ignored... that MUST not be ignored.
20 years have passed. There are annual memorial events. There have been some changes, but there's still room for improvement.
Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the murder of 14 (and injury of 14 more) at École Polytechnique in Montreal. All 14 of the dead, and 10 of the wounded were women. Not an accidental statistic... Marc Lepine, the shooter, himself blamed "feminists" for all his troubles.
This disturbed man accomplished his goal... he got his revenge before turning the gun on himself (whether out of guilt, or fear of retribution or the judicial system we'll never know). But his actions that day, and the results, had another result he likely never expected and would not have wanted. The shock and outrage spurred a movement to draw attention to violence against women and make such actions less socially acceptable... in Canada, at least.
I say LESS socially acceptable, because sadly there are thousands of violent acts perpetrated against women on a daily basis purely because they are women and because someone feels that the only way they can feel better about themselves is to grind someone else down.
I was in highschool, at an all girls' school when the massacre took place. For obvious reasons, it was a 'hot topic' there, but in the midst of the Scarborough Rapist's reign of terror it was, to some extent, a background issue to a teen girl in Toronto/Scarborough. It was overwhelming to contemplate... so it simply wasn't.
Then I hit University... to study Engineering, originally. Suddenly, it took on a new significance. Women in Engineering were a minority. We were outnumbered. We were seen differently (well, we were seen differently by those outside the faculty, more than inside). We were 'sisters' of the victims. The reactions of men of a more misogynistic bent to women in a traditionally male field became more than just theoretical. It bound us together and made us stronger.
Memories of events like this gave me strength when I was stalked... strength to take action; to seek assistance instead of just accepting that "these things happen to girls".
Memories of events like this helped (eventually) give me strength to leave a relationship with a man who was systematically abusive... in his words and actions, in isolating me from friends and family, in routinely belittling and insulting me, in pursuing actions he knew damn well were unwelcome and unwanted.
Marc Lepine may have taken these lives, but his actions that day helped ensure that a generation of women (and men) would fight against the fear and, partly out of anger and outrage, become the very people he would have despised for their self-assurance and strength.
But Marc Lepine was not automatically and whole-heartedly some kind of demon. He was a man with problems. A man who had a warped view of the world and the cause of his personal problems. A man of questionable mental health with a mother who loved him, who loves him still, and who deals daily with the struggle of equating her son with the man who perpetrated this violence. A mother who had herself been victimized by a man she at some point trusted. He is someone to be pitied, not blindly condemned. But a man who created a situation that could not be ignored... that MUST not be ignored.
20 years have passed. There are annual memorial events. There have been some changes, but there's still room for improvement.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Goodbye Grimalkin (aka Grimm) 1996/6/6 - 2009/11/20
13 years is a long time to have a friend in your life. On November 20th, 2009, I said good-bye to a dear friend. Grimm came into my life as a kitten and quickly became a friend. He gave me 13 years (and a bit) of laughter, companionship, and friendship and I will miss him. He was a true friend to me through some dark times when friends were in short supply and desperately needed. He never judged me. He ran to meet me when I came home, and was always nearby if I was in distress.
This is one of those moments in life where head and heart just can't get on the same page. Head knows that the right decision was to bring him to the vet and have him put to sleep... he couldn't move much, he wouldn't eat, he was barely drinking. Heart feels like I let him down.... that he kept fighting, asking for deadline extensions, that he would still purr to cheer me up. Head won out. I'll miss his handsome face, his warm presence, his voice & vocabulary... I'll miss him.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Well THAT's Not Right
Yes... Not Right... capital N, capital R.
OK... in a couple of weeks I'm going on a trip. Yes, it's paintball-related, go fig. No, D is not coming with me (as he has a prior commitment), and I'm going with some of the guys from the team. We'll be in 2 vehicles... in one will be 2 of the co-captains and their wives. In the other will be me and 4 of the other guys from the team. Interesting enough. Throw in that it's a 17 hour drive (with no stops... so add some to that, since they'll have to make pit stops for us ladies ;) )... and that we're leaving at 1:00 p.m. in order to arrive at the event in the morning to spend the full day on-site. Also add that the vehicle in which I'll be travelling is a mini-van (not the most comfortable for sleeping if you happen to get stuck in one of the centre-row seats). And... just for laughs... add in that when I don't get enough sleep I'm a bag of toys (entertaining, but really not good for much)... and with little enough sleep (generally anything less than about 5 hours) my entire system organizes and stages a rebellion that starts with me being extremely cranky and goes downhill rapidly from there.
Sounds like fun, no? *laugh*
Ok... so in an effort to combat all of these entertaining prospects, I figure I'll do some investigation into energy drinks to find something that doesn't turn my stomach, doesn't turn my mouth inside out, doesn't trigger hives, and might keep me somewhat functional.
Attempt #1: Red Bull. Good Lord! Blech. Excuse me while I take a scrubbing brush to my tongue. Yeah... not going to work. Fails miserably on point #2, leading to a fail on point #1. 2 sips and that test was done.
Attempt #2: Full Throttle Unleaded (sugar free) Citrus Flavoured. Ok... I went "unleaded" because... well... I'm down 30 lbs, I know darn well my eating habits for the 5 days I'm gone will be hellish, why add to that with a crapload of sugar? Hmm... yes... well, not a concern, as it turns out. Popped it open, caught a whiff and said "uh-oh". Took a tiny sip, and promptly handed the can to D. Why? Grapefruit triggers point #3... and this gem would definitely fail on that point.
Ok... moving right along...
Attempt #3: Monster Khaos (the orange one). Ok, very tasty orange flavour... passed on points 1, 2, and 3... but sadly led to significant stomach & abdominal pain. So... no go there, either.
Hrm... this isn't looking good. So when I was doing groceries a couple of days ago, I picked up a few more to try... all of them "Beaver Buzz" brand... one citrus (which again, will have to be tried when D's around just in case there's a grapefruit component), one black currant (yumm... I LURVE Black Currants... it better live up to it ;) )... and one "Premium Buzz Green Tea Energy".
Well... today I was feeling less than perky, so I figured I'd give one a shot.
Attempt #4: Reached for the Green Tea one... has Green Tea (good)... has Ginseng (good)... has the usual energy drink crap (less good, but that's expected). *phist* Ok... non-carbonated, that's good. Tastes like various green tea iced teas I've had... also good. Passed #'s 1, 2, 3... no pain... but sadly it seems to be failing miserably on point #4. Which seems a little counter productive, and leads to the title of this entry.
Now... when I did the test with the Monster brand... I was tired when I finished it... I was downright sleepy shortly after (and I do mean shortly)... but it was also a long day of driving (ok, so I was the passenger, but still), and a lot of 'fresh air' and sun, so I didn't relate the two... now I'm beginning to think that I should have.
Back in 1st year, I used to hit the Engineering tuck shop before heading to my Algebra tutorial. It was routine. Routinely I'd grab a big cookie and a bottle of Jolt (all the sugar and twice the caffeine of regular colas). Routinely I'd fall asleep in the tutorial. Now, back then I had low blood-sugar and my doc told me that's why caffeine put me to sleep.
I no longer have low blood sugar... and regular tea/cola has no effect on me... but it seems that the combination of stimulants in Energy Drinks might well still be tripping the wrong switch in my brain *sigh*
3 more tries to see if that's actually what's going on here (2 more Buzz drinks, and a "5 hour energy")... just under 2 weeks to see if one of them will work for me.
So... anyone out there have similar issues? Caffeine put you to sleep? Gravol make you jittery? (yeah... I'm a freak on that score, too *laugh*) Got any other suggestions???
'k... think I'll go crash now... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
OK... in a couple of weeks I'm going on a trip. Yes, it's paintball-related, go fig. No, D is not coming with me (as he has a prior commitment), and I'm going with some of the guys from the team. We'll be in 2 vehicles... in one will be 2 of the co-captains and their wives. In the other will be me and 4 of the other guys from the team. Interesting enough. Throw in that it's a 17 hour drive (with no stops... so add some to that, since they'll have to make pit stops for us ladies ;) )... and that we're leaving at 1:00 p.m. in order to arrive at the event in the morning to spend the full day on-site. Also add that the vehicle in which I'll be travelling is a mini-van (not the most comfortable for sleeping if you happen to get stuck in one of the centre-row seats). And... just for laughs... add in that when I don't get enough sleep I'm a bag of toys (entertaining, but really not good for much)... and with little enough sleep (generally anything less than about 5 hours) my entire system organizes and stages a rebellion that starts with me being extremely cranky and goes downhill rapidly from there.
Sounds like fun, no? *laugh*
Ok... so in an effort to combat all of these entertaining prospects, I figure I'll do some investigation into energy drinks to find something that doesn't turn my stomach, doesn't turn my mouth inside out, doesn't trigger hives, and might keep me somewhat functional.
Attempt #1: Red Bull. Good Lord! Blech. Excuse me while I take a scrubbing brush to my tongue. Yeah... not going to work. Fails miserably on point #2, leading to a fail on point #1. 2 sips and that test was done.
Attempt #2: Full Throttle Unleaded (sugar free) Citrus Flavoured. Ok... I went "unleaded" because... well... I'm down 30 lbs, I know darn well my eating habits for the 5 days I'm gone will be hellish, why add to that with a crapload of sugar? Hmm... yes... well, not a concern, as it turns out. Popped it open, caught a whiff and said "uh-oh". Took a tiny sip, and promptly handed the can to D. Why? Grapefruit triggers point #3... and this gem would definitely fail on that point.
Ok... moving right along...
Attempt #3: Monster Khaos (the orange one). Ok, very tasty orange flavour... passed on points 1, 2, and 3... but sadly led to significant stomach & abdominal pain. So... no go there, either.
Hrm... this isn't looking good. So when I was doing groceries a couple of days ago, I picked up a few more to try... all of them "Beaver Buzz" brand... one citrus (which again, will have to be tried when D's around just in case there's a grapefruit component), one black currant (yumm... I LURVE Black Currants... it better live up to it ;) )... and one "Premium Buzz Green Tea Energy".
Well... today I was feeling less than perky, so I figured I'd give one a shot.
Attempt #4: Reached for the Green Tea one... has Green Tea (good)... has Ginseng (good)... has the usual energy drink crap (less good, but that's expected). *phist* Ok... non-carbonated, that's good. Tastes like various green tea iced teas I've had... also good. Passed #'s 1, 2, 3... no pain... but sadly it seems to be failing miserably on point #4. Which seems a little counter productive, and leads to the title of this entry.
Now... when I did the test with the Monster brand... I was tired when I finished it... I was downright sleepy shortly after (and I do mean shortly)... but it was also a long day of driving (ok, so I was the passenger, but still), and a lot of 'fresh air' and sun, so I didn't relate the two... now I'm beginning to think that I should have.
Back in 1st year, I used to hit the Engineering tuck shop before heading to my Algebra tutorial. It was routine. Routinely I'd grab a big cookie and a bottle of Jolt (all the sugar and twice the caffeine of regular colas). Routinely I'd fall asleep in the tutorial. Now, back then I had low blood-sugar and my doc told me that's why caffeine put me to sleep.
I no longer have low blood sugar... and regular tea/cola has no effect on me... but it seems that the combination of stimulants in Energy Drinks might well still be tripping the wrong switch in my brain *sigh*
3 more tries to see if that's actually what's going on here (2 more Buzz drinks, and a "5 hour energy")... just under 2 weeks to see if one of them will work for me.
So... anyone out there have similar issues? Caffeine put you to sleep? Gravol make you jittery? (yeah... I'm a freak on that score, too *laugh*) Got any other suggestions???
'k... think I'll go crash now... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
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