(please insert title)

I'm drinking a Berries and Cream Diet Dr. Pepper. I must report that I find it surprisingly average...dare I say, underwhelming.

I attended a Switchfoot concert on Friday night...I've never felt so tall and old at a concert before. Other than approaching the merch table only to find that the hoody I had stood in line for for a grand total of 5 minutes had just sold out, I had a blast. Jon Foreman is quite the entertainer, leaping and bounding everywhere. Switchfoot didn't play my favorite song (Lonely Nation), but I've conditioned myself to believe this will happen at every concert I attend. My favorite songs are usually the ones that get no radio play at all...so it's my fault this happens all the time! Obviously, I need to conform to mainstream radio quality standards so as to prevent any more future disappointment.

Still nothing regarding my thesis, which I suppose is good news? I don't work until Friday either...I guess I can clean out my closet, and...uhhh...

I just applied for an communications internship at SaskEnergy in Regina. As opposed to almost all of the jobs I apply for, I actually think I'm qualified for this one. If I get it, the transition would be rapid. Stay tuned...

So the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan is showing up to the Department of Political Studies to talk to the grad students. I don't think my attendance is required since I have attained all my course credits, but I have attended such an event before and the protocol for such a meeting is dizzying. Just in case you run into the Lt. Governor in Denny's, here's how to handle the situation smoothly! Actually, I wouldn't blame you if you snuck out the back door to go to Humpty's instead...anyway...

ADDRESSING THEIR HONOURS: At no time is it appropriate to address the Lieutenant Governor or their spouse by their given name. Out of respect for the office, the Lieutenant Governor is addressed personally in the second person as “Your Honour”, “Sir”, or “Dr. Barnhart” (in decreasing order of formality). In the third person, he is referred to as “His Honour”, “the Lieutenant Governor”, or “Dr. Barnhart”. The Lieutenant Governor’s spouse is addressed as “Your Honour”, “Madam”, or “Mrs. Barnhart”.

INTRODUCTIONS FOR MEETINGS: The Vice Regal Couple (VRC) is escorted to a reception room (or area) where head table and special guests may be presented. This can be accomplished using a receiving line format or by the VRC moving down the line of guests. In the former case, the host or Aide-de-Camp should announce the names of guests who will then move by the VRC and any other officials. In the latter case, which is preferred, guests should line up with their spouses. The host should then move down the line making presentations to the VRC, followed by any others. If after presentations, refreshments are served, and especially if there is an interval of fifteen or twenty minutes before the meeting commences, the VRC can circulate among the guests with the host.

DEPARTURE PROTOCOL: At the completion of the meeting (or the participation by His/Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor), guests should remain standing until the VRC has left the room.

Before I leave to go and find my T4 slip at work and eventually settle in for a Jack Bauer Power Hour...have you ever wondered how you could make a 100 Grand? The steps involved may pleasently surprise you.

Picking up my jaw from the floor

I was having a nice day. I had a great sleep, work was easy, I cashed a cheque of a significant amount that I had long forgot about, had some delicious pickerel for supper, watched a brilliant episode of The Office...and then I read this.

This is worse than Valentine's Day.

Humbug!

I hate Valentine's Day. I can't recall ever being in a good mood on this day, even though it's just another "day". Heck, I think I like Halloween better than Valentine's Day...and those close to me know the breadth of contempt I hold for Halloween.

I was going to post a huge rant about this wretched overrated "day", but why bother? I'm lazy and I don't think I can top last year's post!

Don't mistake me; I am not against (normal) people celebrating this "day". It's just that everywhere a single guy turns, looks and listens on the 14th, he's reminded of just how single he is. Meh...I think a steady dose of loud music, Xbox and British comedy will get me through the rest of the day just fine.

I leave you with The Rock singing to a Sacramento, California. Man, Sacramento sounds like a HORRIBLE place to live ;)

Oh, the memories...

I unearthed a treasure trove of long-forgotten goodies whilst cleaning out my closet today. I found a ton of old creative writing assignments and mandatory journal entries from elementary school. I thought I was a normal child until I read some of these things. Apparently, I "loved" science and math back in the day. Oh young Evan, there is so much I need to warn you about...but unfortunately, I cannot.

I also know I was not destined to be an artist...somebody should have told me at a very early age to stop drawing. All of my drawings...utter and complete nonsensical garbage. It's not even cute-good. Additionally, it appears as though I was fascinated by raccoons. Perhaps this was a result of my fascination with the CBC cartoon "The Raccoons". Bert Raccoon and company taught me many valuable life lessons...chief among them being not to attempt to fly a bike, and if you're going to swing on a rope from a tree with a sword, stay focused.

Most of the stuff I found I threw out, but I kept some for nostalgia's sake. I have all my old report cards (good at spelling, bad at tying shoes); all my old trophies/medals/badges; some programs from Oilers games; Whalers and Nordiques fountain pop glasses (potential Ebay material?); the flashcards my parents used to teach me words; hilarious Mother's Day/Father's Day cards ("I help my Dad out by letting him sleep"), etc. I also found a bunch of coupons I made for mom and dad (like finishing my vegetables, picking up toys), but they're well past the expiry date I assigned to it. I will pick up after myself, but I'm still not going to finish my peas.

Symptoms of Withdrawl

I've got the shakes, man. I've got it, like, REAL BAD, man. I don't know what to do with myself now that my thesis is in the hands of my supervisor...man.

So Colin's finally gone. The bathrooms are cleaner, the phone rings less, and there's more food left in the fridge. Hmmm...do I REALLY miss him?

I need to kill time these days...a LOT of time. Today I packed up some books, shredded more than a few documents, and cleaned off my desk....and I found a $100 bill and a savings bond established for me by my grandparents dating back to 1995 that matures this year while doing so! Sweet deal! That was my MORNING.

This afternoon, I used up my remaining DVD coupons from Christmas. I ended up getting Napoleon Dynamite, The Ringer, Fargo and the complete set of Fawlty Towers. I noticed that Office Space was cheap as well...might go back tomorrow and pick that up too.

This evening, I watched some hockey and The Office. Right now, I'm grooving to some Chris Cornell and firing off some resumes to some government departments that I'd like to work for.

In the meantime, I'll be working a little bit more as I could use a cash infusion, and I'll be packing/throwing away crap from my room so as to facilitate a future move. I'm probably jinxing myself for doing this...oh well.

I leave you with a great moment in Simpsons history. Lord knows I've had the opportunity to do this a number of times myself, but never took advantage of the situation. Some profs really deserved it.