Fat Fridays - Fat Popsicle

Mmmm….popsicle.

Oooh! Nintendo….

I Knew It was Summer When

….I stood in the kitchen slicing strawberries and saw from the corner of my eye a single drop of sweat fall from my face and plummet in agonizing slow motion to plop on the counter.

NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!

I could almost deal with summer heat if it weren’t for all the sweating. Gross, dammit!

How about the rest of you? Are you enjoying that wet trickle of summer running down the middle of your back yet? Goodness knows it’s making my every dream come true right at this very moment. (Gag!)

A More Complete Story

Perhaps you remember a few months ago when a series of brief posts appeared detailing my success in applying to the University of British Columbia? And then they promptly disappeared? Here’s the deal:

I had acquired a new job in the early spring that was a temp position, and quite honestly, a dream come true. Administrative work (I love filing!), a large company (blissful anonymity!), and a short contract so that I could leave Minneapolis at the end of the summer, pack up my Canadian, the dog and the cat, and hit the road for Vancouver. Alas, during a Get To Know You event with a new colleague, she just seemed SO interested in my blogging venture and I am SO interested in spreading the word about Fat, that I told her about my site and gave her my full blessing to read it, only to later realize that my grad school plans had been published but respective supervisors had no idea. Yeah, I had to move fast on that one because my talent for sticking my foot in my mouth seems to know no bounds.

It’s probably just as well that it worked out that way, because the Canadian and I were soon reworking our timeline for the great Minneapolis departure, due in no small part to a totally unpredictable tattooing apprenticeship. (Impulsive creature that I am, I am going to refrain from making any further comments about the apprenticeship itself; see my foot-in-mouth comment above.) Afterall, if the Canadian cannot be gainfully employed in his trade while I’m at grad school, then what is the point of bringing him along to pay my bills? (Kidding! Sort of….)

So here I am, a deferred grad student, waiting for my September 2011 admission. Still working two jobs, and struggling to remain hopeful in the midst of a lot of resentment. I love a sizable paycheck, and mourn the lack of time I have to myself. But I’ve got that itchy writing bug again so perhaps if you haven’t abandoned my entirely, we’ll meet up again as I drop more posts here.

And YES, as a matter of fact, I did make it out to see Twilight: Eclipse. Yummy. And as an added extra bonus, I got a new song by the totally delicious Florence+the Machine. Please enjoy “Heavy In Your Arms”:

Finally heard from UW!

My letter from the University of Washington Information School arrived in the mail today carrying news of my fate with their Masters program.

They turned me down!

I’m gonna take it as a sign from the gods. Afterall, I sent in my admission confirmation to the University of British Columbia early last week. Ahahahah! Looks like it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

Watch out, Vancouver! There’s a not-so-lean, mean librarian-to-be headed your way!

News from A Broad

Official word arrived yesterday…

I have been accepted to the dual Masters program of Archival and Library/Information Sciences at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. (No word yet from the University of Washington. Impatient toe-tapping has gotten me nowhere on that one.)

My celebration was brief because soon my brain (oh, poor beleaguered and diseased brain!) was throwing at me all manner of anxiety-inducing scenarios: study visa! moving trucks! tuition! housing! But I’m sure that piece of it isn’t surprising to anyone here. My brain just DOES THAT.

Regardless, the point is….I got in to grad school! Priority #1: obtain the perfect pair of librarian-esque spectacles.

We Interrupt This Retirement…

We interrupt this Retirement in Progress with a couple of news updates:

1. The Canadian has returned home! I drove up to Winnipeg earlier this month and brought the Canadian home. FatGrrl vs. Immigration. And the winner is….FatGrrl!

2. Grad school applications are done and submitted. FINALLY! I applied to the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia. I will now cross my fingers for as long and has hard as I can.

Such Sweet Sorrow

My butt’s been dragging lately, folks, and I see the way it is affecting my time here. This pursuit is something that more and more easily gets pushed to the side to make way for other things that are taking up my time, energy, soul, etc. It’s a bummer. And as much as I love to set ginormous goals for myself that can then set me up for failure - woohoo! self-flagellation! - I think it might be better to admit to myself that all things eventually come to an end, even the great things, and that it’s okay to say goodbye.

I’ve talked it over with Ellie, and let her know what I planned. She’s currently in an apartment without internet access - the situation is giving her hives, I’m sure - but she asked me to leave the site up and running so that she can make her imminent return to blogging.

So that’s where things stand, with my Extra-Long-Hiatus-That-Could-Be-More-Like-Retirement-But-Who-Really-Knows? It’s been a privilege meeting and bantering with you all.

Love,
FatGrrl

Fat Friday - Guns

I think I would like to hire this woman as my bodyguard. I wish I felt as strong as she looks. Find more sculptures and paintings of large women by Jed Dougherty here.

Stongwoman by J. Dougherty

Trudging On

I’m really not so good at the waiting game. When there is a crisis I want to know what to do RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW. So sitting on my hands and waiting for the immigration attorney to formulate the game plan is kind of killing me. My Canadian is in a similar funk. But where mine is more anxiety and restlessness, his tends more to the depressive sort that involves a lot of self-pity and wallowing and “I’m gonna go eat worms” hysterics. As you can imagine, listening to it does little else but increase my anxiety and restlessness. This is a bad combination.

I totally know what PhD Smiley would say right now: what about trying some deep breathing?

How about trying to remove my molars with a potato peeler? That seems like it would do about as much good! I feel like an ass for thinking that, but that’s how it is right now.

What about you? What do you do in a crisis? Are you calm and measured, or psychologically catastrophic?

Watching: Lost - Season 5
Reading: “City of Glass” by Cassandra Clare
Playing: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (SO beautiful….)

Lost in Canadia-Land

My Canadian tried to re-enter the country today and return to me after a month-long absence. He got turned back at the border. It feels like someone hit me with a sledgehammer. Once again, I have no idea when I will see him.

Thanks a lot, Universe. That kick to the gut was just what I needed. Thanks.