Sculling About in the Quiet Pool

Yes! Papers done! Business presentation done! Now for exams...

The weekend was largely taken up with my econ paper and business presentation. Some of the gang stuck around after our meetings Saturday and there were shenanigans. I dropped in from time to time (being largely in my room writing) but didn't really participate.

Monday was completely insane. I was as short with people as I have ever been in my life. Having insulted the product of hours and hours of work, I then threatened to decorate the display board with the entrails of one lucky contestant. At the time, I felt kind of powerful and red-misty, but in retrospect kind of like a big meanie. Our presentation actually went reasonably well, despite all the precedent carnage. Then I came home, and Kyle and I went out for coffee and broke up. But it's OK, we sat in the Timmy's downstairs and talked. It was probably the least dramatic public breakup in the history of time. This is facilitated by my heartlessness and incapacity for significant romantic attachment. This is what I say to myself, not what others say to me.

My economics paper is done and finished, and I'm hoping the prof doesn't notice that it's not really about economics at all, but rather about how stupid economics is in its belief that material production can be expanded almost indefinitely. One of the Fraser Institute papers I checked out for it was talking about the "demand" for environmental quality, as though that's something humans alone control, on a day-to-day market basis. "Well, deciduous trees are up 10 points today, but I'm seeing stagnant watercourses under 5 hectares are down another 15." This may be a gross oversimplification of their position, but really: good freaking luck putting the natural house of cards back up once you've knocked it down.

Work yesterday was fine -- it was the office park's Christmas party, so there was tonnes of food and I inadvertently ate some chicken salad, which tasted kind of weird given that I was expecting it to be tuna. This is not the first time this has happened. All I can say is I'm glad it wasn't horseradish this time.

Today was Christmas shopping, to supplement the start I've made on Amazon. I recommend that everyone start making overtures for presents now, because there are lots of cool things out there. Even if it is just something small, it's nice to find a present that you know the giftee will like. At least, something you think they will like. So Mom, I hope you enjoy the bolster I have bought you. You should be particularly excited to hear that it is four feet long, extravagantly scented with amber musk, and shaped like a tabby cat. Sorry to give away the surprise, I'm just really psyched to have found it.

And so, to geography studying. Tah-rah!