So, I’m back from the east coast, and after all the rush and panic that took place to make sure I had everything ready before I’d left, you’d think things would’ve calmed down a little now, right? Hah.

Let’s list the things I was trying to arrange before I left:
1. Finish my paper (which was due, via email, on the 20th).
2. Wait for co-op housing company to call me back to arrange for our interview.
3. Wait for professors 2 and 3 to call me back so that I could have a supervisor registered (and now professor 4, since I’ve just emailed a new person).
4. Have my annual physical with my GP.
5. Try to finish the wedding gift for my cousin.

I’m sure there are other things, but we’ll get to those.

Here’s how the journey unfolded, in brief:

Thursday, March 16: Fly into Nova Scotia for approximately 9:30 p.m., local time. Drive to friend of the family’s house in Dartmouth, via rental car, to spend the night.
Friday, March 17: Pick up sister in Halifax after she finishes work. Drive to Quispamsis, New Brunswick, to stay with maternal grandparents.
Saturday, March 18: Cousin’s wedding. Attend.
Sunday, March 19: Drive to paternal grandfather’s home in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Stay the night with him and aunt.
Monday, March 20: Spend day in Bedford and Halifax. Spend night again.
Tuesday, March 21: Unplanned trip to Peggy’s Cove for gingerbread. Semi-unplanned drop off of sweater at uncle’s work in downtown Halifax. Leave on 4:55 p.m. flight to arrive home.

Now, during the first part of this journey, I had no access to internet and thus no email access. Not a big deal, except that when I emailed my paper to my prof on Thursday, I had requested he contact me at home or at work (also given) in order to confirm he had received my paper, since otherwise it would be counted as late. I didn’t hear from him, but there wasn’t much I could do.

Once I arrived in Halifax the second time (on the 19th), I checked my email. My prof said that he had (once again) extended the deadline, giving everyone until the 24th. He’d made this announcement in class on Wednesday, the 15th, a class I’d skipped so that I could stay home and finish my paper. Given my usual procrastinating style of working, this was the crunch day, although I had written the majority of it in previous days (longhand; for some reason that was how my brain was working that week). He was offering to look at everyone’s drafts, and offered me the same opportunity. I asked that he do so; he asked me to send him the paper, as he hadn’t received it (this email was one I’d gotten when I was away, but hadn’t read, since I knew I wouldn’t be able to do anything while gone). I sent it and received feedback, which I’ll be addressing tonight (again, the day before it’s due).

So that was issue 1. Now for issue 2, the co-op housing. They had called me on Friday or Saturday (while I was at my Nanny’s house, I just can’t remember which day) to ask if I could come in and meet with them on Monday. I said I couldn’t, that I wasn’t going to be in the province. They asked for Tuesday; I said I could do around or after 7 p.m., as my flight was due to arrive around 5:45 that night. I remembered after the fact that the Smooshy was off that day, so that was fortunate. We set everything up and I figured I’d pull a Scarlett and worry about how I’d arrange getting there with or without luggage later. I’ll come back to this one.

Issue 3, professors. Professor 2 hasn’t contacted me yet; I left him a voicemail yesterday. I’ll try talking to my classmate friend next to see if she has any suggestions/knows of his office hours. Professor 3 emailed me before I left and set up a 2:30 meeting on Wednesday the 22nd to meet. Great. She then called me on the 21st, when I was in Peggy’s Cove, to say she couldn’t make it, and could we reschedule for the following week. I said sure. She asked me whether I was currently enrolled (it was in the email), how I had gotten her name (through the descriptions in the booklet we were all given when we registered), what courses I was currently taken (I told her), whether my professors had given me her name (no, it was in the booklet and online), and I have the impression that she’s going to be an ‘interesting’ supervisor, if we both decide to go ahead together. Why is it that there are no good/reliable cultural studies-oriented professors? They’re all business/political communication, and I’m sorry, I cannot do that for 100 pages and a year and a half.

Just before the professor called, my phone rang and I didn’t have time to grab it. The housing company lady had called me to cancel/reschedule our appointment. She said she’d call yesterday or today to reschedule. She hasn’t left me a number at which I could reach her, of course, so it’s now going to be FUN to schedule this meeting around her schedule, mine, and the Smooshy’s (which is kind of the least flexible). *sigh*

Needless to say, I didn’t get my cousin’s wedding gift done in time. I’m only a few hours of work out of finishing it, but I’m trying to get R and N’s wedding gift done, too, and that’s for May 20th and involves more work. Plus at this point, it’s still the fairly fun stuff and not the annoying backstitching/daisy-chaining that remains on my cousin’s gift, so I prefer to do it. I’d like to get one gift done on time… and have I mentioned that I still haven’t finished anything for Greg and Madeleine? Again, the finishing details. They’re annoying. Not to mention, after having seen some of the other gifts they’ve received, I’m slightly embarrassed to give them mine, which aren’t nearly as nice or skilled in their turnout. Well actually, one of them is quite nice – just very unfinished. Again, le sigh.

My doctor’s appointment is tomorrow, and unless they reschedule it on me, it’s all good. I have to leave work early for it, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

I’m also supposed to help R and N move on Sunday, but my classmates chose that day to get together, so depending on timing, I might not be able to do both. I might be able to borrow my mom’s car, which would help matters (since my dad and I have decided that it’s probably still too early to get the bike out). And while we’re on the subject of the bike – I spoke with my current housing company a few weeks ago, and they asked if I might be willing to consider moving the bike. They said they couldn’t force me to, but they’d like it if I did, ‘cause of new tenants and a shortage of spots. I got swamped, I was under no pressure, so I didn’t get back to them right away. I got a letter in the mail today that said they were moving me, that I was paying a reduced rate for my spot and that wouldn’t change, and that I was to contact the super. I spoke to him, he said we basically had to move ASAP, ‘cause the tenant was using another tenant’s spot, and that he could help me move the bike (I had said that I was putting it together on Saturday, and asked without asking if that would be good enough; it wasn’t). I plan on telling him that the reason I hadn’t called sooner was multifold: swamped, out of town, and told I didn’t have to move. The thing I won’t be mentioning is that I had thought/hoped to be out of there very soon – possibly even for April 1st – and so hadn’t really felt the need to rush. I suppose I could offer to pay full price for the spot and guarantee my right to it, but I really don’t want to, and I kinda really dislike a lot of things about the building I’m in right now and the management, so whatever.

I was trying to fall asleep last night and I was having a lot of important thoughts, and now I can’t remember any of them. Such is always the way for me.