Currently in my browser, in the tab directly left to my tabulas one, is the WileyPLUS certification. WP is basically a ploy to get students to buy a new textbook every year—I mean, an online tool for students to get access to an electronic version of the book and extra practice questions, and for instructors to keep track of their students' progress, and to download course material like powerpoint slides. The WileyPLUS mission: helping teachers to teach and student to learn.

Like you know, whatever.

All new employees need to take the WileyPLUS 101 course and get a minimum of 75% to become certified. I read the first chapter and watched the video and was furiously taking notes ("WileyPLUS revenue accounted for $15 million and we expect it to reach $20 million this year" . . . I have no idea how old this information is) and the quiz at the end of chapter asked me things like what sort of things I can find in each chapter and who I would go to if I needed help with the course. What the . . . ? And if that isn't bad enough, I found I could click out of the quiz at any time, go back to the text, and then come back to the quiz.

Other than that, work is ok. I spent almost all of today proofreading an index. Brain explodeded. I'm glad no one tried to talk to me today. I don't know what it is about work that makes me feel so anti-social.

Yesterday was my 2-year-old cousin's birthday party. My grandma said she was sick so she was only going to shake our hands instead of giving us a hug. And as we were all leaving, she gave us all hugs! My mom said all we could really go is just wash our hands afterwards. Ah, family.

All these parties are the same: eat chinese food, make small talk with adults, watch younger cousins insist on playing the Wii even though they don't really know what they're doing, group picture around a mango mousse/fruit cream cake, eat cake, watch kids (whether they be the birthday child or not) rip open presents.

My mom bought a sort of updated speak 'n spell. I wanted to buy a bunch of books because I'm really hoping this cousin will be the intellectual reader type. My hope was fuelled when I saw a lot of "Baby Baroque", "Mozart for Minors" kind of cds around the house. I know my aunt and uncle are forcing these upon my cousin but my aunt told me the music helps him sleep. Baroque music helps me sleep too! Awesome. You better believe I have a copy of LotR ready and waiting.

I'm coming to the end of a notepad. V. exciting to a ... well I don't know what we're called but it's exciting to someone who likes writing things in notepads. But I have some unfinished business with my notepad in the form of recipes. I tend to write down recipes while I'm bored in front of the computer (and should be doing work *cough*), but by the time I turn off my computer, I no longer have the will to make the thing I was so set on making a few hours before.

So, anway, then I made a quiche.



The more observant of you will notice that my quiche doesn't really match the one in the magazine. I don't like pie crusts in my quiche so I replaced it with potatoes. And even though we had broccoli in the house, my mom said I was to touch it. I ended up using "bak choy", which I like better, in general, and which desperately needed to be used (my mom loves to stock up on good deals, so it's not uncommon for us to have enough of one vegetable to last us for 3 months).

Next up: Cuba Libre cupcakes, on the second last page of my notepad. This may be my solution to having "alcohol" (it'll all burn off in the baking) at work.

New layout featuring my favourite scene of The Sil. Thanks to Tabulas's premade layout for filling in for me while I was going through design block. Hey, if Capt. Janeway can talk to Voyager, I can talk to blogging software.

How I've been feeling lately and how I hope to be feeling can be summed up using three images from Eye On Springfield, the best thing since sliced bread (sliced bread having been invented the previous winter):

Middle of August to end of September:


Beginning of October to Beginning of November:


(Hopefully) Middle of November to end of December, but with a third less flame:


It all sort of happened like an episode of a sitcom. You do one crazy thing because it seems like the best thing to do given the situation at the time. But then it almost frightening escalates beyond your control until you're getting up at 6:30am; getting splashed by the sprinkles of the church you cut across to get to the bus stop; trying to think unnauseous thoughts on the hour and a half transit ride to work; coming home and forcing yourself to proofread 10 pages for the Oxford project before you sleep or you won't make the deadline, while trying to pretend you don't see that email from your editor at Wiley asking you to do something from home; all while doing all these interviews for a job you weren't sure you really wanted but only applied for because it seemed like the best thing to do to keep my editor happy and to make sure HR would keep me in mind in the future. Or you know, some other crazy shenanigans.

But now, it's over, and I can stop obsessing about this. (Yeah, that sounds like something I'll be able to do.) On Friday I had to tell my "contacts" at Oxford what was going on, but said I'd do the job in mid-November to early-December, since I promised in August that I would. It takes so long to tell everyone this one piece of news. Maybe I should get Twitter, argh! Did you know that Royd Tolkien has one? I find that so weird even though there's absolutely no reason to.

As always, thanks to you fine folksfor sticking with me though all my insanity. I know how maddening I can be, but since I have to live with me, I've likely developed some kind of immunity to it. If that sentence made sense to you, you really need to stop hanging out with me.

It's going to be ... I don't want to be petty but, IT'S A-GONNA BE FREAKING SWEET to tell my numerous relations about the goings on on the career front at this year's holiday party. I don't think anyone (some more than others of course) really believed I could find a career in publishing. I'll likely being doing work over the holiday "break" (my editor told me we don't many days off) so I'll bring it to the party and save myself having to make small talk, it'll give me something to do, and it'll answer my relatives' "so what does an editorial assistant do?". Win-win-win!

It's now time for the random email portion of the entry. I got the message this morning:

Dear Student,

Due to your academic excellence in ADMS 3530, you have been identified as someone who may be ideal for this exciting opportunity! In January 2008, STARS launched a student success initiative called Peers Assisting Student Success (PASS). The program targets historically challenging courses and provides students with weekly study sessions facilitated by a PASS leader.

ADMS 3530 is 'Introduction to Finance'. It was a course in which I initially struggled but somehow came out with an A (and without a having to buy a financial calculator!! ... which probably made me study harder now that I think about it). York U has become increasingly pathetic in my eyes since the strike in the beginning of this year. This email really is the cherry on the lamewade sundae.

The PASS Leader acts as a model student, and supports the learning and development of study skills of the learners who attend their PASS sessions. The PASS Leader attends all lectures of their assigned section so that they are up to date with what is going on in class and then facilitates 2 two-hour sessions each week. [...] PASS sessions are different from a tutorial session as the focus is on fostering independent thinkers and incorporating what to learn with how to learn.

So you're offering me the chance to attend lecture, re-learn everything along with the students, and then teach the students how to be independent thinkers?? Of course, no compensation at all was mentioned in the email beyond "wonderful opportunity for an ambitious student like you to develop your skill set professionally while gaining a stronger command over the course materials and building upon your leadership and communication skills." I mean, I do want to help people, but I don't want to be a guidance counsellor with a finance students specialization.