A fried gave me this prayer for strength – and although some people don’t believe in the power of prayer, it helped me pull through a tough patch. At the end of it all, I was able to exhibit strength of character and determination – my boss actually commented on it!

For what it’s worth, here it is:

“O most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, people honor and invoke you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, for I am so helpless and alone. Please help to bring me visible and speedy assistance. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (state your request) and that I may praise God with you always.”

The thesis path was not easy – staying up all night and going to work the next morning, time away from friends and family, deferred holidays, emotional eating….  The list goes on and on.  But it is worth it!

I am just relieved it’s all over now – until I start my PhD. 

So now I am slowly climbing out of my self-imposed black hole – meeting friends for lunches and dinner, reading chick lit and knitting in peace.

Ahhhhhh….  What to do with all this time on my hands???

There are two things I admire Obama for: his ability to rouse the young voters from apathy and his ability to mobilize a grassroots movement. That in itself is CHANGE.

Hobbes: All we have is one “fact” that you made up.

Calvin: That’s plenty. By the time we add an introduction, a few illustrations and a conclusion, it’ll look like a graduate thesis.

Hey – at least I still have a sense of humour! 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday!

You’ve probably guessed by the lack of recent postings that I am madly trying to finish my thesis – STILL. And yes, I have officially become a thesis bitch. I am incredibly stressed, fatigued beyond reason, and have gone back to good ol’ caffeine after more than 5 years of (mostly) herbal tea.

Good news is that I should be done by the end of January, two months before the official deadline. This gives my supervisor time to rip my work apart, and enough sleepless nights for me to madly re-write my work. Yes, I am being optimistic.

I cannot wait to reach the promised land, for a trip to Mexico awaits!

Happy Holidays, everyone! I don’t mean to steal Christmas this year, but I am feeling more and more like a GRINCH!!!

A bit battered and blue from typing my thesis, but I’m still standing here.

In my absence, a couple of major things happened:

• I turned 32 (Ack!!!)
• Hubby became a Canuck
• Hubby and I celebrated the 7th year of the first day we met 
• I learned how to knit (thesis therapy)
• Hubby and I are taking pottery classes (Not as easy as Demi Moore in Ghost makes it look.  And it’s obvious that I need LOTS of thesis therapy.)

I can’t wait to get this elephant off my back.  After that, I am going to stay in bed for a week, read Hello magazine, and eat Godiva chocolates!

I still cannot believe summer is over – meaning I am officially back to thesis writing. Oh well – the sooner I get it done the sooner I can kick back and wait for grad.

Hubby and I wrapped up summer 2007 by relaxing. I did some crocheting (which I find quite therapeutic, except when I have to read crocheting intructions – then it gets mental), while hubby played Civilization IV – his favourite game of all time. We also went to Greekfest last Sunday with some friends. The food was amazing! Home cooked Greek food served alongside Greek dancers and performers. I had the spanakopita, while hubby had the lamb platter, finished off with baklava and loukomades. It was a fun-filled evening – the Greeks sure know how to party. OPA!!!

Labour Day Monday and Saturday, we volunteered for LifeCycles’ Fruit Tree Project. It is an innovative program where volunteers pick homeowners’ fruit trees that they are unable to pick themselves. Fruit that would otherwise end up in someone’s compost bin goes to food banks and other local organizations, part of it is used to finance the project, and a small part goes to volunteers. I baked an apple pie and it tasted soooo good! Nothing like organic, hand-picked, fresh, local fruit in season!

And now, my friends, the thesis bell tolls.