Do you have Swine Flu? a government issued poll

8. What are the symptoms of pandemic H1N1 influenza virus?

The symptoms of pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in Canada have been generally mild, but illness can be severe for some individuals. The symptoms are similar to seasonal influenza and may include:

* Sudden onset of fever and cough; YES
* Fatigue; YES
* Muscle aches; YES
* Lack of appetite; YES
* Some people may also experience a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. YES

So to update you on what's going on, see above. I'm heading to the clinic shortly.

xo

Sundays are the worst

Not much happened this week in terms of events. I can happily report that the snow is gone! This weekend Ashton and I had a lazy Saturday together- made a fancy Italian dinner. Besides that, I went to work and Ashton to school. Getting all of his assignments done on time has been a struggle and I’ve had a hard time with his perceived disregard for school so a new plan was implemented that I don’t much like, but it forces him to complete everything (and it’s been working ). I proofread and edit as well as supply ideas if I can for anything related. I’ve been leaving him on his own to work, which kind of isolates me because he’s the only friend I have here.

Yesterday I went to this really old cinema called the ‘Princess Theatre’ to see the new Ricky Gervais film ‘The Invention of Lying’ while I left him to work. It reminded me of the old theatre in Renfrew, Ontario (an old converted opera house). It had Greek frescoes and molded sculptures into the sides. I sat up on the balcony and thought to myself, my God, I can’t escape my film studies background. It’s interesting because even though attending films can be a very solitary experience – you are in the dark and not encouraged to interact with others- it is a widely acceptable social experience in that you are NOT alone. You are in fact engaging with the same material as all the others around you as a temporary community. Not that this film was particularly high-brow art film, but all the same, just watching people enter and performing this social ritual. I skipped out on the popcorn and brought tea instead. (can you tell I’m dying to write more on the subject?)

So this brings me to something rather important. Since I’ve started working for the university this September, I’ve missed school. My mother has revealed that she’s shocked I’m not in school. I’ve been considering applying for my MA in film studies for the last year or so, and getting the marks to prove it. I’m now looking into taking a few film classes here to be counted towards my MA application. *the classes at u of a are not as recognizable in film as say Carleton, but regardless it will help speed up the process. I’m not sure if I’m going to get into the MA program immediately, but they have a qualifying here that fingers crossed would accept me. From being away from school, and not being a huge fan of admin work I’ve realized that going back to school would in fact be a step towards becoming me desirable for employment in my field of choice: writing. However, in order to be able to do that I need money, and the easiest way is to stay in my current job. And the film festival director job, which is already stressing me out, is definitely proof enough of how dedicated I am to the degree.

Sorry for not being as entertaining as I have been in the past weeks, I’m having a hard day. I’ve been feeling really disconnected from life in Ottawa. The church bells up the street woke me up and reminded me of zipping past parliament on my way to a gig or the market, therefore the crocodile tears came a’ tumbling.

Thinking of all of you,
- Samantha

visitors

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s a balmy -5 here and the snow keeps a-fallin’. At first I thought I’d have nothing to share with you as I’d just been feeling rather sad and pathetic since the beginning of the week. To sum it up: I got sick. It sucked. I missed some work. Also sucked. I have a feeling that Ashton and I’s insane vegan feast yesterday has me pretty much cured.

Curious what we had, as Vegans? I know you’re dying to find out! I still can’t believe I spent $9 on a squash here.

- Coleslaw with purple cabbage, carrots, walnuts and cranberries
- Home-made bread stuffing with apples, parsnips and white wine
- Parsnips
- Baked spaghetti squash with molasses
- Wild mushroom gravy
- Mashed potatoes with garlic and fresh dill
- Tofurkey!
- Pumpkin pie
- And…a rather large bottle of Australian white wine after being in the kitchen ALL DAY!

We’re going to be eating all of this for DAYS to come. It was all home-made and organic. We definitely had some pumpkin pie for breakfast.

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of the year so I was gearing up for a sob-fest. (not that I could deny that didn’t already happen this week. ) It was awesome then to be called up and for all of my extended family to yell ‘happy thanksgiving’ then promptly put the mouth piece to the accordion.

And you know what, just being able to sit and share dinner with Ashton was awesome. I know it’s a rite of passage; young couple moves out and tries to cook their first turkey. Well, tofurkey and just the whole process was enjoyable. Neither of us had ever tried to make stuffing or gravy on our own before so it was all kind of experimental. As well, neither of us have ever had a holiday dinner that we could everything of without worrying or offending anyone. Next week we’re going to a post-thanksgiving pot-luck at a fellow vegan’s home.

The weekend has been rather busy and I’m so glad I have today off after running so many errands and truth be told, getting in at 2 am last night from a gig. That much is sort of back to normal. I NEED to be able to go out to shows in order to feel ‘at home’.


We saw the Shout Out Out Out Outs on Saturday. They’re an Edmonton based synth-rock/dance band that I’ve been a fan of for quite a while. They have 2 drummers and 3 keyboardists mounted on different levels. Lots of dancing and shaking and moving. I was half-hoping that Cadence Weapon (also from Edmonton) would come out and do his song with them but at about 1:40 I called a cab.

We learned last week that gigs start super late so we hit up Walmart before so that Ashton could buy a TV!

Now, I must say, I’ve NEVER seen Ashton buy anything that wasn’t essential before. I mean, I’ll say ‘we need to get some more margerine’ and he’ll be like, ‘oh, let’s just wait til it’s on sale.’ Come on! It’s margarine! It’s essential! The television is calling to us now, begging us to spend the rest of the day on the couch watching movies.

I’m sorry Dave, I must let you go.

Hope all of your Thanksgivings were enjoyable and spent with the ones you love!

p.s so this is what it's supposed to look like here


and this is what it actually looks like

Hey, Hey, Hey!

Some observations of Albertan concerts vs. the Rest of the World (London, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa)

- People dress the for the weather (There were not one skimpy outfit in the place, no bare shoulders even!)
- People do NOT dress up
- There WILL be cowboys
- The cowboys DO dress up for gigs, spurs, leather boots and all
- The cowboys are in fact, REAL and apparently like Indie music
- You’ll have the sudden urge to yell out ‘yeehaw’ when surrounded by said cowboys
- Age doesn’t matter! Just wear a tuque and you’ll fit in!
- They do not abide by the rule, don’t wear the t-shirt of the band you’re seeing (nerd alert!)
- The concert WILL stop to ask the score of the hockey game


So as you can tell, I went out to a concert last night. We saw folk-rock/blue-grass/R3 indie sweethearts Elliott Brood at the Starlite Room on the Jasper side. We learned quite a bit about indie shows here in Alberta. First we were told that we couldn’t enter the club until we bought a ‘membership’ which is just overt capitalism considering we spent so much just to get the tickets, but once we got in we had a security body –pat down which in ALL of the concerts I’ve been to ALL over the world, has NEVER happened. (What’s up, Edmonton?)

I also learned that unlike Ottawa or montreal, there is no bylaw in place to make sure the event is over by 11 pm. (truthfully, I’ve always liked that in that it meant I could always be home in time to get at least 6 hours of sleep). So when we showed up 9.30 we were convinced we’d have missed the opening band.

This place was in fact a HOLE in the WALL (no not an ATM, my British readers) but you walk down a dodgy back alley, up stairs and around some brick industrial area to find a hipster or two hanging out front. Interesting.

All that being said, it was a good show. I ran into a co-worker that introduced us to some friends. Again, such a different feel from all the pretensious hipster gigs I’ve been to. It’s nice though as going to live music has always been where I feel most comfortable no matter where I am. The place actually reminded me of Rescue Rooms, for those of you that know what Rescue Rooms is. (I miss it!)

Elliott Brood have this song called ‘oh, Alberta’ with lyrics that celebrate going out West but missing ‘back home, Ontario-oh-oh-oooooooooooo!’ I listened to this song a lot while packing up to move and always felt a special connection and couldn’t help but to sing along loudly. “How I long for my home, sweet, home…’


…and then the pots and pans came out. Ashton and I were right up front and so despite the purpose of the pots, pans and wooden spoons as makeshift percussion immediately after the song Ashton was like, ‘FREE KITCHENWARE!!!’ I don’t think you could have thrown out anything, save for Communist manifestos, that would have made him happier . He waved his wooden spoon gleefully as we raced out of the club to catch a cab to the other city divided.

On to other non-concert related things,

I’m fighting something right now. I woke up yesterday with the sniffles and they haven’t gone away yet. It could be because it’s SO cold here and I’m not used to such dramatic temperature changes. As I write this, the forecast says it’s likely to snow today. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As my stepfather would say, I have to make sure I’ll not leave my ‘snotrags’ around the flat. That would be such a mood killer for poor ashton!

Work is ok, I’ve had a little more to actually DO this week, but that’s not stopping me from looking around still.

I’ve agreed to be the Festival Director of the University of Alberta’s Film Festival, happening this March. This is not a paid position, but I’ve got a really fancy looking card with my name on it that got me into ALL the EIFF Film fest exclusives last weekend! I’m hoping that doing this opens a lot of doors. As it is, I’m attacking this project with intense verocity and am making some major changes. I’m hoping to make it a three-day event and have abolished the entry fee for artists. As well, I’m opening up categories to encourage new work including documentary, aboriginal, queer/GLBQT, experimental/avant garde and will be seeking beyond Canada for our ‘foreign’ film category. More to come on this still, but yes, I would be interested in doing events management as an actual career, and have since I put on my first concert.

Anyways, long post, and yet I still feel I have more to share. Email me if you want to know more!

Love and miss you guys, xo

(p.s. this post means I've officially made it one month in Cowtown!)

Things are getting better...

When I was living in the UK, every Sunday morning I would wake up, make some tea and dunk digestive cookies into it while I wrote ‘my life’ to everyone ‘back home.’ Well, I plan on doing that the same, however there are some major differences now:

1. I don’t have any Digestive cookies, I’ve since gone vegan
2. I’ve replaced my traditional Earl Grey tea with ‘Morning Thunder’ tea
3. Ahem, no hangover
4. Lastly, I’m not waking up alone

If you’ve been following before, I had been having a hard time in the last two weeks but this week things got better. Yes, dare I say it, Ashton and I made friends! We actually left our flat to socialize! He’s since had me up past my bedtime for the last three nights in a row doing cool things found only in Alberta.

Speaking of which, there has been the most insane windstorm ever going on here since yesterday morning.

My job is still kind of silly, I don’t mean to be so efficient at the few tasks I get done in such a short period of time, but I’ve realized that most likely I can get some major writing done there. I have been getting a little distracted lately though when everyone assembles by the coffee machine and talks about the weather, or Eskimos, or…? I’m grateful for the job, I honestly don’t know how long I’m going to last. I’m missing school and am seriously considering taking a creative writing class here at the uni but need to first justify the money. Something I DO need to invest in: warmer clothes!

However with this job, I’ve had a little bit of time to spend on the internet on all the sites NOT blocked, enter Couchsurfing.com. I’ve been involved in couch surfing since living in Europe. It’s this awesome network of people, travelers, bohemians, artists, all willing to invite you into their home and life for that period of time you’re in their home town. Well, they also welcome new Edmontonians I learned at their montly ‘meeting’ (read: party). Ashton and I left on a cloud so excited to have made ‘FWENDS! YAY!’

I’m going out with some of our new friends today to the Edmonton international Film festival . We’re catching the shorts series called ‘In Our Own Backyard’. The Film soc is co presenting it- more news on them and a particular festival I’ve been asked to organize later in the week.

Ashton and I saw this film on opening night. Not Quite Hollywood http://edmonton.bside.com/2009/films/notquitehollywood_edmonton2009

Ladies and gentlemen I finally did it. I finally stepped foot into ‘Alberta’s Number One Tourist Destination’… for a PUNK show. Yes, a punk show in a MALL. We went out with Ashton’s brother and friends to go see The Gaslight Anthem. They played for over 2 hours! Everyone else seemed to be into them but instead I stood there contemplating how my relation to punk rock has evolved.

Especially considering one of the opening bands and I have a bit of a history. I love The Loved Ones. And they were kind enough to think I was hot enough to get some major VIP privileges one time in Ottawa. They were actually really nice guys and I’m glad their band is still going strong.

K- I have to go wake a sleepy boy.

week 3- we're not in kansas anymore, toto

So the good news is that ashton and I finally have the internet. I’ve been feeling really disconnected from everyone and everything that is familiar(I think that’s one of the main reasons why I’m so eager to get to my new flat –its sort of a haven). Edmonton’s another country in comparison to what I’m used to- England’s been easier than this.

It’s not that Albertans’ aren’t friendly, it’s just that Ashton and I haven’t really made any new friends yet. Ashton’s in a bit of a funk right now because he wants to go to the Cuff the Duke show up the street in like an hour, but I have to work tomorrow meaning I’ll be up at 6:15 so it’s just not going to happen. We’re very much caught up in our own universe. Neither of us ever initially thought that we would live together. Though we’ve been having our differences, that’s what brings us closer together. This is the longest time I’ve ever NOT gone to a gig since I was about 16. Yeah, there have been concerts at the uni at lunch, but I’ve not been interested. I don’t know who I am lately. I feel rather boring because all I do is get up, go to work, come home go to bed.

At least now we’ve got a second bike so it’s a lot faster getting to work. I’ve really missed my friends back home lately. Wherever home is…


It seems that Fall has hit Edmonton in the last week alone. Everything has turned to a golden yellow and the leaves make a satisfying crunch when I’m wading through.

Week 2

I’m feeling pretty down. It’s been two weeks now and I’ve already accomplished everything I set as goals for myself when moving to Edmonton. I’m very tenacious and goal orientated so the question is- where do I go from here?


Lately all I do is get up, go to work, go home, go to sleep. Repeat. I never thought I would end up in a 9 to 5 type of job. I’m not the lowest of the low, but I’m down there on the totem pole. It would be very different if I was in Ottawa because I would have my friends to keep me busy after work but instead Ashton and I are existing in this little bubble. We are still getting used to seeing each other every day, and even then with our work and school commitments it can be hard to do much together. (aside from arguing who was snoring the loudest.)


Work isn’t that stimulating. I see other people running around with cool and creative jobs but instead I’m sitting there using minimal skills to stretch a project out for a whole day. Instead I finish 7 hours work in 2 hours and sit there listening to various podcasts. This was also not the job I was hired for.

It’s ridiculous. I am apparently ‘training’ the new receptionist. I need to remind you its only been 2 weeks that I’ve even been in the office. The woman keeps looking up at me like mine is the voice of God, finality, with regards to any inquiry. Working with her I realized that I was indeed WAY over-qualified for the position. Whatever.


I know that if I were to be in a coffee shopped I could forget about work after the shift and have way more flexibility. I think I’m also just coming to grips with the idea of not being a student.