i broke down and wrote you back before you had a chance to forget

saturday was my birthday. i started out the morning by rowing in an eight with some other novices. i got to row stroke, which meant i got to set the pace and therefore did not have to row any faster than i wanted to. the morning was beautiful. then i went home and got some things ready for my kickball party. i bought some food and picked up kaylin and we went to hawrelak park. a bunch of people who i really love came to my mix tape/kickball party. it was nice to see them all, but my party was a bit mediocre. we mostly just sat around for an hour and ate WAY too much food, including the delicious dairy queen ice cream cake bri and karen bought for me (thanks, friends!). then we exchanged our mix tapes/cds and some of us played a few innings of kickball. i busted up my foot on one of my kicks, and it has been swollen ever since. it is definitely getting better, though. then jenni and liam and doug came, so we re-exchanged our mix tapes so they could take part. then everybody left except me and kelsey and jenni and her boys, so we went to the lake at the park to feed the birds. feeding the birds at hawrelak is one of my favorite things to do. liam threw a whole bun out to the seagulls, and they were fun to watch because they each wanted to hoarde it for themselves, but it was too heavy to pick up and carry alone. once it had been pecked at a bit, the seagulls took turns trying to fly away with it. then the rest of the group would take off after them. funny.

kelsey and i watched a terrible movie ("the ex" - only rented because she's seen every other movie ever, and we like jason bateman and zach braff) and got full on movie studio popcorn and tandoori chicken.

too many things happened this week for me to be writing in paragraphs anymore. here goes:
-kelsey and i hung out on whyte on sunday, and then came back to my house to exchange music from each other's cd/itunes collections.
-kelsey went back to calgary, and i hung out with kaylin at hawrelak park. we fed the birds and walked around the lake.
-on monday i had class; met emma (from king's) at the good earth cafe; went to the nearby elementary school to see if they could use any volunteer help, and was promptly offered a part-time position as a "lunchroom aide." basically, the school just hires university students to do lunch supervision so the teachers have a chance to eat. and it's $14/hour! they were so desperate that the lady in charge asked if i could start on wednesday. i did, in fact, start today, and it was pretty sweet. we just take attendance of the kids and supervise them while they eat, and then take them outside for noon hour recess. we're even allowed to play with the kids. today, one of the male supervisors played soccer with some boys; another male supervisor played on the jungle gym with a bunch of girls who have obvious crushes on him; and i hung out on the ropes with some dude whose name i already forget. i think i'll like working there, because (a) i've lived in this area for 5 years, and it's time i started giving back to my community, and (b) i like working with kids, but i can't spend too much time with them because they exhaust me. two hours a week is a good time commitment, and it's sweet that i'll get to know a whole school full of local kids over the course of the year.
-(still monday): i rowed in a quad with two other experienced girls and a boy. i have never rowed with boys before, but i've been hearing lately that they are hard to row with because they are so focused on strength that they neglect to balance the boat, which is a very important first step. anyway, the four of us had a fantastic row, which was shockingly balanced and enjoyable.
-tuesday: i met joel and bethany at the high level diner for breakfast. i had a multigrain bagel because my stomach can't handle much food in the morning. then i had two classes. then i met with a lady from native studies, who told me i had been awarded the native studies' "student blogger" position. basically, i will be paid fairly handsomely to do the same thing i am doing right now. i think i just have to write a minimum of three times a week, and attempt to convey "the student experience" from a native studies student's perspective. i had more class, and then i had rowing. rowing was lame on tuesday, because my stomach hurt and it was ridiculously windy and cold, and we were in this huge mother of a boat. no good. afterwards i picked up emily and we went to the blackspot cafe for the open mic thing. we couldn't stay very long, but it was nice to be there. i had a good talk with jenni, and i heard some good music, and there were considerably more people there this week compared with last week.
-this morning, i LRT'd to the legislature so i could get a security check done. if all goes well, i might have a job there soon! and who loves the legislature more than i do!? i had some class, and then worked my first shift at the elementary school, and then had some more class. during the first class after lunch, the entire university had a fire drill. my second class after lunch (cree) was cancelled because there was a pipe ceremony going on outside and our instructor was taking part in it.
-now i am waiting for my dad. he was supposed to be here an hour ago. i want him to take me out for soup. tonight i do not have rowing or anything else. i am excited.