Laminaria...

A sample project I knitted for LYS and was displayed in Knitter's Frolic last Friday. Knitter's Frolic was full of knitters, and yummy yarns. But since I spent too much on sewing books this month, I did control my wallet and spend less than $50. I found some really attractive Jamieson & Smith Shetland Cobweb, but the price scared me (I need about 10 balls, ~ 140 dollars to finish a Shetland Lace Shawl featured in my beloved Heirloom Knitting book). I told myself, maybe online order would be cheaper, and then I put the yarn back. Good girl, Angela. But, the bad thing was, TTC (Toronto Transit Commission?) was on strike that day and I didn’t know =/ I spent $20+ more dollars for taxi… totally don’t understand why TTC strikes that often. TTC token collectors earn 100K+ a year. My ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) classmates complain that token collectors earn much more that transportation professionals do. I remembered not long ago I calmed my ITS project partner that if someday in his life he found his ITS job couldn’t make enough $$$ to feed his family, he should consider to become a token collector.

Back to the shawl Laminaria, I broke my record: I finished one third of this shawl in one day. I knit endlessly from 2 pm, Apr. 24 to 2 am, Apr. 25 in order to meet the Frolic deadline. I did nothing other than knitting (listening to the radio/music and relaxing/recovering from exhausted exam studies at the same time) and eat and shower and washroom one that day. I washed and block the shawl from 2 am to 3 am. Lent my bed to the shawl and I slept on the ground! After 3 hours at 6 am I woke up and log in to my university student account to take a summer course (to be an early bird so that I would not on the waiting list). At the same time, I checked the shawl and it was almost dried. I went downstairs and found my Eng Sci friends/floormates didn't sleep for the whole night to study for exams, which would be in about 6 hours! One girl was cramming Neuro Sciences and the other was dying for Electromagnetism. I laughed: girls, we are all amazing girls! What’s more? I didn’t feel tired! And discovered that our Engineering Science student way of studying applied and worked well on meeting a knitting project deadline, too!
We talked and laughed for a while, then I went back to my bedroom, took off the pins, and went to the Neuro Girl's room, put the shawl on her, and took this crappy picture:

The model was in her pajamas and half asleep, for my own safety I shall not release her name...

Now I finished all my exams and my third year of university is officially over. Looking back, I found only the joyfulness, and have forgotten all the dark days. "They are called dawn days", I told myself.

For something fun, I would like to show you a "cheat sheet" that I made for one of my exams. I don't know if "cheat sheets" are popular in other universities but here in U of T Engineering Faculty we are allowed "cheat sheets" for many exams. Anyway, I though mine was "comprehensive" enough, only to discovered that the Biomedical students in my class made much more elaborate "cheat sheets" than I did. One of their "cheat sheets" required a magnifying glass to read. I faint...

难道有些事情是整定的？

就当我签了SNC-Lavalin的offer, 签了我房间的sublet agreement 的时候， 我竟收到PEY Office的电话， 说我得到IBI的Offer!!! 我晕啊晕啊！虽然IBI没有SNC那么大， 但人工更高， 地点更好（位于市中心， 近地铁， 不用开车上班， 如果我不sublet我的房间， 我还可以走路上班呢！）。 虽然IBI是关于ITS的， 不是我最喜欢的专业， 但没有“教授推荐”那种压力， 我去也去得轻松点。
可惜这世上没有如果， 时间不能在我得知未来后再倒流。活在当下， 我该满足我所拥有的， 不该为不属于我的东西而叹息， 对吗？

一年两度的考试时间又到了， 刚刚考完一门课， 还有四门。 感觉自己像就快油尽灯枯的老爷车， 望着近在眼前的终点， 但只能“卟”“卟”地前进。 常听人说水瓶座人的内心世界很矛盾， 恰好我正正是那种人。 时而说要努力， 时而又想放纵自己。。。 正是这种心态， 令到我活得挺累的。 而对于未来的目标不明确，还有懒虫作祟， 大概就是造成我朝三暮四的心情的原因！或者说， 大概那就是我的性格。

也许， 性格将会是造成我失败的根本原因！

拿到 Job Offer 了!

忙到天昏地暗了， 但很开心， 因为昨天终于收到 SNC-Lavalin 的Job Offer 了， 然后又把房间sublet了出去， 不用为summer那四个月发愁， 还做了好事帮roommate的房间也sublet了出去。 工作五月二十号开始， 到明年八月十五号止， 薪水一年四万多点， 在我的专业里算是很不错了。 这工作不是我自己找的， 是教授推荐了然后叫我去报名的。 唉！感到既光荣又惭愧 --本人何德何能啊。 如果在学校网上找， 试过啦， 失败了， 竞争很大，本人成绩不拔尖，口才比不上本地的， 也没什么光辉业绩， 说穿了， 就是十年都轮不上我。 在SNC-Lavalin， 我的position 是Bridge Engineering Assistant, 和我的专业对的上。 难怪我妈常说我命好， 够幸运的。 哈哈， 大概我平时好事做得多， 好心有好报吧。 不过，其实我也是有付出的， 只是总觉得付出的不比人家多， 觉得自己不够别人勤奋， 觉得要成功就要付出， 所以不敢把 “付出” 这两个字挂在口边。不过， 最开心的事， 就是可以买我的"Pfaff" 缝纫机了， 可能真的还可以去法国的Lesage 呢！
爸爸昨天到的， 由于很忙， 都没有机会跟他说什么话。 他送了我一套鹅蛋工艺品，带来了上好的海味和茶叶， 有普洱， 信阳毛尖， 黄山毛峰，和铁观音 （我们家养了一帮喝茶发烧友！)。 我就挑了几样， 准备拿去“谢师”。 哈哈， 这不是“擦鞋”， 全因之前教授给我看过他喝的茶叶， 是观音王， 还说他之前也喝高山茶， 当时我就笑说要不哪天你也试一试我家里平时喝的茶叶吧 （纳闷呐，怎么老外喜欢喝中国茶？）。不过， 这“谢师”是真心的， 他真的帮了我很多。我很欣赏他的为人， 勤奋， 带点“布尔乔亚”，也佩服他作为工程师， 却会四国语言：英法德中， 他写的中文就像他画的则图一样方正工整。 他是我的榜样， 我要做好我的工作， 不辜负他对我的期望。