random thoughts?

For all the random things in life
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Karine
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Karine » Mon Jan 02, 2017 1:39 am

Happy New Year too, Ed! :D

I can't see the image you posted.
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Quincy
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Quincy » Mon Jan 02, 2017 6:35 pm

Hi everyone,
Happy new year to you all, I hope you had a good break and that you're wide eyed and bushtailed ready for the coming year.
Thanks for the advent calendar, it was really thoughtful. I still haven't listened/watched any of the downloads but I'm hoping to do that this week.
Spent time with my Son and my granddaughter after Christmas. My granddaughet had her first birthday and we were there to help her celebrate.
Played her some SMcL and she liked it, particularly "Wait"
I'm trying to bring her up proper like wot I was.
Anybody heard any more about the proposed new album later this year?
Finally, happy belated birthday greetings to Miguel.

Quincy

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Karine
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Karine » Mon Jan 09, 2017 4:06 pm

Happy New Year Quincy!
The Holidays are over, classes begin tomorrow, but it's fine. I've been able to relax and spend time with my dear ones.
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Quincy
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Quincy » Sat Jan 28, 2017 5:11 pm

I had some bad news relayed to me this week that my good friend of many years John, had a heart attack last week and as a result died.
It was his wife who gave me my very first copy of Touch in the '90's and subsequently started me on the Sarah trail.
I remember when he was living in Vancouver, John took me one afternoon to show me where Sarah lived, which was only a few hundred yards from where he lived. He used to jokingly brag to me that he would talk to Sarah and that they were at each other's houses everyday drinking tea and singing together. OK that I took with a pinch of salt. But I also know that he too found solace in Sarah's music because his first wife converted him to Sarah's music
However, it's his Son who I feel for. In 1998 his mother died just after giving birth, in 2008 his stepmother died, and now his father has died. I know he was made up with having a new "mother, mk2" and I know her death was hard for him. Now at 19 he is an orphan and now risks losing his young stepsister, who he idolises.
Life really is shit!!

Quincy

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Islandflyer
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Islandflyer » Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:25 am

Quincy wrote:I had some bad news relayed to me this week that my good friend of many years John, had a heart attack last week and as a result died.
It was his wife who gave me my very first copy of Touch in the '90's and subsequently started me on the Sarah trail.
I remember when he was living in Vancouver, John took me one afternoon to show me where Sarah lived, which was only a few hundred yards from where he lived. He used to jokingly brag to me that he would talk to Sarah and that they were at each other's houses everyday drinking tea and singing together. OK that I took with a pinch of salt. But I also know that he too found solace in Sarah's music because his first wife converted him to Sarah's music
However, it's his Son who I feel for. In 1998 his mother died just after giving birth, in 2008 his stepmother died, and now his father has died. I know he was made up with having a new "mother, mk2" and I know her death was hard for him. Now at 19 he is an orphan and now risks losing his young stepsister, who he idolises.
Life really is shit!!

Quincy
I am sorry to hear about your friend, and that is so sad about his son, Quincy. Having lost my mother as a teenager, I can sympathize with his situation. Having good role models and inspirational people to help with one's outlook is important in times like these. The music of Sarah is indeed a solace in that regard. "Touch" is such an apt name for that first album, and it continues to inspire me as well.
Ed
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Karine
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Karine » Tue Jan 31, 2017 1:15 pm

I'm really sorry to hear these sad news, Quincy. I hope his son will be surrounded by good and loving people, who will help him get through this hard moment.
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Karine
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Karine » Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:45 pm

Hey guys! How are you doing?
It's quiet in Sarah-land these days :)

The semester is over, so I'm spending most of my time at home. I'm looking for another job, because even though teaching is what I like the most, I'm sick of short-term contracts, and instability.
I'm still with my boyfriend, we've been dating for more than a year and a half now, and things are going well. We're talking about moving together, this fall maybe, and if it goes well, we'd like to have kids (so maybe we'd start trying next year).
I wish I could find a stable job before that, one that offers a maternity leave, but I'm not sure it's going to happen. I've been sending resumes, but I don't get any positive answer. I suppose it's because I don't have the right profile, and the expected experience.
To work in communication, you need a degree in that field or in journalism; to work in text editing and translation, you need a degree in translation; I applied for jobs related to training (creating courses or a training plan for employees of a company), but they were asking for a degree in education or teaching.
I don't have any of these, it's literature, and only literature.

If I have to work at university in September, I'm going to change my strategy: be more present online (write texts about pedagogy and teaching), try to connect more with people I work with (I'm not really doing it right now), and, like everyone says to me, "use my network".

Do you have plans for the summer?
I will probably spend 2-3 days in Québec City with my family and my boyfriend. We're also thinking about camping, maybe a weekend. The rest of the summer is going to be filled with job research, and probably classes preparation.

Take care!
Karine
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Islandflyer
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Islandflyer » Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:52 pm

Best of luck in your job search, Karine. I'm sure it is hard to get a good position in academia in today's world, where hi-tech is the top of the pyramid. With all the emphasis on profits and corporate efficiency, even the idea of Humanities having a place seems to have disappeared. From what Sarah has said it sounds like Canada is following the U.S. in that regard. I know there was a time, a generation or so ago when companies hired people not just for what their degree was in, but for what they thought they might bring to the table. People with a more broad-based education often brought new ideas, fresh approaches and a better understanding of the world to the narrow confines of corporate management. Now the view is only on the bottom line and the sense of stakeholders other than those owning shares is a quaint relic of the 20th Century.

I see this lack of a wider sense of things all the time in the big company I work at, where common sense seems to disappear with each level of management. The result is often incredibly short-sighted and wasteful spending on silly ideas that contribute nothing, but may bolster the resume of the instigator in the short run.

Has the academic world gone down the same path of narrow self-interest as well?

It's nice to hear you have a good relationship. Family is the most important thing overall. I'm sure it will work out for you in the future. Keep searching, and you will find what you seek.

For me, with major cutbacks in progress, no-one's job is really safe, so I don't know how long it will last. Meanwhile we have a home in Tucson for eventual retirement there. I'll be there in a couple of weeks staying cool in the pool.

If the mosquitoes in Quebec are anything like the ones in Michigan, stay under cover! HaHA! :)
Ed
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CarolCiola
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by CarolCiola » Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:49 am

Hi there!

The Café is quiet for a long time, yes! We should schedule some time to chat :)

Karine, having kids really is a big step on a relationship, congrats for this wish of you both!! :D Are you also planning to get married next year?

I'm going to pass by a surgery next Wednesday, gallstones. Will remove my vesicle and be off from work around 15 days. But is something simple, and I'm looking forward to do this to end with this stomachaches that I'm feeling for a while.

I'm also looking for a new job, still employed but wanting something new. My area is not evoluting as I wanted on the company I work.

Next Saturday I have the final test of my post graduation, my thesis is done. The defense will happen on September.

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Karine
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Re: random thoughts?

Post by Karine » Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:43 pm

Hey guys, it's nice to hear from you again!

You're right Ed, it's tough. I have only one course for the coming school year, and unless someone refuses a contract, I'm not going to get anything else.
It means I'll earn 7800$ (gross) for the year, just enough to pay my rent (640$ x 12). I need to find something else!
I find it sad, because I love teaching, and I would miss the students, but if I want a decent life, I need to get another job.

This CBC article summarises well the situation in Canadian universities. I know it applies in the US and in Europe too. It's spreading.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/most-univ ... -1.2756024

Yes, we also have big mosquitos, ahah!


Carol: I hope the surgery will go well!
I'm not sure if I want to get married. My boyfriend separated from his ex-wife, and the divorce process is still going on. They had been together for many years, but she realized she didn't want kids, so they ended their relationship in 2015.
He doesn't know if he would want to get married again, so for now, there are no wedding plans. The next step for us would be to move together and see how it goes. We both want kids, so if things work well for us, it'd be the following "step". That's another good reason to find a better job :)

Congratulations on finishing your thesis. Are you doing a master's degree or a PhD? In some universities, only PhDs do a thesis defense, while in others, students who are finishing a master's degree have to do it too.
I know it isn't easy, but I'm sure you will succeed.

Ellen, I hope everything is going well for you :)
Karine
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