Cinematic Adventures 2010

• The Tourist ***
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (with Lynch)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (with the Beckers) ****
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One (with Lynch) **
• Let Me In ****
• We Are What We Are **
• Paranormal Activity 2 ***
• Due Date ***
• Despicable Me ****
• RED ****
• You Again ****
• The Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole *****
• Saw 3-D ***
• Burke and Hare ***
• Back to the Future *****
• Devil ***
• Takers **
• The Other Guys ***
• The Hole 3-D ****
• Dinner for Schmucks *****
• The Last Exorcism ***
• Piranha 3-D *
• Shrek Forever After 3-D ****
• Jonah Hex **
• Inception (again... because I love both Leo and Jospeh Gordon-Levitt) *****
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid ***
• Avatar 3-D ****
• L'Illusioniste (with Aleithia) ***
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice ****
• Salt ****
• Scott Pilgrim vs the World *****
• The Karate Kid ***
• The Expendables ***
• The A-Team ****
• Marmaduke ***
• Knight and Day ****
• The Last Airbender 3-D (with Paige) **
• Eclipse *
• Toy Story 3-D (with Liz) *****
• Inception *****
• Iron Man 2 ****
• Psycho (with Aleithia) *****
• Shutter Island *****
• Alice in Wonderland ***** (with Liz, Tanja, and Jen)
• How To Train Your Dragon 3D ***** (with the Beckers)
• The Lovely Bones **** (with Liz)
• Invictus ***** (with Alisa)

My 2010 Reading List

• Transitions ****
• The White Dragon ***
• Busman's Honeymoon **
• The Missionary **
• Notes From an Exhibition ***
• The Healing Path ***
• The Matisse Stories ***
• Ivanhoe *****
• The Boggart ***
• Dragonflight ****
• Water is Thicker Than Blood ****
• Great Expectations ****
• Serve God, Save the Planet **
• We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel According to U2 ****
• Breaking Dawn **
• The Family in Christian Social and Political Thought **
• The Merchant of Death **
• Pulling Focus ***
• Risk ****
• Charlotte von Kirschbaum and Karl Barth ****
• Dragonquest ****
• Finding Happiness ***
• The Handmaid's Tale *****
• Foucault's Pendulum ***
• Jesus Wants to Save Christians ***
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch ****
• Radical Hospitality ****
• The Chapel at the Edge of the World **
• Real Christianity *****
• Perfume ***
• The Case for a Creator, Student Edition **
• Moon Tiger *****
• Hatching Magic ***
• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, volume 3 ****
• Far from the Madding Crowd ***
• The Silver Sword ****
• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, volume 2 ***
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time **
• Kidnapped ****
• The Complete Polysyllabic Spree ****
• The Host ***
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, volume 1 ***
• The Moonstone ****
• Mister Monday ***
• The Joke **
• Persuasion ****
• The Sparrow *****
• Truckers ***
• Have His Carcase **
• The God-Hungry Imagination ****
• Dark Alchemy ****
• Sabbath ****
• False Impression ***
• The Last Lecture ***
• Theories of Culture ***
• A History of Christian Theology ****
• Lost In Austen *****
• The Stupidest Angel ***
• The World According to Garp ****
• The Flying Scotsman: A Biography ****
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower ***
• A Clockwork Orange *****
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas *

Acknowledgements

Many of you will have already received this as an email, but I wanted to share it with everyone else who I don't necessary have addresses for.  I passed my viva, with minor corrections-- which means I have a couple of things the examiners want me to do before they say it's officially done.  I have til 1 January to get them done, but they will be done before then.  I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll be able to do the graduation ceremony in November (stupid univeristy contradictory rules), but either way, I'm practically done already.  

Doing a PhD is not something that anyone can really understand, unless you've been through it.  I can't explain what it's like, how horribly difficult a long, long slog it is, with moments of amazement, gratification and joy.  Even being done is not all happiness and light-- but I am proud of myself, and glad to have reached this point.  These are the acknowledgements printed in my thesis, and I want to share them with you.  Please find yourself in their lines, and thank you.  

Acknowledgements

Although I am passionate about this topic, and it has grown largely out of my whole life experiences, it has been the case more often than not that I despaired of ever finishing this thesis. The fact that I have made it to this point means there are several people who deserve recognition of my undying gratitude.

Thank you, God. There is absolutely no way this would ever have happened if it weren't for You. Everything good in it is praise to You; anything not good is down to me.

To the Theologicans, past and present, your support and fellowship on this long, dark road is most appreciated. I can't wait to celebrate with all of you, as well. You know who you are....

Thank you especially to Carolyn, Barb, and Lynch. More than most, you have been exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. I have no doubt that you were God-sent to me, and my life would be far less without you in it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

To my friends on both sides of the Atlantic and, indeed, around the globe, thank you for encouragement, conversation, interest in my life and my research, and Facebook fun. Wherever I am, you will always be welcome.

To my family, thank you for your part in making me who I am. That is part of what has brought me to this point. Especially to my sister, Jennifer Balazadeh, thank you for having the two best children in the whole entire world, so that I can be Cool Auntie Amie.

To Brian Brock, my supervisor—thank you for knowing those things I didn't even know I didn't know about the process and the system, for encouraging me in the worst times, and for getting me to this point. If there were times you thought I wouldn't make it, you never said it, and I appreciate that. I thought it enough myself. I know how truly I have been blessed to have a supervisor about whom I have no complaints.

To Kenny Thom, my long-suffering and very gracious flatmate, I would not have made it in Aberdeen for very long if it weren't for you. You have become like family, and have been better to me than I deserve in more ways that I can name, and I owe you far more than I could ever repay. Thank you.

To the families who have taken me in and loved me like family, you have saved my life—or at least my sanity. To the Cornells, the Kelly-Johnstons and the Beckers particularly, you and your children have made my heart glad when everything else felt miserable. Thank you, and I love y'all.

To my church family at Crown Terrace Methodist, thank you for always remembering me, being interested in me, and loving me--whenever I happened to show up.  Thank you for being the friendliest church family ever. 

To the Aberdeen Book Club, over the years-- there were times when you were my only and best social interaction, and I thank you so much for the friendship and the chance to read good books together.  You've helped form me in my years here, both by the books you chose and your time with me.  Thank you. 

To the coffee growers and cafés, the chocolatiers and wineries of the world, thank you. Without you, I would not have made it through.  Zeste, especially, thank you for your customer service with a scowl.  

To all 'my' kiddos—Machias and Semiah, especially—it is largely for you I have done this. I hope it is worth something. You are the best things in my world, and I love you more than I can possibly express.

Finally, to the men in my life who have helped me become the person I am today: Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Charles Wallace Murray, Will Stanton, Merriman Lyon, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and, especially, Aslan.

The Famous Alva Highland Games!

While I was in Alva, they held the 153rd (I think) Famous Alva Highland Games.  So of course I went.

It rained.  All day.  And it was cooooold.  I was frozen through and quite damp by the time I left to get fish 'n chips to watch the World Cup semi-finals (Uruguay was playing, and my World Cup crush plays for them).  The rain meant that the crowds were small, and that the Highland Dancing and piping got moved indoors somewhere... I never heard where, though.  I watched all the heavy events, which were interesting considering how wet everything was.  Only one guy even got the caber to flip over, which was disappointing.  I think the contestants were all annoyed with the rain, too.  It can't be very nice to be throwing deadly things around without a good grip.

I still enjoyed watching them, and there were a few I remembered from last year's events.  I also watched all the footraces, the hillrace, and the cycle races.  The hillrace was crazy... they ran all the way up to the top of the hillfoot behind us and back down-- the fastest one in just over 20 minutes!  That would be an all day event for me, and they were running it.  Mad.

I took some photos, of course.  They are here. 

The videos, in case you didn't notice, are in no real order.  I just stuck 'em in places.  =)

Alva Thesis Retreat, Take Two

Study, study, study.  In Alva.  Thank you, Paige, for the loan of your flat while you were away! 

It worked well for me in January to be away for a few weeks, and to just work somewhere different.  I hoped it would work that way again, especially after being so frustrated with the whole robbery and losing my work fiasco.  I debated about not going, but I'd already bought my train tickets before the theft, and I couldn't see wasting the money (they were, of course, non-refundable cheap tickets).  So off I poddled to Alva for two weeks. 

I didn't get completely done, but I did get a lot accomplished.  It's funny how just a change of scene can work wonders on motivation and focus, sometimes.  The weather wasn't great, as it was rainy and cloudy most of the time... but there is a great park just a couple of blocks down that I took my books and notebooks to when the sun came out.  The university even loaned me a netbook to use for two weeks.  Granted, I made them feel bad enough about having kicked me out of my office right at the end of my time when I needed a place to work the most, and laid it on thick about then having my laptop stolen in the break-in... they couldn't really do anything but loan me one that was sitting around unused, could they? 

Anyway.  I worked a lot.  I drank coffee and ate snacks and sat in the window and watched the World Cup and read in the times when I wasn't working.  It was productive, and it was refreshing to be somewhere other than the 'Deen for a bit.  Thanks, Paige!  I owe ya.  =) 

Where are the photos?  They're here. 

Quite a Week That Was

One Monday, I had decided I wanted to get my hair all chopped off.  It had been growing for nearly three years, and that was long enough.  I grow it out so I can donate it to Locks of Love, and I usually try to get it cut while in the States so I can get a nice salon cut for free.  This time, though, I couldn't take it any longer.  So I made an appointment at the salon across the street, Mokoko.  It wasn't cheap, but I had a 40% voucher. I figured it was worth it to get rid of the mane.  I booked in for Thursday. 

Then on Tuesday I went to have lunch with Lynch.  She got an hour break from work, and we went to Subway.  It was not a great experience, and I'm not all that sad that they are still closed for flood damage months later.  I'll go to the one in the Hub if I ever have sub cravings again. Grrrrr.  Of course, it was good to hang out with Liz, as always.  Then I went home... and couldn't get into the flat.  I thought the lock was stuck, as we've had some trouble with it sticking before.  The door was loose in its jamb, but it wasn't open.  And I couldn't get the key to turn for anything.  I texted Kenny, and went down to sit in the cafe at Morrison's while I waited for him to get off work. 

Three hours later, I went back to meet Kenny at the flat.  He couldn't get in, either.  Eventually he had to just shoulder the door in.  We both just thought it was the lock, and he'd bought a replacement a while ago, just waiting for the time we'd need it.  There were some random weird things, but nothing really seemed amiss yet.  We just thought from all our shoving and shoulder and pounding to get it we'd knocked some stuff loose.  While Kenny got to fitting the new lock, I went in to check my email in the lounge. 

Wait.  Did I leave my lappy in my room?  Did I move it?  No... it was here... and where's Liz's lappy?  Oh. No. Kenny... we've been robbed! 

It was horrible.  We lost three laptops, both of our diary/filofax/organisers, a gold chain, a wallet with US store cards, a digital camera, and a thumb drive.  But on the thumb drive and on my hard drives (well, mine and Liz's I was borrowing) was all my thesis work.  All of it.  Six years.  I was freaking out, to say the least. 

I only ended up losing two weeks' worth of work, because my latest draft had been sent to my supervisor two weeks prior (duh), and I had that in my outbox still.  So at least there was that... but I had to cancel my UK chequebook (which was a hassle and may be contributing to my current visa problems), change all my login details everywhere, and am still trying to get address and contact details back for everyone (if you want me to have your address and phone number, please email them to me).  It was a nightmare.  The police came 'round and took our statements, we had to give our fingerprints for exclusion so they could dust (they didn't get anything), and the insureance... well, that's another nightmare in itself.  Kenny got two new locks installed while I was away the next week, plus a baseball bat.  Well, it's not a real baseball bat-- it's too short and too light.  But it's close enough.   So we're prepared now. 

Then two days later I got my hair chopped off.  And then I left for two weeks, to go to Alva and write as if my life depended on it.  In a way, it did. 

Photos from the haircut and from prior to knowing I'd been robbed and just thinking I'd been locked out are here and here.  As always. 

I do recommend donating your hair to Locks of Love if you have ten inches or more to cut.  I do not recommend getting your flat robbed.  Not that you have much choice about that, really.  We didn't.  I was only gone for two hours... boooo. 

International Potluck

At my birthday party, an idea was born: to have an informal international potluck.  There were a couple of us sitting around talking about food, all of us from different countries, and we decided we wanted a chance to try them all for ourselves.  A couple of weeks later, we did just that. 

Noelle hosted us at her flat, and Natalie brought along some of her floorball friends, and then there were the usual suspects of Lynch, RitaB (and her mum and sister, who were visiting), and me.  We ate well, let me tell you.  The devilled egges I took disappeared quickly, and that was just Lynch!  We all brought things from our home country, or from a country that we had adopted as home (in Nat's case).  Oh my life.  Good food.  So much good food.  And leftovers.  Yum. 

I think this should happen at least once a month.  =D

Oh, and photos here.  From 32-52.  Don't say you aren't warned-- these will most likely make you hungry. They do me!