A lot has happened over the last little while and for much of it, I didn’t feel comfortable posting in such an open forum as this. Normally, I would not extol the virtues of LiveJournal over this, my long enduring weblog, but for the ability to post entries privately. There was an unfortunate event between myself and a member of my school faculty and I’ll simply leave the subject with a summation: It was a lack of communication that led to hurtful allegations and a jumping to conclusions that does not befit a pair of adults. I spoke to all parties involved and resolved the situation to the best of my ability and we’re all the wiser for it.

Not that long ago, perhaps four years ago or there about, I would have let it go. I would have simply shrugged and taken the hit. My marks would have begun to slide and I wouldn’t have cared. I like to think that things are different now for two reasons. Firstly, I’m older now, and from where I stand here, I know I am also more mature. Secondly, I really want to be in this programme and do not wish to waste my time and money with a course that I won’t apply in my career path. I’m where I want to be, damn it, and I refuse to allow the actions of a few people to turn me away.

In the meantime, I’m still waiting for letters of reference from other faculty for my application to the Metropolitan Museum. I kind of feel like I’m doomed never to get in because my academic referees keep screwing up. It really is annoying. I realise that people have their own responsibilities that may prevent them from getting to what they deem less important, but sometimes, I wish they’d just think about how it could be affecting someone else.

Changing the subject to more current events, I went with a few friends from class, to “Fetish Night” at Peterborough’s Trasheteria. It was pretty much as I expected: a good night out at a club, but a pretty tame fetish night overall. There were some people really into the scene, but in all, it was vanilla – and that’s coming from someone (me) who’s really not all that kinky ! The entertainment acts were so-so, though I think that the “Wet-lipped Pussycats” really would have been better off at a strip joint. I think they want to be kinky burlesque, but they look like they’ve taken all their pointers from second-rate strip clubs. They don’t even win points for being terribly risqué since they didn’t even know how to use the floggers and whips they wielded. It was kind of like a highschool senior play with pasties.

The second act, some circus geek type act (“Sadistic Cupid” or something like that) did not suck, but I have no idea what the lead guy was saying since the DJ seemed incapable of turning down the music. Anyway, it involved some guy with pins in his chest in the shape of a heart, which was kind of fascinating in its own way, but wasn’t really my thing. Yes, okay, the girls took the pins out and there was blood, but honestly, I just don’t enjoy bloodsports. I was pleased to see everyone donned rubber gloves for that, too, and at the end of the act, the stage was thoroughly disinfected. I’m such a hygiene nerd. Really, although the pin-guy did eat fire, since he wasn’t eating it off anyone, it wasn’t that exciting.

Yesterday, Mom and I drove out to Dundas for an engagement party. Held in honour of my dear friend Juliane and her fiancé, Sean, it was quite unlike any engagement party I’ve ever attended. It was fully catered from one o’clock in the afternoon until well passed supper, and there were probably close to one hundred people in attendance. The oldest of grandparents mingled with excited toddlers and everything in between. It was an amazing affair and a very good way for everyone to meet the wedding party and various parents, friends, and whatnot. Juli’s parents were a-buzz, especially her mother, who loves to entertain – she was in her element ! There were also trips out to the barn to visit the horses, including one mare with five weeks to go. The cats were all set up in the basement with chairs, food, water, and litter all arranged for their comfort and Terry, the standard poodle, was trembling all around the house, half paralised with fear for all the strangers.

Around half-passed four, the bridesmaids all piled into some cars and headed to “Heirlooms” a bridal shop in Dundas to look at gowns. This was something of an experience and, yet again, did nothing to bolster my opinion of bridal shop owners or the gown industry at all. The owners were quite displease to have us there so close to closing time and offered us next to no assistance when we asked for their opinions about different gown shapes on certain body types. Juliane has five bridesmaids and three are long and lean and two are uber-curvy. A little help would have been appreciated. Anyway, we narrowed our field of choice to about two dresses, both very different from what we’d initially pictured, and now we’re going to try to find them at other shops since we’d really like to NOT deal with this store again. If you can believe it, the owner actually turned the lights off while we were still getting out of the gowns and getting our boots on to leave. I mean, never mind that we could have conceivably dropped a thousand bucks right then and there. Anyway, the search will continue.

Oh, and the colour? Heh, light purple, again. Le sigh.