Happy Hallowe'en

Ah, Hallowe'en!  It is quite possibly my favourite holiday of the year.  I like the promises that it brings.

Promises of little ghouls and goblins, princes and princesses, witches and warlocks, superheroes and supervillains, all parading around in the hopes of getting a piece of candy or two (or two hundred, totally depends on where you live and what kind of ground you can cover in one evening.)

Promises of Moms and Dads and older siblings diligently taking these young ones around the block, chatting with friends and neighbours, and generally having a spooky old time.  

Promises of porchlights being lit, creepy decorations lining the rows of houses down the street, and flickering jack-o'-lanterns grinning ghoulishly as you walk up to that next doorstep.

Some people may be all hum-buggish about this particular holiday, but I simply say, "Boo on you!"  (See what I did there? Mmwhahahaha!)  By the way, this time of year is not about dressing up as a sexy/slutty-fill-in-the-blank-profession-here; such a pet peeve of mine, ewwwww.  It's about coming up with creative and conversation-starting costumes and having a great time doing it!  "Why yes, I AM dressed up as the Doppler effect" (Oh Sheldon Cooper, how I admire those costumes of yours, even if they are written in by sitcom staff...)  

And for those of you who aren't planning on going out this eerie, and rainy, Hallowe'en evening, I suggest a spook-tacular movie night in.  Personally, I shall be watching Young Frankenstein and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. 

So happy Hallowe'en everyone!  Stay safe and be sure to grab lots of candy loot!!

Hookah!

Now that I am no longer ill, I have decided to go out and enjoy some Saskatchewanian nightlife.  

Tonight I accomplished this by chilling at the Baha'i Centre for a great devotional meeting, then heading out with some buddies to the hookah lounge located over this amazing Ethiopian restaurant in downtown Regina.  It was pretty fantastic - we may have been the only people in the place not drinking, but the grape-mint tobacco more than made up for that.  And since I'm half Persian, it's nice not to feel like a total wannabe when smoking.  It's part of my culture, man!  (Just minus the hashish.)

On a side note, I have determined that the use of a hair straightener and a whole lot of eyeliner really does bring all the boys to the yard.  I'm just sayin'...

Sickie

I've been fighting off a cold for almost a week now, and I have to say, it hasn't been pleasant.  Ever since my trip north I've had a tickle that just won't go away.  Today I actually stayed home from work because that tickle turned me into a sneezing, watering, nauseated sad sack.  Blech.  

May my ministrations of tea, vitamins, and immune boosters have some sort of impact soon.
I HATE being sick; why does it happen to me so often?? 

*sigh*

Trip North to La Ronge and Stanley Mission

I just spent the last week traveling through northern central Saskatchewan up to La Ronge and Stanley Mission.  Myself and some ladies from the museum went up to deliver some display cases to the band office in Stanley, and then we did some artifact inventory work at Mistasinihk Place, the government offices in La Ronge.  I got to visit the Holy Trinity Anglican church which is famous for being one of the oldest mission churches still left in the north and I also got to check out the cool trading post in La Ronge and pick up some sassy moccasins.

Driving through the Qu'Appelle Valley on our way north from Regina.

Dropping the display cases off at the band office in Stanley Mission.

Oops!  Repairing a ceramic plate sherd that got broken in transit.

Breathtaking view of the church across the river at Stanley Mission.

View of the church and part of the graveyard. I'd never seen fences like that around graves before.

Heading back to Stanley after our tour.

View of the church across the river from the Stanley peninsula.

Stopping at Mistasinihk Place in La Ronge to do some inventory work.

Me and Alyssa hard at work in the display cases.

Inside Robertson's Trading Post in La Ronge.  More pelts and hides than I've ever seen!

Portagers in La Ronge!

Me and the giant robot off the highway at Tireson's Store!

We stopped in Watson on the way home for lunch and a photo-op.

One of the MANY grain elevators I saw along the way.  This was one of the nicest.

My brand new moccasins, made of moose hide and rabbit fur.  They're beautiful!!

No-Pants Friday

Today became my first No-Pants Friday.  We've been having torrential rainstorms on and off all day, and biking to work through a downpour with one hand holding an umbrella is not exactly easy.  By the time I got to work my pants were SOAKED, front and back! Fortunately, having a private office meant I could remove said pants and let them dry on the radiator for a couple hours while I worked on my research project.  

Talk about your casual Friday attire...

The Titanic Exhibit at the Sask. Science Centre

Intriguing.  Heart-breaking.  Fascinating.  Moving.

These words all describe the "Titanic: The Artifacts Exhibit" now on at the Saskatchewan Science Centre.  I had the privilege of going with the Museums Association of Saskatchewan (MAS) group through this new exhibit today, and it is breath-taking. 

Before you enter, you are given a White Star Line boarding pass with the information about one of the actual Titanic passengers.  This becomes who you are as you pass through the exhibit.  I was a well-to-do American, Mrs. Ryerson, whose family was traveling first class on their way back to the States to attend their son's funeral.  (SOOO tragic!)  The staff also snap a photo of you before you start through the exhibit.

Although this exhibit is only a third of the full touring exhibit (the other two thirds of which are currently in Edmonton) there is still a fascinating array of artifacts that were pulled up from the bottom of the ocean - plates from all classes (the first-class plates were NICE), cutlery, various metal objects like sink pieces and window fastenings, glass bottles, even towels, postcards, bank notes and assorted personal effects that were protected from the water by whatever they happened to be packed in. 

My impressions:

- light levels were excellent and were adjusted accordingly depending on the artifacts on display

- the text panels were gorgeously designed and easy to read; the background photo on each tied in perfectly to the large-scale photos that were scattered on the various walls

- the information makes everything very personal - lots of anecdotes about particular passengers; who survived and who didn't; a lot of detailed information about the ship itself

- the area leading up to the video display that shows an animation of the sinking Titanic is sufficiently eerie, with the iceberg warning cables from other ships written on the walls (and the sound effects are the creaking sounds of a ship in icy water)  Brrrrrr...

I've been fascinated with the Titanic tragedy ever since I was little, and this exhibit really brought everything home.  I definitely teared up a few times, especially at the end when you see the list of all the passengers divided up by who survived and who didn't.  (By the way, Mrs. Ryerson and her three children survived, but her husband did not.)

If I get a chance to go back through the exhibit, I'm definitely taking it.  And since it's on until March 2012, if you're in the area you should consider checking it out as well.  Totally worth the visit!!

This is what they do with your photo at the end, complete with a ghostly captain.  Creeeeeepy!

A little spiritual (and retail) therapy

Today was a lovely day wherein I got to visit with an amazing Baha'i junior youth group and then spend the afternoon traipsing through downtown Regina.

The morning found me awake at six (on a Sunday? uncool...) but I was able to fall back to sleep for a few more blissful hours.  Upon reawakening, my landlord took me across town to another family's house where they have Baha'i-inspired children's classes and junior youth study classes, all of which are designed to help create a new morally- and spiritually-developed generation of youngsters.  While I'm in Regina, I plan on assisting with the younger children's class.

(By the way, Baha'i communities all across the world are holding these types of moral education classes, so if you have children that are interested in attending, just contact your local Baha'i community for more information.)

Afterwards, I was dropped off downtown to do a little exploring; it's been over a month since I arrived here in Regina yet I still hadn't taken the opportunity to head down there until today.  Let me tell you, downtown on a Sunday morning is DEAD.  But once the clock strikes noon, a few of the stores start opening up and the mall is hopping!  It was definitely nice to walk around for a couple of hours and soak up the local colour.