Welcome to February

I just spent the last hour messing around with the html on my site to finally input the type of panoramic photo I have always wanted in the header. I am now afraid that both Jenny's blog and mine are beginning to resemble each other in features. We seem to have several things in common (outside of blogging) so I guess it is not surprising that we should both want the same things for our blog. However, I like to be original, so I guess when I move out of Vancouver I will have to change the photo to a different type of 'shadowlands'. It shouldn't be that hard to find a good pic and I will probably get bored of this one soon enough. I think I may consider a nice black and white Ansel Adams print next time.

I kind of had a weird day today... I spent four hours photocopying crap in the library and as a result my feet hurt so much when I got home that I had to forego my plans to go to the gym. Instead, I collapsed on my bed for an hour and a half. Why spend 4 hours in the library? Well, I am trying to collect as much of the research I will need for my seminars as possible. All of which are due for presentation in the first week of March after I get back from England. I guess I have to thank Charmaine for giving the grad students in the course the most obscure buildings ever.

Here is a list of my stuff for my 'long' seminar...

Campus Martius & Via Lata ---> Hadrianic & Antonine temples (I assume these are the Temple of Deified Hadrian and the Temple of Deified Marcus Aurelius & Faustina), the column of Marcus Aurelius (I cannot really complain about this topic since there is a lot of stuff out there), and Antonine Arae Consecratio.

Quirinal & Viminal ---> Temple of Sol, Temple of Serapis.

As far as I can see, there is some controversy over the Temple of Sol and that of Serapis being the same temple and the Antonine Arae Consecratio are quite frustrating because there is no solid identification of what they are and what their purpose is. However, most ideas centre around these so-called altars acting as commemoration monuments of Imperial funerary pyres. Sounds kind of grim, eh? Anyways, the work is just getting started and I hope by next Thursday that my life will be a bit more sorted... My goal is to have those PhD Apps sent in and to have a load of this research done and waiting for my return. Sounds easy enough but when the procrastination bug bites, it seems to bite me especially hard.

On another note, that house that I watched being built on W. 37th Ave. in the Spring of 2004 has been up for sale for ages. It was originally listed at about 1.7million and of course it wasn't sold. To tell the truth it's not that big, but the inflation of real estate in Vancouver is absolutely ridiculous so I guess the owners thought they could push that price. Well, the house sat on the market from early September to about December. When I got back after the holidays, the 'For Sale' sign had been taken down, but it was just put up again last week with a new realty company handling it now. Jen and I took a peek inside the other day, under the guise that her parents were considering buying a house in Vancouver for retirement. The inside of the house is actually quite awesome. Loads of granite countertops and hardwood flooring, central vac, data ports everywhere, gas fireplaces, awesome bedrooms, etc. I guess for a brand new place it may just sell this time around. The price has been dropped to 1.5 million... so who knows? I personally think that the key turn off for many people is that 37th is quite a busy street and the house is right across from a high school and up the road beyond is an elementary school. So basically, Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm, the street is a zoo. Lots of kids from the high school park their cars up and down the street as well. It's kind of sketchy to see it all in action... Anyways, I am going to keep my eye on this sale to see if it goes through. I cannot imagine having the money to toss around for a home that is so small. $1.5 million anywhere else in the country might buy you a hell of a lot more, especially if you are out in the country. I guess I should go back to buying lotto tickets.