I got hacked.

And I didn’t actually realize it for a long time. Partly, this was because I hadn’t bothered to log in to blog.

When I did realize I was hacked, I reached out to my hosting provider for advise. They gave me advice which I promptly ignored because I was really busy with school and work and wedding planning. Today, I logged in with every intention of finally fixing the problem and…it appears to have somehow resolved itself.

The malware appears to be gone. Completely. Without any action on my part.

I’m confused by this turn of events, but I’m pleased. So that’s that, I suppose.

In other news, I’ve started a new project. In addition to writing the odd blog post (I think that whole 3-times-a-week plan has gone out the window), I’m now vlogging. I’m making short little video blogs which you can view at vlog.adamsnider.com. Check it out.

Stop using my email address to sign up for things. You do not own adamsnider[at]gmail[dot]com. I do.

I’ve received numerous emails from the University of Chicago. I don’t know how you ever managed to register for courses or receive information from the university when you had given them my email address, but it seems that you managed to graduate and move to California. Now I’m getting emails regarding your new YMCA membership.

I don’t understand why you don’t know your own email address. I’ve received emails from your grandparents. I asked them to tell you that, apparently, you don’t know your own email address.

Either they didn’t tell you, or you didn’t believe them.

Other Adam, this has been going on for years. I don’t understand it, but I’d like you to put an end to it. Perhaps you can sign up for a Gmail account as adamsnider2 or snideradam. I don’t know and I don’t care, just stop telling people that my email address is yours!

Sincerely,

Adam Snider of Edmonton, AB

And now I’m in grad school.

I admit that I was a bit reluctant to enroll in a graduate program, at first. I wasn’t particularly interested in going back to school, but I figured that I needed more education in order to get ahead in my career and Athabasca seemed convenient for a whole bunch of reasons, not least of which being the fact that I can continue working while earning my degree.

Now that I’m starting to think about the sort of research that I’d like to do when I come to my final project (which is a few years away; I’m only in my second course right now), I am glad that I decided to work toward this degree. I don’t just mean that I’m glad that I decided to earn a master’s degree. I’m glad that I chose the Master of Arts – Integrated Studies program at AU.

Not only that, I am thinking about maybe going after a doctorate one day.

As much as I’m enjoying grad school — non-traditional though my experience may be — I don’t think that I’m an academic. And so I’m looking at professional programs rather than PhD programs. The one that is catching my eye right now is the Doctor of Social Sciences at Royal Roads University.

The DSocSci at Royal Roads is attractive for a variety of reasons. It is a distance education program, so I can pursue it in a manner similar to my current degree. It’s interdisciplinary, which is awesome. And it’s aimed at working professionals rather than would-be professors.

I don’t envision myself as an academic, so a program that is targeted at those working in industry is exactly what I am looking for.

Of course, I’m still at least 3 years away from finishing my master’s. And then there will probably be babies and a bigger mortgage. I don’t know if a doctorate is in my future or not, but I’m not ruling it out. If you’d asked me about this even a year ago, I’d never even have considered the possibility.

Today, anything is possible, and enrolling at AU — with a bit of a push from my employer — is a major reason for that.

Answer the poll below or, if it’s already closed, leave me a comment.

Usually, I’m on the bus by around 8:10am. Occasionally, however, I am on the bus a bit later than that.

On the later bus, there is a young man of Asian decent. He rides the bus for only one or two stops after I get on. And he creeps me out the entire time.

The guy always stares at me. I’ve always thought it was a bit weird, and kind of creepy, but mostly thought nothing of it. People sit on the bus and people watch. Maybe he finds me attractive, I thought. No big deal.

Last Wednesday, however, things got weird.

He did his usual staring at me. And then he got up from where he was sitting (right beside me!) and went to stand by the back door (right in front of me!). He kept looking at me. Then he started licking his lips.

I still didn’t think much of this—the dry winter air often causes people to lick their lips in an effort to restore moisture to them—until he started grabbing his crotch. And then he tried to make eye contact to make sure that I was seeing him do what he was doing.

This went on for probably only 15 to 30 seconds. We arrived at his stop and he exited the bus. Then he stared at me through the doors and licked his lips. He began walking toward his destination. As the bus began moving again, he made a point of staring and licking his lips at me one last time as the bus passed by him.

While you’re seeing this post nearly a week after the incident, I’m writing it just a few hours after it happened. I still don’t know how to react to what happened.

I feel gross and violated.

Having people hit on me and turning them down because I am not attracted to them (and getting married) is one thing. Having them sexually harass me is quite another. Hell, maybe this goes beyond harassment. Even though he didn’t actually touch me, it kind of feels like I was assaulted.

I will almost certainly be on the same bus as this guy again in the future. If he does this again, what do I do?

I’ve made a few vegetable sandwiches, but they rarely turn out well. I did make a good one last week: heavy on the sprouts, which added nice flavour and are dry enough that the sandwich doesn’t get soggy between the time I make it and the time I eat it (but not so dry that the sandwich is unbearable to eat). But, excepting that sandwich I don’t really know what to do to make a tasty sandwich that doesn’t have meat on it.

Sure, there is the classic grilled cheese, but that’s not really something you can bring to work. And there are various nut-butter sandwiches, but these can get tiresome. Egg salad is about the only other meatless sandwich I can think of without getting into the fake meats that you find in the vegetarian section of grocery stores.

I have had a few ideas for other options: smoked tofu sandwich (I made this once and it was OK, but I think I cut the tofu too thick, so the texture of the tofu sort of overwhelmed everything else); tempeh sandwich (this is apparently a thing).

Earlier this week, I made a sandwich based on a recipe in Everyday Flexitarian: Recipes for Vegetarians & Meat Lovers Alike. I tweaked the recipe a bit, based on what I had on hand, and it turned out pretty good. It is yet another nut-butter sandwich, but the flavours combine for something quite new and unique. The recipe, as I modified it, is below.

Apple butter, miso, and peanut butter sandwiches

Yield: 2 sandwiches

• 1/4 cup apple butter
• 1 tsp genmai miso
• Peanut butter to taste (approx. 2 tbsp)
• 4 slices of whole wheat bread

Mix apple butter and miso together in a small bowl, until well blended. Spread the mixture onto two pieces of bread. Spread peanut butter on the remaining two pieces of bread. And, finally, in case you were unsure how to make a sandwich: put one piece of bread with the apple butter mixture and one piece of bread with the peanut butter together. Cut in half and enjoy.

I think this will probably become a new lunchtime staple for me, but I am still open to other options for vegetarian sandwiches.

I often get the urge to move away from Edmonton. I’ve never acted upon it, obviously, but it hits me from time to time.

Maybe it’s the recent cold snap. Maybe I just want to be somewhere that isn’t here, right now. But, then, I find myself contemplating the Yukon again. Surely, the cold isn’t the issue.

Now is not the right time to move.

Sara and I are getting married in the summer. We’re contemplating buying a new house. We’ve laid down roots in Edmonton. Mine may be mostly by chance of being born here, but they run deep. And Sara has spent the past 4 and a half years establishing herself in a new city.

Now is not the right time to move.

But, yes, I want to move away. Part of it, I think, is because we’re getting married.

Both of my parents are from away. They moved out here for different (though very similar) reasons, built a life, got married, and are now working toward a hopefully relaxed retirement and old age. The thing that is key, for me, is that they moved far away from home and established a new life.

I feel like I should do the same. Sara and I are getting married and, because of my parents’ life story, I feel like the thing to do is to move far away and build a new life as a married couple.

We’ve talked about this, Sara and I, and for all kinds of practical reasons, now is not the right time to move. But I can’t help but think that if it isn’t now, it’ll never happen.

I’m going to die in this city. I’m not sure I’m ready to accept that yet, but it’s probably the truth. I was born here, I was raised here, I will make a life here, and I will die here.

Now is not the right time to move and I am going to die in this city.

I didn’t go to work. I didn’t really do anything. I slept most of the day.

I’m back in business, though. I’m hoping to put together my review of all three Lord of the Rings movies next week. I’m not sure it’ll be a proper review so much as a collection of the smart-assed comments that Allan and I made while watching the movies, but we’ll see.

I’m sure you’ve played Uno. Most people have played it as kids and will remember it as essentially a branded version of Crazy Eights, with a couple of twists thrown in in the form of the “action cards.” Like most people, you’ve probably also played it with a bunch of house rules that make it a more exciting game.

Last night, Sara and I played a game mostly according to the official rules, but added a few house rules (mostly for the “pick up two” cards, which we made stackable). This got me thinking about what other house rules people might have.

What are your personal house rules for Uno? Did your family play by any unusual rules? Have you invented new rules of your own? Please share your Uno house rules in the comments. And, in case you’re not sure if the rules you learned growing up were official or not, the official rules can be found on the Uno Wikipedia page.

Like most people, I abandon them sometime in early to mid-February.

Should we abandon the idea of New Year’s resolutions? Is the idea of trying to start new habits around a relatively arbitrary date worthwhile or does it feel forced and make us less likely to succeed? Maybe we should make resolutions for change in the middle of March. Perhaps we simply need to change our thinking about New Year’s resolutions.

Regardless of what I might end up calling them or how I might end up thinking of them, I don’t have any resolutions yet for 2012.

I did think of one thing the other day, but I hope to make it a part of my thinking overall, rather than a goal to achieve (because you can’t achieve something that is on-going, right?), which is to not think negatively about other people’s marriages. No: “They won’t last a year.” No: “I’m not surprised they’re getting divorced.” None of that.

As I prepare to begin a marriage of my own, I’ve decided that being cynical toward the marriages of other people is not a good idea. I don’t actually believe in karma but, well, it feels like bad karma. And so I’m going to try not to do it.

Other than that, though, 2012 is resolution-free so far.