Busy weekend on campus - Friday was the deadline for Global Studies and Maritime Affairs Senior Thesis, which is our equivalent of the mates exam, and so Thursday night we were all up late trying to get it done. Mine, a whopping 57 pages, was turned it at approximately 0635 hours Friday morning. To celebrate, there were a number of parties, but pretty much everyone showed up at Heather and Alicia's post thesis/birthday party which merged with the last rugby social of the year at Brett's place. It was an amazing party, probably one of the last big "college parties" i'll really get to, so I'm glad I decided to go.

And now....it is Saturday. Which means that it is changeover. I don't know if I've blogged about changeover before, but it's a longstanding tradition around here. The idea is this: At the end of the year, right before mates exams, the graduating seniors (1st class cadets or midshipmen) are relieved of their duties to the corps, and to celebrate this, they have a big formal dance. It's kind of like prom around here. It's a big deal, and we get kicked out of almost every place we have it since you know how sailors party. I say almost because we actually managed to reserve the same place this year. SHOCK. At any rate, the actual changeover represents the changing over of the corps of cadets leadership to new people, and everyone collectively rising in rank. The ceremony was at the beginning of march, but since the corps is lame, we are having the dance now instead of then.

I have been sleeping in curlers, y'all. This is serious business - I didn't even do that for prom!

In equally exciting but less positive news, the secret service raided a certain pair of cadets today for counterfeiting and for cocaine sales. Way to give us a good name guys. While I hate to see any body's life ruined, I'm not unhappy that this happened - people like that can't be trusted and frankly, I don't want them in the industry. That behaviour gets people killed. We already have the most dangerous industry in America; more people die a year in the maritime industry than even in mining. I read a statistic once about the cost of life for every ton of cargo brought into this country, and it was chilling. Safety is fucking paramount because lives are at risk and there is only so much you can control when you are at the mercy of the sea. People who you can't trust, who make decisions like that, quite literally get people killed. It isn't a joke, it's not funny, it's the lives of the people you are with and that isn't something that should be taken lightly.

It's been quite the productive past few days!

First off, I finished presenting my thesis and finished the bulk of the writing. As it stands, im going through the last revision process - but essentially my thesis is done. I kind of feel anticlimactic about it!

I also finished my Waterloose Socks (pattern by Randi Knudsen) and they came out beautifully. the shades are a bit off between the two, different dye lots, but still, they are fabulous. My Secret pal is going to love them; they are in her favorite color! I'll post pictures once she receives them, don't worry.

i also took care of that blood glucose test I've been putting off. 121 - high, but not awful. so we're okay for now.

Oh - and i finished watching season 2 of Little Mosque on the Prairie. Why did they have to leave it on a cliffhanger? Is Rayyan gonna pick JJ or Amaar? Will Amaar tell Rayyan that hes in love with her? AUGH. This is why i cant watch soaps, people. it drives me nuts. I need to find where I put season 3 of Corner Gas while im at it. >.>

The thesis gets officially submitted on Friday, and the big changeover dance is Saturday! I'm really excited, y'all. You do not even know.

We're officially a month away from graduation too - it all goes by so quickly, doesn't it?

More than you know

Despite my insistence that i wasnt going to buy any more yarn until I used up what I already have...Jimmy Beans was having a sale on Lornas Laces, so I gave in and bought 2 skeins of LL Shepard Sock in Argyle (I love that colourway) which im not sure qualifies for the earth section of Project spectrum or not, but we'll see. I've been working my way through my socks - I'm officially on the cuff of my first toe-up sock, which would have probably been done by now if school hadn't gotten in the way. My seecond skein of Avanti is coming in so that I can finish the socks im knitting for my secret pal, and also some soft soft soft yarn for her >3

Mates Exams are this week. Good luck everyone!!! This is the culmination of our four years and the beginning of our careers....very scary. Well, it is for the deck guys, anyway. My culmination is this friggin thesis - still not done. I think I'd rather take mates!

Also, I decided to eat healthier over break - fruit, yogurt, pot pies, and not so much sugar. And work out. We'll see how it works out.

Also: I have grapes. YAY

Oh honestly.

Someone please tell Iran to quit fucking with my research papers? Everytime I nail something down, and get it tight-n-proper, they go and completely screw with it. Oh yes, lets better our relations with Iran! Let's do some investing! Oh - oh, no, just kidding, fuck you guys. You aint gettin' shit.

Really, i miss the old royal navy days. A nice proper invasion into Iran would be a sight to see. Who wants to bring back grog and sail? It'd be fun, guys, I promise; we'll even give you Katyushas. Well, we wont, but im sure we could direct you to a dealer at your leisure.

Although, now that I think about it, maybe if I ask nice enough, Ahmadinejad will grin at my paper, and the damned thing will write itself.

To be fair, this is a serious problem not only in the writing of my final paper for this Geopolitics of Energy class, but in more real-world terms issues of sovereignty and the murky world of marine navigation, territorial waters, and busy small waterways.

The article linked above mentions that the British naval vessel was operating 1.7 nm within Iraqi waters, while the Iranians claim they were 0.3nm within Iranian waters. This isn't the first (and most likely not the last) time that the Brits have found themselves breaching Iran's sovereignty by going into their waters, but the real situation is entirely a matter of admiralty court ruling.

That vessel being in Iranian waters is technically an act of war. However, the capture of British military personel is ALSO an act of war, especially if they were in Iraqi waters. What makes it difficult is that those waters are still highly contested, and there is, to my knowledge, official MOU on the agreed upon line.

The problem, in my opinion, is one of my favourite IR issues - breach of sovereignty. I love this stuff, and i can't think of a problem in IR that doesnt relate to it in some way or form. With the exception of civil wars, i think most conflicts really boil down to sovereignty concerns at the core. and in a conventional sense, the easiest way to breach sovereignty is to invade territorial waters or airspace. As some of my military buddies might mention, getting close enough to make the other guy nervous is half the fun, but when you cross their line, you usually get shot at.

Generally, the international standard for territorial waters is 12nm, however, in waterways which are less than 12nm, there must be agreement between the states connected to the waterways on how much of the SLOC belongs to whom - and it isn't always half and half.

I'll let you guys know what the UN says on this once i find the info.