IBAAW
I'm Aisling. I'm a "dorkerella," on the never ending quest to be the world's greatest know-it-all. This is my story.08 April 1988
Fauxtography
Taken and edited by me:
The Bowser Project. Photo of Sean Weir. A photo I took of Sean after he did a photo shoot with a bunch of the girls one night when we were bored. Then I took out the background (the wall in our dining room), and played with the colours, and airbrushed a bit.
Expect A Masterpiece. Photo by Sean Weir. Photo of Jade Vanier. I took out the dining room, again. Brightened it a bit to make everything very white! And added a standard Special Effects brush from Photoshop 7.0, and some text.
Dream So We Can Be Together. Photo by Sean Weir. Photo of Aisling Brock. This is a colourization from a black and white photo, with added background text, and quoted text.
Life In The Stars. Photo by and of Anny Dell. Anny took this photo while drunk during billeting. She liked it, and I was bored at work, so I colourized it. And added text. Whoot.Labels: Info Pages
Exposé
That is not to say that any of these are necessarily in "essay format." Many are just free-form.
Here are some of my more... thought provoking and emotional entries!
Bilingualism: Go Big or Go Home - I discuss my opinions on bilingualism here in Canada.
Explain a personal, unreasonable fear or irritation of yours. Give its causes. - Um... the title's kind of obvious. It's one of my biggest fears!
Grade 10 Poetry - Poetry from my emo tenth grade years.
I Just Showered In The Dark - An exposé on emo showering.
Solution to the Celebrity Photo Copyright Situation - I've solved it! Yessss.
You Can't Deny It - Recent media attention to certain world leaders and their holocaust denial views must be discussed.
Labels: Info Pages
Photoplays
So far, I only have 2 films online! Please check them out and comment please! More information about each video is available on YouTube.
Aisling in Action - A fan video... of me. Well, I suppose, other than my mom, I'm my biggest fan!
Drop a Jem on 'em - Jem called me vain for having my own fan video. She suggested herself as a more interesting subject, and I obliged.
Katimavik: We Danced Anyway - A tribute to my 9 months in Katimavik. Using pictures, film clips and one of our favourite songs, I reflect on the program.Labels: Info Pages
About My World
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: I was born at the Grace Hospital in Vancouver on April 8, 1988, and I lived in this great city until April 8, 1992. I have quite a few family members here, and go back as often as possible! I also was fortunate to visit with my Katimavik group! It was fun to show my friends around this fantastic city that I love so much!
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Although I moved here when I was seven years old, I consider Calgary to be my hometown! I've done most of my schooling here, and I know the city exceptionally well! Calgary is a fast-growing city with one million people and too many vacant job positions! We're known for our "Stampede," which is a carnival/rodeo held every summer on the grounds in Victoria Park, near the downtown core. It's the best time of year- you can eat as much as humanly possible for free during the ten day run, if you know where to go!
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada: I was lucky enough to live in Kelowna for three months during Katimavik! It's a lovely little city, even if the downtown is a little rough around the edges. It is absolutely gorgeous, surrounded by mountains and Lake Okanagan. The climate is really nice too. I wore sweaters for most of the winter! The people there were some of the nicest I'd met in Canada!
Ottawa/ Orleans, Ontario, Canada: Technically, during Katimavik, I lived in Orleans, which is a suburb of Ottawa. However, I spent as much time as humanly possible in the city! I loved visiting Parliament, especially watching Question Period and viewing the Library! It was a Social Studies nerd's dream come true! We also got to meet the Governor General during our stay, which was quite the event, and something I'll always remember. The tulips at the Tulip Festival were absolutely gorgeous! I wish I'd taken more photos! Ottawa is definitely one of my favourite cities, and I can't wait to visit again!
La Pocatière, Québec, Canada: La Poc is the cutest little town in Quebec! Unfortunately, I could not find any photos that give it justice! It's very french, but the Pocatois, as they are called, are so nice, and try so hard to help if you can't understand them. I obviously never had a problem with it, other than their strong-ish accent, but it was cool to see them put forth the effort to help anglophones in my group learn their language. I love this town. I love the intimacy of it, and all the things that make it different from the big city I live in. I also would like to send my kids to Collège Ste. Anne-de-la-Pocatière, no matter how much it costs!
Québec, Le Québec, Canada: La Poc is less than two hours from Québec, so naturally, we went to visit. The second I stepped into Vieux-Québec, I fell in love. It is absolutely drenched in history, surrounded by stone walls complete with canons, and containing old-world architecture, and monuments honouring some of the most important people and events of our century. If I ever leave the West, this is where I hope to end up. Somewhere within walking distance of the medieval shop, and the three story McDonalds, complete with fire places.Labels: Info Pages
Grade 10 Poetry
Too Far Gone-
I've been lying here
staring at the ceiling for an hour
with my fingertips
tracing up and down my arm
my skin won't make it
my brain can't take it
I've got to get away
I'm too far gone
You can't find me
'cause I'm lost
I can't even help myself
I'm torn
between my sanity and feelings for you
You can try
try to fix me
Make me smile
But I'm just faking
Realize,
to fix my soul you'll need much more than glue
I'm too far gone.
My Greatest Fear-
Sitting here, alone again, with scissors or a safety pin
I get another craving for that sweet adreneline
I long to see my flesh torn,
and blood turned black on a metal blade
No flash of regret or sorrow
I know I can't be saved
Later, now, I lie here
Wiping these pathetic tears
And pray they won't find out
Cuz that's my Greatest Fear
Untitled-
I don't want to lie awake
Thinking of what could never be
It's a waste of time
To live in my mind
Wishing things could be different
Hoping for a change
You've chosen your own path
It strays from my own
trodden, beaten, the one I'm expected to follow
You branch out and are
Eager to be yourself
Help me to follow in your footsteps
Even though I can't have it my way
I need you
To lead me astray.
Untitled-
it grips you in its inpenetrable hold
The bruises and blood
Flow like the water
Washing the sand below
Can't get a foot hold
No hand to grasp
Every bit of energy used
To keep yourself afloat
The fear of the sea
Cascading into your lungs
The want of joining your
family on the florr
Half fighting and half letting go
What is there left to live for?
Family and friends under the waves
Possessions and lives washed away
Slipping under, your mind loses air
the revenge of the Earth brought you here.
A Letter to Someone-
Hey, long time without a word.
I can't remember the last time we actually spoke
When was the last time we met?
At a party last summer,
We only glanced at eachother
And the air still froze between us.
How did we drift apart?
Someone said something that caused some tears
I think I broke your heart
But I'm not sure.
I seem to have burried the memory
In the same place I burried the hurt
I felt everytime
You ignored my voice.
Did you ever tell my secret/
Because I told yours
One night, drunk in a flurry
I'm sorry.
My mind was like yours,
Forgetful and full
You understand what it's like
To rip out someone's soul
Without thinking
To distroy their spirit in a single breath.
You said you would never
So that to me
In a love letter
You lied.
But I'll miss you forever.
Believe What I Say-
Listen to the wind
Gaze into the sea
They don't care like I do
But they still won't turn away
Be snowflakes
Different by design.
Come clean and let yourself free
It will be restored in time
if you choose to wander
take me with you, and we'll learn
The things that make you think
And let your passion burn.
believe what I say
When i tell you its okay
We're all meant to be different
So please, just stay the same
We run away-
I'll only let you run away
if you let me run aswell
We'll leave it all behind
And no one we will tell
Together we'll avoid the world
We'll find a place to hide
And if trouble somehow finds us
We'll go out with the tide
We don't know where we'll end up
but we can't keep living this life
This pointless, empty existance
Hidden all by lies
When we leave together
Without letters on the shelf
Atleast we'll know the freedom
Of being just ourselves.
Nothing Left-
the night is cold
The ice is dark
My heart is black
My soul is scarred
There's nothing left
Not even the emptiness
When I was stranded here
Everything left
My hopes and dreams
My world
My everything.
When everything was gone
Nothing was left
So nothing and I tried to survive
But its hard to live on mindless conversation
So nothing left too.
Labels: Old Posts
About Aisling
Name: Aisling Brock(Aisling is pronounced "Ashleen")
Hair Colour: Dirty Blonde
Eye Colour: Hazel
Tattoos and Piercings: One tattoo: The word "dream" with a star on the inside of my left wrist. 2 Piercings: Typical ear piercings, but I don't wear earrings often.
My name is Aisling. Right off the bat, you may notice my name is a little odd. Unless you live in certain parts of the UK, or you know someone else with the same name, of course! It is Irish Gaelic, and means dream, or vision (less common definitions include inspiration and illusion) .However, I live in Canada, and have only encountered my name on a few rare occurances! I'm pretty much used to people pronouncing my name wrong, however, I still blush a bit at being called ASS-LING which was most popular when I was attending a French immersion school for junior high (grades 7 to 9).
I've pretty much spent my entire life as a student, up until now. I graduated in 2006 from Crescent Heights High School, here in Calgary. I actually graduated in February, but didn't realize it until a bit into the second semester, so I just stuck around until June. I had drama anyway! My life was pretty typical during this bit. I lived at home with my parents, I have one slightly younger brother, and I had to deal with my best friend leaving for a student exchange to Belgium. Then, I found my next learning adventure!
On November 22, 2006 I left for the Katimavik program. It's a nine month youth volunteer program. There are groups of 12 max. participants from all over Canada, who are assigned to live together in three host communities for three months each. We learn all sorts of things such as leadership skills, cooking, cleaning, and how to live with large amounts of other people our own age! We also each held a full-time position with a non-profit organization, so we were able to learn about different jobs and acquire different skills. It is a very interesting program, and I give it my full recommendation.
More recently, as in, on August 22, 2007, I returned from Katimavik and have begun to settle back into my life in Calgary. It's been a bit of an odd adjustment, going from a house of ten to a house of four, and trying to get to know my friends again. It will also be interesting to see exactly how much learned in Katimavik. Some people say it takes a while for it to sink in and for past participants to realize what they learned. I'm very excited to learn more about myself and the world around me!
Labels: Info Pages
About The Blog
Long Story: When I was 11, we got our first real computer. Having an addictive personality, I was instantly hooked on the Internet! I don't remember why or how, but I got into designing little sites. First I started on something called http://expage.com/. If you make a mistake, and add a "s," to the end of that, I'm pretty sure you will be directed to porn. Which is why I switched to Angelfire and then Geocities.
I remember my first "real" personal site was called BlueStarz. It pretty much held my blog, and some odd cartoon dolls, which were all the rage back in the day! However, then I started to expand, mainly in the direction of NeoPets, which was another 'net obsession of mine for many years (My account still exists, although unused. You can check it out, my s/n is extreme_sugar. Not my first account though- I went through several other brilliant names such as kitty_klaw). I started making Guild Layouts. I moved around a lot and went through many site names, being the indecisive teenager that I was. Some names I had are included, but not limited to: Dreamie, Daffodil-Splash, Kiwi Kissez, and other gems in the same genre.
At some point, I got "alright," enough to be hosted! I was hosted by a girl named Kat. First it was Extreme Sugar on http://kitty-luv.com/es, then Dahling on http://dahling.lax-girl.org/, and finally The Website That Had Many Names, and The Only One I Can Remember Is "Loopygurl," on http://toxic-passion.net/ash.
Somehow, I got a free domain because I was a student, which I used for a little while! It was called Symphonic-Love.Net!
Eventually, around the 11th grade, my life got very busy, so I just stuck with things such as Diaryland (so-preppy, me-amplified), Livejournal (meamplified) and Xanga (lostdirection_x, brightSTARburnOUT), which I had also been using even while I had a personal site, although most were cross-blogs!
In grade 12, I switched blogs again, from Xanga to Blogger, because my best friend got a blog here to document her trip to Belgium. So, I followed suit, was surprised to find out that I already had acquired a Blogger account somehow, and I've been here ever since!
From 2001 until 2004 I also had an Emma Watson fan site called "Ambition." I think it was most well-known on the address emwatson.tk. Anyway, it had a good run, but I became kind of busy in high school, so I had to give it up.
Here are some WayBack archives of my past sites:
Shaded Yellow @ toxic-passion.net/ash: circa Feb 2005
The name "I've Been Awake All Week," comes from the song "Disco Lights," by one of my favourite bands, The Cadets.
On September 8, 2007, I registered the domain aisling-b.net with Webserve. There's no story behind why I chose this name, other than... it's my name. Ha ha.
Info On The Template, etc.: Well, when I stopped maintaining my personal site, I fell behind in the whole designing and coding world. All of a sudden I came back, and XML and PHP is all over, and I have no clue what to do with it! I'm kind of starting to learn, and this is the first template I've designed on my own! I liked the whole bottom sidebar thing, so I learned how to do it. The header image was made by me.
Disclaimer: I write this blog for fun. It is mainly just a day-to-day journal. If you know me in real life, please feel free to read! I mean, I gave you the address! However, if I say something that upsets or offends in someway, or you would wish me to clairify, please talk to me about it! Do not keep it inside, or gossip about it to another friend! Ha ha. I know it's probably not a big deal now, but it was a bit of a deal while we were still in school, which is the only reason I mention it.
I hope you enjoy my blog! Any comments are appreciated. Except the nasty mean ones, but they are still read and taken into account!
Labels: Info Pages
04 April 1988
Links
Personal Sites / Blogs:
Invading Holland
Lost In Katimavik
Meggerz' Xanga
Oh.My.Gawd.Really.
Pink Is The New Blog
Reliquesce
Zac Efron Please Stop Tanning
Katimavik:
(Katimavik is a really cool youth volunteer program open to Canadian youth ages 17 to 21. Check it out!)
Katimavik.org
Katimavik's MySpace
Katimavik's MySpace Group
Forums:
Snark
Music:
The Cadets' MySpace
Labels: Info Pages
Archives
April 1988 January 2004 December 2004 March 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 March 2008 September 2010
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