IBAAW

I was surfing around the web, and managed to find an old site I had on Geocities, which contained quite a few cool old files, including some fansigns I received aggges ago! For my 16th birthday to be exact! Awww, it's so sweet! Heidi drew on her wall for me!

This red one was from Joni! Awww those were the days!

I'm kind of sad. I still have Heidi on my MSN, so I talk to her once in a while, but I haven't heard from Joni in years! Time sure does fly!

Apparently, in September of 2004, I was doing a project on Australia. I remember it now! I think I did it with Orry and Lauren. It was supposed to be a project on our heritage, but someone else had taken Germany, which was the bloodline we had in common, so we volunteered to do Australia, even though none of us have even a smidge of Australian blood. I remember we printed some Aussie slang for everyone as well, which was a lot of fun.

Not much going on today. Just a lazy Sunday. I've been listening to "Gotta Go My Own Way," by Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, from High School Muscial 2, which I finally got to watch the other day! Obviously, I enjoyed it, since I am listening to certain parts of the soundtrack on a loop!

Random Fact of the Day: The Bible, the world's best selling book, is also the most shop-lifted. Seriously though, maybe you should just GIVE the shop-lifters a copy. Then they could learn that Thou shalt not steal!

Labels: Journal

I just got back from the cinema, where I saw Across The Universe, which just came out in theatres. Links where you can find more information on this film can be found here (Official Site), here (IMDb) and here (Wikipedia).

This film is a musical. However, most of the songs are probably already familiar to you, as they are songs by The Beatles. The story follows quite a few characters, but focuses mainly on Jude and Lucy. Jude is a dock worker in Liverpool, and travels to America to find his father. He meets Max, whom he befriends, and falls in love with his Max's sister, Lucy. However, Lucy has a boyfriend, whom is killed early on in Vietnam, and Max is soon drafted. The political climate is hot, and Lucy, once sheltered by her family and life in a peaceful town, gets caught up in all the activism associated with 1960s New York City. Meanwhile, Jude is living illegally in the states, and doesn't get too caught up in the war, for a few reasons, including the fact that he cannot get drafted, so it doesn't seem to affect him too much.

Well, I really don't want to give too much away, but I would like to say that I would definitely recommend this movie! The music is fantastic, the art is amazing. There are a lot of really cool, psychedelic sequences that you definitely must see!

While I can't pick a favourite part, or song, since I've been listening to the entire soundtrack over and over since it was released last week, I really enjoyed "It Won't Be Long," and "I Want You."

Random Fact of the Day: In Across The Universe, 90% of the songs were recorded live and were not looped during post-production. "If I Fell," by Evan Rachel Wood, was done totally live, on the first take!

Labels: Journal

Fashion may not be my middle name, but my name is in Fashion. I love clothes. My closet and drawers are stuffed, and I'm always getting new things!

I love dresses. I have since I was very young. I didn't even wear pants to school until the seventh grade! I wear dresses and skirts as much as humanly possible. They make me feel girly and fun, which is something I love! Here are some examples of dresses and skirts you can often find me in:I also have a passion, no, an obsession with bags! Here are a select few:


1- My brown owl bag that I got in Kelowna. I love it. It's so big! I love being able to carry around EVERYTHING with me.
2- My old dance bag from when I did ballet as a child. It can also carry a lot, and it kind of cool, and "vintage," if you consider 1998 to be vintage.
3- Pink tote bag I bought in Quebec. Got me through the summer.
4- Converse bowling-style bag! I love this one. I had to beat my mom for it.
5- Brown and gold patchy bag. I would just like to point out that I got this bag 3 years ago, which was BEFORE Ugly Betty got the colourful version, okay?
6- Gold embroidered bag. I got it for cheap from a store that sells Asian imports. I love it. It is so pretty. I've seen a lot of the red and blue ones around, but not as many gold, and not with the cool rainbow flowers mine has!
7- Little boy's airplane backpack, I got at Canadian Tire when I worked there for a few dollars during a clearance sale. So cute!
8- Jean bag I got from my last work placement in Katimavik. I decorated it with "Be Organic," and some Katimavik-related stuff.
9- Little patent blue backpack. It has little flowers and @ symbols on it!
10- Another cool Asian import with a cool anime-esque girl on it.
11- My bag that says BAM and has Mickey on it. Cute and kind of random!
12- Little Aldo bag- I added the gold heart pin to give it a little something extra!
13- Black bag with stars on it. Got it from Claire's for that HOPE charity! Very cute. I love stars!
14- Little black Hurley bag that I got for, like, ten bucks.
15- Gotta love Marilyn Monroe.

So, there you have it! A short look at my closet!

Labels: Info Pages

The news is full of stories about the UN meetings currently taking place. One of the top stories is of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom has been visiting New York, and has spoken at Columbia University recently. Ahmadinejad maintains many controversial views. He is trying to obtain nuclear energy for Iran, he insists that there is freedom of speech in Iran, and that the country is void of homosexuals.

He is also an avid holocaust denier and has been accused of antisemitism based on comments regarding Israel that may or may not have had meaning lost in translation. During a conference called "A World Without Zionism," he was quoted in a translation that Israel was a "disgraceful stain," that should be "wiped off the map." On December 12, 2006, at the "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust," which has been referred to as a holocaust denial conference, he said that "Israel is about to crash," and that when it did, humanity would be free. At Columbia this past week, he referred to the holocaust as a "theory," rather than fact.

Holocaust denial has been going on since the holocaust took place during World War Two. The first deniers were the Nazis themselves, following the fall of the Third Reich. They used their knowledge of propaganda used during the regime to rewrite history and try to put a spin on their story. Quite a few historians call the holocaust a hoax, regardless of the hard evidence to prove otherwise. French historian Paul Rassinier who was actually imprisoned in Buchenwald, denied the gassings of the Jewish people. However, it is well-known that Buchenwald was not a mass extermination camp, which is obviously why he would not have witnessed any. It is also noted that Rassinier also omitted facts from his book, and ignored contradictions in his own writing.

Some claims holocaust deniers make include that the Nazis had no extermination policy, that gas chambers were not used, and that the figure of 6 million Jewish deaths is an exaggeration. However, there are quite a few facts to prove otherwise.

The Nazis were very bureaucratic and kept extremely well-detailed records. Why wouldn't they? After all, they thought they would get away with it, and I'm sure they thought having records of what they thought were accomplishments would be highly valuable. After the liberation of concentration camps, many records were found detailing the amount of people brought into camps, how many had been killed, and invoices for large orders of cyanide. Also, there were film reels made to document how things worked in the camps. Mass graves were found, survivors were interviewed and Nazi diaries were recovered. There is so much concrete evidence that it seems impossible for anyone to dispute it! After all, if six million Jews were not killed during the holocaust, what happened to them?

Investigation pertaining to people who deny the holocaust has revealed that many opinions that they pass off as "fact," are based on biased and falsified information.

So far, confronting this issue has proved to be difficult, since it has been said, that attempting to argue with a denier would perhaps influence the possibility of factual evidence being undermined. Still, I believe that these deniers and their movements are a valid threat that cannot just be ignored. Holocaust denial is getting bigger and bigger, especially with the media attention that Amadinejad is receiving on this current trip to the U.S.

During the International Conference to Review The Global Vision of the Holocaust, David Duke presented the idea that

"In Europe you can freely question, ridicule and deny Jesus Christ. The same is true for the prophet Muhammad, and nothing will happen to you. But offer a single question of the smallest part of the Holocaust and you face prison."

Well, the obvious difference with that, Mr. Duke, is that the Holocaust has hard proven fact to back it up. I'm not saying that Jesus and Muhammed do not have fact to prove their existence, on the contrary, I believe that they did walk this Earth, and that they were very influential people, but do I have solid fact to prove that they were connected to a source of higher power? No, I do not. Unfortunately, it seems that God has left less records of proof of his existence than the Nazis did of proof of their regime.

I think the visit of the Iranian President, and his views of denial, and the media attention they are receiving may not be all bad. At least it is opening it for discussion. This needs to be discussed instead of pushed back into the shadows. We all know that the denial of the holocaust is a lie, and we must stand up for it, to overshadow the denial views until they can no longer be heard at all. We must present the evidence so that there is no possible way to dispute it. We must use our morning Internet time to do research on topics like this one, to better understand our world and change it for the better.

Random Fact of the Day: Holocaust denial is complete and utter crap. It happened. It's fact. You can try, but you can't deny it. At least you can't and make any sane person believe you.

Labels: Exposé

I received an email a few days ago from someone who asked me why I use Blogger. I can see why this question would be asked. It's not like I'm new to the blog scene. I've been blogging since I was 11 years old, which was in 1999. I never used Blogger until a little over a year ago. Before that I was like most other bloggers- starting off on a free server, and eventually getting hosted by some nice person, maybe acquiring a personal domain. When I started my blog here, it was just as a sort of temporary solution. Part of me always supposed that I would eventually abandon my Blogger account once again, and go back to having my typical personal site. However, when I was accepted into Katimavik, I knew I wouldn't have time to do much on my blog as far as keeping up with design styles and coding standards. So, I just stuck with it.

Recently, I began to think about change, and how I've changed throughout the years. I got to reading some of my older blogs, and laughing at some of the things I got myself into during my preteen and teenage years. French school and high school sure provided one heck of a backdrop for my wacky adventures! I was sad that I did not have each of these entries, and the others that have long been lost on now defunct free servers and abandoned cPanels, long since expired and erased from existence. I thought of how my current memories could end up with the same fate, if for some bizarre reason I forgot to save them. So, I decided I needed to become more strict with myself. I needed to show control and commitment. And I needed to do this, by sticking with Blogger for as long as possible.

So, there I was, with Blogger, and slowly getting back into the web community that I had left for the nine months that I had been away. Since I had stopped paying attention to any design-related things since before May 2006, I had obviously slipped behind as far as current trends in design, coding and accessibility. Thus, I have begun to learn about all sorts of these things again, with the added difficulty of restraints on Blogger. It's not as customizable some blogging interfaces, but it does try hard. The Blogger team is constantly adding new features which mirror other interfaces such as Wordpress.

Template-wise, I think I'm doing alright so far, adjusting to XHTML. I'm obviously still working on it. I'm using my training that I received while working at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Kelowna, with Katimavik, to try and get my blog as close to accessibility standards as Blogger will allow. (Thank-you CNIB-regulated Accessibility Pamphlets that I had to organize!) And I'm excited to see how I will be able to improve my Blogger experience over the next while, and try to push Blogger to its limits.

Random fact of the day: My all-time favourite font is "Century Gothic," normal weight. My second favourite is "Arial."

Labels: Blogger

... is probably what people are beginning to say about me. It's true too. Giving me two months off before starting work = bad move on the parental front! Because, seriously, I am becoming more of a dork than I was before Katimavik. During Katimavik, we often broke our computer. And even when we had one, I just checked my email, typed out a quick blog, checked facebook, and was finished in about 10 minutes! But, ever since I got home... well, here it is in list form (because I love lists).

• I've re-done my blog 3 times. This latest layout is even less "AAAGGGHHH CRAZY ASHERZ!!!1!!1" as is my normal jumble of net shenanigans and more "professional looking," and "neat." I'm not even blending anymore! I did blends for 5 years! And now, I'm back, and actually semi-acting like a level-minded web mistress. My coding is still crap, but I'm working on it!
• I spent so much freakin' time on Snark, it's insane. Back when I was on Toxic Passion, I posted a lot, but not as much as others. It took me a few months to make it to 200 posts. But on Snark, even though my post count isn't as high as others, I've still managed to reach 200 in three weeks!
  
• I've started using odd lingo, like adding a Z to the end of Internet, to make it the ever so popular Internetz, snarky expression. I use this smiley, on occasion -> :3 <-
• I spend time finding sites with LOLCATS on them. I used to see them because Gwobert had them on his Google page, but now I actually GO LOOKING for them, just to have a nice giggle.
• I talk to my own cats and dog... while they are ASLEEP. Because even they are bored of my dork ways!

Oh my goodness, there are so many others, but I have to go get ready to go out for my mom's "girls night out," thing. I'm wearing a deliciously skanky outfit. Maybe I'll take a picture, if you're lucky. :3 ---- See?!? I just did THAT smiley!

What kinds of dorky things to you guys do?

Also, I'm going to my drama teacher's son's funeral on Sunday morning, which is bound to be heartbreaking. *Siggghhh.* A bunch of people want to go to the viewing tomorrow night as well, but that's just way too creepy for me. I'd rather just go to the memorial.

Labels: Journal

Well, I'm very sad today. Last night, while at the mall, we ran into some of Matt's friends, who told us that my drama teacher's son passed away. I don't know how, but I do know that I am devastated. He was only my age, 19 years old.

It makes me think about what would happen if my life were to just end, unexpectedly. I know that my family and friends would be wrecks. My friends would eventually move on, but I'm not sure my family would. It would affect their every action for the rest of their lives. My blog would be completely abandoned, so nobody I know online would even know that something had happened to me. My parents would keep a bunch of my stuff, but probably get rid of some of it as well. My Facebook account would live on, probably the way I left it. It's kind of weird to think of.

From a dorky online, blogger, forum poster point of view, how many blogs do you find that haven't been posted to in months or years? How many people on your forum just disappear without notice? Have you ever wondered what happened to them? It's possible, even probable, that they've just lost interest, or have other things going on in their lives, but what if something awful has actually happened to them?

Agggh, I'm being depressing, and I definitely don't want anyone reading this to become depressed. So, have a good day. Tell everyone you know how much you love them (unless, of course, you don't).

Labels: Journal

So, here's a new layout. Ha ha. I know, it's the third one in the month since I've gotten home. I'm kind of hoping to keep this one up for a while longer.

The picture in the header is just a little thing I doodled once in Katimavik. Daffodils are my favourite flower. I was born in April, which is when the Cancer Society has their daffodil campaign, so I always get daffodils around my birthday. The star and "dream," part is from my tattoo. Except my tattoo doesn't have the pink part. Anyway, I just thought it was cute and simple.

I've done some baking in the last few days which has been fun! I'm going out with my mommy on Friday so I get to go clothes shopping tonight! It's one of the best things about coming home- I've been shopping virtually non-stop, and I haven't paid for anything!

Labels: Blogger, Journal

Okay, so I just saw this commercial a for this new product called Tooth Tunes. Go ahead, look at site now.

We know…getting your kids to brush their teeth can be a daily battle. Not any more! TOOTH TUNES is a revolutionary toothbrush for kids that makes brushing their teeth fun and entertaining.

Your kids will love brushing their teeth to hit songs from some of their favorite artists. As sound vibrations stream from the bristles through their teeth, they hear the music in their heads. But, when they take the bristles off their teeth, the music stops playing in their head. So they'll actually want to keep brushing for a full two minutes!

Quoi? What is that? You're sending sound waves into your child's brain, so that they brush their teeth for two minutes? Why not just teach them to brush their teeth properly, like my parents did for me? Sure, sound waves may seem perfectly harmless to be sending into your brain now, but what about when the kid hits 20? Will it have any effect then? I'm sorry, I just don't think it's safe to be sending any kind of waves directly into a kid's brain.

Still, at the same time, part of me wants to try it. I mean, I'm not a kid, so sound waves through my brain shouldn't be a big deal, ha ha. It seems pretty weird. But in any case, I'm not going to shell out 10$ for a toothbrush, no matter what! Anyway, I think it will be like those revolving lollipops- novelty for a while, but after a bit, nobody cares!

Hmmm... I think maybe I'll make cookies today. After I finish cleaning. Not my room though, because that will take several centuries, but after I finish the kitchen and living room, maybe. I should really get on that, but the computer is so distracting! I really need to cool it though- my parent's electricity bill went up 30$ during this last month! Oops.

Labels: Journal

Today was my cousin's baby's 2nd birthday. So, I got up at 6am to have a shower and straighten my hair. So, my hair was nice and straight and pretty. We drove to Edmonton and got there around noon. Ethan is SO cute! He's very very blond, and he loves toy cars! The rest of my family began to arrive at 12.30-ish, which was pretty exciting. I hadn't seen them since October of last year, at Thanksgiving. Everyone was pretty happy to see me. They all loved how long my hair is!

Nick and Jade arrived at around 2, or so, I think. It was so great to see them! It has been 24 days since the end of Katimavik, already! Jade lost her wallet in the Edmonton airport! It had all of her I.D. in it, and her bank card. So, she is I.D. and money-less all the way across the country from her home! It was funny seeing them react to my enormous family- 4/6 of my mom's siblings, plus all of their husbands and children. Plus family from the other side of Carrie and Greg's families. It was a little intense watching all of my aunts hug them! But it was also cool to have them there, meeting my family. Seeing Jade in Alberta was pretty odd! But... yeah, overall it was a fun time!

Ethan got loads of toys, clothes and books! Like I said, he loves cars, so he got a bunch (my brother, Matt, bought him 20$ worth of cars) and some cool Tonka trucks. And his cake had construction trucks too, which he promptly stole after one of his other young relatives blew out the candles that he was a bit afraid of.

We left around five, so it was a nice long-but-not-too-long visit, and the 3 hour ride back to Calgary wasn't too bad after I took out my contacts in Ponoka. I pretty much listened to Hayden Panettiere all the way home. I love the songs "Your New Girlfriend," and "I Still Believe." I also read some of my Love Stories from World War Two book, which was pretty great, and got me in a historical mood, which I love. It kind of gets me thinking about what I would do if I met someone who was off to fight in a war. Would I go for a whirlwind marriage, or write letters and postpone a wedding until I was sure of our mutual survival? Hmmm... it's hard to say! I guess it would depend on the situation!

Labels: Journal

Okay, so here we go.

This is a little bit embarrassing, but...

I am afraid of ladybugs.

I don't know exactly why, but they just creep me out so badly! I think it probably goes back to when I was younger. My brother and I used to spend hours finding ladybugs and sticking them in a margarine container. We'd collect hundreds. I was alright catching them, but looking at them in the container was gross. Even worse was at the end of the day when my mom would make us throw the little bastards on the grass next to the front door. Then, comes the image that generally pops into my mind when ladybugs are mentioned- one hundred plus ladybugs scuttling all over each other trying to get away, ultimately going nowhere fast, trampling the bodies of the morning's catch who had long since run out of oxygen even though holes had been roughly provided.

My fear escalated from there. The sight of a ladybug causes me to shudder. Actual contact with one can be responsible for a much dire reaction. One time I was at work, at Canadian Tire, and I made the mistake of telling someone about my fear. He proceeded to tell someone else, who decided to pretend to put a ladybug on my back. I started yelling, and actually had tears in my eyes at the thought.

So, yes, I have a fear of ladybugs. It's weird, and unreasonable, and not likely to change anytime soon.

Funnily enough, a few years ago, my dad revealed that he is ALSO afraid of the little buggers. So, maybe it's genetic!

Labels: Exposé, Journal

I love Forrest Gump. It is one of my favourite movies of all time. I can watch it over and over.

I know he's a fictional character, but his life is just so amazing! I would love to be a part of history like he was. Okay, I wouldn't want to be fighting in the Vietnam war, or any war for that matter, but living in that time. Wow. It just fascinates me. I love seeing how people band together in bad situations. It shows the real spirit of people.

Also, the Forrest Gump Soundtrack is amazing! We used to listen to it in Katimavik, and I used to love dancing around to it while we made dinner. It's a collection of some of the best music of the 20th century, in my opinion. I would definitely suggest getting a copy!

So, yes, Forrest Gump = love.

Not much going on (still.). Jadey is moving to Alberta from Quebec! She is moving in with Nick, in Edmonton, which is 3 hours away, but still a lot closer than Quebec! She'll be getting here on Saturday.

On Saturday I am also driving up to Camrose for my cousin's baby's 2nd birthday party. It will be fun to see the family again, because I haven't seen them since last Thanksgiving! (October)

Labels: Journal

Hey guys. It's me. And today, I am here to speak with you about the wonderful world of photosynthesis!

Plants use the light from the sun to combine carbon dioxide and water to make sugar, which they eat. Photosynthesis occurs in the palisade and spongy cells, where chloroplasts are found. Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll which makes leafs green.

Interesting, kind of weird, fact: The green Excel gum contains chlorophyll. Some people (my ex-PL Fred, for example) drink chlorophyll. Now there are drinks on the market packaged like soda pop, that are actually chlorophyll drinks. I've never tried these drinks, and I don't really want to.

Anyway, photosynthesis helps plants create food so they can grow. The tallest flower in the planet is the titan arum which can grow to be 2.5m. It smells like rotting meat to attract insects to pollinate it. (That doesn't seem very attractive to me). In Indonesia it is called "Bunga Bangkai" which means "corpse flower."

The biggest flower HEAD is the puya raimondii. The plant's first flower takes 150 years to grow, and then it dies!

Stapelia flowers smell AND look like rotting meat.

And there you have it! I hope you've learned something!

Labels: Journal

I couldn't think of much to write tonight, so I've decided to put my language skills to use and translate the lyrics to my current favourite song, "Adam et Ève," by the group Kaïn. So, the lyrics are there, and underneath them will be my "traduction," in English. Please note: French is not my first language, and it is not a direct transliteration.

P't'être qu'on est des âmes soeurs 
Maybe we're soul mates
Ou p't'être qu'on est juste amis 
Or maybe we're just friends
Mais ça serait-tu déplacé si j't'emmenais dans mon lit 
But would it mess you up if I took you in my bed 
Ou ailleurs, quelque part
Or elsewhere, somewhere
Pourvu qu'on s'touche 
To provide that we touch?

J'veux pas penser trop loin
I don't want to think too far
Ça me donne mal à tête
It gives me a headache
P't'être que t'es mon âme soeur
Maybe you're my soul mate
Ou p't'être juste une amie 
Or maybe just a friend.
Mais à soir 
But at night
J't'emmène au huitième ciel
I take you to the eighth heaven.

Mmmm da mda mda mda mda mda a mda mda da 
This is the same in English, ha ha.

J'aime pas c'qui est formel 
I don't like what is definite.
Ça tue les mystères 
It kills the mysteries.
J'aime c'qui descend du ciel 
I like this that comes from the heavens.
J'ai besoin d'y croire
I need to believe in that place.
T'es belle, t'as des ailes 
You're beautiful, you have wings.
T'es légère comme l'air 
You're light like the air.

La vie est encore jeune 
Life is still young.
L'amour encore un rêve
Love is still a dream.
Mais j'veux bin m'endormir pis rêver à toé
But I want to sleep well then dream of you
À nous deux, quelque part
Us together, somewhere
Au huitième ciel
In the eighth heaven.

Faisons l'amour sous le ciel
Making love under the sky
Abrillés par un drap d'étoiles
Sheltered by a sheet of stars.
C'est toi le sens du mot "belle"
It's you the meaning of the word "beautiful."
Aimons-nous jusqu'au soleil (2x) 
Loving us until the sun.

Avant d'prédire la suite
Before predicting what's next
Faudrait s'introduire 
It's necessary to introduce
Au milieu de nulle part
In the middle of nowhere
Juste s'évanouir encore 
Just faint again
Un peu 
A little.
Pourvu qu’on s'couche
Provided that we lie together.

Le hasard est la blague du clown qui déconne
The chance is the joke of the clown who is idiotic
P't'être que t'es mon âme sœur 
Maybe you're my soul mate.
P't'être que t'es pas la bonne 
Maybe you're not the good one.
Mais nous deux
But us together
Y me semble que ça sonne mieux
It seems to me that sounds better.

Faisons l'amour sous le ciel
Making love under the sky
Abrillés par un drap d'étoiles 
Sheltered by a sheet of stars
C'est toi le sens du mot "belle" 
It's you, the meaning of the word "beautiful."
Aimons-nous jusqu'au soleil (2x) 
Loving us until the sun.

J'veux sentir ton âme, épier la mienne
I want to feel your soul, watches mine closely
J'veux que la nuit s'étende jusqu'au bout du monde
I want the night to stretch to the end of the world.
J'veux qu'la planète nous appartienne 
I want us to belong to the planet
J'veux que la vie soit vierge, j'voudrais qu'on soit comme
I want life to be virginal (pure), I want us to be like
Adam et Eve
Adam and Eve....
Adam et Eve
la la la la la Adam et Eve
Adam et Eve
Adam et Eve
la la la la la Adam et Eve (2x)

Edit: I've attempted to upload the song to MegaUpload. I don't know if it will work.
Please give it a go, and tell me if it works!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CF9K4V73

Labels: Random Lyrics

I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but anyone who knows me in real life knows that it is my ultimate quest to be the ultimate know-it-all. I'm not doing too badly so far, but I feel like I could be putting a lot more work into it.

I'm also slightly disappointed that with some subjects, I will never be able to achieve ultimate know-it-all status without intense amounts of work, because there are subjects that I just cannot grasp no matter how hard I try. The front-runner, or Gang Leader, as I like to call it, is Mathematics. In the category of Mathematics I include the science of Physics, but I disregard the simple task of counting money, since I have somewhat mastered that in my 2.5 years of being a cashier. Mathematics will be my downfall. Although I believe that with hard work, I may be able to get a bit of a handle with it, it will continue to surpass me, into oblivion, into infinity, with all of its little numerical friends.

To make up for it, I shall just become extra great in all other subjects. My mother allowed my brother and I to pick out books at the store the other day, something she's been letting us do for ages now. I could have picked one of the very deliciously mind-numbing chick lit novels I've grown to love in my teenage years, but instead I chose The Visual Factfinder: The World of Knowledge At Your Fingertips, and History Timelines: The Ancient World, The Modern Age, World Events, Discovery & Exploration. I have quite a bit of knowledge already, and my historical fact index is quite full, due to the fact that history, and Social Studies in general, is my favourite subject, but I'm sure there is much more that I can learn.

My hope is that one day, if I become very great in all subjects other than mathematics, that I will be able to use my powers in other subject areas and apply it to math, therefore forming some sort of vortex which will allow me to understand this mystical language of numbers and letters and formulae.

--------------------------------------

In other, non-quest news, I have finished watching Season 1 of Heroes. It was fantastic! I am so stoked for the new season, although I am unsure how I will prevent myself from going crazy during commercial breaks, and what is more, between episodes! I guess we'll just have to see how it plays out when the time comes!

Labels: Journal

IBAAW is now more readily available at

http://aisling-b.net


Just a little bit easier to remember, I hope!

Labels: Blogger

Okay, so here goes for a short, slightly hilarious, true story that happened to me yesterday. I went to the mall with my parents, and there was a small travelling carnival in the parking lot. It was only 11.30am, and there was nobody there, but my mom decided that she wanted to go on the Octopus with me. So, we bought tickets, which were 6$, and go over. The guy asks us if we want to ride together, and we're like, yeah, obviously. He says we can't because he needs to balance the ride. So, my mom is like, "Okay, can we get a refund or something?" The guy says no, and calls over two other guys that work there! So, we have to get on the ride, with them on the other side! So, they're there like "Grumble grumble, I can't believe we have to go on this ride." I'm like "Oh my god, I can't believe we're making them go on this ride." Then the ride starts, and one of the other guys starts screaming hysterically- as a joke. So, I'm laughing, and I don't respond well to rides that spin, I have a bit of a weak stomach, and I hadn't eaten anything yet, so I was already a little wobbly. Don't worry, I didn't get sick! But the whole thing, in general, with the ride, and the poor guys riding with us was a funny start to the day.

Also, my parentals bought Season 1 of "Heroes" yesterday, so we've been watching them. I think we're on the fourth or fifth disc so far. It's excellent! I had watched a few minutes here and there since it started, because Gwobs used to watch it on the computer.

Anyway, not much going on today, and not much to chat about. Maybe I'll come up with something more interesting tomorrow. Until then, I would suggest tracking down a copy of Heroes if you haven't seen it already!

Labels: Journal

On a lighter note, there are loads of different, interesting movies coming to my attention these days, due in large part to the Toronto International Film Festival taking place. So, here are some that I would like to see- provided I come across some money. Being poor is the worst part of this whole not-working-for-two-months thing, by far.

Firstly, Across the Universe (IMDb) which is a musical piece taking place in the 1960s with all the political focus that that implies. Based on those two facts alone, it will obviously be something I enjoy. Also, it includes Beatles songs, which are clearly amazing. So, yes, this one is number one on my list. It interests my brother as well, so maybe I can convince him to take me- and pay!

Next, Sydney White (IMDb) which is one of those teeny bopper movies that recreate fairy tales. Like A Cinderella Story but this time, it's Snow White. And it features dorky boys that are befriended by Amanda Bynes. Well, I love Amanda Bynes, I love dorky boys, I love fairy tales, and I really love teeny bopper films, so I am bound to love this movie!

December Boys (IMDb) : This film features Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame. And I love Harry Potter. Therefore I love Daniel Radcliffe. This movie looks pretty good, with four orphans competing for a family after being sluffed off for younger children their whole lives.

The Brothers Solomon (IMDb), is a film about two brothers that have been home schooled, and therefore a bit slow socially. As part of their father's dying wish they decide to find a way to give their dad a grandchild. They says such things as "I want to put a baby in you," which when said by the funny man Will Arnett can make my day! Also, it features Jenna Fischer, from The Office, which is m favourite show on television.

So, there you have it!

Also, I'm watching Regis and Kelly right now, except it's Anderson Cooper instead of Regis today. You may not know this, but I have a slight obsession with Mr. Anderson Cooper. He is sooo funny, and such a great reporter.

Thanks Andy.

Labels: Journal

Some of you may know that I am an advocate for bilingualism in Canada. When I was twelve years old, my parents and I decided that I would start attending a French Immersion school for junior high, and so I did, for three years.

I just watched the movie Babel (IMDb), which is all about how misunderstandings are caused, and how they are sometimes based on language and cultural stereotypes. It is a topic I am most definitely interested in, since I have experienced a few instances of misunderstanding due to language barriers. Obviously, my experience with the matter was not as dramatic or life-and-death as those portrayed in Babel, but still hold importance in my life at this point.

I believe that Canadian society should be bilingual. I think that if we are to have laws that promote speaking both official languages, and being accessible in both tongues, we should take it all of the way. One of the aspects I would like to see in my ideal version of Canada, would be for everyone to have at least a conversational knowledge of either English or French, depending on their birth language. I would like to see French taught in schools beginning in Kindergarten. I would like to see French taught with more importance than it is taught at this point. When I was in elementary school, we started taking very basic French lessons in the sixth grade. My mother continues to work at that school, and now it is not French being taught but Spanish. I have nothing against Spanish, but I do believe that we are a bilingual country that supports both English and French. Shouldn't we have an emphasis on learning these two languages before others? After all, we, as Canadians, generally look upon our bilingual nature as something to be proud of. Is it in name only? Are we proud of the words on the Bilingualism Act? Or are we proud of bilingualism, as people who are striving to communicate in both of our official languages?

I recently was in a situation that let me examine the bilingual situation in our country a little more closely. When I signed up for Katimavik, one of the perks was improving my French, which had, I will admit, diminished a bit when I returned to English school in the tenth grade. When I arrived, I was eager to learn, and slightly disappointed to find that my fellow anglophones did not share my goal. I don't hold it against them in anyway. I think the main reason that learning the language held no interest for them, and they've agreed with this point on several occasions, was because in most of their cases, French held no use to them at all! Living in Western Canada myself, I can see the point of this. Other than a few small francophone communities, there is hardly any exposure to a French culture. The largest groups of francophones are located on the opposite end of the country. I suppose I always assumed that as I were to move closer to these predominately French-speaking areas, more French would be accessible. However, I was wrong, as I quickly learned from my group mates from Ontario. They used even less French than I had in Alberta.

Following our arrival in our first placement in the English city of Kelowna, British Columbia, we were all asked many times why we had decided to take part in this project known as Katimavik. The anglophone part of the group cited various reasons ranging from traveling the country, to getting back at ex-girlfriends! The francophones unanimously stated "to learn English." Why such an imbalance? Well, quite simply, the world is much more accessible in English. Even the most stubborn of sovereignists in our group could recognize that English was the language necessary to make it in Canada today.

In Kelowna the Quebecoises worked diligently to work on their skills in English. They spoke in English as much as possible. The held English jobs where they were forced to immerse themselves in the language for eight hour days. They attended their English classes, and completed their English homework. They improved and today are considered bilingual by most standards. In contrast, when we arrived in Quebec, anglophones always made sure to travel with someone who could be used as a translator. Their jobs involved manual labour, and very little instruction, which meant very little interaction with the French language. I attended French classes with them, in hopes of being able to pick up more of the language myself, and although they took the notes, they did not retain much. I don't mean to say that they did not learn anything at all! I just mean, in contrast to the francophones. Near the end, there were a few who had begun to understand most of what was said to them, however, they did not achieve bilingualism in the same way the girls from Quebec did.

Another example of the lack of interest English-speaking Canadians put on learning French came to me while working in an elementary school in the city of Orleans, Ontario, which is a suburb of Ottawa, Canada's National Capital. Ottawa is one of the most bilingual cities I've ever been to. Orleans was a very popular community for French-speaking people in the Ottawa region. So much so that the Quebec girls in my group, ever so focused on improving their English, would become slightly frustrated when salespeople, hearing their accents, would switch to French, when they wanted to be practicing their English. (I can see their point of wanting to be constantly immersed in English, but here I must say I applaud these salespeople for their accessibility through bilingualism in these situations.) Yet I recall during a Social Studies lesson on bilingualism and multiculturalism in Canada, a sixth grade student saying he could hardly tell we were bilingual here, and so what was the point. Well, I was flabbergasted! If he thinks they're hardly bilingual there, where a large portion of the population speaks in both languages, and the street signs are presented in both languages, he should take a trip out west!

I just don't think that it's right that we should claim to be a bilingual country, when in actuality we aren't. Or that we should make the francophone population work to learn English, when so many of us are unwilling to learn French in return. But, I do believe that bilingualism can work, and that Canada should go for it, and really put effort into it, so we have something to be really be proud of, instead of just hiding behind the name of an act we don't entirely follow!

Labels: Exposé

So, you may notice that there is a new layout. It's kind of because I was sick at looking at myself while looking at my blog. I much prefer to look at glowing colours, contrasting with grey stripes, which is such a typically boring layout, but not too bad. I mean, everyone has done grey stripes and bright colours. Meh.

Labels: Blogger

Okay... I don't really feel like writing, actually. Pretty much, I don't feel like doing anything. I'm kind of starting to feel sad about the whole, not-in-Katimavik thing now. Maybe it's because I'm all alone. Mom's back at work, obviously. So, it's just me all day. It hasn't been just me in so long. I miss my group mates probably more than I care to admit, because I'm trying to be strong and independent, and now I'm realising that maybe I'm not. Maybe I need to be surrounded by people all the time. But not just any people- these specific people. My group mates, my family and friends. The difference is that I can see my family and local friends whenever I want. I can't see my Katima-family. I always knew this, but I suppose it never really sunk in, even when I was getting sick on the Montreal airport when we were all split up. I suppose I was just focusing on how great everything would be at home, and I'd forgotten that everyone here has their own lives. Just like how my Katimavik family all have their own lives now. But it wasn't like that before. It was OUR life. We were OUR friends, we had OUR adventures. Now we have our memories, but never again will we live together like that. Like one family unit that shared practically everything.

I spent the last few days working on that movie, and was so involved that it didn't affect me at all. Watching the clips and photos over and over kind of jaded me, I guess. But now, a day later and with the finished project in front of me, it just seems... done. And I'm not ready to let it go yet. But I have to, obviously. I can't live in it forever.

Seriously, I understand now what Fred was talking about when he told us about how people slip into depression after Katimavik. The withdrawal from my friends combined with all this time I have to just sit here and think about it is beginning to drive me crazy. And it's only been two days of alone. I think it's time to be looking for a job, even if I do have a month and a half off still. At least it will give me something to do.

Labels: Journal

Well, for the last two days I've been working on a small film project, or mini-movie or whatever you want to call it. And I've finished it now! So, if you would like to see it, you can follow this link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8C8UiDyPXw

Other than that, today is the first day of school. Obviously, I haven't been going to school in 2 years, so it's not a big deal for me, but it was my mom's first day of work! Thus begins the long haul of my two months alone at home. So far I've done the dishes and played on the computer. Oh and I watched City of Angels, which is a pretty good movie, even if, generally, Nic Cage irks me a bit.

I should probably go make some banana bread soon as well, because our bananas are black, and should probably be put to use!

Anyway, just check out the movie please, and tell me what you think!

Labels: Journal

LA dee da... hanging out. I’m going through old CDs and ripping songs onto my iPod. I really need to hook up the old computer next week, so that I can burn all of the music and stuff on my ZenMicro onto CDs, so I can transfer it to my laptop. Grrr Vista and it’s incompatibility issues! It’s going to take forever to burn 1000 songs on my parentals old Win98 computer!!! But they won’t let me use their new computer because they think my brother and I are going to destroy it. So, we’d might as well destroy our new laptops, which we paid for, instead of destroying their computer. DESTROY! Sorry, I just quite like that word, and thought I should add it once more for effect.

I also need to clean my room next week. It is a disaster area! I cannot see the floor, honestly! I really need to go through my clothes. I mean, I have TWO SUITCASES full, JUST from Katimavik, plus my closet and drawers here at home are PACKED TIGHTLY. So, I have no room for the clothes I had when I left for Katimavik, plus I’ve accumulated more in the past 9 months! It’s crazy! So, yes, I definitely have to get rid of some stuff.

Ooer, Evanescence! I forgot they’d existed! Ahhh, the good old emo days of my youth. So much black eyeliner and black... well, everything! Clothes, hair, you name it! Ha ha. It was fun. Other than the deep dark depression, which is obviously needed to be emo. That was just sad.

I’m now listening to “Helene,” by Roch Voisine. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this song before, but we learned it when I took French 30 in grade 10. It was one of two French songs I knew when I got to Katimavik, and since the Quebecoises knew it too, we listened to it for a bit. It baffled our French teacher, Alex, in La Pocatiere, that I knew it. Ha ha. I remember one night, Joelle and I were on dishes, and we blasted it, and put it on repeat. We were singing and dancing and fake crying. I was washing the dishes, and at a particularly dramatic part, I pick up a mug (there are no glasses in Katima-houses, just old, mismatched coffee mugs) and the handle comes off in my hand! I didn’t even put any effort into it at all! So, Joellemabelle and I are laughing so hard we’re about to pee our pants, and we’re still singing and crying! It was so funny! Then I put the mug back together so we could reinact it the next round! Ha ha. It was crazy, and one of those little moments I’m bound to forget (I already had) until I hear this song (like I just did.).

It’s weird how songs can trigger these kinds of things, isn’t it? I mean, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” just came on, and now I automatically think about jumping on the kitchen table in La Poc and singing into a spoon to it with Anny. And how Steve would come out in the hallway and laugh at us, and then go back into his room. And how Gwobert got out of the shower, laughed at us, and then climbed on to the other table to join us. Really, instead of keeping a journal, you could probably just write down the name of the song that was playing during a memorable event in your life, and then make a playlist. And then, while the song played, it could bring back the memory, and you could refect on it.

Well, that’s all from me for now! (I never really thought about it before, but I end my blogs with that quite often, don’t I?)

Labels: Journal

Still not much going on! Sorry! Umm... I went out for lunch yesterday. My parentals bought me more clothes, so that's pretty sweet.

Holy crap, I was just watching CNN and they said something about British PM "George Brown"? I thought it was still Tony Blair! Wow... I never knew I was that far out of the newsloop.

I'm going on a diet on Tuesday. So are my mom and my dad. Pretty much we'll just be eating beter and getting exercise. In Katimavik we ate carbs ALL THE TIME. Seriously, it was like, toast for breakfast (no complaints since toast is my fav food, but still, white bread has A LOT of carbs), a sandwich for lunch and then pasta for dinner. That's practically JUST CARBS all day! Ha ha. So, just by cutting down on the carbs I am expecting to get a bit closer to what I normally am. The only bad part is that my boobs are going to shrink. They are ENORMOUS right now. Like, I'm usually an A. My mom bought me a new bra before I got home, and it is a B, and it is TOO SMALL!!! So, yes, they're big now, and I shall miss them. I wish they could stay, but I know they won't. *Sighhhhhh*.

Anyway, I've been being spoiled so far, since I got home. Like I said, my parentals keep buying me clothes and such, it's pretty sweet.

My brother is applying for Katimavik, and he is trying to get in for January. I don't know if I already mentioned that. If he leaves, I'm hoping I'll be spoiled even more! When I left my brother got SO MUCH stuff. Maybe I'll get lots too, since Matt is the younger one, and my mom might have a mental breakdown with him leaving home for the first time!

Here's hoping! Ha ha.

Labels: Journal