Happy Halloween! Love Angela
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
To you
I can remember the summer after graduation. I remember the times where a plan with friends would fall through, and I'd be a bit disappointed (or, at least until I'd go to sleep; I'd forget about it in the morning). I remember my mom always asking why - my parents usually ask mid-day "are you doing something?" and I would answer "probably" - and I answer I don't know; she'd then say "you're going to university in a few months anyways, and you probably won't talk to these high school friends anymore."
It's funny to me that some people are shocked to know that the greatest friends I have in my life are the ones that I've known since my age was in the single digits (or in one case since grade eleven) and STILL talk to, see most, and ultimately love. Extended family, hearsay comments from other people - all saying that it's an oddity that I'm still as good as friends with these people that I was back in the time where we'd see each other daily.
And I say to them: what's so strange?
I don't see how growing up and moving away (well, in everyone's cases but mine) should serve as a splinter to the quality of friendship between two [a group] of people. I'm sure distance plays a factor in other friendships - I can see that maybe going to school across the country might make maintenance hard but even then, friendships can stay as strong as ever. That being said, it doesn't even apply to me - my best friends all go to school probably about an hour (give or take) in all directions from the Burlington mothership (not to mention that four of us represent UofT).
Now, of course, I've made my own friends at school - otherwise I wouldn't be a functioning person. But I wonder, Did (for example) my mother expect that new friends automatically equate to replacement friends? I value the friends I've made on my own, and when I made these friends, I didn't do so to replace the others; nor are they "placeholders" - meaning that every friend I have I value as much as the other, regardless of how long I've know them.
I think the fact that I still have my same best friends is only a testament to the type of people that they are. I've long thought that assigning measures of "effort" in a friendship is ludicrous - the fact that none of us need to put "effort" into talking to each other daily (or even sometimes, dare I say, weekly), I think, shows the level of friendship. We're comfortable with each other, and we know that in x amount of weeks when we reassemble, it'll be as if we'd seen each other just the day before. Initially, yes, friendship requires effort; by this point, when you love a person/people enough, effort isn't a necessity. I may argue that friendship might thrive completely in the void of effort; instead, it thrives through being natural.
Point is, after all those words that circle themselves over and over (I have that tendency), I needed to say how much I love them. (I would've put the word 'you' but that's broad, and then I'd look like a jerk if I had to put a disclaimer saying something like 'oh... not you' ... but then maybe I do love you, even if you don't fall under the specific group of people I'm referencing ... or maybe I simply don't like you at all. You probably wouldn't like me... so then why are you reading this blog? ... I'll leave it at 'them')* Now that we're older, we're all much wiser (mostly), and the memories we create are that much more memorable. Almost in a stick-it to my mom, to my extended family, to anyone scratching their heads - I'm very sure that these are the same people that I'll be friends with in ten years. In fact, I expect to make speeches at all of their weddings.
I hope this at least made them smile. To you!
* the credibility of this blog post just plummeted.
It's funny to me that some people are shocked to know that the greatest friends I have in my life are the ones that I've known since my age was in the single digits (or in one case since grade eleven) and STILL talk to, see most, and ultimately love. Extended family, hearsay comments from other people - all saying that it's an oddity that I'm still as good as friends with these people that I was back in the time where we'd see each other daily.
And I say to them: what's so strange?
I don't see how growing up and moving away (well, in everyone's cases but mine) should serve as a splinter to the quality of friendship between two [a group] of people. I'm sure distance plays a factor in other friendships - I can see that maybe going to school across the country might make maintenance hard but even then, friendships can stay as strong as ever. That being said, it doesn't even apply to me - my best friends all go to school probably about an hour (give or take) in all directions from the Burlington mothership (not to mention that four of us represent UofT).
Now, of course, I've made my own friends at school - otherwise I wouldn't be a functioning person. But I wonder, Did (for example) my mother expect that new friends automatically equate to replacement friends? I value the friends I've made on my own, and when I made these friends, I didn't do so to replace the others; nor are they "placeholders" - meaning that every friend I have I value as much as the other, regardless of how long I've know them.
I think the fact that I still have my same best friends is only a testament to the type of people that they are. I've long thought that assigning measures of "effort" in a friendship is ludicrous - the fact that none of us need to put "effort" into talking to each other daily (or even sometimes, dare I say, weekly), I think, shows the level of friendship. We're comfortable with each other, and we know that in x amount of weeks when we reassemble, it'll be as if we'd seen each other just the day before. Initially, yes, friendship requires effort; by this point, when you love a person/people enough, effort isn't a necessity. I may argue that friendship might thrive completely in the void of effort; instead, it thrives through being natural.
Point is, after all those words that circle themselves over and over (I have that tendency), I needed to say how much I love them. (I would've put the word 'you' but that's broad, and then I'd look like a jerk if I had to put a disclaimer saying something like 'oh... not you' ... but then maybe I do love you, even if you don't fall under the specific group of people I'm referencing ... or maybe I simply don't like you at all. You probably wouldn't like me... so then why are you reading this blog? ... I'll leave it at 'them')* Now that we're older, we're all much wiser (mostly), and the memories we create are that much more memorable. Almost in a stick-it to my mom, to my extended family, to anyone scratching their heads - I'm very sure that these are the same people that I'll be friends with in ten years. In fact, I expect to make speeches at all of their weddings.
I hope this at least made them smile. To you!
* the credibility of this blog post just plummeted.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Things you probably didn't know about me
I suck at updates! To be honest lately I literally don't have much to talk about. There hasn't been much going on in my life noteworthy; there isn't much I feel like reviewing or critiquing or yelling about. I could rant about the GQ Glee photoshoot that Lea Michele and Dianna Agron did but a) it'll probably end up looking a bit like my Katy Perry post and b) I'll definitely end up being very biased to one of the two (shame on you Lea! Dianna.. carry on)
I've had the idea of doing a little "about me" post for a while, but rather than listing the things you probably already know about me, I've decided to list things you probably DON'T know about me, ranging from easy going trivia to (borderline in-depth) opinions.
I can't sing. I wish I could. My casting in JCS was largely due to Mr Guidice liking me - I don't even think I sang for the audition, and when they asked if I had a song prepared from the musical I gave a firm "no" and they retorted with an "ok, bye." I sing a lot to myself when I'm alone or when I'm driving, but I'm so off-key it's embarrassing.
I have this love for animals. It kills me when I hear about animal violence; to be honest I'm not overly comfortable when I consider the meat I eat. In that sense, I can understand the vegetarian point of view, but I know that at this point in my life I wouldn't be able to do it.
Life's dream: being a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.
I've never seen a vast majority of classic Disney cartoons. Cinderella - nope. Pocahontas, Bambi, Dumbo - none of them.
I love reality television. I've watched Survivor since the first season - yeah, impressive - but this is the first year that I've looked at it and I've decided not to watch. I think after 20 or so seasons it's all been the same to me.
Although we live in such a technological communicating society I find I still don't fully understand it. I sign on facebook daily now out of obligation; there's really nothing I do other than play Bejeweled Blitz for ridiculous amounts of time. While I'm constantly attached to my Blackberry and feel lost when I don't have it on me, I really don't see such a necessity for constant contact. Blackberry Messenger might've been the worst thing that's ever happened to me in that sense - I'm at my most accessible in a physical and literal sense, though not quite mentally. In the same realm, I feel like the internet is a bit of a slippery slope at times; I could even interchange the word "internet" for "blog" but since I'm a blogger I'd sound like a hypocrite. At times, a person completely logged on to the technological society can open themselves a bit too far; can burn bridges without discretion. Because of that, you don't see much personal ongoings here - you see things about Katy Perry's boobs and yetis.
I'm fairly absent minded; I say things without putting any weight behind them, and the times where another person were to go "what?" are times of weakness. I've always thought I'm opinionated - in fact, I can say I'm very opinionated - but my problem is I'm not so expressive. I can make my mind up on something, but I don't have enough fact or proof behind it. In a debate, I'd win due to being too stubborn.
Expect a sequel of sorts to this - much like, and I promise, some more entries to the Things I Hate vault.
I've had the idea of doing a little "about me" post for a while, but rather than listing the things you probably already know about me, I've decided to list things you probably DON'T know about me, ranging from easy going trivia to (borderline in-depth) opinions.
I can't sing. I wish I could. My casting in JCS was largely due to Mr Guidice liking me - I don't even think I sang for the audition, and when they asked if I had a song prepared from the musical I gave a firm "no" and they retorted with an "ok, bye." I sing a lot to myself when I'm alone or when I'm driving, but I'm so off-key it's embarrassing.
I have this love for animals. It kills me when I hear about animal violence; to be honest I'm not overly comfortable when I consider the meat I eat. In that sense, I can understand the vegetarian point of view, but I know that at this point in my life I wouldn't be able to do it.
Life's dream: being a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.
I've never seen a vast majority of classic Disney cartoons. Cinderella - nope. Pocahontas, Bambi, Dumbo - none of them.
I love reality television. I've watched Survivor since the first season - yeah, impressive - but this is the first year that I've looked at it and I've decided not to watch. I think after 20 or so seasons it's all been the same to me.
Although we live in such a technological communicating society I find I still don't fully understand it. I sign on facebook daily now out of obligation; there's really nothing I do other than play Bejeweled Blitz for ridiculous amounts of time. While I'm constantly attached to my Blackberry and feel lost when I don't have it on me, I really don't see such a necessity for constant contact. Blackberry Messenger might've been the worst thing that's ever happened to me in that sense - I'm at my most accessible in a physical and literal sense, though not quite mentally. In the same realm, I feel like the internet is a bit of a slippery slope at times; I could even interchange the word "internet" for "blog" but since I'm a blogger I'd sound like a hypocrite. At times, a person completely logged on to the technological society can open themselves a bit too far; can burn bridges without discretion. Because of that, you don't see much personal ongoings here - you see things about Katy Perry's boobs and yetis.
I'm fairly absent minded; I say things without putting any weight behind them, and the times where another person were to go "what?" are times of weakness. I've always thought I'm opinionated - in fact, I can say I'm very opinionated - but my problem is I'm not so expressive. I can make my mind up on something, but I don't have enough fact or proof behind it. In a debate, I'd win due to being too stubborn.
Expect a sequel of sorts to this - much like, and I promise, some more entries to the Things I Hate vault.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Staring at a wall
This post is a bit of a hodge-podge of topics, though I think they're all cohesive enough with an underlying theme tying them all together. (I'm such an English student)
First off: my updating skills have been absolutely HORRIBLE, and for that I apologize. When was my last post, a week ago? Again, apologies - though I'm not sure if I have any readers frequent enough to care. (Maybe one or two) I think it's a combination of two things: that there's nothing going on in my life (more to come later) and that the only big event occurring has been pain, pain and pain (more to come... now!).
As I've previously talked about to DEATH, my wisdom teeth were pulled on Tuesday. Tuesday night was a bloody mess - do I intend the pun? Oh yes - and overall my Glee watching experience was not a positive one (it does not help that Quinn has been snatched). Wednesday was considerably better, but I decided not to chance school, since I had to be there Thursday for an exam; I decided to bide my health and not push it. But here we are now: wounds healed, I believe; pain to a minimum, stifled by a heavy dose of painkillers; but more importantly, and most unfortunately, a knot of paranoia in my stomach.
I stupidly have scared myself into a corner after reading countless horror stories of post-wisdom teeth removal horror stories - now I'm convinced that I'm developing dry sockets, but I'll spare you the gory details: in a nutshell, they involve the fact that I used a straw immediately after surgery, dislodged a blood clot, and am now (mentally?) experiencing sharp pains (even penetrating the painkill of the pain..killers) even up to my eye. That's what google told me, being signs of dry sockets. And now I'm at another standstill, wondering if I'll wake up in the morning to excruciating pain. Time will tell. I hate time.
The other big topic tied to my discomfort with staring at a theoretical wall is the reminder that I'm alone in Burlington - again. Not that anything's changed from the last time I've lamented about this - just the fact that last weekend, Thanksgiving, I had all my loved best friends at home and in one place again; and technically, come the end of the weekend, I had to go through another sort of goodbye, I'll still be here, that I've done time and time again. My Friday night is so far consisting of watching CSI reruns and playing classic Pokemon Gold (YUP!), and it makes me slightly unhappy knowing what's beyond my walls, my city. Aaaanyways.
Blah blah lament lament
Tomorrow has something going for it, definitely: Wonderland!
First off: my updating skills have been absolutely HORRIBLE, and for that I apologize. When was my last post, a week ago? Again, apologies - though I'm not sure if I have any readers frequent enough to care. (Maybe one or two) I think it's a combination of two things: that there's nothing going on in my life (more to come later) and that the only big event occurring has been pain, pain and pain (more to come... now!).
As I've previously talked about to DEATH, my wisdom teeth were pulled on Tuesday. Tuesday night was a bloody mess - do I intend the pun? Oh yes - and overall my Glee watching experience was not a positive one (it does not help that Quinn has been snatched). Wednesday was considerably better, but I decided not to chance school, since I had to be there Thursday for an exam; I decided to bide my health and not push it. But here we are now: wounds healed, I believe; pain to a minimum, stifled by a heavy dose of painkillers; but more importantly, and most unfortunately, a knot of paranoia in my stomach.
I stupidly have scared myself into a corner after reading countless horror stories of post-wisdom teeth removal horror stories - now I'm convinced that I'm developing dry sockets, but I'll spare you the gory details: in a nutshell, they involve the fact that I used a straw immediately after surgery, dislodged a blood clot, and am now (mentally?) experiencing sharp pains (even penetrating the painkill of the pain..killers) even up to my eye. That's what google told me, being signs of dry sockets. And now I'm at another standstill, wondering if I'll wake up in the morning to excruciating pain. Time will tell. I hate time.
The other big topic tied to my discomfort with staring at a theoretical wall is the reminder that I'm alone in Burlington - again. Not that anything's changed from the last time I've lamented about this - just the fact that last weekend, Thanksgiving, I had all my loved best friends at home and in one place again; and technically, come the end of the weekend, I had to go through another sort of goodbye, I'll still be here, that I've done time and time again. My Friday night is so far consisting of watching CSI reruns and playing classic Pokemon Gold (YUP!), and it makes me slightly unhappy knowing what's beyond my walls, my city. Aaaanyways.
Blah blah lament lament
Tomorrow has something going for it, definitely: Wonderland!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Gridlock
I'm stressing as hell about my upcoming wisdom teeth removal. Perhaps what's stressing me out worse is the week I have after Tuesday's surgery: an English paper due in class on Wednesday, an Ecology midterm on Thursday, and a planned trip to Wonderland's Halloween Haunt on Saturday.
My dentist has already patronized me and practically yelled that I'm "not taking this surgery seriously." Okay, well - I'm a UNIVERSITY STUDENT. This is beyond inconvenient. You think I planned to have an essay and a midterm right after my damn wisdom teeth were pulled?
And nearly everyone I've talked to about my dilemma looks at me with a dire, stone cold face. Nobody's assured me that maybe, MAYBE I'll be healthy enough to go to school on Wednesday to at least hand in my essay; instead, I get horror stories of doom about how I won't even be able to walk the day after. I've accepted that I'd have to go bruised and swollen; and yes, I know that my healing will be entirely up to chance and yes, it doesn't look so good, but I'd like some maybes or blind assurance.
Am I royally fucked? Will I miss the deadline to physically hand in my paper, and will I be completely stoned when trying to write an exam? I hate that this is up to chance, and I hate that I have to sit and wait until the day of.
My dentist has already patronized me and practically yelled that I'm "not taking this surgery seriously." Okay, well - I'm a UNIVERSITY STUDENT. This is beyond inconvenient. You think I planned to have an essay and a midterm right after my damn wisdom teeth were pulled?
And nearly everyone I've talked to about my dilemma looks at me with a dire, stone cold face. Nobody's assured me that maybe, MAYBE I'll be healthy enough to go to school on Wednesday to at least hand in my essay; instead, I get horror stories of doom about how I won't even be able to walk the day after. I've accepted that I'd have to go bruised and swollen; and yes, I know that my healing will be entirely up to chance and yes, it doesn't look so good, but I'd like some maybes or blind assurance.
Am I royally fucked? Will I miss the deadline to physically hand in my paper, and will I be completely stoned when trying to write an exam? I hate that this is up to chance, and I hate that I have to sit and wait until the day of.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Matt's Guide to the Creatures of UTM
I promise you, this will be the most ridiculous thing you will ever read.
Arguably, things I hate became one of the more popular posts here, specifically the part about the yeti. I thought to myself: Well, there are a whole lot of yetis at UTM that aren't even yetis. Instead, in the woods of Mississauga, there lives a whole hoard of mythical creatures - and by that I mean people that me and my friends have singled out and given nicknames.
By the way, yeah, this can be taken as pretty mean, but more importantly I've meant this as a joke. It's not like many people read this blog, and of those people I will bet all of my limbs that anyone mentioned doesn't read this, let alone know my name.
Arguably, things I hate became one of the more popular posts here, specifically the part about the yeti. I thought to myself: Well, there are a whole lot of yetis at UTM that aren't even yetis. Instead, in the woods of Mississauga, there lives a whole hoard of mythical creatures - and by that I mean people that me and my friends have singled out and given nicknames.
- The YETI. Quickly becoming one of the most popular creatures, we see the Yeti around a lot.
- YAN. Everyone knows this guy. No explanation needed. (pretty much, he's a SUPER awkward guy who is always in every lecture and every tutorial/lab for some reason.. he has absolutely NO social skills, and yeah you can look at me and call me rude, but he constantly hovers around you breathing his stank breath and unwelcomely interjects with the weirdest things)
- The GING. Yan's main squeeze. But by that I mean the girl he usually stalks around and awkwardly inserts himself into her conversations much to her displeasure.
- BUCKBEAK. Originally the creepy guy who stared at one of my friends in his calculus tutorial, I coined the name Buckbeak because one calculus class we were like "let's assign Harry Potter names" (...) and he certainly resembles a hippogriff. A new revelation is that he added another of my friends on facebook, somehow knowing her full name.
- The RABBIT. A girl who looks like a rabbit who cut in front of me at the vending machines once. Bitch.
- PLASTIC MOUSE. A former roommate of a friend, this girl's face looks fake like a plastic mask while at the same time looking like a rodent.
- SALLY SLUR. One out of two of Plastic Mouse's minions. She has a slur.
- DEIDRIKA McWEAVE. The second of the minions. Some girl who everyone thinks is hot but she has this limp ugly weave extension.
- The GRIZZLY BEAR. Some guy in my Science Fiction class who looks like an awkward grizzly bear who constantly talks about the ENDING of each of the books out loud and obnoxiously. He's spoiled 2/3 for me.
- The CRAZY RUSSIAN GUY. Another famous one everyone can recognize around campus. A crazy looking Russian guy who literally runs around campus with a rolly backpack and is always wearing a full on suit.
- STANKFACE. Not a personal nickname (I'm responsible for most); he's a guy who has a lot of common classes with me and my friends, and one of my friends has a serious problem with his face for some reason.
- The SICKLY GIRL. A girl who weighs 50 pounds. I'm sure of it.
- PORKO. The biggest of them all. This charmer barrels toward you in the search of food.
- STARBURST GIRL. Why would you wear neon purple pants, a neon orange shirt, and have a neon purple bag?
- And the greatest of them all.. SNUBBULL.
By the way, yeah, this can be taken as pretty mean, but more importantly I've meant this as a joke. It's not like many people read this blog, and of those people I will bet all of my limbs that anyone mentioned doesn't read this, let alone know my name.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Show me your teeth
This morning, after visiting the dentist, I was overjoyed (and by overjoyed I don't mean overjoyed at all) to find that my wisdom teeth need to be pulled. I've never had a major dental procedure done; I've had fillings, but they're nothing compared to this. And yeah, I'm kinda worried.
Conveniently, of course, since I'm having this done on Tuesday, it's smack dab in the middle of everything. I'll be missing my Cinema class, but it's pretty useless anyways, but on Wednesday I have a paper due and on Thursday, a midterm. Meaning I can't take Wednesday off too to recoup. Meaning I'll be going bruised and swollen and looking horrible going to school.. not really looking forward to it.
However, I'm looking forward to my Britney Spears hallucination.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
September has ended. Wake me up
It's already October. How is time flying so quickly? (And do I feel ashamed of referencing Green Day? ..yes)
It's weird to think that the easy read that has been the month of September is coming to an end. Done are the days passing by where it's okay to miss a reading or two; done are the weeks without due dates. Now that October's begin, I feel like my life is being shifted into an overdrive, with three (..four?) midterms coming up in the next two weeks and one (..two?) essays due. Fun, fun.
Today was no exception: with my first midterm on Monday night, I spent a good seven or eight hours studying. You're right: it must be the apocalypse, since I've never studied for a test in my life. But this professor moves through about 50 slides in an hour, breakneck speed with no time to breathe, explain or, more importantly, teach. So my study session was a good cramming for a midterm with an impossible amount of information. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% confident, because I'm not; I've heard that the tests are impossibly specific, and looking back at the past exams I'm just overjoyed to see that each multiple choice question has options a-g. DNA is my mistress. I'm not sure what I'll do come tomorrow, as I work all day, and I don't know when I'll be able to return to my books.
On the flip side, it's October 2nd. October 3rd in two hours. So here's the optimist in me: it's already 10% through the month. Yeah: what? I'm certain that time will fly, given the crammed school schedule, and it already looks like each of my weekends are tied up. Next weekend is already Thanksgiving, and come Friday, just six (five) days until the end of the week, I'll have soldiered through two midterms already.
Deep breath.
It's weird to think that the easy read that has been the month of September is coming to an end. Done are the days passing by where it's okay to miss a reading or two; done are the weeks without due dates. Now that October's begin, I feel like my life is being shifted into an overdrive, with three (..four?) midterms coming up in the next two weeks and one (..two?) essays due. Fun, fun.
Today was no exception: with my first midterm on Monday night, I spent a good seven or eight hours studying. You're right: it must be the apocalypse, since I've never studied for a test in my life. But this professor moves through about 50 slides in an hour, breakneck speed with no time to breathe, explain or, more importantly, teach. So my study session was a good cramming for a midterm with an impossible amount of information. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% confident, because I'm not; I've heard that the tests are impossibly specific, and looking back at the past exams I'm just overjoyed to see that each multiple choice question has options a-g. DNA is my mistress. I'm not sure what I'll do come tomorrow, as I work all day, and I don't know when I'll be able to return to my books.
On the flip side, it's October 2nd. October 3rd in two hours. So here's the optimist in me: it's already 10% through the month. Yeah: what? I'm certain that time will fly, given the crammed school schedule, and it already looks like each of my weekends are tied up. Next weekend is already Thanksgiving, and come Friday, just six (five) days until the end of the week, I'll have soldiered through two midterms already.
Deep breath.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)