New Painting and Apologies

My good and noble comrades. i am sorry for my long silence. in light of the fact i have disconnected my internet, i have not been able to post as often, and on the occaisions that i have had the opportunity, i havent had much to say. BUT i finally finished the painting amit commissioned from me (above) so i thought id post. i call it self portrait number three, aka painting for amit. this photograph is not the greatest, its a little grainy (im not sure why, lets blame amit, shall we?) but you get the idea. in other news, there just has not been a whole lot going on with me, i moved to my new place, its pretty good, im no longer at the bar, and my work schedule with special needs will be picking up considerably starting in july. my phone took over a month to get connected (UNACCEPTABLE), ive been getting lots of writing done lately, and i guess thats about it. so, sorry again my friends, i will try to keep my blog a little more updated, its just that i havent got much to write about lately. catch you all on the flip side :)

That Crazy Redhead

well, since i was just visiting my uncle, i had a chance to do some catching up with archie comics, a guilty indulgence of mine that i only participate in at his house, because my cousin still collects them. i wish i still had my old books... maybe ill start buying them again. anyway, so i was trying to avoid learning about cell migration for the second time when i decided to go on the archie comics website. needless to say, the "note to parents" is hilarious. it discusses, in detail, how the website is supposed to depict the characters in "the wholesome manner in which they are depicted in the books" and they adhere to a number of guidlines to meet this standard the last of which is, AND I QUOTE: "[that the characters] never be shown engaging in any activity which is contradictory to the commitment of ACP to the use of the characters to promote good dental and personal hygiene."
HAHAHAHA there it is folks, archie and the gang exist, in part, to help promote good dental hygiene!!!! in all my years of reading archies, ive RARELY seen any of tehm brush their teeth, and i dont think ANY of them have ever been to the dentist. not to mention the bottomless sundaes and piles of candy and bubble gum jughead goes through. dental hygiene. man, that made my day.

HAPPY EARTH DAY

well comrades, here it is, another beautiful earth day. looks like spring was just waiting for earth day to make its appearance. this has been a great earth day for me, i spent almost the entire day lolling about in the sun with sabrina. first we went to the park, and i read her the lorax. i read her the lorax almost every week (shes probably sick of it) but i was extra excited to read it on earth day. then we played on the swings, and once my ass got sore from being crammed into a swing, i just laid in the sun and watched sabrina swinging away. then we went back to her house and had snack outside in the backyard, which was great. then her dad came home and we hung out for a little bit, and now im back home, the sun is setting, and i have to get to work on biology. what a beautiful day. i cant even bring myself to be that miffed about needing to miss swimming to study. so i hope all of you found time today to appreciate this glorious planet we have, and maybe those resource wasters among you have realised that this is our spectacular planet, and we should do what we can to make it sustainable forever.

Pheonix

this is the piece i did for clancy for Christmas "pheonix"

Pussycat Dolls???

DISCLAIMER: I AM ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT EVERYTHING I AM ABOUT TO SAY HAS BEEN SAID BY SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, ALREADY
ok so, i know this is a little behind the times, but in an attempt to avoid studying for logic, i found myself looking up stuff on the pussycat dolls. the first time i heard about them was on ryan's blog: www.ryjuice.blogspot.com, where he reviews their album, and i strongly reccommend you check out his review... it pretty much says it all. anyway, based on his review, and my boredom, i decided to watch a couple of their videos, and heres what i have to say:
WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS?????
are they supposed to be singers? because they arent! theyre almost strippers masquerading as singers, and really, only one of them does any singing, and she sucks. man, this band is so ridiculous, its not even FUNNY. ALSO, i would like to add a side note, that dancing like a stripper is EASY. the only thing that makes one stripper better than another is how hot she is. as far as that goes, all of these girls are smokin. and thats it.
so, to sum it all up, the pussycat dolls suck, and dont make any sense
in other news, check out the fratellis... flathead is amazing and so is got ma nuts from a hippy.... these guys are rolling in as a close third for my favourite band...
also, check out ryans blog. ryan is a hilarious blogger (although he doesnt blog that often) and a talented artist. :)

"Drama"

"Courtland and Callie" (with their portraits)

Some More Art

"Caleb"

"Fireworks"

"Flower"

"Mountain by the sea'

"Courtland and Callie"

Tim

this is a painting of a parrot i did for my uncle and aunt. i named him tim.

50 Signs You Might Be An Asshole Student

well, well, my favourite blogger, waiter, of www.waiterrant.net , published three seperate lists entitled "50 signs you might be working in a lousy establishment, 50 signs you might be an asshole customer, 50 signs your waiter is an asshole" the lists, for the most part, were great, and the comments following them up were great also. so, i have been inspired to write two lists of my own, in kind, and here is the first:
50 SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE AN ASSHOLE STUDENT
1) you DEMAND that the teacher post lecture notes, and berate them on internet forums if they dont
2) you DEMAND that the teacher post readings, and berate them on internet forums if they dont, instead of just using the INDEX
3) you DEMAND that the teacher post practice exams
4) you DEMAND the teacher post readings, after you have already looked up the relevant readings in the book and posted them
5) you haggle with your ta/the teacher over a mark, when, if you get your way, your test mark will only increase by 0.5%, and therefore make NO contribution to your final mark in the class
6) you make a point of telling everyone about your upcoming med school interview, but act like you dont really care
7) you make a point of telling everyone that youre re-writing the MCAT, after you tell them how "bad" you did, only getting in the 90th percentile
8) you tell your teacher, in front of everyone, before class begins, that "this course is going to make or break my 100% cumulative average for graduation, i only got 97% on the midterm"
9) you tell teh teacher its his or her fault you did poorly on the test
10) you cut off your peers in the middle of a discussion
11) you dont show up for group meetings
12) you start showing up for group meetings a week before the project is done and then start trying to commandeer the whole thing
13) you ask lab mates for primary literature, but ignore the same lab mates when they ask you for somethign
14) you are passive aggressive
15) you make sure everyone who comes within a 5 mile radius of you knows that you dont drink because youre "serious" about school
16) you find it appalling that some people take time off from school
17) you find it appalling that some people work for a living
18) you eat at the establishments where these "appallling" peers of yours work and throw up on the tables after binge drinking
19) you eat at these same establishments and punch holes in the wall
20) you eat at these same establishments and have sex in the bathroom
21) you wear any sort of engineering faculty clothing
22) you call people "retards"
23) you use the word "gay" to mean "stupid"
24) you think family guy is a great show
25) you think you are incredibly intelligent but you dont know what the word "rhetoric" means
26) you think you are incredibly intelligent but you dont know what "mutually exclusive" means
27) you wear your skankiest clubbing outfit to class on the first day of spring, no matter how cold it is
28) you give smokers on campus the evil eye, but have no problem bumming smokes at teh bar because youre a "social smoker"
29) you bum smokes on campus and dont say please or thank you or im so sorry to do this and then jsut walk away like i owed you a favour anyway
30) you go to the library "to study" and just talk on your cell phone in the non-designated areas
31) you use the library computers to talk on msn when other people need the computers to print of assignments
32) you go to the second cup and have really "sophisticated" "philosophical" conversations loud enough for the whole world to hear
33) you relay some story to a girl about when you were in germany and make sure you say the dialogue once in german and once in english just so that she KNOWS you speak both languages.
34) the days leading up to reading week, every sentence has the words "bathing suit" "cancun" and "tanning" in it
35) you make sure to tell lower years that youre working on your undergraduate thesis to make yourself feel important
36) you have a blackberry (who are you? a lawyer?)
37) you get a new ipod every six months
38) you have never been downtown. not even once. not even to go to a movie
39) instead of using your supervisor's computer which has all of teh software you need for your project, you decide to waste a group meeting that everyone had to juggle their schedules to attend, to download trial software on to your laptop instead
40) you consider yourself an "activist" but all of your clothes are from places like the gap, banana republic, club monaco, etc, (my MOM bought them for me! what are you, six?) and you talk down to everyone in the service industry
41) you have never. ever. had a job
42) you consider yourself and environmentalist, but you drive an SUV (but i recycle!)
43) you think being a maroon (spirit leader) actually looks good on a med school application
44) you think that it takes 6 people to make a collage
45) you think that the teacher is talking to you, and you alone, during class
46) you think you and the teacher are friends
47) you are just pretending to like a teacher so youll get a good reference
48) you stop going to your volunteering job once your med school application has been processed
49) you think getting on the guest list at the campus bar is really cool
50) you think the campus bar is a club

Russian Caravan

as promised, i am going to review any new teas that i try. so, here we go, tea #1. RUSSIAN CARAVAN is a tea that i bought one, maybe two, weeks ago by Choice Organic Teas. Of course, i only bought it because it said "'russian caravan" on it, and it is a black tea, of which i am running low. anyway, so the back of the box informs us that "organic russian caravan tea features the bold flavours so highly sought by the 19th century Russian Czar. Camel caravans laboured over a perilous route from China, and months of nightly fires added a heady aroma to the tea cargo. Our select black tea blend combines rich yunnan with distinctively smoky lapsang souchong"
alright, so once i saw this tea had yunnan in it, i was pretty excited, since golden heaven yunnan is my favourite tea ever (see post: sweet elixer of life!), but i had never tried lapsang souchong. after doing a little bit of research i found out that lapsang souchong is a smoked tea, which is where this tea gets its strong aroma. upon opening the box, i was assaulted with the strangest smell. at first, the smell is mild and nice, but then the overpowering smoky pine smell is enough to knock you off your feet. it smells like wet, burning wood... not that pleasant. so i was a little apprehensive, but i made a cup anyway. i thought maybe once i poured the tea, it would smell better. no such luck, once it was steeped, it still smelled pretty awful. but, once i put a little milk in it, the smell was neutralised somewhat, and the scent became more of a subtle smoky aroma. surprisingly, the taste was alright. with milk, the tea tastes more like a mild black tea, with the faintest smoky aroma, and its not that bad. all in all i would give this tea a 3.5 out of 5. not terrible, not great... im sure i will finish the box. if anyone is thinking of trying it, dont be mislead by the offputting aroma before theres milk in it. the milk really settles it down.

Gifts From God

today, i want to send this post out to my dear friend amit. in this trying time of my life, where i have been struggling with just about everything, i have really learned that friends are gifts from God. amit and i met one fateful day in plant biodiversity lab, and we have been adventuring together ever since (see posts about my birthdays, and many restaurant reviews, and just general posts about my adventures). today i had some trials. i was struggling to come up with a thesis for my ecology paper, and then at swimming, in spite of acheiving a personal best, i had a bit of a run in with my coach. long story short, i wasnt happy with my performance during a set and my coach hauled me out of the pool to give me a talk about how im doing well and he didnt mean to push me too hard and that i should take pride in the team no matter what and so on and so forth and since im a big overachiever, this display of kindness in the face of feeling lousy just made me more upset. so anyway i just got home, and im feeling like crap, and then theres an msn message on my computer from amit that im not answering my phone. so i call him back and i didnt even tell him about my lousy day and hes like want to grab coffee. and im like, yes, yes i do. and so i want to thank you, amit, for always being there for me. and i want you (and everyone who reads my blog) to know that i am so thankful to God for bringing us together. weve both had our trials and struggles, and weve both driven each other up the wall at times, but if there's one thing im taking from four years of mcmaster, it is our friendship.

Ode To The Lovers

they took a ride to la-la land with no sign of coming back
left us all behind
left us in the dust
sure they never would come back
they seemed to like it there
i had been there once
but my lease ran out and i left
but they seem to like it
i don't think they're ever coming back

Preview

alright here we go with my first ever review of a preview. hahaha. i am going to discuss the new spiderman movie. everyone seems pretty geared up for it, but i have to say, so far i havent been overly impressed with the new strain at all. this new one looks like it should be called "spiderman versus the dark forces inside himself versus giant sand monster man" and im pretty sure thats going to be the whole movie. anyway, of course im going to see it, but im just not as blown away by the preview as everyone else is. c'est la vie.

No One Said It Would Be Easy

well, i feel totally out of control right now. my grades are slip, slip, slipping, and the worse it gets, the less i want to do. i dont know how im going to get through the month of april with nonstop exams, papers, moving, and needing to take on more special needs clients. fourth year is supposed to be the final send off, but all its shaping up to be for me is one big flunk fest. i dont know how much more of this i can take. theres so much pressure to succeed... everyone seems to have their shit together, while i just sit at home watching six feet under and waiting for my next swim to start. i feel like everything i do these days is a form of escapism. television, books, movies, swimming, drinking, eating, napping....even right now, im blogging because i felt i needed a "study break"... i only gave my studying a solid hour. there was a time when i could study for a six hour stretch. fuck, what is WRONG with me?

The Day My Grandfather Died

my grandfather died today. this was a man that i never saw very much, and i didnt know him very well. but my dad is feeling a tremendous sense of loss right now, and it all got me thinking. i think the thing that makes me saddest about death, and this one in particular, is how life just goes on. today, i had a cigarette in the bright warm sun, and my grandfather will never feel the sun on his skin again. and i walked through torrential downpour rains today, and he will never get to hear the raindrops drumming away on the pavement, kindly coaxing the flowers back to life. and he will never get to see the sunset, or smell the wet grass in the spring, or experience any of the other beautiful things there are on this most miraculous planet. and i know that heaven is supposed to be so much more marvellous than anything here, so great that in our mortal lives, we cannot even comprehend it, but at the same time i am sad, because there is so much beauty here [see "why i study biology" in the archives] that i dont know what to do with it. and even though the afterlife is so much better, i have a lot of appreciation for the things here, and i love every inch of it, as it surrounds me, all the time.
my thoughts and prayers are with you dad, and rest in peace, grandpa.

My New Self Portrait

Our Endless Numbered Days

man, i am in such a grouch today. first of all, the chick who gave me my orthotics gave me grief about my shoes being too small, which was upsetting because i just bought them and i know theyre snug and i just didnt want to hear it. then, my arm is KILLING me, i think i messed it up doing rhomboid lifts. i cant believe how much it hurts. THEN my appointment to see my new apartment took way too long and here i am missing swimming, partly because i didnt go late, and partly because i feel i should rest my arm. what a lot of frustration. :( hopefully tomorrow will be better.

YES

YES, i am wearing my pyjamas to school, and YES, i know that the top clashes with the bottoms, and YES, i am waiting to use the toilet, i dont think that the washroom in BSB is a really cool place to hang out, and YES, my piercings did hurt, and YES, i smoke, and YES, i really am a vegetarian, and YES, i wear my glasses to see and not for fashion, and YES, i really do hate coldplay, and YES, i really do hate Rush, and YES, i have two cats, and YES, i am graduating this year, and YES, i really didnt ever need braces, and YES, that was a stupid question.

My Deepest Desires?

last night i had the strangest dream. i dreamt that i was at this dinner party. i cant remember who all was there, but it was mostly people i know. i think jordan might have been there, but im not sure. anyway, the main course had shrimp in it, and i was like, i dont eat shrimp. but then i started eating it anyway, i think i figured what the hell. and then i was crunching them and munching them and eating them all, even the tails. and then, we were all drinking really large tequila shots. like, large as in that kind of shot doesnt really exist. like three or four ounces. and i was stressed because we didnt rim the glasses with salt, but then i remembered that the usual way is to put the salt on your hand. anyway, so then my dream suddenly changed, and my histology teacher was actually my dentist, but she was dressed like a surgeon. and she gave me a needle in the part of my hand on the top side in the fleshy part between the thumb and finger. and i was like, ow, what was that for. and she was like, you have herpes. and i was like thats not even possible. and she didnt believe me, and i was really aggravated. so then i figured out that i got herpes because owen had herpes and i had used his towel after he had used it without washing it, so i got the herpes on myself that way. also, i had no symptoms of herpes. WEIRD

A New Kind Of Review

well, im sitting here procrastinating when i should be studying, so ive decided to do an altogether new kind of review: a review of my supper. during this supper i tried three new products from the health food store, so i guess its kind of like a consumer review.






















first, i tried the new simply asia sesame teriyaki noodle bowl. this product is brought to us by the makers of the thai kitchen products, which, for instant meals, are among the best. the simply asia stuff is all natural "premium" versions of the same thing. these noodle bowls are kind of expensive, but they contain an impressive amount of food and you can clean out the bowl and reuse it. this is handy, since it comes with a snap on lid, and dont we all need more reusable containers? anyway, the noodles are already cooked which makes for speedy delivery to your empty, hurried guts. the sauce was fine, no complaints, ill give this instant meal an A on the instant meal grading system.
next i had shady maple farms certified organic maple waffles. these are a different version of those dutch waffle cookies that have syrup in between. i have been eyeing them at the health food store for a while. since i finally caved and decided to fork out the 5.50 for them, i was delighted to learn that they are expired and the chick gave them to me for free. woo hoo! free cookies! anyway, these are good, just as good as the regular ones, but without all the refined sugar. possibly even better because maple is one of the greatest flavours ever. the only thing is the cookies themselves tasted a little over done, like they had been in the oven too long, but let me reiterate: FREE COOKIES.
finally, i bought a bag of dried pineapple caleld "frutos de los andes" by level ground trading ltd. as the name would suggest, this company is all about organic foods and fair trade, no exploiting the south americans for these guys. right on. anyway, so the pineapple is delicious, it hasnt been sweetened, its just ripe, so i like it a lot. not too sugary, a nice little snack.
so there you go, three new products for you to try to put yummies in your tummies and feel good about it too.

The Times They Are A Changin'

well, as you can all see, i have made some changes to the appearance of my blog. im not sure how im feeling about the colours i picked, so i would really appreciate some feedback. its just that the green and blue werent really working for me, and i think we all know why, im a red and black and white girl at heart and i feel these colours are a little more me. im just not sure if i should change the post title colour to red and the link colour on the side to yellow or maybe something else. so let me know what you guys think :)
also, i have added some new links to the sidebar. i have added cat and girl, my favourite online comic, also a great supplier of hilarious tshirts, a link to daniel wheaton's blog (there you go buddy, i did you a favour) and live from montréal details the infrequent ramblings of kyle effin bailey. so enjoy.

Sweet Elixer Of Life!

i realised a while ago that my blog is titled "science tea and cats" and that i have talked often about science, occasionally about cats, and very rarely, if at all, about tea. so, i feel it is due time that i devote a post to that most divine beverage: tea. as im sure most of my readers are aware, i drink an unusual amount of tea. i also collect teas, my end goal being to be able to say "you have the sickness, i have the cure, please follow me to the tea room" and then provide the illness with a befitting tea. so what is the deal with tea? i am going to outline this post in a somewhat organized fashion, because i have a lot to say. so be warned: long post ahead.
THE HISTORY OF TEA
most people are aware that tea has been around for thousands of years. legend has it that tea was first created when some ancient chinese people (probably monks, the ancient chinese in stories are always monks) were boiling water in a big pot one day near a bush and apparently some leaves fell into the pot. the monks noticed this and decided to try drinking the beverage anyway (this seems like an unwise and rather un-monklike decision, since the leaves could have been poison, but maybe they were just THAT enlightened) and they decided they liked it. thus tea was born. the chinese have a long history of growing and making tea, and tea is a huge part of chinese culture. much of the health benefits associated with drinking tea come from the evidence shown in the obvious longevity of chinese tea drinkers
but the chinese are not the only people who have been drinking tea for a long time. tea has been prevalent in indian culture for centuries or even millenia as well. also, there is huge cultural significance surrounding tea in japan. also, we dont hear much about it, but certain kinds of tea are just as relevant to south americans as coffee.
now lets fast forward to more recent history. tea managed to find its way over to europe during the time of the explorers, and everyone fell in love with it (and why not?), particularly the british. so, during the height of the british empire, tea was a huge import to britain and the british colonies. also, due to the heavy influence the british empire had on the countries it had occupied, many british customs leaked into those countries and stayed there for good. this includes india (which, as i mentioned, already had tea going for it), canada, the united states, and parts of africa. to this day, even after the long over fall of the british empire, tea is the number one most consumed beverage in the whole world, and that is in part due to the huge influence of the british. also, as im sure most of you may know, the british and the australians still have a prevalent and unique culture surrounding tea, with "afternoon tea" or "high tea" enjoyed by everyone at 4pm (what we in canada lovingly refer to as after school snack).
KINDS OF TEA
types of tea are differentiated by their processing and by what part of the tea leaf is used. in some cases, the plant is not the usual tea leaf.
1) Black Tea: black tea is made from tea leaves that have been fully oxidized during processing. it has a higher caffeine level than other teas, and is the tea of choice of most north americans.
2) Green Tea: green tea is not oxidized. it is withered after harvesting to prevent oxidation. it is the traditional tea of many asian countries including china and japan. many people consider green tea to be the "healthiest" tea. (i think that every tea has health benefits, it just depends on what benefits you are looking for). green tea generally has lower caffeine and higher levels of antioxidants than black tea, and is an excellent detoxification tea. it is also associated with longevity and lower rates of colon cancer in women.
3) white tea: white tea is made from only the top (young) leaves and buds of the plant, which have a delicate white layer on them, hence the name white tea. because of this, white tea is the most rare, and is often the most expensive. it has the highest antioxidants and detoxifying agents of all the teas, and is therefore helpful for good liver function. (an excellent hangover tea). the caffeine level in white tea is also minimal, comparable to that of green tea.
4) oolong tea: the word oolong means "black dragon" so you know its a sexy tea. the leaves are partly oxidized after withering, steaming and rolling so it is kind of a combination of black and green tea. a great tea for someone who wants the best of both worlds.
5) flavoured tea: flavoured tea is any of the above tea that have been combined with something to have a flavour in them. there might just be spices or petals of certain flowers mixed in with the tea, or the tea might have been cooked briefly with essential oils from a certain fruit. in other cases, the combination of two different flavours fools you into tasting something completely different. (example: aloe vera and white tea leaves an aroma of white grapefruit)
6) herbal teas: these can be anything. herbal teas are just dried plant leaves that you prepare like tea. usually caffeine free, and in some cases, you can take drugs this way.
7) yerba meté: this tea is made from a different plant. it has great cultural significance in south america, and grows in the rainforest. it is associated with longevity and high caffeine levels leading to increased memory and mental awareness. interestingly, for such a potent upper, it has a very mild taste
8) matcha: this is the special powdered green tea from japan, used in particular during the famous japanese tea ceremony (which takes like, five hours!). this tea is considered to be more beneficial to your health than regular green tea because you are actually eating the ground up leaves while you drink it
9) rooibos: rooibos means "red bush" and this tea has only recently been introduced in north america. rooibos is native to south africa. of all the teas, it is the most acquired taste. it is caffeine free, high in antioxidants, aids in digestion, and may help prevent heart disease. there are many flavoured rooibos teas out there, but plain rooibos has an almost berry-like taste.
MY FAVOURITE TEAS
since i have such a keen interest in tea, i am always looking out for new ones to try. so, from here on out, i am going to start publishing tea reviews of all the new teas i try here on my blog. that said, i will just briefly mention my favourites here. its a hard decision to make, because different teas have different purposes and i drink each one at different times for different reasons. because of this, i like all teas for one reason for another. that said, here are my top three overall.
3) "heaven's key" custom mix by teaopia. heaven's key is a white tea mixed with aloe vera bits (mentioned above) to leave a white grapefruit aroma. my mum gave me a bag of this tea for christmas, and it was phenomenal. i couldnt get enough of it, it was so good, especially after a night of drinking. i have less that one cup's worth left now, and ive been saving that last little bit for when i really really want it.
2) earl grey. any earl grey will do, but i think my favourite so far is the organic one i picked up at the health store. earl grey in general is a straight up classic black tea with a slightly citrus aroma. i take mine with milk, by far my stand by and usual first cup of the day.
1) golden heaven yunnan: this tea is available at zencha tea bar in collingwood. it is a very rare african black tea and it is SOOOOO expensive. its 35 dollars for 100g of the stuff, but man oh man, that stuff is like CRACK. the aroma is beautiful, the taste is wonderful, it doesnt need milk (but you could put milk in if you want) and after a cup of it, you get this amazing body buzz. its actually pretty unreal, ive never had anything like it.

runners up: white monkey paw, peppermint black gunpowder, throat comfort tea, and bija double ginger

The Truth About Television

for years i have whole heartedly rejected television. that is, i do not have cable, and i generally watch movies over television when given the choice. i mean, im one of the only people i know who actually says "television" instead of that disgusting abbreviation, tv. but, i will admit, through various means, whether legal or not, i do occaisonally run into shows that i cannot get enough of (minus commercials, the cornerstone of my anti television philosophy). most recently, the two shows i have become enamoured with (or re-enamoured with in one case) are house and scrubs. and as i have sat here, making excuses for watching both of these shows when i actually have schoolwork to do, forcing myself to stay up very very late to get schoolwork done, or missing swimming like i am tonight, i realised a solemn truth about the television shows that do, somehow, manage to grab me. the fact is, the shows that do break their way through my enormous resistance, are shows that bring me hope. i know that most medical shows (or law shows, or crime shows or whatever) are not very realistic and so on, but there's something about the lessons that soothe me. there's something about watching fake people accomplish everything that i have set out to accomplish and learning their little scripted lessons along the way that make me feel better. and even, i hate to say it, inspire me. and for those 22 or 42 minute time frames, i find a way sometimes to believe in myself and what i do. to believe that i will one day reach out and take that medical degree, because right now, i sit here surrounded by my life and i am slowly building my staircase and climbing it at the same time

My Quest

well, what a day this has been. i set off this afternoon to see an apartment way a ways on the east side of hamilton. the girl i was supposed to meet never showed. so, i started hoofing it back instead of taking the bus to write down apartment phone numbers that i saw that i might be interested in. it was a long and treacherous walk (well not that treacherous) and i went to an apartment building i had seen had an open house closer to downtown. the super showed me an apartment and he was a very nice guy, and if i moved there, i would be allowed to have a dog. so thats pretty exciting, i just don't know if i can afford it. im looking at another place tomorrow thats about the same price, in a house. and im going to go down to this other building near my old place thats a little cheaper tomorrow. its all a little unnerving, but a little exciting too. i hope i can find a way to make my big grown up life work. as i was on the bus driving towards the no show, i couldnt help but feel i was looking for my future. or even my destiny. and as i was walking back, i kept seeing people with dogs and i wanted to accost them, saying "where do you live! get me a place in your building!" but of course i didnt.

Liquish?

well, as i mentioned in my previous post, i looked into the so-called "liquish" olives that i bought from the asian snack food store. unfortunately, i turned up very little information. what i can tell you is this. the "olives" as they were labelled in the store, are not the mediterranean olives that we are used to in greek cuisine. also, i think the word "liquish" might actually be a misspelling of "licorice" but im not sure. there might have been a licorice taste to the olives, but i usually like licorice, and these bad boys were awful. so, dear readers, i am asking you to see if you can find any information on this disgusting product for me, so i can have a better idea of what i ate.

Happy Snow Day!

i mean, happy valentine's day. and this has certainly been a valentines to remember. yesterday, the weather was brtual, we were having a blizzard and a half. it looked like a snow day for sure. i went to bed praying that today would be a snow day, because i had my logic midterm, and i was not prepared. so, early this morning, i checked to see if it was a snow day, and they had decided to close the school until noon and reevaluate the weather at 11am. damn. my test was supposed to be at 230, so as of this morning, i was still on the hook for writing it. i was frantically trying to study, and getting seriously stressed. but then, lo and behold, i checked the "reevaluation" of the weather at 11, and school was closed for the day! hooray! now i have a whole extra week plus some to prepare for the test, and prepare for it i shall. so, with a free day on my hands, i felt it was time for some adventuring. and of course, every adventurer needs a comrade, so of course i called amit. after some waiting around and watching seinfeld, amit arrived, and he had brought me a rose and some indian sweets for valentines! that just made my day. (amit, thank you again, you are such a doll). so we were off. i had it in my head that i wanted to try having steamed milk with mint in it, so first stop was the second cup. steamer with mint gets a roaring a+. then we were off to shoppers where i mailed kate her valentine (late of course), and then we went to the mall. i needed some cleaning supplies, and i thought we might stop into this strange asian food store for some foreign candied fruit. i got something called liquish olive and something else called sweet plum. i also got some wasabi chick peas and some cheese flavoured tiny breadsticks. everything was tasty except the olives, which were nasty. (research on them to be completed soon, update to follow). then we wandered around the mall for a bit to pick up my cleaning supplies and i was kind of sort of looking for sunglasses, but i wasnt too bent on the idea. before we left, i got it in my head that i wanted to try running up the down escalator. it was so awesome. about half way up i heard people cheering but i couldnt see where they were because i was looking at my feet. then i made it all they way to the top, but i couldnt get off the thing because the top is the hardest part. so i ended up falling (and i SCREWED my ankle, the same ankle which i already have an x ray and a sports medicine appointment for) and i bashed my knee, but man was it worth it. so i rode the escalator back down on my ass to amit waiting at the bottom. looking around, i realised that the people cheering were some mall rats between 13 and 15 years old. they were also horsing around on the escalator, and the security guard showed up to tell them off while amit and i made a quick retreat. after that we were off to noodle chef, where we each had a beto box, and then on our way home. what a riot. i cant wait to tell the doctor that i hurt my ankle MORE while i was running up a down elevator. im sure that will go over AWESOME.

Fond-Who?

yesterday was the grand finale to yet another hilarious amit and chloé adventure. the best part about this particular adventure, is that its duration spanned the better part of three days, and i hope i leave no stone unturned while telling the story. so here it is.
last week, i recieved an email from everybody's favourite artist, shayla, inviting me to a party she was having friday, february 9. i made a mental note of this email, and then dismissed it for the time being. come monday of this week, i realised the party was looming and i needed someone to go with, since shaylas partise are always busy and i dont want to take up all of her social time when she has other people to be talking to. so, of course, of course, i did what anyone would do in this situation, i invited amit. amit said of course hed come, and the plans were set. after that, we figured going to shaylas would be as easy as stopping at the liquor store, but we were wrong. on tuesday, i ran into one of shaylas friends, amanda, at the blood donor clinic (sweet elixer of life!), who reminded me of two things. the first was that the costume theme of the party was the food industry (which was apparently amanda's idea) and that we were supposed to bring dip. good thing i ran into her, i thought. so on wednesday, when i met up with amit, i said "what dip are we going to bring to shaylas party? we need to bring the most original dip, something NOONE else will bring." and without missing a beat, amit said "fondue". GENIUS! i said, except we need a fondue pot. so, since we both had our afternoon free, we made plans to go on a fondue pot quest on thursday, after our shopping around on wednesday was far from fruitful. (although, i did finally get some grocery shopping done on that day, and amit and i made a trip to the bakery. there was also a pie incident that threatened our friendship, but crisis was averted, and the story goes on).
so, thursday afternoon we head downtown. since i had given blood on tuesday, that gave me the green light for a new piercing, and i had been itching for a double eyebrow piercing for quite sometime. i asked amit if he wouldnt mind if we made a side trip so i could start my eyebrow piercing adventure, and he said no problem. so, i got an appointment at the parlour. an hour or so later, and i was pierced and feeling great, with amit having been my first ever stand by piercing witness. he also held my glasses for me which was nice.
so we were off, eyebrow throbbing, hearts pounding, in anticipation of our soon to be fondue pot. we ended up finding one at this really cracked out department store called hart in jackson square. there was this guy a head of us in line with scary prison tats, but the fondue pot was nice and cheap. so amit suggested we go to the liquor store right after so we wouldnt have to go the next day but i said wait because i didnt know how much money i had. this turned out to be a bad call on my part, details to follow. anyway, so i was pretty buzzed with my new piercing and i wanted to go for a couple of drinks. amit was kind of hungry, so we went to this dive bar called buttinsky's down town. i got havlf snapped on three doubles, thanks to my blood donation, and amit and i had an ever interesting exchange of information regarding each other's religion. will that topic ever get old? i think not. so after that, we headed to our seperate homes
friday nite came around with amit calling to ask me to let him into the building, only to get in on his own and scare the pants off of me in the hall. we decided to walk to fortinoes and the liquor store, since the bus is rarely any faster for a medium walking distance like that. on our way to the liquor store, however, we discovered that someone had taken an enormous chunk out of dundurn street. i said it looked like a supervillain had been through. anyway, there was absolutely no way to get down dundurn, so we had to find a way around. after getting trapped in a cul de sac, we accosted a motorist to direct us around, and then we were on our way. after picking up liquor, we went to the grocery store to get fruits and chocolate, and had much bickering along the way about how to buy fruit and how we should have gone to the liquor store on thursday. anyway. i, having three siblings, consider bickering a cornerstone to healthy relationships. amit is not as used to it and i think he was worried we were fighting. anyway, on the way home, irritation with each other gave way to laughter and excitement about the party. we were so excited about our fondue, we were sure it would be the best dip at the party. we were imagining that the fondue set would have people inviting us to all of their parties until we realised that people love the fondue, not us. then we predicted the fondue set would tear us apart in the end and wed have to get rid of it.
so we arrived at my house and got set to cut up the fruit which took a fraction of the time i thought it would. i got changed into my nice kitchen clothes (not my gross snooty clothes), and we headed to amits. amit pounded down three slices of bread at his house and i helped him with his tie, and he looked great. we headed across the street to shaylas only to find there were only four of us in costume! amanda wasnt even in costume even though the costumes were apparently her idea. not only that, but most of shaylas guests didnt show, they were mostly megans friends and shaylas boyfriends friends. but no matter, my outfit made the fondue seem even more slick and we were right, best dip at the party. amit and i spent the rest of the night pounding down bread and dip and vodka and having a grand time. we were sharing an armchair at one point and i joked later that all of that cuddling was blowing my chances of meeting someone at the party. i also ended up taking a nap in shaylas bed (of course) and then trying to nap more on the couch. shayla burned her self on hot pita bread and amit told her to put toothpaste on it and then she was fussing over it for the rest of the night. a couple more people showed up in costume at the end of the night, and we headed home well after two. so that is the story of the fondue. big thanks go out to shayla, we had a blast, and amit, heres to our next adventure.

Group Work

well, i have to say, if i have to do one more group project, im going to puke. and each group seems worst than the last. my current issue is with my ecology group, one of the girls in particular is a hyper keener, totally passive aggressive and controlling. she is one of these chicks who never lost that grade school mentality of "doing as much work as possible=getting an A". it was great though when our teacher ripped apart our outline that we handed in, that she wrote, because it was way too long and complicated. haha. anyway as if she wasnt irritating enough, i can handle people like that with my bitchiness and no nonsense manner, but i found myself sitting with ryan (thank God for ryan, i dont know what i would do in that group without him) listening to these girls talking about their friends who are engaged (and the one girl who is engaged) for like 20 minutes while i picked MUD out of my hair (result of riding my bike in this weather) wondering why it isnt blindingly obvious to my mother why i am not this kind of girl. what kind? the kind who is planning on getting married. this is exactly why. while girls like this titter and giggle about getting married, i am sitting with the only guy in the room picking mud out of my hair and writing my never ending to do list in my head. but WHATEVER, apparently IM the abnormal one. anyway, i finally finished my paper and i think i deserve/need a drink.

Sold!

well, after hearing so much about it, i finally saw an episode of house, and i am SOLD. house, as you may well know, is a show about a doctor who hates just about everything. he has no interest in treating patients, only in treating illnesses. tough diagnoses and treatments are his game, and thats exactly how he looks at it, a game. its like hes a detective, solving the mysteries hidden in enigmatic symptoms. hes rude, mean, uncaring, and dispassionate, and the show, as everyone keeps saying is fantastic. ive only seen the first episode (im supposed to be sleeping/studying) but it was totally worth it.

Eureka!

i have done it! after many years, the quest, until perhaps stumbling by accident upon a different outcome, is finally over. for years, i have eaten every slice of new pizza i could get my hands on. and i constantly, constantly, was playing a game of "sauce from place A plus cheese from place B plus crust from place C plus topping freshness from place D plus topping selection from place E equals the best pizza ever" but really, the quest was to find this perfect pizza without having to assemble it in my imagination using resources from 5 different places. and i think, at last, that it has been done. basilique in westdale is a pizza place that i have been to many times, but i dont think i have ever gotten the pizza. or if i had, it was only once, but i really dont think i ever had. anyway, i finally tried their vegetarian standard slice last night, and it was, without a doubt, the best piece of pizza i have ever had. that said, tonite i got their pizza called "sabrienas favourite" the only modification i made to which was to substitute spinach (thats right i said spinach) for the tomatoes. and DAMN its amazing. so we can put the case of the perfect pizza to bed for now.

Merde!

well, what a day this has been. where shall i even start. my day started with shayla coming over to drink yerba meté with me, and this was by far the high point of my day. in about 24 hours, my life has gone from managable to out of control. im up to my eyeballs in school work, and most of the stuff i have to do is all due within the same couple of days. needless to say, i felt on the brink of a break down, but after some pondering and mental checklisting, i have divided my work into more managable packets, so i would say im under controlled stress and feeling a little better. i know that everything always comes together in the end, but sometimes the coming together is painful. and as if i didnt already resent my job enough, i could really use my saturday and sunday this weekend to get stuff done, but what can you do? anyway, so as i was stressing, i was looking forward to my first day back at the pool. this semester, due to some schedule conflicts, im swimming at mac instead of at dalewood, and im pretty happy about it. i can still drop in and do masters at dalewood when i have time, and i plan to, but the mac masters is what im signed on for and its three days a week. anyway, so as i said, i was looking forward to getting back in the water, and today was my first time in the changeroom since the new renovations were completed. the new changeroom is HUGE! and its a veritable labyrinth. i was wandering and wandering trying to find the entrance to the pool, asking everyone if they knew how to get there. theres no signs or anything. turns out, you have to get through the locker labyrinth, past the SECOND set of showers, through a door, through a twisting corridor, through another door (which for some reason walks past windows of people working out, and there was a pack of girls running laps through this corridor with some sort of coach or instructor yelling at them), through another door, past a THIRD set of showers, and through the FINAL door to get to the pool. had i not been so frustrated with my day in general, and so looking forward to swimming, i might have found such an adventure fun. anyway, so i get to the pool finally and there was a kids swim team in the pool, but i new i was early, so i wasnt too worried about it. anyway, so this guy (kind of cute, actually) who was not a lifeguard approaches me and is like, are you here for the public swim, and i was like no im here for masters. and he was like oh, it doesnt start till eight. in other words, i was over an hour early. so i was pretty irritated with myself and embarassed, especially once kind of cute guy introduced himself to me as my masters coach. way to make a first impression, chloé. anyway, so i said see you in an hour, and now im here in the library. im going to make the photocopies i was going to make AFTER swimming, now that i have all of this extra time, and depending on how long that takes, i might try to get some more research done for one of my many projects. anyway, so that was my WONDERFUL day. i cant wait till next week when all of this is over.

Homeless

well, i have started the preliminaries of looking for a new apartment, and i have acquired a new topic to rant about. what is the deal with not being able to find a place that allows pets. ive only found one online listing that allows dogs, and only a handful that allows cats. i dont understand what people have against animals. my mum said that people dont allow pets because pets are destructive, but i feel that anyone who has this opinion has never had a pet of their own. also, i would say that argument is ridiculous, because you have to put down a security deposit when you sign the lease, and if the landlord feels there is damage from your destructive pet, then he or she can just keep it. i also find it confusing because if you consider the proportion of the population of single people with dogs, and compare it to the number of apartments that allow dogs, you have to wonder where these dog people are living. im hoping to become one of them myself, and i dont see why i should have to buy a HOUSE in order to have a DOG. ridiculous.

Snow Day?

well well well. school is closed today, because the city is covered in ice. i myself nearly fell to my death trying to descend the fire escape stairs, only to discover my bicycle is also covered in ice. so, what am i going to do with this marvellous opportunity? i havent quite decided. im especially pised about this whole thing, because i was supposed to start my advanced yoga class today, as well as my new master's swimming programme, but what can you do. anyway, i think i shall go to the art store and buy a new canvas, and maybe paint for a while. i also have to drop off my pay sheet to the special needs office. before all of that, im going to watch some seinfeld, and somewhere along the line, i hope to start working on my interim paper thing for my group project. i wonder if the libraries are also closed? ah well, if its closed, its closed, ill just stay here. anyway, who knows? sometimes days like this have a way of taking fabulous turns. maybe this will be one of them.

Redemption

so, after a long silence, and a lot of rumours, BATMAN BEGINS came out. it had been rumoured for years that a new batman movie was being made, and i heard rumours that it was either going to be a prequel, or a batman versus superman venture. given that the prequel rumours were more prevalent, and that i cannot concieve of a way to make a versus superhero movie of any sort without enraging fans of some, if not all sorts, i was not surprised to learn that the movie ended up being a prequel. there is not enough space on my blog allowance for me to say everything i have to say about this movie. in fact, i marvel at my own attempt to even address it. so, ill try to keep it short without getting into too much detail. i believe that batman begins is the batman movie written specifically for the batman fans. they did nothing wrong with this movie. it was all there.. the darksome, the angst, the human side of batman (he doesnt have super powers people! hes just smart! and rich! everything isnt all grace and perfection!) the story was engaging, the big names that were in the supporting cast were wonderful, but didnt upstage batman. and christian bale... well... forget about it. on a more personal note, i saw batman begins seven times in theatres... three of those times i was by myself. the first time i saw it, my heart was pounding the whole time. it was so exciting, i couldnt believe it. and then when they through out the "the next movie will be about the joker" bit, i thought i was going to die. good work christopher nolan. you have done right by batman, and his fans. you have redeemed batman on film after so many of us had given up hope. heres to many more!

Batman And Robin

so, after batman forever did good but not great, and succeeding in convincing parents and children everywhere that batman was not too frightening for those under thirteen, the powers that be ventured to make this disgusting flop. the very first moment of the film indicates how low the whole franchise had sunk. instead of the first credit being that of the director, or at the very least, that of the actor playing batman, it is arnold schwartzenegger, who plays the villain, mr freeze. from that moment on, it is one debauchery after another. the mr freeze character is full of silly puns and adam westian humour, the first fight scene with batman and robin versus the goons is also akin to adam west batman antics. the poison ivy villain, played by uma thurman is thoroughly useless, and the introduction of batgirl is awful. not to mention, she is written in as alfred's niece, instead of commissioner gordon's daughter, since the character of commissioner gordon had sunk so low at this point, that you arent even aware of his existence. george clooney was only MARGINALLY better as batman than val kimer was, and there was this whole, bruce wayne having a girlfriend who was pressuring him to get married but he couldnt because he isnt willing to tell women about his whole batman issue, which had absolutely NOTHING to do with the plot (except for reestablishing for the audience that batman was having impure thoughts about poison ivy) and went nowhere. by the end of my recent reviewing of this movie, i almost couldnt finish it because i was dying from the embarassment. i was embarassed for the actors, for the writers, and for myself for sitting through it while i was home alone. this movie is the reason this batman series died. end of story. if you have any doubts about my opinion, watch it, but do yourself a favour and dont.

The Beginning Of The End

so, poor tim burton. he was involved in batman forever as the executive producer, and joel shumacher came in to direct. they had to replace michael keaton with val kimer, a controversial and daring move. i have a feeling michael keaton took one look at the script and said NO, but i dont actually know the reasons why they changed the casting. im sure a little research could enlighten all of us, but whatever. anyway, the new script and the the new plan was in place, and thus begins my review of batman forever.
batman forever is an abhorrent film, and doubly so for what it has done to the batman mythology. the only thing redeeming the film is jim carrey, who nailed the character of the riddler like no body's business. unfortunately, since he was already cast as the riddler in this flop, i doubt they will be able to recast him as such again if the christopher nolan series lasts long enough to entertain the use of the riddler. anyway, they decided to use big names in an effort to draw audiences to an otherwise ridiculous film. in an effort to make the movie more child friendly, they tried to make things more colourful "like a comic book" . this tactic was used very successfully in dick tracey, and it has its merits, except it is the darksome that is central to the batman mythology. anyway, the plot is thin, and not really what is at issue here. val kimer was a lousy batman. physically, he is an inappropriate choice. he is too thin, too blonde, and too blue eyed. the same argument holds i suppose for michael keaton, but keaton was able to hold it together because of his presence and what he brought to the role. he was quiet and calm, mysterious and serious, and was able to instill fear and respect. val kimer ACTED quiet and calm and mysterious and serious, but he just didnt have what it took. he didnt have the presence or the power that michael keaton did, the audience just cant buy the batman that kimer was selling.
next point: the gratuitous ass shots in the idiotic filler of watching batman getting dressed. this makes a mockery of the whole batman story. it was just an attempt to make the movie more fun. dont get me wrong, i love fun movies, but fun movies are actually supposed to be fun, and this movie was trying to be a fun version of a serious movie, which are two things you cannot reconcile together. they attempted to make adam west like jokes and fun with the piece, while simultaneously pursuing the serious and angst ridden tale of batman. you cannot do both. you are either satirizing a piece or you are not. you cant satirize something at times and not at others. there is a reason the michael keaton batman movie doesnt have scenes of the adam west batman movie spliced into it. the two films are setting out to accomplish two different things. and batman forever accomplishes neither. instead, it left a fluffy, incongruous batman tale that was supposed to be kid friendly but was just idiotic. introducing robin into the story didnt help either, it took away from the seriousness. the sets and props werent believeable either. the whole thing was like watching a cartoon. actually, scratch that, for many cartoons and for all good cartoons, you can suspend your disbelief enough to believe what is going on. in this movie, you cannot.

Prelude To A Review

alright. alright. alright. since courtland bought me the box set of the batman movie anthology, i have been steadily working my way through all of them. as most people living in north america are aware, the last two batman movies of this strain, batman forever and batman and robin, were terrible. i feel it is time for me to do some long over due movie reviews of these cinematic embarassments, but first of all, i feel that it is necessary to provide the readers with some background information. much of this information is going to be steeped in the opinions of a lifetime batman fanatic, but let me say that all of the things i am trying to present as fact i cannot source. i read them in things like the paper or magazines and such during the production, promotion, and release times of these movies, and that was quite a while ago. anyway, after i provide you with this information, i will then move to post my reviews seperately, in the spirit of being organized, and to save you, dear reader, from a ridiculously long post.
so, here we go. in the beginning, there was tim burton. and tim burton was with batman, and batman was with him. ok, so thats not exactly how this story goes. in the beginning, there was tim burton, who was the appropriate choice for directing the original batman movie (or perhaps making the movie was his own idea and he pitched it to warner brothers, i dont rightly know), since he was and still is the hollywood poster child for eccentric and darksome directing. this is the kind of director who would bring the right kind of creativity to the set of batman. he was able to capture the dark and serious nature of the batman mythology, while still maintaining a surreal, yet believable, comic book feel. tim burton knew what he was doing, and i doubt there is a batman fan around who was disappointed with his work. that said, the movie was also exceedingly well cast. i have heard people say that they cannot and even do not want to envision the joker as anyone other than jack nicholson. (i myself am not of that opinion. jack is the man but the joker is too, and there are endless tantalizing possibilities for actors to bring something new and different to the part). anyway, so the original batman movie was well recieved. what do we do when movies about comic books are well recieved? we make another! of course! there isnt a fan alive who has a problem with that. but, we, as fans, do worry that the next movie wont be as good as the first. not to worry, batman returns was even darker than the first. i remember i was eight when the movie came out, and i was too terrified to watch it on video. the penguin biting the nose thing. as an adult, i can say that tim burton didnt let anyone down with batman returns. relatively true to the mythology, consistent with the first movie, and just the right amount of that tim burton flavah that made the first movie everyones favourite. BUT here is where the trouble begins. i wasnt the only eight year old who was in love with batman but squirming and covering my eyes and not being able to watch the movie in its entirety. no, dear readers, the very thing that made batman returns as great as it is was also the undoing of tim burtons beautiful monopoly on the batman movie niche. it was too scary. children were running, hiding, crying. they were afraid of the movie, and they were afraid of their hero, batman. (not this child, by the way. it was the PENGUIN i was afraid of.. and im willing to bet christopher walken freaked me out. but i never lost faith in batman dont you worry). anyway, upon the final crunching of numbers after the release of batman returns, the bigwigs up in hollywood realised that they had taken a serious demographic hit and lost a huge chunk of their child audience. not to mention mum and dad who would be taking jimmy and all his little batman wannabe buddies to the matinée. so, the bigwigs said "tim burton! your movie was too scary! we cant have you directing like this! not only that, we want you to make a NEW batman movie that gets these children back! make it more kid friendly! no scary stuff! use mcdonalds to help you promote it! children love mcdonalds, and we love money!"
now, here is where i start speculating. i would like to think that tim burton said something like, "hollywood bigwigs, i realise that we have lost our child demographic because my movie is too scary. and i realise that has cost you some money. but the batman books arent intended for children, so i never tailored my movies to children. and there is a group of real batman fans, people who read the books and know the mythology, who were very happy with my movie"
and then hollywood bigwigs said something like "we dont care! that group of obsessive freaks can go rot. its children who make movie money. not only in the box office but the toys! the products! now, get out of here and go make a kid friendly movie. why not try something like adam west did? kids love his batman show"
and then i would liek to think tim burton said "but adam west's show is explicitly a satire. kids like it, but most of them dont get that. you want me to make a movie satirizing batman that follows from batman returns? thats idiotic"
and then tehy said "no of course not. we just mean use teh same kind of fun TONE for the movie. now, off with you."
and tim burton sighed, and shook his head, and realised he would have to get another director to do this movie, and thus the wheels were in motion for the complete and utter degradation of what was shaping up to be one of the greatest series of comic book movies ever made.

Blast From The Past

since this year i have been reusing old notebooks instead of buying new ones, i occaisionally happen upon old notes that i once passed to friends, old drawings i was proud of, and in some cases, old bits of writing that i forgot about. this very thing happened today. as i was looking for an appropriate place to begin my notes for histology, i found a poem i wrote. im not sure when i wrote it, but based on the fact that this was originally my second year ecology book, im going to guess it was written sometime in second year. anyway, since i have no idea what i was thinking about at the time, i no longer find this poem too personal to share. the only thing i remember about writing it was that one of the phrases occured to me and i wrote the poem subsequently around it. this is often how my poems are born. and the only reason i remember this little fact is because the phrase is written at the top of the page before the rest of the poem alongside a doodle of an elephant face. so without further ado, here it is:
Build this House (NOTE: this title was created today. the poem is not titled in my book)
watching the sun setting over the cold dead ground
the emptiness is filling and though the sun is bright its warmth doesnt seem to reach this place
this place inside of me thats full of unreceptive cold
but i know that in the darkness theres a love that tries to give
tries to seep in and make me warm
so why dont we sit here
while they build this house around us
and soon there will be shelter from the storm
and if we let love touch us, the darkness will dissipate into prisms of light
and we'll have this house
and we'll call it home

Candace Bergen Wears The Pants

well, upon my return to steeltown, owen has provided the house with the complete (bootlegged) first season of boston legal. my uncle and aunt have been raving about this show since it started but also told me i should watch it from the beginning. so, behold, behold, i now have to opportunity to do so. and i have. the show is excellent, and i look forward to watching the other seasons i have missed, but that is not nearly the point of this post. what i really want to talk about is the candace bergen character. candace bergen plays one of the senior partners in the show named shirley schmidt, and she is one of the most fabulous female characters i have seen on television in recent memory. she is by far the best lawyer on the show, she wears pants most of the time but still dresses stylishly, quite different from all of the younger lawyer sluts on teh show. she is powerful and potent. strongwilled and feminine. she is in complete control of every situation and she is strong enough to deal with any and all unwelcome sexual comments or advances in a powerful and no nonsense manner. yes, schmidt is a character that doesnt screw around, and this is one character that girls can look up to. go boston legal.