Off Again!

Tomorrow is the day I go back to Redeemer.

I have spent much of the day so far packing up. I forgot how much stuff I have. It seems like I won't need most of it, and I am actually leaving a fair bit at home. The worst has been the decision of what books to bring, what books to leave.

As you can see, I haven't done a very good job of picking and choosing what stays and what goes. I have a sort of attachment to all of my books.

I think that's okay, considering my major is English Literature and Writing (yep, I have a focus now. It's a pretty big day). But still, I think that I bring the books along because really, one never knows when one might need a Classic to reference in a paper, or daily conversation. There's a few books I bring with me everywhere. C.S. Lewis' 'Screwtape Letters' are a favourite, as is 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and Heller's 'Catch 22'.

I think one of the books that I love best is my old red version of 'Huckleberry Finn.' That particular version was published in 1929. I think it's probably worth a bit of money. Also, notice to the right hand side, the bluish coloured book by Daniel Defoe. That one is 'Robinson Crusoe' and happens to be on my fall reading list for school. Not to mention there is about 5 more books beside it that wouldn't fit in the photo.

Yep, I'm a novel junkie.

Off to school I go again, none the less. It should be a good year. I'm hoping that my courses will be as interesting as they sounded on paper. Mostly, I have histories and englishes this semester, but I also have Biology for Dummies, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning at 9 oclock. What a way to start off a week... But I figured that would be alright, seeing as my last class on Friday is Writerscraft.

MCC: 97

Word of the Day: packing

Quote of the Day: "Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier." Kathleen Norris

From dust we were created, and to dust we shall return.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Joe Knapper. Grandpa, father, brother. Born: January 19, 1929.

Went to be with the Lord: August 25, 2009.

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Open Closet Doors. Curly Hair. Nuns.

Nothing new on the Marineland commerical counting. Though, I know I will reach a hundred, which seems like a small number to me. I'm used to seeing many more. Maybe I'm just not watching the news enough.

Closet door is open. I should shut that. The boogey man might come out and get me. Personally, I'm kind of hoping for Mike or Sulley from Monsters Inc. At least they come with a comedy act.

Joel VV visited today. Curly blonde hair, and lots of it. We watched a really slow movie. 'Doubt' with Meryl Streep. I give it a pass.

MCC: 96

Word of the Day: Apparently

Quote of the Day: "I can't believe this! I've been typecasted!" Kramer

Saturday Afternoon Rainshower

...and I sit on my bed thinking that I should fold my laundry.

...I'm beginning to make lists of all that I need to pack and wash and buy before I head back to school in a week.

...it occurs to be how excited I was so go off to school at this time last year and be independant.

...the rain is soft, and for the first time in a week, a cool breeze wanders in through my window.

Did I do anything this summer? I worked. I went to Hamilton and Toronto for a weekend. I didn't take any holidays. I didn't do anything I had planned. So maybe this Saturday afternoon rainshower is a lament of summer. It came, it rained, it died. Maybe it is just time to get back into the excitement and busyness of school. One thing is for sure, I won't be taking along as much stuff as I did last year. I definitely didn't need everything I brought along.

MCC: 96

Word of the Day: Butterier

Quote of the Day: "You know what hasn't changed? Toilet Paper. Since I was kid, toilet paper hasn't changed, and for the next 50 000 years, toilet paper won't change. It's just toilet paper wrapped around a cardboard tube!" George from Seinfeld

Findings

I just recieved an email that my roommate won't be returning to Redeemer. I'm kind of sad about that.

Apparently her degree would be no good to her. So, what's best is what's best. Sad, still. And I really don't want my own room.

MCC: 92

Word of the Day: Temperal

Quote of the Day: "All the world's a stage and the men and women are merely players." (Shakespeare)

2 Weeks Notice

The time is nearly here!

What time, you ask...

Well, school! I am probably one of the few people alive thrilled to go back to school. I will be moving back to Redeemer on August 31...2 weeks away!

MCC: 84

Word of the Day: Lethargic

Quote of the Day: *the sound of me being able to breathe through my nose again!*

The Exchange

Yes, we accept U.S. Dollars. No, we do not do the exchange rate. Yes, you're going to get ripped off if you use cash. Oh, you don't WAAANT to use your credit card? (The exchange will be calculated on the bill when you get it back in the mail). Why don't we return USA Dollars with USA Dollars? Erm, let's think about this, YOU'RE IN CANADA!

I don't understand why it is that when American passers through take a trip into our good ole BK Lounge, they find the need to harass us cashiers about everything from not returning their change in USA dollars, to questioning why the prices are so high, to my all time favourite ,'You don't have Iced Coffee? They have Iced Coffee in the YOU-nited States, how come you don't sell it here?' I am so sick of answering these questions.

So here we go, the Universal answers.

One.

We do not offer the exchange rate. You're in Canada, get over it. You wouldn't go to Europe and expect to pay in U.S. Dollars, so suck it up. If you weren't smart enough to exchange your money, don't cry because you are spending your Abe Lincolns on fast food. Either that, or use your credit card, don't you have enough of those?

Two.

Why should we give you back American money in change? We don't do the exchange rate. If I was shopping in the States, I couldn't just pull out my Wilfred Lauriers and expect them to be taken. Nor would I expect to be given back Canadian change, because, by golly, most USA stores wouldn't have extras of that lying around.

Three.

No, no, NO iced coffee. Get over it. Tim Hortons is 2 minutes down the road. No, there's no Starbucks. Why not? Did you read the population sign on your way in?

Four.

Not all world countries drink their Iced Tea as literal iced tea. Here in Canada we have Nestea. Nestea IS sweetened. I would assume it's sweetened in the USA too. You're in a different country, adapt to the culture. Canada isn't just an extended US ofA.

Five.

Prices are much higher here. A whopper combo is $7.10. Seems ridiculous, doesn't it? Well, my dear American travellers, I thank you for contributing to our health care and schooling systems with your purchase of a triple whopper with cheese, bacon, large fry (because the poutine is too many calories), a side order of mozzarella sticks, and, wait for it...a diet coke. Oh, wait, did I say health care is paid for by whoppers? Hmmm, looks like taxes for hospitals isn't such a bad idea. Not to mention minimum wage is higher (which they all think is wonderful).

Six.

IT'S PRONOUNCED POO-TEEEN.

Seven.

No, I cannot accept U.S. Dollar bills over $20. No, that's a $50 dollar bill. Why don't I accept it? Fraud. You don't have that in your country? HA!

Eight.

The speed limit here is in Km/h. You weren't driving 120 m/h down the highway were you?

Nine.

Erm, no, that's the price of gas per litre. About 4 litres in a gallon. ABOUT 4 LITRES IN A GALLON. Yes, thank you, gas IS expensive here. Well, you know, if our government wouldn't sell it to you so that you could sell it back to us, there wouldn't be so much of a problem.

Ten (and this is my favourite).

C-How much is a quarter worth?

M-How much is it worth in the States?

C- 25 cents, how much is it worth here?

M- 15 cents.

C- Oh, okay. But are dimes and nickles worth the same?

M-Yes.

C-What about pennies?

My job is disheartening sometime.

MCC: 78

Word of the Day: Trivial

Quote of the Day: "Two fish sandwiches please. And make sure it's two fish sandwiches, otherwise I will be getting a divorce." Old dutch man that comes in.

Northern Highlights

A Trip up to the Muskokas to see my sister this week was definitely a good time.

I miss her a lot, and it was really nice to see her smiling and giggling face, and all her freckles.

I had a chance to take some fun photos on my mom's friend's dock. I loved it there, and could easily have stayed up in the Muskokas longer. Canada has such gorgeous northern country.

I liked the picture to the left. It made me laugh as we drove through small town Listowel. You know you've passed through a small town when...

MCC: 78

Word of the Day: Masterful

Quote of the Day: "Wave at the turkey! Wait, those are flowers!" (Mom, thinking some gladiolas was the outline of a turkey....)

The Clouds Farted

Here's what becomes of a car ride with my Dad.

"That was quite the lights show we had last night. Do you know how fast lightning travels. I bet if they could harvest the electricity from Lightning, they would solve all the world's energy problems. See that cloud over there, it's going to produce tornados. The clouds that produce tornados are the ones that look like pots. " (It looked more like the lantern from Disney's Aladdin than anything else..) "All you would have to do is hook the CN Tower or something up to the power grid!"

Sigh. Dad's train of thought.

To which I responded,

"Look at that poof! It looks like the cloud farted."

MCC: 77

Word of the Day: Jovial

Quote of the Day: "I believe all questions and problems of the universe can be answered in a Spielberg film." (Dawson, from Dawson's Creek)

Lament

Annoyed with laptop.
Against full sentences.

Grr.

Oh summer, please end quicklier.

MCC: 76

Word of the Day: Lightning

Quote of the Day: *sigh*

The Secret Life of Bees

This is probably one of the best movies I have seen in a while. It is touching, it is heartfelt, it'll make you angry, laugh, cry, and will probably make you want to curl up in a ball and thank God for the wonderful life you've lived.

I think the last time I noted a film on here, it was 'Stranger than Fiction', or maybe 'The Holiday'. This film is nothing like either of those. It ranks up with a film such as 'The Notebook', or 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.

You see all sides of human suffering, joy, desires, and ultimately love in this film. It's not just the jerking nature of the movie that gets you, but also the stellar cast. Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Dakota Fanning, Jen Hudson, and Sophie Okonedo (all can be seen in the photo), make you want to laugh, and cry, and sometimes kick them in the head (which, any good performance should do, anyways). A must see.

Worked all day. It was nothing exciting, except insanely busy. And it seemed to be a day where classmates from high school all wanted lunch or dinner at the BK Lounge. I'm always entertained when they don't remember who I am, but yet I remember them. Don't worry, they'll be immortalized in literature, and then they'll remember. Perhaps I should come up with a pen name.

On another completely unrelated note, I managaed to finish the fifth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy (don't blink, you read that correctly) in 4ish unconsecutive hours yesterday. 'Mostly Harmless' didn't fail to disappoint, and I still hail Douglas Adams a genuis. Nearly as genius as Joseph Heller (Please, EVERYONE, read 'Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man).

MCC: 71

Word of the Day: Melancholy

Quote of the Day: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Henry Thoreau

Equity in Beanie Babies

It's amazing the things we keep. Ive spent the better half of the day 'de-crapping' my room. No, not decluttering, because my room is not cluttered. But like every woman, I have boxes of this, that and the other thing. All of which probably had meaning at some point or another. The fun part is getting rid of it all.

Well, not all of it.

Certainly not keepsakes such as this gem of a letter I recieved from my best friend (I would guess we were probably 7 or 8). Letter is not altered at all.

Hi Brittany!
I've seen Mulan! It was not funny, it was sad AND funny. i was going to write this note on a post card but there wasn't enough room. What have you been doing for the last half month? because out here I've been bored, bored, bored! Oh and by the way I haven't been reading my Zak attack book. What I've been reading is Full House Michelle calling all planets. It's a really good book!(sounds like it!) I started swimming lessons on Monday July 20th, my thecher's name is Jen I'm in level fore. My dad had a week of and on the last day we went to a shower. There is only a month left till Chad and liz's wedding.
Please write back.
Love: Kelsey

So you can see why I couldn't throw this out! It's fun, because after all these years, Kelsey and I are still close friends.

I was also amused when I came across the "Ultimate Beanie Baby Handbook"! I discovered I have quite a bit of equity stored away in my closet with all the old toys. Not enough to pay tuition, but perhaps in another 10 years?

MCC: 69

Word of the Day: techniquely

Quote of the Day: "When my world explodes, when my stars touch the ground, falling down like broken satellites. All of my world rests on your love." Switchfoot (Jon Foreman)

Something Short

Weekends are always a joy. Especially when, by luck of the draw, you have a Saturday off.

Shopping. Campfires. Mosquitos.

MCC: 67

Word of the Day: Vaguely

Quote of the Day: "Real men wear dryer sheets on their head."