Apr 25, 2010

Take-Home Exams

This weekend, I decided to come home. Going home is fun, because it means I can revamp my iTunes library. So, following an afternoon of going through top 100 lists for the last 20 years, my iTunes is now considerably better looking. My favourite is the wide selection of 90s boy-band music which made a cameo back into my life.

One song, in particular, brought me back to my thirteen year old self. It was my shower anthem (oh, don't laugh, everyone has one). Seriously, I learned all the words (or, what I thought were the words) and belted it out when my rubber ducky and I had a date.

Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for Wave.




Oh yeah. Everyone secretly loved this song. Of course, its close second was a Backstreet Boys song that hit the music scene in 2000.




And if that isn't enough classic 90's (slash early 2000s) music for you, please welcome the Spice Girls back into your heart (and for a live performance, this is really well done).




Really, my take-home exam is going well.

Word of the Day: procrastination

Quote of the Day: "I hermitize myself." Joel Sjaarda

Apr 22, 2010

Studying?

SUN DOES NOT PROMOTE STUDYING!

Word of the Day: Castle

Quote of the Day: *smashing of several bowls* (we have a ghost).

Apr 11, 2010

Literary Embarassment

Thank-you to my mother, who bought me stickers of the Peanuts characters. Lucy (my laptop) is now decorated.

My embarassment for the weekend:
I watched New Moon with my dormies and Perry. (Perry should be more embarassed...he was the only boy watching the film, and kept trying to come up with ways he could kill a vampire)

Not to say I enjoyed the movie, because in all honesty, I think the Twilight series is one of the lamest items of fiction I have ever come across. It was designed to satisfy teenage girls who are trying to reassure themselves that there is such a thing as the perfect boy. Lucky for Bella, she has two (excuse my sarcasm, please).




So, what did I learn from the experience? Well, since this trailer pretty much included a run down of all the exciting scenes, you can imagine how silly it was.

This is Twilight: a vampire who has fallen in love with an accident-prone teenager, fights his vampire instincts to be with her. Yes, thank you, every girl's dream. She is also guarded by a werewolf (just in case), and has all the perfect lines said to her. Garlic doesn't work.

I think the best part of the night was Perry's insisting that he could, in fact, kill a vampire. I figure, if all else fails, send out Chuck Norris. Edward Cullen stands no chance.

Word of the Day: vorpal

Quote of the Day: "Isabella was destined for the traditional role that fell to gender-challenged Spanish royals, to be served up as fodder for some diplomatically opportune marriage." -A Vanished World. (how lame is it that my quote for today comes from a history textbook...)

Apr 10, 2010

UP.

Night at Joel's with Em, Keith, Maria and myself. I laughed so hard I couldn't swallow my coffee.

Then we watched UP.
More laughing.

Thursday night, I saw Alice in Wonderland with Greg. Finally. I was very disappointed that they took her back down through the rabbit hole. In the book, she re-enters through the looking glass, and then kills the Jabberwocky. Characters were well played. Tim Burton never disappoints.

Word of the Day: Onions

Quote of the Day: "I am hiding under your porch because I LOVE you." -Dug from UP

Apr 5, 2010

Final Stretch

3 essays.
2 weeks.
1 more Crown issue.

and then exams.

It is the home stretch.

Word of the Day: evict

Quote of the Day: "Kristi said you had really soft skin. Can I feel it?" Devon Forbes (who then proceeded to run his hand up my arm, turning to Ezra saying, "seriously, she does. Feel her skin."

Apr 3, 2010

A Love Letter to Reading


It has been a very long time since I have read a book that left me with a feeling of complete contentment.

I love reading. But, I find myself critical of what I read (it's that darn pending English degree). So when I find a novel that leaves me completely awestruck, I simply have to share it with all of you. This book is called 'The Thirteenth Tale' and it is by Diane Setterfield. It requires preparation.

Before you read it, I suggest getting some background knowledge of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Emma, and The Woman in White. Also, fill your literary hankerings with Sherlock Holmes. (As I think about it, this is probably the reason why I enjoyed the book so fully.) After you've done that, delving into some Virginia Woolf and Isak Dinesan might not be a bad idea either.

"My study throngs with characters waiting to be written. Imaginary people, anxious for life, who tug at my sleeve crying, "Me next! Go on! My turn!" I have to select. And once I have chosen, the others lie quiet for ten months or a year, until I have come to the end of the story, and the clamour starts up again."

I was amazed by this paragraph. Any writer knows that this is exactly how it goes.

This book is a love letter to reading, in its truest form. It is a celebration of life, stories, and family. Pick it up. Read it. It is not an option.

Word of the Day: Clamour

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes the system goes all kaplink." Kristen (misquoting lyrics from Bad Day by Daniel Powter