A Regret

Last Summer, I did something that I've grown to deeply regret over the past six months. I didn't speak up even though I really felt like what I neglected to say was important. I feel like I sold myself short that evening by buckling to peer pressure and not saying precisely what was on my mind, so I'm hoping that in typing this out, some one out there will read it and not make the same mistake as I did.

I was at a church retreat with my youth group, and one night, a speaker who had the admiration of much of my group took to the stage. And it was good. I was following what he was saying and he was delivering what seemed to me to be a biblicly sound message, when he had his son brought onto the stage. Then he picked up his son, and talked for a while about how much he loved him. He finished by talking about Jesus's crucifiction and relating it to his relationship with his son. And that is where he lost me.

I understood that his intended message was to point out that God loved Jesus as much as he loved his son, yet God allowed Jesus to die for our sins, which is pretty awesome when you think about it. And yet, something inside of me felt so...icky about the idea that he was comparing himself to God (and by extension, his kid to Jesus), even if it was to prove an important point about God's love. No matter how "good" a life this guy led, I couldn't feel okay with the idea of him comparing himself to the One he worshipped as far greater than himself.  Long story short, the sermon didn't sit well with my conscience.

What sits even more badly with my conscience is what happened next. We went to a quiet place as a group to discuss the sermon, and as it turns out, everyone else in my group was able to get something out of it. I was the only person who didn't raise their hand when asked "Who liked tonight's sermon?" We went around the circle, everyone telling what they liked or didn't like about it. When it came my turn, I looked around at the other people there, all staring at me. I guess as the only preson to come away with a negative view of the sermon, they were curious about what I had to say about it. How could I tell them what I really thought about the same sermon they felt so inspired by without ruining it for them? I lost my nerve, and mumbled something about it being "needlessly harsh" for him to include his child in such a graphic way. It was only after I'd finished saying this that I'd realised that that hadn't been even close to my actual objection. I was, of course, greeted by a chorus of how the comparison was necessary to get the audience to relate.

I still don't know whether I was right to feel critical of what he had said, or whether the fact that I already had a slightly negative opinion of that particular speaker clouded my ability to think objectively about it. What I do know, is that I really should have shared my opinion even if it might have been a bit of a "downer" for everyone else there. Because I didn't say exactly what I wanted to, instead using the dumbest possible version of my argument, the other perspective on the situation was quickly brushed off and never really adressed. If anyone reading this is ever in the same situation as I was that day, please, don't worry about upsetting people and say whatever it is you're thinking. Even if no one agrees, you'll leave feeling that you represented yourself well.

Top Ten Things You Don't Want to Hear While Studying For Final Exams (and my would-be reactions)

10) Who cares? They're not worth that much, are they?
Ummm, actually...

9) Even if you ace this exam, I'm still going to think that you're an idiot.
Well, at least the feeling is mutual.

8)Why don't you just give up and apply at McDonald's? It's not like you're at all capable of passing this...
We'll see. Anger is a really good motivator.

7) Why don't you get smarter? Then you won't have to study so hard.
Because I haven't thought of that idea. Really. If you know of some way to achieve this that's not straight out of a Harry Potter book, I would be much obliged if you told me about it.

6) If you haven't started studying for my exam by now, you might as well not bother studying at all because you are going to fail anyway!
Thanks for the vote of confidence, I'm going to go start studying now.

5) Hey, wanna come on vacation to Hawaii with me? I'll pay for you, but we have to leave tonight...
I want to go more than you'll ever know. However, REALITY calls.

4) Oh, and that last paper you were supposed to write but I never assigned? Have it done for the day of your exam.
As if I didn't have enough to do already...thanks a billion!

3) I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves....
And this is how it goes...AUUGGHH! Curse you and your annoying songs of doom!!!

2) What are you talking about? Today's calculus exam is cumulative, the professor only said so half a dozen times...
...oh, crap...

1) Didn't you hear? That exam was moved to Saturday... Last Saturday.
...Holy crap!!!! Well, there goes my grade point average...

1 Down, 7 to Go...

Today was the last day of my first semester of my bachelor's degree, and I honestly thought that I'd be happier about it then I am... I mean, it means that I've made it, right? With only final exams left to do, and rather comfortable marks going in, the chances of me flunking out now are super slim (unless I do something like skip them, in which case I would deserve to flunk out for my own stupidity). And after that, I have the whole ten days leading up to Christmas to enjoy the holiday season, which is about a gazillion times better then the two to three days we would get in high school.

Even with all this going for the prospect of me being happy about my current situation, I can't help feeling a little bit sad. I think the main reason is that I know that the excitement of this past semester is forever in the past, now. Try as I might, there is not a chance of me meeting as many new people as I did this semester. And then there was the fun of making sure I looked great almost all the time (because, hey, I'll probably be meeting someone new today!). There was also the novelty of starting over, which, for me, was a completely new and amazing experience since I grew up in a small town and up until this semester have gone to school with the exact same people (and I never quite fit in).

But now I'm established. I know the halls of my university (almost) as well as I knew the halls of my high school last year. I've explored the school and its grounds, I've made some friends and we have chosen our hangout spot. I know exactly when I have to leave the house and about when I can expect to get home. In short, the routine's been set, and to be honest, I've had so much fun setting it up that I'm really sad it's over.

On the plus side, though, I accomplished my goal of never wearing sweatpants to school. =D

Comfort Foods! :)

You know the feeling. You've had an awful day, possibly including traffic jams, failed exams, getting dumped or maybe fired, and that's not to mention the whole host of other things that can effectively ruin a day. You know the drill, you come home feeling awful, like you want to curl up in a ball and crawl right into bed before things get any worse than they already are.

But then, you get home, and surprise! There is your favorite food, just sitting invitingly on the countertop. Almost like a consolation prize. Sure, you didn't win the new Cadillac, but here's a delicious bowl of wonderful to cheer you up. You crawl into some comfy clothes, wrap yourself in a blanket, and eat up.

Suddenly, the world doesn't seem like such a terrible place after all. And how could it, while you're scarfing down your favorite food?

Like a delicious little superhero, it has swooped in to save the day! Because it was there for you to eat, and recharge your faith in humanity, the day can be salvaged! You carry on, a million times better then ten minutes ago.
So let's hear it for comfort food. Be it ketchup chips, chocolate cake, or good old Kraft dinner, it's always around to save the day, and that makes it worth celebrating. :)

Back to Basics

When I started this blog, my sole purpose was simply to keep track of my own college experience and in essence create a sort of "scrapbook" of my first year. Since then, I've taken some major liberties with my theme, not that I regret them, but today I've decided would be a perfect day to get back to a good old college post. I'm talking exam stress.
Yup, for those of us on "the inside", it's stressing season. While some are already diligently toiling away trying to memorize names, dates, formulas and other lovely things, most of us (myself included) are still in the procrastination stage. But the reality is: they are looming, they are coming, and soon they'll Be HEEEEERRRREEE....
Naturally, this puts stress levels for me at an all time high. Even though I'm pretty sure I'm in no danger of failing any courses, the pressure is still being felt. Strongly. I'm still somewhat behind in my coursework and there's a stupid amount of studying to be had.
Hopefully my head won't explode in the next three weeks...at any rate, if I suddenly stop posting new blog posts, you'll definitely know what happened to me...

Gettin' In the Spirit

So, we here in Edmonton have officially made it through the season I (less than affectionately) like to call "Winter Sucks, Part 1". If you want to know my reasoning for doing so, I would advise you to consult this article. Anyway, we're pretty much through the guarenteed not-funness of the first week of actual winter conditions (temperatures, road conditions, not being prepared for the weather, etc) and on to what I more affectionately refer to as "the Month or so for Which Winter Does Not Suck". Basically, for me, all of the things those lucky few who enjoy Winter love about it tend to be most noticable about now while the things that make me hate it are at their most tolerable.
For instance, the snow. At its worst, it causes car accidents, blows in your face, piles itself annoyingly over your windsheild, only to replenish itself after you brush it off, and hurts when you get a ball of it in the face at point-blank range. However, when the Christmas decorations are just starting to come out, and the Christmas hymns are just starting to be played in church, there is not a more welcome sight. Snow covers everything in this tranquil white blanket, making Christmas lights look less out of place and making everything look like it could be featured on a Christmas card. It sets the mood. :)
And maybe it's just my imagination, but it actually easier to get along with people in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I don't think I've fought with either of my brothers at all this week (which normally is quite a feat, believe me). One of them even gave me a piggyback so I wouldn't have to wade through a snowbank and chose a CD to play in my car specifically because he thought I would like it. Even my dad, who generally hates putting out Christmas ornaments spent over an hour trying to fix burnt out lights on our pre-lit Christmas tree. Ultimately, the endeavour was not a success because the problem wasn't actually the lights themselves and we had to go out and buy a new one, but not only did he put a significant amount of time into trying to fix it with minimal complaining, he hardly complained about buying a new tree.
And I think that's what I love most about this time of year. It seems like people are just closer to one another. I love the comraderie everyone seems to share. I guess I'd better enjoy it while it lasts, though, because pretty soon we'll be into "Winter Sucks, part 2".

Craziness

So I'm running out of time in my first semester. Which is good because I'm also running out of energy and willpower. It seems like all the essays, assignements, and required reading just pile up around now, and with finals starting to loom, I'm officially starting to freak out.

And on top of that is the fact that I'm still of two minds about what I want to do with my life. On one hand being a forensic psychologist would be Really. Flippin'. Epic. I mean, I'd have a job that's challenging, fufilling, and above all, interesting. The one catch? I'm afraid of becoming jaded by what I'll see. I don't want to wind up some crazy old lady who lives alone save for her 18 cats and hates everybody on two legs. On the other hand, I could pursue sociology (which happens to come a lot easier to me, anyhow), but I really don't know what kind of job I could end up with by doing that. It's stressful. :(

There IS a bit of good news, though: If I make it through the next three weeks I get a full three weeks of nothing. Sweet, sweet nothing. I can facebook and watch TV reruns to my heart's content. I can finally finish reading Hound of the Baskervilles (although, admittedly, I might just slack a little this weekend to make time for that). I can spend as much time as I like practicing guitar or pondering life. Suffice to say, I'm super looking forward to Christmas break. If this pace keeps up, I'm going to need it.

Christian side-hugs

Anyone who's ever been part of a church is likely to have heard of (or maybe even witnessed) the legendary Christian Side-hug. As far as my understanding of it goes, some church-goer somewhere decided that there's something icky about giving your brother/sister in Christ a good old fashioned front-on hug.

Cue the invention of what may be the most awkward means of social interaction ever concieved. Yup. It's SIDE HUG TIME!!!!
Now people don't have to face the impurity associated with an old fashioned and borderline making out way to display friendly affection. Instead, you can awkwardly stand beside the person, grab their shoulder, and smile as they turn to look at you. You'll be physically and emotionally uncomfortable, but comfortable in the knowledge that the huggee won't misconstrue your behavior as a sexual advance.

It seems to me that there is something wrong with this concept though:
Christian side-hugs tend to side-step the intimacy that a hug is meant to convey. Some would argue that this is a good thing as regular hugs are altogether too intimate and should be reserved for married couples. But really, anybody who lives around people should know that being in love is not the only reason that people give one another hugs. Hugs can express sympathy, congratulations, joy, friendship and of course, love, both in the romantic and nonromantic sense. A friend of mine gives me a hug each time she sees me. I don't misconstrue it as attraction. We just rarely get to see one another, so when we do, a hug seems to her to be the appropriate response. If this friend (who is also a Christian, I might add) walked up to me and layed a big ol' side hug on me, I'd be nothing short of confused. As polite as the Christian side hug is, it just wouldn't convey the same emotion that a slightly crushing bear hug does. Basically, a side hug is for people who barely know each other, in which case, there seem to be other possibilities to communicate what you intend (hallmark cards, handshakes, and just plain speaking, to name just a few).

In essence, the side hug allows us to wear a mask around the very people with whom we should be most honest. It makes it okay not to get to know a brother or sister well enough to actually want to hug them when the situation warrants it. It's causing distance in churches which will inevitably prevent unity.
I'm sure it was a well intentioned idea, but I think that we should start to forgo the Christian side-hug and the mask that it allows us to hide behind in favour of being ourselves around other people who share our love of Jesus.

Why so Gleeful?

Glee: why is it so popular? This is a question I've been pondering for a while. Mainly because I harbour a strong distaste for the show. I guess there are probably several reasons. There's the music. There's the dancing. There's the way that it seems to be able to uncannily predict the behavior of at least one person we know (for instance, one guidance counsellor at my old high school was thought by the majority of the school's population to be the embodiment of Sue Sylvestor).

These are also all reasons I don't like the show. First, the music. Although I must admit their song choices are decent, their cheesy renditions of all these lovely, classic songs make me want to cry. Not to mention the mash-ups. There's really no better way to wreck a song then to utterly destroy the meaning of the lyrics by smushing and mixing it up with another generally decent song that is only tangentally related to the first. Actually, earlier statement retracted. The dancing doesn't really bother me all that much. Genius choreography it is certainly not, but it's not particularly awful, as far as I can see. Then there's the whole "art imitating life" argument. This, although slightly funny when applied to the aforementioned guidance counsellor is actually doubtful to me. I instead contend that it's a case of high school life imitating art.

This hypothesis is based on what I observed while in my senior year of high school. The impact this show had on my old high school was slightly disturbing. Over the course of one year, a glee club was started, only played music from the show, and ultimately failed because most of the people who joined it hoped to be the next Rachel or Finn (uhhh, hate to break it to everyone but this IS fiction...), even our grad song ended up being the Glee rendition of Journey's don't stop believing. That's not even to mention all the people who would express their fandom simply by obsessing over what happened on last week's episode (or the normal people, if you will).

The danger in this is that the high school on Glee is certainly the most hellish depiction of a high school I've ever seen. The students are downright hostile to anyone who doesn't fit perfectly neatly into their home clique. Of couse, the glee club is trying to break this habbit. But it is getting them "slushie-d" (yes, they actually throw slushies at one another). What's more, the adult characters act even more immature then the kids in most cases. If schools are trying to mold themselves in that image, then it's going to make high school even more painful then it already is for a lot of kids. It's sad, really.

All I can hope is that this obsession fades before people start thinking it's socially acceptable to throw slush drinks at people they don't like. Because that would wreck anybody's day.

Some Cool Stuff

Hey, all, just thought I'd indulge in some shameless linkbaiting. So without further ado, here's some interesting internet stuff.

First up, we have a rather hilarious cat. The first half isn't much, but the second is totally worth the (short) wait: http://www.youtube.com/themeankitty#p/u/27/DUFaRPomFj0

Is it the ever so slight lack of oxygen at 33, 000 feet, the sleep deprivation, or the extreme boredom of the passengers that motivates them to buy this stuff? Either way, the result is pretty hilarious from the ground! http://www.skymall.com/shopping/subdept.htm?c=10510&cm_sp=Header-_-TopNav-_-OutdoorLiving

Here's an online store that sells the prettiest clothing ever! I spend WAAAY too much time pining over
some of the stuff on this webite. It's too bad I don't shop online. :'( : http://www.modcloth.com/

This video almost inspired me to have a post-it-note shopping spree at staples! http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2947980/deadline_post_it_stop_motion/

And look! Some guy drew a floorplan for Sherlock Holme's appartment! I guess it could be that I'm mildly obsessed with these books, but I was really impressed by how closely he followed the descriptions Arthur Conan Doyle wrote of the place: http://www.stutler.cc/other/misc/images/bakerstreet_new_notes_1520.jpg

Finally, does this make anyone else want to hum the Iron Man theme song? http://news.discovery.com/tech/rocketman-jet-wingsuit.html

Remember, Remember the 5th of November...but do we Really?

For those who don't know, November the fifth (today) is Guy Fawkes day. It basically marks the anniversary of some guy (haha, get it?!?! sorry, I couldn't resist.) getting caught trying to blow up the British Parliament building.  Basically, they found him in the basement surrounded by barrels of gunpowder (not just a large amount, but a buttload of the stuff, enough to easily blow up the parliament building if his plan had succeeded). At least, that's what I've heard about it...

Anyway, I don't really find the fact that many Canadians celebrate it (or at least post a facebook status commemorating it) despite the fact that it is a British holiday strange. I can imagine people keeping track of November the fifth because they have British ancestry, or even because our country has historically been tied to Britain . Not only that, the event is significant in that it represents to many people the spirit of rebellion occasionally necessary to spark social change (although, the sane of us will invariably choose better ways to do it then blowing up all the local politicians and causing our countries to spin into anarchy...).

What strikes me as strange is that a lot of people seem to remember it solely because of a certain sci-fi movie. Remember V for Vendetta? Basically some dude runs around blowing up cathedrals and kidnapping young women, all while donning a Guy Fawkes mask. Of course, the girl he kidnaps (then later imprisons for no apparent reason, except if memory serves, to crush her spirit and remove her innocence) develops what appears to be a pretty bad case of Stolkholm Syndrome, so we get to see V's (aka, the Guy Fawkes look-a-like) better side. Basically his tendency to cause chaos and misery stems from a cruel medical expirament once performed on him that went wrong. What's more, his crimes are all politically motivated. Nothing personal. The movie sounds like it could be a graphic novel because it was based on one, by the way.

Anyway, I think that most people who celebrate Guy Fawkes day do it because of this movie. In it, there's a little rhyme that goes like this:
Remember, Remember the fifth of November
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot
I know of know reason why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be Forgot.
While I think it's kind of cool that this little rhyme has made the offbeat (at least in Canada) holiday stand out, it seems odd to me that people would celebrate it because it was in that movie and not because of it's historical significance. I mean, who knows what would have happened had Guy Fawkes succeeded...

Maybe I just place too much significance on the historical significance of such a date and not enough on it's potential to inspire graphic novels and movies...as always, feel free to let me know what you think!

"I'm a Mac"...No, you're an Idiot.

So there's this apparent issue that has been sweeping the nation (all the while making people like myself VERY, VERY angry). Of course, I speak of the question "Are you a Mac or a PC?". Now, don't get me wrong, I think that both operating systems have thier own pros and cons. I personally opt to use a PC because I think they're a better value for the pricepoint, but I can understand why some people would prefer to pay more for a Mac, with it's beautiful, sleek design, all of it's fun bells and whistles, and the relative lack of viruses. Despite the fact that my title pokes fun at "Mac people", you could easily substitute Mac for PC if you so prefer without changing the meaning of this post. Because to me, the stupidity isn't in whether a person chooses one operating system or the other, it's in the question.

Asking some one if they are a "Mac or a PC" is essentially requesting that a person place their whole identity in what type of computer they use. It's like asking some one if they are a "Toyota or a Ford". It degrades a person to just a pile of materialistic choices. Even more offensive are the commercials on both sides that condone this mode of thinking. According to Mac, on one side, you have the hip, young, professional (of course he's a Mac), and on the other a nerdy, overweight, bumbling older beaurocrat (a PC). According to PC, you have the deluded people who think they're cool because they spent way to much money on a computer (the Macs), or the intelligent, inquisitive people of all ages and walks of life (all PC's).

In allowing ourselves to be labeled in this way, we basically become walking bilboards for our computer of choice. What's worse is that we sometimes let dissagreements over something so trivial jeopardize our relationships by getting into "PC's are cheaper, yeah, well Mac's are cooler" style debates that somehow manage to get heated. Why? It's like two opposing tribes, each member changing their personality a little to "fit in" with the brands Windows and Apple have constructed for themselves.

It's inevitable that product placement will creep into our identities at least a little bit, but to allow something as ridiculous as competing computer companies to hijack our identities in the name of advertising? Therein lies the stupidity

...?

So, it's been a few days. But here's the deal. I've got really awful writer's block. It seems my life has slowed to a crawl lately, and it's been almost a week since I've had anything remotely postworthy happen to me. So, I'm opening up the field to pretty much whatever anyone wants to suggest as a post topic for the next little while until my ability to come up with stuff to write about returns. So basically, if you have any suggestions, throw 'em at me. In the mean time, I apologize for my (hopefully) temporary lack of creativity.

S'no Fun

Today was the first snowfall of the season here in balmy ol' Edmonton.
Think of it: lovely little flakes, each looks perfectly round at first, but as you let one fall onto your hand, you see that it's actually star shaped, and every one as unique as the crystals that formed it. They're falling softly, covering the grey green of the dying grass in a pure, paper white blanket. What could possibly be wrong with this picture?
I shall tell you.
Snow represents winter.
That's what.
As beautiful and peaceful as the first snowfall of (gulp) winter is, what comes with it is anything but pleasant. First, there's the traffic issues. Everyone is getting into collisions because they have forgotten how to drive well in cold weather over the past six (okay, four, but I can dream, can't I?) months. Then, after a few days, the snow in the city has changed from that lovely afformentioned white to a muddy, gross brown. After about a month, it has completely solidified to full-blown lumps of ice because the temperature has dipped down to minus 40 degrees(celsius). The little snow that remains has turned into powder, useless for building forts, snowmen, forming snowballs, or even making decent snow angels. All that's left to enjoy is skiing, tobogganing, snowboarding, and a cup of hot chocolate once you get inside. The floors become muddy. Your glasses fog up every time you enter or exit a building, leaving you temporarily blind. Your nose runs. Your lips chap. You catch colds. Your skin gets dry and cracks. The days are so short now that you come home after dark at 6:00 pm.
Then, like the eye of a hurricane, Christmas comes and the snow is beautiful all over again, setting the mood to curl up by the fireplace (or watch the fireplace channel if you don't have a real one) with your family and maybe another mug of hot chocolate. It's still cold out, but you don't mind so much anymore. You have your loved ones and Christmas spirit to keep you warm.
Then January hits. All the things you hated about winter before Christmas are back, this time with about 50 times higher intensty than before. The bills from Christmas arrive, forcing you to come to terms with how much you actually spent partying it up last month. Kids go back to school, those adults lucky enough to have time off for Christmas go back to work, and life gets back to it's boring and too-cold-to-even-ski self. You start to get cranky, snapping at people for no reason (but don't worry about it, so do I) and wondering when the days will start to get longer. All this would still be tolerable if it only lasted another month or two, like it does in most places. But here in Edmonton, winter likes to make itself right at home. This year the last snowfall of the season was on May 29th. MAY. 29TH. I wish I was joking, but alas, I tell you no lie.
Finally, just when you can no longer bear it, the days start to get noticably longer, the now dog poop brown snow and ice starts the long process of melting, first to copious amounts of slush, then to gigantic gravel filled puddles, and finally to nothing at all. The grass gets greener, tulips start to bloom, and summer is coming. And that makes me very happy.
So, long story short, I was thoroughly unimpressed as I pulled on my comfiest thermal and a pair of wool socks this morning, not because of the snow itself, but because of what it promises for the coming months.

Close Call

So unlike my little laptop fiasco last week, this week's "adventure" could actually have killed my GPA. It's still a few notches below nearly being hit by that semi on the intensity meter, but still it was pretty scary.
It was about 8:00 an I was chilling out, fairly confident that I would do well on tomorrow's midterm when DUN DUN DUNNNNN....my lab manual was missing!

Yes, my lab manual. The precious notebook that I had spent hours lovingly filling with data about every rock an mineral imaginable. Data that would be available to me to access during the midterm. Data that, if entered correctly and carefully, would maybe provide me with the information I needed to get an okay grade on said midterm.

I couldn't believe it. All those hours spent filling in boxes, all those days dragging myself out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, all those Friday night outings that had to be sacrificed in the name of getting some much needed rest. All for naught. I bolted around the house, tears streaming down my face, desperately praying that it would turn up, and frantically checking every concievable place it could have somehow found it's way to.

Finally, I had to admit defeat. It was not in the house. My mom suggested that it might have accidentally been recycled (which, as you can imagine, was a prospect I didn't even want to entertain). I decided to go to the school and check my locker. 8:15. If I hit every green light and didn't run into traffic, I might just make it on time to get inside. For the whole half hour drive, I was sobbing quietly, still praying that maybe, I might have just forgotten that I left it there.

Well, long story short, God came through for me (again). I arrived at school ten minutes before the day's final class was scheduled to end, went down to my locker, still sort of crying, but also praying aloud. I opened my locker, took a deep breath and...there it was. In all it's taped up glory.

And the midterm? I don't think I aced it, but I certainly didn't fail it. I'm hoping for a 75%. We'll see in a couple weeks, I guess. Until then, I'm really grateful to have found the thing, because without it, I almost certainly would have failed. XD

Flashback! :)

So, a random but familiar song popped into my head this morning. It was from a Halloween decoration that we used to put out around this time of year.
Basically, the decoration is a stuffed Frankenstien doll that dances and sings this song when you press on its hand. (It was from Hallmark, obviously). But I used to find (and still do) the little song he sung kind of hilarious. It goes like this:

Some people keep their brains securely in their heads.
Some keep them safe in mason jars underneath their beds.
Igor keeps a spare one in the closet in the hall,
Some people act as if they didn't have a brain at all.
Where do you keep your brain?
To keep it safe, out of the rain.
You better know where your brain is....
If Igor finds it, he'll think it's his.

Maybe it's just because the song reminds me of my childhood, but I still love it. ^_^

People are Strange

So, you'll only get this post if watch this video first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

Have you watched it? No, seriously, go back and do it before you read on.

Watched it yet? Good. :)

My psychology professor showed it to us in class. I have to admit, I was kind of dissapointed. I would probably have been totally amazed by it had I not already read about it in the text book (and known to watch for the gorilla).

That said, how entirely freaky is it that you can completely miss something so obvious?!?!  On the plus side, it kind of explains all the car accidents that just seem dumb. ;) On the minus side, who knows when someone will be driving near you, not paying attention, then BAM!

Like today. I was driving to school next to this HUGE semi. But it was all good. The route I have to take to get to school, which runs through an industrial district, is always heavy on traffic (especially semis). I was used to it. I was singing along to the radio (which was having a remarkably good music day, playing all my favorite songs), having a great time. Suddenly, I noticed the semi driving next to me starting to move into my lane, still right beside me. I slammed on the breaks. HOOONNNNNNKKKK!!!!!! The semi truck stops. I was safe. I continued on my way, fighting back tears of fear.

I'm just so grateful that the truck driver noticed me when he did, otherwise I don't even know whether I would be writing this. Thank God.

Running out of Laptop Juice

Ok, after today even I can no longer ignore the sad reality. So, since the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem, here it goes: "My name is Brittney, and I am a facebook-games-aholic." (here's the part where anyone who may be reading this and suffers from the same problem is free to respond in their best support group monotone "Hello, Brittney").
My turning point in realising that I have this interactive monkey on my back came today, during my final class. You see, a week ago, my friend started talking about something called "Horse Saga". I, being rather proud of the fact that I had managed to curtail my addiction to one beloved facebook game (Restaurant City, anyone?) per day, kept my head down and hoped that this demon would pass. Long story short, it didn't, she invited me, I accepted. All part of the downwards spiral into relapse.
 Last night, one of my horses was blessed with a little baby horse bundle of joy. Therefore, the next day, I simply had to log on after my earth science lab to check on the little horsey.Which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't felt the compulsion to check it repeatedly throughout the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I did, and soon found myself in Sociology class, Open Office document poised like the good little student I am, without my laptop charger or a spare battery, but ready to go .
Then I saw it. The little battery logo looking mighty depleated. Oh sure, I had noticed before that it was starting to get low, but I just didn't realise how BAD it really was. I started to metaphorically sweat, frantically rolling my mouse over the little guy to see just how bad the damage was. 35 minutes (21%) remaining. I (metaphorically) gritted my teeth. Could I make it stretch for an extra twenty minutes?
Thinking quickly (as I usually do), I started to change the power settings to make the laptop as fuel efficient as possible. Then I checked the battery logo again. 52 minutes (20%) remaining. I breathed a proverbial sigh of relief. That should do it.
About halfway through the lecture, it happened. A little window popped up informing me that my battery was low and advising me to plug in the laptop and/or replace the battery "not options!" I thought. Don't panic, I told myself, you will still get one more warning before you really have to worry about the power running out.
Fifteen minutes later, the dreaded box appeared. A single (imaginary) drop of sweat rolled down my cheek. This is it! It's all over. My laptop is going to die, and with it my dreams of maintaining an A in this class.
Wait! Could it be?!...just when I thought it was over, I realised that we were almost done with the lecture. With a flood of relief, I started counting down the remaining lines on the notes 5....4....3...come on, little laptop, you can do it!....2....come on, come on come on...1...with all due respect professor, PLEASE get to the last point before my battery runs out completely. Then, like a little angel, it appeared on the screen! Biological Imperative. I triumphantly typed in the last remaining phrase. All that was left to do is save...done. And now shut down the computer before it shut itself down.
Yup. It was a close shave, but I made it. Now that I know I have a problem, I've come up with a solution. From now on, I resolve to only facebook game at school for one twenty minute time block per day. Maybe.

Turkey and Stuff... (ing)

Because I live in Canada, yesterday was officially thanksgiving. However, my family always likes to celebrate it the day before in order to give everyone a chance to rest up before heading back to work. So, true to tradition, we all loaded up the family sedans and drove out to Edmonton to eat thanksgiving dinner together. Of course, our family get togethers are always wonderfully chaotic due to the general inability of all involved to speak to one another quietly, add to that a few kids under ten, and how could they not be? As in any family, kids always have the funniest things to say, but my little cousin Lucas (5) takes the cake for deciding that his nickname is from now on is Freddie Benson (yes, he even made up a last name). When asked where he got such a name, he replied, in the most matter-of-fact little kid voice I've ever heard "from Calgary." I couldn't stop laughing. Even cuter was when he and his brother Cody decided to "play pacman" (which was basically like tag except that the ghost was "it" and they would switch roles when Pac-Man ate a power pill). Anyway, it was an amazing evening with some amazing people. I had a great time!

Yay! :)

I totally want to hug a bunny today even more then I did yesterday. Why, you ask? Excellent question. It is due to the fact, my dear reader, that I got no less than 90% on my first sociology midterm! I'm so excited! Yay! :)

Ten things I Hate About Business Class

1) The semester long group projects in a course meant to weed out people who don't care. If some one in your group drops close to a due date, you're basically screwed.

2)How the Professor would bring up each assignment at least seven or eight times during class, making each task feel way more difficult and intimidating then it had to.

3) How it would eat up all this time that I could be using for homework in a subject. I. Actually. Liked.

4)Only understanding about a tenth of what the professor says. Between his thick accent and just plain finding the topic boring, I was surprised that I even managed that much.

5) Having it from 12:35 to 2:00pm... did that heated debate in philosophy class work up an appetite? TOO BAD!

6) Watching the clock starting from the first five minutes of class. 1:20 left....1:19 left....1:18....

7) Working for hours on a project only to find that I was essentially no further along then when I started.

8) Paying attention in class was like sleeping through a hurricane. Not technically impossible, but very, very difficult.

9) The fact that everyone else there seems to understand the material and I never did.

10) It made me dread my Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which were actually kind of awesome otherwise.

Wow, that was theraputic. Did I mention that I dropped Business 110, today? Yup. I'm so happy that I never have to hear about proffit margins, dress like a contestant on the Apprentice, or stay up until wee hours of the morning reading about finance ratios ever again that I could just hug a bunny! :)

And so it starts...

It didn't occour to me to start this blog until today, but here it is. I'll post about it all: the happy, the sad, the in-between, the late night study sessions and early morning labs. Hopefully, by the time it's over, I'll have a little "time capsule" of what it was like to be a University/College (my school claims to be both) freshman, if only so that I can laugh at how bad or good I thought I had it later. So here it goes, a month after orientation and I can't wait to experience whatever it is I'm meant to experience in these next few months! :)