On the evening of December 23rd a cousin was in a snowmobile accident; he and another snowmobile containing two people collided. My cousin was sent to the hospital with severe injuries, the other driver had mild injuries, and the passenger was relatively unharmed.  My cousin's wake was on Monday and the funeral was yesterday. Please pray for the families involved. 

SUMR

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 

SUMR

IT'S MY BERFDAY! *W00H00!*

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Here is how my birthday went:

I fell asleep around 3am and woke up by 9am. I was having a dream that I was trying to protect a group of girls who thought they were having some sort of warrior-like "test" but really the bad guy was trying to kill them. I ended up stabbing the guy trying to kill me with a steak knife. *urg*

I got ready, then Da and I went to my papa and donna's so they could give me a birthday present. it seemed easier to go to them than try to schedule to be at home for when they arrived. we stayed fro about a half hour and mostly i played with the dog. They gave me a card with twenty bucks,  two pot holders, and an old barbie doll that donna's mother crocheted a dress for. i may not be big on the doll but the dress is pretty and it was passed down to me as donna doesn't have any daughters. 

then da and i went to the mall to inquire about cell phones. i had already acquired at headache at papa's and now i was increasingly tired and grouchy. my eyes were literally stinging for want of sleep and i was beginning to feel a bit sick. we did a few more errands that da needed completing when mum called to say she was home from work. 

i decided i needed a nap before going out shopping with mum but felt decidedly ill and ended up sleeping for a good two or three hours. i still felt queasy when i woke up so, while doing more errands, dad picked me up some crackers to munch on. i went back to bed and finished reading a library book before the alarm went off to say I was officially twenty-seven and time to open my prezzies. 

my favourite thus far has been from my parents. they bought me a tshirt i've been wanting that says "Amazing... how can someone so tiny be so annoying?" it has a red collar and cap sleeves with a white body and black writing. mum was worried it wouldn't fit but i like my clothes a bit more snug than she does. my parents also got me the third movie of the twilight saga to match.

i'm feeling a bit better now, still really tired and not overly hungry but i still want to have my cake and ice cream on my birthday. i'm really big on doing birthday stuff on my birthday even though i'm not feeling too hot. now my parents are watching tv and eating subs which is kind of anti-my-birthday since they never asked if i wanted to watch a movie with them. 

since i haven't been feeling all that great off and on since friday, i'm hoping that i'll be perfectly fine by tomorrow as i'm to go out to the movies with two of my besties. on wednesday mom, dad, and i are day tripping to kingston to look at glasses for me. mom and i were supposed to go this afternoon, but, yeah. 

My Loot:
papa & donna gave me a card with $20, two pot holders, handed-down doll
gramma and grampa gave me a card with $20
nana gave me a card, a cheque for $15, and a snowman ornament
step-great-grandma R gave me a card
my brother and sis-in-law gave me a card (even though i bought them gifts for their birthdays)
mom and dad gave me a twilight-quote tshirt and Eclipse movie

SUMR

Allo poppets!

sorry about the AWOL but i've had exams this week and just finished my last one today!!! what i thought would be the easiest exam was the hardest and what i thought would be the hardest wasn't all that bad... i did next to no studying because they were all open book which probably wasn't smart because i had to look up stuff in my notebook rather than just knowing it from reviewing my notes *sigh* unfortunately my notes were not totally complete it seems so i had to do some guesswork on the tests because i just did not recall covering some things in class... *eeep*

i was always the last person to leave the exam room every day except today where i was tied for last our section had a plan to do a pub crawl immediately after and they had all left by the time i finished! i text a couple people to find out where everyone was and, while waiting, got chatting with some section one students (remember that my program is divided into two classes). since the section one girls were walking down anyways, i walked with them after i finally got a text back from a person in my class.

we spent SIX hours at the same pub!  i think we started with about 27 of us but weened it down to about seven by the time everyone was gone. the other stragglers were all going to the one girl's apartment to hang out until later tonight to re-meet up at a club as a few people wanted to have a nap or had supper plans. since my dad is coming to get me in the morning i passed on going out tonight and so stayed until the end this afternoon. 

okay, that reason and the fact that the cute guy in my class was still there i found out that he IS in straight but is also in a relationship plus he also smokes cigars when he drinks which i find is rather icky; in fact, at least half of my class smokes when they are drunk *ugh* there are so many lights on the street that it didn't look dark out from where i was sitting in the pub but as soon as i got out i realized how late it was! 

i took a few photos this afternoon, mostly towards the end of the evening since trying to get a large group of people to pay attention was near to impossible. since my computer doesn't seem to want to read my camera i can't post them but i will do a photo blog for y'all soon! i also took some pretty christmas lights photos on my walk home. 

i was told this afternoon that most of our marks were posted and took a look. i am really bad at figuring out percentages and i'm not sure if what i'm looking at is the final mark for my class, but here is how i think i've done this semester: 

book production (most difficult) got a 76% and an overall grade of 85.4% 
copyright, contracts, and permissions i got 96% on the test and an 86.7% in the class
Editing isn't posted yet as far as i can tell
Design didn't have an exam but i got a 94.55% in that class
Intro to publishing is 86% on the test and a 96.5% grade
Writing for publication didn't have a test but i got 86%

i think i could have done better if i tried harder and such but i'm still pretty happy with my marks i just hope that my editing grade is over 85% as well, i will be so upset if it isn't. anyhoo, off to have some dinner and maybe a nice, warm shower since i'm still a bit chilled from the twenty minute walk home. 

SUMR

Allo Darlins,

Today was... interesting. As per usual I woke up, got breakfast, and totally lost track of time due to reading while eating. I was startled out of my book an hour or so later when I heard a school bell ringing. Needless to say I was rather confused as to why I could hear a school bell in my apartment, but soon figured that it must be the building's fire alarm. I had heard that if our own apartment alarms stay on too long it sets off the building's alarms so I assumed that was the case. 

I have finally figured out what I would do if my home was on fire: 
1) get dressed and regret not having a shower first thing after waking
2) put on my coat and scarf, pull up the hood to cover my not-yet-washed hair
3) grab my keys so I can get back in my apartment later
4) shove my cell phone and mp3 player into shove in my pocket so I wont be bored while waiting to go back in
5) locate my glasses so i'll be able to see 
6) shove my shoes on

As I'm right by the back door, I took that exit and walked around to the front as no one else was in the parking lot. There was a couple and a girl around my age with her cat, but no one else. Eventually I saw another man come out, but after walking around the building and mentioning that he saw no smoke, he went back in. A couple of women came out the side door but stayed down at that end of the building. An older couple who were babysitting came out with a three-ish year old and the mum came back from work (at UofT) to see us all standing outside. 

I tried talking to the girl my age but she wasn't all that interested so I ended up chatting with the grandparents while waiting for the firemen to come. It was freezing out and the weather was bordering on snowstorm with fluffy flakes kamakazi-ing around us. I noticed that there is one plant by the door that still had flowers in bloom and it made me wish I thought to snag my camera. I thought of going back in for it but the fire trucks finally came; it took them around twenty minutes or so to show up after the alarm first went off. While I lamented their lateness and my coldness, that did not stop me from noticing that a couple of the firemen were hawt!

I don't know how the firemen found the problem so quickly but they left again within ten minutes. Considering there are at least seven floors, there is no way they checked every apartment -I didn't even see any go downstairs to my floor! When the fireman told us we could go back in someone asked why the alarm was still ringing. Apparently the firemen couldn't figure out how to reset the alarm and our landlady wasn't in to do so. 

I went back inside down to my floor and ended up chatting to some other people on my floor while standing beside the danged ringing bell. It was somewhat comical trying to hold a conversation but I told them about the lack of fire to be alarmed about but that no one could turn off the alarm. The oriental girls tried calling our landlady but got no answer but she said she was going to try the building's holding company. I don't know if she managed to get in touch with anyone but the stupid bell rung for two and a half hours!

Since I was stuck with the alarm going off I decided to first have a shower to warm up and drown out the ringing (I could still hear it), then I made some hot chocolate and listened to the bands I need to review for OTD magazine (still heard the ringing). The first two times I tried to listen to one of the bands I got a headache, this time I figured I'd be fine considering I was half-deaf from the bell and music can't be worse than the clanging. And I do know my hearing was effected because when i turned on the tub taps the water running was muffled. 

Hot shower, hot drink, hot soup, and bundled up in my apartment I was still cold. I ended up sticking my feet on the heater and a toque on my head. After a while my feet were starting to burn on the metal heater so they had to come off but I'm still wearing the toque because I'm still chilled. 

I have to say I got a lot done while the alarm was ringing considering I couldn't read with the noise. I did most of my music review, and made a bunch of christmas cards for my classmates. I say I only got most of my review done because my player only read four albums on the disc not six. I emailed my editor asking if he miscounted or I was missing two bands, he said there should be six. I shoved the cd into my mac and on the desktop popup sure enough i could see two more bands. I had to transfer the songs to my itunes because they wouldn't play on anything else *grrr*

Thankfully my reviews can only be 50 words per band so it wasn't much work even if i dont think i have the right idea for a music review considering i rarely ever read them. ah well. here's my view on some bands that maybe some of y'all might want to check out! 

Atlas Shrug “Atlas Shrug”
There is no questioning that the four members of Atlas Shrug are talented vocalists and musicians, however, this album left much to be desired. The incredible vocal harmonies were often overshadowed by repetitive melodies, and frequent guitar riffs and hammering drums drowned the lyrics. Standout track: Karmic Leach.

The Blazers “Red Hot”
The Blazers may not have the most original sound, but their debut album has you swaying to the beat.  Combining Rock N’ Roll with Rhythm and Blues, “Red Hot” is reminiscent of sock-hops and driving around in your 1948 Ford convertible.  Standout track: Flavour of the Year.

ZPiTTZ “EP”
Though it took nearly a year for Zazoo Pittz to find the right band mates, it was worth the wait. ZPITTZ has skilled guitar playing, fantastic drumming, interesting lyrics, and a vocalist who, thankfully, keeps screaming to a minimum. Standout track: The Unseen.

Martin Alex Aucoin “So Far”
A jazzy R&B resonance, Martin Alex Aucoin is noticeably influenced by the old greats, such as Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, and Nat King Cole.  For a soothing sound or a touch of swing, “So Far” has what you’re looking for. Standout Track: I Don’t Mind.

Waxmen “Eleven”
This alternative rock group may not contain language that is appropriate for all ages, but does have the perfect tunes for when hanging out with your friends on a Friday night.  Standout track: Flesh and Bone.

Paint “Can You Hear Me”
If you take a dash of the Beatles, a pinch of R.E.M, and a smidgen of Smashing Pumpkins, you have Paint. While their album “Can You Hear Me” doesn’t have the previously claimed danceable tunes, it does have a catchy beat. Standout track: Strangers.

SUMR

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the ladies room? Why girls go in -or leave- the bathroom in groups?  Curious about what happens when you put someone like me in the loo? Then keep reading!

For some reason I always end up having the most interesting things happen to me in the bathroom; making new friends, learning new things, formulating observations... Classes should be held in school bathrooms because I always learn more there, than in class! I also make a few unfortunate observations but that is to be expected I suppose. So here is my week's worth of wonderment in the washroom... 

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Monday - fun fashions
I had a fantastic conversation with a girl who had pink streaks in her dark brown hair. I discovered that it was actually red at one point but a few weeks later and it became the bright shade it is. Pinkie-lee mentioned that there is a great shampoo to use with coloured hair, possibly called JOY? We were still chatting when we left the loo and called down the hall to each other as we walked in opposite directions to our respective classrooms. New friend? I think so. 

On a different trip to the loo I saw a girl with the most gorgeous earrings ever of silver with pink beading. I had to ask about them and found out that she made them herself! Totally awesome or what? I remember talking to her before about something since she is usually killing some sweet accessories and she remembered me, complimenting that I keep up on fashion. I thought this somewhat humourous since I always wear the same necklace and carry the same purse everyday. I just see things I like and dont see any reason why I shouldn't compliment someone on their skill at accessorizing.  

Tuesday - observations
On my way to the loo I was walking down the hall in my knee boots -under my pants that had the hems rolled up just past my ankle in YU fashion- and a girl whistled at me. Needless to say I was surprised, but she went on to compliment my walking style saying I was right up there with the models. This is highly amusing to me because I am at least a foot shorter than most models so how can I be "up there" with them? *L0L* I realized at this point that a girl walks in different ways, all depending on what shoes she is wearing. 

I discovered that a girl in the other section of my program has the odd habit of washing her hands before going into the bathroom stall. I'd seen her do this before but always left before she got out again. This time I had the unfortunate observation that she does not flush nor does she wash her hands after exiting said stall.  Note to self - never touch anything she has touched *ew*

I also wonder why anyone would talk on their cell phone in the bathroom as one girl was doing. It is not a good place to have a private conversation as anyone can hear what you're saying, the sound echoes in the room, and the poor person on the other end of the line will hear continuous flushing throughout the call. My suggestion is to go the the stairwell around the corner from the upstairs bathroom as it has steps up to a landing that leads to the school's storage and no one goes up there. 

Wednesday - male bashing
Once again the mean girls were bashing our editing professor. I decided to stop hating on the poor guy because, not only is it unprofessional,  these two girlies have gone into a major overkill of anger. Is it any wonder that the prof spazzed out at them for interrupting his lesson with giggles and lack of attention on a daily basis? Another classmate said that our section feels like a team now so his aggravation was felt by us all. It is true that we all took a share of the blame, but that is because we don't tend to pay much more attention to him except we hide it better.  

Thursday - hairific tales
I totally fell in love with a girl's sweater and had to ask if it was as soft as it looked. She offered an arm and I found myself totally besotted with the jumper. I asked what it was made of and after she tried to check the tag, asked me to see. Unfortunately it was a word neither of us had heard of so possibly the tag was in a different language but she suspected it was cashmere. 

Later on in the day while trying to de-static my hair by scrunching some water into it I noticed another woman also playing with her hair... except hers was shifting around on her head! I realized that the femme was wearing a wig and then I started to wonder why... She wasn't that old, maybe late thirties, so did she have early balding? Is she in chemotherapy? Does she just like wearing wigs? 

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Because of my conversations in the loo, I now find that I will get a smile or a wave when we pass each other in the halls and further conversations while standing at the hand dryers in the washroom. I guess that just proves that going to the bathroom doesn't have to be as unpleasant as it sounds. 

SUMR

Birthday: 17
Christmas:  22

hey luvies, 

so i have my feature done and handed in, my editing assignment done and handed in, my service article half done, my online mag article mostly done, and my part of a group assignment done until we present on friday. even with all the assignments i've had and all the textbook readings i should have done, i instead read more books this month than at any previous month this year. how the heck is that possible? *bah* i really need to stop going to the library every week :0S

speaking of the library i got out the nutcracker. but not just any nutcracker, no i got out Barbie and the nutcracker. how sad is that? i have also seen the twelve dancing princesses and want to see the princess and the pauper. am i regressing back into my childhood or would this be considered on par with watching, say, shrek? 

on a boys note, the hot guy in class is still adorable even with his movember 'stache... though i hope it goes as of tomorrow *L0L*. i found out that my celebrity crush was at the eaton center yesterday and i was out of school by 230pm so i could have been there trying to hunt him down *sigh* and one of the sweeties in class told me today that he might not be back next semester (i'm of the opinion he should just finish the year since its four to five months of hanging out with us). 

today the editing teacher finally flipped on the mean girls in class. they're usually more vocal in class but today he reamed them out for giggling even though only those directly near them could hear. in seemed unfair to do so today but they totally deserved it; i will admit it was embarrassing for everyone during those moments though. 

i am stressing a bit about my internship. i only want to work at HE so what if i don't get it? i'd be so horribly disappointed. this is why i planned to get my resume in back in october but i still haven't and december is tomorrow! the internships dont start until april and we dont need to get them until feb/march but some people in my class already have internships set up! 

has anyone read Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series? I'm thinking of pulling a Hil and doing a Fey-and-me type blog. it will probably be on a different site since i will have to have a word press blog for a class. and how kewl is that? keeping a blog and doing other social media for a class! 

btw, does anyone have a photo of themselves skating, christmas caroling, or attending a christmas concert?  I'd even take photos of inanimate objects that you've taken a picture of like a nutcracker christmas decoration, a skater from those christmas villages, or whatever the heck would correspond with Handel's Messiah.  I need pictures for one of my writing assignments for On The Danforth online mag so whomever is in the picture must give permission or whomever took the photo (of inanimate object) must give permission. I also need it by December 7th. Thanks!!!

SUMR

Hi m'dears, 

As some of you know I am writing a feature article for a school assignment and also with the hope it will get into On The Danforth Magazine. This paper is worth a good 40% of my mark and due Monday morning, but I'm having some major difficulties with it... 

UPDATE: okay thanks to the fabulous kat who made some great suggestions, I have made changes to my article and here is the final draft. I hope you like it! 

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Not every performer will have international fame, a large fortune, and psychotically screaming fans.  Choosing to be a musician can be a viable and fulfilling career if one important thing is remembered: having a love of music. 

Being passionate about performing helps overcome all the difficulties that abound the music industry.  With things like digital file sharing and online piracy, even Toronto’s live music scene has shown a decrease in audience-interest. Getting enough gigs to pay the bills has become difficult for established musicians and newcomers alike… But nothing will stop these two local musicians from doing what it takes to keep music at the centre of their lives: they are Andrew Fetterley and Lori Nuic, and they call themselves “The Late Show”.

Andrew and Lori met during a writing session with indie singer Daphne Darling. The Toronto music scene is fairly small and most performers occasionally work together, sharing their talents and expertise.  About a year ago, Andrew and Lori decided to create a musical duo to “get some extra dough” playing cover songs in bars while furthering their individual musical careers.

Andrew has always had a love for words. While growing up, Andrew kept a journal and wrote short stories, but eventually Andrew put his words to the melodies he plays on his guitar. “Combining music with writing seemed like a perfect match,” Andrew says. “I loved the personal expression that it gave artists and wanted to try it for myself.”

Turning his passion into the perfect profession, Andrew not only performs with Lori as The Late Show at venues like Honey’s Beestro or the Brazenhead Pub, but he also performs his original work at Toronto events like the Taste of the Danforth and Waterfront Blues Festival.

“Every time he sings a song he wrote I am in awe,” says Andrew’s best friend, Caroline Verbridge. “He’s an excellent writer, singer, and can do some crazy things on a guitar. I can relate to his songs; they are true, honest, and about life. I am blessed to know such a talented guy. His love for music really shines while he plays.”

 Best of all, Andrew started 7 South Productions, a company that provides private music lessons for aspiring musicians and a small studio in which established artists can record their music with Andrew producing, engineering, and sometimes playing on their albums. Lately, Andrew is interested in creating music for television and film soundtracks; he believes this is a lucrative path filled with abundant opportunities.

Lori’s musical inclination is not quite as business-oriented as Andrew’s; she has chosen to focus solely on being a performer.  Practically raised to be an entertainer, Lori attended dance classes, as well as singing and guitar lessons, before going to the Randolph Academy of the Performing Arts to attain additional training.

Like most up-and-coming musicians, Lori started with performing at open mic nights and live music venues. “It can be difficult [to get gigs] but not impossible. There are a lot of musicians in the city, but there are also a lot of coffee shops, lounges, and bars,” Lori says. “Sometimes it’s tough getting people out to the gigs. At first you badger your friends and family to come out as much as possible. Unless you’re a natural, it takes time to hone your stage presence, knowledge of how a bands works, and the elements involved [in performing].”

It wasn’t long before Lori was winning The Honey Jam music showcase and Rhythm of the Future talent search, making her name known among those in the music industry. It was at such an event that Lori met one of Toronto’s own artist/producers, Saukrates, who helped co-write a few songs for Lori’s debut CD  “Red Book Chronicles”.

 “I think she is amazing,” Caroline says, “I bought her CD and loved it… She has an amazing voice. I think she sounds a bit like Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera all rolled into one and then times it by five!”

Lori now works with an agent to further her career as a musician, though she occasionally works for film, TV, and theatre. She also sings with a five-piece funk band and a big-band jazz artist, all while recording her next album.  “Music is like breathing,” Lori proclaims,  “I couldn’t imagine life without it.”

Both Andrew and Lori have performed worldwide, yet they do not seem to have the international acclaim that puts their names on the lips of everyone from Toronto to Timbuktu. Nevertheless, this dynamite duo is enjoying life all because they have music in it. 

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SUMR 

Birthday: 21 days
Christmas: 26 days

So who wants to give me a kobo ereader as a prezzie? :0P

hey luvs,

SUMR

PS. the formatting on xanga is being annoying. I apologize for its wonkiness. 

Hey Luvs,

I figured I would take a page from the_fur_pimp's blog and do a post on what my "passions" are, since he asked and all... 

READING AND WRITING
I adore books; I would much rather be curled up with a novel than do pretty much anything else in the world. I also love to write scripts, poems, stories... It's all about words, people! (which is probably why i'm doing a post-grad publishing program). 
 

ACTING
Being in plays is an absolute blast! I have also been in two (locally made) movies and been a tv show extra. 
 

CROCHET
I am totally awesome at this hobby... okay, so I can barely read some/most patterns but it gets me through any time that i must sit still, such as: family gatherings, watching a movie, or attending a church service. 
 

DAYDREAMING
I have a tendency to do this maybe a little too often? Such as when I should be paying attention in class or studying... But it is a useful tool when doing aforementioned writing. 
 

DANCING
I adore taking recreational ballet classes but sadly can't afford to right now. I was told my old class misses me and it isn't nearly as much fun without me there and laughing at myself all the time. And any chance I get I'll go out dancing, but I will dance no matter where I am as long as music is playing!

CHRISTMAS
I know most won't see this as a passion but I love everything about the winter holiday. I buy or make prezzies all year round, I make people cards, I go caroling, I go to parties and parades, I just love it all! 
 

WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS? 

SUMR