On The Danforth magazine is hosting a postcard fiction contest! It is open to ANYONE ANYWHERE!

See details here -> http://onthedanforth.ca/contest/

SUMR

hey luvs!

I promised you an update so here it is... I may be repeating some stuff that I've written about in passing at some point this month but too bad, so sad, suck it up and deal with it  

I haven't had much going on that is interesting and I'm sure you don't want to be hearing about my boring classes and massive amounts of homework, even though I have been occasionally posting things I've had to write for class. I'm still a little upset that I haven't been getting a very good mark in my writing class because I thought I was a fairly decent writer. Maybe I'm just not meant to be magazine writer or I just haven't figured out the difference in magazine writing compared to other writing or I just haven't found the right magazine to write for? I dunno. I could probably get away with writing a blog for some mag or book publishing company but not actual articles...

Anyhoo, here is an update of the major events in my life these past couple weeks. 

Tues 9th
Today our classes were adjusted to be just one hour each instead of five in total because half the class would have had to leave early to volunteer for the Giller Light Bash.  The Giller Award is this big literary prize that many Canadian authors would want - prestige, money, and all that jazz. There is the real award ceremony for all the rich bigwigs, and the "Light Bash" for those who are less rich and less important and like to have more fun. All the proceeds of the Bash go towards a literacy college fund that I think is located in Toronto somewhere. 

The volunteers were fed pizza, given a tour, and trained (aka a five second overview of our responsibilities) before the bash started. I was on the drink ticket table with three other people... believe me, it is NOT a job for more than two people. Well, unless there is another table which they had but closed early because no one went to it because it was tucked away in a back corner and no one saw it *envy* 

My shift was for nearly the entire night! I was stuck there until midnight while others finished anywhere from 9pm on. Doesn't it figure that they stick one of the only people who would dance on the latest shift?! Because that was a responsibility for the volunteers that had shorter shifts, to get the dancing started. 

I had a decent time though. I got to meet some of the students in the other half of the program, the servers were cute (keri gave her number to one and they've been texting since), one of the bartenders was hot (he would shout out my order the second he saw me and always filled my glass to the top), I was given free drinks (sprite) instead of having to pay for them like everyone else, I got the contact info from a guy at a publishing company (he was actually kind of cute too for an older guy) and suggested that I get in touch about an internship, and best of all I did get some dancing in.

Because most of my class's volunteers all left before I even finished my shift I ended up hanging out with some people in the other class who came as guests in the process of getting drunk and just having a good time. I dont know any of their names but they were fun to hang out with and the guy wasn't half bad looking  He even complimented me, sort of, by saying he was watching me and thought I was a pretty good dancer. That wasn't saying much considering I was one of the few there who could dance -there was a lot of shuffling going on- but I'll take it anyways. 

All in all, it will look good on my resume AND the co-ordinator said we could use her as a reference. 

Thurs 11th
Today was another field trip. This time it was to a printing plant in or nearly to Etobicoke which is an hour or so by transit  Thankfully I managed to catch a ride with a classmate because note only would I really hate to be traveling for that long -can we say car sick?- but I would likely get uber lost. The two people who I was going to take the transit with ended up deciding to go home so I would have been totally alone. 

It was mostly pointless in my opinion, I mean we didn't really learn much at all! We got to see the printing presses and how things are embossed but that was about it. It was kind of interesting, but I'm not sure what exactly we were supposed to learn on the trip. I guess the highlight is the fact that we didn't have to be at school for the final three hours (but for those who took transit, it wouldn't have been a plus because it took one girl three hours to get home from the plant!)

There was a mini quiz after that asked general questions about the plant. The first question was to name ways the plant was eco friendly and I said it had mini windmills on the roof. I won a bright neon green t-shirt and the accolades of being observant because apparently I was the only person who noticed out of all seventy-two people in our program (the other class had their tour before our class did) 

Tues 16th
Our editing instructor is getting gradually more annoyed with our class. The two mean girls are downright nasty to him which in a way is kind of funny because an editing teacher should be able to write handouts concisely, understandably, and without mistakes... none of which our teacher is capable of. In a way I understand it because I tend to be wordy and miss mistakes in my own writing but I'm not the expert he claims to be *shakes head*

I have to admit that we're all being very childish in regards to this issue though; we are supposed to be professionals so we should all just shut up and deal. It does not put us in a very good light and he is after all a part of the publishing industry. I highly doubt he will be recommending many us to his contemporaries or even consider hiring us at the college press. 

We got our midterms back today and we were all pretty upset. The teacher was surprised that we did so bad compared to our assignments but that should be a really good indicator that it was a badly written exam. He said that each question was answered correctly by someone but when the majority of the class is getting things wrong the teacher isn't teaching right or isn't testing right. He even had questions with two right answers but one was more right... editing is subjective so what is "more right" to one person might be the less right to another! 

Out of the nineteen people who showed up for class (our other class had been canceled) not one of us got the very first question on the test right! The teacher said that so-and-so asked that question in class so obviously it was covered and we should know the answer... every single one of us shouted "she's not in our class!" The teacher can't even keep track of what he teaches to us and what to the other class, he should make notes of things that come up so he can discuss them with the other class and all learn the same things. It is unfair to test us on things that one class might have covered but not the other. 

Because of that he said he might give everyone an extra mark. It is not like it is a big deal since he is already giving everyone two extra marks anyways. He graded the test wrong saying it was out of 51 when it is only out of 50 because he had two questions numbered five and six. He even had multiple choice options of A, B, and B *shakes head* I dont even know why he's giving us the other extra mark... perhaps it is because he said he decided to take out question ten but forgot? 

I'm going to give you an example of a test question in which we were to choose which one was right. I cannot quite recall the entire sentence but I put the gist; it was actually a lot longer and more convoluted but whatever. 
A) Matt's killing his fiancee was considered a tragedy by the grieving family  
B) Matt killing his fiancee was considered tragedy by the grieving family
Apparently A is correct because it puts the focus on the person rather than the action, but I fail to see how a person can own a "killing" since it is an action and neither is the apostrophe S a contraction for "is" or "has". 

Maybe I'm not cut out for copyediting?

Wed 17th
Today we had a meeting for the online team of On The Danforth magazine and what I have discovered really ticks me off!  Some of you may know that I applied to be a section editor for both the print magazine and online but was given neither role. I could understand for the magazine since the people chosen are awesome but for online... Jill, the head of the team, told me that she thought the others had more experience and asked if I was willing to be the final editor. I found out that only one person of the team has dealt with the program we'll be using, so how does that make them more experienced than I am? I found out that only one of the other on the team has an online blog (other than me) so, again, how does that make them all more experienced? I just really don't get it! 

One of them is leery of being the feature editor because she doesn't want to do much work and is worried it will take a lot of effort, so why the heck can't I have that position? Jill said the editors might have to do a fair bit of writing themselves, especially the first couple months and three of them don't want to do any writing. Why aren't they just a copyeditor while I be the section editor, because I'll sure the heck write!

The mean girl in class is also on the team and I almost think she discouraged Jill from "hiring" me because when I went to join the meeting she gave me a look and groaned. Way to make me feel that we're all in this together and be working co-operatively. If I just knew what it was about the others on the online team that made them more experienced it wouldn't be so bad, but I just can't figure it out at all. As far as I can tell we're all basically on par in regards to qualifications. 

It isn't going to stop me from pitching ideas and maybe even writing them, though. It would be excellent to have a bunch of articles in my portfolio, or put on my resume that I've been published xx times for the magazine. The hardest part would be how to tie everything into the Danforth area but, according to Jill, there is always a way.

We're updating the website once a week which means I have to do a final edit on approximately 25 articles a month! The chief copyeditor in the other class said she had too many editors and not enough to do, and I'm sure my class has more editors than needed for the print magazine, so why the heck am I the only one with the most work to do?! Silver Lining: it will look good on my resume to say I can handle it... so let's hope I can!

Our first online update will be mid-December and the next will be mid January (because we have a rather long Christmas break) and since I want to get some articles in I need ideas. Can anyone give me good Christmas/holiday and New Years suggestions? 

SUMR

i have stuff to write about i just haven't felt like writing about it yet. but i promise i will... eventually  

SUMR

okay, so it isn't REALLY for the magazine but i'll pretend it is for the practice of writing for a specific publication (according to my prof, i need to work on that). if i do manage to see the 2010 performance i promise y'all i'll write up a new review and see if the mag will take it... provided you think this review is any good, that is. so let me know what needs work!

**********

Belleville
Quinte Ballet School of Canada 

The Nutcracker Ballet has become a Christmas tradition in many parts of the world from Russia to England to North America. This ballet was first performed at St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in 1892, with Tchaikovsky’s music and the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.  Over the years The Nutcracker has undergone many adaptations and rearrangements, but the most notable that I have seen is the 2009 performance by The Quinte Ballet School of Canada at The Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ontario.

John Ottmann, the newly appointed artistic director, wants to update The Nutcracker by not only re-choreographing the entire production, but make a more colourful, quirky, and humourous rendition that is accessible for a general audience; an undertaking that will require two years to complete.

One of the first changes Ottmann makes is to the opening of the performance. No longer leaving the audience in the dark with nothing but the overture to occupy them, there is a dialogue between a young girl and her father. The father, played by Pete Walker, is only the first of the many special guest performers to appear in the ballet. Others include Tim Porter, Johnny Wright, The Skyline Quartet, and Ciprian Campianu.

When the curtains finally open and the music begins, we are taken to a landscape of white-encrusted pine trees, flying snow geese, and a mischievous fox.  The flock of six, dressed in white leotard and feathery sleeves, give a delicate and whimsical feel that helps lure us into the fantasy world.

In the home of the Staulbaum’s where the Christmas party is held, the backdrop is noticeably different from other performances. Many ballet companies use a tree that can expand to indicate Clara shrinking to toy-size, but this Christmas tree is cut of wood. I wont tell you the purpose as germinated by Ottmann and set designer Roger Scannura, but leave it as a surprise for those who attend later performances.

The dancing at the party is no longer as repetitive thus making it more interesting, though it can be occasionally awkward at times. This may be due to the casting of male students from a local high school to fill in the remaining male roles not occupied by professional dance students. In a similar manner, the youngest boys girls seen throughout the ballet who are not yet old enough to be in the professional program have come from the recreational side of the ballet school.

The costumes coordinated by Desiree Porter and created with the help of her team remain as lovely as ever. A few of the costumes are recognizable from previous years while others are newly fashioned.  The dresses the mothers wear are much more practical for the dancers as they no longer have to contend with hooped-skirts and their feet are no longer hampered by floor-sweeping hemlines.

An inspiring alteration that Ottmann makes is to the character of Drosselmeyer. Gone is the dark and slightly frightening godfather and in his place is the ballet version of Christopher Lloyd’s character Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Johnny Wright, a Canadian performer of much renown, is perfectly cast as a laugh-inducing and magical Drosselmeyer.

Other notable performances are by Ashley Shimizu as the female half of the mechanical doll couple and Guillaume Archambault-Lelievre as the Rat King.  Shimizu’s undertaking of the difficult stiff and flat-footed dance is well mastered and made all the more stunning with a blue and white harlequin-inspired bodice and tutu. Archambault-Lelievre’s dramatic portrayal of lead rodent nearly overshadows the Nutcracker Boy as played by James Nix. 

Ottmann has yet to invoke much influence on the snow scene at the end of Act One, as well as most of Act Two. What has changed in the second act is a more impressive Spanish dance –it left much to be desired last season- and the Arabian number has a more noticeably authentic Middle-Eastern feel to it.

After seeing this year’s performance I can hardly wait for the final installment of Ottmann’s incredible choreography in The Quinte Ballet School of Canada’s 2010 performance of The Nutcracker. 

***************

BTW, they are performing in Oshawa on December 11th at the Eastdale Auditorium. The performances are at 2pm and 7pm. $20 for students and $25 for adults. If anyone with a car and is driving through Toronto wants to go let me know so i can hitch a ride! *L0L*

SUMR

Hey luvs, 

I've been pretty busy with school and managed to acquire a sinus infection so I've been sick for the past week or so. Since my eyes start to sting and water after about five minutes of looking at a screen it has not only made classes pretty miserable but made me avoid my lappy when I'm home as well... though I admit even before I was sick I wasn't given xanga the attention it deserves. 

 Anyhoo, I applied to four positions for the school magazine and did not get even one. Though I first applied just for the sake of applying and the intent of getting something with less responsibility, I am really disappointed that I didn't get a senior position. I guess I psyched myself up for it and I shouldn't have. I was offered the position of online editing (as opposed to online editor) as well as editing for the magazine (as opposed to chief copyeditor) so now I have to decide if I want to edit half a dozen short articles each week for the website or edit longer articles for the magazine or both. 

The idea of trying to fit in editing each week into my schedule sounds insane but being able to put it on my resume is a persuasive thing. Plus I want to be able to say I worked on the magazine itself, also something that would appeal on my resume and in my portfolio. I guess this means I'll be doing both, crazy as it seems. 

I haven't been doing too badly in my classes either. Editing is at 87%, Book Production 95%, Design 100%, Intro 100%, and Writing for Publication 70%. I find it rather odd that the classes I thought I would struggle most in are getting the bet grades while the writing course is my worst mark! Thankfully I just got an email from my prof for that class saying that she is extending our due date for an assignment by a week. Considering I haven't heard back from one of the people I hope to be interviewing, not gotten a second interview with another, and I need to interview at least one more person besides, I am beyond thankful!  

Tuesday is the Bash I volunteered for weeks ago and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm so not feeling well and questions if I should go or allow the classmate who said could replace me. I went to the doc on friday and he said after three days on meds I should be fine but I haven't been able to get my meds yet because I'm still waiting for my money to hit my bank account. I am 25$ short because I bought groceries this week *0y*

Being in this course is making me want an ereader *L0L* I kept saying there was nothing like holding a book in your hand so why would I want a thing like that? But I do on occasion read ebooks and holding a hot lap top in your lap is equivalently uncomfortable as trying to read a book at your desk. Anyone have recommendations? 

I am now exhausted and my eyes feel like they've been jabbed with hot pokers so ttfn!

SUMR 

Profile article on Lynne Russell, bonus points to whomever knows who that is without doing a search!

Hell on Heels

“It was hell,” Lynne Russell says, telling it like it is but with her own personal flair. "I discovered that I was pregnant and I discovered that I should have bailed out on my husband long before that." Lynne found herself a single mom trying to make it in the male-dominated world of radio and TV broadcasting.

“My parents were a big help,” Lynne states but eventually she moved from Colorado to work at a Miami radio station. The hours of her job required that Lynne take her son with her to work, so Lynne had to perfect a skill she readily admits she had trouble with: organization.

“I had to get everything ready the night before,” Lynne says. She would wake up at 5am each day with just enough time to collect her things and lug her sleepy child down three flights of stairs because the apartment’s elevator was always broken. After driving to work she would set an alarm for 7am so she could get her son ready for school and on the bus when it came to pick him up an hour later. “My son grew up in the radio station,” she admits.

But Lynne is not just any ordinary working mom for it is hard to name a pastime that she has not mastered. Lynne likes going sailing, SCUBA diving, and playing hockey. She has a black belt in Choi Kwang Do and volunteers as a deputy sheriff, bodyguard, and private investigator. Lynne is also the author of a few magazine articles and the self-help book “How to Win Friends, Kick Ass, and Influence People.”

Anyone would say that Lynne is hell on heels, a term she loves but not for the reasons you would expect. At one point in time, Lynne wanted to start her own private investigation company of four stiletto-clad women called just that. Instead she is in the process of publishing a novel called “Hell on Heels” that follows a TV reporter/PI in Buffalo, New York.  This work of fiction is currently in rewrite because Lynne’s publisher said the heroine was not “vulnerable enough.” But who needs vulnerable when you could have someone like Lynne?

With all that she does, you have to wonder how she makes time for it all, balancing work, motherhood, and hobbies. “You don’t stress out,” Lynne says, “You make a list of all the things you want to do… then shred the list afterwards and do what feels right.”

  SUMR

I just got told today about the senior editorial positions available for my school magazine. I'm going to apply of course but I am not sure which I'd be best at... suggestions?

Associate Editor:
Works closely with the Editor-in-Chief; does a final edit of each story; brainstorms story ideas; shares team management responsibilities with Editor-in-Chief
- Communication skills with editors, designers and writers
- Understanding of the magazine’s vision
- Management skills
- Love and appreciation for magazines

Managing Editor:
Sets out timelines for the editorial process; managing the editorial process, including sending proofs from editors to copyeditor to design, and enforcing deadlines for each.
- Time-management and organizational skills
- Ability to work with a wide range of people
- Dispute resolution and peace-keeping skills
- Communication skills with editors, designers and writers


Senior Editors (4):
Brainstorms story ideas; edit the initial manuscript; helps in finding accompanying images for each story and works closely with design to create layouts
- Understanding of the magazine’s vision
- Knowledge about info “packaging”
- Communication skills with editors, design and writers
- Understanding of the copy-photo relationship

Chief Copyeditor:
Creates the magazine style guide; appoints and overseas a team of copyeditors; finalizes edits before sending proofs back to senior editors
- Attention to detail
- Vision for the copy style of the magazine
- Managerial skills and ability to delegate tasks to other copyeditors

Chief of Research:
Fact-checks each story to assure names, dates, addresses, and prices, are accurate; chooses and overseas a team of fact-checkers
- Attention to detail
- Management skills and ability to delegate tasks to fact-checkers
- Confidence and ability to get in contact with businesses to verify each fact

SUMR

w0w i haven't written in over a week *wh00ps*

Thursday 21:
Our first class was canceled because one of our prof's begged Magazines Canada to allow us to attend their event "State of the Magazine 2010" where people in the mag industry came together to listen to a panel of experts discuss the future of magazines.

we were to arrive by 8:30am and i left an hour early to ensure i got there on time... but i didn't. i had to take the subway alone and for some stupid reason the sign at the bloor-yonge station said southbound but instead went north; i totally ended up going the wrong way. i wasn't the only person who did that though and we got off at the next stop to turn around but since it was "rush hour" i had to wait for an empty subway car.

once i got heading in the right direction i met up with a girl in my class and we got off at the station that was recommended to me by another classmate. i was told to exit the station and keep walking straight down the sidewalk but the other girl thought we had to go the other way so we did. we were discussing whether to turn or go straight to the next street when a nice person told us we were going the wrong way.

so we turned back to head the way i thought and then turned left and bumped into another girl in our class. we kept walking before realizing we were walking north instead of south and ended up back at the previous subway station! we turned around and headed south.

thankfully the 8:30 start turned out to be a registration and buffet breakfast so, while we were late, we didn't miss anything. i have to say it wouldn't have mattered much because i didn't understand half of what was being said since they continuously used acronyms we have yet to learn in class. meanE (which i have decided to call mean girl E) feel asleep as per usual which really annoys me because i have a feeling she'll manage to pass while not paying attention.

Friday 22:
i had signed up for a Debbie Macomber online chat that was to start after class but then i found out that Drew Seeley was also doing an online chat. i went to drew seeley's chat until it ended before going over to debbie's but within five minutes my computer froze up. it stayed on the spinning colour wheel of death for three hours before shutting down all my windows. i wonder if i managed to get a virus on my mac since it has been doing that a lot lately...

Sat 23:
my friend Laur picked me up in the morning because she was hosting a birthday party at her parents house for her best friend Ashley. we shopped and decorated and baked and got everything prepared. i had an absolute blast even though i fell asleep on the couch before the party was even over. i was exhausted from getting up so early to get ready! i ended up crashing at Laur's apartment and she drove me home the next afternoon. it kind of felt like i was at one big 24hour party! i'll post pix for y'all later though they are already up on facebook.

Tuesday 26:
since it is career week there are no classes but a three day event downtown. the entire BAM program is to meet at a church because it is the only space they could rent that would fit everyone inexpensively. i left waaay early in fear that i might get lost or get on the wrong subway or whatnot.

remember my mentioning the old high school classmate that helped me find my apartment? well i finally bumped into her even though we've been living across the street for two months now! we stayed together until her stop and i kept going to mine. i caught a streetcar to my stop and walked down to the church where other classmates were hanging outside as they arrived early as well.

in the morning we had a guest speaker from an HR department to discuss do's and don'ts of cover letter and resume writing. i'll have to rework mine as they aren't quite up to par but i have to say my resume is pretty close to the do's list and very few of the don'ts.

then we had pizza provided for us for lunch and graduates of our program from last year came. we got to hang out and talk to the graduates to discuss what they are doing now and how they got there and any advice they have etc. i didn't get to talk to everyone and no one had the exact job i wanted so i didn't mind too much. i did talk to Emma who i met at the word on the street festival which is always fun. she also promised to send me an ebook of Iron King which is really big right now considering the waiting list at the library is in the 600's.

Wednesday 27:
this morning there was no guest speaker, just two of our professors talking about what makes a good portfolio and discussing the internships we will be looking to start in the spring. i need to rework my portfolio as well as i have a few don'ts there unfortunately.

this afternoon we had five people from the mag industry come talk to us. we were sitting in groups of 8-10 and each mag person was given about fifteen minutes to talk about their job and how they got there and then answer any questions we might have. after the time was up, they would move to the next group and start again. it was kind of interesting but not overly relevant for me. i do kind of like the idea of magazines but i wantwantwant to be in books.

the prof's announced which students were hired for the main "jobs" for the On The Danforth magazine the class publishes biannually. i didn't apply for any of the jobs because i didn't want to have such a supervisor-like position. i was really glad that meanE did not get the editor in chief or publisher position (i can't recall which) because i really did NOT want to be working under her. this girl steph got the EinC and i already told her i'm totally applying to her department (we have to apply for jobs and go through interviews and everything).

the cute guy in my class got the head of sales position that, rumoured, he only wanted because it meant he wouldn't have to try to sell any ads himself while the rest of the class has to try to sell two ads each. i felt kind of bad for kayla because i think she actually wanted the position but didn't get it.

we finished at 1pm and a good twenty of the kids in our class decided to go out for lunch together to socialize outside of school grounds. we went to this pub-type place in kensington market called Last Temptation. We had a load of fun and our server was from Northern Ireland *sw00n* and another guy there was from England *sigh*

i somehow managed to snag a seat beside the cutie and i have found out that when in the company of jerL he actually does talk a wee bit more than usual. i now know that he went to U of T, that he plays goalie for a hockey team, coaches a hockey team ages 9 to 13 nearly every day, that he works at a bar named something to do with California in Missasauga, and knows which beer bottles are best in a bar fight.

i also have found out that half the students in my class question on of our prof's orientation since she never says husband/wife but partner and adopted a son rather than get married and have kids. i have also learned that meanE thinks that the best way to get over a relationship is to make-out with a stranger. also meanE was making fun of me at one point because she said that at least she doesn't stare at people's mouths when they talk which is something she knows i do because it helps me "hear" what people are saying, particularly in loud locations.

we talked a bit about that day's "event" as well and while most of the others could remember each person by their name or what their job was, i kept saying things like: was that the guy with the pretty purple dress shirt or the guy with the dimple? was that the girl with the huge ring or the one with the brown purse?

after we finished eating most of us sort of trickled away about an hour and a half after arriving. jill and i ended up going together but instead of getting off at the same station she headed home and i went to the library. i did NOT lug around my library books all day to not return them after all!

thursday 28:
i know that is tomorrow but we are once again going to the church and will be talking to people in the book industry this time. hopefully i will learn a lot that will help me and make some really great contacts! after we do our round-robin speed-dating thing (as the prof calls it or musical chairs as we call it) we will have a bit of a wrap up and then be done for the week.

well, not done per se because we have one assignment due monday, two midterms to study for, and something else that totally flew from my mind two seconds ago. ah well.

SUMR

top o' the day to ye!

so i was up until about three this morning. it took me longer to finish up my profile article assignment that i expected and it didn't help that i kept jumping up out of bed to make changes once i was trying to sleep. i also got a little confused because it was sooo freaking noisy!

usually my neighbours are only loud on friday and saturday nights so for a while i thought maybe i got my days mixed up and it was only saturday because there were some loud drunk type people in the hall just after two am. it got to the point where i took a gravel and put in ear plugs to finally get some sleep.

needless to say waking up was a serious chore this morning and i had to literally run all the way to class to hand in my assignment on time. they have a rule that as soon as class starts on the half-hour you are late; publishing is all about deadlines. one girl was actually up all night and hadn't gone to sleep yet so she was just going to hand in her assignment and leave but then we found out we were having a guest speaker that we would have to write a profile article about due in two weeks.

today was the second time that the cute guy in class actually came up to talk to me as, normally, it is me trying to get him in on a conversation. the first was the day before job shadowing when he told me that another girl in class got the place i want to intern -and i admit i was kind of excited that he knew my name *L0L*- and today was the other when he asked to borrow my stapler for his assignment (i have an adorable little baby-blue one that fits in my pencil case).

our guest speaker was Lynne Russell who used to be an anchor for 18 years at CNN in Atlanta (i think?) before moving to CBC in Canada (due to her husband getting a great job offer). it was press conference style so everyone had to make up 10 questions before Lynne arrived and for every question we actually asked her we got a point towards our grade. i managed to get in two questions cuz i'm awesome like that *snickers* and btw? lynne is hilariously awesome!

our next class was "cancelled" for a field trip to Access Copyright leaving us with two freaking hours to kill before we had to be there. my group of seven was made plans to hang out together but E (the mean girl) decided to drive instead of take the subway but couldn't fit all of us. we decided that those with monthly passes would take the ttc and those without would go with E... but E said her car was too messy for more than one person and grabbed her new bff L.

then when we were walking to the bus stop two of the girls changed their mind and said they were going to walk to the subway station even though it was her idea to take the bus! yeah, two seconds later we saw them get picked up by E in the car

i did find out that Kerri also feels like she is on the outside of the group. considering she just joined like a couple weeks ago its not surprising that she doesn't feel fully in the loop but i've been there from the beginning and feel shoved aside *shakes head* L had her birthday over the weekend and they discussed getting together in front of me but never invited me or let me know where and when. as much as i had liked L in the beginning, it seems like E has drawn her over to the dark side and i kind of hope that they form their own two-some rather than pulling the other two or three with them.

then once we get to the eaton centre and we were waiting at the designated meet-up locale, Jill got a text and the other four weren't even going to show! since Jill, Kerri, and i met up with some other girls in our class we ended up all hanging out together wandering the mall and getting lunch. i was good and only bought something to eat, thought the bookstore was soo tempting. i had brought a lunch but since i hadn't gone grocery shopping the "lunch" i had was a couple dinner rolls, a banana muffin, and a handful of carrots. i wanted a cheeseburger

so after that the eight of us jumped back on the subway to get to Access Copyright but when we got off and started walking the final two blocks we realized that we lost Vanessa! turns out she stopped to buy a drink and somehow ended up on the other side of the street

during our walk someone brought up the topic of the cute guy in class. apparently some of the other girls thinks "he's so pretty" and were discussing whether he was gay or not because everyone wants to date him! Jill and Kayla were of the conclusion he does bat for the other side because he is nice, dresses well, and doesn't talk about his "conquests" (the other guys are a bit lacking in the wardrobe department) while Carmen said he doesn't set off her gay-dar (i think i heard she IS on the other team). i wonder how he feels about being the most wanted guy in class...

so the field trip consisted of sitting in the board room and getting a power point presentation. we didn't even get a tour which we were told would happen! why the heck couldn't the speaker come to our class rather than dragging over 30 students downtown then??? it made nooo sense to anyone and a couple of the girls fell asleep! E always sleeps through half the classes, but the girl who pulled an all-nighter kept drifting off too.

afterwards the majority of the class walked back to the subway station and part of the time i was walking with our eaton group of girls but they walk faster than me -i blame my short legs- and ended up with the guys. for the most part i was actually beside the cutie because it almost seems like he was adjusting his pace to match mine and, if true, so gentlemanly! all of us took the northbound line but then when we had to switch to the eastbound line he went west instead *sigh*

since jill and i are only a couple blocks apart we got off at the same station and jumped a bus. while waiting we heard this girl start yelling and a guy take off running down the street. i think he may have stolen her cell phone or something right out of her hand! it was very dramatic but no one was sure what was going on.

the thing that annoys me muchly is that the stupid transit stops are named after streets even when they are not actually at that street! i wanted to go to the grocery store but the bus stop that was in front of the store was called by the the previous street we passed even though the store was on a different street! its so seriously screwed up. oh and also, today's travels cost me nearly 10$ in transit fares *grrr*

speaking of messed up processes, the friken toronto library doesn't even catalogue half their books! the books i checked out say only "adult novel" and "ya novel" when i checked online. i discovered this when i was trying to search for more novels by the same author of the book i just finished reading but i couldn't even find the book i checked out let alone the next in the series!

so all in all i think i had an interesting day... but then, i had eye-candy to drool over!

SUMR

hey m'dears,

this past week has been crazy! i was going to post sooner but doesn't it figure that xanga stops working? *bah*

as i think i mentioned i had thanksgiving with my parents and grandparents on saturday and was going to my aunt's on monday for another dinner. my aunt invites the whole family -grandparents, six sisters, kids, and pets- plus her husband's family so it has always been a little crazy in previous years.

the drive there from home is horrible for someone who gets car sick. it takes over three hours to get there and it didn't help that dad didn't bring the address so mum had to go from memory... never a good thing!

anyways, this year my parents and i were the only ones to come on our side of the family and only six people came on my uncle's side! i had an alright time, i hung out with my cousin and her niece watching Tinkerbell and taking the dog on a short walk.

after dinner the parentals brought me back to the apartment which was thankfully only about an hour's drive. i was hoping da would fix my computer but he wanted to leave for home right away as it would be getting late by the time they arrived... it turns out that they hit a detour for some unknown reason and it took an extra hour for them to get home! but my comptuter is still being evil *sigh*

nothing really exciting happened this week, just a fairly regular school week. we got to watch the September Issue in class and then someone from Fashion mag came in to talk to us about the differences in american and canadian magazines.

did i tell you about a group assignment i was working on and not getting along with one or two of the girls? every time i tried to participate i was essentially ignored or shot down. in fact this pretty much happened with two group assignments now that i think of it. anyhoo, in this one the girl was being snarky at me for not participating -wonder why i stopped trying- and she was from the group i've been mainly hanging out with. thankfully, group drama aside, we got a perfect mark.

oh the worst is that i had to give a presentation on friday about my "dream job". i was preparing for it for weeks! i had it nearly memorized and everything planned out... but i hate presentations. i started shaking like crazy, had trouble breathing, my voice was going wonky *shudder*

oddly enough no one noticed any of that and i was even complimented on my presentation after class! the worst part was when people were asking questions and they asked me HARD ones unlike everyone else. i handed out books from the publisher for them to look at and they asked what an award on one of the books was. i didn't even notice it had one! i could answer some of the questions but i was so nervous i'm not sure i was very clear and concise, at least to the point where i made sense anyways *0y*

also in that class some of the girls my group were making plans for the weekend, going out to lunch on friday and a bar on sat for one of the girl's birthday. even though i was right there not one of them invited me along. it makes me a bit worried about what kind of friendships i'm going to have this year, i always have a best friend at every school and so far i haven't found one

i'm working on my profile assignment which is due tomorrow so check out fb notes later today because i'll need someone to do a quick copyedit or even a commentary on what you thought. i have already posted one profile but i'm not liking it so much so i'll put the other one up and y'all can tell me which you prefer.

i swear i have an assignment due every day this week but i've been reading novels and talking on xangaville... i am such a procrastinator!

SUMR