The Rambler

rambleization @ 2010-04-14T19:04:00

2010-04-15T02:04:17Z

Can I please marry Adventure Time right now? I would very much enjoy that. I need it in my life. It is imperative to my survival.

In other news, I've been pretty dead on here recently. However, I am done classes for the year now and look forwards to catching up on everyone's lives.

You may now exit the internet. Thank you.

2010-03-30T22:56:22Z

Fans whose hopes were dashed when Stephenie Meyer sidelined Midnight Sun, her planned fifth book in the Twilight Saga, after it was leaked online, have reason to get excited. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will publish Meyer's The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella on Saturday, June 5. The book goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. with a 1.5 million-copy first printing (an e-book version will be available at 6:00 a.m.).

Really? REALLY? REALLY?

Unfortunately, it's true.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner tells the story of a newborn vampire introduced in Eclipse, who will also appear in the film version of Eclipse, scheduled to be released on June 30. The book was originally envisioned as part of Meyer's The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide. "I'm as surprised as anyone about this novella," said Meyer in a statement. "When I began working on it in 2005, it was simply an exercise to help me examine the other side of Eclipse, which I was editing at the time. I thought it might end up as a short story that I could include on my website. Then, when work started on The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, I thought the Guide would be a good fit for my Bree story. However, the story grew longer than I anticipated, until it was too long to fit into the Guide."

Go fuck yourself, Smeyer. Really. I would really appreciate it.

_{Also, thank you to everyone for the kind words on the previous entry. <3 I really appreciated it.}

Love you, Mags <3

2010-03-23T05:12:11Z

My poor, beautiful puppy passed away last night. I got the call this morning from my mum. She was crying when she told me.
Maggie was old, almost fourteen, but she wasn't really showing a lot of warning signs. Apparently, she was coughing last night, but that was all. She went to sleep in her bed, curled up in front of the heater and just never woke up, I suppose. As far as we know, she wasn't in any pain before her death. I'm very thankful for that. I think she went peacefully.

I can't imagine going back home and her not being there. She's just always been there. I was six when we got her. I spent that first night curled up with her in the hall. I refused to go to bed because I was scared she would be lonely without her mum and brothers. She slept in my bed until my mum had to kick her out. She was a huge dog and she took up the entire bed. I still snuck her up there with me almost every night.

I just started crying again while writing this.

Maggie, I miss you and love you so much. <3

NERD GASM

2010-03-07T01:04:54Z

A friend of mine is an avid antique book collector. As a general lover of books, I always thought that this was a supermegafoxyawesomehot hobby. So I decided to join her in it. I just bought my first true antique book. Two dollars, excellent shape. I just got home and looked it up and found a news article from 1908 reviewing the book. I am peeing in glee right now. I was even more excited when I read the review where it stated what an excellent book it is because it can fit right in your waistcoat pocket. <3
Unfortunately, I passed up a book from the 1800's which was going for five dollars... I sort of really want to go back for it now...
Maybe tomorrow.

UNGH, I LOVE OLD BOOKS. IT'S SO TINY AND CUTE AND SMELLS LIKE HISTORY. I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW.

Critique or gtfo

2010-03-05T06:30:27Z

Dear people in my classes,

If you do not want to hear critique on your stories, then do not take a course based solely on the peer review system. It clearly states the format of the class in the course description. You are dumb and have had plenty of time to drop without financial liability. Just because you are "not planning on becoming a writer" does not mean that you are not subject to critique. Besides, these are third year classes. Why the hell are you taking up seats for people who are in the program if you don't even care about it.
Kindly pack up your crappy stories and leave.

Sincerely,

Fiona

In other news, went to Chapters today and bought Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timmothy Findley and Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Niel. So excited to start them. Slightly more broke, but oh well. Worth it.

rambleization @ 2010-03-01T02:48:00

2010-03-01T10:48:20Z

I've been sort of boycotting the 2010 Olympics these past couple of weeks. Of course, that's very hard to do when the Olympics are occurring so close to where I live. I support the athletes and everything they've gone through to get where they are. It's a wonderful show of self-discipline, something I wish I had more of. I do not, however, support the over zealous spending that has gone into the event. It's such an unbelievably cash cow at this point.
I felt quite patriotic today, though. Not just because we won gold, or even because we've made a record. I'm not denying that that's cool, but it doesn't have anything to do with the feeling of national pride I experienced today. I was at work during the game, and on the opposite side of the mall was an Olympics set up. There was a large flat screen TV and bleachers set up for viewing. The place was packed. My coworker and I took turns going down to the set up, him to watch the game and me to just sort of soak it all in (I'm essentially a hockey hating, beer shunning disgrace of a Canadian). When I was down there, people were hugging and smiling and just generally happy. While I was in the store, people were popping in just to keep me updated on the score, to tell a joke or simply to chat. I think I would have been generally irritated by that if it weren't for the fact that the entire mall, minus the Olympics setup, was completely deserted.
Still, it was lovely seeing everyone so happy and so proud of their country. Over here in B.C., we don't get patriotic very often and I normally cringe at the idea (we are by nature a fairly modest people), but I was happy to see it and even take part in what I could.
I even got to jump up and down and scream when I heard the cheers from the other side of the mall. It was very loud and very infectious.

Also, there was apparently a happy mob in downtown Vancouver today. They were climbing on bus stop covers and all over Future Shop (who had closed their doors due to the riot). That one... not so cool, guys.

I haven't posted music in a while, so here:

I really love this song, as I do all of Regina's work. Simply gorgeous. And unfortunately, I think it's a feeling we've all felt at some point or another.

Whomever is a made up word used to trick students.

2010-02-19T08:43:55Z

We talked about who vs whom today in my copyediting class. This was, of course, all I could think of.
I was the the only person in the class, aside from the prof (who had just learned the trick the previous week) who knew the he vs him trick to logicing out whether to use who or whom. Since she didn't know it very well, she asked me to teach the class on the section. It was really nerve-wracking, but I felt really awesome. Copyediting is unbelievably dull some days, but I'm so glad I decided to take it. I've learned so much that really helps me improve my own writing. Luckily, our prof plans to change the lessons and make them more interactive with more in class work. Listening to a classmate read aloud points on a chapter you've already read is just not that enthralling. At all.

I'm also starting my sci-fi story for Genre Fiction (sweet baby Jesus, I love that class). We're allowed to choose between fantasy and sci-fi for the project and never having taken a go and sci-fi before, I've decided to at least see where this takes me. I'm doing a post apocalyptic piece. That's all I know. It's due tuesday and I have two sentences done.

Come ooooon, inspiration.

Hanna is Not a Boy's Name

2010-02-08T21:18:36Z

What do you get when you combine a bit of typography, humor and amazing art? Why, it's Hanna is Not a Boy's Name, of course! It's a webcomic by the wonderful Tessa Stone and follows the adventures of Hanna Falk Cross, a (shitty) paranormal investigator. Despite Hanna being the main character, the story is told from the point of view of Hanna's zombie companion, known simply as "...".
Stone herself classifies the story as sugarcoated horror. And what's more fun than horror with a fine sugar coating?
Anyways, I really suggest that you check it out. It's quirky, it's hilarious and it's ever so wonderful.

):

2010-02-04T09:22:25Z

I'm always really disappointed when there's someone in a class who quite obviously does not want to be there. There's a boy in our genre class who does nothing but mock and sneer at everything. Whether it's other people's work or the genre itself. When we do our workshop sessions, he does no previous editing and doesn't even bother to read the stories beforehand. He actually said to a person during critique last week, "I dunno. Didn't read it." I wanted to bitchslap him. The most irritating part is that I know for a fact that we had a 20+ waitlist for the class. A waitlist full of people who really wanted to be there and who would read the stories and give critique and not mock everyone and everything.
Just, augh. The part I really don't get is why he's paying $250 for a class he's not interested in. I really hope the prof fails him. So far she hasn't called him on anything yet, which honestly surprises me.

On a similar subject, I finally finished my romance story. It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. The required writing style is the complete opposite of my own. It was an excellent assignment, though. I had to really step out of my comfort zone (I need to do more of that). I've been working on the novel for so long that I'm gotten into a total stylistic rut. It was really great to be forced out of that.

Any romance writing tips out there?

2010-01-26T20:01:41Z

This romance story is going to kill me. I don't think I quite realised what I was getting into. Our stories have to follow the guideline:

Women are beautiful, intelligent, passionate, witty (ie: Mary-Sue-ish)
Men are dangerous, brooding, and cause an initial problem.
Simplistic writing style.
There must be a conflict barring the two.
Love must be consummated in some form or another.
The woman must chase the man.
Story must have a happy ending.

I personally prefer a story with a sad ending. I try to write self destructive characters with detrimental flaws. From what I understand (from the lecture I'm sitting in on), this is not something I can do for this assignment. Other than the conflict (which really should be in every story), these are all things I tend to avoid.
So that means the previous story is out the window. I might just bail out and write a borderline harlequin. Pffffft.

Any tips floating around out there?

Oh well, I'm taking the story I was working on and entering it in the Arts Council short story competition. The entry price is only $15 (cheaper than most of the contests I've seen in the area) and the prize is cash and publishing. I figure why not?
We'll see if I can get it finished for the due date.

Oh, Lordy...

2010-01-24T09:39:05Z

My most recent assignment has been to write a romance story for my genre class. First of all, I fail at romance. My original plot was about a boy who died in a car accident. It went up in flames. A lot like his car. I just wasn't in to it.
So then I decided to cruise A Softer World (which is an amazing site, btw). I found this little number:

And suddenly, I thought, like fucking Twilight.

So now I'm turning this project into one giant jab at Twilight and how utterly wrong and twisted the "romance" is. Basically, it's going to be about this stalker who breaks into a woman's house to learn more about her. With this information in mind, he aims at seducing her and the two fall in awful, awful love. And the story ends without her ever knowing what a complete psycho this man is. Of course, the reader will know.

I think I'm actually going to have a lot of fun with this.

rambleization @ 2010-01-20T02:04:00

2010-01-20T10:04:57Z

Mmm, I should be sleeping right now. But I'm not.

Arius and Lacey have been so... cute lately. I don't know what's up with that. Despite the look of it right now, I do intend to come back to their darker storyline.

I just noticed how messed Lacey's hand looks. Oooh, boy. I'm so out of practice with my copics. Puuuhhh. Arius, your face looks fucked.

There is so much wrong with this...

2010-01-17T08:32:04Z

In other news, kitty's back and (I hope) feeling better. She's gained back so much weight and I can't feel each individual rib anymore. I'm very happy to have her back to her playful, alive self. The only downside is giving her the crapton of prescriptions every day. Bubba does not like taking pills. Or the liquid medicine. It's a two person job. Insanity.
But worth it. :)

rambleization @ 2010-01-12T18:03:00

2010-01-13T02:03:25Z

Don't you just love how when things hit, they hit all at once?

Work has cut me down to four hours per week. This is honestly my fault, though, as I was waiting for my final class schedule to come in before I gave it to my boss.

My textbooks for this month are coming to $300+ (which isn't much, but a lot for the CREW program).

My cat has some form of kidney failure (poor darling!) either because she digested something or due to genetics. The bill so far is $700 for a maybe fix. I get her back tomorrow and all we can do is hope that the IV and supplement medications they've had her on will help. If not, I have no idea what we're going to have to do. Thank god she's co-owned by my roommate and I.
Good thing I bought groceries before this shit-storm hit.

Oh, hi there, second job!

rambleization @ 2010-01-06T00:57:00

2010-01-06T08:57:32Z

I've been in a rather odd mood lately. I've been messing up with medications for the past... month, probably. It's really taken it's toll and I've really noticed in this period how much the medication has been helping. I hope to get back on the proverbial wagon tomorrow.

I've managed to secure myself into all of my classes (hooray!) and am incredibly happy about that. I have another class with my favourite professor from last semester. So far it seems like it will be just as much fun. This one is Digital Storytelling which is any form of story intended for the web. It can be via blog, or webisode, or even through Facebook and Twitter. It's really amazing how far the concept of literature has come. Did you know that in Japan they're are publishing stories written for and on cellphones? (Truth)

Our main assignment--and final project--is to create some form of Digital Story. A friend and I have decided to combine our efforts and create a team project. We're planning on creating a short (and fictional) travel blog. In this blog, there will be photos, videos and text. The premises we have so far is a road trip. We haven't decided what the point of the trip will be, and we still have about two weeks to come up with one, but we have the general idea down. It really seems like it will be an interesting concept if fleshed out properly.
It will most likely be filmed here in our home town unless we decide to actually go somewhere. But for now the easiest idea would be to film and document right in this area.
I think the next part we really need is to come up with characters.
It's going to be a huge project, what with the creation of the website (one of the requirements), whether that be through a premade blog such as LJ or a custom made blog/host from somewhere else. After that, we need to write the script (or at least the concept and loose script if we're going to improv it), write the blog entries, film, photograph and edit it all.

It sounds like it's going to be a heavy project, but I'm completely hyped for it.
Once again, proof that I'm in the right program.

Oh, Christmas...

2009-12-24T06:56:13Z

I normally love Christmas, but this year, I just want to get it over with.
I've been horribly busy in the time leading up to Christmas, as I'm sure many others have been as well. I got my Christmas baking and chocolates done, but am just working on the painting for my parents right now. Siiigh. I ended up trashing my original final portfolio script three days before it was due and completely rewriting it with a new angle and plot. I handed it in last night and was so much more happy with it than the original. But it was horrible timing. I had to throw everything Christmas related into the back seat, so to speak. I think the stress really wore me out. The day after I handed in my script, I woke up feeling like crap. I think I'm been putting this cold off out of pure determination. Puuuhhhh.

As far as work goes, I sort of want to shoot myself. I'm so tired of people coming in to the store and demanding their product at that very moment. When I try to explain to them that we run a first come first serve business and have a 2+ hour wait, they flip their shit and throw a fit. I've started walking away from customers as soon as they start this. My new announcement is "Oh well, Christmas" instead of the long winded explanation I normally give. If you want something done immediately, then don't come in two days before Christmas. That's just stupid.
I've gotten far too many "are you even qualified for this job"s in these past few days than I'm happy with.
However, a man gave me two dollars today and told me that I should take a break and buy a coffee on him. It was so sweet. It really brightened my day. It's funny how that works. Every time I get overly stressed at work, someone comes in and just completely turns my day around. It's one thing that I really love about my job, despite it's many let downs.

Oh well. One more day left at work (and a five hour shift at that, yessss) and then I head back home for a five day vacation... and then to Christmas dinner where my overly Catholic relatives will explain to me that I am going to hell for my horrible Heathenism.

Bring it on Christmas, I am so not ready for you.

rambleization @ 2009-12-15T12:04:00

2009-12-15T20:04:05Z

Almost done the script! Then I send in a digital copy next this upcoming Monday and BAM. I be done. Then just work, work, work and then five days off for Christmas! I love my boss. I just pray to an omnipotent whatever that it doesn't snow on Christmas Eve so that I can make that last ferry and be home for Christmas morning. But, even with snow... off at three, ferry's at seven. Hour and a half drive to the ferry in normal conditions. Shouldn't be a problem as long as the ferry isn't horridly busy.
Speaking of work, it's finally crazy there now. I'm not sure I like it. On one hand, time goes by effing fast. one the other hand, I am so horribly wiped by the end of the day.
Can Christmas break please come now?

In other unrelated news, who here tuned in for the season finale of Dexter? Dear lord. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. I haven't decided if I like this turn or not, but for reference sake, this was me on Sunday night:

Seriously.

Exams and Bo Fo Sho.

2009-11-27T01:46:21Z

I most definitely just finished my Publishing exam. I haven't felt this good about an exam in the longest time, furthering my belief that I really made the right choice to switch programs. I was even the second one finished the exam and was able to leave with confidence. Of course, this could come back to bite me in the ass, but I suppose I'll find out in a couple of weeks. So far feeling very good, though.
I handed in my final portfolio for Creative Non Fiction yesterday. That was my last class. I'm not sure if I'll be taking it next year. I haven't decided if I liked it enough yet. And Drama will be done... not for almost a month now, actually. The prof is giving us two weeks after the last class to hand in our final portfolio. Every time I think he can't get any more awesome, he does. Good stuff. I definitely want to carry on classes with him.

I also really wanted to post this. It's a live performance by the wonderful Bo Burnham. If you don't know him, I really suggest plugging him into Youtube. The kid is a lyrical genius. Be warned though, that his material can definitely be seen as offensive if you don't go in with the intention to laugh.

I found this today while cruising his live performances and had to post. As a fellow child of the Catholic school system, I laughed the entire way through this. I don't make it any secret that I don't fall under the teachings of Catholocism and I definitely don't support most of their stances.
Anyways, watch and hopefully have a laugh.

The ups and the downs

2009-11-25T02:53:29Z

So, I didn't get the position on the paper, though it was a very nice turn down. I got a personal call from the publisher and chief editor. Basically, I was told that I was going to be hired for the job, until about yesterday when one last applicant came in with a love for sports. Something that knocked all of us out of the competition. Funny thing is, I don't think that the Nav has ever had a sports columnist who actually liked sports.
I was a little disappointed, but I've been offered a feature column in the Arts section. That would be a freelance job, paying per article very two weeks. It would be a lot less work as well.
On top of that, I've been told to reapply at the end of this year (if I choose to stay) and if I do, then I'm pretty much guaranteed a spot on the team.

So, a little let down, but at the same time, I'm happy. I'm just happy to know that it had nothing to do with not being good enough for the team, and especially happy that despite the fact that I didn't get the job, I've still been offered another opportunity.

And besides, the more I think about it, the more I'm realising that this job wouldn't have come at a good time. I'm already so busy with the courses I'm in right now (and it's the most busy time of the year right now) to be able to dedicate my full attention to orchestrating an entire section of a multiple district-wide paper.

Okay, now I need to finish these effing papers. Non-fiction really makes you realise how boring your life is. Or maybe that's just me.
I seriously need to stop procrastinating. Later.

I'm not a Star Wars fan at all, but this slays me.

Curse you, body.

2009-11-24T08:56:17Z

My iron is waaay down. Not like, a little low. No. Waaaay low. Commonly, you should between 20-400 in your iron levels. I'm at four. Thanks to that, I can hardly walk straight lately without falling over. I've been dizzy as crap for the past few days. I'm on iron pills now, as well as eating more chicken and other various meats, but I've been told that it will hardly even begin to take effect for about three months due to how low it is. Heerrrmmm. It should hurry up. It would be very useful.

In other news, is anyone here watching/caught up on Dexter? Waiting for season four was soooo worth it. Easily the best season yet. So many twists! And I never pictured John Lithgow as a serial killer (I grew up on Third Rock From the Sun), but dear lord, he is creepy as fuck. And good at it, too.

I wish I had more interesting things to write about, but alas. The life of a student. Nothing interesting has happened. Although I did go and see Edward Albee's "The Goat" (a stage play) the other night. It was amazing and hilarious and morbid and I suggest it to anyone.
If I may steal from Wikipedia:

"The tale of a married, middle-aged architect whose life crumbles when he falls in love with a goat, the play focuses on the limits of an ostensibly liberal society. Through showing this family in crisis, Albee challenges audience members to question their own morality in the face of other social taboos including infidelity, homosexuality, incest and, of course, bestiality."

Very funny and very, very worth seeing.

Feeling better today.

2009-11-19T09:21:34Z

I'm quite happy to announce that things are going well. My screenplay/midterm went over wonderfully with a percentage of ninety-three. In my interview with the prof, he told me that he was very impressed with it and that I should continue to work on it and see where it goes. I'm very glad to know that not only am I happy with the progress, but so is my professor. As a first attempt with scripting, I'm pleased.

In other news, on Friday I have an interview with the head of my school's newspaper. I'm applying for the position of the sports columnist and comic editor. One of my good friends from class is the senior editor and she's given me a personal recommendation for the job. The opening isn't being advertised as of now, so there aren't many contenders for the position.
The job consists of basically going to campus sports games, interviews and well, writing columns. As far as I understand it, we have a correspondent who will send me basic stats and I spoof it up with some fancy journalism.
Nothing is concrete yet, of course, but I really am hoping for this job. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. This isn't a for sure thing at all, but I'm trying to stay positive. If I get this, then I can stay at my other job. I would feel terrible leaving during Christmas season. It gets so busy and poor Boss-Lady is already working close to 40 hours per week to accommodate our schedules.

So, here's to optimism. And a happy new year.

Music time!

Vampires in Blue Dresses- Margot and the Nuclear So and So's.

rambleization @ 2009-11-12T23:37:00

2009-11-13T07:37:20Z

I'm so stressed right now and it has nothing to do with work or school. They're actually both going well. Still job hunting for something with higher pay that will leave me with money after rent, but what ever.

No, this is completely based in living arrangements. My roommate is driving me slowly insane with little passive aggressive remarks about everything I do. I understand that she's stressed, that she has a lot on her plate right now what with her heavy course load and work, but is that really a reason to full out harass me for my schedule? So, yes, I have days off. I have time off, and it's good for me. I don't work well under tons of stress and I get by. I have my courses all set out and I can finish my program in the allotted time frame. Every single day she comes home with a little comment of, "Wow, must be great to be you," or, "I'd like to see you live my life for one week". And yes, I understand that it would be hard to be in her shoes, but I'm not dangling my free time in her face and I try to be as sympathetic as I can. I always reply with "yes, it would be hard," or "no, I wouldn't like to be that busy, I image it's very hard for you" and all I ever get back is a snarky comment about how awesome my life is and how hard hers is.
It's just getting really hard to deal with.
There are days where I hold off just exploding by chanting "only 'till June" in my head. I don't even really have anything set up in either Van or Vic yet, I just know that I have to get the hell out. The fact that my entire city irritates me is another huge reason of course, but god. This is just not working anymore.

I seriously need to get out of here.

</emo-rant>

In other news, I've been listening to this song all night and it calms me down so much. Not to mention it's gorgeous.

Talking in Code by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Thank you, Jebus!

2009-11-06T07:57:46Z

I had a huge scare tonight. Just about peed myself. My computer battery got low, so I plugged it in, only to find that my charger had chosen this incredibly inopportune moment to stop working. My fifteen pages of script are due on Monday. Which is all on my computer. Not yet printed. So I ran into Future Shop in a huge flurry of panic, completely in hysterics over what I was going to do.
I'm quickly told upon arriving that they have no mac chargers. I could order one, but it would take two business days to arrive. If I thought I was panicking before, then I was wrong. I was essentially hyperventilating at this point.
Mr. Mac feels bad and searches the entire store. He finds one last one in storage, or what ever it is they have. The kicker? $140 for a fucking charger. Mr. Mac is amazing, so he does a price check online. The mac website has it listen for $79. Still unbelievably pricey for a stupid charger, but better.
Not only did they price match, but they docked five bucks off to beat the price. I'm not going to complain about a $60 discount.
Sometimes I love being female JUST so I can pull out the tears card. It gets things done.

So, computer is back up, my project is emailed to myself for easy access just in case.

The rough draft of the script is getting great feedback so far. I'm really happy about how well it's being received and by the wonderful and helpful critique I've gotten. I think that Drama Writing is my favourite class at this point. The prof is wonderfully eccentric and the other students are all wonderful writers with great feedback. As far as critique goes, this has been my most helpful class so far. Good stuff.

Orin and Bailey from a possibly web comic. Right now, they're actually the folks that I'm basing the script on. Yay for me, stealing ideas from my scrap pile.

And Aldora being the ho-bag she is. I'm actually fairly happy with this one, though I liked the rough sketch much more. I hope that when this is finished, it holds up to the sketch.

They never do.

rambleization @ 2009-10-12T00:12:00

2009-10-12T09:21:20Z

I thought I'd plug an awesome blog. I used to go to school with the writer, though we were never really close. We had a few classes together, but nothing special.
Anyways, the blog is her account of living in Bangkok. She's going to school and commuting back and forth from the Baan Dada child charity home on the border of Thailand and Burma. From what I know, she's been volunteering there as well as going to school. Some of it's quirky and funny, while other parts are just heartbreaking (mostly parts about the children she works with). It's really interesting to read, but maybe that's just because I like travel writing.

There's a little excerpt here:

It's not everyday that one is casually strolling around their university campus and has to dodge an alligator. Or something closely resembling an alligator. Okay actually maybe closer to a kamodo dragon..but still it was a giant lizard and I had to dodge it. And by dodge it I mean I was walking on a raised cement bridge and it was on the river bank. But it was HUGE. Okay..maybe just big. Well it was about 1.5 metres. Is that huge for a lizard? I think so.

...I sat in my seat, not yet relaxed because I didnt know if this bus would connect to the last one leaving for the village, sticky with perspiration and red from the sun. When we arrived in Kanchanaburi I ran to the minivan station and the bus driver happened to have gone to the bathroom, delaying the departure of the last minivan about 1 minute…just enough time for me to arrive and make it. How do you spell that sound you make when you are really relieved? Phewf? thats how I felt. Sweet: making the last van and not having to spend the night in Kanchanaburi. Even more sweet: being able to sprawl out on a straw matt in the middle of the jungle with a couple of lice-ridden jungle instead of a stuffy hotel room.

Check it out.

In completely unrelated news, I've been chain watching the office. I started less than a month ago and I'm already caught up (on season six!). It's so random and ridiculous while never really going over the edge-- or at least, I don't think so. Then again, I just really love dry humour. I may just be tired, but this hasn't failed to make me laugh yet:

Derp Derp Derp...

2009-10-08T23:48:00Z

I'm still loving my classes. They're wonderful. The profs are amazing and the work load is actually fun, which is new. Anyways, it's all really exciting. I'm happy with where I am in my education. I've never felt that way before, but it's a good thing.

I'm seriously considering doing a study abroad program. Somewhere in Europe if my school is offering it. I still need to speak with the Abroad Manager about my options, but so far it seems possible. I'd have to get serious about saving up, which would mean nothing but bills and rent for a few months. But it would be so worth it. I really, really hope that things will work out, though. This could be such a wonderful opportunity.

On another note, I plan on moving to Vancouver come June or so. It's a matter of being accepted to UBC at this point. I have the grades for it, according to the website, but now its about whether or not my courses will transfer properly. I love UBC, though. I spent a week or so on campus attending summer classes in my 10th year of high school and immediately fell in love. I can easily see myself attending the institution. At the same time, however, I really love the interaction between students and teachers at my university right now. With small classes, professors have time to dedicate to each student. I love that. I don't think you get that same individualistic treatment at larger institutes like UBC. I do like Vancouver more than where I am right now. And I feel like I connect better with the people there. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to connect with Nanaimoers. It's still such a small town mentality. I find it irritating, to be honest.

Anyways, I hope that everyone is doing well!

Song love!