alone in the dark

Jacob Two-Two would have been proud. I had not one, but two presentations today. Alright, I'll admitt, that was a weak link but it's been a long day. In fact, by the time it got to be 3:00pm, it felt like it should have been 4:00pm on Thursday. Today's first highlite was seeing a classmate cutting up numerous hotdogs and saying that it was the grossest thing she'd ever done in her whole life. I don't know why but I found that very funny.
Another highlite was my second presentation. The longest meeting my group ever had was during our 15 minute break in today's class. We used that time to fine tune/plan our presentation that was coming up shortly (thanks to first group for taking up the first half of the class and giving us the oppertunity to meet during the break). All in all, we didn't do bad, but what we had paled in comparison to what the other groups did (thanks for making us look bad other groups).
This term is almost over and I am very happy with that. I enjoy seeing my classmates but I'm tired of the work.

ps- the new commericial with Jimmy Fallon is pretty funny, is it Parker Posy who's dancing with him?
pps- does anyone but me read this?

Tell me if you do

Someone broke a window in the security door of my floor. Some possible reasons for doing such a thing are:

1. Too much Creatine - maybe the vandal has been pumping up and had a 'roid enduced moment of rage
2. Speaking of 'roids, maybe they had a bout
3. Maybe it was a bird, one that oddly ended up in a hallway and could shatter a metal wire reinforced window
4. The building is cracking up (not funny cause it might be true)
5. A cool guy wanted to show his lady friend how tough he was - the window had to pay the price
6. A cool lady wanted to show her gentleman caller the power of her roundhouse kick
7. Chuck Norris stopped by and willed the window to break (why is Chuck making a comeback? read some of these 'facts' they're pretty funny: http://www.4q.cc/index.php?pid=top100&person=chuck)

Smart city, smart move

So it looks like I'll be moving to Toronto. Emmerson got a sweet sounding job out there and she'll be starting soon. I think when I leave this building it will difinitely be a new chapter in my life. No more sharing bathrooms (someone this term appears to have a skin problem). No more fear of the kitchen (it just takes one messy person to infect the lot). No more booming bass at 3:00am on Wednesday night. No more seeing students get alcohol poisoning... I could go on all night but I should go to sleep.
Oh, but before I do, maybe I could see the new Lord of the Rings play in Toronto. That would be awesome! And there are all sorts of concerts we could go to. Big name bands don't often head out this way. All in all, it's pretty exciting. (I just hope they need a social studies teacher in a year's time).

Ipso Facto

One presentation down, two to go. Today's presentation didn't go so well, or at least I don't feel that my part was well done. But, onwards and upwards as they say.
On a completely unrelated topic. How does a blog end up in the 'blogs of note' section of this website. Some of those blogs are nothing but advertisements, some are factual and some are interesting. It's a mystery.

the darkness is coming...

I've just spent way too long putting together a power point presentation. It should have taken me about an hour, maybe a little more. I had all the information typed out, all I had to do was copy and paste. Now, 7 hours later, I'm finally finished. Why the delay? I wanted to make it engaging. So I added things, pictures, captions, the Fonz, anything that came to mind. I'm cool.

The day of Pi

My friend Jeff is making an effort to have March 14th known as Pi day (3.14). What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do what I could to help? So, to the two people who read this blog, let's do what we can to spread of the word of 'Pi day.' I'll have to ask Jeff what kinds of things people can do to show their appreciation for this obscure, punny day.
Also, Ed Robertson from the Bare Naked Ladies recommened the game 'N' from this website: http://www.harveycartel.org/metanet/n.html. I've tried it and it's pretty fun/difficult. If I were writing a thesis I could see this taking up most of my time.
Unfortunately, I'm working on not one but three presentations and my procstination time is quite limited.

Life #2

This one is still bitter-sweet. Just about ten years ago, to the day, I finished an exchange programme with Canada World Youth. For three and half months, I lived in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Tanta, Egypt respectively. The people I met, the families I stayed with, and the experiences I had were all so profound that I still think of them... I remember being stuck in the middle of the Sinai desert after our van broke down - the sand dunes were wind swept and ever changing - there were bedouins riding camels in the distance - it was such a wonderful day that I remember wishing it would never end.
I remember a lot of things.
I haven't been in touch with anyone from the programme for a long time but I hope they are all doing well.
Bassem, where ever you are, I sincerely hope you are happy and that life has given you only the best it has to offer.

Happy Belated Birthday Blog!

Wow, this blog is over a year old. It has 26 posts and my profile has been viewed 54 times (I think I've viewed it the most). Right now I'm listening to Morningwood (http://www.morningwoodrocks.com/). They recently put out their first cd and the song 'nth degree' really kicks it up. I should be working on the mountain of assignments I have due in the coming two weeks but I haven't posted anything in a while and tonight seems like a good night to make it happen...

I need to find some peace

One thing I was hoping to do was update my blog a little more often. So far that clearly hasn't happened. Currently, it sounds like the end of world is occuring outside of my window. The wind is making all the glass (and there is a lot of glass) bulge in the patio doors and windows. The water in the toilet bowl is sloshing around and I can feel the floor shaking beneath me. Being that I'm 32 stories above the earth's surface I'm telling myself it's from the air pressure...
To recap my life since the last post on here, it goes something like this:
I had no life in Decemeber. I was teaching a lot and my life at home was consumed with making lesson plans. Christmas was fantastic and, as usual, I received many, many presents. M got me a really nice watch (amongst other things). New Year's Eve is a bit fuzzy but I do know two certain facts. 1) Marzi and I ended up at a Sierra Lionnian party 2) In my drunken state I tried Ox Tail soup. I am not an adventerous person when it comes to food and I have a somewhat sensitive stomach. Therefore, my judgement had to be very impaired for me to try it.
School this term is a little better in that I have one less class. Only five this term. As well, I'm at a new teaching placement. No more praying to Gad every day and singing his praises at any given moment.
Capital M is currently in Moncton doing a work placement. This is her final requirement for her Masters of Speech Pathology (go M!). Moncton isn't very far away but our little room amongst the clouds has been entirely too quiet since she's been gone.
Moreover, it feels very strange to come home and not see her and her friend 'The Char' or Charizard hanging out.
Anyway, maybe I will post this now and turn off the computer before the power goes out (or I'm shredded by flying glass ;)

ps - I have a theory
I believe that only children do not make good matches/mates for other only children.
Any thoughts?

It's just my luck...

Sometimes I think I have a special kind of luck. It's not bad luck, in that I haven't been diagnosed with multiple terminal diseases, things don't usually fall on me (although there was one bucket of sand), and I haven't lost any limbs in freak accidents. However, it's not good luck either. I'm pretty sure I'm not destined to be a lottery winner or the inheritor of a large family fortune. But I do have some kind of luck. For example, I've had two computers, both of which have ended up getting wet. My current computer, which I have nick named "ol shitty," still works, but just barely. Neither disc drive is operational so playing cds/adding new software/reformatting is no longer an option. My first computer got wet when the place I lived in burned down. Well, not exactly. This is where my special luck comes in. I lived in the basement of a townhouse that was in a row of attached houses. A fire broke out a few houses down and totally wiped out the block of houses (bad luck). No one was hurt (good luck). My basement apartment didn't actually burn (also good luck). But the water from the fire hoses, combined with suet and ash ruined everything anyway (not so great). Oh and to add insult, the fire crew thought they had stopped the fire well before it was actually out. They put away their hoses and were all packed up (I think some had even gone) before they realized the fire had spread and was, by the time they realized it, unstoppable.

Your Grandma she don't understand

Well, it's been about a month and half since my last post. There are three reasons for this.

1. I am busy.
2. I am lazy.
3. Sometimes I do other things in my free time.

In Jasper, this summer, I had so much free time that I could do all kinds of other things and still write an up date in the old blog. I can only imagine what my grandmother and aunt must have thought me - I was either at work, on the computer, or reading. Hey I'm cool. I did actually develop a pretty good relationship with my aunt's dog, Lucky. He's a border collie, and the type of dog I have decided I will get, when I can get a dog.

But back in Halifax things are less dull. I am currently enrolled in an education programme to become a high school social studies/english teacher. The programme is pretty intense. It's not that the work is difficult, or marked with high standards (just doing the work garauntees an A). The problem is the amount of work and the group work (I loath group work).

Capital M is currently listening to 'combat baby' by Metric. If anyone wants to be both amazed and delighted with a truly great band, check them out. Here's a link to their website: http://www.ilovemetric.com/. Also, since I'm on the subject of good music, I feel I should bring up The Dance Hall Crashers. Marzipan introduced to me this band shortly before we started dating and my life has never been the same. Seriously, I sometimes think this must be how a born again Christian feels about God. DHC totally rocks. Part punk, part ska, all good. If I have a mission in life it's to spread the word of the Dance Hall Crashers...

Wow, I just reread the first paragraph and not only is it sad that Lucky (who really is a great dog) was my only friend in town, but it also didn't flow with the rest of the paragraph. And I'm going to be teaching English...

ps- I like it when kids call me Mr.V

silent night, deadly night?

I noticed this little oddity while I was waiting for the bus to go home from school. Most other sewer grates in this city say "Halifax Regional Municipality." This one reads like it will lead into your worst nightmare. You know how it goes - some college kids need a new place to party and one of them says "hey why not the sewers." The other four people (one hot, busty girl, one visible minority (male or female), one bookish type girl and one male jock) are reluctant at first but somehow agree that the sewer would be an awesome place to party it up (likewise their friendship is never explained either). They find this old sewer grate and proceed to remove it and then head on down to the space below armed with liquor and music. Little do they know that their libertine lifestyle is about to get them all killed, or all but one. Oh, and for added drama, maybe the sewer grate is made out of the metal from an electric chair. (Wow, I'm starting to scare myself a little here.)

Go Team!

I went and saw 'Just like Heaven' last night with Marika, or Marzipan. The movie was surprisingly bad. I thought the movie wasn't going to be good but was then further surprised at its complete lack of a) good acting b) story c) something resembling sense.
Run down of the plot - there's Reese, a ghost. Mark, a somewhat depressed guy. Depresso meets ghost, they argue, fall in love, plant a garden. I hope I haven't ruined anything for you if you wanted to see it.

(the author of this blog actually hasn't ruined anything, but is advising you not to see the movie)

just remember to breath

Unfortunately, someone took down my sign...

Life # 7

One year ago today I was hit by a taxi while walking across a parking lot. Fortunately the cab wasn't going too fast but it was going fast enough. It was dark and raining that night and it didn't help that I was wearing dark coloured clothes. Ironically, right before I was hit I was thinking of how to walk gracefully in the rain.
At first I had no idea what happened. One minute I was walking a long and then time stopped moving as it normally does, or at least my time did. My life became punctuated by three seemingly unrelated and inexplicable events: I felt an explosive pain in my left leg - my head hit something, or something hit my head (I didn't know which) - my body hit the ground.
Rain was pouring down, people were shouting and I heard someone's voice above the rest cry "somebody call an ambulance!" As I lay on my side I thought my leg was shattered, it felt that way. It took me longer then you'd think to realize that I had been hit by a car.
The fire department arrived first to the scene and I was strapped onto a spinal board. Prior to that a bunch of pedestrians stood around me and one guy, whose name I unfortunately can't remember, took off his shirt and held it to my head.
As I was loaded into the ambulance I got a brief look at the cab that had hit me. The windshield was smashed, presumably from my head.
I spent the rest of the night waiting in the emergency room. I wasn't hurt bad enough to receive immediate treatment. In the end I only needed stitches near my eye and I could have asked for crutches but I declined.
All in all, I got off pretty easy. I have a strong body, and healthy bones (thanks milk). But, my knee still hurts and I'm sometimes afraid that I'm developing a phobia when crossing streets. It's nothing serious but I sometimes I catch myself bracing for an impact on my left side.
I may be a man of low grade steel but I don't want to experience that again.

Choose the highest bidder

Sweet Mother of God. I made it out, with most of my sanity intact. But I have been marked. My hair has changed from brown to more of a salt and pepper colouring, with an emphasis on the salt. I've been having dreams where the coordinator from last year gives me grief about how I ran things this year. Tara, I just wanted to 'go further.'
My body is no longer used to tempratures above 15 degrees with no humidity. It was a really nice summer in Jasper.
Anyway, Capital M, or Marzipan, and I are off to vacation on the Southern Shore of Nova Scotia.

Combat Baby

Are all families really psychotic? I hope so because I'd hate to think that mine is the exception to the rule.

It Falls Apart

Wow, what a shitty week. On Wednesday I found out that someone got ahold of my credit card # and was going to town buying all kinds of stuff. That's cool. It could have been a lot worse if the bank hand't thought something was fishy about my all of sudden out of control spending habits. I think the total amount was around $1000 in one day.
As well, a lot of kids have been really difficult this past week. And they haven't been really great in past weeks, so this is saying something. I had to tell one boy that he's not allowed to come next week. Two different parents have called me and said that their kids were not coming in because they had been bullied. I know that kids can be mean and that there are going to be hurt feelings but I cannot have parents calling and saying that their kids are afraid to come because of one boy. Naturally, the bully comes from a bad home and that's the only reason why I didn't kick him right out.
I've thought a lot about this issue. In the end I decided that whatever good influence the camp may have on this boy is too high a price to pay for the other kids, the staff and the programme's reputation. I had a big talk with him this afternoon and in the end he was pleading with me not to call his grandmother, he told me he'd do anything. All I wanted him to do was show some remorse for what he's done but I don't think it ever occurred to him. I heard this boy probably suffers from fetal alcohol syndrom. One of the symptoms is showing no regret or remorse. This kid's life isn't going to be easy.
Another highlite of the week was having one boy severely fracture his arm. He was running with a hockey stick and tripped over it. I actually didn't think it was broken, although I could tell he was in a lot of pain. However, it turns out he had to go to Edmonton (a four hour drive) and get pins put in his arm. I really do feel like things were kind of falling apart this week.
Anyway, I've whined enough for one night. Having this job hasn't turned off me working with kids (although when I'm teaching I think I'll always have some Tylonol on hand). Plus, being a highschool teacher means I won't be with the same bad kid all day every day. Instead, I'll have a bunch a bad kids interspersed throughout the day. At least I'll get a little variety.

I want it all

My friend Kristy came up this past weekend. We went for a super hike on Saturday. Just how super was it? Well, it was about 23 kms in length with a sizable part of that distance being spent walking up and down a mountain pass. We were trying to find a place called 'Mystery Lake.' At times there was no trail, just the occasional yellow reflector or a kairn. At one point we were even traversing a rock ledge with a river below, it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the lake will stay a mystery as we decided it would be wise to turn around when we came across signs of a large predatory animal. We had to have been very close to the lake when we came upon an alpine meadow, which is prime grizzly country. Something big had laid down in some bushes and we later saw some very fresh carnivorous animal droppings. It was dissappointing to have to turn back but the hike was totally amazing.
The next day we hiked along a glacier and drank water that fell from its waterfalls. I only wish I had a picture because words can't do it justice.
All in all it was a really great weekend, except for camping in a parking lot. Good weekends out here and few and far between. The only other one was the Camp Chief Hector Reunion. More on that one later.
Oh, and on a further postive note, only 24 more days until I leave this place!

A mistake

After consulting the history books it would seem I have made an error. My post of Life #2 is actually supposed to be Life #4. For anyone that cares I'm currently working on a new post titled Life #3. Stay tuned to this blog site for more exciting developments.