Back to school

From here

It's almost September, and you know what that means! School days have arrived yet again! Or are about to. In light of the grand occasion, I thought I'd dole out some things I learned (and wished I learned!) back in the not-so-very-long-ago day, that could possibly help. I thought I'd start with the high school scene, then do a college/university post later on. Whether you're a newbie, somewhere in-between, or about to leave the coop kind of student, there are things everyone should probably get to know. It took me time to learn these things, but I did eventually, and here I am writing about it! Hopefully without the preachy or "we buh-lieve in yoooou!" cheesiness.

• People can surprise you. Just when you thought the most popular girl in school (do they still go by that?) was the snarkiest of them all, you stand behind her in the lunch line, start talking, and it turns out she's actually pretty nice. (Unless, of course, she actually is snarky.) Or even the punk kid, who you thought was, well, a punk. You never know,  they just may end up being your friend... Or your worst enemy. (Kidding.)

• Don't be afraid to shoot the breeze. I myself was "the quiet one" in the beginning (I kid you not), and often had a tough time getting to know people (and vice versa). So you whaddayado when you're feeling shy**, or at a loss for words when the situation arises? Start with a simple compliment. Then progress on the topic, and ask other simple, not too personal/creepy questions about them.  (People like talking about themselves.) 

• It's worth taking part in school activities; plays, sports, leadership stuff, whatever. That's what makes HS so fun and memorable! For me it was music, and being part of the school symphony (2nd violin, baby!). Had the best times in symphony, not to mention we played the best music. 

• Do your homework. Nuff' said. (If you think it's bad now, you haven't experienced college or university.)

• Get sleep. Lots of it. You need it!

• A positive attitude helps considerably.

• You just might surprise people. Just when people thought had labeled you correctly, BAM! Out of the blue comes something so unexpected, others can't help but be awed. Who said we had to fit into labels? Go beyond that! You have a lot more awesome in you than you think. 

• Ms. Frizzle said it: Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy! (And I don't mean those kind of chances, fool!) If anything, take a bold step out of your comfort zone and just go for it; you're not under the microscope as you may think. And if you make mistakes... You learn from them! End of story.

• You don't have to have it figured all out. Things will be confusing, but that's normal.

•  Express yourself as much as you can. It kind of goes along with the point above, but this is the time of your life where you are figuring out what you like and who you want to be. You're your own person! That being said, there's nothing wrong with going along with some stuff you're friends like and do, and it's not always easy to go against the norm. But what about the stuff you want to do? Sometimes you have to put aside what everyone else thinks and do your own thing. And most importantly....

• High school isn't the end of things. It is not! It is merely a passing phase in your young adult life where the learning process picks up pace (and where people get considerably more judgy). Whether it's been the best or worst damned years of your life yet (or if you have no idea because you're just starting), there's so much more beyond that. Many more opportunities for you to leave your mark elsewhere. Even afterwards, you'll continue to evolve, and you won't be the same person you were back then.  
  
  

From here

**I effin haaaate the term "coming out of the shell". Hate it with the passion of 10000000 burning suns. I will accept "opening up to others", but so help me if someone tells me or another to "come out my/your shell" I will friggin' kick them in steel toed boots. (We quieter people are NOT turtles dammit!)

Thoughts on a Friday

From here

-This past Monday, Canada lost a truly remarkable figure.

-As somebody else said, "the greatest PM we never had".

-That's so true. He had such vision for changing the country for the better, and a great sense of humor.

-He really could have become PM.

-I never heard of a leader that earned so much respect from the public in life, and even more so in death. 

-I think pretty much everyone liked him, whether they voted for him or not.

-I wish I had met him.

-Until this year, I was crossing paths with politicians.

-Starting with Jean Chretien in 2008, when I was heading back to Halifax after reading week.

-He was waiting in the airport lounge, not doing much.

-I was sitting a few seats over, otherwise I probably would have taken his picture. 

-Which would have been a not so subtle move.

-"Say poutine!!"

-And then he was sitting in the front of the plane, heading to Ottawa, which was the stop over, so I got an even closer view when I got.

-And of course, I was sitting about eight seats behind.

-Then there was Elizabeth May, as part a sustainability conference (which included Jian Ghomeshi and Raffi!!!).

-She made a nice diss about the male politicians she was up against, which made the audience laugh and go "ooooohhh".

-My next crossing was with Michael Ignatieff, when he came visiting Dal for a chat with the students.

-While waiting in line at the Tim Horton's in the SUB building, I saw him head into the building with his entourage and upstairs.

-This year I was hoping I would cross paths with someone, but that sadly did not happen.

-Maybe next year?

-Or maybe tomorrow.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic. And we'll change the world.

Mr. Layton's letter can be read here. 

Something I forgot about

Picture from here, and the video for this scene is right here. 

A Bit of Monday Wisdom...

Wow... I totally love this one! It just goes to show that everything possibly does happen for a reason, and for the better. From this lovely lady.

It will happen later. His best friend will ask you out instead. You’ll be kissed in the movies instead of on a beach. You’ll end up going to a different school because the one you thought you’d get into didn’t work out.

She’ll move away. Someone else will move in next door. She’ll be a little weird at first, a little more shy, but ultimately really good at riding bikes and playing dolls.

That part you always wanted will go to that other girl instead. And you’ll rock it out in the chorus like your life depended on it. Because on some level it does.

The road you were going to take will be flooded and closed. The inn where you were going to stay will be under renovations. He’ll be taller than you thought. And have a funny accent. But will be a good kisser nonetheless.

You’ll get a flat tire on the way to that crucial meeting and end up peeing your pants laughing with the gas station attendant over a copy of Us Magazine. And someone else will fill in for you because they always do.

You won’t get that dream job like you thought you would. It will go to someone else with far less creative drive and vision than you. Someone far better suited for a cubicle than you.

You’ll be put in groups with people who put your panties in a wrinkle. You’ll sit next to someone on the plane who you’d never talk to except that they won’t shut up … and you’ll end up staying in touch for years and taking family vacations together.

Five years after you graduate, life won’t look anything like you would have imagined. You’ll be single when you thought you’d be married. You’ll have kids when you thought you’d be in the Peace Corps. That trip to Laos will get delayed because you’ve got to stay home and take care of your grandmother. Laos will be there. You’re grandmother won’t always.

He’ll move overseas and oddly the Atlantic Ocean between you will bring you closer than you ever dreamed possible. You won’t get engaged, married, or pregnant when you thought. You’ll miss the bus/train/plane/ferry that you thought you just HAD to be on.

You’ll fall off the turnip truck. You’ll jump on a different bandwagon than you intended. You’ll get fired when you thought you ought to be getting hired.

You’ll realize you forgot the outfit you had planned to wear and that the shoes are all wrong now that you have a full-length mirror to see the whole outfit. Your shirt will be wrinkled and you’ll spill red wine on your white jeans.

Your dog will eat your five-year plan. You’ll drop your Blackberry in the toilet (at least once). Your computer will crash, and you’ll delete the first draft of your magnum opus. You’ll accidentally delete your hard drive and end up with a clean slate.

You’ll show up late to the date with the guy you were sure was going to fit into your husband suit and realize he’s less than graceful under stress and not so flexible (better to know now than later).

When you thought you’d be baking pies and living behind your very own white picket fence you’ll find yourself doing something so entirely different you couldn’t have even imagined it a year before. There will be moments when you’ll look around and not even recognize your own life … in a good way.

You’ll take a wrong turn and end up in an entirely different city than you intended. You’ll dial the wrong number and end up in love with an entirely different person than you intended.

You’ll flunk out and end up taking five years instead of four to graduate. You’ll have your heart broken when you were sure you were with the one and then meet the other one a month later. You’ll move to a new city to start a new business with those perfect new business partners and then it will all go to shit. And you’ll move across the country again only to realize that that’s where you belonged the whole time.

You’ll drive as far away from home as possible thinking that it will make you feel free. Then you’ll get homesick and drive back four months later because you suddenly feel trapped.

You’ll imagine the open road, country music playing loud, you singing at the top of your lungs and flirting with a new man in every town. And then you’ll invite someone to come with you on a whim and realize driving around the country by yourself was a terrible idea anyway … and that it’s way more fun when you’re traveling with someone you love.

You won’t do it at the right time.

You’ll be late.

You’ll be early.

You’ll get re-routed.

You’ll get delayed.

You’ll change your mind.

You’ll change your heart.

It’s not going to turn out the way you thought it would.

It will be better.

Squee for the Week

Proof that it is a wide known fettish for cats to squeeze themselves into small spaces because it's comfy.

Thoughts on a Thursday Evening

From here

-I have nothing to do.
-NOTHING TO DO.
-Had my last exam today, and the freedom is overwhelming.
-First thing I plan to do this weekend is take more pictures.
-I still can't get over that beluga.
-I think if I saw some guys in big hats and playing music, I would want to just listen that too.
-The top picture reminds me of something that would go as a picture in The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
-One of my favourite books I read as a kid.
-Reminds me of the fall.
-Along with The Stranger.
-That book is about the fall, too.
-Plays a key role, actually.
-Randomly watching Merlin on tv right now--I'm sorry, but the person who voices the dragon is almost laughable.
-But Merlin's pretty cute.
-And Arthur.
-I think I should reread The Mysts of Avalon.
-Dumbass moment of the day: In the subway station, when I was paying for some subway tokens. I decided to go through the gates, all the while looking for the slot to drop my token through. Turns out, it was in the box by the window, and I was already halfway through.
-People behind me and all.
-HURDURRR!
-Priceless.
-And the last picture reminds me of... Remnants of the TARDIS VORTEX.
-Or, to put it more simply, fairy dust.
-Now I have on this other show called Haunted Collector.
-I just want to smack my head against the wall.
-The investigator asks, "Do you have any particular items in this closet besides clothes?"
-And the home owner's like, "Oh, I just have this old bayonet from from the Vietnam war..."
-And I'm just like, WELL DUH IDIOT NO WONDER YOUR HOUSE IS HAUNTED.
-Not to mention there were frickin giant shark jaw bones hanging in the kids' bedroom, scaring them to death.
-Then there was this previous place they were at, and the investigator was asking this woman how her uncle had died, and she said, "he was murdered".
-The look on his face was incredulous, on the brink of "bullshit." But then he answered, "Reeeally?"
-It just made me laugh.
-Dear Josh from Destination Truth: please come on this show, call BS on them and laugh in their faces.
-Then laugh in the family's faces for being idiots in their poor taste in antiques.

Ce'st fin!

From here

Squee for the Week

I love this more than I have words for.

Friday Shenanigans

From here

here

here

-I can't believe it's already August.
-What happened to June?
-Before we know it, it will be September, then October, then... I shall not go on.
-Shit, I'll be 22 in a little over a month.
-The very idea is jarring.
-Even more so than when I was on the brink of turning 20.
-22 seems like such an awkward age.
-The highlight of my day came yesterday afternoon when I was walking by some open grassy area on campus; the was a hedge in the middle, and as I was passing, this little boy was running around and he found a gap under the hedge that he could crawl through to the other side. Or thought he could, anyway. I kept turning around to look at him to see if he would come out the other side, but he didn't, and I could only see the bush rustling! There were other people walking around who were witness to this, and one guy in particular going opposite my way was watching him too, and grinning. As we passed, we kind of looked at each other and just kind of laughed at this kid. It was just a really funny moment.
-How awesome is it to connect like that with a stranger?
-Very.
-I found this the other day through Cup of Jo, and now I really want to try this with the next little girl I meet.
-I love the eighties and its paraphenalia.
-I was so close hanging around with it before 1990.
-Out of nowhere I started watching Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and suddenly my adoration for Michael J. Fox has be re-ignited. (Speaking of which, the first pic up there is from Back to the Future I)
-Not to mention that movie is actually hilarious, and wonderfully dark in comparison to most of the Disney movies I've seen.
-And surprisingly adult in its humour! I love it.
-Just another week of school.
-Then exams.
-Then... That's it.
-Seriously.
-I would have never thought I'd be spending this summer in school.
-I thought I would be working at this point and making cash.
-"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"
-Darn right it does, Ferris.
-Iced coffee.
-Iced Caramel Macchiato.
 -"Hello! I must be going! I cannot stay, I came to say I must be going. I'm glad I came, but just the same, I must be goiiing!"
-In my case, back to essay writing.

La la!