Thursday, March 31, 2011

legalizaciĆ³n

So, last night, my good friend and I were just talking, and he said out loud 'we should start a band', half jokingly. Christianne happened to also be there, and she looked at him, and said 'huh? what can YOU play?' That doesn't really have any bearing on the story, it was just funny to hear her say that to him, considering he looked somewhat outraged that she thought that he had no musical talent. ANYWAY. We kidded around for a bit about the band, and then decided that our band would be a ska band! Ska sounds like this: (Take on Me, by Reel Big Fish), in terms of when it is done by a Caucasian band, according to my other friend, hehe. Anyway, I rather like that song, even though it's a cover, and I also like this one, where I got the name of the blog post from.

I recently got my VUSAC letter, the one we wrote to ourselves this year, at the last VUSAC meeting, andddd I have to say, I'm proud of my predictions (I don't find it a useful exercise, so I just make sports predictions in mine, hehe), since at least ONE of them was correct! I predicted that the Steelers and Packers would make the Super Bowl, with the Packers winning...and they DID! I did think that the Packers would be the no.1 seed, with the Steelers barely making it into the playoffs...and actually, the Packers barely squeaked into the playoffs with the Steelers owning the no. 2 seed in the AFC. Whatever, though, I was still right overall. I also said that San Jose and Pittsburgh for the NHL would be in the Cup Final (although now I think that it'll end up being something like Vancouver and Boston), and I also said Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat for the NBA Finals...and you know what, I'm going to stick with that one.

[edited, once again, for content lolol]

Anyway. I kind of touched on this next subject in the last post, but not really in depth...which is to say, I've never really spoken about my friends! Yes, a lot of them (you?) read this blog, so I feel a little self-conscious about updating it in this way, but what the hell do I care. It's not as if I'm saying anything bad...OR AM I? ....nahhhh.

But, I will say this: I have pretty much the best set of friends in the world. I can probably say I have about seven friends who I consider to be people I hang out with all the time, who I tell pretty much everything. I have a lot of people I consider to be my friends, to tell the truth, but there are very few people who know as much about me as these seven people. I think that essentially, if you're allowed to read this blog, then you're probably one of these seven people, hehe. I mean, there are some exceptions, as this site requires you to have a Gmail account or something like that in order to read the posts, and of course not everyone has such an account.[though that's now changed!]

Still, though. I have some awesome friends. I make fun of them a lot, and I definitely give them a super hard time with essentially everything they do, from class to guys to things they say and do...and I will admit, I push the envelope a lot. I definitely go out of my way to annoy them sometimes, but even if I never say it, I don't MEAN to make people annoyed on purpose...I try not to be intentionally mean, especially to these guys who I care for so much. Speaking of guys, of those seven people, I can't really say there is much male representation. I would probably just say one of those seven people is a guy, the same dude who I had the ska band conversation with (hehehe, it still makes me laugh), but otherwise, all girls. It's funny, I look at my bbm/text messaging list, and outside of him, I think I only talk to girls. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing...but, whatever, I still treasure my friends more than pretty much anything else.

Note: I'm not counting my Scarlem friends here, as they're a separate group, in my opinion. Those guys, though, I've known for literally my entire life, so that's a different thing. However, I've met hundreds of people since enrolling in UofT, and I can say with complete honesty that those seven people (a lot of whom I'm going to be working with this summer, and hopefully next year as MALs/Commissioners on VUSAC) are probably some of my best friends in the entire world. w00t!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

the beating of a million drums

I have to say, the band Justice is pretty good. I got their album in 2007, whose title is simply a cross (I dunno how to do the symbol on a computer, lol), and got a bunch of their live music as well. As a result, when I heard their new single 'Civilization' (found here), I was pretty impressed. It's also the focus of a new campaign by Adidas, and the commercial is also pretty darn awesome....though, I'm biased, because I think it's awesome BECAUSE of the song, not because of any Adidas products (sweet though they are). I am not a huge fan of a lot of modern artists, although I will definitely say that Justice is one of my favourite modern artists, along with perhaps Daft Punk and a few others. There's also a new rapper called 'Tyler the Creator', and his videos are pretty explicit/creepy (see: Yonkers video, which I will not link here because it's weird in terms of visuals), although he has a pretty awesome flow, as far as rappers go.

I have no real place where I'm going with this post, as far as my posts have gone in the past. Most of them have a direction of some sort, and I'd be lying if I said this post had one. I was just listening to Justice when I started writing, and all of a sudden, I was done writing about them and now I'm here. Well, that sucks.

I guess I DO have stuff to talk about, though. To reference several recent posts, I was talking about the elections and me winning/losing them, and what I would do if I lost. Well, considering I WON the elections (woooooo), I guess all those plans can go out the window. I'm still trying out for the men's football team, but if I don't make it, I won't be crushed...it's a huge longshot nonetheless, but I'm going to still tryout. But, to go back to the elections...WOOOO I WONNNN!!! I apparently only won by 10~ votes, but hell if I care. I was elected by the student body of my college to the position of Vice President External, and no one can take that away from me. Honestly, after I found out I had won, I felt amazing. I think this is what Mario feels like when he touches one of those invincibility stars; like you can run into and through anything, that you are, for all intents and purposes, immortal...for a short while. That particular feeling has definitely worn off, now that I actually have to buckle down and do my essay that's due on Thursday (and it's on Margaret Atwood and Margaret Laurence no less....god they're so boring, I don't understand why people find this interesting), but still...I can't believe I won.

I guess this year ended up being pretty good, after all. I made a ton of new friends who I hang out with on a regular basis, I helped plan some pretty awesome events, and I got Orientation Exec 2011 AND VPE? Pretty successful, I guess =P

You know what's kind of funny about all that? This seems to be a pattern in my life; achieve a lot in the extra-curricular arena and achieve average to slightly above-average grades in the academic arena...but not achieve anything in the personal (i.e. romantic) arena. I don't really know what it is, because it's not for lack of trying. I *thought* I was someone who was reasonably nice to others, and that's essentially what my parents taught me to be to not just girls, but to EVERYone: courteous, polite, etc etc. I mean, yeah, I make fun of my friends a lot, and I sometimes push what's okay and what's not, but I think my friends know that I love them and that I would never intentionally say something to hurt their feelings. All the friends I have, from the ones I made back in first year, to the ones I made via VUSAC in 2nd year, to the ones I made now in 3rd year (who I hang out with all the time, and who I talk to about absolutely everything as well), I obviously treasure them more than a lot of things. Having said ALLLLL that, I still somehow am horribly unsuccessful with women. I guess I'm now just super boring, haha. I obviously...well, you know what, never mind.

[edited for content lolol]

I guess it's time for me to go to bed. I was going to play some video games, but honestly, no time/inclination anymore. I guess that Weekly Challenge will have to wait for another time.

Monday, March 28, 2011

a friend like me!

Today, I helped run mini workshops for leaders, people who want to be Orientation Week 2011 leaders. It's great, actually, a lot of fun; the executive team, of which I was a part of, broke up into pairs or into groups of three, and ran different workshops. I ran one with this girl who I actually didn't really know that well, but honestly, after spending two entire days just talking and being silly with her and laughing and all this good stuff, I think I would definitely consider her one of my friends now. I mean, we're friendly enough that I can poke fun at her about the guys she makes notes of, which is awesome, hehe, so I guess it works out.

I learned, during our silly antics, that she greatly enjoys various kinds of music! Being the fan of such varied music that I am, we discussed it; I showed her Will Smith's 'Gettin' Jiggy With It', and she showed me 'Sweet Home Alabama', which is one of her favourite songs, apparently. We actually have a lot of things in common; tv shows, movies, favourite pasttimes, etc etc. One such thing we share in common is Disney music! I'm actually surprised at myself for not having talked about Disney and its music here before; it's a HUGE part of my life, even now. I can cop out and say that because of my 12 year old bro and my 11 year old sis that I have the chance to watch Disney movies more now, but that would only half true...I love watching Disney movies by myself, and I would totally do it all the time if I HAD the time.

But, I digress. I love Disney and its movies, especially the more famous ones of my youth. I was fortunate to grow up in what I consider to be the golden age of Disney: Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound, Aristocats, The Rescuers, etc etc etc....there are so many movies that came out right when I was the appropriate age to be amazed by the music and spectacle of the wide variety of characters, from villains like Scar, Hades, Gaston and more to heroes such as Simba, Ariel and Prince Eric, Aladdin himself....it's great.

The music, however, is basically what I loved the most about the movies. I know the words to a LOT of the more famous songs: 'A Friend Like Me', and 'Prince Ali' from Aladdin; 'Be Our Guest' and 'Gaston' from Beauty and the Beast; 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid, 'Hakuna Matata', 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King', 'Be Prepared', 'Circle of Life' from the Lion King....so many of them. The music is quite timeless, as my brother and sister, born in 1998 and 2000 respectively, were not around when they were released, but my parents and I both showed them the movies, and they loved it. Even my cousins, who are now almost in their 40s, have kids who are between 3 and 5, and I've taken the time to show THEM the classic movies of my youth, and they adore them as well. They age fantastically well, and they really are meant to be enjoyed by pretty much anyone.

One point, though....my cousins' kids, the ones who are 3-5....they're kids of the new generation, meaning that they too have movies for themselves much like my friends and I did back in the early 90s. Disney, however, is not a company to rest on its laurels; I was lucky enough to see the first Disney/Pixar movie, a little movie you may have heard of...Toy Story! Woody, Buzz and co. were some of the most memorable characters you had ever seen, and if there was ever a movie I would use to show what friendship is to a little kid (heck, to pretty much anyone), it would be this one. Disney/Pixar went on to create Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Cars, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Up, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E...and of course, this past year's Oscar winner, Toy Story 3. TS1, A Bug's Life and TS2 actually all came out in the 90s (95, 98 and 99 respectively), so those were movies I grew up with as well.

Disney has been a huge part of my life, and I'm certain that pretty much everyone else in my age group would agree with me when I say that I'm sure it was a part of their lives as well. I literally don't know a single person who is aged 19-21 right now who did not grow up with Disney, and that's the gospel truth (lolololol Hercules reference). But seriously, it's great. I think one of my favourite Disney movies is one of the lesser known ones: The Great Mouse Detective. I have watched the crap out of that movie; I think after Aladdin/Lion King/Beauty and the Beast, it's my most watched Disney movie. Heck, it's probably up there with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, the three aforementioned Disney movies, and Transformers: The Animated Movie as one of my top watched movies of all time, regardless of animation or not. It's basically Sherlock Holmes...but with mice. How awesome is that?

The answer is, as it would be for every Disney movie, pretty damn awesome.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

gray = distinguished? ionno

In a direct continuation of the last blog post, I guess it's not such a bad thing if I lose. I'll have more time for my studies, which, to be honest, could use some work. It's not that I'm an idiot or anything, it's just that I have some pretty poor study habits, and I know I'm smarter than the grades I have right now. Anyway, that's one option.

The second option is getting way more into sports. I don't mean in terms of things I follow, or in terms of the VCAA (a levy that deals with sports, at my college). I mean actually being an athlete, someone who is ON a team, who participates in the team winning (or losing), and I'd do it for either the varsity men's football team, or the varsity men's basketball team. I probably stand more chance of making the football team, if only because I know football so much better than basketball. I understand them equally well in terms of plays and rules, I am just better at conjuring a football play on the go than I am in terms of doing the same for a basketball play. Still, though, the only person who WOULD conjure a football play on the go would be the quarterback, and as much as I would love to be the QB for my university's football team, the fact of the matter is that I am about 5-6inches too short and about 75-100 lbs too light to be a quarterback. To put it in perspective, the shortest quarterback in the NFL is Drew Brees; the man stands at 6feet exactly, a good 3 or 4 inches taller than me, and weighs (according to Wikipedia, at least) 209 lbs, a good 79 lbs heavier than me. I'm not heartbroken, though, it was never a realistic goal anyway. I can, however, play the positions of either wide receiver or cornerback: Wes Welker, one of my favourite players and a New England Patriot to boot, is a wide receiver...and I try to model myself after him, since he's awesome. He stands at 5"9, my exact height, and weighs 185 lbs, 50 lbs heavier than I. 50 lbs is still a huge difference, but not as daunting as 80 is.

A good cornerback...hmm. Let's look at Darelle Revis, Asante Samuel, and Devin McCourty, three of the top cornerbacks in the league. Revis: 5"11, 198 lbs. Samuel: 5"10, 185 lbs. McCourty: 5"10, 193 lbs. They're all around my height (maybe an inch or so taller), and are all around the same weight as Welker. My point, really, is that the physical aspect of the game is not so far out of my reach that it is unattainable. I have most (if not all) of the technical skills; I know how to run a route, I know how to force receivers (who may or may not be taller than I am) to either side of the field, I know how to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage, I know how to read a play...I mean, a lot of these things are basic knowledge for ANY football player, but still, I have a lot of the knowledge already.

That's still a dream that is super far away, though. If I didn't make the Varsity team, I guess I would just do intramurals again. I mean, I'm DEFINITELY not doing VCDS again, not doing VUSAC (if I lose)...I guess I would apply for Cat's Eye Subcommittee, and that's about it. Maybe the English Students Union? Whooooo knows.

But, enough about that. I saw a trailer the other day...and it reminded me, this summer is really going to be the summer of the comic book. X-Men: First Class? Green Lantern? Thor? Captain America? Yes, please. In fact, to go to the Captain America trailer (which can be found here), it looks freaking amazing. My friends do not share the same belief that I do, which is that it's going to be one of the best movies of the summer, but...well, I look forward to them being proven wrong. I mean, other than the fact that it looks awesome, the summer isn't exactly laden with amazing blockbusters on the schedule. Apart from the comic book movies that I listed already, here are some other ones that have the potential to do well in terms of destroying the box office:

Kung Fu Panda 2
Cars 2
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt II
Cowboys and Aliens

As much as I dislike the HP series of movies, the last one WAS pretty epic, and my god, if the last HP movie doesn't absolutely incinerate every box office record known to man, I will be surprised. Not really disappointed, because Harry Potter doesn't deserve to be the highest grossing movie of all time (neither does Avatar, but whatever)/biggest opening release of all time, but ah well. I'm probably going to contribute to the legions of fans who are going to see this movie on opening night just to say I did, but still...it's going to be a LOT of money made for everyone involved.

To go back to Captain America for a second, I really enjoy the interconnectedness of the whole Marvel universe. Tony Stark, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., was in The Incredible Hulk at the very end, Captain America's shield was in Iron Man 2, Howard Stark (Tony's dad) is going to be in Captain America (you can hear Stanley Tucci's character say 'Now, Mr. Stark', when they throw the switch to turn scrawny Steve Rogers into muscular Captain America), Thor's hammer was at the after-credits scene in Iron Man 2, Nick Fury (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson) was in both of the Iron Man movies, and the Avengers movie was not only hinted at in the first one, but outright spoken about in the second one....my goodness. I cannot wait for this summer. I'm going to go to so many opening night releases, it's going to be crazy.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

i actually have gray hairs.

That's not a good thing, jeez. I'm 21 years old! I was shaving the other day, and I saw some gray hairs in my beard and in my sideburns. My goodness...I think that's a sign of all the stress of the year finally getting to me. For years I had a single gray hair on my head, but that was just something random that I had from birth. Now, though, I'm dealing with the stress of raising my grades, of getting a job, and of winning these VUSAC elections.

The elections are probably the most stressful. It's annoying, because, I'm running against two other people, for a total of three people running for the Vice President External position. That, however, is not what annoys me: what ANNOYS me is the fact that those other two people don't really care about the VPE job, nor VUSAC as a whole! My opponents are a guy and a girl: the guy is a terrible choice, as he simply wants to disassociate The Strand (my college's newspaper) from the council, because he writes for them, and he just wants to get his way. The girl, though...I dunno if she's worse or what. She applied for donship, and just ran here as a backup; she doesn't really CARE about the job, she just wants to be 'involved' in the community next year. I mean, goddamn, her only experience at the job is as a building council president, and the only reason she did THAT is because NO ONE RAN AGAINST HER. But, yes, she didn't get donship (which is unfortunate, she would have indeed been a great don), and now as a result, she's still running against me. I am, without a word of exaggeration, more qualified to be on the council than the two of them put together, multiplied by ten. He's been a writer for the Strand and has sat on the drama society; she has been a building council president for one year. I have been on VUSAC for TWO years, been an Orientation Executive, have also sat on the drama society, have also written for both the Strand AND the Varsity, been on the commuter organization for THREE years...good god. The stress is really getting to me. What's unfortunate is that this whole thing boils down to a popularity contest, and I'm fairly certain that despite all those things, since they're BOTH running against me, one of them could take enough votes away from me to have the other one win. It irks me so much...I'm definitely finished with VUSAC if I lose.

What bothers me almost just as much is the fact that all my friends are going to be doing stuff next year, even if I lose. Two of my friends are going to be commuter dons; four more are going to run for VUSAC MAL positions. I'm not running for a MAL position again; it's so stupid, you get treated like an idiot by the commissioners who feel entitled to feel all high and mighty, despite your experience, and in my specific case, I'd have to ONCE AGAIN work with people who beat me. Fuck that.

The sad thing is, I don't know what I WOULD do if VUSAC didn't work out. I have Orientation Exec until the end of the summer, but once the next school year starts, then I have no idea. Maybe I'll try and get involved with sports more? That seems like it'd be fun, I guess...I dunno, I mean, I haven't lost the election yet, but you DO have to make plans for the future, regardless of the present. I guess we'll see.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

what is (art)?!

I was just watching that 'What is Love?!' YTMND link again, and I ended up thinking about art. I had this conversation with someone last year, actually, as to what 'art' actually is. I ended up just pushing their buttons (again, something I'm good at) and they got irritated with me and dropped the conversation (hehe), but still, I always find myself wondering what different people consider to be art.

First, I think it's valid to at least LOOK at the dictionary definition of 'art', which can be found here. It's interesting to note that it says "...of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." That's just one of the definitions, but still, it's basically saying art is whatever is beautiful, or more than ordinary. Who is to say, then, just WHAT is beautiful? Isn't there a saying that goes 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'? Can't anything be art?

I guess that's why this discussion always intrigued me as much as it does. Pretty much anything, with the proper justification, can be an art, to certain people. For example, I can understand that people like dance. I don't mean people like TO dance, which is also perfectly understandable, but I'm referring to people who simply enjoy watching a good performance, be it the ballet or some weird interpretive crap. As that last bit might imply, I do NOT enjoy dance. I mean, I'll go and watch my friends perform, and THAT I can appreciate, since I know how much they enjoy it, but dance to me is simply not art. There's nothing beautiful about it, nothing out of the ordinary. It's just a bunch of people hopping about on stage, and it fails to hold my attention. I felt a little bad for checking my cell phone during Vic Dance's production at the Bader, but I guess I only spent $5 to get in, so it's not like it was a waste =P

What do I consider art, then? I consider certain movies art. Some of my favourite movies definitely are NOT art, but there are movies that can be considered masterpieces. The Godfather (and The Godfather, Part II), or maybe a better, more recent example can be No Country for Old Men. That movie, while a little boring, was definitely shot and directed with all the artistry of a painter. Art is also used most frequently to describe paintings, and frequently, it's right on the money. Any number of artists can be named, such as Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Dali, etc etc, and most people can whip out a piece they've done and say it's art, and be entirely correct in the minds of a lot of people (myself included). What ISN'T art, in my estimation, is the crap like someone throwing paint at a blank canvas, or even worse, someone painting a room entirely white and putting a white chair in the middle of it and saying it's some post-modern crap. That **** isn't art, good lord, it depresses me to think people make money off of that, or even get praise from ANYone for their creativity. THAT stuff just plain annoys me, so we won't even talk about it other than to say it's dumb and is not art.

After saying that, I'll probably get bashed for this next part, but I think video games are art...but only certain ones, because much like not all movies are art, not all video games are art, either. I also think football plays can be considered art, but we'll get to that in a bit. Still, though, certain video games are made with the intention of being almost something you view and not interact with. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PS3...the game had something like 30 minute cutscenes in it which you COULD skip...but why would you? It's more impressive than a movie to me, if only because those aren't real people in the cutscenes; they're animations! I mean, yes, most of these things these days are done with motion-capture technology (the design of which is almost an art in and of itself), but still, it's damn hard to do that for a lot of things, and this game had a crazy amount of it. BioShock, a game I spoke about previously on my blog, had a Rapturous (c wut i did thar?) quality about it; the texture of the water (and blood) running down the walls, the sounds and images of the various guns firing, the way the electricity from your hands flowed through the water to electrocute your enemies...it was awesome. BioShock had many more qualities that I can name, but I don't want to take up TOO much space. Hell, even Silent Hill 2, an older game, good god that game was scary. It made you feel helpless, made you feel as if you didn't know what to do, and yet you, as the gamer, still could progress throughout the story and still feel as if something was constantly chasing you.

But, I digress. My love (and bias) for video games is fairly obvious throughout the blog, if not just this post, so I'll stop there. Football, another love (and therefore bias) is evident as well, but honestly, I won't go into TOO much detail. I just think there's something to be said for a well-executed play. I'm not talking about a crappy halfback draw (you hut the ball, the quarterback holds it for a second as if he's going to throw it, and then stuffs the ball into the arms of the running back, who tries to use the delay to get out past the defense), though. I'm talking about a play-action 80yd touchdown pass. I think a perfect example of this can be found here. I don't particularly like the Eagles, but that was awesome. Look how the entire defense buys into the fake; look how DeSean Jackson, the receiver who caught the touchdown pass, BURNS the guy who was guarding him, and manages to not only get behind him, but also manages to catch the ball in stride, stay on his feet, and saunter into the end zone. Hell, look how Michael Vick managed to throw the ball something like 60-70yds before it even fell into Jackson's hands...that's a monstrous throwing arm, haha. Another good example of a play can be found here, which is actually unscripted...yes, it has to do with Tom Brady. If you look at the play, Brady huts the ball, and instantly the defense is on him; he finds no open receivers, so he scrambles around...at this point, the set play he had called is gone, and he's just improvising. He pump fakes, and circles around to escape the defenders...and sees Brandon Tate streaking down the sideline. A simple throw, and suddenly it's a 65-yd TD pass. So awesome...a work of art by a master artist, the Greatest of All Time himself, Tom Brady.

I left out music and books in terms of what I consider art, and it's not because I don't think they're art...in many cases, I really do. Again, it's just really selective. I don't think some band like 'The Moldy Peaches' makes art, but I mean, I really consider Beethoven, Mozart and others to be artists. And yes, I realize the stupidity of how most (or all, really) musicians are called 'artists', but let's face it, not all of these so-called artists make art...come on now. In terms of books...again, certain writers can make art, but not everyone. God knows Harry Potter isn't art, despite it being obscenely popular (I like the books, mind you, they're just not art), but I would consider some of Margaret Atwood's books to be art (and no, not just because I go to Victoria College...god knows we get the fact that she's an alumni shoved down our throats every second...but I DO love her works, man, they're awesome), or someone like Agatha Christie, or even H.G. Wells.

In the end, whether it's sports or video games or music and books, it's all subjective, I guess. I DID just spend the last who-knows-how-many words deriding others for their tastes, which I've done so many times, but I admit it's crazily subjective. Still, this is my blog, and I'm going to like what I want! I have no tolerance for 'look at this empty room, look how deep the meaning is' crap, I honestly don't. There's no meaning there, buddy, you're just delusional.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

the weather outside is frightful.

There's no fire, nothing that is delightful. Wow, that sounded bleak. There ARE delightful things; the Leafs winning in OT at home against the Penguins, getting home after a long and cold day, lying in bed after a day of midterms despite knowing that there's so much still on the horizon. It WAS super cold today, though, settling at a nice -11 degrees Celsius for most of the day. It's weird, it's super sunny outside, not a cloud in the sky, and it's been like that for a few days...except it's windy as all hell, and so you feel chilled to the bone whenever you step outside. Walking to and from classes is actually a super daunting prospect. I think today was so much worse, because I got food poisoning; MILD food poisoning, to be sure, as normal FP actually puts you in the hospital...the symptoms are not nice. Regardless, vomiting, stomach cramps, and a bunch of other nasty ailments plagued me today, so suffice to say I'm never going back to Gourmet Burger....ever.

I mean, really, I don't need additional problems to plague me at a time like this. Let's look ahead, shall we?

March 3rd - Leader Appreciation!
March 4th - Highball
March 5th - VUSAC Meeting
March 7th - Election Nomination Packages are released
March 8th - Take Home Exam due for MUS330H1/VCDS Meeting
March 9th - Mom's birthday!
March 10th - Environmental Week Fashion Show rehearsal/VCDS Show Opening Night
March 11th - VUSAC Meeting/Environmental Week Fashion Show, for which I am doing a crazy dance AND MC'ing/VCDS Show Midnight Showing
March 12th - Orientation Exec interviews/VCDS Show Closing Night + Load Out
March 15th - Final paper due for POL203Y1
March 16th - Final paper due for MUS335H1
March 18th - VUSAC Meeting

Somewhere in this mess, the VUSAC elections themselves need to be fit, as the dates are a bit fluid. Still, I need to be able to campaign for a week AND attend more meetings...ugh. I also am sitting on the Finance Chair Selection Committee, which needs to finalize dates for interviews, and am apparently also MC'ing the Vic Variety Show. I need to learn to say no, haha.

After this, I get somewhat of a break, thank GOD. March 31st holds one more thing - Final paper due for ENG353Y1. But, soon come exams....

April 5th - Final paper due for MUS330H1
April 18th - Final exam for MUS330H1 (2-4PM)/Final exam for POL203Y1 (7-9PM)
April 27th - Final exam for ENG353Y1

After that, I am mercifully done. But, April 27th is such a long way from now...heck, March 18th is a long way from now, and if I didn't need any MORE gray hairs (I got my hair cut recently, and the barber discovered more gray hairs than ever. I am actually turning gray with stress...not good, haha), I'm going to get them regardless.

It's fine, I guess. If you read this blog, chances are you're one of my friends, and so your upcoming March and April are equally if not MORE busy than mine, so I understand if you scoff at my pity party that this blog post is. Regardless, this work will kill me, and so I definitely do NOT need food poisoning to derail me NOW. After April 27th (or between March 18th and 31st, save the date I make my speech for the VUSAC elections), I don't mind passing out into a stupor of whatever, but my goodness, I hope it's not before then, otherwise my life is over.

Anyway, that's it for now. My stomach still really hurts, and with all the craziness that is happening surrounding UTSU and VUSAC, my next blog post will concern that. I think I'll wait until after this Saturday to make a post on it, just to see if all the craziness I think (I hope!) will happen actually DOES happen...so...w00t!